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D23 gives gamers tons of Star Wars to cheer about on its last day.

The original Mirror’s Edge was one of those games you might have missed. It wasn’t based on anything, nor was it part of a movie franchise. Mirror’s Edge was a new idea from a big company, and that can often times leave consumers more skeptical than something from a little known publisher. Admittedly, I never played the original game till it was offered free maybe really cheap on Steam or PS Plus. After playing it, I regret not jumping on sooner. Mirror’s Edge is a great metaphor for technology trapping humanity in hell. We got some hand’s on time with DICE’s follow up Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst at E3, not only does it have us more excited for the game, but the upcoming Dark Horse published comic as well.

The Mirror’s Edge mini theater inside the EA booth hypes you up for playing this small piece of the game with an introduction video outlining your objectives and how to use the game’s emphasis on “free run” to have the best experience.

This video also gives us an insight into the story of Catalyst. After the events of the original game, the whereabouts of our hero Faith and Kate are unknown, so DICE is going back to the beginning to tell an origin story. We’ll dive deep into the rebellious beginnings of Faith as a simple runner over the rooftops of the City of Glass.

As the doors in the back of the theater opened we were staged inside the EA booth to take on the first part of Mirror’s Edge Catalyst. A portion that consisted of Faith walking through processing on her way to jail when she receives a message that tells her to make a run for it. This part is here strictly to get you accustomed to the game’s controls and tease a bit of the intense story.

The second part of the demo sees players complete three objectives in the free roaming City of Glass. We first took on a courier mission that sees Faith use her fighting skills to take down enemy patrols. To say “flow” is important in this game is an understatement. Much like the Flash, Faith’s greatest weapon is speed. The smoother players can make her movements the more dangerous her attacks. As we ran from roof top to rooftop, when we could fluidly parkour our way across; enemies could be taken down with one hit. On the off times where movement was clunky from not timing obstacles right, hand to hand combat was our only recourse.

While some have been vocal about the problems with combat in the first game, here it’s easier to get the hang of. They’ve taken a few pages from the Arkham series, strikes are easy to chain among multiple enemies and the execution of finishing moves is spectacular.

Our second objective was a time trial of getting from one point on the map to the other under a specific time. Sprinting, leaping from ledge to ledge, seamlessly sliding through vents, and busting through locked doors; You’ll need to time these all just right to make the objective points in record times. In other games these objectives feel like after thoughts. In Mirror’s Edge it feels like a reward. There’s something gorgeous about the feeling of running from building to building in first person. As intense as it is on screen, publishers need to bring the Mirrors edge to their VR experiences. I can’t imagine how much my heart would pound in my chest from seeing something like that.

We didn’t get a chance to complete the third objective before our time was up. The only thing more disappointing is knowing we have to wait until February 23, 2016 to play the game. Fortunately, Dark Horse Comics is bring Faith’s story to comics in the six issue mini series, Mirror’s Edge: Exordium. We’ll only have to wait till September for comics to explore a part of Faith’s story.

Fans have waiting seven years for the return of Mirror’s Edge and this feels like a game that used the time away to build an experience worthy of the new generation of gaming hardware. The City of Glass will be somewhere we want to visit come February.

Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst comes out February 23, 2016 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. See more of the game on their official website and find out more about the upcoming Dark Horse Comics series here. 

One last check of the recent comics x gaming news before E3 officially gets underway. Let’s Go!

Starbreeze Studios, the developer behind Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons announced its dive into the Virtual Reality hardware pool and promises the widest field of view available. StarVR boasts a 210 degree horizontal field of view and 5120×1440 resolution, thanks to dual 5.5-inch displays. The company took over the House of Blues in Hollywood last night with a star studded event to show off the new headset just before E3.

StarVR is set to compete against Oculus Rift and Sony’s Project Morpheus, but it’s brining Overkill’s The Walking Dead and a literally a VR shotgun as part of its arsenal. Check out the presentation video:

No word of pricing or release window, but the Walking Dead game will be hands on demoed for attendees at E3 this week on the hardware.

Our Thought:

The VR market is quickly filling up before the first hardware even hits consumers Cheeto dusted fingers. With Oculus and Sony’s hardware set to launch next year, Starbreeze better be along quick if they hope to capitalize on early adopters. Is there an appeal for everyone out there to see what it’s like to get eaten by a zombie?

Published this September by Dark Horse Comics in partnership with Electronic Arts and DICE, creators of the Mirror’s Edge franchise, Mirror’s Edge: Exordium will grant fans special insight into the origin of Faith, the protagonist of the new Mirror’s Edge Catalyst video game. Written by Christofer Emgård, narrative director at DICE, with art by Mirror’s Edge in-house artists Emgård, Mattias Häggström, Robert Sammelin, Henrik Sahlström, and Erik Persson, ME: Exordium is a six issue limited series that aims to dive deep into the complex bouncing off buildings world of Mirror’s Edge.

