Daily Archives: April 19, 2012

Prey 2 Delayed, Not Canceled, as Developer’s Status Called Into Question

Posted on by

Prey 2 Delayed, Not Canceled, as Developers Status Called Into Question

After keeping Prey fans in suspense for the past two months, publisher Bethesda has finally confirmed Prey 2 remains in development. It has, however, been delayed out of 2012 according to a surprisingly straightforward statement released earlier today.

“Development of Prey 2 has not been canceled but the game will not be released in 2012 as planned,” the statement read in part. “The delay is due to the fact that game development has not progressed satisfactorily this past year, and the game does not currently meet our quality standards.” That’s a far cry from the industry standard way of handling a situation like this, where we’d normally hear about nothing but an intense desire to ensure the game in question turns out as good as possible. That is what’s hinted at here, but it’s a far more pessimistic assessment of the progress that has been made than we’re used to seeing publicly.

It is good news to hear the game hasn’t been canceled, especially considering the consensus was that the game was looking good. Back in February, talks on Prey 2 scheduled for this year’s Game Developers Conference were scratched at the behest of Bethesda. It was unclear why this had been done, whether it be because the talks conflicted with the PR roadmap or because the status of the game had changed. The latter was assumed by many to be the case when Bethesda declined to comment on rumors the game had been canceled. While it’s not always true, outright declining to offer a comment is in many cases the step taken before an official announcement is made — just look at the way THQ dealt with talk of a Darksiders II delay shortly before making news of one official.

Prey 2 Delayed, Not Canceled, as Developers Status Called Into Question

Bethesda’s statement was refreshingly honest, and something I’d love to see a lot more in the otherwise always-optimistic PR statements publishers issue. But take a look at the remainder of today’s statement and see if you notice what’s missing: “Prey 2 has shown great promise and we regret disappointing our fans. We have made a substantial investment in game development to deliver the experience fans want. We are determined only to release the AAA game that fans rightfully expect, and are unwilling to compromise our quality standards to meet a release schedule.”

There is not a single mention of developer Human Head Studios or Bethesda’s intention of moving forward with it on the project. When asked to address the matter, Bethesda refused to provide any further comment beyond what it had to say this morning. You might look at that and assume Human Head is still attached, just like the game wasn’t canceled when it declined to address cancelation rumors earlier this year. And you might be right. An alternative theory is that in both situations a decision had yet to be made, and right now even Bethesda is unsure if Human Head is being ditched in favor of a different developer — perhaps a company that is also owned by parent company ZeniMax Media (id Software?).

Prey games seem to be unable to avoid development troubles of one sort or another. It took more than a decade for the first game to make it out, and that didn’t happen until development was moved from 3D Realms, which started work on it in 1995 (yes, before Duke Nukem Forever), to Human Head. The publishing rights to the game were acquired by Bethesda several years ago after 2K Games published the original in 2006; it’s perhaps only appropriate that both the publisher and developer would shift for the sequel.

Kanye West wearing YMC Snakeskin Deck Shoes on Set of “Mercy” Video

Posted on by

Kanye West wearing YMC Snakeskin Deck Shoes on Set of “Mercy” Video

40038 Kanye West wearing YMC Snakeskin Deck Shoes Kanye West wearing YMC Snakeskin Deck Shoes on Set of “Mercy” Video

Kanye West took the G.O.O.D. music camp to Qatar in the middle east to shoot the visual for their collaborative song “Mercy”. Kanye was spotted wearing a pair of YMC snakeskin deck shoes ($250) that were released in Spring/Summer 2009 and his custom denim jacket. What do you think of Kanye’s look? See pics below.

40038 ymc snakeskin boat shoes Kanye West wearing YMC Snakeskin Deck Shoes on Set of “Mercy” Video40038 Kanye West wearing custom denim jacket YMC Snakeskin Deck Shoes Kanye West wearing YMC Snakeskin Deck Shoes on Set of “Mercy” Video40038 Kanye West wearing custom denim jacket YMC Snakeskin Deck Shoes 1 Kanye West wearing YMC Snakeskin Deck Shoes on Set of “Mercy” Video99f4e Kanye West wearing YMC Snakeskin Deck Shoes 1 Kanye West wearing YMC Snakeskin Deck Shoes on Set of “Mercy” Video

  • April 19, 2012  |  Author:
    Allen O.  |  Credit: 

