Tag: 2017

MCDave’s Favorite Films Of 2017

by MCDave

Can you believe that 2017 is coming to a close? In just a few days we’ll abolish that dreaded seven for ten more years, and a cool, clean, sexy eight will take its place.

2017 was an incredible year for moviegoers, gamers, music enthusiasts, and media lovers of all sorts. With the year coming to an end, it’s time to begin talking about the best of the best.

Yesterday, Matt Kelly shared his favorite films. Today, it’s MCDave’s turn.

Please Note: I still haven’t seen Call Me By Your Name, Phantom Thread or The Post.

Honorable Mention: Wind River, Small Town Crime, Princess Cyd, The Disaster Artist, War for the Planet of the Apes, Wonder Woman and Blade Runner 2049.

10. T2 Trainspotting

As a fan of Danny Boyle’s 1996 original, I was eager and nervous to catch this sequel. Yet, Boyle and company refuse to disappoint with a humor-laced screenplay and a valiant return by all of its characters in a truly enjoyable experience that works as both a worthwhile sequel or a stand-alone entry.

9. Lady Bird

While my adoration for Greta Gerwig’s directorial debut is a far cry from the Best Picture claims from many critics, I still found the film to be an endearing teen dramedy. Powered by the wonderful onscreen efforts of Saoirse Ronan and Laurie Metcalf, “Lady Bird” tells a somewhat familiar coming-of-age story that stands out because of its key performances.

8. Stronger

This character study follows a victim of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing who struggles to go on after losing both of his legs. The film could have demanded cheap sentiment, but instead relies on superb acting from Jake Gyllenhaal and his onscreen girlfriend, played by Tatiana Maslany, to bring this sad and courageous tale to life.

7. Last Flag Flying

Richard Linklater delivers a somber, yet poignant, story of a Vietnam veteran (Steve Carell) who enlists the support of fellow servicemen (Bryan Cranston and Laurence Fishburne) as he travels to claim the body of his Marine son during the Iraq war. The film relies on hystericslly outspoken humor from Cranston and a quiet warmth from Carell in order to touch on deeper themes of grief and patriorism.

6. Dunkirk

It’s truly amazing how certain filmmakers have the ability to transcend conventional storytelling in order to deliver a visual masterpiece. Christopher Nolan does just that with his World War II epic “Dunkirk”. It’s a fair criticism to harp on the film’s failure to adequately develop any of its characters, but the truth still remains that “Dunkirk” is one of the year’s most intense movie experiences thanks to Nolan’s keen direction and a world-class score from legend Hans Zimmer.

5. I, Tonya

I was completely caught off-guard by Craig Gillespie’s riotous examination of notorious figure skater Tonya Harding (Margot Robbie). Told through the perspectives of various unreliable sources, this farce of a comedy throws away any hopes of trying to spark a revelation about the “incident” surrounding Harding and fellow competitor, Nancy Kerrigan, and instead devotes itself to telling a widely embellished and hilariously vulgar interpretation of the events.

4. The Big Sick

Kumail Nanjiani writes and stars in the year’s most heartfelt comedy. Where “The Big Sick” succeeds most is in its ability to operate as a comedy first and a drama second. There’s no shortage of laughs in this earnest tale of a Pakistani (Nanjiani) who secretly falls in love with a white woman (Zoe Kazan) as his parents try to arrange a marriage for him with someone that they approve. This laugh-out-loud tale of a modern-day forbidden love story really hits the mark.

3. Get Out

From the bizarre and creative mind of writer/director Jordan Peele comes one of the year’s most taut and interesting screenplays. Daniel Kaluuya stars as a lonely, mid 20s African American who travels with his Caucasian girlfriend’s rural estate to meet her parents for the first time. Yet, what begins as a bunch of peculiar exchanges, eventually turns into something far more insane. Rarely does a horror film (although it’s a rather timid one) immerse itself in a controversial political climate such as “Get Out”, and we should all be grateful it does.

2. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Martin McDonagh (“In Bruges” and “Seven Psychopaths”) delivers a timely dark comedy that culminates as one of the year’s finest offerings. Set in the rural south where a heartbroken mother (Frances McDormand) hasn’t heard from local law enforcement for seven months regarding the rape and murder of her daughter, so she purchases a trio of billboards to shine a light on their incompetence. With an ending that I’m sure will irk some moviegoers, although I found satisfaction in it, “Three Billboards” possesses an all-star cast and an insanely fun journey.

1. The Shape of Water

Guillermo del Toro’s beautifully-filmed conquest bridges science fiction, history and romance in the year’s most exceptional release. Sally Hawkins is masterful as a mute loner whose life changes forever when she encounters a strange and enchanting creature at the top-secret government facility where she works. “The Shape of Water” tackles some reminiscent ideas in a completely original manner, and allows for its brilliant ensemble to bring del Toro’s wildly imaginative tale to life. Lovely and enchanting, “The Shape of Water” steals your heart with its unconventional love story.

Matt Kelly’s Favorite Films Of 2017

by Saintmort

Can you believe that 2017 is coming to a close? In just a few days we’ll abolish that dreaded seven for ten more years, and a cool, clean, sexy eight will take its place.

2017 was an incredible year for moviegoers, gamers, music enthusiasts, and media lovers of all sorts. With the year coming to an end, it’s time to begin talking about the best of the best.

First up, here are Matt Kelly’s favorite films of 2017!

10. Baby Driver

Can Edgar Wright make a bad movie? Like is it in his genes? He might be one of the most flawless filmmakers out there. Is Baby Driver perfect? No. Is it his best film ever? No. This is arguably his worst movie, but when your worst movie is easily a 4.5 star flick and among the top 10 films in a year with countless great films, that’s a testament to the power you wield. With fun and chaotic camerawork and an amazing soundtrack it’s really hard to dislike this movie.

9. Beauty & the Beast

Some people really hated this movie. I expected that I would too, but instead I got teary-eyed mid-way through the opening sequence when Emma Watson sang Belle. Beauty and the Beast is a strong contender for my favorite Disney animated film and to see it work so well as a live-action film was stunning. The film is not without its issues – some of the computer animated characters leave something to be desired (for example Ms. Potts) but in general this movie put a smile on my face that simply would not go away.

https://youtu.be/e3Nl_TCQXuw

8. Happy Death Day

This movie should not have been great and in a way, it’s not. That said, there was no movie that I had more fun seeing this year than Happy Death Day. The sarcastic tone, perfect comedy, and interesting concept reminded me of everything I love about horror films from the 90’s. So many people slept on this one because it looked stupid, but I remember leaving desperate to have someone to talk to about it.

7. The Lego Batman Movie

This is a fun movie, and in a world without Pixar it’d be the best animated film of the year. Is it better than The Lego Movie? It is not, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad film. I don’t think I laughed as hard at any movie as I did with Lego Batman. It’s a joke-every-second kind of movie which usually have more strike outs than hits but that’s not the case for this film where I’d say 90% of the jokes absolutely hit it out of the park.

6. Stephen King’s It

This movie really has people divided. Some think it was everything they could want out of the adaptation, while others have argued it was a C+ movie at best. I personally think it was fantastic and easily among the best King adaptations in history. The film manages to be a faithful adaptation, but also a wildly different adaptation. Characters are different, events are different, but that feeling of dread and doom is perfect. It also broke countless records and I can not wait for Part 2.

5. Lady Bird

If you told me that the character I related the most to in cinema was an angsty 17 year old girl in Sacramento I would have considered you crazy. However when I left the theater last month I couldn’t stop thinking about the movie and wanting to tell people about it. This is a theme for all of my top 5 films in most ways, but with Lady Bird being the one that I’ve met the least amount of people who also saw it means that this list is the only place I talk about this. What makes Lady Bird isn’t necessarily the comedy or the drama but the relatability of the subject matter. It’s a movie for everyone who hated their hometown until they moved away, hated their family until they weren’t there for them and underappreciated their high school memories until high school was over. It’s a truly beautiful film that I can’t wait to revisit time and time again.

