Some say comic book movies has reached there limit. That they have run there course and that general audience will be sick to death of them soon. For those people, I point them towards Kenneth Branagh's Thor. A comic book movie like no other. That transports the viewer to a fantastical world whilst making the seemingly average Earth just as fun and intriguing.
Thor tells the tale of an exiled son of a Norse god and the king of Asgard, Odin (Anthony Hopkins). Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is exiled for bringing war to a realm that has been peaceful for years. After being goaded by his brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) into invading another realm. He is cast out of Asgard and sent to Earth were he is found in New Mexico by Jane Foster, (Natalie Portman) Erik (Stellan Skarsgard) and Darcy (Kat Dennings). Thor's hammer, or Mjolnir to fans of the comic book is also cast down to Earth were it is found by Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) of S.H.I.E.L.D. With Thor now on Earth, his brother Loki attempts to take his place as the new king of Asgard.
I loved Thor. I thought it was fun, exciting, action packed with an interesting story and good humour too. For every obstacle that is placed in front of this film, it smashes them down with a large hammer. I have always thought Thor would never convey well on screen. I thought it would look cheesy and that I wouldn't be able to take it seriously. With the help of a great director like Branagh, Thor takes itself very seriously but doesn't get bogged down in it all. At moments it stands back and makes a joke or two. It's a crowd pleaser in every sense. The action sequences are exciting and have everything a comic book blockbuster desires.
The acting across the board is fantastic. But the standouts for me were the two brothers Thor and Loki, played by Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston. These two actors are brilliant and have a chemistry that is very entertaining to watch. There is one exception is this film for me. Kat Dennings, everything that came out of her mouth was either unfunny and annoying or a blatant piece of product placement. It felt like she spent her whole time on screen saying "iPod" and "Facebook". Natalie Portman was fine in the roll of Astrophysicist Jane Foster, but it felt like her relationship with Thor was rushed. She also felt like a minor character, but a minor character being played by Natalie Portman, so that was sometimes distracting.
Another negative I have about the film is the editing. There are moments in the film that are terribly rushed. There is a section at the end, were so much happens in mere minutes. I think it could either have been handled better in editing or they could of just added more minutes on to the running time cause it just feels a little rushed.
In the Marvel Universe, Thor is a component in a larger machine called The Avengers. Unlike Iron Man and Iron Man 2, Thor doesn't get bogged down in trying to build the impending 2012 comic book blockbuster. It creates its own origin, tells a great story and has elements and hints from other properties in the Marvel Universe, not once does it let those things drag it down. It also eclipses both Iron Man and Iron Man 2 in the section I'm going to call "Final Battle". The ending fight sequence in Thor was brilliant. The encounter between Thor and Loki felt like a great Shakespearean showdown between two brothers with love and animosity for each other. Whereas in both Iron Man films they just felt empty and not at all exciting.
Overall, Thor is just great. In my opinion I rate this higher than both Iron Man films. I put Thor in the upper tier of great comic book movies. It's not with The Dark Knight, but it's neatly placed alongside X-Men 2. Which for me, as a huge comic book movie fan is high regard. Just about everything works in the film. The juxtaposition between the fantastical Asgard and the normal looking Earth. The characters are interesting and the story is great. I'm looking forward to The Avengers, but right now. I want Thor 2!
Hey Josh here giving you our first post with our new look profile and new logo.
So it looks like the people over at Valve just cant stop giving and are going to be releasing their first DLC for Portal 2 for free on all consoles. Valve have said the DLC will include:
New test chambers
Challenge mode
Leaderboards
New multiplayer modes
This means we get to spend more time wondering how to solve a damn puzzle and feeling like a genius when you casually stroll through the doors at the end of the test and listen to whatever insult GLaDOS throws your way.
Now as for it being free Valve has said in the past they would like to release all DLC they create for free because they feel fans have paid for the game and its the least they can do. The only reason the previous DLC isn't free is because Xbox Live and PSN want to make more money so they put the price tag on. Valve has previously released DLC for Left 4 Dead for free which was a Survival game mode and a New Map. The reason Valve was able to release it for free is because it was a mode the initially wanted to include in the game but didn't have time so they gave it away when they finished it off.
So what do you guys think? Does this make you want to pick up a copy if you haven't already? Should more developers be releasing free DLC in order to attract more people to buy the game. Comments below.
Hey Josh and Chrishere just giving you a personal thanks for checking out our blog and helping us reach 1000 views.
When we started we set ourselves the target of 20 views in the first month. Then it grew to 50, then 100, then 200 and we kept on growing or you kept on coming back. No matter how you look at it we could never of got here if it weren't for you amazing folk. To the people who have took there time to comment on a post. We also thank you for letting us know what you think.
I just want to thank you all and hope you keep coming back for some changes we will be making and content we will be adding. Maybe even a new member of the team who knows. This is just the beginning. We hope to grow and provide more and more coverage and content.Well over and out.
Finally! The full theatrical trailer for Michael Bay's Transformers 3: Dark Of The Moon has arrived online, early! The trailer was meant to go online in a few hours but I guess Paramount and Dreamworks couldn't wait any longer. The film will hit cinema's worldwide on the 1st of July this year in 3D. So here's the trailer!
