by John Carle, Aug 20 2009 // 9:00 AM
XBox 360′s Summer of Arcade, despite a few awkward weeks in the middle, kicks back up for a strong finish with its fifth and final game release, Shadow Complex. Shadow Complex could best be compared in gameplay style to the SNES classic Super Metroid. An action platformer, the player traverses through levels deep in an underground bunker, facing off against various poorly trained soldiers who are about as accurate as Cobra in the G.I. Joe cartoon.
Unlike the classic, players have full 360 degrees of motion to which they can aim their gun using the right analog stick. Also different is the inclusion of foreground and background enemies. A player cannot move themselves in to the background plane to combat enemies but they can shoot from their current position at the enemies off in the distance. This can leave players with interesting choices of taking out the immediate threat in front of them in the foreground or to take a few quick shots and aim for the sniper in the background.
In terms of setting, however, the game feels similar to a James Bond movie with high-tech gadgets combined with a little bit of modern realistic sci-fi that could be found in a game like Perfect Dark Zero. There are large mech-like bosses and interesting new weapons like a gun that allows players to create platforms in mid-air that they can use to walk on.
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Posted in: Microsoft · Reviews · Video Games · XBLA · Xbox 360
Tagged: Shadow Complex, Summer of Arcade, XBLA, Xbox 360, XBox Live
by Matt Raub, Aug 20 2009 // 8:00 AM
With thousands of fans across the country getting to see 16 minutes of James Cameron’s Avatar in select theaters, the studio is still giving the rest of us a peak at this mysterious film. The first teaser trailer went live today, though in French, shows us the world that the Titanic director conjured up.
The film, starring Sam Worthington (Terminator: Salvation), Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez, and Stephen Lang (Public Enemies) is a sci-fi adventure about a hero who helps save a civilization, and “embarks on a journey of redemption and discovery” along the way.
Cameron initially had the idea for this film 14 years ago, but the technology wasn’t available for him to produce it properly. Finally, when pre-production began, the project took 4 years to finish, and this winter, we’ll finally get to see it. Check out the trailer after the jump. 20th Century Fox’s Avatar hits IMAX and 3-D theaters December 18 of this year.
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Posted in: 20th Century Fox · 3-D · Action · Animation · Fantasy · IMAX · Movies · News · Sci-Fi · Trailers
Tagged: Avatar, James Cameron, Michelle Rodriguez, Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver
by Joe Gillis, Aug 20 2009 // 7:00 AM
According to Variety, screenwriter Bill Birch has been given the task of adapting the DC comic book character Captain Marvel for Warner Bros. big screen version of Shazam! — a project that already has Get Smart helmer Peter Segal attached to direct.
Birch, who is currently writing the film One Finger Salute for Warner Bros., comes to the project following several other drafts by prominant screenwriters such as John August, Bryan Goluboff, Joel Cohen and Alec Sokolow and even William Goldman. In addition, Geoff Johns, currently enjoying a very successful run on DC’s Blackest Night, will co-write and consult on the project.
According to the trade, Segal and Ewing began working on the film three years ago at New Line before it moved over to Warners. In case you’re not familiar, the film centers on teenager Billy Batson, who transforms into the superhero Captain marvel when he says the word “Shazam!” The studio is now looking to go back to the original DC Comics source material for inspiration.
Good idea. What took you so long to figure that out?
Posted in: Comics · DC · Movies · News · Scripts · Warner Bros · Writers
Tagged: Bill Birch, Billy Batson, Captain Marvel, Geoff Johns, Get Smart, Peter Segal, Shazam!
by John Carle, Aug 19 2009 // 3:45 PM

Considered by many to be the definitive RPG of the original XBox with the hugely successful sequel on the XBox 360, the Fable franchise is, behind Halo, one of the most beloved exclusives Microsoft has. Earlier today in Cologne, Germany, head of Lionhead Studios and Creative Director of Microsoft Games Studios, Europe Peter Molyneux announced the next piece of the Fable franchise coming in 2010.
Fable has always been about the moral choices of an individual and how those choices have effected the world around him, whether he chose to be a savior or a tyrant. Now, Fable 3 looks to up the ante as you will see in the game’s first teaser trailer that just hit the Internets.
Check it out after the jump.
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Posted in: Microsoft · Trailers · Video Games · Xbox 360
Tagged: Fable 3, Gamescon, Microsoft, Teaser Trailer, Xbox 360
by Cortney Zamm, Aug 19 2009 // 3:00 PM
Rock Band has never failed to satisfy the wanna-be rock stars within us, but has yet to focus on the younger generation of budding rockers, until now. LEGO Rock Band will feature everything we know and love about the previous Rock Band games as well as the family-friendly, silly antics gamers have come to expect from the LEGO franchise. Players will be able to design their whole band as well as their roadies and manager.
