Square Enix has released a bunch of screens for its upcoming rhythm-music game Theatrhythm Final Fantasy. Previous screens showed the game’s colorful environments, cute characters, and general gameplay. The new screens show the mechanics behind the gameplay. Check out how stats, abilities, and spells are used in the gallery below. Judging from the images, it appears that Theatrhythm Final Fantasy will have a lot more going on in the background that most music-rhythm games.
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It’s Star Wars day! May the 4th be with you!!! To celebrate one of the pillars of geek culture, I want to hear about your favorite Star Wars moments, characters, movies, etc. As for me, I’m going with Princess Leia in her slave costume. I vividly remember seeing Carrie Fischer in that distinct costume and thinking, “Yeah, this is way hotter than Daisy Duke.” It was a momentous occasion.
Now it’s your turn! Fire away with anything and everything Star Wars to celebrate May 4th!
Samsung has announced its latest flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S III. It will be available in Europe at the end of May, with American variants coming in June. The early buzz on the phone is that its 1.4GHz quad-core Exynos processor is an absolute beast that outperforms Nvidia’s and Qualcomm’s top offerings, though I’d wait for a wide variety of benchmarks to come out before passing judgement. Two of my friends at the London unveiling said that they liked the phone a great deal, but felt that the build quality and materials were below that of the recently launched HTC One X and the older Apple iPhone 4S. On the software and services front, the Galaxy S III comes with 50GB of Dropbox storage and a Siri competitor called S Voice. Check out the spec sheet and images below.
The top dogs in the Android world — at least for the next few months — are the HTC One X and the Samsung Galaxy S III. On paper, they’re both great phones that offer a lot of power and features. It really comes down to what your preferences and needs are. Both phones feature skins on top of Android 4.0; historically, HTC has done a better job with Android skins than Samsung. Some will prefer the build quality, Super LCD screen, and camera of the HTC phone, while others will favor the sheer power, Super AMOLED HD screen, and servicesof the Samsung model.
The Galaxy S III should hit all four major American carriers, similar to the original Galaxy and the Galaxy S II. It will be interesting to see how each carrier handles customization and bloatware, as well if the processor will change to accomodate LTE radios. Personally, I would opt for the unlocked global model.
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Any of you psyched for the Galaxy S III?
One of the most interesting rumors this week was The Verge’s exclusive on Microsoft offering its Xbox 360 console with a two-year agreement. The company will allegedly sell the 4GB Xbox 360 Kinect bundle for $99 with a two-year service agreement. The monthly cost for Xbox Live Gold service would be $15 and a warranty…
Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, the possibility of Mariano Rivera’s career ending with an ACL tear, Demi Moore changing her Twitter handle from @MrsKitcher to @JustDemi, or flying to Sweden for a games conference, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
One of the most interesting rumors this week was The Verge’s exclusive on Microsoft offering its Xbox 360 console with a two-year agreement. The company will allegedly sell the 4GB Xbox 360 Kinect bundle for $99 with a two-year service agreement. The monthly cost for Xbox Live Gold service would be $15 and a warranty would cover all two years of the service contract. Would you be interested in buying a console this way?
On paper, it looks like a compelling option. The up-front cost is low and the total cost of ownership isn’t much more than buying everything outright. Of course that’s all based on today’s prices. With a customary price drop in fall, the deal wouldn’t be as appealing. It will also be interesting to see what the terms of the contract are, particularly the early-termination fee.
For customers in certain countries — America and Canada immediately come to mind — the sales tactic is familiar. Mobile phones are sold with a subsidy and contract requirement. Perhaps some gamers would feel just as comfortable buying a console in a similar fashion.
Naturally, I want your thoughts on the matter. Kindly vote in today’s poll and let me know if you’d buy a console that required a two-year service agreement.
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This week has been somewhat stressful. I need to chill out. This is where thatgamecompany’s Journey comes in. It’s soothing and moody and atmospheric. I might have to throw some Flower in the mix too. In general, I don’t want to play anything new. I just want familiar and comforting games this weekend. Of course Civilization: Revolution for iPad will be in the mix.
How about you? What’s on your weekend playlist?
Camouflaj has announced that David Hayter and Jennifer Hale will be reporting for voice-acting duty for its upcoming game (and hyped Kickstarter project) Republique. Camouflaj founder Ryan Payton worked with Hayter and Hale when he was at Kojima Studios working on the Metal Gear Solid franchise. Millions of gamers know Hayter as the voice of Metal Gear’s Solid Snake, while uber-geeks also know him as the writer of the X-Men and Watchmen movies. Hale is a veteran videogame voice actor known for providing the pipes for Samus Aran (Metroid), Commander Shepard (Mass Effect), numerous other BioWare games, and multiple roles in Metal Gear Solid titles.