Well, I'm gonna admit it. I love the first Transformers film. For me its fun, thrilling and entertaining. The second was a huge letdown. It was terrible. There was just too much, they ramped everything up to eleven. The story and action didn't make sense. Not to mention the twins! They made me love Jar Jar Binks. At least he wasn't racist!
This trailer, for me is brilliant. The story looks more along the lines of the first. The action looks spectacular. Michael Bay doing an alien invasion movie but with Transformers. I'm in! I just hope it doesn't trick me. The trailer for Transformers 2 was awesome and look how that turned out. But for now, I'm in! This trailer is just all kinds of awesome!
So what do you think of the trailer? As always, let us know what you are thinking. Drop a comment below.
Hey Josh here giving you some more news on Portal 2. Now i am currently on my 4th play though of the single player and still loving every second. Going to be moving onto co-op soon so i can finnish up getting all the achievements. Any test subjects want to help comment below with you gamertag and ill add you. (Sorry to PS3 owners about your current situation)
Well seeing as I am so engrossed in this game I have been doing some research into anything new Valve may have out in the game seeing as they love their Easter Eggs and fan service so much an what do you know i found a ton fuck of stuff. But probably most interestingly was this video i came across recently where a fan downloaded the soundtrack off a torrent site. (personally I'm buying the soundtrack) But they found something interesting in the sound clips that isn't included in the OST. The ramblings of Ratman. Now for those of you who have played Portal and Portal 2 you may know Ratman as being the guy who has little safe spots where he has hidden from GLaDOS and left messages to any other survivors. He leaves drawings on the walls of the Companion Cube and GLaDOS and warns you about her but you never see or hear him. Until now.
Now in the video the audio is hard to understand and credit to the guy who posted it he had a good attempt to try to make sense of the noises and i feel he did a good job. But this video has raised a lot of questions in my head.
Is it real?
If it is. Why do it Valve?
What is he saying?
Has he escaped?
Will we ever see him?
How has GLaDOS not seen him?
Does he know Chell?
Why is he never mentioned in game?
So what do you guys think? start thinking with portals and let us know what you think is being said in the comments box below. Also if your interested in playing co-op and getting some achievements leave your gamertag below and i WILL get back to you. Thanks
Fox has released a new theatrical trailer for Matthew Vaughn's X-Men: First Class. There's a lot of new footage and dialogue. I think this trailer is even better than the last one as it expands on the relationships between characters. We see Mystique and Beast scenes and also more of a darker tone to Xavier and Magneto's relationship. Altogether, I think we have the makings for a very good comic book movie. Well I hope so. More X-Men 2 than Wolverine if you catch my drift. Here's the trailer.
So there you have it. The newest trailer for X-Men: First Class. Do you like it? Are you looking forward to this film? As always. Leave your comments below. Tell us what you think.
Ladies and Gentleman. He's back! Again! After announcing his return to acting back in early February. "The Governator" Arnold Schwarzenegger was instantly attached to many roles. There was Kim Ji-Woon's The Last Stand and With Eagles As Wings. Both very interesting projects for the action star. But it seems like he is returning to his roots once.
Deadline reports that Schwarzenegger is set to return to The Terminator franchise with Fast Five director Justin Lin at the helm. They also report that Lin and Schwarzenegger are shopping a rights package around to all the studios.
As a huge fan of the first two Terminator films. I am optimistic of this new film in the franchise. McG's Salvation wasn't good by any stretch, but it was better than T3. I would like to see what Lin can do, it's going to be hard for him to make a worse film than the last two films in this declining franchise. Lin is very talented at one thing. Awesome action set pieces! Fast Five was full of them. So if he can bring the action and also get a story worth seeing (which apparently he has). Then, why not. Let's see what he can do.
There were rumours that Vin Diesel would be in a Lin directed Terminator film. As long as Vin can play it cool and a badass instead of cheesy and bad. Let him have a try. The one thing that worries me is the Terminator name in general. Sure the first was a sleeper hit and the second was huge at the box office. The third did good but Salvation suffered. Is the general audience bored of The Terminator franchise? Or were they just missing Arnold? As always, let us know what you think. Leave your comments below.
Hey guys Josh here giving you some new posters for the new intergalactic adventure known as Green Lantern. Now I am a huge fan of green lantern and cannot wait for it to hit theaters. Warner Brothers have recently released some new posters to tantalise us further.
Here is the first one we where shown that gives us a closer look at Tomar-Re. I'm very impressed with the CGI work on Tomar. He looks just like the comics and it looks like that for most of the lanterns in the movie.
The next picture is of Kilowog. Kilowog is the lantern who trains all of the new recruits and has the catchphrase of "Poozer" which he calls all of the lanterns below him. Kilowog and Sinestro are very close and work together to try to break Hal before he reveals his true potential.
The next poster is of Sinestro. The greatest green lantern who takes Hal Jordan under his wing and shows him the ropes. Sinestro is also good friends with Kilowog and is part of the training process. Sinestro is also the lantern everyone looks up to and listens to as he was trained by Abin Sur who gave Hal Jordan his ring. Sinestro will only feature as a green lantern in this movie but most people know him as the greatest enemy of the green lanterns and is the leader of the Sinesrto corps who use the yellow light (the green lanterns weakness) to fight his former corps.
