Apologies to all but the rigors of E3 and some technical glitches means the podcast is coming out today instead of yesterday. Still, better late then never, right? Anyway, on with the show.

This week on The Flickcast Chris and Matt are joined by games editor John Carle to talk all-things Electronic Entertainment Expo. With E3 in full swing the boys have lots to discuss including all the news and announcements from Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony as well as  thoughts and observations about upcoming games, the Kinect, Sony’s Move and the Activision preview event/concert complete with indoor fireworks.

Your hosts also made some great picks this week and in keeping with the E3 theme, all of them picked a game or technology they were most interested in or excited about from the show. John picked Marvel vs. Capcom 3 while Matt decided to choose Portal 2 and Chris took the somewhat obvious choice of Call of Duty: Black Ops.

As always, if you have comments, questions, critiques, offers of sponsorship or whatever, feel free to hit us up in the comments, on Twitter, at Facebook and MySpace or via email.

In The Pardoner’s Tale, three drunk scallywags stumble out of a pub in the middle of the Black Death.  In their alcohol inspired brilliance, they decide to go looking for Death so they can kill him in retaliation.  A strange old man hears their request, and informs them they can find Death beneath a particular tree.

When they arrive, they find not the Grim Reaper figure they (and readers) were expecting, but a bag of gold.   Greed overtakes them, and they wind up killing each other.

MacKenna’s Gold is that story. It’s also a remake of It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. I would argue that Geoffrey Chaucer was able to get “Gold is death, greed is bad” a lot more effectively and simply than either film, but that’s just me. Besides, if MacKenna’s Gold stripped the movie down to its essentials, you wouldn’t have a corny theme song (which was at the heart of long running David Letterman gag), ponderous narration, psychedelic effects, and terrible miniature work.

You also wouldn’t have gotten to see Omar Sharif or Julie Newmar naked. What? Yes. And you thought gratuitous nudity didn’t exist before the 1970s.

Continue Reading →

Of all the games coming out over the next year, there is only one that you could instantly pick out from just the music chosen for the trailer. With a song perfect for a 1940′s Vegas lounge, Fallout: New Vegas dropped its latest trailer at E3. In it, gamers were given their first peek at just what is in store for them in one of the few towns that was not devastated by the nuclear war that created the Fallout world.

Though not a direct sequel in the Fallout series, Fallout: New Vegas inhabits the same world as Fallout 3 with its events taking place three years after. The trail below shows a barren desert surrounding the cesspool of Vegas inhabited by the same mutated dogs and Super Mutants that have plagued other Fallouts along with some fantastically devastating weaponry. It’s kind of sad that in a world torn apart by war, players are going to further tear it down… Actually, from the look of this trailer, it’s pretty damn cool. I can’t wait to shoot a rocket launcher of my own at one of those “Jingle Jangle Jingle” playing robots either.

The New California Republic. Sniper rifles. Green toxic waste. An Elvis impersonation school. Crucifixions. What’s not to love in this trailer? If this is what Obsidian Entertainment has cooking up for us with Fallout: New Vegas we say bring it on. But don’t take our word for it. Take a peek below at the E3 2010 trailer for Fallout: New Vegas and let us know what you think.

Continue Reading →

Has Jason Voorhees finally kicked the proverbial bucket? According to Friday the 13th Part 2 remake producer Brad Fuller, that just maybe the case. Fuller, when questioned on the film franchise’s status back in April, replied “There’s just no movement on it right now. Paramount and New Line are simply evaluating if they’re going to make it and that’s what’s happening.”

And most recently when a die-hard fan, like so many horror fans want to, asked if there was any news on his Twitter page, Fuller just replied the project is DEAD! There was no reason provided other than there was “no movement” as to why the sequel to the 2009 hit which grossed close to 70 million world wide, is six feet under.

The death of the project was reassuringly not due to lack of interest, as the last two Jason-starring movies–Freddy Vs. Jason, and the recent remake–have brought more than their share of new and old fans back to Camp Crystal Lake. For now, Jason is laying low, waiting for his chance to rise from the grave once again and and show just why you don’t mess with the man in the mask!

A world on the brink of oblivion where people are turning into insane flesh eating monsters. Where would you want to be? Yeah, same here. Vegas. And while Dead Rising 2 doesn’t have a Las Vegas of their own, they do have Fortune City. In addition to providing a lair of sin and debauchery to cut your way through, many of life’s most important questions look like they will be answered over the course of Dead Rising 2.