Some notable tracks from the kid-friendly setlist are “Song 2″ by Blur, Carl Douglas’ “Kung Fu Fighting”, Good Charlotte’s “Boys and Girls” So What” by Pink, and “The Final Countdown” by Europe.
Coming this Holiday season for the PS3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii and DS, LEGO Rock Band puts the power of Rock into the hands gamers of all ages as they “Build a Band and Rock the Universe.”
Check out the video featuring the “Rock Power Challenge” and Tick Tick Boom! by The Hives after the jump.
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Posted in: Games · Trailers · Video · Warner Bros
Tagged: Lego, Lego Rock Band, MTV Games, Rock Band, Warner Interactive
by Joe Gillis, Aug 19 2009 // 2:00 PM
Progress marches on and apparently its not enough to read good comics, now they have to move too. Oh well, can’t stop progress I guess. Besides, as much as I might hate to say it as a fan of reading, this new Spider-Woman motion comic (aka MOCO) does look pretty darn cool. Don’t understand what I’m talking about?
Well, fortunately, we’ve got all the info you could possibly need about this new offering from the folks at Marvel, via an official press release. Of course, we’ve also got some awesome screen shots of the MOCO after the jump, so be sure and check those out!
MARVEL LAUNCHES FIRST-EVER ORIGINAL MOTION COMIC
SPIDER-WOMAN
First episode available on iTunes on August 19, 2009
If the pages of Marvel Comics could move, what would they look like? Wonder no more! Marvel Comics announced the launch of its first ever original motion comic, Spider-Woman. The legendary, Eisner-award winning Brian Michael Bendis wrote the story of Spider-Woman, with art by Eisner Award winning artist Alex Maleev (Daredevil and Stephen King’s N. Mobisodes). The first episode of Spider-Woman will be available on iTunes beginning August 19, 2009, with additional episodes released every two weeks.
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Posted in: Animation · Apple · Comics · Geek · Marvel · News · Press Releases · Video
Tagged: Alex Maleev, Brian Bendis, Motion Comic, Spider-Woman
by Chris Ullrich, Aug 19 2009 // 1:00 PM
I’m still on the fence about the whole “3-D Renaissance” that seems to be captivating Hollywood at the moment, but if I ever wanted to know some compelling reasons why everything seems to be coming up 3-D these days, this would be the guy to ask. I’m talking about, of course, mega-producer Jeffrey Silver, whose credits include Training Day, 300, Terminator Salvation and the upcoming Tron Legacy — which is in, you guessed it, 3-D.
And now, it looks like I’m going to get the chance. Or, at the very least, have a chance to hear him speak on the subject because Silver is going to Keynote the upcoming HD Expo event in beautiful Burbank, CA. Silver is, as you might have guessed (and according to the official info from the event) “is one of the industry’s most respected and prolific producers (and) will Keynote HD EXPO – Createasphere on November 5th, 2009.”
“Mr. Silver has been involved with groundbreaking technology on a number of productions including 300 and Tron Legacy, a sequel to the 1982 game changer Tron.”
I’m actually looking forward to checking this out and if you happen to be in Burbank on November 5th and are curious about the whole 3-D thing like I am, you should probably join me there. Who knows, maybe 3-D really is the way to go?
Posted in: 3-D · Disney · Events · Filmmaking · Movies · News · Reboots and Remakes · Sci-Fi
Tagged: 3-D, 300, HD Expo, Jeffrey Silver, Tron, Tron Legacy
by Chris Ullrich, Aug 19 2009 // 12:00 PM
The Caprica casting office seems to be working overtime lately and is snagging a bunch of great new people to take on key roles in the show. Previously, we told you about Battlestar Galactica alumni Luciana Carro joining the show as well as comedian Patton Oswalt recently being cast. And now, word comes today that everyone’s other favorite former vampire James Marsters is joining the show as well and taking on what is described as a “sizable role.”
No word yet on exactly what Marsters will be doing on the show and who, or what, he will be doing it to but we do know, according to EW, that he will be pretty much doing what he does best and playing a dangerous and unpredictable bad guy driven by his carnal and moralistic desires. Marsters will play a terrorist leader named Barnabus Greele in at least three episodes of the upcoming Syfy series.
As a fan of Buffy and all of Marsters’ work, I’m always glad to see him make an appearance on any show. He always brings something special to the table and raises the level of any show he’s on. The fact that he’s going to be in Caprica makes me even more excited for its debut on Januray 22, 2010. Not that I really needed a reason to watch the show.
Posted in: Battlestar Galactica · Casting · News · Sci-Fi · SyFy · TV
Tagged: Barnabus Greele, Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, Caprica, James Marsters, Smallville, Spike, Torchwood
by Chris Ullrich, Aug 19 2009 // 11:02 AM
One of SyFy’s most popular shows returns for its fifth season tonight on the network. No, I’m not talking about another edition of the “monster of the week” low-budget sci-fi movies (not that those are so bad), I’m talking about real live Ghostbusters here.
