For Those Of You Not Paying Attention: January 16th, 2009

Gosh, you know, with that sign there,  that advice is pretty sound.



Take time out from inadvertently running over bike riders who mysteriously veer into the lanes of traffic and check out all our latest news updates inside.

Here's a Press Release we were sent regarding the new game War for Edadh:

WarriorElite's War for Edadh Press Release‏

For Immediate Release – 13 January 2009
Contact - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

War for Edadh Now Ready for Shipping

Having sold out its original stock to pre-orders, independent game company – WarriorElite – is now fully re-stocked and ready to ship War for Edadh, the alternative tactical game of battle.

Due to an unexpected volume of pre-orders, the first shipment of War for Edadh was ‘out the door’ as soon as the shipment arrived. The new shipment had its fair share of problems having been delayed en-route and then the outer packaging to the game was found to have been damaged to such an extent that every single game box needed replacing which the game designers did personally, packing out the product by hand over the Christmas and New Year period. It is now available (undamaged!) from their online store.

Game co-creator, Nigel Pyne, outlined War for Edadh’s debut into the gaming market, “We continue to be happily surprised by the high level of interest shown for War for Edadh. We’ve had some terrific reviews and the feedback from gamers has been incredibly positive – it’s a real vindication that all the years of hard work were worth it. Overall, we couldn’t have hoped for a better response and are relieved to be able to satisfy the demand that is out there!”

p.s. you can expect to see a review from Michael Barnes in the near future!




I've actually been intrigued by what I've been hearing about War for Edadh, definitely have to check that out.

Z-man Games - The Making of Another President

The designers of 1960: The Making of the President have begun work on game about the 2008 presidential race between Obama and McCain. Designer Jason Matthews said, "The 2008 game will have almost nothing to do with 1960, other than the fact that Christian and I will have designed both, and they are both about a presidential election. The similarities end there. However, the system that we are creating may more easily port to different elections, particularly those in the last 20 years. So, if this works, and people enjoy the system, I would not be surprised to see it ported to some of the other elections people have mentioned."

Release date for Tales of the Arabian Nights is still unknown as there is more fine tuning to be done so as to avoid a "Betrayal on House on the Hill" like debacle. We say, take your time and do it right Zev.

Agricola and Pandemic are out of stock and are in the process of being re-printed.

Fantasy Flight Games

World of Warcraft: The Adventure Game league has launched. The first scenario has been posted on the FFG website.

 "To participate in the World of Warcraft: The Adventure Game league, just download the scenario, play WoW:AG by the scenario-specific rules, and then send your results to League Administrator JR Godwin. Results will be posted on the Community Page of our WoW:AG website for all the world to see. "

Runebound: the Frozen Waste Expansion was due to "arrive" this week.

Days of Wonder Teases Fans

Days of Wonder has been running an online campaign full of teaser images, much like their "Bigfoot" promo for what eventually became Battlelore.  There are no details yet on exactly what sort of game this is going to be, but you can check out all their teasers below:

 "Skeletons - Bad to the Bone!" :  http://blog.daysofwonder.com/2009/01/12/skeletons-bad-to-the-bone/en/ 

 "Wizards - Light my Fire!" : http://blog.daysofwonder.com/2009/01/13/wizards-light-my-fire/en/

 "Amazons - Come and get some…" : http://blog.daysofwonder.com/2009/01/14/amazons-come-and-get-some/en/

Don't know exactly what to make of these, but it is great to see that DoW is working on an original title again.  It's been way too long...for awhile it seemed they were going to be lost forever in endless "Ticket to Ride" expansions and knock-offs. 

Khaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnn!!!

From ABC news:

"Ricardo Montalban, the Mexican-born actor who became a star in splashy MGM musicals and later as the wish-fulfilling Mr. Roarke in TV's "Fantasy Island," died Wednesday morning at his home, his family said. He was 88. Montalban's death was first announced at a city council meeting by president Eric Garcetti, who represents the district where the actor lived. He died "from complications of advancing age," his son-in-law, Gilbert Smith, later said.

"He was so gracious, and Aaron was always humbled by Ricardo's gratitude for 'Fantasy Island," said Candy Spelling, wife of the late Aaron Spelling, who created the show. "I miss him already, and wish his family well."




To a legion of fans, he will always be known as the vengeful Khan Noonian Sing, who went on a spiteful rampage against Captain Kirk, killing Spock in the process.  (Luckily, it was only a flesh wound.)  Ricardo was just a smooth character and a real pleasure to watch in whatever he was in.

