Injustice: Gods Among Us TV Spot: Abbott & Costello Meet The DC Universe…

Or something like that. I’ve been following this game, but not those big celebrity filled trailers and weekly battle deals. I’d rather just dive into Injustice cold and play it at my leisure, unlocking characters and goodies as I go. Anyway, I think that Abbott & Costello idea above is the next flick Kevin Smith should consider doing, as he and Jason Mewes certainly aren’t getting any younger and it’s time they did something together that’s NOT another Jay & Silent Bob deal. Well, this ad was a fine enough (and funny) start, so I guess we’ll see what’s what soon enough (or later enough). As long as it’s not that Clerks flick his stuck in the 90’s fans want so much for him to make, it’ll probably be at least interesting to watch. That and hey, someone needs to keep Mewes off the streets – I hear he’s nothing but trouble like a bobcat dropped into a baby shower (er… ha, ha?)…

Lost Planet 3 Pre-Order Bonuses: Triple Threat, But You Can Only Choose ONE…

I’m not a fan at all of this pesky practice of slicing pre-order bonuses up to different goodies unless the content advertised shows up at some point for EVERY player who has ANY copy of the game in question and wants those goodies unlocked through playing normally. This isn’t Capcom’s “fault” entirely, as the big three shops here all want YOUR pre-order, so how better to do so than to tempt you into a three-way that’s impossible (hey, just like real life!). Ugh.

Well, hopefully Lost Planet 3 will sell well enough to warrant a Game of the Year edition so everyone who wants this DLC can get it. Of course, you can definitely complete the game without ANY of this content – it’s just a pain to see two versions (or three if you don’t use Steam, PSN or Xbox Live) of bonus gear that’s inaccessible unless one has a decent connection and the proper accounts set up.

And by the way, the game’s release date has dipped into August, as I just noticed way at the bottom of the press release Capcom sent along (eek). According to that last line, Lost Planet 3 arrives on August 27 in North America and August 30 in Europe for PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. That’s actually a good thing on this end, as it will give me more time to complete a few epics I’m playing or haven’t fired up just yet…

Something Old, Something New (Or, One GOOD Thing About Digital Games)…

torchlightWell, well, well. Digital games are good for something after all. I’d purchased an inexpensive boxed copy of Torchlight off eBay a few years back from an overseas seller and it actually arrived quickly and ran just fine. It wasn’t until after playing it for a week and coming across some text in another language that I had the thought it wasn’t a legal version (despite the official looking Microsoft hologram on the slipcase) and I wanted to support Runic Games and all their hard work. Shortly afterward, I ended up buying Torchlight again, this time directly from the Runic site. However, I wasn’t able to download it thanks to my crap home connection (the reason why I sought out a physical copy in the first place). Of course, after that, Encore put out a disc version in the US and yep, I bought one of those as well. Amusingly enough, I ended up gifting that one to a friend for his birthday as he wanted to play the game but also had a crap internet connection.

Yeah, I’m a nice guy when I want to be… Continue reading

Oblivion Trailer: Can We Just Send Tom Cruise Into Space Instead?

OK, here we go. I’m really not much of a fan of the guy these days, as his real-life issues with real people get in the way of me enjoying anything he’s done over the past few years. He’s been in some good to great films, yes… but all I think when I see any character he plays is of someone who thinks KNOWS he’s better than all of us who aren’t him and he’s got all the best ideas bottled up in his perfect little head and even thought he’ll bend your ear off yakking about them, Nyah, Nyah, you can’t be like him at all because he’s got the bestest destiny in the world (or out of this world). Bleh. I’d rather give myself an eyewash with century old absinthe in a dirty bottle than see this one, but for those of you who want to, go right on ahead. If you DO go, I have an idea: I say ALL the proceeds from this latest soon to be released TC love-fest should go to getting that man onto the next rocket to Mars one way and that’s that. Pack in a few of his deluded pals for company and toss in a film camera or two so we can see the messy results of an ego trip gone haywire. So, yeah – that’s an endorsement from me to check this out.

Just think of it as helping out a really good charity at the end of the day…

HBO’s Behind the Candelabra: Back To Camp Value For A Week In The Woods…

Faux Liberace I think there’s a conspiracy going on at HBO to make me laugh myself to death. And you, too. First we get Al Pacino as Phil Spector (not a terrible film if you care about the subject matter, but those wigs were too much) and now it’s Michael Douglas as Liberace and Matt Damn as his chauffeur and lover Scott Thorson. What, that book Scott wrote fell on some HBO exec’s head when he was cleaning out his closet and he had the bright idea to greenlight this potential train-dreck? Hey, even as a kid I knew Liberace was “different”, but seriously… who cares? Like Paul Lynde, Jim Nabors, Rip Taylor and other gay celebrities I first saw on TV in the late 60’s and into the 70’s and onward, I didn’t see them as anything other than entertainers that seemed a bit more lively and fun to watch than other stars when they popped up on TV. “Circle gets the Square!”, indeed. Meh, Bugs Bunny did the best Liberace impersonation, anyway:

