Two Daytime Emmys. A hit toy line. A second season underway and a third already announced. Transformers Prime takes another look at the Transformers mythos to lock in new fans to the franchise’s legacy. It was only a manner of time before the series would be given its own licensed game treatment.

The game will feature franchise stalwarts Optimus Prime and Bumblebee along with others from the series Arcee, Ratchet and Bulkhead along with the human kids Jack, Miko and Raf as they try to of course save earth from Megatron. There is also a fleeting image throughout the trailer of a robot that looks a LOT like Eva-001 from Neon Genesis: Evangelion.

“Hasbro Studios has done a phenomenal job with the TRANSFORMERS PRIMEtelevision show,” said David Oxford, Executive Vice President at Activision Publishing. “We are collaborating closely with the series creators to capture all the adventure, humor and friendships from the show to create an authentic action experience for TRANSFORMERS fans of all ages to enjoy.”

“Hasbro is thrilled to be working with Activision again on an exciting new TRANSFORMERS video game,” said Mark Blecher, Senior Vice President of Digital Media and Marketing at Hasbro. “The TRANSFORMERS PRIME animated series has resonated strongly with kids and fans and we’re looking forward to delivering this new way to experience the adventure.”

Though story details are slim at the moment, check out the trailer below for the first glimpse of Transformers Prime: The Game coming to the Nintendo Wii, 3DS and DS from Activision and Nowpro after the jump.

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There is no denying the popularity of the Call of Duty series. Generally finishing the year as one of the top sellers, Call of Duty games are big business. So the concept of packaging it’s planned DLC as apart of a ‘content season’ is a great way to keep the popular series fresh year round.

This latest round of DLC content contains two spec ops missions. The first taking place in snowy Russia and sees you and a partner on snowmobile’s before storming an enemy diamond mine. Mission two takes you to the streets in India as you work to liberate hostages in a city.

The last bit in the drop is a new multiplayer map called Black Box. The map is focused on an affluent neighborhood that Air Force One crash landed in. You take your battles through the wreckage of the President’s downed plane and the surrounding homes.

We have been giving you a heads up to new content drops since the program was announced, and today is no difference. For your viewing pleasure we bring to you Rob Riggle and the March content drop trailer, after the jump.

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One thing Spider-Man has always had going for him is an iconic rogues gallery rivaled only by that of DC Comic’s Batman. Though some started out with simple or silly premises like an evil doctor with extra appendages or an old bald man who liked to fly around town, years of phenomenal writers have given these characters unexpected levels of depth and personality. One such character is the Rhino. One such character is The Rhino.

Starting off as a common thug, the Rhino, especially in recent years, has become an incredibly interesting character. Having tried to rid his life of his crime ridden past, Aleksei Sytsevich was pulled back in unexpectedly after the tragic death of his wife Oksana was killed during the recent “Gauntlet” story arc by a new criminal trying to don the mantle of the Rhino. Most recently, the Rhino was found as a part of Doctor Octopus’s latest incarnation of the Sinister Six.

It looks like now Rhino will be making his way to the Spider-Man video game based on the newly relaunched Amazing Spider-Man movie franchise. Unrestricted because of the comic’s longstanding continuity, the team at Beenox was able to create their own mythos behind Aleksei and how he came into this Spider-Man’s world.

Check out the reveal trailer full bio, interview about this new Rhino and screen shots after the break for the Rhino coming to the Amazing Spider-Man for XBox 360 and PlayStation 3.

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Last week, we let you in on a sneak peek of the Overwatch Content Drop coming to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Activision has announced that the Overwatch map will be coming out on February 21st to XBox 360 Elite Premium members. This Overwatch map is going to be the third in Call of Duty Elite’s nine month plan of new maps and gameplay modes to keep the Modern Warfare 3 servers packed to the gills with players before the next CoD from Treyarch inevitably comes out this November.

Take a peek after the jump at a video preview of Overwatch. Rob Riggle hosts the trailer again as he did with the first two content drops. Maybe in the future we can get Jonah Hill who made the Call of Duty commercials as entertaining as they were on other upcoming content packs. This trailer gives a much more detailed view than last week’s screen shots did of the Overwatch map. Riggle actually tells us that the map itself is the equivalent of a 13,000 square foot rooftop penthouse overlooking NYC.

