Ah Mr. Bubbles. From Subject Delta to your everyday Bouncers and Rosies, Rapture's diving suit-clad denizens are a source of mystery.
Of course, for many, the main mystery may be why you've got a diving helmet on your shirt. Celebrate your Bioshock Infinite Special Edition pre-order with this mysterious, minimalist tee or hoodie.
Minimalist Big Daddy Helmet T-Shirt
SpreadShirt - $22.40 + Shipping. (Brown not your thing? The Minimalist Big Daddy comes in 18 other colors.)
An ingenious user has delved deep into the source code for Skyrim patch 1.8, discovering clues about the next Skyrim expansion.
Bethesda forum user Mardoxx (via Eurogamer) asserts that the next piece of DLC will be titled Dragonborn (Bethesda trademarked the name back in September) and will be set on the island of Solstheim, which lies to the North East of Skyrim. Perhaps most tantalising of all his assertions is the possibility of rising dragons. This could be a scripted event, of course – but still, it's FLYING A DRAGON!
Furthermore, Mardoxx states that main locations will include Raven Rock, Miraak Temple, Castle Karstaag and Telvanni Tower. He or she even claims to have discovered what they believe to be new HUD compass markers showing the new locations:
Clockwise from the top: Telvanni Tower, Solstheim, Raven Rock, Castle Karstaag, Standing Stones, To Skyrim, Miraak Temple.
And here's some of that source code (if that's your sort of thing) listing the new armour types said to be contained in the DLC. You'll also notice that it confirms the name of the expansion as 'Dragonborn'.
Apparently the DLC will let you cast spells on mounts, and contain new creatures and dwemer objects but "they're not that interesting", according to Mardoxx. No information has yet been released concerning future Skyrim DLC.
For all your Elder Scrolls V needs consult IGN's Skyrim Wiki.
Daniel is IGN's UK Staff Writer, and you can be part of the world's worst cult by following him on IGN and Twitter (or not).
A new report suggests that Vivendi is still interested in selling its majority stake in Activision Blizzard. According to CVG, a credible source says the sale "absolutely remains under consideration" and that Vivendi is exploring its options.
CVG also reports that negotiations between Vivendi and Microsoft, who was once considered as a buyer for Activision Blizzard, “have not advanced,” while Sony “immediately ruled out” the idea of a purchase.
Vivendi owns a 61% stake in Activision Blizzard, which it acquired in 2008. Activision Blizzard’s value is currently estimated at $13.4 billion, making Vivendi’s stake worth approximately $8 billion. Due to Vivendi’s current debt, it’s been considering a sale since early June, but was later said to be finding “little enthusiasm” from buyers including Microsoft, Disney, Tencent and Nexon due to the massive amount of cash required to make the purchase.
Later reports suggested that Activision could partner with investors to buy itself back from Vivendi. Activision has only publicly commented on the sale during its second quarter 2012 earnings call last month, when CEO Bobby Kotick said “While we're unable to comment on Vivendi's behalf, we continue to remain focused on strong execution, the delivery of great games and the provision of superior shareholder returns as we have for over 20 years. Our strategy has served us very well in the past and will position us very well for the future.”
With every insider source, industry bigwig and nerdy blog suggesting that James Gunn is in the lasergun-blasting sights to direct Marvel Studio's next mega-movie franchise 'Guardians of the Galaxy', it's a fair presumption that many of you are questioning who he even is.
Ignore the erroneous and credibility-evaporating double whammy on his cinematic CV though (Scooby-Doo and - zoinks! - Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed), and there are more than enough reasons to start getting excited.
Remember - Kenneth Branagh, Jon Favreau and even Joss Whedon were controversial choices when they were picked. And look how nerdgasmically well they turned out.
The Guardians of the Galaxy have faced Blackbolt, the Phalanx, Blastaar and even Thanos (the purple scrotum-chinned one from The Avengers post-credits cameo), but their biggest challenge will be winning over the popcorn-munching masses.
So rather than spend time focusing on broadening their appeal, choosing a fanboy who's edged into the mainstream to lead the charge could cover all the bases.
Slither and Dawn of the Dead (which he directed and wrote respectively) tick both 'black comedy' and 'fantastical horror' boxes, Tromeo and Juliet and Lollipop Chainsaw show he knows a thing or two about subject matter that's weirdly, wonderfully nuts, and The Specials and Super prove his affection for (and ability to subtly mock) the superhero/comic genre.
Add to that the fact that he's long-time friends with Marvel uber-mascot Joss Whedon (one of Gunn's first ever jobs was co-writing a TV pilot for Whedon), and a long running, personal love affair with comic books, and it's fair to say that he's one of the few directors working today who can truly 'get' a tale involving psychic pooches, monosyllabic talking trees, killer anthropomorphic raccoons, and space-spanning tales of life, death and everything in between.
He'll Assemble the Right Cast
With The Avengers now sitting proudly above every Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Transformers and Pirates of the Caribbean as the third biggest movie ever made, Marvel's in the position to choose a cast of their dreams.
But the Guardians of the Galaxy have never been a team comprised of flashy A-Listers - their inherent appeal comes from the fact that while they may have universe-imploding powers, even a fraction of the die-hardiest comics fans could name them all without a quick flick through their Marvel Encyclopedia.
Seeing a Jolie/Pitt/Depp amidst the line-up would not only be distracting, it'd miss the whole point of the team (though we wouldn't mind seeing any of these picks in the Rocket Raccoon role).
Thankfully, Gunn has experience assembling indie stars with just the level of star power to entertain the fanboys and dazzle the newbies. From Ellen Page, Kevin Bacon, and Rainn Wilson in Super, to Elizabeth Banks and Nathan Fillion in Slither, Gunn's proven he knows how to straddle that line.
And while we know Nathan Fillion gets his name thrown into the fanboy hat at every new movie announcement (*internal monologue override* - BECAUSE HE'S AWESOME), we genuinely can't think of anyone better for Star-Lord - the sarcastic, witty and eternally out-of-his-depth everyman who's the heart of the team.
Throw in prior form with Gunn in Slither and Super, and the aforementioned relationship with Fillion-manwife Joss Whedon, and this is one time where we're actively hoping for a bit of nerdy nepotism.
He Has Prior With Genre Smorgasbords
Not since the Rom-Zom-Com has a movie so potentially screwed with Netflix's admin department. Part sci-fi, part space-opera, part-drama, part-horror and part-comedy, the latest Guardians of the Galaxy comic incarnation is a masterclass in deftly balanced storytelling - and the film looks to be following suit.
The concept art shows a version of the modern intergalactic gang ready to rock, and one guaranteed to hit some kaleidoscopic story beats. There's Drax the Destroyer (a very serious and ruthlessly vicious warrior), Groot (an inadvertently comedic tree giant), Gamora ('as deadly as she is sexy' alien killer), Rocket Raccoon (Han Solo meets an Ewok by way of an enormous spacegun), and Star-Lord (a heroic albeit flawed, superpower-imbued human).
Not only will the right director have to juggle all those wildly differing personality types and group dynamics, but they'll have to introduce Marvel's entire galactic universe, along with a whole cast of practically unknown characters - and keep it relatable to audiences throughout.
Gunn seems perfect, having played with hyper-violence, black comedy and satirical superheroing in Super, and out-of-this-world ridiculousness and surprisingly affecting character drama in Slither and Dawn of the Dead.
He'll Take (Batsh*t-crazy) Risks
Whether you're a fan of his work or not, it's hard to deny Gunn is one to put his balls on the line in the name of a creative punt.
While many loved Super for its mad-as-a-bag-of-cats protagonist, and po-faced poke at Hollywood's genre darling, there were just as many who weren't too keen on a superhero flick boasting a mentally ill hero who brains perps into comas with a pipe wrench, or a sexually deranged sidekick who rapes her costumed mentor.
It's also a brave (some would say insane) man who steps up to remake one of the most beloved, iconic horror movies of all time, and while 2004's Dawn of the Dead wasn't perfect, it was far, far better than any could have expected.
And Lollipop Chainsaw? We can't see Shigeru Miyamoto following up his 252nd Mario with a game about a zombie-murdering, chainsaw-wielding, erotically suggestive cheerleader anytime soon.
While the quality and success of his work has been variable, there's been one constant - an unfailing drive to embrace nutso, creative risks in their gloriously deranged entirety.
And when you're talking about one of Marvel's most surreal teams ever, you need someone who's as uncompromising as they are a little crazy.
Ouya's Kickstarter funding campaign closed earlier this morning, with the project successfully having received $8,596,475 worth of funding from 63,416 backers.
The open source console's quest for funding launched back on July 10 with a funding goal of $950,000. Within seven hours it smashed through this target to have the most successful Kickstarter launch day ever.
“
It took us seven months to raise a little bit of investment from generous friends and family, and we raised the rest on Kickstarter in seven hours. We are just floored.
Speaking to IGN at the time, Ouya founder and CEO Julie Urhman said, "It took us seven months to raise a little bit of investment from generous friends and family, and we raised the rest on Kickstarter in seven hours. We are just floored.
"The next 29 days are about raising the bar: how much can we change things? We're going to hang on tight for the ride!"
While the Kickstarter may be over, a number of developments in the last two weeks suggests that Ouya's wild ride isn't over yet. We told you last week that Square Enix became the first major published to support the console by releasing Final Fantasy III as a launch title, while also promising to provide more content in the future.
Then we found out that cloud gaming service OnLive would be available on Ouya from launch, alongside Vevo content, the XBMC media player and digital radio service TuneIn. Yesterday, Namco Bandai revealed it is in "active discussions" to become the second major publisher to support the console, which would bring Pac-Man, Galaga, Ridge Racer, and Tekken to the new platform.
Ouya is expected to release in March 2013, so expect even more news and partnerships to materialise before then; just yesterday we discovered the console will support four controllers.
The first Ouya exclusive title, a prequel to Robert Bowling’s Human Element, is currently in development.
Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Editorial Assistant. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on IGN and on Twitter.
A retail source close to Siliconera has claimed that something called the God of War: Saga Collection is in the works. There's already been a God of War Collection (containing the first two games in the series) and a God of War Collection: Volume 2 (collecting PSP titles Chains of Olympus and Ghosts of Sparta). So is this perhaps a bundle of both collections, with possibly God of War III thrown in?
Well, it's all speculation at this point. But with God of War: Ascension slated for release on March 12, 2013, it would make sense for Sony to release the entire collection as a refresher for newcomers to the series.
According to the source the Saga Collection will be released sometime late in August. Can we expect an announcement at this year's Gamescom? Stay tuned to IGN for updates.
Daniel is IGN's UK Games Writer. You can be part of the world's worst cult by following him on IGN and Twitter.
