Television Critics Association Honors Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad

Tonight, the Television Critics Association (of which both IGN TV's Executive Editor Eric Goldman and I are members) recognized the top programs and actors of the 2011-2012 television season at its 28th Annual TCA Awards presentation. Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston hosted the annual invitation-only event, held at the Beverly Hilton hotel in conjunction with the TCA’s summer press tour.

HBO's Game of Thrones captured (presumably with fire and blood) the top honor of "Program of the Year" while comedian Louis C.K. took home two awards; "Outstanding Achievement in Comedy" (for his series Louie) and "Individual Achievement in Comedy" (for his performance on the series).

Too bad there's no Individual Achievement in Douchebag.

Showtime's riveting counter-terrorism series Homeland also took home two awards - one for "Outstanding New Program" and one for lead Claire Danes in "Individual Achievement in Drama."  Meanwhile, Downton (Spanish flu induced?) fever wasn't just for last week's Emmy Award nominations as Masterpiece: Downton Abbey won the 2012 TCA Award for "Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries and Specials."

In the "Outstanding Achievement in Drama" category, AMC's Breaking Bad took the top prize while the classic Bostonian bar sitcom Cheers beat out nominees such as Twin Peaks and Lost to take home the Heritage Award.  Here is the full list:

• Individual Achievement in Drama: Claire Danes (“Homeland,” Showtime)
• Individual Achievement in Comedy: Louis C.K. (“Louie,” FX)
• Outstanding Achievement in News and Information: “60 Minutes” (CBS)
• Outstanding Achievement in Reality Programming: “So You Think You Can Dance” (Fox)
• Outstanding Achievement in Youth Programming: “Switched at Birth” (ABC Family)
• Outstanding New Program: “Homeland” (Showtime)
• Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries and Specials: “Masterpiece: Downton Abbey” (PBS)
• Outstanding Achievement in Drama: “Breaking Bad” (AMC)
• Outstanding Achievement in Comedy: “Louie” (FX)
• Career Achievement Award: David Letterman
• Heritage Award: “Cheers”
• Program of the Year: “Game of Thrones” (HBO)

Source : feeds.ign.com

Rumor: PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale Characters, Stages Leak

Until we receive official confirmation from Sony and/or SuperBot Entertainment, take all of this with a grain of salt. But Reddit is alight with activity surrounding PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, and in particular images of an unknown origin that seem to include a bunch of new, yet-unannounced characters and stages.

Reddit user 696Ly has posted a bunch of pictures with the words “leak” littered all over them, including one picture of character portraits and more of individual stages. He calls his source "a friend of a friend" and says the source is "reliable".

Let’s start with the characters first.

The image, seen below, shows 12 characters. Four of them are known, announced and confirmed characters: Heihachi, Toro, Jak and Cole. However, eight of them are characters that -- if this image is real -- have yet to be announced. Among them are two characters that appear to be Raiden from Metal Gear Solid and Dante from Ninja Theory’s DMC.

The remaining six characters are easy enough to identify: Ratchet (Ratchet & Clank), Sackboy (LittleBigPlanet), Spike (Ape Escape), Sir Daniel Fortesque (MediEvil), Nariko (Heavenly Sword) and, surprisingly, Evil Cole (Infamous). The latter makes the Cole that was already revealed, presumably, Good Cole.

NeoGAF aptly points out that many -- if not all -- of the art shown here previously exists somewhere else, so this could just be a fake. But the stage imagery makes all of this seem a lot more real, or at least a much more elaborate hoax.

696Ly posted the stages in tiny form with the word “leak” written all over them, but later gave everyone a taste of most of them (so far). These look very real, especially considering one of them -- Dreamscape -- we’ve already seen as a confirmed level. Here’s what he’s posted.

"Columbia" (BioShock Infinite)

"Dreamscape" (LittleBigPlanet, previously confirmed)

"Invasion" (Killzone)

Name Unknown (LocoRoco)

"Black Rock Stadium" (Twisted Metal)

We've reached out to Sony for official comment, clarification and/or confirmation, and will update when we hear back.

Each and every image in this story is courtesy of Reddit user 696Ly.

Source : feeds.ign.com

Mark Wahlberg and Liam Neeson in Neuromancer?

The long-gestating screen adaptation of William Gibson's cyberpunk lit classic Neuromancer is reportedly eyeing two big names to star in it.

Moviehole reports that offers have made to Mark Wahlberg and Liam Neeson to play the leads in the film, which is set to be directed by Splice's Vicenzo Natali.

"Wahlberg, who has a solid working relationship with the film’s producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura (he cast the former in Four Brothers and Shooter), would play the anti-hero Case. Neeson, who like Wahlberg will receive a pay-or-play deal, would be the twisted tool Armitage," according to the site.

Moviehole adds that their source says filming is expected to finally comment once Natali wraps production on his current film, Haunter. That would peg Neuromancer for a 2014 release.

Source : feeds.ign.com

Louie Renewed for Season 4; Wilfred and Anger Management Renewals Likely

At the TCA (Television Critics Association) press tour today, FX president John Landgraf announced that the critically acclaimed Louie has been renewed for Season 4. This comes on the heels of Louie receiving multiple Emmy nominations, including Louie C.K.’s nominations for acting and writing (though Landgraf acknowledged their disappointment that it didn’t get a Outstanding Comedy nomination).

Not officially announced as renewed yet were Wilfred and Anger Management, but it sounds like both will almost certainly be back. Landgraf said he was “very optimistic” about Wilfred’s renewal, but noted there were “some deal issues to work out” first.

Anger Management meanwhile has an unusual (but not unique – the same deal was established for Tyler Perry’s TBS comedies) situation where if FX picks it up, it’s picking it up for an additional 90-episodes on top of the original 10, making it a 100-episode, syndication-ready package.

While Landgraf said they won’t make the final decision on that pickup until the first 10 complete their run, he did reveal Martin Sheen would be joining the cast as Charlie Sheen’s onscreen father, should it continue (Martin will guest star in Season 1). It’s hard to believe that the show would not be picked up, on the heels of a casting announcement like that.

Landgraf also revealed Brand X with Russell Brand will be back this fall for seven more episodes, after its six-episode summer run. The fall episodes will air alongside It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and The League. Landgraf said there will be changes to the format.

Source : feeds.ign.com

New Skyfall TV Spot

Check out this brand new TV spot for the next James Bond movie, Skyfall. The spot ran during today's Olympic Games opening ceremony telecast:

Skyfall opens stateside November 9.

Source : feeds.ign.com

Malicious Review

While playing Malicious – the PlayStation Network exclusive action game from Japanese developer Alvion – my feelings ebbed and flowed. I didn’t like it at first, only to ease into the experience after a bit more play time. But by the time I reached the last boss, I gave up, confused and frustrated. This array of conflicting feelings sums up Malicious wonderfully, because it provides gamers with something seemingly likeable, but ultimately bogged down by sloppy gameplay and design that lacks any sort of rhyme, reason, or even basic explanation.

Malicious revolves around your character, the Spirit Vessel, as it sets out to fight five different bosses in order to gain access to the big honcho at the end of the game. That’s right, there are no stages to work your way through, just boss fights. In Mega Man-esque fashion, you can undertake these boss battles in any order you desire, and you’ll receive weapons and other special powers and abilities from defeating each boss. Newly acquired weapons and powers can, in turn, be used on your remaining opponents to make things more manageable.

For a $10 downloadable game that’s bite-sized and focused, Malicious seems like a pretty good offering. It's undoubtedly short – skilled players can crank through to the last boss in only a couple of hours -- but its brevity doesn’t amount to much of a problem. Rather, Malicious suffers from some serious flaws regarding its gameplay, camera, and story that overshadow its pretty graphics and unique approach. And even though it can be purchased on the cheap, a slew of superior games much more worthy of your time populate the PlayStation Network at an equal price-point.