The final poster is of our hero. Hal Jordan who is played by my personal man crush Ryan Reynolds who i 100% trust with this role (and hopefully Deadpool). Hal is a test pilot who becomes a green lantern by chance and becomes the greatest lantern ever.
Doctor Who is back! To inject some intelligence and entertainment into an otherwise stale and boring Saturday Night schedule. The last series of Doctor Who, which was the first series of Matt Smith's tenure as The Doctor and also Stephen Moffat's as the head writer and executive producer, was fantastic! It took Who to levels it hadn't been before. The two-part series finale, in particular "The Pandorica Opens" was masterful to say the least.
"The Impossible Astronaut" picks up a few months after we last saw The Doctor, Amy and Rory. We see Amy and Rory as a happy couple awaiting a visit from The Doctor. They, along with River Song receive an invitation from a mystery person. With only date, time and coordinates on it. We next see Amy and Rory in America. Where they meet The Doctor and River Song. Everything seems fine until The Doctor is killed by an Astronaut who has crawled from a lake. Confused? Yeah me too. But that's the best thing about this opening episode. Many questions and mysteries are thrown out at the audience that will hopefully structure the first half of this new series.
If I was to try and explain the episode I would be writing this for a while. What I will tell you is that this episode is a perfect opener. The tone is much more serious and dark, but also has the fun moments we've became accustomed to when we think of Doctor Who. The scale of this episode is something we have never seen in Who before. We see various monumental American landmarks, with The White House being my favourite. The episode features Richard Nixon which is just cool. A new character in the form of Canton Delaware, played by the awesome Mark Sheppard. That's Romo Lampkin for all you Battlestar Galactica fans out there. Like in BG, he plays the character greatly, adding a swagger to the ex-FBI agent.
Another interesting thing about this episode is the links it gives to the 1969 Moon Landing. Who has always been great at taking actual events and putting fun twists on them. So I can't wait to see what Moffat has in store for us. The alien in "The Impossible Astronaut" is probably the best looking alien/villain I have seen on Doctor Who. In an age were CGI dominates films and TV. BBC's Doctor Who uses practical effects and makes "The Silent" look brilliant and believable. The way the head sits in the suit is mind blowing. It just looks awesome. There aren't many things wrong with this series opener. Its near perfect. The only downside is that is wasn't longer. But that is just a testament to how engaged I was.
So after a brilliant start, I have to say I'm extremely happy and excited for the rest of the season. Doctor Who has always been a fun and entertaining science-fiction show for Saturday night television. But I think that doesn't explain best what the show is and has become. Ever since Moffat took over, he has gave the show a serious and intelligent gravitas. Doctor Who is not only the best British TV show out right now. In my opinion, it's the best television out right now, period! "The Impossible Astronaut" proves that!
What started out as a franchise based solely on cars and illegal street racing has now evolved into a franchise about high octane action sequences and more muscle than brains. With director Justin Lin on his third Fast film. He excels in one area, action. The action is fast and furious!
Following on from were Fast And Furious ended. Fast Five follows Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel), Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker) and Mia Toretto (Jordana Brewster) as they evade the FBI and head to Rio de Janeiro. It isn't long before more powerful people are hunting them. Luke Hobbs (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson), a hard nosed Federal agent and quite the badass is tasked to hunt them down. Dom Toretto organises one last job and invites all the characters from past films along for the ride.
Fast Five isn't a masterpiece, it's not even a great film. It's a fun film and the action sequences are superb. Sure the dialogue is a bit simplistic and the story feels unoriginal. But they are necessary to set up some insane and very cool action sequences. Justin Lin has a great eye for action and shoots it frenetically. The film as a whole gives a nostalgic feeling of 80's action films starring Schwarzenegger and Stallone. But not a forced one like The Expendables. A fight scene between Vin Diesel and The Rock is pumped full of male testosterone, but is very entertaining at the same time.
I'm guessing there will be another Fast movie in the franchise and I'm fine with that. Fast Five isn't perfect by any means. It's an enjoyable two hours at the cinema. The action sequences alone are worth the price of admission and the last chase sequence is spectacular and reminded me of the bridge sequence in Bad Boys 2. The franchise, under the helm of Justin Lin seems to be steering away from street racing and drifting into all out action fests. For a person who was never drawn to the franchise for its cars. I'm happy with that. But die hard Fast fans won't be disappointed with Fast Five. There is fair amount of car antics that will keep them happy.
Overall, Fast Five boasts brilliant action sequences and beautiful aerial shots of Rio. It's pure fun and doesn't require too much thought. The simple plot plods along and can be quite tedious at some points. Interaction between Vin Diesel and The Rock is cool and gives this franchise just enough gas for a sixth film.
Hey guys Josh here giving you some interesting info on both the movie and video game front. It seems the guys at Valve have made some new friends in the movie business and have produced some interesting results.
