by Stone Marshall | Jul 8, 2018 | Awesome Book News, Free, Intro, Minecraft News, Minecraft questions, news, parent-news, State of Stone, Stone Marshall Book News, Stone Marshall Books, Stone Marshall Club, Stone Marshall Minecraft Adventures, Uncategorized |
While the whole Playground LTM didn't quite go off without a hitch for Epic Games' Battle Royale action game, there was a separate event that did manage to go off without a hitch, and it was the countdown event. The event took place across the Fortnite servers and finally revealed exactly what the countdown was all about. So now that the countdown is complete, a lot of gamers are probably wondering what exactly happened and what exactly did it bring to the Fortnite universe?
According to Gamespot, once the countdown finished a rocket blasted off into the sky from the Anarchy Acres lair. The missile was seemingly aimed at taking out the Titled Towers in the distance and — as pointed out in the article — it looked like the towers were about to bite the dust in the world of Fornite. However, the towers were spared a destructive fate when the rocket hit an invisible portal and then teleported into a different location, blasted into the sky, and then the explosion ended up creating a rip in the very fabric of reality.
The tearing of the sky created an electric rift within the world, spawning a series of electrical anomalies. Filmmaker Ryan O'Donnell actually captured the event across a series of images and shared it on Twitter, showing the smoke trail from the rocket as it jettisoned into the sky, the explosion, and the eventual electrical anomalies as a result.
So far, Fortnite gamers have no idea what's up with the electrical anomalies. Fans of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. might be used to it, but the Battle Royale crowd probably isn't sure what it's looking at. The anomaly in the image actually looks like some kind of electrical charge redirecting energy from an invisible shield of sorts. Many gamers who witnessed it in real-time noted how cool it looked and how everyone stopped fighting to see the event taking place. So what does this mean for the future of the game? We don't know… yet.
Obviously, Epic Games has some big plans for the event; the company just isn't laying out all the details yet. Apparently, this also has nothing to do with the Playground LTM that ran into some server issues recently, requiring Epic to postpone its release for the general public.
According to the Gamespot article, this could tie into the Season 5 rollout for Fortnite, following up on the Season 4 events, which were themed around meteor strikes and superheroes. Thanos from Avengers: Infinity War proved to be a rather popular addition to the game, and so maybe we'll see something similar in terms of crossover potential during Season 5?
So far the game has garnered massive amounts of popularity since the Battle Royale mode was introduced last summer. Epic has managed to amass more than one hundred million players and has even vowed to dedicate time and energy to the e-sports scene. In the meantime, gamers will have to try to figure out exactly what's going on with the electrical anomalies.
Read more about it: https://www.cinemablend.com/games/2443749/fortnite-countdown-has-completed-heres-what-it-brought
by Stone Marshall | Jul 7, 2018 | Awesome Book News, Free, Intro, Minecraft News, Minecraft questions, news, parent-news, State of Stone, Stone Marshall Book News, Stone Marshall Books, Stone Marshall Club, Stone Marshall Minecraft Adventures, Uncategorized |
Microsoft is running double duty when it comes to offering gamers content for its digital services. If you have an Xbox Live Gold subscription you can already look forward to a nice cache of games set to be made available throughout July, but if you've gone a step further with the Xbox Game Pass, you can gain access to even more games throughout July. To help entice gamers into picking up an Xbox Game Pass subscription, Microsoft announced that there are some brand new games coming to the pass in July, including Fallout 3 and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.
Over on the Xbox News site, there's a quick rundown of the new games added to the Xbox Game Pass for July, things kick off with Bethesda's Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and Fallout 3. Both games are older titles from the Xbox 360 generation, but they're also backwards compatible for the Xbox One.
Both games sold huge when they released, with Oblivion taking a lot of what Bethesda had accomplished with The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind and then elevated it to the nth degree by adding more NPCs, a larger world to explore, better graphics, and improved cinematic qualities.
Fallout 3 was the first game in the series to deviate from the isometric, turn-based strategy design of the previous entries and instead focus on a third-person or first-person action-RPG setup.
But that's just the start.
Microsoft also managed to secure Epic Games' Shadow Complex Remastered for the Xbox One, giving gamers an opportunity to check out one of the most celebrated Unreal Engine side-scrollers from the seventh generation of gaming for the Xbox One. It also comes with all new master challenges, improved melee takedowns, and more than 10 hours worth of gameplay and exploration.
All three of the aforementioned titles will be joined by Human Fall Flat, which is a physics-based 3D platforming puzzle game, where players attempt to guide a character through a series of sandbox puzzles using ragdoll physics as a way to explore the environment, complete tasks and reach the finish line.
But wait, there's more!
