Josh Brolin Cast as Thanos in Guardians of the Galaxy (Marvel Comics)

     It appears that Marvel has let slip that The Eternals's most notorious cosmic despot Thanos will be played by Josh Brolin in Guardians of the Galaxy.

     In the Avengers film he was played by Damion Poitier, but will be given new purple-skinned life for the upcoming movie.  He'll be back to collecting a slew of items that will become Marvel's movie version of the Infinity Gauntlet which will allow him to famously "court Death" by warping space, time, and pretty much everything else.  Yes, Death personified as a female entity.


     Source [ Latino Review ]

Take-Two Games: Confirms Red Dead Redemption and Bioshock Sequels

     Strauss Zelnick, 2K's CEO, has stated that Red Dead is a permanent franchise along with GTA, Borderlands, and the NBA games- so a sequel is quite likely already in the works.  Since it's been 4 years since the last game, we might even guess at a potential announcement soon- possibly even at E3.

"I pretty much know the ones that I can assure you are permanent. It's obvious that GTA is a permanent franchise as long as we keep delivering this incredible quality; it seems quite obvious that Red Dead is a permanent franchise."

     This is pretty good news, as Red Dead Redemption was a huge and engaging experience and I've grown tired of all the Grand Theft Auto games.  We could use another good western game, the only two I've played that were this and Call of Juarez: Gunslinger.   Hell, I wouldn't mind a "Grand Theft Castle" or "Red Dead Renaissance" type game set in a fantasy realm or medieval era.
     Regardless, if it's considered a "permanent franchise" there'll be another game sooner or later.

     As for the expanding or continuation of the Bioshock franchise, Zelnick said this:

"We haven't given any color on how you should think about it yet except we do believe it's beloved; we think it's important [and] certainly something that we're focused on; something 2K Marin will be responsible for shepherding going forward. I don't want to say much else except to agree with you. I think there's a lot of upside in that franchise."

     Which means it might be a mere consideration at the moment, but because its popularity and "commercial potential" it stands to reason that they're looking for a way to continue the series after the dispersal of Irrational Games- there's an infinite amount of money waiting to be made from it.

     On the plus side of things 2k is focusing on the right aspects of making games and not just profit mongering:

"The risk of just [releasing more games] is that you end up just bulking up your release schedule and that isn't really what consumers want. Consumers want better, not more," Zelnick said.

     There's always a risk of receiving another glorious flub like Duke Nukem Forever.  Many might lament the potential for another The Bureau: XCOM Declassified, but honestly, I actually enjoyed The Bureau in how it broke away from the typical XCOM play and would fully enjoy a similar departure.

     Source [ Gamespot ]

Project Beast Footage Leaked: From Software Video

     It appears some new Souls are truly on the horizon.  From Software's rumored next game, currently under the working title Project Beast, seems to be looking more and more like the truth, and not just rumor and speculation.  NeoGAF user "drotahorror" posted some clips and Youtuber Vyktar has conveniently grouped the 4 short segments into a single video for our viewing pleasure.

     All these "leaks" are very plausible for a real new game, and even more convincing the closer we get to E3 this year.  As time goes the great hype machine is getting plenty of fuel for the bonfires, and this could be a brilliant marketing tactic to keep us wanting more.  Such a tantalizing prospect so soon after Dark Souls 2's March release.   As for now, the game is still officially unannounced, but things are looking like a big reveal will hit soon.

     Many Souls fans have been awaiting what Demons Souls and Dark Souls director Hidetaka Miyazaki was working on, and this definitely has his style all over it.  We're all just waiting for the official announcement so we may enter the disturbing new fog gate with equal parts fear and excitement.

     Source [ NeoGAF ]

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel: Handsome Jack Teaser and Athena Commentary Gameplay

     It looks like the PAX East Handsome Jack Trailer has finally been made available- the one where Handsome Jack reads, well, alters and modifies the poem Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley.

     Hopefully, the game truly can show us the transformation of Jack the hero into Handsome Jack the tremendous A-hole we all know and love.  This game will supposedly be showing us the gradual change of someone that starts as good becoming a tyrant.  By the sounds of it, we'll be given a way to look at Jack with a little more of a sympathetic eye, and maybe a slightly lesser view of the Vault Hunters' morally high ground- a sort of equalization- as he becomes a monster.

     In addition to the release of the trailer above, we get a demo video with commentary and some gameplay footage of the character Athena (as well as small bits with Wilhelm, and a cameo with Claptrap).  I wonder what will become of her as she is the only main character not mentioned in Borderlands 2...

