by John Carle, May 25 2012 // 9:00 AM

One Bond. Six classic Bond missions. That is the premise behind October 16th’s 007 Legends, the latest installment of the Bond franchise from Activision from Eurocom, the same studio responsible for 007 Goldeneye and 007 Goldeneye Reloaded. While it was already revealed with the game’s announcement that the six and final movie tied in to the game would be the upcoming Skyfall, Bond fans quickly began speculating which 007 films would make their way to 007 Legends.
With the trailer and screens below, Moonraker has been revealed as the first chapter for 007 Legends. Originally starring Roger Moore, Moonraker was the most sci-fi-esque Bond film, featuring a space station that was home to the villainous Drax and his minion for hire, Jaws. The film also featured one of Bond’s leading ladies with the second most obvious sexual innuendo for a name, Dr. Goodhead.
The 007 Legends trailer features Drax, Jaws and Goodhead, including the infamous scene of Jaws having a high voltage wire shoved into his metal mouth. It also shows Bond using one of his infamous gadget and the Moonraker laser, much improved from its original N64 design.
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Posted in: Activision · Announcements · Game Trailers · Games · News · Playstation 3 · Screen Shots · Trailers · Video Games · XBLA · Xbox 360
Tagged: 007, 007 Legends, Activision, Announcements, Dr. Goodhead, James Bond, Jaws, Moonraker, News, Playstation 3, Video Games, Xbox 360
by Jonathan Weilbaecher, May 23 2012 // 12:00 PM
The DC animated universe is fantastic. Bruce Timm has been masterminding gold standard animation for nearly two decades, and his crew is finally taking on one of the most important Batman stories ever told, Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns.
This epic two-part animated event has already been officially announced, but The Hollywood Reporter has announced the principle voice cast:
Peter Weller (Robocop) will star as Batman/Bruce Wayne and Modern Family’s middle child Ariel Winter will play Robin… Also in the cast are David Selby, the veteran actor who starred in the original Dark Shadows soap opera as well as the classic 1980s soap Falcon Crest; Wade Williams (Prison Break) as Harvey Dent/Two-Face; and Michael McKean as Dr. Wolper, the psychiatrist who releases the Joker from the insane asylum.
Fan favorite Michael Ironside played the role in a classic episode of Batman: The Animated Series that payed homage to the seminal story. While it would have been nice symmetry to have him back, Peter Weller is an amazing choice for the role.
The story is being split into two animated features, the first of which will be hitting shelves later this year, followed by the second part in early 2013.
Posted in: Adaptation · Announcements · Casting · Comics · DC · DC Entertainment · Movies · News · Warner Bros
Tagged: Adaptation, Batman, Bruce Timm, Comics, DC, Frank Miller, Michael Ironside, Peter Weller, The Dark Knight Returns, Warner Bros
by Jonathan Weilbaecher, May 9 2012 // 1:30 PM
There are times in life where you want to do your best Darth Vader from Revenge of the Sith impression and just yell ‘NO!’ as goofily and as loudly into the air as you can. Right now is one such time, as one of the most highly anticipated games of the year has been pushed to next year.
Irrational Games has posted a statement on their website from BioShock: Infinite director, Ken Levine:
When we announced the release date of BioShock Infinite in March, we felt pretty good about the timing.
Since then, we’ve come to realize that some specific tweaks and improvements will make Infinite into something even more extraordinary. Therefore, to give our talented team the time they need, we’ve decided to move the game’s release to February 26, 2013. We wanted to let our loyal (and very patient!) fans know this as soon as possible.
This is equally horrible and great news. On one hand we have to wait four more months for a game we have already been waiting so long for. On the other hand what is four more months if we end up with a much better game. That conflicted feeling is no doubt running through many video gamer’s minds right about now.
The statement also mentioned BioShock: Infinite will not have a presence at the big summer gaming shows, so the next time we see the game it will be pretty close to done. Let the slightly longer wait commence.
Posted in: Announcements · News · Playstation 3 · Video Games · Xbox 360
Tagged: BioShock, Delay, Infinite, Irrational Games, Ken Levine, News, Playstation 3, Release Date, Video Games, Xbox 360
by Jonathan Weilbaecher, May 9 2012 // 12:00 PM
One of the surprise films of 2010 was Matthew Vaughn’s Kick-Ass. Based on the Mark Millar and John Romita Jr. graphic novel, the movie told the tale of a high school nerd who decides to be a super hero, despite his lack of any super powers.
