Candy Crush Saga is an app you can find on Facebook as well as iOS and Android...and you should avoid it at all costs if you want to maintain your social life.
Just look at these evil characters
For those that don't know, it's a simple puzzle game in the spirit of classics like Tetris and Bejeweled where you have to match up certain patterns by moving things in a particular way. You'd think that there would be an overabundance of these games out there, but for some reason, every so often one of them catches on. Look at how well Words with Friends ended up doing despite the very obvious fact that Scrabble still exists.
Poor Upwords, nobody ever remembers you
A while back, I remember looking for various games to download to my new phone. I naturally gravitated to Angry Birds Star Wars, being a fan of the film franchise and then tried out some others (none of which I kept...Fruit Ninja was just boring to me). But then Candy Crush came my way, and goddamn it, I haven't been able to stop playing it since then.
It's incredibly frustrating and the 5 life limit makes things even worse. It's understandable to try to get people to pay for more lives, as that's the whole point why companies make these games, but isn't it a bit of a detractor when you hit the harder levels and you have to wait hours to refill your lives, just to fail again?
I can't count the amount of times that I've been stuck on a level for days at a time and reached that point where I just want to quit the game entirely. Those stupid bombs? The levels where you have to get a certain amount of paired combinations and they blow up JUST when you get them next to each other? How many fucking chocolate+stripe+wrapper pieces do I have to explode to get that amount of points in that time limit?!
Yet...for some reason...I find myself sitting here, waiting for my third ticket to advance to level 186.
This is less of a sweet tooth and more of a disease.
As part of NerdGenious's MovieFile series "100 Movies in 100 Days", I've decided to do a two week set of reviews revolving around the man, the myth, the legend known as Bill Murray in what I'm calling Bill Murray Fortnight. It's a mixed bag of classics with the newest box office hits.
Here are the first batch of reviews.
Moonrise Kingdom (2012)
GhostBusters (1984)
GhostBusters 2 (1989)
Zombieland (2009)
Groundhog Day (1993)
Lost in Translation (2003)
Scrooged (1988)
Stay tuned for more film reviews, articles and a Ghostbusters (2008) video game Let's Playthrough on Twitch.tv as we celebrate more of Bill Murray!
Everyone knows the saying "don't judge a book by its cover". What if this was it's cover though?
It's not a bird, it's not a plane, it's a tornado with sharks!!!!!!
Sharknado..... enough said. SyFy is bringing in another TV movie that will most likely be laughed at for a long time. If you haven't realized it yet, the plot of Sharknado is Los Angeles is dealing with a tornado with sharks in it. Sounds stupid, right? Directed by Anthony C. Ferrante, some no name director, and starring Tara Reid, Ian Ziering, and John Heard, Sharknado will be premiering this Thursday, July 11th, at 9/8c. This isn't the first time the shark has been the star of a SyFy TV movie. Who could ever get the straight to TV classic Sharktopus, or the movie everyone has on their DVR's or on DVD Jersey Shore Shark Attacks? It is starting to look like the shark is coming back as the new zombie! I am going to be honest, if there were zombies and a tornado with sharks in it chasing after me I would be more worried about the tornado with sharks. It is really hard not to hate on something like this, but it sounds so ridiculous that it's almost impossible not to make fun of it. Just imagine this as a cross of Jaws and Twister, but with an end result that will probably be disastrous.
This Thursday despite the fact I am probably going to hate myself for doing so, I will be watching Sharknado on SyFy. Who knows this could be the best movie of all time, but probably not. now if this movie can somehow prove me wrong and can actually be a better than average movie, I will write a review for it on this website. But that is only if I enjoy watching it. So stay tuned and be ready for a review that may or may not happen on Friday.
Episode 32 of the I Got Gameplay podcast is now online. On this
episode Michael Burhan, Shaun Walker, Miguel Leon, Chris Locs, and
special guest Lee Garasich talking about HD remakes and collections.
Mike Paden also calls in to offer his perspective on which games are
worth the purchase and which are a complete waste of time.
You can check out this episode and the previous two by using the following links:
In my opinion, Falling Skies has dropped the ball. While I have only watched the first three episodes, my opinion could change, and I will try to give a more in-depth review once the series has finished. Until then, I can't make heads or tails of the plot.
So we finished off season two where Tom and company are all standing outside Charleston with alien pods dropping from the sky. Is this new breed of aliens friendly or are they more foes? What happened to Hal?
