Science-Fiction Weekly – Cloverfield 3, Edge Of Tomorrow 2, Star Trek Vs. Aliens, Exile's End

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare is this week's big science-fiction release. As strange as it is to link Call of Duty to the science-fiction genre, I sadly can't go into specifics regarding its quality just yet. Infinite Warfare hits store shelves (and digital spaces) on Friday, and our review, penned by the brilliant Dan Tack, will be released soon. I stand by my claim that Infinite Warfare is my most anticipated game of the fall. A small sliver of my anticipation comes from the simple fact that I'm a fan of this series, but I mostly want to dive into this entry because Activision is taking a real chance on it, something we rarely see from established and annualized series. Activision may alienate fans with the hard science-fiction angle, but I believe rocketing into the cosmos and leaving the past behind is the best thing that could happen to Call of Duty. This move shakes things up, and also gives us nice separation between Call of Duty and Battlefield. This year's batch of shooters all have unique stances in the first-person shooter field, and that's a great thing.

Other than Infinite Warfare, this week is light on game news and releases. If you are into old-school action-platformers or Metroidvania games, you may want to check out Magnetic Realms' Exile's End, available now for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Wii U, and PC. Exile's End takes place in the far future, and follows a corporation called Ravenwood, which has a stronghold on commerce throughout the galaxy. Ravenwood is also a threat, with its own army and rules. The game begins with Ravenwood's president disappearing on a mining planet. A mercenary team is sent in to investigate. This expedition doesn't begin on the best note; an electrical malfunction leads to the drop ship crashing on the planet's surface. The mercenaries thankfully make it to escape pods, but now find themselves separated on the planet. The game follows Jameson, who awakens with no weapons or means of communicating with this crew.

I only had time to check out about 30 minutes of Exile's End, but want to dive back into it after I finish up Titanfall 2. Exile's End is deliberately slow, to a fault even, with little happening other than the player jumping over space snakes and leaping across chasms in the opening moments. As repetitive as these actions are, exploration has a nice Metroid-like vibe to it, and is backed by the hook of discovering what happened to your crew. You can check out the trailer below for a brief look at the play style and direction of Exile's End. I wish I had time for a more thorough breakdown of this title, but if you want to know more, please leave a comment below, and I'll do my best to play it this weekend.

Most of this week's news is tied to the motion-picture industry in some capacity. I am a huge fan of Bad Robot's science-fiction efforts, namely anything bearing the Cloverfield name. While I wouldn't mind seeing a proper Cloverfield 2 some day, I can't recall any other series that has given us such different looks into an established universe. Cloverfield and 10 Cloverfield Lane are dramatically different in set up and tone, yet  are strongly intertwined by the time the credits role. The third Cloverfield film may be hitting sooner than expected. A report from The Wrap states that the J. J. Abrams-produced God Particle may be the next film in this series. God Particle releases on February 24, 2017, and follows a team of astronauts who make a startling discovery. The Wrap also reports that Abrams and Paramount Pictures hope to annualize the Cloverfield property. That sounds like overkill to me, but I can never say "no" to more science fiction, especially if the intent is on making each installment unique.

If God Particle's plot sounds familiar, you may be confusing it with the recently announced Life. This film, starring Ryan Reynolds, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Rebecca Ferguson, follows a team of astronauts who make a startling discovery. Uh. Yeah, that's the same hook as God Particle. I won't go into any other specifics, other than a flamethrower is used at some point. You can check it out in action in the trailer below.

The most exciting film news is tied to the forthcoming Edge of Tomorrow sequel. I didn't see the original Edge of Tomorrow in theaters, mainly because my friends deemed it "okay" and "passable." I obviously wasn't going to avoid seeing a new sci-fi film, and eventually got around to watching it a few months after it released on Blu-Ray. I loved it so much that I immediately watched it again, and proclaimed it to be my movie of the year. I can't even begin to wrap my brain around the idea of a sequel with Tom Cruise in the lead role again, but director Doug Liman apparently thinks it's the coolest thing in the world. In an interview with Collider, Liman is spitting out hyperbole like it's going out of style. "[Edge of Tomorrow 2] is the only sequel that I’m considering doing, and it’s because the story is so amazing—much better than the original film, and I loved and loved the original film—and it’s a sequel that’s a prequel," Liman says. He went on to say that it will "revolutionize how people make sequels." A sequel that's a prequel that will revolutionize sequels? Someone call Dr. Seuss. Sounds awesome. Now the bad news. No release date or filming schedule have been revealed yet. We're going to have to wait for this one, folks.

Comic books allow for a high level of storytelling experimentation. One such experiment is mashing two properties together for the sake of fan-boy joy. Judge Dredd took on Batman, Robocop once battled the Terminators, and now we're going to see xenomorphs invade the Enterprise in a Star Trek: The Next Generation vs Aliens story. The first issue of this limited comic series is due out next spring, and is published jointly by Dark Horse and IDW. The story is penned by Scott and David Tipton, with art by J.K. Woodward. Yes, there's a chance this comic will be terrible, but keep an open mind. The examples I listed were damn good, and since these stories exist outside of their respective continuities, writers don't have many parameters to follow. Death and chaos should be expected aboard the Enterprise. We just have to guess which crew member will reveal the chest-burster. My gut says it will be Wesley Crusher. Get that punk out of the way within the opening pages. He's better fodder than a red shirt.

And before you leave, take a look this random video...