Weird Mind News Room Episode 79: August 26th - Sept 1st

 *music for the far off Galaxy adventure*

Hello again to all of you wonderful people to the newest episode of my weekly series of Weird Mind News Room where this week I will give a fair few new releases, a small amount of Trailers and a little round up of News stories too. So without wasting much more time, lets get into the content for this weeks media roundup.

New Releases of a wide variety

movies

AfrAId

We shall start off the new releases with the only new film for this week that will take the basis about the way we can make our homes smarter can also have the dangers with a program if not controlled properly with AI to mess things all up as we have the newest film from Blumhouse with AfrAId. The film will follow a man named Curtis and his family who are selected to test a revolutionary new smart assistant device named Aia, that will take smart homes to the next level, but when it starts to learn everyone's behavior and anticipate their needs, it soon makes sure that nothing and no one will get in the families way. Reception to the film has not had the strongest of positive reception as while the cast and performances as well as the concept is well liked, the film falters with its concept as well as the aspect of being a horror feeling very underwhelming, adding to the list of other horrors from the year with interesting ideas but falling short in entertainment, but if you want to check it out for yourself then you can catch the new film out now in cinemas.

Tv Shows

Only Murders in the Building Season 4

Its time for a new mystery to solve and this one is going much bigger with more glitz and glam as the unlikely trio of amateur sleuths are back once again to solve a new mystery that ends up in their presence as we have the 4th season premiere of Only Murders in the Building. The new season will see Charles, Oliver and Mabel see their small little podcast be turned into a massive motion picture and will be jetting off to Hollywood to see some familiar faces play themselves, but all becomes mixed in with a new death that happens in the Arconia of Charles former stunt double and best friend and its up to them and maybe the actors to help crack the case and make the film a smash hit success. Reception so far for a good chunk of the season has been very well praised with many seeing it as a return to form as a little underwhelming form of the previous season (even though I really enjoy that season and the songs for it too) and seems to have so much excitement, humor and great chemistry with the cast. I myself have already checked out the first episode and I am excited to check it out weekly and have already started to theorize as to who the killer may be already but will have to see all the players, but if you want to delve into the mystery then you catch the first episode out now on Disney+ and a new episode that will release every Tuesday.

Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2

If the likes of a mystery is not in your appeal and would much rather something of high fantasy more your taste, then you are in luck as we will be returning to the world of Middle Earth once again and years before the events of the Journey of the Fellowship as we have the beginning of the 2nd Season of Lord of the Rings with The Rings of Power. This season in particular will be focusing on the ever-growing and looming threat that will be coming from the all powerful Sauron as well as the power shift dynamics between the characters and the eventual creation of the rings that Sauron will use for total control. Reception for the new season has garnered some positive reception with praise to the visuals and expansion on the world of Tolkien's creation, although I have seen a massive discourse that people are confused as to why the series is getting strong reception when they have said it is very bad or lacking substance (but this could also be a thing that everyone just hates on everything in this day and age cause its the norm when it gets tedious at this point) but if you want to check it out for yourself then you can watch the first 3 episodes now with a new episode every Thursday on Amazon Prime. 

Terminator Zero

The last of the Tv shows for the week is taking a popular long running series that has flip flopped in appeal over the years and now being taken in a new perspective as Judgement day is upon is as we have a new Anime based series based on the ultimate killer cyborg with Terminator: Zero. The series will be set back in 1997 on the eve of Judgement Day in Japan and follow Malcolm Lee, a technical programmer who has been developing a new AI system that they are developing to compete with Skynet. Soon he finds himself and his three children being pursued by an unknown robot assassin while also sent aid from a mysterious soldier from the far future of 2022. Reception to the new series has been very well praised with the high positives to the fantastic visuals of the series as well as providing something new and a bit fresh to a series that has start to wear out its concept and begin to rust apart with many potential stories to focus in this format type and if you want to check it out for yourself, then you can catch the full series now on Netflix.

