It’s been long rumored that Polygon Man is the final boss in PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale. Today, we can confirm that this is, indeed, the case. In PlayStation All-Stars’ introduction video, seen below (and viewable whenever you turn on the game), you’ll see each of the game’s 10 rivalries culminate with a quick glimpse of Polygon Man himself.

Who is Polygon Man, you ask? In short, he’s the original PlayStation mascot, designed to tease the power of the PlayStation before it launched in the west in 1995. Interestingly, the ad campaign was pulled before the console launched in North America. According to Edge, this reportedly occurred when Sony Computer Entertainment founder and former CEO Ken Kutaragi “went absolutely insane” upon seeing it on Sony’s E3 booth in 1995. In other words, he wasn’t pleased.

But that hasn’t stopped Polygon Man from persisting in the minds of the most hardcore PlayStation faithful, and his inclusion in PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale indicates that the team at SuperBot Entertainment has its roots firmly planted in the same soil PlayStation sprouted from nearly two decades ago. But the intro video itself also serves a purpose apart from simply showing off Polygon Man, as SuperBot Entertainment’s Omar Kendall explains.

“We really wanted to play up the concept of rivalries” in All-Stars, Kendall said, the hypothetical “what ifs” of the universe they’ve created where the unlikeliest of characters can face-off against one another. The intro video allows SuperBot Entertainment to do that. With the video’s script and design concocted in-house, SuperBot utilized the skills of Zoic Studios to render and create the intro itself.

But for Kendall, a veteran of the fighting development scene, an intro such as this serves another purpose. “This was another note that we could hit that was very much in line with the overall message that PlayStation All-Stars really is, or at least has roots in traditional fighting games.” He mentions games like Soul Calibur and Marvel vs. Capcom 3 as examples of great fighting games with epic intros like the one they’ve attempted to put in their game.

With all 10 of the rivalries shown-off in full, Kendall noted that there were some “fantasy matchups” in there, like Ratchet & Clank versus Jak & Daxter, as well as some “in your face” rivalries, and some more subtle “easter egg” rivalries, like the one between Nathan Drake and Sly Cooper that play off of the fact that both are treasure hunters… or perhaps thieves. He describes the entire scenario as being “big notes” complemented by “subtle cues.”

The rivalries are as follows:

• Ratchet & Clank versus Jak & Daxter
• Sly Cooper versus Nathan Drake
• Fat Princess versus Evil Cole MacGrath
• Sir Daniel Fortesque versus Colonel Radec
• Sackboy versus Big Daddy
• Nariko versus Dante
• Heihachi versus Toro
• Spike versus Parappa the Rapper
• Good Cole MacGrath versus Raiden
• Sweet Tooth versus Kratos

Kendall stressed that the story in All-Stars should be loose and act as an excuse for these characters to come together. But it shouldn’t be construed as canon. He “didn’t want a big, sort of heavy story that was going to feel really arbitrary and cheesy and kind of pull the players out. Because these characters… come from these really rich worlds already, and I knew that this game wasn’t going to serve to paint the sort of official storylines of these individual characters. I knew it was going to be something that they experience together mutually, in some ways exclusively, and then go back to their worlds. You’re really not going to see their experiences in PlayStation All-Stars reflected in God of War IV or God of War V.”

Yet, citing the famous Michael ad (seen below), Kendall admits that “all of these characters live inside this shared space,” later noting that “we thought it would be really cool if we, as opposed to trying really hard to create this fiction and explain why Kratos and Sackboy are in the same world together, just sort of casually acknowledge the fact that this world is living inside of your PlayStation.”

It’s that very notion – the world living inside of your PlayStation – that influenced the team to put Polygon Man in PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale as the final boss.

“When we were thinking about a boss for PlayStation All-Stars, we asked ourselves ‘what was the ultimate manifestation of PlayStation?’ And for us, it was Polygon Man. If you could look at some of the original material that Polygon Man appeared in, he makes these crazy statements, these sort of almost nonsensical statements, like ‘power is an illusion’, ‘absolute power is a seamless illusion’. These really weird, grandiose statements. He doesn’t really come off as a bad guy, but he comes off as kind of this representative of power, the power and potential and what PlayStation represents. So we thought it would be really cool if at the center of this shared universe all of these PlayStation characters inhabit was Polygon Man, waiting as the ultimate challenge for this world.”

