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Hulu announces two new Marvel shows including 'Ghost Rider'
Under an expanded deal with Marvel (which is under the wing of its majority owner Disney), Hulu has announced Ghost Rider and Helstrom shows, both of which are set to debut next year. They join other Marvel series including Runaways and several upcoming animated shows on the platform.
Daily iPhone App: Marvel Pinball is a great app hindered by a bad model
Zen Studios is very well known for their pinball titles, which all feature great graphics, well-made themes, and excellent pinball table mechanics. Just today, Zen has brought their very popular Marvel Pinball game to iOS, and you can now download the app itself for 99 cents. Unfortunately, that price is a strange one -- all it will get you is one Avengers-based table, which is interesting enough, with its various Avengers-style pinballs that you can send out into battle as you play for points against Loki. But there are 14 other tables to play with, and all of them need an in-app purchase of $1.99 each. That's it -- there's no way to earn or unlock tables from within the game itself, which is a missed opportunity at the very least. Charging users 99 cents to download the app for one table in this case just seems like charging for a free trial, unfortunately, and I wouldn't be too surprised if the app goes free very soon anyway. The good news is that the pinball mechanics are great, and Zen Studios obviously knows how to make a great pinball-based video game (I especially like the "free look" mode, which allows you to browse around a table just by tilting your device from side to side). But the pricing model here is very flawed and uninviting. If you're a pinball fan, you might think about downloading the app for the Avengers table, and then maybe buying one or two that you like (each table has a trailer and a features list, though you can't play on them to even try them out before you spend the money). For everyone else, Zen Studios has done a big misstep here by hiding their great content behind an awkward pay wall. They should have considered a better way to do this.
ITT unveils GhostRider encryption device capable of securing US Army smartphones
That may look like a Motorola Atrix Dell Venue, but it's actually something known as the GhostRider -- a new encryption device that could go a long way toward securing the Army's smartphones. Developed by defense company ITT, this revamped handset would allow military personnel to transmit secure text messages and phone calls over the Army's network, even if they're out on the battlefield. All they'd have to do is place their personal phones next to the GhostRider, tap and hold its touchscreen to activate the security features and begin texting away. When another GhostRider user receives an SMS, he or she would have to enter a pass code before reading it. The phone's security mechanisms, meanwhile, have been certified by the cryptographers at the NSA, which would certainly help justify its $1,500 price tag. The handset's display, meanwhile, looks awfully similar to the Army's Nett Warrior platform -- an Android-based OS that features a host of mapping functions designed explicitly for war zones. Officials unveiled the latest incarnation of Nett Warrior at the recent Association of the US Army gala in DC, though the platform's creators are still looking for the appropriate commercial device to host it -- unless, of course, GhostRider's software replaces it altogether. "We think Nett Warrior should be something like this," ITT vice president Richard Takahashi told Wired. "This can be the smart device." March past the break for more information, in ITT's jargon-laced PR. Update: Thanks to readers who spotted it's a Venue rather than an Atrix. Our eyes must have been temporarily scrambled by the enemy. Just to be clear -- it's not the handset that's different, only the peripheral.
Blu-ray movie releases for the week of June 11
This week's Blu-ray movie release list isn't the sexiest thing ever but looks like it has some solid choices. Headlining the pack is the so-bad-its-good comic movie, Ghost Rider, starring a way way too old Nicholas Cage. This title has been fairly highly anticipated amongst the more hardcore videophiles hoping for a pristine visual feast to use as a reference disc. Early reviews of the Blu-ray title have been highly positive when it comes to the visual and audio quality but have been less glowing when it comes to the movie itself. Here's the full list of titles coming out this week: Ghost Rider Cruel Intentions Seven Years in Tibet Primeval Music and Lyrics Blood and Chocolate Daddy's Little Girls Anything pique your fancy? Next week is gonna be a lean one with only a single title coming out (Bridge to Terabitha), so stock up on new releases now -- before it's too late!
Sony exec breaks out big ideas in inaugural D.I.C.E. keynote
Convergence. Yeah, it's one of our favorite buzzwords too! However, when a well-positioned industry vet like Sony executive Yair Landau starts tossing it around, talking about blurring production lines between video games and movies, we take notice. Delivering the D.I.C.E. Summit's first ever keynote last night, as reported by GameSpot, Landau cited Sony Pictures' upcoming Ghost Rider movie as an example of a project that "combined all the specialties" of Sony Pictures Entertainment.Of course, the official movie-based game is being handled by 2K Games, so we're not quite all the way on convergence, but we get the idea. But the idea isn't new (or else it wouldn't be a very good buzzword, would it?). At last year's GDC, LucasArts and ILM delivered a case study on the convergence of games and film, detailing how they planned to leverage the unique skills of both divisions, with the next Indiana Jones being the first product of that collaboration. Maybe Sony will try something with that spy MMO Landau finished with ... but Activision's got Bond all tied up.
Unearthed: Neversoft's lost Ghost Rider game
Long before they dominated the world with the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series and even before they proved that games based on comic books didn't have to suck something awful with Spider-Man, Neversoft toiled away at an adaptation of Ghost Rider. While the game never saw release, much less got into its first, legitimate step in development, Playstation Museum has received an ancient demo of the game. The results? A shame to behold.While 2K Game's Ghost Rider movie tie-in effort looks to be a God of War clone, Neversoft's take was a 2-D platformer in the vein of Castlevania. Presumably canned for being so, would-be publisher Crystal Dynamics passed it up for not sporting that extra third dimension. Judging from the recorded footage (embedded after the break), it only needed more in the way of time than anything else.
Ghost Rider, the flaming skull guy previewed
Could Ghost Rider be God of War with a comic license pasted on top? It's unlikely, but it sure would be amazing if Ghost Rider had even half the game of Kratos. While IGN's current preview does go over some of the game's features, it gives very little opinion on the title's quality. Here are some tidbits from the preview for those interested in Ghost Rider: Ghost Rider has light or heavy attacks he can use to create combos Once an enemy is injured enough, a variety of finishing moves can be used to defeat them Some levels involve riding the Hell Cycle The game has five chapters Between chapters there will be comic book style cut-scenes There will be cameos from other Marvel characters like Lilith and Scarecrow PSP owners will of course get exclusive content like multiplayer via adhoc for up to 4 players To read the preview in full, check out IGN.