    Photos: HHNM

     |  Tags: , ,

<!–

–>

Disgaea 3 Review: Its Ridiculousness Only Runs Skin-Deep

Posted on by

See the child. Hear her beckon forth, surrounded by the carcasses of men harboring murderous intent. Men you ended. Their last breath whispering about the sweetness of a child, or the satisfaction of killing the interloper that you are. Save the child, who you thought was yourn, but she reveals herself to be Mei lost in the world of dust, not the daughter you left behind twelve months ago. The voice in your pocket sputters forth. The man named Henry asks, take her, take the lost child Mei, take her to the mall. Give her medicine left behind by those who never set foot in Haventown, those who drop foodstuffs and medicines from above and never look back. Not since The Event. The Event that scraped the loam off the earth and turned it into the dust that hugs and holds and kills all who wander within. The dust that chips and gnaws at your very stamina. The Event that dominates I Am Alive.

So you go, ever pressing on to find wife and child. Gone a year, but now you return, to climb and cobble and carry on. You cannot ignore Mei’s bleat for aid, but other survivors of the Event not so much as settle but subsist their meager existences in the dust covered Haventown. A man yearns cigarettes to pass on. Another man in an amusement park needs medicine to heal the leg that’s been crushed by another uncivilized man. Haventown also starves for supplies. Bottles of water, cans of fruit cocktail, a single inhaler, a handful of painkillers, these all turn into precious manna from heaven through scarcity. Give the emergency kit to the woman with the ankle sprain? What these bemoaning folk have to give, besides gratitude and perhaps a precious shotgun, is the Retry. Haventown harbors death by trial, not saves. It does not yield to the checkpoint that others call for. It takes away a Retry from your knapsack for every fall, stab, or shot you suffer. Deplete your store of Retries, and your journey resumes at the beginning of your current episode. A practice that leeches away minutes of your life. A practice that mocks you by depleting Retries and then flings you back to 45 minutes ago. What is worth more, the rat meat that can heal you, or the Retry that you get for giving rat meat to the gurgling man below? Every survivor, like the woman bound by handcuff to a bench, pleads for help while you mind debates.

James Bond Throws A Pool Party And Hopkins Does Hitch

Posted on by

fbc86 James Bond 50 Poster James Bond Throws A Pool Party And Hopkins Does Hitch

It’s only appropriate that for his 50th anniversary James Bond throw a pool party for all his friends. That’s what’s going on in this poster from a Bond marathon taking place this week in San Francisco.

Also, we have video of Anthony Hopkins doing his Hitchcock impersonation and a look at the alien from “Battleship,” all in today’s Dailies.

» If you’ve ever wonder where all the Manic Pixie Dream Girls from movies go once their boyfriends realize they’re crazy, here is your answer. [Vulture]

» Speaking of Manic Pixie Dream Girls, here’s the (actually sweet) trailer for “Ruby Sparks.” [The Playlist]

» Wired.com has a fascinating look at the collapse of the “HALO” movie from the upcoming book “Generation Xbox.” [Wired]

» That picture of Anthony Hopkins as Alfred Hitchcock made the rounds yesterday, but here’s an MTV News interview of Hopkins doing an impersonation. [MTV Movies Blog]

» It’s always a good idea before making sure the alien is dead. Taylor Kitsch in this “Battleship” clip does not. [ComingSoon.net]

» Here’s your full look at the Bond Anniversary poster. [/Film]

1ff87 Bond 50 Poster Small James Bond Throws A Pool Party And Hopkins Does Hitch

» It had to happen. [Vulture]

Welcome to the Dailies, where the MTV Movies team runs down all the film and television news, odds and ends that are fit to print! From awesome fan art to obscure casting news, this is your place to feast on all the movie leftovers you didn’t know you were hungry for.

Tags , , , , ,

David Banner Will Speak At Harvard On The LA Riots

Posted on by

By Kevin Lavi

On April 27 and 28 Harvard University will be hosting “The LA Riots: Twenty Years Later Conference,” and rapper and producer David Banner is scheduled to make an appearance. The purpose of the conference is to look back at the LA riots, and to see where we as a society are at today as a result of the riots. The Conference will include leading scholars, activists, and artists examining the riots and how they reflect on discrimination and democracy today. 

The rapper/producer will be joining Henry Louis Gates Jr. and panelists from Harvard University, New York University, Temple University, and more. Banner, who has been extremely vocal about black social issues, will be discussing his opinion on the safety of black youth and the legislations he believes to be necessary to help keep black youth safe in America.

Banner had this to say about his impending appearance at Harvard:

“I am honored to have the opportunity to speak at Harvard…it is vital that we talk about what we can do to better ourselves and our communities; now and for the next 20 years. The people of America, especially our youth, have the power to be heard; to change legislation and positively impact our culture for generations to come.”

