Spider-man
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Alt-week 7.8.2012: Solar flares, trapping dark matter, and life-sized Lego trees
Alt-week peels back the covers on some of the more curious sci-tech stories from the last seven days. This week we swing by some superhero news, look at how solar panels might shape up in the future, explore a Lego forest and see how to grab dark matter just using some household gold and strands of DNA. Not only that, we discover how the sun likes to celebrate the fourth of July with its own firework display. This is alt-week
The Amazing Spider-Man takes a swing through Manhattan
With great power comes great responsibility. Also: a pretty great way to get around NYC when you miss the bus.
Marvel announces official MMO title: Marvel Heroes
The Marvel Comics MMO formerly known as Marvel Universe Online has finally been officially christened. Gazillion Entertainment announced in a press release today that, due to the central role that classic Marvel heroes play in the upcoming title, the game will be known as Marvel Heroes. And to back up the news, Gazillion has also released a new teaser image displaying everyone's favorite web-slinger. For the brand new Spider-Man art, just click on past the cut. [Source: Gazillion Entertainment press release]
Super Hero Squad Online's challenge system offers a new way to earn special characters
If you're playing Super Hero Squad Online, chances are you have the collecting bug already -- you want to collect every cool hero you can find. With a new feature, Gazillion's players can now flesh out their roster for free (as long as they're willing to put in some effort!). Dubbed the Challenge System, this feature opens a series of achievements for players to tackle. Successfully completed challenges earn money and tickets, and span the entire game world. The best rewards, of course, are new heroes that are exclusive to this system, so if you want any of them, you're going to have to step up and knock out these challenges. The new heroes coming as Challenge System rewards include Colossus, Daredevil, Firestar, Future Foundation Spider-Man, and Sentry. [Source: Gazillion press release]
Pinball FX 2 wants your high scores in XBLA Spider-Man tournament
Zen Studios is hosting a high-score Spider-Man tournament for XBLA's Pinball FX 2, running from today to August 12. The winners will receive goodies such as MS Points and sweet Marvel gear, all for playing some pinball. The prizes break down as follows: 1st Place: 4,000 MS Points, a Marvel Digital Comics annual subscription, a Spider-Man Bass Skyline tee shirt from Mighty Fine 2nd and 3rd Place: 1600 MS Points, a Marvel Digital Comics annual subscrption, a Spider-Man Bass Skyline tee shirt from Mighty Fine Zen Studios promises prizes for random players as well, so feel free to play some rounds without any pressure. The Spider-Man table is in the Marvel Pinball pack, which runs 800 MS Points on XBLA, and it is required to play in the tournament. Otherwise it'd just have a name like "Pinball Championships," which are already happening this August, and wouldn't that be awkward at the Kinko's badge station.
George 'Geohot' Hotz now using his powers for good, Facebook
If Uncle Ben taught us anything, it's that with great power, comes great responsibility. And, if you're legendary hacker George 'Geohot' Hotz, great job opportunities! Having survived Sony's legal onslaught earlier this year, Hotz has landed himself a sweet development gig at Facebook. During an interview with hacking community MyGreatFest, rival jailbreaker Joshua Hill (aka P0sixninja) claimed that Geohot had declined an iPad 2 hacking challenge in order to maintain a low profile, and to focus on his new job at Facebook. Hill implied that Hotz's refusal to hack some 'pads indicated his involvement in the development of Facebook's as-yet-unconfirmed iPad app. Hotz's rumored employment status was later corroborated by TechMeme's Gabe Rivera, who tweeted a link to the hacker's (now private) Facebook wall, which reportedly called the social network "an amazing place to work." George certainly isn't the first hacker to give up the game and go legit, and with more companies recognizing the talent and skill required for the craft, we doubt he'll be the last.
Spider-Man: Edge of Time tells the tale of two Spideys this fall
After doing a fine job with Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, developer Beenox is taking another swing (see what we did there?) at our favorite webhead in Spider-Man: Edge of Time, due out this fall on unannounced platforms. In Edge of Time, Spider-Man classic and Spider-Man 2099 will work together to avoid personal catastrophe (read: Peter Parker's demise) in a story crafted by 2099 co-creator Peter David. The game's hook is that the actions of one Spider-Man will alter the timeline of the other. This, of course, is the moment where we point out that Marvel 2099 is technically the future of Earth-928 and not Earth-616, where Spider-Man classic exists. Therefore, the actions of one wouldn't impact the other, so we're hoping some sort of interdimensional machinations will be involved as well. Obviously.