Ever wonder if Siegfried and Roy’s prize tigers were good for anything other than mauling on the ambiguous duo? What happens if I tie dynamite to the end of an arrow? Will two chainsaws attached to the front of my motocross bike affect the race at all? Will rap music still be relevant during the zombie apocalypse?

Most importantly, what would it take to help me score with twins or a Playboy Playmate? That’s right, Playboy has partnered up with Capcom to bring content from their fine publication to the world of Dead Rising 2. It doesn’t matter if all the cities have fake names and there isn’t Cocacola in this game. As long as we can still get our hands on a good old fashioned Playboy, we think surviving the apocalypse can’t be too hard. You may even encounter a Playboy bunny in full bunny gear over the course of your adventure.

Continue Reading →

One of my personal faves in the ‘Upcoming PC and Mac Games We’re Dying to Play’ category, is Bioware’s upcoming ‘Star Wars: The Old Republic.’ The game known as ‘SWTOR’ to it’s eagerly-anticipating gamer fans, is a story-driven massively-multiplayer online game from BioWare and LucasArts. Explore an age thousands of years before the rise of Darth Vader when war between the Old Republic and the Sith Empire divides the galaxy.

With the ability to align yourself with the light or dark side of the force, you will be able to play some iconic Star Wars classes such as Trooper, Smuggler, Jedi Knight or Jedi Consular. Those drawn to the dark side can choose from a variety of classes as well, including the Bounty Hunter, Sith Warrior, Imperial Agent or Sith Inquisitor. Expect the ability to finely-tune your character’s class with a huge list of abilities and skills, so if you want to play a Sith Warrior that can rush into the fray and take a beating, your skills and ability choices will allow you to pull that off.

Hit the jump for more details on SWTOR character companions, the MMO aspects of the game, as well as a very special cinematic trailer released during E3 that will blow your socks off!

Continue Reading →

In what must surely come as a relief to many of you (especially our own Matt Raub) we will be seeing a sequel to 2007′s Ghost Rider. But wait, there’s more. Nicholas Cage will reprise his role in the film and the directors of Crank and Crank 2, Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, are in early negotiations to direct the new film.

The sequel, known currently as Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance and based on the Marvel Comics character, will continue the story of stunt motorcyclist Johnny Blaze who, in order to save the life of a loved one, makes a deal with the devil. Because of this he becomes half-man, half-demon (complete with flaming skull) and rides his motorcycle delivering justice the old fashioned way.

Plot details for the sequel are currently not known but what we do know is none of the original characters from the first film are probably going to be coming back for the sequel, except Cage’s of course. However, as negotiations go forward, that may change. We also know David S. Goyer is working on a script and that Neveldine and Taylor may also take a crack at a rewrite.

As much as I’m not personally very excited for this movie I do think Neveldine and Taylor are talented guys. Maybe they can do for Nicholas Cage and Ghost Rider what they did for Jason Statham and Crank? Let’s hope so because if the sequel is anything like the first movie, it will be a sad day indeed.

True to form, Nintendo revealed their newest handheld console, the Nintendo 3DS, at today’s E3 press conference, and the console was met with much fanfare, and dinosaur roaring. Before today, we knew little about how the console worked, what it would look like, and what would differentiate it from the previous Nintendo DS other than the 3D graphics. While Nintendo’s press conference left something to be desired, as they really couldn’t demonstrate the 3DS’ power unless you were there in person to check out the device, we’ve still got a lot more information than we had before and we’re ready to share it with you.

First and foremost, the Nintendo 3DS will feature 3D graphics without the use of the typically seen 3D glasses. This will be featured in the 3.5″ LCD screen on the top of the console, while the bottom screen remains a touch panel without 3D graphics. As well as offering 3D graphics, the console’s graphics will be significantly more advanced than the previous handhelds.

On the outside of the device there will be two cameras for 3D picture taking as well as a camera inside, and on the side of the device will be a slider to adjust the 3D graphics. The console will feature an analog stick, called a “slide pad”, something we’ve never seen on a Nintendo handheld before. As usual, the 3DS also features the standard D-pad, the X B A and Y buttons, and beneath them the power button. The device now has the “start” and “select” buttons below the touchscreen, with a third shortcut for the “home” screen added between them.

The Nintendo 3DS apparently has some interesting features, including being able to watch 3D movies such as Legends of the Guardians. The wi-fi features have also been updated, making it easier to connect to other 3DS or wi-fi hot spots in the area even if the 3DS is in sleep mode.

This should be a handy feature, as connecting to other consoles and the internet on the Nintendo DS and DSi was always a huge pain. The device will be available in blue and black, red and black, and standard black, though we’re unsure all these colors will be available at launch.