4. Get Out

I’m going to keep this one short because you can throw a virtual rock anywhere and hit someone’s hot take on how good Get Out is. Despite being a fairly predictable film, that doesn’t make it bad. The film blends horror, suspense and comedy nicely. Additionally, every performance is perfect, there’s very little else for me to mention that hasn’t been said. The critical acclaim and box office numbers say all you need to know.

3. The Big Sick

I wasn’t crying, you were crying. Shut up. Kumail Nanjiani and Emily Gordon’s script mixed with Michael Showalter’s beautiful direction created a perfect “chick-flick” for both guys and gals. The dry sarcastic humor hits all the right funny notes and the moments of sentimental drama pull on every heart-string. You will fall head over heels for Zoe Kazan and Ray Romano has never been more charming. It was the sleeper hit of 2017 and very deservedly so.

2. The Autopsy of Jane Doe

So I’m cheating slightly with this movie. It premiered at a film festival September 2016 and was released in the U.S. the last week of 2016 in a fairly limited release so because it wasn’t readily available until 2017 I had to call this one out. It was the best horror experience I’ve ever had. The first time I watched this movie was with my cousin and his wife in a dark house, every noise made us jump and scream and yell. It was so fun and well paced. I brought my DVD into work and lent it to so many people to watch and so rarely met anyone who disliked it. If this one has slipped under your radar, make it a point to watch.

Before #1, here are some movies I haven’t seen at the time of making this list but could have made this list: Blade Runner 2049, I Tonya, Wonder Woman, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, The Greatest Showman, Downsizing, Shape of Water, Gerald’s Game and Pitch Perfect 3.

1. Coco

I ugly cried during the last 15 minutes of this movie. Non-stop, loudly, sitting by myself in a theater full of families. It was bad for me, but great for the movie. Pixar just seems to not know how to make a bad (Cars excluded) movie these days. They know the exact right things to pull on the right heart-strings but also have perfectly placed comedic moments too. I connected to this movie on a deeper level than I could have anticipated and left the theater and immediately called family members to let them know how much I loved them. This is a perfect film and was the #1 film of the year for me the second my feet exited the theater.

Geekscape Roundtable: Our 2017 Holiday Wishlist!

by GeekscapeStaff

The holiday season is here, and regardless of the exact holiday that you plan on celebrating this year, we know that you’re just in it for the presents (well, and the family/friends, and the food, and some other things too, but mostly the presents).

Instead of doing a traditional gift guide (if your giftee likes x, get them y, etc), we thought we’d take another route:  tell you what we‘d want for our holiday gifts. You know our writers, so chances are that if you need to pick up a gift for someone similar, they’ll probably be into the same stuff!

Here goes! Enjoy, and be sure to let us know what gifts you’re hoping for in the comments below!

Karson Braaten

Despite there being a ton of cool hardware to wish for this year (Nintendo Switch, iPhone X, Xbox One X, just to name a few) most of what I wish for lives in the digital realm…

Audible Subscription

Every year Santa spoils me with the Platinum Annual plan which gives you credits for 24 audiobooks! At $229 it isn’tt the cheapest of gifts ($10/book is a great deal though), but I listen to it every day. I crush through a ton of books in a year and I never feel negative stuck in traffic or a line up because I’m listening to a book. Looking for a recommendation? Stephen King’s IT is unreal. The narrator’s voice is haunting. Really want to commit? Dive into Brandon Sanderson’s The Stormlight Archive!

Chemex Coffee Filters

I purchased Chemex 8-cup coffee maker in the fall and am still loving it! I don’t know the ins and outs of coffee brewing, I just know I like the taste of the coffee it makes and I like the ritual of making it.

Marvel Unlimited

Somewhere in the middle of the year I took a huge step back from comic books. Spending, book quality, time to read, my thoughts on the companies were all factors. I’ve subscribed to the service in the past but I think this time it’s going to stick. The back catalog of classic issues is everything I could ask for. I’m interested in current comic book events but I’ll probably just wait for trades.

Miscellaneous

I’m also taking donations from my family for a few months of my gym membership and a few different programming books I’ve wanted. If you’re ever unsure of gift ideas, just take a look at what monthly subscriptions you have and ask for that!

Matt Kelly

The best gift I got myself this year was MoviePass. I love film but I always hated the hassle of going to the movies, trying to get a group together, scheduling, paying $15 per ticket, etc etc etc

In the end I was only seeing about 3 movies a year. This November I purchased MoviePass and ended up seeing 8 movies in a month. Not only has it re-ignited my love of the theatric experience but it’s also gotten me to start seeing movies alone which is one of the most relaxing things imaginable and I hate that it took me 32 years to start doing.

Additionally this year I finally caught up with the rest of Geek culture and started reading Bone. I crushed the first 3 volumes in 2 weeks and am holding off on buying more in case friends or family wants a good quick easy gift for this sexy gorgeous geeky man!

Stranger Things Season 1 – Yes you can watch this on Netflix but the collector in me NEEDS this mock VHS case that the DVDs come in. It’s a great season of TV and this is one of the most brilliant packaging choices I’ve ever seen.

Derek Kraneveldt

Doom VFR

This game looks so freaking cool. I had the Playstation VR on my Wishlist last year, and was lucky enough to obtain one just after Christmas.

The thing is incredible. I’ve played had some incredibly memorable gaming experiences on the platform (20 minutes of Resident Evil VII at a time, Farpoint, Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes with friends yelling instructions at me, freaking Skyrim), and as the platform continues to evolve, I simply cannot wait to see what other games and experiences are in store for us.

One of those experiences is Doom VFR, which looks insanely fast-paced, terrifying, and super slick and stylish. I still haven’t even played last year’s Doom, but I’ll be playing this iteration as soon as possible.

Xbox One X

Earlier this year I grabbed a (low end) 4K television, and after upgrading my Apple TV to the 4K model early this fall, I saw the high resolution future for the first time.

The Xbox One is the most-played console in our household, and we’re still using the unsightly, definitely-showing-its-age first generation model. Things like navigating menus, opening apps, and the like are pretty freaking slow at this point, but more importantly a ton of the games that we already have (and a ton more that aren’t out yet) would simply look and play SO much better on this newer console.

Yeah it’s pretty expensive, but can you really put a price on moderately better looking versions of the same games?

Turns out you can, and it’s $600, and I want one.

A Taylor Swift Concert In Vancouver

I’m a HUGE Taylor Swift fan. I’m loving the new album so far (I’ve somehow managed to purchase several copies of it), and it’s been pretty much on repeat since it first hit iTunes last month.

Sadly, Swift’s recently announced tour is largely ignoring Canada this time around. There are two shows in Toronto… and that’s it. The 1989 tour a few years back sold the 54,000+ seats of Vancouver’s BC Place, so I was pretty surprised not to see another show in my neck of the woods.

There’s a show in Seattle, but heading to this performance looks substantially pricier than going to a show up here instead. Rather than just ticket, we’d be looking at more expensive tickets (in freedom dollars, too), a hotel, food, gas, time off work, etc. In my current state of financial ruin, it’s just not going to happen.

So Taylor, if you could just announce a Vancouver show, that would be really, really great.

WWE Network

Yeah, I already have a subscription to the WWE Network, but if you’re buying presents for anyone who is anything like me, the network would quickly become their most used streaming service.

Seriously, it’s my most used streaming platform, and I subscribe to most of the available services in Canada. Between all of the classic content new original content (including incredible docu-series like WWE 24), and how-did-this-get-made content (WWE Legends House) there is limitless entertainment here that could sports entertain almost anyone.

A Vacation

I’m tired, stressed, burnt out, and would freaking love a break from real life. Need I say more?

