Is that a Duke in your pocket or are you just happy to see me? 2K Games and Gearbox Software just announced that the Duke Nukem Forever Soundboard app is available on the iOS App Store. The perfect compliment for those awaiting the return of the King this June.
The Duke Nukem Forever Soundboard app bestows anyone with the power of a huge array of Duke-isms anywhere, anytime they want. No more boring midday board meetings, no more unsettlingly quiet shopping lines at the super market, no more politically correct nonsense stuffing up your entire day! Just inject Duke’s patented inappropriately appropriate one-liners, brazen insults and audaciously truthful claims and you’re good to go.
The Duke Nukem Forever Soundboard app features over 25 classic Duke-isms including silky smooth seduction lines sure to impress the ladies like “I’ve got balls of steel” and “Anybody mind if I take off my pants?”. If that doesn’t have you dripping with desire, the app will also include such lecture monotony busters as “I had eggs for breakfast,your mom had sausage” and stand-up to bullies anthems like “my job is to kick ass, not make small talk”.
The Duke Nukem Forever Soundboard is currently available for zero dollars and zero cents in the iOS App Store.
I can proudly admit I can call myself a Call of Duty expert, specifically the Modern Warfare series so once the third installment was announced last year, I have been reading up on all breaking news and recently released images.
So once specific missions were leaked I was all over it. We know Modern Warfare 3 opens in India, following Soap, Price and Nikolai as they continue to run from the law. The mission following is set in Manhattan called ‘Black Tuesday’. In the level you take on the role of Frost, a Delta Force operative under the command of Sandman.
A source close to the developer describes the newest levels, “The level opens with Frost bolting down a street in Manhattan fighting his way as he makes his way toward the Stock Exchange. He is flanked by an enemy Armored Personnel Carrier. The Stock Exchange building is surrounded by rubble, as he approaches the building we see televisions in a nearby window showing a live broadcast from CNN which is covering the “Battle for New York”.”
“After making his way through the debris surrounding the Stock Exchange, Frost goes inside and fights his way up to the roof of the building. Once there he plants thermite on a jamming tower that has been scrambling all communications and guidance systems in the area.”
The next level which was recently released is yet to be named but rumored to be called ‘Mind the Gap.’
“This level opens with players taking on the role of an SAS operative tasked with keeping an eye on a charity operation suspected of being a front for a terrorist group. The surveillance watches people moving stuff to trucks and then trucks leaving the area. After noticing suspicious heat signals in a building, you’re sent in to check out what’s going on. This quickly devolves into a gun battle on the docks, with players controlling a black-garbed, gas-mask wearing SAS operative.”
Welcome to the first of the weekly update of nerdy niches and today I’m looking at a wonderful candy store in the middle of the city.
Walking in the walk through to the Queen Victoria Building, me and my co-writer, Spike or Michael, came across this candy store and INSTANTLY had to go in. The store is filled with all kinds of candy imaginable, not only from our country but also from the UK and US, which ranged from every flavour jelly beans to something as weird as crunchy ice cream. In the end we could not resist at least buying one or two things, even though we are supposed to be on diets.
Which is freeze dried and in a packet (most of you know it as Dipin’ Dots) – MasterAbbott’s FAVOURITE ICE in the whole entire WORLD !!!
Every flavour jelly beans
Red Hots
Butter Fingers
Gob stoppers
bigger then my mouth
Tootsie Rolls
Nerds rope
Twizzlers
American Cereal
such as Trix
Atomic Fireballs
War Heads
Baby Ruth Bar
Hersheys Chocolate Syrup
Pop Tart
So I think this is probably a great nerdy niche and if you have a sweet tooth like me I advise you to check it out 😀
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I actually have a lot of respect for this guy. In an age where the majority of people in any position of power or responsibility will roll over with very little pressure this guy has stood his ground. Senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat continues to be a thorn in the side of all those in favour of trying to pass the COICA bill in the US. After the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act was introduced late last year by Senator Patrick Leahy it was passed unanimously, but in a law system where individual Senators can uphold pending legislation, Wyden proved to be a brick wall.
Already backed by obvious supporters, such as the majority of Film and music studios, the COICA has attracted the attention of many others who have signed on board such as Nike, Adidas, Viacom, NBC, Chanel and MLB franchises. While the likes of Nike and Chanel may seem a little odd on a list of companies worried about internet piracy, if passed the bill will also give these manufacturers more power over stopping the influx of counterfeit and knock-off products that profit from their IP. (and yes I see the irony of a companies like Nike and Adidas jumping on the bandwagon considering the outsourcing and labour sources they use to achieve such massive profit margins.
