It’s up to the Suicide Squad to do what the heroes can’t – save the world.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is available 02-02-2024 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. ESRB Rating: M
Oblivion has arisen! The Flesh Eaters have come to terrorize the world and let chaos reign! This cannot stand. The finale to one of gaming’s most iconic trilogies is here.
Nightdive Studios — in collaboration with Universal Games and Digital Platforms — have announced that Turok 3: Shadow Oblivion is now available on PC and PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch consoles.
Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion is a faithful restoration of the classic first-person shooter initially released in 2000 for the Nintendo 64, upgraded through Nightdive Studios’ proprietary KEX Engine for play on modern gaming devices with up to a 4K resolution at 120FPS. It joins Nightdive Studios’ popular remasters of Turok and Turok 2: Seeds of Evil, capping off the trilogy.
The title features upgraded gameplay, high-resolution textures, enhanced lighting and rendering, and support for console gamepads with platform-specific features. It is also the first game from Nightdive Studios built on the latest version of the KEX engine, which utilizes an improved renderer to achieve a higher tier of visual fidelity across 3D models, textures, and graphical effects.
In Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion, players choose between dual protagonists Joseph and Danielle Fireseed, siblings of Turok 2: Seeds of Evil protagonist Joshua Fireseed. Together, they must defeat the titular antagonist Oblivion and its followers, the Flesh Eaters, after the supposed demise of their brother at its hands.
Key Features of Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion include:
Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion is available now on Windows PC via Steam, PlayStation 4|5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch for $29.99. The remastered Turok trilogy is available in a bundle for $59.99 today across all platforms.
Saber Interactive has announced that World War Z: Aftermath, the co-op zombie shooter inspired by Paramount Pictures’ film, will officially launch on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S on January 24. Owners of the game on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One will receive a free upgrade to these new versions, featuring vivid 4K|60 FPS action, on their respective platforms.
January 24 will also mark the arrival of the new supersized Horde Mode XL, available in Aftermath exclusively on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. Horde Mode XL follows the same rules as the game’s standard Horde Mode, with a devilish twist — scattered among the normal waves of enemies will be a special XL wave bursting with over 1,000 hungry zombies. You and your team will have to pull out all the stops to survive this overwhelming and terrifying challenge.
All World War Z: Aftermath and World War Z players on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC will also receive a free update on January 24 that introduces mutators into the standard Horde Mode Z game mode, along with devastating and deadly new weapons and a revamped and improved weapon progression system.
World War Z: Aftermath lets you play on your own with AI squadmates or in co-op for up to four players, with full crossplay between PC and consoles. Take on hordes of ravenous zombies in two totally new story campaign episodes set in the city of Rome (including Vatican City) and Russia’s snowbound Kamchatka peninsula.
Aftermath delivers the definitive World War Z package with all content from World War Z: Game of the Year Edition, including full episodes in New York, Moscow, Marseille, Jerusalem and Tokyo. Experience the heart-pounding immersion of Aftermath’s optional first-person mode, decimate the undead with a new melee system, and level eight unique classes with distinct play styles and customizable loadouts.
It’s one of two new comic book days! What’s everyone excited for? What do you plan on getting? Sound off in the comments below! While you think about that, here’s some comic news and a review from around the web.
Kotaku – Spider-Man Could Have Been An Xbox Exclusive – Intriguing. What could have been.
Book Riot – Graphic Novels About Science – What would you add?
The Beat – A Year of Free Comics: Games become real life in FICTIONAL SKIN – Free comics!
Review
CBR – Mindset #1
Since launching in 2020, Behemoth has made the news several times, including with it’s acquisition of Amigo Comics, it’s expansion into music with Grammy nominated artists and legendary record labels, and surpassing half a million comics sold and reaching 9th in market share among all comic publishers, all within their first full year of distribution. The company has announced a gaming label and its own development studio with a multi-million dollar investment focused on creating new first-party titles.
Their first slate of titles sees games like the Survival Horror title, Blank Frame, releasing as soon as January 28th on Valve’s Steam platform. With other titles, like Contract Killer, set to release in Q2 of 2022 on Xbox Series S/X, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and Steam. These titles including open world games like Vigilance 2099, Within Judgement, The Henchmen, Total Anarchy, and more games from other genres.
