Doctor Who - Asylum Of The Daleks Review

With a hero, plots and a series mantra that's all about unstable, unpredictable change, it's remarkable that Doctor Who has always been quite so consistent when it comes to punching above its weight.

So it's somewhat fitting that as we edge ever closer to the show's legendary 50th anniversary, showrunner Steven Moffat has issued the writing staff a mission statement to "slut it up with big, huge, mad ideas", and to "write each episode like a movie poster".

While we may have the return of the Weeping Angels, the 'there's-no-way-this-can't-be-amazing' "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship", a Whovian-goes-Western approach to Cowboys vs Aliens, and the ever-impending departure of the Ponds all all awaiting us before Christmas, Moffat himself came up with the idea big, bold and suitably crazy enough to kickstart Series 7 (or 33, depending on your nerdiness) with a bang.

For an episode focusing on the Doctor's oldest enemy, The Asylum of the Daleks was still full of vibrancy, surprises and stuffed full of nods towards the Time Lord's future. But more on those - or more particularly, her - later.

This season's movie-esque MO lends itself to compressed storytelling, and so it didn't take long before Rory, Amy and The Doctor found themselves individually Dalek-napped, and transported to a parliament almost as terrifying as our own - an amphitheatre chock full of every incarnation of the Dalek the Doctor's ever seen.

The key twist this time? While exterminating was still on the cards, they needed the Doctor and his companions to do them a little favour first - hop down to The Asylum (an intergalactic prison housing their craziest and deadliest), and save their alien bacon.

In modern Who-terms, The Asylum of the Daleks was a triumph. Witty, crazy and with a heartfelt emotional streak throughout, it catered first and foremost to the characters we've come to love. Matt Smith flip-flopped between ice-cool menace (as 'The Predator') and chirpy, charming freneticism (as 'Chinboy') with now expectant ease, but with just five episodes left, Moffat cast the main emotional spotlight on Rory and Amy.

While the initial melodrama-bombshell of their impending divorce was a surprise enough, the revelation of its cause (damn you Demon's Run and your fertility discombobulating ways), and their inevitable reconciliation was pulled off with sincere, and genuinely moving aplomb by Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill.

The biggest surprise of all though? It wasn't the divorce, the brief adventures of Indiana Rory, the episode's The Thing-esque transforming sleeper Daleks, or the particularly 'scrambled' spin on the Dalek's catchphrase (we predict a few fanboys/girls ordering tomorrow's breakfast in a whole new way).

Nope - in a world full of spoilers, plot-leaks and internet reveals, Moffat and co magnificently kept the arrival of the Doctor's new companion completely under wraps. Jenna-Louise Coleman's Oswin/Souffle Girl debuted with an electrifying bang - smart, sassy, somewhat of a genius, and mildly bi-curious, she nearly stole the show. Not only that, she had a pathos-driven, super-twist of an end to an origin story that leaves us guessing not only when but how she'll reappear. Oh, and as what. While the thought of a 'Doctor/dead Dalek spirit guide' odd couple dynamic fills us with nerdy glee, even Moffat's not that crazy.

We think.

In fact, the only downside to the episode was that - with so much of the above going on - the much-mooted 'every Dalek ever' smorgasbord was underwhelming in its brevity, and while they certainly seemed the scariest they've been in years, it felt less a tale about the Daleks than an adventure that just happened to have them in it. That said, we're intrigued to see where their mindwipe reboot leaves their relationship with the Doctor going forward.

Doctor Who may be a show edging ever-closer to its TV Quinquagenary, but it's still one of the smartest, funniest and freshest sci-fis around.

Case in point? Bring on the Space Dinosaurs.

Source : ign[dot]com

PAX: Tim Schafer and The Making of Double Fine Adventure

Double Fine Productions has a problem. Well, more like 3.3 million of them.

Since launching arguably the most well-known and successful video game campaign in Kickstarter history, the quirky developers of beloved games like Grim Fandango, Psychonauts, and Brutal Legend, are on the hook to make Double Fine Adventure (DFA), quite possibly the most talked about adventure game in the last decade. The real trick will be making it the most played, and Double Fine briantrust Tim Schafer knows it.

