I'm going to preface this with the fact that I am NOT an actor. -I just woke up the day before the "L.A. Noire" video game was released, decided to film something silly, and then I dragged Dustin and Kellen in at the last minute. A special thanks to Justin Slosky, who could only be with us via picture! No camera crew, lights, or microphones -just a little HD camcorder, so we all took turns filming when we weren't using the tripod.
Thanks to Dustin & Kellen, I had a blast working with you guys!
As most of you know, the release date for "L.A. Noire" was last Tuesday, so I decided to dust off my HD camcorder, call a friend over, and make a little short film about it! So far the game isn't impressing me that much, but I'm excited to keep working on my short film "The Big Noire", written by Dustin Hall, created by (also starring in) the both of us, and edited by me.
Detective Cooper and Dollface McGee are on the search for a missing girl, err, game "L.A. Noire", and will stop at nothing to bring her home safely. I'm hoping to finish post production on this short by next week, so keep checking back!
Still itching to wield that hobby horse or vorpal blade on some deserving Wonderland baddies on June 14? Patience, we all are, but in the meantime the “Art of Alice” book is now available in the Alice merchandise store online! Full of the dark and twisted imagery from the collective genius that created this beautiful game!
T shirts, posters and a tote bag are also available and are sure to get any Alice fan geared up for the big release day!
You can also submit your Alice fan art on the facebook homepage, and view the other submissions here:
If you have been following the Alice MR news, then you already saw the latest trailer that was posted online yesterday. But for those of you who haven’t, here’s the stylish new animated short that reveals a bit more of the storyline:
More good news –the fact that the original American McGee’s Alice is still over $50 for the Mac version of the game is infuriating, but it has been announced that the original game download will be available FOR FREE on your X-BO360 and PS3 with purchase of the console game!!! So be sure to preorder your copy to get the code ($10 download otherwise). Most of the Alice Madness Returns fans are newbies to the series, but for us veterans, it’s going to be awesome to finally play Alice on a console and I can’t wait! ALSO they announced that the soundtrack (8 tracks) will be available for a free download with each game purchase.
If you like puzzles and “winning” –check out the puzzles that are being posted by American McGee on the EA website to get the chance to win free stuff, and keep checking back with me for more updates!
We all know the Disney version of "Alice in Wonderland", some of us are familiar with "Alice Through The Looking-Glass", and a miniscul amount wishes they could forget Alan Moore's tales of Alice Fairchild from "Lost Girls", but how many of you remember American McGee's "Alice"?
"Alice" was a 3rd person shooter PC game that was released in 2000, and was one of the first computer games that I became addicted to (introduced to me by my awesomely-creepy ex boyfriend -no offense Matthew, but that's why I was attracted to you in the first place....so mysterious). McGee's dark imagination turns Alice's Wonderland (her mental "happy place" she often retreated to as a child) into a place of hellish horror after witnessing her family and home burned to the ground, and living in an insane asylum. Grotesque versions of the once lovable characters from her childhood now haunt and aid Alice through her journey back down the rabbit hole, and Alice has to fight off her enemies with her big knife, aka her "Vorpal Blade". As of 22 July 2010, American McGee's Alice has sold over 1.5 million copies!
Ten years later, rumors of a sequel were starting to spread, and EA finally confirmed in early 2011 that they planned to release a sequel in June! In American McGee's "Alice Madness Returns", we find Alice in London, finally set free from the mental institution, but still struggling with her grasp on reality. She is still equipped with her Vorpal sword when she gets yanked back into Wonderland, but along with a graphics boost, this 10 year old makeover comes with additional weapons, skills, and more mutated iconic enemies for Alice to conquer!
Check out these haunting teaser trailers (the last one includes gameplay):
Also, here's an interview with American McGee & RJ Berg about the game:
I’ve been following the news and updates for “American McGee’s Alice; Madness Returns” (PS3, XBOX360, and PC), the sequel to my all time favorite PC game, so I’ll be posting updates on my blog as the release date (June 2011) winds down! Here are some of the nightmarish-ly breathtaking concept art and screen captures that I’ve been collecting.
