This is it. It’s the big one! Right before the New Year, we posted our awards for the best of gaming in 2011. But there was one all important award that we needed some extra time to deliberate on… The Game of the Year.
In this episode, JC and WallE forgo the usual format of the Bitcast and engage in a conversation where they, along with some input from Flickcasters Matt Raub and Cortney Zamm, decide on what game earns the coveted title of Game of the Year.
And The Nominees Are:
As is the usual practice almost anywhere were column inches or post counts matter, writers such as myself take to their keyboards and make lists. I am no exception and, with a great deal of difficulty and toil, have managed to cobble together a list of what I think are some of the best things of 2011.
I don’t really want to bore you with a lot of explanations as to why I picked what I did. Suffice it to say these picks are mine and mine alone. Also, they are not in any particular order, mostly because I find it hard to rank them that closely. Or, I was just too lazy.
Either way, here you go.
Movies
Drive
The Artist
Attack the Block
X-Men: First Class
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
The Descendants
Thunder Soul
13 Assassins
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
Hugo
One thing we’ve learned is there are too many games and too little time to play them all. This also means there isn’t even enough time to give all of them awards, but we try our best. Today we take a look at both the most time consuming efforts of the past year as well as give some awards for games that deserve some notable mentions as well.
Game Most Likely to Consume Your Life: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Two Hundred and Fifty Hours. By most estimates, this is how long it’ll take an average player to explore MOST of the content of Skyrim. To give some perspective, if the average person works a 40 hour a week job, Skyrim would take six and a quarter full work weeks to complete. Now, we realize that most gamers work jobs outside of the gaming industry and cannot devote a full forty hours a week to a single game.
Week two and WallE and JC are back at it again to give you the top news in the video game world with The Flickcast’s only podcast dedicated to the world of video games, the Bitcast.
This week, the dynamic duo of Pokemon decimation bring talk about Rockstar Games’ announcement of Grand Theft Auto 5 and speculate on what we might find out when the first trailer comes later this week. Where the game will take place and just what the sales of this massive title might be are just two of the points they discuss.
In their Topic of the Week, WallE and JC talk super hero video games. The good. The bad. The ugly. And everything in between. From the original X-Men game on the NES to the most recent releases, WallE and JC have no problem letting their opinions known.
And in this week’s “Now Playing” session, the two talk about their most recent super hero gaming addictions caused by this week’s Topic of the Week.
So, what are you waiting for? Click through to listen to this week’s episode!
Batman: Arkham City is about to unleash it’s first major DLC, and Warner Bros has just released the pack’s first trailer. The Nightwing DLC gives you a new character to play, exclusive maps and another Batman: The Animated Series skin. The new content adds in the fan favorite Nightwing who began his crime frighting career as the original Robin.
Nightwing as a character brings a few new tweaks to the already stellar fighting mechanics. His history as an acrobat has not been ignored with some incredible agility displayed in the trailer, and his wrist shooter looks to be executed very well. The weapon of choice for the newest hero in this game is his dual batons, these dangerous blunt weapons also appear to have some connective electric properties. Undoubtedly these will be a blast to stick into the faces of random goons for hours and hours.
If there is a single problem I have had with the Batman Arkham games it has been with character design. It took me a long time to get behind the main looks in Arkham Asylum, and only Two-Face really gels with me right now in Arkham City. Principle amongst the new characters whose design I don’t like is Robin, so my excitement level goes through the roof when we see a Nightwing that looks perfect.
The DLC hits on November 1st and you can catch the full trailer after the jump.
As always, one of our favorite parts of any convention is the sights and NYCC was full of them this year so we had to share them with the Flickcast audience. The level of dedication by the men and women who attend the con every year is staggering.
Some are picture perfect renditions that rival movie quality costumes like the Anakin Skywalker we saw wandering the floor. Others come from careful collection of legitimate television costumes and props like the classic Power Rangers Green Ranger. Still others take their own imagination and run wild with custom Mandalorian battle armor for both human and giant chicken alike to life sized Castle Crashers.
One of the things this gallery sadly doesn’t do justice is give an idea on just how huge NYCC was this year. Though it is yet to overtake the surrounding neighborhood like SDCC does, the New York Comic Con feels every bit as big and as important as its west coast counterpart.
The entire Javitts Center was filled with every major comic company to movie studios and video game publishers in every corner. This year the Flickcast was only able to spend a day on the Con floor but if things keep looking up for NYCC, we may have to tackle this show the same way we do San Diego Comic Con or E3.
Take a look below to get just a glimpse of the many sights at this year’s convention. See you next year New York!
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.
• It looks like Thor 2 has found its director, and it won’t be Brannagh again. Looks like Monster director Patty Jenkins is taking on the task this time.
• Chris Pine and Tom Hardy fight over Reese Witherspoon for some reason in the first trailer for This Means War.
• Talk about random, here’s an amazing Voltron fan film made by Digg’s Alex Albrecht, starring Psych star Tim Omundson.
• Just to get you ready for the 3D re-release of Star Wars Episode 1, here’s a Maul-happy poster to remind you of the times without Jar Jar Binks.
• Don’t check your calendars, it’s not 1999, yet CBS has announced that they are taking on Fred Durst to star in his own sitcom. Why? We have no idea.
• Walking Dead picks back up this Sunday with season 2, so why not see what you missed last season in every zombie kill in 5 minutes.
