In his latest movie, The Woman In Black, Dan traded his Hogwarts uniform for a totally new role as a Dad.
Natalia brings you the latest news on Adele’s interview with Anderson Cooper, Kristen Bell’s interview on Ellen is auto tuned, Ladyhawke’s latest music video and much more!
Natalia discusses what’s new with Pharrell Williams and her thoughts on Karl Lagerfeld’s mean comments towards Adele’s weight. She also shows a roster of animals behaving like humans and, wait until you see the new size of coffee available at Starbucks!
Natalia dishes the latest news on the Juno Awards nominees, the upcoming Spiderman 3D film starring Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield and is Katy Perry hooking up with Tim Tebow? Watch today’s episode to find out.
When The Kooks are in the studio they’re focused and most importantly, sober. Watch Hugh and Luke explain their reasoning below.
The Kooks released a new album called “Junk of the Heart,” and you would think Hugh and Luke would be very excited about it. Well, they seemed rather indifferent to be honest. We spoke about that and why they don’t care about critics.
Natalia dishes the latest in entertainment news on Joan Rivers, Lana Del Rey and a brand new trailer for the movie Hunger Games.
Natalia talks about how Snooki might be pregnant, Nicolas Cage’s Cage Rage, Elisabetta Canalis is dating Steve-O and more for Feb 1, 2012.
Natalia dishes the news on Miley Cyrus breaking her tailbone, a 100 year old woman who plays the Nintendo DS to stay young and Houston, Texas contemplating a statute of Beyonce.
David Beckham debuts a new line of underwear, the worst dressed celebrity – Shy’m and Matthew Broderick is back as Ferris Bueller with a brand new commercial airing during the Super Bowl on Feb 5th 2012.
Daniel Radcliffe is back with his new movie The Woman In Black. It’s a bone chilling remake of a film from the ’80s. Ironically, Daniel actually scares very easily but he’s not afraid of ghosts. In this interview he tells us what really gives him the creeps.
Next time you’re struggling to make conversation, try asking this question: “If you could invite anyone (living or dead) to the perfect house party, who would it be?”
Graffiti6 is starting to make their North American invasion, and they are hitting up the Tonight Show. Does this sound familiar? Well the Beatles made the exact same journey over 40 years ago. Naturally, @jordans_life had to make some comparisons.
Nick plays World of Warcraft. Not only that, he’s the head of his guild, demonstrating that it IS possible to juggle being a hardcore gamer with being a top-selling recording artist.
During a LIVE interview on andPOP.com Nick Carter gave out a number and took phone calls from his fans. These were real phone calls from real fans who we gave exclusive access to one of the biggest recording artists of our generation.
There were great questions about music, fitness, the backstreet boys but the most popular question, however, was about his underwear. In this clip Nick talks about his his ‘Haynes’ and covering his fans with glow in the dark paint.
When releasing new music today, half the battle is online promotion. However, contests, signed merch and giveaways aren’t always the best solutions. When working on their latest album, Hedley came up with a brilliant idea, they decided to make trailers.
It’s hard to prepare for an interview with Hedley. So in this interview, we threw caution to the wind, got a 24 of beer and broadcast the interview live on our USTREAM (andPOP.tv). Eventually Jacob, Dave and @jordans_life ended up talking about hairy legs, their newest music video and more.
Diamandis from Marina and The Diamonds talks to us about her very serious disease. It’s called synaesthetic. And we lied, it’s not a disease. More like a cool condition. Diamandis explains further.
Would you be embarrassed if someone scrolled through your iPod? We sit down with Spee and Brendan to talk about the diverse music on their playlist.
With 2011 – 2012 the NBA season looking more and more unlikely every day, I felt I needed to get my basketball fix somehow. If I can’t watch the best players in the world play, why not take control of them in a video game? The NBA 2K series has recently set the standard for National Basketball Association (NBA) video games. While EA dominates the hockey video game market, 2K is the absolute leader for basketball simulation. Last year’s NBA 2k11 was absolutely phenomenal. It brought Michael Jordan back into the equation, allowing players to use him in the game to bring back those dominant Bulls teams. The graphics, controls, and overall experience were heads above the competition. It was so good in fact, that EA didn’t even bother releasing their NBA Elite game. 2K keeps upping the ante with NBA 2K12. It takes everything that made 11 so good, and improves upon it.
The graphics in this game are beautiful. Each player clearly resembles their real life counterpart. The arenas are all gorgeous, from the glean off the buffed floors, to the logos on the court floors, it all looks and feels real. It looks so good, my dad walked in while I was playing the game and thought I was watching a real life basketball game. He obviously wasn’t aware of the looming lockout.
