Monthly Archives: May 2016
Super Mario Mash-up Pack Coming to Minecraft: Wii U Edition
Minecraft: Wii U Edition will receive a free Super Mario–themed update in mid-May.
Nintendo is partnering with Mojang and Minecraft to introduce the Super Mario Mash-Up pack as a free download. On May 17, players will have "immediate access" to new skins—which include Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Bowser, and Wario—along with Super Mario–inspired music and item textures.
In total, the update adds 40 new skins and 15 pieces of music. There are new enemies, too; along with Creepers and Zombies, players will now have to battle Hammer Bros. and Dry Bones to keep their encampments safe.
The Super Mario Mash-Up Pack will be included with Minecraft: Wii U Edition when the retail version hits stores on June 17. Minecraft: Wii U Edition is available as a digital download from Nintendo's eShop on the Wii U console and from Nintendo.com.
Artist Recreates Bloodborne in Unreal Engine 4
Simon Barle, an environment artist at DICE, has recreated the Hunter's Dream from Bloodborne in Unreal Engine 4.
Barle has worked on the likes of Battlefield 4, but in his spare time he has created some impressive and elaborate fan art for Bloodborne, which you can see in the video below (thanks VG24/7).
If you want to see more from Simon, you can check out his portfolio and ArtStation page.
We'll probably be seeing a lot more Bloodborne art soon, as it's being translated into a board game. From Software's other franchise, Dark Souls, is also getting the board game treatment very soon.
Watch: If Empire Strikes Back Had Bond-Style Opening Credits
James Bond and Star Wars are two of the longest-running movie franchises around, and they each have very distinctive opening sequences.
Kurt Rauffer has recently combined the two, and as you can see below, the James Bond style for Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back makes a surprisingly good fit.
It features a gorgeous visualization of Luke Skywalker's bombing run on the Death Star, Darth Vader's rotating helmet, and a tumbling lightsaber to the song Spectre by Radiohead, which was a rejected song for the most recent James Bond film.
Bates Motel: Can Norman Resist the Urge to Kill?
In last week's Bates Motel episode, "Unfaithful," written by star Freddie Highmore, Norman had some serious objections over Norma's marriage to Sheriff Alex Romero - to the point where the young man even considered taking an axe to Romero.
Norman however -- now on meds and free from his "Norma blackouts" -- quickly chose to take his rage out on the side of a shed instead. But was that the end of his anger over Romero? In Monday's new episode, "Forever," Bates Motel's penultimate Season 4 episode, things will all come to a dangerous head as Romero makes a big decision regarding Norman's future.
Freddie Highmore, along with Bates Motel executive producers Cartlon Cuse and Kerry Ehrin, talked to IGN about "Forever" and the lengths Norman might go to in order to "protect" his mother from the man she loves.
Russell Crowe Confirms The Mummy Role
Gladiator star Russell Crowe will play Dr. Henry Jekyll in Universal Pictures' The Mummy.
It was reported last week that Crowe was in early talks to star in the film alongside Tom Cruise. In an interview with Collider, the actor confirmed the role.
Russell Crowe (right) in The Nice Guys with Ryan Gosling
Street Fighter 5 Misses Sales Target
Street Fighter V sold 1.4 million copies on PC and PlayStation 4 between launch and March 31.
In its recent financial report, Capcom said the latest installment in the Street Fighter series has "maintained steady sales," however it has missed its original sales target of 2 million by the end of the company's fiscal year.
There are a few possible reasons the game didn't sell as well as expected. IGN's review says it's a "first-rate competitive fighting game," but was missing too many features on release day.
Street Fighter V launched without a proper story mode. The mode is due for release in June, and will take around one to two hours to complete.
Battlefield 1 Devs Working to Prevent Battlefield 4-Style Launch Problems
Battlefield 1's developers have been working "for a long time" to ensure Battlefield 1's launch isn't a repeat of Battlefield 4's problematic release.
Speaking to GamesBeat, producer Daniel Berlin explained that avoiding the mistakes of Battlefield 4 is "a focus for us. We know it was a difficult launch. We’ve been working on this for a long time."
Battlefield 4's problems were myriad, mainly affecting the game's online component, forcing DICE to introduce better servers and even prompting class-action lawsuits.
Donkey Kong World Champ Achieves Perfect Score
Donkey Kong world record holder Wes Copeland has completed what many believe to be a perfect run.
In a three-and-a-half-hour stream on May 5, Copeland achieved the score of 1,218,000. The significance of this score is that it’s considered, at this point in time, to contain all the points available in Donkey Kong.
You see, upon completing Donkey Kong the player restarts from the first level. To outsiders, Donkey Kong appears like it could be played indefinitely, but this isn’t the case in the arcade version where eventually, due to a coding error, Mario/Jumpman reaches a kill screen where he dies after a few seconds.
According to Copeland, the only feasible way to best his latest high score is with a giant dollop of luck.
Capcom Teases Big Resident Evil Plans
Capcom's recent financial results include a mysterious reference to the company's plans for the Resident Evil series
Spotted by NeoGAF user Chobel, Capcom's most recent Investor reports tease at a "full-scale offensive" for the Resident Evil series, possibly indicating the release of at least one more Resident Evil game (besides the upcoming Umbrella Corps) before the end of the financial year on March 31 2017:
"In the fiscal year ending March 31, 2017, the Company is scheduled to release
Picking Sides in Total War: Warhammer
The races of Total War: Warhammer aren’t just four skins of the same basic faction with a few magicians and monsters thrown in for good measure. Instead, they represent meaningfully different choices that promote radically different play-styles for each of the key areas in the game.
This begs the question of how you choose which to play as and which might best suit your preferred approach to conquering the Old World, Badlands and beyond.
Having spent a decent amount of time tinkering with each race and seeing how their abilities and characteristics affect the long game, here’s a rundown of what you can expect each one to provide and to help factor it into your game plan.