What Happened to Captain S? May 24, 2011
Posted by Maniac in Editorials.1 comment so far
Back in 2007 a group of people got together in New York and, heavily influenced by the tv shows of their youth such as Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Superhuman Samurai Syber Squad, and Saved by the Bell, created a web series of their own to pay honor not only to those shows, but the games of their past, called The New Adventures of Captain S. It was done by a production company called PBC-Productions.
A teenager named Chad Bellmont buys a used Sega Genesis game from an unknown gypsy during a tag sale. When he plays the game for the first time, he’s imbued with the X-Code, the code that allows him to travel between our world and the world inside of video games. With the help of his friends, and of a mysterious floating head, he has to stop a former friend who has been seduced by an evil entity who plans to take control of all video games and eventually our reality.
The series was cheesy but it had a great heart to it. It was well written, fantastically acted, and the special effects were fitting of the series. It brought me back to an earlier part of my life, which were the tv shows I watched as a kid, which really was the only good thing about my own childhood.
I will gladly turn on any of these episodes when I’m feeling bad. If you must know, my favorite episodes are Episode 3, where Chad’s friend Becky discovers he’s a superhero and we learn Becky has a crush on him while Chad is blindly falling for the school babe Stacey Newfeld, and Episode 9, where Chad, Lunk and Stacey Newfeld have to survive a day of school, when all their classmates have been turned into zombies, and save Becky from the Game Genie. Finally, and as you know, I make it a tradition to watch Captain S’s team-up with The Angry Video Game Nerd every Christmas.
The first season wrapped up and a second season was promised, coming very soon. Sales of the DVD were going to fund a highly anticipated second season, which was promising to be bigger and better than the first. A webcomic was even running which was going to bridge the gap between season one and season two.
Then, in one of the darkest days of my life, May 31st, 2009, this video hit the internet.
Specifics weren’t gone into why they had come to this conclusion, and it left a lot of people floored, but they assured the public it was no hoax. I really don’t need to say anything further about the decline of the company since this announcement was posted, I already covered it a few months ago. The webcomic ceased production before it came to its conclusion. There was another series the company was working on, called Little Miss Gamer starring Lindsey “Z” Briggs, but new episodes of that series stopped being posted around March of 2010. It seemed like real life was indeed catching up to them. Being a fringe internet sensation was just not paying the bills and real life and real money was taking up their time, preventing all the principal team members from continuing with producing content.
I mentioned a few months ago that even though the company hadn’t posted a video since April of 2010, they had not yet posted any kind of announcement that the company was in fact shutting down, or if they had any interest in creating new content.
Well, it’s official, their goodbyes were posted on their official message boards this past week. It was marked in a lenthy podcast interview with the two principal guys behind PBC Productions, Chad Williams, (who was the creator of the series, the voice of the Game Genie, and the face of the giant floating head) and Brett Vanderbrook (who played Chad Bellmont, better known as Captain S).
After a long time coming, someone who really wanted to know what was going to happen with the series got the means to ask. Racketboy.com was auctioning off the chance to control an entire podcast and it was won by a guy who went by the name of Flake. Flake’s choice was to get podcast host Dave Heineman to interview PBC-Productions and ask them just what happened with that second season of Captain S and what was in store from the company.
After listening to this full interview with the two principal guys who operate PBC, I have concluded the fact that this second season was never produced is truly a travesty. Money was on the table, and the ideas for the second season were brilliant! It just seems that the timeline for release was just impossible. They do answer a lot of the questions about what was going to happen with the series, if old characters were going to return and what was going to happen to them, and what new characters were in store for us. At least three villains were on paper, including a guy with the last name of Jaguar, a video game programmer who went mad, and the huge surprise was going to be the resurrection of the Game Genie. There was even going to be a third group of characters who were not evil and yet not good which a character we thought was dead at the end of the first season was going to be a part of, who fittingly enough were going to be called “The Third Party” and they were led by the third defender of the X-Code, the Gypsy who sold the Genesis cartridge that turned Chad Bellmont into Captain S.
