ADR1FT Floats Onto Steam – VR, Consoles to Follow

Posted on March 28, 2016 by geelw

“Here am I floating round my tin can. Far above the Moon. Planet Earth is blue. And there’s nothing I can do…”

While PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and VR-enabled PC and PS4 versions of threeonezero’s ADR1FT are still in the works, PC gamers with Steam accounts and rigs with decent specs can now purchase the game for $19.99. Even without the added virtual reality functionality 505 Games has a hit here that should go along way in convincing even the most ardent skeptic about the viability of VR for certain gaming and entertainment purposes.

Of course, getting past the new breed of hard-core internet skeptics who dub these sort of first-person experiences “walking simulators” (Bleh. There’s no “walking” here, as you play an astronaut stranded on a partially destroyed space station who needs to figure out what happened) will be the game’s biggest hurdle with the second issue for some being the estimated 4-6 hours it takes to complete the game. Length really isn’t something to whine about here as the game has enough elements to make it replayable as well as a conversation piece to show off for the outstanding Unreal 4-powered visuals.

And if you really want to show off something even more physical, you can boogie on over to iam8bit.com to check out their cool online shop and snag one of those cool ADR1FT Collector’s Edition boxes for $54.95. That price nets you two digital codes for the game (PC and Oculus Rift VR versions), one of two different 756 piece jigsaw puzzles, a nice embroidered HAN-1V patch and a pack of “tasty” astronaut ice cream, all in a big box for safekeeping (but probably not guaranteed to survive being sent into actual space).

Arrow Video’s April Showers of Awesome Flicks

Posted on March 16, 2016 by geelw

If you’re an Arrow Video collector here in the U.S., things are about to get even more interesting in your library thanks to the company’s SIX April releases through MVD Entertainment Group.

The month of solid releases kicks off April 5th with Death Walks Twice: Two Films By Luciano Ercoli – Limited Edition Boxset (MSRP $69.95), a Blu-Ray/DVD combo featuring two films, Death Walks on High Heels (1971) and Death Walks at Midnight (1972). Both films star the lovely Nieves Navarro (billed as Susan Scott) and are two seminal giallo classics worth snapping up.

Only 3000 of this set will be made and as usual, Arrow is packing that LE box with both films and special features galore:

LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS

Limited Edition boxed-set (3000 copies) containing Death Walks on High Heels and Death Walks at Midnight
Brand new 2K restorations of the films from original film elements
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations
Original Italian and English soundtracks in mono audio
Newly translated English subtitles for the Italian soundtracks
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtracks
Limited Edition 60-page booklet containing new writing on the films from authors Danny Shipka (Perverse Titillation: The Exploitation Cinema of Italy, Spain and France), Troy Howarth (So Deadly, So Perverse: 50 Years of Italian Giallo Films) and writer Leonard Jacobs

DEATH WALKS ON HIGH HEELS

Audio commentary by film critic Tim Lucas
Introduction to the film by screenwriter Ernesto Gastaldi
From Spain with Love – featurette comprising newly-edited archive footage of director Luciano Ercoli and actress Nieves Navarro, interviewed at their home in Barcelona
Master of Giallo – screenwriter Gastaldi on Death Walks on High Heels and how to write a successful giallo
Death Walks to the Beat – a career-spanning interview with High Heels composer Stelvio Cipriani
Original Italian and English trailers
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx

DEATH WALKS AT MIDNIGHT

Audio commentary by film critic Tim Lucas
Introduction to the film by screenwriter Ernesto Gastaldi
Extended TV version of the feature
Crime Does Pay – screenwriter Gastaldi reflects on his career in the crime film-writing business, including a look at Death Walks at Midnight
Desperately Seeking Susan – visual essay by Michael Mackenzie exploring the distinctive giallo collaborations between director Luciano Ercoli and star Nieves Navarro
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx

And that’s only the first of six great genre films and film sets coming next month… Continue reading →

PlayStation VR: Sony’s October “Surprise” Is A Must Have For PS4 Owners

Posted on March 15, 2016 by geelw

Well, it looks as if the console world (or at least the PlayStation 4) is getting its big VR headset at a surprisingly small price point of 399.00. Granted, many industry insiders (and thoughtful dopes like me) figured Sony wasn’t going to break gamer wallets too much. Let’s see now, A PS4 is about $280 or so depending on the model you buy, a PS Camera is $59.99 and with that PS VR headset, you still come in way under the price point of a gaming PC upgrade and one of the pricier VR solutions. Granted, PC gamers are scoffing at PS VR because they have scalable rigs thy can tweak to no end and most likely higher frame rates with overclocked systems burning holes into wherever they’re placed. Still, Sony promises a plug and play experience with frame rates up to 120fps, so we’ll see what’s what soon enough as the games roll out.