Now as I'm sure you know by now Portal 2 was released early on steam due to the support they got from fans in a clever plan to earn more money from people desperate to play Portal 2. So it i have just watched a clip of the Super 8 level in Portal 2 and it looks EPIC, It starts off with you waking up in a cabin on the train we see in the Super 8 trailer. It gives you enough time to have a look around and search for any clues they people at Valve have left you to help uncover the mystery of what is going on in the movie and what breaks out of the cabin. So after you get a chance to look around you hear the familiar noise of the barriers being lowered for the train to pass, and then suddenly it happens. The explosion sends your character backwards into everything and the screen fades to black. Pretty cool no? but then we see the wreckage of the train and what is left. We are given enough time to look around even more and put or JJ Abrams caps on in an attempt to understand the way this man thinks and what hints he has left us. After we walk around a fair bit we hear a bang. If you look around you can see the heavily armoured door being broken in by some giant monster. The door breaks off and we are given our first hint at what the creature will sound like as we hear a loud roar as the screen fades to black and we see the title of the film Super 8 appear.
Here is the level.
So it sounds like a very good advertising campaign. I for one would like to see movies do this more, it allows them to appeal to an audience that is already interested in their movie and raise the hype even more. Keep your eyes peeled as we will update you on what developments there are on the hints we have been left. Comments below.
Hey guys Josh here bringing you some news from the base camp of the Beta COG's.
Now as those of you who have been with the site for a while may know i purchased a shiny copy of a delightful children's game called Bulletstorm. With this game i got access to the Beta of Gears Of War 3 before all you pre orderers get a chance to be unleashed on it. Now when i played there was a couple of thousand of people playing so i originally thought finding a match would be as difficult as it has been in the previous 2 games and at first it was. I was connected and disconnected about 7 times and was beginning to lose hope, but then a miracle happened. I joined a game. Suddenly i was immersed in blood spurting chainsaw revving gore and it was glorious. The shotgun in gears has been given the title of the "Gnasher" and the sawn off shotgun has the title of "Sawn Off" (very original). The Machine guns of gears have had a revamp as well. We now have 3 options
The Lancer - The traditional gears weapon with a chainsaw at the bottom for slicing and dicing.
The Hammerburst - The preferred weapon of the Locust. The aim is more precise and fires one shot a time.
The Retro Lancer - This is a new addition to gears games but not to the fans. The original lancer is a weapon we all know about and inspired the lancer we all know today. The Retro Lancer has a large blade at the front of it rather than the chainsaw and it allows players to run at enemies and impale them.
The two maps we have been allowed to paint red are "Thrashball" and "Checkout".
Thrashball offers for a more varied style of fighting. There are plenty of paths you can take from the get go and lots of toys to find if your lucky enough. There is a giant scoreboard display in the centre of the field (Little Tip) Its barley hanging on so if you have a good aim or if your patient you may get to see some people get flattened.
Checkout has a more tactical feel to it. The map has several paths varying from a head on assault on the enemy base to an even spread attack on the wings (Pairs) fins some new weapons and attack the opposing team when they are attempting the same tactic. There is more cover on Checkout and it is a nice map for a little team deathmatch but Trashball has my vote.
The Gears Of War 3 Beta is as great as i had expected and more. New weapons, More gore, Better multi player, Better maps and the all important brutal ends to your enemies.
The Beta is now available for anyone who got the Epic edition to Bulletstorm and is available for all of the pre order fans on the 25th of April so only a couple of more days to go. So have you played the Beta? What do you think? Comments below.
Warner Brothers have finally revealed who Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Marion Cotillard will be playing in The Dark Knight Rises. Is JGL Black Mask? No silly! Is Cotillard Talia Al Ghul? Of course not. Nolan is much more smarter than the average fan boy. He isn't going to stuff the last chapter of his Batman trilogy with villains. Joseph Gordon-Levitt will be playing John Blake, a Gotham City beat cop who is assigned to special duty under the command of Commissioner Gordon. Marion Cotillard will play Miranda Tate, a Wayne Enterprises Board member eager to help a still grieving Bruce Wayne resume his fathers philanthropic endeavours for Gotham.
Personally, I am very happy with the roles for these two great actors. I'm so glad they aren't playing established Batman characters and that they will be new characters devised by either the Nolan brothers or Goyer. With the confirmation of Cotillard and JGL. The cast is already quite tasty. They will join new cast members such as Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Josh Pence and Juno Temple. Previous cast members such as Christian Bale, Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine are all returning too.
The Dark Knight Rises is slated for release on July 20th, 2012.
What do you think of this news? What do you think of the casting overall? Are you excited for The Dark Knight Rises?
As always, feel free to leave your thoughts below.
Finally, the Box Office slump of 2011 has came to halt. Thanks to Fox and there 3D animated film Rio. After securing 10.4 million on Friday, the animated film soared higher on Saturday with nearly 17.2 million. It then landed nicely today with an estimated 12.4 million. This puts it at the top of the box office and might also give Rio the best opening weekend of 2011 with around 40 million dollars.
Falling far behind in second place was Wes Craven's Scream 4 with a less than expected 19.4 million. Studio projections for the fourth installment in the stale franchise placed Scream 4 second with around 40 million. So the film has underperformed on opening weekend. But I can still see it making decent money at least.
Next weekend should be interesting as Francis Lawrence's Water For Elephants starring Robert Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon debuts. The film based on the bestselling novel is only in 2,700 locations. But it has the potential to do well. With films like Thor and Fast Five heading to theatres soon. It looks like the Box Office might just stay out of this slump its been in.
