Remender Confirms Exit from Uncanny X-Force, Secret Avengers

Though it's been suspected since the announcement of Uncanny Avengers, Rick Remender confirmed today via Twitter that he'll be leaving Uncanny X-Force and Secret Avengers. Remender's final issue of X-Force will be the conclusion to Final Execution in issue #35 -- which will also serve as the series finale.

As for Secret Avengers, he'll be wrapping his run with issue #37, but seemed to give no indication that the series itself was ending. Presumably a new team will be revealed soon.

Remender tweeted:

Yes, unfortunately my time on UXF is coming to an end. It's like a friend told me, "Know when to get off the stage."

— Rick Remender (@Remender) September 10, 2012

Lots of the UXF story threads I set up are moving to Uncanny Avengers. And the people involved in the series moving forward are ACES.

— Rick Remender (@Remender) September 10, 2012

Yes, my SECRET AVENGERS ends at issue 37. But we still have the best to come in the finales of SA and UXF. We're going out loudly on both.

— Rick Remender (@Remender) September 10, 2012

The writer also told CBR in an interview, "Hopefully, I'll be able to stick a nice landing with Final Execution and people will really enjoy it, so the series will never have that part where it tapered and stopped being as good. That's the upshot. You do your best work -- and we all have -- and then you wrap things up and walk away from it."

But hey, it's nice knowing that a lot of the threads will be continuing on into Uncanny Avengers. Until then, strap in for the ride of your life on the road to Uncanny X-Force's end.

Joey is IGN's Comics Editor and a comic book creator himself. Follow Joey on Twitter, or find him on IGN. He loves superhero pets so hard.

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Halo 4 Promethean Enemies and Weapons Revealed

Images of eight Promethean enemies and seven of their weapons from 343 Industries' upcoming shooter Halo 4 have surfaced.

Taken from a forthcoming issue of Game Informer and hosted by All Games Beta, the images are accompanied by a little bit of information about who our victims will be come November.

Minor spoilers follow for Halo 4 in terms of enemies and weapons, but there's also minor references to the plot of Halo 4 that leaked last week.

The Promethean enemies will live on Requiem which, as we discovered last week, is where the ancient Forerunner called Didact is hidden. In terms of enemies, there seem to be three basic types, though these then further diversify through attack methods and armour designs.

First up are the Crawlers, which are apparently common, agile and hunt in packs. They come in Alpha, Snipe and normal flavours, with each one sporting different weapons that they can utilise from a distance.

Alongside the Crawlers are the Knights. These are the captains of the Promethean forces, and can appear as Lancers, Battlewagons or Commanders in addition to their normal version. The special versions can deploy turrets and fire through walls, so it sounds like we'll have to utilise all our skills to best them in combat.

And finally there are the Watchers. These will apparently fight shoulder to shoulder with Knights, but will ominously be equipped with resurrection powers and the ability to summon Crawlers. So they're the ones we'll be taking out first, then.

Alongside the already intimidating range of abilities referenced, the Prometheans will be decked out with some pretty full on weaponry, details of which you can see below.

Halo 4 is due out on Xbox 360 on November 6.

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Editorial Assistant. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on IGN and on Twitter.

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Two New Nintendo Land Attractions Revealed

Early details from the latest issue of Game Informer are starting to come in. According to early details coming through NeoGAF, two new Nintendo Land attractions are revealed in the Wii U-themed magazine - Metroid Blast and Balloon Fight Breeze.

Metroid Blast is very much like the 'Battle Mii' Wii U demo first shown at E3 2011, albeit one that is more themed to Metroid, including classic music from the series, a Norfair level and a mechanical replica of Kraid that can be interacted with. Up to five players can play at one time, with one player always taking the role of Samus's iconic ship through the Wii U GamePad. (The other four use Wii MotionPlus controllers with nunchuks.) Free-for-All, Team and Horde modes seem to be present, and the attraction features several maps.