The third-person combat of Malicious will pit you against endless streams of various lesser enemies that accompany each boss, but make no mistake: the boss is the target. The ancillary enemies only exist to build up chains and feed your character aura to make you more powerful, as well as to distract you from the task at hand. The aura you build up can also be used to heal and sustain yourself, which is important considering each boss battle is timed to last a maximum of 30 minutes. You’ll need to prepare yourself for the long haul during each battle in Malicious... unless you're skilled enough to take out the game's various bosses rapidly.

But when you take into account Malicious’s borderline-broken camera, one that constantly gets stuck, moves around randomly and acts completely wonky at virtually every moment you dare lock-on to an enemy, the fun from combat is largely removed. For such a fast-paced game predicated on consequences (you have a limited amount of lives to get through all of the bosses and face having to beat the rest of the game with one life if you mess up), players should expect combat – and especially a camera – that function much better.

Making matters worse, the developers seemed to have used the streamlined focus of Malicious as an excuse to skip-out on the exposition necessary for players to understand both the story and the game’s mechanics. Answers are there if you look for them, but that’s the point: you shouldn’t have to search around for information on what’s going on or how to play. You shouldn’t be thrust into an experience as if you know what you’re supposed to do without any sort of tutorial. You shouldn’t have to read nearly 40 pages of in-game text spread across four chapters to understand a game’s story. Such a tactic isn’t only sloppy and ill-conceived, but comes off as a cut corner.

There are some positives worth focusing on, however. Malicious packs slightly-dated, but pretty graphics. Character and enemy designs underwhelm, but its vivid color palate pops. Likewise, its soundtrack is limited but pleasant. Even the premise behind the game – a Shadow of the Colossus-like singular focus on boss battles shrouded in deep mysticism – is something I can get into. It’s just poorly executed.

Should you choose to spend some time with Malicious, you’ll find more options apart from a mere handful of boss battles and some equippable weapons. Free Play Mode will unlock when you defeat the five bosses, and further unlockables, like Time Attack and Score Attack modes, and even an online leaderboard are there for you to acquire, too. I just couldn’t bring myself to try to sort out the nonsensical last boss battle and get most of these extra perks, and I guess that’s the point. Playing the game at various times over two days broke my will to see it through.

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Hero Worship: Why Nolan’s Batman is the King of Movie Superheroes

Warning: There are spoilers for The Dark Knight Rises within.

As I mentioned in last week’s column, we now live in a post-Dark Knight Rises world. We’re already seeing articles pop up across the Internet about “what’s next” for the Batman movie franchise before we’ve even really had a chance to let Christopher Nolan’s conclusion set in. While that’s the nature of the beast these days, I suppose – done, done, onto the next one – I find myself mulling over the importance of The Dark Knight trilogy as it pertains to superhero movies as an entity and why it proves my oft-spoken theory that straying from the comics isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

As has been stated so many times before, superheroes are modern myth. Myths, by design, are stories passed down by generations and reinterpreted as the years press on. While adapting a specific storyline to the screen is technically “reinterpreting” by nature of its change of medium, Christopher Nolan’s Batman films are the only superhero movies (so far) that have truly spit into the wind of expectation and formed a very specific vision of the character.

Movies should strive to champion the creative vision over the institution of the character itself.

By contrast, Marvel has gone the complete opposite route – which is fine, too – by aligning their universe to be in line with what comic book readers expect, pandering to the established fan while keeping things accessible. That’s not a slight on their part, either, as I love most of the Marvel movies and appreciate their success. But at the same time, my stance on the superhero myth is that they were built to be reinterpreted, not just repeated or adapted. Just as comic books are given new creative teams that define new eras of a given character, so too should movies strive to champion the creative vision over the institution of the character itself. For all intents and purposes, I wouldn’t expect the director shake-ups on the upcoming Marvel sequels to change a whole lot. There’s a larger force at play there, and ultimately everything is going to have to stick to a certain tone and vision.

Nolan’s trilogy is the first and only example of a filmmaker giving a superhero his own distinct, personal spin. Burton’s movies were more interested in the villains and visual motifs that surrounded Batman, while the Joel Schumacher sequels were built as toy commercials. However, with his seeming free reign of Batman’s world, Nolan was able to construct a new vision for the Dark Knight in a way that told a complete story and reinforced the thematic strong points of the character by breaking down every expectation we ever had as established fans.

There are elements borrowed from the comics, certainly; particular storylines like Year One, No Man’s Land, Knightfall, etc., but none are beholden to “being like” the comics and the movies are better for it. There are certainly fan service moments in these movies as well – Bane breaking Batman over his knee, the Joker card at the end of Batman Begins, and Blake’s real name being Robin, to name a few. But most importantly, this is a vision of Batman as an entity that had never been done before in which we get to see something we’ll probably never get to see in another superhero movie series or even in the comics: an end.

By constructing these movies as one story, Nolan crafted a new vision of Batman – one with a beginning, middle, and conclusion. Comics, by nature, can only give what amounts to vignettes of the character in different stages of their existence, no matter how much we might like to fool ourselves into thinking that their history is linear. With 75+ years of continuity that is often revamped or just done away with, the character is chiseled down to their essence for future generations instead, leaving readers to pick and choose the things they like best.

For example, 30 years from now, the continuity “problems” that the DC relaunch brought to Batman are going to be inconsequential. Just as you wouldn’t go back and read the thousands of Batman comics in their order of release today, readers in 30 years aren’t going to trudge through thousands more to get Batman’s entire history in a straight line. The seminal works will stand tall, as they do today with any superhero character, and that’s what readers will turn to for their take on the Dark Knight.

Some fans are extremely continuity-centric, but I find that these characters are meant, again, to be personally interpreted by creators and readers alike, so continuity is really only what you make it. But with The Dark Knight trilogy existing in and of itself with a definitive conclusion to Bruce Wayne’s story, Nolan lets us see a complete portrait of Batman and his relationships to Gotham City, his allies, his loved ones, and his enemies. Never before has a superhero series been able to give us such a well-rounded and complete take on a character and his world.

While I’d argue against The Dark Knight Trilogy being the best of all time, it’s absolutely the greatest series of superhero movies. Marvel’s cinematic Avengers Initiative is a fantastic, fun achievement, but most of those movies sacrifice character for coolness and are in service to the larger universe at play. A universe that, I might add, clearly worked out very well for them. However, Nolan’s movies put character first – most importantly, Bruce Wayne, which no Batman movie had ever done before – and constructed a self-contained story rife with heavy themes that leaves you thinking about the films long after the credits roll. By comparison, when The Avengers ended, I threw away my bag of popcorn and went home, pleased with what I saw but otherwise emotionally and intellectually unchallenged.

As much as I would of course love to see Superman and Batman side-by-side on the big screen, I’m more partial to WB taking a different approach that isn’t just a carbon copy of what Marvel is doing. I’d love to have a go-to cinematic definition of the DC heroes that isn’t predicated on their ties to one another, but instead focused on giving the most complete depiction of the individual character that they can.

It’s a pipe dream considering the kind of money Avengers brought in, but a guy can dream.

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Introducing Escape Plan’s New DLC: The Underground

Escape Plan came to PlayStation Vita very early in its lifecycle, and we loved it. We learned it would get DLC back in April, and indeed it has, in the form of Bakuki’s Lair and The Asylum.

And today, IGN can confirm that Escape Plan’s third DLC pack – The Underground – will be coming to PlayStation Network this Tuesday, July 31st. It will cost $1.99 for its first two weeks on the market, and will jump up to $4.99 thereafter.