Video Games

Star Wars Outlaws

On the first of the games of the week is with the start of the big Fall season of titles as it will be taking us to the vast galaxies, Far far away as while we can wear cool robes and swing colourful laser swords, we are taking a new approach with the realm of the Smugglers and Scoundrel's of the universe as we have the all new open world galactic adventure of Star Wars Outlaws. In this title set between episodes 5 and 6, you play as Kay Vass, a young scoundrel that is looking to swindle and maneuver her way through the galaxy from job to job and must soon gather a massive crew and prep for the biggest heist this side of the galaxy to pay off and maybe even take down some of the biggest figures in the universe's crime syndicate and learning to get on both the good and bad side of each of them. Reception for the game has been decently well recieved with praise to elements of the narrative, visuals of the worlds and elements of exploration, combat and others, with some issues of some texture affects, story elements and a mixed opinion on combat and weapons (and the usual people online that will make it a mission to either be mad about this series, Ubisoft titles or both) and the elements people have about Ubisoft titles in general, but if you are up for a new Galactic adventure in a new form then you try this game out now on PS5, Series X/S and PC.

Squirrel with a Gun

As for the last of the new releases for this week is honestly a game that is so goofy of a concept but in all sense is needed and is probably going to be game of the year with the new goofy self titled game of Squirrel with a Gun. The game is essentially what it says on the title as you play as a little Squirrel who obtains a massive firearm and you must use this new weapon to cause mischief, chaos and control as you fight through an underground facility and neighbourhood against an army of hapless agents. Reception to the game has seen a mixed array but mainly more on the positive side with praie for its simple goofy concept, its humour and ideas, though it may wear off very quick and has been noticed to have some performance issues, but if you want to play what will be an ironic game of the year then you play it now on PC with a PS5 and Xbox version coming this October.

Gotta go fast for Trailer excitement

Sonic the Hedgehog 3

Of course we are going to be starting off the trailers for this week with the big one, as after being radio silent and so many confirmed rumours and delays, we have finallly gotten to see the fast Blue Hedgehog back once again for a return to the big screen as we have recieved the first trailer for the upcoming release of Sonic the Hedgehog 3. Set after the Duology and the Knuckles series, this new film will see Sonic, Tails and Knuckles face a mysterious and powerful new adversary in the form of Shadow the Hedgehog (Keanu Reeves), that seems more powerful then those they have faces before. Soon the trio will have to form an unlikely alliance with Dr Robotnik in the hopes of stopping Shadow and saving the planet from total destruction. It is to say that the excitement for this film was strong after the tease at the end of the 2nd film and the wait for this trailer was no exception and may I say this one went hard and my God does Shadow look awesome in this and I for one am so excited for this film (it does make me wonder if the likes of we never got a redesign of Sonic in the first film, if Shadow would've suffered the same fate looking design?) and we do not have too much long for the film, as it will be releasing into cinemas just in time for Christmas on December 20th.

Super / Man: The Christopher Reeve Story

The 2nd trailer for the week will be seeing us look to the skies and look to the past of the legend who helped see the man of tomorrow as the true icon he was and learn the tale that he really was the life life superhero as we have recieved a trailer for the new biopic documentary of Super / Man: The Christopher Reeve story. This new film will follow the life and career of Christopher Reeve as we see his journey in entertainment and his success as the iconic version of Superman and the sad and beautiful tale of the end of his life with a battle with a life altering illness and injury and the legacy he left behind. So I had heard elements about it and seeing this trailer and looking back on his life and story, it is truly a very tragic tale but it is to say that his legacy will be remembered and it looks like from this film that it will be a very emotional watch and it will be worth a check out when it his cinemas in the US on September 20th but a little later over here on November 1st.

Never Let Go

The last trailer for this week is with a new take on a horror of a dystopian apocalyptical future where it is to question if any of it is true or is there more to the madness as we have recieved a new trailer for the upcoming horror of Never Let Go. The story is set in the distant future where an unspeakable evil has taken over the world and we follow a small family where the only protection the mother and her two sons have is their home and their bond and need to stay together and keep tethered to cling to one another and never let go. However when one of the boys begin to question if any of this evil is real, the ties that bind them together begin to sever and begins to trigger a terrifying fight for survival. So the idea of this may seem a bit simple and generic but from what I have seen of the film it does look interesting and unsettling and I wonder my own thoughts as to what the meaning of the whole film is and if there is a likely twist to it, but I guess we will find out soon enough the film releases in just under a months time on September 27th. 

