CBS buys Deus Ex film rights
Variety is reporting that CBS films has purchased the film rights to Deus Ex: Human Revolution, my favorite game of 2011. Normally, that would depress the hell out of me, but this seems different.
Big screen adaptations of video games have consistently offered nothing more than a feeling of regret over the money you wasted on your ticket. The movies are awful in their own right, but to add insult to injury, they almost always change the story to the point where the only things the movie has in common with the game are the title and character names. Lucky for fans, it seems movie studios have noticed that movies based on video games are almost universally hated by the people who loved the games and have started to trend downward in the box office. Because of this, CBS Films will be working closely with Square Enix and Eidos-Montreal right from the start to get it right.
From the Variety article:
“As is clear from the wild success of the game, Square Enix and Eidos-Montreal know how to exceed their audience’s expectations by engineering incredible worlds,” said Terry Press, co-president of CBS Films. “No one knows ‘Human Revolution’ like the team that created it, and we look forward to working with them from day one to make a film adaptation worthy of the ‘Deus Ex’ name.”
If things go well, I’d love to see them do an adaptation of the original Deus Ex.
Microsoft registered domains for ‘Xbox 8′
The interwebs tells me that Microsoft registered domains for XboxPhone.com, XboxTablet.com, XboxLiveTV.com, XboxCompanion.com, Xbox8.us and Xbox8.org. That’s really all we know, but allow me to offer up the kind of baseless conjecture that you expect from the internet.
I don’t see the next Xbox being called Xbox 8, so let’s rule that out. After all, calling the current generation Xbox 360 made no sense, but going from 360 to 8 makes even less sense. It also can’t be an internal name for the next console because they wouldn’t have bothered to get the domains. It’s much more likely that these new Xbox8 domains will be used to show consumers the different ways that Windows 8 and the current Xbox can interface. I’m guessing that XboxPhone and XboxTablet will be used to demonstrate ways to use your phone and tablet with the Xbox. It probably has something to do with SmartGlass or the upcoming Xbox Music service. The XboxLiveTV domain will probably be a website where you can check what kind of TV services can be piped to your Xbox in your service area. The XboxCompanion domain throws me a little, but I think Xbox Companion might be a site for account management. Based on the name, I think it will be geared towards casual and non-gamers and emphasize the use of services like SmartGlass and Xbox Music.
The hits just keep on coming for the Wii U
The Wii U clearly brings a few interesting new features to the table, but as more and more news comes out, the console looks a little less impressive very day.
First, there was E3 where Nintendo failed to impress. Then CNN highlighted a much bigger issue: many, many people are under the impression that the Wii U is an add on for the Wii and not a new console. Things have only gone downhill from there. Announcements have included the lack of 3D support, Nintendo’s failure to require achievements for games and the unfortunate return of Friend Codes, and the lack of multi-touch for the Wii U’s tablet-like controllers.
Today we’re finding out that the Wii U will not launch with any games that support the dual GamePad support that many consider to be the most important feature of the console.
Insert Price Is Right fail horns here.
Meet Wreck-It Ralph
I’m not normally one to care whether or not a new Disney movie is coming out, but this one looks pretty amazing. Wreck-It Ralph tells to story of a video game villain who, after years of doing the same thing over and over, decides to leave his game and try out some others. Check out the trailer below. It’s a video game cameo extravaganza.
You can play the movie’s game Fix-It Felix Jr. here.
Worst of E3 2012: NBA Baller Beats
At every E3 there is something that stands out as being uniquely lame. When I went in 2005 it was The Bible Game for PS2. This year it seems to have been NBA Baller Beats. The idea is for the player to learn better ball handling skills by dribbling along to music as the Microsoft Kinect tracks your movements to make sure you’re doing it right. While I can appreciate the idea of using a real world object to interact with the Kinect, some things simply shouldn’t be, and a Kinect lesson on dribbling set to bad hip-hop (and it will be bad) is one of those things. There are lots of obvious flaws here but the biggest one I see is that most people have carpeted flooring in front of their TVs. Those who don’t probably still wouldn’t want to scuff their floors and endanger their belongings. Plus, do you really hate your downstairs neighbor that much? I can see the ad now…
“NBA Baller Beats because f*$% your downstairs neighbor!”
