Starlink, Here We Go…

 

In 2019, Ubisoft released Starlink: Battle for Atlas (PS4, Xbox One and Switch. with PC coming later), which was designed to bring the “Toys to Life” sub-genre started in games like the old PS1 import ZXE-D: Legend of Plasmatlite (I have a complete box set here with un-assembled robots. I really need to photograph it one day!) and the Skylanders series raring back to life. While it was a really good game, there seemed to be an assumption that players needed to start collecting a bunch of pricey toys in order to play and yep, the game didn’t move units as it should have.

Given that Ubisoft Toronto explicitly made the game to be played as either a physical disc or game card as well as in digital formats, it seems gamers failed to notice this and retailers who thought this would be the next big thing were stuck with who knows how many thousands of copies. You could say it was Disney Infinity all over again, but Ubisoft only released six Starship Packs, four Weapon Packs, and four Pilot Packs outside of the Starter Packs and killed support for the toy line in Spring 2019. Those packs, by the way? They cost more than the game does if you ever need to get them new.

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Call of the Westeros Meets Classic Response Time

So, this season of Game of Thrones ended with a bang. Well, a few bangs if you count the graceful exit one key character made via a nearby window. The internet being what it is, one still frame ended up as a hilarious image gamers who know Ubisoft’s hugely popular Assassin’s Creed series got a laugh over:

ACWesteros

It took me all of thirty seconds for my brain to cook up goofball responses to that scene using classic film posters, but a little longer to swipe images I’ll link to to be fair to the folks who posted them first. Traffic is cool on one’s blog when it’s least expected, I always say. Okay, here we go (click on the posters to go to their respective sites):

Hit the Hay

I’ve never seen this flick before, but I’m now Judy Canova curious. I know I’ve seen HER before in something, but I’ve not a clue as to what.

It Ain't Hay

Ooh, a new site to check out! Nice place you’ve got there, Steve! Haven’t seen this one in decades, but it’s probably as funny as I recall.

crash-dive

A not too shabby WWII war drama/romance flick with a fine cast doing their thing for the cause. Oscar-winning special effects here, but don’t go into this looking for CG perfection.


 


 

Finally, yeah… I may as well get Fox some love as well for the upcoming Assassin’s Creed movie. As with any game-based film, my eyebrow is up a lot on whether it can capture the game’s more interactive elements clearly. But I absolutely LOVE being proven wrong by movies based on videogame source material. Which means I’m still skeptical even with the casting choices made. We’ll get into that later. Just go enjoy the rest of this weekend for now.

Assassin’s Creed Trailer: A Killer at the Box Office Not So Silently Approaches

assassins_creed_xlg
 

So, I usually have no faith in videogame movie adaptations (okay, I’ve NEVER had any), particularly when certain fans roll in with the “It doesn’t look that bad!” commentary simply to defend their favorite franchise against any form of criticism. My own opinion on games to film is more of a rule: an interactive medium works BEST as interactive medium, PERIOD. Yes, non-gamers who want to see what the fuss is about can enjoy a game movie just fine. But the more hardcore fans who dislike games made into blockbusters for the simple reason that the films deviate from the source materials enough that it’s an almost completely different bird once all those feathers have been plucked. Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, anyone? While a well-made film, it wasn’t at all what fans expected or wanted. I can name a bunch of others, but I’ll let you discuss that among yourselves.

Anyway, well… 20th Century Fox and Ubisoft may have changed my mind:


 

Other than the atrocious choice of a Kanye West song (Seriously? It doesn’t fit at ALL and in fact, something a great deal less modern would have made the trailer almost perfect), that trailer got me curious as to how the film will tackle the reality and virtual reality flipping done throughout the AC franchise. I did have a non-gamer friend ring me up and ask about the games and whether he needed to have played them to fully enjoy the film, whereupon I had to admit I hadn’t played an Assassin’s Creed game in a few years. Hey, I got bored with them after AC III, although I’ve been thinking about picking up the last couple after playing the Vita game (and the sole one with a female lead). So, thanks, Fox. You may get my grumpy butt in a theater seat after all. Continue reading