Here's the estimated top ten:
1. Rio (40 Million)
2. Scream 4 (19.3 Million)
3. Hop (11.1)
4. Soul Surfer (7.4)
5. Hanna (7.3)
6. Arthur (6.9)
7. Insidious (6.8)
8. Source Code (6.3)
9. The Conspirator (3.9)
10. Your Highness (3.8)
Be sure to check in next week at Next Gen News for the Weekend Box Office.
Fifteen years ago rookie screenwriter Kevin Williamson and legendary horror filmmaker Wes Craven gave the world of cinema Scream. A slasher film that not only sent a shot of adrenaline to the heart of horror. But also rewrote the rules for the tiresome slasher genre. Scream was able to take the traits of the slasher and turn them on there heads. Making fun whilst also being original and scary. Scream was an instant horror classic.
Now in 2011, we are treated to the fourth installment of this bloated franchise. Pathetically titled Scre4m. This installment returns to Woodsboro on the anniversary of the first films events. Sidney Prescott, now a successful author returns to her old hometown to promote her new book. Hilarity ensues! Ghostface is back and apparently has new rules. Sidney, Doofy (I mean Dewey), his wife Gale and a slue of new pretty people set out to try and either capture the perpetrators or survive. Once again, hilarity ensues!
I went in to Scream 4 with an open mind and I wanted to be entertained. But I have to be honest from the outset. Scream 4 is a bad film. It's banal, bland and feels over bloated and tired. It's one of those films that is so bad its good. I laughed so much throughout this film. At moments I wasn't meant to. Hilarious deaths, cheesy lines and unbelievable and unrealistic happenings drag this film to hell. It just feels like a waste of time. As for new decade, new rules. That is purely a tag line. Nothing in this film seems fresh and new. Remember in Scream how there was a self referential commentary and subtle references to horror films or traits? Yeah, that is non existent in this film. Subtle? Not at all. The references are so forced that there may as well be subtitles on screen that briefly tell the audience what the reference means.
Now I'm not going to completely destroy this movie. Yes, its bad. But there are a few cool moments. The opening ten minutes is fun and great. But unintentionally hurts the film as it points out the cliches and unoriginality of horror films only to become the the film they are parodying. Another vast attribute to this film is the dialogue and conversations between Ghostface and the victims on the phone. Its very well written and for most of it is played seriously. In general the conversations come off very cool.
After ten years the Weinstein's have gave us a film nobody really wanted. Is it a cash grab? Yes. Is it as good as the others? No. The many problems with Scream 4 bring this film down. Pointless and cliched story, uninteresting characters and ending that is laugh out loud hilarious. The Scream franchise is rare. With it's debut it was responsible for the rebirth of the slasher. It was a classic. With Scream 4 it honestly feels like it has come full circle and became the stupid films it once parodied. Save your money, just watch Scream again.
Hey guys Josh here bringing you a new section fo the blog. appropriately titled VS. Now with so many big games coming out this year and next year i wanted to do something to help narrow down the options for you and help you chose the best game. In short im comparing 2 new games that come out on the same day ( or relatively close ) And i will be listing the pro's and cons helping you decide which one to buy if your on a tight budget.
And what a better way to start things off with than Portal 2 VS Mortal Kombat. Both big game title and both are being highly anticipated by gamers all over the world but this provides us with a dilema. So heres my pros and cons for Portal 2 and Mortal Kombat.
Portal 2
Now the Portal series was originally just one game to help fill the space on The Orange Box. But after people started to favour that game and create Internet memes the portal series grew and started to get the recognition the game deserved. The concept was original and it was executed exceptionally well balancing a story, dark humour, love interest (Companion Cube) and a Hal 9000 like villain who starts out helpful but slowly reveals their true colours. Portal 2 is set a couple of hundred of years after the first game ends. GLaDOS isn't dead but she is in a dormant state. The player (Chell) has been in stasis for this time and is released by a personality sphere and once was a part of GLaDOS but has gained Independence. Sadly the two of you stumble upon GLaDOS and after she reactivates she remembers everything and begins to rebuild the facility with more test chambers to put you in.
Pro's
Original Game play - Portal offers something rare in a video game. it makes you think but enjoy being put to the test.
Story - The story is well put together and looks like it will expand on some of the questions left at the end of the first game.
Valve - The people making Portal have a track history of great games. Half Life, Left 4 Dead, Team Fortress.
Great Voice Cast - The game has an impressive cast to it. J.K Simmons plays Cave Johnson who owns Aperture Science. Stephen Merchant plays Wheatley the personality sphere who acts as your guide. Finally we have Ellen McLain who does the voice of GLaDOS and the Turrets. The only voice we hear during the first Portal game.
Con's
Disappointment - The game might not be as good as the original seeing as we are used to the concept.
Challenging - The maps may not be as challenging as the originals.
Mortal Kombat
Now i am also a big fan of the Mortal Kombat games. i have played almost all of them with the exception of sub zero's stand alone game. I enjoy the Mortal Kombat games and their endless pools of blood that they offer keep me coming back for more but i cant help but wonder are we too accustomed to this series and the characters. Now i know its a reboot of the franchise but they're still hoping everyone knows the back story of the characters so they don't have to explain them and to an extent its true. Now i know the people who are thinking about buying this are fans of the series or 12 year old kids who get their parents to buy them it, seeing as your reading this ill go with your an adult whose looking to relight the love they have for Mortal Kombat after Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe.