I couldn't wait to watch season three and find out the answers to these questions. When I tuned in, I expected it to carry on from where we left off. Instead, I was disappointed as they skipped 9 months into the future with new characters that haven't been established.
When I was watching the first episode, it felt like I had missed an entire season. Why the hell is Hal in a wheelchair? What the hell is going on?
As the episode progressed, I still couldn't wrap my head around it, mainly because of all the new characters and the new situations (such as Dr. Glass having a massive baby bump and eventually giving birth to an odd, highly intelligent child). Later on, we discover that Hal is in the wheelchair from a bug implanted in his eye by Karen during their kiss, which blocks his ability to walk (which is all psychological cause we see Hal sleepwalking). And another thing...how did Tom become the president of Charleston?
There's a mole in the camp and its way to obvious to be Hal, so I think it's Tom's advisor. Dr. Glass is paranoid about her new baby and the new breed of aliens are supposedly building a defense weapon against the overlords, but not much has been said about the skitters and their rebellion.
With everything new going on, it feels like there was a gap between seasons 2 and 3. I understand why they have done this, since the kid actors are rapidly aging, but I still don't like it.
I'll continue watching with episode 4, hoping that the season gets better throughout. I stopped watching The Walking Dead halfway through season 3 of that show because I felt like that went bad, so I hope this show doesn't go the same way. If you agree or disagree with my comments about Falling Skies, let me know in the comments below or you can follow me on twitter @shaughnessy2k37
There are plenty of people in the world who still have some sort of negative impression of the world of video games, citing either anti-social behavior or violent imagery as some of the reasons as to why games are bad for us. Anyone inside the gaming world knows just as well as I do that games are a great thing for the human race as a whole, and do a great job at perpetuating and strengthening certain parts in our human existence. Gaming has not only the ability to introduce millions of people at once certain concepts, imagery and music styles, but also to solidify other teachings that may have been learned from a peer, teacher and/or parent. Let's take a look at a few of the various things video gaming has taught us over the years.
TIMING
Gaming has been teaching us timing ever since Super Mario Brothers, and it's honestly one of the skills that many folks use on a day to day basis in some form or another. Good timing is essential to living in the world especially when it comes to transportation of some kind. If you drive, you have to time your pace based on various traffic lights that change their orientation every few minutes. If you're walking, you must time the same lights and make sure you don't get hit by that on coming car should you happen to be jay walking. If you're taking a bus, you must leave your home within a certain amount of minutes to make it to the bus stop in time.
When these mundane, every day actions are described and put under the microscope next to video gaming, it's even difficult not to think of them as a game. From Super Mario Brothers all the way up to the Uncharted series, there have been several lessons in the importance of timing in video gaming over the years. Not only does it make life a little bit more interesting to think of these tasks as matters of timing, but it simply makes you better at performing the occasional task in your life that requires flexing that brain muscle. Practice makes perfect, no matter how you slice it.
MORALITY
Many people think that video gaming is all about blowing things up and hurting people. Honestly, in this day and age with the advent of technology and the ability for anyone to obtain any sort of knowledge they desire on any subject they find interesting it surprises me how few people are willing to do a little bit of research and find out that for years gaming has been reinforcing ethics and morality to it's devotees. With the advent of games like Fable and Mass Effect where decision making effects the story and the traits of your character, the consequences of being an a**hole can really make an impression on a player.
While it's true that morality is something that is passed down through with authority figures and interaction with ones peers, video games as a whole have done plenty over the years for the notion that there is value in being the good guy. Games like Harvest Moon take the concept of community and the benefits of making friends and sew it into the fabric of the game while subtly reinforcing these ideals into the players brain. Yes, plenty of games preach the opposite message. However, going all the way back to the glory days of the NES with games like The Legend Of Zelda, the overall theme for the majority of games was and still is to be the good guy. That's got to count for something, right?
PERSEVERANCE
Life is not easy. Sometimes things can get so difficult that all we want to do is call it quits, cash in our chips and call it a lifetime. In the video game world, that attitude can be lead to a lack of accomplishment. If we gave up every single time things got hard, we'd never feel the satisfaction of getting to the next area or level up our character to take on another challenge. This sort of determination can certainly drive someone to press on and continue to pursue their goals despite whatever obstacles are thrown in their path.
Many video games feature different difficulty settings, and several gamers who consider themselves to be "hardcore" tend to gravitate towards more extreme ones. No matter how many times they bite the dust during the adventure, a real gamer will always find away to overcome the challenge. This is a valuable trait which is not to be undermined. Someone who will painstakingly trudge through any particular challenge or a hardship until he or she has succeeded is definitely going to be more adept at overcoming other adverse elements in his or her life. Video games can indeed be a great measure of an individuals resilience.
