Mortal Kombat: Legacy Has Quite a Bit of Gunplay

Well folks, here it is. Mortal Kombat: Legacy, as envisioned by Kevin Tancharoen. Watch it more than once, like it, share it with your friends, tweet about it, retweet about it. Tancharoen seems to be taking this in the right direction, and the Mortal Kombat films are certainly due for a reboot. Let Warner Bros. know that we stand unified behind the directors vision, and hopefully they'll green light a feature film down the line. Though for now, these webisodes will have to do. 

You can find episode one at Machinima's YouTube page. Along with today's installment Machinima has also released a little teaser of what to expect in the coming episodes, which I will embed here for your konvenience. Though episode one is mostly about building the foundation, and hi-tech guns, the glimpses shown of upcoming action is decidedly martial arts, decidedly badass, and decidedly Mortal Kombat.

Make sure you check back next week for the next exciting chapter of Mortal Kombat: Legacy.

Ed Boon Must Feel Like a Boss Right Now

The other day, while walking out of my work place, a boy no more than 10 years old ran to his father, who probably just left work as well. They embraced in a hearty hug, the type fathers give their sons, with a lift off the ground and all that cliche stuff. Just another day as a family man, except I was not prepared for what the tween said. "I want to watch Mortal Kombat again! But not the second one, it sucked." Well, I guess you can't win 'em all. Still, I was surprised that the Mortal Kombat series, game or otherwise, had left a lasting impression on a child of that age.

So somewhere, Ed Boon -- creator of the Mortal Kombat universe -- is sitting in his Shao Kahn throne cackling like the Lord of Outworld himself. Children who are half as old as his creation sing the praises of the original Mortal Kombat films. Mortal Kombat, the latest addition to the fighting game series that has gamers' moistening their undergarments, releases next week. And as of tomorrow, Mortal Kombat: Legacy, a new web series directed by Kevin Tancharoen (of Fame fame) debuts on Machinima.

Yes, Ed Boon must be living the life right now. But more importantly, Mortal Kombat: Legacy, the series stemming from the 7 minute epic released last summer, will finally be released to the ravenous masses. A clip below shows a little of what we can expect. It feels like an early 90's action movie, which is both good and bad. What catches me is that it doesn't seem to have the 'grit' (for lack of a better term) that last year's trailer oozed. However, for Mortal Kombat I'm willing to make an exception, and prevent myself from already damning this production to the Netherrealm. 

Visit Machinima tomorrow to catch the first episode of Mortal Kombat: Legacy. If deemed a flawless victory, I'll remind you to visit Machinima every week thereafter to watch the following episodes. If it can come anywhere close to its potential, gamers need to let Warner Bros. know by way of clicks, comments, and social buzz. Then maybe Tancharoen will be given the keys to create a full-length film, as he should have originally, and Ed Boon will continue to rule Outworld like a boss.

Awesome Mortal Kombat Trailer to Become Awesome Web Series

Do you remember the above video? It caused the interwebz to spontaneously jizz their pants sometime in the middle of last year. As a project pitched to Warner Bros. to test the interest for a new Mortal Kombat feature film, apparently it failed. How could something so good fail, you ask? Simple; because the movie industry is complete shite. However, Warner Bros. was not stupid enough to completely dismiss the project. Thankfully, it has been salvaged into a 10-part series of webisodes, to be released whenever the hell it's ready. 

All we know thus far is that the lead role of Jax will be reprised by Michael Jai White, one of the most bad ass mo'fuggas on the planet, you best believe. Other appearances will be made by Shang Tsung, Liu Kang, Sub Zero, Kabal, Kitana, Mileena, Shao Kahn, and of course, old white-eyes, Scorpion. 

Bloody Disgusting, via Kotaku

Fan-Made Duke Nukem Short Shakes It, Baby

It's no secret that Duke Nukem has experienced a major revival recently, mostly due to the long overdue paralleled revival of Duke Nukem Forever. I predict sometime in the not-too-distant future, we will all have Nukem-fatigue after the 8th consecutive summer blockbuster, 12th graphic novel, and of course, the wildly successful subcription fee-based multiplayer FPS. However this is not that time, so the more Duke Nukem news the better!

A bunch of Finnish dudes have thrown together a short film called The Duke: Fate of Humanity, and it looks awesome of course. If I were ever to see a Duke Nukem movie, I would hope it to look very much like The Duke here. Strippers, beer, guns, the aliens who screw with them all, and the bad-ass who sets shit straight. There is no dialogue in the short, thankfully, because I sense a European accented Duke exclaiming "Hail to de king" that I wouldn't want ruining the all-American man's man I've come to love. Pause. 

via Kotaku

Beyond Black Mesa is Back with a New Trailer

Seems like it's been forever since Beyond Black Mesa crossed my mind. The incredibly slick looking, low budget fan movie has just rekindled fold old memories with it's latest trailer. 

