Tag: Sonic Mercury

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Playstation 4 News

The Playstation 4 has arrived, and in high demand. Sony had reported record pre-orders for the new console and the official U.S. release of the PS4 looks to be record breaking as well.  More than 1 million Playstation 4’s were sold within the first 24 hrs of its release last Friday November 15th. The PS4 will be the only next-gen console on the market until the November 22nd release of the XBOX One. It will be interesting to see what kind of sales momentum the PS4 will maintain after the release of its main competitor. In the meantime the PS4 still has the rest of this week to enjoy its moment in attempting to shatter record breaking sales in the United States. It is important to note the console has yet to release in any other region as of this posting.

 

-Z3R0TH3RT33N

Follow Sonic Mercury on Twitter @SonicMercury and like our Facebook page Sonic Mercury

 

 

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Bat Suit Sighted

Batman’s suit for the upcoming Superman versus Batman film was unveiled  to a very famous fat man. At a special event commemorating the Blu-Ray release of Man of Steel directed by Zack Snyder fellow director Kevin Smith got a sneak peak of Ben Affleck wearing the new bat-suit. Smith was shy to give away too many details but he did say something along the lines of the picture of Ben Affleck in the new bat-suit was enough to make him tear up with joy and that he never thought he would get a chance to see this version of the bat-suit on the silver screen. Kevin Smith recalls the event at the beginning of the latest edition of the podcast Hollywood Babble On which Smith co-hosts with Ralph Garman. In the podcast Kevin Smith goes on to say what comic book artist he thinks the suit is influenced by but the name is bleeped out on the podcast.

 

From years of listening to Kevin Smith in various media I know that one of his favorite all time Batman comics is 1986’s The Dark Knight Returns. So I would have to guess the new bat-suit has a strong Frank Miller influence to get this reaction out of Kevin Smith. To be fair though Kevin Smith is an insanely huge Batman fan so I am sure there are numerous variations of the caped crusader that could garner this kind of emotion from the big guy. He even has a podcast called Fatman on Batman that he records weekly. Personally way too much Batman for me.

 

For some reason the mere mention of this topic seems to send Batman, Superman and DC fans into a huge tizzy of which hero/movie/story/comic/costume/etc. is the greatest and which hero/movie/story/comic/costume/etc. is the worst. If you are one of these people I can’t help but wish Ogre from Revenge of the Nerds finds you and yells “NERDS!”at you at the top of his lungs every time you try to perpetuate this mind numbing bickering that boils down to little kids arguing, “you suck!” “do not!,” “uh-huh,” “nah-uh, you suck!,” until you just stop arguing to the bitter end about FICTIONAL CHARACTERS and just let it go. Take a couple deep breaths, take a walk, listen to a Rush album, admire a well mowed lawn. It’s just not worth it to get so worked up and at the end of the day love it or hate it Superman Versus Batman will come out completely uninfluenced by you. Lets dial the hate down a little and not scrutinize these movies so harshly. They are supposed to be fun. Remember fun?

 

I get 100% that even though these characters are fictional that they still mean a lot to a lot of people. Just because a movie about your favorite character isn’t very good doesn’t mean you have to spew hatred from every orifice. Good movie or bad your favorite character will live on in the very same pages you discovered them on and besides do you really think Batman and Superman would spend all their free time badgering the other about who’s movie was better? They have people to save.

 

-Z3R0TH3RT33N

Follow Sonic Mercury on Twitter @SonicMercury and like our Facebook page Sonic Mercury

 

 

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Nintendo News

Nintendo has announced the Wii mini, a miniature version of the Wii will be available to the U.S. this holiday season and should retail at about $99. The Wii mini is a bare minimum of the console offering no online functionality it does however come with a copy of Mario Kart Wii in the bundle at no extra charge. The Wii mini is part of Nintendo’s plans to promote “low cost gaming.” Most likely the Wii mini arriving in the U.S. has a lot to do with the less than stellar performance of the Wii’s “next gen” successor the Wii U. No doubt that Nintendo is promoting the Wii mini, which was already made available in Canada in last year, to help absorb some of the losses Nintendo is taking on the Wii U. When I last reported sales of the Wii U the tally was about 3.6 million units worldwide. That number is measured from the November launch of the Wii U to June 30th with only about 550 thousand units sold between December 31st 2012 to June 30th 2013. In contrast the Nintendo Wii had sold about 9.3 million units in the same amount of time with the Wii selling just over 6 million units worldwide in the same amount of time.

