RipTen Videogame Blog » Film and TV

The Xbox 360 Kinect Reps Itself with Two Super Bowl XLVI Ads

Catherine Cai — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 20:30:59 +0000

Ahh, the Super Bowl. A great excuse for Americans to watch hulking men don pads and pound each other in the name of the Vince Lombardi Trophy–all whilst pigging out on massive amounts of nachos and beer. The rest of the world shrugs and goes about their day, not really even sure what the hell gridiron is.

But the Super Bowl is hardly all about football. I’m not here to talk about the atmosphere of camaraderie that arises when you’re cheering with a friend over twenty-two men doing their damnedest to break each other’s necks. I’m here to talk about the Super Bowl ads.

The Kinect brought two of its own ads to the big stage. One’s not exactly going to turn heads, but it hits home with the cheesy, inspirational music and the montage of NFL players gaming on the Kinect with little kids. After all, if a kid’s obese from sitting on his ass playing video games all day, the natural thing to do to fight obesity is play more video games, but with the Kinect, you actually have to move.

The Kinect’s second ad is definitely the one that Microsoft wanted to air. Even though it’s an old ad from October 2011, it’s production values are a smidgen higher than the NFL Play 60 ad. Then again, you don’t exactly need high production value to deliver a mixed message showing kids running outside and also playing video games inside. Anyway, the old ad highlights all the possibilities that the Kinect opens up. Tired of playing the same old Fruit Ninja and Dance Central? The Kinect will let you play air piano and violin. Just think of the future!

False But Funny: Epic’s Unreal Engine Powers Chevy Super Bowl XLVI Spot

Chad Lakkis — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 00:00:11 +0000

It’s customary for me this time of year to browse the internet in search of the upcoming Super Bowl commercials, partly because I am not patient enough to wait for the big game, and partly because I can.

Well, stumbling upon the Chevy Silverado Super Bowl XLVI spot reminded me of a video game franchise I love very much. If you’ve ever played Gears of War, you know that critics of the Unreal Engine often refer to the game as “Greys of War.” Now, I happen to think the subject matter itself plays a huge part in the game’s overall color palette, but even I can admit the resemblance in the video below is pretty darn funny. Check it out for yourself.

Also, fans of RipTen need not worry. Dave Oshry does not drive a Ford.

The Watercooler: Politically Correct Pulp Fiction

Sam Naylor — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 03:00:37 +0000

Warning: The Watercooler is the best thing you will see on the Internet today, mainly because it is the best thing I saw on the Internet yesterday. Be advised that The Watercooler is not necessarily videogame related (it usually won’t be), and is often silly, controversial, and/or not safe for work (NSFW). If this type of content frequently offends you, please be aware that I just warned you — if you still click through and get offended, it will be your own stupid fault. Otherwise, please continue…

I should warn potential viewers that to really get this video you should have seen Quentin Tarantino’s masterpiece Pulp Fiction. It’s not necessary, but it does make it a bit crazier. This is an American TV edit of a scene in the film, and it may well be the stupidest edit ever made.

Think you have something that could be Watercooler material? Send it to me via email: sam@ripten.com or on Twitter: @greeneggsnam. If your submission gets featured, you will win a prize package full of pride and accomplishment.

The Watercooler: Do You Know What ‘Nemesis’ Means?

Sam Naylor — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 03:00:59 +0000

Another oldie today, but I’ve watched it again so it still counts as the best thing I saw yesterday. Anyone who has seen both Sntach and Star Wars will appreciate this most, but it’s not massively necessary. You should, though, because they are both great films. This one (if it were real) would be better, though.

“Gimme that fuckin’ shooter!”

The Watercooler: Chucka Chucka

Sam Naylor — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 03:00:20 +0000

This one’s for the film fans out there. This might be only a teaser but it tells you absolutely everything you need to know about something that will likely be pretty big news.

There’s going to be more info about this during the Superbowl. The only American sports event that people in the UK actually might watch- but we don’t have any adverts. You’ll have to see what the trailer is like for yourselves, then.

New Battlefield 3 Commercial Is The Best Yet

Dave Oshry — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 22:55:08 +0000

When EA wants a trailer made for some silly racing game, they go to Michael Bay. However, when EA wants a sweet ass TV commercial for Battlefield 3, they don’t go to some hack like that, they go to Freddie Wong.

Yep, That pretty much sums up BF3 if you ask me. ^__^

Well done, Freddie.

The Full List of VGA 2011 Winners

Dave Oshry — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 01:30:34 +0000

There’s a good chance you caught some of the Spike TV video game awards on Saturday night.

