Massively Multiplayer: Gaming In The New Millennium

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On a side note, is Natasha Richardson still alive? I ask because the nature of her death can be butterflied away ITTL, given what the PoD is...
 
The Billboard #1 Hits Of 2011
  • Index

    • RySenkari

    January 1: “Say It's Us” by Pharrell Williams ft. Ayumi Hamasaki
    January 8: “Say It's Us” by Pharrell Williams ft. Ayumi Hamasaki
    January 15: “Firework” by Katy Perry
    January 22: “Firework” by Katy Perry
    January 29: “Firework” by Katy Perry
    February 5: “Firework” by Katy Perry
    February 12: “Firework” by Katy Perry
    February 19: “Firework” by Katy Perry
    February 26: “Gets Me Harder” by. M.S.
    March 5: “Gets Me Harder” by. M.S.
    March 12: “Gets Me Harder” by. M.S.
    March 19: “Gets Me Harder” by. M.S.
    March 26: “Gets Me Harder” by. M.S.
    April 2: “Gets Me Harder” by. M.S.
    April 9: “E.T.” by Katy Perry ft. Kanye West
    April 16: “E.T.” by Katy Perry ft. Kanye West
    April 23: “E.T.” by Katy Perry ft. Kanye West
    April 30: “E.T.” by Katy Perry ft. Kanye West
    May 7: “Revolution Eyes” by Ark
    May 14: “Revolution Eyes” by Ark
    May 21: “Pinkblind” by Wonder Girls
    May 28: “Pinkblind” by Wonder Girls
    June 4: “Pinkblind” by Wonder Girls
    June 11: “Pinkblind” by Wonder Girls
    June 18: “Pay Me” by Pitbull
    June 25: “Phobia” by M.S.
    July 2: “Chaos Theory” by Nathan Benz
    July 9: “Chaos Theory” by Nathan Benz
    July 16: “Chaos Theory” by Nathan Benz
    July 23: “Chaos Theory” by Nathan Benz
    July 30: “Chaos Theory” by Nathan Benz
    August 6: “Chaos Theory” by Nathan Benz
    August 13: “Chaos Theory” by Nathan Benz
    August 20: “Chaos Theory” by Nathan Benz
    August 27: “Chaos Theory” by Nathan Benz
    September 3: “Chaos Theory” by Nathan Benz
    September 10: “Chaos Theory” by Nathan Benz
    September 17: “Moves Like Jagger” by Maroon 5 ft. Koda Kumi
    September 24: “Moves Like Jagger” by Maroon 5 ft. Koda Kumi
    October 1: “Moves Like Jagger” by Maroon 5 ft. Koda Kumi
    October 8: “Moves Like Jagger” by Maroon 5 ft. Koda Kumi
    October 15: “Dayum” by CharStarr
    October 22: “Dayum” by CharStarr
    October 29: “Dayum” by CharStarr
    November 5: “To Hell With Heartbreak” by Rihanna and Taylor Swift
    November 12: “To Hell With Heartbreak” by Rihanna and Taylor Swift
    November 19: “To Hell With Heartbreak” by Rihanna and Taylor Swift
    November 26: “To Hell With Heartbreak” by Rihanna and Taylor Swift
    December 3: “To Hell With Heartbreak” by Rihanna and Taylor Swift
    December 10: “To Hell With Heartbreak” by Rihanna and Taylor Swift
    December 17: “To Hell With Heartbreak” by Rihanna and Taylor Swift
    December 24: “To Hell With Heartbreak” by Rihanna and Taylor Swift
    December 31: “To Hell With Heartbreak” by Rihanna and Taylor Swift
     
  • Index

    • RySenkari

    Ark is a new K-Pop band with a somewhat Westernized sound, a sign of the continued influence of Asian pop and the mixing of East/West that's taken place. "Revolution Eyes" is the breakout song from their album, and has somewhat of a retro late 90s/early 2000s Destiny's Child vibe to it, but with a lot more "pop".