Kendall went on. “If you look at the rivalry cutscene, it takes place in this kind of blue polygonal space. That, for us, is kind of the PlayStation universe at its base. You’ll see the XMB power waves flying in the background, you’ll see the PlayStation shapes flying around in the background. That’s kind of like the PlayStation landscape stripped bare to its essence… You see that space transition into the purple Polygon Man colors, and for us, Polygon Man is made of the same stuff, I guess, as the essence of the PlayStation universe.”

Believe it or not, however, Polygon Man wasn’t the original idea for the final boss in PlayStation All-Stars. The team at SuperBot came up with many ideas, including ones that took from certain games. An idea floated early on was the Helghan Army from Killzone being the game’s villain. But those sorts of ideas didn’t jive with the idea of what PlayStation All-Stars was all about.

“I think what we realized when we were going through our exploration was that yeah, certainly we could identify a single evil entity from one of our characters’ universes,” Kendall explained. “It could be Zeus (from God of War), it could be Dr. Nefarious (from Ratchet & Clank), it could be any of our sort of standard villains. But we felt that as a game called PlayStation All-Stars, we really wanted the final challenge to not draw from a single, particular IP, but really, we wanted the final challenge to be against the entire PlayStation brand itself. And when we began to think about it that way, Polygon Man really became the obvious choice.”

Colin Moriarty is an IGN PlayStation editor. You can follow him on Twitter and IGN and learn just how sad the life of a New York Islanders and New York Jets fan can be.

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The biggest PlayStation-exclusive game of the fall is undoubtedly PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, the cross-play PS3/Vita brawler in the style of Nintendo’s famous Super Smash Bros. series. And its release is only a short time away.

There have been a lot of questions swirling around regarding All-Stars’ character roster and stages, specifically concerning if there will be DLC characters, stages and more after All-Stars is released later this November. Today, Sony has confirmed to IGN that there will be both.

“Yes, we will be adding additional gameplay content to PlayStation All-Stars through post-launch DLC,” a Sony representative told us, “including new characters and environments.” Unfortunately, Sony has no further specifics to share.

Keep an eye out on IGN in the coming two weeks for a deluge of PlayStation All-Stars coverage, including a smorgasbord of videos, strategies and – of course – our full review.

Colin Moriarty is an IGN PlayStation editor. You can follow him on Twitter and IGN and learn just how sad the life of a New York Islanders and New York Jets fan can be.

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Team Evil Geniuses, the North American fan favorites, will face LG-Incredible Miracle, the team league all-stars of Korea, in the semifinals of the IGN Pro Team League. Both teams finished the season at the top of their respective groups, with Evil Geniuses going 2-1 in Group A and LG-IM going a staggering 3-0 in Group B. Neither group had an easier draw as they each had to face some of the best teams, such as Team Liquid, MVP, StarTale, and Prime. Wednesday, EG and LG-IM will battle it out to see who continues on to the IPTL Grand Finals.

The Lineups

Evil Geniuses:

DeMusliM (T) | IdrA (Z) | iNcontroL (P) | JYP (P) | HuK (P) | LzGaMeR (Z) | Machine (Z) | PuMa (T) | Stephano (Z) | Suppy (Z) | ThorZaIN (T)

LG-IM:

dreamertt (T) | Fenix (T) | First (P) | Happy (T) | LosirA (Z) | Mvp (T) | NesTea (Z) | Ready (P) | Seed (P) | True (Z) | YoDa (T) | YongHwa (P) | Horror (Z) | SK.MC (P)

Potential Starters

EG: HuK

Despite an alleged slump over the course of this year, HuK is still considered one of the strongest players on Evil Geniuses and one of the best foreigners in the world. He has been used twice in the IPTL, as a starter against SlayerS and an ace versus MVP. HuK is known for his highly unorthodox play, which makes it hard for his opponents to predict his next move. In addition to his unpredictable play, he is known for early aggression and top-notch micro.

LG-IM: YongHwa

YongHwa is best known for his performance in team leagues. He made his televised debut in the GSTL of February 2011, during which he displayed creativity and refined mechanics against ZeNEX and StarTale, ending the season with an impressive 5-1 record. Over the course of his career, he has struggled to make top results in 1v1 tournaments. However, he has found great success in team leagues as a sniper. In the 2012 GSTL Season 3, he achieved all-kills on Fnatic and SlayerS.

Key Player(s)

EG: PuMa

PuMa is a strong Terran player, who made a name for himself in SC2 when he placed first in the NASL Season 1 Open and went on to win the grand finals, defeating notable names such as Ret, Squirtle, July, and MC. He defended his title in the second season of the NASL when he defeated HerO in the grand finals (4-2). In the IPTL semifinals, PuMa will most likely be used as a sniper against LG-IM's Protoss player due to his effective use of the 1-1-1 build order.