The movie was a loud, vulgar, and gory explosion of awesome and it left many wanting more. Unfortunately the movie landed director Vaughn a chance at the “big leagues” and he went on to make the best X-Men movie to-date. With the head honcho otherwise occupied, it looked as if Kick-Ass 2 might not see the light of day.
Well that turns out not to be the case. Deadline is reporting that Universal is in talks to make the sequel as early as this year”
Universal Pictures is in talks to make Kick-Ass 2, with Jeff Wadlow directing his script. I’m told the intention is to get the film in production by August. Discussions are just getting underway with such original cast members as Aaron Johnson, Chloe Moretz and Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and they will have to be signed to new deals to reprise their roles.
The Wadlow script was actually written at the request of Vaughn who wanted work on the sequel to happen while he was occupied in the X-Universe. At first the concept of losing Vaughn might seem harsh to the fans of the first film, but knowing that he was involved at some point early on, and gives his blessing now is an encouraging sign.
Posted in: Action · Adaptation · Announcements · Comics · Movies · News · Prequels and Sequels · Universal Pictures
Tagged: Comics, Jeff Wadlow, Jonh Romita Jr, Kick-Ass, Kick-Ass 2, Mark Millar, Matthew Vaughn, News, Sequel, Universal Pictures
by John Carle, May 7 2012 // 1:45 PM
Since Oblivion, fans of the Elder Scroll series have asked for a multiplayer component to the game. Unlike linear experiences with tightly driven storylines which resulted in forced multiplayer arena experiences like that of Bioshock 2, the world of the Elder Scrolls lends itself to a more open multiplayer format. Players have already seen from their companions during quests that it sometimes helps to have someone watching your back when a dragon comes down from the sky or bandits surround you from both sides in a tight cave.
This past week, Bethesda Softworks announced that multiplayer is finally coming to the Elder Scrolls world, but not in the way many people expected. While there had been strong rumblings of a Fallout MMO, Bethesda has revealed that they have been working on an Elder Scrolls Online game. Instead of just focusing on individual regions like Skyrim or Cyrodiil, the entirety of Tamriel will be at players’ disposal. Players will have the option to join three warring factions, each vying for control of Tamriel and represented by either a lion, a dragon or a bird of prey.
In addition to the PvP focus of the Elder Scrolls Online, the game’s story will take place a thousand years before the events of Skyrim with one of the Daedric Princes, Molag Bal appearing as the main enemy for all factions to deal with.
Not much else has been revealed yet about the Elder Scrolls Online thus far but check out the trailer after the jump and, as always, stick to The Flickcast for all your gaming news.
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Posted in: Announcements · Game Trailers · Games · PC Games · Trailers · Video Games
Tagged: Bethesda Softworks, Elder Scrolls, Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Elder Scrolls Online, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Mac Games, PC Games, Trailers, Video Game Trailers, Video Games
by Jonathan Weilbaecher, May 7 2012 // 12:30 PM
For all of you who have been buying into the ‘drama’ surrounding Prometheus’ ultimate rating, we have some good news for you. Fox has confirmed that the moody, dark and probably terrifying sci-fi film will indeed be rated R for sci-fi violence including intense images, and brief language.
Many people never believed that a PG-13 rating was possible for the subject matter, so when it took this long to get a confirmed rating people were getting nervous. It also didn’t help that Ridley Scott has been telling people conflicted things about the movie, the process and the rating for months now.
Speaking of which, Prometheus must be setting a new record for the most outright and open deception from a filmmaker to his audience. Scott has gone on record with several quotes that don’t seem to right based on the footage we are seeing. He already famously said the film would not be a prequel to Alien and only have a core DNA similarity with that franchise. Watching the trailer for 2 seconds pretty much disproves that concept.
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Posted in: 20th Century Fox · Announcements · Movies · News · Ratings · Sci-Fi
Tagged: Alien, Fox, Movies, MPAA, News, Prometheus, R, Rating, Ridley Scott, Sci-Fi
by Jonathan Weilbaecher, May 4 2012 // 12:00 PM

There are few stories that have a more interesting life span than Little Shop of Horrors. Beginning it’s life as a low-level B horror film in the 60′s it has managed to gain increasing popularity by bouncing back and forth between screen adaptations and broadway musicals ever since.