Balloon Fight Breeze is a side-scrolling challenge, which controls through the GamePad's touch screen and the stylus. Players must navigate their characters through a variety of obstacles, by directing gusts of wind with the stylus, getting as far as they can in the aerial obstacle courses. The Pad itself shows a close up view of the player's Mii while the TV gives a wide perspective of the level.

No doubt more information will emerge from Game Informer's latest issues as it reaches more subscribers. Plus there's always that Wii U Preview Event next week...

Rich is an Executive Editor of IGN.com and the leader of IGN's Nintendo team. He also watches over all things WWE, Resident Evil, Assassin's Creed and much more. Follow him on Twitter, if you dare!

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Bethesda Not Yet Convinced by Wii U

Bethesda Softwork's VP of PR and marketing has revealed the company is unsure whether it will support Nintendo's Wii U.

In the latest issue of MCV, Pete Hines explained that Bethesda has traditionally "put our games out on all of the platforms that will support them.

"So far the Wii hasn't fitted into that. Whether Wii U does down the road is TBD."

“

I don’t think the current generation of consoles are holding us back. There is still plenty that we are able to do visually, technically and from a story-telling standpoint.

Despite admitting that Bethesda is clearly looking to the future in terms of consoles, Hines did reveal that he disagrees with the likes of Ubisoft's Yves Guillemot, Square Enix's Julien Merceron and EA's Frank Gibeau who have claimed that the current console generation has lasted too long. In fact, he thinks the transition to the next wave of consoles could cause a whole new set of problems.

"I don’t think the current generation of consoles are holding us back," he said. "There is still plenty that we are able to do visually, technically and from a story-telling standpoint. And there’s this huge built-in audience now.

"For me the problems with new consoles are two-fold. The developers are trying to hit a moving technical target, because the platforms are being built. A new console doesn't just show up a year before launch and is exactly what it will be when it comes out.

"It moves and iterates along the way. And introducing something like that to games that are in development is always a bit tricky. And that is obviously an element of risk.

"The second point is that your install base always starts at zero," he continued. "Then it comes out and suddenly a certain number of people buy it but it won't be the same number as the current gen. So you have divided your audience.

"It's then a case of: Are we just making it for the next gen? Or next gen and current gen? And how many people from the current gen that I'm targeting have moved over to the next gen? It does complicate things a little bit."

"Obviously the changes they are going to make technologically, in terms of the things we will be able to do, are exciting. But it comes at a price."

Cheers, Videogamer.

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Editorial Assistant. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on IGN and on Twitter.

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G.I. Combat #0 Review

G.I. Combat is one of those books that makes you wonder, "Does this really need a dedicated origin issue?" And the answer proves to be, "No, not really." Certainly, there's no real need to showcase what happened before the soldiers in The War That Time Forgot started stabbing and shooting dinosaurs. Acknowledging that, issue #0 shifts the content in favor Palmiotti and Justin Gray's Unknown Soldier story. Luckily, as much as I've been ambivalent about that revamp so far, the writers make good use of the format as far as fleshing out thier new character and the Unknown Soldier mythology.

Rather than turn back the clock to an earlier point in the main character's life, the segment explores the general legacy of the Unknown Soldier in the DCU. Palmiotti and Gray add an Assassin's Creed-style genetic memory element to the character, allowing him to experience the exploits of Unknown Soldiers who fought in Vietnam, the Revolutionary War, and even ancient Rome. It's an interesting wrinkle to the formula that dredges up a healthy slate of new questions about the character. Unfortunately, the script falls apart at the end as the writers steer haphazardly into a new conflict and resulting cliffhanger rather than simply ending this interlude on a more satisfying note.

Though much shorter than usual, J.T. Krul's The War That Tim Forgot portion still offers up a healthy dose of dinosaur carnage. In this case, readers learn more about the veteran dino-slayer who revealed himself in the previous issue. It's a fun read, though Ariel Olivetti's surreal, unnatural backgrounds really work against the story. At this point it would almost be preferable to have soldiers and dinosaurs grappling against blank backgrounds.

