The Transformers trilogy is an interesting beast. The first film was a surprisingly great sci-fi action film, the second was one of the worst pieces of junk I have ever sat through and the third comes somewhere in the middle. Despite the inconsistency in quality from film to film the one thing that remained steady in it’s excellence was Steve Jablonsky’s scores.

Jablonsky comes from the Hans Zimmer cadre of film composers who have dominated the movie score scene over the last decade. Like Klaus Badelt and Harry Gregson-Williams before him, Jablonsky made a significant impact in his career collaborating with a prolific filmmaker, Michael Bay. He had several good scores prior to Transformers, particularly The Island, but it wasn’t until he scored the giant talking robot opus that you knew you were listening to a real talent who has limitless potential.

Now at the end of the Transformers saga Silva Screen Records has put together a collection of the music from the entire trilogy, celebrating some of the best action sci-fi music ever written. The music is performed by London Music Works and does a really incredible job of capturing the essence of what the music is. This is especially great considering that at times the music actually sounds quite different.

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Welcome to another edition of On the Radar where we delve into all corners of the entertainment, tech and geek Internets for news, views and whatnot that may have escaped our regular coverage during the week. Let is know if we missed something interesting.

• Want to geek up your next romantic evening? Make it so with the Lightsaber Candlesticks.

• It’s the 90s all over again as Beavis & Butthead make it back to the airwaves. here’s another trailer to get you ready.

• Speaking of retro, here are some of your favorite current games done like the were old NES games. A God of War side-scroller would actually be pretty awesome…

• Paying respects to the man himself, here’s a collection of Apple products depicting the late, great Steve Jobs.

• Love everything about the film Drive? Then you’re going to have to get one of the scorpion jackets from the film. Just drive safely.

• AMC’s Walking Dead makes its triumphant return to TV in just a few weeks, so why not check in with the world of zombies with their original webisodes.

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It’s been year since the release of a quality X-Men title. Not since X-Men Legends and its sequel has there really been a game that captured the essence of Marvel’s band of merry mutants, especially with the pitiful movie tie-in titles that have been released.

When X-Men: Destiny was announced by Activision and Silicon Knights, the makers of Too Human, players hoped their prayers would be answered as they would get to experience what it was like for an emerging mutant caught between the turmoil of the X-Men, Magneto’s Brotherhood of Mutants and the humans who seek to end the “mutant menace”.

Instead, what they got was a half handed execution that feels like a franchise cash-in rushed out in order to hit the holiday game season before the larger releases like Battlefield 3 and Modern Warfare 3.

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For the past year, Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim has been branching into less of the animated comedy and more into live action spoofs. It started by bringing Rob Corddry’s Childrens Hospital from the web to the TV, and continuing with Paul Scheer’s NTSF:SD:SUV::. With Hospital into its third season, it looks like the network’s second spoof is getting some love too.

NTSF has been picked up for a second season, and will continue to rip on shows like 24 and every CSI show on the air. Here’s the official press release for more:

The ratings have consistently built throughout the first season and we love what we’re seeing from the show,” said Mike Lazzo, head of Adult Swim, “and how can you not love SUVs?”

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We’ve been following Strike Back since it debuted a couple months ago and so far, we like it. Apparently, so do enough other people, including the network, as Cinemax has decided to give it a second season.

The show was given a 10-episode order and is set to air next year. Filming will begin in South Africa in early 2012.

Season 1 stars Sullivan Stapleton and Philip Winchester, Amanda Mealing, Eva Birthistle, Jimi Mistry, Rhashan Stone, Michelle Lukes and Richard Armitage. It tells the story of a charismatic former U.S. Special Forces operative (Stapleton) who joins with a stealth British military unit when a resourceful international terrorist group plots a major attack.

In spite of the announcement of a second season, Cinemax is not confirming which cast members will be returning or if any new cast is joining the show. Their reason? “Plot spoilers in upcoming episodes.”

If you’re a fan of the show, guess that means you shouldn’t get too attached to any of the characters. Season one of Strike Back airs Friday nights at 10/9C on Cinemax.

TNT will preempt it’s primetime lineup tonight at 8PM and 10PM E/P to run back-to-back airings of it’s 1999 original movie Pirates of Silicon Valley. This is the only movie, so far, to depict the rise of Apple co-founder and visionary Steve Jobs, who tragically died yesterday at the age of 56.

The film follows the race between computer rivals Apple and Microsoft and stars Noah Wyle as Jobs, Anthony Michael Hall as Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Joey Slotnick as Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.

I haven’t watched the film in quite some time but I’m sure I will be tonight.

It’s no secret that one of the most highly anticipated comic book movies of all time is Marvel’s upcoming The Avengers. Directed by Joss Whedon, the movie’s geek pedigree could not be better.

It features all your favorite characters including Iron Man, Captain America, Nick Fury, Thor and Scarlett Johansson in skintight leather. Come one, what more could you want from a comic book movie?