The Underground again puts players in the role of the lovable Lil and Laarg, the petite and obese character tandem at the heart of Escape Plan’s comical plot. Evil mastermind Bakuki is still on their respective tails, this time chasing them through a railroad station. The same mechanics are at play here, requiring gamers to manipulate the environment around them using the front and back touch bad, the gyroscope and analog sticks to get both characters to safety.

Players can expect 21 new stages in The Underground, complete with four new Trophies and four additional (and entirely optional) costumes for Lil and Laarg. There’s also new sonic accompaniment. Better yet, the DLC goes live at the same time as a new patch designed to make some minor upgrades, including the ability to use the Vita’s circle button in lieu of the “pinching” action necessary to make Lil… well… pass gas. And Lil will be doing a whole lot of that during The Underground’s new levels.

The four stages I saw – Underground Bash, Mind the Tap, Tube Shocks and Loose Caboose – ran a gamut of puzzles Escape Plan veterans will mostly be familiar with. There are, however, some new interactive objects that gamers will need to work their way around, over, below and through.

Escape Plan continues to be one of Vita’s strongest games – and certainly its most endearing title – and it’s great to see Sony still supporting it.

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Wilfred: "Control" Review

Warning: Full spoilers for the episode to follow.
It was only a matter of time before Ryan attempted to integrate Amanda into his established group of friends -- or rather, Jenna and Drew. We already knew that there would be some unresolved tension between Amanda and Wilfred, given Amanda's darting looks of disapproval in episodes past. In this week's "Control," we got a chance to see Ryan confront the situation head-on.

It all started with a remixed auto-tune video of Jenna's infamous "Squishy Tits" incident from Season 1. Even after all the time that has passed, her televised black mark is still causing trouble (to the tune of 1.4 million views, I might add). Right off the bat, we were introduced to Ryan's first hurtle between Amanda and Jenna as Amanda caught Jenna and Ryan in a consoling embrace. It was that nail-biting anxiety that would set the tone for the rest of the episode. And things only got worse at Ryan's dinner party... thing.

Among the overall cumbersome atmosphere, it was a stroke of genius to incorporate Drew into the butt of every awkward pause. Some of his lines were unintentionally brilliant, particularly his analysis of the difference between Monet and Manet, which, as we learned, are "both correct." I never thought of Chris Klein's character as anything more than a one-note joke -- and in many ways, he still is -- but the degree to which they use him has been expertly played this season.

Meanwhile, Wilfred had his own problems with getting to know Amanda, who was immediately repulsed by Wilfred's clumsy gestures of affection. Pretty much every interaction that could go wrong, did go wrong. And "Bear's" drunken antics certainly didn't help matters.

Jenna and Amanda's polarizing stance on dogs was another fun (and inevitable) dynamic for the episode. Matters became doubly uncomfortable when Ryan started lying for both women to save face with either side, and the culminating trauma story for Amanda was the icing on the terrible cake.

However, in a rare moment for the show, I was pleasantly surprised to see Wilfred actually resolve everything with his final act of redemption. I supposed we should never underestimate the awesome power of the doggie snuggle. Once again, Ryan was able to narrowly escape a complete disaster.

As a self-proclaimed Amanda (Read: Allison Mack) fan, it seems as though we've seen our first real drawback in her relationship with Ryan. While this week's conflict did conclude rather nicely, who knows how long the peace will last. Nevertheless, it was great to see Amanda playing a central role in the story this week, as well as the return of Jenna and Drew. Now that the formal introductions have been made, it will be interesting to see where this newly formed ensemble eventually ends up, especially now that Amanda and Jenna are so buddy, buddy.

Source : feeds.ign.com

Valve Adds Three More Dota 2 Heroes

Another three heroes have been added to the roster in the closed beta test for Valve’s Dota 2. Though it hasn’t yet officially launched, Dota 2 is routinely the most popular game on Steam, beating out Team Fortress 2, Counter-Strike and Football Manager 2012 in terms of concurrent and peak players.

The added heroes include Keeper of the Light, a ranged pusher, Nyx Assassin, a melee disabler and nuker, and Visage, a ranged support hero.





As noted on the blog, updates will slow down from now until The International competitive tournament, scheduled to take place August 31 through September 2 in Seattle. “With The International arriving in just over a month, we want to give the competing teams some time to practice with a stable Hero roster, and as few new bugs from us as possible. With that in mind, after today’s update we’ll be clamping things down a tad, focusing on getting the existing feature and hero set polished to a high sheen. Fear not, we will continue to work on new heroes internally, getting them ready for a release once The International is over.”

Though Dota 2 does not have a set release date, invites can be purchased and traded within Steam for $30.


Source : feeds.ign.com

Re-Animator Resurrected on Blu-ray

Horror fans and '80s cult cinema lovers can rejoice! Image Entertainment will resurrect director Stuart Gordon's beloved cult horror classic, Re-Animator, on Blu-ray September 4, 2012. The film will also come to DVD the same day.

Here's a synopsis of the picture direct from Image, "Adapted by Dennis Paoli, William J. Norris and Stuart Gordon from the H.P. Lovecraft short story, Re-Animator tells the strange tale of medical student Dan Cain (Bruce Abbot) and his girlfriend Megan Halsey (Barbara Crampton), both of them drawn to odd new student Herbert West (Jeffrey Combs) who’s conducting secret experiments involving the re-animation of dead tissue. When one of the instructors, Dr. Carl Hill (David Gale), stumbles upon their activities, West murders him -- but is brought back to life, now thirsting for revenge as well as lusting after Megan. The final denouement features the re-animated Dr. Hill squaring off against Herbert and Dan in a battle royale within the school’s morgue, complete with resurrected “henchmen” and undoubtedly one of the greatest visual double entendres in all horror cinema!"

Re-Animator will be presented in 1.85:1, with a brand-new 1080p HD transfer approved by producer Brian Yuzna, featuring 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. Extras will include the following:

• Documentary: “Re-Animator Resurrectus”
• Audio Commentary by Director Stuart Gordon
• Audio Commentary by Producer Brian Yuzna and Actors Bruce Abbott, Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton and Robert Sampson
• Interview with Director Stuart Gordon and Producer Brian Yuzna
• Interview with Writer Dennis Paoli
• Interview with Composer Richard Band
• Music Discussion with Composer Richard Band
• Interview with Fangoria Magazine editor Tony Timpone
• Deleted and Extended Scenes
• Theatrical trailer
• TV Spots

Suggested retail for the Blu-ray is $17.97. Amazon has the disc available for pre-order for $14.99.
As always, be sure to check back for more news regarding this title. And be sure to look for a review of Re-Animator on Blu-ray this fall.

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Beta Codes for PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale Going Out Now

The IGN readers strike again! IGN PlayStation reader Matthew Remenak reached out to us tonight to let us know he received a beta code for PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale in the mail.

“Congratulations on joining the Developer Beta for PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale!” the e-mail reads. “Here you’ll be among the first to experience the iconic characters of the PlayStation universe coming together in an epic fighting game! We’re very excited to show you the game and all the fantastic features we’ve been working on and we can’t wait to see everyone go all-out in battle to see who’s truly the best!”

Along with a typical 12 character code to redeem on the PlayStation Store, players are given access to PlayStation All-Stars' beta message boards to leave feedback about the game for the developer, SuperBot Entertainment.

As for what the beta is aiming to learn, “The focus of this private beta will be to stress-test the sever’s load capability and in-game features.” As such, “Please note that the PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale close beta is a testing program for a work in progress. The game you play today is not indicative of the quality of the final product or its ultimate performance, frame rate, effects, or feature set.”

As seen in the image taken from the e-mail below, the beta has two sets of dates and times right now in which it will be active: tomorrow, Friday, July 27th at noon until Saturday, July 28th at 11:59pm PT, and Friday, August 3rd at noon until Saturday, August 4th at 11:59pm PT. (Word on Twitter is that the beta is live early. Whether the beta stays live before it's supposed to be up remains to be seen.)