It isn't enough for DC to offer traditional war-themed comics. The lackluster sales on this series and its predecessor are proof enough of that. The tales in G.I. Combat need to showcase war as it exists in the DC Universe, reflecting all the colorful characters and concepts that dwell within. Issue #0 does a better job than any issue previous of satisfying that need.

Jesse is a writer for IGN Comics and IGN Movies. He can't wait until he's old enough to feel ways about stuff. Follow Jesse on Twitter, or find him on IGN.

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Assassin's Creed III Dev: "Triple-A Games Dying Out"

Assassin's Creed III creative director Alex Hutchinson has described the game as being one of the last of the big triple-A "dinosaurs".

In the latest issue of Edge (via CVG), Hutchinson claims that massive production teams the likes of which made Assassin's Creed III are becoming a thing of the past.

“

We're the last of the dinosaurs. We're still the monster triple-A game with very large teams [and] multiple studios helping out on different bits. There are fewer and fewer of these games being made.

"We're the last of the dinosaurs. We're still the monster triple-A game with very large teams [and] multiple studios helping out on different bits. There are fewer and fewer of these games being made, especially as the middle has fallen out," he said.

"We really felt like this was a rare opportunity. We had an experienced team, who had worked on the franchise for a while; we had the full backing of Ubisoft to make something huge; we had almost three years to do it, which is a rarity these days; the tech and the hardware platforms were both mature, which allowed us to start running instead of building base features; and the installed user base for all platforms is massive.

"Many of these factors are about to change, by choice of circumstance," Hutchinson concluded, "so a lot of us truly believed this was a once in a career opportunity."

His concerns have been echoed by others in the industry like Cliff Bleszinski who feels that the cost of developing on the next generation of hardware will stymie development. But others, such as Eidos president Ian Livingstone, have come out equally strongly saying we'll always want triple-A single-player games, and the industry must find ways to accommodate this.

What do you think? Should escalating costs mean Assassin's Creed III may be the last of its kind, or do you feel it's a worthwhile investment for companies to employ larger teams?

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Editorial Assistant. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on IGN and on Twitter.

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Hulk #57 Review

Hulk #57 isn't just the conclusion of the Mayan Rule arc, it's also effectively a series finale. The book morphs into Red She-Hulk with October's issue #58. It's a tall order for Jeff Parker to wrap up every lingering plot point and loose thread from the past two years. Those hoping for a definitive conclusion for every character involved will be disappointed, but this is a strong finish to a strong arc.

Red Hulk and Machine Man are on the verge of death as this issue opens, with the former being blasted half to death and the other reduced to operating out of a thumb drive. It's an interesting state to see Red Hulk in. Unable to rely on his strength, the character instead has to think tactically. That in itself is nothing terribly new, but this issue sees Ross accept his need for others and even embrace the idea of self-sacrifice for the greater good. Parker deftly illustrates just how far the character has come during the course of his run though Ross' dealings with Annie, Machine Man, and even A-Bomb. Emotionally, this issue hits many high notes.

That said, the abrupt ending does cut off the chance for some more quality material. Parker spends so much time wrapping up the conflict with the Mayan gods that there's absolutely zero chance to explore any fallout. It's disappointing that Marvel didn't commission one more issue to explore the fallout of this arc, particularly considering how the series now won't be shipping during the month of September. Parker does as much as the limited page count will humanly allow, and he sets several characters up for cool new status quos that will hopefully be explored in other books. But when and what form those books will take remains to be seen.

As I hoped, Dale Eaglesham's art shines more brightly in this final issue. If the general level f detail wavered somewhat in the middle chapters of Mayan Rule, Eaglesham is back in top form here. Parker throws a number of chaotic and crowded scenes at Eaglesham, and the artist deftly handles them all, delivering clean and energetic action scenes and attractive facial and character work.

