Monthly Archives: March 2016
The Magicians Can’t Put Penny in a Corner
Now that Penny (Arjun Gupta) has been convinced to embrace his powers as a Traveler, he's not going to let a pesky thing like a school syllabus prevent him from exploring them.
In this exclusive clip from tonight's episode of The Magicians, "The Strangled Heart," Penny proves that the nature of his magical abilities are more seductive than they might seem -- especially now that he doesn't have any strings attached.
The Magicians has been stellar all season, scoring solid reviews all season. Catch up on Season 1 with our reviews. The Magicians airs Mondays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Syfy.
X-Men: Civil War 2 Tie-In Comic Announced
Marvel has announced a new Civil War II tie-in comic featuring the X-Men.
Civil War II: X-Men will be a four-part series written by Cullen Bunn with art from Andrea Broccardo. The first issue cover artwork will be from David Yardin.
X-Men: Civil War II #1, art by David Yardin
The comic will see the two X-Men teams from Uncanny X-Men (written by Bunn) and Extraordinary X-Men (by Jeff Lemire) pitted against one another.
Anthony Mackie Didn’t Know He was an Avenger Until He Saw Age of Ultron
After being introduced in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Anthony Mackie has stayed busy in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with appearances in both Avengers: Age of Ultron and Ant-Man last year, as his character actually joined the Avengers.
Marvel is known for their secrecy, and amusingly, as Mackie told a group of press on a set visit to Captain America: Civil War, just a few weeks after Age of Ultron opened, he didn’t even know he was a full-fledged member of the team until he was sitting in a theater seeing Age of Ultron himself.
Below you’ll find excerpts from our conversation, including what it’s like for Falcon to be on the team now and interacting with many other heroes in Civil War, the role he fills as audience surrogate and more.
Overwatch Release Date, Open Beta, More Details Revealed
Blizzard's upcoming team-based shooter Overwatch is coming to PC and consoles May 24.
In addition to its confirmed release date, players on all 3 platforms can play Overwatch for free during its open beta May 5-9.
A limited edition, retail-only collector's edition has also been announced. The $130 version of the game includes "a full-color visual sourcebook, the Overwatch soundtrack," and a statue of Soldier: 76, "the vigilante alter ego of former Overwatch commander Jack Morrison."
PC gamers can opt for a $40 digital version which includes "the core Overwatch experience."
The "Origin Edition" of Overwatch, for players who pre-order, comes with skins for five characters: "Blackwatch Reyes (Reaper), Strike-Commander Morrison (Soldier: 76), Overgrown Bastion, Security Chief Pharah, and Slipstream Tracer." The skins are based on characters' "storied pasts."
Sword Fight a 20-Foot-Tall Rock Monster in Ex-Halo Devs’ Golem
Now that you've read all about our experiences with Golem, the story-driven, sword-combat fantasy game from the ex-Halo and ex-Infamous developers at Highwire Games and seen what it's like to be a six-inch-tall doll, let's up the ante. In the above video, we fight a 20-foot-tall, sword-wielding stone monster in a desert area...as a 20-foot-tall, sword-wielding stone monster – all while ex-Halo designer Jaime Griesemer (aka the man who invented Halo's "30 seconds of fun" gameplay loop) comments over the footage while I ask him questions about it. It adds a good bit of context for what you're seeing. If you'd prefer to see the raw gameplay video without anyone talking over it, dig the video below. Either way, enjoy!
Sniper Elite 4 Launching This Year
Sniper Elite 4—the next game from independent developer Rebellion—will release on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC this year.
Set immediately after Sniper Elite 3 ends, Sniper Elite 4 follows Office of Strategic Services agent Karl Fairburne as he fights alongside the Italian Resistance to free the country from its fascist leaders. This mission is particularly important, as if it fails, there will be "no Operation Overlord, no D-Day landings, and no Victory in Europe."
Sniper Elite 4 is Rebellion's first game in the Sniper Elite series to be built explicitly for the new consoles, and includes a dedicated campaign, along with co-op and adversarial multiplayer modes.
And according to the developer, Sniper Elite 4's stunning new maps are "many times the size" of those in previous games.
1980s Ninja Turtles Will Appear on Current Animated Series
Nickelodeon's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series is going to get a big blast from the past on the March 27th episode, when the Turtles meet... the Turtles.
The episode, "Trans-Dimensional Turtles," will feature an appearance by the 1980s animated versions of the TMNT characters, with the original voice cast reprising their roles.
In the episode, the modern Turtles -- Seth Green as Leonardo, Sean Astin as Raphael, Rob Paulsen as Donatello and Greg Cipes as Michelangelo -- are transported to another dimension where they meet their ‘80s alternate-reality counterparts, once more voiced by Cam Clarke, Rob Paulsen (who’s been a part of both series!), Barry Gordon and Townsend Coleman as Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo, respectively.
Halo 5 Now Has a Quidditch Game Mode
A fan-made map has brought Quidditch to Halo 5: Guardians.
The map is called Quidditch Arena, and comes from user xXHugabearXx. Check out the video below to see the sport from the world of Harry Potter brought to life in Halo.
The aim is to grab the ball and score it through one of the hoops. The only problem is everyone has Gravity Hammers and Energy Swords. So, good luck.
Griffball was brought back to Halo recently, and Warzone Firefight has been announced, with more information coming soon.
This Zelda Cosplay Wedding Is Gorgeous
Elizabeth and Destin Bayer got married at San Jose's AFK Gamer Lounge on the 30th anniversary of The Legend Of Zelda NES Japanese release - the 21st of February, 2016.
The location was decorated in Legend of Zelda theme and the Bridal Party all wore unique cosplay, with the bride as Zelda, the groom as Link and the father of the bride as Ganondorf.
Check out all the awesome costumes in the slideshow below, plus the gorgeous cake and painted glass altar - click right for more images:
Davain Martinez, the event organiser, told IGN, "During the ceremony we had Link walk out to the main theme of the Legend of Zelda, the Bride walked out to Zelda's Lullaby. And during the reception we had a professional ocarina player play various themes. We tried to make it as immersive as we could."
Microsoft Cancels Fable Legends, Project Knoxville
Update: Microsoft has issued the following statement to IGN.
"We aren’t sharing additional details today beyond that we have ceased development on Fable Legends, and are in discussions with employees at Lionhead about our proposed closure of the studio as well."
Original story follows...
Microsoft has cancelled Fable Legends and Project Knoxville, and the fate of the two studios involved now hangs in the balance.
In a post on the Xbox Wire, General Manager at Microsoft Studios Europe, Hanno Lemke, said the following:
“After much consideration we have decided to cease development on Fable Legends, and are in discussions with employees about the proposed closure of Lionhead Studios in the UK,” says Lemke. “Additionally, we will close Press Play Studios in Denmark, and sunset development on Project Knoxville.”