Companies have always battled online piracy and honestly all it has proven to be is a complete waste of time, effort and money. You could feed third world countries sometime into the next century with the disgusting amounts of money spent through the American legal systems combating piracy. The entertainment industry in general is undeniably down in sales figures but instead of looking at the current economic climate where a lot of people have to make the choice between buying the latest Blu-ray or I don’t know um…….eating, they blame internet piracy. Since Apple brought ITunes to the world, and music went online, CD shops have been closing down worldwide. This is more a sign of changing technology not a result of internet piracy. Again it all comes down to the fact that these companies count every download as a lost sale, which could be true in maybe 15% of cases.
COICA gives the US government the ability to shut down any website they deem to be breaking any part of the bill. This would include forcing CC companies to refuse payments to suspect sites as well as forcing anyone (think Google), to remove any offending advertising. While Senator Wyden has worked closely with many US industries to combat more tangible counterfeit goods, he feels the internet is “too important to our(US), economy and to advancing American values to be inappropriately regulated and censored under the guise of protecting IP”. Personally I agree with him as it seems to be an exploit the government could use to shut down other sites.
There are many other critics to the bill besides a world of teenagers already pissed off that Limewire doesn’t exist anymore. Google Chairman Eric Schmidt is heavily opposed to the bills passing saying that Google would fight its implementation even if it became federal law. He is quoted as saying “Even if there is a law that requires DNS to do x, and its passed by both house of congress and the president , and we don’t agree with it we would fight it”, he goes on to add that if it was merely a request , he would have no part of it.
As the months have gone on, Wydens stance has not changed, as he still feels the costs are far higher than the benefits, stating “…I am not willing to muzzle speech and stifle innovation and economic growth to achieve this goal”.
I hope this guy continues to stand his ground as no government should have the authority prevent their people from accessing information. There is a case for major companies to protect their IP but I don’t think this is the way to do it. Giving any government the authority to shut down websites based on their content (with the exception of the obvious underage sex issues), will eventually get out of hand and slowly sites unrelated to the bill will start disappearing. In Australia the Communications minister Steven Conroy has had plans for years to censor the internet in an effort to remove child pornography, already making a vast list of sites to be blacklisted at a federal level. While I’m all for this concept it’s not the right way to go, and is really an excuse to be able to monitor and censor whatever material he and his Family first party deem fit. Sorry, while I disagree with the theft of others property the current solutions encroach too much on my freedom for my liking.
Genre: Comedy/Horror/Cult Produced by: Asylum Director: Quentin Dupieux Featuring: Stephen Spinella, Roxane Mesquida, Wings Hauser Running Time: 78 minutes Available for purchase at:Madman Online Store ($29.95)
Overview
If you’re a person that is absolutely logical, needs an explanation for everything, and loves pointing out every little inaccuracy or absurd detail in a film, I’m warning you: put down the film, walk away, and watch some sort of documentary. The entire basis for this film is that there is “no reason” to anything, and that is – if anything – an understatement for everything that goes on in this killer tire movie.
Rubber is plenty of things: B-grade, funny, quirky, and a little bit subversive…but it isn’t to everybody’s liking. The film finds itself walking the tightrope between arthouse and B-grade horrors, and ends up somewhere in between funny and unsettling. If you are one of the few like me who can let go of cinematic reason and just observe, it’s an interesting experience; however the majority of audiences will probably watch for half an hour, shrug, and walk away.
Plot
The plot is predicated on the fact that there is no reason, and therefore everything in the film is possible. In the middle of the desert, there is an animated tire that has discovered it has telekinetc powers: it can concentrate its energy on an object and cause the object to explode. While the tire initially uses this power to destroy cans and bottles, it soon realises that it can destroy living things: birds, rabbits, and humans. It wanders to a nearby highway, where it sees a beautiful woman drive past…and surprise, surprise, the tire becomes obsessed with this woman and follows her to a hotel to watch on her. Meanwhile, there are a group of people with binoculars a little while away, watching the tire and its story as it unfolds, much like the audience watching the film in the cinema.
This shot pretty much sums up the entire film: killer tire vs. the world.
Yeah, the storyline needs a big question mark stamped straight over it. Of course, it doesn’t make sense at all, and Quentin Dupieux seems to count on the nonsensical ways of the film to score some easy laughs with the viewers. While the idea of no reason is charming and comedic in the beginning, it quickly spirals into a big dose of confusion and doesn’t reappear as comedic until the last ten or so minutes. With that being said, though, I have to give Dupieux a million and one brownie points for originality: there is absolutely no way that anyone could wander into this film and know exactly what is going to happen at the end.