This was a great but sadly under-appreciated run. I have little faith that the latter aspect will change with the shift to Red She-Hulk. But as long as Parker is given an outlet to continue exploring these characters, there's no reason to get too choked up about the shifting tides.

Jesse is a writer for IGN Comics and IGN Movies. He can't wait until he's old enough to feel ways about stuff. Follow Jesse on Twitter, or find him on IGN.

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The Invincible Iron Man #523 Review

It can be draining to review Invincible Iron Man on an issue-by-issue basis, both because the series never varies tremendously in quality and because it's the sort of book that requires the reader to take the long view when making an analysis. Some chapters are just slower and less eventful than others, and issue #523 happens to be one of the slower ones.

The same running threads continue in this chapter, with most of the focus directed at Tony's attempts to undermine Mandarin's empire and Pepper's efforts to deduce the identity of the new Iron Man. At the moment the former is proving more interesting than the latter. There's too little indication as to what exactly Rhodey is up to with his antics. Is the whole thing an elaborate ruse to get Pepper looped in on Tony's plans? Surely there has to be a more direct way of accomplishing that.

In Mandarin Land, Fraction delivers some fun interaction between Tony and his rogues as he works to enlist them in his plans. The balance of power is slowly shifting as Tony and Zeke become more proactive and Mandarin shows the strain of his lofty position. There are even hints that Mandarin himself isn't the end-all, be-all villain of this storyline. It's interesting to see how many new seeds are blossoming even this late into Fraction's run.

Little has changed regarding the art, which has been the case for years at this point. Unfortunately, Salvador Larroca doesn't have the opportunity to break out his altered flashback style as he did in issue #522. Still, the issue offers a nice mix of simple character interaction, high-octane, armored action, and sci-fi imagery. Oddly, the one visual element of the book that has changed is the cover design. It's a positive change, but it seems weird to suddenly make the change in the middle of an arc and the tail end of a four-year saga.

Jesse is a writer for IGN Comics and IGN Movies. He can't wait until he's old enough to feel ways about stuff. Follow Jesse on Twitter, or find him on IGN.

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Captain America and Namor #635.1 Review

Captain America and Namor #635.1 is a hard issue to accurately peg. It has moments that are pretty good and then it has some really strange scenes. More than anything, it doesn't feel like a comic book that really needs to exist. It doesn't add much to either character, which would be okay if it didn't take itself so damn seriously. There is a guy in here named Murderous Lion and he doesn't do anything; he is instead a setup for things to come. Come on, if you show us Murderous Lion, then you need to show us something fun. Unfortunately, fun is something sorely lacking in this issue.

Cullen Bunn is a great writer. He is not, however, a very good Captain America writer. You know that scene where Captain America talks to a bunch of troops right before they parachute out of an airplane? That scene that has happened in a ton of different books starring Captain America? Well, it happens in this issue and it is awkward and completely uninspiring. It borders on bad. There are a lot of moments like that in this issue. However, there are also some solid story points and cool characters. The scenes that don't have Cap in them are actually pretty good.

Despite the clunky story, the issue really shines in the art department. Will Conrad has a clean, smooth style that makes this comic really easy on the eyes. While the scenes with Cap may not be written very well, they sure do look awesome. It's a pity that the story is such a miss, because Conrad really hits the mark. Hell, he even makes Namor look cool, and that is no easy feat.

Benjamin is a writer and storyteller. He owns many leather-bound books and his office smells of rich mahogany. Follow Benjamin on Twitter, or find him on IGN.

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Avengers Academy #35 Review

With the first issue of Final Exam,"Christos Gage quickly and successfully transitioned Avengers Academy away from the Avengers vs. X-Men conflict and back towards more internal matters. Jeremy Briggs is back, and he comes bearing tantalizing promises of a world where only the most deserving of heroes are allowed to have powers. Issue #35 focuses on two splintered factions of Academy recruits -- those who have bought into Briggs' vision, and those who are on the receiving end of his wrath.

