Archive - 2019

Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch Digital and Home Video Release Dates

2019/01/03
Jerry Paxton
Geek News, Movie News, News

Universal City, California, January 3, 2019 – Families everywhere can ring in the New Year with Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch on Digital and via the digital movie app MOVIES ANYWHERE on January 22, 2019, and on 4K Ultra HD, 3D Blu-ray™, Blu-ray™, DVD and On Demand on February 5, 2019. From Illumination and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, the film based on Dr. Seuss’ beloved tale about a cynical grouch who goes on a mission to steal Christmas from others only to feel his own heart grow three sizes larger through unexpected friendships is one “the whole family can watch and enjoy,” (Kidsday/Newsday).

The new home entertainment edition contains more than 60 minutes of bonus content, including three mini-movies: “Dog Days of Winter” starring the Grinch and his heroically loyal dog Max; and “Yellow is the New Black” and “Santa’s Little Helpers,” both starring the lovable Minions. It also includes stunning featurettes, a how-to-draw tutorial and much more. Narrated by Grammy Award®winner and Oscar® nominee Pharrell Williams, Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch stars Academy Award® nominee Benedict Cumberbatch (Dr. Strange, “Sherlock”) as the infamous Grinch, who lives a solitary life inside a cave on Mt. Crumpit with only his loyal dog, Max, for company. The incredible voice cast includes Rashida Jones (“Parks and Recreation,” The Muppets) as Donna Who, Kenan Thompson (“Saturday Night Live”) as Bricklebaum, Cameron Seely (The Greatest Showman) as Cindy-Lou Who, and featuring legendary actress Angela Lansbury (Anastasia, Beauty and the Beast) as the mayor of Whoville. Funny, heartwarming and visually stunning, Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch is a perfect night in for the whole family!

BONUS FEATURES EXCLUSIVE TO 4K ULTRA HD, 3D BLU-RAYTM, BLU-RAYTM AND DVD:

  • Who’s Who in Who-ville (interactive map) – There are so many interesting characters that call Who-ville home that it’s hard to keep track of them all. This “Who’s Who” pop-up book uses animation to create a virtual storybook that takes us from Who-ville to Mt. Crumpit. 
  • “You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch” Lyric Video – Tyler, The Creator puts a modern spin on the Seussian Christmas classic.

MINI-MOVIES ON 4K ULTRA HD, 3D BLU-RAYTM, BLU-RAYTM, DVD & DIGITAL:

  • Yellow is the New Black – Before they all make their big escape from prison in Despicable Me 3, a couple of lucky Minions get a taste of freedom as they break free with the help of one of their fellow human inmates.
  • Dog Days of Winter – Max braves the harsh winter weather and an uncooperative Who to bring a sick Grinch his favorite hot tea.
  • Santa’s Little Helpers – Fan favorites – the Minions – are back for another adventure! Having been accidently dropped off at the North Pole, our Minion pals make the most of the situation by trying to become elves.

BONUS FEATURES ON 4K ULTRA HD, 3D BLU-RAYTM, BLU-RAYTM, DVD & DIGITAL:

  • The Making of the Mini-Movies – Mini in size but not in heart, these short films are fan favorites. From the Grinch and Max to the Minions – you’ll explore the themes of each of the mini-movies through the eyes of the filmmakers who made them.
  • From Green to Screen – It takes a lot to bring grumpy green to your home screen. This inside look at the making of Illumination’s Dr. Seuss’s The Grinch features interviews and behind-the-scenes moments with the cast, filmmakers and artists whose hearts have all grown three sizes bringing this classic tale to life.
  • Illuminating THE GRINCH – Using filmmaker and cast interviews, concept art and progression reels, we take a behind-the-scenes look at how the characters evolved from initial sketches to fully realized characters.
  • My Earliest GRINCH Memories – The cast and filmmakers of Dr. Seuss’s The Grinch reveal their earliest memories of the grumpy green character and the enduring appeal of this Christmas curmudgeon’s journey to redemption.
  • Grinchy Gadgets – From his body-size blow dryer to his moving mechanical chair, from his catapult to his dog drone-rig and more… you’ll get to explore the wondrous world of Grinch’s gadgets.
  • “I Am The Grinch” Lyric Video – A stylized look at Tyler, The Creator’s original song created just for the film.
  • Songs From His Little Heart – Take a deep dive into the toe tapping beats ofDr. Seuss’s The Grinch. From score to specialty songs, you’ll hear from the film’s A-list musicians on what it took to create the music behind the movie.
  • X-mas Around the World – Every culture practices Christmas in a slightly different way. We’ll highlight some of the more fun permutations of the holiday around the globe.
  • Cindy-Lou’s Yule Log – Nothing says the holidays quite like an animated fireplace blasting fake heat from your living room television. Just in time for winter, we’ll recreate Cindy-Lou’s living room on Christmas Eve for all to enjoy.
  • Production Babies – A celebration of the babies born to the filmmakers during the production of Illumination’s Dr. Seuss’s The Grinch.
  • Any Who Can Draw – Hosted by an Illumination artist and head of story Mark O’Hare, you’ll see step-by-step how to draw some of your favorite characters from this beloved holiday classic; Grinch, Max and Fred!