Super Hero Squad Online shows some /emote-ion
Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is at it again: swinging from the rooftops, snapping the next great shot for the Daily Bugle. But what is he capturing this time? It's certainly not a picture of himself saving the day. He's taking pictures of all his superhero friends posing in the streets of Superhero City. Super Hero Squad Online isn't all about saving the day every minute. Sometimes you just need to relax or maybe show off to your friends. Gazillion Entertainment and The Amazing Society have put together a trailer of all your favorite characters of SHSO showing off their emotes. From Black Panther playing with a ball of yarn to the Wasp riding a wild rodeo pigeon, superheroes know how to have fun, and in Super Hero Squad Online, these heroes are yours to command. Jump past the break to see the trailer for yourself, then fly on over to HeroUp.com to sign up for the beta, today!
New Spider-Man game swinging to WonderCon
As promised, Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions dev Beenox will be handling the next entry in the Spidey franchise. Moreover, the as-yet-unnamed title will make an appearance at this year's WonderCon, according to the event's website. A listing for the Activision/Spider-Man panel, to be held Saturday, April 2, details a presentation that will involve both "post-launch reactions" to Shattered Dimensions and "exclusive details, screenshots and videos of the next Spider-Man game." For all you hardcore Peter Parker fans in the crowd, Spider-Man 2099 co-creator Peter David and voiceover artist Josh Keaton will both join Beenox devs on the panel, along with Marvel veep of game production TQ Jefferson. Given the relative awkwardness of Keaton's placement on the panel, we're guessing he'll once again be voicing Spidey in the forthcoming game. Though details are guaranteed to show up at the panel, we'd also keep an eye on gaming magazines to unceremoniously announce it by name with a cursory text mention on the cover. Hey, you never know!
New Spider-Man game coming in 2011, Acti prepping two TV license titles
That future where Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions dev Beenox will be Activision's go-to studio for Marvel's franchise we reported on last month? It's officially this year. The publisher revealed during its Q4 2010 financial call that a new Spider-Man game is in development and will be released by the end of the calendar year. No further details were divulged. It was also announced in the call that 2011 will see the release of licensed titles from Activision based on Family Guy and Wipeout. The latter's the "obstacle course" style game show, not Sony's futuristic racing franchise.
Future Spider-Man games to be developed by Beenox
Activision today announced that Shattered Dimensions developer, Beenox, will be in charge of the publisher's future Spidey efforts. "Beenox's creative vision reinvigorated the Spider-Man gaming experience among critics and fans in Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions," Activision senior VP Patrick Kelly said in the announcement, "We can't wait to see where this talented studio will take this franchise in the future." If you're puzzled by Kelly's statement about Shattered Dimensions "reinvigorating" the down-and-out Spidey license, we're right there with ya. It's like we're living in two different worlds! Regardless, we've got a good idea about where Beenox could take the franchise in the coming years: Creative director Thomas Wilson expressed interest in focusing on the Noir or 2099 Universe from Shattered Dimensions for a spin-off game. Just think: an entire Spidey game based in the Noir dimension? He'll basically have to don a trench coat at some point!
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]
Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions on PC is Walmart exclusive for Thanksgiving weekend
Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions is getting a PC release right around Thanksgiving this year -- kind of. According to the game's official Facebook page, the North American PC version will only be available at Walmart over the Thanksgiving weekend, which means if you want it, you'll have to brave the unwashed crowds to get it (or just send the scariest member of your family). After that first weekend, it'll presumably go on sale elsewhere, so you can wait the extra week if you so choose. The rest of the world doesn't have to deal with any exclusivity agreements -- the PC version will be on sale in Australia and Asia on November 24, and in Europe on November 26. [Thanks, Steve]
New Transformers, Spider-Man and more next year, Activision doing 'large-scale' Call of Duty
Activision's recent conference call wasn't all facts and figures, you know. The company also outlined the future of some of its biggest franchises over the course of the next calendar year. According to CEO Eric Hirshberg, the publisher will launch titles from "proven franchises including the Hero brand, Spider-Man, X-Men and Transformers, which will be supported by what is expected to be another major blockbuster movie from Michael Bay." Sounds like they're kinda putting the cart in front of the giant, shapeshifting robot-car with that one. Hirshberg also made the unsurprising announcement that 2011 would also see the release of a new Call of Duty, explaining "in the back half of 2011, we are launching a new, large-scale Call of Duty FPS title." Considering the last installment in the franchise had like, ten different scenes where nukes went off, we don't know how much "larger" the proceedings could become. Unless, of course, Hirshberg was referring to Activision's oft-rumored plans to monetize the series' multiplayer component. Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter, who previously predicted Activision would subscriptionalize the franchise this year, released a statement shortly after the conference call, stating, "We expect Activision to announce plans to monetize multiplayer online some time in 2011, and expect greater visibility into the release schedule throughout the year."
