By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 3/11/2016
Dark Horse Comics have been the most restless publisher of licensed comics based on video game franchises over the past two years. They’ve brought tentpole franchises such as Call of Duty, Tomb Raider, and the often times over looked Mirror’s Edge to comics. Among the biggest in their library has been the mega dollar printing […]
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 4/20/2015
We now live in a post Star Wars trailer world, it’s a world where anything is possible including universally liking things. This week we’ll touch on new developments with Batman, Disney Interactive, and free Mortal Kombat X goodies.
In addition to seeing the first full trailer for The Force Awakens, fans at Celebration in Anaheim got a first look at Battlefield game series developer DICE’s plunge into the Star Wars universe with Battlefront. With the game set to be a November holiday release we can now start the anticipation build up. DICE has lit the match and started the fire by releasing a series of video diaries chronicling the game’s progress. Watch the first one below:
Star Wars: Battlefront comes to the PS4, Xbox One, and Origin PC on November 17, 2015.
While no official announcement has been made, Infinity Inquirer managed to get a leaked image of possible characters for Disney Interactive 3.0. The image showcases a lineup of 11 new collectible toys which include Sam Flynn and Quarra from Tron Legacy, Olaf, and Mulan. Keep in mind Disney has neither confirmed or denied the image, but it has been taken down at the request of Disney from several sites.
With E3 approaching soon we should find out more details on the future of the franchise, including the possibility of incorporating figures from or to previous versions of the game.
Last week the Mortal Kombat franchise had it’s biggest launch in the game’s history. While no specific numbers are known it has been released that the PS4 version is outselling both Xbox One and PC. For a breakdown of sales, MKX sold 61% of its copies on PS4, 38% on Xbox One, and 1% on PC.
This week, to thank fans who’ve been part of this launch the latest game update will include a new free DLC skin for a classic character. Patch 1.02 improves online stability, adds a new move for Takeda, and includes general balancing tweaks. It’s most visible addition is the classic look of Sub-Zero seen here.
Destructoid has also reported that classic Mortal Kombat fatalities from the 90’s could be coming back in DLC form.
Now that we’ve played the game, it’ll be interesting to see how the DC Comics prequel series catches up to the game. As of now one of the game’s main four characters, Takeda, is a teen just starting his training under Scorpion. The series still has yet to do any significant story on the game’s main character Cassie Cage.
Halo 5: Guardians released a new trailer that showcases UNSC elite manhunter Spartan Locke taking out Covenant while in pursuit of Master Chief. If you check it out you’ll see new weapons and multiplayer abilities the game will have when it releases this October. Additionally it’s been announced anyone pre-ordering the shooter from GameStop in the US will get access to the Hunter-Class armor set.
Halo 5: Guardians releases for the Xbox One on 10-27-2015.
Batman: Arkham Knight draws closer and closer each week, yet the wait feels unbearable. The game’s director Sefton Hill isn’t making things easier. He teased fans on twitter with talk of a new trailer, as if that wasn’t enough there’s also talk of new features Rocksteady has not yet disclosed.
He even went so far as to say, a familiar face from Arkham City would be appearing in the new trailer. With just about everyone in the Batman universe appearing during Arkham City, it’s anyone’s guess just who he’s referring to. We should know more about the trailer including a possible date in the next few days.
Batman: Arkham Knight is set to release on June 23, 2015 for the Xbox One, PS4, and PC.
Halo: Escalation #17 (Dark Horse Comics)
(W) Duffy Boudreau (A) Douglas Franchin, Rob Lean (CA) Sparth “The Glass Horizon” part 1: An action-packed survival tale on the treacherous and barren glasslands of a Covenant-ravaged colony world . . . and a Spartan-IV’s mysterious origin revealed.
Tomb Raider #15 (Dark Horse Comics)
(W) Rhianna Pratchett (A) Derliz Santacruz, Andy Owens (CA) Andy Park
While using the cover of a fake documentary about the legendary Chupacabra, Lara and her friends are drawn into a missing-child case while hunting the organization holding their friend hostage!
Batman: Arkham Knight #3 (DC Comics) (Print ed)
(W) Peter J. Tomasi (A) Viktor Bogdanovic & Various (CA) Dan Panosian
The Arkham Knight’s shadow spreads across the city as Batman digs deeper into the murders of villains – and it will soon put him on a collision course with the most dangerous enemy he’s ever faced!