Considering the last popular version of the tale was a Broadway revival, it seems like it is time to bring it back to the big screen, and according to the LA Times, some people agree:
Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Warner Bros. are in talks for a movie remake of “Little Shop of Horrors” — with the help of some Broadway heavyweights behind the scenes. In addition to developing the film, Gordon-Levitt could star as Seymour, the lonely, lovable florist’s assistant who raises a giant alien plant motivated by sarcasm, song and human blood.
Now most of you probably hold the 80′s film starting Rick Moranis and Steve Martin in high regard, and think that this is just another in a long line of needless re-makes. For this particular tale I have to disagree, a new telling with an actor as talented as Joseph Gorodn-Levitt is exactly the next logical step for this story.
Of course that said, we all should pray we get a mostly practical Audrey 2.
Posted in: Adaptation · Announcements · Comedy · Movies · Musicals · News · Reboots and Remakes · Sci-Fi · Warner Bros
Tagged: Audrey, Audrey 2, Broadway, Comedy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Little Shop of Horrors, Movies, Musicals, News, Remake, Warner Bros
by Jonathan Weilbaecher, Apr 30 2012 // 2:30 PM
One of the most endearing parts of Who Framed Roger Rabbit was the imagined world where Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse were denizens of the same world. It was a real thrill to see classic animated characters from multiple companies come together for one film.
According to Entertainment Weekly, Disney is at it again with their new film Wreck-It Ralph:
The movie features other spoofs of real-life games: Glee‘s Jane Lynch is a Sarge-like figure (Halo) in a sci-fi first-person shooter called Hero’s Duty, and comedian Sarah Silverman voices cutie-pie Vanellope Von Schweetz in a dessert-themed Mario Kart-style racing game called Sugar Rush.
But before Ralph ventures into those worlds, we find him confessing his woes in a support group for fellow videogame villains, and that’s where the first big cameos begin.
So on top of spoofs, the movie will also see actual cameos for famous video game characters. The EW article goes on to name a who’s who of classic villains, including Dr. Robotnik and Bowser. Does this foreshadow an appearance by two of the most famous video game mascots ever, Mario and Sonic?
What is also interesting is that it appears that a zombie, potentially from the Resident Evil universe, also appears. The truth of the video game industry is that there are a lot of mature titles and franchises that kids are drawn too, would a Disney animated feature call reference to them? You can find out when Wreck-It Ralph hits cinemas this winter.
Posted in: Animation · Announcements · Disney · Movies · News · Nintendo · Playstation 3 · SEGA · Video Games · Xbox 360 · Zombies
Tagged: Bowser, Cameo, Disney, Dr Robotnik, Nintendo, Playstation, Sega, Support Group, Video Games, Wreck-It Ralph, XBox, Zangief, Zombies
by John Carle, Apr 27 2012 // 7:00 AM

Player created content. The land where the developer’s concepts are hopped up on a unique internet blend of creativity inspired by Red Bull, Jack Daniels and Ritalin. Whether in the form of Half-Life 2 mods, storylines in WWE 12 or levels in Little Big Planet 2, giving players a customizable aspect to their game has become a proven asset to developers to extend the life of their game. Portal 2 was lauded as having some of the most creative and inventive puzzles of 2011, taking game physics and concepts to the next level. Allowing for this kind of creative freedom to fans of the series is the logical next step.
Announced last October, the puzzle editor will be a part of the free DLC pack releasing to PCs and Macs on May 8th known as the Perpetual Testing Initiative. Using the Steam platform, players will be able to create, upload, download and rate creations from the player community. What could this mean? It means that you are giving PC gamers, the most “hardcore” gaming audience, free reign inside the most complicated but approachable world in gaming today.
While Portal focused mostly on creativity using gravity puzzles, Portal 2 took things to a whole new level using light bridges, propulsion gel and launching platforms. Now, players will be able to assemble their own Test Labs using these.
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Posted in: Announcements · Apple · Games · PC Games · Video Games
Tagged: Mac, PC Games, Perpetual Testing Initiative, Portal, Portal 2, Steam, Valve, Video Games
by John Carle, Apr 26 2012 // 3:30 PM

It toppled Atari. It went head to head with SEGA for years to come out the victor. Even during the slow times, it was still in the black. Then Nintendo took control of the home console market again with record sales from the Wii. But eventually being on top means you have to fall. March 31st, 2012 marked the end of Nintendo’s fiscal year where they were forced to announce something that seemed impossible to imagine. They were at a loss.
While many factors contributed to Nintendo losing $ 458 ,000,000 during the past year while sales were in the $7,990,000,000 range, the main two being looked upon are the lack of software and the gigantic price drop from the 3DS.
