Mortal Kombat Legacy 2

I just saw this today, even though it has been out for better than a week or so.  Over at Machinima's YouTube Channel, there is the preview trailer for the upcoming sequel to the Mortal Kombat reboot/web series "Mortal Kombat: Legacy" and it is aptly titled "Mortal Kombat: Legacy II".  As of yet there is no release date for when the episode's will start filtering onto the Machinima channel, but hopefully it will be soon.  As it looks pretty awesome!

Looks like this time around we'll see more Scorpion/Sub-Zero goodness, will see Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa reprise his roll of Shang Tsung.  Also shown in the trailer are Keshi, Styker, Raiden, Ermac, Mileena, Kitana, Kung Lao, Johnny Cage and Liu Kang.  Remember back to the first season where we saw the likes of fan favorite characters like Sonya Blade, Jax, Johnny Cage, Kano, Cyrax, and Sektor to name a few.  The first web series was somewhat controversial as many believed the initial teaser to be part of a big-screen franchise reboot of the movie franchise based off of the hit game series.  However, when the developers announced it would in fact be a serial webseries many criticized the series and it's original take on these established characters origin stories and even their revised appearance in some cases.

Personally, a fresh look on the series from a "real-life" perspective was pretty cool.  And infact, as the series progressed and gradually got better and better, I looked forward to each new episode.  And in my opinion, the game series has been pretty dormant over the past several years (and since the release of the lasted MK game).  So any decision to launch this movie into a big-screen type release would more than likely see it flop; in my opinion.  But being a web-released series really makes it standout.  As it is definitely one of the more "premium" style series on the web.  And personally, I'd like to see more webseries like this one.

Anyways, if you haven't seen the new trailer, check it out below.

Watch below:

If you missed out on the first season of the webseries be sure to visit Machinima's Channel, as they have all of the episodes online: Machinima: Mortal Kombat Legacy 2

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Retro Game Curator coming to the TechieSmarts Network!

Do you love games?  Do you love old school games?  If you answered yes to either of those, then be sure to checkout a new site to the TechieSmarts network: Retro Game Curator!  Over at the Retro Game Curator we will cover news and reviews as each pertains to Retro and Vintage style gaming.  And some pretty cool YouTube content as well.  There is a growing generation of gamers today that have not experienced some of gaming history's greatest games.  And our goal is to showcase some of those games and inform younger gamers of what they have missed.

And who knows, maybe inspire someone to be a fellow game collector as well.

Stay tuned!

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Netflix Shares and User Base Drops

Since we're on the topic of big brand companies going crazy, we might as well chat about Netflix.  Remember a few months ago when they announced the changes to their service pricing?  And remember a lot of people got pretty upset about the matter.  Then after their current customer's were already rocked by the pricing change; they almost immediately announced that they would be moving their DVD Rental Service from under the Netflix brand to the new Qwikster brand name.  Which seemed kind of crazy, but at least they were still supporting the DVD Rental customers.

And yes, a bunch of customer's got equally upset about the name change to Qwikster as well.  This change meant that both your DVD Rental queue and your Instant Streaming queue would be in two different locations and not associated with each other.  The only thing Netflix was looking to add to Qwikster were game rentals for game consoles (like the Gamefly rental service).

Very shortly after revealing the Qwikster brand, Netflix decided to scrap it's plans to even start up Qwikster in the first place claiming they have listened to their customers.  So for Netflix the last several months have been pretty busy with them running in circles and getting nothing accomplished.

And nothing screams 'We have no clue what we are doing.  But we're doing it like a boss' to your customers than to publicly change your business plan so many times and only end up back where you were to start with and leaving your customer's just as empty handed for all the trouble.  And by the way things look, hopefully they learned their lesson.

It was reported earlier this week that Netflix has lost something in the neighborhood of 800,000 subscribers.  I don't care who you are or what your business is.  But 800,000 subscribers is a metric crap-ton of former customers (and lost business).  And due to the all of the fiasco and canceled accounts their stock prices dropped around 37% on Monday alone.  This isn't good Netflix.

So what does it look like going forward?  Netflix has already announced new content would be making it's way to the service over the coming months.  And a bunch has already been added with them scoring deals with the AMC and CW networks.  So as a current user/customer, I certainly hope they continue to add more content.  Especially since their streaming content is still nowhere as large or full as their DVD offerings.  Maybe with time that will change.  And for their sakes, they need to remember lessons learned from the last couple of months when it comes to them looking to mix things up.

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Google+ Games: Do You Play?

Honestly, I've been a little behind in my exploration of Google+ the last few weeks.  This afternoon I had some time to kill and noticed a button on Google+ I hadn't previously noticed.  And when clicking it, I found it threw me right into their 'Games' section.

Looks like they have definitely gotten the clue from Facebook that people want to play games.  I have played around with some of the games on Facebook and I haven't found anything there that warrants special attention from me.  If I have a little downtime I may play a round or two of Tetris on Facebook.  But that's about it.  And I have yet to start getting any of the spammy game requests from people in my Circles on Google+.  Which tells me that the people I'm following aren't playing that many games either.

Did Google jump into the social game sector a little late?  Maybe, after all I have noticed a huge drop in Farmville Requests from my Facebook Friends.  And I know many people who no longer play Farmville because they felt burned out.  Doing something in your free time should never give you that 'burned out' feeling.  After all, that's why it's called free time.  So do you think games will help populate Google+?

Their offerings are somewhat slim right now.  With the following games being offered up:

Personally, Google will need to bring in more games/talent to catch anyone's eye for this to become a reason for people to spend more time on Google+.  However, this is just the starter games being offered there are more games on the horizon.

