Author - Jerry Paxton

Video Games: The Movie Kickstarter Begins

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(DALLAS, TX) May 14, 2013 – Mediajuice Studios announced today that it has launched a Kickstarter campaign to finalize its indie documentary film, Video Games: The Movie (http://kck.st/10F2eCG). Mediajuice Studios, which has created scores of trailers and live-action commercials for the world’s top video game brands, recently concluded a year’s worth of on-camera interviews with many video game icons and celebrities for Video Games: The Movie, and is now raising funds to complete post-production before releasing the film theatrically.

Video Games: The Movie is a documentary that hopes to entertain and educate people about the rich history, unique culture and exciting future of the video game industry through incisive interviews with the people who helped shaped the interactive entertainment industry, including Nolan Bushnell (founder of ATARI), Randy Pitchford, Cliff Bleszinski, and many others. Also included are some of geek and gamer culture’s leading celebrity voices such as Wil Wheaton, Chris Hardwick and Alison Haislip.

Directed by Jeremy Snead, Video Games: The Movie will tackle many of today’s hot button topics, including the questionable correlation between video games and violence, the exploration and elevation of video games as an art form, next-generation and future-generation gaming and the negative stereotypes that continue to plague the industry despite its popularity and commercial success.

“We have spent the past year gathering footage, speaking with industry founders, influencers, and pundits to get their take on what we’ve collectively created as an industry and where we’re headed. We’ve amassed an amazing library of footage that we think will help bring the true story of the video game industry into clear focus. We’re now headed into post-production and are looking to the community to get us to the finish line. We are on Kickstarter to generate enough funding to create the type of film the video game industry deserves,” said Jeremy Snead, director of Video Games: The Movie and president of Mediajuice Studios.

Mediajuice will use Kickstarter to fund post-production on the film, which includes editing, a musical score, voice over narration, the acquisition of licensed archival clips from as early the 1960s through the late 1990s, motion graphics, and the need to gain a handful of key interviews that are needed to cover the next generation of consoles as well as round out and better present the video game industry to viewers.

“I hope that once we’re done, Video Games: The Movie will stand as a benchmark for all other movies about the games industry; and that it will help dispel some of the nagging falsehoods that ignorantly plague game makers and players, and keep them from receiving mainstream acceptance like other art forms such as films, music and books. In the end, our hope is that this film will help further legitimize the industry and the culture to those who continue to disregard it without really spending time to learn about it,” said Snead.

Boris Salchow to Score FUSE

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Los Angeles, CA (May 14, 2013) – Composer Boris Salchow (Resistance 2&3, Ratchet & Clank: A Crack In Time) swaps his baton and orchestra for Moog synthesizers and rare vintage audio processors as he reunites with Insomniac Games to score their new sci-fi video game FUSE published by Electronic Arts. FUSE thrusts players into the roles of four elite, covert agents each with their own Xenotech weapon and set of unique skills used to fight to protect mankind from a deadly alien energy source known as FUSE. Salchow’s original score blends analog electronic elements, adrenaline infused drums and musical sound design to provide a foreboding and rousing sonic landscape for FUSE’s dark futuristic setting and intense co-op action experience. FUSE will be released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on May 28 in North America and May 31 in Europe.

German-born composer Boris Salchow is classically trained but just at home in the electronic music world. Combining these two worlds he began his scoring career writing commercials, promos and prime time television series for leading networks in Germany. Now based in Los Angeles Salchow has composed for feature films and video games including the internationally-released action thriller 80 Minutes, additional music for Elsewhere, and additional music for the Sony/Screen Gems’ teenage horror mystery Prom Night. Salchow ‘s music can also be heard in Ubisoft’s Rainbow Six: Vegas 2, Sony’s Resistance 2, Ratchet & Clank: A Crack In Time, and Resistance 3. Salchow continues to write music for commercials, promos and trailers for some of the most prestigious brands in the world including Adidas, Audi, and Lamborghini.

