Mortal Kombat Legacy: Raiden, Scorpion & Sub Zero

I should have posted the Raiden episode already, but I have a valid reason for holding off on the Scorpion Sub Zero episodes. That being I wanted to wait until both parts were online so I can post the complete story and not just the first half of it.

I really loved the Raiden episode. The gritty real world feel works really well with this story. Even if it is really creepy. I've seen several takes on the 'wrongfully stuck in an insane asylum' trope before and it always winds up being really dark. The episode really doesn't pull any punches (heh, Mortal Kombat pun) with the content and really goes all out to create a dark and terrifying environment to introduce the character. In short, it creeps me the hell out, but I love it anyway.

Episode 6:

I was also pretty impressed with what they did with Scorpion and Sub Zero. Some might argue that part one drags a little, but they clearly wanted to take the time to set up Scorpions character and show him as he was before fully embracing his role as MK's token tortured soul.

Episode 7:

Episode 8:

Only two further episodes remain, hopefully they will maintain the quality we have seen thus far.

New Deus Ex Trailer

Incredible new Deus Ex: Human Revolution trailer includes a ton of never before seen footage. As I've pointed out before this game is without a doubt a day 1 purchase for me already... this trailer just makes the wait til release all the more excruciating.

More Deus Ex: Human Revolution Videos

The Witcher 2: PSA

Just want to give a quick shout out to the upcoming release of The Witcher 2: The Assassins of Kings. The game officially launches on Tuesday May 17th both in stores and online via digital distribution platforms. On the topic of digital distribution I do want to make special mention of Good Old Games (GOG) who are selling the title completely DRM free.

GOG is the only place you can buy the game without any form of DRM to get in the way of your gaming experience. Additionally GOG is offering a slew of extra content for those who preorder the game via their site. Of particular note is the fact that they are giving away a free classic rpg title with any preorder (they have a list of five titles to choose from).

Be aware though that you only have one more day to get the preorer bonus content along with the $5 discount.

Mortal Kombat Legacy Kitana & Mileena

I held off posting this until both parts were up on YouTube. Legacy episode 4 and 5 are a two part story featuring, as the tile indicates, Kitana and Mileena. I lot of folks seemed to be pretty critical of the Johnny Cage focused episode 3, but personally it's been my favorite thus far. Granted I expect that will change when we get to the Sub Zero/Scorpion stuff.

Anyway episodes 4 and 5 represent a bit of a departure from what we have seen so far, though I guess that makes sense since this story is heavily steeped in the mystical side of Mortal Kombat that has been lacking from the previous episodes which were much more grounded in reality. In these episodes the live action content is interspersed with an animated narrative that is used to bridge the large jumps in the timeline that are necessary to convey the whole backstory of these characters. I'm still a little on the fence about it... I think it works quite well on it's own, but when you consider it as part of the series as a whole... I feel it rather breaks the momentum a little. Perhaps that's just me though, you're mileage may vary.

Of paticular note in these episodes is an expanded role for Shang Tsung after his brief cameo in episode 3, the first on screen version of Legacie's Shao Khan along with the debut of Baraka and a look at Edenia and Outworld.

Episode 4:

Episode 5:

 

Syfy has an image problem on its hands

I just want to throw my support behind the articles written by Darren Sumner over at Gateworld. He recently ran an op-ed piece about how the Syfy channel is having difficulty competing midweek against broadcast networks and how they have to re-assess how they measure success in those highly competitive nights.

Today he ran another short piece in which he highlights Syfy's response to his widely circulated op-ed and once again tries to instill the fact that he is not arguing about the cancellation of Stargate, he is arguing that Syfy have backed themselves into a corner with their redesign. They have successfully broadened their content to appeal to a wider variety of viewers, but in doing so they have gradually alienated the core demographic that made the station a success in the first place.

A large component of this is the slow decline of scripted 'traditional' sci-fi shows in favor of more, dare I say 'whimsical' programming such as Eureka and Warehouse 13 (granted I do enjoy these shows)... not to mention the plethora of so called 'reality' television. I have never been a fan of Ghosthunters... I personally think it's garbage of the highest order, but I was willing to overlook it as long as there were still good quality sci-fi shows on the network.

I've gotten a bit of topic there I know... I am beginning to delve into my own rantings about the situation instead of the very well thought out and presented argument of Darren, so I'll go ahead and finish up here before I go off on another tangent.

Let me just sum up with a terrific quote from Darren's follow up piece:
"However one might spin the numbers (and, as someone who loves the show, I’m certainly guilty of putting SGU in a positive light), what is clear from the swell of support that last week’s editorial received is that Syfy has an image problem on its hands."

Darren's original Op-Ed
Darren's follow up

I'm a Marvel

Screen Rant originally ran a story on this priceless 'I'm a Mac... I'm a PC' riff that some enterprising person uploaded to YouTube. Instead of Mac Vs PC though, this is Marvel Vs DC in the form of Green Lantern and Thor arguing about who is going to have the best summer movie. It's a really good parody and is a hell of a lot funnier than the TV commercials ever were.

MK: Legacy Episode 3

Johnny Cage is the star of episode 3. I know I'm once again late posting this, but I was waiting for the TV-MA version to be released. The version embedded below is the regular censored version, to view to no holds barred TV-MA cut go here. I haven't checked them out myself yet, but I understand that you can find the uncensored version of episode 1 and 2 on Machinima's YouTube channel as well.

Episode 3: