Tag: History

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Gaming News

A Short History of Batman Video Games

Batman fans are excited about the latest game release, Batman: Arkham VR for PlayStation VR, taking the Caped Crusader into a whole new dimension of gaming. The move to VR is just the latest in a long line of Batman inspired games.

The first Batman video game was released back in 1986; it was a 3D action adventure game where Batman has to save Robin by collecting missing pieces to Batman’s hovercraft that are scattered around the Batcave.

In 1990, Batman was developed for console games, with a game based on Michael Keaton’s Batman, for Nintendo, Sega Genesis and Game Boy.  The Nintendo version of the game had 5 levels, and Batman had to defeat several of his nemeses, with a big showdown at the end against the Joker.

In 1992, the Batman Returns based games were released to all major systems. The game was a definite improvement over the 1990 game, with more levels, more shooting, and more bad guys.

Throughout the next 20 years, it seemed as if new Batman video games were being released every year, as the consoles improved so did the quality of the games. Every new movie brought about a new game, complete with the movie villains and game play that attempted to resemble the plot.

In the early 2000s, there were new innovations to the Batman games. Smartphones were becoming popular and game developers saw a whole new market they could reach. Batman Begins was released for mobile devices in 2005 and players had to try and defeat Falcone. This game was followed up in 2008 by The Lego Batman: The Mobile Game, and many other games coming in quick succession.

In 2009, Rocksteady Studios released the first of what would eventually be three games called the Arkham Series: Arkham Asylum, Arkham City, and Arkham Knight (which we reviewed here). The first two titles received a facelift in Batman: Return to Arkham which not only had the remastered versions but also included all previously released DLC.

Batman games have come a long way since its simple beginnings in the mid 80s and we’re excited to see what fun games the future will bring.

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Science & Technology Video Clips

Iconic Arms: Legendary Weapons of FPS History

Iconic Arms

It’s almost time for the next installment of your favourite shooter. Call of Duty: Inifnite Warfare zips to the zero-gravity war zones in outer space while Battlefield 1 dials it way back to a simpler time in a World War I setting. Many of the armaments used in these games take their cues from real life and if you have an interest in such history, you may like the “Iconic Arms” series by YouTuber Ahoy.

Iconic_Arms_guns

Iconic Arms takes you through the heritage of some of the familiar weapons that you’ve fired in your digital adventures. It’s insightful information that’s even accessible to people with a passing interest in weaponry. Here’s a video on the most ubiquitous assault rifle in the world, so popular that 1 in 5 of the firearms available worldwide is an AK-47.

At the minute, The Iconic Arms series comprises 14 entries including favourites like the Desert Eagle, Beretta 92, MP5, M16, SPAS-12, Uzi, and FAL. Check it out on YouTube.

[via SA Gamer]

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Arty Awesomeness Photoworthy

Colourised History

Reddit is home to a great many areas of interests. Want to see animals without necks? Here to you go. Have a hankering for cute guys with cuddly animals? Lady Boners Gone Cuddly has you covered.

What about adding colour to black-and-white photographs from the 19th and 20th centuries? The digital artists over at the ColorizedHistory subreddit use their eye for colour and reference information to emphasize the embroidery work in Buffalo Bill’s jacket, or the fiery disaster that was the Hindenburg, or the crisp blue uniform of a civil war powder monkey. See a few examples of Colourised History after the jump.

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Awesomeness Entertainment Featured Video Clips

Felix Baumgartner’s Chest-cam Footage Will Make Your Head Spin

It was out of this world. Yesterday Felix Baumgartner, extreme athlete and owner of the some rather large balls, jumped out of a capsule that was lofted to a height of 39,045 metres (or 128,100 feet) above the Earth’s surface. This was Red Bull Stratos at its zenith. At that point, more than 8 million viewers watched the YouTube live stream of Baumgartner free falling into the record books.

He registered world records for the highest manned balloon flight, the longest distance in free fall, and fastest speed of free fall. At 1,342 kilometres per hour (or 834 mph), Baumgartner became the first person in the world to break the sound barrier with his body! Not all the records were broken though. His free fall of 4 minutes and 19 seconds was 17 seconds shy of Joseph Kittinger’s historic jump in 1960.

While recordings of the broadcast are available on YouTube, we’ve not been privy to any of the footage from the cameras attached to his limbs. That will most likely make its way into the documentaries due out in a month. However, it seems an Austrian TV station has gotten hold of some video captured by Baumgartner’s chest pack camera as he plummeted towards the Earth. Watch it below. It’ll make your head spin.

UPDATE: Red Bull has released a video clip that shows views from Baumgartner’s chest-cam and the cameras attached to this thighs.

[via The Verge]

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Arty Music Video Clips

A Wonderful World of Music

You may recall cdza (short for Collective Cadenza) from their three-minute tribute to whistling or their jovial piano rendition of Jay-Z and Kanye West’s song, “Niggas in Paris.”

In their latest video, the group sings “What a Wonderful World” in 16 different music genres, transitioning from Gregorian to metal to disco, and even the accursed dubstep.

[via Goodnet]

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Arty Awesomeness Featured Music Video Clips

The History of Whistling

In their latest three-minute medley, cdza (short for Collective Cadenza) pays tribute to the art of whistling.

While the other band members, Evan Shinners and Michael Thurber, play the keys and strings, Eric Rivera whistles through 26 songs, starting off in early 1914 with Lieutenant F. J. Ricketts’ popular marching tune. Other highlights along the way include Ennio Morricone’s “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”, The Bangles’ 1986 hit “Walk Like An Egyptian”, and Foster The People’s “Pumped Up Kicks”.

Have a listen to the History of Whistling over the past 98 years.

Find the full set list after the jump.

Continue reading “The History of Whistling”
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Arty Eating and Drinking History

Historic Explosions Reproduced in Cauliflower

The images of history’s famous explosions have been burned into our memory. Illustrator Brock Davis has reproduced some these disasters using a rather unusual medium.

Using the florets from the cauliflower vegetable, Davis recreated the bombing of Nagasaki, the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger, and the fiery Hindenburg disaster. Have a look at his historic explosions in cauliflower after the jump.

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Arty Cautionary Tales Music Video Clips

An Arts and Crafts History of the World

If you thought Kevin Parry’s The Arctic Circle was a little too dire, you may like one of his more recent creations.

Masquerading as a music video to Kalle Mattson’s song Thick As Thieves, Parry has created a cute stop motion arts and crafts history of the world, right from the big bang to our inevitable end.

[via This is Colossal]

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Featured Useful/Useless Info Video Clips

How the English Language was Developed

If you’ve seen Stephen Fry on the TV, you’ll know that the English language is indeed quite interesting. From the odd pronunciation of Featherstonehaugh (it’s Fanshaw) to ambiguous metaphors to the fan-bloody-tastic use of tmesis, the English language has a rich history.

This humourous educational short film created by The Open University looks at how the English was developed, including the Anglo-Saxon invasion that started it all, the words left by the pillaging Vikings, ye olde contributions of William Shakespeare, the invention of the dictionary, and the influence the that Internet has had.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSYwPTUKvdw

[via +Demitri Baroutsos]