Ubisoft now has film adaptations moving forward on two of their biggest IPs. First, it was announced that Michael Fassbender will co-produce and star in an Assassin’s Creed film, being developed by Ubisoft Motion Pictures and New Regency. Now, a Splinter Cell film adaptation has it’s lead male role cast. Tom Hardy will be playing the Third Echelon field operative we know all too well, Sam Fisher.
Varietyconfirmed the casting news on the same day that Collider revealed the screenwriter for the film; Eric Singer, who wrote the 2009 investigative thriller, The International, starring Clive Owen and Naomi Watts. Ubisoft is currently searching for the perfect studio to partner with on the production, with negotiations with Warner Bros. and Paramount having begun. Tom Hardy is blowing up in Hollywood, quickly becoming one of the most sought after actors of the last decade. The involvement of both Fassbender and Hardy, respectively, in these two high-profile game-to-film adaptations marks a great coup for the genre and is a promising sign for it’s future.
CEO of Ubisoft Motion Pictures, Jean-Julien Baronnet had this to say about The Dark Knight Rises mega-star: “Tom Hardy is currently one of the biggest talents in the film industry, and he has a phenomenal ability to take on complex and varied roles with his broad range of acting skills…His involvement in the Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell movie is exciting news for movie and video game fans alike.” Praise for screenwriter Eric Singer was also relayed: “Meanwhile, Eric Singer is one of the most talented writers of the moment, and … we’re confident he’ll bring a fresh approach and create a thrilling story … while still respecting all the codes and traditions of the franchise that are so important to fans.”
For me, this is very exciting news, and I am more hopeful than ever that the silver screen will finally be blessed with a worthy game-to-film adaptation, and that the original work of all the fantastic story and character writers in the video game industry can be recognised on a larger scale. Some discredit the attempts at getting these films made, but cross-media attracts a wider audience to the source, which is good for business!
And today marks the launch of the Nintendo Wii U console over in the North America region of gaming. Nintendo and other retailers have held numerous launch parties for the launch of the device and many millions of fans have been recorded as participating.
At the official Nintendo World store in the U.S, Reggie Fils-Aime was seen giving a live talk to fans to celebrate the launch of the console. The Wii U Facebook page has some pretty good shots of the event, so you should definitely check out the link here.
Do you have your Wii U yet? What are your thoughts on the device?
Call of Duty is, without argument, the best video game franchise in gaming history – ever. For those of you with arguments as to why this series is not the best gaming franchise ever, your points are invalid simply because they do not support the fact that this game franchise is the best game franchise in all of gaming history of all time.
In fact, I’d wager that those that believe that they have an opposing view on this subject actually do believe that they do; but really they don’t. Does that sentence make sense? No. Good. Neither do those fools arguing against the greatest franchise in gaming ever.
So why is Call of Duty the greatest franchise ever? Well, you all should know this already considering that your agreeance on this being the greatest gaming franchise of all time is what that lead you here in the first place. So really, why should I go into detail on why this is the greatest franchise in gaming ever? Considering that this is already common knowledge amongst the gaming community it seems kind of moot to even discuss it. Heck, I’d be wasting both my own time and yours by over-analysing what is simply the greatest thing to happen to gaming since women picked up a microphone.
What do women and Call of Duty have in common? Nothing much really, other than some can often be found playing the franchise. I mean, if gamer-girls like it, then it must be good. Heck, it’s so good that even gamer-guys like it. So if you’re able to pull in two halves of a gender and put them together around a common entity, then that entity must be some kind of godlike entity. I can’t be wrong here, because it’s Call of Duty.
Did you know that Call of Duty is one of those games that require a large amount of skill to even become good at? I mean, how many arena shooter players out there can 360 no-scope a headshot on a moving target whilst falling off a building? Probably none. Because none of those wusses are as good as the Call of Duty gaming elite. This video here proves that.
You know what else Call of Duty is better than? Everything else of course. That’s what. Those fools winning millions of dollars in DoTA and it’s clones (LoL, DoTA2, HoN, etc.) tournaments, useless. I’d like to see them attain a KDR of 20:1 (kills/deaths). They probably couldn’t even find the correct trigger to shoot. They probably have it mapped to X; those wusses. Yeah, that’s right, I play BLOPS2 on a Playstation 3. It is, after all, the superior version of the game.