The film will be available on 4K Ultra HD in a combo pack which includes 4K Ultra HD Blu-rayTM, Blu-rayTM and Digital. The 4K Ultra HD disc will include the same bonus features as the Blu-rayTM version, all in stunning 4K resolution.

  • 4K Ultra HD is the ultimate movie watching experience. 4K Ultra HD features the combination of 4K resolution for four times sharper picture than HD, and the color brilliance of High Dynamic Range (HDR) with immersive audio delivering a multidimensional sound experience.
  • Blu-rayTM unleashes the power of your HDTV and is the best way to watch movies at home, featuring 6X the picture resolution of DVD, exclusive extras and theater-quality surround sound.
  • Digital lets fans watch movies anywhere on their favorite devices. Users can instantly stream or download.
  • MOVIES ANYWHERE is the digital app that simplifies and enhances the digital movie collection and viewing experience by allowing consumers to access their favorite digital movies in one place when purchased or redeemed through participating digital retailers. Consumers can also redeem digital copy codes found in eligible Blu-rayTM and DVD disc packages from participating studios and stream or download them through Movies Anywhere. MOVIES ANYWHERE is only available in the United States. For more information, visit https://moviesanywhere.com.

BATALJ Closed Beta to Continue

2019/01/03
boothby
Geek News, News, Windows PC News

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN – January 3, 2019. The BATALJ community keeps growing and Fall Damage Studio has decided to extend the beta into January following the Closed Beta success during the end of 2018.

“Shutting down the Closed Beta at New Year’s Eve didn’t feel like the right thing to do considering our active dialogue with our community that keeps getting better and better. Instead, extending the Closed Beta to the end of the month with a huge update coming in the second week of January including a new map, new units and new heroes. We’re excited to see how the meta changes.” said Dan Vaderlind, Chief Operations Officer at Fall Damage.

BATALJ

BATALJ is a fierce online turn-based action strategy game where you face other players in one vs one battles with your own custom-built squad. Skill and smart plays decides who comes out victorious. With several unique mechanics and an action packed art style, BATALJ is a fresh addition to the strategic turn based genre. The title means “Combat” in Swedish, a nod to the Fall Damage founders’ background in AAA First Person Shooters. With three factions, multiple heroes and units you can try out different combinations, discover synergies and explore strategies that fits your play style.

How to get your BATALJ Closed Beta Keys

Visit www.playbatalj.com/claim, follow the instructions, and a key will be e-mailed to you which can be activated on Steam.

BATALJ Steam page – Wishlist Now
https://store.steampowered.com/app/981850/BATALJ/

RIG 300HC Gaming Headset For The Nintendo Switch Review

2019/01/02
Ripper71
Geek News, Mobile Review, News, Reviews, Tech News, Tech Review

Plantronics has been around a while and have already made a name for themselves when it comes to headsets and accessories, particularly the RIG series.  While they make each one for a particular system some are made to run the bases of gaming being able to be used on other systems by design or adapter.  One such headset is the RIG 300HC, designed for the Nintendo Switch but usable on any system with a 3.5mm headphone jack.

The RIG 300HC has some great features that make it solid for around the house.  With that size jack you can use the headset when walking around the house listening to music as well as playing games on your phone (one I play called Hello Hero sounds amazing on my iPhone) then grabbing a seat and snuggling up to your XBox One for a long gaming session.  They are designed to be used with the Nintendo Switch and they do work great with it, being lightweight enough to portable play with but being a larger profile than ear buds like a lot of people might use, the larger profile providing a far more expansive sound experience.

One of the ways the RIC 300HC keeps the weight down to keep the headset on the go is to have cups with a spider web modular design to the outer plastic section around the cup.  This actually works two fold, it allows sound to come in so you can hear a car screeching or maybe your mom yelling that it is time for dinner.  It is a great beginner and younger player headset since they can’t use the excuse that they can’t hear their parent/spouse.  I often find this a problem when I am playing WoW and Mrs. Ripper is telling me what I need to improve on during a raid while we are both wearing headsets to hear our raid leader on Discord.  The headset even has adjustable volume and mutable mic inline on it so you don’t have to open a jacket if your phone is in your pocket and you want to temporarily turn down the music and if you need to talk to someone outside of game you can turn the sound and mic off on your headset to talk to people IRL.  This all just seems so handy for a parent and child dynamic, which might be why it is aimed at such a family console as the Nintendo Switch.  Also the holes increase airflow through the headset which helps prevent too much sweat on them, yuck!

