Live Loop "Feel Good Inc"

Check out Josie Charlwood's version of the awesome tune "Feel Good Inc" by the Gorillaz. She records and loops all her own samples live and it's damned impressive.

Don Cheadle as Captain Planet

Don Cheadle as Captain Planet. Yes, it's as awesome as it sounds.

Don Cheadle is Captain Planet from Don Cheadle

Another Hawken Trailer

You may not remember, but check out this incredible footage of the game Hawken only 9 months into development that I posted back in March HERE.  Here's another glance at this fantastic looking game at 11 months of progress:

New Tribes: Ascend Screenshots

New screenshots of the upcoming Tribes: Ascend were displayed at this past weekend's PAX 2011 expo.  The game is currently slated for a first quarter, 2012 release.  Man, I sure miss me some Katabatic!

George R. R. Martin and the Avengers

Claudio Sanchez, lead singer for one of my favorite bands Coheed & Cambria, is also a hardcore comic book reader and fan (FYI: he has his own line of comics based on the storylines that pervade the Coheed & Cambria albums). Yesterday, he Tweeted the picture below. Apparently George R. R. Martin, the writer of the A Song of Ice and Fire series (most people might recognize the first book, The Game of Thrones, since it's now a popular HBO series), wrote a letter to the Marvel Bullpen back in the 1960's and had it published in Avengers issue #12 which, according to my basic research, hit the shelves in January, 1965.

Every Teaser Trailer Ever

Courtesy of Cracked.com is Every Teaser Trailer Ever

Take an extra look at the credits at the end. Great stuff.

Every Teaser Trailer Ever -- powered by Cracked.com

Sony's Long Live Play Campaign

Kevin Butler, the VP of Almost Everything, helps to usher in Sony's new "Long Live Play" campaign which replaces their "It Only Does Everything" ads. Observe the awesomeness:

A Closer Look at the Battlefield 3 Gameplay Trailer From Pax 2011

Kinect + Sphere Projector = Eye of Sauron

Take one Xbox 360 camera/tracking peripheral, the Kinect, and mix it up with a spherical projector manufactured by Pufferfish and you get an awesome interactive Eye of Sauron:

Non-Euclidian Level Design (Portal 2)

The Hobbit: All 13 Dwarves Revealed

Here are all 13 dwarves from Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (releases December, 2012).  From left to right they are: Nori (Jed Brophy), Fili (Dean O' Gorman), Dori (Mark Hadlow), Bofur (James Nesbitt), Gloin (Peter Hambleton), Dwalin (Graham McTavish), Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage), Balin (Ken Stott), Oin (John Callen), Bombur (Stephen Hunter), Bifur (William Kircher), Ori (Adam Brown), Kili (Aidan Turner).  Click pic to embiggen:

Here's another version with the characters spread out a bit and some in different positions (though it is missing Thorin):

Mario Bros Indie Film Trailer

Dungeons & Dragons Virtual Table Now In Beta

If you are a D&D Insider subscriber, GO HERE to sign up for the Virtual Table Beta test.

If this thing actually works well, I will happily (1) adopt the fourth edition and (2) subscribe as an Insider.

I AM NO BRO

I love this take on Éowyn's "I am no man" quote or, as it's written in the book:

But no living man am I! You look upon a woman. Éowyn I am, Éomund’s daughter. You stand between me and my lord and kin. Begone, if you be not deathless! For living or dark undead, I will smite you, if you touch him.

Fan Made Film Portal: No Escape

Check out this incredibly well made fan flick based on the Portal games.

Bane Closeup

Here's an extreme closeup of Bane's mask/face from the upcoming Dark Knight Rises movie.

Dubstep Guns

Son is "DOOM"ed For Oversleeping

Aliens Colonial Marines Trailer

Aliens: Colonial Marines has been in development hell since 2006. I almost forgot it existed... until this trailer was released.

Buy a Tron Light Cycle For Real

Have $55,000 burning a hole in your pocket? Why not spend it on tron Light Cycle. No, seriously. Hammacher Schlemmer is selling a fully functional and street legal Tron Light Cycle. Here are the details:

This is the illuminated, street-legal motorcycle inspired by the computer animated cycle from the 2010 film Tron: Legacy. Designed for casual cruising and slow ride-bys at shows, it is made from a steel frame covered by a fiberglass cowling that replicates the sleek look of its computer-generated imagery counterpart. Electroluminescent strips built into the tire cowlings, wheel rims, and body illuminate the cycle. It is powered by a fuel-injected Suzuki 996cc, 4-stroke engine. Riders lay at a near-horizontal position astride the padded leather seat, with feet on foot pegs that control its 6-speed constant mesh manual transmission and hands on the handlebars for throttle and braking. The hubless wheels are former truck tires built up then custom-shaped to fit onto one of two counter-rotating rims spinning within each other, providing the broad-tired authenticity of the computer cycles from the movie. A chain-driven friction drum manages acceleration and braking from the handlebars. It has spring-loaded front and rigid rear suspension. Its wet sump lubrication system eliminates tubes and hoses for oil pick-up, facilitating its streamlined, minimalist design. It uses a 3 1/2-gallon main fuel tank and 1 1/4-gallon reserve tank. All cycles are built to order. 8 1/2' L x 23 1/4" W x 28 1/2" H. (474 lbs.)

Guild Wars 2 Trailer

The latest rumors I had read placed the release date of Guild Wars 2 at November, 2011. I've invested so much time in the first Guild Wars over the years that this one is going to be difficult to pass up on - despite swearing off MMOs.

Batman: Arkham City Villain and Gameplay Trailers

Below are the villain specific trailers for the upcoming Batman: Arkham City (releases October 18, 2011).

