Black Desert Online - A Korean MMO That Has The West's Attention

I've had a chance to play a wide range of MMO's over the years, never fully delving into them but limiting myself to 2-3 week playtests to get a feel for what each game had to offer. And during this time I really got a chance to develop an appreciation for Korean MMO's especially, which time and time again seemed to be a few steps ahead of their western developed counterparts in regards to gameplay ideas and innovations.

One of my most memorable experiences was playing Granado Espada a few years back, which allowed a player to control three characters simultaneously in a baroque styled setting (The awesome character concepts by Limha Lekan drew me in). My only frustration was that there was a generalized stigma against any Korean MMO for being 'too grindy,' a reputation that a few games managed to cast on that entire scene as a whole.

In the last few years it seems like developers have taken note of this reputation and have been trying to address it with newer games, including NC Soft's upcoming Blade and Soul and Black Desert Online. The latter recently caught the interest of the western gaming community for it's efforts to truly evolve online combat with a more dynamic action oriented approach rather than the rather outdated 'roll' based systems featured in games like World of Warcraft.



Black Desert is just one of many next gen MMO's being developed overseas, and hopefully this game will be able to make a transition to Western shores once it's released. I've seen so many games with truly amazing potential absolutely fall flat due to bad marketing, but hopefully this will be one of the exceptions. If you're in the mood to get a feel of how this game might play while we wait for Black Desert to released, I'd recommend giving the free to play Vindictus action MMO a shot (The only Korean MMO developed on Valve's source engine).

First Minute Of Knights of Sidonia Anime Previewed

Knights of Sidonia is probably my favorite series currently running, Tsutomu Nihei has truly refined his storytelling skills and has provided an awesome mech experience. Like most popular long running manga series, Knights of Sidonia is getting the anime treatment and while I was originally on the fence with their use of CGI, the newest preview has cleared up a lot of my doubt.

Not gonna lie here, I'm pretty f**king hyped.

CGI in anime very rarely appeals to me, but it seems that Polygon Pictures has really stepped up their game and is providing an awesome animated experience. I'm actually pretty happy with how the mechs look, it's a lot less janky than I would expect. The series will air in Spring 2014 in Japan and in the Summer for Netflix subscribers. Can't say that I'm not ready for this.

Game of Thrones Season 4: Fire and Ice Foreshadowing

Even though April 6 is still a ways off,  HBO is taking their hype for the 4th season to 11 with this 15 minutes preview of Game Of Thrones - Ice and Fire. We are presented with teasers of the upcoming chapter, which will mainly feature content from A Storm Of Swords as well as elements from A Feast For Crows and A Dance With Dragons (Books 3, 4, 5 respectively).

Among the preview we are also given a preview of some of the new characters, such as the passionate Oberyn Martell, Prince of Dorne. Following events like the Red Wedding from last season, revenge will be lingering like a heavy fog going forward. Check out some stills from the new season after the break!

The First Ten Minutes Of "Riddick"

To raise awareness of the upcoming Bluray/DVD release of Riddick - Rule the Dark directed by David Twohy, Universal has released the first ten minutes of the movie to raise awareness. I personally thought the latest installment of the franchise was solid, with Vin Diesel reprising his antihero role as the last of a warrior race known as the Furyans following 2004's Chronicles of Riddick. If you're looking for a solid scifi film to check out, the movie is currently available for digital download with a January 14th release for the DVD/Bluray editions.

Adult Swim Teases Shinchiro Watanabe's "Space Dandy"

With a delicious dose of retrosynth goodness courtesy of one of our staff favorite electro outfits, Lazerhawk Adult Swim just recently unveiled their plans to bring Cowboy Bebop/Samurai Champloo director Shinchiro Watanabe's newest anime state side in January. In a surprising turn of events though, the anime will actually be premiering in the US before Japan on January 4th. While the premise is still eyebrow raising at best, considering Watanabe's track record I'm going to speculate that it's going to be highly enjoyable. Fingers crossed! Check out an additional extended promo after the break.