 

The Wii U sales numbers have finally been reported for the time between June 30th and September 30th of this year. In this time Nintendo has sold roughly 300 thousand Wii U’s. This brings the grand total of Wii U’s sold to just over 3.9 million units worldwide as opposed to the 13.17 million units the Wii sold in the same amount of time. I have heard from various sources as well as read on multiple sites that Nintendo has projected sales of over 9 million units sold for the Wii U and will not waver from this projection. The reality is that quarter 3 or Q3 for the Wii U is in the books and in the last 9 months Nintendo has only sold about 850 thousand units. Analysts are predicting sales at about 550,000 units for the Wii U this holiday season. The bottom line is Wii U sales coming in at less than half of projection for its launch year can not be good news for Nintendo and its future in the home console market.

 

-Z3R0TH3RT33N

Follow Sonic Mercury on Twitter @SonicMercury and like our Facebook page Sonic Mercury

 

 

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Horror Spotlight: Update!

It turns out that their is even more to see this year at Halloween Horror nights. A few more attractions have been added since my last article about this year’s Halloween Horror Nights. One attraction will appeal to horror and videogame fans alike. It turns out that the Orlando location will be getting an attraction based on Resident Evil 2 & 3! The attraction is called Escape from Raccoon City. You will actually get to see the R.P.D. and meet up with Claire Redfield and Leon S. Kennedy. There will even be a 12 foot nemesis walking around firing off a Gatling gun. There will be zombies, lickers and hunters for you to run from as you make your way through famous locations inside Raccoon City from Resident Evil 2 & 3. As a huge fan of these two entries in the Resident Evil series it sounds like an exciting sprint down memory lane. Just the idea of actually getting to run from monsters in Raccoon City, getting to see the R.P.D. and meeting up with Leon and Claire makes me grin from ear to ear. The Evil Dead attraction sounds like a great time but a chance to go to Raccoon City and experience Resident Evil 2 & 3 firsthand is a Resident Evil fan’s dream come true. The other attraction of note is a maze based on An American Werewolf in London where you can traverse the English moors looking for werewolves and explore the circus from the movie, but Resident Evil 2 & 3! You get to go to Raccoon City!

 

-Z3R0TH3RT33N

Follow Sonic Mercury on Twitter @SonicMercury and like our Facebook page Sonic Mercury

 

 

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Resurrecting Nintendo

I just had this idea on how Nintendo can resuscitate the Wii U. First off number one don’t do a Nintendo direct for this. Do an actual press conference, someplace very public like Sony did in NYC to unveil the PS4. Nintendo should hype this idea up a lot. Launch a worldwide ad campaign all alluding to a mysterious new thing. Give the ad campaign a tone more accessible to an older audience. The final ads should read something like this, “This fall Nintendo brings the power back! Will you be ready?” then they show a release date. People across the globe freak out, speculating are they bringing back Nintendo Power magazine?!” Nintendo lets everyone simmer for a while.

 

After maybe six weeks or more of intolerable silence Nintendo holds “THE” press conference. Lots of build up, dark lit rooms, fuzzy images, news press EVERYWHERE. Then we get an extended video with high energy, maybe even with celebrity cameos all asking, “are you ready for Nintendo to bring the powerback?!” of course they all say yes! Then lights fade to black in the convention center. They start playing the theme from Terminator 2, duh duh duh duh……duh duh, duh duh duh duh…..duh duh! Everyone freaks out, partly just because everyone loves Terminator 2. A spotlight comes on the catwalk there is someone walking down it with a suitcase handcuffed to him. The music builds mixed with  the intro for “Blind” by KoRn. At the end of the catwalk there is a table and a second person pulls out a key for the suitcase and unlocks it. Their back is turned to the audience and cameras as they reach inside. At that moment the song breaks and the lyric “Are you ready?!!!” blasts across the PA system broadcasting into millions of homes around the world and the person turns around and reaches up with their hand held high. On their hand is the Powerglove! Words across the video read “for the return of the POWERGLOVE!!” But not just any Powerglove this is the Powerglove 2.0 completely redesigned and overhauled for the Wii U. Laser lights shine and the music changes to complement an energetic montage video of people having fun playing Nintendo games with the Powerglove 2.0.