The zen-like underwater exploration game, Abzu, which first appeared on PS4 and Steam, will be available for the Xbox Game Pass this July. The game isn't just about underwater exploration, it's also a sci-fi supernatural tale that gamers might enjoy, especially if they liked thatgamecompany's Journey for the PS3.
Bomber Crew is another game joining the list, along with Rebellion's highly popular Zombie Army Trilogy, which features 15 different levels to complete across three different campaigns. Zombie Army Trilogy also features single-player and online multiplayer co-op play.
The last two games on the list are Warhammer: Verminitide 2 from Fatshark Games, and DiRT 4 from Codemasters. Vermintide 2 just recently came out earlier this year, while DiRT 4 originally released back in mid-2017. Both games have received critically positive feedback from gamers, and if you have the Xbox Game Pass you'll be able to check out both of those titles, along with every other game listed above for the Xbox Game Pass offerings in July.
by Stone Marshall | Jul 7, 2018 | Awesome Book News, Free, Intro, Minecraft News, Minecraft questions, news, parent-news, State of Stone, Stone Marshall Book News, Stone Marshall Books, Stone Marshall Club, Stone Marshall Minecraft Adventures, Uncategorized |
Incredibles 2 Fan Art Imagines A Dark Sequel for Pixar's Superheroes
New fan art for The Incredibles 2 has surfaced online, depicting the characters in a much grittier tone than that of the animated Pixar films. Warrick Wong, an Australian concept artist, shared renderings of the film's characters this past week via Instagram.
The Incredibles 2 released on June 15, already passing the $500 million mark at the worldwide box office in its second week. The long-awaited and much-anticipated sequel came fourteen years after its predecessor. Brad Bird’s follow-up to the 2004 hit was heavily delayed, before its release date was eventually shifted ahead of Toy Story 4, which itself was delayed to 2019. While the wait for The Incredibles 2 was agonizing for some fans, it seems the time spent in development was beneficial, given the film’s “Certified Fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
RELATED: BOB PARR IS A NOT SO INCREDIBLE HUSBAND IN ‘INCREDIBLES 2′
On his Instagram account, Wong posted his concept art for a version of the Parr family much darker than audiences are used to. Wong shared a different piece of art every few days, beginning with a version of Jack-Jack that is far older than his infant counterpart from the movie. Since then, Wong also shared photos of Dash, Violet and Mr. Incredible. All the characters appear worn from battle, their red and black spandex torn and tattered. Each piece also showcases the characters’ respective superpowers. Noticeably absent from the photo set is Elasti-Girl/Mrs. Incredible, the star of the new film. Wong explains that in the alternate reality this art is set in, Mrs. Parr is “presumed dead” and Violet has become the new matriarch of the family. However, “presumed dead” could mean that Wong will surprise us with a gritty portrayal of Mrs. Incredible after all.
As an illustrator, Wong has an impressive online portfolio that boasts renderings of characters from fandoms like Marvel and Star Wars. The Incredibles are also not his first gritty reimaginings, as he's previously drawn up intimidating interpretations of normally cute Pokémon like Squirtle and Pikachu. While it’s likely that we'll never see a dark, violent version of The Incredibles hit the big screen, it’s hard to deny that Wong’s fan art – and his extremely creative backstory behind it – is fun to behold and ponder.
Pixar’s newest release is yet another huge hit for the studio. Given the first film’s release date, many who saw The Incredibles as children were likely excited to see the sequel as adults, which no doubt helped fuel its mammoth box office. The next film on the slate for Pixar is Toy Story 4, an entry in another franchise that has seen the lucrative value of nostalgia. However, only time will tell if the demand for that sequel will be as high as that of The Incredibles 2. If it is though, it'll be interesting to see if Wong draws similar gritty versions of Toy Story characters like Woody, Buzz, Rex, and Lots-o'-Huggin' Bear.
Read more about it: https://screenrant.com/incredibles-2-fan-art-pixar-dark-sequel/
by Stone Marshall | Jul 6, 2018 | Awesome Book News, Free, Intro, Minecraft News, Minecraft questions, news, parent-news, State of Stone, Stone Marshall Book News, Stone Marshall Books, Stone Marshall Club, Stone Marshall Minecraft Adventures, Uncategorized |
Pixar is well known for hiding numerous fun easter eggs and references inside their films. It's only fitting that such a tradition be kept up when one of Pixar's biggest films becomes a video game. The new LEGO The Incredibles video game is the first time the popular game series has been based on a Pixar property and it has taken the opportunity to go all in on the Pixar universe by including lots of playable characters and buildable setpieces from other Pixar movies.
However, beyond that, the story mode of LEGO The Incredibles, which takes you through the plots of both Incredibles films, also includes several references to other Pixar movies within the story, just like a Pixar movie. Here are a few of our favorites.