Expect two things from this map. First off, it is going to be a sniper’s paradise as there are tons of little lines of site that encompass large areas of the map, giving lots of range between the sniper and their targets. Also, expect lots of people falling to their deaths. In any close quartered situation, players begin backing away if they feel they are being bested. In a normal game, this method of retreat is usually only halted by a wall behind the player. Now, they can fall to their deaths with a faulty step in the wrong direction.

Check out the full trailer below and stick to the Flickcast for more on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Call of Duty Elite.

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Diablo is one of those franchises that exists in every gamers dreams. It was one of the classic Blizzard titles that has been long lost in the success of World of Warcraft and Starcraft, but there has always been hope that we would see a return to the action RPG franchise.

So a few years ago it was announced that Diablo 3 was officially on the way, and the world of video games seemed like a happier place. However, A funny thing happened on the way to Gamestop and the release missed an originally planed 2011 release window. Reports of an early 2012 release were heard, but alas we have at least a few more months to wait.

Activision announced in a recent financial report that Diablo 3 is currently expected for the middle of the year, killing any hope that we would see the game sooner rather than later.

That was not the only disappointing news for Blizzard fans in the report. The long awaited second part of Starcraft 2 and the next World of Warcraft expansion are on shaky ground for a 2012 release. Blizzard is only expected to ship one other title this year in addition to Diablo 3, meaning one or both of those two announced projects is going to be pushed to 2013.

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Members of Call of Duty Elite for both the XBox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 have already started reaping the benefits of their yearly membership with the first content drop in January. As promised, Activision is intent on keeping up with their Content Drop schedule for Elite Subscribers to prove the value of the service.

This month, subscribers will be getting their hands on the new map Overwatch. Somewhat similar in aestetics to the rooftop multiplayer map of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, this one is much more dangerous as its central passage is one that provides little cover or protection from falling for the players crossing it. It does give some nice variety to the other maps that have already been released and it will be interesting to see how it plays out when more game modes are added as well.

Call of Duty Elite Drop 3: Overwatch drops you into a construction site atop a New York City skyscraper. The battle takes place along two levels in a near symmetrical layout, with the central bridge and side routes open to attack from multiple angles. Watch your every step, as a lack of safety barriers surrounding the perimeter leaves nothing between you and a 70 story fall to the ground below.

Overwatch is the third Content Drop in Modern Warfare 3′s Content Season, which will include more than 20 pieces of brand new content over the 9 month season. Elite Drops 4-6 will be available in March for Premium Members on Xbox Live and will include the multiplayer map Black Box and two brand new Special Ops Missions, Black Ice and Negotiator. The full calendar of content is outlined here.

Check out the screens after the jump and stayed tuned for more Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 news as it becomes available.

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Playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and not sure if Elite membership is right for you? Check out the latest two trailers from Activision and Call of Duty Elite featuring Rob Riggle, the cop from the Hangover who had way too much fun with the taser in the classroom, as he explains the benefits of Elite as well as walks you through the first two maps from Call of Duty Elite’s nine month content drop.

As the Elite trailer goes to explain, the biggest benefit for Elite membership isn’t just getting maps first. They are actually cheaper if paid for up front. Instead of getting four packs at $15 a pop, players can pay for them all with the Elite membership for only $50 (or already have it free if they purchased the Hardened Edition of the game) and as mentioned, they get them much earlier than waiting for content packs.

As promised, Elite delivered its first two maps yesterday. In addition to new gameplay modes which will be coming soon, new multiplayer maps have been the biggest and most important DLC on XBox Live since Halo 2′s map packs.

This pack features Content Drop 1: Liberation which resembles a Central Park setting, complete with mounted miniguns (just like real life), long lines of sight for snipers and tons of tree cover and close quartered underground locales as well. Content Drop 2: Piazza takes players to an Italian seaside village filled with tight winding roads leaving lots of chances for close combat encounters.

Check out the January Content Drop trailer below as well as screens of both Liberation and Piazza. Stay tuned to The Flickcast for more on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Call of Duty Elite.

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It’s no surprise that one of the more anticipated games of 2012 for The Flickcast is Prototype 2. Since getting a peek at San Diego Comic-Con and getting hands on at NYCC, we are counting down to Prototype 2′s April 24th release date. Also looking forward to the release are the folks at Dark Horse Comics. Starting February 15th, Dark Horse will be launching an all digital three part web series focusing on filling in the events of what transpired between the first game and Prototype 2.