However, there’s also a good chance you missed a lot of the awards that were given out because… well… they didn’t actually give them out…

So, here’s the full list, in case you missed it:

GAME OF THE YEAR

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

STUDIO OF THE YEAR

Bethesda Game Studios

CHARACTER OF THE YEAR

The Joker – Batman: Arkham City

VIDEO GAME HALL OF FAME AWARD

“The Legend of Zelda”

GAMER GOD AWARD

Blizzard Entertainment

BEST XBOX 360 GAME

Batman: Arkham City

BEST PS3 GAME

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception

BEST Wii GAME

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

BEST PC GAME

Portal 2

BEST HANDHELD/MOBILE GAME

Super Mario 3D Land

BEST SHOOTER

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

BEST ACTION ADVENTURE GAME

Batman: Arkham City

BEST RPG

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

BEST MULTI-PLAYER

Portal 2

BEST INDIVIDUAL SPORTS GAME

Fight Night Champion

BEST TEAM SPORTS GAME

NBA 2K12

BEST DRIVING GAME

Forza Motorsport 4

BEST FIGHTING GAME

Mortal Kombat

BEST MOTION GAME

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

BEST INDEPENDENT GAME

Minecraft

BEST ADAPTED VIDEO GAME

Batman: Arkham City

BEST SONG IN A GAME

“Build that Wall (Zia’s Theme)” by Darren Korb – Bastion

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

Bastion

BEST GRAPHICS

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A HUMAN MALE

Stephen Merchant as Wheatley – Portal 2

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A HUMAN FEMALE

Ellen McLain as GLaDOS – Portal 2

BEST DOWNLOADABLE GAME

Bastion

BEST DLC

Portal 2 Peer Review

MOST ANTICIPATED GAME

Mass Effect 3

GAMETRAILERS.COM TRAILER OF THE YEAR

Assassin’s Creed: Revelations – E3 2011 Trailer

So, did they get it right?

Can An Angry Birds Movie Be Sexy and Violent? Apparently.

Dave Oshry — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 20:15:22 +0000

Ok, violent isn’t much of a stretch, but sexy?

This you’ve gotta see to believe:

Somebody call Guy Ritchie, the man’s got a bloody film to make. Literally.

The Top 10 Real Life FUS RO DAH’s

Dave Oshry — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 02:00:01 +0000

Painstakingly compiled by Aaron “The Voice” Alexander and Dave Oshry.

Before Skyrim was even available in stores, the world already knew of the FUS RO DAH thanks to Bethesda’s epic trailer. Ever since, videos of Unrelenting Force being used in real life have been popping up on the net to incite epic lulz. What we have here are what we think are the Top Ten Best FUS RO DAH’s in real life, and we hope you enjoy them as much as we did:

Let’s start off with a little compilation, shall we?

Next up we’ve got Judge Dredd, everyone’s second to last favorite Slyvester Stallone movie. Watch him judge this fool Dovahstyle:

To make up for that, here’s a clip from Scrubs:

Did you know Morgan Freeman was Dragonborn?

Better yet, we’ve got the FUS being used on some unsuspecting Goats and Ducks:

Don’t worry though…

This New BioShock Infinite Image Is Part of The New VGA Trailer

Dave Oshry — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 05:30:42 +0000

If there’s one thing we all want more of, it’s Bioshock Infinite gameplay.

In fact, the E3 gameplay was so absolutely amazing that we unaninmously named BioShock Infinite as our Game of Show.

Well, we’re going to see more at the Spike TV Video Game awards, and this image is a part of it.

Tune into the awards at 8pm EST/5pm PST to see the whole shebang.

We’ll be there live watching it roughly 90 seconds before you. Suck on that, FCC TV delay!

Watch Jonah Hill and Sam Worthington Play Modern Warfare 3 in Real Life

Dave Oshry — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 05:40:11 +0000

Remember last year when Kobe Bryant, Jimmy Kimmel and a bunch of other random celebrities got together for that “There’s a Soldier in All of Us” commercial for Black Ops?

Well, this beats that by a landslide:

Dwight Howard is such a noob.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 noobs it up on November 8th.

Michael Bay’s Commercial for Need for Speed: The Run Is Awesome

Dave Oshry — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 19:36:04 +0000

Michael Bay likes to go fast. He also likes to make things explode.

When EA had him create a TV commercial for Need for Speed: The Run, he threw everything he had at it besides Transforming space robots.

The result is pretty damn awesome:

Need for Speed: The Run explodes onto the streets on November 15th.

