Monthly Archives: August 2016
The Eyes of Ara: An Intriguing Mystery from a One Man Team
It’s hard not to draw comparisons between The Eyes of Ara – a new game from Brisbane-based indie studio 100 Stones Interactive – and PC classic Myst. The game, after all, is set on an isolated island that’s long been deserted, and is presented from first person, with environmental exploration, puzzles, a mysterious narrative, and supernatural-meets-sci-fi-meets-fantasy elements. Highly reminiscent of the ‘90s adventure phenomenon, in other words.
“I found Myst to be a fascinating game,” says 100 Stones’ Ben Droste, “it was unlike anything I had played before. I wanted to try to capture the same sense of wonder and contemplative exploration.” The result is very much a success. The Eyes of Ara presents a world where the player has to piece together the narrative and history of its strange environment based on notes left behind by previous inhabitants and books concerned with planets and astrology, not to mention by wandering through the dusty halls of a huge castle taking in the various sights.
Star Trek: Discovery Time Period Revealed
Executive producer Bryan Fuller hit the Television Critics Association Press Tour today to talk about his upcoming CBS All Access series, Star Trek: Discovery. Along the way, the man behind Pushing Daisies and Hannibal revealed several tantalizing bits of information about what has been a highly secretive project until now. Among the revelations Fuller dropped were the news that Discovery will have a female lead, and that the character will be a human but not the ship's captain.
Additionally, the show will be set approximately 10 years before Captain Kirk took command of the USS Enterprise, meaning Star Trek: Discovery will exist more or less in the same time period as the original show. Some more details revealed include:
New Mortal Kombat Movie Won’t Be Rushed
James Wan (The Conjuring, Furious 7, Aquaman) tells IGN that development is continuing on a new Mortal Kombat movie he’s attached to produce, though it may be awhile before we see it.
I spoke to Wan at the TCA (Television Critics Association) press tour today, where he was promoting CBS’ new MacGyver series -- he directed the pilot -- and Wan told me that with Mortal Kombat, “It's still cooking away. With that particular project, that's a really cool property that I loved growing up as a kid. Besides the game, even the movies as well, I kind of enjoyed them for what they are.”
Wan added, “The key here is to try and do it right. I don't want to rush into it. So right now, we're just trying to take our time to make sure it's heading in the right direction. I think that's more important than trying to rush through it and pump up something that no one likes.”
Meet Marvel’s New Ghost Rider, Gabriel Luna
Ghost Rider is coming to the small screen on Marvel's Agents of SHIELD. ABC and Marvel announced at San Diego Comic-Con that True Detective's Gabriel Luna will be playing Robbie Reyes, and he made his press debut at a Marvel press mixer at the 2016 summer TV Critics Association press tour.
When talking about Luna, who's begun filming Season 4, Marvel TV head Jeph Loeb refers to him as "the new member of our family." "He's just so awesome," Loeb gushed. Luna's enthusiasm for the part of Robbie is contagious; he's as quick to talk about his love of cars as he is to run down his favorite Ghost Rider arcs from the comics. We had a chance to talk with both him and Loeb about why it made sense for Ghost Rider to cross paths with the agents of SHIELD.
This Week on PSN: No Man’s Sky
Every week, Sony drops a bunch of new stuff onto the PlayStation Network. Those with a PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3 or PlayStation Vita can download these goodies, which include PSN games, movies, themes and more. Take a look at this week's highlights below!
NEW GAME RELEASES
Aquaman is the the Wolverine of the DC Movies Says Director
James Wan was at the Television Critics Association press tour this week to discuss CBS' MacGyver series, which he directed the pilot for. I sat down with Wan to talk about his new take on that classic '80s series (I’ll have more from our conversation on MacGyver soon), but we also chatted about his next project – the DC Extended Universe movie Aquaman, starring Jason Momoa.
The director of Saw, Insidious 1 and 2, The Conjuring 1 and 2, and Furious 7 chatted about his approach to the character, conveying speech underwater, what Aquaman comic book writer influenced his movie version, and more – and why he feels Aquaman is the Wolverine of the Justice League/DCEU.
IGN: With Aqauman, we’re going to meet him in Justice League first. Did you discuss how he'd be defined there, before moving into your movie?
Aquaman Star Jason Momoa Up for The Crow Reboot
Game of Thrones and Aquaman star Jason Momoa is reportedly circling the lead role in the upcoming reboot of the 1994 film The Crow, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Boardwalk Empire's Jack Huston was originally set for the film's starring role last year, but he dropped out to a scheduling conflict last year. Production then reportedly halted on the film later in 2015 as a result of production company Relativity Media's bankruptcy filing.
Gotham: Proto Harley Quinn Is Tied to Joker Cult
I spoke with Gotham executive producers John Stephens and Ken Woodruff and cast members Camren Bicondova (Selina Kyle) and Maggie Geha (the new Poison Ivy) this week at FOX's Television Critics Association after party about Season 3's inclusion of a proto Harley Quinn.
While Stephens was a bit more cautious in what he had to say about the character -- stressing that she would not appear until later in the season -- his colleague Woodruff suggested Harley may have already appeared on the show.
"You may have already seen Harley as a person that you thought you had met and known for a long time. So we always reserve the right to sort of do that as well," said Woodruff. To which Bicondova, who was standing beside Woodruff, reacted with a genuinely surprised, "Ummm, I didn’t know that!"
The Force Awakens 3D Collector’s Edition Coming Soon
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is getting a 3D collector's edition Blu-ray set this Fall.
According to the official Star Wars website, the exclusive four disc set will not come out in all territories simultaneously.
Here's the rundown of the different regions:
- Australia – Nov. 9
- Brazil – Nov. 16
- Germany – Nov. 24
- Holland – Oct. 31
- Italy – Nov. 2
- Spain – Nov. 2
- Sweden – Oct. 31
- US and Canada – Nov. 15
Carrie Anne-Moss Discusses Her Marvel’s Iron Fist Experience
Expect to see Carrie Anne Moss a lot in Marvel's Netflix shows. Her character, the lawyer Jeri Hogarth, made her debut in Jessica Jones, but since then she's appeared in Daredevil: Season 2 and will have a role in the upcoming Iron Fist. In many ways, she's becoming the Nick Fury of Marvel's Netflix cinematic universe, proving to be a familiar connective tissue as the four standalone shows slowly come together for The Defenders.
"It's exciting. The possibility's exciting. You hope you don't just come in and have nothing to do," Moss told IGN of her roles across several of the shows. "You want to come in and have something powerful. For Jessica Jones, that's where I get to have that experience. With the other shows, I'm having fun. I did something on Iron Fist and I was excited that it was something to do. I want to feel creative when I'm working. I don't want to just work for the sake of working. I'd love to be in all the shows."