Assassin’s Creed 4: Two Trailers and Gameplay Footage

June 13, 2013 Amanda Broyles Leave a comment

I don’t know why I continue to play Assassin’s Creed games. I really don’t. They are basically the same game with just different people and settings each time and yet for some reason when a new one is announced I get all a’tingle with excitement. This newest incarnation, Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag, is no different. During their E3 press conference, Ubisoft gave us a good look at the new game, which has moved on to the islands.

There are few things I love more than tall ships and the open sea. Add in pirates and the trademark “prettiness” that makes a player want to go find all those viewpoints in game, there’s no doubt I won’t be heading to my local game retailer in October to pick this one up.

Also released was a “Horizon Trailer” and it does a whole lot more to show the pretty.

But what if the scenery and cinematics aren’t what drive you to buy a game? Well don’t fear, Ubisoft will happily convince you to impart with your money as well as they released a gameplay trailer at the same time.

Are you one of those people that just needs more, more, more? Then you’ve come to the right place because there is more and more when it comes to videos for this game.

I told you there was a lot. Frankly maybe we don’t need to buy the game anymore, just sit and watch all these trailers and such and pretend we are playing. Oh who am I kidding? That $60 is already burning a hole in my pocket. I would go out and preorder it right now if only I could find a place to preorder it from. Oh wait!

Unfortunately, right now the only thing that shows up when you click any of the retailers is Gamestop’s “Black Island Pack” which includes the Deadly Black Ship, legendary silver flintlock pistols used by Captain Morgan, and then Captain Morgan’s costume, picture, and title. As intriguing as that is, I’d like to see the other bonuses before I make a decision. I’m particularly interested in Target’s “Trove of Mystery Pack”. Hopefully Ubisoft will fix that glitch here soon because…

Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag will be released on October 29th, 2013. Happy pillaging!

Uncategorized

Webcomic Wednesday A-Z: Lucky Ducky

June 12, 2013 J. Nisen Leave a comment

Webcomic Wednesday finds us feeling divided on the issues of the day. We turn to the Web to distract us — or inform us — with satire and amusing cartooning.

During a several-week period when Uncle Sam has revealed itself to be delving into some nasty business (two IRS scandals, the NSA spying stuff, etc.), we submit that the time is right for some biting socio-political satire. And since we’re on letter “L,” this means we have to cheat (just a little) and recommend Lucky Ducky — which is not exactly its own comic, but a recurring comic under the vaster heading of Tom the Dancing Bug, the wonderful full-pager by Ruben Bolling, hosted online by Boing Boing. (We did tease this last week in the intro; check it out, it’s true.)

Continue reading Webcomic Wednesday A-Z: Lucky Ducky →

Universal Studios to Open ‘The Simpsons’ Area with Working Moe’s Tavern!

June 12, 2013 Adam Parker-Edmondston Leave a comment

Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida just got even more amazing with the inclusion of a new Simpson area. Moe’s Tavern opened on June the 1^st and is a working pub where you can purchase your very own Flaming Moe’s. Not only that you can buy a Krusty Burger, Cletus Chicken and pizza from Luigi’s pizza all from The Simpsons Fast Food Blvd.

This is just the first part of numerous Simpson related rides and attractions, a few of which we have images of here. For more information as it arrives check out the Universal Orlando website to see how the expansion is going. Here is the concept art for the theme park.

The estimated opening for all the areas is June 2014 so if you are a Simpsons fan and you have the money then set this date in your diary. Some of the more cynical readers will no doubt think this is just a not-so-subtle ploy to sell more Simpsons tat (and for the most part they would be right)[Note – tat: British English informal, things that are cheap and badly made], but the detail on everything looks so incredible that most Simpsons fans will be off like a rocket to see all that Universal has to offer. Heck, I am saving up right now and I live in the UK so I am guessing come June next year this place will be heaving with fans from far and wide. To keep you going until opening, here is a gallery of the up and coming attractions so you can see how great it looks. As you can see no expense has been spared in bringing Springfield to life.

The Simpsons Universal Studios — Moe’s Tavern

The Simpsons Fast Food Blvd at Universal Studios Florida — Krusty Burger

The Simpson Universal Studios — Krusty Burger

Universal Studios Florida The Simpsons — The Simpsons Ride Krustyland

The Simpsons Ride at Universal Studios Florida — Krustyland map

The Simpson

Movie Trailers

“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” Teaser Trailer Has Arrived!

June 12, 2013 Stephen Sanchez Leave a comment

Finally the teaser trailer for The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug is out! Set to run before Man of Steel in theaters this week, the next chapter of the Hobbit trilogy is available now online. The story continues as the company of Thorin Oakenshield continues their quest to reclaim their homeland of Erabor from the menace of Smaug the dragon. Along the way the company will encounter not only the wood elves who Thorin believes betrayed him during the fall of Erabor but the men of Laketown as well as they near the Lonely Mountain. And lets not forget the pale Orc Azog is still hot on their trail. Check out all of the action in the trailer below

Lots of exciting stuff going on, whether it’s from the book itself or added in for the movie. The movie looks just as gorgeous and eye popping as the first one, which also featured a good amount added to the film. We get to see more Elves, including Evangeline Lilly as Tauriel and the return of everyone’s favorite pointy-eared archer, Legolas! There’s also a quick glimpse of Luke Evans as Bard the Bowman and more of Bilbo and company, but honestly, let’s get to the elephant in the room… or dragon, as it were.

smaug-from-the-hobbit-desolation-of-smaug — “I… Am…. Kahn! Err… Smaug!”