As for games, some 230 are in the works for PS4 from first and third party developers. My current favorite just so happens to be the return of a classic arcade and home game, this time coming from the folks at Rebellion:

Yes indeed, this one will be awesome even if it’s not running in VR (and yep, it’s playable without the headset, folks). Hokay, off to start saving those pennies.

MOTA: Droning On About My New Favorite Things

Posted on March 9, 2016 by geelw

As someone new to the drone scene, I’m finding the options somewhat daunting, but have recently narrowed my selection down to what the fine folks at MOTA have to offer. As a near-total novice to the hobby, I’m currently not one for the bigger models that now need to be registered with the FAA. But the three entry-level JETJAT models I saw at Toy Fair really got me wanting to take them all for a spin. Continue reading →

Want a LEGO Build to End All LEGO Builds? Here You Go.

Posted on March 7, 2016 by geelw

Not that you’d have the time or space to actually build an life-size Death Star out of 435 TRILLION (yikes) LEGO bricks (not to mention the only way to get that many bricks in the first place requires a working time machine and a black hole suitcase to hold all those bricks), but the folks at Ebates decided to figure out just how many LEGO it would take to whip up some of sci-fi’s most recognizable items. I’m gathering certified LEGO expert, Matija Puzar has access to those two items noted above, as he’s actually crunched the numbers and came up with those insane figures in the infographic below:

WHAT?! no Serenity from Firefly? How do you have The freakin’ Heart of Gold, a Borg Cube, AND Spaceball One but not Serenity? Boo. Ah well, maybe next year. I’m actually not all that inclined to the construction business, as I prefer to watch stuff being built or get someone a lot less easily distracted to tackle the heavy lifting. Of course, those planet-sized builds would require a lot of labor and an actual planet to build them on, so perhaps there’s something to all this “we’re going to Mars!” nonsense after all. The moon is a better idea, as it’s closer and you could probably watch the construction from your roof with a good telescope. That and my own storage space is limited here at the home office. As in I only have room left here for stuff like Santoki’s extremely cool and very useful LEGO Stationery lineup, coming to a store near you soon.

READS: Cult Cinema: An Arrow Video Companion

Posted on March 3, 2016 by geelw

Yeah, you know you want it NOW. But you’ll need to wait until February 24 to get your sweaty little palms on it. Cult Cinema: An Arrow Video Companion (MSRP $69.99) is a gorgeous limited edition hardcover tome that’s 246 pages thick and chock full of big and little words about cult film, its history, stars, and why the sub-genre is so beloved and necessary. You could probably beat someone who disagrees with your entertainment choices quite senseless with this book (which measures about 8.5 x 11 inches). But that’s really not a good idea as you probably also can’t take it to jail with you to catch up on your required reading. That and if you watch enough cult films you KNOW the warden’s going to be a real jerk and a half (plus tax).

Featuring the writing of: Robin Bougie, Michael Brooke, Paul Corupe, David Del Valle, David Flint, Cullen Gallagher, Kevin Gilvear, Joel Harley, David Hayles, Pasquale Iannone, Alan Jones, Tim Lucas, Michael Mackenzie, Maitland McDonagh, Tom Mes, John Kenneth Muir, Kim Newman, James Oliver, Vic Pratt, Jasper Sharp, Kenneth J. Souza, Mike Sutton, Stephen Thrower, Caelum Vatnsdal, and Doug Weir, there’s enough here to start (or close) several cinematic conversations. I’m still poring through a PDF review copy, but so far I’m significantly entertained enough to say it’s a must-buy, especially if you’ve been building up your collection of Arrow Video Blu-Ray/DVD sets since the North American kickoff through MVD Entertainment Group.

March Already? Safari Ltd. Has You Covered (As Usual)

Posted on March 2, 2016 by geelw

While it’s a hugely unfair real life animal battle, March is supposed to swing in breezy and bold like a lion and prance out like a lamb with the promise of better weather ahead.

