Greetings humans, Monki here with the "Wish I was There!" version of the Weekly Wrap-Up!
Quint and Kraken are off galavanting around in San Diego at the Comic-Con, having champagne and hob-nobbing with the rich and famous while I'm back here in the treehouse trying to keep up with all the insanity going on across the country.
Alas. Well, I've got a bunch of crap piled up for you and some really badass stuff coming up over the next few days to keep all your furry heads occupied.
Let's jump right into it with two big press releases from Comic-Con!
Press Releases of the Week!
Ubisoft must be doing something right. They've announced two enormous geek franchises they've picked up to create games for. First was their announcement of Avatar (based on the Cameron flick) and then today the Heroes announcement. What the hell are those French guys doing to impress the geeks?
Paris, FRANCE - July 24, 2007 - Today, Ubisoft, one of the world's largest video game publishers, announced that it will develop and publish the video game based on Twentieth Century Fox's "Avatar," the upcoming feature film written and directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker James Cameron, whose previous films include "Titanic," "True Lies," "The Abyss," "Aliens," "The Terminator" and "Terminator 2: Judgment Day."
"Avatar" is the story of an ex-Marine who finds himself thrust into hostilities on an alien planet filled with exotic life forms. As an Avatar, a human mind in an alien body, he finds himself torn between two worlds, in a desperate fight for his own survival and that of the indigenous people. More than ten years in the making, "Avatar" marks Cameron's return to feature directing since helming 1997's Titanic, the highest grossing film of all time and winner of eleven Oscars including Best Picture. The "Avatar" cast includes Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, and Sigourney Weaver. Academy Award-winning visual effects house, WETA Digital, renowned for its work in "The Lord of the Rings" Trilogy and "King Kong," will incorporate new intuitive CGI technologies to transform the environments and characters into photorealistic 3D imagery that will transport the audience into the alien world rich with imaginative vistas, creatures and characters.
"Ubisoft is excited to partner with 20th Century Fox and James Cameron on this important project. 'Avatar's' rich scenario, onscreen action and special effects will provide a wealth of inspiration to create a unique interactive experience," said Yves Guillemot, chief executive officer of Ubisoft. "True to their reputation, Ubisoft's creative teams are looking forward to recreating Cameron's high definition 3D environment in a compelling game for film and game fans."
James Cameron commented: "For the movie 'Avatar' we are creating a world rich in character, detail, conflict and cultural depth. It has the raw material for a game that the more demanding gamers of today will want to get their hands on -- one that is rich in visuals and ideas, and challenging in play. I told the Ubisoft team I wanted them to be free to do their very best work, and not think of this as a movie-based game. They responded with a fully realized presentation which captured the soul of the world and the characters, while promising to be a knockout game on its own terms. Their passion inspired my confidence that they are going to do something transcendental."
Elie Dekel, Executive Vice President of Fox Licensing and Merchandising added: "James Cameron's "Avatar" will re-define the movie-going experience forever. Cameron's vision and innovative approach to film-making demand that we align this breakthrough project with the most talented and creative partners in the world. As we embark on the incredible journey that is "Avatar," we are thrilled to be collaborating with Ubisoft on the development of the video game. After an extensive review, it became clear the talented Ubisoft team is uniquely able to bring Cameron's vision into the interactive realm."
The game is expected to release in conjunction with the movie's planned opening in May 2009.
And the Heroes release...
Paris, FRANCE - July 26, 2007 - Today Ubisoft, one of the world's largest video game publishers, announced that it has signed a licensing agreement with Universal Pictures Digital Platforms Group to develop and publish a video game based on the television drama series "Heroes."
The first season of Tim Kring's hit TV series has attracted over 14 million viewers each week and is one of the most popular shows among 18-49 year-olds. Time magazine named "Heroes" one of the Top 10 TV shows for 2006, and the phenomenon is now broadcast in more than 30 countries across the globe.
"Heroes" is an epic drama that chronicles the lives of ordinary people across the world who discover they possess extraordinary abilities, such as telepathy, time travel and flight. They will soon come to realize that the fate of the world depends on them, and be forced to team up against someone seeking to eliminate them.
"With a gripping storyline and rich characters, Heroes lends itself naturally to a video game format," said Christian Salomon, vice president of worldwide licensing at Ubisoft. "By offering people the chance to interact directly with the show's captivating universe, there is no doubt that the game will appeal to both fans of the series and avid gamers."
"We are very excited to be making the 'Heroes' video game with Ubisoft," said Tim Kring, executive producer and creator of "Heroes." "Time and again, Ubisoft has proven they can turn licensed properties into fantastic games."
Here's hoping these titles do better than 9 out of 10 licensed properties! Best to you Ubisoft...
I'm a fan of prizes and giveaways. I don't have a whole lot of money, but I like receiving shit. I got this dropped off in my mail a few days ago...and well...it's fucking insane.
EA is holding a contest to give away almost EVERY SINGLE WING COMMANDER GAME EVER. (I say almost cause there were two titles that they couldn't even find.)