Courtney Dossett

Cat Ear Headphones

Okay, so I know that literally every basic white girl has these, but I feel like that just justifies them being on my list even more. I never have enough headphones, and the cuter the better. While the speaker-ears (yes, you can play music thru your kitty ears), probably wouldn’t get much use, they are super cute and help solidify my cat-lady status. Noise cancelling is a definitely must for blocking out the world while you game or binge on Netflix, and they’re rechargeable with a 5 hour long battery life. You can pick up a pair (for you or me!) on Amazon for $78.

Cell Phone Camera Kit

I’ve been doing a lot more phone photography this last year during class field trips and the lab. Having a little kit like this would go a long way towards making my life easier while geeking out over sea lions, baby whales, sea stars, and fishies. This kit comes with a 12x zoom telephoto lens with manual focus ring, fisheye lens, macro lens and wide angle lens, and is only $25 on Amazon.

Doctor Who Wool Duffle Coat

Now that I live in the land of perpetual rain, I need good coats that keep you warm and dry. This Dr. Who inspired coat from Her Universe is absolutely gorgeous. It’s a subtle nod to the Who fans, but not so over-the-top that you couldn’t wear it as a jacket on a nice night out. This beautiful wool blend overcoat is currently $79.92 on the Her Universe site.

Nintendo Switch

I’ve wanted a Nintendo Switch since the Geekscape guys pre-ordered theirs during our podcast, but my poor college student budget hasn’t been able to work it in. I have gotten to play a few games with Shane – keep reading for my dream games list for the Switch! (retails for $300)

Snipperclips

This game is a lot of fun to play with friends, and I could see myself not only playing with people my own age, but my smaller cousins and friend’s kids as well. Who am I kidding, I’d probably end up playing by myself most of the time, but the game is still amazingly fun! (Retails for $30)

Skyrim

I already have Skyrim for my PC, but the idea of being able to play Skyrim on the go is just too alluring (yes, I know you can play on a laptop, but I don’t have one). I’m not a fan of long plane rides or car trips, and being able to re-do all my side quests, and maybe finally finishing the main quest in Skyrim while being stuck in a car sounds like the best way to deal with boredom. (Retails for $60)

Josh Jackson

PlayStation VR

Yeah, I know I’ve been down on VR in the past, but that was before Neptunia VR existed.

You see, MegaDimension Neptunia VIIR comes out in February of next year, which means I’ll finally get to be face to face with Gamindustri’s Best Girl and 2015’s waifu of the year, Nepgear. That means that PSVR is now a must own, but sadly, I still think it’s a bit pricey. But if anyone wanted to buy it as a gift, especially for a particularly awesome writer and podcast co-host, then I’m sure they would appreciate it!

Kat and Raven Figma Figures

Gravity Rush 2 came out in January, and has remained one of my favorite games of the year, partially due in part to the endearing leads, Kat and Raven. What better way to celebrate the game with their own Figmas?

Kat comes with her best bud Dusty, and her arm and leg bands that show off her new Gravity Shift forms. Raven appropriately comes with Raven. Show some love for Sony’s most underrated release of the year by adding these lovely ladies to your collection.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Classic Control for the Switch

The Splatoon 2 control was my jam… until the Xenoblade 2 control got announced. Now, we get to search for Elysium in style with my favorite controller design for the Switch so far.

Retailing at an admittedly pricey $75, being able to really feel that HD rumble while you’re settling in on your 100 + hour adventure is well worth it. The red and black design helps it stand out above other controls, with the logo proudly displayed next to the left joy stick. If you’ve been meaning to get a Classic Control or know someone who is, wait no longer! This is the pinnacle of controllers… until the next special design comes out.

Razer’s Dva branded mouse and keyboard

For the PC gamer in your life that plays to win, the recently released Dva mouse pad and pro mouse found exclusively on Razer’s website are the go to gaming accessories. Branded with the logo of everyone’s favorite fictional e-sports queen from Overwatch, the slick designs are only outshone by the optimization both have for your intense gaming sessions. Plus, I hear they can withstand all of the Doritos dust and Mountain Dew spills a person can manage, but don’t quote me in that.

Fire Emblem Warriors Season Pass

Yeah yeah, Breath of the Wild finally released its long awaited final DLC for its expansion pass, which means that our time has been freed up for more important matters… like Lucina in a wedding gown!

In a sea of game of the year contenders like Mario Odyssey, I couldn’t put down Fire Emblem Warriors, logging in about 75 hours before I finally ran out of things to do. With the first of three DLC packs coming out this month however, that relief won’t last for long.

Each pack will come with three new characters and a new history map, the first of which will be Azura, Oboro and Niles from Fire Emblem Fates. Recently shown were new butler costumes for Takumi and Camilla, with the bonus Bride Lucina outfit still being given for buying the pass. There’s seriously no better way to mash one button for hours at a time than with Koei Tecmo’s latest hack and slash game, so even more of it is welcomed.

The YuGiOh Legendary Dragon Decks

Mikaela Maxwell

All I want for Christmas … Oh gosh how do you choose?!

I honestly can’t remember the last time I wrote a wish list, but put it out in the universe and who knows what’ll happen!

In no particular order:

A Wedding Dress

Derek and I have been engaged for almost 3 years now, and it is about dang time we got this wedding thing going! I am not one of those girls who has spent her whole life planning this shindig, so when it came time to planning I kinda freaked out. However, this Fall we have managed to make a plan! So next year (hopefully!) we will finally be tying the knot! A couple of weeks ago I actually went wedding dress shopping for the first time. I was totally terrified and insecure about the whole thing, but it turned out to be a great experience! The dress ladies helped me find dresses that made me feel like a total bombshell! It got me excited about getting married and getting to wear a kickass dress! Though turns out wedding dresses are expensive… who woulda thought?! So if Santa were to leave a dream dress under the tree, no complaints here!

A Sewing Machine

I definitely never thought this would be something that I longed for. However I am finding that there are so many projects I would like to try and having a sewing machine would totally make that possible! I recently have become more and more interested in trying out cosplay for myself, and being able to sew something together seems like a logical first step. I’d also like to try some quilting, I don’t know how quilting works, but I feel like I’ve got some ideas in my head and would like to at least give it a try… that being said, I think a second hand sewing machine will be where it’s at, given that I’ve never really tried these things, who knows if I would actually use it enough to justify the cost of a brand new fancy sewing machine!

A Trip to Somewhere Warm

I consider myself a traveller. Somehow over the last few years I feel like I have kinda lost that little bit of myself. In that time we have done some incredible road trips and had some amazing experiences. However, A trip to somewhere warm and tropical would be amazing and so so relaxing. I even kinda wanna try the resort thing where you just lay around the beach/pool etc and just enjoy having zero responsibility. On the other hand it would also be amazing to throw our stuff in a some back packs and go to somewhere totally out of our comfort zone and experience a totally foreign culture. Or even heading over to England to see my greatly missed family and meet the new little ones would be a dream… Basically anywhere, a trip to anywhere, would be perfect.

A Personal Trainer

A little over a year ago life fell apart. Since then getting out of bed and making it to work/the couch have felt like a real accomplishment most days. Needless to say this has been less than ideal for the waist line. I keep talking about needing to make a change, but have yet to actually do so. Now with the possible wedding date looming in the near future I have an actual goal/deadline/reason to be motivated to make a real change. I also have no idea of how to really make that change. A little guidance would go a long way for this gym shy girl who gets awkward when she thinks you can tell she is sweating…

Picture Frames

This one actually seems like a practical request! There is something about having art on the wall that helps turn a house into a home. Derek has brought home Mondo and various other prints from SDCC and other conventions over the years, and I have some some amazing paints gathered from my trip to Nepal a few years ago. We are lucky to have so many amazing pieces of art that I would love to be surrounded by on a daily basis. However we don’t have frames for most of them, mostly due to awkward sizing. It would be amazing if I didn’t have to deal with figuring out sizes (or pricing) and all of the required frames just showed up under the tree!

There are other more practical things that I would appreciate as well, like my audible subscription (which was my most valuable purchase of 2017), Sephora gift cards, Gas cards, someone to do a deep clean of my house… but those are far too practical and aren’t nearly as fun to wish for as the ones listed above!