The sound and music are equally incredible. The announcing is some of the best I’ve heard in a video game. In some cities, depending on who they have on the microphones, it may actually be an improvement over their real life announcers. I liked the soundtrack a lot too, which is usually good in 2K games.
After the successful introduction of Michael Jordan last year, 2K has added a ton of other greats to the game this year. You can use vintage Shaquille O’Neal, Magic Johnson, Scottie Pippen, and more. There are 15 total “Legends” whose terrific careers can be recreated within the game in great detail. Relive the Larry Bird – Magic Johnson rivalries and much more.
One of the most popular features in the 2K series is the ability to create your own player to see how they stack up in the big leagues. 2K sports has built upon this and made the “My Player” functionality that much better. You can now hear Commissioner David Stern call your name on draft night for your favorite team. Enter yourself into the rookie skills competition, earn huge endorsement deals, pad your stats, and ultimately get your name on a huge franchise player contract.
Most of the modes are back, my favorite being Association mode. Take your team from worst to first and watch the fans pack your arena to cheer you on. You can now even take your association mode online to play against your buddies and see how you stack up in the online community. The Playstation Network integration is seamless and a lot of fun.
Overall, this game is fantastic. It takes what made the old NBA 2K games and builds upon it in every way. The graphics, sound, presentation and game play are all the best around for basketball video games, and set the bar extremely high. If EA wants to reclaim the top spot in the basketball video game market, they certainly have their work cut out for them.
For more game reviews check out ubethecritic.com.
Who knew that a laptop stand could be so cool!
Promoted as the ‘World’s thinnest portable laptop Stand’ that is designed to extend the life of your laptop as well as your wrists, the AViiQ Portable Laptop Stand is ‘ready to go when you are’ – literally. The AviiQ portable laptop stand is the laptop stand that is designed for people on the go. While other laptop stands are big, bulky and stationary, the AViiQ is a laptop stand that is designed for convenience and portability – and it works like this.
Jersey Shore is invading everything, including gaming culture. Xbox Avatar users can now outfit themselves like characters from the MTV reality series, reports Shacknews.
For $2 you can have abs just like The Situation, or hair just like Snooki. Why you would want to look like this is another story.
The video game industry hit a four-year low in May, reports The Hollywood Reporter.
Video game sales apparently hit its lowest monthly U.S. profit since October 2006, totalling $743.1 million. That number may seem high, but it’s nothing compared to the $866.8 million of last year.
“A light slate of new releases is at the heart of this month’s performance,” said NPD analyst Anita Frazier. “As a result of a lighter release slate, promotional activity at retail and in circulars was reduced as well, which undoubtedly affected not only planned but impulse purchases.”
Frazier says it is unfair to base all results on figures, though, as an increasing amount of video game sales derive from online or downloadable exclusive content purchases.
This year’s top selling game was ‘L.A. Noire,’ a murder-mystery action game set in old L.A.
I agree with the analyst. Much of today’s market comes from the online world, so we have to factor in the sales from that. I don’t think video games are going anywhere anytime soon.
Sarah Michelle Gellar is going to be in a video game, and it’s going to be awesome.
Gellar will star alongside Robert Englund, Michael Rooker and Danny Trejo in ‘Call of Duty: Black Ops,’ fighting off zombies, of course.
Noted horror film director George Romero will lend his likeness to the game, inspired by his zombie film works. The new level, called “Call of the Dead,” will be included in the upcoming Escalation downloadable content pack.
“This is Treyarch’s tribute to the legendary George Romero, who truly defined the zombie genre and whose incredible work has been such an inspiration to our team,” said Black Ops director Dave Anthony. “It was an absolute honor to work with such an amazing and talented cast whose passion and energy brought their characters instantly to life. Fans are going to love this.”
Watch the video below to hear Gellar speak about the process. I’m so excited for her to come back into the spotlight, but I never anticipated this. It’s beyond my wildest dreams! (Yes, I’m fan-boying here, a little bit.)
The trailer for the game can be viewed here.
It’s that time of year again, the start of the new hockey season and the launch of the newest version of the EA NHL Franchise. NHL 11 is the best one yet, and we can say this honestly as we had a chance to play it. To celebrate the debut, the good people at EA had a NHL 11 Tournament with top rookie prospects, including Taylor Hall, Tyler Sequin and Nazem Kadri.