     Overall, this looks to follow the tried and true formula of the Borderlands series, and will no doubt be more of the same enjoyable shoot and loot game loaded with humor.

Borderlands 2: Sir Hammerlock vs The Son of Crawmerax Review

     The last, and surprisingly best, Headhunter Pack ends the nearly year and a half run of DLC for the Borderlands saga.  I know that the Pre-Sequel is getting most of the press right now, and I forgot to post this way back on the week it was released, but another jaunt through it didn't take long. There's a remarkable amount of stuff in here to keep players busy and sated while we wait for what the future of the series may hold.

     The Vault Hunter's are trying to take a tropical vacation to Wam Bam Island when, of course, trouble follows.  On our trip, we get a wealth of enemies to gun down including the pirates from Captain Scarlett's, a ton of Savages from Hammerlock's Hunt, and a wonderful throwback to Borderlands' General Knoxx DLC with the Craboids.  There is a wonderful mix and variation of enemies in this installment, and in the end that simple fact gives it a replayability the other Headhunter Packs lack.

     Once you've taken care of the little things on this tiny paradise, you get to track down the abducted Hammerlock who is being sacrificed to Crawmerax Junior.  Then after defeating the greatest raid-boss' progeny you get another son-seeking-vengeance to deal with- Sparky Flynt.
     He's seeking to kill the ones that killed his father Captain Flynt. (No mention of the other possible family member Baron Flynt, who once punched Tannis' dog)  Which serves as a nice segue into a story based optional mission that drops clues in for the future of the series itself.  A group of assassins had been sent in to kill the current group of Vault Hunters and as players encounter them, they've all been killed by "friends," some known, some unknown- such as Zer0's cryptic and mysterious assistant One.  (I played through as Krieg, Maya, and Zer0- soon I might have a go as Axton for the Hawaiian shirt)  Each character has their own response dialogue and message to give a small incentive to play through with each one.  (Here's a link if you don't want to replay it with more than 1 character- Assassins of the Assassins)

     We get plenty of old characters like Crazy Earl and even a new face- after the death of our beloved Bloodwing, Mordecai's new baby bird Talon is a great addition to the story!  Mordecai even quit his drinking to raise them.  It'll be tough to replace Blood, but I have faith the writers will do the series justice.

     The main set up of this DLC is an homage to the first game for 75%, then the last 25% is spent pointing towards what's to come with clever and extremely vague hints.  The original Vault Hunters even pay fan service with the mentions of killing Crawmerax a lot and even a great callback to the "ledge exploit."  This is a great farewell to a game many of us have played quite religiously over the last year and a half.  It contains all the right nods to past occurrences and all the right hints to the future of the series, and it finally adds a true raid-boss finale to top off the list of awesome inclusions.  Well done Gearbox, I am now awaiting the next installment.

     It's also worth noting that while the heads for defeating Craw Jr. are a bit lackluster, the skins are quite excellent- beach attire for the whole team!  Sure, I'm a little sad there's no Swimsuit Maya skin, but at least there's a wet t-shirt Salvador... Gearbox has given me the ability to dual-wield wet nipples all over Pandora and it makes me quite ecstatic to have the privilege to do so.

LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham Announcement Trailer

     Traveller's Tales Games have released their newest Lego game trailer with the 3rd in the DC Comics Batman series, which should rightly be called DC Heroes now.  True to form, it's got the story and graphics with a bit of humor.  Hopefully they've fixed some of the control issues that have plagued Lego games in the past.

     Here's the official description:

     The best-selling LEGO Batman videogame franchise returns in an out-of-this-world, action-packed adventure! In LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham, the Caped Crusader joins forces with the super heroes of the DC Comics universe and blasts off to outer space to stop the evil Brainiac from destroying Earth. Using the power of the Lantern Rings, Brainiac shrinks worlds to add to his twisted collection of miniature cities from across the universe. Now the greatest super heroes and the most cunning villains must unite and journey to different Lantern Worlds to collect the Lantern Rings and stop Brainiac before it's too late.  

     Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham will be available this fall for the PS4, PS3, PS Vita, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Wii U,  3DS,  and PC.

X-Men: Days of Future Past: Review and Thoughts (SPOILERS) (Guardians of the Galaxy Mention as well)

     ***OFFICIAL SPOILER WARNING***

     "I Don't Want Your Future"

     This is an apt quote, as the film resets the X-Men franchise with the exception of First Class.  Eliminating the horrendous Wolverine films, and the other X-men trilogy.  Thank goodness we've done away with X3, that movie was an abomination.  Good news!  The future of the X-Men movies has been fixed by the same means this film fixes the time line- through a little rewriting of history.