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 3/23/2015
Batman: Arkham Knight is already one of 2015’s most anticipated games. It looks like fever has climbed a few degrees. A listing on Amazon suggests the Harley Quinn DLC bonus may contain more than previously thought. “For the first time in the Arkham series take on the role of Joker’s psychotic side-kick Harley Quinn and wreak havoc inside the Blüdhaven Police Department,” the description read. “With this exclusive Story Pack experience events in the lead-up to Arkham Knight as you infiltrate Blüdhaven to rescue your partner in crime: Poison Ivy. Delve deep into Harley’s demented nature and utilize her devastating baseball bat to smash, crash and bash your way to a friend very much in need.” Gamestop already has the Red Hood story DLC as a pre-order exclusive and this Harley Quinn DLC looks to be available at other retailers. PlayStation owners will receive a console exclusive Scarecrow Nightmare DLC that was announced in December at PlayStation Experience in Las Vegas.
In addition to all that, today a new 8min gameplay video was released. While it doesn’t show much about the game we don’t already know, it does give clues to the Scarecrow’s plan and shows off how truly next-gen this title looks in action.
In the category of not-so-good Batman: Arkham Knight news, a statement was released officially pushing back the game’s release date from 6/2/15-6/23/15. While it’s only a three week delay, seeing new footage makes it feel like another three years. The move was most likely made to capitalize on a potential bump coming out of the industry trade show E3 in Los Angeles in early June. Which makes sense from a promotional stand point. Why have only one week in the spotlight before the show when you could be the first blockbuster game coming out of the biggest video game sales pitch in the world?
Batman: Arkham Knight and its DLC are in stores June 23 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Currently DC Comics digital is releasing a lead-in digital comic. Available every Friday, Batman: Arkham Knight the comic is written by Peter Tomasi and picks up right after the events of Joker’s demise in Arkham City.
Also coming from WB Interactive is Netherrealm’s Mortal Kombat X. This week the studio confirmed one of film’s most infamous game hunters, the Predator, would be a playable character in the game as part of the Kombat Pack DLC which includes additional fighters and alternate costumes. As long as we’re putting in Predator content a Danny Glover would be sweet. Regardless, the alien hunter is available as part of either the $99 special edition version of the game or the DLC can be purchased as a separate bundle for $30. It will be available when the game launches on April 14. Jason Voorhees was also previously teased and confirmed along with the returning Liu Kang.
Currently DC Comics is also publishing a lead-in digital comic book series titled: Mortal Kombat X. If the characters who appear in the book are any indication of who we’ll see when the game is released today could have been an announcement for the Outworld tyrant, Havik.
Telltale Games, the studio behind the game adaptations of Fables and The Walking Dead, have another franchise some of you might know. Their Game of Thrones episodic experience is set to release its third chapter titled The Sword in the Darkness. It’s available for download this Tuesday March 24 for PC owners, and PlayStation owners in the US. On March 25, Xbox owners everywhere and PS owners in the rest of the world will be able to access the next chapter in the Forresters’ story. Finally, March 26 will see iOS and Android devices get the game. Individually each episode cost $4.99 or season pass options are available on some platforms.
Check out the full trailer below to catch you up on events so far.
Currently the developer is also in the middle of their Tales From the Borderlands adaptation while getting set to release a new episodic story series based on the popular Minecraft. Telltale Games also teased follow ups to Walking Dead including a pre season 3 game much like The Walking Dead: 400 Days came before The Walking Dead: Season 2.
What are your thoughts on the latest Arkham Knight news? Have you played Telltale’s GOT?
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 7/27/2014
Dark Horse leads the way in transporting videogames into the comic world.
By: Nick Eskey
Art has gone hand in hand with videogames almost since the beginning. Oh yes, the earliest games were either text-based adventures, or pixilated jumbles; Not really “artistic.” But the boxes they were packaged in were usually masterpieces of fantasies. It wasn’t that developers didn’t feel games were worthy of art as part of their game play, but the technology wasn’t there. Now, with high density pixel displays and fast processors, we find ourselves capable of things never thought possible with gaming. We’ve seen some of the best games ever released in the last few years. Typically they involve large, detailed worlds and characters that people can’t help but explore.
Various artists and designers that were part of huge titles like Tomb Raider, Halo, Mass Effect, Witcher, Plants Vs. Zombies, and The Last of Us were present at San Diego Comic Con to discuss the art of the games. “We are seeing fans want to explore more of the world, more of the characters that they were introduced to.” This has led to a good number of games getting their own comic book adaption. Not necessarily retelling the game itself, but “following storylines or characters that no one had thought of before.” Both The Last of Us and Tomb Raider have comics that are set to come out sometime within the year, both being published by Dark Horse. With Tomb Raider, we are promised to follow Lara Croft after the videogame finding out more of what she is.
The Witcher will also be seeing a comic, again by Dark Horse, entitled “House of Glass.” “The series will be a standalone story. It will add to the Witcher universe, and will introduce new characters and show monsters from the Witcher 3 game.” Other games like Halo and Mass Effect will be seeing comics too. Halo: The Next 72 Hours will take place after the 4th game, following the events that happen with Master chief. For Mass Effect, it will follow the main antagonist from the last DLC from Mass Effect 3. “It’s going to be a last adventure to go on with the characters of the original Mass Effect.”