Without giving away too much, I do have to add that I think this film says something deeper about all movies which try to follow the classic Hollywood narrative. It can be shrugged off as something that just tries to be silly and comical, but what I have learned about a lot of B-grade filmmakers is that these films will, on occasion, try and make a point. Dupieux is great at breaking down the boundaries between spectator and character, between the real and the constructed, and creating some laughs while he’s at it.
Characters
Since the main character is a tire, it can be hard to understand that the film is actually quite relatable. In fact, one of the spectators in the film summed up my sentiments perfectly: “It’s the first time I’ve ever identified with a tire”. The tire is funny, charming, and even though it’s on a major power trip, it’s not evil. In fact, Dupieux gives the tire enough human qualities to validate it as a legitimate character, and I have to say that it was most definitely my favourite in the film. Girls will like the tre because it falls over and makes funny noises, and guys will like the tire because it stalks the really hot girl.
I’m pouring this water…for no reason.
The rest of the characters ranged from terrible to brilliant, but in a B-grade movie that’s to be expected. The policeman who introduces the film reminds me of Craig Ferguson: someone who knows how silly the movie is, and therefore just goes along with it. The acting of some spectators was a little exaggerated – almost to the point where it seemed they were trying too hard to be funny -, but I suppose Dupieux would argue that they are supposed to be that way (for no reason, of course). Really though, aside from the tire, a few spectators, and the policeman, I felt the other characters were negligible and I probably wouldn’t have missed them if they all spontaneously disappeared from the movie.
Visual and Audio
The best part about Rubber was its cinematography. Being able to make a film about no reason meant that Dupieux could also make it beautiful for no reason…and that’s exactly what it is: visually stunning (minus the animals and humans exploding). Because a lot of the film depicts the tire’s journey through the desert and its discovery of its telekinetic powers, it really did need to be presented well in order to keep the audience’s interest. From the high contrast to the slight sepia tones which sometimes seep through, this film really makes the most of its setting. The tire is also brilliantly animated, and Dupieux does, as I mentioned before, give the tire a sort of lifelike quality through the animated movements.
Yep, that’s a beautiful tire.
Soundtrack-wise, the film is interesting and while the soundtrack suits the film, I’m not sure how I feel about it. The music is akin to that used in arthouse films – straight out of the book from indie films, in my opinion – but sometimes is adjusted to conform more to the horror genre. What Dupieux has done here is create a unique tone to an already unique movie, and provide what can only be described as a new experience. The sound effects are pretty standard, although the sound the tire makes when telekinesis-ing is extremely entertaining and very likely to get stuck in your head.
DVD Extras
The DVD came with a few teaser trailers, the original trailer, and a few Madman trailers. Suffice to say that this DVD really wasn’t jam-packed with a lot of goodies to watch after the feature had finished, but in all honesty I don’t think I would have wanted to watch any extras anyway. For 70 odd minutes, the film felt ridiculously long: my brain was absolutely exhausted from all the lack of reason and switching from no reason to a normal “making of” would have been too much to bear anyway.
Final Comments
Rubber surely was an interesting experience, but I’m not sure I could do it more than once. It’s a film that’s more comedy than horror and more nonsensical than logical, and Quentin Dupieux has really got me baffled on this one. What he was going for, I’ll never know…but I suppose the real beauty of this movie is that there is absolutely no reason at all, and maybe the point is that sometimes a lack of reason can be okay.
Game Name:Mighty Milky Way Platform(s): Nintendo DSiWare Publisher(s):Wayforward Developer(s):Wayforward Genre(s): Puzzle/Platformer Release Date: May 9, 2011 (US) May 27, 2011 (EU) Price: 800 Points ($8 US)
Back in 2009, Wayforward released an instant cult classic onto the DSiWare by the name of Mighty Flip Champs. The game was a puzzle-platformer which utilized stage design to offer variety as players flipped the entire stage to find a path out of each level. Two years later, Wayforward have released a bit of a successor to Mighty Flip Champs with Mighty Milky Way. Instead of being a true sequel though, Mighty Milky Way offers completely different gameplay mechanics with a new heroine to guide through each out-of this-world stage. How does this new entry into Wayforward’s resume measure up compared to past releases? Here is my review for Mighty Milky Way.
Story
When starting up Mighty Milky Way, there is no way you can ignore Luna, the main character player’s must guide through each stage. Not only is Luna a little green alien with a lot of spunk, she is also French and speaks it fluently during the game. Luna’s main goal is to make it to the warp point located on each planet filled stage, later going on to fight a dapper T-Rex at the end of each area as she aims to complete her “secret mission”.