You see a lot of game franchises change and evolve over the course of their franchises history, usually with each one getting better and better while adding more and more features to make themselves increasingly fun. Call of Duty doesn’t do this. Why should it? The formula is already perfect – why fix what is not broken. Or even better, why add more sugar to a cake that is already giving you diabetes? You don’t want to die do you? No. Having a Call of Duty game with more Call of Duty on top certainly would be a danger to your personal health. This is why, I believe, Activision has taken to releasing a new topping to the franchises cake each year; rather than giving us all the toppings at the same time.
You know what? Why is Call of Duty even likened to things like video games? It is clearly its own beast that is clearly deserving, neigh, is entirely its own thing. Video games and Call of Duty are two entirely different breeds. Video games are for children, but Call of Duty is clearly not. The fully adult audience knows this to be the case and is why you never encounter an eight year old with a sniper-rifle sitting in some corner somewhere that’s just out of the games drawing field. Doesn’t this paragraph entirely destroy the premise of this article? Yes. But it also proves that Call of Duty transcends what it means to be a video game and notifies us of the glory that is Call of Duty.
So once again, Call of Duty is a gaming franchise so great that it can no longer be associated with video games. Call of Duty was the greatest franchise ever in gaming history, but now it is some kind of god that can not be trifled with. If you do, you shall incur its wrath.
If you’re having an argument about why Call of Duty is the greatest franchise ever and just can’t find the words you need to win, like Call of Duty does, then just link the clueless fools to this article. It’ll win for you. Like Call of Duty does.
Earlier we posted that Hanabee would be acquiring and releasing the great .hack//G.U. Trilogy movie from the .hack// franchise. Now we’ve discovered that they will be further licensing two more series in the realm of Anime. These two series are: Gyo and Hakuoki.
The acquisitions were announced at a panel in Adelaide today at the Supanova convention being held over there. These were also announced on Twitter, so any fans following their page will have already noticed these announcements.
Be sure to check out the official tweets below for more info. Gyo and Hakuoki are announced to be releasing in March 2013.
Hanabee New Acquisition| Hakuoki| March 2013 release #Hanabeepanel
Coming to Australia in February 2013 is the .hack// movie based on and retelling the events of the G.U. games, called .hack//G.U. Trilogy. This movie is being released courtesy of our friends over at Hanabee, which have been releasing Anime series and the Red Vs. Blue franchise over here in Australia.
.hack//G.U. follows the story of Sora Haseo the Adept Rogue as he searches for the evil Tri-Edge player-killer character. The film version of the story condenses the three games into a roughly 2 hour film and retells it in a slightly more straightforward manner.
Be sure to check stores locally for the film in February. Be sure to check out the twitter post below.
Hanabee New Acquisition| .hack//G.U. Trilogy| Feb 2013 release #Hanabeepanel
Sports Champions 2 Developer: Zindagi Games Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America Platform: Playstation 3 (Playstation Move required) Release Date: 1/22/2012 (AU); 30/10/2012 (US) Price: USD$39.96 (Available Here)
Overview
Zindagi Games are back with another collection of sports for the Playstation Move to try out with Sports Champions 2. Instead of sports such as Bocce or Disk Golf, Zindagi brings in sports such as Boxing, Golf, Bowling, Tennis and Skiing, with Archery the only sport from the first game to transition to the second. Will these sports show what the Playstation Move is all about or will it be a bad collection of sports? Here is the review for Sports Champions 2.
Gameplay
Sports Champions 2 has three game modes to try out the six sports: Cup Play, Free Play and Party. Cup Play is the single player tournament mode, vying for three cups (which represents the difficulty) in each sport: Bronze, Silver and Gold. Free Play is self explanatory. Up to two players can just have some fun with the sports. It is also good for practicing and learning each sport. Party is the local multiplayer mode where players match up against each other. This is where the fun is at as the player and their friends or family battle each other for sports supremacy. Outside of the sports, there is the ability to create one’s own avatar. At first, the player will notice that most of the items are in fact locked. The only way to unlock extra items, such as new clothing or hair styles, is going through Cup Play and obtaining all of the stars in each challenge. There are three stars in each challenge and are based on performance. The items unlocked are random, meaning you do not know which items will be unlocked.
The translation of Bowling from real life to Sports Champion 2 is second to none. The Move controller is very accurate when it comes to the bowling motion. Twisting the wrist adds spin to the ball. However, the motion may be too accurate. Strikes came quite easily for me, despite using the same motion I use when I go bowling. During cup mode, there are different challenges, like getting a certain amount of pins in a certain amount of frames. Still, it is solid and fun. Golf is golf. All the player does is to aim their shot, raise their Move controller above their head and swing it down to hit it down the fairway. Of course, there are environmental elements the player must consider, mainly the wind direction and wind speed. Golf is a game that requires patience and pure accuracy and Sports Champions 2 recreates that feeling. One wrong swing and expect a water hazard penalty or a tough time in the sandpits.
