News

‘Strange Brigade’ is Supernatural Serial Adventure Done Proper

Published

6 years ago

September 7, 2018

Rebellion Development’s latest, Strange Brigade is a charming and fun-filled surprise whose aesthetic and playful nature makes for a great time spent. Ultimately, watching the supernatural, puzzle solving and firepower take center stage is a dang joy to experience.

Rebellion Developments is the team primarily known for their Sniper Elite series as well as its Zombie Army Trilogy. While, those titles are really great and inventive in their fields, they are both voiced with a lot more serious tone. With Strange Brigade, the team seems to have exercised some of their tongue-in-cheek, fun demons, to extraordinary result.

This game is deeply rooted in the cliffhanger reliant serial adventures of the 1930s. These pictures were usually played at movie houses and were catered to kids in a double-feature format. As before mentioned, these were all reliant on cliffhanger endings that made sure audiences came back.

Both the look and charm of those serial adventures is captured carefully in Strange Brigade, right down to the bravado filled narrator and cliffhanger stapled levels.

In Strange Brigade, you take on the role of one of four adventurers (more characters available with DLC) and head out for a rip-roaring supernatural adventure in Egypt. Turns out the Witch Queen Seteki has been unleashed from her tomb and is wreaking havoc on the land with her army of monsters.

You can choose to go at it alone in single player, or team up with three other players in online co-op. It’s a lot more fun to have a go with your cast of online buddies, but single player offers just as much fun if that is your thing.

Brigade

The game offers a cast of adventurers to choose from in the form of Archeologist, Archimedes de Quincey, Marksman Frank Fairburne, Maasai warrior Nalangu Rushida, and Mechanic Gracie Braithwaite. Each character comes with special abilities that they are free to unleash when they have collected enough souls on the battlefield.

Characters each have their unique feel and approach to battle. Some focusing on brute force while others choose to roll with sorcery or marksmanship. Combining character play styles is a blast with a team, and imperative in later more difficult levels.

Levels consist of lots of shooting, some rewarding exploration and some fun puzzle solving work. The combo makes for a formula that doesn’t get stale easily.

What would all that adventuring be without a bit of treasure throw into the mix? Well, folks braving traps and going that little extra distance in solving some light brain teasers, and you will be rewarded with all kinds of treasures to either aid in your firepower or assist in leveling up your character’s special abilities.

Strange Brigade hosts a nice variety of monsters along the way too. Giant scorpions, mummies, Minotaur and more await you and your team around every turn.

The narrator is a cornerstone of the age the game captures so well. This guy not only narrates the story but also lends his voice along the way to give hints if you are stuck, and even goes so far as telling you to pause the game if you step away from the controller. He is a bit hilariously bossy at times on certain matters. It’s small special moments and additives like this that make Strange Brigade as fun as it is.

Strange Brigade is proper adventure done right. All the serial adventures it is paying homage to in scope and character is done with a playful reverence for the 1930 adventures and the offbeat silliness is a nice change of pace. Gather some friends and give this supernatural title a go.

Strange Brigade is out now on PC, PS4 and Xbox One.

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News

Jake Gyllenhaal’s Thriller ‘Presumed Innocent’ Series Gets Early Release Date

Published

2 hours ago

April 26, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Jake Gyllenhaal’s limited series Presumed Innocent is dropping on AppleTV+ on June 12 instead of June 14 as originally planned. The star, whose Road House reboot has brought mixed reviews on Amazon Prime, is embracing the small screen for the first time since his appearance on Homicide: Life on the Street in 1994.

Jake Gyllenhaal’s in ‘Presumed Innocent’

Presumed Innocent is being produced by David E. Kelley, J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot, and Warner Bros. It is an adaptation of Scott Turow’s 1990 film in which Harrison Ford plays a lawyer doing double duty as an investigator looking for the murderer of his colleague.