Here are more details from Payton:
David will voice the role of the head revolutionary in the Orwellian world of République who authors much of the anti-Overseer propaganda that players come across in the game. It’s a character I wrote specifically with David in mind, as he’s not only very politically active but also an accomplished writer.
Jennifer will play the role of a villain character we’re simply calling The Mentor. I’m thrilled to work with Jennifer again, this time on a new character who will be a central antagonistic force for players. The Mentor is incredibly complex.
As of this writing, Camouflaj has obtained $167,127 of its $500,000 Kickstarter goal for Republique with eight days left to go. Hopefully this star-studded announcement will help the company reach its goal.
Any of you contribute to Republique? Does the involvement of big-name voice-actors like David Hayter and Jennifer Hale make you more likely to support a Kickstarter project?
Bethesda Softworks has officially announced the much-rumored MMO The Elder Scrolls Online. The game will be available for Mac and PC. Development is being handled by ZeniMax Online Studios and headed up by Matt Firor. In today’s press release, Firor said…
Bethesda Softworks has officially announced the much-rumored MMO The Elder Scrolls Online. The game will be available for Mac and PC. Development is being handled by ZeniMax Online Studios and headed up by Matt Firor. In today’s press release, Firor said:
We have been working hard to create an online world in which players will be able to experience the epic Elder Scrolls universe with their friends, something fans have long said they wanted. It will be extremely rewarding finally to unveil what we have been developing the last several years. The entire team is committed to creating the best MMO ever made — and one that is worthy of The Elder Scrolls franchise.
Expect more details on the release date, pricing, etc. at E3 2012.
Millions of gamers around the world love The Elder Scrolls games, but are they anxious to explore the world in MMO form? How will the game do against Blizzard’s monstrously successful World of Warcraft and BioWare’s recent Star Wars: The Old Republic? Most importantly, are you interested in The Elder Scrolls Online? Kindly leave your thoughts on the game in the comments section.
The Avengers is everything a summer movie should be — big and loud and fast and fun. As a comic-book nerd, I was cautiously excited for the movie. Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America were lots of fun. Joss Whedon knows comics and action. That said, team movies are tough to pull off. It’s hard to give multiple characters time to shine while moving a central narrative forward. My fear was that an awesome idea on paper would stumble in execution. I shouldn’t have been worried at all. The Avengers was the most fun I’ve had in a movie theater in a long, long time. Here are some random thoughts (spoilers ahead!) on The Avengers movie.
– Every character had a chance to shine. Tony Stark had the best lines. Captain America had an awesomely dramatic run through Manhattan. Hulk and Thor had amazing power moves. Black Widow and Hawkeye did super-cool spy things. More importantly, each character had a purpose. Stark and Banner had science and tech covered. Thor was the supernatural authority. Black Widow was used for interrogations. Hawkeye called out strategies as the eye in the sky. Naturally, the team was led by Cap. It was a stark contrast to the X-Men movies, which had several characters that made you wonder, “Why are you here exactly?”
– The issue I had with screen-time distribution was that there was too much Black Widow and not enough Captain America. Yeah, I know it sounds insane to complain about excess Scarlett Johansson scenes, but as a comic-book nerd it just didn’t make sense. I know that Scar is hot and adds sexiness to the movie (and my dream in life is for her to own me), but in the grand scheme of the Marvel Universe, Black Widow isn’t all the important. Captain America, on the other hand, is like the father of all superheroes. I would have liked a few more scenes that established his natural leadership skills and the sense of paternal authority he conveys.
– On the plus side, Cap’s lack of scenes prevented a ridiculous man-out-of-time montage. My friend Paul was afraid that there was going to be a silly sequence of Cap acclimating to modern times. The first thing that popped into my head was Austin Powers trying to play a CD with a record player. Personally, I’d love to see a deleted scene of Steve Rogers doing the same thing. Ha!