Space Dandy is a dandy in space! This dreamy adventurer with a to-die-for pompadour travels across the galaxy in search of aliens no one has ever laid eyes on. Each new species he discovers earns him a hefty reward, but this dandy has to be quick on his feet because it's first come -- first served! Accompanied by his sidekicks, a rundown robot named QT and Meow the cat-looking space alien, Dandy bravely explores unknown worlds inhabited by a variety aliens. Join the best dressed alien hunter in all of space and time as he embarks on an adventure that ends at the edge of the universe!

A 6 Minute Preview Of Studio Ghibli's "Kaguya-hime no Monogatari"

Studio Ghibli's upcoming feature get's an extended preview, and it's looking to be quite a stylistic departure for the studio to say the least. Based off of a 10th century Japanese folk tale called The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter the movie is being directed by Isao Takahata, his fifth movie for the studio following a 14 year directorial hiatus following My Neighbor the Yamadas (1999).

Kaguya-hime no Monogatari is most notable for it's incredibly fluid folk art inspired art style, which channels the same form of traditional Japanese woodcut (Ukiyo-e) art and watercolors. While the movie was originally slated to be released earlier this year alongside The Wind Rises, the production ran into some delays following some storyboard reworks. The movie is slated to be released before years end in Japan with no US released date just yet.

Capcom and 3A Toys Team Up To Bring Us Lost Planet

(Via)

While I do feel that the gaming community never quite warmed up to Capcom's lukewarm Lost Planet franchise, you can't deny that the game had some really cool scifi designs, like the VS (Vital Suit) mechs and the kitted out mercenaries. As much as I wanted to love the game though, the forgettable story and uninspired gameplay remained an issue in both the first and second installments of the game. Is it too much to ask for to get a scifi version of Monster Hunter? With Lost Planet 3 on the horizon, third times the charm, some say.

Following a few months of teasing, 3A Toys has finally announced the arrival of the 1:6 scale, beautifully detailed Lost Planet mercenary, which will go on sale at the Bambaland Store June 21 for $160. As an owner of one or two of 3A Toys' wallet destroying works of arts, these toys are totally worth every penny for their attention to detail, articulation and quality of materials. Some proto shots from toy fairs abroad also point to a new upcoming Lost Planet toy that will include one of the VS mechs and a 1:12 scale pilot. Check out some more detail shots of the Mercenary after the break!

Iron Man 3 : Taste The Rainbow (Of Mark Suits)

In the third installment of Iron Man, Tony Stark will face off against his biggest foe yet, The Mandarin. Originally a supergenius posessed with the power of ten rings of alien origin, granting him various powers, it seems like the movie will ground the nemesis as a Sun Tzu obsessed terrorist mastermind instead (Played by Ben Kingsley) running an international do-no-goodery cell called 'The Ten Rings.' Originally intended to be Tony Stark's foe in the original movie, he was put off due to being too ambitious of a character to introduce in the first film (Aka, hard to top).

As part of the marketing campaign for the upcoming film (May 3), a recent Facebook initiative just finished which unlocked a preview of various experimental suits that will be featured in the film, fighting alongside Tony Stark. Check out the whole lot of them after the break!

Assassin's Creed IV : A Pirate's Life For Me

Even though it feels like Assassin's Creed III just came out yesterday, Ubisoft just unleashed a flurry of 'leaks' regarding the next installment in the Assassin's Creed series, which might actually be a welcome thematic departure from the typical flavor of the series. Slated to release this October, the official fourth installment of the series will hopefully take some of the best aspects of it's lackluster predeccesor (The naval combat) and add some new gameplay elements, combat improvements and a fresh setting to hopefully bring some life back to the over-sequeled series.

Featuring Edward Kenway as the new pirate flavored assassin, the setting and premise is introduced by Blackbeard himself in the CG trailer for Black Flag. Here's to hoping that Ubisoft can reinvigorate this franchise for the current and next gen platforms it's slated to release on (PS4) this October.

Wildstar : Meet The Exiles

Following the reveal of the snobbish, elitist Dominion forces just a few weeks back, the folks at Carbine also released a new trailer from the perspective of the scrappy Exiles for their upcoming Wildstar MMO (Which still sounds like an 80's cartoon series to me, not a bad thing). If there's one thing that impressed us about this game, it's the amount of personality that they've imbued into the promotion of their stylized title, giving off the impression of some truly fleshed out factions and motivations, a as well as a great sense of humor.

