Monthly Archives: March 2017
Why Wonder Woman Is the Hero the DC Movies Need
Potential Spoiler Alert: The following contains some specifics around one sequence in the upcoming Wonder Woman movie.
"What’s the ‘S’ stand for?”
“It’s not an ‘S’. On my world it means hope.”
Man of Steel (2013)
Does it? Three films into the DCEU, and there hasn’t been a great deal to be optimistic about.
Mondo Announces New Obi Wan Star Wars Portrait
Star Wars collectors rejoice, because IGN is exclusively revealing the latest print in Mike Mitchell's ongoing Mondo Star Wars portrait series.
The signed and hand-numbered 12"x16" Giclee print showcases Obi Wan Kenobi, and will be available as part of Mondo's Star Wars x Mike Mitchell show that opens during SXSW on Friday, March 10. The portrait is $60, and will be available for purchase from Thursday, March 9 at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT through Sunday, March 12 at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT.
Check out the Obi Wan Kenobi print below, and keep clicking through the slideshow for all of the other prints that have been released in the Mike Mitchell series.
Mondo x Acme Archives Present: SWxMM is Mondo's first art show of 2017, and is being held in honor of Star Wars' 40th anniversary in May. Mitchell's previously released Star Wars portraits will be on display and available in a limited number for purchase. If you're in Austin for SXSW, make sure to swing by the opening reception -- which is open to the public -- on Friday, March 10 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Mondo Gallery, located at 4115 Guadalupe Street in Austin, Texas.
The Best of Nintendo Switch’s New Wave of ‘Nindie’ Games
Earlier this week, Nintendo confirmed a huge list of indie games coming to the Switch. These "Nindies," as Nintendo calls them, range from beloved indies already out on other platforms, like Stardew Valley, to all-new titles announced exclusively for the Switch, like Runner 3.
At the Game Developer's Conference in San Francisco this week, we got some hands-on time with a select few of the Switch's indie game line-up. Here were some of our favorites.
The most important thing to know about Blaster Master Zero is that it feels a lot like the original Blaster Master. Platforming and shooting in your tank is tight and responsive, and the open exploration and challenging combat in the "dungeon" areas are sure to please fans of the NES classic. Artistically, the game is wrapped in Inti Creates signature style and has a decidedly 8-bit Gunvolt vibe. — Zach Ryan
Anton Yelchin’s Last Short Becoming Feature Length
Rise, a short film starring late actor Anton Yelchin, is being made into a feature-length movie by Hacksaw Ridge producer Brian Oliver and Johnny Lin.
Here's a brief synopsis of the David Karlak-directed sci-fi short, courtesy of its Vimeo page:
"In the near future, sentient robots are targeted for elimination after they develop emotional symmetry to humans and a revolutionary war for their survival begins."
Yelchin in Rise
"Brian and I are extremely excited to have an opportunity to build a film franchise based on David Karlak’s wildly popular short," said Lin (via Variety). "I hope this is the start to a long-lasting financing and producing relationship."
Quake Champions Closed Beta Sign-Up Opens
You can now sign up to take part in the closed beta for upcoming arena shooter, Quake Champions.
The previously-announced test - which will feature 12 characters to try out - is accepting applicants on the Quake website.
A new gameplay trailer's also been released, which you can watch below:
We still don't have an exact date for when the beta begins, but Bethesda says it will be "in the coming weeks", so there's not long to wait for the gibbing and rocket-jumping fix you crave.
It's also set to be a sizable test. Last year, iD studio director Tim Willits said the game will only come out fully "after a really, really long closed beta. I'm telling people now, it's going to be a long beta."
‘No Conversations’ at Capcom About a Dino Crisis Reboot
Despite recent rumours, there are currently no confirmed plans to reboot Capcom's Dino Crisis series.
In an interview with the Daily Star (link may be NSFW), Resident Evil 7 Producer Masachika Kawata - who worked on all three mainline Dino Crisis games - said that whilst he had "hope in
heart", he was not aware of any plans to remaster the fan-favourite dino-horror series.
The Dino Crisis franchise spawned five installments between 1999 and 2003. The original was developed by the team behind the original Resident Evil game, and bore a striking mechanical resemblance. Controlling the iconic Regina, players crossed Ibis Island, a habitat improbably overrun by dinosaurs, in the hopes of finding and securing a scientist thought to be dead but now running a deadly weapons project at the facility.
DayZ Creator’s Microsoft Exclusive, Ion Has Been Cancelled
DayZ creator Dean Hall’s space station-set MMO, Ion has ceased development.
Ion was originally set to be co-developed by both Improbable and Hall’s New Zealand-based studio RocketWerkz. As reported by Eurogamer, however, both parties have now confirmed its cancellation.
Here’s Improbable’s statement on the matter:
"Ion was initially conceived as a project for co-development between Improbable and RocketWerkz. A lot has changed since then," Improbable said. "Dean Hall moved back to New Zealand from London, RocketWerkz has started work on a number of other games, and we have grown increasingly into a platform for games to be deployed on
Stephen King Has Seen the New It Movie, Gives Thumbs Up
It author Stephen King seems happy with the new film adaptation of his killer clown novel.
Over on Instagram, film producer Seth Grahame-Smith shared a message from King. The post states: "Steve asked me to pass along that he saw a screening of It today and wanted to let everybody know that they should stop worrying about it as the producers have done a wonderful job with the production."
Grahame-Smith added as a comment that he "can die now." Stephen King has been famously vocal about the film adaptations of his work he does and doesn't like - most notably with Stanley Kubrick's version of The Shining, which he did not approve of.
Overwatch’s New Character Gets Her First Nerf
Overwatch’s next hero, Orisa, has been nerfed for the first time ahead of a full release.
Orisa’s Fusion Driver weapon has had its magazine size lowered from 200 to 150, and her Supercharger ultimate ability – which deploys a device to increase the team’s damage output – has had its cost increased by 15 percent.
Of course, this kind of change is precisely why new Overwatch features are added to the Public Test Realm servers before release, as it gives Blizzard a much broader pool of results to work with. It's entirely possible that Orisa will return to her original state, or an entirely new one, when she hits the main game on all platforms.
Orisa isn’t the only hero getting a nerf in the next phase of public testing. Ana’s Biotic Rifle has had its damage reduced from 80 to 60, and, likewise, her Biotic Grenade has seen its impact damage reduced from 60 to 30, as well as its impact healing reduced from 100 to 50.
Mass Effect: Andromeda DLC Multiplayer Maps Will Be Free
BioWare has confirmed that any multiplayer maps added to Mass Effect: Andromeda will be released for free.
Company GM, Aaryn Flynn (as spotted by WWG) outlined the idea in a reply to a fan question on Twitter:
@DJSrules @N7Follower @DiscoBabaloo It's going to be just like ME3
— Aaryn Flynn (@AarynFlynn) March 5, 2017