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Warner Bros. will use AI to help make decisions on movie releases
AI is about to play more of a role in the movie-making process. Warner Bros. Pictures has unveiled plans to use Cinelytic's AI project management system to assist in making decisions on movies during the "greenlight process." No, it won't have the final say on whether or not a movie goes forward. Rather, this will help the studio predict a movie's revenue, gauge the value of stars and determine when a title should premiere. Studio execs would ultimately have the final say, but the AI could help determine whether a movie is treated as a summer blockbuster or early-in-the-year filler material.
'Mad Max' the game has crazy cars, murder and a story
The "Savage Road" story trailer suggests that there's a deeper tale behind all of the desert-drenched road rage and creative killing in the Mad Max video game. Apparently, that story is about a dude looking for a car, finding a car, kissing a lady and then destroying all of the evil men he can reach on four wheels. It's a slightly different narrative than the one in this year's film, Mad Max: Fury Road, and plot isn't the only way these two products diverge. We played a portion of Mad Max last week and found it to be fun as a car game but lacking in intrigue as a brawler: "In its translation to an open-world video game, Mad Max: Fury Road's unique charm's been traded in for monotony." Still, a video full of rampaging, spiky vehicles and bloodthirsty desert overlords gets our blood pumping every time. Watch the story trailer below. Mad Max is due on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC on September 1st, with pre-orders open now.
'Mortal Kombat X' ups the fright factor with Jason Voorhees
Round 1, FRIGHT! Jason Voorhees, the hockey-masked murderer from the classic Friday the 13th horror films, will be a playable character in Mortal Kombat X. Jason joins the fight as part of the Kombat Pack DLC pass, which includes four playable characters (including Jason), plus the Samurai Pack with three character skins: Ronin Kenshi, Samurai Shinnok and Jingu Kitana. The Kombat Pack is $30, though in the Americas it comes packed in with more expensive, special editions of the game -- The Kollector's Edition is $150, the Limited Edition is $100 and Premium is $90. Mortal Kombat X launches on April 14 for PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4; the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions have been delayed until summer. Sharpen your fighting skills (and your machete collection), and check out the Mortal Kombat X Jason teaser below.
Watch Marshawn Lynch play Mortal Kombat X, say more than 7 words
Yes, this Conan O'Brien "Clueless Gamer" bit features Mortal Kombat X (which, by the by, Ermac was just confirmed for). More importantly, we now know that sportsballer-of-few-words Marshawn Lynch likes to play Toad in Mario Kart, while Rob Gronkowski is all about the Bowser. For several reasons that shouldn't need elaboration, this video is possibly NSFW. [Image: WB]
Dying Light launch trailer shows catastrophe on a hot tin roof
Dead Island creator Techland is once again chucking a ton of undead at your face, but this time you have to freerun from them. "Go anywhere, climb anything," but try to stay alive, eh? Dying Light is available now on Steam for $60, with physical copies also out today in North and South America for PS4, Xbox One and PC. In Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Australia and Africa you' can download it tomorrow, January 28, while disc versions are due on February 27. Slide below the break to check out the launch trailer, and when you're done with that, clamber over to the recent Joystiq Streams expedition through Techland's open world.
Avoid a wild hunt for Witcher 2, grab it via Games with Gold now
Just a quick reminder: The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings - Enhanced Edition is available now as a freebie for Xbox Live Gold subscribers, thanks to the Games with Gold program. As long as you're a Gold member you can download the dark fantasy RPG at no extra cost, and it's yours to keep even if your Gold subscription runs out. Don't forget, you have until January 31 to grab The Witcher 2 while it's hot and, more importantly, free. The Enhanced Edition of Witcher 2 features the slew of content added to the original PC game, and it's a complete enough way to get bewitchin' ahead of one of 2015's major new releases, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Geralt of Rivia's third game hits Xbox One, PS4 and PC on May 19. For more on The Witcher 2 of Xbox 360, check out Ludwig of Joystiq's deja review. [Image: Sony]
Joystiq Top 10 of 2014: Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
ATTENTION: The year 2014 has concluded its temporal self-destruct sequence. If you are among the escapees, please join us in salvaging and preserving the best games from the irradiated chrono-debris. One game to rule them all, one game to find them; one game to bring them all and in the darkness bind them. Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor brilliantly defies so much of its own definition – it's a game based on a movie franchise based on a beloved series of books, a description that is normally worthy of a grimace and a passing glance. Instead, Shadow of Mordor is not only a truly excellent fantasy-action game, it introduces an innovative and playful enemy-character system that is sure to be replicated in the industry for years to come.