Marvel has released a few new pics from The Avengers to get you even more psyched to see it. Not that you probably needed it. Like us, we’re sure you’ll be in line on day one for what promises to be the greatest Marvel movie of al time.

Check out the pics after the break. The Avengers, which stars Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, and Samuel L. Jackson, arrives in theaters on May 4, 2012.

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Award shows are all the rage these days. When people get burned out on the big three, the Oscars, Emmy’s, Golden Globes, they turn to more fun and entertaining (albeit less important ones) award shows. One of the more fun ones is definitely Spike’s annual Scream Awards.

Starting off celebrating the world of horror, the award show has since become a haven for all things pop culture and geeky, giving awards to the likes of Frank Miller or Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd for Back to the Future. This year, two modern icons are finally getting some love.

Two-time Academy Award nominee Robert Downey Jr. will attend to accept SCREAM’s prestigious Hero Award. With wildly successful films like “Sherlock Holmes” and “Iron Man,” Downey has captivated fans and critics alike with his daring and iconic interpretations of some of cinema’s most beloved characters.

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Warner Home Video seems to be an unstoppable juggernaut of quality animated content over the past few years. From getting their start with Justice League Unlimited to continuing in the trend with several major DVD and Blu-Ray releases a year featuring some of our favorite DC characters, there doesn’t seem to be a stop to how good these animated adaptations can get.

And the hits keep coming this month, as they release an adaptation of Frank Miller’s Batman: Year One comic in a feature-length film. You can expect this one to get pretty gritty, considering the source material, as well as some of the huge names they have for the cast.

Batman: Year One is based on the landmark 1987 DC Comics titles from 12-time Eisner Award winner Frank Miller and illustrator David Mazzucchelli. The film depicts young Bruce Wayne’s return to Gotham City in his first attempts to fight injustice as a costumed vigilante. The playboy billionaire chooses the guise of a giant bat to combat crime, creates an early bond with a young Lieutenant James Gordon (who is already battling corruption from inside the police department), inadvertently plays a role in the birth of Catwoman, and helps to bring down a crooked political system that infests Gotham.

Primetime television stars Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad), Ben McKenzie (Southland, The O.C.), Eliza Dushku (Dollhouse, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica) provide the core voices for Batman: Year One.

Check out the exclusive clip, as well as how to get your hand on the film early after the jump.

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Incredibly sad news today as Apple co-founder Steve Jobs has died. He was 56.

No words can adequately express our feelings about his passing as so much of what we do here, and in our personal lives, was made possible by his vision, talent and determination.

His life’s work touched so many people in such profound ways. He helped make it possible for dreamers to not only dream, but to dream big.

All we can say is “thank you” Mr. Jobs. The world is a lesser place without you in it. You will be sorely missed.

Rest in peace.

How often do you speculate and daydream on what your favorite video game characters would look like if they had their day and got a live action movie adaptation? What would Drake from Uncharted look like or how tall would Kratos from God of War be in comparison to other folks? Well that’s where this brand new commercial from Sony helps us out.

This new commercial to promote the PS3 has literally dozens of characters from your favorite PlayStation games giving thanks to us, the gamer, for always being there and getting them out of those tough binds. YouTube user shikhargautam broke down which characters we can see in order of when they appear.

All characters, as they appear: 0:47 Nathan Drake (Uncharted 3), Lightning (Final Fantasy XIII) 0:56 Cole (inFamous) with a Helghast (Killzone) behind 1:00 Isaac Clarke (Dead Space), Ghost (CoD: MW2), Agent 47 (Hitman) 1:06 Solid Snake (MGS4) 1:15 Sweet Tooth (Twisted Metal), Chell (Portal) 1:18 Sackboy (LittleBigPlanet) 1:20 Athena and Kratos (God of War) 1:23 Paul (Tekken) 1:38Little Sister (BioShock) 1:46 Ezio (Assassin’s Creed 2) 1:50 ISA soldier (Killzone)1:52 Chimera Hybrid (Resistance)

There may even be a few that he missed, so check out the commercial after the jump.

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Since the genre began, tower defense games have always been downloadable titles with very few ever making it to full retail release. This has been an advantage for the genre as it has given more opportunity for innovation. For example, with Toy Soldiers and it’s sequel Toy Soldiers: Cold War, players were allowed to both roam the battlefield in various vehicles as well as take on the role of the towers themselves.

Now, Robot Entertainment, the makers of Age of Empires Online, releases their second title to the world with Orcs Must Die!.

Orcs Must Die! is another new take on the traditional tower defense formula. Instead of setting up towers throughout the enemies path, Orcs Must Die! focuses on the use of traps along with third person action mechanics such as shooting, melee and magic spells. The result is an incredibly addictive experience.

Gameplay:

Each level starts with a player in one of the many keeps of the Order where he must stop a horde of the Mob from reaching rift points. Players see the start locations of the Mob and the paths they will take in order to reach the rift points. Once enough of the Mob has reached the rift, the player loses. Players need to use a combination of an ever expanding assortment of traps along with their own combat skills to hold off the horde.

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