What do you guys think? What other things have you learned from years of video gaming? Leave a comment and be sure to check back for more gaming news right here at www.fanboysanonymous.com
All across the United States, cities are posting record highs and the heat never seems to stop. Even here in New York after days of rain to "cool it down," my air conditioner is still no match for the overwhelming power of the sun.
While doing my every day general browsing of the internet I came across an artist named Ben DeHaan's latest project that he titles "Uncured."
As you can see, what Ben has done is take portrait photographs and made them appear to be melting before your eyes. What's the cause of this trippy exhibition? Is it the sweltering heat? No, he actually removed all UV light from the printing process, therefore preventing the ink from being able to dry. That combined with gravity causes this neat sensation.
The following is taken from his official website. There, you can also find videos of this effect in action.
“Uncured” explores the expectations of photographic image in a digitally ubiquitous era. A digital photograph is simply ink sprayed on substrates to create an exact replication of a digital file. I’m interested in breaking down the image to its inherent properties to reflect on photography’s role in constructing its significance.
Is our expectation of portraiture to represent the individual? Gravity, humidity, air, density, viscosity, pressure, light, and time are isolated as variables within the photographic medium, all of which construct the image and contribute to our perception of it. By subverting a digital production method, I am exploring how the photographic subject matter is transformed as control is released and the photograph itself responds to forces in the physical world. By allowing the inks to remain in their fluid, uncured state, these variables begin to shift the subject matter’s role in the image and to create a visual experience beyond exact replication of a file.
Don Mattrick has been appointed CEO of Zynga, effective Monday, July 8th as confirmed by the social games firm. As such, Mattrick is leaving Microsoft after six years of service. He previously also served as the president of worldwide studios at EA.
"Don is unique in the game business," said Zynga founder and chairman Mark Pincus. "He can execute in multiple domains -- hardware, software and network, and he's been the person responsible for game franchises like 'Need for Speed,' 'FIFA' and 'The Sims'."
"He's one of the top executives in the overall entertainment business and he's a great coach who has inspired people to do their best work and build strong, productive teams. He deeply understands the value of a network and the importance of creating lifelong consumer relationships."
"He turned Xbox into the world's largest console-gaming network, growing its installed base from 10 to 80 million and transformed that business from deep losses to substantial profits. And he has grown the Xbox Live player network from 6 to 50 million active members in 41 countries."
Pincus steps down from the position of CEO, but will continue to serve in his role as chairman and chief product officer.
"I'm excited to partner with Don and the rest of our team to return Zynga to its leadership role in inventing and growing Play as a core human experience," he added.
This comes off the heels of Microsoft's Xbox One fiasco, which could be the reason why Don is leaving quietly. It also gives Microsoft a way out, so to speak, wherein they can appease the fan base and move forward from this whole debacle. This can be seen as a positive for both parties, giving Microsoft closure and a way to go on with the future.
If you want to see more from me and Nerd Genious, check out my newest rant on Microsoft cancelling Assassin's Creed 2 and Halo 3 free-to-play downloads as part of their two free games a month scheme.
There was some interesting news for fans of The Walking Dead comics today. A new 12-issue arc called "All Out War" is starting in October (coincidentally when season 4 of the TV series will begin), and what's especially exciting about it is the issues in this arc will be published twice monthly! As someone who binge read the comics during the break between seasons 1 and 2 of the TV series, only getting to read one new issue per month has been a real struggle.
I personally am really excited for this arc. I love the TV series, flaws and all, but the comics are vastly superior, and Negan is the first true villain the series has had since The Governor. While it's not possible to top that amazing character, Negan and his Saviors have been a real threat to Rick and his group. Of course Negan also made things personal after his brutal murder of a main character (which I won't spoil here) in the 100th issue of the series, so I'm sure most of us want to see him pay. Rick and his group have been gearing up for this battle for awhile now, so I can't wait to see how this epic arc will play out. I'm sure it'll be a bloody and intense page turner.
What do all of you think? If you read the comics, are you excited? If you've only watched the show, would you consider reading the comics while you wait for season 4 to begin? Sound off below and bring on October!
The date was 03/28/2013. I was on a site known as ShopTo and I saw a half-price 8GB Wii U.
As I'm a Nintendo fan, I had to have it.
Along with this, I purchased Zombi U, Assassin's Creed 3 and NSMBU.