“Set in a world as iconic as it is visually stunning, with one of the most compelling and unique protagonists in popular culture, Mirror’s Edge is tailor made for great comics,” said Dark Horse senior editor Dave Marshall. “It’s an awesome opportunity to be able to kick off our partnership with DICE with this series!”

Mirror’s Edge: Exordium #1
Christofer Emgård (W) Mattias Häggström, Robert Sammelin, Henrik Sahlström, Erik Persson (A)
Robert Sammelin (Cover)
$3.99, 32 pages
On sale September 9

Our Thought:

The first Mirror’s Edge game was a rare new idea from EA, a publisher not typically known for breaking away from sequels and sports. While not a blockbuster, the game did well enough to green light a sequel. GO US! A small miracle when you consider today’s landscape where we all complain about there not being anything new, yet refuse to support new IP. What has me a bit worried though is the creative team on the new book is all from video game developer DICE. While it might not necessarily be a bad thing, we’ll have to wait and see what the end result is. However, the reason Dark Horse has success both financially and artistically with The Last of Us: American Dreams is due to the creative partnership between Neil Druckmann and Faith Erin Hicks. Both are storytellers in different mediums, but they worked together to translate the vastly different languages of gaming and comics in order to create something that felt right in both worlds. I’ll remain optimistic for the time being since the book is at Dark Horse and now they’ve got the resume of quality adapted from video game books (Halo, Last of US, Witcher) which gives them license to try just about anything.

Today, Nintendo dropped big news for fans of the party brawling game Super Smash Bros. During a special video presentation focused on Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U, the game’s director, Masahiro Sakurai, unveiled a smashing amount of new content for the games, including two new playable characters: Ryu from the Street Fighter series and Roy from Fire Emblem. They both join Lucas from Mother 3 as new playable fighters, and are available for download now! This additional paid content lands alongside a major software update that launched today for both systems, which also includes three new stages and many new costumes for Mii Fighters, including outfits from classic fighting series Virtua Fighterand Tekken. With these new characters, stages and costumes, top fighting game franchises Super Smash Bros., Street Fighter, Virtua Fighter and Tekken unite for the very first time.

Here’s the complete rundown of content straight from Nintendo:

• Ryu from Street Fighter^®: For the first time in Super Smash Bros. history, a character from the fighting game series Street Fighter^® joins the battle. Iconic character Ryu, whose look in the game is based on Street Fighter II^®, brings a new fighting style and feel to Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U. Ryu’s traditional Light, Medium and Heavy attacks can be used depending on whether players tap, press or hold the buttons. Classic Street Fighter^®moves like Hadoken and Shoryuken can be activated with just a one-button press, but players who enter the original button combinations from the Street Fighter^® series will perform the same actions with higher damage. Ryu can be purchased in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U or Nintendo 3DS for $5.99 each, or both game versions together for $6.99. Purchase includes the bonus Suzaku Castle stage from the Street Fighter^® series. This classic environment provides stable footing on the right side and a series of platforms on the left. It can also be played in Omega form, giving the stage a look and feel much like in the Street Fighter II^® original.

• Roy from Fire Emblem: A fan-favorite from his last appearance in Super Smash Bros. Melee for Nintendo GameCube, Roy from the Fire Emblem franchise returns to the series more powerful than ever before. Unlike Marth, Roy’s sword is stronger closer to the hilt, so he works better in close range. Roy also now has a Final Smash move in the form of a devastating sword blow. Roy can be purchased in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U for $3.99, or both game versions together for $4.99.

• Lucas from Mother 3: As previously announced, Lucas is also available to purchase as a new downloadable character. Originating in the Japan-only Game Boy Advance RPG Mother 3, Lucas primarily uses lightning attacks to smash his opponents. Lucas can be purchased in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U or Nintendo 3DS for $3.99, or both game versions together for $4.99.

• New Mii Fighter costumes: Multiple video games and characters from the past and present are represented in a new set of Mii Fighter costumes now available through the new update. Two costumes from classic fighting game Virtua Fighter are based on the Akira and Jacky characters, with Akira even maintaining his blocky polygonal look from the original game. Tekken fighter Heihachi (and his amazing hair) serves as inspiration for one costume, with additional costumes based on Isabelle from Animal Crossing, MegaMan.EXE from Mega Man Battle Network, ZERO from Mega Man X, the Inkling Girl and Boy and the squid hat from Splatoon also available. All costumes – eight in total – can be purchased in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii Ufor $6, or both game versions together for $9.20. Costumes can also be purchased individually for $0.75 in either Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U, or both game versions together for $1.15 each.

• Dreamland stage: Based on the first Dreamland stage from the original Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 64, this stage returns with a few tweaks. The Dreamland stage can be purchased in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U for $1.99, or both game versions together for $2.99.

• Everything: Players who want every fighter, stage, outfit and accessory featured among today’s DLC releases can buy them all at once. The whole DLC pack can be purchased in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U for $21.96, or both game versions together for $29.16.