Recently Salchow scored the feature film adaptation of the award-winning documentary series Germany From Above (Buena Vista International) recorded with a 70-piece orchestra and mixed at Babelsberg Studios in Berlin. This visually stunning film is comprised of breathtaking aerial shots of Germany. With only a few words from the narrator, the movie provided a unique opportunity to take the audience on an inspiring musical journey befitting the film’s grand scale. Germany From Above premiered with a special event at Germany’s largest movie theater, where Boris’ 90-minute score was performed live along with the film. For more information on Boris Salchow, please visit www.borissalchow.com.

FUSE is a four-person co-op, story-driven, action game that allows even solo players to experience the unique attributes of each agent by using the game’s LEAP feature – a feature that can be used to switch the player between the four characters at-will during combat. Each covert agent is equipped with unique skills and weapons that are not only necessary for survival, but also help create unexpected and extraordinary results. Xenotech weapons are powered by a volatile alien substance that gives players unique capabilities that expand their strategic options in and out of combat. Through lethal teamwork, players can complete objectives and kills to earn Fuse points for powerful upgrades. Players can also play online or offline and level up along unique character paths, allowing players to unlock more powerful Fuse-driven abilities as the game progresses. In addition, the game’s progression system is unified between different play modes, allowing players to continue improving their agents regardless of how they play. For more information on FUSE, please visit www.fusegame.com.

Expeditions: Conquistador Release Date

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Copenhagen, Denmark / Eschborn, Germany – May 14, 2013: Expeditions: Conquistador takes PC adventurers back to the time of the exploration and conquest of the Americas. This tactical role-playing game will be available for PC, Mac and Linux on May 30th 2013 on Steam. Expeditions: Conquistador will also be available on GOG.com, Gamersgate and several other platforms.

Playing as a Spanish Conquistador, the player has to lead his or her party through the untamed wilderness of the New World, making hefty decisions along the way. Decisions that could significantly alter the course of history. The game project was financed through Kickstarter, and developed by the Danish development studio Logic Artists ApS. bitComposer will market Expeditions: Conquistador worldwide.

The digital version of Expeditions Conquistador will be available on the 30th of May 2013 on PC, Mac, and Linux for just €19.99. The Game will be available on: Steam, GOG.com, Gamersgate, Greenman Gaming and Desura.

About Expeditions: Conquistador

It is the 16th century – an era of intrepid explorers and adventurers. In Expeditions: Conquistador, the player takes on the role of a famous—or infamous—conquistador, landing on the shores of the New World. On the search for gold, fame, and adventure, the player and a few companions venture into regions never before explored by Europeans.

Expeditions: Conquistador offers the player in single or multiplayer mode the opportunity to conquer an unknown continent, or to fight on the side of the indigenous people as they defend their homeland from the invaders. This will require not only tactical skills in battle, but also diplomatic finesse. In Expeditions: Conquistador, the variety of tactical possibilities in turn-based battles, the numerous role-playing elements, and the wide scope for decision making all pose an exciting challenge.

Further information on Expeditions: Conquistador can be found at: http://conquistadorthegame.com or www.bitcomposer.com

KEY FEATURES

  • Four different difficulty levels for beginners and pros alike. But beware: the Aguirre (pro) difficulty level is a real monster!
  • Brutal battles or peaceful diplomacy:  survive all engagements on over 70 battlefields!
  • Discover the New World! Journey to legendary locations within the Americas and blaze the trail to mystical El Dorado.
  • Create your own troops! Choose from more than 30 characters, train your recruits, and lead them into battle. Direct their development from inexperienced beginners to skilled warriors.
  • Customize your main character with six unique player stats balancing strengths and weaknesses.
  • Journey across a gigantic world map and discover authentic and legendary places.
  • Challenge your friends in multiplayer battles, in both hot seat and TCP/IP mode.
  • Detailed strategy: a turn-based strategy role-playing game with plenty of retro charm in modern garb.

The Last of Us Screens & Concept Art

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Here is a large number of screenshots and concept art from Naughty Dog’s upcoming survival-action-horror title, The Last of Us, which is due out on June 14, 2013 for the PlayStation 3.

