TRON!

The year was 1982. Imagine if you will a world where the Atari 2600 is King, the Commodore 64 has just launched, and Disney has created a movie with the best computer graphics ever seen on the Big Screen. If none of this is ringing a bell, you were either too young or not born yet. The movie I’m speaking of was Tron.

Yes, the graphics are crap now and the games it spawned from its vision of a computer generated world are dusty old relics that you can download to your Xbox 360 if you’re feeling nostalgic. That feeling lasts about all of three minutes when you realize how antiquated those graphics are. But the movie generated some of the best arcade games of the time and for that alone, we have to salute Disney. One of the better Intellivision games, “Tron: Deadly Discs???, which may have provided a means of competing with the more popular Atari 2600, came out the same year as the movie. Sadly, the home video game market would crash the next year and so the advances made in gaming wouldn’t see the insides of a home for several years to come.

The game “Tron 2.0??? would come out some 21 years later and receive a mostly lukewarm reception by those who were not already a fan of the movie and the original games. It died a quiet and noble death before it really generated a lot of mainstream interest. But, somewhere, there must have been enough of a spark for Disney to determine a sequel of the Tron movie was in order and with it, a new game.

Tron: Evolution is the tie-in that will serve as the story bridge between the original Tron movie and its sequel coming out at the end of this year, Tron Legacy. In it, players assume the role of “Anon??? (short for Anonymous, get it?) and journey through the computer world in order to… Well, that part we don’t know. The developers were tightlipped about the story line in order to prevent the inevitable spoilers that would end up online. There was mention by one of the attendees of missions directly from Flynn himself but a developer struck him down with a well thrown data disc and he derezzed before I could find out more. True story.

(more…)

Uhhh, yeah were not sure either...

Disney has unleashed their first product shots of their massive Tron Legacy toy and electronics line, including mice, keyboards, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 controllers, and action figures with cutting-edge impulse light projection technology.

The 12 inch tall Ultimate Sam Flynn figure (right) arrives in stores in December ($40) which will be the first action figure incorporating impulse light projection technology. Like the characters in the movie, Sam’s face is projected onto the helmet of the action figure, where it appears somewhat large, and oddly misplaced. The face is animated, so when the figure spouts electronic phrases, it moves its mouth. Small children beware of this one under your bed!

Razer is doing up keyboards and mice for $79-$139, and PDP will have Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 controllers for $49.99 apiece. A bit pricey for a wired controller. The Wii version, also due out later this year, will be wireless, because thats how they roll.

[Source]

Can't keep America's hero down!

Like most people plugged in these days, we here at BG can tell you what day of the week it is by what is going on… For instance… new DVDs and music… that comes out on Tuesdays. New movies? That’s Friday unless it’s a blockbuster, then it’s a Thursday showing. Saturday? That’s when our new Hangovers are due… But Wednesdays, now that’s something special. Because Wednesdays my dear friends… is comic book day.

2009 saw some doozies… here’s our favorite comic happenings for the year:

THE BEST

1. Captain America – He is back. Yeah… after about 3 years of being dead… turns out he’s only mostly dead.

2. Battlefields – It’s WAR! It’s Comics! And it’s written by Garth Ennis of Preacher fame.

3. The “Oz??? series – It all started with “The Wizard Of Oz??? that was adapted more closely to the books, now it’s growing to include the other Oz books. Best part? The art is by Skottie Young.

4. Batman – Shenanigans… Bruce isn’t here any more… Dick Grayson has taken the mantle of the bat. Bruce’s son is the new Robin, and the old Robin… he’s now Red Robin. Beautiful art and writing in the new “Batman and Robin??? series… Fans are a talkin’.

5. Image United – Remember the 90’s? So do tons of others. The original Image creators are back, and Image United has been selling out. Best thing? Al Simmons is back.

THE WORST

1. HULK – This is hard for me… I love the Hulk character… but they need to cut out this Red Hulk business. I’ve never been more bored in my life.

2. The “she characters of Marvel” – Red She hulk and Lady Deadpool. Let’s stop beating a dead horse.

I've got a bad feeling about this...

3. Xmen Forever – Chris Claremont picks up from his 90’s Xmen run. It’s hit or miss. Sometimes it’s interesting… and other times… he kills off Wolverine and gives Kitty a claw. That spells lame.

4. Wolverine Origins – It’s just bad, people.

5. The great comic book company buyout of 2009 – WB bought DC. Disney buys Marvel. We are still awaiting the fallout. I don’t care what anyone says. Never trust the man, The mouse is gonna kill comics eventually. I may be sounding like that crazy bum outside the train station with a “End is Near??? sign… But comics are a dying art form. I doubt a company as money hungry as these two are going to keep a traditional medium like comics.

-Timothy Danger

I woke up today with the phone ringing off the hook. I was unaware of the media bomb that had been dropped earlier in the morning. Disney is buying Marvel.

Wha? Hold the phone…

Immediately visions of kiddie shows, “Avenger Babies”, a Hanna Montana guest appearance, and a Jonas Brothers super hero team came into my head.

No way did I want the heroes I grew up on to be mixed up with this. I logged on to Twitter as the news was somewhat fresh to see artists and freelancers freaking out about the future of their work.

As the day wore on, more things came to light. Disney says it’s not going to touch Marvel much. They are going to let them continue to work on things as they had been much like the Pixar buyout.

(that is until the 3rd party licemse agreements expire)

The good news is, comics as a print form are slowly dying out. Disney has a hell of a media setup, and there movies havent been to shady either. This could be a good thing.

The only thing certain is that sooner or later, change is coming to the House of M. We can only hope for the best.

On another note, maybe they’ll let Peter and Mary Jane get back together… aren’t they big on “happily ever after”?

-T. Danger