Everyday, I waited and waited for it to arrive. When it did a week later, it felt like Christmas in 1997 when I received my N64.
When I opened it up, I stared at it in awe. This was the Nintendo console I had been waiting for. The first update seemed to take a lifetime, but soon enough, I was on my way.
Protective Sleeve
Tragedy struck three months later as today, I woke up intending to play Assassin's Creed only to find the screen frozen on the Wii U logo. Although this had become a regular thing since update number three, today was different it just would not get past the start logo.
I was devastated. Even though I kept trying to make it work, it was a no-go. When I contacted Nintendo, they suggested that I send it to them for repairs, which would be free if I still had the proof of purchase (but sadly, I had lost my receipt). I'm still waiting on a response from the website I bought it from, as I contacted them to see if I could avoid spending a fortune on the repairs somehow.
So goodbye for now, Nintendo Wii U. You were in my top 5 favourite Nintendo Entertainment systems (NES, N64, SNES, Wii U and lastly the Gamecube).
UPDATE 7/11/2013: After emailing ShopTo, I received a response telling me to give them my order number and the receipt/payment/shipping emails as a proof of purchase. Once I did that, I was able to send it back to EITHER company. Before I had a chance to send it, though, I turned my console on and saw that I had a new update which actually did the trick. Since then, it not only boots up faster without crashing, but it goes back to the home screen quicker as well. I'm hoping it stays this way for good.
Episode 31 of the I Got Gameplay podcast is now online. On this
episode, Michael Burhan, Mike Paden, Miguel Leon, Shaun Walker, and Braeden Mayhew
discuss Super Smash Bros. A great episode for all Nintendo fans
anticipating the fifth installment of the franchise.
You can check out this episode and the previous two by using the following links:
Number four on my Top 7 is a character that I'm actually a huge fan of for once on this list. I've always shied away from the Assassin's Creed series and saw them as an interesting concept but ultimately games I could never find myself getting too deep in. That was finally broken with Assassin's Creed III, though I couldn't tell you exactly why. Perhaps it was the early American setting, which is something that could pique my interest to almost any game. Perhaps it was the naval battles, which makes me even more excited for the upcoming sequel. One thing is for sure, it certainly wasn't the main protagonist Connor Kenway's good looks.
In comes Jessica to take something badass and make it sexy. As a fan of the game, I can appreciate the details of the costume such as the eagle embroidery on the tip of the hood, and the belt/axe bearing the Assassin's logo. She recently followed up this costume with Edward Kenway, the star of Assassin's Creed IV, that can be found on her official FB page linked below. Sorry, no pervy pick-up lines this post.
Okay okay, just one. I wouldn't mind taking a leap of faith into a bale of hay with her in it!
What happens when you take the spiritual sequel to an iconic arcade title, and port it over to a wholly under-powered video game console? You get a lesson in frustration: Space Ace for the Super Nintendo.
But Before I get in to the game in question, I feel a backstory is in order. Space Ace is, as stated, a spiritual successor to the iconic arcade classic, Dragon's Lair. Before games like Shenmue, Resident Evil 4, and God of War made quick time events the norm for video games, Dragon's Lair and Space Ace were pioneers in that they were the only games on the market that were ALL quick time events. You watch a full motion video, wait for something in the scene to glow, and use the controller based on the action of screen. Yeah, there wasnt much in gameplay variety (you basically played the game exactly as the game tells you to everytime) but the game was helped by amazing animations by legendary cartoonist Don Bluth (All Dogs Go To Heaven, Land Before Time, An American Tale). Both games were a hit at arcades, so naturally it was inevitable that ports would appear on the major consoles of the time. But in that lay the problem: how do you port a game as massive as Dragons Lair or Space Ace onto the NES/SNES. Both games were built upon Laserdisc technology (for those of you that don't know, LDs were the size of dinner plates).
So how do you transfer the game to a new platform without ruining the integrity of gameplay? Well, if the 1990 NES port of Dragon's Lair is any indication, you weren't. But this was 1994, well into the lifespan of the Super Nintendo, a console that was twice the power of its predecessor. So would the SNES have enough of the horsepower to withstand the awesome might of Space Ace? The short answer: No. Space Ace for the SNES is a mess. Space Ace, for those of you who are to young to remember when these games were popular in the arcades (if you remember what an arcade even IS) tells the tale of Ace, a muscle-bound stereotypical hero and the evil villain, Borf. Borf uses his new "Infanto-Ray" to turn Ace into a scrawny, adolescent version of himself, dubbed Dexter, while also stealing Ace's girlfriend, Kimberly. Ace/Dexter must travel the galaxy, save Kimberly, and stop Borf from using his Infanto-Ray on the whole Earth.