There's nothing in the e-mail to indicate who can expect to get a beta code, or why. But it's safe to assume you have to be a PlayStation Plus member and be active in the online PlayStation community (as has been the case with previous betas).

Source : feeds.ign.com

Louie: "Daddy's Girlfriend Part 2" Review

Note: Full spoilers for the episode follow.
I love that Louie can do episodes like this. In the early days of this series, an episode like “Daddy’s Girlfriend Part 2” may have felt out of place, but now Louie has established there is no “out of place.” There are just the fascinating stories Louis C.K. chooses to tell week to week.

“DGP2” was about one very unique and odd date Louie went on, with bookstore clerk Tape Recorder… Oh, sorry, it’s Liz. While in theory a continuation of last week’s episode, it didn’t really have to be – last week could have been an independent story of Louie trying to ask a woman out while this week was the story of an odd and memorable date Louie had. But look, I’ll never argue with more Parker Posey.

As it turned out, Liz was out there. Maybe even a bit crazy. And what was so interesting was watching Louie’s reactions through the night, which truly took him (and us) through a gamut of emotions. This was a woman who managed, in one night, to tell Louie about her horrific childhood illness and how her mom became unhinged because of it; to introduce him to the best food he’s ever eaten; and to turn him leaving some food for a homeless man (Casey Siemaszko! Man, I watched Three O’Clock High a lot on cable as a kid...) into a much larger bit of interaction and kindness for the man.

Louis C.K. got an Emmy nomination for best actor in a comedy last week, which was a bit surprising – he’s not usually singled out as a performer as much as he is an overall creative genius with this show. But I must say, I was especially impressed with his performance in this week’s episode. Much of it was silent, as we just saw his expressions watching Liz and C.K. expertly conveyed a guy who was at times thrilled, exhilarated, deeply concerned and truly happy, all in one night. C.K. was very believable here, showing how Louie would be both wary of and drawn to this woman all at once. And Posey was perfect actress to play such a character, showing how Liz was so charismatic and yet so... worrisome.

I especially loved the scene where Liz had Louie try on the dress. It was the antitheses of being a stupid, “Look at that guy in a dress” wacky scenario. The way Liz got so close to Louie while he changed, and the bizarreness of what she was having him do, made the whole thing weird and uncomfortable and yet intimate.
The final scene on the roof was incredibly poignant as Louie was so concerned for Liz’s safety, only to break into a broad smile when she said she was having too good a time to jump/fall… and yet her expression a moment later hinted at someone deeply sad.

This is not the kind of show that would try to then offer a trite/quick solution or wrap up for Liz’s troubles, but it certainly offered us a compelling journey alongside her for an evening.

Lastly, anyone else get flashbacks to Posey’s amazing performance as Darla in Dazed and Confused, when she screamed at Louie, “Do it! Do it! Get up now! I mean it!”? I kept hoping she’d yell, “Air Raid! Now get up you lazy little bitches! Get up!”

Source : feeds.]ign.com

Grand Theft Auto III’s Release Date on PlayStation Network

Back in January, we reported the good news that both Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City were PlayStation Network-bound. And now we know, thanks to the Official PlayStation Blogcast, that Grand Theft Auto III will be coming to the PSN in North America this Tuesday, July 31st.

Grand Theft Auto III will be released in its PS2 Classic form, indicating that it will cost $9.99 and exist as a straight port without any upgrades or Trophies. While its release date of Tuesday, July 31st is confirmed for North America, its release date in other territories is still unknown.

Grand Theft Auto III was first released on PlayStation 2 in 2001 and is considered a seminal release of immense importance in the gaming industry. It’s the fifth best-selling PS2 game of all-time, and was re-released on a variety of platforms, most recently on iOS.

Source : feeds.ign.com

Slender: Source in Development

Did you play Slender by Parsec Productions? You know, the one that takes about five minutes to reduce even the most composed adult into a whimpering pile of cowardice? This one:

The upcoming Slender: Source will be a new take of the Slender mythos and will feature multiplayer elements.

The team currently working on the mod is hoping to provide frequent updates on the mod db page and have a full release ready by February or March 2013. So far they’ve addressed concerns that the multiplayer elements of the game will reduce the potency of the horror.

“We've seen some people explain that they think the addition of multiplayer may take away from the horror experience that was well known with the Slender game on Unity, since you won't be alone but with friends. We currently have the game set at 4 player limits, but we've been discussing lowering it to around 2 players. This is still up for discussion, and we'll constantly be thinking about how we're going to work around this.”

Slender: Source will also feature disturbing porcelain dolls that can be collected. “We feel that the collecting of dolls will add to the gameplay, instead of just hunkering down in multiple locations, and waiting for the Slenderman to appear. This will encourage players to explore the map, find hiding spots, and give them better chances at avoiding the Slenderman. Staying in the same spot, or splitting off from the group will lower your chances of survival down to almost nothing. However, after release we plan on adding another game-mode, which we're keeping secret until then.”

While you wait, you can play Slender again. Or not.

Source : feeds.ign.com

EA Will Not Replace Its CEO

EA has confirmed that John Riccitiello will remain CEO. Last month, rumors emerged that COO Peter Moore would be stepping up to replace Riccitiello, but during its annual shareholders meeting today, EA said that will not be the case.

"At this point in time, there is absolutely no plan to replace John as the CEO. We have a high level of confidence in both him and the management team," EA Chairman Larry Probst said. "The Board has a very high level of confidence in John and the management team."

Probst added that the management team has "done a really good job of exceeding their operating plan in the last two fiscal years. We think the strategy is spot on going forward and we have a high level of confidence they will execute well against that strategy."

According to Probst, all senior positions are evaluated regularly, but Riccitiello’s role is safe for now.

Riccitiello first became CEO when Probst stepped down in 2007 and held the position during EA’s launch of Origin and unveiling of the Online Pass.

EA will likely discuss its future in more depth during its first quarter earnings call, currently scheduled to take place next week.

Source: Game Informer

Yo Ho, Yo Ho, it's a Pirate's (Accountant's) Life for Me in Port Royale 3

Whether the salty smell and emerald expanse of the open sea make you want to lounge on the beach or hoist a sail, few make it through childhood without fantasizing about a life on the wild and woolly crests of the ocean. Assuming you don't have a time machine, Port Royale 3 might well be the closest you'll ever get to abandoning the tame life of the land lubber, though this swashbuckler focuses more on the booty and less on the sword fighting.

Lining up each cannon broadside on the open water takes some finesse.

Both the Adventurer and Trader campaigns begin with the same broad strokes, told mainly via simple animated cutscenes. As a Spanish traveler gung-ho to find fame and fortune in the New World in 1561 in the Adventurer half of the game, you're rescued from drowning in the Caribbean and gifted with a sturdy vessel. Choose the life of a perpetually traveling merchant with the Trader storyline, though, and you'll spend far more time exploiting the desperate needs of a multitude of far-flung ports. See, while every outpost can trade in the 20 available commodities, from wood and wheat to tobacco and textiles, each can produce only five of them.

Yes, Port Royale 3 is business simulation game in a pirate-y vein. During the early hours of play, we pulled ourselves up by our bootstraps by supplying sugar to Port Royale, and then ferrying the yummy fermented result (rum!) all over the place. As we cruised around in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, we uncovered storied ports from New Orleans to Cartagena. Before long, we were raking in the gold dragging Cancun coffee to Corpus Christi, and introducing remote havens to the chocolate-y magic of the cacao bean. Be careful you leave a little for the locals, though: clean a town out of a prized good, and they'll express their anger by charging exorbitant prices in the future. On the other hand, you'll make friends fast if you care enough to haul meat and bread to famine-stricken areas, for example.