 

Powerglove 2.0 has the screen like the Wii U tablet controller built directly on to it with touchscreen funtionality. All the expected features for motion gaming would come built in including actual 1:1 hand gestures just like the original Powerglove promised 25 years ago. Seeing how Nintendo banks so heavily on motion gaming this seems like a no brainer. Think of the possibilities available now with this kind of hardware. You can literally make a first person Iron Man game where you actually use your hand to shoot his blaster. How cool would it be to get messages and videos from in game characters on the screen on your arm. Better yet how great would it be to play online games and actually interact with your friends by talking to them on the forearm of your Powerglove? Combined with use of the regular Wii controller the applications are limitless. How cool would it be to actually summon a fireball with your hand in a game or dialing in codes and lock combinations you have found in the game using the touchscreen on the Powerglove 2.0?

 

For the horror fans imagine a game like Outlast about a reporter who hears strange sounds from a nearby abandoned insane asylum and decides to investigate only to discover, as many would have guessed, was a very bad idea. OK so now picture playing a game like this with some of your friends. All of you are sneaking around inside this asylum in different areas. Each of you can find objects and information to help each other escape. The catch is you have to physically tell them what you know. You have to send a message to your friend from your Powerglove monitor alerting them that you have important information to help them progress through the asylum. Maybe even make the glove vibrate whenever you get a message so as to add to the stealth element. Either way the alert lets you know that both of you need to get to a “safe” area so that you can relay the information. This could add so much to a horror experience. Think about guiding your character to an empty closet while your friend is hiding in a locker and the two of you are whispering details back and forth on the Powergloves monitor because speaking too loudly can alert enemies to your location. Maybe as you progress you can upgrade your abilities and do stuff like take in-game pictures and videos and send recorded messages to each other in the game using the Powerglove’s forearm monitor. You could even base the whole game around the Powerglove like in the game its some kind of tool given to you by your captors. They find the hunt more satisfying if their prey has a “fighting” chance. ( Powerglove aside this is a game I would like to play )

 

To be fair though videogame development is not cheap let alone hardware development and to expect such an elaborate game based on a piece of hardware you would have to have an install base considerably better than that of which the Wii U itself currently has. Research and development for a piece of hardware like the Powerglove 2.0 I just described would not be cheap for Nintendo. That being said though the reappearance of the Powerglove would be huge in the gaming community not just for Nintendo fans. There is a huge demographic of people who grew up when Nintendo ruled the world. Many of us still remember the “Nintendon’t what SEGA does!” days and no matter what console you played on everyone knew Nintendo and what the Powerglove was. Even though I am pretty sure only three games ever came out specifically for the Powerglove and the hardware was notoriously a functional disaster many people look back on the device with nostalgic fondness. Even though it didn’t work very well the glove still looked cool. The technology exists today to actually make the Powerglove everything it was supposed to be, and then some.

 

Ultimately the biggest consideration for a piece of hardware as elaborate as the Powerglove 2.0 is how to make such a piece of hardware affordable to consumers and have the hardware still be profitable. How much are you willing to spend for something like this? $100? $150? $200? If the controller was made well, functioned like I described, was sold at a reasonable price and was supported properly I think Nintendo could gain some serious ground against the upcoming PS4 and XBOX One. The nostalgia element alone would have lots of older gamers going and buying it. I would consider buying one just to have it and I don’t even have a Wii or a Wii U. If you could use the Powerglove 2.0 as a standalone game player for Wii, Wii U and Nintendo DS games and the glove is priced respectively to the console and DS markets it would considerably increase the value of owning the Powerglove 2.0. You could even play augmented reality games like laser tag with your friends. The applications already exist and the Powerglove 2.0 would be an ideal vessel for many of them.

 

In all likelihood under the current conditions of Nintendo and its newest console I would have to say the appearance of a new and improved Powerglove is not happening anytime soon. If done properly the Powerglove 2.0 could potentially be a huge hit for Nintendo. The cost of research and development for the Powerglove 2.0 definitely makes it a financial risk for Nintendo but if done right I think it could be one of the greatest gaming devices this generation. Overall something crazy like the resurgence of a new and improved Powerglove and targeting a slightly older audience are elements that could give Nintendo the spark it needs to excite console gamers again. In this era of the Oculus Rift where we are on the verge of having actual virtual reality in our homes something like the Powerglove 2.0 has the potential to give Nintendo a much needed relevance boost in the current console market.

 

-Z3R0TH3RT33N

Follow Sonic Mercury on Twitter @SonicMercury and like our Facebook page Sonic Mercury

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Rumors and GTA V News!!

