Killzone: Shadow Fall Update: Guerrilla’s in the Midst (and Not Monkeying Around)…

Posted on June 2, 2013 by geelw

Well, it sure looks like Killzone: Shadow Fall is going to be another marquee title for Sony’s new console and as you can see here, the guys and gals at Guerrilla Games are making sure series fans get their money’s worth and then some. What’s really impressive here is despite being yet another shooter in a very well-packed genre full of them, if you follow the game from its first chapter on the PS2, you can see the developer maturing as they lay down the series’ trajectory as the focus shifts from one side to another. Win or lose, war is indeed hell for both sides at the end of the day…

Pacific Rim “Oversized Robot Sets” Trailer: Those Three Little Words…

Posted on May 31, 2013 by geelw

Wait…What? You mean they didn’t build ACTUAL working robots for Pacific Rim? Man, whadda gyp!! Well, not really, but given that the animation is done with no motion capture at all, these big metal behemoths have weight to them when they move and don’t look like a stuntman going through his paces (and too fluidly, at that). Hey, imagine the action figures for this flick and how HUGE they’re going to be? How huge you ask? Well, silly… what’s the title of that video again? Yeah, that’s right – OVERSIZED ROBOT SETS. I’ll take a dozen, thank you much. And just what do you get the man who has everything? A bigger closet!

Castle of Illusion Behind the Scenes: Disney & Sega Stir Up That Nostalgic Stew Just Fine…

Posted on May 30, 2013 by geelw

Between this remake of the Sega Genesis classic and Capcom’s spectacularly remastered DuckTales coming to gamers, I’m almost ready to forgive Disney for it’s transgressions regarding killing off Lucasarts (although it remains to be seen if their new track for future Star Wars games and content will be as successful as they’re thinking and wanting it to be under new development hands). They have the game’s original director aboard as an adviser, the in-progress work looks gorgeous and if this one is as fun and challenging as the original, there’s going to be a new legion of gamers playing this. Er… as well as an older generation hogging that console for too long and getting dirty looks from the wee ones who might want to play what dad and or mom is waxing nostalgic over.

Say… If you’re one of those aging hipsters, just break down and buy your own console already, I say. You can let your kids have fun without pretending to show them those classics and somehow never letting them actually PLAY the games…

Random Film of the Day*: The Three Worlds of Gulliver

Posted on May 27, 2013 by geelw

*For the next few days, I’m going to add a random film the great Ray Harryhausen worked on. The legendary special effects MASTER passed away on May 7, 2013 at age 92 in London and yes, the film world has lost a true giant as well as a fine and talented gentleman…

OK, I don’t “hate” The Three Worlds of Gulliver at all, but as a kid, it did take me four attempts to sit through this classic family film without falling asleep. Sure, Ray Harryhausen’s “Superdynamation” effects and that lovely Bernard Herrmann soundtrack make this another perfect one-two punch for movie fans, but something about this flick has always rubbed me the wrong way.

It’s probably a combination of a few things from the silly refrigerator magnet names Johnathan Swift came up with being too nonsensical even for a kid to wrap a brain cell around (Brobdingnag? Glumdalclitch?), some languid pacing and seeing too much of Kerwin Matthews’ over-sized head (even when he’s normal-sized, his melon is a moon on his neck). Or it’s probably because Ray’s work here is “limited” in terms of the amount of stop motion effects (but you do get some great matte shots). The other technical work is fine, mind you – it’s just that compared to his more popular fantasy films, this one seems somewhat tame…
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Pacific Rim “Drift Space” Featurette: “Can I Have A Giant Robot Too, Ma?”

Posted on May 22, 2013 by geelw

You know, if we DID have big ol’ clanky fight-bots stomping around like in Pacific Rim, you know you’d see far too many kids dolling themselves up with cardboard boxes, paint and tinfoil so they could look like their favorite heavy metal heroes. Of course, these days, it’s a bunch of middle-aged men and aging hipsters with access to 3D printers and far too much time on their hands trying to relive those Gigantor fantasies. Of course, Guillermo Del Toro gets a major pass because he can afford to build a real robot if he wanted to.. or at least have a CG effects team make it LOOK as if he’s kicking station wagons around in that mall parking lot making room so he can pick up a quart of organic goat milk. Yeah, I laugh at them (and quite a lot)… but that’s because I’m just too darn busy to make my own big cardboard robot suit. One day… one day…