Yes, This is a ‘Live Action’ Skyrim Trailer

Dave Oshry — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 17:55:32 +0000

Ever wondered what it would look like if a Dragonborn stood before a dragon in real life? Well, Bethesda has created this live action trailer just for you…

While this is pretty epic, it doesn’t give me goosebumps like the original gameplay trailer does ^__^

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is set to destroy your social life on 11.11.11

Freddie Wong Gives Us a First Look at Battlefield 4

Dave Oshry — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 22:00:42 +0000

With Battlefield 3 looming over the horizon, many gamers are already asking what’s next for DICE‘s flagship franchise. BF3 already looks incredibly realistic, so just how realistic might Battlefield 4 look?

Well, if anyone can give us an idea, it’s Freddie Wong:

Battlefield 3 is set to deploy on October 25th, are you ready, Freddie?

Sony Reportedly in Final Assassin’s Creed Movie Negotiations with Ubisoft

Justin Carter — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 23:30:22 +0000

Video game films don’t have a good reputation, and it’s easy to see why. Most of them have come from fighting games that have little to no story, and the films based on games that do have actual stories are usually pieces of crap. Then, there are the five or so game films currently in development hell that probably have no chance of ever happening.

Ubisoft is hoping that’ll change pretty soon. Variety is reporting that the publisher is very close to making a deal with Sony Pictures to distribute a movie based on their flagship Assassin’s Creed franchise.

Ubisoft plans on being very very close to the development of the film franchise, just to make sure everything’s exactly what fans have come to expect. I’m also guessing they’re willing to sneak up and kill anyone who looks like they could be a problem and drop them in a bale of hay.

Do you think Assassin’s Creed could work as a film franchise? Stay tuned to RipTen as the story unfolds.

This Ultimate Battlefield Simulator is Awesome

Brandon Fenty — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 18:00:54 +0000

You think you’ve got a good gaming setup, with your wimpy 65″ 1080p LED TV and Surround Sound setup? Think again, you’ve got nothing on the Ultimate Battlefield Simulator.

The Simulator uses a 360 screen setup to put you right in the middle of the action. It uses a Kinect to track your movements, and an actual gun for aiming. You walk on a 360 degree treadmill to move. If you get shot, 12 paintball guns are waiting to remind you to take cover next time. Yeah, it’s pretty intense.

The Gadget show is doing a special on this monster on October 24th. In the meantime, you can check out the youtube preview:

Videogame Based Script asks Fans for Suggestions

Brandon Fenty — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 17:30:20 +0000

Playing With Fire is a horror-based script collaboration with three brilliant Oscar and Emmy nominated craftsmen. The Harold Goldberg-penned fright script features a bored, disaffected group of kids who come of age as they play a strange, seemingly anthropomorphic fighting videogame. Creepiness ensues as the teens try to unravel the terror-filled mystery behind the game.

The Playing With Fire team includes:

Bill Plympton – Bill Plympton is an Oscar-nominated animator whose independent features and shorts are known throughout the world. His landmark Idiots and Angels feature film, says the New York Times, “is relentless and brilliant.” Plympton conceived of the first Basilisk lizard prototype for Playing With Fire. http://www.plymptoons.com/

Dave Lowery – Dave Lowery is simply the most talented storyboard artist in Hollywood. From his work with Steven Spielberg on Jurassic Park to work Jon Favreau on Cowboys and Aliens, Lowery continues to be sought after in Los Angeles. He was also second unit director for Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3. Dave created a selection of storyboards for Playing With Fire. http://davelowery.net/

Anton Sanko – Anton Sanko scored the music to HBO’s award-winning Big Love. He also created the music for Rabbit Hole, starring Nicole Kidman. This year, he was nominated for an Emmy for work on the National Geographic documentary, Great Migrations. Most recently, he worked on The Possession, the upcoming horror film starring Kyra Sedgwick. Sanko composed the scary selections for Playing With Fire. http://www.antonsanko.com

Harold Goldberg – Harold Goldberg is the screenwriter for Playing With Fire. His book, All Your Base Are Belong to Us, How 50 Years of Videogames Conquered Pop Culture, was excerpted in Vanity Fair and featured on NPR, NBC and the BBC. Wired’s Jason Schrier called it “the essential tome of videogame history.” A documentary based on the book is currently being made. http://haroldgoldberg.weebly.com/

Those who go to the website will have the chance to interact with it beyond the feautres that will be launched each day. Fans can submit their own drawings and trailers — and suggestions for the script as well. Those who submit are eligible for prizes, everything from cash, to videogames, to Goldberg’s best selling book, All Your Base Are Belong to Us, to an eerie dinner with Goldberg. Says Goldberg:

“I’m completely honored to be working with Bill Plympton, Dave Lowery and Anton Sanko. These folks are masters of their respective crafts. Each has long histories in the film and music businesses. Each time they delivered art or a piece of music, I got really excited, like a kid on Halloween. I hope folks get a few scares as participate in making a terrific, scary event.”