On the side of the head bar of the headset there are three holes on each side where you can choose to plug in your headset cups.  If you want a larger headset space you go on the headset holes at the farthest end, if you want it smaller then it’s inner most spots.  The headset uses this to set the size on your head, there is no adjustability to the bar which means it won’t slip but it also won’t fine tune in comfort. There is a modular/spider web design to the head bar as well, my guess is those and the lack of an adjuster are there to help lower the weight of the headset even more.  It is plastic with a bit of padding is all which definitely puts the main weight in the cups themselves.

The inside of the RIG 300HC has padding around the outside with quite a bit of padding on the inner most cup as well, this helps with the lack of adjustability allowing longer contact with that area before fatigue.  Attached to one side is a noise cancelling microphone on a bendable boom.  This combined with the cups being plug n play with the head bar makes it so you can put the mic on either side which I find to be a great design.  Sometimes if I want to block sound quickly to talk to someone in the room I reach up and cover the mic, often having to pull it down to talk to the person.  With this headset system I can put the boom mic cup on whichever side I want so if I spend a majority of my time talking to someone on my left side I can not only move the mic cup to my right but the boom is designed to be fully rotated around to face the other way for a natural look and feel even if the headset is technically backwards then.  You can even move the boom up and out of sight if you are playing a game that you don’t need a mic for or you are just walking around listening to music.  The mic is noise cancelling so you don’t have to worry about somebody else in the room letting out a blue streak about their game.

Last bit to mention would be 40mm drivers to hit the sound home and make music in your head and Soundguard Acoustic Safety Technology makes sure the sound isn’t damaging the hearing is said head.  Besides that if the headset is taken on an airplane you might be required to keep the sound down somewhat because they are cracking down on electronics that make noise other passengers can hear.  RIG 300HC have some bleed out which might not bother the average person in a car or house but sitting uncomfortably close on a plane is a whole different story.

Plantronics RIG 300HC is a great headset for younger gamers and professionals alike, pretty much anyone who wants great sounding audio and has a 3.5mm audio jack to plug into (or an adapter for such things as a USB port).  The design looks sleek while having every part of it serving a purpose or being stripped away to create the longest and most portable use time possible.

WizKids Unveils Fury of Dracula 4th Ed

2019/01/02
boothby
Geek News, News

Hillside, NJ – January 2, 2019 – WizKids is excited to announce that the 4th Edition of iconic asymmetrical horror game Fury of Dracula is now available in North American game stores!

In Fury of Dracula, inspired by Bram Stoker’s classic novel, one player becomes the titular vampire while the remaining players take on the roles of hunters Dr. Abraham Van Helsing, Lord Godalming, Dr. John Seward, and Mina Harker, each of whom has a unique ability that serves to aid the group in capturing Dracula.

Each round is broken into two phases: day and night. During both phases, hunters may perform one of many actions such as travelling throughout the map or investigating their present location. Dracula, however, is only able to act at night, when he can lay traps for the hunters, create new servants, or secretly move to a new location. Players continue to traverse the map, featuring a variety of European countries, until either Dracula gains enough influence, or the hunters defeat him.

This new edition of the popular game includes larger cards, a refreshed rulebook, and all-new pre-painted miniatures to create a more immersive experience for players as they travel the European continent. Will the Hunters take down Dracula before his undead thralls overwhelm Europe, or will he succeed in his insidious mission? Pick up Fury of Dracula at your Friendly Local Game Store or Online today and find out!

For more information, visit: https://wizkids.com/fury-of-dracula/

Ashen – A Review (Xbox One)

2019/01/01
Judgeman
Geek News, News, Reviews, Xbox One News, Xbox One Review

Developed by New Zealand studio A44 and published by Annapurna Interactive, Ashen is the latest action role-playing game to try to step into the ring with Dark Souls.  Many games have been compared to Dark Souls in the past, and have come up short.  Does Ashen have what it takes to survive the comparison and establish its own identify?  Or will Ashen end up forgotten in a few months?  Let’s take a closer look.

Story

The story begins with you, a nameless and faceless character, listening to how your world began.  This origin story tells of how your sunless world was created and the inhabitants of this world.  It also tells the story of how your world became sunless with the disappearance of the Ashen, a figure of god-like power and ability.  While you are listening to this story, there is a sudden explosion of light that shines over the land, allowing the people to see clearly for the first time in decades.  This light could be the rebirth of the Ashen, and could mean a new era of light in this sunless world.