A handy rotary menu system helps you get urgent business done in a jiffy.

Accumulating wealth does more than just fill your coffers, though. As your economic situation improves, you'll gain ranks, which in turn unlock additional business opportunities. Build convoys, hire captains, and customize profitable trade routes. Establish your reputations with the French, English, Spanish, and Dutch by doing favors, and prove your worth to a fussy young damsel. You can even practically take over your favorite hideaways by building houses, staffing farms, funding church feasts, and sucking up to the local town administrator.

But what if you'd rather bully than bargain? Well, Blackbeard, put on your big boy pantaloons and fire up the Adventurer campaign. The story starts out the same, but the quests you'll encounter feature a riskier and more bloodthirsty bent. That girl you were so desperate to impress as a merchant is no longer a wench preoccupied with money and status — she's a victim of kidnapping. While you're still free to trade up a storm, you'll find you're less concerned about expanding plantations and stocking up on hemp than rescuing that poor lost soul. Along the way, you'll hunt down pirates, attack and rob trade ships, and upgrade your sailors' armaments.

Every town is a unique destination, but the important buildings are always accessible.

Combat doesn't offer the thrilling up-close din of clashing swords and supernatural oddities that define recent pirate movies, but it does open up a tense new avenue of tactical gameplay. Chase down and engage a convoy, and you may either let an automatic battle sequence play out, or take direct control of one of your ships and launch every cannonball volley yourself. Your tactics inevitably affect how much remains to plunder, too: Force enemies into shallow waters, or shred their sails, and you might manage to board them before the whole flaming mess sinks to the briny depths. Heck, if you're feeling really gutsy, you can even attack the very ports into which all this watery traffic flows. Just don't expect any governments you anger to idly tolerate your shenanigans for long.

The relatively slow pace and simulation-based approach might keep action gamers at arm's length, but we were impressed by how many different ways there are to leave your mark on Port Royale 3's many sandy shores. Who knew the booze-crazed pirates of old had so much to keep them busy?

Source : feeds.ign.com

No Facebook Phone Coming Next Year

Bloomberg reported yesterday that Facebook “is working with HTC Corp. to build its own smartphone for release as soon as mid-2013,” vaguely citing “people with knowledge of the matter” (i.e. an anonymous source). But despite this rumor swirling around for years now, it will have to continue swirling.

During today’s 2nd quarter earnings conference call, Facebook’s CEO discredited the hearsay about a proprietary device, expressing the company’s intention to pursue alternatives “that aren't really building out a whole phone, which really wouldn't make much sense for us to do."

The Facebook team also revealed their struggles to monetize increasing mobile usage of the service; an exclusive mobile platform would give the company greater options - especially with regard to ad-placement.

For now, Facebook has a team of UI designers poached from Apple working on its notoriously sluggish iPhone app. “I think we're much closer to the beginning than the end in terms of what we can do with the apps we use today,” said Zuckerberg.

Facebook is expected to launch an improved and better-integrated app with iOS 6 this fall, with further updates to follow.

Source : feeds.ign.com

Bethesda Exec: “We Have Not Announced Dawnguard For Any Other Platform…”

Earlier today, we reported on news that PlayStation 3 will finally get a new Skyrim patch. But it appears that news of Skyrim’s first piece of DLC – Dawnguard – may be a ways off for Sony’s console, as well as for PC.

On his Twitter account, Bethesda’s VP of PR and Marketing Pete Hines Tweeted that “We have not announced Dawnguard for any other platform, nor given a timeline for any such news.” He continued, stating that “If we have news, I promise I’d tell you.”

Such news (or lack thereof) doesn’t bode well for PlayStation 3 and PC gamers hoping to get their hands on Dawnguard sometime soon. While it’s well-known that Microsoft secured exclusivity for Skyrim DLC on Xbox 360, the exclusive window was a mere 30 days long. Dawnguard launched on Xbox 360 exactly a month ago today, so that 30 day period has now passed. Thus, the DLC could conceivably come out on PS3 and PC as of today.

Hopefully, we’ll hear more about Dawnguard for PS3 and PC soon. In the meantime, it appears we’ll have to be patient, something PS3 gamers in particular have been with Skyrim since the game launched.

Source : feeds.ign.com

Gaming with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Despite my love of lost magic, dragon-hunting, and picturesque fields, Skyrim tore me up inside. While some might savor the hundreds of adventures and glittering chests, I dreaded the exploration. With each turn in the dark depths and darker dungeons, I fought my fears. My fear of missing a single tome. A fabled shield. A letter, lost. The thought of missing such treasure wore away my patience. It shriveled up my fun in Bethesda's world. Such is the exhausting challenge of gaming with a mental illness.

The term "obsessive-compulsive disorder" (OCD) gets thrown around often in the realm of gaming to categorize quirky behavioral patterns and habits in our otherwise happy game sessions. But many gamers lack a full understanding of this disorder and its unique impact on what should otherwise be a satisfying pastime. What, then, is this illness?

While some see beauty, I see chances for missed opportunity.

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) explains:

"...People with OCD feel the need to check things repeatedly, or have certain thoughts or perform routines and rituals over and over. The thoughts and rituals associated with OCD cause distress and get in the way of daily life. The frequent upsetting thoughts are called obsessions. To try to control them, a person will feel an overwhelming urge to repeat certain rituals or behaviors called compulsions."

This disorder, like all illnesses, affects people in different ways and to different degrees. I have the good fortune of only suffering a minor case of OCD. And while I smile at my many quirks, I also battle the anxiety and negative thoughts characteristic of the illness. It started in my childhood when I asked my mother to assure me that all the doors were locked every night before bed, and it continued to challenge my perceptions of sickness and -- surprisingly -- romantic relationships well into adulthood.

But video games also provide a breeding-ground for OCD. Considering this, we must strive to identify those specific frustrations and encourage those gamers in need of real help to reach out to their doctors.

Several professionals in the gaming space have tackled this issue before, including our colleagues at the Escapist. While these explorations shine a light on the illness and its interaction with video games, many gamers still confuse personal quirks with OCD. Jumping through the doorway to a boss battle in Mega Man or a methodical process to track down collectibles and Achievements don't always correlate with the illness.

I check options more than once. Always.

As detailed by the NIMH, the illness generally entails the coupling of negative thoughts, fears, and anxiety with the rituals meant to alleviate them. Failing to carry out these rituals, like performing a certain action in a game, can lead to strong feelings of anxiety.

To illuminate the discussion, allow me to submit some personal examples. Before starting a game, I feel the need to check every item in the options menu before beginning the game proper. Playing before performing this ritual causes anxiety, and I will even reenter the options menu after starting to confirm that the options have not somehow changed in the process.

A more recent example arose from playing the Mass Effect series; specifically, I noticed obsessions emerge from the dynamic between Paragon and Renegade points. Mass Effect allows players to make moral choices that reward the hero, Commander Shepard, with points that gauge his morality. Focused on playing a Paragon character, any time I accidentally accumulated Renegade points I felt the urge to redo that choice.

Coming into Mass Effect 3, my heart plummeted when my hero started the game with a sliver of Renegade points that I had no control over. Anxiety erupted with every glance at those points on screen. Even a miniscule and arbitrary detail like this was enough to hurt my experience.

In my many years of gaming these issues have fluctuated in intensity. From replaying entire quests after missing a line of dialogue to completing each map of Diablo III, my OCD has formed and faded but never left. It gnaws at my thoughts when I play games and challenges me to practice self-control.

A breeding ground for imperfection.

