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Category Archives: Video
TNT says “Push to add drama” in epic viral marketing campaign
Go on, push play. Everything is explained in the video. This is viral marketing at its finest.
Google intros Google Drive, a new place to “keep all of your stuff”
This week Google introduced their very own cloud service appropriately titled Google Drive. The search giant says Drive is “a place where you can create, share, collaborate, and keep all of your stuff.” It’s acts just like competitor Dropbox, but what differentiates it significantly is that it takes advantage of Google’s other services like Google Docs, Search, and Google+. Also incorporated is the ability to search for keywords embedded inside scanned documents. Your free Drive account can be accessed in a browser and apps made specifically for the PC, Mac, and Android (an iOS app is in the works). Google gives users 5GB for free at the start, and you have the option to upgrade storage capacity if you’re willing to pay: 25GB for $2.49/month, 100GB for $4.99/month, 1TB for $49.99/month. Google notes that if you upgrade to a paid account, your Gmail storage will automatically expand to 25GB, so there’s a cool perk.
Google says that “this is just the beginning for Google Drive,” so you can expect this new service to evolve over the coming months with tighter integration with all that Google has to offer, as well as bug fixes and more streamlined interfaces across devices. Learn more about Drive and see if the gradual rollout has hit you yet right here. Video sits after the break.
[Via Google] Continue reading Google intros Google Drive, a new place to “keep all of your stuff”
PlayStation gamers to get their ‘Smash Bros.’ fix with ‘PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale’
There are Nintendo fanboys and there are PlayStation fanboys. (And girls, of course.) Each side in the video game universe has its pros and cons, but there’s one major advantage Team Ninty has been able to hold onto for quite some time: the Super Smash Bros. series. Since 1999, Nintendo gamers have been able to take control of their favorite characters and duke it out in the middle of classic scenes from various console games. Mario versus Star Fox, Jiggly Puff versus Kid Icarus; Super Smash Bros. made this possible. Now it’s Sony’s turn to let their gamers get in on all the combative fun.
The makers of PlayStation and a developer named SuperBot Entertainment have taken a page out of Nintendo’s playbook to create a Smash Bros. competitor. PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale will bring together popular characters from PS games including Kratos (God of War), Sweet Tooth (Twisted Metal), Sly Cooper, Mael Radec (Killzone 2), Fat Princess, and PaRappa the Rapper and pit them against each other on battlegrounds from well-known franchises like Little Big Planet (Dreamscape), God of War (Hades), Jak and Daxter (Sandover Village), Ratchet & Clank (Metropolis), and the trivia game Buzz!. Gameplay is simple; X button is jump, and the others serve as attack buttons. To ensure a win players must collect Action Points and fill up their Super Meter. Each character has three levels of special powers, and more destruction can be achieved based on the level you’re at and good timing.
As we approach E3 this summer, more details will surely leak surrounding this anticipated button-masher. For now, check out the announcement trailer after the break and prepare your new arguments for the Nintendo fanboys.
[Via EW; Joystiq] Continue reading PlayStation gamers to get their ‘Smash Bros.’ fix with ‘PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale’
‘Rayman Legends’ game shows off Wii U NFC functionality
In January Nintendo revealed that their upcoming new console the Wii U will ship with Near Field Communication (NFC) functionality. “By installing this functionality, it will become possible to create cards and figurines that can electronically read and write data via noncontact NFC and to expand the new play format in the video game world,” said Ninty president Satoru Iwata Iwata. This week a video surfaced on the ‘Net that previews what gamers can expect with NFC paired with the Wii successor. Developer Ubisoft is developing Rayman Legends to take advantage of NFC by giving players the ability to place physical figurines atop the Wii U’s touchscreen controller to instantly teleport the physical object into the game. See how it works in the video embedded above.
[Via Joystiq]
FOX renews ‘FRINGE’ for a fifth and final season
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!
After lengthy negotiations, the network (FOX) and the studio (Warner Bros. TV) have come to a decision that will make TV sci-fi junkies around the world explode in excitement: the low-rated but fan-acclaimed Fringe has been granted another season. FOX will air a shortened 13-episode fifth season, and it will mark the series’ last.
FOX president Kevin Reilly–a vocally staunch supporter of Fringe–released this brief statement: “Fringe is a remarkably creative series that has set the bar as one of television’s most imaginative dramas. Bringing it back for a final 13 allows us to provide the climactic conclusion that its passionate and loyal fans deserve. The amazing work the producers, writers and the incredibly talented cast and crew have delivered the last four seasons has literally been out of this world. Although the end is bittersweet, it’s going to be a very exciting final chapter.”
