No More Simpsons Seasons Released on DVD
The Simpsons showrunner Al Jean has revealed that seasons of the animated sitcom will no longer be released on DVD.
Responding to fan queries on Twitter, Jean explained that it was no longer viable to keep the DVDs going as the "market is dying", thanks, in part, to piracy. He did, however, explain that episode commentaries - for many, the primary reason to buy the boxsets in the first place - would still be recorded for FX.
For those who live outside the US and can't access FX or its Simpsons World app, the news is less than ideal. However, Jean has promised they will "keep pushing" to "get everything available to all".
Bastion Review
I confess that I look forward to re-releases of popular games because they allow me to notice aspects I might not have caught the first time around, and thereby discover whether they've managed to live up to their critical acclaim. For the PlayStation 4 release of Bastion, I more often found myself appreciating the game's many nods to the novels of Cormac McCarthy, both in the easy (and a bit tired) parallels to the post-apocalyptic world of The Road, and in the main character of the Kid, who recalls a character of the same name in McCarthy's gore-drenched Blood Meridian.
You may not so readily notice these details, at least if you already own Bastion on one of the many systems it already graces, whether it's the Vita, the Xbox 360, or even Google Chrome. Nothing has changed, apart from the requisite upscaling to support the PS4's beefier resolutions; You find no new monsters barring your travels across the ruins of Caledonia, and discover no new weapons to whack them with. It's the same isometric hack-and-slash exploration game first released in the summer of 2011, when independent games were continuing to gain prominence across a number of platforms,
And that's why, if you've never played Bastion before and you have a PS4, you should take this opportunity to jump in. Bastion draws heavy inspiration from McCarthy, yes, but it doesn't smother the experience with seriousness. It may feature a world that's falling apart in the aftermath of an initially unknown calamity, but this is no wasteland where the trees of Appalachia rot with the rest of the world; Bastion takes place in an impressively varied world that's almost ecstatic with hand-painted color--a world that falls back into place as you traverse it as though its destruction were partly on rewind. Darren Korb's fantastic soundtrack weaves through it all, and its power is such that I still sometimes use it to write to almost four years later.
But Bastion remains relevant and fresh largely on account of its narration. As in Blood Meridian, the Kid's travels are narrated by a detached speaker who hangs out at the central hub known as the Bastion, but here, the intonations are less 18th-century New England preacher and more Bourbon Street jazzman. It's all the work of voice actor Logan Cunningham, who adds both weight and the occasional dose of humor to the action, and its power springs from the way it is triggered with almost every action the Kid performs. It's an effect that allows Bastion to transcend simple narration to the point where the Stranger is telling our story as much as the Kid's.
When I accidentally send the Kid careening off the edge of the crumbled world with an overzealous dodge, he says, "And so the Kid fell to his death…just kidding." When I accidentally send the Kid into pockets of brush so sharp that they could have come from my native South Texas, Logan tells me that they "hurt as much as a broken heart." When I use up all my conversation options with him at the Bastion (the place everyone is supposed to run to when things go to hell), he says, "Sometimes there's just not much to say." There is pain in the world that Supergiant has created, such moments seem to say, but there's always cause to crack a smile when things are at their grimmest. And that's a good lesson.
There's a reason that I've saved discussion of the gameplay thus far--it's as simple as the rest of the game's design, though its aesthetic is complex. The Kid has access to 11 weapons, ranging from a battering ram and "flame bellows" to a simple bow and machete, but their use never veers far from the Diablo-style action suggested by its isometric view.
But while the combat itself may only consist of typical attacks, blocks, and dodges, there's depth here in the ability to construct buildings at the Bastion. Add a distillery, for instance, and the Kid can unlock perks such as increased critical chance. Toss up a forge, and the Kid can augment the weapons he finds along the way. The limitation of two weapons at any time (along with a related special ability) does allow for some extensive gameplay variations, as you could easily be an in-your-face melee champion or a bow-and-rifle marksman who snipes foes from afar. (And trust me, if you want to survive the ultra-punishing New Game+, you'll probably want to be the latter.) Want a real challenge? Activate the idols, which boost aspects like enemy damage and armor for the reward of more experience and fragments for upgrades at the forge.
All of this was just as true back in 2011, and it's a shame that Supergiant didn't at least add a touch more variety. Even so, Bastion holds up remarkably well four years later, even as the acclaimed games of the latter day tend to lose their luster once the initial novelty wears off. At its best, this re-release proves that Bastion is worthy of its name. It's a bastion of good game design and innovative narration, and I suspect that another four years from now, it will hold up just as well.
