At nearly two-decades old, the Sonic franchise is due for a revival. While most fans have been celebrating his return-to-form 2D adventure with Sonic 4, the game that should be in their sights is the VERY (emphasis on VERY) Super Mario Galaxy-inspired Sonic Colors, a Nintendo-exclusive set to unleash its hedgehog fury on the Wii and DS consoles this November. To help remind people of the power their mascot once held, Sega is pulling all the stops by releasing not just the official box-art shots for both versions, but an incredible trailer absolutely dripping with gameplay footage and featuring the song 'Reach for the Stars' by Jean Paul Makhlouf (from New Jeresy band Cash Cash).
Is it cheesy? You bet, but cheesy music is practically a requirement in any good Sonic game, and after nearly two decades of so-so Sonic games, they reall need to hit this one out of the park. From what we experienced at E3, they finally seem to have nailed the third-dimension, and as I alluded above, Nintendo's recent plumbing adventures (right down to the galaxy hub-system) has affected just about every ounce of the game. This is great news, and I'm proud to say that for the first time in well over a decade, I'm really excited about a 3D Sonic game.
Sonic Colors zooms onto the Wii and DS consoles November 16th! Keep reading to see the game's official box-art, as well as a spectacular trailer overflowing with gameplay footage and even more musical cheese. Hey, it's no 'Sonic Boom', but it'll do in a pinch. Keep reading now!
Read More »I've never really understood why some media companies are so coy about releasing finished trailers to the public, especially ones that have been specifically designed to end a movie's speculation of crappiness and convince the masses that it's worth seeing. Such is the 'leaked' trailer for Marvel's upcoming Thor movie, which, as directed by Kenneth Branagh and starring Chris Hemsworth (Star Trek) and Natalie Portman in the leads, looks to pinch us one character closer to having the full Avengers ensemble together.
Hemsworth looks good in the part, and Anthony Hopkins sounds amazing as Thor's father Odin. So far, so good, although I'm not sure if some casual movie fans will dig the obvious cheese that makes this look like a fun hybrid between Flash Gordon meets Masters of the Universe (really), or if we need the unnecessary Twilight 'shirtless guy' moments in there. But this isn't a movie for the nerds - thank goodness - but for the masses, and I can only hope it's a lot closer to Iron Man than 2003's Hulk ever was. Guess we'll see when Thor smashes his mighty hammer into theaters May 6th!
Why, it seems like it was just yesterday that Chris was sharing the first-ever poster for the upcoming live-action/animated hybrid Yogi Bear movie with the world... oh, wait....it WAS just yesterday. Now we've got an even fresher honey-glazed look at the Dan Aykroyd and Justin Timberlake-starring movie with the debut trailer, courtesy of Yahoo Movies. To be honest, Aykroyd and Timberlake sound an awful lot like the original Hanna-Barbera cartoon, and the animated Yogi and Boo Boo bears they're playing. And while I'm not 100% confident that the full thing will be anything more than the slapstick comedy it looks to be, right now it doesn't look (or sound) that bad. Color me impressed.
Yogi Bear steals your pic-a-nic baskets starting December 17th!
Zack Synder is really making a name for himself when it comes to stylized, slow-motion action sequences. From the testosterone-filled gore of 300 to the animated owls of Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole, he's fast becoming one of the most creative directors in Hollywood today. Next on the list is the strange looking (even by his standards) Sucker Punch, which features a story he describes as:
"set in the 1950s, it tells the story of Baby Doll (Browning), who is trying to hide from the pain caused by her evil stepfather and lobotomy. She ends up in mental institution in Brattleboro, Vermont and while there she starts to imagine alternative reality. She plans to escape from that imaginary world but to do that she needs to steal five objects before she is caught by a vile man. She has 5 days to escape before being lobotomized. In order to cope with the situation, she enters the hyper-real world of her imagination, and the lines between reality and dream begin to blur."
