Every Single Article Written by N - All 1343
‘Strip Search’ Recap: Season 1, Episode 27 “Contractual Obligations”
Contract work is such a devil.
At some point after you start a business, you’re gonna need to read, understand and negotiate a contract. It’s not fun, so the idea of dedicating an episode of Strip Search to it sounded both necessary and harsh. After Penny Arcade signed away their entire empire early on (when it was far more of a wooden shack than a massive territorial claim) and their book rights to a guy who fled to Alaska, bringing in business maestro Robert Khoo saved their butts and built what we know as Penny Arcade today.
‘Prey 2’ Is Still A Game, ‘Dishonored’ Guys Now Working On It
This Sam Fisher-like will live to fight another die. Maybe.
I don’t think anyone ever expected a follow-up to 2006’s Prey, a shooter with some interesting ideas (like portals before Portal), but simply didn’t gel well as a shooter, sporting an unlikable protagonist and a grim setting. When Bethesda spent a lot of money teasing the game two years ago, in which you now played as an intergalactic bounty hunter, it looked like a knock-down success. Behind the scenes though, trouble was stirring and just a year later, it looked like the game was doomed to ever come out at all. Thankfully, as Kotaku reports, it looks like the game is back in capable hands.
Shyamalan’s ‘After Earth’ Expected To Bomb This Weekend With $30-40M Pull
You can’t save it now, Will.
These movies just aren’t meant to live. Both Shyamalan’s After Earth (which is really Will Smith and Gary Whitta’s) and Joseph Kosinski’s Oblivion similarly-themed post-apocalyptic romps were exposed to air in the same breath. Oblivion is set to close well south of $300 million worldwide, which is far removed from the middling success of Kosinski’s previous film, the cultish Tron: Legacy. Now that After Earth is up to bat, it looks like expectations are low, lower than low, that the film will generate much of a blip on anyone’s radar. Also, the film isn’t even in theaters yet.
‘Pixels’ Will Finally Become A Real Movie, Directed By… Chris Columbus
“There’s a lot of potential in this film.” – Me, 3 years ago, when Adam Sandler bought the rights
It’s been a long time coming, but that Pixels short film you enjoyed so many years ago now has a fate assigned to it. When an amorphous multi-colored blob busts out of a TV, it begins to turn the world and everything in it into cubic reductions of their previous forms while a cast of classic video game characters helps with things. A brilliant concept with more insane compositing, Adam Sandler bought the rights to make it a full film when it debuted in 2010 and it’s languished in development hell ever since.
‘ Elder Scrolls Online’ Is Finally First-Person, But It Won’t Be ‘Skyrim’
Lockpicking! Now in first-person!
What happens when you make an MMORPG that takes up the mantle of the third-person perspective in a series that’s known for being first-person? Well, eventually, you change it. In the case of The Elder Scrolls Online, you’ll now be able to play the game from the series’ standard perspective.
Tesla Unveils Supercharger Expansion Plans, World Domination To Follow
It’s funny that they skip Nebraska until 2015.
I’ve still never seen a Tesla in real-world operation, but I’m a complete fanboy. The problem is that they’re trying to sell the car to Americans, who live in a large, unpopulated country that’s probably the least ideal for a purely electric car with limited battery range. Unless you’re one of those ‘Opening In LA And New York’ yuppies, you don’t even have access to their proprietary Supercharger network, which allows you to rejuice in an hour, compared to the traditional all-nighters of your 220V garage plug.
Well, that’s all changing real soon.
THE NIGHTLY FLO SHO – May 30th, 2013
Get ready to flo!
Cody, Kelly and N are trying out something new with a brief, sub-30 minute, nightly podcast! Today we chat about the weather, weird stuff, and weirder stuff! Heck, I can’t spoil it here, that’s too much to spoil! You could probably finish the podcast in the time it took to read this synopsis!
Double Fine Unveils Second Kickstarter For ‘Massive Chalice’, A Tactics-Based Strategy Game
Gah, stop twisting my arm already, Double Fine!
It’s been over a year since Double Fine launched their first Kickstarter for what would become Broken Age, a campaign that would set records and launch thousands of other campaigns from old-school game developers seeking a new day in the sun. Today, they launch a second with an incredible video, which I’ll include below.
Ridiculous Fishing (iOS) Review: Yep, It’s Pretty Ridiculous
Reel all those fishies back to the surface and… blow them up with your weapon of choice!
The story leading up to Ridiculous Fishing‘s release has been as interesting as the game itself. Developer Vlambeer created a Flash prototype called Radical Fishing and another dipshit developer copied it straight up and brought it to the App Store before Vlambeer could. I played the knock-off – which I won’t list by name – and it’s pretty terrible. Vlambeer got their redemption when their title released and, as I’m about to reveal, it was worth the wait.
Microsoft Investing $1B Into Exclusives For Xbox One, Most Probably “Call Of Duty” DLC Money
You’re gonna get a lot of lovin’, Xbox One.
Gears of War cost $10 million to make. Half-Life 2, $40 million. Grand Theft Auto IV, $100 million. Double Fine’s Costume Quest? $3 million. What do these numbers mean? They’re all development amounts, of which Microsoft’s Don Mattrick has said they’re promising $1 billion toward funding for exclusive games on their new console. It sounds like a lot, but what does that really mean?