If you haven’t seen these yet, check out a few awesome pictures by Michael Suen, from geekosystem.com, where he “de-made” some popular video games into 8 and 16 bit versions:
I’d like to pretend that I’m going to weigh my options, consider the price and compare the iPad 2 with other tablets, but I’m already planning on getting one. I’m an Apple whore, what can I say? I already bought my skin for it. I want it because it’s Apple, and I only need one cable to charge my iPhone, iPod, and iPad. Oh I’ve tried like hell to fight this urge –I’ve been dragged into many iDebates with my family about why the iPad is obsolete, and all I need is my MacBookPro and iPhone 3, and blah blah iBlah.
My firm stance really frustrated the hell out of my parents, but I was determined to be the black iSheep, so when everyone in the family got an iPad for Christmas; I opted for an HD camcorder. They eventually wore me down, and I finally agreed to get one when I heard about the iPad 2, mostly because I am usually the last one in the family to get the new release –even my sister had a PS3 before me, and she isn’t even a gamer. So here I am, blindly jumping on the Apple bandwagon once again and now my parents can brag that we are a complete “Apple family” –the new American dream? The family that iPads’ together, stays together, right?
A lot of people are excited about the quality of gaming on the iPad 2 –but if you’ve read my article about hand held gaming, then you are aware of my previous opinion about gaming outside of an immersive environment, sans mobile strategy games. However I always like to keep an open mind, and I think the iPad 2 can be a nifty little gaming tool. I’m seeing the console and handheld gaming line starting to blur, so the iPad2 just may convince me once and for all to become a more portable gamer.
I saw a comment in a chat room discussion about the iPad 2 that pushed my geek button –how long before we’re able to use PS3 or XBOX360 controllers with the iPad as the gaming system? Where’s the bridge to the console gaming? Well we don’t have to ponder too much longer, thanks to the new HDMI cable that connects your iPad 2 to your HDTV! I’m really curious to see how using the iPad as a controller will work –it doesn’t seem like it would be very stable, but check out this video of Infinity Blade and you decide:
Real Racing 2 HD looks fun –using your iPad 2 as the steering wheel, as well as Dead Rising HD! I havn’t seen anything announced about a multi player option with iPads on the HDTV yet, but I’m sure that’ll be coming up soon, since party console games are all the rage. A few others that caught my eye were AirCoaster XL, N.O.V.A., Dead Space, Fruit Ninja, and Rock Band Reloaded (but I’m not really expecting to be impressed by the Rock Band Game –using finger drums? Lol).
Obviously the games are in the early stages of development, so there isn’t a lot to pick from yet, but I’m excited to watch the progress! Some gaming companies (such as Ogmento) are currently working on involving the front and back camera features on the iPad 2 into their Augmented Reality (AR) games. I have no idea how future games for the consoles will treat the new tablet avenue, but I’m hoping that “American McGee’s Alice; Madness Returns” is released on the iPad 2, or at least have a spinoff! I actually really like the idea of using my PS3 controller with my iPad 2 as the screen, so hopefully that option will be explored as well. My biggest beef with handheld games is that I couldn’t enjoy the longer role-playing/first person shooter games outside of my “gaming area”, and I felt that handhelds should stick with the simple games like Tetris, Snake, Word Warp, Sudoku, and even Angry Birds. It’s like someone heard me and said, “you’re right, Jen –here’s a tablet that lets you do BOTH!” Thank you, imaginary iPad 2 iGenie inside my head, and you’re welcome, Earth!
All of these games look like fun, but let’s be honest –sometimes we buy something we don’t need, NOT because we desperately want the item in question, but simply because it’s new and we want to hold it over our friends’ heads in a taunting manner and scream “WINNNING!” I’ll let you know when I’m there.
As most of you know, the release date for "L.A. Noire" was last Tuesday, so I decided to dust off my HD camcorder, call a friend over, and make a little short film about it! So far the game isn't impressing me that much, but I'm excited to keep working on my short film "The Big Noire", written by Dustin Hall, created by (also starring in) the both of us, and edited by me. 
Detective Cooper and Dollface McGee are on the search for a missing girl, err, game "L.A. Noire", and will stop at nothing to bring her home safely. I'm hoping to finish post production on this short by next week, so keep checking back!
Real Racing 2 HD looks fun –using your iPad 2 as the steering wheel, as well as Dead Rising HD! I havn’t seen anything announced about a multi player option with iPads on the HDTV yet, but I’m sure that’ll be coming up soon, since party console games are all the rage. A few others that caught my eye were AirCoaster XL, N.O.V.A., Dead Space, Fruit Ninja, and Rock Band Reloaded (but I’m not really expecting to be impressed by the Rock Band Game –using finger drums? Lol).