The first entry, “The Anchor,” illustrated by Paco Díaz, continues the story of Alex Mercer, the protagonist from the first game, while the second story, “The Survivors,” illustrated by Chris Staggs, follows a small group of residents of New York trying to escape the city after it has been transformed into NYZ with the outbreak of the Blacklight virus. The third and final story, illustrated by Victor Drujiniu, is “The Labyrinth” and provides fans a deeper look into the backstory of PROTOTYPE 2′s new protagonist, Sgt. James Heller.

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A billion dollars in sales in just 16 days. An unprecedented release both for the video game and entertainment industry. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is a juggernaut. It only seems fitting that along with the Call of Duty Elite mobile app going live this week, that the DLC announcements would start rolling out as well. Starting January 24th for premium Call of Duty Elite members on XBox Live (and later dates for other platforms) until September, there will be at least twenty content drops for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 including “brand new multiplayer maps, Special Ops Missions, new game modes and more.”

“The mammoth launch of Modern Warfare 3 and the breakout success of Call of Duty Elite were just the beginning. Call of Duty Elite provides an “always-on” connection to our fanbase, and the MW3 Content Season is the ultimate way to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to the Call of Duty community and provide tremendous value to Call of Duty Elite premium members,” said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing. “With the Call of Duty®: MW3 Content Season for Call of Duty Elite we are delivering on our promise of more new content, more often, and with more variety than ever. With three studios collaborating on the first season, the breadth and depth of material on tap is truly extraordinary. It’s rare you can successfully execute both quantity and quality, but thanks to the expertise of our developers, the reach of Call of Duty Elite and the passion of our fans, we intend to deliver.”

Content drops will occur once a month for the nine month duration of the DLC season with the first three months from January to March promising five different content drops.

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Call of Duty Elite is a service that allows the most hardcore Call of Duty players to lose themselves in some pretty advance stat tracking and multiplayer progression. Now those gamers have even less of a reason to spend any time away from their account with the launch of the iOS app for the service.

The new app will be free for all registered users, and is available on all iOS platforms today. An android version is going to be hitting soon as well.

Immerse yourself in Call of Duty® wherever you go with the Call of Duty® ELITE mobile app. Evaluate your multiplayer progress with in-depth stat analysis. Formulate new strategies based on your recent performance and remotely incorporate edits to your loadouts. Push your changes directly into Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 3 so you’re always ready to play.

Check out a list of features and some screen shots after the jump.

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Yesterday we took a look at Minecraft, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Capcom, Dark Souls and Portal 2. Today, we have a whole second set of awards to be given out for the best (and worst) of 2011.

Game That Shouldn’t Have Taken Nearly As Long to Come Out: Duke Nukem Forever

What happened in the time span since Duke Nukem Forever began development?

The entire Presidential run of George W. Bush.

This writer’s entire high school and college career.

Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith, and The Clone Wars were all released in theaters.

The XBox was released and ended its lifecycle.

Activision released 7 proper Call of Duty titles.

Lost.

A child born when development started would have grown to be a teenager.

The list goes on and on…

And the worst part is, after all that wait… Duke Nukem Forever wasn’t very good when it did finally come out. What was considered controversial when the game began production is pretty tame by comparison to what people are enjoying in gaming now and the humor comes off as sophomoric instead of clever.

While we can understand the desire to release a passion project to finally let it see the light of day, sometimes it is better to let it enjoy a quiet death with some dignity instead of coming out guns blazing as a failure.

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Saturday night, Spike TV held its annual Video Game Awards show which, as promised, gave the first looks at some huge trailers for 2012′s gaming landscape.

Naughty Dog gets to step away from their blockbuster Uncharted series to work on a new IP titled The Last of Us. This new title takes a different approach from the recent string of zombie / infected scenarios where it looks like it can be a game of stealth and horror mixed together. It isn’t a world like Dead Rising or Left 4 Dead where the creatures flood the street and makes the possibility of combining the stealth and horror genres pretty intriguing.

This has the possibility of becoming a fantastic PlayStation exclusive franchise. The trailer for The Last of Us is definitely one of the great surprises from the VGAs this year.

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