I was going to write about this rumor that the PS4 is 50% more powerful than the XBOX One. Many credible sources like IGN have even weighed in on this rumor all stating that the anonymous developers who are reporting this considerable discrepancy in performance seems legitimate. The problem though is that even if this rumor is completely true about the difference in performance between the XBOX One and the Playstation 4 no one making these claims has worked with the official consoles yet. All this info is coming from people using dev kits designed before the finalized versions of the consoles were put into production. Another point made by The Red Dragon over at N4G games is that many non-anonymous developers have stated that the graphics drivers for the PS4 and XBOX One have yet to be optimized. This has been frustrating for developers as it makes it hard for them to optimize graphics if the drivers are not tuned to their peak performance. It does not matter how powerful a graphics card is if the drivers are not properly set. Another point to consider is even if one console does have considerably more power, whatever that power may be graphics/processing, it is not in multi-platform developers best interests to invest money into making a game look or perform better on one console over the other, its just not cost effective.

 

The question is will one version of a multi-platform game be downgraded to match the look and performance of the game on the weaker console. The answer is no because the developers will instead look for a happy medium between the two consoles where they know that the game will perform more or less identically to each other. The games will be optimized by developers within those constraints to make sure that the game plays properly by utilizing the different hardware of the PS4 and XBOX One but the goal of developers will never be to max out hardware performance. This revelation kind of sucks but to be honest we probably should have already guessed this is how it works. We will have to look to exclusive titles if we want to get an idea of what the true performance extent is for the Playstation 4 and the XBOX One. At the end of the day though its always the console with the best games not the best specs that has the most success.

 

OK I put in my two cents on that topic now on to what’s really on your mind. Grand Theft Auto 5 comes out tomorrow. Yes the highly anticipated blockbuster series latest installment releases tomorrow! September 17th. If you want to get preorder perks today is your last day, otherwise wait til tomorrow I am sure every retailer has packed inventory to the max for this title. Rockstar developers have made an announcement today though for XBOX 360 users, they said that for optimum performance on the XBOX 360 only install the first disc for GTA V. There is an option to also install the play disc on your 360 but don’t do it as Rockstar has stated GTA V will perform best if you only install the disc designated for installation on you XBOX. Alright I hope that is clear for you. Tomorrow is GTA V day and I just want everyone to have a good time because being a gamer isn’t so much about the console but the great games we play on them. Here is a link to the review for GTA V on IGN so you can see what they think about the game before you pick it up.

 

-Z3R0TH3RT33N

Follow Sonic Mercury on Twitter @SonicMercury and like our Facebook page Sonic Mercury

 

 

 

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Horror Spotlight

Let me be clear I don’t in anyway work for or have I ever been an employee at Universal Studios. Halloween Horror Nights is an event that has been held annually on and off again under various names throughout the last 20 years at Universal Studios Orlando and Universal Studios Hollywood. For many years the events theme revolved around Jack Skellington of Nightmare Before Christmas fame. In recent years the Halloween Horror Nights event has been themed off of popular horror movies including Friday the 13th which quite honestly I really wish I could have gone to. The reason I bring this all up is because this year looks to be exceptionally awesome if you are a horror fan and a heavy metal fan. Some pretty great horror franchises are being tapped this year for the event so I figured with Halloween not too far off I would break down the different attractions being thrown at this years Halloween Horror Nights.

 

The first attraction this year is a maze based on the Walking Dead AMC TV series. You start off in a maze through the prison from the series the West Georgia Correctional Facility which is obviously full of Walkers. Even the fenced in area outside the prison is full of Walkers. After you make it through the prison there is a forested section full of Walkers and if you can “survive” the wilderness you will actually end up at the town of Woodbury where you can meet the Governor. Universal Studios has promised that you will relive many iconic moments from the Walking Dead series.

 

The next attraction is a maze inspired by the Evil Dead. You literally walk through the forest to the most famous of abandoned cabins in horror history. The description says you can either try to run from the Deadites into the forest or you can try to survive the night in the cabin. Exactly how it works I am not sure, you might have to keep running through the maze as staying in the middle seems like a difficult way to get out again. Either way the maze is filled with plenty of gore and Deadites. When you reach the cabin listen for the words from the Book of the Dead as that definitely will be your cue that lots of crazy stuff is about to happen.

 

OK so by now you probably guessed pretty much all the events are mazes. The next maze is inspired by Insidious. People will actually get to walk through the haunted house from Insidious and experience different moments from the movies first hand. The special effects look pretty impressive as they show a girl being wrapped up by a shower curtain seemingly on its own volition. One of the most exciting mazes for me is the one inspired by songs from Black Sabbath. You start the maze in a demon filled cathedral, then go through graveyards, madhouses, corpse filled battlefields and even a nuclear apocalypse full of mutated beasts. You wear 3D glasses the whole time and Black Sabbath music will be playing in the backround. Personally I would love to see Black Sabbath’s reactions as they all walked through the maze. Its being called a interactive 3D movie inspired by Black Sabbath’s most famous songs.

