Tenacious D and Weezer to Rock Your Rock Band Socks Off
New tracks from Tenacious D and Weezer are coming to the Rock Band store for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
On February 17, the Tenacious D song "Rize of the Fenix" from the album of the same name will be available, along with a jam from Weezer's Everything Will Be Alright in the End record, "Back to the Shack."
It's been nearly a month since any new songs came to Rock Band, when titles from The Arctic Monkeys, The Foo Fighters, and Avenged Sevenfold were made available.
Harmonix also circulated a survey last month with questions like "Which current-gen platforms do you currently own?" and "Would you be inclined to preorder a new Rock Band title?" Could the series that filled your living room with plastic rock instruments be poised for a comeback?
Microsoft’s Screamride Demo Coming Soon
Microsoft's mash-up game Screamride, which combines the building and design aspects of a Roller Coaster Tycoon with Burnout's crash mode, is getting a demo that will be available tonight.
Available on both Xbox One and Xbox 360, gamers "can try out each of the three career modes in the free demo," Microsoft said. The full game will feature 50 levels and a "robust level creation editor."
The game takes place in a futuristic rollercoaster testing facility, where brave, or perhaps insane, "ScreamRiders" test high-speed and destructive roller coaster designs. In IGN's Screamride preview, we called it two parts Roller Coaster Tycoon and one part Burnout.
We Visited King’s Landing in Real Life
As a Northerner, I was reluctant to visit King’s Landing.
Thankfully Dubrovnik, the fictional capital's real-life double, was quite different – welcoming, peaceful, and entirely without a dynastic suspicion of my ancestors.
Over the course of three days, I visited the continents of both Westeros and Essos, gazed upon the spot where Joffrey was wed (it’s really a car park), walked through the caverns where Daenerys chained her dragons, and took in several of the locations used for Season 5; I learned how close the real-life history of Dubrovnik mirrors that found in George R.R. Martin's fantasy epic; I also ate small donuts, a local delicacy in Croatia (this has no connection to Game of Thrones).
This Batman Returns’ Penguin Figure Is Disgusting/Amazing
NECA’s Toy Fair presence always promises a specific blend of geekery, with movie and game licenses mixing the old and the new. This year we got glimpses of a great Penguin figure from Batman Returns, a Christopher Reeve Superman, “retro figures” based on Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar, and items from Little Big Planet, Godzilla, Pacific Rim, Planet of the Apes, and of course that perennial NECA favorite, Predator. Oh, and you gotta love the Aliens stuff -- especially the ripped-in-half Bishop!
Check out all the images from NECA at Toy Fair 2015 in the slideshow below:
Keep it locked to IGN for more from Toy Fair!
Talk to Senior Editor Scott Collura on Twitter at @ScottIGN, on IGN at scottcollura and on Facebook.
The Best and Worst of SNL’s 40th Anniversary Special
To celebrate 40 years on the air, Saturday Night Live hit us with a live three and a half hour (four hour, if you count the red carpet pre-show) Sunday special that featured decades of cast members along with select hosts and musical guests.
(l-r) Tom Hanks, Melissa McCarthy, Peyton Manning, Steve Martin, Chris Rock, Alec Baldwin.
So how was the star-studded special? Well, it was pretty much what you'd expect from a regular episode of SNL. Some highs, some rough patches, and a hefty amount of hiccups (especially give the sheer amount of performers/moving parts crammed into this extra-long broadcast). An uneven, mixed bag that gave some SNL icons a spotlight while sidelining others in favor of celebrity pop ins. Granted, it's probably impossible to give everyone their just due on a show like this, but still, there were plenty of missed opportunities.
DC’s Heroes Get the Pop Art Treatment
Last month we revealed the 40 variant covers that artist Chip Kidd designed for DC's various Convergence tie-in comics in April. Kidd will also be tackling all 40 issues shipping in May. These covers will feature a similar pop art approach to DC's heroes, only with each cover spotlighting the other half of the image.
Once again, we have the exclusive reveal of these covers. Check out our gallery below:
In case you've been out of the loop, Convergence is a two-month event that will replace DC's normal ongoing titles in April and May. The core Convergence mini-series will be accompanied by 40 tie-ins that spotlight various heroes and franchises from DC's pre-New 52 history.
Fire Emblem 25th Anniversary Concert Later This Year
Nintendo is hosting a 25th Anniversary concert for the Fire Emblem series in Japan later this year.
The event will take place at the Tokyo Dome City Hall on July 24 and July 25.
If you prefer music from a different Nintendo game, The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses is currently touring the globe.
More information about the Fire Emblem anniversary concert will be released on the official website soon. In the meantime, you can read IGN's review of Fire Emblem Awakening, a "necessary, non-negotiable addition to any 3DS library".
George R.R. Martin Warns of Upcoming TV Show Deaths
Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin has warned book readers they may not be too happy with some of the deaths coming in Season 5 of the TV adaptation.
Speaking to Showbiz411 at the Writers Guild West Awards this weekend, Martin explained show runners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have decided to kill off several characters who (at the time of writing) remain unmaimed in the source material.
“People are going to die who don’t die in the books, so even the book readers will be unhappy," he said. "Everybody better be on their toes. David and D.B. are even bloodier than I am.”
Doom Gets Selfies and Instagram Filters with InstaDoom Mod
InstaDoom is a new mod that lets you obsessively take selfies and apply Instagram filters in the 22-year-old Doom.
InstaDoom lets you play Doom with any one of 37 different Instagram filters, such as 1977, Mayfair, Valencia, Rise, Inkwell and Vendetta. The mod also features an in-game selfie stick to allow you to sneak those heated moments with hot Cacodemons.
Doom is one of many games to receive in-game selfie features, either official or unofficial. World of Warcraft joined the selfie trend recently with the roll out of Patch 6.1, currently live on the Public Test Realms.
Halo 5: This Spartan Locke Statue Looks Sweet
We have pictures of everything McFarlane Toys showed off at this weekend's New York Toy Fair. That includes a Halo 5 figure of Spartan Locke, some huge sets for The Walking Dead, a few Assassin's Creed pieces, and even a Medieval Spawn standing atop the skull of Violator. Pretty sweet stuff, if you ask us.
For more on the latest toys and collectibles, check out our New York Toy Fair 2015 Event Coverage Hub.
Joshua is IGN’s Comics Editor. If Game of Thrones, Spider-Man, or Super Smash Bros. are frequently used words in your vocabulary, you’ll want to follow him on Twitter and IGN.