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J.J. Abrams Gets The Trek, Now The Wars

We tweeted this out yesterday (follow us @NerdRating) but here is the lowdown on what may be the biggest news of the movie year.

J.J. Abrams is officially the director of Star Wars Episode VII. The news broke early yesterday afternoon when The Wrap reported that the director had been given the job after a lengthy courtship by the head of Lucasfilm, Kathleen Kennedy. Reports are that Steven Spielberg had a hand in getting Abrams to say yes after the legendary director declined the job.

Let’s face it, Disney needed someone that knows how to handle a franchise as large as Star Wars. Abrams is a huge Star Wars fan and that is one of the reasons he said he did not want to direct the movie last December.

“There were the very early conversations and I quickly said that because of my loyalty to ‘Star Trek,’ and also just being a fan, I wouldn’t even want to be involved in the next version of those things. I declined any involvement very early on. I’d rather be in the audience not knowing what was coming, rather than being involved in the minutiae of making them.”

I could make a really corny “force was too strong” joke but you are already thinking that right now, so I won’t.

Abrams is putting the final touches on Star Trek Into Darkness and then, one would assume, he will begin early work on the galaxy far, far away.

The future of the Star Trek franchise is certainly in question after this announcement also. If there is to be a third movie (which you would think) will Abrams’ Star Wars involvement mean that another director must be found or does Paramount wait on Abrams to get done with Episode VII before getting back on a third Trek adventure? I am interested to see how this decision affects the Paramount executives feelings towards Abrams. They could go ahead and prep a third Star Trek and leave him out of the equation completely.

So now we have Michael Arndt writing the screenplay and Captain Reboot in as director. This Star Wars thing might just become a movie yet.

January 25, 2013
Aliens: Colonial Marines “Kick Ass” Trailer

Gearbox is back with another trailer for [amazon_link id=”B005THAX6K” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Aliens: Colonial Marines[/amazon_link]. In it you are tasked by your commander to become the ultimate marine and take back your comrades from the xenomorph masses.

This trailer shows a good bit of gameplay and ends with you taking control of a power loader like Ripley at the end of Aliens. Whether you say “get away from her you bitch” when you play the game is entirely up to you. I will be saying it though.

Aliens: Colonial Marines releases on February 12th.

January 24, 2013
The Legend Of Zelda: Wind Waker HD Coming This Fall, Looks Pretty

One of the big announcements from yesterday’s Nintendo Direct Stream is that this fall we will be getting a full HD remake of the classic The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker as a placeholder of sorts while Nintendo works on Link’s next adventure for the Wii U. Take a look at some of the HD-ified screens and go “oohh” and “aahh”, maybe even “look at all the pretty”.

It is funny how time changes people’s perception of things. I remember when Wind Waker was first shown and people lost their minds at the change in art style and that it was not a Zelda game at all. Fast forward ten years and it is one of the most beloved of the Zelda games and we are awaiting a chance to play it again.

January 24, 2013
The S.H.I.E.L.D. TV Pilot Is Filming Now

Joss Whedon and company have begun filming the pilot episode for the S.H.I.E.L.D. television series. Whedon has written the pilot and also began writing multiple episodes even though the series has not been officially picked up yet. ABC Studios is expected to pick it up after the pilot is filmed and screened.

The biggest question on everyone’s minds is how exactly does Agent Phil Coulson figure into the show. Clark Gregg has already confirmed that he is on the show so whether he is shown in flashbacks, cloned, brought back from the dead or any one of a thousand other ways to bring him back is a mystery. I hope they do the Coulson character’s return justice because his death was the emotional catalyst for [amazon_link id=”B0083SBJXS” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]The Avengers[/amazon_link] and would lose something if he was brought back cheaply, but this is Joss Whedon so I am assuming the best.

January 24, 2013
Has Take Two Snatched Up The WWE License?

In the wake of THQ’s auction which saw their properties and studios sold off, one glaring party left out was the WWE name. Some have said that EA was in the market to pick up the sports entertainment brand but they have denied those rumors because we know how EA doesn’t like to buy franchises and ruin them.

Now it seems that Take Two, the parent company of 2K, has stepped up to the plate and purchased the rights to Vince McMahon’s multi-million dollar name in games. It is sad to see the THQ era of wrestling games come to an end, especially with WWE 13 being such a great game last year. At least the team at Yuke’s and THQ went out with the best WWE game ever. Now we get to look forward to the future.

WWE 2K14 anyone?

January 24, 2013
THQ Officially No More, Assets Sold, Employees Laid Off
One of the saddest episodes in gaming is now done. THQ sold off their assets to other developers and publishers and anyone who did not work for one of the companies sold are being laid off. For the past year THQ has been limping along and filed for bankruptcy last month. A few weeks ago it was announced that an auction would be held to sell off THQ’s studios and intellectual properties. Here is the rundown of what we know so far.
- Koch Media (Deep Silver) has purchased Volition, developers of the Saint’s Row franchise. They have also gotten the rights to the Metro franchise. Metro: Last Light was due for release this year.
- Sega is getting Relic who developed Warhammer 40K and Company of Heroes.
- Take Two has purchased Evolve, a codename project from Turtle Rock Studios.
- Crytek purchaed the rights to the Homefront series.
- Ubisoft will get the rights to South Park: The Stick of Truth and the THQ Montreal studio who are making the game 1666 from the creator of Assassin’s Creed.
Some properties like Darksiders (and studio Vigil) and the WWE franchise are still up in the air as of this writing. We will update as more is known.
January 23, 2013
Nintendo Drops The Mic For Wii U This Morning

OK, so Nintendo needed that.