 

The next maze I am kind of on the fence about. Its a maze called “El Cucuy” The Boogeyman. I am all for bringing back the boogeyman for some good old fashioned horror fun but this maze is narrated by Danny Trejo. It looks like it could be fun and if Danny Trejo only says a few things at the beginning and end of the attraction it probably won’t be too bad but I just can’t for the life of me find him scary. The final attraction for this years Halloween Horror Nights is called Universal Monsters Remix: Resurrection which is supposed to be a revival of the classic Universal Monsters. That sounds really cool I am all for the original Universal Monsters being revived for the 21st century. However the attraction features the music of Figure a dubstep artist. The comments on the page make him seem pretty beloved by Halloween Horror Nights patrons but I really don’t want to see Frankenstein pop and lock. I have no proof that is what the attraction will be like but my own gut feeling is sour towards dubstep Universal Monsters. Not saying it can’t be done but it is with guarded skepticism that I would patronize this final attraction. All mazes were constructed with direct input from the creators and producers of source materials including the Black Sabbath maze, Ozzy, Geezer and Tony all had input on their maze.

 

Other non-maze attractions include “Terror Tram: Invaded by the Walking Dead” sort of a tram tour of a Walking Dead infested area. Bill & Ted will have an “Excellent Halloween Comedy Adventure” if you have a will made of pure steel. There are several “Scare Zones” each with its own theme. One scare zone has you playing hide and seek with Chucky. That could be fun. Another scare zone is themed after the movie the Purge that came out last year where you will be literally hunted by psychos with weapons and no laws. One of the scare zones features murderous french clowns in haunted Paris. ( Yes I am laughing even as I type it. ) There will be a field of haunted scarecrows looking to fertilize their crops with human blood, that could be promising. Finally Walking Dead Walkers will be everywhere inside the theme park so look out. The final attraction is you can actually walk through the backlot used in Season 3 of AMC’s Walking Dead series and it will be filled with Walkers. There will also be a landscape you can run from the walkers in that is inspired by Black Sabbath’s new album “13.”

 

So if I had a way to get to Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood or Orlando and could also afford it. This would definitely be on my list of places to go this year for Halloween. If you can swing it and have the schedule for it this just might be the place to get your scares this Halloween.  As always I am Z3R0TH3RT33N and I will continue to keep you updated on all things Horror, Metal and Videogame related.

 

-Z3R0TH3RT33N

Follow Sonic Mercury on Twitter @SonicMercury and like our Facebook page Sonic Mercury

 

 

 

 

 

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Playstation News

Sony’s newest revelation is the PS Vita TV. Essentially its a Playstation Vita that lets you play Vita games on your TV screen. The device is about as big as a deck of cards and has inputs in the back of it for HDMI, Ethernet, USB, and has slots for memory cards as well as the actual Vita games. PS Vita TV can be used to stream movies from Sony specific services as well as other online content providers. Currently the device can only be controlled by a Dualshock 3 controller, with a patch coming early 2014 to allow control by a Dualshock 4 controller. Many Vita games utilize touch functionality and it is unclear how different input functions would be adjusted to Dualshock settings. Sony did say that some Vita games will not work on Vita TV.

At $100 the PS Vita TV is looking like a very affordable option to videogame fans on a budget. Much of the PS Vita library is highly acclaimed and rated favorably. With Sony’s strong relationship with indie developers and the release of triple A titles like Killzone Mercenary the Vita library of first class games continues to grow. Vita games max out at about $40 unless you are buying special bundles. If you buy the larger PS Vita TV bundle that comes with a Dualshock 3 controller and 8 gigabyte memory card it will cost you $150.

Another interesting feature of the PS Vita TV is the ability to stream the PS4 to any TV in your house. The example shown in the commercial shows a group of friends coming home to play videogames but someone is already using the PS Vita TV to watch a movie so one of the kids powers on the PS4 and hits a button on the PS Vita TV and he and his friends just go to a different room with a TV and play a PS4 game with a PS4 controller while the people in the other room continue to watch their movie uninterrupted. Not going to lie, if it works as advertised with no latency that is pretty awesome. Sony is also promising that a large portion of PS One classic games will also be available to download and play on PS Vita TV.

