Arcade Sushi editor-in-chief Luke Brown is an experienced video game journalist who has contributed to Official Xbox Magazine and Games Radar. As ComicsAlliance's senior editor, he spends most of his time dishing on the latest action figures, collectibles, and gaming trends.
Luke Brown
Hot Toys’ Star Wars: Rogue One Figures Are K-2SO Hot Right Now
As expected, K-2SO was indeed announced as the next figure in the Hot Toys Star Wars: Rogue One collection. The former Imperial droid now joins several types of Stormtroopers and Deathtroopers, Jyn Erso and Chirrut Imwe, in the rapidly expanding line, which will only continue to grow in the coming weeks and months. We already know there are several other human characters planned, as well as some more Empire forces, but we're getting ahead of ourselves. Right now the focus should be on K-2SO, who will hope to join the short list of memorable droids in Star Wars movies.
Madden NFL 17 Review (PlayStation 4)
Now in the third year of the newest console generation, Madden NFL 17 finds itself served well by the combined efforts of the past as well as a number of great small improvements.
Best Cosplay Ever: Star Wars Celebration Europe (Day Two)
The first day of Star Wars Celebration Europe was chock full of incredible people decked out in fantastic costumes, but the cosplay contest held late opening night was a sight to behold. More than two dozen entrants dazzled the crowd and judges with intricate costumes for characters both beloved by all and some known to but a few at first glance. The judges certainly didn't have an easy night, but out in the crowd, it was pure spectacle that we could just enjoy. But the cosplay goodness didn't stop there. If you thought day one was full of amazing handiwork, the folks we encountered on day two upped the ante tremendously.
From the original saga, to The Force Awakens, to the animated shows, comics and beyond, these are the best Star Wars cosplays from day two of Star Wars Celebration.
Best Cosplay Ever: Star Wars Celebration Europe (Day One)
This year's Star Wars Celebration isn't taking place in a galaxy far, far away, but for those of us traveling around the world to be there, it sure feels like it. That didn't stop some of the most devoted fans in the universe from dressing to the nines for the opening day of the annual event. One of the great things about Star Wars is how it's inspired so many fans to interpret all the great characters we know and love with their own style, or in the case of a number of clever folks, creating all-new personas set in this universe.
From the original saga, to The Force Awakens, to the animated shows, comics and beyond, these are the best Star Wars cosplays from day one of Star Wars Celebration.
Spider-Man Goes Exclusive With PlayStation Thanks to Insomniac Games
Sony's PlayStation press conference at E3 last night was filled with a number of jaw-dropping reveals and announcements for its original licenses. However for me, one third-party partnership stole the entire show. It's been a long time since we've had a Spider-Man video game we could get excited about, but with Insomniac developing an all-new action game exclusively for the PlayStation 4, it's time to get excited again.
With a laundry list of credits that include industry legends like Ratchet and Clank, Sly Cooper and most recently, Sunset Overdrive, a developer as qualified as Insomniac Games is taking the reins on ol' webhead should get your spider-sense tingling. Just look at that trailer. It's got everything you could possibly want from a Spider-Man game all wrapped into one nice little package. What's more, according to Insomniac, that's not a rendered trailer; that's the game.
Lego Dimensions Brings Teen Titans, Harry Potter, Goonies, Adventure Time, and Literally Everyone Else in the Universe Together for Year Two
If you thought the first year of Lego Dimensions brought together more characters and franchises than you thought humanly possible, wait until you get a load of what TT Games has in store for 2016. The first official trailer for Lego Dimensions: Year Two (my titling, not theirs) arrived today and with it came a wealth of unexpected surprises. Yes, Batman, Gandalf and Wyldstyle are back again, but the portal has opened in new worlds featuring Harry Potter, Teen Titans Go!, Adventure Time, the A-Team, Goonies, Gremlins, the Powerpuff Girls and like a bajillion others. Lego is not playing around.
What's more, every single new set is 100% compatible with everything that's already been released. You know what that means? You can have BA Baracus drive the Mystery Machine. You can have the Joker and Voldemort fight over who has a pastier complexion. You can have Beast Boy and Mowgli take down Beetlejuice. Dogs and cats living together; mass hysteria!
Providing Role Models For Young Girls Could Make DC Super Hero Girls a Billion-Dollar Brand
"We think DC Super Hero Girls can be bigger than a $1 billion brand."