If there is one solace I can give it, is that it does try more than its Dragon's Lair counter part to match the source material. The developers O.D.E (a company who's only other credit is ports of the game Deathbringer from 1991) tried their best to emulate the games levels to the best of their ability. Playing the opening level and going back to watch the first scene from the arcade version, you can see that alot of the set pieces from the movie as well as the enemies are taken right from the game. From Borf shooting his laser at Dexter, to the flying laser-bots and rock crushers, the levels are mimicked to the best of their ability given the massive limitations of the hardware. Having said all that, the game has alot of issues. Firstly, say goodbye to those gorgeous animations. FMVs were none-existent in early cartridge titles. The best you get is in the opening splash page. If you leave the controller alone long enough, you get this really awkward back and forth pan of the side profiles of Ace and Borf, with Kimberly in the background having the only animations, and its just her eyes blinking as she smiles creepily. The only other things you get in terms of "cut-scenes" are these tiny windows of very-pixelated animation that look like they were taken from the arcade game. Imagine your TV, but the window is about the size of your smart phone. Its worse than what they used to do with FMVs on the Sega CD.
Gameplay-wise, the game is a mess. It took me YEARS to understand how the controls work. First off, you character moves like he's wading through mud. I think this was due to the extra frames of animation they gave him to try to emulate the look of the original, but it just makes dodging obstacles that much harder. Jumping is also a pain as it works on pressure. The harder you hold the jump button, the farther you will go. Its takes alot to get used to. Jumping is also insanely stiff. You need to time your jump command and D-pad command perfectly or you'll end up just jumping in place alot more than you would like (its actually alot harder than it sounds). And you better make sure where you want to jump is EXACTLY where you want, because this game has no give with its jump mechanics. Compounding the frustration is that your hit detection is unforgiving. If even a pixel touches the enemies on screen, you lose a life. There's no health meter in sight (not even a fake one like in Dragon's Lair NES). This isn't helped by the perspective, which is shot in an awkward 3D isometric view, except everything is made in 2D, which means you have no way of judging how close or far you are from the enemy in or out of the screen. Going back to jumping, because of the perspective you have little indication of how far you have to jump. Your only indicator is the faint shadow your character gives off under him. At certain points in the game, you get the ability to "transform" into Space Ace by holding the shoulder buttons. Its here where the gameplay changes, in that you're allowed to now shoot things. Even then, shooting is a chore because of the controls. What I think is going on is that the buttons correspond to your placement, meaning that the Y, X, and A buttons correspond to left, right, and forward respectively. Or at least I think that's the case, because most of the time I had to resort to just tapping either of the buttons until my cursor snapped to the character I wanted dead. Mid you, all of these issues rear their ugly head in the first level. Its in the second "level" that things take a turn for the worst.
The next level is this Mode 7-style top-down flying mode meant to emulate the space maze scenes from the arcade game. At first I always thought this was just some stand alone independent level where I had to navigate a maze while dodging meteors and avoiding the walls, except occasionally i would find what looked like level portals that just didn't do anything. It was then that I realized that this level was actually your overall map screen. Every time you beat one of the main levels, you go back here and have a aimlessly travel around looking for a portal that you either havent already beat, or have still not unlocked yet. This gameplay mechanic is probably the most annoying part of the game. I can deal with a maze level so long as i know that there's just one ending you need to go to. but when you throw a bunch of Red Herring portals that do nothing, trying to find where I'm supposed to go becomes a lesson patience, which this game has already burned away. And the fact that you can still die on the map screen just makes things even worse. You'll basically be spending your time flying aimlessly around, constantly making u-turns because the portal you found wasnt right, and trying not to die by hitting the walls or meteors (the walls at least take down a leveled shield, whereas the meteors are still one-hit kills) If you're gonna do this, at least give me an indicator of the general direction of what level i can go to, especially since the maze itself seems massive and full of random twists and turns.
Graphically the game is unimpressive. Some characters try to have some kind of animation, but the frames are choppy and low-res. Overall backgrounds are bland and flat, I assume to emulate the flat art style in the arcade game. the only shadows you get are in the flying levels, and thats only because of Nintendo games liking to go "hey, look how 3D we can make things with Mode-7, it almost looks 3D". And like i said, what little full motion video they use it tiny and pixelated. sound-wise the game uses only one or two overall music scores repeated on a loop, with the occasional low-res soundbyte from the arcade game. This does nothing to show the real capabilities of the sound chip on the SNES (read my review of ActRaiser for that).
