battlestar galactica
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Battlestar Galactica game bound for XBLA, PC
The Hollywood Reporter, uh, reports that a new partnership between NBC Universal and Vivendi's Sierra Online division will yield a digitally distributed Battlestar Galactica game. The space shooter (you know, a shooter ... but in space) is expected to be completed this fall, after which it will be promptly shot in the head to initiate the download onto your PC or your Xbox 360. Australia-based Auran Games has been named as the developer, though its history of railroad simulations makes it hard to gauge whether it'll be able to do the modern television series justice. Can anyone? "We wanted to bring a more intense combat experience to gamers," explains NBC Universal's Bill Kispert. "From a story standpoint, fans will be able to relive key battles from the first two seasons of the show, and then we'll add new content and missions outside of that." The overarching plan is to continuously inject new challenges into the game, much in line with the episodic nature of the show itself. Kispert (who sounds more like a snack than a Cylon) also notes that Sierra Online has paid a visit to the show's sets and hopes to incorporate everything from sound effects to pilot chatter.Given the fracking hole currently residing in the spot where the space sim genre used to be, we're eminently open to the idea of piloting Vipers and Cylon Raiders in an all-out, Xbox Live dogfight. Let's just hope nobody at Sierra Online makes the obvious, in-game advertising connection. "Thanks for saving my six, Starbucks! I can always count on your finely roasted skills." (We spent nine hours developing that joke. FACT.)[Via CVG]
Today's mashiest game video: Battlestar meets Warcraft
If you were to take the opening sequence of Battlestar Galactica and make your own version of it with World of Warcraft in-game machinima, well then you'd have today's video. If they could pull off a Battlestar MMORPG, we'd be in there all day long, even if the subscription fee was $29.99 a month. There'd have to be enough copies of Number Six to go around, right?An enterprising fan of both put this together proving once more that the world does indeed have a lot of extra time on its hands. The Egyptians built the pyramids, and we make wacky videos for the web. Check out the mashup after the jump and join us in trying to patiently wait for the next episode to come out.
WoW Moviewatch: And they have a plan
I'm not sure if anyone has come up with a name for this video form yet. It's analogous to a cover in music, where one artist or group will play a song by another. Here, Nyteshade has taken the opening sequence from Battlestar Galactica and redone it, casting various mechanicals, from Gnomeregan and elsewhere, as the Cylons. It's quite well done; I especially like the fast cuts that start around 1:12. [via Metroblogging Azeroth]Previously on Moviewatch
It's the Great Robotic Overlords, Charlie Brown: make a Cylon jack-o-lantern
Charlie would be better off trying to kick that football than tracking down this jack-o-lantern. The guys at Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories put their l33t stenciling, carving and LED wiring skills into this Cylon Centurion née pumpkin, and naturally posted all the info necessary to create your own. This stacks up pretty well against the pumpkin PC and even the Engadget pumpkin. But for truly evil and mad status, we'd prefer a fruit-based rendering of Number Six, destined to be destroyed October 31st by Starbuck Power Mac -- only to download, re-emerge next Halloween and continue its plan of human genocide through sweet, pie-based deliciousness. Frak. [Via Make]
Battlestar Galactica moving to network television? NBC says no
The rumor going around has been that NBC is considering moving Sci-Fi network smash hit Battlestar Galactica to the big leagues. A lot of us here like the series and would love to be able to watch the episodes in HD when they originally air...instead of much later in reruns on Universal HD as is currently the case. Why great high definition programming is left to sit around when there's a huge audience for it is a mystery to us. Unfortunately, NBC told TV Squad there's no merit to the BSG rumors, but we can still hope, right?[Via TV Squad]
The case of the missing shows in the iTunes Store
If you think that Mac geeks are a a vocal group, you haven't met any SciFi geeks (a group of which I easily fall into). This Friday was the highly anticipated season premiere of Battlestar Galactica's 3rd season. As you know, BSG is available on the iTunes Store, however, 3 days after the premier there is no sign of the 3rd season opener on iTunes.This isn't the first we have heard of major lag time between a show airing on TV and then becoming available on the iTunes Store. Apple, if you want people to buy these shows you really need to post them in a timely fashion (a few hours after the show is on TV would be great, immediately after the airing would be even better though harder to do thanks to time zones).Anyone else noticing that their favorite shows are taking awhile to become available for download?Oh, and the BSG episode in question was awesome.Thanks, Quix.
Bringing It Home content, 9/25
Well folks, TGS is over, finished, kaput. As such, it seem only fitting that today's content is more oriented towards western audiences -- note also that there is no Japan exclusive content today. Here's the sweet sweet candy: Battlestations Midway trailer Eragon trailer Import Tuner Challenge trailer Need for Speed Carbon trailer The Darkness trailer Mass Effect Picture Pack (free!) Battlestar Galactica (United States) TGS Showfloor video 3 video F.E.A.R. demo We discussed the F.E.A.R. demo earlier: if you played the OXM demo, there's nothing new. With all this content, it may be time to start clearing out some of that old E3 stuff. Meanwhile, X06 inches ever closer. So, everybody make some room, download each and every one of these trailers, watch them, and then come back here and discuss them. Discuss them, I say!
