John Wick was a fun, if not shallow, revenge movie that seems to have created a cult following after its release in theaters last year. The action flick starring Keanu Reeves made a decent bit of money and was infinitely better than his previous effort, 47 Ronin. Despite the fact that Keanu usually doesn’t do sequels unless they contain the word “Bill” and/or “Ted” in the title, (we are ignoring the existence of the Matrix sequels) it looks like there maybe hope we’re going to get more of the ex-hitman shooting up the screen one more time. That’s right: John Wick 2 is in development.
It’s no surprise that DC Comics and Warner Brothers are increasing their domination of the TV comic adaptations, with news coming from different networks about new series like Supergirl and iZombie to join the already successful Gotham, Arrow, The Flash, and to a lesser extent, Constantine. Marvel has been playing catch-up with Agents of SHIELD and Agent Carter, plus the four Netflix series currently in development (You didn’t miss the first Daredevil trailer, did you?), but DC still holds the advantage. Especially with news of the most recent adaptation in development.
Now TNT is producing a live action adaptation of the Teen Titans simply titled Titans, with Akiva Goldsman and Marc Haimes acting as writers and executive producers of the series (or at least the pilot). The team have had a place in the animated world for years, with two related Teen Titans series, as well as the fan favorite Young Justice series that also focused on the sidekicks of the DC Universe.
Marvel and Netflix provided us a quick tease yesterday, presenting us with our first look at the upcoming series Daredevil. The teaser effectively had fans chomping at the bit, waiting for the full trailer reveal to follow the next day. We’ve been following the production of Marvel and Netflix’s four limited series very closely, with Daredevil hitting our screens first in April.
Fans of the AMC series The Walking Dead have been waiting for the second half of season five since the mid-season finale “Coda” in November, and that wait is nearly over.
The trailer, while certain to amp you up for what’s to come, leaves so many questions unanswered.
Warning: Spoilers Ahead.
When last we left our merry band of zombie survivalists, they lost another of their own; Beth. After proving herself throughout the series to be more than a pretty face, Beth fell victim to yet another insane survivor. Sadly, it remains that in this post-apocalypse, it’s the other survivors who are the real bane of our heroes existence.
After learning that Eugene’s promise of a cure was shown to be little more than a fairy tale for self-preservation, the loss of Beth will send the group back into the unknown with no destination. Their hopes of a cure dashed, base survival instincts are now the only thing keeping them going.
After the credits rolled on the first half of season five, Rick’s old friend Morgan, who we last left in the throes of insanity, makes his way out of the woods, witness to the carnage and horror left at the once quiet church. Will Morgan prove himself to be friend or foe? In the world of The Walking Dead one can never really tell, but his brief scene, in which he sets up an altar of sorts, certainly had a rather ominous feel to it.
Questions remain about the fate of Eugene, whose lie about a cure was the driving force of the last season, pushing the group toward Washington D.C. Can the group forgive him, and even if they do, is he going to be alright after that royal beating doled out by Abraham? How will Daryl take the loss of Beth, with whom he had grown so close? And how the hell do they keep that baby so darn clean?!
While you await the answers to all these burning questions, the internet has a treasure trove of Walking Dead related entertainment to distract you. First, if you haven’t already been watching or taken the week or two to binge watch and catch up on the zombie phenomenon, here’s a quick break down of the first four seasons.
For those zombiephiles up to date, some bad lip-reading takes you back to season four, while adding a laugh to a few otherwise disheartening scenes.
Moving in to the real world for a minute, we lost Andrea in season three, but Laurie Holden has still kept busy. Aside from being an actress, Holden spends her time as a human rights activist with the group Operation Underground Railroad. In 2014 Holden joined the group in an undercover sting operation that rescued 55 young girls from being sold into the sex trade. Her zombie killing days may be behind her for now, but it seems like the world is getting a real hero in the trade-off.
Now with only a few more days till the show returns, remember what really matters…
And if you’re interested, the first 2 minutes of the next episode…
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On a scale of 1-10, how pumped are you for the second half of season five? Let us know in the comments below, or visit Grizzly Bomb’s Facebook page.
Episodic adventure games are in the middle of a well deserved renaissance period. Telltale Games’ popular titles have breathed new life into the genre, which is why other game developers are now following suit. Dontnod Studios has put together a supremely interesting plot line that follows the supernatural mysteries and high school drama of a female teenage named Max.
Welcome to the first episode of Life is Strange – Chrysalis.