But wait, there is more...along with the games you also get every single system that played those games. Check out the list of games/systems they are handing out:
Xbox 360 Elite Hardware
Wing Commander + 11,200 Microsoft Points
Gateway Pentium I Computer Hardware with Win95 (3.5 Floppy, CD ROM)
Copy of Wing Commander Original Software
Copy of WC: PRIVATEER
Copy of WC: Armada
Copy of WC: Academy
Copy of WC: Prophecy
Copy of WC: Secret Ops
Copy of WC: Deluxe
Copy of Wing Commander II
Copy of Wing Commander III
Copy of Wing Commander IV
Super NES Hardware
Copy of Wing Commander Secret Missions
Copy of Wing Commander IV
Sega CD Hardware
Copy of Wing Commander
3DO Hardware
Copy of Super Wing Commander
Copy of Wing Commander III
Gameboy Advance Hardware
Copy of Wind Commander Prophecy
Playstation Hardware
Copy of Wing Commander III
Copy of Wing Commander IV
Oh yeah, and you get an XBox 360 Elite with 11,200 MS Points...that's like almost 10 tracks for Guitar Hero 2!
Here are a couple images that go along with this trove of goodies, check out the 3DO!
All you have to do is sign up on their site right here and then all that Wing Commander goodness is possibly yours.
Kudos on the insane prize pack EA...kudos indeed.
Pretty Images of the Week!
I'm going to kick off this section with a brief tease of something I'm working on for you guys. I'm sure most of you have heard of the upcoming Star Wars title Force Unleashed, right? Well, I got my grubby paws on a wealth of concept art from the game and I'm working on a column that will highlight a lot of that stuff. Personally I dig the shit out of concept art...it's like visiting the set of a film that is being shot...as close to behind the scenes as you'll usually get with a video game.
So, check these out, they are pretty freakin' badass in my opinion.
Don't worry, there is more...a lot more on it's way.
One of the most insane games I've ever played was Katamari Damacy. You are some weird ass alien that pushes a ball around collecting smaller shit until you can pick up larger shit. So simple. But then you throw in the Lord of the Cosmos with some crazy ass bulge in his pants and a theme song that makes you want to hop-scotch or punch a baby and well...you've got the start of something magical. The next game in the series is Beautiful Katamari and this baby is coming to the 360 in the Fall.
I love that there is this huge renaissance in old-school gaming hitting the consoles. I guess developers finally realized that people were stealing their old titles via emulators, so why not just re-release them? XBox Live Arcade and the Playstation Network have become a huge opportunity for that kind of stuff.
One classic game that just hit recently is Bomberman for XBLA. Here is a quick video showing off some of the customization stuff and then some gameplay. Looks awesome for friends around a couch drinking a bit.
On a personal note, I've been of the Dynasty Warriors franchise since I played the second game on a friends Playstation 2. The series hasn't changed very much, just a few graphical upgrades, add a bodyguard or four...but the same simple you vs. 1,000 enemies gameplay mechanic. The one thing I've learned in all of this...don't fuck with Lu Bu.
Koei is updating the series by turning the characters into Gundam warriors. Hey, as long as there are crazy-ass outnumbered 100:1 battles, I'm in. Check out the E3 trailer.
I can't wait to watch that number in the bottom right just jump up to four digits...I wonder if there is an equivalent to Sun-Shang Xiang (I think that was her name) in this one. I loved her ring things she threw around. And once again...don't fuck with Lu Bu.
Swing by my YouTube channel and subscribe to my crap. I have a lot more stuff I don't post here that I get almost daily.
It's the year 2007 and directors still haven't figured out video game movies.
I mean really...you think it'd be pretty f'ing easy to take a video game and turn it into a pretty fun movie. For the most part, the plot is relatively simple, a lot of fun, quick moving...just take a story, pare it down a bit, add some actors...mix...let cool for two minutes...release.
Then why haven't we seen a decent game-based movie?? Silent Hill was alright...but one for one hundred is a fucking terrible ratio.
I would kill to see someone like Favreau direct an awesome Command and Conquer movie...Peter Jackson and his Halo film. For the love of god, let someone with the knowhow and creativity direct one of our stories!!
I say all this, then I think...the first really good comic book movie didn't come out until the late 90s, early 00s, and comics have been around since before Al Gore was alive to invent the internet...shit. This could take a while.
The Final Minute with Monki!
Sorry for the brief rant this week...I finally beat STOP! on Guitar Hero 2 on Hard...it's hard to be angry at anything for very long after that...so good!!
Did you see that Through the Fire and the Flames from Dragonforce is going to be in Guitar Hero 3? Holy shitballs...I can't wait to see the YouTubes of that one...my fingers hurt just thinking about it.
Alright, I've got to try to track down Quint and find out what the hell is going on out in Cali...I couldn't pick which video I wanted to end with, so I'm sending you guys two. The first is a web series over at College Humor...a little animated bit that my buddy Mr. Decisive sent me a tip to. The second is the coolest prison in the world ever.
Nothing like a little prison-yard gang-rape to start your day off. Alright, I'm going to get an orange jumpsuit and join those guys, until next time, back up the tree I go!