Fortunately there are ways to cope with OCD which can help victims further enjoy their gaming and -- more importantly -- their life as a whole. PubMed Health, an online resource from the U.S. National Library of Medicine, notes this reassuring point about treatment: "Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has been shown to be the most effective type of psychotherapy for this disorder. The patient is exposed many times to a situation that triggers the obsessive thoughts, and learns gradually to tolerate the anxiety and resist the urge to perform the compulsion."

What does this mean? Victims can learn how to carefully expose themselves to anxiety and avoid the unnecessary compulsions that typically follow. With the right help and a whole lot of patience, people can handle the disorder and prevent it from consuming them. But always, always consult a medical professional to help you make any important choice related to your health.

Do you have an illness that affects your gaming? Do you feel comfortable discussing it with others? Share your experiences, frustrations, breakthroughs and thoughts in the comments section below. And never forget that gaming should add to our lives in meaningful ways. If something stands between you and your controller, work hard to change it.

Source : feeds.ign.com

Google Fiber Could Revolutionize Internet and TV Service

In its latest effort to make our lives more awesome, Google is gearing up to premier its crazy-fast Fiber service, starting with a trial market in Kansas City. The service comes without monthly bandwidth caps or overages, and paid plans come bundled with 1TB of Google Drive cloud storage.

The promotional video for Google Fiber’s KC debut points to average USA broadband speeds as a bottleneck in users’ experience of the web.

Just as the last few years have seen huge expansions in processor speed and storage capacity, Google proposes to multiply home internet connection speeds by 100. “Fiber offers up to 1,000 Mb/sec download and upload,” Google’s “About” page explains. So just to be clear, that means users will be able to download (or upload) any file up to a gigabyte in a second or less.

Google is offering three plans for pre-registration.

Anyone who pays a one-time $300 fee (to cover home fiber-line construction) can have US-average broadband speeds free, guaranteed for at least seven years.

For $70 per month, users can upgrade to gigabit service. That’s the whole monthly price—no introductory rates that double after six months—and that includes the wifi-equipped Network Box. Google will even throw in 1TB of Google Drive cloud storage. Oh, and a two-year contract waives that $300 setup fee.

For $120 per month you get the “whole Google experience.” Again, the network box and 1TB on Google Drive come bundled; and a two-year contract still waives the fiber construction fee. But that $120/mo. will net you all this other stuff too:

• A TV Box with “hundreds” of basic fiber channels (click here for the full list) to replace your cable service (Premium channels will be available as add-ons.)
• On-demand movies and TV shows, plus out-of-the-box support for Netflix & Youtube.
• A networked 2TB DVR “Storage Box” (That’s enough space for 500 hours of HD programming, and the TV Box can record up to 8 programs at a time.)
• A totally free Nexus 7 tablet—your remote control for the TV box.

Residents in high-demand neighborhoods on both sides of the Kansas-Missourri border have 45 days to pre-register here. The rest of us will have to wait a while longer, although Google will all but certainly expand its fiber network to high-demand urban areas first. The packages listed above are residential only; business prices have yet to be announced. Would you ditch your current service for one of Google's Fiber plans? Let us know in the comments.

Source : feeds.ign.com

Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation, Volume One Resurfaces on DVD

The nostalgia meter should definitely go off with this one, especially if you're a hardcore TMNT fan. If you're not hardcore fan, you're probably wondering why there are five Turtles on the box below.

Shout! Factory, in collaboration with Saban Brands, will bring it Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation, Volume One to DVD September 4, 2012. This 2-DVD set features the first 13 action-packed episodes of the cult hit series, loosely based on both the animated series as well as the live-action films.

Here's a synopsis of the series from the official press release, "The memorable live-action adventure series Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation debuted in 1997. The series continued the fun-filled saga of Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo, four genetically mutated turtles who have transformed into human sized, ninja-powered crime fighters living in the sewers of New York City. Soon the Ninja Turtles' world that they have come to know and love will change. If you thought Shredder was bad, wait until you meet their newest foe--Dragon Skull! It will take all the power of our four reptile heroes to combat this new villain, including the help from a new ninja turtle named Venus De Milo!"

Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation will come to DVD presented in 1.33:1 full frame, mixed in stereo. At this time, no bonus features have been announced. Hopefully Shout! Factory will be able to dig up something neat for this collection or future collections, stuff  like this:

Suggested retail for this DVD is $19.93. Amazon has the disc available for pre-order for $14.99.

Be on the lookout for a review of this DVD in the near future!

Source : feeds.ign.com

New Super Mario Bros. 2: My Coin-Fueled Obsession

Before we begin, there’s something you should know about me - my dirty, little gamer secret, if you will. You see… I’m obsessed with game money. Rupees, Gil, Zenny, Bells, Munny - whatever the currency, and no matter how full my digital wallet is, if I run across a bit of game cash, I’ll happily risk life and limb to nab it. So when I discovered the concept behind New Super Mario Bros. 2 for 3DS - to collect as many coins as humanly possible - suffice to say my interest was immediately piqued.

Still, despite the alluring nature of this new Mushroom Kingdom romp, something about the impending release of two “New Super” games in the same year had me rather skeptical. It wasn’t until the other day, when I had a chance to spend some quality time with the game, that I realized New Super 2’s true potential. Now my skepticism has shifted to full-out fear, as I’m somewhat worried that Mario’s latest adventure could turn into a dark, life-consuming obsession… and that I just might love every minute of it.

Mario's new adventure soars.

I began my demo by sampling levels from New Super 2's first three worlds. Ghost houses, castles, Toad Houses - while I've seen some wildly innovative areas in trailers and such, the ones I sampled were all pretty standard New Super fare - and that's not a bad thing. The levels I played were as fun and creative as I've come to expect from the series, and the addition of tons of secrets (more on that in a bit) and some new Power-Ups (the return of the traditional Raccoon Suit is glorious) only add to the enjoyment. But in truth, all that was somewhat to be expected, especially since I'd already played a few early levels at this year's E3. What I was most interested in were the game's two new modes - co-op and Coin Rush.

New Super 2's co-op mode, which I got to play a few levels in, was similar to what we saw in New Super Mario Bros. Wii - in other words, it brings out the absolute worst in people. Rather than working together, the other player and I found ourselves constantly trying to stomp each other to gain control of the screen, stealing power-ups and refusing to let each other out of the the respawn bubble that appears when you die. Much like in New Super Wii, co-op makes the game absolutely insane, especially if you don't communicate and work together (which was definitely the case this time around). Still, despite how frustrating it can be when the other person races ahead, hogs a platform or nabs all the coins, we couldn't help but laugh and smile at the silly antics this mode fostered. While I'm generally not a huge fan of co-op, the fact that it's optional - and that it offers a different, yet still enjoyable way to experience the game - showed me that once again the New Super team has done co-op right.

A friend in need... is a sitting duck.

But as fun as it was, co-op was not the highlight of my play session - not by a long shot. That distinction goes to the brand new Coin Rush mode this game is introducing. One of the most innovative and compelling parts of New Super Mario Bros. 2, Coin Rush tasks you with completing three randomly selected levels with only one life, all the while grabbing as many coins as you can. The fact that your time is severely limited in this mode ups the ante considerably, as it forces you to find the delicate balance between speed running, collecting and seeking out potentially coin-yielding secrets.

This new offering provides ample difficulty for seasoned gamers, pushing your skills to the test in the constant struggle to increase your coin count on any given challenge. It’s thrilling, and manages to capture the heart of old school Super Mario glory with its renewed sense of challenge and exploration. It also forces you to learn and memorize every secret of every level - and trust me, there are plenty. Even just in my limited time playing the game, I ran across a Golden Mushroom that scores you 50 coins, golden enemies that earn you increasingly more coins if you pull off consecutive kills before they return to normal, hidden blocks with vines that take you to coin-filled rooms, secret warp pipes, a Golden Block hat that gives Mario more coins the faster he runs, and much more. Not too shabby, considering I only sampled levels from the game’s first three worlds.

