19
Apr
Blackwood, the latest chapter in The Elder Scrolls Online’s ongoing “Gates of Oblivion” event, is poised to be a particularly special experience for fans of the all-time classic Bethesda fantasy RPG The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. While the chapter is set 800 years prior to the events of Oblivion, Blackwood’s versions of the sprawling cities of Leyawiin and Gideon, as well as the devilish Deadlands, will undoubtedly feel familiar to veterans of the 2006 classic. But as we learned during a hands-on demo period in April, the expansion also features new areas and characters that bring these iconic locations to…
02
Apr
The Simpsons executive producer Matt Selman is in the egg-hiding mood for the Easter holiday. A couple weeks ago, bemused Simpsons fans adopted Pontius Comic Book Guy roles, virtually crucifying the show’s continuity minders for messing with the timeline of the 32-year-old series. The episode, “Do Pizza Bots Dream of Electric Guitars?”, flashes back to the 1990s, when Homer was a 14-year-old wannabe DJ. But the established timeline from previous episodes maintains that Homer and Marge met when they were teenagers in high school in 1974 (the year rock attained perfection). The retrofit was called out by some fans as…
25
Mar
It’s time to flick an eye over a recent Reddit post and explore a new Marvel “leak” that seemingly gives us a quick look at concept art for some of the studio’s more imminent projects, including Sam Raimi’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Are there spoilers ahead? Who can say. That’s a very existential question. Briefly muting the chorus of voices screaming “legit” or “fake” is probably a requirement here, as it is with most “leaks” that make their way online. Marvel has been known to tinker with things right up until the last minute, so even some…
18
Feb
Den of Geek was recently invited to play Velan Studios’ Knockout City, a competitive, team-based, over-the-top take on dodgeball set to drop as a new EA Original. The game releases May 21 for $19.99 on PC, Xbox One, PS4, and Nintendo Switch, and is backwards compatible on Xbox Series X/S and PS5. In addition, there is cross-play and cross-progression functionality across all platforms, too. It’s clear, then, that Knockout City is EA‘s latest attempt to tap into a very competitive online multiplayer market after the success of Apex Legends. The core gameplay mechanic of Knockout City is about as simple…
09
Feb
As we all continue to wait for any official information about GTA 6, news has broken that GTA 5 has surpassed the 140 million units sold mark. Perhaps more impressively, reports reveal that 2020 was the most successful sales year in GTA 5 history outside of the game’s release in 2013. While that success can be attributed to a variety of factors, there’s little doubt that the game’s stunning longevity is largely due to the popularity of GTA Online. I don’t remember exactly when I first dreamed of an online Grand Theft Auto game, but I’m certain it wasn’t too…
27
Jan
The Online Film Critics Society (OFCS) has named Nomadland as Best Picture in their reveal of the annual top ten films and winners of other award categories. “The Online Film Critics Society (OFCS) has revealed its annual Top Ten List as well as winners of its film awards which was topped by Nomadland. In addition, The Chloé Zhao American wanderlust drama was named Best Picture. Also on the list is Pixar’s Soul which was also named Best Animated Feature.” Read more at Deadline. Acclaimed poet and writer Maya Angelou is the latest addition to Mattel’s “Inspiring Women” line of Barbie…
22
Jan
It’s been amazing to witness the growth of the anime industry in America. It used to be extremely difficult to find anime in the country and even then, it was a very select handful of programs that were only available with questionable dubs. Over the course of a few decades this niche genre of animation hasn’t just become a mainstream obsession, but it’s now actively sought by streaming services. Anime’s popularity in America has reached a point where there are now multiple streaming services that offer ways to consume this content. There’s no need to get unnecessarily overwhelmed with all…
14
Dec
This article is presented by CCP. Video games change lives. 20 years ago, people would have scoffed at, perhaps even ridiculed, the idea that a game could have a profound effect on its players. But nowadays, it would be very difficult to find a gamer who disagrees. Since its inception, gaming has been an engrossing hobby that helps build relationships, offers stress relief, and can even serve to impart lasting life skills. As games themselves have evolved and pursued more ambitious endeavors, this has only become more true. One game that exemplifies this is EVE Online, a massively multiplayer online…
26
Nov
Avengers: Age of Ultron director Joss Whedon has unexpectedly departed his upcoming HBO series, The Nevers. The revelation arrived in what some viewed as a “holiday news dump” just before Thanksgiving this week, and both Whedon and HBO’s statements on his exit had notably different vibes. Whedon had been working on The Nevers at HBO for two years with Buffy and Angel alums Jane Espenson and Doug Petrie. The series stars Outlander’s Laura Donnelly, and focuses on a group of women in Victorian times who fight enemies with their strange abilities. Usually a steady presence on Twitter, writer-director Whedon hadn’t…
06
Nov
Christopher Nolan’s Tenet was supposed to be the movie that saved moviegoing. The picture that would jumpstart an interest in returning to cinemas around the world, and enjoying the shared communal experience of watching films with strangers in the dark. It didn’t really pan out that way, at least in the U.S. and parts of Europe, but it still grossed nearly $350 million worldwide. Granted, this is far below the standards of usual Nolan sci-fi epic like Interstellar, which earned $678 million, but hey, that means a lot of folks are about to see it for the first time ever…