What are you hoping to unwrap this Holiday season? Let us know in the comments below!

My Overwritten Journey To SDCC 2017: Day 5 – It’s Not Goodbye, It’s See You Later (Awe)

by Derek Kraneveldt

Read day 0 here.
Read day one-ish here.
Read day two here.
Read day three here.
Read day four here.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. It feels as though I’ve only just arrived, and I’m already beginning my journey home.

I begin writing today’s piece during the first leg of my trip back – a short 26 minute flight from San Diego to Los Angeles (where I have another three hour wait before my final journey to Vancouver).

Somehow, I slept in today. Matt, Josh, and Megan were nowhere to be seen when I finally woke up, so I made my way to the shower (no line!) and afterwards began packing my things. I had no idea how much stuff I’d accumulated during my time in San Diego. I left Vancouver with a standard sized carry-on (meaning I didn’t pay for a checked bag or have to wait at the baggage claim, yay) that still felt as though it had plenty of room left in it during my initial packing. This wouldn’t be the case on my way home – I’d accumulated a myriad of, well, crap that I don’t need over my five days in San Diego, from a series of WWE t-shirts and other items that Jonathan didn’t want out of various LootCrate products (which I actually will use and am stoked for), to water bottles, candies, books, lanyards, an entire bag of The Tick promotional material (read all about it right here), several books, a Sami Zayn autographed picture (read all about that one right here), and numerous other items that I can’t remember at this moment (but sadly, no Stranger Things hat, sorry Mikaela).

It was to the point where when packing this morning, I had to decide which non-important items were the most non-important, and other members of the group seemed to claim them pretty quickly. Still, there were numerous items that I wanted to bring home and never look at again, so it took nearly twenty minutes of intense struggling to actually get the bag zipped up, and I swear that I still have imprints on my fingerprints from pulling on the tiny zippers.

I lived in fear that it would burst open for the rest of the trip.
Zack and I left the room together and stopped at 7-Eleven for a quick Chiller Club (and a donut for breakfast, as at this point I have less than $20 left to my name). He told me all about the insanely cool Atomic Blonde screening he’d been at the night earlier, how much of a potty mouth Charleze Theron has, and how much he’s looking forward to seeing the film again. This also explained why he’d been wearing a blonde wig ever since I woke up this morning. It was a good look on him for sure.


We continued our trek to the convention centre (in what would be my last walk there of 2017, as I had my carry-on with me at this point) and we decided that Zack would be starting a new podcast for the Geekscape Network, entitled “Speaking Spuds With Zack Haddad.” The dude is a vegetable broker or something (I forgot the correct term) and knows a lot about potatoes. Who wouldn’t want to listen to that? I said that he could theme it like that little kid who eats peppers and reviews them on YouTube, except he could just cook different types of potatoes and review those. It for sure wouldn’t be as cute, but… actually maybe it’s just an all around bad idea.

Once inside of the convention centre, I did one last tour of the nearby booths (and once again failed to get any Stranger Things swag that I could now not fit in my bag even if I didn’t fail at obtaining it), and simply spent the next 90 minutes sitting at the Geekscape booth. We removed the mouse traps and broke down the Box of Mystery and Danger as at this point it was empty aside from some posters that nobody would even take for free. People kept swinging by for badge flares, to sign up for the giveaways still in progress, and to talk about Horror Movie Night once Matt lured them in with his “Podcasts you won’t listen to on a website you won’t visit” spiel. The booth felt less busy this morning, and it marked a great time to again connect with the people inside of it. This was a chill, relaxing way to end the convention, and I’d definitely do this again over a morning of being hung over or another day of appointments.

Never forget.
Then the goodbyes began. Courtney came by as she’d be in an appointment by the time I left. She actually lives just a couple of hours south of me, so I invited her to Canada, she invited me back to America, and meeting up again in real life (outside of the insanity of SDCC, which also marked Courtney’s first convention ever) is something that I’d really, really like to do in the near future.

The rest of the farewells came in quick succession as noon passed (I needed to be at the airport for one), hugs came from all around (including a very tight Matt/Jonathan group hug that lasted so long that I almost thought I’d be late for my flight. Matt let me know once again that he’s always around if I need to talk, or simply need anything at all. He’s reached out to me numerous times over the past ten months, just to check in or to see how I was doing. In most cases, he’d never receive a response, but I truly hope that he knows just how much I appreciate him doing that at all (and continuing to do it after being ignored).

It felt like a long, long walk from the convention centre to the ride share pick up point, because at this point and time, I simply wasn’t ready to say goodbye. This week ended up being so refreshing, so relieving, and exactly what I think I needed – I just didn’t think that I’d had enough of it yet, and I’d have loved the opportunity to be around these same people in a different, less busy context.

Guido the Lyft driver picked me up (when I travel I tend to ride share as much as possible as it still doesn’t exist in British Columbia, and after all of weird Uber shit that’s been going on lately, Lyft seems substantially less sleazy). It’s a pretty short trip from the Convention Centre to the airport, but we chatted about how cold it is in Vancouver (not very), the San Diego airport, and how Guido would be headed to Ecuador in September as his 88 year-old father is sick. He helped me pull my bag out of the trunk, I wished him and his father the best, and we parted ways.

Being the day that San Diego Comic-Con ended, I expected a packed airport. Delta noted that as I was taking an international flight I should arrive at the airport no later than 3 hours before my flight, and as I arrived with just less than that, I thought that I’d be cutting it close, and that I’d be in for a stressful time (as was my trip down to San Diego just a few days before). Five minutes later, I was through security and at my gate, in what may be the fastest airport experience that I’ve ever been through. I grabbed some quick Jack in the Box as it was the cheapest thing in the airport (and we down have them in Canada, and the curly fries are delicious).


After eating, I decided to spend the several hours I had remaining in the San Diego International Airport to simply relax. I made my way back to the gate, popped in some headphones, and watched some more SDCC reveals and trailers (during this time, thinking about how everyone shits all over every DCU film every time one releases, and then again goes ga-ga over each and every new trailer for the next one), scrolled Facebook, and essentially waited in boredom until the plane was finally read to board.

My first stop was Los Angeles, and the Journey there was just about the shortest flight that I’ve ever been on at about 25 minutes (if I remember correctly), the only shorter one being the ~12 seat, 20 minute seaplane flight from downtown Nanaimo to downtown Vancouver. This was a fairly uneventful journey, aside from two things: the lady who was very angry that the cast of Riverdale was seated before her and her child (like, several minutes before… the nerve), and my tooth, which again gave me several painful pops at random times during the flight.

Now that I was in Los Angeles, I had the amazing opportunity to wait another few hours for my final flight to Vancouver. At this point I was feeling pretty hungry yet again, and I grabbed some grub from the crappy Chinese food place inside of the LAX terminal. At the same time, I purchased a Gatorade, which I promptly forgot to bring with me and felt too awkward to go back for. Not my finest moment, but I hope that whoever picked it up got to enjoy it.

During the wait for this flight, I worked on this piece, and potentially had a bit of a nap, before the gate attendants finally began pre-boarding for the last leg of my journey. At this point I could tell that I was getting exhausted, as it annoyed the hell out of me when what seemed like every single passenger got up and attempted to get on the plane during the pre-boarding stage, again at zone one, and again at zone two, despite numerous messages from the crew that you would not be seated until it was your turn. Annoying AF (again, non-ironic usage). As I sit, relax, and finish this paragraph why warnings continue as the airport staff notes that “There seems to be some confusion at the gate, as we are not ready to seat the majority of you yet.”

