Wii Goes To The Movies

The Wii might not be the "media center" of your home yet, but that doesn't mean it isn't on it's way. In addition to the expansive Channels of the Wii, ranging from Weather to the Internet, a new service called "Everyone's Theater Wii" will allow Wii owners to rent movies for a small fee.

Currently, the application is only available in Japan, where Wii owners can download it for 500 Wii Points ($5.00) and rent Warner Bros. movies for 300 Wii Points ($3.00), which they can view for 48 hours. However, it seems that Nintendo will certainly release this same Channel in the U.S.

The service began today in Japan and launched with a total of 54 movies, such as: Batman Begins, Goonies, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Free Willy, and plenty more. That's quite expansive, considering the fact that only Warner Bros. movies are available.

This could be a major stepping stone in the development and the future of the Wii. Right now, only movies previously released are available, but The Curious Case of Benjamin Button will be released on this service on the same day it is released on DVD in Japan. In the future, a similar music service could also become available, and the Wii might become the "media center" of everyone's homes.

In other movie news, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, has broken the midnight records set by The Dark Knight. Harry Potter's $22.2 million opening night easily beat out the $18.5 million made by The Dark Knight in it's opening night. According to the trends, it seems that the sequel to this movie, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (which is to be split into two movies) will likely break this record as well.

Image credit: "Gambit's Blog" (here).

Sony Diches DLC For Gran Turismo PSP

After a shocking 5-year development cycle, Gran Turismo PSP is finally set for release October 1 of this year. And with such a long time for development, gamers will definitely be expecting a big game - and, apparently, this will all be coming right in the box.

It has been confirmed by Sony that no "DLC" (Downloadable Content) will be released for GT PSP. This could be a slightly controversial move; fans often want the most out of their games and devices, and simply because the PSP is capable of downloading extra content, fans will expect that it is available. But there is the other side of fans, who feel that, once they buy a game, they should have the whole game.

The game is to have "800+" cars, so DLC will not be necessary

Personally, I believe DLC should be available in just about all games. Nobody is forced into downloading extra content, and it does provide a more robust gaming experience for those who are willing to play a little extra for it. It's a little unfortunate that not all developers are embracing this concept; Nintendo could easily make thousands by allowing fans to downlad new characters for Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Gran Turismo PSP is slated for release October 1, 2009.

Image credit: IGN (here).

Ryan Reynolds To Play Green Lantern

It looks like the upcoming Deadpool won't be Ryan Reynolds last venture into the world of superheroes. After beating out actors Bradley Cooper, Jared Leto, and Justin Timberlake, Reynolds has officially signed on for the part of Green Lantern in the heroes upcoming film.

But is "the merc with a mouth" up for such a different role? Given Reynolds' usual roles, would it not make more sense for him to play The Flash? Perhaps this is exactly why he has given so much for this particular role. Actors and actresses rarely enjoy being type-cast, so could this be a permanent switch to more serious roles for Reynolds?

There is no doubt that this casting choice will be met with criticism - as most are - but it will be quite interesting to see what Reynolds can do with this role, and what it could mean for the future of DC Comics' films.

Image credit: Answers.com (here).

New Michael Jackson Game

Some rumors have been persisting about an upcoming game based on Michael Jackson - and, apparently, they are true. MJJ Productions, Michael Jackson's personal company, is developing the title. But is it a 'tribute'?

Apparently not. MJJ Productions has been working on the title "for months", and it even includes dialogue from the King of Pop himself. It has been confirmed that Jackson's death has not interfered with the planned release of the game, set for Christmas of 2009.

It will be released for the Xbox 360 and PS3, and is purported to contain a number of hit songs.

Image credit: P.I.D. Radio (here).

Blast From The Past: Spyro The Dragon

Spyro has seen many changes as of late; several games have been released for a multitude of systems, and were often met with less a than positive reaction. However, with The Legend of Spyro being a "reboot" for the series, Spyro has just about reached his former glory - the final stepping stone may be the upcoming movie, The Legend of Spyro.

The first game in the series, plainly named Spyro The Dragon, was over-all well received, with critics citing the colorful graphics and appropriate music as giving a good over-all experience. The gameplay was centered around certain hub worlds, in which many portals allowed the player to enter different Worlds; worlds

which would contain (in the case of the first game) Dragons that have been frozen by Gnasty Gnorc.