– The Hulk was a big unknown going into the movie. Mark Ruffalo had the unenviable task of following Eric Bana and Ed Norton. For the most part, he was very good as Dr. Bruce Banner. He was somewhat believable as a science guy that could carry a high-level conversation with Tony Stark. He was definitely believable as someone struggling with the mother of all anger-management issues. Banner was very good…but the Hulk was outstanding! The CG was fantastic. The Hulk looked powerful and menacing. His fight scenes were extraordinary. He even had two bits of show-stealing comedy. I loved his sucker punch to Thor in Grand Central Station. Watching him beat the crap out of Loki as if the Norse god were a rag doll was hilarious and viscerally thrilling at the same time. It left you thinking, “Yes! That’s how Hulk rolls!!!”
– Speaking of Loki, Tom Hiddleston was a charming bad guy. His version of Loki was cool. You’d want to hang out with him…if you weren’t afraid of his maniacal plots, never ending lies, clever schemes, and immense power. Paul and I agreed that he felt like more of a threat in The Avengers than he did in Thor. With all the cool characters and big names in the movie, Hiddleston is likely to get overlooked. Pay attention to his performance. He was a great baddie in the movie and great heroes need great baddies in order to shine.
– As with most modern, mainstream movies, there was a lot of product placement in The Avengers. Most of it wasn’t bad, but there was one scene in Manhattan where it felt like the camera was focused on an Acura for like ten seconds. Giant-sized battle with aliens in the greatest city in the world?!? Let’s take some time to stare at this Acura as we transition between scenes. *groan*
– Clark Gregg was fantastic in his role as S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Phil Coulson. This made-for-the-movies character appeared in all the recent Marvel superhero films and served as the galvanizing agent for the team. His deadpan humor was spot-on and his banter with Pepper Potts — with Tony Stark wondering why they’re so familiar with each other — was fantastic.
– The mid-credit teaser totally made me mark out. Frickin’ Thanos?!? I love it!!! That’s definitely one way to go even bigger. The one problem with Thanos is that you need some space-oriented heroes in the mix. Silver Surfer’s rights were tied up with Fox, which is why he wasn’t in the Planet Hulk animated movie. I’m not sure if the Fox deal has expired. I love me some Adam Warlock, but he’s probably too weird for a mainstream movie…and he also has feathered hair. Captain Marvel would make sense and Whedon would be free to kill him off. How about Michael Clarke Duncan as Thanos? He certainly has the voice for it.
– As the credits for The Avengers rolled, I was left totally satisfied. Was it the best superhero movie ever? Probably not, but it’s up there and leaves room for future Avengers adventures. The best thing I can about it is that I’m totally willing to pony up $10 to see it again. Like I said in the intro, The Avengers is big and loud and fast and fun.
One of my favorite recurring RPadholic jokes is, “Google should buy…” No matter what the topic or how serious the conversation, I can always count on someone like RPadholic N8R to say that Google should buy this or that. During Apple’s last earnings call, CFO Peter Oppenheimer mentioned that the company has…
Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, the awesome leg room in seat 9B, the New York Knicks battle against evil fire extinguishers, or Mister Softee, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
One of my favorite recurring RPadholic jokes is, “Google should buy…” No matter what the topic or how serious the conversation, I can always count on someone like RPadholic N8R to say that Google should buy this or that. During Apple’s last earnings call, CFO Peter Oppenheimer mentioned that the company has around $110-billion. This has caused many pundits to suggest that Apple should buy many things.
The most common call is for Apple to buy a social network. In the last week, I’ve read several articles on the merits of Apple purchasing FourSquare and/or Twitter. Others believe that mobile payments are the future and that Apple should buy Square. Some are calling for Apple to either buy a mobile network or set up an MVNO. Over at Slide To Play, I asked the cats over there if Apple should buy its own game studio. What do you think Apple should do?
Apple has a chance to shake up multiple businesses with all the cash at its disposal. It has an opportunity to make major changes, transforming things forever and for better. Or it could just stick to its core competencies with consumer electronics, expanding in more predictable and conservative ways. What, if anything, do you think Apple should buy?
Now that PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale for PlayStation 3 has been officially revealed, I wanted to hear about your dream characters for this game. If you’re not familiar with it then check out the video above. Unsurprisingly, the game has been compared to Nintendo’s ultra-popular Super Smash Bros. series. Like that game, PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale features characters and locations from numerous Sony games. The confirmed characters include Kratos (God of War), Sly Cooper (Sly Cooper), Mael Radec (Killzone), Sweet Tooth (Twisted Metal), Fat Princess (Fat Princess), and Parappa (PaRappa the Rapper).
Don’t you just love the idea of PaRappa taking on Kratos? Any predictions on third-party characters making the cut? After all, Ezio from Assassin’s Creed is all over the place these days. What Sony characters are on your wish list for PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale?
