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USA Network has ordered a Masters of Doom adaptation produced by James Franco
David Kushner originally published Masters of Doom back in 2003, and the book-length exploration of id Software’s early days became an instant hit with readers everywhere (it even spawned a quasi-sequel in 2012 with Jacked: The Outlaw Story of Grand Theft Auto). And now, more than 15 years later, Variety is reporting that the USA Network is looking to adapt the story as part of a new anthology series focused on video game history:
Masters of Doom is the amazing true story of the Lennon and McCartney of video games: John Carmack and John Romero. Together, they ruled big business. They transformed popular culture. And they provoked a national controversy. More than anything, they lived a unique and rollicking American Dream, escaping the broken homes of their youth to co-create the most notoriously successful game franchises in history—Doom and Quake—until the games they made tore them apart.
As of right now, no one has agreed to play Romero or Carmack, but we do know that James Franco will executive produce the series with his brother Dave. Both siblings worked on The Disaster Artist with writer Tom Bissell, and the three will be teaming up again for Masters of Doom. Bissell, who also wrote the book Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter, will serve as a writer and executive producer on the show.
USA Network wants to create a pilot for Masters of Doom before agreeing to air the series, but hopefully the story of gaming’s two most famous Johns will come to television sometime soon.
Posted in Etcetera, News, PC
Tagged Doom (1993)
Game Critics Awards’s Best of E3 2019 bestows “Best of Show” on Final Fantasy VII Remake
Final Fantasy VII is more than 20 years old, but Square Enix’s radically reimagined Final Fantasy VII Remake received top marks at E3 2019 from the Game Critics Awards’s judging panel. The game, which will launch next Spring, took home the coveted “Best of Show” award, and it was also honored as “Best RPG” and “Best Console Game.”
The judging panel spread the rest of the awards around, and Bethesda’s Doom Eternal was the only other game to collect multiple wins (“Best PC Game” and “Best Action Game”). The wide range of other winners included Obsidian’s The Outer Worlds (“Best Original Game”), Ubisoft’s Watch Dogs Legion (“Best Action/Adventure Game”), Nintendo Luigi’s Mansion 3 (“Best Family/Social Game”), among others.
While Sony and Microsoft kept fairly quiet about the PS5 and Xbox Scarlett, Microsoft still managed to lock down “Best Hardware/Peripheral” with the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2. And CD Projekt Red took home yet another “Special Commendation for Graphics” thanks to Cyberpunk 2077.
The full list of winners from the Game Critics Awards’s Best of E3 2019 Awards can be found after the break. (more…)
Sony Pictures is producing a live-action television series based on Final Fantasy XIV
Sony Pictures has announced they are currently hard at work on a live-action Final Fantasy television series. There’s no word yet on when the show will debut, or what platform it’ll appear on, but I have to imagine it’ll take some time for the producers to procure a substantial enough wig budget.
That’s more or less a joke, but it’s also a bit staggering to even think about what Sony Pictures is attempting here. As a franchise that stretches back more than three decades (and across dozens of games), there is a lot of Final Fantasy lore to mine for a live-action adaptation. According to the announcement, the show will be partly based on Final Fantasy XIV, telling “an original story set in the fantastic world of Eorzea” and featuring a starring role for Cid.
Like most entries in the franchise, the Final Fantasy television series will “explore the struggle between magic and technology in a quest to bring peace to a land in conflict.” Viewers will also be introduced to magitek, beastmen, airships, and chocobos in future episodes.
Sony Pictures has partnered with Square Enix to develop the Final Fantasy television series, so we know the creators of the franchise will have some say in how its live-action debut plays out. Hivemind’s Jason Brown, Sean Daniel, and Dinesh Shamdasani (the same team behind the Netflix-bound adaptation of The Witcher) will executive produce the show, while Ben Lustig and Jake Thornton have been hired as writers.
Posted in Etcetera, News, PC, PS4
Tagged Final Fantasy XIV
Obsidian’s The Outer Worlds receives four nominations in Game Critics Awards’s Best of E3 2019 Awards
The Game Critics Awards‘s judging panel, which has expanded to 64 publications this year, has announced the nominees for the Best of E3 2019 Awards.
This year, Obsidian’s The Outer Worlds lead all games with a total of four nominations, including one for “Best of Show.” The RPG will be competing against Gearbox’s Borderlands 3, id Software’s Doom Eternal, Square Enix’s Final Fantasy VII Remake, Respawn’s Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, and Ubisoft’s Watch Dogs Legion for the big prize.