To be honest this was a slightly unexpected move by Sony. The recently announced more affordable $200 PS Vita redesign was expected but I doubt many predicted PS Vita TV. Even the larger $150 bundle is still half the price of a Wii U. Any ground the Ouya may have gained with the casual market has just been swiftly ripped out from under them. Sony just stepped into the Ouya’s ring and has told them to go home they just bought the venue. This is a smart move by Sony. PS Vita just became so much more integral to the Playstation ecosystem. If all the features work as advertised PS Vita TV is a very exciting hardware edition to any gaming fan. Here is a link to the commercial so you can check it out for yourself. Offering the PS Vita as a home console instantly grows its install base making the hardware more appealing to developers who might have otherwise been on the fence about the Vita. This means that the PS Vita’s already rich and growing library will likely gain more support from all developers, promising a bright and healthy future for the hardware full of new and exciting experiences.

-Z3R0TH3RT33N

Follow Sonic Mercury on Twitter @SonicMercury and like our Facebook page Sonic Mercury

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For the Fans!

Hey everyone the feedback has been amazing lately. I greatly appreciate the level of passion followers have. I wanted to thank everyone for supporting Sonic Mercury. When I started I wasn’t really sure what to expect but I think that I quickly found my voice. Clearly videogames have been at the forefront of my updates lately. I promise more metal and horror related articles will be included on the site to help diversify content in the future. I am thinking a top ten 80’s horror movie list is in order.

 

Gamescom was huge! So much stuff was shown off their it really was hard to break it down. Here is a quick overview. Someone at the Sony conference said something like “unlike others, we have had a clear path for our new console.” There was outrage. People were like “Cheap shot!” “ohhh Sony slams Microsoft again!” “Scandalous!!” Honestly at this point who cares? Microsoft messed up really bad and burned a lot of bridges with gamers around the world. Whats done is done. Lets get on with what we all really care about, the shiny new consoles and their respective videogames. Nonetheless people definitely tried hard to make this one comment in a 90 minute presentation a big deal. Seeing the comment in context it sounded to me like the speaker was just saying that they have been focused with the PS4 and the path Sony was taking with their new console. Anyone who saw this as a major jab at Microsoft was reaching.

 

The PS3 slim model will have a limited edition model available next year in the color blue. Special Microsoft employee  only editions of the XBOX One were shown off and they will be white. What is it about videogame consoles in different colors that makes them more desirable? Is it that we actually like the other colors or is it more just owning something that others don’t? “I have a new console!” “That’s cool, I have it to but mine is blue.”

 

Lets see other news from Gamescom. Battlefield 4 reportedly looks a lot worse than expected in the port from high end PC’s to the PS4 and XBOX One editions. This is very disappointing news considering the game is highly anticipated and every demo of the game up until the Gamescom hands on demo were visually impressive.

 

The new revamped Dualshock 4 controller for the PS4 received positive feedback at Gamescom with many FPS fans saying they would now be more likely consider playing first person shooters on the PS4 in the future.

 

Lots more happened at Gamescom but there are some highlights for you. Thanks again to everyone who has been following Sonic Mercury and I promise plenty more content on the way. Look for more info on Sonic Mercury’s new YouTube channel SonicMercuryTV in the next few weeks. Bookmark SonicMercury.com for more unique perspectives on videogames, horror, and heavy metal.

 

-Z3R0TH3RT33N

Follow Sonic Mercury on Twitter @SonicMercury and like our Facebook page Sonic Mercury

 

 

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PS4 News

Sony at Gamescom 2013 showed off new color schemes for the new PS4 controller. Look for “Magma Red” and “Wave Blue” dualshock 4 controllers sometime next year. The question now is will they be making PS4 systems that match these brightly colored controllers.

 

-Z3R0TH3RT33N

Follow Sonic Mercury on Twitter @SonicMercury and like our Facebook page Sonic Mercury

 

 

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PS4 News

Mark your calendars everyone multiple sources are reporting the PS4 launch date has been announced. Fans of the Sony console can reportedly pick up their new hardware on November 15th in North America and November 29th in Europe. This date directly contends with Microsoft who are also slated for a November launch. Sources are reporting that Sony has had over 1 million PS4 pre-orders worldwide and that the console is polling with over 75% favorability among gamers worldwide.

 

-Z3R0TH3RT33N

Follow Sonic Mercury on Twitter @SonicMercury and like our Facebook page Sonic Mercury

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gamescom 2013

Tomorrow, August 21, is the start of this years gamescom. The event has been held annually in Cologne, Germany since 2009. E3 is a big deal but Gamescom is the worlds largest gaming event. Gamescom is different than E3 because it is open to the public where as E3 is closed to the general public and is an industry only event, although if you apply early its not unlikely that a regular person could get a press pass to E3.