Co-creator and executive producer J.J. Abrams shared his thoughts on the renewal, too: “We are thrilled and beyond grateful that Fox – and our fans – have made the impossible possible: Fringe will continue into a fifth season that will allow the series to conclude in a wild and thrilling way. All of us at Bad Robot are forever indebted to our viewers and the amazingly supportive Fox network for allowing the adventures of Fringe Division to not only continue, but to resolve in a way that perfectly fits the show.”
And so did showrunners J.H. Wyman and Jeff Pinkner: “This pickup means the world (both of them) to us, because we love sharing these stories with our enthusiastic fans. On behalf of the cast and crew, we applaud our fans and Fox for allowing us to imagine the impossibilities together for so long. Season Five is going to be a conclusive thrill ride for all of us.”
Though an additional 13 episodes is significantly shorter than a typical 23 episode order, this deserved extension gives the creative team a larger canvas to paint a proper ending for the show. Instead of getting abruptly cancelled, Fringe will now have a chance to ease fans toward the light at the end of the tunnel. With rather dismal ratings (and the fact that the show “is los[ing] a lot of money” for FOX according to Reilly), Fringe fanatics can’t really ask for anything more than this.
Recently it was reported that Wyman and Pinkner imagined two separate endings for the current season; one would serve as a series finale, and the other a cliffhanger to lead into a now official fifth season. With the latter course being taken, what can we expect in season five? Under a week ago Josh Jackson hinted, “The door to the fifth season is opened in Episode 19. If you watch that, you’ll have an understanding of where they want to take the series.” As you should already know, “Letters of Transit” teleported Fringe Division to the year 2036, a time when The Observers have taken over our world. Will the final season mostly take place in this not-so-distant future? Clues are planted in the clip embedded above… next season we shall “witness Fringe Division’s final stand; and Peter hints that “everything we’ve been through has just been preparation for what we face here, now.” Also, notice that the art for “FRINGE: THE FINAL SEASON” is all blocky and metallic, just like it was in the alternate “future” title sequence in Episode 19.
Watch said Fringe season 5 announcement trailer the network whipped up, get your speculation on, and don’t forget… rejoice!
Trailer round-up: ‘Hotel Transylvania’ & ‘Brave’ [Update: ‘This Is 40’ & ‘Prometheus’]
The next movie from Sony Pictures Animation is Hotel Transylvania, and Adam Sandler is Dracula. Here’s a nice and tidy synopsis:
Welcome to the Hotel Transylvania, Dracula’s lavish five-stake resort, where monsters and their families can live it up, free to be the monsters they are without humans to bother them. On one special weekend, Dracula has invited some of the world’s most famous monsters — Frankenstein and his bride, the Mummy, the Invisible Man, a family of werewolves, and more — to celebrate his daughter Mavis’s 118th birthday. For Drac, catering to all of these legendary monsters is no problem — but his world could come crashing down when one ordinary guy stumbles on the hotel and takes a shine to Mavis.
The talented voice cast includes Sandler, Selena Gomez, Andy Samberg, Kevin James, Fran Drescher, David Koechner, Cee Lo Green, Steve Buscemi, Molly Shannon, and David Spade. Genndy Tartakovsky, creator of popular animated TV series like Dexter’s Laboratory, The Powerpuff Girls, and most recently Star Wars: The Clone Wars, is directing. Hotel Transylvania hits theatres in 3D on September 28.
Now jump after the break for another look at Pixar’s Brave. Continue reading Trailer round-up: ‘Hotel Transylvania’ & ‘Brave’ [Update: ‘This Is 40’ & ‘Prometheus’]
Master Chief returns in ‘Halo 4’ on November 6
At last, Microsoft has set a date for the return of Xbox’s hero Master Chief. Halo 4 drops November 6, 2012. In a press release (in full after the break) Microsoft and new game developer 343 Industries spilled some details on franchise’s long-awaited comeback. “Set four years after the events in “Halo 3,” Master Chief returns to confront his destiny and face an ancient evil that threatens the fate of the entire universe,” reads the release. “”Halo 3,” the biggest consumer product launch of all time when it released in 2007, concluded the original game trilogy, but left many unanswered questions around the fates of the series’ beloved hero, the Master Chief, and his artificial intelligence companion, Cortana. On Nov. 6, fans will experience the next chapter of the iconic franchise.”
