Killer Instinct’s Arbiter Is an ‘Amalgam of Arbiters Past’
The Arbiter coming to Killer Instinct's third season is not based on a singular Arbiter, but is instead an "amalgam of Arbiters past," 343 Industries said in its latest Halo Waypoint update.
Arbiter will come with multiple looks, all of which were revealed in yesterday's post.
All Arbiters will use the T-51 Carbine for ranged attacks, and either the energy sword or Prophets' Bane for close encounters. Arbiter will also have sticky grenades on hand. The different armors and costumes are pulled from "a variety of sources," making the character more of an homage to Halo's Hall of Arbiters concept.
Vinyl: Olivia Wilde on Devon’s History and Working With Scorsese
Olivia Wilde has returned to TV for her first series since House in HBO's recently-debuted Vinyl. Wilde plays Devon Finestra, who we first meet in the 1970s, alongside her record producer Richie husband, (Bobby Cannavale), in a music industry-centric series from the impressive trio of Boardwalk Empire creator Terence Winter and his fellow executive producers Martin Scorsese and Mick Jigger.
I spoke to Wilde about Vinyl and Devon’s intriguing backstory and history -- both with and without Bobby -- and how there is much more to the role than it may seem at a glance.
Olivia Wilde as Devon Finestra in Vinyl.
Pokemon Aims to Evolve in the World of Fashion
To celebrate Pokemon Day in Los Angeles, JapanLA Clothing opened a limited-time Pokémon Boutique pop-up shop featuring a collection of Pokemon clothing and merchandise. The “kawaii” or “cute” clothing products will continue to be on sale for the shop’s one-month duration, ending on Sunday, March 27.
“People that wear the Pokemon-inspired clothing, they're happy,” said Monika Salazar, Director of Licensing for The Pokemon Company. “It brings a smile to everyone's face and all the friends that they go meet. Everyone smiles when Pokemon is around, so we just want to bring joy, fashion, fun, and adventure to the brand.”
Dark Souls 3 Publisher Launching Slashy Souls Tomorrow
Bandai Namco and GameStop are releasing their Dark Souls-inspired mobile game Slashy Souls on iOS and Android. Though it's not a continuation of Darks Souls—and not entirely connected, either—it does follow similar themes.
Slashy Souls reimagines From Software's super hard role-playing games with "epic 16-bit gameplay." Players will face a world riddled with "devious traps and obstacles," fighting "monstrous bosses" as they travel along the way. Special "weapons and master spells" will aid players in their journey. According to Polygon, the game will launch tomorrow.
Ballers: Season 2 Teaser Trailer Released
HBO released a teaser trailer for the second season of Ballers.
Ballers', which premiered last year, stars Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Rob Corddry. Johnson plays former NFL player Spencer Strasmore, who is starting over as a financial manager for Miami's professional athletes. Corddry plays Johnson's on-screen boss.
According to HBO, the first episode of Ballers was a massive success, bringing in 8.9 million viewers across HBO's branded platforms. The show's first episode broke HBO records, placing it as the network's most watched first episode of a half-hour series.
IGN reviewer Matt Fowler thought Ballers first season was just okay, giving it a score of 6 out of 10. Johnson, Corddry, and John David Washington (Ricket Jerret in the show) all had strong performances, but ultimately, the storylines dragged out and conflicts resolved too easily.
JJ Abrams: ‘Of Course’ Star Wars Will Have Gay Characters
Star Wars: The Force Awakens' success in theaters proves that the film's inclusivity works—and matters.
Director J.J. Abrams expects the franchise to explore adding openly gay characters to the cast. "When I talk about inclusivity it's not excluding gay characters," Abrams said Thursday at Bad Robot HQ during the US-Ireland Alliance's annual Oscar Wilde Awards. "It's about inclusivity. So of course."
"To me, the fun of Star Wars is the glory of possibility," Abrams added. "So it seems insanely narrow-minded and counterintuitive to say that there wouldn't be a homosexual character in that world." And he's right. Openly gay characters may be new to the movie universe, but have been previously included in the Star Wars expanded universe. io9 points out the inclusive of Moff Delian Mors in Paul Kemp's Lords of the Sith and Sinjir Rath Velus and Esmelle Wexley in Chuck Wendig's Aftermath.
Kanye West Names Next Album After a Game Console
Kanye West's next album will be named after a nearly 30-year-old video game console.
The artist revealed over Twitter that the album will be called "Turbo Grafx 16" after the Japanese TurboGrafx-16 home console from Hudson Soft and NEC. Another tweet from earlier in the week revealed that it's set for release sometime this summer.
My next album is titled "Turbo Grafx 16" as of now…
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) February 27, 2016
The device — known as the PC Engine in Japan and parts of Europe — was the first of the 16-bit consoles. According to West it was one of his favorites as a child. His favorite game for the TurboGrafx was Blazing Lazers, which was also produced by Hudson and NEC along with Compile.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’s Latest Addition
Tommy Flanagan is the latest actor to join Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
He'll join Kurt Russell, Pom Klementieff, Elizabeth Debicki, and Chris Sullivan as newcomers on set.
Flanagan's involvement was first reported by Heroic Hollywood and later confirmed by Variety's sources.
5 Cool Things in the New Pokemon Sun/Moon Teaser
This morning's brief, Pokemon-themed Nintendo Direct gave us our first glimpse at Pokemon Sun and Moon versions. The games, due during the holiday season, are the first all-new Pokemon entries since 2013's X and Y.
Mostly, the video presentation was a celebration of 20 years of Pokemon. The original games launched in Japan February 27, 1996, and to celebrate "Pokemon20," Nintendo's video took us through the series chronologically. The video peaked with the official Sun and Moon reveal.
Even though the new games took up a small fraction of the overall video, there was a lot to see. From new designs, to a new Pokemon, to trucks and ambulances, we took a look at everything Nintendo packed into the announcement.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Gets a Prequel Comic
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice will get a comic book prequel, exclusive to those who purchase select Doritos products from Walmart.
Image via DC Comics
The one-off comic book will be titled "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - Upstairs/Downstairs" and will become available on February 29. Those who purchase Batman v Superman-themed Doritos Family Fun Mix will receive a code that can be redeemed on the DC Comics website.