More than 20 companies are developing for the 3DS, and some games and franchises to look forward to are Kid Icarus Uprising, Nintendogs, Kingdom Hearts, Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil, and Street Fighter.

The Nintendo 3Ds has no release date and no price announced just yet.

With all the hype surrounding the iPhone 4 and the much less amount of hype about the new Mac Mini, Apple has also released an update to its computer operating system, aka OSX 10.6. The update, which will bring your Mac’s OS to version 10.6.4, includes a host of features, enhancements and improvements.

Some of the things improved and/or addressed in this update are, according to Apple, the following:

The 10.6.4 Update is recommended for all users running Mac OS X Snow Leopard. It includes Safari 5 and general operating system fixes that enhance the stability, compatibility, and security of your Mac, including fixes that:

• resolve an issue that causes the keyboard or trackpad to become unresponsive
• resolve an issue that may prevent some Adobe Creative Suite 3 applications from opening
• address issues copying, renaming, or deleting files on SMB file servers
• improve reliability of VPN connections
• resolve a playback issue in DVD Player when using Good Quality deinterlacing
• resolve an issue editing photos with iPhoto or Aperture in full screen view
• improve compatibility with some braille displays

The update is available via software update or, as we recommend, go download the combo update and us it instead.

With E3 comes big announcements for big franchises. The biggest fighting game franchise war has begun with two new trailers being released for Marvel vs. Capcom 3: The Fate of Two Worlds and Mortal Kombat. Previously, we had shown you the first character trailer for Marvel vs. Capcom 3 which introduced us to a new generation of visuals for Ryu, Wolverine, Iron Man, Morganna, Chris Redfield and the Hulk.

Now, Capcom has sent out an updated trailer for E3 featuring two new company icons being added to the game’s roster. First, Marvel drops their rising star Deadpool in to the game. Thus far, Deadpool has never made an appearance in a fighting game. While he has played a part in action RPGs like X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse, Marvel Ultimate Alliance and Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 as well as the Wolverine: Origins movie tie-in game, he will be given a whole new level of mayhem in the genre that looks tailor-made for the Merc with the Mouth. Guns, swords, hand to hand combat and smack talking his opponent, it just screams Deadpool.

Capcom, not being slouches either, have added Dante from the Devil May Cry franchise to the series. Dante matches up perfectly as the adversary for Deadpool as his games revolve around sword and gunplay. And he may be the one person who can drive Deadpool even crazy with his calm, cool and collective personality that Deadpool’s quips may have no effect on.

Also just in are screen shots from the event which reveal Captain America and Felicia, both from the previous Marvel vs. Capcom 2, as being playable characters as well.

Check out the updated E3 Trailer and screen shots for Marvel vs. Capcom 3 after the jump.

Continue Reading →

We had a chance to check out Harmonix’s upcoming game Dance Central late yesterday at E3 and I’m happy to report that the game is pretty awesome. Utilizing Microsoft’s Kinect for XBox 360, players are able to dance and control the game without any kind of controller.

In fact, you are the controller and your movements make your avatar perform. It’s pretty amazing and when watching it in person the movement and control were pretty seamless. The game itself is a progression of dance riffs you have to emulate with the on-screen dancers in order to advance.

The dancers in the short video we took make it look pretty easy but let me assure you, it isn’t as easy as it looks. Sadly, the video of me actually attempting to play the game has mysteriously disappeared.

But rest assured, you will get the idea from these others doing their thing. Don’t worry, you’ll get your chance to dance soon when the game is released. Until the check out this short video of the game after the break.

Continue Reading →

One of the great things about the Playstation Network is that, as opposed to Xbox Live, using the network and playing online has always been 100% free for Playstation 3 owners. At Sony’s E3 press conference today, Sony acknowledged this fact, but still wanted to offer players more. That’s why they announced “Playstation Plus” a new premium subscription service that will supplement the Playstation Network and will offer a more “enchanced experience”.

By subscribing to Playstation Plus, Playstation Network users can gain access to demos earlier than other gamers, receive discounts on purchases made on the Playstation Network, and watch the Playstation lifestyle series Qore. In addition, subscribers to the service also will get free Playstation Minis and even classic Playstation games every month.

Playstation Plus will cost $49.99 for the year, or $17.99 for three months of service. Content from Playstation Plus will only be accessible as long as your subscription is active. The service launches later this month, and all Playstation 3 owners will get a free three-month long trial of Playstation Plus. All other features of the Playstation Network will continue to be free.