Pro's
Reboot - Its a return to what made the franchise great. The 2D view is back with an element of 3D, Improved graphics, Gore
Gore - Just look at the game. You get to break bones and there is a game mode where your arms fall off and you have to boob fight and kick your opponent. And that's just cool.
New Characters - As those of you who read the blog know Kratos is available for PS3 owners and Xbox has their own exclusive ( I think i know who ) As well as Human Cyrax and Cyber Sub Zero being thrown into the mix.
Con's
Repetitive - Yes it has the Gore and characters but how is it truly original from street fighter or tekken. For me all fighting games are merging into one big game ( And with the release of Street fighter vs Tekken this point is becoming more and more true )
Lacking Originality - Mortal Kombat doesn't change much over the games. I liked it when they did the Deadly Alliance story as it merged well and creative a motive for every character to fight the Alliance. But the games that followed have been a bit lacking in certain area's.
Story - We haven't been shown much on the story of this Mortal Kombat
Characters - There seems to be no character development or focus on anyone.
Winner : Portal 2
It looks like we here at Next Gen News will be having fun with science rather then forcing people to GET OVER HERE!. Don't get me wrong i love Mortal Kombat but it just seems like Portal 2 has more going for it and can offer a more refreshing game. Also I'm a sucker for anything made by Valve. They know how to appeal to me.
So what do you think? what would win in your books Mortal Kombat or Portal 2. Comments Below
20th Century Fox has released the first trailer for the upcoming movie Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes. Directed by Rupert Wyatt and starring James Franco, Andy Serkis, Frida Pinto, John Lithgow, Tom Felton and Brian Cox. The film is a reboot/prequel that will show how the apes rise! The film is to be released on August 5th. So check out the trailer!
I have high hopes for this film. As a child I loved the original films and subsequent TV shows. Then I saw Tim Burton's Planet Of The Apes and was very dissapointed. When I heard they were doing a new film I had differing opinions. On one hand a new Apes film could be great, on the other was the fact it could turn out like Burton's debacle. So after seeing the first trailer for Rise (I refuse to say the name, it's just far too long, rise will do). I can honestly say I am interested. I like the style of the way its shot. I like the actors. I like the premise. We don't see too much of the action, which is good. I want to see it in the cinema. Is Rise one of my most anticipated films of 2011? Nowhere near! But will I go and see it? Sure, it looks good for now.
As always, leave your thoughts. Did you like the trailer? Are you a fan of the Planet Of The Apes franchise?
Hey guys Josh here giving you a quick update on the new Mortal Kombat web series. It looks like Machinima has bought the rights to distribute and are putting it on their channel. They released the trailer yesterday and it looked different to the 10 minutes we saw in rebirth but we don't mind.
Here's the trailer.
So the tone has changed slightly but i don't mind. It sticks to the source material well whilst making the series its own and unique.
Hey guys Josh here giving you 2 new pictures featuring our favourite ninjas in the Mortal Kombatfranchise. As you well know the title for the web series has been revealed as Mortal Kombat Legacy ( going the route of Tron )
Here's the 2 pictures that have been released online.
Scorpion
Now as you can see they've went down the classic route to keep fanboys creaming over this for weeks to come. The mask is slightly different seeing as it has a mouth on it but so far it looks promising.
Sub Zero
As you can see with Sub Zero they have opted for the Mortal Kombat Deception look which is slightly more modern and keeps the look of the character recognisable. They ha vent used the mask from that costume because they didn't want to have Scorpion true to the original source material and Sub Zero in a costume he gets several games later.
Personally i think they're doing a top job in doing what the films failed at. Which is keeping true to the characters and their origins, yet keeping the story gripping and interesting to a wide audience. NOW GET OVER HERE!!!! and comment in our nice box.
Hey guys Josh here bringing you my top 13 gaming franchises. I'm giving you 13 because top 10's are everywhere and i like to give you guys a bit more.
So lets start things off with a bang. or should i say Crash ( I'm sorry even i shuddered at that joke )
13 Crash Bandicoot - Yes bad puns aside Crash Bandicoot has had his fair share of great games that we have all enjoyed. If you didn't spend hours breaking boxes and jumping over nitro boxes you had a deprived childhood. And lets face it any game series that has 17 titles under its belt is doing somethign right.
12 Spyro The Dragon - Released around the same time was a game called Spyro The Dragon. Now the same applies for this game if you missed out you had no childhood. Spyro was a great game with a good mix of game modes that varied from headbutting egg thieves in the ass to flying through hoops of fire. The character was loveable but every fan has to ask the queston. WHY HASNT SPYRO TURNED INTO A BIG AGG MOFO?. Also in case you where wondering spyro has had 12 games and has one on the way later this year.
11 Guitar Hero - Now guitar hero is on the list becaused it has helped usher in a new wave of gaming that i feel inspired the likes of the Wii and Kinnect because the level of interactivity was amazing. It got people to move around and was a great excuse to invite friends round and show off how good you are at pressing 5 buttons. HARDCORE!!.
