We’ve been following Activision and Bizarre Creations’ upcoming racing game Blur for some time now and each time we get more info, a trailer or other items, we get more interested in the game. This time is no exception.

Today, we’ve got another trailer for the game which takes things in a more social direction. In the video, the Bizarre Creations team discusses the social gameplay aspects of the game, including how the game brings people together — except maybe when seeking serious revenge on your opponent. Yes, those things happen.

Also, our friends at Activision wanted us to remind you that the Blur multiplayer beta launches in March. So mark that date on your calendars. We’ll have more details on that for you when we get them. In the meantime, click on through to the other side to check out the brand new trailer.

Blur will be available this spring for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.

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This was a big week for news, especially of the comic book movie variety. Surprisingly, even with all that coming out we still have even more items worth talking about on the radar. Batman beats Superman…again, a Star Wars character makes a bid for a mascot job, MGM is still looking for money, Brian De Palma may get paranormal and what cities will Michael Bay reign destruction upon next?

Batman trumps Superman on the auction block

Looks like Batman wasn’t content with beating Superman at the box office, he had to do it at an auction as well. The 1939 first appearance of The Dark Knight sold for a whopping $1,075,500. This beats Superman’s first appearance in comics which sold for 1 million. Sorry, Supes…but, hey, you did land an awesome writer for your upcoming reboot.

Blockbuster struggles to remain relevant in the digital age

Video rental store Blockbuster continues an uphill battle to compete against digital alternatives.  The brick-and-mortar business reported a “$435 million in the fourth quarter, compared with $360 million in red ink in the year-ago frame. Revenue dropped 18% to $1.1 billion.” As companies like Netflix and Redbox continue to steal market share some believe Blockbuster has some merit left:

“The drying up of retail competition from the ongoing closures of most Movie Gallery and Hollywood Video stores; major studios aren’t making their new releases immediately available to Redbox; and Warner Bros. will begin a 28-delay before giving Netflix access to new-release DVDs.”

Personally, I don’t see a rebound at this point and beyond the legit competition Blockbuster still has piracy to content with. Is this the end? We’ll see.

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Next week, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit returns with an all new episode and to keep things as fresh as possible, they’re bringing on a guest star you might recognize: Kathy Griffin. I know what you’re thinking? She’s a comedienne and host’s CNN’s New Years Eve show, but is she an actor too?

Well, apparently she can act, at least judging from the clips we have from the show next week for you. In thise clips we are introduced to her character “Babs Duffy” as she brings a complaint against your favorite SVU officers, meets ADA Cabot (Stephanie March) for the first time and then confronts Detective Benson (Mariska Hargitay) — not really a confrontation you want to have.

We’ve also got a video interview with Griffin where she talks about her role on the show. Of course, she’s very funny as usual. Be sure to check out all the clips after the break. SVU returns next Wednesday at 9/8C on NBC.

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Originally, Lost Planet 2 preorders from Gamestop were going to allow players exclusive access to the Resident Evil 5 Albert Wesker skin and Magnum Revolver weapon during the game. Due to popular demand, Capcom has changed this and made the skin and Revolver available to everyone who purchases the game.

Now the question will be if they are available from the start or if they will be unlockables. As a result, Gamestop now offers two exclusive multiplayer maps. Available for the game’s 16 player online multiplayer, Helix and Back to the Island will be downloadable for those who preorder.

Helix
The underwater NEVEC mining facility houses several layers and twisted corridors. Swim between the layers, or dive to the bottom to change your point of attack. Aqua Catapults can launch you to the upper levels in a hurry, and you must learn every corner and get the upper hand on your enemies.

Back to the Island

The shady atoll of Island 902 is broken into wide open spaces and compact interiors. Choose your battlefield from the beaches to the battered carrier, or explore a new dimension in the underwater battle. Control the bridge to dominate the map, but beware attacks from all sides.

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It is getting more and more difficult for filmmakers to breathe new life into the tired zombie genre as of late. The most successful zombie movies in recent memory are infused with humor (Zombieland) or introduce a new spin on the classic tale (Pontypool.) The Crazies is a cool little horror film that works because its zombies are not quite typical zombies, which I found more believable and thus more scary than a true zombie movie.

Time for me to fess up. I haven’t seen George Romero’s 1973 film that was the original source material for this film, so this was all a new concept to me.

The Crazies opens with a nifty juxtaposition of small town tranquility and calm (the whole town is watching a local baseball game) with modern day horrors, as a man pointedly walks across the baseball field with a shotgun. He doesn’t look like a zombie.

Instead, he appears to be channeling Michael Douglas’ character from Falling Down. As the horrified crowd looks on, the local sheriff  David (Timothy Olyphant) shoots the man before he can harm anyone.

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Regardless of the hype, good reviews, or recommendations we get on a game, sometimes we just miss out on some of the latest and greatest titles because of one thing: cold, hard cash. Videogames are expensive, and whether you rent or buy you’re still paying a pretty penny for the ones that you deem worthy enough to play.

So what if you could get a bunch of really great games you’ve wanted for dirt cheap? That’s what Microsoft’s Games on Demand for Windows is banking on for the month of March, when they’ll be discounting a different PC game every weekend. According to Kotaku, the first one will be Batman: Arkham Asylum and starting today this weekend (now confirmed via Major Nelson), the game will sell for 75% off of the $49.99 retail price on their online store.