Microsoft’s Phil Spencer is quoted: “We are beginning a new saga with ‘Halo 4’ and embarking on a journey that will encompass the next decade of ‘Halo’ games and experiences. Millions of fans worldwide have been eagerly awaiting the opportunity to step back into the boots of Master Chief, and, with ‘Halo 4’ leading the charge, we’re confident 2012 will be the most successful year in Xbox history.”
It still hasn’t been determined what or who exactly John-117 will battle against in the next-gen first person shooter, but whatever it is I’m amped. Unless it’s The Flood again, cuz that would suck. Other Halo factoids… orignal game composer Marty O’Donnell is out (what a bummer!) and former Massive Attack member Neil Davidge has taken over the important role. Orchestrator Matt Dunkley explained to Edge: “We respect absolutely what [O’Donnell] did, and obviously these iconic themes are very close to gamers’ hearts. So we all listened to what he’d done, and I think you’ll always be on a hiding to nothing if you’re trying to pastiche that. Instead, we wanted to take that to another level. Hopefully the Halo fans will see that we’re being respectful, but we’ve also taken it somewhere else, and maybe onto a higher plane. If you’re always trying to reference back, you’re not creating new things.”
Jump after the break to get a behind the scenes look at the audio composition behind the game as well as soundtrack samples. In somewhat related news, 343 Industries invited late-night talk show host Conan O’Brien to their studio; watch the fun unfold after the break. Below, concept art.
November 6, are you here yet?
[Via Joystiq 1, 2, 3, 4; AllGamesBeta] Continue reading Master Chief returns in ‘Halo 4’ on November 6
Video game trailer: ‘God of War: Ascension’ brings Kratos back to the PS3
Here’s your very first look at the next God of War game that’s subtitled Ascension. After watching the teaser trailer, it’s assumed that this GoW will serve as a prequel and take place before the events played out in the other Kratos-led games. “There was a time before Kratos became the monster known as the Ghost of Sparta,” growls the teaser’s narrator. Besides this announcement video, the only other facts surrounding Ascension are these: Sony Santa Monica Studios is currently developing the game and Todd Pappy, GoW 3‘s design direction, is serving as the game director this time around. Is it too early to be hoping for a holiday 2012 release? More as more comes in.
[Via PlayStationBlog]
Watch mini Kanye represent in this “Way Too Cold” unofficial music video
Caleb Harper is a G. The youngster stars as mini Kanye West in this unofficial, brilliant music video for Ye’s new DJ Khaled collabo track “Way Too Cold” (formally titled “Theraflu”). It comes from director Ashley Smith and aside from the seemingly random masked political figures, she did a fantastic job putting this clip together. Little Caleb doesn’t miss a lyric or a beat, and he’s the reason why you should drop whatever you’re doing and mash play right this second. Mad props, kid.
Owl City, Mark Hoppus-assisted single ‘Dementia’ leaks
Owl City, aka Adam Young, is readying his fourth studio album and here’s proof. Though the followup to 2009’s Ocean Eyes and last year’s All Things Bright and Beautiful has yet to be named, a track from said album has surfaced on the ‘Net and it’s called “Dementia.” Young collaborated with Blink-182 bassist and lead vocalist Mark Hoppus to produce the electro-rockin’ new single and you can take a listen above. Can we expect his next album to contain more of a rock than pop vibe? After listening to this ditty I’d say signs point to an enthusiastic yes. Young has not marked the upcoming album’s release date yet.
Bonus! Somehow this came and went under my radar… Young released a trippy music video for his track “Deer in the Headlights” off All Things Bright and Beautiful. It features the Delorean from Back to the Future and Young’s female counterpart Lights. Watch it after the break.
[Via HitFix] Continue reading Owl City, Mark Hoppus-assisted single ‘Dementia’ leaks
New ‘Prometheus’ viral video introduces Michael Fassbender’s David the robot
So I guess Ridley Scott didn’t mind letting this cat out of the bag before unleashing his pseudo-Alien prequel Prometheus unto the world. Turns out Michael Fassbender’s character David is a robot! Specifically, he’s an android built by Weyland Industries that’s headed by Guy Pearce’s character Peter Weyland. Is it Weyland’s plan to “change the world” by inventing “technological, intellectual, physical, and emotional” sentient beings? That is still being kept under wraps, as are major plot details of the highly anticipated sci-fi action movie. In the video embedded above you’ll meet David; it’s his birthday so be kind.
Prometheus is out June 8.