Read a large chunk from "Avatar: The Promise" Right now!

Avatar fans may or not be aware, but Dark Horse is publishing a 3-part graphic novel trilogy in 2012 set in the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender. It literally picks up right were the series left off (and, in fact, there is some crossover between the comic and the last scenes of the show that puts them in context) and will focus on Aang and Zuko's efforts to rebuild the world. Essentially, it'll bridge the gap between the orignal series and Korra. Quite a large chunk of the first volume (available January 25th) was leaked online and can be read here. All I have to say is holy shit, it's amazing! No, really. It's just what I wanted. Considering the first volume is 80 pages, we're potentially looking at a 240 page epic here! And I'd like to know, is it just me or does anyone else read the dialog in the characters' voices? You can check out a behind the scenes video about the making of the book after the break.

Teen Titans, GO!

I posted about this yesterday on the Google+ page, but I think it bears repeating: Teen Titans is returning to television! Well, sort of. It'll be back as an animated short series to air during the Cartoon Network's new DC Nation block in 2012. It's in  more or less the same style, with the same voice cast, but the characters are chibi. Unfortunately, the only footage I can find was uploaded to Facebook and I can't embed the video here. But you can check it out at this page. Who else is super excited?

Celebrate the Zelda 25th Anniversary with 25YEARLEGEND

Of all the awesome Zelda tribute stuff I've seen for the series anniversary, I have to admit that 25YEARLEGEND is probably the best. Sponsored by OC Remix, the album contains arrangements by Indie game composers spanning the entire history of the Zelda series. It's awesome in that it's not what I was expecting at all. You should go grab yourself a copy and get to listening!

All of Tamriel is (maybe) in Skyrim

So there's this Finnish blogger by the name of Jesse who broke through the invisible wall connecting Skyrim to Morrowind. Guess what he found. The whole province of Morrowind. And then from Morrowind he traveled to Cyrodiil. Yes, it seems very probable that the entire land of Tamriel has been programmed into the game. But why? That certainly is the question. Popular speculation is either for DLC or modders, since many modders often recreate other provinces in TES anyway. These areas are't completely accurate or to scale, at least in relation to their respective games. There could be several reasons for this. They could be in there to provide some context of the for the 3D map, but that seems unlikely to me. There's just too much land created here, even if it isn't entirely accurate. My theory is that, taking place 200 years after Oblivion, the landscape could have changed somewhat. For example:

Oblivion above. Skyrim below.

I imagine that if that lake started to dry up, you might get something like the Skyrim version. No, there's definitely a reason for the existence of these landmasses that related to the gameplay. I mean, the path that leads to Morrowind is blocked by a wall, but that wall has an open walkway. Bethesda stated before that there would be less DLC for Skyrim, but that it would be more substantial. Perhaps a trip to Morrowind or the Imperial City is in order?

Halo miniseries incoming!

Well, it's a fan series, of course, but it looks to be lovingly crafted. Basically, it'll end up being awesome like most fan series and unlike the stuff Hollywood craps out. The series is based on the short story "Dirt" by Tobias Buckell and will premier in January.

A Week of Halo!

What a time to relaunch, eh? Today is Halo's 10th birthday and to celebrate I've got a whole week of awesome Halo features culminating in the review of Halo Anniversary! Come to think of it, it's also the 10th anniversary of Xbox too. Lots of memories to relive. Stay tuned for awesomeness.

Holy crap we're back!

Yes, that's right. After going through two websites I've decided that Installation 04 is my true home. So it's back in business! Expect an influx of content coming up, whether it's just me or a team of great people. In retrospect, I probably shouldn't have deleted the Facebook page.

Oh, and there's going to be a bit of maintenance going on for the next week at least.

The Players Republic has launched!

I made that logo myself!

The Players Republic is officially live! You should go check it out right now! What does that mean for this blog? Less updates, I guess. It's not gone forever but I'm not quite sure what its purpose will be in the future. In any case, go visit the new site. Bookmark it even! Become a fan on Facebook! Follow it on Twitter! You are about to become a part of something big. Let's do this!

The End (UPDATED!)

This, the 780th post, will be this blog's last. For you see, we moved on, grown up, and transformed into something new. Twinfinite. If you somehow frequent this blog, or just now stumbled across it, please redirect yourself there.

See you on the other side.

/Fuzunga

Activison is at it again...

This man is the CEO, president, and director of Activision. He just looks like a douche, doesn't he?

You know when a story involves Activision it's not going to turn out well. I hope you guys weren't fond of Infinity Ward...

Activision has announced the closure of Infinity Ward. While it's not terribly surprising, it's still pretty sad. Apparently the company became an "expensive burden" after Jason West and Vince Zampella were fired and 46 staff members subsequently quit. Evidently, that hasn't had a great effect on team morale. In fact, Modern Warfare 3 was being developed by three studios prior to today's announcement. The crippled Infinity Ward was working with Activision's new CoD-centric studio Sledgehammer to develop the campaign, while Raven Software (of Quake 4, Singularity, and Wolfenstein fame) developed the multiplayer component. Activision, however, now finds it more profitable to let Infinity Ward go. Sledgehammer will be taking over the bulk of development on the new title, though it is currently unconfirmed whether the current IW staff will be merged into Sledgehammer, assigned to other Activision studios, or simply fired all together.

The fall of Infinity Ward is a pretty sad tale. The studio will close its doors a week from today. You can read the press release on Activision's website.