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Marvel offers over 700 free first issue digital comics, might involve great powers and responsibilities
Looking to revise the whys, hows and who's who of the Marvel universe? Well, the movie-spinning comic book company wants to help you out, offering hundreds of first issue editions across the company's entire history. The free digital editions will cover perennial favorites like Spider-Man, the X-Men and Avengers, as well as slightly less mainstream hits and spin-offs. The promotion kicked off yesterday and -- tying in with the company's presence at SXSW -- will run until 11PM ET on Tuesday. The titles can be downloaded through either Marvel's official comics app or its web-based digital comics shop, although it appears US readers are having more luck downloading the digital comics -- we're getting error messages when trying to access it elsewhere. Of course, if you've already signed up to Marvel's Unlimited subscription service, there might not much here to pull you in, but this limited-time offer is unashamedly courting new readers and comic dabblers. If that sounds like you, start hunting down those hundreds of freebies at the source.
Brushing up on Marvel Heroes' super-sized beta update
While we've had several occasions to check out Marvel Heroes' journey through the beta process, Gazillion Entertainment wanted us to know that our previous glimpses are now obsolete. The makers of this superhero action-RPG have implemented a major beta update that has virtually transformed the look, feel, and function of the game. We spoke with Gazillion about the update, which clearly is a major step toward a finalized release version. The most obvious change to Marvel Heroes is a revamp of its user interface. The UI has been streamlined and modernized, with a crisper look and more color overall. The placeholder minimap has been scrapped and replaced with a new radar that functions in perspective, a friends list is now in place, and new arrow icons float around the edges of your screen to direct you to nearby events. And since loot is quite vital to the appeal of the game, the devs made sure to color-code all of the icons so that telling item rarity is an instant and effortless process. There are a few more surprises that were announced today, so hit the jump and we'll walk you through them!
Spider-Man Blu-ray comes with a Second Screen app for iPad and Sony's Android tablets
Since no blockbuster movie in 2012 can have a home release without a second screen companion app for fans to dig through extra content while they watch, Sony has, naturally, announced one for The Amazing Spider-Man. Just like the only three movies to best its take at the box office this year (The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises and even The Hunger Games), Spider-Man's app syncs with the movie in a Timeline Mode that pulls up featurettes, storyboards and the like, while Production Mode lets users sift through the moviemaking process, then select particular clips to play on their TV. Unlike some of the others it is not only on iPad but also Android, however the press release indicates it's restricted to Sony's own Tablet S and Xperia Tablet S. Still, we were able to initiate the 500MB+ download and access it on non-Sony tablets including the Nexus 7 and an CyanogenMod HP TouchPad, so your mileage may vary. You can check out the apps for free at the links below, a preview trailer embedded after the break and snag the movie itself for $25 on Amazon, delivered November 9th.
The Amazing Spider-Man lands June 26
The Amazing Spider-Man, our friendly neighborhood foray into the world of movie tie-in gaming, will be released on June 26 for the 360, PS3, Wii, 3DS and DS, according to Game Informer. This is ahead of the film's theatrical debut on July 3, and seeing as the game serves as an addendum to the film, our initial reaction was to worry about potentially spoiling the ending of the movie ahead of its release.Spoilers. For The Amazing Spider-Man. While we reel in shame over the sheer stupidity of our own thoughts, check out the game's latest trailer above, courtesy of IGN's YouTube channel.
Sprint balloons its EVO 3D with three-dimensional titles and content providers
If you're looking to fully leverage the namesake feature of the EVO 3D, Sprint is doing its best to ensure you're not left wanting -- all while keeping your coin flowing its way. First, it's bundling HTC Watch and Blockbuster On Demand, which will offer 3D titles (alongside the 2D fare) and rental prices ranging between $3 and $4. Like we've seen in RadioShack's advert, the 3D version of The Green Hornet is pre-loaded on the phone's microSD card, and the Now Network is also bundling a demo of Ultimate Spider-Man: Total Mayhem 3D. If that whets your appetite for three-dimensional playtime (and you've still got expendable income), you might check out Assassin's Creed: Altair's Chronicles and GT Racing Motor Academy -- both $5 at launch in the pre-loaded Gameloft Storefront. For all the bloat they pile on, at least the stores bring decent eye candy. Hop the break for a (decidedly two-dimensional) press release.