A quartet of other games also seemed to strike a chord with panelists, and also receiving three nominations apiece were Remedy’s Control (“Best Original Game,” “Best PC Game,” “Best Action/Adventure Game”), Bithell Games’s John Wick Hex (“Best Original Game,” “Best Strategy Game,” “Best Independent Game”), Nintendo’s Luigi’s Mansion 3 (“Best Console Game,” “Best Action/Adventure Game,” “Best Family/Social Game”), and MachineGames’s Wolfenstein: Youngblood (“Best PC Game,” “Best Action Game,” “Best Online Multiplayer”).
The complete list of nominees for the Best of E3 2019 Awards can be found after the break, and you can learn all about the winners beginning tomorrow, June 27. (more…)
Posted in Mobile, News, PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One
Tagged Borderlands 3, Doom Eternal, E3 2019, Final Fantasy VII, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, The Outer Worlds, Watch Dogs Legion
Bandai Namco announces One Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows
Bandai Namco will add another anime adaptation to their growing catalog with games with the announcement of One Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows. In development for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One, One Punch Man fans will get the chance to be able to play as several characters from the anime, including Saitama, Genos, Hellish Blizzard, Speed-O-Sound Sonic, and Mumen Rider:
One Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows will feature 3 vs. 3 battles, where players can form powerful teams using their favorite characters as they fight in a universe where attacks from powerful villains are the norm. Players can take the role of Saitama, a salaryman-turned-hero who can obliterate the strongest foes with a single punch. Players will also be able to play as other fan-favorite characters such as Genos, Hellish Blizzard, Speed-O-Sound Sonic, and Mumen Rider.
“One Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows is the perfect game for One Punch Man fans and those who are ready to jump into the One Punch universe,” said Abelina Villegas, an Associate Brand Manager at Bandai Namco Entertainment America. “Players can really immerse themselves in the One Punch Man world and form their own teams, develop their skills, and fight to see who is the strongest of them all!”
Bandai Namco didn’t announce a release date for One Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows, but they did say the game is “Coming Soon,” and also unveiled the Announcement Trailer embedded above.
New Retail Releases: Super Mario Maker 2, Judgment, F1 2019, More
Are we in a Summer games drought? Not if Nintendo and a few other publishers have anything to say about it.
This week, Nintendo will bring Super Mario Maker 2 to stores for the Switch. The course-creation sequel will add a full Story Mode, as well as a huge number of new creation tools, and a new game style based on Super Mario 3D World.
Also set to launch this week is Sega’s Judgment, a spinoff to the Yakuza franchise that’ll launch exclusively for the PS4. In Judgment, players will investigate the seedy Red Light District of Kamurocho in “the dramatic tale of a disgraced lawyer seeking redemption in a world rife with corruption and despair.”
Elsewhere on store shelves this week, gamers will be able to check out F1 2019 (PS4, Xbox One), latest racing simulation from Codemasters; The Sinking City (PS4, Xbox One), a Lovecraftian mystery from Frogwares; and Samurai Shodown (PS4, Xbox One), a rebooted new entry in SNK’s Samurai Shodown franchise.
And for RPG fans, Idea Factory will bring back the Neptunia series with Super Neptunia RPG for the PS4 and Switch.
A complete list of this week’s new retail releases can be found after the break. (more…)
Blazing Chrome will be released on July 11
JoyMasher has been working on Blazing Chrome, their retro-styled homage to Contra and Metal Slug, for a few years now. But the Brazilian developer has finally confirmed, alongside publisher The Arcade Crew, that the game will be released for the PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One on July 11.
With just a few weeks to go before Blazing Chrome’s launch, JoyMasher unveiled a new trailer today that gives prospective players a peek at a pair of hidden characters:
JoyMasher’s Blazing Chrome harkens back to the golden days of side-scrolling shooters with modern touches ensuring its gameplay feels as precise as it does authentic to the era it channels. Fans who unlock the new characters within the game will be treated to fast-paced, side-scrolling and vertical gameplay action as Suhaila, a razor girl with a robotic arm or the skilled and deadly ninja Raijin you try to out-fire, out-maneuver, and out-wit your various metal-encased AI enemies.
JoyMasher has also partnered with Limited Run Games to produce a physical edition for Blazing Chrome. It’ll be available to pre-order sometime this year for the PS4 and Switch.
Fantasy-styled shooter Amid Evil launches out of Early Access with a new trailer
After more than a year in Early Access, New Blood Interactive and Indefatigable are finally ready to launch Amid Evil, their fantasy-styled shooter that was partly inspired by classics of the genre like Heretic and Hexen.
To celebrate this milestone, the two companies have unveiled a new Launch Trailer highlighting the Champion’s throwback quest (“7 Worlds to Save, 7 Weapons to Wield, and 7 Evils to Vanquish”) and the game’s wildly trippy visuals.
Amid Evil is available to download now through Steam, GOG, and the Humble Store.