Currently on the Test Server for Age of Conan are a controversial set of changes to the way gems function in the game. In response to player feedback on the changes, Thomas Lindseth, the Age of Conan Lead Item Designer has posted a clarification on what has changed, and why.
The post can be viewed here.
Rymer is currently filming the series finale of “Battlestar Galatica” and recently wrapped production on the 2-hour series pilot for “Revolution” for NBC Universal Media Studios and the SciFi Channel. The exact story line and nature of the script is being kept under wraps but will stay true to the “Witchblade” mythology which centers around an ornate, jewel-encrusted gauntlet that gives superpowers to the wearer, a chosen female bearer of each generation, who possess it.
Microsoft is bringing home ComicCon the way they brought home E3, it seems. Xbox Live will feature all the media, video, and demos released at this year’s event, which sounds like it is very video game heavy, for some reason. Good news for us. Click read more for the full Bringing It home info.
PRESS RELEASE
SAN DIEGO — July 23, 2008 — Horror and comedy often come together on the show floor at Comic-Con International, just never like this. Microsoft Corp. today announced that a set of original short film pilots will be coming to Xbox LIVE this fall, free to all members around the world. The unique concept of masters of horror taking on comedy, conceived by filmmaker James Gunn (“Slither,” “Dawn of the Dead”) and producer Peter Safran (“Scary Movie,” “Meet the Spartans,” “Disaster Movie”), will see some of the world’s greatest horror directors bring their comedic visions to life. Microsoft is teaming up with Safran Digital Group to produce these exclusive shorts.
It’s official! "Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2: Fusion" is on the way to PS3, Xbox 360, Nintendo DS and Wii, and you can watch the first trailer right here!
Looking for details? Characters? Storyline? Gameplay? Release Date? Sorry, friends, that’ll all have to wait! Enjoy the teaser trailer and keep checking Marvel.com over the coming months for more "Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2: Fusion" news and goodies!
Why are we asking this now?
Because the Caped Crusader’s latest movie had its British premiere last night – just after news emerged that The Dark Knight had topped the all-time US league for an opening weekend box-office take, with a remarkable $155m, as well as rave reviews about the late Heath Ledger’s performance as The Joker. That success snatched the record from another superhero movie, Spider-Man 3.
Where does he come from?
Batman was the brainchild of the artist Bob Kane and the writer Bill Finger, who collaborated on a new character for Detective Comics in 1938. Their first sketches were a long way from the Batman image most people are familiar with today: the first drawings gave him wings and red tights. A few drafts later, a Batman who looked more like the 2008 movie version was born. He was soon starring in his own self-titled comic.
Why was he such a success?
From the start, Batman was unlike other heroes. His rivals, Superman and Spider-Man, are festooned in the primary colours of the American flag, whereas Batman dresses in dark blues and blacks. And no other superhero has a story quite as bleak. When Bruce Wayne was a little boy, he watched his parents’ deaths at the hands of Joe Chill, a heartless mugger, and vowed to dedicate the rest of his life to gaining revenge on the criminal underworld. Superman’s arrival from another planet is kids’ stuff in comparison. To quote the film director and comics geek Kevin Smith: "Batman is about angst; Superman is about hope."
How did he move from comics to the mainstream?
The first big fillip to the Dark Knight’s career came in 1966, with the US TV series based on his comic-book adventures. It was a huge success for two years, and the POWs, WHAMs, and Holy Mackerel have an enduring ironic appeal. But the kitsch style, coupled with Adam West’s goody-two-shoes performance dealt a near-fatal blow to the the comics, which were sullied for the hardcore aficionados and quickly forgotten by fans of the show. For the next 20 years, the series floundered through numerous relaunches without ever shaking off the high camp reputation of the series. Finally, just as Batman seemed to be on his last legs, Frank Miller wrote the four-issue mini-series The Dark Knight Returns, and changed everything.
Why was Miller’s version so important?
As the cultural commentator Jabari Asim put it: "Miller revived what had been a declining character by plumbing his tangled psyche and exposing what he found there." Miller was fascinated by the horrors of the hero’s childhood, and bears responsibility for the sense of Batman that most of us have today, as a uniquely downcast hero. That idea’s influence on Hollywood, from the Batman series itself to the gloomy thrills of the Bourne movies, can be felt to this day.