• Miiverse stage: Available now to download for free, this new stage for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U features Miiverse posts created by players all over the world. During matches while connected to the Internet, players will see Miiverse posts appear that cheer specific fighters on from the background. These messages will be pulled from individual Miiverse communities that just opened for each Super Smash Bros. character.

• Tourney mode: Scheduled to launch as part of a free update in August, two new Tourney modes are coming to Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Nintendo 3DS. Community Tourneys let players compete for the highest points in a certain amount of time, while regular Tourneys have a specific set of rules and only happen at select times.

• YouTube replays: Coming exclusively to Super Smash Bros. for Wii U at a later date, this free new feature allows players to post replay videos of their matches on YouTube. To use this feature, players must possess a Google account. Please visit http://www.smashbros.com/us/ for additional details.

• Additional Super Smash Bros. amiibo: Mii Fighters are getting their own amiibo figures! When used in the game, the Mii Brawler, Mii Swordfighter and Mii Gunner amiibo characters can be configured with custom faces and players’ collected accessories and costumes. Four additional Super Smash Bros. characters are also getting amiibo: R.O.B., Duck Hunt, Mr. Game & Watch and Falco. These new amiibo will be available this September, except Falco who will be available this holiday season. Eventually, all playable characters in Super Smash Bros. will have corresponding amiibo figures, including Mewtwo, Lucas, Roy and Ryu.

• Bonus Trophies: After downloading the update, in-game bonus trophies based on Ryu and Ken from Street Fighter^®, Roy, Lucas and Splatoon will be available to unlock in play. Players can collect these trophies by completing All-Star mode in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U.

Our Thought:

Yeah, $30 for all this content is a bit steep. On the other hand, Ryu in Smash Bros! Great job by Nintendo of not forcing gamers to buy this all in one bundle and making each piece available a la carte.

Tomorrow, everything begins. So get ready for a flood of news and happenings.

Yesterday the earthquake felt around the world was from the millions chanting “Yes!” in unison after the reveal of the new Star Wars film trailer. Today at Celebration, the aftershock came in the form of a game footage reveal for EA’s new Star Wars Battlefront game. Since it’s reveal at E3 last year, not much had been seen or revealed from the game. Now we know most of the crucial details. Look at the astonishing new video below along with info from the game’s developer, DICE (Battlefield) :

Here’s the rundown:

• - The game will release on November 17, 2015 on PS4, Xbox One, and on Origin for PC.
• - While the game doesn’t have a traditional story mode, all the online goodness takes place on four planets: The desert planet Tatooine, the forest moon of Endor, the desolate frozen wasteland of Hoth, and the previously unexplored Sullust, where Imperial outposts manufacture weapons. Instead of the traditional campaign, Star Wars: Battlefront features a series of missions, playable alone or via online and local co-op.
• - You’ll be able to play as your favorite characters including Darth Vader and Bobba Fett. Also, the Millennium Falcon will be a part of the aerial combat. A documentary style piece was shown that had iconic elements from other Star Wars characters like Han Solo.
• - On December 8, owners of the game will have access to free downloadable content featuring the new planet of Jakku revealed as part of the new JJ Abrams movie. Those who pre-order the game will have access to it a week early on December 1.
• - No Jar-Jar or prequel era stuff, it’s all original trilogy folks.

With all the new canon from shows like Rebels and the new Marvel published comics, the game could have a bottomless well of additional elements and content to turn Battlefront into a massive world that takes away our need to go outside on the weekends.

Are you excited about Battlefront? If you haven’t already, does the announcement want to make you buy a PS4 or Xbox One?

2.5 x 3.5
2B Graphite on Rives BFK paper
ebay

Back to my little yarn pieces. I'm still having fun experimenting with different pencil / paper combinations, as well as working out ideas for what to do with yarn as a subject.
With this one I actually set up a dice tied up with yarn and hung it from my drafting lamp. I wanted to see what the weight of the dice did to the yarn. It pulls the "plys", elongates and stretches them, like I knew it would.
I like how this piece looks like a little page of studies, like you'd find in a sketchbook.

I'm planning a new series of slightly larger yarn pieces, 5 x 7 I think, and maybe some other knitting themed ones.

And ~shock~ I may go back to painting something other than yarn!

Right now I'm working on my entry for the CPSA show. This will be my first year entering, and I'll be thrilled to even get juried in, let alone win anything. That March 31st deadline is closing in fast...

To see all the Yarn pieces in this series side-by-side, please go here. Or visit my ebay store to see which are available for sale.
All images and content herein are © Paula Pertile and may not be used or reproduced without permission.

So yesterday was the anniversary of one of the most amazing musical moments of all time, the release of St. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band. The album kicked off the Summer of Love (we can only hope this summer is 1/10 as exciting) and everything changed. The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography and the American National Biography celebrated the event with an interactive album cover. To trip just click.

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