The sequel, Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage, played on the success of the original game while giving Spyro a whole new world to explore: Avalar. While the gameplay remained largely the same (with Spyro searching for orbs as opposed to dragons), critics praised the expansive new levels, and often humorous story.

Arguably the most popular game in the series, and the final game in the series developed by Insomniac Games (thus ending the first "saga" of Spyro), Spyro: Year of The Dragon, also built on the original idea of hub worlds, but added considerably to the formula. Each world boasted

several mini portals of it's

own, which

would allow the player to play certain mini-games to earn Dragon Eggs (the equivalent of orbs from the second game). Other playable characters were added, such as Sheila the kangaroo and Sgt. Byrd; because of this, the game got overwhelmingly positive reviews.

Although the series has somewhat floundered since Insomniac Games stopped developing the games, the Spyro series will always live on as a popular platformer, and one of the most successful games on the original PlayStation.

Image credit: GameCyte (here), GiantBomb (here).

Flash Game Review: Warfare 1944

When approaching sequels, I am usually very cautious - but when it comes to games, console or Flash, sequels are almost always better, the sole reason being, the gameplay usually remains the same, but with some new additions that change it for the better. That is exactly what happened with Warfare 1944.

The original game, Warfare 1917, was universally well-received, with an average rating of 9.4/10 on Armor Games, and over 13 million plays. It was an original idea, too - a strategy game set during World War I as opposed to World War II. So, with all of this positive attention, it would be foolish to not make a sequel. Enter Warfare 1944.

I'll start off with some of the changes. The two armies playable are the U.S. and Germany - not a noticeable change, but a change none-the-less. Gameplay has changed a decent amount, while still keeping the exciting action of the original. Troops can now be deployed in one of three Deployment zones - this has a major impact on gameplay, because different Deployment Zones have different amounts of Cover (Cover being comparable to the trenches of the original game).

Another major change to gameplay is the addition of Resource Points. While you still have to wait to access a certain type of troop, you can order two different types within moments of each other - assuming you have enough Resource Points. You start off with 800 RP, and steadily gain 200 every few seconds or so. Riflemen cost 200 RP, for example. This makes the game move much faster - a much needed addition, in my opinion.

The Fire Support system has also changed. To order Fire Support, you must have a Office on the field. He can order Fire Support, but at a price - 400 RP for an Air Strike, and 500 RP for an Artillery Strike. With this cost, it is much easier to order Fire Support, which leads to the destruction of tanks much faster. An important feature, for sure, because in the previous games, Tanks were a nearly indestrucible force. Bazooka Teams also make the destruction of Tanks faster.

Warfare 1944 is undoubtedly a great improvement over Warfare 1917. The action is at a faster pace, and Tanks are no longer incredibly powerful. The Defensive/Objective missions makes the game more "fresh", though the Defensive missions are mostly for the German campaign. I can't think of a bad word to say about the game - 10/10.

Image credit: Con Artist Games (here).

News Overview

Next Wii Zelda: According to Shiegru Miyamoto, the creator of the Zelda series (along with many others), the next Wii Zelda game won't be "that radically different". However, he has already stated that the game will certainly use the Wii MotionPlus, and has pointed out that this "older Link" is not wielding his famous Master Sword. While it seems that the art style of Twilight Princess will remain, it still seems that something will change - and not just the controls.

Transformers: The new Transformers movie, Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen, has been raking in over $450 million, only beaten by Angels & Demons, which garnered $469 million. This has all been against poor reviews, with critics claiming that the movie was worse than the original - but fans are still, clearly, excited.

The A-Team: The status of The A-Team movie is about to change, as the cast begins to settle in. With Liam Neeson set to play Hannibal Smith, and Bradely Cooper set to play Templeton Peck, the movie is truly coming along. And now, strong rumors are swirling that rapper "The Game" will play B. A. Baracus - stay tuned as more updates appear for The A-Team, set for realease June 11, 2010.

Bioshock 2: A strange, promotional record has appeared regarding the upcoming Bioshock 2. It seems to hint at a plot, though it is certainly left open to interpretation. Read more about it here. Bioshock 2 is set for release on November 3, 2009, for the PS3, Xbox 360, and PC.

Image credit: IGN (here)