TL;DR - The major studios should be encouraged to make more movies like this, and they won't notice without that strong opening weekend. Go fluff up the opening weekend. It's worth the money.

Disclaimer: I did not read the books aside from a book-one imagedump on /co/. For the most part, I came into the theatre without any known spoilers or expectations.

Right off the bat, Universal dives into the Scott Pilgrim vibe with the starting splash screen of the Universal logo and theme being sort of de-made, 8-bitted and chiptuned. To me, that denotes right off that the studio put this movie first, even before themselves. The maker was subservient to the creation.

Overall, it was a very, very well produced and directed movie. There were no slow parts, there were no awkward-to-watch parts. The fight scenes were very smooth yet complex, and did not belie even a hint of wire-fu despite the comic-style physics-defiance.

The effects blended seamlessly with the action, and any video game references were almost more reflexive than "inserted". There were no characters saying "Wow this is just like a video game" and no one started a monologue on how or why this certain thing works. You kill someone, then they turn into money. Neither of those facets are questioned or commented on.

It feels a lot like Zombieland, and manages to feel more polished than even that. It almost, or even does, manage to establish a new movie genre; Arcade.

I have a hard time saying it's "clearly" better than The Dark Knight, Wall-E, or Zombieland, but it's in that group. It won't appeal to everyone, just as those others don't, but it will feel worth a trip or two to the theatres even at twenty bucks a shot. Given its bright, flashy arcade-y stylings, you will want to see it in theatres, and not from a cam-rip on your PC.

E3 is very close... probably a good idea to keep all of the links to one thread.

If you're looking for the best stream to watch the live conferences, www.gametrailers.com will be the best source.

Anyway, I'll start with a few gameplay trailers.

Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World
Dead Space 2
Devil's Third

Gonna make it short and sweet. Keyboard is a 25-key midi keyboard, pro mode introduces harmonies on vocals, a new guitar with 6 strings, and 3 symbals for the drums. Holy Ef.

Link

Ronnie James Dio has passed away at the age of 67 after a battle with stomach cancer.

"I feel really bad for the younger fans of music today as they will never have what our generation had. There is no one to look up to with these future bands. These kids will not have a DIO, a JUDAS PRIEST, a Dean Martin or a BEATLES. Think of what is out there now."

It's a sad day for music.

Link.

Don't you, forget about me.

(Stolen from GoNintendo.)

- All character classes and character art is being completely redone
- more on revealed classes

Prince/Princess - grants party-wide buffs.
Phalanx - High-defense frontline fighter, wields polearms
Monk - Excels at fighting bare-handed, can use chi to heal allies
Shinobi - may have environmental interaction abilities, stealth
Pirate - Excels at fighting groups of enemies, not great at 1-on-1 battles

- partially takes place on the high seas
- mapping function has 23 different icons
- icons feature ocean currents, islands with various sorts of terrain (rocky, mountainous, level, etc.)
- Multiplayer mode allows one to five players to simultaneously explore a patch of ocean

Looks like we'll be mapping out land and sea overworld areas. Should be good!