Comics

Is there anything more difficult to make sense of in movies than the X-Men film franchise? Whether it’s the initial trilogy, the three prequels that followed and completely changed the established timeline, or the three Wolverine spin-offs that are set all over the place, the X-Men movies are… a lot to deal with. And that’s

The Green Lantern comics can essentially be summed up like this: it’s about space cops. However, throughout writer Robert Venditti’s tenure on Green Lantern and now Hal Jordan And The Green Lantern Corps, the series has been transformative, questioning the ideals of how to enforce the law and asking, “How far is too far?” when

When you think about DC Comics, you think about Batman fighting the Joker or Superman fighting Lex Luthor. However, when you’re a kid, playing with all your action figures, sometimes Batman ends up fighting Starscream from Transformers and Superman ends up fighting Mumm-Ra from Thundercats. DC has taken that sandbox mentality into its comics over

Sunblink and Sanrio announced a cozy life sim game, Hello Kitty Island Adventure, on June 27. Starring Hello Kitty and Friends, the game will debut exclusively on Apple Arcade on July 28, 2023. Watch the reveal trailer below: [embedded content] As a cozy life sim game, Hello Kitty Island Adventure is composed of role-playing as your

In a press release sent on Monday, July 3rd, 2023, Marvel Comics announced details on their booths and panel schedule at San Diego Comic-Con 2023. Check out the Marvel booths, babes! According to the press release,  “Fans can stop by the Marvel booth (#2329) for the livestream broadcast, giveaways, signings, grab convention-exclusive merchandise at The

A ghost delving into memory and a first-person 3D puzzle game might seem like an odd mixture but developer Rogue Sun does an admirable job threading the two in Tin Hearts. [embedded content] The core conceit of the game is that you must guide a troop of windup toy soldiers from start to finish, doing

The most disappointing response to something new and scary is “better get used to it, it’s here to stay.” We’re currently saying it for artificial intelligence, and we’ve already said it with streaming, NFTs, the rising costs of online services, and the release of unfinished and broken triple-A games. That kind of defeatist attitude limits

This review contains mild The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom spoilers, unrelated to major plot points. A transwarp conduit over Hyrule? In Tears of the Kingdom, Link once again awakens to a devastated Hyrule and must rescue the titular princess. Building on the foundation of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild to

In The Beat’s review of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, I concluded that the title offered an entertaining experience, but not a wholly satisfying one. Fallen Order has the bones of a great video game, boasting solid combat, enjoyable platforming, and an interesting world, with the added bonus of classic Star Wars iconography. But the

This week, Hex Publishers and Random Games will release Unioverse: Reyu, the first in a series of one-shots set in the world of the online, blockchain-based game. The one-shots are by the creative team of writers Joshua Viola & Angie Hodapp, artist Ben Matsuya, and cover artist AJ Nazzaro, and each issue will explore the backstory

Later today, at 8:00 PM Eastern Time and 5:00 PM Pacific, the first six episodes of Assassin’s Creed: Forgotten Temple will make their debut on WEBTOON. Published by Redice Studio, this webcomic adaptation of the hit Assassin’s Creed video game series represents a collaboration between WEBTOON and Ubisoft. While you may have to wait a few more hours

Dynamite Entertainment recently published Supercade: A Visual History of the Videogame Age 1985-2001, a comprehensive coffee table style book on a key period in the history of video games. Dynamite picked the project up following a successful Kickstarter run by its main writer and editor Van Burnham. It’s a sequel to 2001’s Supercade: A Visual History of the Videogame Age

EA shared its final trailer for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, the sequel to 2016’s Jedi: Fallen Order. The story “follows the continuing epic adventures of Jedi Knight Cal Kestis as he enlists the help of old friends and new companions in his fight against the growing threat of the Empire across the galaxy.” Set during

Yesterday, Nintendo announced its first major live event in the US since its appearance at E3 2019. Now that it’s successfully run multiple Nintendo Live shows from Japan, the video game company is bringing the experience to Seattle, Washington in September. Here are activities to expect at Nintendo Live 2023: Games: Have a blast together with popular

Today’s gaming options leave players rather spoilt for choice when it comes to delving into rich worlds, seemingly endless landscapes, and complex narratives. It is a great time to be a gamer, but it can be rather exhausting too, since each game can feel like a commitment of tens (sometimes hundreds) of hours. Storyteller, developed

