Is the identity of the next Doctor right in front of us?

Peter Capaldi has officially announced his departure from Doctor Who.

The 58 year old Scottish born actor broke the news on a BBC Two radio show confirming that he will turn in the keys to the T.A.R.D.I.S at the end of this years Christmas special.  With that announcement the Internet is already ablaze with speculation over who will play the next incarnation of the runaway from Gallifrey.

With some big names already floating around we can't help but wonder if we've already been introduced to the next occupant of the T.A.R.D.I.S.

In a recent interview with RadioTimes.com Maisie Williams was questioned about the possibility of a return to Doctor Who:

"Well it's wide open" she was quoted as saying. 

Williams character Ashildr/Me was last seen fleeing in a stolen T.A.R.D.I.S alongside Clara Oswald and is one of many characters with a story that could be built upon by incoming show runner Chris Chibinal.

But what if Maisie was to return instead as the first female Doctor?

The foundation of this has already been laid:

The idea that The Doctor has a level of control over his regeneration's was first introduced in the fiftieth anniversary special The Day Of The Doctor when Matt Smith's eleventh Doctor came face to face with The Curator played by former Doctor Who star Tom Baker.

In an exchange of dialogue between the two characters it is strongly implied that Smith's eleventh Doctor has come face to face with a future incarnation barring a face from his past.

The Doctor "I never forget a face"

The Curator "I know you don't and in the years to come you might find yourself revisiting a few, but just the old favorites" 

This idea of revisiting old faces was later used to explain Peter Capaldi who had originally appeared as the Roman Caecilius in The Fires Of Pompeii alongside David Tennant and Catherine Tate.  A year and a half into Capaldi's time as The Doctor it is revealed in The Girl Who Died that the face of Caecilius was chosen by the Time Lord as a reminder that no matter the coast he should always try to save lives.

As a result of that realization The Doctor utilizes a Mire repair kit to restore life to the young Viking girl Ashildr (Williams) who will gain immortality as a result and assume the name ME.  The Doctor will go onto encounter Ashildr multiple times throughout series nine, and will come to realize that immortality has become her curse after reading her tear stained journals in The Girl Who Lived.

Could all this play into The Doctors next regeneration?

Although William's went onto tell RadioTimes.com that there has been no communication with the BBC regarding a return to the series, there is absolutely cannon in place to make this more then just speculation.

What are your thoughts, would you want to see Maisie Williams appear as the first female Doctor?

Let us know what you think.

CanGeek.com

Who is The Last Jedi?

December 15th, 2017 Star Wars returns to theaters with the release of Star Wars episode VIII The Last Jedi.   LucasFilm revealed the title of the next Star Wars film on Monday morning with the following press release:

"We have the greatest fans in this or any other galaxy,  In appreciation of the fans, we wanted them to be the first to know the title of the next chapter in the Skywalker saga: STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI.  THE LAST JEDI is written and directed by Rian Johnson and produced by Kathleen Kennedy and Ram Bergman and executive produced by J.J Abrams, Jason McGatlin, and Tom Karnowski"

This is the news that fans of the franchise of been waiting for as speculation about the plot of the upcoming film continues to run rampant online.

It is a believed that the film will continue were Star Wars: The Force Awakens concluded with Daisy Ridley's character Rey seeking training from Jedi master Luke Skywalker.   Based on the newly revealed title it is also assumed that Mark Hamill’s Skywalker is The Last Jedi and will once again play the central character in episode VIII. 

So what do you think, is Luke the last Jedi or is there another?   Comment below and remember to follow us at CanGeek.com. 

Whats happened to Cyberpunk 2077?

When I was fifteen years old a close friend introduced me to this amazing new tabletop RPG that he had just purchased.....

Published by FASA (the makers of both Mechwarrior and Battletech) this new game used a not to distant dystopian future as a backdrop and incorporated both science fiction and fantasy as a means of engaging its players in some truly creative storytelling.

Needless to say that by the end of our first adventure I was in love with Shadowrun!

My fascination for Shadowrun prompted me to develop a love for all things within the cyberpunk genre and as a result i sought out more games, more books, more movies, if it was cyberpunk themed then I wanted it!

Over the years however I had engrossed myself so deeply into this subculture that I began to lose interest in it, the truth is that anyone who says you can't have to much of a good thing is sadly deceiving you.