News for the gamers

The round up of content of Nintendo's partners

So the first of the news stories that has come from this week is with the unveiling of the surprise announcement of a small double bill Nintendo Direct that will combine both the elements of a Indie World Showcase and of a Partner showcase and showing more of the 3rd party and indie titles then of the ones from the 1st party titles from the company of Nintendo or with their newest console as they were taking a backseat for the moment (most case for a 1st party direct or console reveal in a month or 2's time) and I will give a quick rundown of all that was announced as there was some unveiling over the 2 20 minutes and I will give a round of announcements and pieces to look out for for the rest of the year and start of 2025.

First on the Indie world round up that started with some new expansion for the card game of Baltro with a crossover announcements with versions based on The Witcher, Dave the Diver, Castlevania and Among Us that will all be getting a release on the day of the event for more card based fun.

Next on the show was showing off an update from the team based on the new game of Neva as you play as Alba, a motherly figure protecting the titular wolf cub as a baby at first before it grows to protect you as it becomes a massive figure as the story goes on and will finally got a release date for Oct 15th to play this visually beautiful journey of care and protection.

The next game unveiled was this unique little office space RPG known as Moth Kubit as you play as some little moth employee as you climb the corporate ladder from a promotion and survive the onslaught and dangers from the massive corporation you work for and stop the events known as the "final Process". It looks like a quirky and fun little story and full of great characters and will be worth a check out when it releases in the spring of next year.

next on the roster of announcements was with the game known as Coffee Talk Tokyo as you work the creation of the small coffee shop as you serve tasty caffeine and talk with all of the colourful characters that come in for a cup and a chat and it seems like a wholesome vibrant little game and if interested you can catch it when it comes out sometime next year.

the popular Indie title of Sea of Stars has garnered a new piece of DLC in the form of the Throes of the Watchmaker that will see the solstice warriors of Valere and Zale venturing into the magical miniature clockwork world of Horloge for some strange and magical adventures and soon will be available for free for all players when it makes it debut sometime in early 2025.

for those that enjoy the blissfulness of using high powered tools to clean off dirt and mess, you are in luck as there is another new DLC pack coming to powerwash simulator for the mother of all messes in the fairytale land of Shrek's Swamp, including some shiny new armour to clean it up and will join the likes of paid DLC for the game with the likes of Bikini Bottom when you can play this new pack sometime later this fall.

A small little mouse taking on a big feline world is next on the announcements as they unveiled the new game of Morsels as you play as a mouse who uses magical cards to transform into strange monsters in this new top down roguelike shooter as you fight against an army of cats and it has a Binding of Issacs look to it and will be worth to try it out when it comes out in February next year.

Both on the basis this next game was either a developer trying to express their sexual preference or else someone listened to the song of Objects of Desire from Ninja Sex Party as this new game is a dating sim where you get romance the items and furniture in your home in the game of Date everything that seems like a quirky and unique form of Dating sim visual novel (I mean we had one of dating pigeons, a game with some behind the scenes of dating Dilfs and one of falling in love with the KFC mascot) so it is all seems like fun and worth a try when it comes out on October 24th. 

next on the games was with the new game of Peglin which has a form of a dungeon turn based battle mixed with the element of a pachinko machine or the game of Peggle and it seems like a unique form of fighting game with cutesy art style and launched after that presentation on that day.

The next title shown from the Indie event was this quirky little game of Wobbly life where you play as little yellow fellows and do goofy things like get a job, drive vehicles and live a normal life of this little things and will be releasing sometime this December on the console.

The sequel to the little puzzle solver of Pico park was soon unveiled with more new challenges, new missions and up to 8 players all to take part in this fun pixel art puzzler and has been confirmed to be available shortly after the presentation.