 

Obviously there is a lot of excitement for Gamescom this year. ( By the way really struggled with how to write it, Gamescom or gamescom because the official logo is stylized with a lowercase G. ) New consoles have been announced and their launch window is only a few months away. For Sony and Microsoft this is election year. E3 is where our potential candidates make their opening statements and this year the statements were very loud and polarized the entire gaming nation. Gamescom is like the next big debate for which console we should vote/pay for.

 

Sony to their credit really only revealed one completely new title ( The Order 1888 ) at E3 and still succeeded in one of the most exciting E3 conferences of all time with their announcements of consumer friendly policies. Microsoft on the other hand has been in a state of constant tailspin since the reveal of the XBOX One before E3. Mandatory Kinect functionality, restrictive DRM policies, poor explanations for XBOX One features and just plain arrogance on the part of former head of Microsoft’s interactive entertainment Don Mattrick did substantial damage among new and longtime gaming fans alike. Since E3 Microsoft has fought a steep up hill battle trying to win back the gaming community however recent consumer polls have shown that roughly 80% of those considering a new gaming console are in favor of Sony over Microsoft.

 

Their is plenty to look forward to this year at Gamescom. Which from the description sounds like its more like a videogame festival with rock and roll concerts and other entertainment throughout the event. Electronic Arts has promised a big announcement in regards to Europe’s largest sports franchise, so basically a FIFA 14 announcement. Earlier this summer president of Sony Entertainment Europe Jim Ryan commented when asked by a member of the press about Sony’s somewhat smaller showing of new games at E3 for Playstation hardware compared to rival Microsoft that its a long year with lots of gaming events and that Sony has a lot going on but had to hold some stuff back saying that they would still need some new stuff to show at Gamescom. Jim went on to say that the president of Sony Worldwide Studios for Sony Computer Entertainment alone currently has 30 titles in development, 12 of which are brand new Intellectual Properties and overall 20 of the 30 titles in development will be shipping in the launch year of the PS4.

 

Meanwhile Microsoft interpreted the negative response to the XBOX One unveiling as having something to do with the fact that they mostly only showed the TV capabilities of their new system and not a lot pertaining to actual games. The backlash resulted in Microsoft showing a huge amount of games at E3, even the segue between game announcements had commercials for other games. Since the negative response to the XBOX One had a lot more to do with the horribly restrictive and poorly explained policies of the new system and not so much to do with the lack of games shown at its unveiling, the plethora of games shown at E3 combined with Sony really sticking it to Microsoft by announcing more consumer friendly policies and a $100 cheaper price tag, did very little to improve Microsoft’s image with consumers.

 

If Microsoft continued on the original path they had in mind for its new system it is likely that the XBOX One could very well have been known as the Damien of gaming. ( See the Omen ) Anyway Microsoft did what they did and the damage has been done. ( I still can’t believe Microsoft sent employees to BestBuy’s around the country to discourage customers from buying the Wii U. ) Policies have been overturned and management has changed. They say necessity is the mother of invention, I would have say its pretty necessary for Microsoft to show the world that they really have changed for the better and they still have great things planned.

 

Gamescom this year promises to be really memorable. Developers will be showing off their latest and greatest software. Sony will try to continue the awesome momentum it has had this year. Microsoft no doubt will try to redeem itself. One of the most interesting parts of Gamescom is that this will be the first event where regular people who aren’t press related will be able to go hands on with the PS4 and XBOX One. We will get honest feedback about how these systems really operate from people with first hand experiences. I for one can not wait to hear what they have to say.

 

There is no doubt that Gamescom is primed for some exciting announcements. I will give highlights so keep coming back to find out the latest about the greatest things from Gamescom 2013.

 

-Z3R0TH3RT33N

Follow Sonic Mercury on Twitter @SonicMercury and like our Facebook page Sonic Mercury

 

 

 

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Video Game News

The impact of The Last of Us is getting larger as developer Capcom says that the popularity of Naughty Dog’s newest title is an implication of what kind of zombie game the fans want. The Tomb Raider reboot was also given a nod for its success with a more grown up and adult approach to the franchise. A representative from Capcom further stated that Resident Evil 6 was a mixed bag garnering mediocre reviews with fans stating that the overall game “felt bloated.” The Leon missions were widely accepted in Resident Evil 6 as the most popular part and Capcom is stating this will help inform Capcom where to take Resident Evil 7 and they are promising a return to their survival horror roots.