What made this Batman different?
In Miller’s version, Batman is a 50-year-old who comes out of retirement and has to battle the ravages of time on his body as much as the supervillains terrorising Gotham City. Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman drew heavily on Miller’s version, giving Michael Keaton’s Batman the obsessive, dark personality Miller had imagined. It placed the same emphasis on the fact that, almost uniquely amongst superheroes, Bruce Wayne is not "super" at all, but an ordinary man who sometimes seems more like a vigilante than a hero, and who makes use of high technology, piles of money, his famous wits, and an awful lot of weight training. Critics saw the movie as the first about a superhero to treat the audience like grown-ups: typically, The Washington Post called it a "violent urban fairytale", "an enveloping, walk-in vision".
What happened next?
After a less successful sequel, Burton was dumped by studio executives in search of a more family-friendly director. Sure enough, Joel Schumacher’s first effort, Batman Forever, starring Val Kilmer, enjoyed some box-office success; but the next time round, Batman and Robin was widely ridiculed for its garish, overblown style. George Clooney barely survived the mauling. Since then, there’s been a renaissance in superhero movies, with Spider-Man and X-Men leading the way – both clearly inspired by Burton’s original, darker vision. As a result, Batman himself came roaring back in the form of Christian Bale, in Christopher Nolan’s 2005 revival Batman Begins. These days, comic-book movies are everywhere.
Why the box-office surge for superheroes?
It’s simple: the audiences keep lapping them up. Hollywood first caught on after the surprise success of X-Men in 2000, and so far the formula hasn’t run dry. That’s partly the result of the die-hard comic-book fans who routinely see each new title two or three times, and partly because studios can use the fantasy element of the superhero universe to unleash all their most spectacular special effects. There may be more intangible reasons too. According to the comics blogger Josh Flanagan: "This is the kind of movie that can be patriotic and tap into what the United States is craving in a movie right now. That resonates with a lot of people."
So will they continue to be a success?
The Dark Knight’s huge success suggests so – but more telling still might be Iron Man, which made $565m and, despite having two big stars, Robert Downey Jr, and Gwyneth Paltrow, was a franchise without anything like Batman’s fan-base. If the obscure story of the arms dealer Tony Stark can do so well, the critic Ross Douthat wrote, "the road is cleared for literally dozens of efforts featuring characters just as obscure as Iron Man, if not more so". Tellingly, Marvel, which owns the rights to many of the most popular comic-book heroes (although not Batman himself) has now set up as an independent studio, seeing its future as much in movies as in the comic books it has published since 1939.
What about Batman himself?
His future looks rosy. The success of the new film guarantees a sequel. The current comic book series, Batman RIP, has the fan community in paroxysms of excitement over whether the hero will live or die. But even if he is bumped off, that won’t signal his permanent demise. To quote the prominent comics critic Douglas Wolk: "There’s no such thing as a ‘definitive version’ of Batman… there are as many interpretations of Batman as there have been creators who’ve worked on his stories."
Is Batman the greatest superhero ever?
Yes
*He’s often called the World’s Greatest Detective, in homage to his formidable deductive intelligence
*His tragic personal history and dark, brooding psychology make him far more interesting than the clean-cut, square-jawed likes of Superman
*He drives the Batmobile
No
*He can’t compete with X-ray vision, spider-sense, or super-strength; he can’t even fly, only use his cape to glide
*The 1960s TV version will always make him slightly ridiculous
*Lois Lane and Mary-Jane Watson, female foils to Superman and Spiderman, have no equivalent for the Caped Crusader (unless you count Robin, of course)
Volume 1 of the Lord of the Rings Online Saga is coming to a close, but before Turbine plunges players into the Mines of Moria with the game’s first expansion, they’ve got some loose ends to tie up. To that end they’ve just released the last free content update of the first volume, Book 14: Ring-Forge of Eregion. Story is key with LotRO, and Book 14 will see a series of live events centering around epic battles with Amarthiel’s minions, with Turbine Game Masters stepping into the shoes of Amarthiel herself.