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New Roku Streaming Set Top Box Revealed

Today, Roku has revealed it's newest product.  For those who aren't familiar with Roku, they make a sweet little set-top box that is basically like a cable box for your internet streaming needs.  There are currently several Roku devices on the market, some just stream video from different streaming services like Netflix and Hulu (and a whole bunch more).  While some of their newer offerings can also handle apps like Angry Birds.

The new Roku LT is a slightly smaller version of the Roku 2 HD.  They have stripped it of Bluetooth and microSD features (that the Roku 2 HD has); and it will output video at 720p.  They have also announced that HBO Go would be making an appearance on Roku boxes as well.  If you are a current HBO subscriber, you get free access.  They have yet to announce what the cost to new subscribers (or non-subscribers) will be.  The Roku LT will retail for $49.

For more info on Roku visit: http://www.roku.com/

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PS3 Game Showdown!

The last several weeks have been pretty eventful in our house as far as my PS3 has been involved.  And in a good way.  As part of Sony's "Welcome Back" package I downloaded "Little Big Planet" and "inFamous".  And yesterday I picked up the much anticipated "Duke Nukem Forever".

So what is my take on my recent game selections?  "Little Big Planet" is a neat and addictive game.  But it is obviously targeted more towards the casual game audience.  Which is great for those times you just want to get a few minutes of gameplay squeezed into your busy life.  I like how you can buddy up with other players and follow each other around to other "planets" and continue the game together.  However, it is obvious that the developers of "Little Big Planet" are hoping their audience will shell out their hard earned cash for add-ons.  Some of the most popular add-ons apparently being new skins and costume pieces for Sackboy.  All in all, if you have young gamers in the house, this is the game for them.

"inFamous" was my second free selection once the Playstation Store came back online.  And I must say that I am happy I picked this title.  It's a fun take on the whole sandbox gameplay mechanic.  The easiest way to describe it would be to think of "GTA" or "Saints Row" meets a newfound super human.  You spend a lot of time bouncing around the city fighting the 'Reapers' (basically mutated junkies) and completing missions to discover your characters background and story.  I would have actually paid for this game and I actually look forward to checking out it's sequel once I have completed this one.  Did I mention you also get to control whether you play as an evil character or a good one...So many decisions.

And my most recent purchase is "Duke Nukem Forever".  I'm actually  not going to mention much about "DNF" in this post due to it needing it's own review in and of itself.  In short, the game is awesome as long as you keep in mind the source material.  If you ever played "Duke 3D" back in the day, you should be pleased.  And by the way, if I read one more Twitter post or forum comment that reads: 'this game is nothing like Duke 64 and therefore sucks' or 'Duke's first game which debuted on the n64 was way better, I want my money back' I will probably scream.  And yes, those are some of the actual comments I have found on other sites in response to this game.  For those less cultured in videogame history of legendary characters, Duke goes way back before the Nintendo 64 port and started out as a 2D platformer... Ok, enough of that, subject settled.

Look for my comprehensive review of "Duke Nukem Forever" to post in the next day or so.  In the meantime look for Duke's demo on PC and Xbox 360 which was released this week for everybody.

Happy Surfing!

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Weekly Tech News: Microsoft wants to sell us Games, AT&T is learning, and more!

To be honest, I have been pretty slack this week in keeping up with the news.  So, in advance I apologize.

-Microsoft wants to sell us Games...Online
Well, looks like Microsoft still has plans to grow their online commerce presence by opening selling games via the Games for Windows Marketplace.  This site has in fact been around for a while, but in a state of choas.  Personally, I have yet to buy any software from Microsoft online.  I have purchased titles via Xbox Live for my Xbox 360, which all in all works pretty well.

This following line is for Microsoft: why are you reinventing the wheel?  We already have digital distribution sites that specialize in selling PC games.  For example: Direct2Drive, sites like GoG.com (Good Old Games), and Steam (except Steam requires a standalone client be installed).  These sites are successful, in part because they specialize only in gaming.  They aren't also selling Office, Windows, or various other Windows products.  Personally, I wish them the best of luck.  But unless they are willing to deliver an experience similar to Steam or the ease of use when purchasing via Direct2Drive, I'll probably stick with the services I use and trust.  Once again, Microsoft seems to be on a path of conquest.
Source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2010/10/22/businessinsider-microsoft-to-sell-windows-games-online-2010-10.DTL




-AT&T is learning...How to cope beyond the iPhone.
What does this mean?  Simple, since the launch of the iPhone, AT&T has pretty much had it made.  Due to the exclusivity of the iPhone from AT&T, if you wanted one (unless it was jailbroken and unlocked) you had to use AT&T service.  With all of the buzz over the last couple of weeks, and the future of iPhone a jump to Verizon in 2011; what will become of AT&T?  What is their new 'trump card'?  What phone will they be able to offer that can compete with the iPhone? 

Apparently, they are bringing in Windows Phone 7 compatible handsets and Android based phones to try to offset the 'hardware shock' they will probably experience.  In my area, I have heard more than one iPhone user complain about their AT&T service.  How will AT&T fair if these user's jump ship to Verizon, and decide not to part with their beloved iPhone?  Let's face it, people use the devices they care about.  And they aren't always willing to make a move to another device; especially once they learn to use what they currently have.

I was able to break my wife of her Blackberry about a month and a half ago.  She adored her Blackberry, and she was looking for a new phone (since we could upgrade hardware).  She played with Sprints HTC Evo and absolutely fell in love.  This isn't always the case with people.  She was open for a change, AT&T better pull off some magic, because at least around my town the only reason to have AT&T cell coverage is for iPhone use.


In other quick news for the the December issue of PC Gamer hit, and it covers a huge section on Guild Wars 2.  So, until next week.  Happy surfing!

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