I hop on the plane, and before I actually watch one of the Netflix items that I’d downloaded (before the plane would land, I’d get through most of The Wave), I took some time to reflect (more on that towards the end of the piece).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6TvhT-okSU

As the plane hit the tarmac, I began to realize just how exhausted I was. I slumped my way off of the plane, through customs (again, just say you’re going to / coming from a comic book convention and security won’t give a shit about you), grabbed my bag (which was checked for free as the plane was so full), and finally made my way outside of the airport. Mikaela waited for me in the lobby, and for the duration of the drive home I perked up and told SDCC stories that I’d forgotten about or that didn’t make it into these journal pieces. Before crashing, I opted to unpack, telling Mikaela that I needed to find my toothbrush, while secretly wanting to give her the WWE Championship fanny pack that was secretly in my bag. This came from the Box of Mystery and Danger, and I knew that she’d find it hilarious due to her love for fanny packs (which I really don’t understand). Also in unpacking, I’d realized that somehow I’d left my Canadian SIM Card in California, meaning that I had at least one important task on my plate the following day.

This Comic-Con felt pretty different, and to this point I’m not really sure why (but it felt mostly positive). Obviously, Shane wasn’t in attendance, and I missed him a lot (this was probably the only negative change vs. previous years), though the toilet did look a lot better after five days than after a few hours with our resident Brony around (say the word, Shane, and I’ll remove that last sentence).

I miss you already.
One thing that was pretty different for me personally was the fact that I was carrying around substantially less gear than I typically do. In past years I’ve used GoPros and mirrorless cameras to shoot Shane running the Assassin’s Creed obstacle courses, or numerous other events. I’ve taken hundreds of photos that wouldn’t see the light of day until months later.  I’ve brought notebook computers and carried them around all day for the off chance that I’d find some working wifi and could get some work done before returning to the hotel. This year I stripped down. I got rid of my computer, picked up an iPad Pro, took photos on my phone, and ended up writing substantially more words, producing more content, and feeling substantially less weighed down than in years gone by. I can’t say that these pieces would have been as in depth or as accurate without these devices and the WordPress app, which meant that while standing in line, grabbing a bite to eat, or waiting to meet up with others, I could continue where I left off, on any device, with just a few taps.

It also felt easier to describe Geekscape this year. Over the past few conventions, with the death of things like our long lost forums (which haven’t felt viable in some years), and the rise (and rise and rise) of what feels like 30,000 other geek culture blogs, we sort of lost our identity somewhere along the way. For the past few years, we’ve been scraping and clawing and trying to hold onto some semblance of what we were, instead of looking towards the future and thinking about what we could be. We’re a little (tiny) player in a world of Inverse’s and Nerdist’s, and it’s simply not viable anymore to focus on things like news when a myriad of other publications have offices with people sitting in desks waiting for the next piece of news to break. Many of us have (multiple) jobs, are going to school, or live in the middle of nowhere. As much as many of us would like to turn this sort of work into a career (and plenty of former Geekscapists have), there are plenty of us that simply love this brand, and want to try to see it grow into the best that it can be.

This year, we started describing ourselves as a podcast network. We’ve grown from one long running show into a handful, all with their own topics, hosts, personalities, and listener bases. There are more, secret shows in the pipeline, and the feedback for all of the podcasts (aside from Geekscape Games’ consistency) has been overwhelmingly positive.

We’re still in the work in progress phases of this transition, but we think it’s definitely the right move for us going forward (and I hope it’s alright that I’m spilling the beans right now). Deciding not to compete in areas where we simply can’t will give our people more time to focus on the things that they’re actually passionate about, podcasts or otherwise. The plan for the written content is not to stop it, but for it to evolve. The growing number of podcasts become the daily content that keeps us looking lively (and that has our listeners becoming connected with the people associated with the brand), which means that people will become more interested in the personal pieces that our writers bring to the table. Natalie sounds super passionate about toys, I’d love to see more personal articles like this from her in the future. Adam’s incredibly passionate about Puyo! Puyo! and I’d love to know why. Is Shane still a card carrying member of the Brony club? Why does Zack want to talk about potatoes so badly? These are all things that I’d love to learn more about because I feel connected with these people, and I think that with time our regular readers will be too. Becoming more personal with what we’re writing is the goal, which is something that I don’t think we see enough of in this industry today. Within these journals, I tried to give some insight into the way that SDCC ebbs and flows for those of you who may not have had an opportunity to experience it, and I also wanted to give everyone a little insight into myself and the way I operate. I hope that you’ve enjoyed reading about this journal as much as I’ve enjoyed bringing it to you.

This was a great Comic-Con. Jonathan brought some new energy to the brand that I haven’t seen from him in years, and it makes me excited about our potential future in a way that I haven’t been for some time. It was incredible to see fans of Matt’s podcast come up to him just to shake his hand and to let him know how much he enjoyed the show. It was cool to meet and get to know Courtney, and to make a plan to hang out in real life since we live so close together. I had a blast chatting wrestling and being introduced to New Japan by Josh and Magan. It was awesome to reconnect with Zack after not seeing him since Shane nearly killed his cat. Eating dinners as a group at Lolita’s (mmm, burritos) or Horton Plaza and simply trying to catch up (as I feel like I barely saw Adam or Natalie all weekend). These were the best moments, and as fun as being at Comic-Con, checking out the show floor, hitting up parties, panels, and offsites are, these are the things that I’ll remember way down the line. Jonathan said that he started Geekscape in order to make new friends, and I truly appreciate the lifelong friendships that I’ve made, and the people that I’ve gotten to know because of this brand.



#GeekscapeForever

My Overwritten Journey To SDCC 2017: Day 4 – Breakfast Burgers, Con Flu, And Recording Our Thoughts

by Derek Kraneveldt

Read day 0 here.
Read day one-ish here.
Read day two here.
Read day three here.

I have no idea what time I passed out at last night (or this morning, more likely), but I got up today feeling substantially more awake and energized than I did yesterday. It must have been the litres (gallons? US gallons? Why can’t America be the same as anyone else) of water that I’d consumed as an attempt to feel better.

I did wake up today with a bit of a sunburn on my neck, and at this moment I realized that I haven’t even thought about putting on sunscreen once so far this week. My fiancé packed it for me and everything, it just slipped my mind until it was too late. Now, typically I avoid sunscreen anyways because it feels gross and I don’t like doing things that feel gross, but I swear this isn’t one of those times. I told my fiancé that I had forgotten all about it, and she called bullshit no matter how I tried to save it.

I began to wander around the Gaslamp district in order to find some breakfast. I planned to hit up the Hall of Justice Subway that Jonathan and I ate at a couple of days back, but he texted me to let me know that they were closed on weekends. As I walked by dark restaurant after dark restaurant, I realized that apparently so was everywhere else (or they didn’t open for several more hours). I even went back to the Horton Plaza outdoor mall, as I assumed (incorrectly) that something in the food court would be open at this time. Heading here did, however, help me make up my mind about the Nikki Bella signing, which had a substantially longer line than the Sami Zayn event from days prior, even though you had to buy a specific package to take part in this one.


Somehow, a burger place called All American Burger was the first open locale that I came across, and thankfully the restaurant was nearly empty, meaning that I could walk in without waiting in any lines. Amazing. Do people not want burgers for breakfast? Or is everyone just in the Hall H line so they can see the Marvel reveals later today?

The burger was pretty tasty,  though also pretty expensive (especially factoring in Canada’s worthless dollar), and the coffee was much appreciated.

Tasty, but not $30 tasty.

The show floor was open following breakfast, and I waded through what felt like the most crowded show floor ever (or at least of this week) to make my way back to the booth. Jon was here, and we took the time to record a segment for the post-SDCC episode of the flagship Geekscape podcast. We chatted about Puyo Puyo, our experiences thus far, Sonic Mania, and more, and as we mentioned video games this once again makes Geekscape the number one video game podcast on the network.

We finished this up, and I watched Matt Kelly tell a ~10 year old girl in a princess dress about how the Horror Movie Night shirt he’d been slinging features a ghost with a boner. He also performed some sort of rap shortly afterwards.

Not the ghost boner moment, but not far from it.

I took this as an opportunity to leave the booth and to walk a bit more of the show floor. I headed towards Artist’s Alley in search of a print for my dad. In previous years he’s sent with with some cash, and I’ve added some cash of my own (as a birthday present) to get him a commission from a neat artist. This year I’m so broke that this just can’t happen, so I need to find something cool as a consolation prize.

