Monthly Archives: March 2017

Fire Emblem Echoes Limited Edition Bundle Announced

Nintendo revealed a limited edition bundle for Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia will be available at retailers when the game launches this May.

The limited edition bundle includes a copy of the game, Sound Selection soundtrack CD, a hardcover Valentia artbook, a pin set depicting characters Alm, Celica and Marth, and a reversible cover that resembles the packaging for the original FE Famicom game. Nintendo said it will be available for $59.99 USD at select retailers.

The limited edition bundle includes a copy of the game, Sound Selection CD, a hardcover artbook, a pin set, and a reversible cover that looks like the packaging for the original Famicom game. The limited edition bundle includes a copy of the game, Sound Selection CD, a hardcover artbook, a pin set, and a reversible cover that looks like the packaging for the original Famicom game.

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Marvel’s Secret Empire Grows in June

Marvel released their full lineup of solicitations for June 2017 today. The Secret Empire crossover will grow bigger that month, with several new tie-ins making heir debut. Also look for several major new additions to the Marvel lineup, including Darth Vader, The Spectacular Spider-Man and The Defenders.

New Series:

  • Darth Vader #1-2
  • The Defenders #1
  • Edge of Venom-Verse #1
  • Iceman #1-2
  • Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #1
  • Secret Empire: Brave New World #1-2
  • Secret Empire: Underground #1 (one-shot)
  • Secret Empire: United #1 (one-shot)
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EA Shot Down Ultima Online Pitch 3 Times

Electronic Arts needed a whole lot of convincing before Ultima creator Richard "Lord British" Garriott was given the green light to make Ultima Online.

On the latest episode of our interview show IGN Unfiltered, Garriott shared the story behind the creation of Ultima Online. He and his team wanted to make a multiplayer Ultima game—which they referred to internally as "Multima"—for quite some time, but waited until the market was ready for such a product.

When the internet started to take off, Garriott and Starr Long decided now was the time to finally pitch their "Multima" idea to EA. As part of the publisher's proposal process, Garriott said the project's lifetime sales estimate needed to justify the costs required to make the game, "but the way to determine that is with comparables," of which there were none at the time. The closest comparison they could find had 15,000 sales. So, taking into consideration the appeal of the Ultima brand, they doubled that to 30 thousand, which still wasn't nearly enough to green light the project.

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Guardians 2’s Ayesha Explained

Who’s Her? No, no, who is she? Right the first time actually, because Her happens to be her name! She has so many -- Her, Ayesha, Kismet, J’Ridia Starduster, Paragon, and of course, She Who Must Be Obeyed -- but whatever moniker she goes by, she’s the golden-skinned being that once planned a wedding with Adam Warlock. And now actress Elizabeth Debicki is playing Ayesha in the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2!

Of course, some details will be massaged for the Marvel Cinematic Universe version (that sounded dirty) of the character, so we’re here to catch you up on Her and her story as it happened in the original comics. First, we go back to that fateful year 1977, when another sci-fi epic was wowing audiences in theaters…

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Xbox One Adding Built-In Tournaments Feature Soon

Microsoft continues to modify the Xbox One experience, this time adding Arena, custom gamerpics and more.

Over on Xbox Wire, Microsoft announced that tournaments will roll out to Xbox Insiders this month. Unveiled at E3 2016, Arena will let Xbox One players participate in competitions through the Xbox One dash, with ESL already creating an event for World of Tanks.

Microsoft showcases the new arena feature on Xbox One. (Courtesy of Xbox Wire) Microsoft showcases the new Arena feature on Xbox One. (Courtesy of Xbox Wire)

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7 Things to Know about Andromeda If You’re a Mass Effect Newbie

If you’ve never played a Mass Effect game before, don't worry about it. You don’t need to know a shepherd from a Shepard or have an in-depth knowledge of the original trilogy to dive into Andromeda.

The choices made at the end of Mass Effect 3 have no bearing whatsoever on this new narrative. That’s because Andromeda's characters departed the Milky Way in 2185 (the same year that marked the start of Mass Effect 2) meaning it’s entirely possible that the entire fleet has zero knowledge of what happened to the original protagonist, Commander Shepard, or the fate of their home.

Hence Andromeda is essentially a soft reboot, taking place 636 years after the events of the original in a totally different galaxy: Andromeda, rather than the Milky Way.

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Shallows Director Rumored to Helm Suicide Squad 2

A new rumour suggests that Jaume Collet-Serra is in the mix to helm Suicide Squad 2 if first pick director Mel Gibson passes.

The rumour comes from Entertainment Journalist Jeff Sneider during a recent appearance on Meet the Movie Press (via BatmanNews). "The name that I have heard, who could be in the mix, is Jaume Collet-Serra", said Sneider, who went on to explain that Collet-Serra is a home grown director for Warner Bros., having cut his teeth on Warner horrors House of Wax and Orphan (his most recent film was The Shallows, the Blake-Lively starring shark movie). "He delivers hit on a mid sized budget, he can make a lot out of a little," said Sneider.

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Australian Senator Attacks Censorship, Classification Board

Australian Liberal Democratic Party Senator David Leyonhjelm has criticised the Government and the Australian Classification Board in a speech delivered to the Senate yesterday.

The Senate crossbencher highlighted the recent case of Outlast II, which was refused classification late last week due to a rape sequence during one of the game’s cut-scenes.

“This video game takes place in a fantasy world involving all kinds of creatures both human and non-human,” said Leyonhjelm. “The mere suggestion of an out-of-screen encounter between a creature and a human character was enough to get it banned altogether by the Australian Classification Board.”

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Why Bernie Wrightson Was a Comic Book Legend

The comic book industry suffered a huge blow this past weekend with the tragic passing of Bernie Wrightson. Easily one of the most talented artists ever to work in the medium, Wrightson left behind a very impressive body of work spanning many decades.

Sadly, because Wrightson wasn't as active in recent years, not all comic readers may be aware of his talent and influence. To honor the late, legendary artist, we've put together a brief retrospective of his work, from Swamp Thing to Frankenstein to Batman.

Wrightson passed away this past weekend after a long battle with brain cancer. He'll be sorely missed, but we're grateful he left behind such a wide and impressive body of work.

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