Oddly enough, you’d think a cute as all get-out lamb would mean itchy wool sweaters that are still worn by many when March begins SHOULD be how the month begins. However that would mean a reversal to March going out like a lion that pounced on that poor lamb for its din-din (*yikes!*) and a lot of traditionalists getting somewhat upset at that change from formula.

Anyway, you can get that Lion ($6.99) and Bleating Lamb ($2.99) above from the fine folks at Safari Ltd. along with a bunch of other great animal mineral and vegetable figures of assorted size and all high-quality, to boot. Back in a bit with a bit more.

Can Dark Horse Comics See The Future? I Kind of Hope Not

Posted on February 17, 2016 by geelw

Ha and double ha, Dark Horse Comics! Getting Volume 1 of PANIC ($49.99) out in this rather panicky election year that’s giving plenty of people the heebie-jeebies for any number of reasons. Yeah, yeah – it wasn’t planned to happen this way, but it’s still funny (to me at least). I’d only seen a few very ratty issues of the mag at a comic convention way back in the 80’s, so finally getting to read through the first six issues in a sturdy hardcover tome was a great exercise.

It’s interesting to see everything intact from the nicely recolored art to the editorial pages that note the climate of the time that was VERY anti-comics at the expense of killing of companies left and right that couldn’t or wouldn’t conform to the crazies. Great satire and parody hold up to even the most pointed of criticism, so despite some very dated references, there are still plenty of laughs to be had. So, remove that stick from where it’s lodged, have a nice seat with your feet up and prepare to exercise those smile muscles that of late have probably turned into a near-permanent scowl. Oh, and one more thing: consider a good moisturizer before reading as Dark Horse is not responsible for cracked faces from perusing what’s here.

TMNT Half-Shell Heroes in “Prehistoric Plastic”

Posted on February 17, 2016 by geelw

Aha. So the Plastic Age came long before the Stone Age. Well, if you always failed those classes that taught otherwise with tons of field and museum trip tested truth, that is. Or if you’re a toy maker who’s smart enough to take advantage of a cool show and whip up more lovely licensed goodies. Anyway, Playmates Toys has its hugely popular Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Half-Shell Heroes division) paired up with their favorite dinosaurs from the Nickelodeon special all boxed up and ready for your favorite Turtles fan. It’s cool that those big dinos are considered “vehicles” because countless giant monster movies aside, you’re not going to see much of that “vehicle” stuff without chuckling a little.

Robo Raptor w Triceraton

You may notice that instead of the usual suspects, there’s that Robo Raptor with Triceraton “replacing” a certain turtle. Well, kids… that’s your first big adventure, then! Go find out what happened and report back ASAP!

With a suggested MSRP of $19.99 each and a “TRY ME” package for each that is worth getting out to an actual retail location if you want to make a trip out it, these latest additions to the growing lineup are going to make those certain someones very happy indeed. So yes, it’s your move and make sure to follow Playmates around the internet through their social channels as you never know what can happen:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TMNTPlay

Twitter: https://twitter.com/PlaymatesToys

Instagram: https://instagram.com/tmntplay

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/TMNTToys

Website: http://www.playmatestoys.com/

Toydriver: Screwy Idea’s A Time-saver For Your Toolbox

Posted on February 10, 2016 by geelw

Toydriver

Ha. Toy Fair 2016 hasn’t even begun and I’ve already found one of my favorite items that’s not a toy. If you’re a parental unit with active kids (or kids you’d like to be more active), you’ve probably dealt with the dreaded battery change in that favorite toy or electronic something or other where screws needed to be removed. Those old days of lost battery covers has been replaced with trying to find the right screwdriver or finding one but needing an extra bit of force you may not have to get that cover off, dealing with recessed screws and some kid(s) waiting impatiently to get their game or whatever back on. Well, Toydriver is here to the rescue!

And yep, that’s the second best use of a Prince song clip that one an get away with legally I’ve ever heard. Nice. Anyway, I’ll see if I can give one of those Toydrivers a test drive when I scoot by their booth over the weekend. If it’s sturdy enough, I can see it as a great multi-tasker that only needs extra bits for things like game consoles and other devices. Hey, I’m all about making cool stuff like this work even better.