I’m also in search of a cool looking Deadpool cosplay to take a photo of. One of my friend’s kids is a huge Deadpool fan (doesn’t he know that Deadpool isn’t for kids?) and asked me to snap a photo of one for him. Naturally, prior to this request I saw a myriad of them, but following the request I’ve yet to see a single one (even while legimately searching for one). Lame.

After some walking around, I decide to head across the road to the Petco Interactive Zone. Here, there are installations for things like IT, some sort of game called Recoil, photo ops for Game of Thrones, Luke Cage and more, some sort of World of Warcraft ice cream, and more. The lines for everything here were pretty long, and I was beginning to feel a bit off (could the con flu be coming on?) so I decided to head out without experiencing any of the content.

I took a walk around the outside of Petco Park to witness just how far the line for the upcoming Impractical Jokers Block Party stretched around the park, and it was nearly all the way. I’m talking thousands of people waiting to get in to experience the White Castle food truck, Sumo Wrestling, and other odd activities.

It’s hard to tell from this photo, but it was one of the longest lines I’d seen this year.

I wandered back up to the convention centre, went upstairs to see if Ballroom 20 had a lineup at this time as there was a The Simpsons panel here that sounded pretty interesting (it did, a very, very long one), and just sat down in the hall to get some writing done. At this point in the day I’m feeling pretty ill (I should have consumed more Emergen-C in the past few days), and instead of wanting to do anything else at the convention centre at this time, I kind of just want to have a nap.

I decided to sit down for a little while, and found an area outside of a panel room that wasn’t too packed. I continued to feel more and more nauseous, and as I knew nearly nothing that had been announced at Comic-Con thus far, I decided to scroll some news feeds. I watched a bad-ass first trailer for Ready Player One (I need to read the book again before the film comes out), the fantastic first full trailer for Stranger Things 2, and learned that Todd McFarlane was directing a new Spawn movie for Blumhouse.

At this point I was fading fast, and decided that I needed to grab some food and head back to the hotel to chill for awhile. I made my way back up to the Horton Plaza which at this point seemed like the only affordable food in the area, and ended up getting another round of Panda Express in before my long trip back to Canada the next day. I figured that I should buy something to augment the free things that I’d obtained thus far, so I made my daily round through the WWE FYE Pop-Up Shop (read all about it right here) and settled on some Bayley Gummy Bears and a The New Day Water Bottle. It was a cool $16 total, which seemed fine until I realized that I’d just spent more than $10 Canadian on Gummy Bears.

I arrived back at the Westin, gave my fiancé a quick call, and then napped for an hour or so. This was probably the best decision I’d made all day, as I woke up feeling pretty damned refreshed, and substantially less nauseous than I did previously. When I awoke, there was a notification from Expedia on my phone letting me know that I could now check in for my flight back to Vancouver. This reminded me that this year’s journey would soon be coming to an end.

At this point it was about 5:45PM, and I was under the impression that we’d be recording Geekscape Games in the morning, so I didn’t think that I’d have an opportunity to hit the show floor again after today. I opted to take a quick Lyft back to the convention centre so that I could have as much time as possible (the driver, Marcia, was very interested in what I’d experienced at the convention thus far). Here, I walked through Artist’s Alley once more, adoring all of the art that I couldn’t afford, walked by the weird hentai grab brags and missed Shane once again, and once again tried for a Stranger Things hat for Mikaela (no go, sorry sweetie). The convention floor closed, and we all booked it to Rockin’ Baha for one last dinner together (making 2017 the first year that I was able to experience the mango/pineapple salsa twice).

Matt, Courtney, and I made our way back to the hotel and decided to hit up the whirlpool as a means to relieve our aching feet. On our way back, Matt spotted a Deadpool without a mask. I noted that “Without a mask he’s useless to me,” to which Matt yelled “Yo Deadpool put your mask on for a second.” It worked, and I got the shot for my friend. I never would have asked him myself, so I guess thanks are in order.

At this point we had decided that we’d actually record a Geekscape Games podcast tonight, as some events ended up being booked for Sunday morning. Josh was unable to join due to an impromptu Michelle Branch (and not Sarah McLaughlin) concert, Adam was at a Sonic Mania, and Shane didn’t come to Comic-Con, so we invited Matt to be our third (especially as we’d mostly be talking about Comic-Con rather than video game news).

In the whirlpool, we met a guy who was in charge of designing Hot Wheels for Mattel. He noted that he’d worked in the auto industry for over a decade before getting a random call from Mattel, and that he took the job as it sounded like a fun departure. He told us a story about designing cars for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, noting that he’d designed a car based on a really cool character who ended up barely present in the final cut, and how weird it ended up being for a toy like this to come out when nobody would care (or even be familiar with) the character. Matt took the lead on the conversation (it kind of sounded like he was trying to take this guy home too), and he certainly had some incredibly interesting stories to tell.

Upon returning to the hotel room, we found Gui asleep meaning that this nice, quiet location was no longer an option. We ended up going downstairs and using the outdoor patio, which was quiet for the most part (aside from the occasional ambulance, musical pedicab, or train). Matt, Courtney, and I chatted about our favourite moments of the convention (this was Courtney’s first convention ever), things we were looking forward to tomorrow, the future of Geekscape, and much more. This was a really neat episode for me to be a part of, as it felt a little more in depth and personal than what we typically record. I’ll update this piece with the link to the episode as soon as Shane posts it (and works his audio magic as we did not use a monitor this time around).

Echoing what I said yesterday, I feel like I only just arrived, and it’s crazy to me that tomorrow afternoon all of this is coming to an end. I’ve shared a lot of great stories and laughs, and have had some deeper serious moments at this convention, not to mention all of the neat actually convention related things that I’ve been able to do. I’m not done with my family here just yet, and at this point I don’t want to go.

As I finish this piece, I’m the last one awake in the room. This is the last night that I’ll hear Jonathan’s insomnia-inducing snores until next year’s Comic-Con, and soon the wonderful face to face conversations that I’ve been having with everyone will again be relegated to text (or podcast, if I’m lucky). This is pretty sad, as I’m just not ready to say goodbye to these people. I wish I had a few more non Comic-Con days to spend with these folks once the insanity settles down, and on previous years, I would have.

In any case, I’m truly grateful that I got to spend some time with these people at all. I once again feel a closeness to them that was substantially weaker when I arrived, and it reminded me of how important these relationships are to me, and also of just how much these people care about me. I hope that I can take these thoughts and feelings home with me, and continue what we once again started here from afar (also Courtney lives pretty close to me, so I could totally see her for real).

It’s still hard to believe that there can be this many people in one place.

Anime Expo 2017: Here’s A First Look At Blizzard’s Upcoming D.Va Statue!

by Josh Jackson

If you’re an Overwatch fan, then you surely heard about Blizzard’s upcoming D.Va statue. Priced at a heartbreaking $450, we knew that it had to impress to justify the price tag. After seeing it unveiled in person however, and it’s hard to argue otherwise with all of the detail put into it.

When explaining the process of bringing Overwatch‘s gaming goddess to life, the design team knew that she couldn’t be in her Mecha from the start of the design phases. D.Va is unique in the sense that she’s actually two characters, so the team wanted that to be well represented when it came to her statue. With as many minute details that the Mecha has, it was the most challenging statue for them to design so far. Determined to stay one-to-one with the game assets, the legs in particular were a unique challenge to represent, with so many small sections in the joints needing to look like they would properly function while looking like it does in the game. The entire process was completed using both hand and digital work, taking about 8-12 weeks to fully sculpt. To put the finishing touches on the statue, the team used dental tools to create scratches, making both Hana and her Mecha look battle hardened.