Behemoth has also secured deals to release physical editions of games on console and PC that development was not involved in beforehand. This includes the previously announced via their New York Comic Con panel, Postal 4. A game in the notable franchise which has seen a laundry list of controversy, including being banned from retailers like Wal-Mart, being labeled as “the worst thing in America” by Senator Joseph Lieberman, and receiving a Guinness World Record for being the most polarizing reviewed video game ever (Postal 2). Despite this the series has gone on to sell millions of units, and Behemoth has also revealed it will publish a card game for the series in mid-2022.
Valiant Entertainment has partnered with Nightdive Studios to develop a remastered edition of the classic action-adventure video game Shadowman. The remastered edition will be coming to Windows PC via the Steam and GOG platforms, as well as to the PlayStation, Xbox, and Switch consoles. This partnership continues Valiant’s expansion into other mediums in addition to publishing.
Shadow Man is the brave and powerful supernatural hero who protects humanity from the sinister demons that lurk in the Deadside and spill into our world. The Shadow Man video game was originally developed by Acclaim Studios and published for the PC, PlayStation, Nintendo 64, and Dreamcast console in 1999. Considered a “lost classic” for years, the PC version of the game was published again in its original form by Nightdive Studios in 2014.
Now the title is being updated using Nightdive’s proprietary KEX engine which has been used to restore classic video games across all digital platforms including System Shock: Enhanced Edition, Turok, Turok 2: Seeds of Evil, Blood: Fresh Supply, and Forsaken Remastered.
The Remastered version adds a host of features in addition to console support:
* 4K widescreen display
* Dynamic shadow mapping
* Dynamic per-pixel lighting
* Antialiasing, and other post-process effects
* Higher density of particle effects
* Refined art, audio, and assets
* Refined gameplay experience
* Reintroduction of missing content cut from the original game
* Xbox, PS4, Controller Pro support
* HDR Rendering
Shadowman will also have a brand-new comic book series this year! From the master of horror Cullen Bunn and bone-chilling artist Jon Davis-Hunt, Shadowman #1 will release on May 20th. Fans can contact their local comic shop to preorder a copy now.
E3 has kicked off and publishers and platforms are rolling out lots of news about what we can expect for video games over the next few years.
Microsoft has revealed their next Xbox console, dubbed Project Scarlett, will be launching during the holiday season in 2020.
Phil Spencer, executive vice president of gaming at the company, announced what hardware we can expect and a system “designed and optimized” for gaming.
The system will have:
Halo Infinite will launch alongside the new console.
I have been a gamer since I was a young boy. I’m not someone who grew out of one of my favorite hobbies, and I have owned quite a bit of the video game hardware released since the Atari 2600 and the original NES. I was an 80s kid. I spent hundreds of hours hopping on on the heads of Goombas and turtles in Super Mario Bros, and watching as a dog laughed at me as I missed a shot in Duck Hunt with the Nintendo light gun. I also was raised in a family that was very accepting and understanding for people with disabilities. My father had polio and was born before the vaccine, and my brother is autistic. I have always been around people who show me they are so much more than their disabilities, and have taught me to grow as a human being.
As a boy, I watched my father bowl by taking a set of his crutches and filing one of them down a bit so he could lean and throw the ball better. He played basketball. He drove a car. He chopped firewood. Now, I could tell by watching him, that these things weren’t easy, but he was determined to do them anyway. I look back on how hard my father worked to do basic things, and think of all of the other determined individuals who do this every day, just to get around and live their life. What if at least something they did for fun could be easier? Enter the Xbox Adaptive Controller by Microsoft.
Microsoft created a large rectangular controller that is highly customizable to cover a large swath of assistive and Joystick devices. On the front there is a traditional D-pad, menu, options, profile select, and very large A and B buttons. Along the back are a large amount of 3.5 inputs that you can map to the corresponding buttons of a traditional Xbox controller. From the face buttons, the triggers, bumpers, the analog sticks and even the clicking in of the analog sticks or a direction of the d-pad such as up and down, and left and right. On the side of the controller there are multiple USB inputs for joysticks and other devices. It even looks cool. It fits right in with the Xbox family with the white and black color scheme that would look sleek and stylish in any room.