It then saw a variety of some more round up of a few other indie games on the way including a new take or content for Shovel Knight and other titles of varying degree before the Indie World event ended with a surprise announcement of the hit Indie game of Pizza Tower was unveiled for the console debut on the Switch and was announced to be available as of this week on the console and this brought the end of the Indie World presentation.

Next with the start of the Partner showcase started off with to commencing of the 40th anniversary of Tetris with the new compilation title of Tetris forever that will have some different releases from the past and a new mode that will change the variations of said game in a massive battle mode and is worth a trying out when it drops later this year.

Surfs up dudes as the next game to be unveiled was a new space based skateboard type game with the new title of Star Overdrive that lets you surf and turf across the vast lands of this strange planet and fight against some strange creatures and enemies that has a vibe of Tony Hawk Pro skater crossed with the recent Legend of Zelda games and the Monster Hunter series and actually look pretty cool and worth a try when it comes out sometime next year.

following on from the first 2 entries on the console (probably) they have unveiled that the 3rd game in the massive Goat simulator game was unveiled at the event where you cause chaos as the unstoppable goat and you and friends can take up the mantle where you can play the new title now on digital and a physical release coming in November this year.

following that was a bit of a compilation of some new titles coming along which includes some new anime games, updates for Star Wars Outlaws, the original Stalker games coming out in November, a Worms bundle on September 26th and another update to the Dreamlight valley game before we got a focus on the next big announcement in the form of an all new Spongebob game that will instead be focused on the main character being Patrick where you will wreck havoc and chaos with the sea star and some of his friends including Spongebob and Sandy and it looks like it could be something that will be entertaining for a bit of time and will be worth to see how it turns out when it releases on October 4th.

A 3rd entry of the Fitness boxing series was unveiled next on the event that will have some new exercise modes, new trainers and more ways to get you fit and fighting everyday as we will have the new method of exercising releasing just before Christmas on December 5th.

a new battle collection was unveiled with the compilation of Fighters from the company of Capcom was unveiled with the 2nd fighting collection of SNK, Street fighter and more all coming to the console in 2025

It was not just that game that was unveiled aand updated as we also got the official release date for the previously announced Marvel vs Capcom collection that will now be launching digitally on September 12th, before the physical version drops on November 22nd.

It would not be a Nintendo direct if there was not one form of a game based on an anime look as they unveiled a new game in the Atelier Yumia series with Alchemist of memories and Envisioned land bundle that will be releasing in the early part of 2025.

The popular JRPG series of Suikoden is getting a HD 2D remakes of the first 2 entries in the series with updated visuals and gameplay mechanics with a chance to play them from the 6th of March next year.

this was shortly followed up with a new look at the Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D remake also getting a focus and will not be long before you can play this new take on the classic series and story when it releases on switch from November 14th.

Announced just in the time frame for the spooky season was the unveiling of a castlevania collection of the popular games from the handheld games with classic and updated visuals all in one collection and was unveiled to be releasing later after that direct for you to play again after all of this time.

Sid Meier's massive series of Civilization was making a return to the console with the new 7th entry getting a little focus in the direct with some new additions and all the classic entertainment from this award winning series and you can try it out for yourself when it launches on February 11th next year.

It then was the unveiling of one more Anime based game with a new remaster to the classic Tales of F series with a confirmed release for this remaster coming on January 17th next year.

now a series I long thought was dead and dormant got a surprise revival announced that the original 2 entries in the Mysims series was announced in the cozy bundle which seem like bringing that sense of nistalgia back from the Wii and DS era once again and will be interesting to dive back into it when it comes out on the Switch on November 19th.

your next night shift at the haunted pizzeria of animatronics was unveiled with the announcement that the recently released Help Wanted 2 getting a switch release (without the VR option) sometime this winter and will also got a confirmation of the release of the DLC for security breach with Ruin also launching for the original game sometime this winter.

after a small highlight reel for upcoming titles like the Epic Mickey rebrushed, Lego Horizon adventures and Tales from the Shire games, we got the unveiling of the 2nd last announcement from the event with the new game of Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma that is both an rpg and possible farming game and will be launching onto consoles sometime in the spring of next year.

