Games | Krypton Radio

Deathstroke Confirmed For ‘Batman: Arkham Origins’

Comics, Games, Marvel / DC, Superhero No Responses »

May 202013

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Batman: Arkham Origins news heats up today as Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Entertainment confirmed that Deathstroke will be a fully playable character in the challenge mode for Batman: Arkham Origins™. Fans who pre-order the game for Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 system or Windows PC will receive exclusive early access to the Deathstroke pack.

The other juicy tidbit is that actor Kevin Conroy revealed at Comic-Con that he has already spent 10 months in the studio recording lines for the game, although he did not specify then which role he would be playing. Conroy was the voice of Batman in Arkham Asylum and its sequel Arkham City. He also played the character in MMO DC Universe Online, and the recently released DC brawler Injustice: Gods Among Us, so forgive us if we aren’t completely shocked, but happy he’s going to be on board for the new game just the same.

Deathstroke will come complete with his own unique weapons and special moves, and will be playable in all challenge maps in the game, as well as two additional challenge maps that will be included with the pack. The pack will also contain two alternate Deathstroke character skins.

Developed by WB Games Montréal, Batman: Arkham Origins features an expanded Gotham City and introduces an original prequel storyline set several years before the events of Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City. Taking place before the rise of Gotham City’s most dangerous criminals, the game showcases a young and unrefined Batman as he faces a defining moment in his early career as a crime fighter that sets his path to becoming the Dark Knight. As the story unfolds, players will meet many important characters for the first time and forge key relationships.

Batman: Arkham Origins is the next installment in the blockbuster Batman: Arkham videogame franchise and will be available for the Xbox 360®, PS3™, the Wii U™ system, and Windows PC. The game will release worldwide Oct. 25, 2013 along with Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate™ for Nintendo 3DS™ handheld system and PlayStation®Vita handheld entertainment system.

Fans will have a chance to gain access to an unannounced Deathstroke DLC when pre-ordering Arkham Origins, according to an offer on Amazon.

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Lego Gets Steamy

Fantasy / Horror, Games, Steampunk, Toys No Responses »

May 082013

LEGO-Master-Builder-Academy-Level-4-Invention-Designer

by Staff Writer Laura Davis

What’s better than steampunk or Legos? How about steampunk and Legos! Coming in July, Lego’s newly unveiled “Master Builder Academy, level 4” sets will give fans the chance to “travel to the past…and design the future.” With the Lego MBA series, their Master Builders teach advanced design skills and building techniques. Level 4, the steampunk-themed level, includes three new sets, focused respectively on machinery inventions, architecture, and the inventions of Da Vinci, come with access to style tips from professional Lego designers, as well as instructions on how to add gears and other mechanisms to your Lego models, to allow them movement and function.

Each set includes pieces for 3-5 different model designs. The Inventions set can be built into a hover-mobile, steam engine, or “mad science ray”; the Architecture set include parts for a Spanish fountain, “Asian gazebo” (I think that’s pronounced “pagoda”), and Roman window; and the Da Vinci-themed set allow you to create Da Vinci’s famed double paddle wheel boat; flying machine, helicopter, or drawbridge.

And that’s just what’s intended for us to build with them! Think of the possibilities! Clockwork Lego insects? Lego automata? Mini steam-powered model city? Is it July, yet?

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Electronic Arts Acquires Coveted Star Wars Game License

Business, Games, Krypton Radio, Science Fiction, Special Reports, Star Wars No Responses »

May 062013

A Krypton Radio Special Report

by Staff Writer Michael Brown

May 6, 2013: Electronic Arts has announced a deal with Disney to publish future Star Wars games. The two companies have drawn up “a new multi-year exclusive licensing agreement to develop and publish globally new games based on Star Wars characters and storylines.”

According to EA’s announcement, they “will develop and publish new Star Wars titles for a core gaming audience, spanning all interactive platforms and the most popular game genres, while Disney will retain certain rights to develop new titles within the mobile, social, tablet, and online game categories.”

EA Labels president Frank Gibeau has stated that three studios are already working on Star Wars games: Battlefield developer DICE, Dead Space developer Visceral, and Mass Effect developer and publisher of the classic Knights of the Old Republic series BioWare.

“Every developer dreams of creating games for the Star Wars universe,” Gibeau said. “Three of our top studios will fulfill that dream, crafting epic adventures for Star Wars fans. DICE and Visceral will produce new games, joining the BioWare team which continues to develop for the Star Wars franchise. The new experiences we create may borrow from films, but the games will be entirely original with all new stories and gameplay.”

In a blog post on EA’s website, Gibeau also confirmed that the new projects will be powered by the Frostbite 3 development engine, which, Gibeau said, will “guarantee incredible graphic fidelity, environments and characters.

“This agreement demonstrates our commitment to creating quality game experiences that drive the popularity of the Star Wars franchise for years to come,” said Disney co-president John Pleasants. “Collaborating with one of the world’s premier game developers will allow us to bring an amazing portfolio of new Star Wars titles to our fans around the world,” he said.

