Monthly Archives: February 2018
Star Wars: It’s Time for Someone New on the Throne
When Lucasfilm dropped news this week about the next phase in their Star Wars film development, they did it with a double dose of information that was equal parts cherry flavoring and that weird aftertaste you get once you’ve taken the medicine. On the one hand, we got the announcement of a new series of Star Wars films which, to Star Wars fans, is generally great news. On the other, the films are being written and produced by Game of Thrones power couple David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.
I have concerns.
Let me preface this by saying that I’m all for more Star Wars films and I love Game of Thrones. Benioff and Weiss are obviously skilled writers and producers with a multiplicity of awards to their names and they’ve certainly helped HBO raise their profile when it comes to genre fare with their work on Game of Thrones.
Minecraft Developer’s Scrolls Will Finally Shut Down Next Week
Minecraft developer Mojang announced that its tactical card game Scrolls would be shutting down on Tuesday, February 13.
Released at the end of 2014, Mojang revealed they would stop development of the game way back in June of 2015. They committed to keeping the servers running until at least July of 2016, though they’ve clearly lasted much longer than that.
As part of the announcement, Mojang also revealed that they are working to make the Scrolls server software public, allowing the community to host their own servers and continue playing online. They said they can’t guarantee this will happen, but that they have “high hopes that we’ll be able to do this in the next few weeks or months.”
The 10 Best Deck-Building Board Games
Board games have been around for thousands of years. So when a designer comes up with a genuinely new idea for a game mechanic, the hype train takes off like a rocket. Such was the case for deck building in 2008.
Like many fresh ideas, the concept of a deck building game is startling in its simplicity. Card games where you build a custom deck before you play have been around a while. In a deck building game, though, you build the deck while you play. Starting with a hand of currency cards, you cash them in for other, more interesting cards, and make a deck on-the-fly you think is good enough to win.
It wasn't just gamers who got bowled over by the brilliance of the concept: it was designers too. Gaming was soon awash in copycat games, many of limited interest. Since then, the mechanic has seen redeployment into other genres of game with mixed results. But there are loads of awesome examples, too. These are the best deck-building board games:
Black Panther Breaks Another Record on Fandango
Black Panther continues to break pre-sale ticket records on Fandango.
The Hollywood Reporter reveals the MCU film is quickly becoming the fastest pre-selling first-quarter movie ever on Fandango. It's outpacing previous record holders Beauty and the Beast and the first The Hunger Games movie.
We previously heard that Black Panther was both Fandango and Alamo Drafthouse's fastest pre-selling superhero movie, outpacing 2016's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. It's also now also now the top pre-selling MCU film in the first 24 hours of advance ticket sales.
Kim Possible Live-Action Movie in Development
A Kim Possible live-action movie is in development at Disney Channel.
Variety reports casting has started on the film, with the story following the titular high school hero who continually tries to save the world with her trusty sidekicks Ron Stoppable, his mole-rat Rufus, and computer genius Wade. A release date for the project has not been set.
The show's creators Mark McCorkle and Robert Schooley wrote the script with Josh Cagan. Adam B. Stein and Zach Lipovsky are co-directing and co-producing the film, which is yet to have an official title. McCorkle, Schooley, and Zanne Devine are executive producing.
Venom Official Poster Only Has Eyes for the Symbiote
Sony's new poster for its upcoming Venom movie is minimalist and a perfect tease for the October release.
Sony's also teasing something else, posting "Tomorrow. #Venom" on social media. It's hard not to want to speculate about exactly what it is, but there's a lot to tease out between now and the October 5 release.
The all-black poster is punctuated by Venom's eyes, perhaps the most defining characteristic of the symbiote other than a prehensile tongue and rows of fangs. But in spite of its minimalism, it could stand on its own without even naming the film as a poster for Venom.
Here's a high-resolution copy of the poster for you to check out:
9 Epic Black Panther Cosplay Photos
The Black Panther movie is just over a week away, and some incredibly cool cosplay has come out of the overwhelming excitement for this movie.
One cosplayer in particular - Andrien Gbinigie, from Montreal - caught our eye for the epic quality of his photos, which is doubly impressive because this is his first ever cosplay. Click right to see all the shots:
The photographer featured is E Vic Rosa, otherwise known as lucidvphotography.
Andrien told IGN, "My favourite thing about being a cosplayer has to be fully embodying the character I'm portraying. In my case, as this was my first costume, it felt fantastic seeing comments and reactions from people who said I did a good job looking like the Black Panther. It made all that working out 4 times a week worth it."
Kerbal Space Program Gets First Expansion Next Month
Take Two label Private Division has announced the release of Kerbal Space Program's first expansion, Making History, set to launch on March 13 for PC for $14.99.
“Kerbal Space Program: Making History Expansion will provide players with an entire new set of tools and content that fundamentally change how the game is played,” said Allen Murray, Vice President of Production at Private Division. “We can’t wait to see the creativity of the KSP community around the world as they create and share missions.”
The expansion will add a Mission Builder allowing players to "create and share their own scenarios," and a number of pre-made missions inspired by historical moments in space exploration in the History Pack, among other additions.
Tomb Raider Arcade Game Released to Promote Movie
It looks like there will be new Tomb Raider game sooner than thought, although it's not the next triple-A installment from Square Enix you're all hoping for. The film is getting a promotional tie-in with an arcade game that will appear at select locations of US restaurant chain Dave & Busters.
Arcade Heroes reports the new title will be a gun game in the style of Rabbids Hollywood. The cabinet is the same, "with the artwork, marquee and pistols changed to fit with the new game."
Pictures of the cabinet were snapped and posted on Reddit. Like Rabbids Hollywood, there appear to be three levels, and the logo is very much in keeping with that of the first rebooted title in 2013.
Daredevil Showrunner Would Like to See Jon Hamm in a Batman TV Show
Pacific Rim Uprising's Steven DeKnight has dabbled in the superhero genre during his stint as showrunner on the first season of Daredevil, and he's not short on ideas when it comes to the possibility of other superhero TV shows. DeKnight revealed that his pick for Bruce in a Batman TV show would be Jon Hamm.
The question came via Twitter, asking who DeKnight would cast in the role if a series was ever commissioned on the STARZ network.
Hmm, so many choices. If it’s an older Batman, Jon Hamm would be great. https://t.co/1I4ZwYHBri