Wesker and Spider-Man enlist for Marvel vs. Capcom 3
Capcom's TGS announcement of Spider-Man's addition to Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is a formality. Of course Spider-Man was going to be in there. Nobody's going to put the effort into modeling X-23 and not bother to get to Spider-Man. Yes, Marvel's marquee wall-crawler is back (and we're glad to see him), with most of his moves from previous MvC games intact. Now, Resident Evil's Albert Wesker, that's a neat surprise. He's really fast! And he teleports! And he has a really nice black trench coat! See videos of both new characters after the break, courtesy of GameSpot. Update: Now with our own versions of the trailers from Capcom. [Thanks, Paul!]
PAX 2010: It's clobberin' time with SHSO's PvP online card game
Massively has taken a swing at Marvel's Super Hero Squad Online several times in the last few months, now. So, on our trip to PAX, the boy-in-grown-up-shoes, Jay Minn, could not wait to show us the newly announced PvP portion of this dynamic game. Minn, who is the Director of Games for The Amazing Society, turned in to a giddy imp and directed me to a computer station that had a burning Human Torch on the screen, all prepared to fight some bad guys. Even though PvE wasn't what I was there to cover that day, Minn just had to show me anyway. "Click on a bad guy," he told me, "and good things just happen." I obliged; the Torch lit up and chased some bad guys away! At that point, we were told we had to move on to the PvP portion of the demonstration. Marketing people can be such spoil-sports sometimes. The giddy grin returned to Minn's face as he gave me instructions on how to get into the online card game. In the lower right-hand corner simply sat an icon that looked like fanned-out cards. As part of the demo I was able to pick my opponent, and since I just love seeing the Ol' Canucklehead Wolverine get beaten down, I picked him for my enemy. And who is the best Marvel superhero? Spider-Man, of course. I had to choose him as my character. Hero up with me after the break to find out the details of my adventure through this shiny and lively online card game.%Gallery-101337%
Hero up! Hands-on with Marvel Super Hero Squad Online
Back in May, I scored Massively's first real look at Super Hero Squad Online, the Marvel-flavored, kid-friendly MMO from Gazillion Entertainment and The Amazing Society. I was smitten with the game at the time, and so when Gazillion offered me the opportunity to take a peek at the newest build earlier this week, I jumped at the chance. Who can resist some hands-on time with such an adorable toy! (Answer to rhetorical question: no one, which is why you should go sign up for beta right now.) Plus, if I learned anything the last time, it was that I have a duty to relentlessly inquire about Squirrel Girl. Am I right? Gazillion PR Manager Keith Mutzman and The Amazing Society's Director of Games Jay Minn wasted no time bringing me up to speed on the progress of the game as the team heads to PAX this weekend, so I'll pay that forward -- join me after the break and we'll dig in and hero up!
Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions DS Preview: Hand not held
At a recent preview event for Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, Activision had all versions of the game playable but, for the life of me, I just couldn't put the DS game down. Developed by Griptonite, the DS version is heavy on the exploration and features a light, fluid combat system. The DS game features only three different dimensions: Amazing, Noir and 2099. Lacking the Ultimate realm, the game also puts less emphasis on the differences between each dimension. Spidey's abilities at the outset of entering each dimension are a tad different, but the mix of climbing and combat remains the same. %Gallery-100781%
Exploring Eberron: All aboard the Hogwarts express
So you want to be a wizard, eh? Whoa, whoa, not so fast there young whippersnapper! Just because you've lived under the stairs your whole life and can talk to snakes doesn't mean that you're the "chosen" anything around here. Wizardry is a dangerous profession, to be sure, and if a Beholder doesn't eat you alive, you'll most likely melt your own face off with a misplaced acid spray. Maybe you'd be better off going with a... simpler class, like a barbarian or janitor. No? Spells and glory is where it's at, you say? Fine. I'll teach you a few tricks, but don't go crying to mommy when the dark arts claim your soul just because you forgot to bring your eye of newt to the fight. Might as well come in, then, and I'll show you a thing or two about starting your own wizard before you jump into your first dungeon to fight your first dragon. Maybe you'll even clear the wax out of your ears enough so that you'll survive past the initial day, eh? I can always dream, I suppose. So let's get started!
Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions' other costumes revealed
You didn't think that Peter Parker's wardrobe would only contain four outfits in his upcoming outing, Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, did you? No, no sir. Revealed during Marvel's Comic-Con panel were a handful of new costumes that will be unlockable in-game -- a few of which will be instantly unlockable as pre-order bonuses from select retailers: Scarlet Spider (unlock code included with Kmart pre-order) Negative Zone Spider-Man (unlock code included with Best Buy pre-order) Spider-Armor (pictured) Mangaverse Spider-Man Additionally, the previously revealed GameStop-exclusive Cosmic costume (which includes variants for each dimension) and the Iron Spider-Man suit featured in the 2099 universe (and immediately unlockable with an Amazon pre-order) were also shown at the panel. It's as yet unclear if the newly announced costumes will be tied to certain dimensions within the game or wearable throughout, like the Cosmic getup. [Update: Clarified details about the nature of the pre-order bonuses and previously announced costumes.]