Daniel Radcliffe May Star in a Movie About Grand Theft Auto
Daniel Radcliffe, star of the Harry Potter film series, is "in negotiations" to star in a movie about the creator of Grand Theft Auto.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Radcliffe may portray Sam Houser, the co-founder and president of Rockstar Games in a BBC Films movie. The film, aptly titled Grand Theft Auto, will center on a real-life conflict between Houser and Jack Thompson -- a disbarred Miami lawyer who pushed for a ban on violent video games in the early 2000s.
Thompson's role has not yet been cast.
British director Owen Harris, who led episodes of Misfits and Black Mirror, will oversee the project. It's scheduled to begin shooting on April 20.
Major Walking Dead Character Returns
Warning: this article contains spoilers for The Walking Dead #140!
The latest issue of The Walking Dead dropped a major twist that the series has been building towards ever since the conclusion of the "All Out War" storyline. Negan, the series' central villain for the past several years, has finally returned.
Not that he necessarily went anywhere. Walking Dead readers will recall that "All Out War" ended with a brutal fight between Rick and Negan. Ultimately, and against the wishes of most of his friends, Rick chose to spare Negan's life and prove to all survivors of the zombie apocalypse that humanity needn't resort to killing. The series then jumped ahead a couple years as Rick and his allies have spearheaded a major rebuilding effort. Civilization is finally returning to their corner of the world. But with dissent growing in their ranks and Negan patiently biding his time in his prison cell, it's been clear that there's a shoe just waiting to drop.
Taco Bell Will Test Food Delivery in 2015
Taco Bell is going to test "some form of delivery
" in 2015.
That's right -- if for some reason you can't make it to the nearest Taco Bell, the Taco Bell may soon come to you.
Taco Bell CEO Brian Niccol spoke with Nation's Restaurant News, saying that though delivery is the biggest customer request, there's still a lot to figure out.
"Even though it’s the No. 1 request from consumers, we have to make sure we can give them an experience that’s consistent with Taco Bell, and that’s what we’re working through," said Niccol. "We have to figure it out, and I can tell you right now we don’t have it figured out."
Get Rid of YouTube Ads Through a Paid Subscription Soon
A reported subscription service for YouTube may be here as soon as this year, according to an email acquired by Bloomberg.
Google said that the subscription service would "generate a new source of revenue" that will supplement video creators' "fast growing advertising service." Revenue earned from subscription fees would be shared with creators.
Google declined to comment on the news, however it did tell Bloomberg giving fans "more choice to enjoy the content they love and creators more opportunity to earn revenue" are among the company's top priorities.
DC’s Injustice Universe Returns in Convergence
Warning: this article contains spoilers for Convergence #1!
Today DC offered fans of Injustice: Gods Among Us a brief glimpse of that universe's future in the pages of Convergence #1. Suffice it to say, things aren't looking swell for Batman and his allies in the aftermath of toppling Superman's regime.
The comic opened with a look at Injustice's Gotham City. It seems Superman has regained his powers and escaped the facility he was imprisoned in at the end of the game's story mode. But his victory was short-lived, as Gotham and all its inhabitants were plucked away by a villain named Telos and forced to become one of the villain's many captive cities.
Syfy Orders Pilot for Damon/Affleck Thriller
Syfy has greenlit a pilot for Incorporated, following our first news of the futuristic espionage thriller last year.
Damon and Affleck in 1997's Good Will Hunting.
Incorporated comes from Matt Damon and Ben Affleck's Pearl Street Productions, as well as CBS Television Studios and Universal Cable Productions. It is set in a dystopian future, following executive Ben Larson as he changes his identity to infiltrate a cutthroat corporate world and save the women he loves.
Daredevil’s Connection to Agents of SHIELD Confirmed
A couple months back, the official account for Marvel's Daredevil revealed an image suggesting Carl "Crusher" Creel, aka Absorbing Man, would pop up in a flashback to fight Matt Murdock's father Battlin' Jack.
Of course, we've already seen Absorbing Man on Marvel's Agents of SHIELD, which led some fans to speculate that the time gap between Jack's death and the events of SHIELD might not add up. Others postulated that Absorbing Man may have just been related to the Creel in Daredevil.
Absorbing Man in Marvel's Agents of SHIELD
Ghostbusters’ Ernie Hudson Rumored for Black Panther Role
Ernie Hudson, who played Winston in the action-comedy Ghostbusters, may be taking on a major role in Marvel's Black Panther.
Latino Review reports that Hudson has been researching Black Panther comics, with a specific focus on issues that feature King T'Chaka. That has led to rumors that he's set to play the ruler of Wakanda.
