Crisis averted - Thanks Internet!

And just like that, Sony joins Microsoft in pulling a 180 thanks to the entire Internet kicking up a stink.

Now just wait until they remove all offline features from the game :D Or is that just way too cynical?

Sony announces DRIVECLUB PS+ Edition; Is Evil Sony back?

Well that didn't take long now did it? After their massive smackdown of Microsoft and Xbox One at the last E3 Conference, it looks like Evil, $600 PS3 get-a-second-job Sony is slowly starting to creep back.

Now that DRIVECLUB is finally back from the dead, Sony has started building the hype and releasing information leading up to the October 8th release date. Check out the first info dump trailer below.


Hidden in among all the nice fluffy stuff like getting a whole bunch of content for free, and being able to get a Platinum trophy in the PS+ edition, is the little chestnut which has lit the flame of the Internet:

"If you’re an active PlayStation Plus subscriber and have been playing the PlayStation Plus Edition, but decide you want the full DRIVECLUB experience, you can purchase a one-time upgrade for €49.99/$49.99/£42.99. This will give you access to all five locations, 55 tracks, 50 cars and all 50 tour events, as long as your PlayStation Plus subscription remains active."

What. The. Fuck?

Is this the same champion of the people Sony which emerged at the last E3?

The Playstation Plus service has been built on offering gamers value for money through free and discounted content. The "free" content has always been clearly only "free" while the subscription remained active. This was known and accepted. What was also always clear and known, and explicitly defined by Sony was that any content purchased with a PS+ discount was yours to keep regardless of subscription status. 

This is a game changer.

Now various Internet zones, NeoGAF, Reddit, even the Playstation Blog have blown up. But Sony seems to be sticking firm. Sure, we got this Tweet

but to me this is like Chief Wiggum typing it up on his imaginary typewriter. What the fuck is there to clarify? Who exactly is he going to speak to? This isn't some accident or mis-communication. This is the plan, clear and simple, right there in black and white. Sure you can buy the full physical copy, but this seems sneaky, manipulative and downright shady.

You just knew Sony had to turn the screw at some point. You thought you were going to keep getting Tomb Raiders and Borderlands and Bioshocks free forever? Sony gots to get paid yo. Looks like it didn't take long for Sony to go from David to Goliath.

Check it out - New Slayer track!

Metal legends Slayer debut their first recording in five years. This is in addition to announcing they have signed with Nuclear Blast Records. 

You can get a free copy of the track directly from Slayer @ http://www.slayer.net/au/implode or check it out here in the meantime.

No Hanneman, no Lombardo, Paul Bostaph back in and Gary Holt filling in. Thoughts?

A film you should see

Title: Out of the Furnace (2013)
Director: Scott Cooper
Writers: Brad Ingelsby, Scott Cooper
Starring: Christian Bale, Casey Affleck, Willem Defoe, Woody Harrelson, Sam Shepard, Zoe Saldana, Forest Whitaker
Running Time: 116 min
 

Out of the Furnace may at first appear to be a crime drama set in the underbelly of a small American town, in the vein of classics such as No Country for Old Men, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead or Fargo. And it is that. And it's a very good film in this genre. But it's also a timely and poignant look at the state of America as it is today.

Christian Bale plays Russell Baze, a factory worker at the town mill, struggling to make ends meet but seemingly content with his lot in life, which includes his girlfriend, played by Zoe Saldana. His brother, Casey Affleck, is an army vet, returned from Iraq and gambling money he borrows from local crime shark John Petty, played by Willem Defoe. 

Russell's life quickly gets turned upside down. Fast forward a few years, and he is out of prison, his girlfriend has left him for the local sheriff, Forest Whitaker, and his brother is on the road to self destruction. Seemingly at the crossroads, his brother begins illegal streetfighting to make money, and engages Willem Defoe to organise a fight with a crime gang higher up the food chain, led by Woody Harrelson. When his brother goes missing, Russell Baze will stop at nothing to find him.

At face value this is a great noir crime-drama. The acting is superb, as you would expect from a stellar cast such as this. Woody Harrelson is particularly menacing as a psychotic crime/drug lord. But what gives this film that extra weight is the current climate that America finds itself in. This is a slice of life of millions of Americans today. Casey Affleck's portrayal of an Iraq War army vet is haunting. When Christian Bale mentions to him there is no shame in working for a living, he explodes. "I've given my life for this country. What has it done for me?" He has faced the horrors of war, sacrificed his all for his country, only to find nothing waiting for him when he returned. He is alone, broke, with no hope and no prospects.

Christian Bale's character seemingly accepts his lot in life. His father is dying, but he has a job and a girlfriend. However one mistake and the system strips everything from him. Now he has nothing. His dad dies while he is in prison. His girlfriend leaves him while he is in prison. He manages to get his old job back, but word is the factory will soon close, it's cheaper to import steel from China. As he drinks at the bar, the TV shows a politician shouting that it's time to elect Obama, for the country to change. The world on the screen is a million miles from the reality these people live in. 

Out of the Furnace is not a political film. The points are made subtly, and can be ignored as just scene setting, which is perfectly fine. It's a great crime/drama with a great story and wonderful acting. However, when taken as a whole it is a much richer experience. The constant feeling of foreboding in the atmosphere, the bleakness of the setting, the melancholy of the characters. This is a story of America. This is a quite brilliant movie.

Check out Bruce Timm's kick ass tribute for Batman's 75th anniversary

Bruce Timm, Kevin Conroy and Batman, back together again! The best 3 minutes of your day today I guarantee.