Zombi: U Will Want To Play This Wii U Port On Your PS4 & Xbox One


 

Call me only mildly surprised that this is happening, although I’m shocked (shocked! But not really) that it didn’t happen sooner. ZombiU was one of the Wii U’s standout launch games in that it made the GamePad and touchscreen mandatory for the gameplay to work best at what it was trying to accomplish. Looking down at it to check one’s inventory or prepare a weapon or something else only to look up at your TV and see something (or a few somethings!) shambling and scrambling out of the dark was a terrifying thing to experience. Yes, Vita or Windows tablet support for that second screen would be beautiful to see. But even Sony has mucked that up quite a bit by taking so long to implement it into games and only as a means of playing portable games on a larger TV. I don’t own a Surface tablet, so I can’t comment positively or otherwise) on anything Microsoft has done for dual screen gaming. Oh well.

Anyway, without that second screen this might look like another zombie game to skip over if you’re tired of the genre. You’d be sorely mistaken for thinking that based on looks alone. My frightening and sometimes fearfully frustrating (Do I want to go on through that door? Hell nope! Oh… okay. CHOMP!) experience with the Wii U version says that if approached with an open mind by smarter PS4 and Xbox One owners who don’t resort to insults whenever they see a Wii U game, the experience should be quite a worthy one. The rogue-like random elements add infinite replay value and there are some really effective scares to be had. Anyway, August 15, 2015 is the big day for this and I hope to hell it not only does well, but gets some of the all-out naysayers about the Wii U to ‘fess up and admit that there are actually some great games on that system they haven’t played (er, until now that is).

Far Cry 4 Also Gets The Soundtrack Treatment…

Far Cry 4 OSTCliff Martinez, formerly a member of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and composer of some fine film scores (“Traffic,” “Drive, ” “Spring Breakers”) is also the main man behind the tunes to Ubisoft’s upcoming FPS, Far Cry 4. Working with Ubisoft Montreal’s Music Designer for the game, Jerome Angelot, Music Supervisor Simon Landry and Audio Director Tony Gronick, Martinez has created an original score meant to flow flawlessly with the game’s action and cinematic sequences. While the game’s soundtrack won’t be getting the big deluxe box treatment Rockstar is giving Grand Theft Auto V, it’s a more than solid enough set of tunes to add to your own music library (especially if you’re a soundtrack collector).

Of his collaboration on the soundtrack with Ubisoft, Martinez says:

“It was an honor to be asked to write the music for the Far Cry 4 game as my first full-length video game soundtrack,” said Cliff Martinez. “It was exciting for me to be asked to take my usual minimalistic cinematic approach to the immersive game world. Any game where you can ride on a rampaging elephant is a project you can’t turn down!”

Well, I’m listening to the music as I type this post and really feel as if I’m in some very dangerous foreign land about to go on some rather wild adventure. Granted, I’m typing this post in a public place, so the worst that can happen is some old guy bumbles by and drops a hot cup of coffee on my shoe. But hey, I’ll settle for that tiny bit of excitement over dodging digital bullets and rampaging elephants any day of the week. Anyway, the Far Cry 4 Original Game Soundtrack digital edition will release worldwide on November 4, the limited 2-CD edition will release on December 2 in North America and on December 9 in Europe, and the limited 3-LP edition will release in January 2015. Far Cry 4 will be available November 18 worldwide for PS4, Xbox One, PS3, Xbox 360 and Windows PC.

Assassin’s Creed Unity Phantom Blade: Wear it With Hide!