Now, I can forgive ALL of that. I can forgive the demanding difficulty. I can forgive the bland art and poor sound. I can even forgive the shoddy controls (they arent broken, they just need alot of getting used to) but what is inexcusable is the choice to have limited lives and ZERO continues. you get about 6 lives in the entire game, and if you die, you go right back to the beginning of the game. Occasionally you do find these spinning tiles on the ground that make you think thet're continues, but they only allow you to play levels over again for practice. If you want to play the whole game through, it has to be through one sitting, and with very little to no mistakes. that is inexcusable in a game this stringent on trial and error gameplay. It has taken me YEARS just to beat the first level. Years to figure out all the nuances in the game's poor controls, years to figure out where exactly the game wants me to stand and jump. To expect gamers to go through that process in one shot is insane. to expect them to put up with having to play this game hundreds of times just to figure it all out is more insane. Had this just been unlimited continues, or a password system in place, then they game could have been salvagable even with the difficulty. But this takes a valiant attempt at an arcade port and just flushes its aspirations down the drain.
Final thoughts: While it does try harder than its predecessors attempt at porting, its still a poor game on its own, and a travesty to its source. Dont bother getting this game. If you're curoius about, emulate it. Dont worry about piracy, I'm sure you'll be deleting this game off your PC sooner than you think.
Reports have surfaced that Vin Diesel has been meeting with the heads of Marvel and will be somehow involved in an upcoming edition of the Marvel Cinematic Universe film series.
While rumors like this are always best to take with a grain of salt, the idea behind it is still interesting. If it's true, who could Vin Diesel be playing?
Obviously, we can rule out any roles that we already know are cast (such as Crossbones in Captain America: The Winter Soldier or Malekith in Thor: The Dark World). We can also rule out any roles the he COMPLETELY wouldn't fit in (ie, Dr. Pym, Wasp, Ms. Marvel.....my God do I hope we can rule those out).
What possible roles does that leave? Here is a breakdown of some potential options as I see it:
1. Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy
One of the rumors going along with this is that he'll be doing voiceover work as opposed to acting on screen. This makes the most sense out of anything, to me. I don't know too much about the Guardians of the Galaxy series, but just by looking at Groot, couldn't you imagine him having Vin Diesel's voice?
2. Rocket Raccoon in Guardians of the Galaxy
Less likely, but who knows...maybe Marvel wants to take this ridiculous character and make it even more ridiculous by giving it a voice that completely doesn't match the concept.
3. Vision in Avengers 2 (or Ant Man)
While I'd like to see Vision appear, I'm hoping Vision doesn't show up until they can do Ultron right and I don't think Ultron is the best fit for the first Ant Man film. The sequel, on the other hand, or the third film in a trilogy, would work better. With the inclusion of Scarlet Witch in the Avengers sequel (ugh...don't get me started on how I don't like that idea), there's a chance Vision DOES show up, considering their relationship. Vin Diesel is pretty robotic in his voice...that could fit. Plus, he could provide the motion capture for the role as he looks somewhat similar to the build that Vision has.
4. Thanos in Guardians of the Galaxy / Avengers 2
He's big, muscular, he has a deep and intimidating voice, and he's a rather well known actor. I'm much more into the rumors that Benicio Del Toro is instead playing Thanos, but that's looking a bit less and less likely as time goes on.
5. Some Random Other Character (in ???)
As we've seen many times in the other films, just because someone is cast doesn't mean that they're going to play someone from the comics. Dr. Selvig is a perfect example. Vin Diesel could just as easily be playing someone brand new created for a film that none of us would be able guess, since he'd simply be a random person. To be fair, though, Marvel has a much better track record than DC when it comes to using characters from the comics in cameos. Doc Samson found his way in the Incredible Hulk movie, as did many others, while Man of Steel and the Dark Knight trilogy almost on purpose tend to use characters similar to a comic book one, while giving them a new name. Okay, okay, I digress in my rant, I'm sorry. The point here is that Vin Diesel, even if he's legitimately going to play SOME part in an upcoming Marvel film, doesn't have to be playing someone from any comic that we've seen before.
Who do you think Vin Diesel will be playing—or do you think this is total bullshit and he won't be involved in any way whatsoever?
LEAVE YOUR IDEAS AND THOUGHTS IN THE COMMENTS BELOW!