I want to let that sink in for a second. DC Entertainment, Warner Bros. Consumer Products and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment president Diane Nelson believes that strongly in DC Super Hero Girls. The only other current billion dollar brands in the dolls/action figure arena? Barbie and Disney Princesses.
For years, all we've heard from major toy makers, including DC's own partners at Mattel, is that girls don't buy toys, and they especially don't buy toys you'd consider to be action figures. While the truths of that matter have been relentlessly shattered over the past few years, particularly with regard to the likes of Marvel and Star Wars toys, there are still very few companies willing to go out on that ledge and buck outdated stereotypes. Fortunately, Diane Nelson is just as tired of those ill-conceived notions as the rest of us.
‘Civil War’ Spider-Man Gets His First Figure This Summer in Marvel Legends 3-Pack
If you somehow have been living on a derelict space station that only just crashed back down on Earth and you missed out on the months of hype for Captain America: Civil War, I guess it's a little late for a Spider-Man spoiler warning. To be fair, even Marvel couldn't help but spill the beans on the webhead's arrival in the Marvel Cinematic Universe by showing him off in trailers and images well before the film hit theaters. Oddly though, while there is plenty of Captain America and Iron Man merchandise to be found from the new film, there's nary a Spider-Man figure to be seen. That changes this summer.
To Infinity No More: Disney Shuts Down Disney Infinity, Closes Avalanche Software
After three games, more than a dozen play sets and about 100 different figures, Disney Infinity is coming to an abrupt end. Disney announced the shuttering of the toys-to-life video game franchise on an earnings call this afternoon, where it also revealed it would exit the console publishing business again. The news came as a bit of a surprise, with Disney citing the lack of growth in the toys-to-life arena coupled with increases in development for the Infinity brand as the root causes.
Disney still plans on releasing the final two previously announced add-ons for Alice: Through the Looking Glass and Finding Dory, but once the Pixar-based play set and figures arrive in June, there will be no more Infinity to look forward to.
Spider-Man Goes Samurai With Tamashii Nations’ Manga Realization Line
Over the past year or so, Tamashii Nations' Movie Realization series for Star Wars stormed onto shelves and became one of the most sought-after lines in the collecting community. While the standard Star Wars figures will always suffice, Tamashii's bold interpretations took the brand back to its own inspirations, and gave us some of the most unique Star Wars toys ever. Now the Japanese company is turning its eye to comics, and putting heroes like Spider-Man through the same feudal era lens.
20 Years Later, Joe Jusko Returns to Paint a New Set of Marvel Masterpieces
In 1992, Skybox teamed with Marvel and painter Joe Jusko to release what would become one of the most revered and sought-after trading card sets of the era. While Marvel had been in the trading card game already, the Marvel Universe series was steeped heavily in comic art and wore its sports-style influences on its sleeve. With Marvel Masterworks, the game was changed completely. Instead of cards for Spider-Man that offered stats and quips, we were treated to museum quality paintings that captured the power and majesty of heroes and villains alike. The Marvel Masterpieces series would see a number of releases over the years, including sets done by the Hildebrandt brothers and Boris Vallejo and Julie Bell, but it was the original set, painted entirely by Joe Jusko that ignited it all.
This year, Joe Jusko and the Marvel Masterpieces card series return after a long layoff with 100 all-new paintings turned into premium quality cards for this momentous release. It's been a long time, but with the limited preview art that's out there, the wait looks to have been worth it.
There’s a Very Slim Chance You’ll Survive the New Ghostbusters Video Game
If you had told me the new Ghostbusters movie would lead to a new four-player, co-op, isometric RPG shooter meant to tie into the film's release, I probably would have given a speech much like the OG GBs gave to the mayor of New York in the original film. Rumors of a Ghostbusters game have been flying around since the updated feature was announced, but this week Activision confirmed plans to support the Paul Feig film with an original game that takes place after the events of 2016's Ghostbusters. Which is interesting considering the game comes out before the movie hits theaters.
As if enough Ghostbusters media and merchandise branded with that simple name wasn't confusing enough already, the game too will rely on just the default team name coined by the original paranormal investigators back in 1984. No real prior knowledge of the franchise will be necessary though, as Ghostbusters will feature an entirely new cast of characters, different from the new cast of characters in the movie, which are all different from the comics and cartoons based on the first Ghostbusters. Still with me?