Yes, that’s right, the guys from Ghost Hunters return to the airwaves for another all-new season of , well, hunting ghosts and those other things that “go bump in the night.” The show is a fun ride and often scarier than the so-called “scary” movies that come out these days — mostly because this stuff looks so damn real. Oh yeah, that’s because it is.
We’ve got some clips from the show for you today including a preview of tonight’s premiere where the team investigate some strange occurrences in the town of Blackstone, MA where “a family’s paranormal experiences have recently taken a turn for the worse. The increasingly violent incidents show no sign of letting up during the team’s investigation, during which Jason is attacked by an invisible force!” Damn. Sign me up for that.
Check out both of the clips, as usual, after the jump. Ghost Hunters premieres tonight at 9/8C on SyFy.
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Posted in: Mystery and Suspense · News · SyFy · TV · Video
Tagged: Amy Bruni, Dave Tango, Ghost Hunters, Grant Wilson, Jason Hawes
by Joe Gillis, Aug 19 2009 // 9:30 AM
This week on The Flickcast, your tireless threesome dive into some great new topics including the film Kick-Ass being picked up by Lionsgate, the box office and merits of District 9 versus G.I. Joe, Frank Darabont taking on The Walking Dead for AMC, Christopher McQuarrie writing a sequel to X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Bryan Singer’s Battlestar Galactica movie and a whole lot more.
The team also made some new picks this week including Christina’s pick of the documentary Boy Interrupted, Matt’s pick of Boston Legal, featuring James Spader and William Shatner, and Chris’ pick of Robert Kirkman’s excellent comic The Walking Dead.
As always, if you have comments, questions, critiques or offers of sponsorship, feel free to hit us up in the comments, on Twitter and at Facebook, MySpace or via email.
Thanks for listening.
Posted in: Movies · Podcasts · Prequels and Sequels · Reboots and Remakes · Sci-Fi · TV
Tagged: Battlestar Galactica, District 9, Episode 21, G.I. Joe, James Spader, Kick-Ass, Matthew Vaughn, Robert Kirkman, The Walking Dead, William Shatner, X-Men Origins
by John Carle, Aug 19 2009 // 8:00 AM

At the recent San Diego Comic-Con, we got some major quality time with all things DC Universe Online from our gameplay footage of the game to our interview with DC superstar artist Jim Lee . We also had the opportunity to get some hands with the game itself, have a sit down with some of the developers and a one on one interview with writer Marv Wolfman and discuss his work on DC Universe Online. Because there is just so much information from SDCC we have about DC Universe Online, this is going to a be two part story with the second half coming out tomorrow.
DC Universe Online was created with the goal of fulfilling the superhero fantasy in the DC world. Players will be given the ability to create their own hero or villain in order to achieve their own legacy. The ultimate goal of any hero or villain in the game would be to get invited in to the Justice League of America or the Secret Society of Super Villains respectively.
DC Universe Online is a Massively Multiplayer Online action game. Using a Playstation 3 controller or a keyboard, the player presses a button to perform an action. Players are able to string up button pushes to chain up together complex series of attacks. In addition, heavy attacks will knock certain objects around the environment, resulting in a world that is reactive to the player’s actions. If a player hits an explosive barrel in to a wall, there will be noticeable signs left behind from the barrel’s detonation left behind.
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Posted in: Comics · DC · Games · Gear · Sony · Video Games
Tagged: Batman, DC, DC Universe Online, Marv Wolfman, MMOs, Playstation 3, SOE, Sony Online Entertainment, Superman
by Jennifer Tomooka, Aug 19 2009 // 7:00 AM
Last summer’s Iron Man had fans rejoicing after the ending credits when a surprise visit from Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury planted the seeds for the upcoming Thor, The First Avenger: Captain America, and Avengers films. MTV Splashpage recently caught up with Don Cheadle, and asked the Iron Man 2 star what fans can expect after the credits have rolled.
“Thor and Hulk both make an appearance in this film. They work at a diner,” Cheadle reveals, “You heard it here first. Thor is actually in the movie. He eats Tony Stark. He consumes him into his godlike belly and spews him into the world. He turns into stars actually.”
Fans will have to wait to see how much of Cheadle’s humorous assertion will show up in Iron Man 2, but given the Thor’s 2011 release date, it seems feasible that the thunder god will have some kind of reference point in the film. Hopefully, it won’t include eating Tony Stark.
“It’s a strange twist. I don’t know that they’re going to stay with it. It may not make it to the final cut, but it was cool to see filmed,” Cheadle joked.
Iron Man 2 opens on May 7, 2010.
Posted in: Action · Comics · Fandom · Filmmaking · Marvel · Movies · News · Prequels and Sequels
Tagged: Avengers, Don Cheadle, Hulk, Iron Man 2, Nick Fury, Samuel L. Jackson, The First Avenger: Captain America, Thor, Tony Stark