10
Sep
Rockstar has revealed the full details for GTA Online‘s latest update: Business Battles. “The revamped Business Battles featured as part of the Los Santos Summer Special are even more lucrative this week,” reads a press release from Rockstar regarding the event. “There’s chatter (and grainy security camera footage floating around the dark web) suggesting that The Diamond’s vault may have received a shipment of gems this week.” According to Rockstar, this upcoming event will allow you to “stage a cooperative assault on an idling aircraft carrier and fight your way through one of several factories to earn hefty pay-days” as…
02
Sep
Elder Scrolls Online’s yearlong “Dark Heart of Skyrim” story continues to unfold in its third chapter, Stonethorn, which is out now for PC and consoles alongside the MMO’s 27th update. Aside from the update, which introduces character pathing in the game’s housing system, new cosmetics, and performance improvements, the DLC chapter features two new dungeons: Castle Thorn, where a vampiric army amasses at the feet of the powerful Lady Thorn, and Stone Garden, the underground lab of mad alchemist Arkasis, whose evil experiments have been yielding monstrous results. I had an opportunity to play through Stone Garden with some of…
31
Aug
If there was a golden age of serial fiction, it might have been the era when Charles Dickens, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Mark Twain were publishing their stories-in-installments in print periodicals, with their readers desperately waiting for the next part of the tale. But if that’s true, right now might just be the platinum age of serial fiction. The digital medium is perfect for publishing stories as episodes, and modern readers who are used to receiving stories in an episodic format, thanks to television, may appreciate the medium in a more nuanced way than their historical predecessors. Modern serials make…
27
Aug
Rockstar has released the first details for the next major GTA Online update: San Andreas Prix Week. “Speed is a vice like any other: it’s expensive, exclusive and some people die in pursuit of it; especially when we’re talking about the kind of eye-watering speed that turns a car into a screaming blur on a racetrack,” reads a description of the upcoming update. “Slide behind the wheel in any of the Rockstar Created Open Wheel Races and earn Triple GTA$ and RP all week long, including on these nine new tracks unveiled as part of the Los Santos Summer Special.”…
25
Aug
Every few years, the internet remembers the existence of Dünyayı Kurtaran Adam, a brazen attempt to loosely remake Star Wars after a military coup d’état in Turkey led to the Turkish film board clamping down on Western blockbusters entering the country. Turkish Star Wars first joined the compelling world of low-budget blockbuster rip-offs back in 1982, when the film’s director, Çetin Inanç, who had previously been churning out erotica, decided it was an ideal time to start making propaganda and action films instead. Thus, Dünyayı Kurtaran Adam (aka The Man Who Saved the World) was born, and became a homegrown…
22
Aug
Earlier on Saturday (Aug. 22), director Zack Snyder beefed with Forbes film critic Scott Mendelson after the latter apparently saw a leaked copy of the trailer for the Snyder Cut of Justice League, ahead of its premiere at the DC FanDome event (a copy of the trailer made its way online that morning). Mendelson opined on Twitter, “So, that trailer for the Snyder Cut of Justice League looks like… the same movie? Lots of deleted scenes from the marketing campaign but otherwise it looks like alternate takes of existing scenes.” Snyder, apparently referring to remarks Mendelson had made about the…
20
Aug
GTA Online‘s Los Santos Summer Special event is well underway, bringing mayhem to the city’s coast. On top of new vehicles to buy, earn, and steal, players will also be able to load into new sea-themed missions and activities, including those released in “A Superyacht Life” update. Among the new “A Superyacht Life” activities are six Contact Missions you can partake in. Simply call Captain Darcy up on your iFruit to jump on those missions. Here’s a rundown of the missions, courtesy of Rockstar Games: OverboardA team of pesky joyriders and their buddies are making a break for it. Put…
14
Aug
Some days, it’s impossible to sit down to read a long book. Maybe you’re waiting to be admitted to an appointment, or maybe you’re standing in line. You might be on public transit, where balancing that hardcover doorstopper you checked out of the library is simply impossible. In those moments when your attention could be drawn to something else at any moment, it’s convenient to have something shorter to read. That’s where the current renaissance of serial fiction comes in. Publishers like Serial Box, Amazon, and apps like Tapas have created a host of short reading experiences when you only…
11
Aug
New York Comic Con, the most attended comic book and pop culture convention in the United States, is officially moving online less than two months ahead of its previously scheduled October kickoff. The grim news, while hardly shocking, does come with the small silver lining that the event will live on via live digital panels on YouTube. ReedPop, the large public event-based company behind NYCC and a number of other pop culture gatherings, also announced Tuesday several major television panels have already agreed to move to YouTube panels, including Starz’s American Gods, CBS All Access’s catalogue of new Star Trek…