Always looking for a scrap with the technologically superior Dominion forces, the Exiles are simply seeking a peaceful existence on their own planet. The last few weeks also brought some new information about the playable Dominion classes, although the trailers for both factions hinted at a fourth one for each. Check out some awesome new art for the Cassians, Draken and Mechari factions after the break.

"Mad Max 4 - Fury Road" Production Footage Looks Promising

Did you know a Mad Max sequel was in the works? Dubbed as 'Mad Max: Fury Road' The fourth installment of the post apocalyptic franchise wrapped filming in mid December, and the slow trickle of production shots and concept art has started to trickle out to the public. This latest video features some on set footage from the shooting location of Namibia, showcasing a handful of deadly vehicles strutting their stuff.

Starring Tom Hardy (Bane) in the role of Mad Max, the new installment will take place 29 years after the latest installment, 1985's 'Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome.' A few encouraging things to keep in mind for the 2014 flick:

• George Miller, the original director for the trilogy reprised his role as director for the fourth movie. 
• A sequel to Fury Road is already planned, 'Mad Max: Furiosa.' 
• Based off of what we've heard from interviews, there's a definite emphasis on not opting for a CG heavy approach for the new flick. 
• Mel Gibson will be making a cameo as a character called 'Drifter.'

The Hobbit By Dennis Medri

Italian comic book artist Denis Medri has been on our radar ever since we discovered his blog, and his incredible re-imaginings of iconic superheroes and villains from both the DC and Marvel camp. From his Steampunk Spiderman series to his most excellent Rockabilly Batman, I've been a fan of his work ever since.

Dennis Medri's latest work comes as a relaxing video of the artist at work on a slew of tribute pieces inspired by Tolkien's The Hobbit, and it also serves as a preview of a new 20 piece (one for each chapter) series that we can't wait to check out.

Hitchcock Official Trailer

We've seen photographic previews of Anthony Hopkins' transformation into the legendary Hitchcock, but aside from his voice he's pretty much unrecognizable in this debut trailer. The film revolves around the making of Psycho, a movie that went on to be classified as one of the greatest movies of all time. Despite the accolades, the film was considered highly controversial for attempting to elevate the amount of 'acceptable' sexuality and violence in films. The production faced an incredible amount of resistance from Paramount, to the point that Hitchcock had to offer to finance the project himself and defer any majority ownership of the film.

The trailer also goes into the more personal aspects of Hitchcock's life, shedding light onto the strong woman who stood by him during the difficult times he faced while trying to get the project off the ground. With a relatively unknown director behind the helm (Sacha Gervasi), I'm hopeful this will actually be an insightful look into the world of a man who played a pivotal role in shaping modern cinema.

The Art Of Hotel Transylvania - A Quick Look

Thanks to the kind folks over at Titan Books, we came into possession of a book we were actually looking forward to buying for Genndy Tartavosky's first foray into feature length animation, 'Hotel Transylvania.' Being big Tartavosky fans (Powerpuff Girls, Samurai Jack, Clone Wars), we'd been intrigued by the movie since details started trickling out last year, and we're looking forward to checking it out tomorrow and supporting Genndy's future efforts.

As for the book, it's a hardback labor of love, featuring over 160 pages of visual development and commentary on the process for coming up with all the inhabitants of Dracula's resort, locales and more.   I had a blast checking out all the art and reading Genndy's thoughts on the production, as well as unfortunately spoiling some aspects for myself. It was totally worth it though, so check out the preview video above! You can get The Art and Making of Hotel Transylvania on Amazon for a very reasonable price of $22.

Blade Runner - 30th Anniversary Trailer

In 1982, Ridley Scott released a masterpiece which would go on to inspire and leave a lasting impression on filmmakers, artists, musicians and people from all walks of life for generations to come. The cyberpunk flick starred Deckard (Harrison Ford), a specialized cop with the job of terminating replicants, clones with limited lifespans. The movie offered a beautiful, and haunting look at the future of Los Angeles, while also offering many interesting questions to ponder in a world dominated by technological excess and the dehumanization of replicants. With incredible performances, a brooding, scifi-noir plot and a visually rich world, Bladerunner is an unforgettable experience that many have tried to recreate unsuccessfully.

