Author Archives: Steve Murray
Comic Book Pull List for August 6, 2014
Here’s an interesting question: How does a comic series end and then come back after a short hiatus? Marvel tries to answer that question in Superior Spider-Man #32. They also smartly schedule their line-up to cash in on the blockbuster release of Guardians of the Galaxy with Legendary Star Lord #2 and Rocket Racoon #2.
Meanwhile, over at Valiant, fans of the Harbinger series gets a short miniseries that rises from the ashes of its predecessor in Harbinger: Omegas #1. A man must choose between the love of his life and duty to his people in Image’s Imperial #1. And if a kids comic is more your speed, Adventure Time writer Rebecca Sugar is behind Boom’s new Steven Universe series. No idea why that title would catch my eye…
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Game Trailers Roundup for August 5, 2014
A day late thanks to a holiday Monday in Ontario but it’s never a dollar short, it’s time for us to look at the video game trailers from the last week. If you’re looking forward to fall releases, this will be the roundup for you. Expected financial blockbusters Dragon Age: Inquisition and Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare have gameplay and story trailers, respectively.
If you’re more interested in double-A franchises, Codemaster’s new F1 game got a reveal trailer. Whether the lack of engine sound in it is a commentary on the new F1 engine formula or just the early state of work on sound is something Codies would have to tell us. Digimon gets a new fighting game and a new Chinese MOBA gets announced.
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PC Game Graphics Explained
As an occasional game reviewer, I should probably know what all the different graphics settings in the options menu of various games means. However, with developers and hardware manufacturers pushing out new tricks and acronyms all the time, sometimes, it can be a bit overwhelming to keep up with what all the graphics settings means. Granted, most games come with low / medium / high / ultra graphic settings but what if you wanted to use the custom settings to maximize visual quality while still getting 60+ FPS?
That’s where these videos from GameSpot come in. They explain some of the graphics setting you see in the options menu of your favourite games.
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Two More The Last of Us Leads Leave Naughty Dog
The apparent exodus of top-level talent at Naughty Dog is continuing. Having lost the creative head of Uncharted, the game director of Uncharted and the art director of The Last of Us, two more leads from The Last of Us have left Naughty Dog.
The lead game designer and narrative lead for The Last of Us have both left the employ of Sony’s flagship studio and moved onto one of Activision’s premiere studios, Infinity Ward, to start work on 2016’s Call of Duty.
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Geek Links of the Week
While Forbes is a reputable business publication, the web content is a little bit more dodgy. It’s quasi-community based, Bleacher Report-esque setup of web content leads to some poor stuff under their branding. That includes an ill-advised defence of Comcast. [The Consumerist]
I know that we have some League of Legends fans around these parts. Perhaps you’d be interested in this detailed look at the ongoing ownership turmoil of North American LCS team LMQ. [OnGamers]
The International may have come and gone but ESPN’s interest in eSports hasn’t. After a successful run streaming The International, ESPN was so impressed with their viewership that they want to expand their eSports programming. [Daily Dot]
Have you ever wanted to know how little money you needed to make an Xbox One indie game? Happion Labs rushed out Sixty-Second Shooter for Microsoft and did so for just over $5,000. [Game Dev Blog]
What do you do with far too much time on your hands? You review all 30 characters in Mario Kart 8. [The AV Club]
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Game of Bloopers
While the folks behind Game of Thrones produce a lot of little featurettes that end up on YouTube and as extras on the Blu-Ray releases, I don’t think they’ve ever done a blooper reel. In addition to the Q&A with fans and preview of the new cast members added for Season Five, the Game of Thrones panel at Comic Con included a short blooper reel from Season Four. I think that’s a pretty good video for Friday of Ice and Fire.
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Gearbox Files to be Removed from Aliens: Colonial Marines Lawsuits
In 2013, Gearbox Software and Sega were subject to action in a class action lawsuit for false advertising after the terrible disappointment that was Aliens: Colonial Marines, especially when compared to the demo footage that was circulated online.
While Gearbox didn’t publicly pay much attention to their legal undertakings, their lawyers did. This has resulted in Gearbox trying to get out of the lawsuit with a series of filings that throw Sega under the bus.
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The Crew Beta Impressions: No Cars Go
As part of Ubisoft’s ongoing corporate strategy to introduce new franchises in new genres, they’ve decided to take on Need for Speed with their take on the street racing genre with The Crew. While it seems to borrow elements from the Need for Speed franchise, the emphasis on story missions, car customization and co-op play sets it apart from the only rival in the arcade street racing game genre.
Having spent a few days with the closed beta and a few years with Need for Speed games, can Ubisoft’s offering compete with EA’s resident racing series?
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eSports Weekend Calendar: August 1 – 3, 2014
If you’re a League of Legends fan, you’ve probably been doing a lot of stream watching this week. It’s LCS Europe super week and this weekend’s eSports calendar also includes the North American LCS super week. And if you’re a StarCraft fan, we have WCS EU Challenger League and the American qualifier for IEM Toronto. It’s not the busiest weekend ever but there’s still something to watch.
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PlayStation Now Open Beta Starts Today on PS4
Sony’s new cloud gaming service that I once called gaming’s next constructive technology is going to go public… kind of. The long-awaited open beta of PlayStation Now goes live in open beta to PlayStation 4 gamers in the US and Canada today.
et geekera 