Steam Jacket

Shaymalan Begins Casting For Last Airbender

nospam@example.com (Brian Nichols) — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 15:05:13 -0800

I unfortunately missed this, but earlier this month Entertainment Weekly reported Shamalamadingdong has begun casting for his live action movie adaptation of Nickelodeon's Avatar: The Last Airbender:

Aang will be played by Noah Ringer, an unknown Texan Karate wunderkind who was discovered during an open casting call.
Katara will be played by Nicola Peltz (Deck The Halls)
Sokka will be played by Jackson Rathbone (Twilight)
Zuko will purportedly be played by singer Jesse McCartney

Toph will not be in the movie, which segues into some good news. Shaymalan plans to make three Avatar movies, one for each season of the original show, and as Toph isn't introduced until the second season, she won't be introduced until the second movie.

Special treat after the jump.

Continue reading "Shaymalan Begins Casting For Last Airbender"

Astroboy Teaser Trailer Released

nospam@example.com (Brian Nichols) — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 14:07:01 -0800

Check out my write-up if you missed it, but I honestly expect the 3D Astroboy to be quite good. If any anime can be translated from 2D to 3D, it's Astroboy. Enjoy:

Fox Wins First Round In Watchmen Suit

nospam@example.com (Brian Nichols) — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 12:59:23 -0800

The New York Times reported on the 24th that an LA judge has ruled that “Fox owns a copyright interest consisting of, at the very least, the right to distribute the ‘Watchmen’ motion picture". Merry Christmas, folks.

While I hold to my initial belief that Fox has no interest in tanking the movie, and I'm not alone, you know what really grinds my gears? Fox will likely make a shit ton of money off Watchmen when it was their fault we had to wait not a few years but two fucking decades before the movie got made. The company sat on its ass and waited for the moment to strike that would send the most amount of money flying their way. Warner, honestly, should have seen this coming. It's Rupert Murdoch after all. Anyone wondering whether or not Fox would stoop this low is either thick or retarded.

Two things will happen now. Either Fox and Warner will go to court in January, mere months before the movie's scheduled for release, or they'll reach a settlement out of court. The latter is a much more likely scenario as it's much cleaner and won't delay the movie's release, thus likely hurting its opening weekend.

While we're still asking "Who watches the Watchmen?" you can rest assured I'm watching the Watchmen legal battle. Updates will be posted as they come in.

Little Big Planet The Movie! ... Not Really

nospam@example.com (Brian Nichols) — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 18:28:00 -0800

Sometimes it takes a powerful rock ballad to knock you out of a funk. Sometimes it takes a good run and a cold shower. Sometimes it takes banging five to six cocktail waitresses. Sometimes it takes ... little heroic puppet robots made out of potato sacks. Either way, I'm back. Either way, I have splendid news.

Tim Burton kicks ass every once in a while. He has the misfortune to draw gaggles of fangirls and their ovine boyfriends, but otherwise his movies tend not to disappoint, particularly those that are completely removed from this world. Particularly those that are ANIMATED. As I, as well as Burton, have completely given up on 2D animation within the States (not counting the Nickelodeon Avatar movie that's still coming out ... maybe) this usually means dimensions of the third kind.

9 is no exception. And 9 has convinced me in two short minutes it's going to rock my face. Trailer after the jump.

Continue reading "Little Big Planet The Movie! ... Not Really"

Wha Happen?!

nospam@example.com (vedasisme) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 17:06:07 -0800

I am currently dead from working on my senior animation.

It is going to be awesome when it's done, though. In the meantime, look at this thing:

Ghostbusters Game Still Bumps In The Night

nospam@example.com (Brian Nichols) — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 20:48:00 -0800

Early last week, a new Ghostbusters video game trailer began skulking its way through the internet, leaving in its wake a trail of ectoplasm in the form of hoots and hollars. Surprisingly, and joyously, all the original cast members of Ghostbusters were found and contracted to lend their voices to the video game, even (be still my fragile heart) Annie Potts to re-voice her part as Janine the Secretary. I bet by now, she and Rick Moranis' Louis Tulley probably have a baby of their own complete with IQ over 150 and power level over nine thousand, although I've heard Moranis has refused to come out of retirement to voice his bit. The baby bit's been done anyway, so unless he or Oscar are 'junior ghostbusters' there isn't much hilarity to mine for.