    Nathan Benz is a 23-year-old hip-hop artist, a sort of blend of the styles of Kanye West and Kendrick Lamar. He's actually somewhat the opposite of Kanye in personality, very quiet and humble, and also is looking to perhaps start an acting career. He happens to be good friends with Lin Manuel Miranda (who's working on Broadway ITTL also and has been somewhat successful, though he hasn't had an In The Heights-style breakout just yet).

    CharStarr is a 30-year-old DJ/hip-hop artist who frequently collaborates with artists like Pitbull and Taio Cruz. He's got a "raw" sound to his music, and is more vulgar than a lot of his genre contemporaries, but his music is incredibly catchy and his album was one of the most successful of the year. His music's not well liked by critics, but he always has a lot of fun and as the Asian pop boom begins to fade and some club music/hip-hop starts to find its way back into the spotlight, he's going to be very successful.
     
    Summer 2011 (Part 6) - Sonic Saturation
  • Index

    • RySenkari

    Sonic Unrelenting

    Sonic Unrelenting is a 3-D platformer/action game exclusive to the Apple iTwin. Like Sonic: Elemental Friends, it has a combat-heavy focus, but rather than the open, explorable areas of Elemental Friends, this game has smaller, more closed-in spaces, designed for acrobatic maneuvers and speed. The result is a Sonic game that lives up to its name: fast, full of combat, and at a pace that hardly lets up. The game also slims down the character roster from twelve to just three: Sonic, Tails, and Sally Acorn. Knuckles' absence is a plot point used to tease the next iTwin game, while companions such as Amy Rose and Corona serve in more of a helper capacity. As Sonic, players will traverse stages full of ramps and spirals that serve to help them build up speed, which the player can then use to slam Sonic into enemies and send them flying or deal massive damage. The amount of damage Sonic can do is heavily reliant on his current speed, so it helps to send Sonic through as many spirals and ramps as possible to build up his speed before jettisoning him toward enemies. There's a speed meter that shows exactly how fast Sonic is going and how much damage he can do. Tails controls similarly, but also has a flight component to his momentum, and can equip weaponry to attack enemies from above and afar. Sally isn't able to go as fast as Sonic and Tails, but can engage enemies directly with melee strikes, making her somewhat more noob-friendly (to players who have trouble building up speed with Sonic and Tails). Combat is more simple than in Elemental Friends, largely due to the lack of elemental attacks and specials that the characters had in the previous game. Even Sally's melee strikes have much less combo potential than in most beat 'em ups, though the availability of different weapons can ameliorate that somewhat. The game is full of sci-fi style environments, including labs and cities, both futuristic and destroyed. Enemies mostly take the form of mutated beings, either humanoid or animal-like, and one of the major mysteries of the game is discovering the source of the mutations. Sonic, Tails, and Sally will all frequently comment on what they see as they explore, with Sonic taking a more melancholy tone, Tails being more scientific, and Sally being upbeat but aggressive. The game in general has a somewhat darker tone than previous Sonic titles, with the mutations being somewhat tragic in that many of the cities affected by them were once thriving and full of life. The game isn't overly edgy, though there is more of an edgy component than in other games, with Sonic getting more and more angry as he and his friends uncover the mystery behind these mutations. Another major theme of the game concerns Sonic's increased aggression toward enemies, and even his tendency to argue with Sally and Tails over the proper course of action. Sonic feels like he failed, and is largely taking that out on others while not dealing with his own feelings in a healthy way, while Tails' more analytical approach and Sally's open discussion of her feelings with others help them cope with what they're seeing better than Sonic. The game's graphics are probably the best to date in any Sonic game, due in part to the lateness of its arrival on the iTwin, and also due to the smaller environments allowing for more detail on backgrounds and animation. Everything looks vivid and colorful, and the game is considered one of the better looking on the iTwin. The previous voice actors for Sonic, Tails, and Sally all return, and there are no major voice changes for side characters either. The game uses the typical 3-D Sonic iTwin control schemes, with the motion controls and traditional controls both remaining largely unchanged from Elemental Friends.