 

This is exciting news for longtime fans of the Resident Evil franchise as many ( myself included ) have felt the series as drifted pretty far from the original gameplay style that had made the games so appealing in the first place. Admittedly it is with caution that I anticipate Resident Evil 7 because of Capcom’s recent track record with the franchise. I am wondering if Capcom can recapture that survival horror magic that made Resident Evil a household name. Capcom definitely has the resources. Let’s hope Resident Evil 7 is a return to form and that we get a solid/finished game without any DLC or patches to “fix” the gameplay. I for one would welcome an old-school style Resident Evil updated for this generation. Playing Resident Evil 2 are some of my fondest memories playing videogames and for me it is very exciting to here Capcom tease the possiblitly of the franchise returning to those old survival horror glory days.

 

-Z3R0TH3RT33N

Follow Sonic Mercury on Twitter @SonicMercury and like our Facebook page Sonic Mercury

 

 

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Horror Spotlight: Hemlock Grove

Hemlock Grove is a Netflix Original TV series based on a novel of the same name released in March 2012 and authored by Brian McGreevy. Eli Roth of Hostel fame is the executive producer of the series and the show has been nominated for an Emmy in the category of original online only web television. I have to give Netflix credit for not making something safe and taking risks. This is a show that takes out all the stops. A large part of Hemlock Grove’s allure comes from deciphering the unknown but when it comes to events happening to characters pertinent to the story the show can be quite graphic. This candidness adds a rawness and validity to an ever present sense of danger. The tension is high and the atmosphere potent.

 

Hemlock Grove is beautifully twisted, its Beethoven’s No. 5 painted by Van Gogh and played backwards by Slayer. A symphony for the senses. There is sex, violence, drugs, high school, young love, divorce, love triangles, unexplained pregnancies, monsters, murders, genetic manipulations and the supernatural. These ingredients are slow cooked on a rotisserie of intrigue and served in mouth watering bite sized revelations wrapped in mysteries that are fulfilling but never fill you up. The show hits all the right notes, interesting characters, believable dialogue and a refreshing take on familiar mythologies, while still giving respectful nods to source materials.

 

First off I have to mention the fantastic cinematography of Hemlock Grove. Almost every shot, be it an establishing shot of a landscape or a plain old alleyway, looks gorgeous. The use of lighting and filters are executed expertly and almost always seem to add to the atmosphere. Several times throughout the series I found myself just gawking at the scenery. It was seldom that I thought the image quality of a scene suffered a little but in those rare instances I couldn’t say for sure if my internet connection slowed down a little bit or if it was an intentional production choice to add atmosphere to a particular shot.

 

The thing to really get across with Hemlock Grove is that it is so much fun. The world created inside this show is one of limitless potential. You really feel like anything can happen. The characters are unique and satisfyingly fleshed out. While the show has many dark and gruesome moments they never feel overbearing and their is a really nice balance of levity. Another thing that I really appreciate about Hemlock Grove is that it doesn’t hold back, it embraces its premise and its previously mentioned “ingredients” and sprints full force into its own world. Nothing feels toned down, they chose a direction and they run with it. The horror elements are fully embraced and their are some really great effects used throughout the show.

 

The characters of Hemlock Grove are bizarre. Whenever time is taken to add exposition I couldn’t help but pay attention. Every detail just makes the show even more fascinating. Even at the very very end of the series the freight train of insanity never slows down and if anything it picks up speed. You can literally feel the tension in the air and its genuinely exciting wondering what could possibly happen next?! I don’t think I have ever enjoyed a TV show as much as this one.

 

Although Hemlock Grove currently only has a single season of 13 episodes each episode averages 45-50 minutes. Each episode is packed with content and a season 2 has already been approved for the series. There are a few moments of utter ridiculousness but the show is so damn entertaining that I honestly really didn’t care I was having too much fun to let these moments bother me. The climax of this series delivers in spades, the payoff to everything leading up to the end is so gratifying. Questions are answered and a lot of plot points are brought to a close but just enough is left hanging in the air of uncertainty that has me wishing season 2 was already here. If you have Netflix or know someone who does and your looking for an exciting supernatural tale of “Who dunnit?” with strong horror overtones and interesting characters go to Hemlock Grove you won’t be disappointed. In case it wasn’t obvious in my descriptions of the show its probably best you put the little ones to bed before turning this one on as the series does have a lot of adult content such as nudity and extreme violence.

 

-Z3R0TH3RT33N

Follow Sonic Mercury on Twitter @SonicMercury and like our Facebook page Sonic Mercury