The Grinder: Multiplayer Monster Hunting for the Wii

The Grinder - Werewolf Encounter

According to this exclusive by IGN, High Voltage Software has a new game planned for next year, titled “The Grinder”. It’s a first-person shooter for the Wii, designed with a multiplayer experience in mind (similar to Left 4 Dead). HVS Chief Creative Officer Eric Nofsinger describes the game’s setting:

…the game takes place in a world we’ve imagined where monsters are real. Vampires, werewolves, and undead are all a part of everyday life and this world has adapted to their presence. Our group of heroes is a sort of the cryptobiological A-Team of going into areas with infestations and killing everything that moves. We’ve definitely been influenced by lots of great horror movies and the grindhouse style is something we’ve tried to incorporate into our characters and storyline.

I’m really excited about a game like this being developed for the Wii, especially after reading about the game engine, the AI and the lovely array of weapons on offer. The IGN article even has a few samples of background music from the game, including a “Trent Reznor meets Ennio Morricone” track called “Werewolf“.

The Grinder is still under development at the moment– apparently they’re still working out some of the online multiplayer options and the single-player campaign details. The plan is for a Holiday 2010 release, but if you want a sneak peak, check out the article or get yourself to E3 next week for an in-person demo.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs Video “Heads Will Roll” – Sweet Werewolf Dance Moves + Creative Gore

Courtesy of NME, here’s the video for the latest Yeah Yeah Yeahs single, “Heads Will Roll”. I’m a YYY fan so I would have liked this video even if it didn’t feature a bad-ass horror-style werewolf with Michael Jackson moves, and the way the (prodigious  amounts of) gore is handled during the video’s second half is dazzling and inspired. Nice intestines, guy!

Heads Will Roll is the second track on the new Yeah Yeah Yeahs record, It’s Blitz.

Darkstalkers Tribute Art Book from UDON Entertainment

Darkstalkers Tribute - Talbain and Felicia

Tandemonium has alerted me to UDON Entertainment’s Darkstalkers Tribute book, which sounds like the holy grail for fans of the video game series‘ iconic art and character design. Expect plenty of Jon Talbain art!

Inside are nearly 300 pages of artwork portraying the Darkstalkers cast in a feverish array of styles and designs, from tightly rendered realistic paintings through to abstract and iconic interpretations. This is a lush video game art gallery in a book, bursting with inspiration and energy on every page.

The book is a nice fat hardcover edition, and you can pre-order it straight from UDON’s site for $80 US + shipping. It will also be available at a number of anime and video game conventions, including Anime Expo, Otakon and Penny Arcade Expo. Preorders through the web site ship in August.

Chinese Scientists May Have Identified “Werewolf” / Hypertrichosis Gene

According to The Register, scientists at the Peking Union Medical College in Beijing may have discovered the gene responsible for hypertrichosis, or the “werewolf disorder”. Over the course of four years, geneticist Xue Zhang and his team scanned the DNA of over two dozen people who have congenital generalized hypertrichosis terminalis (CGHT). Zhang’s team discovered that each of the subjects share a mutation near the SOX9 gene, which controls hair growth. Further research is required to discover whether this is a coincidence or if there’s an actual connection, but it’s an interesting bit of news nevertheless.

Dread Central Scoops the “Werewolf” Series DVD Cover

Two weeks ago we were talking about the imminent release of the entire Werewolf TV series on DVD. Now it seems the folks at Dread Central have wielded their charm and managed to get an exclusive copy of the package’s cover art! Behold the glory, the beauty, the lycanthropy, the dramatic lighting:

Werewolf - The Series - DVD Cover Art

The series is being remastered, repackaged and re-released by Shout! Factory on September 1st.

Tip to the entertainment industry: permit more exciting, beautiful re-releases like this one is shaping up to be, and you will induce people to use their credit cards instead of µTorrent or Transmission.

Thanks to Dread Central for obtaining this. One day I hope to be as cool and influential as you.

Monster Costumes for LBP Out Today

Just a quick reminder that Media Molecule’s Monsters costumes downloadable content for LittleBigPlanet comes out today. Sackwolf, activate!

You can read more about the Monsters DLC in this post from earlier in the week.

“Werewolf” Strategy Game – What’s Up?

I was digging through some unread Google Alerts from April when I came across this CNET article by Caroline McCarthy about Werewolf, a social strategy game that’s becoming increasingly popular with a group of people the article describes as “young techies”. (more…)

Gladiators V Werewolves Concept Art By Martin Rezard

Remember earlier in the week I was asking if anyone had a larger version of the Gladiators V Werewolves artwork I posted?

Gladiators V Werewolves - Longscar by Martin Rezard

This is Longscar, created by Martin Rezard in zbrush and Photoshop. I found this posted on Creature Spot, a “gallery, a blog, and a spot for all creature fans to flock to.” Awesome site, awesome artwork and hopefully indicative of an awesome movie!

“Samurai Werewolf” Poster – Vector Art Tutorial

Vectortuts+ has got a really impressive vector art tutorial by Tom Whalen. The subject? A samurai werewolf in poster format, created in Adobe Illustrator. I’m geeking out already. (more…)

Cool Werewolf Pics from Twitter

Earlier today I posted a request on Twitter for people to send me links to any cool werewolf pictures they had, whether they created it or not (with appropriate credit, of course). This request was set off by an intriguing postage stamp-sized photo in @chaoticlycans‘s background image. He was kind enough to provide a link to the full-sized version, which he says came from “somewhere on photobucket”. Does anyone know what the original source is?

The other noteworthy response came from @Ashleyfishman, who sent in three separate drawings of her own. Nice work, Ashley, and thanks for responding!

Edit: Ashley has just gifted me with the very first piece of Werewolf News fan art! Ashley, you rock!

Werewolf News - Ashley Fishman

Anyone else who’s got some particularly cool werewolf images of their own, whether it’s their own artwork or something they found elsewhere (again, with appropriate credit given to the source), send it my way via Twitter (@werewolfnews) or the Werewolf News contact form. Also, if you’ve found something awesome but don’t know where it came from, submit it and I’ll post it with a request to help identify a source. There’s a lot of really great werewolf art out there, from protraits to transformation scenes– let’s see some more of it!