Comics Preview: King Conan: The Hour of the Dragon

Amusingly enough, I popped out of bed too early this morning and had the grand idea to grab a random game from the library and try to grab some test footage with my lousy camera just for fun and to post on my YouTube page. It just so happened to be Cauldron’s old CONAN game for the original Xbox:

Which is good for chuckle or two as well as a peek at some nice art. A few hours later, Dark Horse Comics shoots over the cover art and first few pages of King Conan: Hour of the Dragon for me to ogle and post, so here you go:

King Conan Cover

The first six pages are below the jump, so go check them out if you’re a fan of the character or just want to peek at the nice art.

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Random Film of the Week: FRENZY

FRENZY poster While the middle to late 1960’s weren’t too good for Alfred Hitchcock’s film output, his fantastic 1972 thriller, FRENZY saw the director return to fine form with a chilling blend of murder, “wrong man” plot, police procedural (of sorts) and black comedy. Between the solid casting of mostly imperfect-looking British actors, actual London locations blended perfectly with studio sets, a bit of nudity and one very unsettling (and lengthy) assault/murder scene that’s shocking but necessary to drive the plot, this is one of those films where you can feel the director’s complete confidence in himself, his cast and crew.

Right from the opening notes of Ron Goodwin’s somewhat regal (and intentionally pompous, I’ve always thought) main theme, the film doesn’t skip a beat before delivering its first corpse, a nude woman who washes up during a politician’s waterside speech about cleaning up the Thames River. Keep an eyeball peeled for Hitch’s requisite cameo and get your smile in, as things are going to get darker in Merry Olde London soon enough…
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Man of Steel TV Spot #2: More Half Minute Heroics To Make The Skeptics Fly…

That wasn’t a sonic boom you just heard, folks. It was all those skeptics leaping out the nearest window not because they lost that bet Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel wasn’t going to look like a REALLY awesome flick, but because they got so caught up in the flying bits that they grabbed the nearest sheet or bath towel and went for a short trip outside followed by a longer one to the nearest emergency room. It’s a good thing most of them were jumping from the basement window where they usually hole up with their message board denizen ways. Well, just be nice to them when this one arrives in theaters – they’ll be the ones on crutches or with an arm or two in a sling (or slings) from that sudden fall from their usual gracelessness.

Remember Me “Memory” Trailer: As If We’ll Forget You, Nilin? Not A Chance…

Capcom and developer Dontnod Games really have a unique one coming soon in Remember Me, so I’m hoping that this one gets a “shut up and play it!” treatment from those journalist types who seem to be hung up on the game for having a female character and being an all-new IP in a sequel-packed world. I’m definitely going to enjoy this one completely, as I happen to love it when I see a new developer doing something fresh and intriguing by creating a new game that looks as if it’ll be copied down the road by others once it succeeds. June 4, 2013 is when Nilin is let loose on the world – try to keep up with her and I’m betting you’ll be behind her all the way…

FUSE Villain Trailer: “Here Comes The Big Boss… Let’s Get It On!”

Insomniac’s been getting a bit of grief from some gamers about FUSE, but as this trailer shows, the developer still has it where it counts when it comes to cooking up some memorable action scenes and plenty of well-rendered destruction. Yeah, yeah – it’s not cartoony, and yeah, yeah, you can say it looks like some other shooters on the market all day long, but it’s when you PLAY this one that you see where it’s not quite what you’re expecting. Anyway, that May 28 release date is coming sooner than you think, so I hope you’re prepared for a little hardcore excitement (er, NO… not THAT kind, silly). Or at least a big sackful of black pepper to throw in the face of that ridiculously-sized boss that pops up in the game. That should be an interesting battle for solo players, I’d say…

Resident Evil Revelations “Horror” Trailer: Just So You Know What’s Ahead…

Of course, you’d figure with all these unsettling warnings being found in all these Resident Evil games, the less intrepid special agent or neophyte zombie hunters out there would want to turn right on around and go home to catch up on those TV shows they’ve been missing out on, but nope. Usually, it’s a “one way in, one way out” situation where they’d better suck it up and press forwards, as there’s usually something large that’s going to be nipping at their heels soon enough. Well, substitute “whole body” for heels and yeah, you get the idea. I say wear some comfortable running shoes and do a bit of stretching before setting out to take down those monsters. There’s nothing worse (or more embarrassing) than pulling a hammy when you’re running away from something that’s slow moving but has a hell of a lot more teeth than you do. Resident Evil Revelations is headed for the PC, PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii U on May 21, 2013 – “Be there, Aloha!”

Defiance 1:4 “A Well Respected Man” Teaser: Adrenaline Junkies Need Apply…

Ah, the drug episode. I figured the writers would need to get that out of the way at some point. Amusingly enough, it’s an idea that I think they lifted lightly from the awful sci-fi action flick I COME IN PEACE, so I’m hoping to see a better job done as well as a reference that makes me crack up. Well, no CD’s cutting off heads, as that would be TOO obvious. Anyway, onward! So far, I’m liking this first season of Defiance and its little surprises, so my Mondays are now temporarily a tiny bit less dull. That’s a bit of an in-joke, as they’re always busy, but it’s good to have something to watch while working. of course, if I’m trying to write while watching a show I like, I only end up getting anything done if that show has commercials (oops). Well, I’d never thought I’d say “thank goodness foe syfy!”, but there you go… and that’s probably the ONLY time you’ll hear that from me. Well, given that we’re NOT actually having this conversation, you DIDN’T hear it from me at all…

Call of Duty: Ghosts Teaser: For A Minute There, I Was Expecting A Trip Back In Time…

Another year of life in the 21st century means a new Call of Duty game rolling up onto store shelves and digital shops soon (and raking in a nice chunk of change for Activision), but for a hot and exciting few seconds there I ALMOST thought this one was going to be set in the past with all sorts of weapons swinging and throwing warriors throughout history. Welp (as the kids say), no such luck (this time)… but the super hardcore CoD fans will all be gleefully dancing in the streets and dodging bullets with blood in their eye soon enough. I may pass on this one, as I’m FPS’ed out lately, but I think I’ll hold out for Call of Duty: Caveman just so I can see where all this war stuff got started in the first place…

More Iron Man 3 Commercials Than You Can Shake A Stick At? Sure, Why Not?

Yeah, yeah – I’ve been a bit behind in getting these TV spots up. You can blame too many games and not enough sleep for that. I blame The Mandarin because it’s a much better excuse at the end of the day (well, at least I think so). Hey, maybe you should try that out the next time you need to get out of trouble. I’ll bet you a penny that it works much better than you’d expect… Continue reading

Diggs Nightcrawler: A Family-Friendly Noir Detective Story? Innnnnteresting…

OK, I’m still a bit ticked off that Sony hasn’t gotten that Fifty Shades of Grey Wonderbook out just to reap in the millions they’d get while the iron on that saucy and unrealistic fantasy novel and its sequels is still hot (OK, it’s actually a running gag here I can’t pass up), but for those who want something a LOT less salcious, there’s Diggs Nightcrawler, a really cool looking film noir inspired tale for all ages. Well, all ages who happen to have parents who like noir and want to pass that onto the wee ones without having to make them sit through all those movies they love in a weekend marathon.

Hmmm… just imagine the mood your kid would be in on a Monday after three full days of black and white detective stories with sassy molls, hoods shooting heroes in the shoulder, a few bodies falling out of closets or into a bay somewhere and all sorts of red herrings popping up to confuse and amuse. Yeah, playing this game is probably a tiny bit better – you want to ease the kids into those classics, not toss them in head first and see if they swim back to the surface. The water’s dark down there, you know…