From what we've seen from gameplay footage, it looks the the environments are completely destructible. It seems the directors watched the original Slimer scene at ... was that Tavern on the Green or maybe that was from a different scene? Either way, seems they wanted the players to be able to recreate that feeling - the messiness of being a ghostbuster. Destroyed chairs, chunks of drywall flying through the air... ending in your very own "two in the box" moment.

We would have been playing this game a lot sooner but it was postponed because Activision had its hands full with several other titles. Atari has begun picking up the slack, though, and is planning for a June 2009 release to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the franchise. A lot of time between now and June, Rick. Whadaya say?

Trailer and gameplay footage after the jump.

Continue reading "Ghostbusters Game Still Bumps In The Night"

Black Mesa: Source Still Very Much Alive

nospam@example.com (Brian Nichols) — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 15:25:58 -0800

If you haven't heard of the grass roots effort to port Half Life 1 to the Steam Engine, you're going to be happy with what I have to tell you. If you've heard of the project, but hadn't seen anything new in yonks, and were fearing the worst, you're going to be happy with what I have to tell you.

Floating around the internet is a new trailer for the fan-made remake of the classic FPS Half Life 1. It's a little funny how this popped up shortly after Valve ran a sale on the original Half Life for $0.99, a sale to which I had to say "I'll buy that for a dollar". Shortly after a friend said to me that now we're all used to the Source engine, HL1 will feel like crap. Well, now, as if they were waiting for someone to merely speak the magic words, a trailer appears resurging interest in Black Mesa: Source.

Here's your trailer:

Watchmen Lives, New Trailer

nospam@example.com (Brian Nichols) — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 03:10:27 -0800

The Stars Align For Fanboys After All

nospam@example.com (Brian Nichols) — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 14:38:13 -0800

Honestly, I had lost all hope of seeing this movie after having its release date pushed back (count 'em) five times, but during previews to see Zack and Miri Make A Porno, a proper theater preview was shown at long last for Fanboys. At the end, Feburary 6th 2009 was written in triumphant, white letters.

If you are a geek, dork, or nerd, I see no way in which this movie won't be enjoyable to you. Taking place in 1998, three friends realize their buddy's cancer might not let him live to see Phantom Menace, so they agree to help sneak him into Skywalker Ranch to steal an early print of the movie. Writer Ernest Cline was pressed by production house Weinstein Co. to replace the cancer plot with raunchier humor, but an internet petition was successful in keeping the geek camraderie intact. Alright, the influence of the petition over test screenings is debatable, but the point is good won over evil and the movie wasn't turned into the next Dane Cook crap-fest.

Fanboys has gone through a lot to get to where it is now and has a lot of near and dear names attached to it. Before principal photography even started, Director Kyle Newman sought out and was granted George Lucas' approval. Lucas even offered to pay for the wedding, and by 'pay for the wedding' I mean let them use the official Star Wars sound effects (Wilhelm scream anyone?) -- which is worth a lot of money. Don't knock it.

Trailer after the jump.

Continue reading "The Stars Align For Fanboys After All"

Left 4 Dead Demo Teases Nov 18 Launch

nospam@example.com (Brian Nichols) — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 17:27:32 -0800

I have to say, I've never had a demo of all things derail me from playing a game, particularly a game like Oblivion With Guns, but Left 4 Dead has done just that. The sneak peek that went live yesterday lets you play though the first two of five sections of the 'No Mercy' map: Apartments and Subway. Servers were filled rather quickly.

It's quite fun how the cinematic opening (embedded after the jump) ends right where No Mercy begins. The Director AI, the computerized Dungeon Master that makes sure the game remains surprising, unpredictable and ... well ... like a horror movie, does a great job. Some rooms seem stupidly easy. A few zombies are drooling in front of a TV looping the Emergency Broadcast System and you just plug each in the head, 1-2-3. Easy enough. Suddenly, one of your friends is screaming as he's swarmed by two dozen zombies that came seemingly out of nowhere. Though you may want to, outside of safe rooms, there isn't a time where you should feel safe. Dawdle enough, and the Director will step in to make things interesting.

Most players, it seems, are unsure how to play it, which Valve I'm sure expected. There hasn't been a co-op FPS like this before and I've noticed a lot of players are incredibly unsure of themselves. It's a wonderful feeling that got me thinking about how great a time it is to have no friends! That's what a zombie game should feel like - running around with a bunch of strangers, trying not to die. You want to help them yet you're unsure if they'll help you, but you know the only way you're getting through this is together. What a feeling.