Battlestar Galactica on Xbox Live: Not HD, not widescreen, not at all satisfying
The recap episode of Battlestar Galactica was posted on Xbox Live Marketplace yesterday and we regret to inform you it was not high definition. We're not entirely surprised at the resolution, a 720p-encoded file would have been a long download, not to mention the Xbox 360's smallish 20GB hard drive. Unfortunately it gets worse, the presentation was in widescreen, but with included bars at the top and bottom as though it were intended only for 4x3 SDTVs. Why they opted for a version that looks like it was taped off of Sci-fi network onto someone's VHS we will never know, but with the artifacting and low quality of the file we cannot recommend this to anyone in good faith. Hopefully they will do better when the episode is aired on Universal HD in September and it will be presented natively in widescreen. Oddly, despite the low quality of this file, you can download two HD clips of upcoming kids show Viva Piñata that look fantastic; hopefully future downloads will follow their lead instead of the quick and dirty approach apparently used on BSG.[Via Xbox 360 Fanboy]
Play catch up with Battlestar Galactica on the 360
As we reported earlier this month, the Sci-Fi Channel offering Battlestar Galactica: The Story So Far is now up for download -- for free -- on Xbox Live Marketplace. The good news? It comes to us a lot earlier then what was anticipated.The bad news? Well, according to some commenters on Major Nelson's blog, the download is only available to fans who reside in the United States. The other bad news? It's in standard definition. We say boo to you Microsoft. While the idea of a downloadable TV feature such as this is a giant leap in a positive direction, we high-def cronies demand that our content always be available in HD quality. Oh well, at least it's free.
Battlestar Galactica recap episode coming to UHD, Xbox Live Marketplace
BSG fans get ready, before the third season of Sci-Fi's series kicks off this fall, they will be following the trend of cable shows airing on network television as a recap episode The Story So Far will air on NBC's West Coast affiliates and Universal HD later this month and throughout September. The episode, covering the key events of the first two seasons of Battlestar Galactica, will also be distributed on a bonus DVD at Best Buy, and via iTunes and Xbox Live. It has been confirmed that the Xbox Live download will come in mid-september, free of charge, however they haven't commented on the size or whether it will be available in HD resolution. Either way, it looks like we'll be clearing some space off the 20GB hard drive and getting on the digital distribution bandwagon shortly.[via Joystiq]
Battlestar Galactica flying onto Xbox Live [update 1]
We know a lot of you out there love you some Battlestar Galactica. Nay we say it's the best show on television? You better frakkin' believe it! Well get ready for more of the Sci-Fi Channel's hit series as it prepares for a PR offensive that includes the "first longform program ever to be offered" on Xbox Live Marketplace, according to GameSpot.The content being offered up, titled The Story So Far, is in preparation for the third season of Battlestar and more or less sums up everything that has happened in the series. There was no concrete date set (but the new season starts in October) or price. We can only hope because it is basically an advertisement, that the content will be free. If it is, we'd say this is a good sign of varying entertainment options being made available to the 360 and Xbox Live.[Update: NBC Universal reps told GameSpot that the Battlestar Galactica episode would be free of charge and available in mid-September. The rep was unclear as to the size of the download.]
Chris Grant co-host on Gaming Steve podcast
Joystiq's very own Christopher Grant is not only posting from the 2006 Game Developers Conference, he's also starring in a podcast.Okay, so technically he's just co-hosting an episode of an ongoing podcast with Gaming Steve, but you can't miss this opportunity to hear Chris's laid-back, sweetly smooth voice. (There are reports that Chris also sounds somewhat like a stoner, but we wouldn't be able to tell you what those kind of people sound like anyway, so what can we say?)As for the podcast itself, Chris and Steve go into the events of the last day, enthusiastically sharing about Microsoft's bloggers breakfast with Peter Moore (inset), Phil Harrison's PS3 keynote, what the new Battlestar Galactica might have to do with games, and everything else that they saw in San Jose. And, hey, maybe if we're lucky, we'll get another guest Joystiqer co-hosting with Steve today. More from GDC as we get it...See also: Direct download link for the podcast in question [55 minute-long MP3] Gaming Steve's "Day 3" report on GDC 2006 [where we got the pic] Joystiq @ GDC: In the beginning... [w/a little bloggers breakfast info] GDC: The PS3 keynote blow by blow
Get a free episode of Battlestar Galactica in iTunes
Much like Sports Illustrated did with this year's Swimsuit Issue, TV Guide is offering a free episode of Battlestar Galactica via iTunes. To get your copy, simply buy the March 6th edition of TV Guide (it should be out now) and enter the unique code you find inside. This will allow you to get the episode "Downloaded," which was a fantastic episode, I must say (plus it guest stars Lucy Lawless). [Via TVSquad]
Widget Watch: Battlestar Galactica
Can you feel the anticipation? Season 2 of Battlestar Galactica finally resumes tonight on the SciFi network. You can count down the very seconds until airtime with the Galacticaa Widget (yes, the second "a" is supposed to be there). Also, get images, the name of the upcoming episode, its status as a repeat or a new episode and a brief synopsis of what's next for the members of the fleet.If you're a fan, I suggest you download the frakking thing.