Your main character, Max Caulfield, is an aspiring photographer who’s recently made a big move. After leaving her quaint hometown for the big city, she finds herself returning to that quiet town to attend a prestigious private school. Max exhibits the expected qualities of a teenager who considers themselves an outsider, which makes her instantly relatable for some. Her love of photography has driven her to attend such a respected institution. Max’s school mates fill the gamut of the personalities that exist within high school cliques – mean rich girls, varsity jacket wearing jocks, mysterious loners, skate punks and more. There’s a wide host of interesting characters to interact with who come with their own events for Max to intervene in. Getting the chance to play out these events is one of the highlights of this game.
The most important element behind Life is Strange is Max’s newfound power – she has the ability to rewind time at will. Max’s time rewinding skills come into play as you solve simple puzzles and help deal with situations involving your closest friends. The first episode starts off simple enough, as you sit inside a classroom and discover how to make good use of your new time sensitive skills. The story quickly intensifies though, as you’re forced to utilize your rewinding skills to save the life of a close friend. The rest of this episode is filled with even more events that test your moral compass. You’ll be driven to find each and every instance of character interaction.
Life is Strange’s supporting cast is fun to follow. The voice acting here is great, as is the simple yet clean visual makeup of the quaint environment you inhabit. A slew of personalities await at every turn and the conversations you engage in with them are hard to pass up. The trials and tribulations of early adulthood permeates through this first bit of the game. Important decisions seem to occur regularly. Should you tell the school’s principal about a potential threat? Should you intervene when a school security guard bothers a young student? Should you aid a close friend when her stepfather gets out of hand? There are several decisions to make here and the game’s solid story will drive you to strongly consider every possibility.
The time rewinding mechanic of Life is Strange is a cool, no doubt. But this power kind of diminishes the impact of your decisions. Having the chance to quickly change your decisions after making them feels like a cop-out, which may be great for some players who feel a sense of regret and guilt after an important event. This ability is great for navigating environmental puzzles and changing minor events, but it makes important decision making feel unimportant since you can change your mind at the drop of a dime. It’s best if you were left with your hard choices instead of having the power to change them to your liking so quickly.
Life is Strange’s first episode ends on a high note and will most certainly have you anticipating the next chapter in this strange tale. Max is an interesting young soul surrounded by suspicious characters who present several mysteries to solve. All of these stories, combined with the time rewinding powers, missing young girl and the threat of an impending storm has us ready for another helping of the game.
Gamers have come to notice the types of trends that withstand the passage of time. Badass ninjas, gun-toting commandos and women with irregular chest sizes are just a few of the elements that still play a part in the games we play today. We can also add zombies to that list. While the influence of the undead seems to have grown a bit stale over the last few years, Techland has done a great job of making them prevalent again. Their work on Dead Island has now been carried over to a new-gen adventure packed with even more ways to dodge the undead – Dying Light.
Your main character starts off his journey through the zombie apocalypse as he parachutes into the city of Harran. Your main mission entails the retrieval of a secret file from a local warlord, but you’ll have to go undercover while you do it. Playing both sides of the primary factions while still reporting back to your superiors presents moments of moral decisions that fall into the grey area of doing acts for the greater good or doing them simply to obtain more goods. This game is a lengthy trek through an incredibly vast city. It’s just a tad bit unfortunate that you won’t care too much for the people that inhabit it. The voice acting falters and the character animations are a tad stiff. These knocks on the game’s supporting cast is Dying Light’s biggest issue.
As for the better parts of Dying Light, they’re strongest when it comes to the parkour infused movement. Your main onscreen avatar runs, hops buildings, dodges zombies, baseball slides and dropkicks anything in his way from a first-person viewpoint. The sense of immersion derived from moving so smoothly starts off good enough, but your mobility options get even better as you move around. It feels great as you naturally improve your stats and earn new abilities just by performing movement feats and fending off your enemies. The amazing sense of discovery, wide variety of melee variety and wealth of items that exist around every corner all make this game click on all cylinders.
The majority of the main missions in Dying Light will command you to retrieve some sort of item or perform some daring task for either of the two factions you work for. The mission structure here is decent at best. Being sent out into the dangerous city as a glorified errand boy gets old, but the strong gameplay will push you to keep going. The missions tend to improve at the later stages of the main campaign, plus the fun factor certainly improves thanks to the presence of co-op play. Most of the fun of this parkour inspired romp comes from running around freely, accessing new safe houses and lock picking every chest in your wa. Things really pick up during the evening hours, as more dangerous foes prowl the streets and provide you with a greater challenge that nets you extra experience. There’s so much to see and do when you aren’t in the mood to progress the ho-hum plot.
Dying Light is a surprisingly great game. It has its issues that hamper its overall quality, which makes it an open world adventure that’s rough around the edges. The visuals shine during the day and are appropriately dark during the night hours, the parkour movement feels great and the overall progression/weapons systems is awesome. Even though the game’s many characters and plot won’t grab you, you’ll derive a good bit of fun from running through the contaminated streets of Harran.
Images: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, Techland
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