Spider-Man reboot is being shot in RED EPIC 3D, has John Schwartzman all kinds of excited
You know that untitled Spider-man project that's set to revitalize the franchise at some point in 2012? Yeah, that's being shot in 3D (not news) using 3ality rigs and RED EPIC cameras (superhotawesome news). Peter Jackson already scooped up 30 EPICs to help him shoot his next big venture, The Hobbit, in 3D, but he's been beaten to the digital cinematography punch by the producers of the next Spidey flick, who have cornered a quartet of the cameras and actually started shooting with them on set yesterday. John Schwartzman, the dude responsible for filming the whole thing, has been extolling the virtues of using such fancy gear over on the RED forums, which is also where he promises his crew will be making further comments detailing the user experience. In slightly less thrilling RED news, the Scarlet S35 is being renamed to the EPIC Lite and will suffer the upheaval of having its features and price changed -- hit the links below for more. [Thanks, Anthony]
Little Spiderman uses vacuum cleaners to climb buildings, win the hearts of the ladies
The enterprising youngster you see above had a dream. A dream to become like his superhero, Spiderman, who isn't real. Nobody really believed him or thought his ideas about how to achieve his goals were very good, but, as you can see from the photo, he's got the last laugh. Hibiki Kono, using two cheap, 1,400 watt vacuum cleaners he bought at a grocery store to begin scaling walls of local buildings, and impressing all of his new friends. His mother's not that into him doing it in the house -- she's afraid he'll destroy the walls and ceiling -- but as you can see from the video below, the sight is pretty impressive.
Rumor: Sam Raimi's next project is the Warcraft movie
According to Ain't It Cool News, Sam Raimi's next project will be the Warcraft movie. This follows on yesterday's announcement that Spider-Man 4 is canceled, and that Raimi is done with the Spider-Man franchise. The Spider-Man movie series is going to undergo a reboot (yes, already) with entirely new cast and crew, which means Raimi is free to work on other projects. If AICN's sources are correct and Raimi is going to be working on the Warcraft movie next, this is great news for the movie. While it is probably still a few years away from release, the fact that he's focusing on it now is a good indication the project is moving forward in the right direction. AICN points out that with the success of Avatar the time is ripe for creating immersive virtual worlds, and you'd be hard pressed to find a more immersive world than Warcraft. Although lets all hope that the Warcraft movie doesn't become a cheap rip off of Avatar -- but with Raimi at the helm it's likely in safe hands.
Spider-Man 4 canceled; Warcraft movie soon?
Sam Raimi will no longer be directing Spider-Man 4, and neither will anyone else for that matter. Sony Pictures announced today that they are canning the current Spider-Man franchise and will be rebooting it in the summer of 2012 with an entirely new director, cast, and crew. Raimi's decision to withdraw from the project supposedly stems from the summer 2011 release date, and how it would compromise the creative integrity of the film. This all comes after news that complications in the Spider-Man 4 script threatened to delay the film. For Blizzard fans, this could mean that Raimi is now free to shift his focus to the World of Warcraft movie. However, Mike Fleming of Deadline Hollywood cites an alternative project option to the Azerothian epic, The Given Day, a novel written by Dennis Lehane, author of Shutter Island and Mystic River. No official announcements from Raimi or Blizzard yet, however Fleming is a very reliable source for rumors in Hollywood. [Thanks to everyone for the tips!]
Spider-Man 4 delayed, possibly impacting Warcraft movie
The latest buzz out of Hollywood is that the fourth installment of the Spider-Man movie franchise has hit a snag. Director Sam Raimi is apparently in the midst of some major creative differences with Sony Pictures executives over the script and the villain lineup. A little bit of drama in Hollywood is nothing new, of course, but in this case its become bad enough to delay the movie, with the May 6th, 2011 release date now in serious doubt.