Alas, it seemed the schedule was just not right, and the money was not worthwhile for such a difficult production cycle. The band, as it seems, has broken up since then, although they seem to still be on good terms with each other, some of them are no longer living in the same city, which would make their participation difficult if not impossible.
Farewell Captain S. You will be missed. Anyone want to go out for one last shake?
inFamous 2 UGC Beta Footage May 23, 2011
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Hey gang, I know I promised you a look at the inFamous 2 Beta, and here it is!
First off, I want to show the details of just what is involved in what was released with the beta, and what the User Generated Content (UGC) feature which will ship with inFamous 2 is going to include. The UGC feature in inFamous 2 is very much like a mod tool, which will enable users to modify the game, create their own missions, test their own missions, and upload them to the Playstation Network. You’ll also be able to download and play other people’s missions as well.
So, I was able to get my hands on the beta, and I was fortunate enough to start downloading it before the Playstation Network and Playstation Store went completely offline. After the service went back up I started playing the beta, and I was amazed just how detailed the game that shipped with the beta was.
inFamous 2 will release June 7th, 2011 exclusive to the Playstation 3.
Hellgate: London Will Return May 21, 2011
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Hellgate: London was a game that at release tried to be too much too fast. It was a full paid and free MMORPG along with a full Single Player game. There were paperback novels, manga and a full collectors edition which released with the game. This was planned to be one of the new major PC franchises…only it wasn’t.
The game suffered from poor initial reviews and while a lot of its problems were fixed after launch and content was being released on a steady basis, the costs to keep it operating did not match up with the income from the paid MMO component and sales of the game. Because of that, Hellgate: London was shut down some time ago.
Publishing rights in North America were in limbo for some time while the game was being maintained in other territories. Now the company who bought its rights plans to bring it back online for free in North America. Beta testing will be happening between June 3rd and June 5th.
Dust off your copies guys. I’m going to London!
History of Duke Nukem Part 2 May 20, 2011
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Gearbox Software has released the second part of their history of Duke Nukem series to the web. (My guess is they didn’t want to be upstaged by my contribution.) Part 1 mostly focused on the first two Duke Nukem sidescrollers, this part focuses on Duke Nukem 3D, which released in 1996.
Another part is coming, which will focus on Duke Nukem Forever.
Duke Nukem Forever is coming June 14th for Xbox 360, PC and PS3.
Gears of War 3 Campaign Teaser May 20, 2011
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Epic has released the first footage from the Gears of War 3 SP Campaign, and points the way to just what the story of this new game could be (and what that post-credits teaser at the end of the credits in Gears of War 2 alluded to).
The full version of this trailer will be made availble on May 28th. They intend to premere the trailer during two sporting events…okay seriously? Are they kidding me? Do the people who do marketing know anything whatsoever about gamers? If you want gamers to have a chance at seeing your new game trailer play it on something they’ll actually watch!
Gears of War 3 is coming September, 2011 exclusive to the Xbox 360.
Nintendo Wii Price Drop Confirmed, Wii Now $149 May 19, 2011
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This is a bit bleated news, especially given the fact that many were speculating about this for the past few weeks, and a few retailers probably started jumping the gun in anticipation for this happening, but Nintendo has confirmed that the Nintendo Wii’s official MSRP is now $149US, and has lowered the price of many of it’s first party games to $19.99 US including Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Super Mario Sluggers, Animal Crossing City Folk and Wii Sports.
The Nintendo Wii is now being bundled with copies of Mario Kart Wii, come in the color black, and include a Wii Racing Wheel.
I have to admit, this is pretty great news. Obviously this price drop is in anticipation for the formal reveal of Project Cafe (the Wii’s successor) at E3 this year, but more than that the Wii has a fantastic library of first party titles as well as some great third party titles that have cult status. Maybe I should do a list of my personal favorite Wii games for people interested in it.
Gears of War 3 Epic and Limited Editions Detailed May 17, 2011
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Epic announced that the highly anticipated Xbox 360 exclusive Gears of War 3 would have two Collector’s Editions in a similar style to Halo Reach. Gears of War 3 will ship with a Limited Edition and Epic Edition. However, now we know exactly what will be in those Collector’s Editions, straight from Epic.