At this morning’s Nintendo Direct Stream, the company revealed their plans for the Wii U leading into 2013. Games for the system are slowly trickling out and people were wondering just what Nintendo had up their sleeve to get Wii U’s into as many homes as possible before Microsoft and Sony take the spotlight and it turns out they have quite a lot. The video conference this morning should give Wii U early adopters and ones thinking of taking the plunge (raises hand) a better feeling about the future of the console, at least for the rest of the year. Let’s take a look at what Nintendo announced this morning and see if it will sway you into buying a Wii U.

1. Look at all the pretty games!! Smash Bros., Mario Kart, a new 3D Mario and so much more!!

-We knew about Smash Bros. already but the fact it will be playable at this year’s E3 is a huge deal. Mario Kart is always a staple on any Nintendo system and is always a insta-buy for me. The biggest news of the games is that a new 3D Mario is not only coming, but will be shown and played at E3. Whether this is a sequel to Super Mario Galaxy is unknown. I would hope for a new direction for Mario on the Wii U but won’t complain as long as we are getting a true 3D Mario game.

-The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker is getting a full-HD re-release on the Wii U this fall complete with off-screen Gamepad play. It’s Zelda, so we’ll call that a win.

-Along with those biggies, it was also announced that Yoshi Yarn would be making its way onto the Wii U. It is being developed by the team that handled Kirby’s Epic Yarn on the Wii.

-Shin Megami Tensei and Fire Emblem are joining together for a crossover game. Atlus and Intelligent Systems are working together on the Wii U project and had a short trailer to show off.

-The Wonderful 101 showed off a new trailer including more unique Gamepad play and aerial gameplay. It will be released by June, 2013.

-The latest game from Monolith (Xenoblade) was shown. No name was given for the title. A red X was shown at the end of the preview.

-Bayonetta 2 had a behind the scenes trailer but no gameplay was shown which says to me that this game is still a way off.

2. Nintendo Virtual Console coming to Wii U this spring.

Starting this spring you will be able to download original Nintendo and Super Nintendo games onto your Wii U and will be able to play on the Gamepad as well. People that already own the same games on their Wii Virtual Console can get the games for reduced amounts ($1-NES, $1.50- SNES).

3. Miiverse app coming to smartphones.

This will also launch in the spring and allow you to look at and make changes on you Miivers via your smartphone.

4. Updates are coming to improve Wii U’s load times.

A spring update and another in the summer will boost the Wii U’s load times which have been described as too long.

January 23, 2013
Devil May Cry New DLC Aims To Shut Up Complainers

Despite garnering great reviews (currently it is an 86 on Metacritic), the new [amazon_link id=”B007UM59AC” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Devil May Cry[/amazon_link] still has its detractors in the form of fans who apparently refuse to play the game because hero Dante underwent a makeover and lost his white locks of hair and appeared more goth than previous entries in the series.

Capcom has decided to placate these fans by releasing a Costume Pack DLC which will offer three new outfits for Dante including one that makes him appear as he did in previous Devil May Cry’s. The developers did not give people the full monty because the character will only switch to “classic” Dante while he is in “Devil Trigger” mode. So take it and be happy (at least that’s how I imagine Ninja Theory saying it).

The Costume Pack DLC will cost $4 (320 MS Points).

January 23, 2013
New Lego City: Undercover Trailer Shows Off More Open World, Pig Launching

This may sound incredible weird. Maybe it is just because I am a Nintendo fanboy and I am looking for a reason, but the more I see of [amazon_link id=”B002I0K3PM” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Lego City: Undercover[/amazon_link], the more I try to justify breaking down and getting a [amazon_link id=”B009AGXH64″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Wii U[/amazon_link]. I don’t what it is about an open-world GTA type Lego game but it gets me. The fact that it is trying to emulate an 80’s cop movie only makes me want it more.

The new trailer showcases the hero, Chase McCain, and all of the various outfits he will don to complete his clean up of Lego City.

Lego City: Undercover releases on March 18th.

January 23, 2013
New Playstation Specs And Controller Leak?

A story up on Kotaku is claiming that a source has revealed the specs list (for the development kit at least) for Sony’s new Playstation and that the new controller will be much different from the existing Dualshock. The new controller would have a touch pad much like what comes on the back of the Vita. This may also come on the back of the controller. Along with the new touch tech, the controller may also come with some type of biometric feature and have a share button which may be used for the multiple account user feature that the report also mentions.

I love my Vita, but will go on record saying that I do not like the back touch pad. I don’t mind games that use it properly (Little Deviants) but it is a pain when it is shoehorned into a game. If the reports are true I hope that some new Playstation launch titles won’t have to be forced to utilize this (like Lair for the PS3 Sixaxis).

Go take a look at the complete story over on Kotaku.

January 23, 2013