10 World Of Warcraft - Now before you little troll fucks get agitated and say "WORLD OF WARCRAFT IS ONE GAME FAGGOT" Hear me out. WOW has been through 3 expansions:
The Burning Crusade
Wrath Of The Lynch King
Cataclysm
Personally i have never played WOW and never intend on playing it because i enjoy playing other games and i know i would get too addicted so I'm just avoiding it completely in order to keep my small social life intact.
9 Street Fighter - Now we have all played a 2D fighting game at some point and to me Street Fighter has to be the best and most original. Where Mortal Kombat focuses on gore and violence Street Fighter is more stylish and the focus is on the cool combos and outrageous characters.
Also i have to add when asked if Street Fighter was going to be included in the list this was my reaction.
8 Final Fantasy - Any list of gaming franchises isn't complete without Final Fantasy being mentioned. Now the Final Fantasy franchise is one of the biggest franchises in the world and has an army of fans worldwide. Also it has a list of games that are unique in their own way and make the story that bit more interesting. The change in direction for the game moving into a more futuristic look in Final Fantasy VI. But for a franchise that has 28 games in it has to be included.
7 Zelda - The Zelda games are one of my favourite franchises. I enjoyed the classic 2D games with a story that made no sense and i enjoyed the 3D versions just as much. Ocarina Of Time was a brilliant game that helped open the doors that brought the classic 2D characters to a more modern 3D platform.
6 Metal Gear Solid. - Now i cannot thank my cousin enough for introducing me to this game all those years ago. The story was too complicated for me to grasp back them but the game play had me completely immersed. The mix of great storytelling great game play and a developer with a great sense of humour that allows you to point a gun at a Russian guards crotch and make him dance for you to collect his rations. Also the fact its coming to the Xbox has influenced my choice of where to put it on the list.
5 Resident Evil - The Resident Evil franchise is one of the most successful creating 15 games on multiple platforms (including the reboot for the original) and 5 Movies that are about as good as steaming crap. The classic games where the scariest games i have played to this day and was the first game i got with my original PlayStation. The zombies where slow, the advertisements where blatant, the camera views where awkward, the voice acting was terrible.......AND I LOVED IT!. I pride myself on playing every resident evil game and cannot wait for the release of Code Veronica X and Resident Evil 4 on the Xbox 360.
4 GTA - Everybody has fond memories of the GTA games. Whether it was the first time you stole a car or the first time you killed a prostitute because you wanted your money back the games always had that tongue in cheek feel to them. The classic birds eye view was great but it was no match for running around the city and causing chaos first hand. The stories are different every time and all of the games have their own little hints and homages to films that have clearly influenced them.
3 Halo - Now if it was up to me i would make Halo king of video games. It was so influential to so many games now and most people don't even realise it. It lit the way for online multi player games and most multi player games in general with LAN parties becoming the place to be in 2001. Now with a list of amazing games, books, toys and a popular web series I'm sure you have all seen. (RED VS BLUE SEASON 9 COMING LATER THIS YEAR) P.S. I love that show. Halo I and every other gamer salute you for your contribution to this world.
2 Pokemon - I don't care how old you are, where you live, how poor you are EVERYBODY has played Pokemon for at least 10 hours of their life. The games are all the same but everybody wanted them. (Personally i had Red and Yellow) and everybody saw the bike as a blessing from God and high grass as the Devil fucking with your perfect day. Now most people think Ash is the main character but they would be mistaken. You play as a trainer called Red who was bad ass and not a little pussy who game away all his coolest Pokemon when the finally evolved. The Pokemon games are living testament for the phrase "if it ain't broke don't fix it" The game play is the same as it was all those years ago and the graphics haven't changed much aswell. Here's to you Pokemon. You deserve to be here.
Question : Did anyone give their rival a normal name?
1 Super Mario - Yeah you guessed it the number 1 gaming franchise is Mario. That little angry Italian plumber has worked his way through the drain pipes and into our hearts somehow. I loved the original Game boy Mario in black and white (or Green and Grey) and i love the Mario today. His record of amazing games spans longer than any other. The classic side scroller had people throwing their giant grey bricks on the floor in frustration over a little turtle.
So there you have it my list of the greatest gaming franchises EVER. If I've missed your favourite out you can be wrong in the comment box below. Thanks guys.
Duncan Jones burst onto the scene back in 2009 when his low budget science fiction film Moon made a spalsh at many festivals worldwide. The film was brilliant. It didn't look like it cost five million pounds, it looked like a summer blockbuster. But that wasn't the best thing about it. For a first time director, Jones was able to create a world and make it feel not only original but interesting aswell. The film was steered by an astounding performance from Sam Rockwell. Who was easily robbed for a Best Actor nomination at the oscars that year. So after a marvellous start, Duncan Jones returns with his second film. Source Code.
Source Code is a science ficiton thriller about an army pilot called Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal). Who awakes to find himself not in Afghanistan but on a a train heading towards the Chicago. He then learns that he is not himself. In fact, he is Sean Fentress. He sits across from Christina Warren (Michelle Monaghan) who seems to know him .The train then explodes and he awakes again to find himself inside a machine called the Source Code. He is told by Goodwin (Vera Farmiga) that he will be sent back in to find out who bombed the train. That's as far as I am willing to go in spoilers. Just the basic premise. It would be better if you just saw the film yourself.