Crapgadget: Tacky USB knicknacks edition
When the fine folks of the USB Implementers Forum put together the specs for USB 2.0 some nine odd years ago, they certainly never dreamed that this technology would be the standard connectivity option for the tacky knickknacks of the 21st century. We know you won't be lining your mantelpiece with any of these things (the space being reserved for your Franklin Mint collector plates depicting the cast of Gone With The Wind) but maybe your cube could use some gussying up? We have 2GB thumb drives for you that almost-not-really pass themselves off as cat's ears, a USB hub that comes with "chocolate" balls of dubious provenance, a hub that might look at home next to your skull bong, and lastly, a USB powered fan with a fetching Spider-Man motif. Do any of these sound good to you? We didn't think so. But feel free to hop on past the break for a good laugh.Read - USB Chocolate 3-Port Hub Read - USB Memory Cat Ears Read - Wacky Skull and Potato Polyresin USB HubsRead - USB Spider-Man Fan
Crapgadget: Why are you doing this to us, Spider-phone?
We can't tell if this is an insane piece of crap or completely awesome. Spider-phone appears to be a new item, albeit pretty far behind the Spider-man product curve -- but, you know -- whatever. Regardless, it's got all the hallmarks of a finely crafted attempt to cash in on Peter Parker's alter ego... the webs, the webs, not to mention the fact that Tobey Maguire's on the box! This rad GSM piece boasts a 2 megapixel camera, a microSD slot, and a color swivel display. It's available in Hong Kong for HK$1180 (about US$152). Up next: a NewGoblin-phone with Franco napping on the box? We sure hope so! Check out a few more shots after the break.
WoW Moviewatch: Flekz Fire PvP 5
PvP movies aren't the normal trade of WoW Moviewatch, but we do occasionally see PvP movies that we want to mention. It's good to be aware of the variety out there, and maybe each genre can learn a little something from one another. Flekz from Eredar (EU) created Fleks Fire PvP 5 as a movie mostly about, you got it, his fire mage doing stuff in PvP. But there' are a few things in this that I want to point out as being special and interesting.First, the entire movie is basically framed as if it were a comic book. I like when PvP movie-makers take a little extra time to try and present the action in a new and interesting way. Insane Gouge Crits did something similar a few weeks ago, and I'm definitely interested to see where this trend will go. Dialogue in speech bubbles, framed shots, and even the opening magazine cover reinforce the 4-color world of Fleks.Second, Flekz puts effort into being playful with the movie. Odd cuts and angles frame scenes in a jaunty kind of way. (Do I lose points for using the word 'jaunty'?) It refers to Flekz as 'our hero,' reminiscent of other web-slinging comic books that play with 4th wall awareness. Lastly, I'll admit, the rock-and-roll won me over. Anything that starts out with a good, old Iron Maiden tune definitely scores in my book.If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.Previously on Moviewatch ..
Sam Raimi thinks a Warcraft movie has potential
The hottest topic that didn't get discussed at BlizzCon this year was the WoW movie -- last year, we had a whole panel dedicated to how it was going, but this year, all we got was a vague mention that it's still being worked on. Still, the biggest question that hangs in the air is just who might direct it, and we've got our first rumor: Sam Raimi, he of Spiderman and The Evil Dead series. He's not exactly hired yet, but he is quoted by MTV Movies as being interested in the Warcraft story and universe.He's got my greenlight -- I don't know how good a movie it would be (Spiderman 3 is proof that Raimi, quirky as he is, can go off the rails at times), but any movie with Bruce Campbell in it works for me. And you know we'd get at least a cameo if Raimi took the helm. But at the very least, it sounds like Raimi has the right ideas to get a Warcraft movie together: "It has such great, adventurous characters in it," he says, "and such fantastic landscapes and rules."If you're going to start looking for directors, you could definitely do a lot worse. At least we know Uwe Boll will never direct it.Thanks to everyone who sent this in!
Activision: Intellisponse leaks were only "concepts"
Eurogamer has received an official response from Activision about the metric ton of information that leaked from the Intellisponse market research company earlier this week. In this leaked information, several Activision products were mentioned, including a new Tony Hawk title and lots of Spider-Man titles (14 of 'em!). "We regularly test all kinds of game concepts and pricing strategies using market research," stated Activision, "All of which are options whose outcomes are yet to be determined." In other words, don't expect to see all the games mentioned actually come to fruition. Besides, we're pretty sure that even Activision isn't developing 14 new Spider-Man games. Now, 14 new Guitar Hero games, that we would believe.