I am sure many of us take the use of our limbs for granted. What if myself and other gamers couldn’t walk, use our hands, any of our limbs, or had other things that would either keep us, or make it very difficult for us to play games and much more. No longer are we using just a joystick and a button or two like in the Atari or Arcade. The controls have become much more complex. Now there are analog sticks, context-sensitive buttons, triggers, bumpers, menu, options, share, touch screens and so many other options that require our input, and most of them may require the gamer to press several of them quickly and within a second of each other.
The most impressive thing about the controller is just how many devices it supports. Think of it less as just a basic controller, and more as a hub that allows some amazing depth and customization to fit the gamers needs. Like the name suggests, it is extremely adaptable. It supports large buttons, mouth operated joysticks, and other input devices that allow gamers to press with their legs, use foot pedals, and so much more. The controller will cost $99 and will ship in the fall of this year, 2018. The accessories do not come with it, those are sold separately, but the controller supports many different companies products.
The other feature that can tie into the Adaptive Controller is Co-Pilot. This is a feature built into the Xbox operating system that allows two controllers to act as one. If someone is having trouble pressing buttons or is unable to, a second person with a second controller can do that for them. Co-Pilot is available now, and does not need the Adaptive Controller to work. You can use two standard Xbox controllers. This, combined with the Adaptive Controller, makes for an impressive ecosystem that welcomes everyone.
What Microsoft has done with it’s Adaptive Controller is shown that it’s being inclusive with it’s platform. What many of us have taken for granted, is a reality that many people with disabilities deal with every day. They have issues that they have to deal with that are much bigger than video games, but I am glad to see a corporation as big as Microsoft take the step to bring them an easier way to have fun, without all of the roadblocks they would have to face with a traditional controller. Game on my friends!
Microsoft announced with their Xbox One that they’d be moving into original programming for the video game console turned entertainment center. On top of IDW’s announcement that Winterworld will be coming to the platform. Prolific writer Warren Ellis has announced that his novel Gun Machine will also be coming to the platform after false starts with Chermin and Fox.
The series will be written by Brett Conrad whose credits include Sons of Anarchy, The Killing, and Netflix’ upcoming Marco Polo project.
According to Ellis, in an email, the approach being taken is “let’s just adapt the book.” There’ll still be some alterations, but Ellis has approved them. This is a pretty straight up treatment of the novel.
After a shootout claims the life of his partner in a condemned tenement building on Pearl Street, Detective John Tallow unwittingly stumbles across an apartment stacked high with guns. When examined, each weapon leads to a different, previously unsolved murder. Someone has been killing people for twenty years or more and storing the weapons together for some inexplicable purpose.
Confronted with the sudden emergence of hundreds of unsolved homicides, Tallow soon discovers that he’s walked into a veritable deal with the devil. An unholy bargain that has made possible the rise of some of Manhattan’s most prominent captains of industry. A hunter who performs his deadly acts as a sacrifice to the old gods of Manhattan, who may, quite simply, be the most prolific murderer in New York City’s history.
Should be interesting to see how this turns out and what else Xbox has in store for us!
Xbox Entertainment Studio, the Microsoft division that produces original programming for the Xbox brand, announced today that they are co-developing with IDW Entertainment, Winterworld as a limited event live-action series based on the acclaimed comic series created by writer Chuck Dixon and artist Jorge Zaffino. Winterworld joins an impressive line-up of dramas, documentaries, and reality television shows being developed by Xbox Entertainment Studios to be debuted and aired on the Xbox platform.
Executive producing the series with Xbox Entertainment Studios are Ted Adams and David Ozer from IDW Entertainment, and Rick Jacobs and Dave Alpert from Circle of Confusion.
“Xbox is recognized globally for their groundbreaking creativity. IDW Entertainment could not ask for a better partner to bring Winterworld to life,” said David Ozer, President of IDW Entertainment, “We are thrilled to be working with them during this exciting time in their growth.”
Winterworld takes place in an apocalyptic future where our world has been encased in ice from pole-to-pole. The surviving humans have formed tribes that war, enslave and trade with one another in an effort to survive the infinite winter.
“To see my stories and Jorge’s powerful images brought to life will be a serious thrill,” said writer Chuck Dixon, “We have the right partners and the right format to really make this something special. It’s an exciting time in comics and in entertainment overall and I am very pleased that Winterworld will be a part of it.”
The comic book series was originally published in the late 1980’s. This June, IDW Publishing is bringing Mr. Dixon back to continue this brutal tale with comic industry favorite, Butch Guice on art.