This is not EA’s first trip into the galaxy far, far away. They previously published BioWare’s Star Wars: The Old Republic MMORPG.

Earlier this year, Disney was blasted for laying off its LucasArts staff, causing fans and critics to speculate as to the future of Lucas Licensing as a whole. After inquiring, Krypton Radio received this statement from Lucas Licensing spokesperson Lynne Miller: “After evaluating our position in the games market, we’ve decided to shift LucasArts from an internal development to a licensing model, minimizing the company’s risk while achieving a broader portfolio of quality Star Wars games As a result of this change, we’ve had layoffs across the organization. We are incredibly appreciative and proud of the talented teams who have been developing our new titles,” she said.

As an aside, Lynne Miller also provided this statement regarding the future of LucasBooks:”The fact that LucasArts is shifting to a licensing model does not have an affect on our publishing program for books. Please let your listeners know how much we appreciate their enthusiasm for the expanded universe and assure them that there are many new Star Wars books to come.”

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Event Horizon: Neal Hallford’s ‘Thief of Dreams’

Games, Science Fiction, The Event Horizon No Responses »

Apr 272013

Author & game designer Neal Hallford

The day is here! The Event Horizon this evening features veteran computer game designer and writer Neal Hallford. His Kickstarter campaign to fund The Thief of Dreams, his first fantasy novel, is the subject tonight’s show. Hallford describes it as “a novel set in a world where magic is forbidden, where sorcerers are spies, and where a force beyond imagination threatens to transform the long simmering cold war between the nine kingdoms into a cataclysmic, world-shattering conflict.”

Join us this evening at 9PM Pacific, 12AM Eastern for a fascinating discussion not only of his current project but the art and craft of writing and creating worlds for computer games and alternative media. The show reprises tomorrow, Sunday, 4PM Pacific / 7PM Eastern.

His story for Betrayal at Krondor was novelized into a New York Times best-selling book by popular fantasy author Raymond E. Feist, and Dungeon Siege was adapted into the movie In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale. The Thief of Dreams campaign began Wednesday, April 10, 2013 at noon Pacific Time, and will run until May 11, 2013. He’s already well on his way to his goal, and after hearing this show, you just might want a piece of this project. We’re already backers.

Enjoy the show!

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Links

The Event Horizon (Ep 10): Neal Hallford, "Thief of Dreams" [ 1:07:52 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

John Scalzi: May You Live in Interesting Times

Books, Community, Events, Games, Net Culture, Science Fiction No Responses »

Apr 242013

by staff writer Laura Davis

John Scalzi, LATFOB 2013

Richard Kadrey, LATFOB 2013

As the crowd settles in for John Scalzi’s talk at the L.A. Times Festival of Books 2013, Richard Kadrey begins his introduction, “John Scalzi, [session number] 2064, Richard Kadrey…”

Scalzi interjects, “Isn’t there a video game, Robotron 2064, something like that?”

“Twenty EIGHTY four!” comes from the audience.

“Shut UP!” Scalzi retorts, laughing. “Forty seconds in and I’ve already been nerd corrected! Can’t take you kids anywhere!”

And so it begins.

John Scalzi is a Hugo award-winning Sci-Fi writer, journalist, business writer, script and game writer, and author of the blog, Whatever. His style of not pulling punches yet delivering them with a wicked sense of humor makes for very entertaining reading. Last fall, his satirical post, “A Fan Letter to Certain Conservative Politicians,” signed “Just Another Rapist” triggered a tidal wave of responses, both by fans and by those who do not understand the concept of satire.

Earlier this year, a troll began attacking Scalzi online, inciting his followers to flood Scalzi’s blog with hateful commentary. Scalzi’s response? In a post entitled, “Solving My Racist Sexist Homophobic Dip[$#!t] Problem,” Scalzi pledged to put $5 into a fund every time the troll mentioned Scalzi’s name (or a nickname for him) on his blog. Fans monitored the troll’s blog and kept account. The fund (Scalzi offered up to $1,000 of his own money) would be divided among charities serving women, people of color, and the LGBT community. As Scalzi’s fans asked to join in the fun, they raised over $50,000 for these charities, and succeeded in really infuriating said troll. That’s how Scalzi rolls.

Game Review: Hero Kids

Games No Responses »

Apr 122013

A Kid’s First Role-Playing Adventure

review by Michael Brown

I have been an avid fan of role-playing games for years. I cut my teeth in high school on TSR’s (now Wizards of the Coast) Marvel Super Heroes. When I started college, I ran my first game. West End Games’ Star Wars: The Role-Playing Game, which lasted many years. Then I would play faithfully for years in Forgotten Realms and Ravenloft. I ran Dragonlance, Torg, Space:1889, and the list goes on. I’m currently playing in a Wednesday night Shadowrun campaign.