Last week, Sony released firmware update 4.45 for the PS3. Unfortunately, the firmware bricked the majority of newer PS3 consoles, trapping people on the menus screen.
Well, this week, the company has released a newer update which will hopefully rectify any issues with your console.
If you're trapped on the "ribbon" screen, you're going to need a USB stick with at least 168mb free space so you can download the new 4.46 firmware using your PC using the instructions provided here.
Those who heeded our advice and held off on updating their PS3 last week, you can go ahead and download 4.46 now.
Remember folks, leave a comment if there are any other issues with your consoles so that we can give the Sony brass a piece of our mind and stay tuned to more Sony and tech stories from Fanboys Anonymous.
Hey Hey Hey Dace-Fans!!!!! Yours truly is back, but this time, stepping out of his nerd kingdom and into the land of babes!! Maxim released their Top 100 Hottest Women of 2013 list, so I figured I would break them down (or at least the top 10). But first thing's first, I would like to take a moment to tell you MY choices of who I would have picked for the Top 10 Hottest Women of 2013...
Natalie Portman
Hayden Panettiere
Lacey Chabert
Jennette McCurdy
Ashley Tisdale
Sara Jean Underwood
Candice Bailey
Kaley Cuoco
Scarlett Johansson
Blake Lively
That being said....We move into the actual Maxim 2013 Hot 100 List.
10. Elisha Cuthbert
The Girl Next Door herself! This gorgeous blonde from 24 and Happy Endings in a fapable swimsuit? Too much, I know. Take your time staring at this picture whilst I move on to the next lovely lady!!
9. Vanessa Hudgens
It's time to visit the first of our four former Disney Channel stars. Think about that, you pedophiles! The star from High School Musical and current...well I don't know what she does, but she's nice to look at so...look....then move on with me to number 8!!
8. Kate Upton
I don't know who this chick is, but she's got huge knockers.
7. Ashley Tisdale
Coming in at number 7, and in my opinion the hottest girl on the Maxim's Top 10, is the lovely, talented, gorgeous, insert more adjectives ASHLEY TISDALE!! I'm gonna hang out here for a bit, but you can run ahead to 6 if you want...
6. Jennifer Love Hewitt
Knowing what you did last summer is her claim to fame, but still going strong and being incredibly gorgeous is none other than 90's heartthrob Jennifer Love Hewitt. Gentlemen (and maybe some ladies) fap and move on....we're heading to the top 5!!!
5. Jennifer Lawrence
She's beautiful both in a shade of white or a shade of blue. Hunger is not her problem when it comes to this smoking hot mutant.
4. Mila Kunis
To me, this is a shocker, because she has been in the hearts of many, many men since the 70s. Stare...but not too hard.
3. Rihanna
A woman who loves the way you lie and is glutton for punishment...and seems to not give a damn about her ass being all over the place.
2. Selena Gomez
How damn good is Disney at picking out future hotties? In Number 2, another girl I'm not much aware of, but is pretty to look at.
1. Miley Cyrus
And noooooooooow for number one!!!! Miss Hannah Montana herself Miley "I'm clearly a badass now because of my Brigitte Nelson haircut" Cyrus. Stare you Fanboys!!! You Picked her. Look at it...LOOK AT IT!!!
So yeah there it is the Maxim 2013 Hot 100!! As always, check back regularly to see what Chris "The Dace Man" Dace is looking at. And no, it's not just porn...well, maybe in this case...as well as all other writers here at Fanboys Anonymous.
So for the Few, the Proud, and of course the Dacetacular, grab a beer (or in this case, begin your eye-rape) and check out what's going on here in the Dace-Sphere. See ya next time!
We all know what happens when a film trilogy is over with: a box set comes out!
Thus is the case with Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight saga. In the third quarter of 2013, we can look forward to purchasing The Dark Knight Trilogy: Ultimate Collector's Edition Blu-Ray box set.
Bonus content isn't official right now, but some things that appear to be involved are models of the three iconic vehicles, booklets, a bunch of discs (so we can assume some documentaries and other features), different artwork on the covers (if you count that sort of thing), etc.
Take a look at the images that have been released so far. Are you going to pick it up?
More and more, the new volume of Uncanny X-Men has been a throwback to the very first days of Xavier's children of the atom. Mutants young and old are thrown into a world of heroes and villains, struggling to take control of a force within each one of them that they are yet unable to control. But more than that, they are fighting for a chance to be seen as equals and to, in their own way, assure their version of the Professor's dream.