    Sonic Unrelenting takes place on the planet of Diplo, where Sally has been visiting as an ambassador, but has noticed strange activity on the planet as of late. She brings Sonic and Tails along, along with Amy and a few other of Sonic's friends (save for Knuckles, who is off on his own) to the planet in order to investigate, but they are immediately attacked by mutants and separated. Here is where the player is able to choose between Sonic, Tails, and Sally, each of whom has their own unique quests (though there are also quests that can be played with any of the characters, and some quests that must be played with a specific character). Sonic's quest largely deals with racing to the capital of Diplo, where the mutation is said to have stemmed from. Tails must find a lab which is said to be the source of the mutation, while Sally decides to find her friend, a contact on the planet named Mariah (an anthropomorphic hippo). Sonic's route takes him through numerous 3-D levels that play out somewhat like 3-D versions of the old-school Sonic stages, a sort of "Super Sonic 3D World" type of gameplay experience. Tails' route takes him through a lot of ruined areas that force the player to explore a bit even as they also race and ascend to new heights, while Sally ends up fighting the most mutants on her journey through two large city areas. Eventually, all three find their way to the capital of Diplo, after Sally saves Mariah from a giant mutant beast and Tails is able to do some research on a scientist named Delta. Delta was a brilliant scientist who hoped to make Diplo into a military power by turning its people into superheroes, capable of defending themselves from alien invasion. However, something went terribly wrong, and a great mutation spread through the planet, turning most of its living beings into mutated creatures. Tails learns of an antidote, and the three end up in the capital together in an attempt to find the components for one. They come across a powerful army led by a mighty general, a half-mutant/half-rhino hybrid named Gorr who wants to start an army of conquest to spread out from Diplo and take over other worlds. The group also learns that Delta is alive somewhere, and is being forced to create more mutation solution for Gorr's army. Sonic and friends resolve to find Delta, free him, and make an antidote to cure the planet, all the while battling Gorr's army and the rogue mutations. Eventually, Tails manages to track Delta down, only to learn that Delta isn't a hostage, but is willingly creating mutations and has gone mad, and Gorr is just taking advantage of Delta's madness to create an army. Delta captures Tails and tries to mutate him, but Sonic and Sally stop him, though he gets away due to timely intervention from Gorr. Sonic has become extremely aggressive by this point, and is starting to talk like he would rather destroy Delta and Gorr than wait for an antidote to be created, something that shocks and horrifies Sally and Tails. Eventually, despite a lot of trials and disagreements, Sonic eventually remembers that he's a hero and that he has to help save the people of Diplo no matter how mad he is. It's also discovered he has a mild case of the mutation, something the player can use to their advantage by playing as Mutant Sonic, who has extra strength and speed along with a few more powers. After Gorr is defeated, Delta mutates himself into a hideous creature, which must then also be defeated. Tails is able to use Delta's research notes to create an antidote and cure the world. Peace returns to Diplo, Gorr is imprisoned, and Delta is cured of his mutation and his madness. He is able to present Sonic with some pages that led him to start this whole mutant situation in the first place. To the horror of Sonic and his friends, they realize that these are just a few pages from Eggman's journal... and that many more are still out there, scattered through the universe. Even though Eggman is gone (for now), his dark legacy still remains, and it's up to Sonic and friends to hunt down the remaining pages of his journal.

    Sonic Unrelenting is released on August 30, 2011. Though its graphics are praised, its gameplay gets a mixed reception. The simplified combat is seen as being a bit boring and repetitive compared to Elemental Friends, and though some of the game's simplified levels, especially those on Sonic's path, are fun to play, critics do have some harsh words for the levels on Tails and Sally's path, which are seen as being somewhat overlong. Sally's combat in particular is said to get old after the first couple of levels, while Tails' controls are considered awkward and tricky. The relegation of other characters to helper roles is also criticized, and many feel that Knuckles should have gotten the playable character slot instead of Sally, ignoring the hints that Knuckles is off doing something that will resonate later in the series. The boss fights, which consisted of a healthy mix of large creature battles and intense humanoid brawls, were one of the bright spots of the gameplay, particularly the final boss sequence against Delta, which had multiple stages and components. Reviews for Sonic Unrelenting would ultimately come down in the mid-to-high 7s. It's definitely not a disaster like some of OTL's stinkers, but it IS a critical disappointment, and sales also lag behind those of Elemental Friends, failing (though only by a bit) to cross a million in the game's first week of release.