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Weekend Box Office for May 10-12, 2013

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This weekend saw Iron Man 3 continue its lead, albeit at a 58% drop in revenue – still beating out The Great Gatsby by a sizable margin. Pain and Gain brings in third with a scant $5M dollars. Next week will see the release of Star Trek Into Darkness, so we should all be prepared for a new box office first placer.

The Top Ten

  1. Iron Man 3 $72.4/$284.8
  2. The Great Gatsby $51.1/$51.1
  3. Pain and Gain $5.0/$41.6
  4. Tyler Perry Presents Peeples $4.8/$4.8
  5. 42 $4.6/$84.7
  6. Oblivion $3.8/$81.6
  7. The Croods $3.6/$173.2
  8. The Big Wedding $2.5/$18.2
  9. Mud $2.3/$8.3
  10. Oz The Great and Powerful $.8/$229.9
  11. Scary Movie 5 $.7/$30.6
  12. The Place Beyond the Pines $.6/$19.9

AC IV Black Flag True Golden Age of Pirates Trailer

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MAY 13th, 2013 — “It is now the dawn of the Eighteenth Century…” Assassin’s Creed games have always been designed with real history as its backdrop. In the latest Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag trailer, gamers get a glimpse into the Golden Age of Piracy, when men of fortune sought riches and pirates of legends like Benjamin Hornigold, Calico Jack, Charles Vane and Blackbeard ruled the treacherous high seas.

Included with the trailer is an infographic riddled with facts about the Golden Age of Pirates in the 18th century. We’ve referenced multiple sources to provide a visual introduction to the period. You’ll learn about the events that made this Age of Piracy possible, get a taste of the living conditions that might make an honest sailor turn pirate, and uncover some of the key places, people and events that you will experience in Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag.

Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag tells the story of Edward Kenway, a young British man with a thirst for danger and adventure, who falls from privateering for the Royal Navy into piracy as the war between the major Empires comes to an end. Edward is a fierce pirate and seasoned fighter who soon finds himself embroiled in the ancient war between Assassins and Templars. Set at the dawn of the 18th Century, the game features some of the most infamous pirates in history, such as Blackbeard and Charles Vane, and takes players on a journey throughout the West Indies during a turbulent and violent period of time later to become known as the Golden Age of Pirates.

Assassin’s Creed® IV Black Flag will be released on the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, PlayStation®4 from Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, Nintendo’s Wii U™ system, Windows PC and other next generation consoles. The game will be available on the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, and Nintendo’s Wii U™ system on October 29, 2013.

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Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies Western Release Info

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SAN MATEO, Calif. — May 13, 2013 — Capcom, a leading worldwide developer and publisher of video games, today confirmed that Phoenix Wright™: Ace Attorney™ – Dual Destinies will be available to purchase digitally on Nintendo 3DS™ across Europe and North America in Fall 2013.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies, previously announced for the West as Ace Attorney™ 5, sees the return of courtroom hero Phoenix Wright. Set eight years since his last appearance in the courts, the first case inPhoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies sees the action start in a destroyed court room. It’s down to Phoenix Wright and his team at the Wright Anything Agency to discover the cause of the destruction. Players will have to battle it out in court against Gaspen Payne, the younger brother of Winston Payne from previous Ace Attorney™ titles, as they defend the accused.

The much loved gameplay and features from previous titles in the Ace Attorneyseries return but for the first time with stunning 3D graphics, bringing the courtroom and characters to life and putting players directly in the heart of the action. Players will need to investigate each crime scene with dynamic 3D visuals, making it possible to change views and zoom-in on areas to uncover any hidden evidence or clues. The drama continues in the court room as players present their evidence, challenge witnesses and begin to unravel the truth behind each of the cases in Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies.

Joining Phoenix is the young Attorney Apollo Justice and new Associate Attorney Athena Cykes. Athena’s unique ability to psychoanalyse witnesses introduces a brand new element to proceedings. Using Athena’s ‘Mood Matrix’ players can detect the emotional state of a witness and tell whether they’re surprised, angry, happy or sad. Players can compare these feelings with the statement given by the witness, point out any contradictions between the two and challenge the witness testimony.