While PC might not be your console of preference for this or any of the other titles they’ll be releasing, you can’t deny the awesome savings at a time when we all kind of need them. Be sure to check back here at The Flickcast or your Games for Windows Live account every Friday all month long for the latest.

I will admit I’m not as big a fan of Doctor Who as I am of Torchwood. I guess I just like my TV shows with more snogging, shagging and swearing. Still, you can’t deny the enduring popularity of Doctor Who, even as it goes through many actors playing the title character. Audiences love it and it shows no signs of slowing down.

Good news then for fans in the U.S. then as the BBC has announced the new season, featuring Matt Smith as the Doctor and Karen Gillan as his sidekick Amy Pond, will make its U.S. television debut on Saturday, April 17 on BBC America. This will come soon after the show’s UK. debut, which won’t really be soon enough for the show’s U.S. fans I’m sure.

After seeing the trailers and all the other bits and pieces about this new series and the new Doctor, I may have to give this show another chance. It looks like they make be trying to take the show in a slightly more mature direction, which might help it reach an even broader audience — and convert on-the-fence Torchwood fans like myself. Hey, it could happen.

Most of us can look back and remember the glory days of video games. Before memory cards. Before hi-res 3D models.

Back when you had to blow the dust out of the cartridge to get it to turn on. Back to the NES. The Nintendo Entertainment System.

It’s been almost fifteen years since the last NES cartridge was produced. Many college kids break out their old systems and play the classics like Super Mario Bros. and Dunk Hunt still to this day. But someone felt like giving the old system one last try.

Sivak Games brings Battle Kid: Fortress of Peril to the NES. True to its 8-Bit ancestors, Battle Kid puts a simple protagonist against overwhelming odds in this platform adventure as players must navigate through the game’s more than 550 rooms.

For a mere $30, players can order the slick see through green cartridge complete with classic black slip case and instruction manual just like we remember begging our parents to buy us back in the days of our youth from RetroZone.  Quantities may be limited.

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“A woman cannot subsist on quality films alone”–Shannon Hood

Let me explain with a food analogy, if I may. For the most part, I am a food Nazi. I try to eat really well, eat lots of fruits and vegetables, watch my fat and sugar intake, and every once in a while I find myself in the McDonald’s drive through That quarter-pounder with cheese is damn delicious when I eat it.

Afterward, I usually feel guilty. I know that it is not good for me.  I know it lacks nutritional value, and really is not a quality offering, but I have to admit that I had a good time consuming it.

Such is the case with Cop Out, the first feature film that has been directed, but not written, by Kevin Smith. There is no way I can possibly sit here and tell you this is a good movie.  It is not, by any stretch of the imagination. It is really, really stupid. But I laughed.  A lot.  *hangs head in shame*

Let’s face facts. If you happened upon the trailer for this a few months ago, and after viewing it, you circled February 26 on your calendar and thought to yourself  ”I cannot WAIT to see that,”  then you will not be disappointed. What you see is what you get. You don’t need my advice here. This is pure cinematic junk food, which may or may not be what you are craving.

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Actor Andrew Koenig was found dead in Vancouver, British Columbia’s Stanley Park. Despite a three-team search-and-rescue effort that covered the park last Tuesday, his body was recovered by an independent search organized by a group of the actor’s friends Thursday. According to Koenig’s father, actor Walter Koenig, Andrew’s cause of death was suicide. Koenig’s father further said that his son suffered from depression and had stopped taking his medication. The actor had been missing since February 14.

Koenig was perhaps best known for his role as “Boner,” friend to star Kirk Cameron’s character “Mike Seaver” on the ’80s sitcom Growing Pains. The actor also appeared in various roles on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, 21 Jump Street, and My Two Dads. He was 41.

One of our favorite roles portrayed by Andrew was that of The Joker in the original fan film Batman: Dead End from 2003. Check out the video after the jump, and our thoughts go out to the Koenig family during this difficult time.

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Are you excited for this summer’s Iron Man 2? Do you know French? Then you’ll love this new clip that the kind folks at French MSN.com put up. The second half of the video is the trailer that we’ve all seen before, but it’s the first half that has all new footage.

Director Jon Favreau, Robert Downey Jr., Mickey Rourke, and Scarlett Johansson all chat about some of the effects in the upcoming film, and some of the things they’re doing to introduce Stark’s newest opponent, Whiplash. The character is more of a hybrid of both Crymson Dynamo and Whiplash from the comics, with Dynamo’s backstory and Whiplash’s abilities and name.

With a screenplay from Tropic Thunder’s Justin Theroux, Iron Man 2 is set to hit theaters and IMAX on May 7th of this year. Along with Rourke, Downey, and Johansson, the film also stars Don Cheadle, Gwyneth Paltrow, Sam Rockwell, and Samuel L. Jackson.

Check out the french footage, courtesy of MSN.fr here. They don’t allow embedding, sorry.

Much like we’ve done in the past, we’ve got another preview of this week’s episode of Syfy’s original series Caprica. The episode, entitled ‘There Is Another Sky,” features the elder Adama (Esai Morales) reaching out to his son as he goes deeper into the underworld his uncle inhabits.

Plus, Adama’s daughter finds new power in the virtual world created by Greystone (Eric Stoltz) and learns things in the virtual world may not be what they seem. Even with its somewhat slow start, this series continues to grow on me and be more and more interesting each week.

I know it’s not Battlestar Galactica and it never will be. But maybe that doesn’t really matter after all.

Check out the preview after the jump. Caprica airs Fridays on Syfy at 9/8C.

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