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Clint Mansell to score Mass Effect 3

February 10, 2011September 26, 2012 Doug Groves Clint Mansell, Mass Effect 3, Pop Will Eat Itself, score composer, soundtrack, The Quietus2 Comments

In an interview with The Quietus, Clint Mansell let it slip that he’ll be scoring the third installment of Bioware’s Mass Effect franchise. Mansell is one of the best film composers working in Hollywood today. His work includes being the ‘go to’ composer for Darren Aronofsky, director of Pi, Requiem For A Dream and Black Swan. As the soundtrack for Requim so deftly illustrates, Mansell isn’t afraid to draw from a wide array of genres and styles to arrive at something unique. This blending of genres is nothing new for…

Batman: Arkham City comics fill the gap between games

February 9, 2011February 11, 2011 Doug Groves Arkham Asylum, Arkham City, Batman, Carlos D'anda, Comics, DC Comics, miniseries, Paul Dini, PC gaming, PS3, Rocksteady, Xbox 3602 Comments

I was really late to the game when Batman: Arkham Asylum came out in 2009. Even though it was a commercial and critical success, with most saying it was the best Batman game of all time, it struck me as faint praise, given what had come before. Last fall, I finally got around to picking it up, and I loved everything about it. The game captured the spirit of Batman better than anything outside the comics. Even if it were stripped of the Dark Knight’s trappings, the gameplay was fluid,…

Dead Space 2 review

January 31, 2011September 26, 2012 Doug Groves action, creepy, Dead Space 2, EA, horror survival, PC gaming, PS3, review, Visceral Games, Xbox 3602 Comments

The original Dead Space made a bit of a splash when it first launched: a science fiction horror survival game that provided a unique environment, lots of scares, and a solid story. The universe that the creators crafted was well fleshed out and expanded upon with an animated film, comic books more. While none of ancillary media was required to enjoy the game, it was clear from the start that EA and Visceral Games wanted to build this into a long lasting franchise. Enter Dead Space 2, which continues the…

A Filmmaker’s Decision: Canon 60D or Nikon D7000?

January 21, 2011September 26, 2012 kingpinlei Can 60D, Film, Nikon D7000, review2 Comments

Part 1 Everyone around here knows I’ve been looking around for a new camera for a while. Being an independent filmmaker who shoots primarily narrative-based (fictional) films, I have certain specific requirements that are very different to the requirements of a photographer. Now that DSLRs have come into their own – especially with indie/low budget filmmakers – when the camera manufacturers enabled Full 1080p HD video recording capabilities on these DSLRs, it has opened a world of possibilities for the indie filmmaker. Before, the choice was a bit clearer when…

Toronto Comic Con annouces line-up

January 20, 2011September 26, 2012 Doug Groves Buffy, event, Star Wars, Toronto, Toronto Comic Con, Wizards World1 Comment

Fan Expo may be the biggest comic convention in Canada, but it’s not the only one. The line up for Wizard’s 2011 Toronto Comic Con was announced earlier this week, and it’s chalk full of fandom favourites including Star Wars alumni Billy Dee Williams and David Prowse. Of course, beyond the pop culture draws, there will be plenty of comic creators on hand.

Little Big Planet 2 launch

January 18, 2011April 4, 2011 Doug Groves LBP2, Little Big Planet 2, Playstation, PS3, PSN, Sony2 Comments

On Monday Sony held a launch party for the highly anticipated Little Big Planet 2, which continues the adventures of Sackboy and friends. With me tied up with clients and a major network rewiring at the studio, Deb had a chance to attend her first video game media launch party and this is what she had to say about it:

Minecraft notches over 1,000,000 sales

January 14, 2011April 4, 2011 Doug Groves indie gaming, Markus Persson, Minecraft, Minecraft sales, Notch, PC gaming1 Comment

When a major console or PC game racks up a million copies sold, it rarely registers as a blink in the market. A million sometimes doesn’t recoup the costs of a ‘Triple A” title. In comparison, not many indie games manage to get close to that number. Markus “Notch” Persson’s Minecraft is another story though. Sold online via the Minecraft website, not only did the game hit one million in sales, but it shows little evidence of slowing down.

Zombies!!! for Windows Phone 7

January 13, 2011January 25, 2011 Doug Groves review, Twilight Creations, Windows Phone 7, WP7, Xbox Live, Zombies14 Comments

Zombies!!! started its (un)life as a unique board game 10 years ago from game publisher Twilight Creations. In that time a number of expansion packs and alternate rules have kept the game fresh. I’ve been a fan of it since almost the beginning, and followed the Yahoo newsgroup for the game for a number of years, including trying out some of the fan suggested alternate rules options. Now Zombies!!! made the transition to a video game on the Windows Phone 7 platform. The adaptation not only captures the feel of the tabletop game for newcomers, but enhances the experience for those who’ve played the tabletop version.

Using Kinect and WiiMote to play Max Payne

January 12, 2011January 18, 2011 Doug Groves Kinect, Kinect hack, Max Payne, Microsoft, PC gaming, Wii, WiiMote, Xbox 360, YouTube0 comment

Kinect hacks have taken on many forms since the release of Microsoft’s motion sensor. From controlling Windows 7 to using it as a collision detection system for the AR Drone helicopter, the system is proving to be pretty versatile. Sure the term ‘hack’ may not be 100% accurate, since the device and its official software aren’t being hacked in any way, but that’s just semantics. Demize2010, who’s no stranger to making Kinect hack enabled games, has just released his latest example. This time, he’s got Max Payne being controlled with…

Dance Central – One Step At a Time

January 12, 2011January 31, 2011 Deborah Chantson Dance Central, DLC, harmonix, Kinect, Microsoft, music game, review, rhythym game, Xbox 3608 Comments

While the gyms are full and too many people are jiggling around in too little clothing, I’ve become a basement gamer. A dancing basement gamer.

Dance Central has only recently become a tool for fitness in my household. It started out as the coolest novelty, a well-intentioned weight loss method, then loads of fun as a party game. So ironically, hubby and I would just be watching everyone else sweat, while we sat and haphazardly reminded ourselves to play later.

We didn’t.

Fan Expo adds fourth day and moves back south

January 11, 2011January 12, 2011 Doug Groves 2 Comments

Although widely known to be the last weekend in August, Hobbystar has announced the dates for Fan Expo 2011. This year the show will run from Thursday August 25 to Sunday August 28th. After the sardine crush of 2010, the convention is not only moving back to the more spacious South Building, they’re taking over the whole South Building, which gives them over 400,000 square feet of geeky goodness. They’ve also extended the convention to include Thursday which should alleviate some of 2010’s problems.

Mirrors Edge: Still Alive

January 11, 2011January 20, 2011 Wesley Fok Dear Game Diary, EA, Mirrors Edge, PC gaming, PS31 Comment

Spoiler warning: Minor scenario/level spoilers for Mirror’s Edge. Very little in the way of story spoilers, partially because there’s very little in the way of story. Three days or two years: depending on how you look at it, that’s how long it took me to finish Mirror’s Edge. Though I’d managed to play up to Chapter 7 on the PS3, I didn’t really feel qualified to say whether the game had fulfilled its vision or not; some would argue that I’m still not qualified, given that I haven’t even tried…