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    New Sonic Animated Series And Comic Planned, Feature Film Coming?

    As Apple doubles down on a packed schedule of Sonic-related releases, including two new iPhone games, two games for their upcoming Gemini handheld, and next year's iTwin release (rumored to be starring Knuckles), the company is also looking to bolster Sonic the Hedgehog's presence outside of gaming, with a brand new animated series planned for release on Nickelodeon in 2012. The new series will be the first Sonic cartoon launched outside of Japan since the mid 1990s, and will feature both classic characters and brand new ones such as Mist the Cobra and Mariah the Hippo. It won't share any continuity with the games, but will feature an amalgamated storyline incorporating elements from a wide variety of Sonic media, including the games, previous TV shows, and the comics. Speaking of Sonic comics, Apple has renewed Archie Comics' license to produce more Sonic the Hedgehog material, and we'll see a brand new series started which focuses on Sally Acorn's adventures across the cosmos, though Sonic will also appear in practically every issue. This comic will run alongside the long-running series, and the two won't share a continuity. This new comic will introduce brand new characters that may find their way into the games down the road, though at the moment, representatives from Archie Comics say that for now, they plan to keep the new comic its own "self contained universe", so to speak. Archie Comics has had its share of ups and downs recently: Welcome To Riverdale, the hit Fox Family live action show that frequently boasts over five million viewers per week, has spawned unprecedented interest in the classic Archie series, which is seeing levels of readership it hasn't seen in decades. However, the company recently lost a landmark Supreme Court case, Harnaby v. Archie Comics, in which the Court ruled by a 6-3 margin that non-profit fanworks fall under fair use under copyright law (which immediately prompted fanfiction.net to add sections for Archie Comics and Welcome To Riverdale fanfiction, along with sections for other authors such as Anne Rice who had threatened legal action against fanfic authors in the past). This renewed deal with Apple, which also includes the rights to several other Apple video game properties, is expected to produce a major influx of new readership and profit for the company.

    Also among the recent news concerning new Sonic projects is the news that Apple is looking into co-producing a Sonic The Hedgehog animated feature film with Disney/Pixar Studios. While Nickelodeon's new Sonic animated series will feature 2-D animation, the Pixar Sonic would feature full 3-D, and would likely have the biggest budget of any Pixar film to date. Since the film is still in the pre-production stages, it's unlikely we'd see any sort of trailer for the movie until late 2012 at the absolute earliest, but a 2013 trailer seems more likely, to coincide with the expected release of Apple's next console. We'd thus see the Sonic film itself sometime in 2014, assuming no production hitches. Again, nothing has been confirmed except that Apple is looking for production partners for a Sonic feature, and Pixar, co-founded by Steve Jobs himself, is the most likely production studio.

    -from an AppleGamer.net article, posted on September 4, 2011
     
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    • woweed

    RySenkari said:
    Also among the recent news concerning new Sonic projects is the news that Apple is looking into co-producing a Sonic The Hedgehog animated feature film with Disney/Pixar Studios. While Nickelodeon's new Sonic animated series will feature 2-D animation, the Pixar Sonic would feature full 3-D, and would likely have the biggest budget of any Pixar film to date. Since the film is still in the pre-production stages, it's unlikely we'd see any sort of trailer for the movie until late 2012 at the absolute earliest, but a 2013 trailer seems more likely, to coincide with the expected release of Apple's next console. We'd thus see the Sonic film itself sometime in 2014, assuming no production hitches. Again, nothing has been confirmed except that Apple is looking for production partners for a Sonic feature, and Pixar, co-founded by Steve Jobs himself, is the most likely production studio.
    Click to expand...
    If Apple buys Disney, I kill.
     

    Nivek

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