Along with the live events, Book 14 introduces a series of quest lines involving holding the forces of Angmar at bay, which when completed a certain number of times on each server unlock special server-wide content, similar to World of Warcraft’s AQ events. Prove your server is the best and be absolutely flooded by assholes who just want to see the new content they weren’t around to help unlock. I say thee woot. Hit the jump for full details.
TURBINE uNVEILs BOOK 14: Ring-forge of eregion FOR THE LORD OF THE RINGS ONLINE™
2007 PC MMO Game of the Year* Introduces Sixth Content Update for Subscribers
WESTWOOD, MA – July 23, 2008 - Turbine, Inc. announced the details of the sixth content update for subscribers to The Lord of the Rings Online™: Shadows of Angmar™. Book 14: Ring-forge of Eregion delivers the climax to the epic story from Volume I of The Lord of the Rings Online (LOTRO). The story takes center stage in Book 14 with several new storytelling mechanics combined with live in-world events that allow players to work together to be part of the rise and fall of Amarthiel at the Ring-forges of Eregion! This will unlock the prelude quests that will lead players to the Mines of Moria™, the first expansion pack to the 2007 PC MMO Game of the Year* scheduled to be released this fall. Book 14: Ring-forge of Eregion is now available to subscribers of The Lord of the Rings Online in North America and Europe.
“The Lord of the Rings Online is one of the only MMOs to successfully integrate story into game play,” said Jeffrey Steefel, Executive Producer of The Lord of the Rings Online. “With Book 14 we continue to create new ways for players to experience the epic story in Middle-earth from the dramatic moments unfolding throughout the story to the new adventure instances that require players to work together across their server to unlock new content and advance the story. The live events planned in Book 14 will provide incredibly dynamic adventures for our players and set the tone for our journey this fall into the Mines of Moria.”
NEW FEATURES:
Ø The Finale of the Epic Story – As the epic story of Volume I reaches its climax, Book 14 will take LOTRO’s unique storytelling to a new level. The story continues as Laerdan leaves for Mirobel, the Ring-forges of Hollin, to reforge the ring Narchuil. Players will set out after him and engage in an epic battle with Amarthiel’s minions that ultimately reveals the true enemy. The story will use several new storytelling mechanics and feature a series of live events hosted by Turbine’s Game Masters who will be playing the role of Amarthiel.
Ø New Battlefield Adventure Instances – Book 14 introduces a new style of gameplay for LOTRO through a series of 6-player experiences calling on the heroes of Middle-earth to hold the line against the invading forces of Angmar. Players across each world must complete a series of chained quests a certain number of times in order to unlock additional content for the entire server.
Ø New Animation Technology – LOTRO continues to improve the award-winning experience for players with major improvements to player animations and the introduction of new emotes for Monster Players.
Capcom send word that their downloadable console shooter 1942: Joint Strike is now available on Xbox Live Marketplace for 800 points and $9.99
Louis Leterrier has revealed not only that Jon Favreau is currently writing Iron Man 2 with Robert Downey Jr., but that the sequel to the Spring blockbuster will feature a new character from the Avengers, after the brief appearance by Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury in the post-credits sequence of Iron Man.
Additionally Leterrier is reported to have said that 2011 will definitely bring Jackson, Downey Jr., Hulk actor Ed Norton and two other ‘A-list actors’ - presumably whichever A-listers get cast as Thor and Captain America in their respective upcoming movies that Marvel is also producing - together for the Avengers movie.
DoG source ‘Mr Miyagi’ spoke with Leterrier - who had just come from a meeting with Iron Man director Jon Favreau - at the Marvel Night at the Grand Rex in Paris in early July.
Current expected release dates are Iron Man 2 in 2010, Thor is pencilled in for 2010, Avengers in 2011 while The First Avenger: Captain America is due in May 2011 too.
AT&T Delivers Solid Second-Quarter Results Highlighted by Strong Wireless Growth, Double-Digit Increase in IP Data Revenues, Further Ramp in AT&T U-verse TV Subscribers — $0.63 reported earnings per diluted share, up 34.0 percent versus $0.47 in the year-earlier second quarter
Just in time for Comic Con, the official Transformers website has been updated with a new logo for the sequel - Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.
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