Just like golf, tennis is nothing too special, but it is realistic in terms of movement. The ball will react to power, racquet pitch and the type of shot the player executes. Swinging the Move controller down executes a slice shot while moving the Move controller upwards executes a top spin shot. Moving the Move controller behind the player executes a flaming power shot. Tennis is still fun and exciting as nothing beats the actual motion of hitting the ball of the racquet. Archery was excellent, but it would be beneficial if one had two Playstation Move controllers to use rather than the one. The Move controller is placed behind the player’s back, as if one is retrieving an arrow out of the quiver. Placing the Move controller in front of the player loads the arrow. Pulling back pulls the string. The realism for the motion is excellent and it is very accurate, but it feels awkward without the second Move controller.
Skiing is also another sport that would benefit a second Move controller. The Move controller acts as the ski poles. The movement of the Move controller is only necessary to turn, lean forward (for some extra speed) or pull back (to slow down when necessary). Players can expect some jumps along the way to perform tricks for extra points. Once again, using a second Move controller brings more of the realistic approach Zindagi Games is bringing to the game. While Archery and Skiing can get away with a single use of a Move controller, Boxing does not feel right at all without a second Move controller. This does not mean Boxing is not a poorly implemented sport; it has solid gameplay. But it feels awkward to be swinging away with one hand. The other arm is delegated to the action buttons. Blocking is assigned to the T button at the back while holding the Move over the head or body of the player. While it feels awkward, it is better than having no control of the other arm.
Visuals and Audio
The visuals are nothing special. Zindagi Games brings back the cartoonish style that they used in the first Sports Champions game. The venues look bright and colourful, as well as sharp. Character models are well done with no significant texture faults. Menus are clean as well. The audio is also nothing special, just about average. It is a soundtrack to inspire the inner athlete within the player, but it is quite cliché music. Avatars do not have voices, except for the occasional grunt or something similar. The crowd, though, responds appropriately to the situation, whether it is cheering on when something special happens or shock when something terrible happens.
Overall
This deserves to be on everyone’s must have Move titles. The realistic capturing of every motion involved in every sport selected is excellent, proving how accurate the Playstation Move can be. Adding great local multiplayer and replay value, Sports Champions 2 is one for the Playstation move library. It is too bad that some of the sports are much better with two Playstation Move controllers. Some of the sports, like Boxing, fell too awkward without that second Move controller. It should not, however, deter from picking up this game, as it proves to be excellent with one Move controller.
Shortly after Borderlands 2’s first piece of DLC, Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate’s Booty, was released it was rumored that the next piece of DLC for the game would involve the Torgue company. Well today Gearbox Software has made it official by announcing that the second major piece of DLC for Borderlands 2 will be called “Mr. Torgue’s Campaign of Carnage.”
This piece of DLC will include a number of challenges that players will have to conquer and they will have to do so in Mr. Torgue’s “Badass Crater of Badassitude.” The company is promising “unforgettable battles” as well as an “engaging storyline” with new currency which will be specific to various Torgue weaponry and skins. Check out the trailer below to catch a glimpse of this action and keep an eye out for the DLC when it is released next week on November 20th for the PS3, PC and 360 at a price of $9.99 or 800 MSP (or free for Season Pass holders.)
As many of you know, next week the final episode to the first season of Telltale Games’ The Walking Dead will be released. Little information is currently known about what this episode will contain and even if you happened to play through Episode 4 you may have noticed that there was no preview for this final episode.
However today Telltale Games released the first screenshot for Episode Five: No Time Left which can be seen above and they also released the eighth episode of Playing Dead which sees host A.J. LoCasico sit down and talk with Episode Four’s writer Gary Whitta and director Nick Herman. The video can be seen below and keep an eye out for some hints and footage of Episode Five. Or if you don’t want to learn about anything until the episode is released, you won’t have very long to wait at least as this fifth episode will be released next week on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, Mac, and iOS.
Bunny Drop Studio:Showgate Publisher: Japan Foundation Format: Cinema (Japanese Film Festival) Release Date: Sydney – November 17, 2012, Melbourne – December 8, 2012 Price: $17 – (Buy Here)
Overview: Bunny Drop is a story that I am personally very familiar with, having reviewed the anime series earlier this year and read the manga upon which both that series and this film our based upon. So going into this film I knew what I would be getting, but nothing could have prepared me for what was to come. Not only does the film stand on it’s own, but it also takes the tale of a man becoming a surrogate father in a refreshing and surprising new direction. While the anime and manga both have their own messages about growing up and love respectively, this however is a film about sacrifices and the people that make them worth it.