Game of Thrones Could Use a Little More Chuck Barris, I Say…

Posted on May 20, 2013 by geelw

Around an hour or so after last night’s episode, I had a really good laugh when out of the blue, I thought up a weird hybrid of GoT and that great old Chuck Barris game show (and one of the beginnings of what became modern “reality” TV, The Newlywed Game. Given the marriage fever going around this season, I think it would be hilarious to see all the couples (and potential couples) pop up in a video that pokes fun at both shows for what they’ve brought to pop culture. Of course, the chances of this happening are slim to none unless someone animates it or does some other cleverly creative interpretation (break out that old Renaissance Fair costume from the mothballs and do some quick refitting!). But I’ll leave that to those of you who have time and money to play around with.

As for questions on that fake game show, well… geez, there are PLENTY you can think up if you’re a GoT fan or know the Newlywed Game inside and out. So get on it and get back to me at some point. Hey, if you become world famous because I’ve inspired you, I only take 6% of the profits (it’s in that contract you signed the other week at the bar)…

What’s The State of Dead State? Funny You Should Ask…

Posted on May 15, 2013 by geelw

Hot of the presses (well, not really, but it’s from today!) comes this neat interview with members of DoubleBear Productions, the dev team behind the upcoming indie zombie-themed RPG, Dead State. It’s pretty cool to see the game coming together despite the team being in separate locations. I like how the game is shaping up so far as a more serious exploration of the survival theme as opposed to a simple mindless shooter (we’ve enough of those to last a few lifetimes) or comedy-packed take on its theme. Of course, I’m holding out for some hands-on time, so my eyeball is fixed on the progress this makes as it winds its way towards completion…

Deus Ex: Human Revolution – Director’s Cut: The Wii U Gets Another One Worth (Re)Playing…

Posted on May 14, 2013 by geelw

If you’ve not yet given Eidos Montreal’s award-winning and critically acclaimed 2011 game a go on the PS3, Xbox 360 or PC because you’ve only owned a Nintendo console, here’s your big chance coming up soon. The cool thing is this version adds some great Wii U Game Pad functionality plus new features and content not found in the three earlier versions, so once again it can be said that Wii U owners are getting the most complete and yes, best version possible (outside high-end PC visuals, but what’s here looks great to my eyeballs). Deus Ex: Human Revolution – Director’s Cut will be in stores later this year.

Now I need to find time to (re)PLAY this one at some point down the road…

Game of Thrones 3:7 Recap/3: Preview: Grim And Bear It…

Posted on May 13, 2013 by geelw

Well, now… episode 7 was certainly interesting and packed to the rafters with too much going on all over the place. At least it was a lot more clear that the last episode in settling a few things (temporarily) while also adding more questions into the mix. That bear fight had me cracking up, though – I guess the only way to get rid of one of the strongest female characters this season is to take her out of her armor, put her into a dress and drop her into a pit with a wooden sword to fight a really big and really pissed off ursine.

Well, it’s a good thing that didn’t quite work out, but those claw marks looked pretty nasty (and remember, at least one major character did drop dead as the results of wounds received during battle). Eh, let’s not get too ahead of ourselves here – only three more episodes to go and the questions I need answers to haven’t even been touched on (gah!)…

I should be a little worried by now, but I’m not at all because I know those last three shows will knock me around the room with a few revelations and probably a bunch of demises I wasn’t expecting to see (or not see)…

Random Film of the Day*: The Valley of Gwangi

Posted on May 12, 2013 by geelw

*For the next week or so, I’m going to add a random film the great Ray Harryhausen worked on. The legendary special effects MASTER passed away on May 7, 2013 at age 92 in London and yes, the film world owes him more than they can ever repay…

Gwangi 1969’s The Valley of Gwangi is a bit of a bittersweet classic for many fans of Harryhausen’s work. By this time, stop motion animated fantasy films weren’t drawing the audiences they did ten years earlier, so this film didn’t get the promotion it deserved. It wasn’t the first cowboy meets dinosaur flick at all – that honor goes to 1956’s The Beast of Hollow Mountain, produced by Harryhausen’s mentor, Willis O’Brien.

While that older film’s effects weren’t done by O’Brien (and despite a few cool scenes, it showed), Harryhausen’s vision for the project (which O’Brien had wanted to do for decades) links the two masters together thanks to some incredible animation that ended up being the final dinosaur film he worked on in his career…
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