These types of sexy thrillers were popular in the ’90s and usually contained twist endings. Here’s the trailer for the original:

According to Deadline, Presumed Innocent doesn’t stray far from the source material: “…the Presumed Innocent series will explore obsession, sex, politics and the power and limits of love as the accused fights to hold his family and marriage together.”

Up next for Gyllenhaal is the Guy Ritchie action movie titled In the Grey scheduled for release in January 2025.

Presumed Innocent is an eight-episode limited series set to stream on AppleTV+ starting June 12.

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Movies

Trailer for ‘The Exorcism’ Has Russell Crowe Possessed

Published

20 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Timothy Rawles

The latest exorcism movie is about to drop this summer. It’s aptly titled The Exorcism and it stars Academy Award winner turned B-movie savant Russell Crowe. The trailer dropped today and by the looks of it, we are getting a possession movie that takes place on a movie set.

Just like this year’s recent demon-in-media-space film Late Night With the Devil, The Exorcism happens during a production. Although the former takes place on a live network talk show, the latter is on an active sound stage. Hopefully, it won’t be entirely serious and we’ll get some meta chuckles out of it.

The film will open in theaters on June 7, but since Shudder also acquired it, it probably won’t be long after that until it finds a home on the streaming service.

Crowe plays, “Anthony Miller, a troubled actor who begins to unravel while shooting a supernatural horror film. His estranged daughter, Lee (Ryan Simpkins), wonders if he’s slipping back into his past addictions or if there’s something more sinister at play. The film also stars Sam Worthington, Chloe Bailey, Adam Goldberg and David Hyde Pierce.”

Crowe did see some success in last year’s The Pope’s Exorcist mostly because his character was so over-the-top and infused with such comical hubris it bordered on parody. We will see if that is the route actor-turned-director Joshua John Miller takes with The Exorcism.

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News

Win a Stay at The Lizzie Borden House From Spirit Halloween

Published

22 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Spirit Halloween has declared that this week marks the start of spooky season and to celebrate they are offering fans a chance to stay at the Lizzie Borden House with so many perks Lizzie herself would approve.

The Lizzie Borden House in Fall River, MA is claimed to be one of the most haunted houses in America. Of course one lucky winner and up to 12 of their friends will find out if the rumors are true if they win the grand prize: A private stay in the notorious house.

“We are delighted to work with Spirit Halloween to roll out the red carpet and offer the public a chance to win a one-of-a-kind experience at the infamous Lizzie Borden House, which also includes additional haunted experiences and merchandise,” said Lance Zaal, President & Founder of US Ghost Adventures.

Fans can enter to win by following Spirit Halloween‘s Instagram and leaving a comment on the contest post from now through April 28.

The prize also includes:

An exclusive guided house tour, including insider insight around the murder, the trial, and commonly reported hauntings

A late-night ghost tour, complete with professional ghost-hunting gear

A private breakfast in the Borden family dining room

A ghost hunting starter kit with two pieces of Ghost Daddy Ghost Hunting Gear and a lesson for two at US Ghost Adventures Ghost Hunting Course

The ultimate Lizzie Borden gift package, featuring an official hatchet, the Lizzie Borden board game, Lily the Haunted Doll, and America’s Most Haunted Volume II

Winner’s choice of a Ghost Tour experience in Salem or a True Crime experience in Boston for two

“Our Halfway to Halloween celebration provides fans an exhilarating taste of what’s to come this fall and empowers them to start planning for their favorite season as early as they please,” said Steven Silverstein, CEO of Spirit Halloween. “We have cultivated an incredible following of enthusiasts who embody the Halloween lifestyle, and we’re thrilled to bring the fun back to life.”

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Spirit Halloween is also preparing for their retail haunted houses. On Thursday, August 1 their flagship store in Egg Harbor Township, NJ. will officially open to start off the season. That event usually draws in hordes of people eager to see what new merch, animatronics, and exclusive IP goods will be trending this year.