Anyway, this one should be a doozy to catch at least once provided Douglas isn’t so much of an egomaniac that we need to see his bare ass again in a movie (Basic Instinct flashback starts up… Yaaah!). If that happens, I’m also going to have a Saturn 3 flashback (if you want to see Mike’s dad, Kirk Douglas’ ass in a REALLY bad flick, go track that bomb down). Well, as with that Spector flick, it might be good when all is said and done, but you have to wonder who the audience is for this one (other than “reality” TV obsessed fanatics of any gender and pretend vampires looking for dated fashion tips, ha ha)…

Movies You Didn’t Know You “Needed” A Sequel To (1): Pineapple Express 2

OK, I liked the first one because it was insanely silly and serious in that weird way (sort of like the love child of Scorcese, Apatow and Hal Ashby), but a sequel? Really? Yeesh. Granted, this trailer did make me laugh a little bit, but I’m also getting a Hangover from these serio-comedies that some studios keep feeling the need to give new installments. Sometimes, meeting a certain type of person ONCE in a lifetime is more than enough, I say. Hell, at this rate that In Bruges sequel should be rolling up at a theater near you in oh, about six months or so. By the way, that’s a big in-joke considering how that film ended. Go check it out if you haven’t – it’s absolutely NOT for all tastes, but it’s pretty damned hilarious if you’re an adult with a decent sense of humor who knows every movie isn’t a mirror to actual events…

Hey Microsoft? Always ON Is A Huge Turn OFF For Many (You’ll See)…

RROFSo, last week was verrrry interesting for at least a few people at Microsoft as they had to fight off the wrath of some (well, more than some) on the Internet who went quite ballistic after some Twitter posting from Microsoft Studios’ creative director about their upcoming console requiring an always online connection even for single player retail games. Naturally, to the millions of Xbox 360 owners without a decent online connection as well as those with decent connections who know what a terrible idea this is, some opinions of this potential plan were pretty vocal about their dislike for such a foolish forced deal. It didn’t help one bit that that this smug fool proceeded to tell people they should more or less stop whining and “deal with it” because EVERYONE is always online and we all have connected devices up the wazoo, right?

WRONG. Things got so bad that another more respected spokesperson had to drop in and post an official statement that the views of the other guy weren’t the companies at all… but then there was NO confirming or denying the rumor anywhere in that statement. Which makes me and a lot of others say “Ruh-Roh!” about the whole mess… Continue reading

Kick-Ass 2 Trailer: Alternate Reality Check, Please…

Well, I guess a world full of Iron Man suits zipping around is whole hell of a lot better thing to imagine than one where every super-powered wannabee was completely and unflinchingly NUTS, right? Imagine the “crimes” being dealt with by costumed crazies that thought the smallest offense was punishable by a beat-down or worse? Well, that’s been done a few times in comics, books and films, so I won’t cover that ground again. That said, Kick-Ass 2 looks like it’ll be a winner, provided the culture here isn’t too turned off by the ultra-violence. Fat chance on that, by the way, as we seem to LOVE being outraged by mass media more than actual violence in some cases. “This town NEEDS an enema!” Indeed. From the brain down, folks…

The Purge Trailer: Hmmm… There’s A Joke in There Somewhere…


 

Joke, what joke? Oh, something about how binging on too many horror flicks can lead to tossing one’s cookies afterwards. And NOT because they’re particularly scary horror flicks, mind you. I’m actually not a big fan of these home invasion sub-genre nasties because they tend to be more mean-spirited than actually scary. Anyway, I guess a little star power and solid acting can help any project, but the premise here (and in the rest of this sub-genre) is usually more disturbing than freaky because we already have criminals who act like this running around in some places. Hmmm… I guess that IS scary to most folks at the end of the day. Lock your doors! Cloooooose your windows! Put a bear trap out as a welcome mat! And that’s so you don’t LEAVE your house to go see this one (har, har)…

R.I.P., Lucasarts (Earn It, Mittens. EARN IT).


 

If I were a REALLY cranky and cynical bastard, I’d say Disney REALLY killed off Lucasarts (and pretty much anything Star Wars related in the game space forever) so cheaper to make casual games like Mittens could live. Sacrifice that expensive cash-draining bigger studio and two solid-looking works in progress along with that formerly proud sci-fi IP (that still has a gigantic fan base, mind you) that’s had a bunch of not-so-hot games mixed in with a few winners over the years for this cute kitten and a ton of other faster to cash in mobile and social titles? Sure, why not? Any non-gaming industry analyst worth his salt (and a few who do, I’d bet) will say it makes PERFECT economic sense at the end of the day (albeit at the cost of too many jobs at a newly shuttered studio)…

Hey, all is not lost, right? Disney still has some of its own famous (and new original) properties that are SURELY guaranteed a huge audience based on that company name recognition alone? And hey, NO one will miss Lucasarts save for a “vocal minority” (as we get called by the executive types who trumpet these casual games and their monetizing schemes over “risky” IP with a shaky track record).

Yeah, sure… that’s the ticket…

Fortunately, I’m NOT that guy… I think. So long Lucasarts. Hopefully, the Force will be with those now unemployed.