The Ultimate Alliance forms again in 2009
Fans of the latest Marvel dungeon crawler, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, know that a sequel to your beloved game is inbound, however it's going to take a bit longer than you might like. You see, the sequel to the first game isn't going to be on shelves until next year. Here, cry on our shoulder. Go ahead, let it all out!Our cruel overlords at Joystiq seem to think that the new Spider-Man: Web of Shadows game could have something to do with the delay. As for us, well, we're not complaining if the time is put to good use. The first game was a boatload of fun, so we hope the sequel is just as good, if not better.[Via Joystiq]
Spider-Man: Web of Shadows coming to Wii
Keep in mind, this is not the Wii versionTake note, webheads: a new Spidey game is being made for the Wii (along with those other systems nobody cares about). It's called Spider-Man: Web of Shadows and will once again feature the tried-and-true sandbox mechanic of a fully-explorable New York City. Other than that, we know that the game is being worked on by Treyarch and Shaba Games and will feature some kind of system that allows for customizable superpowers. Also, players will have some control in determining whether they want to be the boyscout do-gooder or a more selfish anti-hero type.Perhaps even cooler than the news of there being a new game is word that Activision will be holding auditions for folks to do the voiceover work in the game at their booth at the upcoming New York Comic-Con. The winner will be determined by open voting, which will go down at the game's official website here.
GDC08: An evening with Will Wright minus friends (video)
I applied for, and received an invitation to 'An Evening with Will Wright and Friends', held in Mezzanine, a swanky club in San Francisco's SOMA district on Thursday evening. I didn't know what exactly to expect, but I knew two things: 1) It wasn't going to be about Spore, and 2) It was Will Freaking Wright. How did I know Spore wasn't on the offering? 'Cause we're all kind of Spore'd out, aren't we?I was right about the lack of Spore, but was pleasantly surprised and gratified to hear Will speak on a variety of topics -- James Bond, cosmonauts, Gilligan's Island as the predecessor of Neil Gaiman's The Sandman comics, Godzilla, Care Bears, Lost, Walt Disney, Battlestar Galactica, Spiderman, and Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance -- before finally wrapping it all up with the observation that the stories that resonate with us are deconstructible; we can reduce them to components, and using those components, build our own stories. Finally, accepting questions from the audience, I asked him what advice he'd give NASA as they create their MMO. His friends never showed up, but man, Will Wright is always worth a listen. He knows his stuff so well and is such a wonderful speaker ... check out the video I shot after the break, and you'll see what I mean.
Nokia's N95 8GB released with a Spider-Man 3 surprise
Nokia's N95 8GB super-chunk is out for global(ish) distribution today. N95 fans can now take home the larger storage and slightly bigger 2.8-inch (240 x 320) display in addition to the HSDPA, WiFi, A-GPS, and 5 megapixel camera already found in Nokia's existing flagship "multimedia computer." To celebrate the launch, Nokia is pre-loading Spider-Man 3 for Europe and select Middle Eastern and Africa countries. The tie-in? Wait for it... "The Movie sees Spider-Man's suit turn jet-black and enhance his powers and, in its latest incarnation, the Nokia N95 has undergone a similar transformation to emerge as the Nokia N95 8GB." Riiight. Hitting retail today for €560 (about $794) pre-tax and pre-carrier subsidy. Read -- N95 8GB says "Ship Me!" Read -- Spiderman 3 bundle
Months late, Spider-Man 3 goes to PSP with new content
Remember that Spider-Man 3 movie that came out a few months ago? Remember how every single platform received a game to coincide with the movie's launch? Well, except one. Sony's very own PSP. Months late, the Spider-Man 3 video game is finally ready to release on the PSP, and it includes a few extras for those that were foolhardy patient enough to wait.Noted as the "first fully-streaming Spider-Man environment for the PSP system," the game now adds an exclusive Conquest mode, where players must complete mission by dawn. If successful, players will earn Hero Points, which allow them to upgrade and customize their Spider-Man skills.The game is supposedly heading to retailers today, albeit amazon.com lists next week as the release date. Honestly, if you've been waiting this long, another week isn't seemingly going to make much of a difference, huh?