So the film plays out repeating the same eight minutes over and over again. Each time making it more interesting than the last, this is where the script and editing should be applauded. It was fantastic, to keep showing the audience the same eight minutes and make it not only relevant but to make it not repetitive should be commended. Vantage Point used this same concept and failed miserbaly. Jones should also be congratulated for controlling these elements.
The acting in the film is solid across the board and Jake Gyllenhaal is fantastic. Him and Monaghan have a onscreen presence that is kinetic to say the least.Vera Farmiga is very good too, but when isn't she? The film flies by at ninety minutes and has great action and suspense. It also has an emotional heart, which some will appreciate. The film just works so well and as a second film is very impressive. Source Code is just a great popcorn science ficiton thriller with enough heart and smarts to not make it stupid and soppy. Duncan Jones has solidified himself as a science ficiton director to watch. I have a feeling there is more to come from this man. He has said that his next project won't be Mute but another original science fiction project. I say give him a big budget and let him be as creative as possible. Let's see what he can create!
Hey guys. Josh here giving you an update on the Green Lantern front.
As many of you know know a fair bit of footage of Green Lantern has been shown at WonderCon. All I will say is I'm a big fan of Green Lantern and enjoy.
Ladies and Gentleman. I am not going to waste anyones time. Zack Snyder already wasted mine. Sucker Punch is a terrible movie. The worst of 2011 so far, yes even worse than Battle: LA. I won't be surprised if this film cleans up at the Razzies next year. Sure the special effects look impressive, but there isn't a story and the characters are blank canvases. Well, except for Oscar Isaac who is deliciously evil and very entertaining as Blue. But apart from him, there is no merit to this film.
An original idea from the "Visionary Mind" of Zach Snyder. Yeah, am sick of seeing that moniker on every trailer for all of his films. He made 300 and became a visionary. If anything, Watchmen is a better film than 300. So that would make him legendary right? Yes I'm confused too. After sitting through Sucker Punch, I think his trailer's should say "From The Toilet Bowl Of A Visionary Mind That Is Zach Synder". Zach Snyder's Sucker Punch follows Baby Doll played by Emily Browning who is sent to an insane asylum after being blamed for her sister's death. She arrives and immediately deviates into the first fantasy world the audience encounter. A brothel owned by the mob. Her and her dancer friends Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish), Jenna Malone (Rocket), Vanessa Hudgens (Blondie) and Amber (Jamie Chung) have to dance for clients of the brothel. Baby Doll decides to break out and enlists her stupidly named com-padres for the journey. She then drops into a second fantasy world were she meets The Wise Man (Scott Glenn) who advises her to find five objects, the fifth being unknown.
So Baby Doll and the rest of the gang set out on a pointless and very often banal journey. The moments in the brothel are cringe worthy and the missions (which are fun as individual short films) have no creativity. They seem to have been stolen from nearly every part of geek culture. There's a WWII battle sequence in which they fight steam punk zombies. COD's Nazi Zombies anyone? There's a castle siege robbed straight from The Two Towers. The things they battle are basically Orcs! Then there is a train sequence straight from Final Fantasy XIII. Oh and the steampunk zombies look like Helghast from the Killzone franchise. Snyder must be a gamer. Cause this film feels like a video game. Each mission feels like a level from "The Greatest Game A Nerd Ever Wanted". Now that's not a compliment to the film. Am just saying if it was on 360, I'd play it.
In Snyder's Watchmen movie. The music was awesome. You had Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix and Simon And Garfunkel. Great songs, but they also fitted very well with the images on screen. In Sucker Punch, Snyder seems to make a series of god awful music videos. I promise you, you will sink into your chair and want to either laugh or leave. Don't leave, you wasted your money (Like I did, Fuck You Snyder!) stay and have a good laugh. They are also very pointless, in moments were Snyder could be building interesting character development he decides to show characters plodding through there day in slow motion.
The biggest problem with this film is the sexist pig view it has of women. Sucker Punch makes Transformers look like its brimmed full on Feminist attitude! Zach Snyder gets a cast of beautiful young females, dresses them up as sluts then makes them fight in video game like worlds. According to Snyder, the film shows female empowerment. No! Films like Aliens and Terminator prove that a strong female characters don't have to dress in school girl costumes to empower themselves. The film has a creepy view of women and I felt uncomfortable watching. It feels like Snyder wanted his sickest fantasy on screen he wanted hot insane women dressed up all slutty fighting steam punk zombies, dragons and robots! Oh and the most surprising thing is his wife produced it. I'm dumbstruck by how she didn't feel this sent back women's rights forty years.
Sucker Punch could of been an interesting film. If Snyder wouldn't of written the script and the story would of been evident. The visuals are impressive, but you can't help but think that Warner Brothers have wasted nearly one hundred million dollars on this massive pile of nonsense. Am I worried about Superman? No, he isn't writing it. His visual style should be great with the Man Of Steel. But for now, we will have to settle with the terrible and pointless Sucker Punch.