Secrets galore.

Further lending to the frenetic nature of Coin Rush mode is its StreetPass functionality. If enabled, StreetPass allows you to acquire Coin Rush challenges from other New Super players. If you accept a challenge, you’ll be tasked with completing the same set of levels they ran through to see if you can nab more coins than they did. As a devilish twist, you can’t see your friend’s coin count until after you’ve accepted and completed the challenge - only adding to the angst of trying to beat their score. Of course, you can always retry the challenge later, or even favorite it if you like, but that initial mystery of not knowing how well you need to do somehow adds a whole new layer to the Coin Rush excitement.

My journey with New Super Mario Bros. 2 has been a fascinating one so far, ranging from surprising disappointment when it was first announced to mild interest once more was shown off following E3, to where I am now - absolutely dying to jump back into this new Mushroom Kingdom adventure. The coins, the secrets, the challenge, that patented Mario fun - it's all here, and as compelling as ever. Only time will tell if the full game lives up to my now lofty expectations, but for now, I simply can't wait to see what happens when you complete Nintendo's challenge by collecting a million coins. Perhaps I should locate my local chapter of Money Grubbers Anonymous first, though.

Source : feeds.ign.com

Sign Up for the New Xbox Live Beta

Microsoft has announced that sign-ups are now available for the beta version of Xbox Live’s 2012 update. The beta will update Xbox 360’s dashboard with new personalized recommendations and enhanced category search, as well as access to the Internet Explorer browser. Players who sign up for the beta will need to sign a non-disclosure agreement and will also be asked to fill out a five-minute survey once the beta period has ended.

Numbers for the beta are limited, so sign up as soon as possible if you’re interested. To register for the beta, visit the Xbox Live public beta sign up page on Microsoft’s official site.

As announced during E3, this is the first time a browser will be available for Xbox 360. Internet Explorer offers support for Kinect and will also be integrated with Microsoft search engine Bing.

Source : feeds.ign.com

Joker Mentioned in Dark Knight Rises Novel

Beware of TDKR spoilers below.

While he wasn’t even mentioned in The Dark Knight Rises movie, it seems The Joker has been name-checked in the film’s spin-off novelisation.

According to the book, Gotham’s criminal fraternity were moved from Arkham Asylum to Blackgate Prison following the creation of the Dent Act. All but one that is, as the novelisation explains…

“The worst of the worst were sent here, except for the Joker, who, rumour had it, was locked away as Arkham’s sole remaining inmate. Or perhaps he had escaped. Nobody was really even sure. Not even Selina”

The page itself can be viewed at MTV, while Nuke the Fridge originally spotted the mention.

So would you like to have seen The Joker name-checked in TDKR? Let us know below.

Source : feeds.ign.com

Skylanders Giants to Release in October

Skylanders Giants will be available from October 19 in the UK, and October 21 in the US.

The game will be released for Xbox 360, PS3, Wii and 3DS on this date, but when we'll get our hands on the PC and Mac versions is still up in the air.

Skylanders Giants is set to introduce over 40 new collectible figures, so if you're planning on assembling a full roster it's probably best to start saving now. Though Spyro is noticeably absent from the game's title this time around, it's been confirmed he's still present as a playable character.

Activision recently revealed that the Skylanders franchise generated more revenue than any game property between January and April this year.

To celebrate the announcement, the company has revealed a new playable character called Swarm, who you can check out below.

Source : feeds.ign[.com

Five Of The Best Console Redesigns

Every console in this generation has undergone some sort of redesign.

The Xbox 360 underwent drastic changes to fit into a shiny black number, the PS3 managed a miraculous weight loss that would have been worthy of reality TV if it were human, and a stripped-down, horizontally-inclined Wii launched to rather less fanfare at the end of last year.

The handhelds are at it too, and they're arguably the worst offenders. Nintendo's DS went under the knife four times over its lifecycle, topped only by the PlayStation Portable, which has been available in five different versions.

Often a redesign is best for both the gamers and the manufacturers. Not everyone is going to love the initial design that ships day one and with parts and manufacturing costs getting smaller and smaller, it just makes sense to start cramming more into the same space or trimming the fat altogether.

With the larger than life Nintendo 3DS XL out in the open and rumours of a significantly slimmer PlayStation 3 on the production line, we've picked out five of the console redesigns that did everything right.

Nintendo DS Lite (launched June 2006)

Back in 2005, things looked uncertain in Nintendo and Sony's war for handheld dominance. The original Nintendo DS, despite a wealth of software, was an ugly silver sandwich that was still battling for supremacy over Sony's new PSP.

Drastic measures were taken. The dual-screened portable was taken back to the drawing board in June 2006, and the DS Lite was rolled out.

A sleeker revision, the DS Lite had it all: bigger screens, longer battery life, comfy thicker stylus, and a design that was nice to look at.

The sacrifice? The GameBoy Advance cartridges stuck out a few centimetres (Nintendo would later tear backwards compatibility out of the system with the DSi). But despite that, the DS Lite didn't just win the fight - it won the war.

PSone (launched July 2000)

Released alongside Sony's PlayStation 2 in the year 2000, many were surprised to find this dinky little fella topping console charts well into its successor's launch.

Though that may have been down to the PS2's short supplies, plenty of people were snapping up its slimmer older brother.

Sony tucked all of the original Playstation’s now-outdated tech all into a considerably smaller, lighter, paler slab of plastic that featured an attachable LCD display for on-the-go PlayStation gaming.

Sony also used it as an opportunity to up the system's protection from mod chips and other piracy issues that had plagued the console since its launch.

Game Boy Color (launched 1998)

These days the original Game Boy is idolised as an iconic piece of gaming history, but to those who actually owned one it was a bulky hunk of plastic that dragged its power from a whopping four AA batteries.

Some would argue that Game Boy Color was a fully-fledged successor to the original rather than a redesign, but it was also the Game Boy we'd always wanted.  It was a trimmed down handheld that borrowed much of its visual profile from the earlier Game Boy Pocket, had a colourful screen, and boasted twice the battery life of the Game Boy from just two AA batteries.

Xbox 360 Slim (launched June 2010)

Thinner, sleeker, and lacking the iconic circle of LEDs where its infamous 'red ring of death' used to glow, the Xbox 360 Slim isn’t adored for its sleek design and neat touch controls but because it addresses almost everything people hated about the Xbox before it.

Powering up the system doesn’t sound like a Hoover being turned on in the next room. You can get online wirelessly without having to fork out on a pricey dongle or fiddle with wires. It's got an even bigger hard drive and is less prone to system failures. It even has a Kinect port to save on plug space next to its slightly smaller power brick.

It took a good five years for Microsoft to patch up the failings of the original Xbox 360, but the result was worth the wait.

Game Boy Advance SP (launched March 2003)

Despite an impressive number of handheld classics, aesthetically the Game Boy Advance was everything you didn’t want in a portable.  Even overlooking its battery life and landscape design, that lovely big screen lacked a backlight to illuminate its impressive colours and visuals. Playing it without a light source became a nightmarish experience (remember squinting at that tiny dark screen on all those sunny holidays?).

The Game Boy Advance SP solved all its predecessor's failings in one fell swoop. A new clamshell design made the system perfect for almost any pocket big or small, an optional backlight made the screen explode in all its 32-bit glory and finally, Nintendo admitted defeat and slapped a built-in rechargeable battery into the handheld.

If it wasn't for the absence of a headphone jack, The Game Boy Advance SP would be portable bliss.

Source : feeds.ign[.com

Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 Delayed Until 2013

Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 has been delayed until January 15 2013.

According to VideoGamer, City Interactive's sniper sequel has been pushed back in order to give the team more time to polish the title.

