Both Amy Adams hand Jake Gyllenhaal had considerable awards buzz last year, though neither ended up getting nominated at the Academy Awards for their respective roles in Big Eyes and Nightcrawler. But now the two are teaming up for a new project, as THR reports the two talented stars are circling roles in Nocturnal Animals, a new thriller being produced by George Clooney and his Smokehouse Productions banner. The project doesn’t have a studio yet, but Smokehouse has a first-look deal with Sony, so it could easily end up there. As of now Adams is in talks to star while Gyllenhaal is reportedly attached as the male lead. In addition, Joaquin Phoenix and Aaron Taylor-Johnson may also end up with roles. ›››
If you’ve been watching late night television over the past couple weeks, you’ve probably caught Will Ferrell hamming it up in order to promote the arrival of his new comedy Get Hard with Kevin Hart, which starts hitting theaters this evening. It’s been a lot of fun, but nothing that we felt compelled to cover, that is until he decided to sing the iconic theme song to Star Trek with his angelic voice. Ferrell has been called the songbird of his generation and this clip from “The Late Late Show” with James Corden (fresh off his amazing viral stunt with Tom Hanks) proves it’s absolutely true. Why does Kevin Hart tell him to stop? ›››
The popular anime Robotech has been stuck in development since as far back as 2007 with Warner Bros. trying several iterations in order to get it off the ground, the last attempt being with commercial director Nic Mathieu in 2013. But now the property has switched studios as Sony Pictures has just announced the acquisition of the big screen rights to Robotech with “the intention of moving quickly toward production of a future global franchise.” Surely that was what Warner Bros. had hoped for too, so let’s not get to excited just yet, but the anime classic has a sprawling sci-fi world that would make for quite the cinematic spectacle. ›››
Now that the first standalone spin-off to follow Star Wars: The Force Awakens has the official title of Star Wars: Rogue One and a confirmed leading lady in Oscar nominee Felicity Jones, it’s time for the rest of the film’s cast to get rounded up before production begins later this year. Deadline has word that Ben Mendelsohn, a spectacular Aussie character actor you should recognize from The Dark Knight Rises and Killing Them Softly, is circling another lead role alongside Jones. Of course, as has become customary with all Star Wars casting news, there’s absolutely no hint of what kind of character he will be playing at all. ›››
It’s been a long road for Furious 7 to make it to theaters next week. While the film was meant to be fasttracked for a release last year to follow closely behind Fast & Furious 6, the film was struck with the tragic death of leading man Paul Walker, one of the stars of the original film that kicked off this ongoing action franchise. Production was halted, and a new approach needed to be hatched in order to finish the film while also giving Walker a proper send-off with what was already shot. We’ve heard reports of CGI and body doubles being used to help complete Walker’s work on the film, and also his two brothers, but there’s more. ›››
A comprehensive fan-made update for Half-Life 2, which makes sweeping changes to the 11-year-old game’s visuals, has gone live on Steam.
The 7 GB update adds in subtle visual effects that essentially restore the look of Valve’s seminal first-person shooter. Known simply as Half-Life 2: Update, the remaster is the product of three years’ development from a team of modders, with the project sanctioned and supported by Valve.
According to promotional materials, Half-Life 2: Update delivers “improvements to lighting, special effects, increased world detail, countless bug fixes, and an original Community Commentary mode.” A new trailer can be found below, while a comparison video is embedded above.
Click on the thumbnails below for a closer look at the updated game’s visuals
Project lead Filip Victor said the remaster brings Half-Life 2 to the same standards as its episodic sequels, Half-Life 2: Episode 1, and Half-Life 2: Episode 2, “and just a little bit beyond.”
He said: “While developing the update, I needed to make sure that no matter what I did, I was improving Half-Life 2’s world without changing its iconic style, tone, or gameplay.”
“My goal is to create something that will draw new players to the Half-Life series, but not alienate long-time fans. Half-Life 2: Update shouldn’t be seen as a mod, but as a true update to what is already there.”
Along with major improvements to the visuals, Half-Life 2 adds an optional Community Commentary mode, which contains more than 100 in-game audio nodes that, when activated in-game, discuss the original Half-Life 2’s development. These are voiced by some well-known YouTubers such as Caddicarus, Brutalmoose, Rice Pirate, ProJared, and Balrog the Master.
The Steam Store page for Half-Life 2: Update can be found here.
In the Gearbox Software forums, numerous players are reporting screen tearing and frame rate issues. The problems appear to be limited to The Pre-Sequel, though fans clearly aren’t happy.
“One of the main reasons I bought The Handsome Collection was for the better performance,” one player wrote. “So, it just feels wrong that half of the content included is hard to play due to eye strain.”