Luna is a sheer delight to control as with such a simple plot, the vibrant nature of her character made the whole game feel fun and lighthearted all the way through. Most characters just die when they meet their doom. Luna actually stops, speaks a charming little phrase in French and then parishes. When you complete a stage, Luna stops to blow the player a kiss as a thank you, which is as adorable and rewarding as it sounds. Wayforward seem to know how to create characters like this, and while Luna isn’t exactly an in-depth portrayal, she certainly will make you want to fight to finish Mighty Milky Way to the end based on personality alone.
Gameplay
The way Mighty Milky Way actually plays is honestly like nothing I have ever seen before and is honestly a bit hard to write down a paper due to it’s complex nature. Mighty Milky Way is a bit of a puzzle-platformer. Instead of actually controlling Luna, players must act as a gravitational guide as they pull the heroine from one planet to the next, eventually pulling her into the warp point goal at the end of each stage. This may sound simple, but this game relies heavily on proper timing, requiring a lot of thought-out strategy and planning ahead to succeed.
To accomplish this mission, the touch screen is used to quickly create planets for Luna to jump to. Every time you collect a piece of candy, an extra planet can be created which will pull Luna into it’s orbit. Once Luna is on the planet, she will walk around it in a clockwise fashion until you give the planet a tap, pulsing the planet and launching her into the direction she was facing at the time. If you launch Luna without a planet for her to safely land on, she eventually will keep floating and fly straight into a barrier on the stage, one that usually kills the player instantly.
Most levels are designed with a few planets ready to be orbited, with an end-level warp point usually being located in a blank space on the other side of the map. To get to this destination, a set number of planetary candy are scattered throughout each area which makes the main objective of each level to collect every piece found as candy is crucial for creating the next platform to land on. To make things tricky, if Luna pulsates off the same planet twice, it is destroyed instantly. Thankfully the game is ready for this as planning ahead is made easy due the main map located on the top screen as well as a zoom function added in with the Up and Down buttons on the D-Pad. Creating a planet is done by tapping in a blank space with the stylus. Holding down the stylus instantly controls the size of the planet you are creating. At certain times, a different sized planet is needed so yet again, this is an element the player must think out a bit as if the planet is too large or a bit too close to the edge, Luna might walk right into a barrier. Barriers are not all bad though as some walls are made out of a bouncy material, letting Luna pounce off the walls of a stage to collect candy or to fly to a new area of the map.
To mix things up a bit more, some planets have enemies roaming about which kill at the touch. Since there is no way to actually kill an enemy aside from destroying the planet they inhabit, they must be avoided. Using the left and right buttons on the D-Pad, Luna has different speed settings which can speed up or completely stop her walking pace to assist with this and for most enemies this does the job fine. Later on, enemies with other abilities introduce themselves, requiring new techniques to avoid and upping the challenge greatly. Other gameplay elements are also added in during later levels of the game, changing the gravitational pull gameplay with tele-portals and cannons that are used to create different means of planetary travel. Those wanting variety in gameplay will not feel hungry during Mighty Milky Way as each stage feels distinctly different from the next, making each new area a feel like whole new experience.
Each area as I mentioned is made up of 10 stages in all, and at the end of each you are greeted by a T-Rex boss that uses a laser to destroy planets that Luna is gleefully walking on. Boss battles work a bit the same as standard stages but with a much greater threat that increases the intensity to work and think faster. Overall, Mighty Milky Way is one of Wayforward’s most challenging offerings to date that requires thought and strategy to complete and because of this, every time I completed a stage I felt that much more rewarded at the end. After you complete the game, a time-bomb mode is unlocked which doesn’t really change the way the game is played, but increases the challenge dramatically by adding in a timed approach.
Graphics/Audio
Visually, Mighty Milky Way isn’t going to win awards with it’s graphics as they are a bit pixelated at times. However, the bright colors and personality are displayed vividly throughout each “universe” Luna traverses through, making each area unique in it’s own way, from smoldering hot settings to sunshine lit backdrops. Luna is a charming little protagonist as well, which shows through in her bubbly sprite and animations as she struts upon each planet.
The music in this game is exceptional, from tunes that are a throw-back to many 16-bit classics as well as the main theme that Luna sings herself. Wayforward were genius in making Luna French as well as it adds a lot of depth to her character. I had no clue what the little alien was spurting out when she died, but each time I usually cracked a smile as there is a lot of personality in her voice that makes even the most frustrating of levels feel oddly calming and enjoyable.