Banner has been in headlines recently with the announcement of his upcoming mixtape , Sex, Drugs and Videogames. The album, which will include guest appearances from artists such as Chris Brow, Snoop Dogg, Lil Wayne, A$AP Rocky, Big K.R.I.T., and 2 Chainz will be available as a free download from livemixtapes.com.

Lil Wayne Reveals Supra Sneaker Line On ‘Hip Hop Pov’

Posted on by

Back in February Lil Wayne told Vibe that he planned to debut a signature sneaker line this year, independent of his Trukfit clothing line, and during episode two of MTV’s “Hip Hop Pov” on Wednesday night, Weezy announced that the kicks would be released through Supra. 

Wayne didn’t give too many details on the line, simply saying, “I’ve also signed with Supra,” and adding, “Dr. Dre Beats, I’ve got my own beats coming out soon. I get money.” During the second part of POV’s exclusive interview with Wayne he also chatted about his Trukfit clothing line, telling co-host Amanda Seales, “I fit in every situation and I want my clothing line to do the same.”

In February, Wayne would only confirm that the line would not be released through Reebok or Nike, saying, “I do have a shoe coming out soon but it won’t be Trukfit, I have a shoe with a well-known company. I just don’t want to say yet because I haven’t dotted the line yet.” Seems like there’s been some progress on the deal.

On episode one of “Hip Hop POV” Wayne shared details on his upcoming album Devol (pronounced “devil”). “That’s ‘loved’ spelled backwards, and it’s my version of love songs,” Tunechi explained. ”What I mean by my version of love songs is meaning they’re not saying, ‘I love you,’ ” he explains in the clip. “It’s all material I did when I was locked up.”

Tags , ,

The Most Important Changes Zelda Needs to Make

Posted on by

Bob Mackey, Associate Editor

After attending the San Francisco performance of The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses, I couldn’t help but walk away from the event with a strange sensation buzzing around in the back of my brain. Yes, the series made an immeasurable impact on game design, with the original NES game and Ocarina of Time each establishing the rules for their respective formats, but the pomposity now exhibited by the Zelda property as a whole comes off as grating — and with the last two console installments not bothering to change the formula much, a bit unearned. Of course, I can’t deny the goosebumps populating my body during some of the more stirring (and nostalgic) pieces played during the concert, but since the marvelously cartoony The Wind Waker, The Legend of Zelda seems to have completely lost its sense of humor. And by attempting to establish the story’s epic beginning, Skyward Sword in particular sold itself on the sheer importance of Zelda, without really doing much to prove why the series abducted our hearts and minds over the past quarter-century.

4397f 874 The Most Important Changes Zelda Needs to Make

Though The Wind Waker displayed some of Nintendo’s most unrestrained goofiness, within Link’s sole Gamecube adventure, one of the biggest problems of the series emerged. The restructuring of Zelda as a monomyth might have made for a cute way to explain away the impossibility of laying out Link’s actions in a chronological order — uh, until Nintendo did that themselves — but it also, perhaps unintentionally, gave the series an overly dignified, nearly religious presence that belies its simple roots of exploding octopi and dog-people in the face with bombs lifted straight out of the ’60s Batman movie. Nintendo tried to instill some wackiness into the series with character of Tingle, but his Peter Pan syndrome and snug singlet didn’t go over well with American gamers; we never saw the dark and bizarre Freshly-Picked Tingle’s Rosy Rupeeland, a rare Zelda side-story that didn’t feature Link himself. Since this game’s release, Nintendo has continued their efforts to transform Zelda into a hallowed institution, causing the series to hold an irritating sense of self-importance that only seems to grow larger by the day.

Since we as a people have the universal Zelda structure memorized by this point, why not shake things up like Intelligent Systems did with the Paper Mario series? I’m not saying that the series needs to be transformed into an RPG, but Paper Mario took the standard assortment of Mario items, characters, and settings, and presented them in a new and equally fun format. And though the Mario series never took itself very seriously, his trio of console RPGs comprised some of the funniest (and best written) moments in Nintendo history. Now that each and every of Link’s actions have been recorded to a tedious and unnecessary timeline, why not take the opportunity to parody or comment on the established decades’ worth of material? It’s clear at this point Nintendo wants Zelda to be their Lord of the Rings: an epic, sweeping tale with vast vistas and stirring symphonies. But the earnest and goofy Wind Waker moved me far more than the self-seriousness of Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword, since it let me decide for myself the importance of the story beats, rather than pummeling me with prescribed awe and wonder. At this rate, I wouldn’t be surprised if the next motion-based Zelda required the player to perpetually genuflect over the course of 40 hours.