It's gonna be a long wait until March 25th 2011, cuz that's when Sucker Punch punches into theaters everywhere. Enjoy the first trailer, and head on over to Apple for the HD version right HERE!
As Disney continues their blistering publicity tour for the long-awaited sequel that many thought would never happen, the excitement for Tron: Legacy heats up even more with the second full trailer. This time around there's less Daft Punk and more Jeff Bridges - a lot of Jeff Bridges, actually. So much Jeff Bridges that we've got a fully re-constructed Bridges from the original 1982 film, with a head fully rendered in lifelike CG and acting alongside the humans (and we presume himself). Some have commented that this floating head isn't entirely photorealistic, but I'd question the wisdom of wanting photorealism in an action movie featuring neon lightcycles and bands of brightly colored shapes and hues. I think it looks pretty remarkable, and am curious how the whole thing will splice together when it's finally released.
Tron: Legacy leaps into reality December 17th. Bet you never thought you'd see the day, huh? Check out the full HD version of the trailer over at Yahoo Movies right HERE!
For too many reasons to fully document here, one of the movies I'm looking forward t the least this year is David Fincher's upcoming biographical drama about the world's most popular social-networking site, The Social Network. Starring Jesse Eisenberg, Justin Timberlake and a host of other 'faces', watching a movie about the sordid tale of how Facebook came to be is the last thing I want to sit down and pay money in the theater to see. Some will cry that even making a movie about the service's troubled CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg (Eisenberg) is a bit premature, despite the service's ongoing legal and (forgive me) social scandals, and I'd have to agree. I hope that I'm wrong, but I can't help feel this looks like it would have been much better on HBO than at your local multiplex.
The Social Network wants you to 'like' it on October 1st. Enjoy the trailer!
A bit 'o comic book movie news to get fans excited today, as MTV breaks out a new pic from the upcoming Thor film, this one showing Sir Anthony Hopkins in full gear as Odin, as well as confirming the film's native 3D release. Also on the menu are new hot tips about Captain America, and the possible replacements for Ed Norton as The Hulk in the upcoming Avengers assembly film. Could a certain Doctor Who be the next Bruce Banner...?
Keep reading for more juicy details about the future of Marvel's massive-scale movie franchises!
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Like many when word first came out that Konami would be issuing a spin-off of one of their most obscure chapters in the long-running Contra franchise, l was excited. That it would feature true-to-form 2D gameplay mixed with updated hard-drawn visuals mixed with 3D backdrops was exciting enough, and thanks to the tender loving care by Arc System Works (Guilty Gear, BlazBlue), I knew the game's looks would be in the right hands - technically speaking, anyway. But let's not forget that the original Contra: Hard Corps for the Sega Genesis was a BLISTERINGLY difficult game, one so unrepentant in its desire to kill and defame players that may never bothered to see their way through to the end.
Will Hard Corps: Rising for the XBLA and PSN follow suit to the original's madness? Keep reading after the jump to see the first-ever solo and cooperate gameplay videos in action!
Read More »The first chapter in the Star Wars: The Force Unleashed universe may not have lived up to its enormous hype, but with its original storyline about new character Starkiller in full non-Jedi, berserk mode and cool physics engine, it was a decent start. The sequel is coming, and to help celebrate the developers have issued a new trailer that showcases Darth Vader's true nature, and a new look at our anti-hero in action. I would have preferred some actual gameplay (full CG-cinematic trailers really don't do anything for me), and I'm not sure that I'm digging the angst-driven feel that I'm getting here. Still, it's hard not to get excited at the prospect of mowing down Imperial troops and other stormtroopers with duel lightsabers and other crazy/cool Force action powers.
No doubt we'll be hearing plenty more about Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2 at E3 next week, so keep checking over at Playswitch.com for all the sweet Sith action you've come to expect from this series!