Hot chick on the cover? Check. Kind of resembles the Baroness from GI Joe? Double Check. Guns? Check – check her feet too, cause those high heels are packing heat too. Wait, what? From the get-go, you know this isn’t going to be a normal shooter. But just how far down the rabbit-hole does it go? Come with me for an interesting journey.
To be totally honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this game. On the surface, it looks like Devil May Cry and God of War thrown together, mixed in with a few of the more “respectable” character models from the Dead or Alive series for good measure. In other words, it had the potential for being something very entertaining, or something that felt like it’s been done to death a hundred times before, and that within minutes I would be turning off my Xbox and tossing the game and case back into the Give to Friends I Don’t Really Care About pile of games.
But along comes one of the most over-the-top, guns-blazing, unforgettable prologues I have every experienced in my 20 plus years of gaming. Without warning, you are thrown into what in most other games would be the lead-up battle to a boss fight, with seemingly endless wave after wave of enemies, just asking to be executed in the most over-the-top style you can imagine. Of course, at this point, you have had no proper introduction to the control system or special move-list, so you are basically pulling off random combos and incredibly well animated visceral executions without knowing how or why you are doing so. Did I mention that this was all happening on the face of a giant clock tower – as it is careening end over end down the face of mountain? Bayonetta is a game that reaches through the 4th wall, grabs you by your face and screams “can you hear me now?” as loud as possible, while punching you repeatedly about the head and neck.
The art style for the game is very unique as well, which fits the over-the-top in-your-face atmosphere, from having still photo spreads for cutscenes (which are actually still images from a roll of film, interestingly enough) with the dialogue played over the images, to full out game-engine animated scenes mixed up to keep you on your toes. Bayonetta herself is apparently the last Witch on the planet, and has just woken up from a 500 year nap at the bottom of a lake, and is on a mission to find her memory and cause general havoc and chaos for the good guys – or bad guys, in this case. Every singles enemy in the game is an “angel”, replete with glowing halo’s over their heads, and your job is to eradicate them in the most awful and punishing ways possible. You even have the option of executing Punishment and Torture attacks, such as summoning an Iron Maiden to crush and destroy your enemies, or at later stages when you have improved your magic abilites, calling larger than life demons to eradicate all the enemies around you. (more…)
It seems that the Moon Walk is the new black as more and more Michael Jackson merchandise is in the works.
According to TMZ, the King of Pop is set to star in a new video game that will essentially be a “dance karaoke.” Unlike many other ventures surrounding the deceased Jackson, apparently the pop singer’s estate is totally on board for this plan. Basically, gamers will see Jackson dancing on screen and then will be challenged to imitate his movements.
The game, currently untitled, will be available on multiple gaming platforms including Wii and Xbox 360. The Xbox version will include Microsoft’s new Kinect motion capture technology which will allow players to participate in the game without holding a controller.
Also in the Xbox version, the player will be judged based on full body moves; the game will process the player’s movements and display them on screen, dancing alongside Jackson.
If that wasn’t spectacular enough for aspiring Princes of Pop everywhere, the game also includes a karaoke feature which will allow players to sing along to Jackson songs and even funk up their voices with an autotune feature.
The game is being developed by Ubisoft (the same company behind Assassin’s Creed and Ghost Recon) and they have apparently secured permission from Jackson’s estate, so this is sure to go ahead. The game is scheduled to be released sometime before Christmas.
I’m going to get something off my chest right out of the gate: I haven’t been a fan of baseball nor baseball videogames for the last decade or so. Watching the game can be downright boring, and playing a virtual representation seems to result in little more than timing mini-games and a few button presses.
Then along comes Visual Concepts’ MLB 2K10. For the first time since I last held aloft a piece of lumber, here’s a video game that actually made me feel like I was playing the game again. Everything feels crisp, clean, and connected – as if you are actually on the mound dueling with the batter, desperately trying to keep the sweat out of your eyes as you look down another full count with the bases loaded.
The presentation of the 2K10 is spot on, from the commercial bumpers during the telecast, to the voiceovers calling the shots during the games themselves. Having spent enough time running bases and trying to make double plays, I have yet to hear a repeat canned soundbite, which was a great surprise and welcome change from previous years’ entries. You get the best of both worlds from Visual Concepts’ setup – all of the stats and random personal facts that hardcore hardball fans crave, but enough of the “seen on TV” presentation that it flows wonderfully into you actually stepping into the batter’s box to see just how far you can crank that sliding fastball.