Smaug the Terrible doesn’t look very terrible, visually. He actually looks breathtakingly awesome in the last seconds of the trailer as he finds our lead Hobbit in his treasure horde. I was surprised they show Smaug in his full glory onscreen instead of saving it as a surprise for when the movie is released. At this point the extra bonus will be hearing Smaug speak in the voice of actor Benedict Cumberbatch. I doubt they really could have hired a better actor for the role of the ancient and angry dragon. Cumberbatch has a very baritone and intimidating voice more than equipped for the likes of Smaug. Did you hear this guy in Star Trek: Into Darkness? I’ll walk over your cold corpses?! Can’t wait till December!

What did everyone think of the trailer, and Smaug in particular? Sound off in the comments section below!

GAMING

Arkham Origins: First Gameplay Trailer and the Return of The Joker…

June 11, 2013 Stephen Sanchez Leave a comment

We have yet another Arkham Origins trailer, except this time we get to see some actual gameplay. I’m of the mind that if ain’t broke, don’t fix it, and in the case of Arkham Origins the combat and other gameplay look to be about the same with only a few changes. As mentioned before Batman will be utilizing the Bat computer on the go to holographically reconstruct crime scenes. It looks pretty nifty, can’t wait to give it a go. But enough out of me check out the trailer:

I loved the trailer and the look of Arkham Origins so far. It’s so far confirmed that Bane, Deadshot and Deathstroke are in the game as assassins but no others have been confirmed. They definitely showcased the Joker in the trailer and he looked awesome as usual. He only had one line and a laugh in the trailer, but I thought it was decent. Obviously Mark Hamil is a hard act to follow for any voice actor involving the Joker but I have high hopes for Troy Baker, who voiced both Two-Face and Robin in the last game. Likewise, Batman’s new voice (Roger Craig Smith) didn’t sound too bad either.

Baker and Smith have worked together before too, as they voiced Hawkeye and Captain America for the Avengers Assembled cartoon... — Baker and Smith have worked together before this as well. They voice Hawkeye and Captain America for the *Avengers Assemble* cartoon…

Only time will tell however as we wait until October 18th when the game is released. Unfortunately it’s not till October 25th for everyone outside of the United States.

So what’s everyone think finally seeing the gameplay action from the game? Any thoughts on the looks of Bane and the Joker or the new voices for the clown prince and Batman? Sound off below bat-fans!

GAMING

Square Enix to bring Kingdom Hearts back to Playstation

June 11, 2013 Amanda Broyles Leave a comment

Excuse me as I have the biggest fangirl moment you’ve seen in a while…

Kingdom Hearts

What could cause such a reaction? Well it’s only a game announced at Sony’s E3 press conference that has been a long time coming. “Oh. All this over a game?”, you might say and I’d be inclined to agree except I. Love. This. Game. What game? It’s none other than Disney’s Kingdom Hearts.

When the first Kingdom Hearts came out in 2002, I only picked it up because I’m a fan of Disney characters. I hadn’t really played much of the Final Fantasy series so that aspect of it meant nothing to me. However, within a couple of hours of gameplay, I was hooked. It’s not often I’ll play through a game more than once, and it is rare that I’ll do it more than twice. I have played through that first Kingdom Hearts game at least ten times. Then 2005 rolled around and Kingdom Hearts 2 came out. Back then I thought I’d waited an eternity for that second game. Little did I know that I’d be halfway to my grave before the third full game was announced. Sure there have been quite a few small games released, mostly for Nintendo handhelds, but they haven’t captured the greatness that is the full-blown console version.

Thankfully, it seems as if my wait is finally over…

That’s right, Kingdom Hearts 3 is finally going to be released! Not only that, but Square Enix is putting together the first few games of Kingdom Hearts and re-releasing them for the PS3 in September. NOT ONLY THAT but if you preorder you will get a limited edition artbook.

[quote]How about 24 pages of behind-the-scenes imagery like character renders, promotional artwork and concept artwork from various Disney worlds from previous KINGDOM HEARTS titles like the original KINGDOM HEARTS, KINGDOM HEARTS Re:Chain of Memories, and KINGDOM HEARTS 358/2 Days. — Square Enix[/quote]

I didn’t really need another reason to preorder, but I’m a sucker for behind the scenes stuff and my bookshelf is missing a Kingdom Hearts book.

So if you were looking for a reason to justify purchasing the Playstation4, you’ve got one now. Lest you all think I’m alone in my excitement for this new chapter of a great franchise, the moment people realized what they were actually showing a trailer for, Twitter was one excited Kingdom Hearts tweet after another. It seems there are quite a few of us who’ve been waiting patiently for this day!