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CD Projekt RED Releases REDkit

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May 9, 2013 — Warsaw — CD Projekt RED announces the launch of REDkit, the ultimate set of tools for crafting non-linear role-playing adventures. Available for free viahttp://thewitcher.com/redkit, REDkit is based on the development tools used to create CD Projekt RED’s award-winning game, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. The editor has just entered its open beta phase, allowing everyone who is waiting for The Witcher 3 to go back to the previous installment of the series and create new, amazing content or just play around with other modders’ creations.

REDkit gives modders of all skill levels the tools, they need to tell non-linear tales full of branching plots, believable characters and far-reaching consequences for player actions. Without learning to program or wrangling with opaque editors, game creators can use the top-quality art and assets from The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings or import their own, as well as intuitive tools for environment creation, to craft their own unique role-playing adventures.

“For CD Projekt RED, RPGs are all about telling amazing stories,” said Adam Badowski, head of CD Projekt RED. “We want to give players the power to tell the same kind of non-linear, branching stories that made The Witcher games so popular. Our fans have helped us for years to make our games the best they can be, and REDkit is part of embracing our community as a partner in game development.”

REDkit features:

• Intuitive tools developed for all would-be storytellers and game designers
• Complex and user-friendly terrain tools, including the SpeedTree foliage system
• Utilize the astonishing graphics and visuals that power The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings
• Create a realistic and dynamic day and night cycle in a few clicks
• Implement non-linear stories and quests with a unique quest system that allows player decisions to impact the game world and plot
• Build believable characters, NPCs, and entire communities and set their interactions with the player
• Place dialogue cameras automatically or manually to create a filmlike experience

Last but not least, CD Projekt RED has also announced the winner of the REDkit mod contest. The author of the best entry is Philipp Weber from Germany, and he will receive the main prize, which is a one-of-a-kind Witcher sword, forged from the finest materials. Philipp’s work is already featured as a Mod of the Month on a newly opened website (www.thewitcher.com/redkit), which contains all the necessary information on the editor itself, including tutorials, mods uploaded by the community, and forums where players will be able to get feedback from the developers.

Nuu MiniKey for iPhone 5 Review (Tech)

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Nuu has made a lot of people happy with their MiniKey bluetooth keyboard cases for Apple’s iPhone line of smartphones. The people I write of are those who simply cannot get onboard with the virtual keyboard found on touchscreen devices. I know several people like this – my own mother being one. Personally, I don’t have a preference either way – I will use whatever is available. I got a chance to use  their MiniKey case for iPhone 5 for a while and have found it to be a nice device that I could live without. I’ll expound…

The MiniKey for iPhone 5 resembles one of those hefty battery pack cases for the iPhone 5 that are popping up all over. However, this one is a bit different in that it is not a battery case. Instead, where the battery usually sits is a slide-out bluetooth keypad. They keypad features keys with a decent tactile sensation when depressed. Keypad buttons are nicely rubberized to boot, so they feel good when touched. Also, the keypad is nicely equipped with a vibrant backlight so that you can use it in the dark. The MiniKey features an internal LiPo battery which provides many hours of usage in between chargings. Speaking of charging, that is accomplished by an included mini-USB cable that plugs into the MiniKey’s side. You can power the keypad on or off with a slider switch on its face. Nuu’s new MiniKey pairs to your iPhone 5 via a bluetooth connection which I had no problems setting up. Bluetooth tech has been around so long now that using it is almost effortless.

Overall, Nuu’s MiniKey for iPhone 5 is an excellent case and keypad for those who do not like to use Apple’s on-screen, virtual keyboard. For those people alone, I would give this a 5 out of 5. However, I have to review this from the standpoint of a general consumer, and many of us don’t mind the virtual keypad one bit. Because of that, I am awarding the MiniKey for iPhone 5 a 4 out of 5 stars. It is a nice luxury, but you don’t really need it. Going further down this road, you could make much better use of case-space by getting one containing an extra battery to extend your iPhone 5’s talk-time!

[easyreview title=”Nuu MiniKey for iPhone 5 Review Score” cat1title=”Overall Score (out of 5)” cat1detail=”” cat1rating=”4″] Our Rating Scores Explained