The movie is now doing its tour of duty to some of the lesser known film festivals. Keep yourself informed to see if Beyond Black Mesa will be playing near you. Personally, I can't wait to see it. 

8BITS Brings 2D to Life with 3D

2D and 3D games, can they coexist? Of course they can. Over the past few years, 2D games have been increasingly shunned in favor of big budget 3D titles. Though 2010 has been a great year for 2D, indie developers, and the downloadable title. With strong showings at gaming conventions this year, it looks like quality 2D games will not go quietly in the night.

The short film 8BITS seeks revenge on those who have forsaken 2D. With beautiful animation, interesting character models, and explosive 2D action sequences, 8BITS brings a whole lot of quirk and old school nods to the the expanding roster of game-related short films. I would love to see this as a full length, in IMAX, where those wide shot action sequences would be a a visual overload for gamers.

But what the hell is up with the hoodie and boxers, main dude? That ain't gangsta.

Pokemon; Harder, Darker, Edgier, Still Lame

I don't know what it is about Pokemon or why everyone loves it. Yet here we are, 14 years, 13 films, and 30-plus games after it's introduction and for some reason, it's still going strong. It's like the song that doesn't end, except it spans multiple mediums and has Nintendo's infinite funds fueling it.

I could go on and on about my disdain for Pokemon, but a lot of geeks love it, and I can't go against my people. So, in support of the Poke-gangstas out there, I bring you the fairly well done live action Pokemon trailer, which thankfully, does not feature the abused and overused Inception theme. 

Can you spot all your favorite Pokemans? You should be able to, since they stick out like sore thumbs. If you're able to name them all though, you have reason for concern.

Samurai Dead Rising Features Zombies, Katana, LSD

Capcom's incredible juggernaut push for Dead Rising 2 continues. Most companies would probably cut back the marketing after the incredibly well received Dead Rising: Case 0 broke Xbox Live's week one sales records. Capcom on the other hand seems only to intensify things, now with a tie in called Samurai Dead Rising.

Heavy hitting artist and animator Norio Shioyama, whose massive body of work includes such classics as InuYasha, Armored Trooper Votoms, and The Centurions lends his talents to the psychedelic katana brandishing action of our nameless hero as he mows down the undead in stylistic monochrome. The tripped out visuals are accompanied by a slamming drum and bass selection that fits the art style perfectly. And though the thought provoking clip comes in just a shade under three minutes, it seems that there will be more Samurai Dead Rising shorts in the future. Awesome.

With Dead Rising 2 already cemented as one of Fall's hot releases, the timing of Capcom's zombie slicing samurai skits makes me wonder if there are greater forces at work here. A tease of taking Dead Rising 3 to the feudal period, or maybe samurai DLC? We already know Chuck Greene has proficiency with a katana, as preordering  from Gamestop nets you a ninja gi and blade, unlocking a whole new set of assassin moves and animations. Maybe we can expect some samurai garb and a zombie infested bamboo forest sometime down the line. 

Whatever the case may be, this Samurai Dead Rising thing has the opportunity to be something epic. Make it hap-pon, Capcom.

What The Hell is Sucker Punch?

I feel like I've been talking about Sucker Punch a lot recently. Only because I've been complaining that they're clueless when it comes to designing a protagonist. That Sucker Punch is a game developer. This Sucker Punch is an omgwtf looking movie. 

Cute girls in skimpy clothing with semi-automatic guns and katanas, soulless samurai with chain guns, fire-breathing dragons, the Hindenburg, and even outer space. That's close to my prescribed dose of insane visuals. Christ, what does this movie not have? A story? Guess we'll see.

It's too bad we're going to have to wait until March of next year for Sucker Punch. I hope Zack Snyder doesn't let us down. In the meantime, I'll just watch Inception once a month to tide me over. 

Thanks to Kotaku for the heads up on this one.

PS3 Netflix Gets EZ Mode

Last week, Fast Company reported that 61% of the total 15 million Netflix users have used the services streaming option in the past year. That's a huge jump up from last year's number of 37% of users streaming movies. I'm sure much of this can be attributed Netflix's reach. You don't have to be stuck in front of a computer to stream a movie these days, options like Boxee, Wii, Xbox 360, and PS3 allow users options and ease when streaming. 

As awesome as it is to have Netflix streaming on our gaming consoles, we can't help but think that it's a bit watered down. Sure, the service allows us to access instant cue, new additions, several genres, and what's been suggested for us, but one of the most important aspects has been missing until very recently. PS3 is the first to strike with a search function of the service's streaming catalog. 360 users will have to wait until November for this handy upgrade. Wii owners, who the hell knows. Enjoy it while you can PSNers. I guess they had to do something to offset having to pop in that stupid disc every time you want to stream something.