Wrapping up all the announcement and titles from the Direct for this week was the unveiling that the popular series of Yakuza will be seeing its remastered first entry making its debut on the console and is not long away from release as it is planned for release on October 24th, which ties in with the release of the upcoming series adaptation on prime video.

And that ends all that was shown at the direct for this week and while it is some decent announcements, it is a lot weaker then the last event but it can happen with some partner directs though some of these will be worth to check out when they arrive by years end or into the new year but I guess we will see how that will turn out overtime.

With all of that I would like to known your thoughts as to what games that were unveiled at these directs are you looking forward to the most and what were you hoping for from these directs and when do you expect the new console to be unveiled? Let me know your thoughts on all that was announced down below.

News on Aliens and Dinosaurs

Now the next 2 stories are going to be a lot shorter and going to have some small updates and rumours with the first story focusing on 2 big franchises that have recieved updated of things from the past and things from beyond the stars in the sky as we have 2 little updates to 2 big film franchises that I will share with you now.

so the first of the stories is taking us to the world of a galaxy far far away as while there is all discourse about the cancellation of the most divisive series of The Acolyte, there is another project that has seen it share of praise and disappointment and more on the way as we have some news concerning the first confirmed new Star Wars film in the form of The Mandalorian and Grogu. SO some elements of the project has been worked upon and we do known that Pedro Pascal, some other familiar faces and the most beloved character of the recent series of Grogu will be making an appearance in the film and now we have a confirmed new addition to the cast and that is in the film of big star Actress of Sigourney Weaver. Now Weaver is not stranger to interacting with aliens and strange creatures as she is of course known for playing Ellen Ripley in the popular Alien franchise so she has had her run ins with strange lifeforms. It is unclear who she will be playing if it will be some known jedi, bounty hunter, member of the guild or even an alien creature herself but I am sure we will get some more info about the whole ordeal over the next little while as production continues on the project before it releases onto the big screen in May 2026.

the other news story is taking us back to the world over 65 million years ago as we have some more new news based on the upcoming entry in the Jurassic series as just this week we got the first look, the plot summary and the official title for the 4th title in the Jurassic World series that will now be called Jurassic World Rebirth. The new entry got the title announcement on Thursday with a new look at the confirmed cast which include the first looks to Scarlett Johansson, Johnathon Bailey and Mahershala Ali and we also got a little plot synopsis that comes as follows. Set Five years after Dominion, the planets ecology has proven largely inhospitable for the dino's and the remaining exist in isolated equatorial environments based on the climates they thrived in. Its learned that the 3 most colossal creatures of these locations hold the key to a drug that can bring miraculous life-saving benefits to humankind. We are introduced to Zora Bennett (Scar Jo), a covert op expert who leads a team on a top secret mission to retrieve some genetic material from these giant dino's. Soon they cross paths with a civillian family that find themselves in the crosshairs of some aquatic reptiles and soon all find themselves stranded on an island with a new sinister discovery that has been hidden from the world for decades. So so far it has some interesting aspect, it gives a reason for the dinosaurs, a plan for probably 2 or 3 of the cast and hint at a new threat. This could possibly be the likes of a cross species form like the humanoid dinos they had planned for Jurassic Park 4 but it is hard to tell for the moment (if you want to learn more about that concept you can check out the video from Bullets and Blockbusters for more info on that), but so far I do not hate the concept and I like the approach it is going for currently. I do wonder where most of the other cast will fit in and interested in seeing Gareth Edwards aesthetic will come into play with this project but I am sure we will learn more on this as the film head into cinemas from July 2nd next year.

But I would like to know your own thoughts on these 2 stories, what are your opinions on Ripley joining the new Star Wars film and are you excited for this new titled Jurassic World film? Let me know all your opinions of these discussions down below.

Now with all of that, this ends the 79th edition of Weird Mind News Room and I do hope that you enjoyed all of the discussions that I had to talk on for this week. Let me know your thoughts on everything that was discussed down below and as always I hope you all stay being wonderful people and have a great day everyday doing many great things and I will see you all in the next episode. :)

Take care keep being you, signing off 

Sam H :)