Aside from comics, there’s other mediums like art books that show the full breadth of artistry that goes into game development. “Most often we only see three quarters of the artwork that goes into a game being used. There’s also the evolution of characters… That’s why art books are so great. They give a sneak peek into what didn’t make it in… what changed.”
With comics though, publishers and artists are very concerned with not letting the fans down. Because of this, even though they are different mediums, publishers try to make sure that the artists from the games are the ones that will also be the writers for the comics. This allows the stories and characters to be as connected as possible. “Sometimes it doesn’t work [though], especially when telling a side story. It then becomes a sand box experience. Here it becomes important to work with and trust a creative team.”
Videogames have become a platform for new forms of art, and they have taken a while to get to this point. Now that fans are eager to immerse themselves more in the worlds they introduce, their presence in comics and graphic novels will grow more and more, fleshing out worlds that perhaps even their writers didn’t know would come to be.
By: Kate,
on 8/30/2011
Available today from Macmillan Children's Publishing Group is Alexandra Adornetto's highly anticipated new book Hades, the sequel to her sensational bestselling debut, Halo.
In celebration of the release of Hades, I have been given the opportunity to give away a copy of the book along with showing off the awesome book trailer. Check out the trailer, links and enter the giveaway below!
Heaven Help Her.
Bethany Church is an angel sent to Earth to keep dark forces at bay. Falling in love was never part of her mission, but the bond between Beth and her mortal boyfriend, Xavier Woods, is undeniably strong. But even Xavier?s love, and the care of her archangel siblings, Gabriel and Ivy, can?t keep Beth from being tricked into a motorcycle ride that ends up in Hell. There, the demon Jake Thorn bargains for Beth?s release back to Earth. But what he asks of her will destroy her, and quite possibly, her loved ones, as well.
By: Marty Qatani,
on 4/20/2011
For a split second I thought of doing something related to the band Journey, but since it wouldn't be very positive, I resisted the urge. I guess you could call this the ultimate journey, depending on your behavior... Enjoy. Process was hand drawn sketch, scanned into Illustrator, redrawn with brush tool. Copied and pasted into Photoshop and then colored in assorted layers.
Book description:
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I have a kid. A rough and tumble, Xbox playing, iTouch texting, nerf shooting tween boy.
And you know what? He loves books.
Year after year, they’re on his Christmas list, alongside the video games, Lego sets, and foam darts. Yes, you heard me right. A boy. Who reads. Want to know my secret? How I created such a budding bookavore?
I’m sneaky. I lurk. I watch and observe. I find out what games and movies he loves and then I fiendishly offer books which complement them. Why fight pop culture, when you can pair up interactive media and a good book like tender steak and a fine Cabernet?
This holiday, why not encourage your own XBox kids to enjoy one of the following picks?
For the tween/teen obsessed with HALO, pick up a copy of ENDER’S GAME by Orson Scott Card (an amazing classic) or Brian Yansky’s riveting new adventure, ALIEN INVASION AND OTHER INCONVENIENCES. Both are guaranteed to please kids (and adults!) into the whole rocket launching, would-be saviors of earth thing.
So your reluctant reader is more into zombies and ghosts, ala FALLOUT 3 or ALAN WAKE? No problem. Middle grade readers will enjoy Neil Gaiman’s THE GRAVEYARD BOOK, full of the supernatural adventures of a boy named Bod. Olders teens are sure to devour Jonathan Maberry’s smash PATIENT ZERO or his latest, ROT & RUIN.
**NOTE: Not that I’m biased or anything, but it should go without saying that any of 2 Comments on Xmas Book Picks for the Xbox Generation, last added: 12/1/2010
In the world of teen literature, angels are being hailed as the new vampires-but that isn't entirely true as there are some key differences:
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About a week or so ago, MacKids got together for a celebration, of sorts. A few of our titles made the bestseller list, after months of planning and preparation (and a little bit of prayer thrown into the mix).
The proof is in the pudding. Or, in our case, the cake!
By: Anastasia Goodstein,
on 3/11/2010
Today's Ypulse Youth Advisory Board review is from one of our resident gamers Julia on iPod Touch/iPhone shooter game N.O.V.A. Below we see another good example of play that doesn't simply appeal to the girl in the gamer so much as the gamer in the... Read the rest of this post
By: Anastasia Goodstein,
on 6/9/2009
Today's Youth Advisory Board post is a review of this year's E3 conference from our resident gamer Michael Hayball who attended the show "virtually" by watching G4's coverage as well as his favorite gaming blogs. As always, you can communicate... Read the rest of this post
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