Both halves of the story offer plenty of juicy material for longtime Academy readers. On one front, Haz-Mat and Mettle are making the most of their newly human states, even as a chronic lack of privacy proves to be their newest foe. These scenes hit all the right emotional notes, particularly late in the issue as Gage throws the inevitable wrench in the works. Equally appealing but more dramatic are the scenes following the renegade teens, most of whom are suffering the debilitating effects that come with sudden power loss. X-23 and White Tiger shine in particular this month. Gage just seems to understand Laura in a way too few X-writers have over the years.

Unfortunately, this issue does take one major step back in terms of its portrayal of Briggs. I noted in my previous review my appreciation that Briggs wasn't cast as an overt villain, but merely a figure with murky intentions. Unfortunately, that sense of uncertainty begins to fade away now, and he becoems less interesting as a result.

Andrea Di Vito steps in for Tom Grummett this month. While it's disappointing this arc won't have one, consistent penciller, Di Vito handles the characters well and delivers a bit more detail and depth in his panels than Grummett's issues had been offering. What the issue lacks in style it makes up for in good, solid storytelling.

Jesse is a writer for IGN Comics and IGN Movies. He can't wait until he's old enough to feel ways about stuff. Follow Jesse on Twitter, or find him on IGN.

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Captain Marvel #2 Review

The second issue of Captain Marvel is a pretty dramatic shift from the previous issue. This is a straight up time travel story that throws Carol into a World War II setting. That might seem a bit strange, but Kelly Sue DeConnick and Dexter Soy make it work. This issue doesn't quite have the same heart and heft that the series started out with, but it's still a great comic book with a tight script and some gorgeous artwork. Captain Marvel is quickly becoming the Marvel title to watch. Or read, I guess. You know what I mean.

The use of time travel is an interesting choice, and once you get about half way through the issue you realize why it works for this story. Carol says it herself, when she notes why time travel is taking her out of her comfort zone, "You can't blast it, punch it, outrun it or throw it into space." This is not business as usual for Carol Danvers. This is a story that looks to grow the character and make her a different kind of hero. The dialogue is great, but the inner monologue is even better. The time we get to spend in Carol's head is worth the cover price alone.

The change in setting really suits Dexter Soy's art. Every page in this issue looks good, but it looks even better once we shift back in time. Once a group of female commandos burst on to the scene, you'll be sold. It looks absolutely awesome and it's the kind of thing that is really enhanced by Soy's dark, washy art style. If you didn't think he was a good fit for Captain America fighting Absorbing Man, then you might want to give his work a second chance here. It looks stunning.

This is a dark book, not in tone, but rather in style. Soy's art is heavy on shadows here. Blackness seeps into every page, covering the world and characters. It's a credit to the artist that after only two issues, it's hard to imagine anyone else drawing this series. I'll admit, I had originally been expecting a light and bright comic with Captain Marvel, but what we get is better. It looks better with Soy at the helm and all you naysayers need to suck it up and give this comic a look. I'm calling it; Dexter Soy is going to be a superstar.

If Captain Marvel continues on this path, DeConnick and Soy will have created one awesome new title for Marvel. It's engaging, fun, beautiful and different. This is not your typical superhero book, and that's exactly what makes it so great. It's nice to see a different kind of monthly title from Marvel. I have never been a Carol Danvers fan, but as long as Kelly Sue DeConnick and Dexter Soy are handling her adventures, I'll be picking up every issue. Marvel needs to take more chances like this, because -- in the case of Captain Marvel, at least -- it has totally paid off.

Benjamin is a writer and storyteller. He owns many leather-bound books and his office smells of rich mahogany. Follow Benjamin on Twitter, or find him on IGN.

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