Hey Sony! You’re Missing a HUGE Opportunity With Wonderbook…

Here’s the second developer diary from SCEE about Wonderbook, but let’s forget about that for a minute. Four little words, Sony, just four little words:

Fifty Shades of Grey.

Grab the rights to this NOW. I’m just saying… that stupid book and its two sequels have sold in the millions and you have an untapped (pun not intended) source of potential female PS3 owners (that thinner cuter model you just introduced, y’know) who’d LOVE to have an interactive version of the book they can surprise their significant (or insignificant) others (or other selves) with. Sure, the kid books will do OK, but get a dev team to whip out (no pun intended) a version of the first book with some nice PS Move bells and whistles, get it in a limited edition package with a coupon from Trojan Vibrations and BOOM – watch the money rollllllllllllll in.

I’m just saying – tap that market fast before the movie hits and the fad wears out. No charge for this idea – you can thank me later.

Sega Model 2 Collection: Virtua Everything (Now, Let’s Get This Stateside!)

Hmmm… looks like Sega is finally going to unleash more of its arcade history on gamers soon (well, in Japan, at least). Hopefully, Sega of America and Sega of Europe are on the case in getting these out over PSN and XBLA. Personally, I’d prefer to see these all pop up on a single disc so I don’t have to worry about any online issues and heck, these NEED to be Vita and Wiiware bound at some point just because gamers who haven’t heard of these hits should absolutely be playing them. I’m betting Sega Rally is coming up next, as are some other Model 2 games not in this initial batch… it’s going to be fun seeing these roll out, that’s for sure…

Random Film of the Week: Race With the Devil

 

race with the devilAmazingly enough, other than an announcement back in 2005 that seems to have never happened, no one has thought of remaking this rather cool 1975 horror flick that had some really interesting casting and a few genuinely scary bits.

Two couples on a road trip through Texas in their new RV accidentally come across a coven of devil worshipers performing a human sacrifice. They’re seen, but manage to escape with some effort, making their way to a small town where they let the local lawman in on what they’ve seen. Of course, the shady sheriff turns out to be one of the satanists (eek!), and the four end up high-tailing it away, but not before swiping some evidence to present to the police in a larger, more populated city.

This leads to a much longer and more action-packed chase (that camper sure takes a beating here) that may have influenced Mad Max series director George Miller to some extent (at least, to my pointy head). Anyway, I won’t spoil the ending at all here, but let’s just say it’s a nice jolt and in a way, fitting. At a brisk 88 minutes, the solid direction, tight editing and nicely realistic performances from the leads (Peter Fonda, Warren Oates, Loretta Swit and Lara Parker) makes this a memorable popcorn flick, especially if teamed up with a similarly-themed flick such as Steven Speilberg’s influential TV movie, Duel (look for the longer European release for that one).

Need For Speed Most Wanted Live Action Trailer: Adrenaline Drive, Indeed…

Here’s yet another cool look at Criterion’s upcoming open-world racer, this time it’s a fun live action ad that’s kind of like Carfight as the OK Corral. Well, in an urban setting, of course. I love the editing here and how the focus is on a handful of the many types of licensed rides awaiting players in the final version. I played another nice chunk of this at EA’s Naughty or Nice event last week and it’s just as fun as the first time I picked up a controller. The mobile versions I got to try were equally spectacular, so keep an eyeball peeled for those if you’re looking for one of the best portable racers out there.

Halo 4 “Scanned” Trailer: Get Fincher on the Speed Dial!

Hmmm… perhaps David Fincher should have been tapped to direct that Halo movie? OK, he only produced this trailer, but still – it’s pretty impressive and actually makes me want to see something a bit longer form. Eh, whatever – the game will still sell millions of copies, great trailers or not. I’m wondering why Microsoft even bothers to spend all this scratch promoting a game that really doesn’t need all sorts of excesses spent on marketing. The hardcore fans will eat it up and spread the word, the pro reviewers who aren’t jaded and tired of Master Chief yet will go on and on about feature after feature that they approve of and overall, Microsoft will be sitting on more piles of cash. Hell, even if critics hate the game for some reason (and other than the stupid shoutcasting in multiplayer, it’s hard to see why, given that 343 has poured a ton of effort into what’s looking like the biggest Halo to date), it’ll still sell like hotcakes.

An Update Before the Actual Update (Because I’m Wiped Out)…

In the midst of my crazy week (and still some back pain) I spent the better part of today looking at and playing Trion Worlds’ upcoming games lineup and let’s just say that fans of MMO’s, RTS games, Third-person action shooters and co-op based FPS excitement will be needing to carve out some quality time for these four games. I’ll have impressions of them up over the weekend, but for now, I’ll say that Defiance is a game-changer and a LOT of you out there will probably be playing it because it’s non-stop amazing.

Back in a bit – I’m going to sleep now.

CARRIE: Hmmm… Well, It Better Be REALLY Good Is All I’ll Say…

The original Brian De Palma film is a true 70’s horror classic, but I guess everything gets a remake at some point. Hopefully this will be a LOT better than the truly terrible remake of De Palma’s SISTERS that keeps popping up on cable these days. That waste of time and talent made me want my almost two hours back plus tax. The good news for this one is the casting of the two leads. Julianne Moore is great in anything and young Chloe Grace Moretz is one of those stars who’s made a name for herself in a few cool flicks, so we shall see. That said, there’s something near perfect about the original that’s a grabber right from the start. OK, so the ending sequence is a bit lame (and like a bunch of De Palma’s horror films, the ending is a bit of a fake scare that works until you see too many of his films and know you’re getting suckered into one final fright), but overall, it still holds up for my money. Hopefully fear fans who’ve never seen it will do the right thing and track it down before this remake hits theaters in Spring 2013…

007 Legends Blasts Into Retail (Happy Anniversary, Mr. Bond!)

Activision’s and Eurocom’s latest Bond game looks like a real winner fans should take to for a fine dose of cinematic action and plenty of optional multiplayer thrills. I’m intrigued by how all these missions will tie together and how well Daniel Craig’s Bond does as a replacement for Connery, Moore, Lanzenby and Brosnan. Of course, Eurocom has already done a superb job with their GoldenEye reboot on the Wii, PS3 and 360, so it’s hard to see them mucking up this one. If I get a review copy, I’ll let you know what’s what…

Dead Space Liberation: Something To Read While You’re Too Scared To Play…

My hands-on impressions of Dead Space 3 are embargoed for a bit by EA, but they’re definitely not keeping quiet about this upcoming treat for fans who want even more lore. Liberation arrives on February 15, 2013 and yup, is a prequel to the events of the upcoming third installment in the series. The folks at Visceral certainly have a big story to tell and between the new game and this book, I can see a lot of you out there not sleeping much. For a few reasons…

Lost Planet 3 Extended Gameplay (Now With Developer Commentary!)

It’s probably a wee bit too late to change the name of this game, but perhaps Capcom should consider it because too many people out there seem to think the game erases everything that occurred in LP and LP2 when in fact, this is a PREQUEL that sets up events to come. Anyway, I’ll keep championing this game until it’s launched and beyond because from what I played, it’s Spark Unlimited at their best and it deserves a LOT more respect. Of course, some out there won’t be convinced, but I think the demo being at NYCC this year will convince some skeptics that the game is indeed quite amazing where it needs to be.