Ratatouille
Ratatouille is one of Pixar's underrated gems and it also happens to be directed by Incredibles director Brad Bird. It follows the adventures of a rat who falls in love with cooking, so it makes sense that this reference can be found in a kitchen. During the playthrough of Incredibles 2 ‘s story campaign, your characters find themselves on board a ship where Violet and Dash are trying to catch up to Jack-Jack. The pair enter the ship's galley, which the baby has inadvertently set on fire. As you enter, one of the NPCs is heard to wonder aloud if she's suffering the effects of smoke inhalation, or if she actually saw a rat cooking.
Finding Nemo's Seagulls
Co-op gameplay is a hallmark of the LEGO video game franchise, which means that one of the things the game has to do in the story mode is change the story up so that there are always at least two characters in every scene. When playing through the story of the first Incredibles movie, that means both Frozone and Mr. Incredible go the island together to fight the Omnidroid the first time. This allows Frozone to make a comment to Mr. Incredible about another super who would have especially liked all the bird life on the island. She was capable of speaking to birds, which was great, except for seagulls, who it turns out, were quite selfish, always saying “mine,” just like the birds from Finding Nemo. Later, while infiltrating the island, the rest of the Parr family actually runs into a flock of the birds crying “mine” as they fly away.
The Luxo Ball
The Luxo Ball is one of Pixar's most iconic images and it appears in every movie that Pixar has ever made. It also shows up in the video game based on some of those movies. Early in the portion of the story dealing with the original Incredibles movie, Mr. Incredible ends up in a bank where he has been chasing a henchman of Bomb Voyage. If you move down to the bottom of the screen when you first arrive at the bank and get paired up with Buddy, you can see the Luxo Ball sitting on a table. The table and everything around it can be destroyed to pick up more studs, but the ball is invincible.
Dory
Finding Dory is still Pixar's highest grossing film of all time, though there's a good chance that Incredibles 2 could take that title before its over. LEGO Incredibles tips its hat to the box office powerhouse during the sequence where Dash, Violet, and Elastigirl are working to save themselves after Syndrome has blown their jet out of the sky. At one point, Violet needs to sink beneath the water to obtain a key object. Surrounded by her shield so she can breathe, Violet starts to repeat “just keep sinking, just keep sinking,” a reference to Dory's oft-repeated catchphrase, just keep swimming.
Buy N Large
Buy N Large is the massive corporation that sends all the humans to live in space in Wall-E. The company has appeared in other Pixar movies as well such as being a race sponsor in Cars 3, but it also appears in LEGO Incredibles. At the end of the final story mission, as the Parr family is battling the Omnidroid, a shop one end of the map appears to be a Buy N Large ice cream parlor. A giant milkshake or ice cream soda sits above the door complete with a B ‘N L logo on the side of it.
by Stone Marshall | Jul 6, 2018 | Awesome Book News, Free, Intro, Minecraft News, Minecraft questions, news, parent-news, State of Stone, Stone Marshall Book News, Stone Marshall Books, Stone Marshall Club, Stone Marshall Minecraft Adventures, Uncategorized |
The first Incredibles movie is a stone cold classic
It is hilarious, but also as exciting as any action movie, yet also incredibly sweet and touching.
And now, 14 years later, we have a sequel. The Incredibles 2 has already had amazing reviews in America, and is out in the UK later this month.
Of course, a lot has changed in 14 years – superhero movies were big in 2004, but they weren’t quite the all–conquering juggernaut that they are today.
But one of the biggest changes is obviously the improvements in technology. The Incredibles still looks amazing today – all Pixar movies still hold up to be honest, because the characters and the stories are timeless. But the advances made in computer animation over a decade are clear for all to see.
And this comparison video perfectly highlights that.
Here are two shots of Dash, the top from 2004, the bottom from 2018.
The amount of additional detail is clear to see.
by Stone Marshall | Jul 5, 2018 | Awesome Book News, Free, Intro, Minecraft News, Minecraft questions, news, parent-news, State of Stone, Stone Marshall Book News, Stone Marshall Books, Stone Marshall Club, Stone Marshall Minecraft Adventures, Uncategorized |
Last week, HBO announced that the first (and possibly only) of the five prospective Game of Thrones prequel spin-offs to get a pilot order will go way, way, way back into Westeros’ past, to a time period before recorded history, where the truth is lost in a fog of legends and myths. Of all the eras worth exploring, it’s the one with the most question marks, which is why it makes the most sense for a new (old) story. More than any other period from George R.R. Martin’s insanely deep and complex history of the Seven Kingdoms, it offers the most freedom to tell a story even the most ardent fans of A Song of Ice and Fire don’t already know. Unfortunately that’s exactly why, along with a familiar enemy, it could end up hurting the original show.