Your options for gameplay seems to have improved significantly as well. You can play any MLB game currently being played, or set up to be played on a specific day through MLB Today. It’s always fun to see if you can do a better job than the big boys at there own game (or feel as humbled as they do when things don’t exactly work out the way you wanted them to). Home Run Derby is included, and is pretty much exactly what it claims to be: hit homers, anything else is an out, get the most points. My Player is the heart of the game, and you’ll definitely find yourself spending the majority of time grinding away through this mode. You create a rookie phenom, pick your favourite franchise to be drafted into, and then set off to try to become an MLB legend. (more…)
To celebrate the launch of Xbox LIVE Block Party, Xbox Canada hosted the ultimate 80s throw back event featuring 80s celebrities and old school arcade games, even with the mullets. Check out the celebrity guests who made an appearance!
God of War 3 is one of the most highly anticipated games ever. The game follows Kratos on his quest to avenge his family and take down the Gods of Olympus. It completes the God of War trilogy and provides a satisfying and bloody end to Kratos’ quest for revenge. The first two games set the standard for action adventure games and are both Playstation 2 classics. Needless to say, this game had very high standards to meet. God of War 3 lives up to expectations and sets THE standard for action adventure games.
Gameplay
The developers, Sony Computer Entertainment Santa Monica, took what was an already impressive gaming engine and refined it in every which way. The game play and controls from the first two games were already incredible and there was not much to be improved. As they say, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. Sony polished all of the elements that made the first two games exceptional, and provided new weapons, abilities, and a gripping story to keep players glued to the screen.
While I have played the first two and am familiar with Kratos’ move set, the controls and combo system are simple enough that even a newcomer to the series can begin this game and within minutes be unleashing devastating combos with Kratos’ blades. Tight controls were a staple in the first two games and that remains intact here. Whether you are leaping over chasms, ripping medusa’s head off in a killing sequence, or swinging off a Titan’s back you always feel in complete control of Kratos.
Well lets face it none of these two items are of any particular use to me.
There has not been a good monster movie in some time as well, and the wolfman or cloverfield really were not my cup of tea.
Well that is my comic for the week- next week expect much better art since the Olympic coverage has taken its stranglehold off my mind.
Meet Kratos!
Before I begin my first impressions from the God of War III Preview Event, I will inform you I have never actually played a God of War game.
The only vague recollection I have is when I watched my friend playing God Of War II on the Playstation2 one night for 10 minutes.
Also sadly, I don’t own a Playstation 3, but this is the type of game to make me seriously consider buying one.
From the moment I started playing the game there was blood everywhere- as a gamer that reminisces with the first time I played Mortal Kombat and how shocked I was at the violence – this is a definite plus for me. The controls for a first time GOWIII player were simple enough- I mashed the buttons and Kratos delivered a Baryshnikov style performance of dismemberment and mayhem. By button mashing and using my magic alone I was able to almost beat the giant crab horse thingy that I kept killing and just wouldn’t leave me alone but eventually my n00b luck ran out and I was treated to a screen that bluntly stated “You Are Dead” multiple times. (more…)
I know it is not entirely original, but I do like how it turned out.
I’m sure we’ve all been there!
For the most part, sequels of any medium, be they film, novel or video game, have a few important items to address on a checklist: better developed characters, a more enticing story, new locations, and most importantly, a sense of polish and completeness that the original, while perhaps something new and unique, was unable to be fully realized for any number of reasons.
Assassin’s Creed II manages to not only address all of these issues, but manages to throw out the entire list and make you wonder just how far the inevitable sequel will be able to go from this point.
Anyone familiar with the first Assassin’s Creed is aware of the ongoing war between the Assassins and the Templars. The story picks up immediately where the first game left off, with you starting out in the shoes of Desmond Miles. Luckily, this is quickly rectified, and you are whisked away to the Renaissance, landing in the middle of 15th century Italy. Immediately, the sense of history, structure and life that flows through the city streets is instantly believable, immersing you in the reality of the game world. Merchants sweep the walkways in front of their stores, businessmen walk the streets with an entourage in tow, all the while engaged in private conversations. Doctors and artists hawk their wares to the passing crowds, some of who even stop in for a quick peek before returning to their chore of the moment. The cities feel alive in a way that the first game lacked, and each character walking the streets is unique – very rarely will you see a repeat costume or face in the same block of cobblestone walkways.