Immediately, you set out to discover the source of this light with your first companion, Jokkel.  Just down the way from where you start, you set up your home base in Vagrant’s Rest, after clearing the area of bandits.  You see, not everyone is happy that light is coming back to the world and there are plenty out there that will try to stop you.  From your base, you begin to set out and gather more people that would like to see the Ashen return.  These individuals will head to Vagrant’s Rest when recruited and help you in any way that they can.

Ashen’s story does feel very Souls-like in the sense that you are tasked with bringing light back into a dark world.  However, the story in Ashen centers around community and how you are finding people to help you in your quest to help strengthen this community.  Dark Souls always felt like you were fighting a hopeless battle, that even if you succeeded you were only putting off the inevitable.  With Ashen, I always felt like there was hope.  Success meant that the world was going to be much better off.  The story is compelling, and draws you in every bit as much as Dark Souls does, but with a very notable shift in overall tone.

Game Play

Ashen’s game play is very similar also to that of Dark Souls at first glance. Everything from the combat system, the unique bosses, the open world, and the inventory system can be compared to Dark Souls, but these systems also have their own brand of uniqueness stamped on them.  Yes, at first glance Ashen plays a lot like Dark Souls, but as you get deeper into Ashen’s mechanics, you start to see the differences and they are brilliant.

Let’s start by looking at the inventory system and combat, since this is what you will be doing a lot in Ashen.  You start the game off with a single handed club that will get you used to the combat system.  As you explore and kill enemies, more items and weapons will drop for you to compare and utilize.  Your character can equip a single handed weapon and a two handed weapon in her/his right hand while holding a shield and a lantern in her/his left hand.  You can switch between these two loadouts quickly by a simple button press.  You also have a quick access bar for items that can replenish your health and your stamina.

Combat in Ashen is stamina based.  This means that everything you do in combat will cost you stamina, and if you run out of stamina you have opened yourself up to a butt kicking.  Stamina management is a must-have skill in Ashen.  A few times I went in to hit an enemy and realized that I no longer had any stamina.  Unlike Dark Souls, you cannot increase your characters stats.  Everything is based on your current equipment and weapon loadout, which you can improve by visiting your townsfolk.  

Another huge difference between Dark Souls and Ashen is how the multiplayer is done.  You can absolutely choose never to participate in Ashen’s multiplayer system if you wanted to.  Your companions are good enough to get you through the game without ever needing the help of another human being.  However, if you wanted to tackle the game with others, then Ashen can make that happen as well.  Other human players will join your game and take over one of your NPCs from town.  Similarly, if you join another person’s world, you will do the same.  There is no voice communication in Ashen, so everything must be done non-verbally.  This means you will need to stay close to your companion and really pay attention to their situation.  

Aesthetics

Ashen is a gorgeously designed game, both visually and auditorily.  From the beginning, Ashen looks different then anything else you will play this year.  The voice acting in Ashen is very well done as well.  The actors deliver their lines perfectly, and the narration fits the tone of the story.  Sound and music design both delivers the world of Ashen to you.  

The visuals are cell-shaded, which is nice to see make a comeback without getting overused again.  It was also an interesting design decision to not put faces on anyone in the game.  At first that distracted me a little bit, but as the game progressed I found myself really loving the difference in aesthetic.  The world you explore is beautifully designed, and I cannot express how much I loved the light effects in the areas of darkness.  Being able to drop your lantern to continue a fight with a two-handed weapon was great, but seeing how the shadows and light played around the fight at hand was simply amazing.

Final Thoughts

Being a huge fan of the Dark Souls games, I was very interested in Ashen from the beginning, but that interest was always tainted with a small amount of worry that Ashen wouldn’t live up to the Dark Souls comparison.  Whether that comparison is deserved or not, games like Ashen will always have to face that when it comes to how gamers will see this game.  

What I can say now is that Ashen not only compares well to Dark Souls, but establishes its own identity as a beautiful and tough action role playing game.  If you were interested in playing a Dark Souls game before but felt that the difficulty curve or tone of the game just didn’t sit well with you, then Ashen might be what you are looking for.  While Ashen is not as hard as Dark Souls is, it isn’t a cake walk either.  Multiplayer options can help with some of the harder parts, but I did find that the game’s A.I. was capable for most of the game.  The only negative I can come up with for Ashen is the lack of being able to control your A.I.’s inventory.  You may have to fight a tough boss battle with a companion that just does not have the right gear.

Ashen is a must own for anyone that is even remotely interested in Dark Souls.  Ashen is available now for the Xbox One.