LG-IM: Mvp, Seed

Mvp needs no introductions. Despite injuries and a lack of practice, Mvp still dominated tournaments with high-caliber play. He is unarguably the most decorated player in the entire world, having won the GSL four times, topping the GSL rankings in both 2011 and 2012.

Mvp is a solid player with immaculate macro and micro management, making him an all-around player in team leagues.

Seed is a dangerous player to go up against. Known for his ingenious Protoss play and forthright confidence, Seed dominates both 1v1 tournaments and team leagues. He was the one who put a stop to the seemingly invincible TaeJa in the grand finals of the IPL TAC3. He is also the second Protoss GSL Champion, having won the 2012 GSL Season 3 Code S finals. Seed's versatility allows him to be used as a sniper or team ace.

Team Aces

EG: Stephano

EG's newest recruit, Stephano, is widely hailed as the best foreigner. Over the course of his career, he has won the Lone Star Clash, IPL3, ESWC 2011, NASL Season 3, the World Championship Series: France Nationals, the 2012 World Championship Series: Europe Finals, and an ample amount of other minor tournaments. Stephano's best match-up is ZvP and he is well-known for his mass speedling/infestor play as well as his heavy use of roaches. In EG's match versus Liquid, Stephano was used as an ace and he was able to take down both TaeJa and HerO to secure the win.

LG-IM: MC

MC, the Protoss President, is the best performing Protoss player in the world. This year alone, he won HomeStory Cup IV, the IEM Season VI - World Championships, and Red Bull Battlegrounds: Austin. He is the only Protoss player to have reached the GSL Code S finals three time, two of which he won. MC is known for his efficient micro of blink stalkers, his relentless aggression, and his in-your-face confidence. He was used as an ace in LG-IM's series versus StarTale and will most likely be used as such again against Evil Geniuses.

Prediction: LG-IM 5 > 3 EG

Though Evil Geniuses's lineup has gotten significantly stronger with the addition of Stephano, it will be extremely difficult for them to take down the LG-IM squad, which is stacked with the best GSL players. They are the reigning champions of IPL TAC3 for a reason. If EG is able to take down one Code S player on LG-IM, they will have to go through five more in order to win. The odds are against EG. LG-IM will advance to the finals.

Be sure to tune in tonight to see which of these powerhouses is able to advance to the grand finals of the IPTL Premier Division.

Image Sources: Team Liquid, Eclypsia, SC2Earnings, GOMtv

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Stars Clive Owen and Morgan Freeman will soon be starring in Kazuaki Kiriya's action adventure film The Last Knights, reports Screen Daily.

The story follows a band of warriors who seek to avenge the loss of their master at the hands of a corrupt emperor. Bill Johnson's IF Entertainment is taking the project to the American Film Market later this week.

Luka Production International's Luci Kim is producing and Route One Film's Jay Stern, Russell Levine and Chip Diggins will serve as exec producers.

Current plans are to begin production as early as this month in the Czech Republic. Kiriya will direct from a script by Michael Konyves (Version).

Max Nicholson is a writer for IGN, and he desperately seeks your approval. Show him some love by following @Max_Nicholson on Twitter, or MaxNicholson on IGN.

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When you have my job, you get to meet movie stars and famous directors and Hollywood starlets and blah, blah, blah. But those guys are mostly a bore. And besides, it's not every day that one gets to shoot the s#!t with the man whose comics you grew up reading! For me, that would be Walt Simonson, whose acclaimed run on titles like Thor and X-Factor in particular helped shaped a young Collura's comics-reading habits (well, me, and every other kid reading comics at the time that is).

I was lucky enough to get a chance to talk to Simonson recently because of his new book from Titan… or rather, his new old book. Alien: The Illustrated Story is a restored rerelease of his and writer Archie Goodwin's excellent graphic-novel adaptation of the Ridley Scott film that was originally created for Heavy Metal over 30 years ago (read my review here. An Original Art Edition of the book is also out next week which reproduces all of Simonson's black and white boards, in full size and complete with all of the little details and imperfections of the pre-published comics art, plus an interview with Simonson, original script pages, sketches and more.

The main topic of our conversation was the Alien book and its creation, but we also delve into his recently released labor of love for DC, The Judas Coin, his thoughts on returning to his classic titles like Thor, and much more.

Scott Collura: First of all, I have to ask, were you drawing when I called just now?