4397f 875 The Most Important Changes Zelda Needs to Make

Jeremy Parish, Editor-in-Chief

Really? “Genuflect?” Don’t you think you’re laying it on a little thick there? The existence of a timeline has almost zero impact on the games themselves; any nods between games are either subtle (the ghost of the legendary sword instructor in Twilight Princess) or frankly awesome (pretty much the entire second half of Wind Waker). Your seething fury over the fact that Nintendo put together some internal continuity documents for the series is one step removed from hipster angst about a favorite band that became popular:

I liked Zelda before it sold out to the stuffed shirts of continuity! [STAGE DIRECTIONS: chug PRB; weep; exeunt]

The Zelda franchise isn’t without its hang-ups these days, but I don’t think loosely indicated connections that only super-fans care about are the culprit. The problem isn’t its narrative continuity but rather the sameness of the series’ mechanics. More than any other factor, the one thing that can make playing a Zelda game feel like a chore to me is the fact that, ultimately, I’m going through the same steps to do the same things every time. I appreciate that Skyward Sword tried to mask this over by dressing up the series’ formula in the appearance of different steps, but beneath that façade it was all essentially the same as any other game in the series.

The 501st Legion: Taking The World By Storm

Posted on by

81dd9 stormtroopers The 501st Legion: Taking The World By Storm

Last week, 21-year-old Aussie Jacob French completed a grueling trek across his home country. He started last summer and walked 3,000 miles from Perth to Sydney to raise funds for Australia’s Starlight Children’s Foundation.

And he did it wearing a stormtrooper costume.

French is a member of the 501st Legion, an international group of costumed Star Wars fans who regularly gather to raise money and awareness for various charities. “Jacob is a great example of the unique characters we get in the Legion,” says Scott Allen, who serves as Charity Officer for the 501st (his current preferred costume is an ESB-era Darth Vader).

Allen explains that the Legion started 15 years ago as an alliance of like-minded folks who enjoyed wearing stormtrooper gear to events such as movie premieres, “just because it seemed like it would be a fun thing to do every once in a while.” Since then the group has evolved into something much bigger.

“Different organizations started asking us if we would show up,” Allen says. “We became sort of this unofficial charity fundraising machine over the years. And so now we get literally hundreds of requests every year to help raise funds for charity in one respect or another.”

They may be having fun doing it, but this is serious business: “In the past three years we’ve raised — just as us, the guys and gals in the costumes — between 250,000 to 350,000 dollars each year as an organization for charity,” says Allen. “And then we’ve appeared at other events where they’ve advertised us and they’ve said, come meet the Star Wars characters, so indirectly we’ve helped raise, like last year, 11 million dollars.”

Eleven million dollars. That’s definitely using the Force for good.

In The Comlink, “Star Wars” fan and MTV News producer Tami Katzoff explores the glory days of a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. Whether you’re Team Jedi or Team Sith, friend of Wookiees or wanted by bounty hunters, any and all “Star Wars” fans are welcome along for the ride.

Tags , ,

Evil And Loving It: Six Decisions That Tap into Our Dark Side

Posted on by

When we’re presented with a moral choice, the “evil” path can usually be justified in some small way.

Coercing a destitute quest-giver into handing over his family heirloom as a reward for your services? That ring of +1 Charisma could help you save lives down the line. Somehow. Maybe. Leaving a poisoning victim to die? Finding the cure would take at least thirty seconds, and your mission is so vital that you can’t waste any time — aside from romancing party members and gambling on mini-games, that is.

Sometimes, though, an evil option is so needlessly cruel and the reward so insignificant that there is only one reason to choose it: you love being a total dick.

If you’re the sort of person that embraces the dark side at every opportunity, these ridiculously evil choices will make you lean back in your throne of skulls and cackle. If you don’t have a throne of skulls, I suppose a chair will do — as long as it’s suitably evil.

967d4 812 Evil And Loving It: Six Decisions That Tap into Our Dark Side

To Airlock Or Not To Airlock?

Star Wars: The Old Republic

In the first Flashpoint instance for Republic players, your transport ship comes under attack by Imperial forces. Of course it’s Imperial forces. It’s always Imperial forces. When a space pen runs out of ink, it was sabotaged by Imperial forces.

While making your way to the bridge, you come across a group of friendly engineers trapped behind a protective field. They explain that in order for you to progress, you must do one of two things:

  1. Reset the main reactor, which has the side effect of flushing the engineers out of an airlock. Depending on how long they can hold their breath and their ability to swim in space, this will probably kill them.
  2. Walk down the hall and push some buttons on four computers.