However this all changed for me once again in 2012, that's when the trailer for Cyberpunk 2077 appeared on YouTube:

Developed by CD Projekt Red (the publishers of The Witcher franchise) and based on the Cyberpunk 2020 tabletop game, Cyberpunk 2077 was originally slated for release on both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, so what happened?

The answer is simple, CD Projekt Red threw all of their development power behind The Witcher to ensure it would be the acclaimed success that it has ultimately became.  With the release of "Blood & Wine" which is the final DLC for The Witcher 3, we now eagerly await the release of Cyberpunk 2076, and it promises to be worth the wait!

Reports have suggested that Cyberpunk 2077 with its sandbox environment and optional first person/third person game play experience will be the largest open-world RPG ever created by CD Projekt Red.  

Further facts to support this include CD Projekt Red's decision to devote a larger team to the development of Cyberpunk 2077 then was allocated to The Witcher 3, also during the most rigorous period of The Witchers development CD Projekt Red opted to began upgrading the REDengine 3 game engine in preparation for work on Cyberpunk 2077.

Another aspect of game play that has been suggested is multiplayer which is highly unusual for a CD Projekt Red title.  Realizing the idea of a multiplayer experience could alarm its dedicated fan base, CD Projekt Red's managing director Adam Badowski told Eurogame during a 2013 interview

"It will be a story-based RPG experience with amazing single-player playthroughs, but we're going to add multiplayer features.  We don't know much beyond that"

As usual the developers are taking a "When it's done" approach in regards to the games release date, however it has been suggested that the release window expands anywhere from 2017 to 2021 with the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC now being their target platforms.

In my opinion this developer has a successful track record of releasing powerful and engulfing role-playing games that at their core have never failed to provide an exceptional experience to the end user..  With that fact in mind i enthusiastically and somewhat impatiently await the release of what i expect will be CD Projekt Red's best game to date.

Thanks for reading and remember to follow us at CanGeek.com

Magic The Gathering: My Story

My love of collectable card games began at seventeen when I was first introduced to Magic: The Gathering, this is my story:

I had been gaming for years with Battletech on Friday nights and Dungeons and Dragons every Sunday afternoon being my games of choice.  One Sunday our second edition D&D group got together as we usually did however this Sunday it seemed like no one was really interested in adventuring through Ravenloft and that is when it began.

One of our party members reached into his bag and produced two decks of cards.

Upon inspection the cards were smooth to the touch, had a glossy finish and contained some of the most breathtaking art I had ever seen.  During the next three hours the five people sitting at that table took turns playing with those same two decks of cards and my personal addiction was born.

Within two weeks I had purchased multiple packs of cards and had designed three playable decks with my Red & Black deck being my pride and joy.  Our Sunday afternoon games quickly became our Sunday afternoon Magic games (until our Dungeon Master put a stop to that).

Within a month of my first introduction to MTG I was in need of more compilation, so much like it had happened previously, I introduced my Friday night Battletech group to this amazing new game with surprisingly similar results.

Out of a group of four Battletech players I had recruited three new Magic: The Gathering players and had greatly increased my available competition in the process.

The Friday night Battletech games quickly took a back seat to the Friday Night Magic games.

When we played, we all played to win which inspired some fierce and aggressive rivalries in the process.  Each week someone was sure to arrive with a newly designed deck or a slightly re-tuned deck with the intentions of putting everyone else to shame that particular week.

This fact kept us all slightly poor as we were always buying cards in an attempt to "One Up" everyone else.....

With that fact in mind it should have come as no surprise when our group started burning out and we went back to playing Battletech, everyone had tired of Magic: The Gathering.  We still played the odd game once in awhile, but nothing like before.

Eventually people started cashing out and selling off their cards, myself included, but my story didn't end there.  For sometime I was sure I would never play again, I had an amazing collection of mint cards that I'd sold off so why would I ever go back?  Friendship!

Eight years ago I got a call from an old friend whom I use to play against, he was getting some people together at his place for a one day game, a booster draft, and he wanted me to come.  At first I resisted the temptation but I was weak and in need of a good game so I relented and went - it was one time so it couldn't hurt, could it???

Eight years have passed and I have amassed an even larger collection of cards then before, partially because I introduced my wife to Magic: The Gathering and much like before I crafted another addiction!

We don't play as often as we once did but we still play and I've reassembled some of our original group just to keep it interesting.

The competition is intense, old habits die hard after all.....