Walt Simonson: Well, I’ve got some stuff I’ve got to get done. I was working on some drawing, but that’s all right. I can draw after we talk!

SC: How many hours a day do you draw?

WS: Depends entirely on my deadlines. If my deadlines are a long way off, I don’t draw that much. If my deadlines are tomorrow, I’m drawing like a madman. And right now my deadlines are tomorrow, so I’m drawing like a madman. [Laughs]

SC: Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe your big break came with Manhunter, which you worked on with Archie Goodwin, right?

WS: That’s right.

SC: So you obviously worked on Alien with Archie as well. Can you tell me about how that partnership came about on Alien?

WS: Well, the short version is that John Workman, who was the art director at Heavy Metal at the time, called me about the possibility of inking the Alien graphic novel adaptation of the movie over Carmine Infantino['s pencils] -- but he hadn’t been able to get a hold of Carmine at that point, so we talked about it and it sounded like fun. Eventually, we reached a point where I was going to pencil it, and I suggested that Archie would be a good guy to have write the words themselves in the comic. So that’s how that worked out.

SC: And of course, you and John Workman have had a longstanding relationship with each other since then.

WS: [Laughs] Yes we do, and that was the first time we worked together.

SC: As far as the process of actually creating the visuals of the comic, did you have any kind of access to the art from the film? How did that all work?

WS: We had all kinds of stuff. I was actually shown a rough cut of the film. It was close to two and a half hours long. This was in December of 1978 -- the movie came out in May of '79. So at the end of '78, 20th Century Fox provided a lot of references. At the time, Heavy Metal was also producing a book called The Book of Alien, which was a film book; they weren’t as common then as they are now, but it was a book about the making of the film. So they had a lot of references and slides from the film. I was able to have them essentially make photostats of the slides, blow them up. They were just black and white -- terrible reproduction value, you’d never be able to use them for anything, really -- but they were great for visual reference. 20th Century provided some other photographs and stills. Archie and I also had three different script revisions that were maybe two months apart each, and we were able to really just do our version of a comic using that material to create the graphic novel, as it turned out.

SC: How much attention did you pay to H.R. Giger when you were drawing that book?

WS: Well, I had a book of Giger’s stuff that came out before Alien, so I looked at that when I was drawing. We didn’t have a lot of clear shots of the alien. I think I had one where he was tipped over, sort of standing but bent over. And there were some detail shots. So I looked at Giger’s paintings for a sense of texture, a sense of the external skeletal quality of the character, and kind of went from there.

SC: Even on the first two pages where you draw the Alien title, it’s in that sort of skeletal techno-organic style.

WS: Sure, I just looked at this book of Giger stuff that I had and laid out the lettering, then I went in there with pencil, pen and ink and kind of drew up the series of textures that at least reminded me of Giger’s work. Then we used watercolor to kind of simulate that and give it some sense of the alien before you’ve read the book or seen the movie. You wouldn’t know quite what that was about, but it would resonate later after you had read the graphic novel.

SC: So what was it like when you saw the film? I assume you were done with the book by the time you saw the final film?

WS: The final one, yeah. I saw that when it came out. The book had to be published right at the same time the film was released. I don’t exactly remember how close -- same week or whatever it was. So essentially we had a drop-dead deadline to get the graphic novel finished by early April. There had to be time to get the art separated, essentially made print ready, and then sent to the printer -- printed, bound, trimmed and fired off to retail stores so that on the week the movie came out, the book would be available. By the time the movie came out, I’d finished the book four or five weeks earlier. So it was very neat. It was interesting -- there were bits that were different from the rough cut I had seen; by that time I had seen the rough cut almost six months earlier, so I didn’t remember a lot of stuff clearly. But there were a few things here or there that were different in the release cut. I thought that was kind of interesting.

SC: And even with the comic itself, I think one of the things that’s very effective for a fan of Alien who reads the comic is that it plays as sort of an alternate version of the events. Everything that happens is the same, but because we know Alien so well, angles are different; the length of scenes are obviously different. The characters look like the characters, and yet they’re your versions of the characters. In those ways, it kind of plays like an alternate version of the film, which is so cool.

WS: [Laughs] Well, we had a lot of room to maneuver, but of course I could never do a scene-for-scene drawing of the film. Honestly, I’m not sure I would have wanted to, really. What’s the point? But we had a lot of freedom, so what Archie and I tried to do was create a graphic novel that was the most effective comic book we could do of that story using all the stuff that we had, the raw material, as the foundation for building that comic. And that’s how it worked out.

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