Sure, you’ll encounter a few bad guys on your way to hit those buttons, but in an MMO your experience bar tends to go up when you kill a bad guy. In a way, you’re actually being inconvenienced by doing the wrong thing. That’s commitment.

967d4 813 Evil And Loving It: Six Decisions That Tap into Our Dark Side

Punishment Not Exactly Fitting The Crime

Planescape: Torment

A woman with the delightful title of Drunk Harlot stumbles into you, flirts drunkenly (surprise!), then turns to leave. You notice a momentary change in her posture as she tucks something into her sleeve. Something of yours. Her tipsiness is an act that distracts her pickpocketing victims. Let that be a lesson to those of you who, as a rule, implicitly trust anyone who identifies themselves as a harlot.

At this point you can catch her and get your stuff back. Instead of letting her go, you can then shake her down for more money. Then intimidate her some more, making her hand over all of her valuables. With nothing left to gain, what evil option could possibly be left?

967d4 814 Evil And Loving It: Six Decisions That Tap into Our Dark Side

If you think that’s bad, you should see what the Nameless One does to people who backwash while sharing a drink with him.

967d4 815 Evil And Loving It: Six Decisions That Tap into Our Dark Side

Your Life Or My Hair

Fable 2

Deep within the halls of the Shadow Court, a woman is crying. Why? Is she still bummed about Peter Molyneux‘s empty promise of a world where she could drop acorns and see them turn into trees? Does she have a hard time getting other people to like her because she can’t fart on command?

No, she’s frightened by three shadow spirits. They explain that in order to preserve a third character’s vitality, either the young woman or your character must sacrifice their own youth.

If you dump the responsibility on the woman, she will turn into an old lady. A huge swath of her existence will disappear in an instant, leaving her frail and robbed of a rich life.

Taking the punishment on yourself turns your hair gray, gives your face a few wrinkles, and makes your eyes red. You can donate some money to a temple to undo the hair and wrinkles. There’s a castle you can sleep in to revert the aging process. That just leaves the red eyes, which can be eliminated by equipping a gem.

Of course, the woman does not have access to any of these remedies. By foisting the old age on her, you’re essentially trading someone’s life for the effort of running down to the store to buy a bottle of Just For Men.

DJ Khaled And Kanye West Set To Release Another Track

Posted on by

By Rob Markman

Kanye West teamed up with DJ Khaled for his latest solo single “Way Too Cold,” and the two titans aren’t done collaborating just yet. On the set of “Hip Hop Squares,” Khaled revealed to MTV News that he and Ye have already recorded another track, that they’ll roll out soon. 

Originally, Kanye’s Kim Kardashian-loving single “Way Too Cold” (initially titled “Theraflu”) was slated for the boisterous Cash Money disc jock’s upcoming Kiss the Ring LP, but Khaled didn’t mind giving Yeezy first dibs because the two have another in the stash.

“Me and Kanye West went back in the lab and we made another record and got some features on there too,” Khaled said,  careful not to let too many deets leak. “I can’t really talk about it, so expect another monstrous earthquake to hit the streets.”

Throughout his career, Khaled has served as a master matchmaker, pairing the likes of Lil Wayne, Rick Ross and T-Pain on an array of high-powered posse tracks like “We Takin’ Over” and “Welcome to My Hood.” His latest single, “Take it to the Head,” groups Weezy, Rozay, Nicki Minaj and Chris Brown, and on his next LP, the charismatic Khaled promises more of the same. “Kiss the Ring is gonna be the real deal,” he said.

When it comes to his collaborations with West, Khaled throws all the rules out the window. On “Way Too Cold,” the Chi-Town virtuoso not only pissed off PETA by boasting that his mink was draggin’ on the floor, he also confessed his love for Kim Kardashian, tossed a nod to Wiz Khalifa and threw a thinly veiled shot at Kardashian’s soon-to-be ex-hubby Kris Humphries. The Hit-Boy-supplied beat and Kanye’s ear-catching lyrics are what make the Khaled-assisted track stand out.

“On my end, I got this thing with ‘Ye where I tell him there’s no rules and there’s no regulations. It’s no format, and ain’t nobody gonna tell us nothing on what we’re gonna do,” Khaled told MTV News on April 5.

The Miami-based DJ/producer wouldn’t say much else about his and Yeezy’s next release, but who knows? Maybe he will spill the beans when he appears on today’s (April 18) “RapFix Live” with host Sway Calloway.

Tags ,