Continue reading "Left 4 Dead Demo Teases Nov 18 Launch"

I Choose Onions!

nospam@example.com (Kel) — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 23:16:48 -0800

Voting is pretty cool! Other things that are pretty cool: Papillon, the latest from Miwa Ueda (known for Peach Girl) ...and the new D Minus Onions strip. Hurray!

Not going to lie - I knew I was going to get Papillon even before skimming the summary, just because it's Miwa Ueda and I've become hopelessly addicted to her style. There are some obvious similarities to Peach Girl, which is fine by me. I'm really rooting for the main character, who has a huge crush on her childhood friend. After getting some pretty cool advice from the quirky new guidance counselor, she begins to speak up for herself, and finds allies and friends in her class. There is drama (her hot twin steals the boy away!), but overall, it's uplifting. And gorgeous!

Ah, shoujo. ♥

Very Scientific Study Concludes Kagami Favored Most By Sludge of Society

nospam@example.com (Brian Nichols) — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 18:23:28 -0800

The incredibly serious annual 'Saimoe' contest has come to a close with Hiiragi Kagami of That Sausage Anime narrowly defeating her sister Tsukasa in a battle rivaled only by Serena and Venus Williams. Saimoe is a Japanese government-funded social experiment to determine how much easier the I.Q. test must be made to maintain an average score of 100.

"A Win by Tsukasa would have shown a much steeper increase in global faggotry levels, but to be honest a win by anyone from as shitty a show as Lucky Star, even Kagamin, is troubling new," says Tokyo University head of the Gym Teacher Training Program Dr. Bend Squattrust. "Given Haruhi's wait being 'forever' we were expecting less than ideal results, but things turned out worse than we feared.

Saimoe has been conducted since 2002 and has proven itself in the past as a keen indicator of society's slow decline into a dystopian state of flat personalities and tsundere bullshit that not even the second coming of Onizuka could save us from.

"Most people believe that humanity's downfall will come from a nuclear holocaust, robot girlfriends, or a black man entering the White House," says New York PS118's Mr. Robert Simmons. "The truth is man's genetic end will likely come riding the dark horse of 2D fetishism."

The voting between Kagami and Tsukasa was very close all the way up until polling closed. Some Akihabara police officers feared riots from Tsukasa fans, but forgot that people that vote in these contests rarely leave their homes and likely decided instead to fap out frustrations. One Kagami supporter was quoted saying, "Their tears sustain me," which it turns out is a Stewie quote from Family Guy.

Its a well-documented fact that anime lovers posess not a gram of originality within their incredibly frail/frighteningly obese bodies.

Many academic authorities are looking to the future in an even bleaker light. "Some people are already calling for Taiga '09 which, honestly, is more frightening than Palin '12," said Oxford professor of doucheyness Buff Hardcheese. "Were she to win, it could really be the beginning of the end."

Aaaw Yeah: 'Barry White' Plays Sonic 1

nospam@example.com (Brian Nichols) — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 00:17:57 -0800

I must say, this is probably the best "Lets Play" I've ever seen. Grab a nice wine or maybe some brandy, kick off you shoes and watch this video.

Dead Space: Downfall Pretty Much Blows

nospam@example.com (Brian Nichols) — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 17:18:59 -0700

While Dead Space the game has been highly anticipated, and has proven to not be quite as amazing as expected (big spoiler there), Dead Space: Downfall is its proverbial goofy younger brother. Nobody really wanted him to come along, and now that he's here nobody really knows what to do with him. Some people are going to feel like they HAVE to say hi, see what he's about, if only to learn something about their REAL friend, the game, that they wouldn't have known otherwise.

Mind you, Dead Space might not be happy with you for not at least saying 'hello' to Downfall, but that wasn't exactly in your agreement when you made friends in the first place. What was in the agreement was that Dead Space be entertaining, which it's barely followed through on as is, and now the cheeky bastard's asking for favors. This is why I have no friends, be they made of flesh and blood or ones and zeros.

Continue reading "Dead Space: Downfall Pretty Much Blows"

Yahtzee Reviews Saints Row 2

nospam@example.com (Brian Nichols) — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 15:53:53 -0700