I really liked those Taco Bell commercials last year where the lions were talking to each other...."You gotta say it sexy, like Ricardo Montalban."   "Carnnnne As.....Ricardo Montalban?!?!!"

Godspeed, Khan.

And here....we....go....again?!

For the three people who didn't get to see it in the theater, The Dark Knight will be re-released in IMAX and regular theaters starting next Friday, January 23rd.  From the press release: "The Dark Knight is a crowning achievement in every sense of the word. We wanted to provide one more opportunity for moviegoers to experience it on the big screen as it was meant to be seen."

I saw the movie twice in the theater and once since on DVD, and it still is an amazing movie.  I told myself I'd get around to seeing it in IMAX before it ended its run, but never got off my ass and did so.  Looks like now's my chance.  Help out the cause--The Dark Knight needs just shy of $70 million to dethrone the current domestic box office champion Titanic.  Ain't nothin' an army of comic book nerds can't do, so get crackin'.

Money For Nothin'

Speaking of comic book nerds, we can all breathe a sigh of relief as Warner Bros. and Fox were able to reach a settlement regarding Watchmen this week. 


Fox will get an upfront settlement as well as a percentage of the film's box office, but will then forgo any and all future rights to the film and potential franchise.


Funny how Fox didn't step up and complain until it looked like Warner Bros. had a real winner on its hands, but Warner is stupid for not sealing up the rights before going forward, so either way chalk one up to slimy corporate behavior.  Anyway the film looks amazing and I'll be there for the March 9th release, which the film is now assured of making.  

Addtional trailers were aired during the NFC and AFC playoff games last weekend, and every one of the the promos I've seen for this movie look amazing.

I know I shouldn't get my hopes up, but I did for The Dark Knight and it didn't let me down, did it? 

"Kids" Game Banned  from E-bay due to Swastka on Box

Ebay sent the seller an e-mail saying that the swastika was “hateful and discriminatory” and could not be shown on e-bay. The game could only be listed if the swastika was "covered." Turns out the "Kid's" game is Escape from Colditz.

Hulk Smashes on DVD

From Superherohype.com:


On January 27, Marvel Animated Features will release Hulk Vs on DVD, and Superhero Hype! has your exclusive first look at a featurette on the two films included, "Hulk Vs. Thor" and "Hulk Vs. Wolverine," as well as a clip from the latter."



You can see the rest of the details here:  http://www.superherohype.com/news/hulknews.php?id=7955

Nick Fury No Longer Lays the Vengeance Upon Thee

Okay, this is a REAL head-scratcher.  It appears as though Samuel Jackson may be out as Nick Fury.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/herocomplex/2009/01/nick-fury-no-mo.html

It's not definite, but if this plays out this way then you gotta wonder what's going on.  The Marvel Ultimates version of Nick Fury was modeled after Sam Jackson and his inclusion in the Marvel Films universe was some dream casting.  If it's coming down to money, that would be a real shame.  PAY THE MAN, MOTHERF*!#$!(

Lost in Space, Jabroni

"Planet 51" is a movie set to debut later this year on November 20th, 2009. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Sean William Scott, Jessica Biel, John Cleese and Gary Oldman are all set to provide voice work for the sci-fi animated kids' film.

Here is the description of the film:

"The inhabitants of Planet 51 live in fear of alien invasion. Their paranoia is realized when an astronaut arrives from Earth. Befriended by a young resident, he has to avoid capture in order to recover his spaceship and try to return home."

You can see the trailer over at Trailer Addict:  http://www.traileraddict.com/trailer/planet-51/trailer

All I can think when I see trailers for movies like this is how far ahead Pixar is above the rest of the game.  However, the premise for this might turn out to be pretty funny, and you know your kids are going to drag you to see it anyway.

 

BOOB TOOB

Don't forget--tonight Battlestar Galactica begins the first of its final ten episodes.  Also, be warned--tonight's episode is scheduled to actually run about three minutes past the hour, so if you're recording it make sure to adjust for that fact or you'll be pissed when the ending is snipped off.

Also..."LOST" returns next Wednesday at 9/8c.  I would list the episode's description, but it contains spoilers for those still playing catch-up with past seasons.  If you're not worried about spoilers, ABC has a few exclusive peeks from the episode here:  http://abc.go.com/primetime/lost/index?pn=index

If you think I'm going to be anywhere else next Wednesday instead of glued to the TV, you're sadly mistaken.