Uncanny X-Men #7 starts with a scene that is obviously from a time after (or before) the debacle with Dormammu's invasion of Limbo. We find that Magik has found the consult of Doctor Strange, whom, as we quickly learn, has no idea who she is. As she recounts the events that happened since the end of the last issue, we see bit by bit how truly unprepared Cyclop's team is for the reality of what they are facing. Bendis sets up the scene extremely well, meshing conflict, near-death experiences, and feelings of helplessness and inadequacy into a picture that hits home.
The message is amplified by the fact that the artwork in this issue harmonizes perfectly with the feelings conveyed. Irving's penciling is dramatic and emotional. While it's not what we traditionally see in comic books, Irving's work is a welcome addition that shows the raw emotion that's charged into these pages. I am especially impressed by the portrayal of Doctor Strange in this issue, as it is a tribute to a look Doctor Strange has not seen since the 60s.
Speaking of which, as a fan of the good Doctor myself, I am quite pleased to see him take on more and more important roles within the current Marvel Universe. In my opinion, he has long been a neglected character that was annoyingly "depowered" due to the fact that writers didn't know what to do with his previous deux ex machina status. Though Bendis has historically been one of the writers to botch the writing of Doctor Strange, I sense a return to the golden days of Doctor Strange in the future, and it might as well start with him going back to square one and teaching Illyana a thing or two about what it truly means to wield magic. I'm hoping that Bendis doesn't screw this up for Strange, and, luckily, he has yet to do so in his current run with the character.
Previously on Fanboys Anonymous, our friend Sean Mitchell wrote a short piece on why none of us should be excited about the revivification of the Killer Instinct franchise. While there may be several reasons facts outlining why Killer Instinct is the red-headed step child of the fighting game world, there are still a few things about the series' resurgence that should excite everyone with a pulse.
While it's true that the fighting game genre has changed dramatically since Killer Instinct first appeared on the scene in 1994, that doesn't mean that this new incarnation can't catch up quickly. The graphics definitely look great, so let's at least give Double Helix credit where credit is due. The redesigns of Jago and Sabrewulf look simply bad ass, for lack of a better term.
Yes, it's true that Killer Instinct was pretty damn stupid and that this new one (on the surface) looks equally as stupid as far as the core gameplay is concerned. It seems to have retained the automatic combo system which will surely turn off a lot of hardcore fighting fans as it puts the focus more on mashing buttons rather than learning combos and exacting strategic maneuvers. The "extreme" aesthetic of the franchise seems to be intact as well, right down to the announcer shouting "ULTRRRRAAAA COMMMBBOOOOOO" as one fighter unleashes the fury on some hapless sadsack. While these things were pretty ubiquitous in the 90s as everyone was trying to be more "extreme" than the guy next to them, this generation has all but lost it's attraction to it. While this could just be a result of all of the insanity of the 90s desensitizing the planet, it still makes Killer Instinct seem like more of a parlor trick than a killer app (pun intended).
By now, most readers are probably thinking, "wait, wasn't this supposed to be a pro Killer Instinct article? Why is this guy trashing this game all of a sudden?"
The fact of the matter is, everything I just said about Killer Instinct being a button mashers haven with a cast full of Mortal Kombat rejects is the exact reason why this game will triumph. The fighting game genre is full of games that constantly alienate casual gamers and girlfriends across the board, and Killer Instinct is the gateway drug to the culture of 1-on-1 combat. Nostalgia aside, the original Killer Instinct was an incredibly easy game to play and win regardless of skill level. Why? Because it did not matter what buttons you pressed when you played it, as long as you pressed them fast and furious. Casual gamers rejoice, there is a new fighting game on the market and it's all for you.
That's not to say that Killer Instinct doesn't have a strong point or two to make it a legitimate member of the fighting game family. For the record, the health bar system the original game enacted is still intact. Each character has two health bars, and whoever depletes both first wins. No rounds, just health bars. Sound familiar? *coughINJUSTICEcough*. As for any other strong points... ask me later.
The fact that Microsoft has announced that the game will be distributed as a "free-to-play" with one character initially, and the others will have to be purchased down the line is kind of an interesting prospect as well. You can download the game, play it as it's flagship character and decide for yourself whether or not it's worth your time without having to spend a dime. Granted that sounds more like a demo version than a "free-to-play" version to me, but you guys get the idea.
Either way, Killer Instinct on Xbox One is (kind of) a big deal. At the very least, this reporter believes it'll move some consoles for Microsoft. What do you guys think?
