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.

2009 was a huge year for gaming. With some games not living up to lofty expectations, others took the reins set before them and ran with them further than many expected. Batman: Arkham Asylum proved it was possible to make a great game based on Batman, though it took the video game industry over 25 years to figure out how to accomplish that.

Wolverine: Origins proved that games based off movies didn’t have to be bad and in the eyes of many surpassed the quality of the film that inspired it. Legends were reborn as the Beatles were featured in their own Rock Band game. Yes, it was a momentous year for gaming which leads us to proudly present these awards for the Best Video Games of 2009.

Best Playstation 3 Exclusive Game

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune was easily one of the best early releases for the Playstation 3. But the problem is no one knew about it who didn’t have the system. A fantastic game, it fell victim to the lack of Playstation 3’s being in consumers’ homes. Knowing the gem they had their hands on, Sony made sure to give Uncharted 2: Among Thieves a spotlight at this year’s E3 along with a strong marketing push when it was released this year.

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International Creative Management (ICM) has started zeroing in on the comic industry’s more notable assets, with the announcement of signing writer Grant Morrison. Being one of the world’s largest talent and literary agencies, ICM already boasts an impressive list of clients such as actors Jodie Foster and Al Pacino, director Woody Allen, television personality Ellen DeGeneres, author Patricia Cornwell and musician Beyoncé, to name a few.

As detailed by The Hollywood Reporter, Morrison has 20 years under his belt, penning fan-favorite works like JLA, X-Men, Doom Patrol and the current Batman and Robin. The spotlight has shined on him even more lately thanks to his ‘Batman: R.I.P.’ and Final Crisis projects, and the gaming world got a dose of Morrison thanks to his classic Arkham Asylum: A Serious Place On Serious Earth graphic novel that became the inspiration for the hit video game Batman: Arkham Asylum.

The newly formed DC Entertainment also counts on Morrison’s contributions and consulting as their goal of emulating Marvel Studios’ approach to comic movies intensifies. Other notable comic creators under ICM’s management are Spawn creator Todd McFarlane and legendary artist Neal Adams, who signed with them in August.

Though many have thrown on the cowl and rubber boots on both the silver and TV screens, there has always been a constant when it comes to the voice of the animated Dark Knight, and his name is Kevin Conroy. For nearly 20 years, Conroy has been the voice of the bat in shows like Batman: The Animated Series, Justice League, and Batman Beyond to video games like Batman: Arkham Asylum. Now, he gets to don the animated cape once more in Superman/Batman: Public Enemies.

Not only does Conroy return as Batman, but legendary voice actors Clancy Brown and Tim Daly return as both Lex Luthor and Superman. We got a chance to talk to Kevin about his return to the role, and working opposite Daly in what he likes to call “a buddie cop movie” with capes.

Check out the interview with Kevin Conroy after the jump where he discusses the upcoming film, working as Batman for so many years, and his take on some of the other actors portraying the world’s greatest detective. Be sure to keep it here for another Superman/Batman: Public Enemies interview tomorrow, and grab the DVD next Tuesday, September 29th.

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For those that have played it, they know that Batman: Arkham Asylum is one of the best comic book video games ever made. It is without a doubt the best Batman title and to some arguably the best comic book game ever. With so many players trying to take in all the content they could as fast as they could, Warner Bros.

Interactive Entertainment and Eidos wanted to throw one more bone to their faithful players with the “Insane Night” map pack, a free two pack of challenge maps coming today to XBox Marketplace, the Playstation Netowrk and soon to the Games for Windows Live Marketplace.

The first map, “Totally Insane”, is a FreeFlow Combat map set in Arkham’s secure records facility where players must defend themselves from wave after wave of insane escaping inmates. Of course instead of being content with escaping the asylum, the inmates each decide to take a stab at being the one who took down the Batman instead of running for the hills.

After seeing some of the brutal combat that happens in Arkham Asylum, it only makes sense that these waves of attacks would have to be insane to want to take on the Dark Knight in hand to hand combat.

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On Monday, we brought readers a first look at the adventure they’d encounter as the Dark Knight in his upcoming title, Batman: Arkham Asylum. This Friday August 7th, XBox 360 and Playstation 3 players will get a chance to have a crack at this new game.

Things start off with the opening cut scene that has made its way around the internet for the past few months. In classic Batman formula, the master detective (voiced by Kevin Conroy) brings his nemesis Joker (Mark Hamill) in to Arkham custody, things go wrong and the Joker escapes. Who would’ve thought?

The demo then takes the player through Arkham Asylum’s Free Flow Combat, allowing the player to see how the combinations of moves flawlessly tie in to each other during the game’s numerous fights. Following that, Detective Mode comes in to play as the player must investigate the area around them to continue in their pursuit of the mad jester that has literally allowed the inmates run of the asylum.

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Batman: Arkham Asylum has been a video game property shrouded in mystery as of late. Up until now, the only exposure the public had with the game was the opening cinematic but we were recently given some time to play through the early part of this Batman adventure in what looks like it could be the first game to finally do the character justice.

Pulling from seventy years of Batman history, the developers of Batman: Arkham Asylum had a breadth of material to pick and inevitably chose the elements they thought would work best for the game. Arkham takes a much darker tone than previous Batman games, taking some influence from the relaunched movie series.

Though not tied in to the movie, it’s hard not to see a resemblance between the character models and gritty overtones of the game and those of the movies. The game starts with Batman bringing the Joker in to custody to Arkham Island. Things go awry and the Joker escapes and in the process unleashes the other denizens of Arkham Asylum.

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