Five scenes from Playing With Fire will be revealed each day. Check it out at their website: http://www.playingwithfirefilm.com/

Ninja Gaiden Fan Film Brings the Original NES Classic to Life

Garrett Hartman — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 16:56:52 +0000

Ah, Ninja Gaiden on the NES. Such a groundbreaking game when it came out. Perhaps the first game to have “cinematic” cut-scenes which complemented its mind numbingly difficult gameplay. While it was absolutely nothing like its arcade counterpart, Ninja Gaiden on the NES became a classic and spawned a successful fanchise.

Thanks to 12KingFanFilms, we can see Ryu Hayabusa’s first 1989 adventure brought to life on film. Is it awesome? About as awesome as an 8-bit classic brought to life can be.

Watch it below and read what the filmmakers had to say about it:

Ninja Gaiden : Fan Film – [2011 Release] from 12KING Fan Films. This short film is based on the original NES Game (1989) and focuses particularly on it’s famous “Cutscenes”. It is experimental in nature and it’s intentional cartoon effect is reminiscent of the days of classic gaming.

Aside from the narration present in the film, there is no audible dialog, we considered that it would be interesting to let the images tell the story. If you are not familiar with the original Ninja Gaiden storyline, we encourage you to look it up.

In the film, Ryu Hayabusa’s costume design as well as his Dragon Sword were inspired by the Box Art from the original game (The look is also somewhat featured in the arcade version of the game). Many of the “Game Stage” designs are included and re-interpreted with 2D and 3D renders within the film. A rudimentary “Green Screen” was used to incorporate the actors into the virtual scenes. The challenge was to make as much as possible with what little was available at the time and still make it all work somehow. We hope to have achieved this goal. The entire production cost was no more than 350$ CDN in weapons and costume materials.

We had a great time making this film and we are all proud to share it with you. It is dedicated to all Ninja Gaiden fans. And most importantly…We hope you sit back and enjoy it!

Netflix Shuts Down Qwikster, Stoner Loses Hope of Seeing Millions

Dave Oshry — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 14:10:31 +0000

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has admitted that his company had indeed derped when they should have herped.

Qwikster (which was announced less than a month ago) is officially dead, this is what he said:

It is clear that for many of our members two websites would make things more difficult, so we are going to keep Netflix as one place to go for streaming and DVDs.

This means no change: one website, one account, one password… in other words, no Qwikster.

While the July price change was necessary, we are now done with price changes.

We’re constantly improving our streaming selection. We’ve recently added hundreds of movies from Paramount, Sony, Universal, Fox, Warner Bros., Lionsgate, MGM and Miramax. Plus, in the last couple of weeks alone, we’ve added over 3,500 TV episodes from ABC, NBC, FOX, CBS, USA, E!, Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, ABC Family, Discovery Channel, TLC, SyFy, A&E, History, and PBS.

We value our members, and we are committed to making Netflix the best place to get movies & TV shows.

Thank you.

No one is more saddened by this news than stoner laureate Jason Castillo who owns the Twitter handle @Qwikster. Jason had hoped to sell his Twitter handle to Netflix for millions (even though that’s illegal) and likely use the money to throw a $450,000 crack party. Poor guy.

To summize. Price changes are here to stay, but Qwikster is not. In a related story, nobody ever really cared.

via [Netflix]

French Press Kit Outs Halo Movie for 2012 – Spielberg Reportedly Involved

Garrett Hartman — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 14:44:51 +0000

Sure you’ve heard it before, but this time it’s no rumor. According to a French press release kit for Halo: Cryptum, a Halo movie is planned for 2012 with Steven Spielberg and Dreamworks attached.

As clearly stated in the press release:

“A film adaptation is set in 2012. It will be conducted jointly by two heavyweights of American cinema: Steven Spielberg and Dreamworks.”

Sure we’ve heard it before and we know that Spielberg has shown interest in making a Halo film for at least a couple of years. 343 and Dreamworks have been contacted but have not responded. Leave it to the French to out such a secret.

Source: HBO via NeoGAF