Thankfully for fans, Gearbox Software has now responded. In this forum post, Gearbox Software community developer Joe King said the studio is looking into the issues, but asked fans to have patience.
“Just wanted to pop in and ease everyone’s minds a bit. The team is certainly aware of both the screen tear and FPS lag issues and are currently investigating them,” he said. “Needless to say, things are quite busy and we appreciate everyone’s continued patience.”
In GameSpot’s review of The Handsome Collection, reviewer Cameron Woolsey also noted frame rate problems for The Pre-Sequel. He explained that players probably won’t notice them when they’re in smaller, enclosed spaces. But frame rate takes a big hit in other areas, he wrote.
“In larger, detailed areas, as well as during intense battles, performance hits are common enough to become distracting, able to pull you out of the mood time and time again,” Woolsey said. “The problem is exacerbated when running The Pre-Sequel in split-screen multiplayer, with slowdown occurring at nearly every interval.”
In other recent Borderlands news, Gearbox Software CEO Randy Pitchford said the original Borderlands–which is not included in The Handsome Collection–could come to current-generation consoles if fans demand it.
With under two days to go, the Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign for a new Toejam and Earl game, appropriately titled Back in the Groove, has reached its $400,000 target. At press time, funding stands at $430,832. More than 7,600 people have contributed to the campaign so far. Funding closes March 27.
“Thanks to all of you, we have made it,” developer Humanature Studios said in a statement. “Prepare for the FUNK!!!!”
The game’s $425,000 stretch goal–an “old school skins” pack based on the early games–has now been unlocked. Should funding reach $450,000, Humanture will add the Hyperfunk Zone from Toejam and Earl 2.
Meanwhile, the game will come to consoles if even more money pours in: $600,000 (PlayStation 4), $700,000 (Xbox One), and $800,000 (Wii U). Currently, the game is confirmed for PC only.
In addition, Humanature teased that it has a “few more announcements” to make regarding Back in the Groove, though these are being saved for later.
Back in the Groove, built in the Unity engine, is being worked on by original designer Greg Johnson. The game is scheduled to launch in November 2015, though of course this could change. For lots more on the game, see the bullet-points below or check out GameSpot’s in-depth previous coverage.
A “Travel-back-in-time” theme that will span new characters and old ones.
More meta-game features, including the chance to collect hats with special abilities.
New “flying-presents” items.
New co-op features including the ability to shout and lure Earthlings away from a friend and the option to open a present that gives your buddy more life.
Nintendo has published a new Xenoblade Chronicles 3D trailer ahead of its release in early April.
The trailer, which contains some spoilers, sets up the JRPG’s story of revenge, while showcasing its diverse cast of characters and landscapes.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3D is a handheld port of Monolith Soft’s breakthrough Wii game, and is only playable on the New Nintendo 3DS, not the older models, due to the demands it places on the system’s improved processor.
It also takes advantage of the New 3DS’s C-Stick, with the analogue nub used for camera control. However, Xenoblade Chronicles 3D’s file size is too large for the 4GB memory cards that are bundled with each New Nintendo 3DS, meaning that players who want to download the digital version from the eShop will need to purchase a larger memory card.
GameSpot’s Xenoblade Chronicles 3D review praised the epic scale of the handheld title. Games critic John Robertson wrote: “While it’s an inferior proposition to its initial Wii release in 2011, Xenoblade Chronicles 3D remains superior to the majority of RPGs. The move to 3DS has harmed the act of playing, but if you can look past the clunky signage and questionable 3D then you’ll find a game that remains an amazing high point for the genre, one that’ll absorb you right up to its glorious finale.”
The Xenoblade Chronicles 3D release date falls on April 2 in Europe and April 10 in the US.
On Wednesday, the platform holder detailed the key new features included in the PS4’s 2.5 Yukimura update, including the long-awaited Suspend/Resume function and hard drive back-up options. The full list of additions can be found here.
Now, with the updates going live across Europe, the US, and Asia, PS Vita owners have begun listing the featured improvements that come with the handheld’s 3.5 firmware. Chief among them is enhanced accessibility options such as button remapping, enlarged text, inverted colours, contrast adjustment, and zoom functionality.
Though these features have been designed for customers with impaired vision and limited manual dexterity in mind, the button remapping could be particularly useful for players who use the PS Vita’s function as a spare PS4 controller, and for those who use Remote Play to stream PS4 games to their handheld. Due to the Vita’s two fewer shoulder buttons than the DualShock 4 controller, remapping could give players options to build a button scheme around this problem.
Digital Spy has noted other changes on the updated Vita, such as the removal of the Maps application, along with various tweaks across the platform.
Good news – the PS Vita has also been updated with accessibility features, including button remapping: pic.twitter.com/VAT4F8SerZ