Mr. Freeze



Hugo Strange



Riddler



Catwoman



Gameplay trailer

Introducing Dungeons & Dragons to Kids

I cannot wait until the day I get to sit down with my kids (who are presently too young to grasp the concept of paper and pencil role playing games) to go dungeon delving, rolling d20s, and counting up treasure while each of us partake in some awesome story telling moments.  Back in the Spring of 2010, Wizards of the Coast put out a free to play adventure (if you're old school like me you call them "modules") geared towards just that: introducing D&D to kids.  The recommended age is "6 and up" but of course your mileage will vary.  Here is the description from Wizards of the Coast:

Are you a parent who wants to share the fun of Dungeons & Dragons with your kids, but you’re worried that the rules are too complicated or a standard adventure would tax their attention spans? Are you a teacher or librarian who would like to introduce your students to the game, but you’re reluctant to take on the regular time commitment of a full-blown campaign?
There are a great many reasons to share D&D with kids. Besides being just the kind of imaginative play that kids naturally engage in, Dungeons & Dragons develops an array of essential educational skills, including:

• Math skills
• Reading skills
• Writing skills
• Cooperation and leadership
• Problem-solving
• Creative thinking

We’ve heard from many of you out there that you’ve been wanting to unlock these benefits for your kids, but you feel that they’re not ready for the basic game or you just don’t have the time to run your own campaign. So we put together this variation, based on the new novel for young readers, Monster Slayers by Lukas Ritter. Monster Slayers: The Heroes of Hesiod captures the flavor, fun, and educational benefits of Dungeons & Dragons in a fast-paced, easy-to-learn experience for kids ages six years old and up.
Monster Slayers: The Heroes of Hesiod requires no previous knowledge of Dungeons & Dragons, and all you need to play is included in this adventure, aside from a few dice and pencils (and some friends to play it with). Play time can be as little as fifteen minutes or as long as an hour, depending on how many monsters you run.
Monster Slayers: The Heroes of Hesiod isn’t just for kids. It’s also a fun diversion for experienced players who need their D&D fix but don’t have the time for a full-length game. Or share it with your non-gamer family and friends who claim to be intimidated by the rules of the game. It won’t be long before they’re hooked on the game you love!

Linkage to Wizard of the Coast's information page HERE.

And HERE is the direct download linkage for the adventure/module.

Awesome Dad

Bosstones t-shirt on Dad: check
Superman t-shirts on the kids: check
Sharing a moment together with a comic: check

I don't know who you are mister, but you are one of the world's greatest Dads!

Alternative Empire Strikes Back Movie Poster

Done by deviantART artist adamrabalais

The New Batwing

From the set of the upcoming movie The Dark Knight Rises, here are some shots of the Batwing in action. I'm really glad to see practical effects for it as opposed to a 100% CG Batwing.





During filming, the Batwing struck a street sign causing a bit of damage to both the "plane" and to the sign. Being the only life-sized Batwing prop they built they went right to work and got it fixed immediately. It would be cool to somehow see this in the movie.

New Pictures From the Set of the Dark Knight Rises

Below are a few pictures taken from the set of The Dark Knight Rises (releases July 20, 2012).

Bane's costume will take some getting used to (hopefully there is a reason for the mouthy jaw mask thing).

Batman fights Bane in this shot:

This is the stunt double for Anne Hathaway looking rather slinky riding the Batpod (at least it looks like the Batpod to me).

Promo shot of Anne Hathaway as the Catwoman (again, riding the Batpod):

Superman Man of Steel Pic

This is actor Henry Cavill as Superman in a very blasé promotional picture shot for the far off (2013 release date) Man of Steel movie.

I've got a positive feeling about this iteration of Superman: (1) it's being scripted by David Goyer who has a lot of comic writing under his belt but has also scripted or co-scripted the following: Dark City, all three Blade movies, Batman Begins, and The Dark Knight, (2) it's co-produced by Christopher Nolan (director of the current Batman trilogy and Inception), and (3) directed by Zack Snyder (director of 300 and Watchmen).

Borderlands 2 Teaser Trailer

This is Salvador, the dwarven, dual wielding Gunzerker:

Battlefield 3: Caspian Border Gameplay Footage

Just... wow.

Borderlands 2 Coming

It was just recently announced that Gearbox Software and 2K Games are working on a sequel to the hit 2009 game, Borderlands.  Not a whole helluva lot is known at the moment, but here is linkage to the official site.  Game Informer magazine will feature some exclusive details in their next (current?) issue.  Here's the fold out cover for it:

That guy you see is Salvador, a Gunzerker dwarf who can dual wield.  And no, I did *not* just make that up.  Sounds pretty damned awesome to me.  Here are a few other scant details I've picked up:

- vague release date set after the first quarter of 2012
- co-op will return
- there will be four new characters (Salvador is one)
- the original four characters will only return in a cameo NPC appearance
- there is an item pickup called Eridium which you can use either to barter with or to upgrade your weapons and armor
- each weapons manufacturer will manufacture a different type/style of gun (which I thought was the way in the original game)
- all weapons are new - none of the original weapons will make an appearance
- more 4-player vehicles
- more vehicle variety
- custom decals for weapons
- improved AI (I think every game company for every game ever made has to say this)
- interactive dialog with players (dialog trees per Mass Effect and Dragon Age?)
- similar 3-tiered skill tree system
- temporary buffs in the form of item pickups
- NPCs will not be static and move around areas and interact with environment

The Amazing Spider-Man High Quality Picture

Click to embiggen for the hi-res version.  This is a really great up-close look at the new Spidey costume for the 2012 series relaunch, The Amazing Spider-Man.