If you’re young enough for this to sound like a cool thing, go outside and play basketball for real. If you are over the age of 11 and still think this is cool, go stand in front of a mirror and call yourself terrible names until you cry.
Trailer after the jump.
Finally, something interesting at this year’s E3
One of the most buzzed about games at E3 is an upcoming title from Ubisoft called Watch Dogs (trailer with gameplay demo below). It’s kind of a Grand Theft Auto/Deus Ex mash-up that is set in Chicago and looks awesome. Now, I don’t just mean it looks like a game I want to play. I mean it looks awesome visually. In fact, it looks so awesome that some are saying it looks a little too awesome. Right now, rumors are flying around the internet that the game’s fantastic visuals are because it’s actually running on a next gen system like the PS4 or Xbox 720. While that’s a cool and easy to get wrapped up in idea, I don’t think that’s the case. To me, it didn’t look too far off from games like Deus Ex: Human Revolution. However, given that I’m not really an expert in anything, I texted a friend who blogs about video games and is at E3 asking what he thought of the rumor and he replied: “Betcha it’s just a really good PC build.”
So there you have it. The most credible source I know says no.
E3′s Unsolved Mystery: Are Watch Dogs and Star Wars: 1313 Really Next-Gen Games? – Kotaku
E3 2012: Yay?
I have been following E3 for years. I even went once. E3 has delivered some excellent surprises over the years, but nothing really feels that way this year. I’ve been following E3 2012, and everything that looks interesting was announced long before E3. Still, I can’t help but be excited by one of the games because it looks it will be exactly what fans have been hoping for.
What is it? Not SmartGlass or the Wii U. Cocked Hammers has my attention, but not even Jason Bateman and Will Arnett can make me care about Call of Duty games. No, what has me excited this year is South Park: The Stick of Truth, and it looks awesome.
Random Thought: “Colored” in The Elder Scrolls
Isn’t it peculiar that even in The Elder Scrolls, a series of games set in a world of fictional countries and races, black people are referred to by a color? They’re from a place called Hammerfell, but are they Hammerfellian? No. They’re Redguards because even in our wildest dreams and fantasies, black people still have to be a color.
That’s weird, right?
Max Payne 3 Meta Meta Review
As much as my friend said that he enjoyed the Max Payne 3 demo at E3, I had my doubts and still do, but it seems the internet is in love with Max Payne 3. I never expected this. Honestly, I thought Max’s time in the sun had come and gone, and I was expecting this game to flop. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy the first two Max Payne games. I thought they were a blast, but sequels that are made so long after the last installment tend to be bad. That’s especially true of games that are delayed. Gran Turismo 5, anybody? Plus, when I heard the game was set in Brazil, I dismissed it as a cash grab that targeted the emerging markets. I know. I’m terrible and probably even more cynical than Max Payne himself, but I’ve been burned by too many terrible sequels not to be. I even rolled my eyes when I heard there was going to be online multiplayer, assuming it would be tacked-on crap that was only added because everything is expected to have online multiplayer these days, but I was wrong again. Reviewers seem to especially love the multiplayer, citing its fantastic depth, rewarding gameplay, and excellent stat system.
Right now on Metacritic, the Xbox version is showing an 88 and the PS3 version is ranked at 90.
So what did we learn? Never underestimate Rockstar and remember the old adage about assumptions. Oh, and sometimes it’s good to be wrong.
Get Dishonored this October
After however many months it’s been since its release, I just noticed that there is a little Dishonored flyer in the Skyrim box, and while, I’m still not quite sure what Dishonored is about, I am strangely excited.
Oddly enough, my discovery of the months old flyer happens to coincide with the announcement of a release date for the game. That right, the steam punk-looking game about being assassinating folk will be out this October on the 9th. It will be on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC. Unfortunately, the Bethesda Blog is listing Games for Windows as the only digital distributor. As a Steam user, that’s a bummer, but maybe that part of the announcement just hasn’t come yet. Fingers crossed.
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