Remember recently when everyone was up in arms about the newest installment in Harry Potter’s world, the stage playHarry Potter and the Cursed Child, being made into a film?
Warner Bros. smacked that down pretty quick, officially denying the rumor. It looks like we’ll have to wait quite a while for the play to be adapted for the big screen–if iteverhappens.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Childwasn’t written by J.K. Rowling, the author who penned not only the original seven book series, but also a few companion guides and add-ons that have also been bestsellers. Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, worked with Rowling to write the play based off of her Harry Potter creation which includes some of the original characters, as it takes place 19 years after Book 7 (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows).
The play only opened July 31st of this year, barely a month ago, and theatre-goers have been fighting for tickets to see it. It will surely be enjoying quite the long run at the Palace Theatre in London, as there will be no shortage of Harry Potter and theatre fans alike scrambling to see the play–if only to see how the production handles the magical elements that are a part of the script. (For example, how do you show Transifiguration onstage?! That has to be bonkers to see in person!)
Some have said developing a film adaptation ofCursed Childwould result in a low turn-out for the play, which could be one reason why the project isn’t happening. Not to mention the fact that the stage play will most likely expand worldwide once it gets a good run in London. You also have to remember that J.K. Rowling is not the official author of the play. She is a co-creator, which means splitting royalties would be more complicated with 3 creators in the mix.
But don’t fret, disappointed fans of The Boy Who Lived! Warner Bros. has its hands full withFantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, a film based on J.K. Rowling’s companion book to the Harry Potter series, which she wrote for charity a few years ago. The book is a short one, but there are rumors thatFantastic Beastswill be the first film in a trilogy. We shall see when the movie starring Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything) and Colin Farrell (In Bruges) is released in theaters on November 18th.
Tickets for the stage playHarry Potter and the Cursed Childare on sale nowhere. But if you can’t take a quick jot over to London to see the play in person, you can always buy the script in your nearest bookstore or online!
Last week Roni, Rachel, Jenine, and I had the privilege of interviewing PJ Haarsma to get the inside-scoop on Con Man the Game (If you missed Nerds R Us with PJ, check it out here). I knew immediately that I would want to play this game based upon his description alone. I downloaded the game the morning it was released and I was not disappointed!
Con Man Game Synopsis
In Con Man the Game, you play as the con owner. Your con starts out very small and Karen (Felicia Day) helps you to learn the ropes. The tutorials make it very easy to learn how everything in the game works. Basically if you have ever played a Farmville type game, you should have no problem with this game.
Joss Whedon is maintenance & Kevin Smith is a security guard…what could possibly go wrong?
Con Man also has elements that remind me of The Sims in that you have to pay attention to the needs and happiness level of your con patrons. If they complain that there aren’t enough bathrooms, you need to build more bathrooms! If they are leaving to go get something to eat, you best be putting in some eatery for them! If you feel like you have enough bathrooms, put some more in! (#BathroomCon)
Another element to the game is the battle aspect. Periodically, your con will be invaded by aliens. You do not have to battle the aliens if you so choose, but they will cause some damage to your con which you will have to either repair quickly using Comix, or let it repair itself over time.
However, the battles are pretty fun and very easy. There are Superfans on the con floor which are players in cosplay. These Superfans will battle against the aliens to defend the con. The tutorial does a very good job of explaining how to get through the battles.
Game Play
Check out my game play of Con Man below:
Pros:
Very easy to learn how to play
Many references to geek culture and icons
Con stereotypes (con crud) are done in a fun, tasteful way
Addicting AF!
Nolan North’s alien voices
Ability to record gameplay including video from front facing camera
It’s FREE!
Cons:
I wish it was easier to heal Superfans after a rough battle
There is not currently a PC version
I wish it was easier to level up your Superfans (you can only do this by collecting buttons you can get from con bags)
I actually had a hard time coming up with any cons for this game, and even those I listed do not take away from my enjoyment of this game. If you want to know how addicting it is, I reached level 13 within the first day of playing it!
If you have not done so already, download Con Man the Game today!
If you love to game on your PC, you soon figure out you’re limited in what you can do. There are systems out there that allow you to stream games to your device, but you need to be close to your computer. What if someone was to make a portable device that would allow you to run some of the high-end games? You’re in luck! Portable Solutions has the answer to your problems in their Portable Gaming System. I caught up with the head of the team to learn more.
1) Please introduce yourself.
My name is Nadir Mursalov and I’m the creator of the PGS project and the head of our PGS Lab Team.
2) What made you make the PGS?
It all started from my dream: to give people, including gamers, a universal gadget which would be a mix of portable gaming console capable of running PC games; powerful smartphone for daily use; and a portable PC. And it should fit in your pocket. My knowledge and skills in electronics, gadgets, and gaming help me a lot to achieve it. Only the best ideas, opportunities, technologies had been analyzed before the concept of PGS was finally shaped. We can see peoples’ responses to our device. Many people love the idea; they would really like to have such a device. It’s not only about gamers, but also many other gadget users who value features and capabilities provided by such device.