With so many intricacies going into the design, it’s not hard to see why it’s so expensive. But then again, owning a piece one of last year’s waifu of the year winners is priceless. Check out our photo gallery below and let us know if you’re going to take out a second loan to pick this up, and let us know if you know any good divorce lawyers in the comments, since I’m pretty sure my wife won’t be happy when this shows up at my door.

Viz Will Be Publishing The Art Of ‘My Little Pony: The Movie’ This Fall!

by The_acz

Earlier today Viz announced that they’ll be partnering with Hasbro to release an art book for the upcoming MLP Movie scheduled to release October 6th. Not much has been said about the book, but it will be pretty lengthy and also include full color art. The art is due for release sometime in August, 2 whole months before the film comes out, so be wary of spoilers. Are you excited about this announcement? What animated movie do you want to see get an art book? Tell us in the comments below!

The ‘Inhumans’ TV Series Has Casted Their Black Bolt!

by The_acz

What we originally thought would be a shoe in role for Vin Diesel is no more. Marvel has found their Black Bolt for the Inhumans TV Series.

Anson Mount, known for his role as Cullen Bohannon on AMC’s Hell on Wheels.  For those not aware of what’s happening with Inhumans still, here’s a quick rundown. Marvel will release a TV Series based off Inhumans this Fall. The first 2 episodes will be released in limited release in IMAX this September, and will then continue on ABC. Are you interested in this series? Who would you have casted as Black Bolt? Tell us in the comments below!

 

Here’s The First Teaser Poster For Netflix’s Upcoming ‘Castlevania’ Series!

by Derek Kraneveldt

Briefly: We’ve only known that the series is officially in the works for a couple of weeks at this point, but Netflix has just released the very first teaser poster for its upcoming Castlevania series.

Inspired by the classic video game series, “Castlevania” is a dark medieval fantasy following the last surviving member of the disgraced Belmont clan, trying to save Eastern Europe from extinction at the hand of Vlad Dracula Tepe himself. The animated series is from Frederator Studios, a Wow! Unlimited Media company, written by best-selling author and comic book icon Warren Ellis and executive produced by Warren Ellis, Kevin Kolde, Fred Seibert, and Adi Shankar.

Shankar took to Facebook late last night to reveal the image and to reiterate that the series will launch later this year.

It’s been some time since I’ve really played a Castlevania title, but as a huge fan of the series growing up, with the incredible team behind the project, this is going to be bad ass.

Take a look at the image below, and let us know if you’re excited!

https://www.facebook.com/theadishankarbrand/photos/a.1595984600635168.1073741829.1425430891023874/1882190505347908/?type=3&theater

Netflix Releasing A ‘Castlevania’ Series This Year!

by The_acz

After over 10 years in development, Castlevania will finally be getting its due.

This evening while talking about their upcoming project, Netflix announced that they are hard at work on a Netflix series for the critically acclaimed Konami series created by Koji Igarashi. No specific date has been announced, but they’re hoping to have it out by 2017. The series will be split into 4 parts and will be written and produced by one of the original Dead Space writers, and pretty major comic book writer and all around idea man, Warren Ellis. Are you excited about this announcement? What game series are you hoping Netflix tackles afterwards? Tell us in the comments below!

InuJoshua’s 13 Most Anticipated Games Of 2017

by Josh Jackson

It may have taken a few years, but 2017 is looking like the year where the big consoles will finally hit their strides with a strong lineup across the board. From action games to RPGs, sequels to new IPs, and some recent surprises, there won’t be a shortage of quality content for gamers to enjoy throughout the year. Yet, we can’t play it all, which is why I narrowed down the thirteen games I’m most anticipating in 2017, which reflects the variety of content on every platform. Without delay, here we go!

Honorable Mention: Mass Effect Andromeda

It’s odd what difference a few years will make. Not too long ago, I would have considered Bioware to be one of my favorite active developers. But after Mass Effect 2 almost completely gave up on the first game’s RPG elements to become more of a straightforward shooter, the debacle that was Dragon Age 2, and the disappointing Mass Effect 3, I haven’t been all that up on Andromeda. With that said, I’m looking forward to giving this universe another chance, but I’m hoping we can up the RPG side of things while bringing back the interesting characters and alien sex that has become synonymous with the series.

13. Horizon: Zero Dawn

As the first new IP from Guerrilla Games since coming off of their mostly successful Killzone series, Horizon has a lot to prove. Based on everything we’ve seen so far though, it looks like it’s on track to go above and beyond expectations. As if fighting off robotic dinosaurs on horseback with a bow and arrow wasn’t crazy enough, the game is promising a strong narrative to match up with its incredible visuals. The only reason the game isn’t higher is because I wasn’t the biggest fan of the team’s previous games, but with something that looks so well done, Horizon has the potential to change all that.

12. South Park: The Fractured But Whole

Forrowing up on the laugh out loud hilarious Stick of Truth, The Fractured But Whole will take us back into the world of South Park, as the kids switch from their fantasy game to their super hero personas. Being tasked with once again creating your own kid to join in on the hilarity, the sequel is promising to deliver a more refined battle system to match up with what will surely be a hilarious script. Let’s just hope that unlike the first game, that Fractured ends up being free of game breaking glitches, features ways to re-visit past missions, and offers more content than an afternoon’s worth of adventuring.

11. Fire Emblem Warriors

I can’t say that I was ever a particularly big fan of Warriors games, but Hyrule Warriors taught me that the games are way more exciting when you’re playing as your favorite characters from other properties rather than fictional takes on historical figures. Transitioning from the land of Hyrule to the world of Fire Emblem, the franchise has hundreds of characters to choose from when putting together an all star cast, many of which will have unique abilities that fit in perfectly with the one vs. all style of these games. Corrin’s dragon abilities, the expert swordplay of characters like Marth, and flying in on a pegasus are just some of the possibilities we can expect, especially if there’s a small chance that we can have some of our favorite Tokyo Mirage Sessions characters make their return. Can I PLEASE wipe out armies with Tsubasa while she sings Feel?

10. Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia

From one Fire Emblem game to another, 2017 is looking like a fantastic year for a franchise that was considered dead in the water a few short years ago. While I knew next to nothing about Fire Emblem Gaiden before the announcement of Echoes, I’m thrilled to see how Nintendo is adapting everything that made the cult classic unique. We’ll have dungeon exploration for the first time in the West, a more focused story that won’t rely on a create your own character to drive the narrative as your main lord, and optional battles as you explore the two kingdoms. Two new gorgeous looking amiibo give me even more of a reason to be excited for May 19th, and I’m hoping that this won’t be the next game in the series that I buy and never finish…

9. Persona 5

This one has been a long time coming, with Atlus’ most popular RPG series relying on some fantastic spinoffs and remakes to keep the name out there. But after nine years, Persona 5 will finally find its way into our hands, as the Phantom Thieves take center stage. Since the third game, Persona has featured strong storytelling mixed with some of the finest turn based combat you’ll find, and wrapped it up in a high school / dating simulator where you can put the moves on your party and important NPCs in exchange for new abilities. Expect the same dark themes and haunting imagery to follow along with some of the finest role playing on the market, because after such a long wait, it just has to deliver.

8, Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite

Here’s another game that seeingly came out of nowhere towards the end of 2016. Promising more of a focus on the Marvel Cinematic Universe side of things and rumors swirling that the X-Men will be completely absent, we’re almost promised a mostly unique cast of characters. It’s a shame since X-Men: Children of the Atom was the game that really kicked off this series, but if losing Wolverine means we can get characters like Black Widow, Ant-Man, Groot, Star Lord, Vision, Scarlet Witch and Loki to make their debuts, then it will almost make up for it. I’m just hoping that the return of the 2 on 2 format will make the game much harder to break compared to MvC2 and UMvC3, but I’ll never underestimate the fighting game community’s ability to scrub every nook and cranny of the game.