With a library of over 1200 games, one would think the Wii would have carried enough momentum to continue high sales. Unfortunately, 2011 marked a lackluster year for new Wii releases. With only The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword to be both a commercial and critical success releasing in late 2011, owners of the system didn’t flock to other critical darlings such as Xenoblade or The Last Story like Nintendo would have hoped.
This could speak strongly to the hardcore gaming audience already having written off Nintendo for forgetting them with a lack of big core titles when the system initially launched. With the Wii U on its way, there is a drastic drop off in titles being promoted for the Wii.
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Posted in: Announcements · Games · Nintendo · Nintendo 3DS · Nintendo DS · Video Games · Wii
Tagged: 3DS, Animal Crossing, New Super Mario Bros. 2, Nintendo, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo Wii U, The Last Story, Video Games, Wii, Wii U, Xenoblade
by Jonathan Weilbaecher, Apr 26 2012 // 2:15 PM
We did it! Last week I implored you to vote for Calvin ‘Megatron’ Johnson in the Madden NFL 13 cover vote, and I am thrilled to report that it work! Yesterday the official unveiling took place on ESPN and Johnson was revealed as the new cover athlete who hopes to avoid the Madden curse.
The spectacle of the announcement might have been a bit over the top, but it was nice to see such a ruckus made of a video game on ESPN 2. Seeing a young, classy star like Johnson win the popular vote was great for fans of the game and more specifically for fans of Detroit who might be finally coming out of their dark ages.
In other Madden NFL 13 news, a new announcer crew was revealed for the game. In the last few years we have had the duo of Gus Johnson and Chris Collinsworth, a solid if unspectacular team. In the new version of the game we will be treated to the CBS ‘A’ announcer team of Jim Nantz and Phil Simms.
These guys are a much better announcer team, and actually work together on a weekly basis. So the game should have a more realistic feel to it on the broadcast side of things. Even though the game is using the CBS team, EA will not be mimicking the CBS graphics packages.
The highly anticipated football sim hits stores August 28th, 2012.
Posted in: Announcements · EA · News · Nintendo · Playstation 3 · Video Games · Xbox 360
Tagged: Announcers, Calvin Johnson, Cover, EA, Jim Nantz, Madden 13, New, Nintendo, Phil Simms, Playstation, Video Games, XBox
by John Carle, Apr 26 2012 // 11:45 AM
Star Wars Kinect revealed to many that motion gaming just isn’t what we were expecting from the Kinect. Whether it is the fault of the developers or the hardware, Star Wars Kinect is a flop. What can be done to save the Kinect at this point? As much as we love Dance Central, there are only so many times Microsoft can turn to Harmonix to save the Kinect’s butt with a quality experience. Many people say the loss of tactile feedback whether it is the press of a button or holding the actual object in their hand they are swinging on screen that leaves the Kinect experience unfulfilled. While we don’t know if NBA Baller Beats is the ultimate answer, it has certainly got our attention.
From the trailer below, though we don’t see actual gameplay footage, the impression is given of a Dance Central style rhythm game mainly with hip hop music that players must not only mimic the motions of the character on screen with their own body but of a real basketball as well. You wanted tactile feedback from Kinect? Here you go (especially since people would look incredibly silly pretending to make dribbling motions around their living rooms).
NBA Baller Beats gets players on their feet mastering mad ball handling skills while playing to the beat of an eclectic soundtrack. The Kinect motion sensor captures every movement of both player and ball to create an entirely new basketball gaming experience. NBA Baller Beats will be unveiled at E3 2012 and will launch exclusively on Kinect for Xbox 360 this Fall.
Motion games have warned people to make sure to clear the area around them so they don’t crash into furniture or other people but now there is even more to worry about. What’s interesting will be the test of player’s coordination as they watch the screen to watch the moves they need to perform and keep control of the ball at the same time. Judging from my own basketball skills topping out with an epic 16 points during my entire 7th grade season, I don’t think I will be putting my living room at risk but for the more athletically inclined, it might be the right game to get them to dust off their Kinect.
Check out the teaser trailer for NBA Baller Beats after the jump.
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Posted in: Announcements · Game Trailers · Games · News · Trailers · Video Games · Xbox 360
Tagged: Basketball, Kinect, Majesco, NBA, NBA Baller Beats, Trailer, Video Game Trailers, Video Games, Xbox 360, XBox Kinect