The engine is fantastic and the level of polish is also key to the title's success.

Namco Bandai PR director Lee Kirton told the site, "I can confirm that this is true, we will provide a full announcement with City Interactive soon.

"It's key we all want this title to be fantastic in the genre and the leading Sniper game for sure. The engine is fantastic and the level of polish is also key to the title's success. As soon as the official announcement through distributors is available I will provide it."

We reported a couple of weeks ago that the game had slipped from August to October, but now it seems the game won't be out this year at all. While an October release would have meant the game going head to head with titles like Halo 4, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 and Medal of Honor: Warfighter, the first few months of 2013 are getting increasingly crowded after a number of high profile delays. The Last of Us, Anarchy Reigns, Beyond: Two Souls, Metro: Last Light and Crysis 3 are all targeting that window for launch.

Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 will release on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.

Source : feeds.ign.com

Comic Book Reviews for 7/25/12

Man, what a stellar (and pricey) week for comics. This week saw the return of everyone's favorite prequel-era Sith Lord, Darth Maul, in a fun "in between seasons" story that follows up on his appearance in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. DC Comics also continued its rejuvenation of Aquaman, while Marvel delivered the latest twist in its plans to redefine the Lizard's status quo.

Please note, there is a review coming soon for American Vampire #29.

DC COMICS

All-Star Western #11

Written by Justin Gray & Jimmy Palmiotti | Art by Moritat

"While the rest of the Bat books have wrapped up their dalliances with the Night of the Owls crossover, All-Star Western continues to explore Jonah Hex's chaotic encounter with the 19th Century incarnation of the Court.  The series is practically reveling in its ties to the Batman mythos at this point. Besides returning the setting to Gotham, writers Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray have brought in the Religion of Crime as a rival cult. They also seem determined to ensure that as many major Gotham figures as possible have historical analogues in this series. At some point it would be nice to be reminded that this book is about Jonah Hex too." -Jesse

Final Score:7.0

Aquaman #11

Written by Geoff Johns | Art by Ivan Reis

"Apparently it's not enough for Geoff Johns to swoop in and make writing a compelling Aquaman yarn look like child's play. He also has to prove that it's perfectly possible to toss an entire team full of essentially new characters at readers and make these readers fall in love with them after a handful of issues. This is a book that makes good on all the promise the New 52 offered." -Jesse

Final Score: 9.0

Batman: The Dark Knight #11

Written by Gregg Hurwitz | Art by David Finch

"Gregg Hurwitz's first issue of Batman: The Dark Knight was a mammoth leap forward in storytelling and quality. This feels like a Batman book now, instead of a turd smeared across paper and then stapled into the shape of a comic. Still, as we said in the review of issue #10, this series is not doing much to make itself a 'must buy' each month. Being an okay Batman book in a sea of good Batman books just isn't enough." -Benjamin

Final Score: 6.5

Before Watchmen: Comedian #2

Written by Brian Azzarello | Art by J.G. Jones

"Before Watchmen: Comedian deserves some credit for being the only one of the Before Watchmen books so far to not attempt a standard origin story. The series skips over Eddie Blake's formative years and instead follows his misadventures in the '60s as a government agent. Unfortunately, despite the less formulaic approach, Comedian still falters quite a bit in its execution." -Jesse

Final Score: 5.5

The Flash #11

  

Written by Francis Manapul & Brian Buccellato | Art by Marcus To

"You can always count on The Flash to have an amazing title page and a new villain, and the creators do not disappoint here. While fiery baddie Heat Wave is nothing to write home about, his debut adds yet another member to Flash’s rapidly expanding rogues. Even better, Barry Allen changes the status quo on how he fights crime by moving into the seediest part of town and getting a job at the worst bar imaginable. It’s almost like hewants to get into a fight. Good news for us, he does." -Joshua

Final Score: 7.5

Green Lantern #11

Written by Geoff Johns | Art by Doug Mahnke

"Last issue, Black Hand decided to go cliff diving rather than become an Indigo Lantern once more. It was gruesome stuff, but now he’s back at it with a Black Lantern ring and a plan to bring back his dead family and eat Chinese food with them, among other more nefarious things. It feels good to have a clearly defined villain with an evil agenda in a Green Lantern book again. I enjoyed learning the mysteries of the Indigo Tribe, but now I’m ready to see how Hal Jordan and Sinestro are possibly going to get along long enough to overcome this deadly threat." -Joshua

Final Score: 8.5

I, Vampire #11

Written by Josh Fialkov | Art by Andrea Sorrentino

"Since the start of the New 52, four books have continually impressed me issue after issue without fail: Batman, Wonder Woman, Animal Man, and I, Vampire. What they all have in common is their consistently high quality artwork, refreshing stories within their genre, and a cast full of memorable characters. With this installment, Andrea Sorrentino creates an epic battle scene between vampires and zombies while Joshua Hale Fialkov continues to develop the twisted romance between vampires Andrew and Mary. In short, it still kicks ass." -Joshua

Final Score: 9.0

Justice League Dark #11

Written by Jeff Lemire | Art by Mikel Janin

"Let’s start this off right: in my opinion, Justice League Dark is – right alongside I, Vampire – one of the most consistently beautiful books at DC. To my memory, neither series has had a lapse in artist and yet has remained pristine issue after issue. Mikel Janin delivers yet again in JLD #11, perhaps even topping himself with stunning layouts and pristine lines that formulate one of the trippiest – yet cleanest – looking issues yet. There is seriously so much detail packed into his characters that it’s astonishing to see this book arrive on time month in and month out. The editorial team at DC should take a bow for assigning Janin to this book, and issue #11 is precisely the reason." -Joey

Final Score: 9.0

National Comics: Eternity #1

Written by Jeff Lemire | Art by Cully Hamner & Derec Donovan

"In a move that I’m still quite excited about, DC Comics has debuted its new done-and-one series called National Comics, aiming to reintroduce some of the DCU’s more obscure characters month in and month out in a series of one-shots. The debut features a revamped Kid Eternity, written by Jeff Lemire with are by Cully Hamner and Derec Donovan. As a re-introduction (or perhaps just an introduction for some) to the character, Eternity #1 suffices just fine. In fact, the only storytelling detriment I can pinpoint is the fact that the story doesn’t exactly wrap-up in a way that will leave you satisfied. Instead, it ends on a rather heart wrenching cliffhanger that will just leave you waiting for the next issue. That’s not a knock against the book itself, it’s just that, at least at this point, that next issue doesn’t exist." -Joey

Final Score: 8.0

Spaceman #8

Written by Brian Azzarello | Art by Eduardo Risso

"Spaceman is finally getting around to making a point. There are moments in this issue when we finally start to see the story come through. Some of these scenes could have been pretty poignant and meaningful -- if they had happened three or four issues ago. This series has just become to long and to unwieldy. It's saying something, but does anybody even care anymore? I doubt it." -Benjamin

Final Score: 5.5

Superman #11

Written by Dan Jurgens | Art by Dan Jurgens

"This Superman title has been less than stellar since its debut, but despite some cringe-worthy elements, this issue isn’t all that bad. The teaser text on the cover is an outright lie, the villain is a photocopy of a Predator, and Superman’s abnormally long neck is back, but a well-paced story manages to keep things interesting. It’s not a super story, but it’s getting there." -Joshua

Final Score: 5.5

Teen Titans #11

Written by Scott Lobdell | Art by Brett Booth

"Teen Titans seemed to be taking steps in the right direction for the past few issues. It felt more interesting, like it was finally starting to tell these kids' story. That comes to a halt in this issue. The Teen Titans just punch some random dude that they invited over their apartment and then they punch each other. Thrilling." -Benjamin

Final Score: 4.5

Source : feeds.ign.com