Now I have kids. And I have always dreamed and hoped that my kids would grow up and want to play RPGs just like their dad. That time has come. My kids and my girlfriend’s kids had started asking asked about the huge rulebooks. What is Shadowrun? What was Dungeons and Dragons? Is it a video game? A board game like Trouble? (My daughter plays some mad, cutthroat Trouble.) The time had come. My kids were asking about RPGs. I was ready. But the market wasn’t. RPGs for kids just weren’t out there.

A couple of weeks ago, I saw that it was Teach Your Kids To Game Week. I wondered. Were there RPGs out there now for kids? I looked. Sure enough, there were a few. It seems that an entire generation of gamers are wanting to introduce their kids to their hobby. But a game called Hero Kids caught my attention. I snagged it. Designed by 20-year veteran RPG designer and creator of the popular RPG Heroes Against Darkness, Justin Halliday, the game is a D&D-style game built for ages 4 to 10 and the rules are simple and painless. Characters are created with a very simple 4-point buy system and only 4 attributes. Combat consists of rolling six-sided dice and the highest number wins. Skills and Special Abilities are optional but do add some flavor once players get more experience. And Hero Kids offers six starting classes: Warrior, Hunter, Healer, Rogue, Brute, Warlock and Knight. And more classes are on the way.

The player characters are kids who live in a village called Rivenshore, which is surrounded on all sides by danger. When the adults are off fighting in defense of the town, it’s the kids of Rivenshore who must step up and help protect the town, whether it’s fending off ghostly pirates, rescuing lost miners, or rescuing the innkeeper’s son from a horde of giant rats that have taken him into their lair beneath the tavern. And while I haven’t got to unleash it on my kids, I did test it out on my girlfriend’s 3 kids, ages 10, 13, and 16, all of them unfamiliar with RPG’s and the younger kids being video gamers. It took about an hour to get through the introductory adventure and that hour was filled with cheering, clapping, and moments of tense situations that required teamwork and problem solving. And they’re asking when the next game will be. And there are about 6 pre-written adventures labeled Hard, Medium, or Easy (an easy adventure having around 5 encounters), with more coming, that come with maps, stand-up minis and some very nice artwork.

In conclusion, Hero Kids is fantastic. It’s a first step for young role-players who are ready for high adventure, fueled only by their imaginations. You can visit Justin Halliday at Hero Forge Games, and Hero Kids is available at DriveThruRPG.

Links

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Movie Review: ‘Resident Evil: Retribution’

Games, Movie Moxie, Movie Reviews, Movies, Science Fiction No Responses »

Apr 112013

Reviewed by Movie Moxie’s Alicia Glass

Studio: Screen Gems

MPAA Rating: R

Director: Paul W.S. Anderson

Review Rating: 7

Trapped in an Umbrella Corporation Base heading rapidly for destruction, Project Alice and a handful of other core survivors battle their way past mutant zombies, rampaging computer programs, and Umbrella itself!

I like the RE films, I do. And yet, this latest installment is a letdown in a lot of key ways. I’ve never needed 3D to enhance the viewing pleasure of any movie I watched, and the film seems to often use the fact that it’s available in 3D as an excuse for close-up exploding shots, which just shouldn’t be.

As always expected of RE, the fight scenes are great and the cast is pretty good, but the story they’re plopped into is rather unworthy of what the Resident Evil films started out as. At least they’ve always kept Milla Jovovich as Project Alice.

Retribution picks up right where the previous film left off, on a ship called Arcadia being surrounded by the Umbrella Corp as they, what else, come looking for Project Alice. Bing bang boom, and next thing we know Alice is back in the idyllic life with a husband and child. These Umbrella tricks stopped being plausible after about the second movie. What we learn is that, of course, Alice is now trapped in an underwater Umbrella Base that has multiple levels all with different virtual reality mutant zombie breakout scenarios, and hey just for kicks we’re going to people them with clones of key characters from previous films.

Video Of The Day: ‘Theme From Defiance’

Fantasy / Horror, Games, Science Fiction, Video Of the Day No Responses »

Apr 032013

Today’s Video of the Day is Bear McCreary’s Theme from Defiance. You’ve heard Bear McCreary’s music before, most recently on Krypton Radio from the soundtrack he wrote for the amazing web series Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome. His music also graces the popular zombie apocalypse series, The Walking Dead as well as the ill-fated The Cape.

Defiance, though, isn’t a movie, or a television series, or just a video game – it’s an unusual hybrid of all three. They’re calling it a “transmedia experience”.

Defiance tells the tale of a future Earth, and it’s an MMO that released just yesterday from Trion Games, but it’s also a series on SyFy Channel and the game and the TV series interconnect (admittedly in a way that the publicity is a little floaty about defining, but the creative content is something they share in common).

All that said, the music alone is the stuff that makes it onto the Krypton Radio playlist, and if you watch the video, you’ll see why.

Enjoy.

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Links

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