Story:
We all make sacrifices in our lives, some greater than others. But the sacrifice that Daikichi makes is a great one. He takes on his grandfather’s illegitimate daughter as his own(which technically makes her his aunt) at the cost of his life pretty much being turned on it’s head in just about every aspect. He becomes fascinated with little Rin from the moment he sees her, she is quiet and distant and ultimately alone. It’s clear that Daikichi feels a kinship of some kind with her, and with his snap decision to take her on, is one not out of pity, but more out of empathy. Daikichi understands loneliness and in Rin his finds a way for them both to feel complete.
As the film progresses we follow them as they grow closer to one another and we witness the way they both effect each others lives. Rin slowly evolves from the quiet little girl to the outgoing and thoughtful girl she becomes by films end. Daikichi similarly evolves. He had been living an isolated bog standard life, buried under monotonous routine with no real direction. In Rin, Daikichi finds purpose, something he so desperately needed. Everything that he has to give up in order to care for Rin is worth it, because she fulfills that emptiness inside of him, he needs her just as much as she needs him.
By the time the film reaches it’s final stretch, we see the pay-off for all the build up, in the excellent climactic arc in which the lengths of Daikichi’s love for and dependence upon Rin combust in heart-pounding glory. It’s a sequence that Kenichi Matsuyama owns in what is an overall tour de force performance from the accomplished actor.
The cast are all great here, but of course the stand outs are Kenichi Matsuyama and Mana Ashida. The chemistry between the two of them is electric and any scene with the two interacting is deadset captivating. The way that they bounce off of one another is just so engaging and it’s clear that Ashida has major star written all over her once she comes of age. Her connection with Matsuyama as Daikichi feels very genuine and it’s easy to slip away into this world, because the cast does such a believable job here.
The scene in which Rin asks Daikichi if he will die, is truly powerful and is the height of the Matsuyama and Ashida’s downright jaw-dropping performances and one that really drives home the films message about what sacrifices mean to us. To Daikichi, he is giving up a part of his life in order to fill a void in Rin’s life. She is still coming to grips with the loss of her biological father, the man she barely knew, but loved fiercely. Daikichi tells her in one of the most touching moments in a film full of touching moments that their grandpa won’t ever die as long she never forgets him, he will always be in her heart. It would be cheesy in any other actors hands but Matsuyama and Ashida make it a genuinely powerful moment founded upon honest human emotion.
Not only is the film touching but it’s also got enough comedy to it that it balances itself between sorrow and bliss in the heartwarming territory. I was genuinely moved by this film both by it’s emotional beats and it’s warmer moments. It’s a touching film that wears it’s heart on it’s sleeve and I wouldn’t want it any other way.
Visuals and Audio:
The film is shot beautifully, with a lot of creative cinematography at play. There are great emphasis shots used at key moments that really drive home the emotion, especially within the eyes of little Rin (god that kid can act!). One thing that stands out visually about the film is the visual flair of some of the set pieces, particularly Daikichi’s house and the nursery, both of which are vibrant and brimming with life in each and every colour. Besides those set pieces, there are a lot of beautiful landscapes used, the urban sprawl and the rice fields on the road to the grandfather’s home being the most memorable for it’s representation of the disconnect between both worlds that Daikichi lingers between.
The soundtrack of this film, much like it’s aesthetics is enthralling. The repeated incidental music that plays during Daikichi’s dream sequences was great and by the 3rd time it played it was enough to elicit a reaction at what was to come. Also worth noting is the brilliant theme song, which was used by the anime series as an ending theme. It’s catchy and is an uplifting track to say the very least.
Overall:
From start to finish, Bunny Drop is a film with purpose propelled by a warm gooey heart at it’s core. If the rousing applause in the cinema following the film’s conclusion was any indication, this is a film that will resonate with you long after viewing. If you have ever made a sacrifice for a purpose bigger than yourself, this film will touch you, move you and to quote it’s theme song, make you happy. Bunny Drop is not just a film, it’s an experience, one that I won’t soon forget.