Discussing the making of DFA at the Double Fine Adventure Adventure panel at PAX 2012, the President and CEO, alongside Double Fine producer Greg Rice, laid his process bare, making a hall-full of friends in the process.

That's a 834% fund rate right there, folks.

If you've ever put something off, changed your idea in the middle of a thought (because you lost it), or considered tossing out plans wholesale for fear that no one will like them, you probably have a lot in common with the self-deprecating developer. Turns out the studio didn't have everything ready to go when the seconds counted down to zero and corks popped. $3.3 million dollars funded, now it was time to make a game. That's actually when that process began - by design - explained Schafer, onstage and throughout the 25-minute showing of the Double Fine Adventure Documentary that filmakers 2 Player Productions have begun shooting for their throng of Kickstaer backers.

His process is as fascinating as it is overwhelming. Thumbing a stack of notebooks evoking John Doe's journals from Se7en, Schafer shows how his games spend their infancy slow-cooking in the deep pages of his scrawled manuscripts, alongside non-sequitur ramblings and complaints about his poor memory or girls he'd loved and lost from the sixth grade. This is not a senselessly scatter-brained man, just proof that extremely-functional attention deficit disorder pairs well with game design. Once his ideas take form, Schafer talks himself into doing what sounds like the part of the process he like least: telling someone about the idea for the first time.

Pitching his good friend and partner in Double Fine crime, Ron Gilbert (best known for Maniac Mansion and the first two Monkey Island games), the industry vet speaks adorably in fits and starts, flush like a boy talking himself into asking a girl for a first dance. Schafer's not lacking for confidence, but he wants to hear that his ideas are good, naturally. And if they'er not, he wants to find better ideas. Because he cares so much, nothing matters to him more than getting it right.

And getting it right means uncertainty, and not having all the answers all at once. But he's okay with that. Walls pasted with sticky notes, "art jams" - long sessions that bring all the artists together to concept the art direction - and asking hard questions about story continuity alongside Rice; each is an inexcahngeable part of a vulnerable but self-assured process. That and the pizza orgies.

Once a Double Fine game is playable, schafer traditionally gathers a group of people to marathon of game testing and crowd-noshing by the slice. If the art jam is how the team finds out how the game should look, the pizza orgies are where they find out how the game should play.

By the end of their PAX panel, Rice simplifies all of this with a rosy-scheeked Cheshire aside, affirming the core "how-to" of good game making. "Look for good ideas, ignore bad ideas." Ricean megascience.

If Double Fine Adventure Adventure doesn't work out, perhaps they'll create  Pizza Orgy: The Game, one attendee offered during a lively question and answer session as the panel wrapped.

When asked if Pizza Orgy: The Game would be a "party game" in genre by another guest, Schaefer simplay said, "That depends on who you invite. Sometimes its really sad."

Casey Lynch is Editor-in-Chief of IGN.com. Hear about his love for PAX , metal, and Dark Souls on IGN and Twitter.

Source : ign[dot]com

Magic the Gathering 2013 Expansion Details

If you clicked on that headline I assume you already know how awesome the Magic the Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers games are. You've finished the campaign and unlocked all the decks in the 2013 edition, and now you're ready for more. Well, let's get right to the details of the upcoming expansion, then.

What's new in the Magic: the Gathering -- Duels of the Planeswalker 2013 expansion?

• Five new two-color decks
• Ten new campaign challenges
• Five new puzzle challenges

Okay, how much will it cost, Daemon?
$5, dear reader.

When can we play it?
This fall. Look for a simultaneous release on all platforms (360, PS3, PC, and iPad).

These are some screens of the new content:

Ten new campaign challenges.

Five new two-color decks.

Daemon is IGN's Senior Editor and his love of Magic is probably the nerdiest thing about him. You should follow him on Twitter.

Source : ign[dot]com

First Look at Chris Pine's Jack Ryan

Paramount has released the first two photos from Jack Ryan, the studio's reboot of the Tom Clancy CIA hero that just began filming in Manhattan under the direction of Thor's Kenneth Branagh. Chris Pine plays the title character and Kevin Costner plays his field agent mentor.

Jack Ryan opens Christmas Day 2013.

