New music releases today

Cyberpunk 2077's fictional in-game band, Samurai, will be portrayed by none other than Swedish punk band Refused. CD Projekt Red announced the partnership today, confirming that Refused will write, record, and produce an EP of Samurai's greatest hits.The songs will include tunes inspired by the Cyberpunk 2020 source material, along with brand-new songs that Refused wrote for the game. That's a big deal because Refused haven't released new music since 2015's Freedom album.You can listen to the new Refused song "Chippin' In" through the YouTube embed above. If it sounds familiar, that's because it's the song that played as Keanu Reeves walked onto the stage during Microsoft's E3 2019 briefing; apparently no one noticed it was a new song.Reeves plays the character Johnny Silverhand in Cyberpunk 2077; he's the singer and guitarist for the band Samurai. In June, Reeves cryptically said he wouldn't do any singing in Cyberpunk 2077, and now we know it's because Refused did the music.CD … [Read more...] about Cyberpunk 2077’s In-Game Keanu Reeves Band Will Be Portrayed By Refused

In 2004, Disney Studio Head Michael Eisner made a business call that had devastating creative implications. He announced that the labour-intensive 2D animated cartoon style that had defined the studio's output throughout the 20th Century was no longer financially prudent or culturally relevant. Rather, the company's creative future lay in 3D CGI, the Pixar aesthetic that was both cheaper to create and animate as well as being more current for young audiences.There seemed, to Eisner, to be nothing to lose: he would incur fewer costs, audiences would experience increased happiness. So, in one fell swoop he fired all of the studio's 2D animators and sold off the equipment used to create so many animated classics, from Snow White and the Seven Dwarves to Aladdin. It's a trend that's been echoed by the video game industry since the advent of 3D, with hand-drawn 2D art rarely seen outside of indie games and mobile titles today. The cost of creating and animating 2D assets is exponentially … [Read more...] about Rayman Origins Review

If there's been a sillier silly-season date for major new releases than 18th November 2011, I can't recall it. But, suicidal congestion stupidity aside, it does offer a fascinating snapshot of Nintendo today. On 3DS, Super Mario 3D Land arrives, a flagship title the console is in dire need of, seven months into an unexpectedly sluggish debut year. Meanwhile, Wii receives updates to two of its most successful series: one, a towering 25-year veteran, the other a 20-million-selling mascot menagerie. The Legend Of Zelda: Skyward Sword is seen as the final, definitive realisation of Nintendo's motion-controlled Wii dream, the irony being it's taken until the system is ready for the knacker's yard for faith in the MotionPlus add-on to be justified in a gamers' game. Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games, on the other hand, perfectly symbolises the type of gaming that has come to typify the Wii experience over the past five years: simple, accessible, family-oriented, … [Read more...] about Mario & Sonic at the London Olympic Games Review