What helps to bring these vistas to life is the fantastic musical score. From haunting melodies to angelic choirs, the music fits the scenery as well as the action throughout the entire world. Attempting to scale to the top of a church tower results in both an uplifting and equally haunting rise in the score, making the sequence feel scripted, even though you are in complete control of when and where you choose to start climbing, or even if you decided halfway up to perform a swan dive into a conveniently-placed ox-cart; and even then, the sound design doesn’t fail. Dive off a high enough ledge, and you hear the wind whistle past your ears, and your clothes begin to flutter faster and harder the longer you fall. It is this attention to detail that helps fully realize the world in which Ezio lives, and immerses you in a way that few other games have been able to do. (more…)
Another big-budget Hollywood blockbuster. Another tie-in video game. But this one has James Cameron’s name on the box, so it can’t be that bad, right?
To be fair, I had very low expectations for James Cameron’s Avatar – The Video Game. It immediately brought back horrific memories of playing through another movie tie-in videogame with a title as long as my forearm (Peter Jackson’s King Kong The Movie The Game). It has always amazed me that a videogame form of a film seems to need the suffix “The Game” tagged on to the end of the title, as if the general public wouldn’t be able to figure out that the product they are currently holding, which may say Xbox, PlayStation, or Nintendo on it, isn’t actually the film that’s currently in theatres, but a game based on said film. But I digress….
If you’re expecting any kind of spoilers about the movie from this game, you won’t find them. The game is set two years prior to the events of the film, and you play a forgettable character that really doesn’t matter. You have a wide range of choices at the start of the game as to your gender and race, but this has no affect on the rest of the game, as you soon become a nameless grunt stuck on both sides of the ensuing conflict on the planet of Pandora. The basic story is similar to that of the film in that the humans are on Pandora and the Na’vi don’t really appreciate them, but since this is a few years prior, things are a little less established, and the invading human force hasn’t set up such a large presence – at least, not yet.
Through the main arc of the game, you progress to fighting with the humans and then with the Na’vi, eventually allowing you to make moral choices as to which side of the conflict you feel more at home with. The problem with this is that the game makes it very hard to side with the technologically-inferior Na’vi, especially when you can pilot mech suits, use rocket launchers and flamethrowers when you’re human, and on the flipside use bows and arrows and command bees. Bees? Really? I think I know which side I’m going to be sticking with, thanks.
YAY! 25th comic!
Well this one was way overdue since it deals with the now canceled Tonight Show with Conan O Brien.
I wanted to do several Conan comics but instead chose to stick with this one. It’s sad but at the same time rather funny drawing comparisons from the finally of Metal Gear 3.
So Conan bows out respectfully and stays loyal to his fans and saves the Tonight Show brand.
I salute you Conan- can’t wait to see what you do next.
So I was watching a well known T.V show and they were doing a list of some of the most anticipated games for 2010.
As it turns out Batman Arkham Asylum 2 was on their list. If you have played the first title you would know the amount of hell Batman goes through and if I were Batman I would be just as surprised.
Oh how I loved the holidays! Yes! I am back!
Long overdue I suppose but better late than never.
So what has been happening? Well the gaming department at andpop is now a bit lonely since our Editor in Chief of Games Josh Salem embarked on his dream career. Josh now works for the Video Games Industry and we couldn’t be more proud and happy for him. We wish him all the best at his new exciting career! All the Best to you Josh!
So gaming wise expect our usual blogs and reviews to start up again. Also we have yet to announce a game of the year(seems like every game publication is doing just that) so I suppose myself and my fellow writers can blog about what we loved dearly this year.
Besides that I had a chance to sit back and finally play some long overdue titles. What kept me busy this holiday were Dragon Age: Origins, Tekken 6, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, and I got a long overdue chance to finally play a bit of Rune Factory Frontier. Nothing beats the deep freeze better than chilling at home with a good game or two.
So then I will go ahead and reveal the comic for the week.
I watch a lot of late night T.V and I love watching both Jay and Conan.
Recently however NBC is creating quite a buzz by canceling Leno and trying to mess with the time slots.
They keep talking about ratings and to be honest it doesn’t make much sense.
Heavy metal bands Killswitch Engage, Trivium, Opeth, Dream Theater and Taking Dawn will appear on an EP that will be released to promote the upcoming God Of War III video game, according to CHARTattack.com.
The EP, God Of War: Blood & Metal, will be released on March 2, 2010 through Roadrunner, and features five previously unreleased songs that were recorded exclusively for the album. The CD will be part of the God Of War III Ultimate Edition.
“I have played God Of War on PS3 and PSP,” said Killswitch Engage vocalist Howard Jones. “To be part of this game in any fashion is amazing.”
“Let the rivers flow red with blood there is vengeance to bestow,” he continued. “Bring me more new finishing blows to my enemies!”
