Evolve: 2K Games and Turtle Rock Give The Multiplayer Shooter Genre A Monster Kick…

Who's Hunting WhoI’ll admit to not being thrilled when I heard of Evolve because, futuristic weapons and cast of four hunters aside it’s yet another multiplayer focused shooter I can’t play because it probably doesn’t have an offline mode. But after seeing a bit of gameplay and getting that it’s a four against one game with that one playing a hunted beast that can evolve into a massive near-kaiju style beast, my interest went up a bit. Now, the ability to play as a monster isn’t a “new” thing in games at all, but developer Turtle Rock Studios is making this the core of the gameplay which requires the four players going after that monster to work together in order to take the player-controlled beastie down as quickly as possible.

 
Given Turtle Rock’s pioneering work on the Left 4 Dead games, it’s a no brainer that the team would take what they learned from that experience and up the ante considerably. Granted, the AI on that monster isn’t Director controlled and random, but I’m betting that creatures that the monster needs to feed on may be smart buggers who will hopefully spell trouble for the human hunters as they run and plan. I’m gathering that cutting off the food supply will keep that monster from noshing away and getting bigger, but I’ll probably need to ask that question at some point (among others) if and when I get some actual hands on time with this at a press event. Yeah, I may not play this at home, but I’ll certainly play it at a meeting and let you all know if it’s everything it’s cracked up to be. It sure looks like it shall be…

UNDER THE SKIN Trailer: Scarlett Goes Brunette (And Alien)…

 
Hmmm. I have a rabid dislike for trailers for films that haven’t been released that have blurbs in them, period. Sure, it’s a great way to hype up a project, but that comparison of this upcoming flick to Stanley Kubrick’s output made my eyebrow arch up and stick until I got a bad cramp. Granted, this long teaser to UNDER THE SKIN does look nice and cryptic (a good thing in this age of movies spilling plot beans all over the place in two minutes or so) and some of the imagery IS quite striking. So color me intrigued, Miss Johansson. Not sure I’m fond of that British accent she’s doing here, but it’s far from the worst I’ve heard.

But I have the feeling that until I actually see this at some point, it’ll just stay vague and haunting. I’ll probably hold out for the home video or cable showing, as if I can’t get into a screening I’d rather not sit in a theater with chumps of both sexes looking for a boob shot, their wives and/or girlfriends elbowing them in the head and that ONE person who decided to bring a child to a film not made for that age group. Yeah, it’s always something when you go to the movies these days…

Hail Caesar! Another Great Comedy Legend Passes On…

(Thanks, SidCaesarCom!) 
Do yourselves a favor, class. Hit up Google (or whatever search engine you use) and YouTube, type in Sid Caesar and prepare for an education. Without him and a bunch of other dearly departed funny people, you have no sketch comedy, no Saturday Night Live and quite a few other shows and folks making us all laugh to varying degrees. What few episodes of Your Show of Shows I’ve seen made it for me one of the funniest live sketch shows ever created, and while “tame” by today’s standards, the writing team (Mel Brooks, Neil Simon, Carl Reiner, Danny Simon, Mel Tolkin and Larry Gelbart among others) plus the cast managed to pull off some nicely subversive and just plain timeless routines.

(Thanks, shawmk!)  
I’m kind of bummed out a tiny bit because too many younger folks don’t know the man’s work and probably know less about how he and his team revolutionized on a few fronts, but that’s what the internet is for, I suppose. Anyway, here are three routines to start you on your trip. I’ll leave it to you to find more (and believe me, there are PLENTY of clips to go around from this show and others Sid did). Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to do a little research myself – I could use a good laugh today…

(Thanks, Fuzz Tone!)

Snow Daze II: Forewarned Is (Almost) Four-Armed…

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geelw's avatar

Today may be slow for updates, but we’ll see. I’m getting ready for this new snowstorm about to hit here tonight and into tomorrow, as the radio is telling me nothing good. On the other hand, we’ve had storms not make it through here full strength, so I have a grain or three of salt that came with that weather blast. On the OTHER hand, the last two snowfalls were nice and semi accurate to a fault, so I think tomorrow will be crappy for getting out and about. On the OTHER hand (yeah, I have an extra one here just for posts like this), I could just ignore the snow and tra-la-la about like it’s midsummer or something, but I think the men in white coats will come or me if I do that. Hell, if it’s warm where they’re taking me and I can get free medical attention, I’m running around outside naked tomorrow once I pop out of bed and get a cup of hot tea or coffee in me.

Or not. We shall see…