Ka-pow the 3 Arkhams for $10
Bundle Stars has a zlonking deal going on: $10 for three Arkham games on Windows PC. That's the extras-stuffed Game of the Year editions of Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City, while Batman: Arkham Origins comes with the season pass and the Black Mask and Online Supply Drop DLC. In other words, it's as tight with value as Adam West's Batsuit. (Sorry, Blackgate fans, it's not included)
Infinite Crisis dredges up Swamp Thing
Swamp Thing, you make my heart sing! You make everything groovy... especially when you show up to stomp evildoers with the power of peat. Coming to Infinite Crisis on December 17th, Swamp Thing will be the newest super-powered character in the game. According to his description, "Swamp Thing can endure tremendous damage and is capable of complete regeneration. He also has control over plant life, and can command it to do his bidding." We've got a video preview of Mr. Thing after the break, so check it out and then hug a tree afterward so that you'll end up on his good side. [Source: Turbine press release]
Turbine holds an Infinite Crisis tournament against itself
Have you ever wondered what developers do in their spare time? Apparently, they cook up crazy schemes like hosting an inter-office tournament and then broadcasting it to the world. This tournament is called DEvember and comes to you courtesy of Turbine Entertainment. Starting on December 2nd and continuing through the 18th, the tournament will feature several rounds of 1v1 Infinite Crisis action starring 32 employees spanning all of the studio's teams. Other than being entertained by devs beating up each other, players can benefit from the tournament by winning prizes via guessing who will win. Our money is on Rock Star Wonder Woman™.
Warner Bros. plans more layoffs through early 2015
The rocky situation for Warner Bros. is far from over. Game Informer is reporting that the conglomerate is planning more layoffs through "most business groups" starting this week and going through early 2015. Variety says that up to 1,000 employees from TV, film, and other divisions will be let go from the cuts. This report stems from a staff memo that discusses this internal, company-wide restructuring. While Turbine was not specifically mentioned, there is concern following the recent bout of layoffs that hit the Lord of the Rings Online developer.
Infinite Crisis reveals creepy alien starfish Starro
Crowd-control fans, listen up: Turbine MOBA Infinite Crisis has today announced Starro, a new playable controller champion going live on November 5th. For those not up on their DC lore, the short version is "creepy alien starfish." Long version? Starro is a Star Conqueror. These nomadic and parasitic creatures roam the cosmos in two forms: motherstars and parasites. Motherstars are sentient, while parasites are extensions of the motherstar's consciousness. A parasite attaches itself to other sentient creatures, allowing the motherstar to control that creature's mind. Once controlled, the victims work toward growing more motherstars to go out and bring universal harmony to other planets-by conquering them. Little did the Star Conqueror who came to be known as Starro know how difficult carrying that plan out on Earth would be! Starro has little concern for what happens to the individuals it controls. They're a tiny part of the whole. When Starro speaks to creatures it doesn't control, it does so telepathically, urging them to join in universal harmony. We've got some pics and a video below to finish out Starro's reveal.
Uruk betrayal times 19 in Shadow of Mordor video
Some days, you just need to hear an army of Uruk that all sound like teeny-tiny, English-speaking mice. Other days, it's nice to see the well-orchestrated on-screen betrayal and slaughter of those same Uruk. Today, you get both of these things.
Infinite Crisis reveals Stargirl, complete with pink stars
Turbine has today previewed Infinite Crisis' latest playable MOBA hero, the youthful Stargirl, who fell into her sidekick role after discovering and donning her stepfather's old costume. In her heroic form, she's a blaster who wields a glowing staff to damage and crowd control enemies. Her skills include a cutesy buff called Family Heirlooms and a even-more-cutesy nuke that beams pink stars at her enemies; her ultimate, however, is a powerful nuke, slow, debuff, and shield all in one. Stargirl goes live on October 15th. We've included new screenies and her intro video below.
