Goosebumps Author R.L. Stine’s Marvel Project Revealed
R.L. Stine, perhaps best known as the author of the Goosebumps series of horror books, will write the upcoming return of Marvel's Man-Thing.
The run, which begins in March, will span 5 issues. Stine told the New York Times working on comics has been a life-long dream.
"My first ambition was to be a comic book artist," the author said.
Covers for the new series, done by horror-comic artist Tyler Crook, will be inspired by classic horror comics of the 1950s. Stine told the Times he's a big fan of those older books.
"I think they’ve been a major influence in everything I’ve done since," he said.
Man Steals $5 Million, Spends $1 Million on Game of War
A man form Rocklin, California pleaded guilty to embezzling approximately $5 million from his workplace, $1 million of which was spent on "player fees for an online video game."
A press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of California announced Kevin Lee Co's guilty plea on December 8, with the Sacramento Business Journal reporting that about $1 million of the stolen funds was spent on the mobile game Game of War, as spotted by Kotaku.
Time to Talk About The Last of Us 2 & Final Fantasy 15
Welcome back to Game Scoop!, IGN's weekly video game talk show. This week we're discussing The Last of Us 2, PS4 sales, Final Fantasy 15, and more. Watch the video above or download the podcast below.
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Fast 8 Now Has a New Title
The fate of the eighth Fast and Furious film's title has changed shortly before the release of the film's first trailer.
Fast 8, as the film has been previously referred to (as well as Furious 8 and F8 on social media) is officially titled The Fate of the Furious. The title was revealed in a 15-second teaser below:
The teaser showcases the film's multiple international locations new to the franchise this time around, including a street race in Cuba and a chase scene in Iceland.
This title change is in line with the frequently altering names of the franchise, which now includes:
Doom Free Update Brings Bots, New Multiplayer Mode
Doom's next free update is out today and brings bots, a new multiplayer mode, and extends the level cap, Bethesda has announced.
Multiplayer bots, a feature many players have been requesting since Doom's beta, will be available in both Team Deathmatch and Deathmatch modes, according to Bethesda.
Free Update 5 will also include Infernal Run, a new competitive multiplayer mode where "teams fight for control of the (eye) ball, which must be carried or thrown into the opponent’s goal to score." You can check out the mode in action in the video below.
Strike Back Returning With New Cast
A new season of Strike Back is scheduled to begin filming in 2017.
According to Deadline, the series is once again a joint project between U.S. cable network Cinemax and the U.K.'s Sky 1.
Deadline reports the new season of the show will move on from its "buddy cop formula" to something it says will be more akin to an ensemble cast "in the mold of The Fast and the Furious franchise."
The original run of Strike Back ended in 2015 on Cinemax, but late last year it was reported a possible movie version of Strike Back would begin filming in 2016. The company involved, Left Bank Pictures, initially secured the movie deal with Sky and retains its involvement in the new television series.
Deadpool 2: Ryan Reynolds and Producer Kinberg on New Director and Not Going ‘Bigger”
The creative team behind Deadpool 2 wants to make sure the sequel resists the temptation to go-big.
Producer Simon Kinberg told EW avoiding the trap of cranking things up for the sequel is "the biggest mandate going into on the second film."
That goes beyond just the on-screen action and characters, extending even to the film's budget. Deadpool actor Ryan Reynolds thinks the movie's new director David Leitch is the perfect choice for the less-is-more approach.
Reynolds cited John Wick, also directed by Leitch, as a vehicle to show off what the director is capable of. Reynolds said Leitch can "make a movie on an ultra tight minimal budget" and have it turn out looking as though it were produced "for 10-15 times what it cost."
War for the Planet of the Apes: Director Commentary
20th Century Fox and director Matt Reeves revealed the first trailer for War for the Planet of Apes today, the third film in the rebooted series starring Andy Serkis as Caesar, leader of the apes. As a lifelong Apes fanatic, I was thrilled to sit down with Reeves this week to break down the details of the trailer beat by beat.
Read on for his full unedited quotes about the plot of the film, what was going on behind the scenes, and much more…
(And check out our full report from the set of War here.)
The humans hunt for Caesar in War for the Planet of the Apes.
Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite Wants to Be Approachable Yet Complex
Back in 2011, I bought a copy of Marvel vs. Capcom 3, with the aspiration of mastering its systems. Unfortunately as someone who has no real fighting game experience and is inherently lazy, I found it a pretty intimidating experience. In fact, I can still see it on my shelf now as I write this, quietly judging me. So when Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite says it wants to be accessible, I appreciate the olive branch.
I also realise that, for some, a word like ‘accessibility’ has other strong connotations when applied to a genre like fighting games. To the hardcore it might imply a lack of depth, but as Bill Rosemann – Creative Director at Marvel Games – tells me, that’s necessarily true and it’s something Marvel has a lot of experience with.
Persona 5: 80 Hours in and Still Finding Surprises
Have you ever seen a movie on mute in the background at a bar or restaurant? You can see what characters are doing, you know when someone gets punched or kicked or shot, but you don’t know what they’re saying. The plot is unfolding right in front of you, but you have none of the context or explanations behind it.
After putting more than 80 hours into Persona 5 in Japanese, that pretty much sums up my experience.
Enough of the menus are in English that I’ve been able to stumble my way through and even beat the game, but I’m admittedly missing out on some of the best parts of the series by not being able to understand the story and the personalities of the characters.