Thanks to its ever-changing release schedule, some have begun calling Sony's Gran Turismo 5 the Duke Nukem Forever of racing games, and while that may nto be a (completely) fair comparison, there's no doubt that manic fans are literally frothing at the bit to get their hands on Polyphony Digital's wildly anticipated sequel. The latest trailer only furthers this, as viewers are treated to luscious landscapes, detailed new car models, and all that silk-smooth goodness that PlayStation 3 users have been promised - and briefly tasted with a bought demo - for years now.
Still no word on when the actual game is set for release, but in all honestly, if fans have waited this long for the next driving revolution, they'll probably be willing to wait just a little bit longer. More info on Gran Turismo 5 as it comes through next week at E3, and dont' forget to check out Playswitch.com for all the fun!
With just days to go before the largest videogame event in the world kicks off, EA isn't wasting any time in getting the excitement ball rolling for their highly-anticipated sequel, Dead Space 2. While we've seen terrifying - and psychotic - trailers for Visceral Games' chilling space-themed dismemberment simulator before, this latest pre-E3 trailer shows plenty of in-game footage and gameplay in all its monster-destroying, chunky goodness.
Featuring Isaac "Ironman" Clarke in all his suited up glory, the first snippets showcase what new tools and abilities he'll have at his disposal, including an enhanced ability to navigate zero-gravity, and what looks to be a considerably beefed-up stasis-based dismemberment portion of attacks. It's all good, and it's all very much welcome in a game that prides itself on taking on the hordes of mutants and ripping them apart, piece by piece. More word on Dead Space 2 as the show approaches, and catch all the action over at Playswitch.com!
Say what you will about the actual games, but at least Guerilla Games' Killzone franchise is one that doesn't shy away from showing honest-to-goodness gameplay in its trailers. The first look at Killzone 3 is proof of this, as nearly every second of its entire runtime is made from or showcasing in-game graphics and actual gameplay. While iyou'd be forgiven for thinking its opening moments were the next Gears of War (not sure if that was intentional or not), that illusion is crushed the second we see the menacing glowing eyes of the Helghast soldiers and the action kicks in.
Sony says to expect more of what made the last game a success with fans and critics alike, which means plenty of locked and loaded FPS gameplay that isn't afraid to bust some heads. Add new features like jetpacks, new weapons, more locations, and even 3D gameplay (we'll see how that measures up) and you've got one of the most anticipated sequels for the PlayStation 3 right now. We'll have more on Killzone 3 when more is revealed during next week's E3 show in LA, and don't forget to check out Playswitch.com for all our exclusive coverage throughout! BOOM!
Despite raking in well over $800 million dollars globally and becoming last year's most successful movie in the US, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen wasn't exactly beloved by critics. In short, they hated it - or its director, Micheal Bay - with a passion often reserved for those with irrational agendas. But again, it made a considerable sum, and the third movie is already in production. While many had formulated the next enemy may be the giant planet-gobbling Unicorn, its looking more likely that Optimus Prime and Company will be facing off with another - and equally loved - Decepticon foe - Shockwave.
Keep reading for more incredible info on the return of Shockwave, as well as other plot details and descriptions about what to expect from Transformers 3!
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While it's not yet the promised hands-on coverage just yet (E3 is next week, have a little patience), we do get to share what anxious fans can expect from Harmonix's next iteration of their popular music game when it comes to instruments. While most music games may deliver the same thing year after year, look for some truly incredible differences when Rock Band 3 unleashes its musical fury this fall. Check out the full coverage over at Playswitch.com for all the details, detailed screens, and more right HERE!!
The long, long wait for the next Starcraft is almost here, and just in case you might have forgotten (not likely), Blizzard has a new television spot ready to re-awaken all those dreams of Terran, Zerg, and Protoss ambition and decimation. It's just too bad there's not a smidge of gameplay in this CG-filled commercial, and those who might be unfamiliar with the franchise (again, not likely) might confuse this for some previously unannounced Halo game - complete with gruffy military voice.
All that aside, I'm sure none of that will matter when Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty (finally) touches down on the PC and Mac on July 27th.