3) Will the PGS be able to run some of the most demanding games out there?
Gaming performance and functionality of our device are sufficient for virtually all PC games ever created. Also, the Android platform deserves our attention: its games are becoming better and better over time.
Of course, due to hardware limitations, we can’t guarantee full compatibility with every PC game, especially the latest and most demanding ones, which will run only in low FPS rate. But we are working on this task. We are going to implement sort of a library of configurations for various games, allowing them to use the device hardware in a more flexible way, leading to optimization of each game. Also, we are going to conduct testing of various games. We accept requests as to which games to test from our community members and, of course, we will provide the results.
We’d like to note the device hardware is powerful enough to be able to run most games which were released for the 7th generation game consoles, providing smooth gaming in HD graphics mode and overall graphic settings higher than medium. So everyone will be able to play many interesting games on our console, including some modern and latest ones.
In addition, all classic, aged PC games ever released will be included in our library.
And of course, we do not neglect emulators, since our device is an open platform. All emulators run perfectly, including the rather demanding PS2 emulator. Moreover, we think our product will be the best solution capable of running the PS2 emulator without glitches.
4) What are the specs of the PGS?
Here you will find detailed tech specs of our device: http://pgslab.com/specs/ Going to the homepage and the blog of our official website, you will find other freshest information.
5) Will you be able to run Windows applications on this device?
PGS will come with two preinstalled operating systems: Windows 10 and Android Marshmallow. Therefore, all applications made for these OSes will be fully supported. In Windows, the only probable limitation we may encounter is highly demanding programs, such as 3D design editors, which need really high performance hardware. As for regular programs for daily use, the device will handle most of them, including office utilities and multimedia playback software. In general, the device will be able to replace your desktop PC for the foregoing purposes.
6) What about accessories such as a keyboard?
As stated before, we don’t put restrictions and limitations on using our device; one is free to use any peripheral devices with PGS. There are several ways of connection: HDMI and Miracast for connecting a monitor, USB and Bluetooth for a keyboard, and mouse and gamepads. PGS uses Bluetooth 4.0, thus supporting all compatible peripherals. Also, you can connect external memory through USB and Wi-Fi. Perhaps we will release some branded accessories, but it’s too early to speak about it now.
7) What are the ports available on the PGS? Will you be able to do HDMI out to play on a bigger screen?
* USB-C Host (microHDMI combo), a combined port enabling to connect peripherals and output image to any monitor or TV with the HDMI input.
* MicroSDXC (up to 512 Gb), MicroSIM port for feature of calling and cellular data transmission.
* 3.5 mm headphone/microphone combo port for connecting headphones, headsets.
8) Will you be able to stream to this device as well as play games on it?
By means of Windows 10 and Android, you can use any existing service for video and audio streaming. Now your favorite services, such as Twitch or Netflix, will always be in your pocket.
Game content streaming will also be available with a wide range of capabilities here as well. When using our portable device, you will be able to stream games by means of Steam In-Home Streaming. Fans and owners of modern game consoles will also benefit from streaming feature. Our device will support streaming from PlayStation 4 and Xbox One; Windows 10 provides such feature.
Also we shouldn’t forget about streaming services such as Nvidia Grid. They are now undergoing rapid development and provide game content after subscription. You can stream games in FullHD and high graphics settings, even such heavyweight games as Witcher 3 or Batman: Arkham City.
9) What about the battery life? Will it be decent?
* Li-Po 6120 mAh in Hardcore version.
* Li-Po 4080 mAh in Lite version.
According to our tests of Hardcore version, such capacity is sufficient to provide five hours of gaming with the second display being switched off. It will be possible to switch the second display off when not using it in order to save power. We think the provided numbers are quite decent, exceeding those of other handheld consoles.
10) When will the PGS be released?
The world release of our device is going to occur at the end of the first quarter of 2017, presumably in March. By that time, we are planning to arrange delivery of the first batches of the device, which were previously pre-ordered. Later on, PGS will be sold on such marketplaces as Amazon and Gearbest. Also a significant part of our plan is selling our device through the largest retailers all over the world.
11) What is the price point on this device?
Currently, we offer pre-orders. The corresponding link is placed on our official website http://pgslab.com.
We are not greedy; we are trying to make the console available for wide audience. However, the prices will become higher once the device enters the retail market. It is mostly due to rising logistics expenses and interest payments to retailers.
So there you have it! A gaming solution where you can take your games on the go without having to lug around a heavy laptop. Will this be everything that Portable Solutions say it is and more? Only time will tell!
BURBANK, CA – (September 1, 2016) – With a record-setting 12 million copies sold this summer, DC Entertainment has set the comic book world on fire since REBIRTH launched in June.
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