Assassin's Creed Unity Phantom Blade
 
Leave it to McFarlane Toys to bust out another cool collectible for you Assassin’s Creed fans out there. Well, you can’t wear this Assassin’s Creed Unity Phantom Blade (available now!) with pride in many if not ANY urban areas outside of part of a Halloween outfit. You’ll probably have to do some face-down explaining to the local authorities if you do walk around sporting this all stealthy-like. Not only does this think look like part of some past century assassin’s getup, that crossbow and retractable blade actually work (although they’re very non-lethal). As I live in New York City, I’d be socking this one on a shelf somewhere and not wearing it strapped to a wrist for a subway ride downtown at all. Some poor commuter would think I was a poor Travis Bickle wannabe and ring up some overzealous MTA cop and the next thing you know, I’m all over the local news for all the wrong reasons.


 
Still, for $59.99, you’re certainly getting something that’s going to be a conversation piece whether or not you decide to wear it while out and about. In addition, the Phantom Blade also includes a bonus code to download the French Cavalry Pistol in Ubisoft’s upcoming Assassin’s Creed Unity for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC, set for a November 11, 2014 launch. If you’re grinning like a Cheshire Cat right about now, you’re probably already buying TWO of these online or planning that trip to your local toy retailer to snap one or more of these up. Ubisoft and McFarlane Toys like that about you quite a lot, you know…

-Greg Wilcox

The Toys of Summer: Rabbids Baby Want, Rabbids, Baby Get!

rabbids.header.01 Bwaaaaaaah! Remember when I said Ubisoft’s goofy-looking Rabbids were nothing but trouble? Well, they’re STILL trouble and thanks to McFarlane Toys, you can take that trouble from the hit Nickelodeon TV show (and a bunch of fun games) and bring it home with you. But… should you? You KNOW what happens when Rabbids get loose, right? RIGHT? No? Hmmm… apparently, someone did not get the mem-o, I see. Well, FINE then. Hey, I did warn you, so I’m not responsible for the mayhem that will ensue when you allow yourself to bring Rabbids into your lives.

Below the jump is a short list of rather cool stuff (available this month at your favorite toy retailer) you can spend that hard earned money on so you can fill up your space with too much Bwaaaaaaah:

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Rainbow Six Siege: Ubisoft Resurrects Their Big Baby Back To Its Former Self (And Then Some)…

 
Of all the games Ubisoft showed off at its briefing, this one was the most surprising for a few reasons. Clearly packing some inspiration from Valve’s fast-paced multiplayer focused Left 4 Dead games, Rainbow Six Siege is a bolt of lightning wrapped in a baseball bat and will hopefully look just like what was shown a the media briefing when it hits Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC sometime in 2015. I’d imagine everyone will forget all about the frozen in time Rainbow Six: Patriots now that this game has been revealed and even more trailers and screens start popping up all around the internet. More to come on this one…

Watch_Dogs Launch Trailer: Your Ticket To Chicago Is Almost Ready…

 
May 27 will be a pretty quiet day at some workplaces in a few places thanks to people coming down with crippling cases of Watch_Dogs flu and staying home to get some finger and wrist exercises in to keep healthy. Ubisoft Montreal is certainly doing its part to move next-gen consoles and maybe a new 3D card or two, but I think even on the older consoles the game will be a winner to those players that don’t give a hoot about their games looking about as realistic as it gets. Anyway, we’ll see what’s what next week (or later for Wii U owners still hoping for an actual release date).

GOG.com’s Weekend Sale: Ubisoft Wants You To Get Busy Going Through Their Library…

(thanks, AlexWhite525!) 
Back on sale at gog.com in case you missed them the last time are a bunch of great Ubisoft published titles, so get your fill and then some at 60% off. I have a bunch of these already in the backlog, but I’m sorely tempted to pick up the heroic, mighty and magical Heroes of Might and Magic II Gold Edition just because it’s called by some folks the greatest fantasy strategy game ever made. Well, also because I played some of the original back in the day, but lost all my files when my computer blew up and never actually completed the game. That was probably a very good thing, as it was consuming a GREAT deal of my free time and I was getting maybe an hour or two of sleep per night and yep, even pulled a few all-nighters and was out and about working on nothing but caffeine and adrenaline fumes. Ah, those were the days (I think)…

Anyway, you know what to do, right? I’ll leave you to it, then!