Source : ign[dot]com

Gamer Fatigue and the Creative Renaissance

Sometimes, boring games sell well. That is why they are made. Corporations that produce tedious, repetitious drivel are merely fulfilling their function, which is to enrich shareholders. They measure success in sales numbers and margins. They like predictability.

But even the most undemanding, conservative consumers eventually grow tired of formulas, and so games publishers seek to innovate, to try new things in order to build blueprints for the future.

This is the constant friction-point in the business of games, the drive to churn out games that will hit quarterly targets now, and the fear that failure to try new things will severely impact the quarterly results of the future.

'Gamer fatigue' is a phrase used this week by Dishonored co-director Harvey Smith, to describe what happens when the marketing guys gain too much power over the creative process. This is what happens when the corporations' need for quick returns outweigh both concerns about the future and the artistic vision of the game-maker.

But his message is a positive one. He points out that, even at the tail-end of a console generation, we are seeing artistic, interesting creations. Games like Dishonored, Beyond: Two Souls and The Last of Us are leading the charge against the AAA standards that fill the shelves of GameStop, while digital experimentation through XBL, PSN and Steam is a source of much that is challenging and new.

In an interview with GI Biz, Smith said, “You could attribute it to gamer fatigue. How many games have been released now where you're a soldier, or a space marine, or you're surrounded by elves and wizards, or you're robbing a bank in L.A.? I'm still an optimist, and I still have a great time playing games, but...most stuff is just variations on things we've seen before. If you've been around for a while you've seen it over and over and over."

There have been times in the past when it seemed that the marketers were taking too much creative power. The argument went that the ‘market’ should dictate what was produced, and there are still people who believe that consumer buying patterns are the ultimate measure of artistic endeavor.

But markets are not open and free systems, and in gaming’s past this was especially the case. It wasn’t that long ago when the only realistic way to get a game into the hands of the public-at-large was through one of a limited number of powerful publishing companies. Even now, we do not live in a utopia of creative freedom, but things have definitely changed, giving more power back to the people who actually know how to make games, and want to try to expand the form.

Looking back at the bad old days, Smith says, "I remember working at companies where people would tell me that role-playing games don't sell. I once had an executive tell me that first-person games don't sell. It can fly in the face of reality.”

He adds, “There are many ways to be successful. You could go out and aim for a very mainstream story...and you can capture an audience that way and be very successful. On the other hand, you can be completely rock 'n' roll about it and say, 'F*ck it, we're gonna do everything different from everyone else’. We're driven by this one impulse creatively. At a certain point, I came to mistrust formulas, because I've seen so many examples of people failing or succeeding by following a certain blueprint.”

Most of us are guilty of perpetuating formulas. We buy games that we know will be enjoyable, but that fail to surprise or even particularly delight us.

But what we really want is to be taken to new and unusual worlds, to be shocked and amazed at new experiences.

Source : ign[dot]com

App Store Update: Labor Day Weekend

Every day hundreds of new apps make their debut on the App Store, and hundreds more are updated or reduced in price. We have sifted through the noise and highlighted those select few that might be worth your attention.

Game Debuts

WipeOut – ($1.99)

ABC's summertime game show is a guilty pleasure for sure, as countless hapless contestants get themselves beaten up and bounced off of big red balls in ridiculous obstacle courses. Its antics have now been adapted into a new game, so you can find out how high you can bounce off those same balls. (Without the accompanying embarrassment or physical pain.)

Total Recall - The Game - Episode 1 – ($1.99)

Though there's a new film with the same name currently running in theaters, this game kicks of a playable, episodic adaptation of the original movie starring good old Arnold in the lead role.

Final Fantasy Dimensions – (Free*)

Square Enix's homage to its classic era of 8- and 16-bit RPGs has finally gone live in the App Store, and though it shipped with a glitch that kept players from being able to access in-app purchases, that bug has now been fixed through a quick update push. Final Fantasy Dimensions Version 1.0.1 now works as intended, letting you download and play through the story's Prologue content for free and then only asking for cash if you want to progress further through Chapters 1 through 4. So give it a look, play the Prologue, and see for yourself whether you're up for the full experience.

