This unofficial X-Men web series is a retro gaming throwback

By Mike Epstein January 7, 2016

X-men: Danger Room Protocols - Intro

Have you ever wished that TV cartoons looked like old video games? If so, you should check out Vancouver-based video game animator Joel Furtado’s upcoming web series, X-Men: Danger Room Chronicles. It’s an unofficial collection of animated shorts designed in the style of an old X-Men video game.

In the X-Men universe, the Danger Room is the X-Men’s training facility, which combines robotic obstacles and virtual reality to simulate real world… Well, dangers. Danger Room Chronicles uses the premise to set up a series of one-off adventures using different pairs of heroes. The first episode, for example, will feature Jean Grey and Wolverine getting trapped in a simulation and fighting off enemies until they figure out how to escape.

Watching the opening credits above, fans might recognize some artistic flourishes from the X-Men video games from the 1990’s, specifically the Sega Genesis and Game Gear games called X-Men. Those touches, from casting to animation, combined with the pseudo 16-bit art, give off the distinct impression that you’re watching a cutscene from another dimension where the Sega Genesis could actually handle such a thing.

Unfortunately, Furtado may have chosen a bad time to release an unlicensed X-Men story. In addition to the upcoming film X-Men: Apocalypse, two live-action series set in the X-Men universe have been recently announced. Though the series title sequence includes a disclaimer stating Furtado has no affiliation with Marvel or Fox, which owns the film and television rights to the X-Men universe, these upcoming, licensed projects give them more reason than usual to enforce their trademarks and shut the series down.

That should not, however, prevent you from checking out the series. If you like the sound of it, Furtado has asked fans to support his work by donating to his Patreon campaign. The first episode of X-Men: Danger Room Chronicles hits YouTube January 19.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Michael is a New York-based tech and culture reporter, and a graduate of Northwestwern University’s Medill School of…

Gaming

How to get to Monkey Island in Sea of Thieves

An election poster for guybrush in Sea of Thieves.

Over the course of its many years of updates and expansions, Sea of Thieves has had a few notable crossovers with other pirate franchises. The Pirates of the Caribbean crossover let you team up with the legendary Jack Sparrow, but the Monkey Island content felt like it came out of nowhere. For those unaware, Monkey Island is a series of pirate point-and-click games that were as funny as the puzzles were obscure. Thankfully, you don't have to intuit that you need to combine a cat whisker with a mason jar to bypass a skeleton guard to get to this new content, but it is more challenging than you might think.

Gaming

3 Xbox Game Pass games you need to play this weekend (May 3-5)

Senua in Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice.

Another weekend is upon us, and you're probably looking for some games to kill time with over the course of it. We're in a bit of a lull right now ahead of a flurry of releases starting next week, so it's a great time to dip back into the Xbox Game Pass catalog and check out some games that you may have missed. There are three games in particular that I think you should check out this weekend if you're looking for something to play.

One is an unsettling adventure that's getting an Xbox-exclusive sequel later this month. The next is a finely animated roguelike indie that recently made its way to Microsoft's gaming subscription service. Finally, there's a relaxing adventure that gives players a lot of freedom, yet is short enough to beat in a weekend. If you're having trouble deciding what to play this weekend, give one of these games a shot.
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice

Gaming

3 underrated PS Plus games you should play this weekend (May 3-5)

The main character of Tales of Kenzera: Zau stands with two elemental items.

PlayStation Plus Premium and Extra have been around for almost two years, and during that time the subscription service has established itself as an ample competitor to Xbox Game Pass. That means there is a wealth of great games for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 owners to check out if they're looking for something to play this weekend. I think PS Plus subscribers should be looking toward some of the more underrated games in the subscription service this weekend too.

I have three particular picks in mind. The first is an enjoyable Metroidvania that came to PS Plus' game catalog when it launched just a couple of weeks ago and deserves a lot more attention than it's getting. After that, there's an action-platformer that pays homage to series like Ninja Gaiden that you should check out before it leaves the catalog. Finally, there's a PS2-era Star Wars game that fills the niche a recently canceled game would have.
Tales of Kenzera: Zau