Overall
Mighty Milky Way is an interesting and welcome addition to the DSiWare as the whole concept and gameplay mechanics introduced feel completely original and unique. I sat trying to think of any games to compare this title with but honestly I can’t come up with any as this gem truly stands on it’s own legs in just about every way. With the bubby character of Luna to the vibrant galaxies to explore, Wayforward have introduced yet another DSiWare title that feels like a cartridge release. Mighty Milky Way may look like a simple game from afar, but the complexity and thought that was added into the level design gives the game a thick layer of strategy, enhancing the rewards for completion ten fold and giving birth to yet another Mascot on the DSiWare.
It seems that every little bit of news we manage to scrape together for Otomedius Excellent is from a video game retailer placing the information on their website before Konami decided to say anything about it. We previously saw that GameStop had listed a Collector’s Edition of the title but we did not know at that time what would be in said edition.
That is until Amazon updated their listing for the title. Siliconera was the first to notice that Amazon now lists a $49.99 Collector’s Edition of Otomedus Excellent and under the product features it describes the following:
Lovely characters to pilot through an expanded world. Choose from nine characters on-disc to battle through 8 all-new stages of thrilling sh’mup action!
Three’s company! Cozy up with a friend or two in local and online multiplayer and team up to obtain hard-to-get items!
Eye-popping Gallery mode. View your unlocked stills and graphics in a new Gallery that grows as you progress through the game.
Loads of appealing downloadable content. Sure to appeal to both Gradius and Otomedius fans, this content will be announced later!
Exclusive Special Edition. Includes 2-sided pillowcase, 64 page artbook and soundtrack disc featuring music from the Otomedius series.
Some of these things we already knew, such as the multiplayer modes and the characters that you could play as. But the interesting thing here is obviously the 2 sided pillowcase, 61 page artbook and soundtrack disc you will receive after you buy the Collector’s Edition. I’ve gotten a pillowcase before from the Record of Agarest War Naughy Edition that was released last year and that just sits away in the closet. It’ll be interesting to see what this one will look like when Konami ever gets around to acknowledging the title again. Oh and Amazon also lists the game for a July 19th release. Wonder if that’s just a placeholder.
While we are disappointed that High Moon Studios will not be producing a sequel to War for Cybertron as of yet, it is comforting to hear that that they are making the video game adaption of the upcoming movie. While we await both the movie and game release, some screenshots and a trailer have made an appearance. Hopefully, they can satiate our curiosity for how the game will turn out. As long Dark of the Moon holds to WFC’s reputation of high quality voice acting, visuals, gameplay and detail, it sure has a shot, even if the game is set mostly on Earth.
While some people were busy watching soccer for the game, the rest of the world was watching the Champions League Final to catch a glimpse of Gears of War 3’s full campaign trailer that was teased earlier this week. If you couldn’t watch the show or just didn’t know about it, then don’t despair because we have the trailer below.
The trails is set to Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” which is quite suiting in this case. The Gears of War 3 campaign will obviously focus around Marcus’ father which was easily guessed from the teaser. What wasn’t seen however was plenty of action as well as a few new characters that have yet to be introduced. Catch the full campaign trailer below.
Many long running Nintendo fans will no doubt recognise the name Phonenix Wright of the Ace Attorney series. When first released to the public on the Nintendo DS, the series became a runaway hit on the handheld system. The unique visual sytle combined with the investigative nature of the gameplay were appealing in themselves, but most of us tended to revel in the court-room scenarios. The game series flawlessly combined elements of mystery, drama and comedy into a very well deliver package.
As of today, the producer of the series: Capcom, has announced that everybody’s favourite “OBJECTION” shouting lawyer will be heading to the big screen in a live action full length feature! Whether the story will follow the path of the first “Attorney at Law” game, or if the storyline is a brand new feature, I’ll be willing to wager that this film will be one to look out for. However, it has already been confirmed that appearing characters will include obviously Phoneix himself, his assistant Maya Fey, and everybody’s favourite prosecutor Miles Edgeworth as the main rival character. The director of the film is also confirmed as Takashi Miike, the same director behind the film “Thirteen Assasins”.
Now, video game to movie adaptations have had mixed results in the past. From the downright embarassing ones, like Mortal Kombat and the Mario Brothers movie, to averagish slug-fests like DOA, and actually surprising gems like Prince of Persia. This particular film is, as many may have guessed going to be filmed for Japanese audiences, but hopefully western audiences may later be privy to a dubbed version. Regardless of whether you hold a bias against video game films or not, this little number will be one to watch closely.