The movie, which has been classified multiple times as the best scifi movie of all time will be re-released on Bluray on 10/23, with the addition of a production art book and a replica Spinner car. If you haven't had a chance to experience this flick just yet, this is the version you won't want to miss. Now when can we get a theatrical re-release?

Hitman: Absolution Trailer Raises Some Eyebrows

Hitman, unlike most IP's in this current generation has been dormant since 2006, an exception among a sea of sequel happy franchises. The last installment that we saw, Blood Money garnered good reviews and was just as enjoyable as all the other titles, offering an open ended approach to solving the same problem/assassination. What I loved about the franchise is that it offered so many variables to play with, including disguises, stealth, and sabotage which made it possible for each replay to offer a completely new experience. And if you thought you could go in, guns blazing it typically resulted in a hasty death.

Square Enix just released this trailer for 2012's Hitman: Absolution, which seems to imply that Agent 47 might be finally trying to move on from his assassination career, while his past continues to catch up with him. People were pretty outraged at the whole 'latex nun assassins' aspect of the trailer, which really didn't seem to fit the typically stealthy, grounded in reality nature of the Hitman franchise. However, I'm willing to reserve judgement till I actually see some gameplay, which I'm sure will feel familiar to the previous titles.

Mechwarrior Online Continues To Amaze

Mech Warrior 2 was my first introduction to PC gaming back in the day, and it indirectly kickstarted my path towards becoming a videogame developer. Following some rather disappointing sequels and spinoffs that I didn't care about, I was left wondering whether I'd ever see another installment of the BattleTech mech simulation series. Unlike the other mech title coming out this year, Adhesive games' Hawken, MechWarrior was always better known for its more hardcore approach to the genre with aspects like heat management, location based damage and heavy customization aspects.

Based off these videos, it looks Piranha games might finally do the franchise some justice after over 15 years of stagnation. In conclusion, for every yin there is a yang. This year will bring us a fantastic variety of mech titles that will appeal to the hardcore(Mechwarrior), arcadey (Hawken) and casual mech heads(Steel Battalion for Kinect). I'll be playing the entire gamut for sure.

Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master

While the Great Gatsby remake has been causing a ton of buzz, my eyes have been firmly set on Paul Thomas Anderson's intriguing new film, 'The Master.' For those of you unfamiliar with his work, he's directed some classics including Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Punch Drunk Love and his fantastic Daniel Day Lewis driven period piece, There Will Be Blood.

The plot centers around a charismatic, intellectual man running a faith organization/cult known as 'The Master,' and a young drifter who crosses his path. The choice of using analog cameras was an awesome choice in my opinion, giving the movie that vintage look to match the era. And just like In There Will Be Blood, it looks like the excellent, foreboding musical compositions of Jonathan Greenwood will make a triumphant return. Looking forward to October.

M3CH : Mecha Combat In The Palm Of Your Hand

(Via)

Props to Small Impact Games for M3CH, an upcoming game that is truly pushing the potential of iOS games way past what I thought was even imaginable. Harnessing the power of the Unreal 3 engine, Small Impact wants to bring a solid, and deep mech combat sim to your iPhone or iPad, and the current concept art and early alpha footage looks amazing already. Its been cool to see a few games pop up (Hawken comes to mind) that promise to give a much needed breath of life to the stagnant mech combat genre.

The team has put up a small fundraiser on Indiegogo to help push development along, so if you'd like to contribute in seeing this project come to fruition, send some funds their way! Check out some alpha footage showing off the visual fidelity, and a ton more mecha eye candy after the break! Cheers.

Scifi Roundup : Asternauts And Cats In Space

Its been a good week for scifi related goodness, so I decided to group these two videos into a roundup due to their humorous angle. First of all, Cats In Space created by Dastoli Digital..A mostly visual showcase of cats exploring the feline (Ha) frontier. The short goes off the well known notion that cats make everything better, which is also true in this case.



Above we have the trailer Asternauts, an upcoming film which was the product of a successful crowdsourcing effort on Kickstarter back in August of last year. The Austin based Movie Brats seem to have translated their take on a redneck scifi plot pretty successfully, with two brothers (Early and Joel) finding themselves having to fend off armageddon in their own back yard! Check out the official website to see if a screening will be coming to a theater near you.