7. CyberDimension Neptune: Four Goddesses Online

There’s two comments I have to make about this entry. One, it’s not actually scheduled to come out this year. Two, if it had a confirmed date, it would be much higher on the list. BUT… The reason why I have the long awaited journey into Vert’s favorite MMORPG near the halfway point of this list is because much like Neptune vs. Sega Hard Girls last year, that game also wasn’t scheduled, but found its way onto the Vita by the end of the year. In other words, I fully expect this out before 2017 is over. CyberDimension will take the girls of the Neptunia series to uncharted territory in more ways than one, making their debut in the simulated MMORPG realm as their first game made with Unreal 4 and placing them in roles that are brand new to each character. Uni as a thief? Neptune as a paladin? Noire as a Dark Knight? Get me that lifelong subscription!

6. Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony

Last year marked the end of the original Danganronpa story, with the third installment being told through an anime with mixed reception. Starting with a clean slate, V3 places us in a prison with 15 other inmates, with the same goal of getting away with murder in exchange for their freedom. The biggest reason why I named the first games my game of the year in 2014 was because of how creative it got with a genre as rigid as the point and click adventure series, so I’m anxious to see how Killing Harmony will continue this trend with the ability to lie. Expect plenty of heartbreak, despair, and many a waifu candidate this year. Now, excuse me as I go on a media blackout ahead of its Western release to avoid spoilers.

5. Gravity Rush 2

Gravity Rush 2 was a shoe in for a top three slot on this list… Until the Nintendo Switch conference happened and blew my expectations out of the water. Even still, Kat’s big return is easily my most anticipated game on the PlayStation 4 this year, which will deliver a much larger world for the Gravity Queen to manipulate with her incredible powers. We got a taste of her new ways to control gravity during the E3 demo last year, so the idea of taking such a creative premise and essentially tripling the possibilities is something I’m beyond excited for. Throw in Raven as a playable character, an expanded story that will hopefully fill some of the first game’s gaps, and multiple missions to tackle, and we’re left with PlayStation’s most can’t miss game this year.

4. Splatoon 2

We talked a little bit about 2014’s game of the year, so we can’t leave out 2015’s top game! Splatoon left a strong impression on me because of how different it was for an arena shooter. To think Ninendo’s biggest new IP in years would be an online shooter where the goal is to shoot everything BUT your opponent! Yet, here we are, getting ready for our second trip to this world where squids take human forms and pass the time by shooting each other with ink all day. From the small amount of footage we’ve seen so far, an expanded set of new abilities, weapons and gear will help make this sequel worth visiting, all while hopefully packing in a much more fleshed out single player mode. Trust me, I won’t sleep well until I learn why Marie is all alone in that reveal video…

3. Xenoblade Chronicles 2

As far as I’m concerned, the original Xenoblade definitely belongs in the discussion as one of the greatest RPGs of all time. Taking Western exploration and combining it with a more Japanese blend of combat and storytelling, I’ve still yet to play a game with such scope as either the original, or Xenoblade Chronicles X on the Wii U. The surprise reveal left us with plenty of questions, but one that was answered incredibly quick was when it would be released. Promising a 2017 launch, XC2 looks like it’s picking up in a post Monado… And post Shulk world, with a more cartoon-y cast to accompany that beautiful world. At this point, I trust anything that Monolith Soft does, so I’ll continue to let the intrigue build as we trudge through the year. One thing is for sure though, I’m fully expecting to be wowed yet again.

2. Super Mario Odyssey

Super Mario Galaxy 2 is one of three games that I go back and forth on regarding what my favorite game of all time is, so whenever a new 3D Mario game is announced, you better believe that I will be paying close attention. Not that I needed much convincing after watching Super Mario Odyssey trailer, because it’s already looking like a joy to play. The big draw when it comes to mainline Mario games is experiencing how the team at Nintendo EAD manages to find a way to make the formula feel fresh despite continuously using a now 21 year old game as its foundation. This time around, it’s looking like a free roam city inspired by the real world and the ability to use your hat as an additional platform seem to be the most noticeable changes, with plenty more to come I’m sure. Odyssey has some legendary shoes to fill, but it might be able to do so with a living hat!

1. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Breath of the Wild at number one should come as no surprise to anyone. Easily the most ambitious title in the franchise since Ocarina of Time, Link’s Switch debut is taking the series in some bold, new directions. Forsaking linear progression for an enormous version of Hyrule to explore, our hero will have to prepare for new threats, different terrains, and the harshness of nature as the world is literally his playground. With statements being made saying that the game is possible to complete very early if you explore thoroughly enough, early word makes it sound like the game will be open ended enough to let each and every one of us carve out our own experiences. We can approach dungeons in different ways. We can prioritize resource gathering. We can give up our trademark sword and shield in favor of a broadsword or an axe. And yet, it still retains that whimsical charm and loose basis in reality that has made the series beloved for decades now. So while we have numerous games both on and off this list that will surely be fantastic, Breath of the Wild is the only one with the potential to change how we view a franchise. And that’s why it places as my most anticipated game of 2017.

Now it’s your turn! What games are you most looking forward to in 2017, which ones should have made the list, and which ones don’t belong? Let us know in the comments!

‘DuckTales’ 2017 News: David Tennant Is Scrooge McDuck, & More!!

by The_acz

About a week ago, Disney announced a release window for the highly anticipated reboot for DuckTales coming summer 2017 to Disney XD. Not much was revealed other than the release window and some concept art, but now Disney decided to drop a pretty big bombshell on us this morning.

Today, the new cast of DuckTales was announced, and from what they’ve showed, this is coming along pretty nicely. Community’s Danny Pudi, will be voicing Huey, along with SNL Bobby Moynihan as Louie, and Jean Ralphio himself, Ben Schwartz as Dewey. Raising Hope‘s Kate Micucci has also been cast as Webby, but the biggest name drop today was that David Tennant, the 10th Doctor himself, will be voicing the iconic smartest of the smarties, Scrooge McDuck! Check out the video below to find out who else has been cast in the anticipated reboot, and tell us if you’re excited for this show in the comments below!

Level-5 Confirms ‘Lady Layton’ Will Come Stateside In 2017

by Josh Jackson

Video games and comic books share so many qualities, one of which being that the end is never *THE END*. When Professor Layton wrapped up his adventures with Unwound Future, then delivered what was said to be his final game when the prequel trilogy came to a close with 2014’s Azran Legacy, it seemed like that would be the last we would see of the top hat professor. It turns out that this was only half true. While the ultimate gentleman may be out of the spotlight, his daughter has arrived to take up the puzzle solving mantle, and we’ll be playing it in the West much sooner than expected.

Announcing Lady Layton: The Millionaire Araidone’s Conspiracy, the debut trailer introduces us to Katrielle, a dectective who is exploring London in search of her father. With her talking dog at her side, it’s clear that Kat’s adventure will be just as offbeat, charming and quirky as the previous games in the series, all on display thanks to the game’s animated cutscenes. The lengthy trailer gives us plenty to dig into, but we still have so many questions. What happened to Luke and Emmy? What about Layton’s son that was featured in the professor’s mobile spin-off? Considering Luke had the special ability to talk to animals in the past, what’s the deal with the animals actually talking? Where’s Professor Layton? And most importantly, considering how Hershel’s true love ended in tragedy, who was he able to find happiness with again in order to have a family in the first place?

Luckily, we won’t have to wait too long to find out. Check out the trailer for yourself and speculate with us, and make sure to dust off your thinking cap, since we’ll have a whole lot of puzzles to solve once next year hits.

Lady Layton is set for a 3DS, iOS and Android release.

Disney Releases First Image For The ‘DuckTales’ Reboot!

by The_acz

Great news for those eagerly awaiting new info on 2017’s DuckTales reboot.

This morning, Disney finally pulled back the curtain a bit to finally reveal what the reboot of the popular 1987 Disney Afternoon show will look like. Check it out below!

DuckTales Reboot

From the looks of it, the new style looks like a page from the original comic book come to life. It also looks as if Donald will be joining along for the adventure this time (as he did in the original comics.) I for one am excited to see this new, and more faithful take on this beloved property. What are your thoughts though? Are you excited for this reboot?