The fourth issue of Jeph Loeb’s and Joe Madureira’s run on The Ultimates released on Wednesday. Is the series living up to its hype? Here’s a review, complete with spoilers.
It was a big week for Marvel’s Secret Invasion crossover, with the story bleeding into five different comics in significant ways. Here’s a rundown of what happened to whom, where, and how. After the jump, expect spoilers and analysis of Avengers Initiative #14, Mighty Avengers #15, Ms. Marvel #28, New Avengers #42, and Secret Invasion: Runaways / Young Avengers #1.
I’ve missed Anthony Stewart Head so much after Buffy ended (and after his single episode of Doctor Who) that I’m practically salivating at the chance to see him in a big and crazy cult film… and singing, no less! Head is no stranger to cult musicals, having appeared in many productions of The Rocky Horror Picture Show and also having sung as Giles on several Buffy episodes, including the classic “Once More With Feeling.” This time he’s going to be a nefarious repo man out to harvest organs from folks who are behind on their payments. The new trailer is out from Lionsgate, and it looks fantastically twisted.
The gaming news of the weekend is that Blizzard has officially announced that Diablo III is on the way. They’ve been teasing a new announcement on their website for a while by gradually revealing an image that was covered by ice. The image has been revealed, and the official announcement happened at the 2008 Blizzard Entertainment Worldwide Invitational on Saturday.
Diablo III will be the sequel to the massively popular Diablo II, which released all the way back in 2000. I can remember having just graduated from college when the last installment was released and being disappointed that whatever heap of a computer I had at the time couldn’t run it. I’m locked and loaded and newly upgraded, so you can bet I’ll be grabbing this third installment as soon as it hits shelves. In fact, I’ve been getting so hyped about Diablo III today that I’m tempted to go back and grab the Diablo II Battle Chest and get that sucker played once and for all.
In the meantime, here are a couple of videos that Blizzard released to tease us for the game even more.
Theatrical-style teaser:
In-depth (and lengthy!) gameplay video:
You can visit the Diablo III official website here: Link
Harmonix has announced next week’s Rock Band releases, which will include a three-song “Crüefest Pack” as well as an additional free song. Here’s what will be on tap:
“Down at the Whisky” by Motley Crüe - 80 MS Points ($1)
“Time Is Running Out” by Papa Roach - 80 MS Points ($1)
“Who’s Going Home With You Tonight” by Trapt - 80 MS Points ($1)
Crüefest Pack - All three of the above songs for 240 MS Points ($3)
“Promised Land” by Vesuvius - Free
It’s interesting to note that you don’t get any sort of discount for purchasing the song pack this week. Usually you’ll get a little bit of a price break for buying the songs all at once, as opposed to individually. Then again, the pay track are only a buck a piece this week, so you can’t complain too much (unless you’re not a Crüefest fan). The free song is from the new movie The Rocker, and in my opinion there’s no such thing as a bad free Rock Band download.
According to USA Today, Rose McGowan will be donning the chainmail bikini to become Red Sonja in Robert Rodriguez’s upcoming revisit of the franchise. The new Red Sonja movie is slated for a 2010 release and will serve as an origin story for the character, surely in hopes of springboarding a new franchise of films.
Wanted is hitting theaters this weekend, and this week’s Fan Art Friday is all about one of the stars, Angelina Jolie. Check out some of the cool fan art of her that’s been posted online, and be sure to follow the links back to the original artists to let them know you like their stuff!
Joss Whedon has been building a monster ever since the writer’s strike earlier this year, and now that monster has a trailer. It’s called Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, and it’s going to be a three part musical series shown on the internet. In the words of Whedon, “It’s the story of a low-rent super-villain, the hero who keeps beating him up, and the cute girl from the laundromat he’s too shy to talk to.” The cast includes Nathan Fillion as the heroic Captain Hammer, Felicia Day (best known as one of the potential Slayers from the final season of Buffy) as Penny, and Neil Patrick Harris in the title role of Dr. Horrible. Here’s a look at the trailer:
Microsoft has announced a new contest that has them partnering with Domino’s Pizza to promote the upcoming film The Dark Knight. By ordering the special Batman-themed items from Domino’s, you’ll have a shot at winning a bunch of cool prizes, including a beyond awesome Batman-deco’ed XBox 360 Elite. Here are the official details:
Starting July 7, 2008 if you order The Gotham City Pizza Large pizza for $9.99 or The Dark KnightTM Deal, (Gotham City Pizza plus 10 piece wings and a side of bread for $19.99) you have a chance to win $10,000 delivered to your door.
Order your pizza online or by phone and instantly access The Dark Knight™ Vault for unique content from the movie including an exclusive trailer, wallpapers, and lots more. The vault will be open from June 30 to July 27, 2008.
At www.dominos.com , track your pizza all the way to your door with the Domino’s Pizza Tracker. This is also your key into the Vault. When you receive your pizza, the promotionl pizza box has all the details on entering the “Cards Tell the Tale” Instant Win Promotion. The exclusive The Dark Knight™ Xbox 360 consoles are very limited in quantity and are sure to be a coveted item for any gamer, BATMAN fan, or collector.
As I’ve mentioned in the past, it’s a rare thing these days for me to find a game on the XBLA that I’m willing to drop actual Microsoft points to buy. Ticket To Ride is one game that did manage to pry 800 points from my miserly hands, and it’s a fantastic buy.
