Comic Book Reviews for November 25, 2015
Just because it's Thanksgiving week in the US doesn't mean comic book publishers took a break. Several big releases hit the stands today, most notably DC's sales juggernaut The Dark Knight Returns III: The Master Race #1. Marvel added several new titles to the growing All-New, All-Different Marvel lineup, including Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, Venom: Space Knight and the relaunched Silk. With other big releases like Archie #4 and Ringside #1 rounding things out, it was a pretty eventful week.
Due to the holiday, we're running a lighter load of reviews this week. Hopefully we covered all the biggest releases, and we'll be back in full force next week.
DC COMICS
Classic Team Lotus Cars, Historic Tracks Come to Project CARS
Slightly Mad Studios has delivered its latest batch of DLC for its expanding racing sim Project CARS. The Classic Lotus Track Expansion contains four iconic Team Lotus racing machines, plus three historic racetracks.
The cars include the 1967 Lotus Type 51, the 1965 Lotus Type 40 Ford, the 1966 Lotus Type 38 Ford (the first mid-engined car to win the Indianapolis 500), and the hugely influential 1963 Lotus Type 25 Climax (designed for the 1962 F1 championship and the first ever race car to use a monocoque chassis). The fresh tracks include French circuit Rouen-Les-Essarts (opened in 1950 but closed down in 1994), plus two now-extinct and vastly different configurations for Hockenheim and Silverstone.
Pokemon Picross Release Date Announced
Pokemon Picross is slated for release on December 3 on the Nintendo 3DS eShop, according to Pokemon's official site.
Pokemon Picross will be available free of charge, but players can purchase (with real money, Nintendo notes) "picrites"—which are described as "rare stones with magical powers." Picrates are used to unlock levels and recover your Pokemon's skills.
Your Pokemon have skills that can help you move through the levels—like Lucario, whose Hyper Scan skill "scans the grid and fixes incorrect squares," or Squirtle's Blue Force, which "changes the color of hint numbers to blue on rows with squares you can definitely fill in." After using a skill, some Pokemon will be unusable for some time, unless you purchase a picrate. Pokemon are collected by solving the puzzle of their likeness.
Harrison Ford Heading to Sydney for Star Wars Fan Event
The Sydney Opera House is hosting a Star Wars: The Force Awakens fan event, and Harrison Ford will be in attendance.
The Optus-presented event will open on Thursday, December 10 at 4pm. The festivities will be family friendly, and feature trivia, music, and "immersive Star Wars experiences."
In addition to the Han Solo actor, the lovable new droid BB-8 will be making an appearance as well. For more details on the "unmissable fan event," head over to The Sydney Opera House's official website.
Indie Darling Fez Gets a $100 Limited Edition
Fez, the first and very likely only game from Polytron Corporation, is getting a $100 limited edition.
"The Fez Limited Edition features a hardcover notebook bound in red canvas with debossed gold foil inlay presented in a matching slipcase, ready to be filled with details of your journey into the 3rd dimension," the developer's store page reads.
This is the first time that the dimension-bending puzzle-platformer has been released physically. Originally released for the Xbox Live Arcade, Fez is also downloadable on PlayStation platforms, PC, and Mac.
Uncharted 4 Cast Heading to PlayStation Experience
PlayStation Experience 2015 will be home to a number of developer-centric panels, including one featuring the cast of Uncharted 4: A Thief's End.
According to Naughty Dog's announcement on PlayStation Blog, the panel will "discuss the process of bringing the characters of Uncharted 4 to life" and showcase "never before seen cinematic clips."
The panel will take place on Saturday, December 5, at 3pm PT. In addition to creative director Neil Druckmann, actors Nolan North, Richard McGonagle, Troy Baker and Laura Bailey will all be in attendance.
Rocket League’s Winter Games Release Date Announced
Snow Day, Rocket League's new hockey-inspired mode will be released December 14. In a post on the Playstation blog, Psyonix announced that Snow Day will replace the Mutator Mashup online playlist. Oh, and it's free.
The Winter Games event will switch things up with a new ice field and massive hockey puck, bringing "an awesome new twist to Rocket League’s classic, football-fueled gameplay."
With Rocket League's Winter Games comes some new seasonal Garage items—the Xmas Rocket Trail, Blitzen Topper, Christmas Tree Topper, Sad Sapling Topper, Santa Topper, Candy Cane Antenna, and Holiday Gift Antenna. You can get these items simply by playing, though Psyonix notes that they'll drop less frequently than a standard item would. These are all yours once you've got them, but come January 4, they'll no longer be available.
Ranking Pixar’s Movies
The Good Dinosaur is the latest Pixar movie heading into the box office, so with several new films from the studio under our belt, we've decided to update our ranking of the films of Pixar Animation. For a studio with such a successful track record, there is great and there is good, but there is very little if any bad. So bear that in mind as you read the following list… Even the worst of Pixar is usually better than the competition's best! Let us know in the comments below how you would rank the Pixar films.
Cars 2 benefits from cherry-picking the best elements of the first movie and switching genres completely by taking Lightning McQueen and Mater out of Radiator Springs and dropping them into the middle of a fast-paced, dynamic spy flick. What's lost here, for the most part, is the warmth and heart that we adore, and expect, from most Pixar offerings. It gets left in the dust.
Game Scoop!: Xbox Games that Deserve a Re-release
Welcome back to Game Scoop!, IGN's weekly video game talk show. This week we're talking about original Xbox games we'd love to play on Xbox One, PS2 emulation coming to PS4, Star Wars Battlefront, and more. Watch the video above or download the podcast below.
Download Game Scoop! Episode 368
Or subscribe in iTunes and never miss an episode.
Men in Black 4 to Feature Female Character, Will Smith May Return
"Men in Black" may be a bit of a misnomer for the upcoming reboot of the sci-fi comedy franchise.
Speaking with the BBC, producer Laurie MacDonald revealed the upcoming film would include a woman in a leading role.
"There will be a prominent woman in black in the fourth
," she said. MacDonald and her husband Walter Parkes have worked as producers on the previous three films and are returning again to work on the fourth.
