:: RISING SLOWLYWarner Brothers has released a new Hobbit movie tie-in app. It gives you both the backstory of the movie and lots of behind the scenes info on the filming of the Hobbit movies. Here's list of some of what's included:
• Interactive Map of Middle-Earth
• 360º views of scenic locations and settings
• “The Scroll,” a narrative art piece
• Animated lenticular character portraits
• Peter Jackson’s Production Journals
• Character image galleries and bios
• Downloads for iPad, iPhone, and Facebook
• Social integration with Facebook and Twitter
Regular commuters will know that driving can get pretty dull and tedious. Sure, you can turn the radio on but even that can turn uninteresting after a time. What you need is a sense of being part of an epic adventure, right? In which case, backing Mission: Escape might be exactly what you're after.
Recently, while driving through Chico and listening to David Arnold's Quantum of Solace soundtrack, he realised something.
"I was driving about 30 miles per hour and I was pretty much alone in the street, yet the music suddenly gave me this rush of thrill and made me feel like I was in an action movie, with people chasing me and so on. The feeling was so vivid that it made me say out loud to myself "wow, that was awesome". A few days later I though, "wouldn't it be awesome to have something that would take that feeling one step further and REACT to how you are driving so that the music doesn't seem arbitrary and generic, but customized to what you are doing at the moment?""
Fernando then joined together with others and came up with some great ideas and features, eventually leading to the creation of Mission: Escape.
Fernando explains, "The speed limit is definitely a big one since it's the most obvious to cause problems. This also happens to be one of the "easier" ones to implement to some extent. Others, such as overtaking, are a bit more difficult to determine. However, we are trying to develop a security system that will try to gauge if the driver is driving recklessly and will advice the user to stop doing so or it will shut down the application. The way we would do this would be by detecting aggressive actions such as harsh acceleration, hard stopping, extra sharp turning or movement (changing lanes too fast), among other things. The iPhone will easily give us information when a user is doing something like that. The only thing to do is to create a balance point so that the security system only works when the user is actually driving recklessly and not because of something else," with the plan for plenty of testing and development to ensure it works well and in the right scenario.
Fernando was also keen to point out that safety will take priority alongside such exciting thrills.
It all sounds pretty intriguing to me and certainly an unique way of using such technology. Check out the Hands-on demo video below as well as the Mission: Escape Kickstarter page. We'll be sure to keep an eye on the app's development.
:: LIMITED :: Read Review »
The new movie content added to the game is Snow White and the Hunstman. Players will be able to build and explore the set of the movie along with the 35 other blockbuster films available in the game.
Universal Movie Tycoon, like other "tycoon" simulation games, give players control to build and supervise over a particular setting, the movie industry in this case (specifical Universal Studios). Players work on building sets and creating movies like ET, The Mummy, and Jurassic Park. Players add buildings to the sets (over 15 studio buildings to use) and add decorations, roads, and more.
Universal Movie Tycoon is $0.99 and is a universal app.
:: SILVER SCREEN SHENANIGANS
The goal is to create chains as long as possible by dragging one’s finger across similar tiles. During their quest to start World War III, players will have access to nuke, health, money, and radar tiles as well as 24 different tactics and mods they can use to strike the opponent or upgrade themselves. The 40+ levels feature showdowns with characters from the film including the actual voices of actors Matthew Broderick, Ally Sheedy, and Dabney Coleman.
In a way, it would be fitting if playing this game could actually start a new world war. However, let’s hope for our sake that is not the case. WarGames: WOPR is available now for $0.99 on the App Store.
It should come as absolutely no surprise that Gameloft is releasing a tie-in game for the upcoming movie The Amazing Spider-Man. After all, it is one of the summer’s most-anticipated blockbusters and Spider-Man is still one of the biggest superheroes of all time. With its release date rapidly approaching, now more details are starting are come in.
The game comes courtesy of the same team behind 2010’s Ultimate Spider-Man: Total Mayhem. As such, it should be fairly safe to assume that this new title will seek to build on that already proven formula. However, this time players can expect to immerse themselves in the movie’s new, rebooted, Spider-Man universe while completing missions, protecting citizens, honing their skills and powers, and doing whatever else Spider-Man tends to do. Gameloft says players can look forward to a “comprehensive battle system” as well.
The Amazing Spider-Man the movie arrives in theaters on July 3rd. Expect The Amazing Spider-Man the game to arrive on mobile devices everywhere that same day.
:: CREATIVE
The app features a unique way in which to discover new films via the "Spinner" which offers members a way to have a film randomly picked for them or to select criteria such as era, genre or length before spinning. Members can also take advantage of integration with Twitter, Facebook and email to recommend their favorite movies with friends. The company supports indie filmmakers by sharing a portion of its subscription fee with them as well as with distributors. New members can sign up via a seven-day unlimited free pass on Fandor. Subscriptions range from $2.99 per week or $99.99 for the year.
Jurassic Park: The Game takes us back to Isla Nublar shortly after the events of the first film, following a new cast of characters simply trying to escape the island with their lives intact. However, it's not just about the new faces: this time around we're going to be seeing more of the park itself. Sure there will be familiar areas (i.e. Dennis Nedry's "ditched" vehicle), but we've also learned of some new locations players will get to explore that weren't covered in the movie.
Locations such as the still under-construction Bone Shaker Roller Coaster, the Geothermal Power Plant, Dr. Laura Sorkin's Field Lab used for observational studies (as well as some unsanctioned and dangerous experiments, the North Docks which are a stone's throw away from the iconic Visitor's Center, and finally the Marine Facility (video featured below), which I'm personally terrified to experience. Wait until the end of the clip to see what I mean.
iPad 2 owners, keep an eye on that App Store after the 15th. There might not be an official release date for the iOS version, but I'd imagine it might only be a week or two longer. Heck, since the 15th is a Tuesday it's also not out of the question to consider it might be available on the 17th (Thursday). So... Anyone have an iPad 2 they don't want anymore..?
:: STAY STILL
:: SUPER FUNA much less famous company called mSpot, however, has stolen the crown of "first!"
Not that mSpot is new to the movie streaming business. They've already been offering movie streams for PC, Android, Palm, and Blackberry devices; they also have a music cloud-based storage/streaming service. Now, however, their mSpot Mobile Movies app has reached the App Store. The app allows you to browse movies, watch trailers, and rent movies for watching on your iPhone...or, if you decide you want to switch screens, you can hop onto your PC partway through!
The streaming quality looks pretty solid, and works on both 3G and WiFi (how did that get past AT&T?). As for prices, they offer both a "club" option and an a la carte method. The prices aren't too outrageous, either; movies like Inglourious Basterds and Star Trek are shown as costing just $4.99 to rent, while a small number of old titles like Night of the Living Dead are available for free. mSpot's library isn't enormous, but there are enough good titles there that it's definitely worth a look.
Now, if mSpot can just expand its library, its early advantage could transform it into yet another movie-source contender.