- Limited Edition ($79.99 US)—A must-have for fans who want to celebrate the
culmination of the trilogy, this edition includes:- Octus Award Display Box and Octus Service Medal—Replicas of the honors
bestowed on Adam Fenix, Marcus’s father, for his work on the Hammer of Dawn. - Unlockable Adam Fenix Multiplayer Character—Each Octus Service Medal replica
is engraved with a unique Xbox LIVE code that unlocks Adam Fenix in multiplayer. - Fabric COG Flag—Proud colors that once flew above the House of Sovereigns.
- Personal Effects of Adam Fenix—Includes his “Last Will and Testament,” the
initial Hammer of Dawn schematic, and other Fenix family mementos.
- Octus Award Display Box and Octus Service Medal—Replicas of the honors
- Epic Edition ($149.99 US)—The ultimate collection for hardcore fans who
can’t get enough Gears of War 3, this edition includes:- Collectible Marcus Fenix Statue—The collaborative work of Chris Perna and
the artisans at Triforce, this fine PVC collectible makes an evocative living
room conversation piece for any true Gears fan. - The Art and Design of Gears of War by Tom Bissell—Through unprecedented
access to the Epic Games team, acclaimed author Tom Bissell (Extra Lives) gives
readers an incisive behind-the-scenes glimpse into one of the most celebrated
sagas in video game history with 96 pages of interviews, photos, concept
artwork, and more. - The Gears of War 3 Limited Edition—Nuf said!
- Infected Omen Weapon Pack — Custom multiplayer skins for the game’s five
starting weapons; Lancer, Retro Lancer, Hammerburst, Sawed-off Shotgun, and
Gnasher Shotgun.
- Collectible Marcus Fenix Statue—The collaborative work of Chris Perna and
I am a huge fan of Collector’s Editions but I have to admit I realy don’t like this growing trend of EXCEPTIONALLY expensive releases. Fortunatly this has been tempered with only one or two of these released a year, but this year has major console releases with the top properties across the board getting releases, my wallet is going to kill me. Why oh why does it have to be so awesome?
Gears of War 3 will release September, 2011 exclusive to the Xbox 360.
Duke Nukem Forever Demo Release Date May 17, 2011
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Ladies and Gentelmen, Randy Pitchford.
Duke Nukem Forever demo coming June 3rd on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 only to First Access Club Members. If you want to become a First Access Club Member, buy the Game of the Year Edition of Borderlands or preorder Duke Nukem Forever at GameStop.
Duke Nukem Forever is coming June 14th, 2011 for PC, Xbox 360 and PS3.
InFamous 2 Beta Takes a Swipe at the 360 May 15, 2011
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I just started beta testing the inFamous 2 UGC and so far have been quite impressed by the comprehensive access to the game testers are being given right now.
When cruising around the city I happen to catch this storefront.
inFamous 2 Story Trailer May 15, 2011
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Now that the Playstation Network is coming back online I thought I’d cover next month’s PS3 exclusive release inFamous 2.
The story of inFamous is inspired by the classic super hero staples. A realistic hero getting powers out of sheer coincidence and how the world around him treats him as a terrorist or as a savior. You have an entire city to roam around in. You can choose to do good deeds and become the city’s hero or selfish deeds and make the citzens hate you.
In this new game, you’re entering a whole new city in search of a way to enhance your powers in order to defeat this super powerful foe hinted upon at the end of the first game. Here, take a look for yourself.
I got in on the game’s User Generated Content beta, but due to the network being down, was unable to shoot anything from it and post it online. The toolset looks really in depth for modders to just have a blast with, enabling you to create missions, download new missions, and alter downloadable missions all you want. Here’s a quick runthrough of that.
I have seen a more in-depth video about the feature online, but unfortunatly Sony hasn’t yet posted it to their YouTube Channel. If I can find a YouTube embed of it, I’ll make sure to link that.
This feature is what the current beta is testing. The beta started around a day before the PSN went down, and I have no idea if they extended the time for the beta, but rest assured if I can get the beta running, I’ll capture some footage of it.
inFamous 2 is coming June 7th, 2011 exclusive to the Playstation 3.
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