Infinite Crisis recruits Nightmare Robin and Atomic Joker
An absolutely massive update for Infinite Crisis has landed, boasting over 6,000 changes and tweaks, not to mention the addition of a pair of new champions: Nightmare Robin and Atomic Joker. Nightmare Robin is actually Bruce Wayne's son Damian, who got infected with the vampiric curse and is a little miffed at being one of the undead. At least he has two large knives and a lot of bleeding-edge training to compensate. Atomic Joker is a bit more lighthearted, what with being a head in a jar who is trying to rebuild civilization in his image. The September release overhauled the launcher, improved the new player experience, polished many of the map visuals, tweaked animations, and added a Crime Alley map where champions can test out skills against the computer. You can check out Atomic Joker and Nightmare Robin in the gallery below and in the videos after the break.
Is Turbine developing an MMO for mobile devices?
No. Yes. Maybe? We're going to level with you, dear readers: We frequently have no idea what Turbine Entertainment is doing. We had no idea the studio was going to bring back Asheron's Call 2, for example, and our bets about Infinite Crisis were way off. So when we say that the company might be developing an MMO, well, it's a shot in the dark, but there's reason to suspect this might be happening. The studio is looking for both a Senior Mobile Engineer (that is, an engineer experienced with mobile engineering, not an engineer who is both a senior and mobile) and a new Art Director, both of which seem to imply that the studio is developing something completely new rather than a mobile port. Or maybe it's baseless speculation. Who knows?
Lego Batman 3 PS3 bundle out in na-na-na-na-na-November
Sony's hoping for a few more PS3 sales with a new Lego Batman 3 and The Sly Collection bundle that's coming to North America's retail shelves on November 11. Like other recent bundles involving the 500GB Slim PS3, it's $270 for the console, the dynamic duo of games and all the usual extras. As for the games themselves, The Sly Collection features HD remasters of the three PS2 entries in the stealth platforming series, namely Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus, Sly 2: Band of Thieves and Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves. That's already out in stores, while Lego Batman 3 hits alongside the bundle on November 11, packing more than 150 DC Comics characters into its blocky escapades. They include Superman, Flash, the Green Lantern, and most importantly of all, Adam West, who isn't a DC Comics character (but kind of is at this point.) [Image: Sony]
Kano gets the green light for Mortal Kombat X
The cybernetically charged Kano is the latest combatant to be revealed for Mortal Kombat X, courtesy of a brand new trailer. As creative director Ed Boon explains, Kano's three fighting styles are the slice-and-dicing Cutthroat, the Cybernetic style complete with eye laser, and finally the more close-quarters, counter-based Commando. Helpfully, the three fighting styles are denoted by the color of Kano's glowing cybernetic heart - the things they can do with cybernetic hearts these days. Kano joins Scorpion, Raiden and Sub-Zero on the returning side, while new characters include insect woman D'vorah, the disturbing two-in-one amalgamation Ferra/Torr, chest-baring Aztec god Kotal Kahn, and relative newcomer Cassie Cage. Expect more info and characters to gradually trickle out between now and Mortal Kombat X hitting PS4, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS3 and PC sometime next year. [Image: Warner Bros.]
Holy cameo, Batman: Adam West as himself in Lego Batman 3
The official Lego Batman Twitter accounted posted the above image this week, while the San Diego Comic Con Lego Batman 3 panel features one Adam West as a special guest star. Furthermore, the Lego Batman account retweeted this mysterious message from the user @warhev: "Adam West plays himself in Lego Batman 3?! Day one purchase, lol!" But what could this riddle mean...? Lego Batman 3... if you take the L away from Lego, you get ego... or "I." I Batman 3... or, maybe... I'm Batman No. 3. The third Batman... would be Adam West. Ergo, Adam West must play himself in Lego Batman 3! Quick, to the Joymobile! Is the TV show's superheroic actor truly in Traveller's Tales' new Lego adventure? Find out this fall on all bat-channels, namely Xbox 360, Xbox One, Vita, PS3, PS4, PC, Wii U and 3DS. [Image: Warner Bros.]
Shadow of Mordor forms a fellowship of gaming's acting talent
Warner Bros. revealed Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor brings together an array of gaming's most famous voices, including Troy Baker, Nolan North and Laura Bailey. Baker, who's featured in lead parts for The Last of Us, BioShock: Infinite and Infamous: Second Son, stars in the Lord of the Rings adventure as player character Talion. WB also unveiled veteran TV, film and game composer Garry Schyman as the man behind the game's music, following his award-winning score for BioShock: Infinite.