This is the official synopsis for the series from HBO:
“Taking place thousands of years before the events of Game of Thrones, the series chronicles the world’s descent from the golden Age of Heroes into its darkest hour. And only one thing is for sure: from the horrifying secrets of Westeros’s history to the true origin of the white walkers, the mysteries of the East, to the Starks of legend … it’s not the story we think we know.”
George R.R. Martin himself further revealed how much the story will revolve around the infamous invasion of the dead; he thinks the unnamed series should be called “The Long Night,” suggesting that, just like on Game of Thrones, the blue-eyed ice demons will likely be the show’s big baddies. But also like with Game of Thrones,there are still tons of other important figures and events from that era, which in many ways shaped the Westeros we know today.
The Age of Heroes is the time period after the First Men and the Children of the Forest had ended their war with one another and lived in peace. Thought to have taken place 10,000 years ago—though, as Martin points out, the maesters think it was only half as long ago (and I think the maesters are right)—it features larger-than-life figures like Bran the Builder, the founder of House Stark credited with building the Wall, Winterfell, and Storm’s End, as well as Lann the Clever, founder of House Lannister. And those are just the most well-known figures for Game of Thrones viewers, who might not be as familiar with other important historical figures (real or legend), like Garth Greenhand and Durran Godsgrief, not to mention the founding of the Night’s Watch.
While the generally accepted timeline of Westeros puts the Age of Heroes at 10,000 years ago, until the start of the Long Night roughly 2,000 years later (8,000 years before Aegon’s Conquest), the timeline is completely unreliable. Recorded history didn’t begin in Westeros until long after the first Long Night, when the Andals invaded from Essos anywhere between six and two thousand years before the events of Game of Thrones. I tend to think all of these numbers are hugely inflated, simply because it’s hard to keep one single house in continuous existence for 10,000 years when a single plague could wipe out an entire family.
A compacted, accurate time period would make for a much more exciting show, because it would create far more overlap with these hugely important historical figures and events. Maybe Bran the Builder really was just one person who did all of these things, and maybe he knew all the other great heroes, including Azor Ahai (who might also have been the original Prince That Was Promised), the “last hero” who is credited with leading the First Men to victory over the Night King.
The fact that we don’t really know is why this is a perfect time to set a prequel. I am fascinated by the Targaryen kings, and I’m especially obsessed by the famed Blackfyre Rebellion that nearly tore the family apart. But not only do I know how that story ends, I know most of the major players and events of that Civil War. I still hope HBO turns it into a spin-off series, but it would be limited in what new information it could bring in ways this Age of Heroes series wouldn’t be. There’s also the fact that magic in the world might never have been greater than it was when the White Walkers first invaded (on the backs of giant ice spiders!), as opposed to the mostly magic-free world of Westeros under the post-dragon Targaryens. Game of Thrones is better for having magic present in the story, so wouldn’t a spin-off series also want to keep that element?
But giving us answers to mysterious questions isn’t always a good thing, and when mishandled they can even hurt the original story. I love the theory that Brandon Stark from Game of Thrones is also Bran the Builder from the myths, and that all Brandon Starks in history are in fact the same person. Not because I agree with it, but because it’s fun to debate and think about. That all goes away if we find out that all Brandon Starks merely have a high midichlorian count.
A big part of what makes George R.R. Martin’s insanely detailed history so intriguing to obsessives like me are all of the spots where we don’t have answers, because it allows us to explore the gaps without being disappointed by where we end up. I genuinely trust Martin’s judgment, and if he believe this is a story worth telling it probably is, but the freedom granted by this time period also includes going down roads we will have preferred to avoid.
On top of this, the new show seems like it will have, in some form, the exact same main villain as Game of Thrones, with the White Walkers playing a major role. It’s possible the Night King might have been an important member of House Stark, or someone even more shocking, and that the beginning of the White Walkers’ story could be far more fascinating than their end, which we will presumably get one way or another with Game of Thrones. But either way, their mere presence will only invite comparisons to the original show, which could unfairly hurt it in the eyes of viewers. Any spin-off of the single most popular TV series in the world will live in a huge shadow, one that will only get bigger by repeating the villain.
None of this means this series won’t work, or that the show won’t actually enhance how we view Game of Thrones if its answers add new depth and nuance to original story. The Age of Heroes and the first Long Night offer a bounty of incredible possibilities for an amazing story full of fascinating characters, fantastic elements, and major events, because what we “know” about that time period is made of sand that can be molded into something great.
But if it’s true that sometimes what you don’t know won’t hurt you, the opposite is true too.
What do you think? Do you want to learn more from this mysterious time period, or would you rather some question remain unanswered? Tell us why in the comments below.