• You’ll be too busy getting ready for next week’s release of Batman: Arkham City to realize how awesome Gotham City Impostors will be next year. Here’s a trailer showing you the fun you’ll be missing.
• Unboxing videos are all the rage these days, but what happens when an unboxing goes horribly wrong? Technivator finds out for us.
The nice folks at Feral Interactive who make sure cool games get to the Mac announced this week they will be bringing one of our favorite games to the Mac platform. That game? Batman: Arkham Asylum.
Sure, those of you who’ve played it already on PS3 or XBox 360 may scoff and say “Who cares?” But those who love the Mac and don’t have a console gaming system (yes, those people exist) will now be able to enjoy one of the cooles games around on their beloved Macs.
The game features a story by Paul Dini, Batman writer and Emmy Award winner. It also features the voice talents of Mark Hamill and Kevin Conroy, who reprise their roles as The Joker and Batman from the animated TV series.
The game will reportedly cost $39.99 and will be available in stores or via download. Recommended system requirements for the game are as follows:
2.8 GHz or faster Intel-based Mac with 4GB RAM, Mac OS X 10.6.8 or later and a graphics card with at least 512 MB. Nvidia 7xxx series, ATI 1×00 and Intel GMA graphics chips are not supported.
Batman: Arkham Asylum will be available for the Mac on October 13th.
One of the awesome things about playing a comic book-based video game is the inherent unlockables and easter eggs that are hidden inside of the game for the fans of the source material. More typical is that there are unlockable costumes that you can play as that represent alternate characters or timelines of your favorite hero.
It’s a trick that’s been used for years. Games like Spider-Man, where you can play as Green Goblin, or any of the Marvel Ultimate Alliance games, where you can don as a slew of unlockable costumes for your favorite characters. It’s a simple yet awesome piece of added value to many of the consumers rushing out to buy the game.
While Batman: Arkham City missed the boat on this, they’re definitely making up for it with their newest release, Arkham City. In this game, we’re told that you can unlock a whole cornacopia of alternate Bat-suits for the Dark Knight.
Those costumes range from Dark Knight Returns Batman, to Batman Beyond, 70′s Batman, Batman: The Animated Series Batman, Earth One Batman, and your standard Batman suit.
Here’s the catch: each of these costumes are only unlockable if you pre-order the game from a specific store. Kind of big catch, for those who want every costume, but don’t feel like buying the game 5 times.
Check out the full list of how to get each costume after the jump, along with the full-res image of each suit. Batman: Arkham City hits shelves October 18th.
For just over 20 years, former Skywaker Mark Hamill has made more of a name for himself in the comic book world than he ever did in the first three Star Wars films by becoming the definitive voice of The Joker in Batman: The Animated Series.
From TAS to Justice League, Birds of Prey, and just about any other animated incarnation of The Joker there has ever been, Hamill has literally been the only man to be best known as the voice of The Joker, past Nicholson and Ledger.
Now, Hamill returns for one last (hopefully not) appearance as the Clown Prince of Crime in the sequel to the successful video game Batman: Arkham Asylum. This time, Batman is on the prowl in the whole city, and Hamill’s Joker is ready to take him on. Again.
We also got to talk with Hamill about the possibility of voicing his favorite Joker storyline, which is Alan Moore’s “The Killing Joke”.
Check out exactly what Hamill had to say about the role and his history with the character after the jump, and be sure to grab Batman: Arkham City in stores on October 18th.
Batman: Arkham Asylum may have been one of the best games ever made for the franchise, but there were some key elements that went missing, leaving it to be a bit lacking in all things Dark Knight. One of which, was that we only got a small portion of Batman’s rogues gallery to fight in the game itself.
That’s allegedly going to be rectified in the upcoming sequel to the game, in which villains like Two Face, Riddler, and Hugo Strange will be making major appearances. Not only will you get the chance to beat up some of your favorite baddies, but some good guys like Catwoman and Robin will be playable in the game as well.
For those story fans who need more juice, here’s the official synopsis of the game:
Batman: Arkham City builds upon the intense, atmospheric foundation of Batman: Arkham Asylum, sending players soaring into Arkham City, the new maximum security home for all of Gotham City’s thugs, gangsters and insane criminal masterminds. Set inside the heavily fortified walls of a sprawling district in the heart of Gotham City, this highly anticipated sequel introduces a brand-new story that draws together a new all-star cast of classic characters and murderous villains from the Batman universe, as well as a vast range of new and enhanced gameplay features to deliver the ultimate experience as the Dark Knight.
Check out the full trailer after the jump. Batman: Arkham City hits stores on October 21st.
Yes, E3 has a lot of games to demonstrate and attract the attention of gaming enthusiasts. It also has a lot of hardware to dazzle the eye and entice your wallet open.
One such piece of hardware is the Batarang Controller from Power A for the XBox 360 and PS3. Yes, you read that right: It’s a controller made in the shape of the famed Batarang made famous by none other than Batman himself.
Here’s more info from the official release from Power A:
Developed by Rocksteady Studios and based on DC Comics’ core Batman property, Batman: Arkham City, batman fans will revel in the authenticity of the design of the Batarang, while gamers will appreciate the comfort and performance that POWER A brings to these one-of-a-kind controllers.
The Batarang controller for PS 3 is wireless with reverse analog sticks and a Batman-themed USB RF receiver. The Batarang controller for Xbox 360® is a wired controller with a 10-foot / 3m inline release cable.
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