K-On! Movie Studio: KyoAni Publisher: Japan Foundation Format: Cinema (Japanese Film Festival) Release Date:Sydney – November 17, 2012, Melbourne – December 8, 2013 Price:$17 (Buy Here)
Overview
K-On! Movie follows the band Ho-Kago Tea Time’s final few weeks as a part of the Highschool music club before they finish their tenure at the school and move into University. As a premise for a film, it may not sound like something too deep; however it may offer an enjoyable experience to viewers.
What did we think of the film? Read on to find out.
Story
Graduation time is approaching for the senior members in the band Ho-Kago Tea Time and they quickly realise that they’ll be leaving behind their friend and junior member of the music club at their school, Azusa. To combat this they spend the movie preparing a way to say thanks to Azusa. They also plan a trip to London where the majority of the film takes place.
As someone that went into this movie with minimal exposure to the franchise, I wasn’t too sure of what to expect from the film. Like, in general, I’m not too overly fond of moe-blob shows that are too overly cutesy but I really didn’t have any problems with this film. In fact, I actually quite enjoyed watching it.
I wasn’t sure if I would have been able to jump straight into this film, or if I could feel connected with the characters as I wasn’t familiar with the source material. However, I was hooked on the film from the start, which is a really rare thing to happen.
What I really liked in the story was how the characters bounced off each others personalities so well. The group has this kind of synchronisation with their personalities that it makes them incredibly enjoyable to watch from the outside. Having these enjoyable character interactions makes the film much more approachable by someone from the outside (like me) and is certainly the best way to ensure that everyone is having an enjoyable experience. And really, with this cast of characters, I think the film could have worked with any storyline, but I’m glad this one was chosen.
The story has many memorable moments presented throughout it, but the majority of my favourite ones are when the band is actually playing songs. Unfortunately for me, I don’t think the songs were spaced evenly enough and it felt like there was a massive gap between musical pieces. That is until towards the end of the film anyway, where the majority of the bands songs are performed. What I liked about the songs that were performed though, was that they actually served the plot and weren’t just inserted randomly to fit the theme of ‘cute girls in a band’. The songs were also really great to listen to as well.
One thing that I didn’t expect from the film (most especially because I had no previous attachment to the franchise) was all of those feels. Seeing the way all these characters dealt with having to leave for university, having to see their friend off and everything else that goes on in the film, you can’t help but feel things. This is especially true towards the end when you’re heavily invested in the films story and things just go the way that they do.
Overall, I loved the way the movie was portrayed from a story perspective. It was able to quickly draw me in and even made me care about characters that I had no prior attachment to. This is definitely a must see film.
Visuals
As I’ve stated earlier, my experience with the K-On! franchise has been quite limited so I am unable to tell if the visual quality in the film is significantly greater than the film quality of the series. However, as a standalone package, the movie has a quite enjoyable quality with a style that some fans may find overly cute, but that I think works for this movie.
One of the cool things in this movie visually is the way they reference several famous English bands from modern history. Throughout the film, the main cast of girls can be seen replicating various single and album covers from famous bands. One that really should stick out to anybody is a scene where a certain famous band crosses a pedestrian crossing for their cover. For anyone else versed in music, there are also plenty of other references.
What else was really cool with this film was that the animators accurately portrayed the musical capabilities of a highschool band. What I mean here is that whilst the main characters are performing their songs, we don’t really have them doing anything too overly flamboyant. Each of their stage shows are much more relaxed which makes their performances much more believable for this kind of story.
I really enjoyed what K-On! Movie had to offer us visually. I’ll be looking forward to more from the studio behind this film.
Audio
In our screening of the K-On! movie, we were only given the Japanese audio track with subtitles option. I’m not sure if there will be an English dub of this or not in the future, but it would be interesting to see the way they tackle certain scenes in this film if there was.
For instance, in K-On! Movie a lot of the film takes place in London and as such, many of the characters speak a great deal of English. Out of all of the background cast in the film, only one sticks out as having a proper English sounding voice-over. The rest of the cast were clearly Japanese voice actors impersonating English. And while the few times the main characters had to emulate English, due to their surroundings, sounded fine during the film, hearing a clearly British person speaking in a different accent was a little off-putting.
However, the rest of the audio within the film was fine. What I really loved about the films audio most in particular, was all of the bands performances within the film. What really got me at one point was we hear the music for a song at about 50% through in a scene that I thought was really important and then it felt like it was going to end. However, we then hear the band play a few full songs, and it evens out nicely.
Overall
K-On! Movie offers a plethora of fun, feels and an awesome soundtrack that should give most viewers an enjoyable experience. If you haven’t yet seen this film, I would definitely recommend giving it a go; even if you’re not the biggest fan of the moe-blob genre.
