Sharknado
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What's on your HDTV: 'Sharknado,' 'MADtv'
Apparently Syfy has some Shark Week jealousy, as it's leading up to the debut of Sharknado 4 with a week full of shark movies. That's one alternative to the prime time DNC coverage on the networks this week, but also of note is the return of MADtv on CW. Gamers can try out a preview of We Happy Few on Xbox One, or DLC arriving for Fallout 4 or Minecraft: Story Mode. On Blu-ray, viewers can see Criminal in Ultra HD, or check out the entirely-filmed-in-first-person Hardcore Henry, and Netflix premieres the movie Tallulah. Look after the break to check out each day's highlights, including trailers and let us know what you think (or what we missed).
Sharknado: The Video Game is horrible, and it costs $2.99
SyFy's Sharknado made-for-TV movie became a social media sensation (and the target of endless mockery) in part because it was intentionally cheesy and low-budget; chances are Sharknado 2: The Second One, which premieres this Wednesday on SyFy, will follow the same model. The Sharknado iOS game is cheesy and low budget as well, but instead of being charming, it's just cringe-worthy. Sharknado: The Video Game is an endless runner -- which seems to be the category of choice for horrible licensed properties these days -- but unlike other such games it's not a free-to-play affair. This one will cost you a cool US$2.99 upfront, but don't expect that price to score you a fully featured experience, because you won't get it. What you will get is ugly graphics, unresponsive swipe controls, horrible music, and a heavy emphasis on in-app purchases. The game is broken down into stages, each of which starts with your character (presumably based on Ian Ziering's Fin Shepard, the protagonist of both the original Sharknado and the new Sharknado 2) running down a city street as it is pelted with sharks. You eventually find a surfboard and end up surfing down the street instead, dodging the gaping jaws of more sharks along the way. Once that is completed, you are tossed into the air to murder a handful of sharks with a chainsaw by running into them in the same three-lane running mechanic you've been using from the start. The "end" of the level is just a plain white screen that says "Sharknado destroyed," which immediately transitions into the next stage, which is really just the exact same thing you just got done completing, but with more sharks. There were a lot of creative options available for a team designing a Sharknado-themed game, but unfortunately they weren't utilized. What we're left with is a crappy free-to-play game disguised with a premium price tag. Avoid.
Watching 'Sharknado' with Syfy Sync and Philips Hue
When I open my mailbox, I often find Amazon packages that I don't remember ordering. But today's surprise was a DVD of Sharknado, a movie I absolutely did not purchase. My first instinct was to contact Amazon and change my password, but then I found a note inside: "For you to test out the new Syfy Sync app with your Philips Hue lights." Wait, what? A quick web search cleared things up pretty quickly -- the latest Syfy Sync app enables full control of a Hue bridge (and connected lights) on the same network. The movie, app and lights work together, in theory, to bring you a more immersive entertainment experience.
Must See HDTV (August 19th - 25th)
Summer may not be officially over, but as preseason football rolls in, many of our warm-weather TV shows are heading out. While we wait for the next Grand Theft Auto epic, Saints Row IV arrives on consoles ready to spoof gaming culture in the way that only this series can, along with Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist and Divekick. Finally, Thursday night keep an eye out for a re-air of Sharknado on Syfy, followed by the next shark movie it could crank out quickly -- Ghost Shark (trailer after the break). Look after the break for our weekly listing of what to look out for in TV, Blu-ray and videogames.
