Monthly Archives: July 2015
CBS Gets Weird with Alien Brain-Eating Series
CBS has ordered thirteen one-hour episodes of BrainDead, a new "comic-thriller" series from The Good Wife producers Robert and Michelle King. The series will premiere in summer 2016.
According to CBS Entertainment Chairman Nina Tassler, BrainDead is an "intriguingly original concept with layers of humor, suspense and the supernatural." The series follows a young Hill staffer after she gets her first job in D.C. However, not long after that, she discovers the government has stopped working and aliens are eating the brains of Congressmen and Hill staffers.
"We wanted to do a show that was a mix of genre-pulp and high-brow politics – ‘The Strain’ crossed with ‘The West Wing,’” said Robert and Michelle King. "It seemed like the best way to address the news today – not straight, but as the opening act of a horror movie."
San Andreas Director in Talks For Video Game Adaptation Rampage
Brad Peyton is reportedly in talks with New Line Cinema to direct video game adaptation Rampage, which will see him again working with key people from his summer hit San Andreas.
According to Deadline, Peyton will produce Rampage alongside Beau Flynn. Dwayne Johnson will star in the leading role.
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in San Andreas.
First Images of Dragon Quest Builders Released
Thanks to a batch of new screnshots, we've now seen a bit more of the Minecraft-meets-RPG aesthetic of Dragon Quest Builders.
Published on Japanese site 4gamer, the screens show off a variety of options and abilities, including terrain to dig through and monsters to fight. Check them out in the gallery below.
Taking place in the setting of the original Dragon Quest, Builders tasks players with rebuilding the kingdom of Alefgard by what appears to be crafting, mining, fighting, and building systems. Few details are known at this time, other than it will be a PlayStation platform exclusive.
Civilization: Beyond Earth – Rising Tide Opens the Floodgates
In an age when most games expand a tiny bit at a time, it’s great to see Firaxis opening the floodgates with Civilization: Beyond Earth - Rising Tide. This expansion packs an almost overwhelming amount of new features into Beyond Earth, and starting colonies in the ocean is just the beginning.
Any faction can embark a colonist and found their second colony on the ocean in relatively shallow waters without researching any new tech, but one new faction land their first colony directly into the oceans of a new planet. I got to play the first 130 turns of a game as this faction, the North Sea Alliance – a group based on the British Isles and Scandinavia.
This game was on a planet generated using the new Frigid biome, where the aliens spawn slowly, but spawn with more hitpoints. We’ll see the aliens behave differently on each biome now - for instance, they might be prone to mood swings, making them quick to anger and quick to forgive. While they’re still largely obstructions to your colonization of your new home, the variations in their actions gives them a little more variety in how you’ll want to approach them. You’ll also find that you can no longer hide behind the Ultrasonic Fence forever - get aliens angry enough, and they’ll walk right though your protected territory.
Spider: Rite of the Shrouded Moon Release Date Announced
Spider: Rite of the Shrouded Moon will release August 6 on PC and iOS.
The platforming sequel to Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manner, this game has players becoming the arachnid once more to explore the Blackbird Estate. There are 30 levels in the mansion, and Spider: Rite of the Shrouded Moon reacts to real-time weather.
That means when darkness falls in your location, nighttime also begins in Spider: Rite of the Shrouded Moon. Or when it rains at home, it pours in the game. Developer Tiger Style says that all 30 levels in the platforming sequel are playable during the day and at night.
The ultimate goal is discovering what happened at Blackbird Mansion, which was "built by a secret society for a mysterious purpose."
Apple Prevents iOS Beta Testers From Posting App Reviews
Those that are currently beta testing iOS 9 may be able to try out a bunch of unreleased features, but one thing they can no longer take part in is posting reviews on the App Store.
As reported by AppleInsider, Apple recently implemented this change, which affects anyone running the fourth beta release of the upcoming iOS; it's currently unknown if the company will remove past reviews or let them stay.
Gadot on Fans Who Doubt She’s Right for Wonder Woman
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice's Gal Gadot has discussed criticism that she's not right for the role of the DC Comics superhero Wonder Woman in the film (and subsequent Wonder Woman and Justice League movies), highlighting the fact that she can't please everyone.
"No matter what you do, you can never please them all," she told Interview Magazine (via Batman-News). "People will always have something to say because that’s the way people are. And it’s okay. But for me, it’s my job. It’s my career. It’s my art.
App Store Update: July 22
Every day hundreds of new apps make their debut on the App Store, and hundreds more are updated or reduced in price. We have sifted through the noise and highlighted those select few that might be worth your attention.
Note: The prices and deals compiled below are accurate at the time we published this story, but all are subject to change.
Cally's Caves 3 – (Free)
Your latest solution for retro-pixel-styled platforming fun in the App Store is Cally's Caves 3 . . . and it's free! So check it out.
Singer Teases a Destroyed City With New X-Men Picture
Director Bryan Singer has teased that the capital of Egypt will be destroyed in X-Men: Apocalypse.
On Instagram, Singer revealed a picture of himself walking through the rubble of Cairo, with a green screen in the background. "Tiptoeing through ruined Cairo," he wrote.
While no cast members appear with Singer in the picture, Storm is raised by her parents in Cairo. After her father and mother die, Storm becomes a thief in the Egyptian capital, so this set may deal with the character's origins in the film.
Gotham: Michael Chiklis Joins Season 2 as Series Regular
Michael Chiklis, the Emmy-winning actor who recently starred in American Horror Story: Freak Show, will be joining the cast of Gotham as a series regular for its second season.
According to TVLine, Chiklis will play Captain Nathaniel Barnes, a mentor and key ally for Gordon in the show's upcoming second season.
Barnes "lands on the GCPD like a tornado, ripping out the dead wood of Gotham’s police force," and, according to Gotham's producers, "he is a law and order zealot; unafraid of making enemies – on either side of the law."
Michael Chiklis in The Shield.