The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) made a real go at reviving the gaming industry’s biggest annual event, even enlisting ReedPop to take over its management and reimagine the show to be more consumer-focused. But, for a variety reasons, the ESA and ReedPop failed to bring it back, announcing today that this year’s E3 has been

Yesterday, the maker of Mario, Metroid, and Zelda aired its first Nintendo Direct of 2023, setting up the release schedule for the first half of the year. The showcase was a bit light on surprises, but included announcements that appealed to all types of fans. Here are some of the top stories to come out

The lack of first-party titles from Xbox, especially on the AAA front, is no secret. But Microsoft promised that 2023 will be different and get it closer to its aim to release at least one big game per quarter. To illustrate that, Microsoft aired the Xbox Developer Showcase, a video presentation (mostly) focused on games

A gang of video game makers, social media stars and comics stars are teaming up for…a project! Ashfall is the name of this transmedia IP property,  and Liithos is the name of the new AAA gaming and entertainment studio behind it. The folks involved: Michael Mumbauer and John Garvin, both formerly of Playstation and such games

Last week Nintendo decided to forgo another standard Indie World showcase in favour of a series of five short daily videos entitled Inside The House of Indies – “highlighting game updates, announcements, and more from our indie partners”. Twenty games were covered and nine of the titles were same day shadow drops, the highlight being

Welcome to The Beat’s 2022 Holiday Gift Guide! Are you looking for the perfect gift for everyone on your list? Here at Stately Beat Manor, we’ve been making a list with some of the most enticing items you could imagine unwrapping this holiday season. Naturally, an exhaustive list is impossible, so be sure and share

Yesterday, Nintendo debuted the 2nd trailer for the Super Mario Bros. movie during a special Movie Direct, showing off a lot more of the Mushroom Kingdom and the Mario cast.  It features the first look at Illumination Studio’s take on Donkey Kong (voiced by Seth Rogan), Princess Peach (voiced by Anya Taylor-Joy), and Luigi (voiced by

Electronic Arts and Marvel have forged a deal for three games, Bloomberg reports. Details have only been released for the first game – which will be based on Iron Man, and has been in the works for a while from Motive Studio,  EA”s Montreal based arm. The first game EA is making is based on Iron

2017 was an outstanding year of gaming for Nintendo fans. The launch year of the Switch saw the release of some of the most beloved titles on the platform to this day, including The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Splatoon 2, and Super Mario Odyssey. Another game that belongs

Konami has been largely absent from video games in recent years, focusing on pachinkos over interactive entertainment. But the pachinko industry was rocked by COVID-19, which led to the closure of hundreds of pachinko parlors in Japan, so Konami is now making games its primary focus. The company owns some of video game’s most memorable

https://madcavestudios.com/ EGX 2022 returned to London’s Excel Centre for the show’s second post-pandemic year. The event is one of the UK’s premier videogame conferences where indies, major players, retro enthusiasts and more gather to celebrate gaming culture. Having last visited EGX pre-pandemic (2020 was shut down like much of the conference industry) EGX 2022 was a

https://madcavestudios.com/ In a special Nintendo Direct livestreamed at New York Comic Con and around the world, Nintendo and Illumination debuted the first trailer (and confirmed the title) for the Super Mario Bros Movie, set to debut in theaters April 7, 2023. The Super Mario Bros. Movie Nintendo Direct: [embedded content] Here is the trailer: [embedded

https://madcavestudios.com/ “Launch trailers” are coming earlier and earlier. Gotham Knights, the action-adventure title developed by WB Games Montreal starring four of Batman’s former sidekicks, isn’t releasing for another two weeks, but Warner Bros. just released the game’s Official Gameplay Launch Trailer. To be fair, it’s possibly Gotham Knights‘ best trailer to date, bearing a cinematic

https://madcavestudios.com/ The Pokémon Company today dropped a new 14-minute dedicated gameplay trailer, entitled Jump into a Paldean Journey, showcasing a plethora of new features to look forward to in Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet (launching November 18, 2022). [embedded content] The new video is the longest trailer yet – almost as long as the 19-minute

Earlier this week LightBox Expo announced its in-person return to Pasadena, California for the first time since 2019. The art-focused convention boasts a lineup of over 500 guests, including a vast array of artists, animators, directors, as well as a schedule of over 150 panels spread across the three days of the show. Today The