The Walking Dead: Episode 2 - Starving for Help – ($4.99)

Telltale Games' adaptation of the popular zombiepocalypse comic/show continues with the App Store debut of Episode 2. This isn't a separate download from the first Walking Dead app, but rather an in-app purchase from that one central hub – you'll have to put down $4.99 to get into the action with Episode 1, then #2 is a second investment of a separate $4.99. Spoiler Warning! Don't watch this trailer if you haven't completed Episode 1 yet:

Price Drops

Dead Space for iPad – ($0.99)

Electronic Art's massive Labor Day sale is still going strong through this weekend, so make sure to check out anything published by EA – like, say, Dead Space for iPad – to take advantage of massive discounts down to $0.99.

Max Payne Mobile – ($0.99)

EA isn't the only company hoping to take advantage of this long weekend with some deep game discounts, though. Rockstar's getting in on the action too by knocking the app version of Max Payne down to that same price.

iBomber Defense Pacific – ($0.99)

And here's one of Chillingo's budget options going into your Labor Day, a tower defender inspired in part by World War II's Pacific Theater.

Modern Combat 3: Fallen Nation – ($0.99)

And then we have Gameloft's offering, its homage to the Call of Duty series, Modern Combat 3. This one earned an 8.5 "Great" rating and an Editor's Choice Award in our review last fall.

Virtua Tennis Challenge – ($0.99)

If you'd prefer to spend your dollar bill on something a bit more sporty, Sega's got you covered there.

Tilt to Live – ($0.99)

The title of this one should do a pretty good job of describing its gameplay for you. Also 99 cents right now.

Avernum: Escape from the Pit HD – ($4.99)

Normally priced at $9.99, Spiderweb Software's retro dungeon crawler has had its price slashed in half.

Drawn: The Painted Tower HD (Full) – ($2.99)

This under-the-radar point-and-click might never have caught your attention before, but it's one of our App Store favorites – it scored a 9.0 rating of "Amazing" and its own Editor's Choice Award in its review in late 2010. Give it a look, especially since its full version has now dropped all the way to $2.99 from its $9.99 starting point.

Diner Dash Deluxe – ($0.99)

Lastly, PlayFirst's prolific Diner Dash franchise. This version's offering up a free new restaurant to play once you take the 99 cent plunge for the app itself.

Updates

Pizza Boy – ($1.99)

A couple of in-game Updates to highlight to round out our App Store Update, starting with ACNE Play's Pizza Boy. This 16-bit-ish platformer now has Game Center support and new achievements to earn, courtesy of the launch of Version 1.2.

Plague Inc. – ($0.99)

Finally, the game that lets you direct an outbreak of global disease has been updated with a new infectious option, the Neurax Worm. Unleash it upon the world's unsuspecting population and laugh as the worm burrows into their brains. (Good fun, right?)

That's all for now! And I'd also like to apologize to you readers for the timing of this update – technical issues kept me from being able to get it delivered to you all on time yesterday. Rather than just skip a day and take it as a loss, though, I wanted to push through and make sure this Update got out to you – even if it's arriving on Saturday morning instead of Friday afternoon. So once again, sorry for the delay. And I hope your long weekend is enhanced by a new app or two. :)

If you haven't already, remember to subscribe to the App Store Update via email for extra convenience:

Lucas M. Thomas is IGN Nintendo's longtime champion of downloadable titles across the Wii, DSi and 3DS. He's happy to now be helping Justin round up the best options for App Store shoppers. You can follow him on Twitter.

Source : ign[dot]com

Henry Winkler Returns to Arrested Development

"Don't get too close to me. 'Cause I've got an itch you can't believe. I think something laid eggs on me."

Yes, THR is reporting that Henry Winkler will be back for a handful of episodes on the new season of Arrested Development - coming Spring 2013 on Netflix!

Winkler will be reprising his role as Barry Zuckerkorn, the insanely incompetent family lawyer for the Bluths. Winkler even recently tweeted: "I am supposed to be memorizing an Arrested Development scene with Maybe for today … don't tell anyone I was here OK?????"

Winkler also recently tweeted out a picture of himself with actor Scott Baio, who plays attorney Bob Loblaw (of Bob Loblaw's Law Blog), from the set!

Source : ign[dot]com