Edgar Wright Leaves Marvel's Ant-Man Movie Over Creative Differences

     In a huge surprise Marvel and Director Edgar Wright have parted ways on the upcoming Ant-Man film.  This is quite a shift in direction because Wright has been attached to the project since 2006, as both director and co-writer with Joe Cornish.  After years of postponement Marvel Studios and Wright have separated in an "amicable" way "due to differences in their vision of the film."
     This is depressing news as Wright's Scott Pilgrim vs The World was a tremendous film and Marvel could use that type of film in it's line-up, with only The Guardians of the Galaxy sounding similar in tone.

     A new director is apparently already lined up, but their name is still withheld, and both Paul Rudd and Michael Douglas are still playing two different versions of the character.  Personally I hope Douglas is playing Hank Pym, and Rudd as the Eric O'Grady version.  Although I think it might be that they are playing future and past versions of Pym.  We'll have to wait and see.

     With Marvel's future plans reaching into 2028 it seems like a bad omen to have a long time worker on a film depart like this.  I think their films need to branch out a little, and focus on more than one type audience or demographic- and Edgar Wright might've been able to help do that.

     The Ant-Man release date remains July 17, 2015.

     Source [ Variety ]

Batman: Arkham Knight: New "Evening the Odds" Gameplay Trailer

     The newest Arkham Knight trailer just appeared and it shows off some great gameplay mechanics.  We get some little bits of combat, an interrogation, the Batmobile, and a ton of amazing graphics.  This game might be the first real jaw dropper for the Next Gen systems.



     Everything in this trailer looks like it is part of a cinematic.  A part of me hopes there's more of a stealth element to gameplay instead of purely combat and Batmobile driving skills.  Something along the lines of being able to do traps and large scale stealth take downs.

     Regardless, Rocksteady looks to be knocking this game out of the park.

Godzilla: Mini-Review, Sequel News, and a Meme

*WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD*

     I went into Gareth Edwards' Godzilla with the lowest of expectations.  Heading in thinking we'll get a rubber-suited WWF wrestler demolishing everything in sight I was prepping for the worst.  Oddly enough, I think that actually led me to believe this movie was much, much better than I would've hoped.

Fat Shaming is Wrong: Real Giant Lizard Monsters Have Curves!

     In this new version of Godzilla we are given a rebirth of nuclear fueled creatures from the prehistoric era.  We, as humans, are merely fodder in the way of these titans.  At first I was bothered by the way that the humans are seemingly just for show.  They're given enough story to keep us interested, but not enough to really root for them.  Apparently the budget for Bryan Cranston was only enough for the fist 40 minutes.  Ken Watanabe's scientist is primarily ignored by the military, with the exception of one moment with David Strathairn and a pocket watch.  There was a serious under utilization of any of the female leads (Elizabeth Olsen, Juliette Binoche, and Sally Hawkins), and Aaron Taylor-Johnson, as Cranston's son, is a fumbling military man that is trying to get back to his wife and son.
     What I realized was this was a smart move by the filmmakers.  The human element isn't the important part- it's the big monsters.  We aren't even a bump in the road for them.  As Watanabe's character, Dr. Serizawa, says, “The arrogance of man is thinking nature is in our control, and not the other way around.”  In the end, none of the humans can do anything to help or stop the monsters.

     Maybe it's a statement on the ecological systems we are creating, maybe it's about the military's way of causing plenty of damage on top of nature's own havoc, or maybe it's just some big f***king monsters battling it out for our entertainment- regardless, I was thoroughly entertained.

     In addition I see that the news reports that a sequel has already been confirmed.  Many are asking if Mothra will be seen, but what about King Ghidorah?  I personally hope they get the rights to Gamerah and have an epic tag team battle against some other long dormant creatures of the past.
     Maybe some extremist group will try and use the knowledge to try and awaken some other slumbering giants...

     And one last thing, a Tweet I put up right after seeing the film, which ties in nicely with the image I made above:

Just saw #Godzilla and I gotta say, he's got some serious child-bearing hips. #LiteralThunderThighs
— Mr. J!sh (@jbarsody) May 19, 2014

    If Godzilla is the all-time greatest apex predator, why doesn't he eat the other giant beasts?  That would explain the massive hips and thighs...  I mean, one would think that he wouldn't solely subsist on radioactivity.  If I recall correctly Godzilla was always a little bottom-heavy and sort of pyramid shaped.  Oh well, I still enjoyed the crap out of this film and look forward to the recently announced sequel.