Since their inception, the LEGO licensed games have followed a pretty standard formula. Players start off in a central hub where they can select missions to enter, check their progress and buy more characters to play as. After years of this between Star Wars, Batman, Indiana Jones and Harry Potter, the franchise was due for a change.

Not only is LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes the first LEGO game to feature voice acting for the characters, but it will be an open world format. How this will impact gameplay will be interesting as this has never been attempted by any of the LEGO franchise games before. It may be a structure similar to a GTA game where players meet up with NPCs and receive missions or maybe even an Arkham City style where Batman receives updates from Alfred or Oracle, which would make sense using both the Batman franchise as well as the new voiceover being added to the game.

Take a peek below at the trailer and screen shots for LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes to see Batman, Superman, the Flash, the rest of the Justice League and all the villains in action. You even get a brief glimpse of the friendly antagonism between Batman and Superman as well. LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes is coming to all major consoles and handhelds on June 19th.

Continue Reading →

After breaking the 10 million sold mark, it was inevitable that LEGO Batman would receive a sequel. The original was so popular, it became a part of the package deal for the XBox 360 for a time. Back in November of 2011, a few months after LEGO revealed initial designs for their LEGO DC Super Heroes line, Traveller’s Tales and Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment announced that the latest LEGO Batman title would encompass some of the most well known heroes and villains of the DC Universe. Now more than a full three months later, we get a first glimpse of it in action in LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes.

In the trailer below, we see LEGO Batman and his ward LEGO Robin once again, but this time joined by the Man of Steel (or in this case also LEGO) Superman. He makes his way over to Gotham as the Joker is released from Arkham Asylum by Supe’s own nemesis, Lex Luthor (voiced by none other than Clancy Brown).

Continue Reading →

With the Academy Awards still fresh in our minds, we can think of all the great films 20111 brought us. It is easy to forget that year also had tons of stinkers and flops, but the Razzie Awards are here to remind us.

The Razzie Award nominees have been announced, and their aren’t too many surprises. Adam Sandler has a record 11 nominations, and that’s not including nominations that are tied to his Happy Madison productions. Three films by the production company, Buck Larsen: Born to be a Star, Just Go With It, and Jack & Jill, all have multiple nominations each.

The Razzies, or Golden Raspberry awards, were created in 1980 as an antidote to the Oscars. They are usually held on the eve of the Academy Awards, but this year are moving to 1 April. Traditionally, stars do not turn up to collect their awards, but good sports over the years have included Paul Verhoeven in 1996 (worst director and worst picture for Showgirls), Halle Berry for 2005′s Catwoman and Sandra Bullock for 2010′s All About Steve.

Check out the nominations after the jump, and be sure to keep an eye out for these “winners” when they are announced on April 1.

Continue Reading →

Presented without much in the way of comment (well, just a little) is the first trailer for Christopher Nolan’s third, and presumably final, installment in the Batman franchise. This time around the new film is called The Dark Knight Rises and based on this new trailer it looks, in a word, awesome.

We know people use that word often and sometimes it tends to lose its meaning. However, in this case, it fits completely.

The movie looks awesome and like any good trailer you get a lot of info about the movie but don’t really know what’s going to happen in it. If only other trailers could do this, and be as good as this, and not give everything away.

Of course, you can be sure the folks responsible for this film know what they’ve got and know, with absolute certainty, the movie will do huge box office and people will flock to see it over and over again. So, they don’t really have to do that much to promote it. The movie pretty much sells itself.

July 20, 2012 can’t get here fast enough. Check out the trailer after the break.

Continue Reading →

There’s been some pics of The Dark Knight Rises circulating around the web of Batman and thugs fighting on the steps of what may be Gotham City Hall. We’ll assume you’ve seen them because you’re rabid fans of the franchise.

Now Warner Bros has released something pretty much every rabid fan of the franchise may have wanted to see even more than Batman and Bane: the first official photo of Anne Hathaway as Catwoman. The photo, which appeared on the official website, TheDarkKnightRises.com, is sadly not all that sexy.

It is, however, a pretty good look at what Nolan is going for with his Catwoman and keeps pretty much in line with his vision for the films. Of course, what did you expect? According to sources, Nolan’s vision for the Catwoman costume is more “tactical, like the comic book,” “less sexy than Halle Berry and Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman costumes”, and would feature goggles.

That seems to describe what we’re seeing here completely. Maybe there’s some other version of her outfit that appears later in the film? It would be a shame to have a woman as attractive as Hathaway and not utilize all her talents to the fullest.

Check out the full version of the photo after the jump. And, a couple others we found from around the Internets.

Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Continue Reading →

From the people that brought properties like Indiana Jones, Harry Potter and Pirates of the Carribbean to the world of LEGOs, it looks like they’re getting into the spirit of Comic-Con with a brand new announcement of LEGO Super Heroes, which takes place.

The new LEGO DC Universe SUPER HEROES collection will feature 13 iconic super heroes in LEGO minifigure form, including: Batman™, Robin™, Catwoman™, The Joker, The Riddler™, Two-Face, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn™, Bane, Bruce Wayne, Superman™, Lex Luthor™ and Wonder Woman™. Buildable characters will include Batman, The Joker and Green Lantern.

So now you can add to your favorite LEGO collections with a bit of a DC flair and even make some of your favorite DC heroes using the old mix and match LEGO technique.

Continue Reading →

Judging from the box office success of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, quite a few of you have already had the chance to see this brand new teaser trailer for The Dark Knight Rises. However, for those of you who haven’t, or want to watch it again and again, we’ve got it for you right here now.

In it we get our first glimpses of the upcoming final, epic battle between Bruce Wayne’s Batman and Tom Hardy’s Bane. Plus, the teaser sets this up clearly as the third and final chapter of a trilogy that will set Batman on his eventual course to become the true Caped Crusader and Dark Knight.

I don’t have to tell you we’re all pretty excited around here for this movie to come out. Of course, as with endings of this type, it will be bittersweet. Still, can’t wait.

Check out the trailer after the jump. The Dark Knight Rises is directed by Christopher Nolan and features Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Marion Cotillard and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. It hits theaters on July 20th, 2012.

Continue Reading →

All things video games will be blowing up in the next week as Los Angeles is taken by storm with E3 news and announcements. We’ve got a few tidbits already before the show even happens, such as this little nugget about Catwoman being an official playable character in the upcoming Batman open-world game Batman Arkham City.

The game is written as a sequel to the massively popular third-person game Batman Arkham Asylum, in which you portrayed the Dark Knight (voiced by Kevin Conroy) as he took down some of the most well known names in his rogues gallery.

In this game, The Joker (voiced possibly for the last time by Mark Hamill) breaks free from captivity, again, to wreak havoc on the townspeople of Gotham City. The big news here is that the game will get a bit more female, as Catwoman has been announced as a playable character for several levels, instead of playing as Batman for the entire game.

Not only has this feature been announced, but there’s even a pretty hot video circulating around the web showing off the Cat of 9 Lives and how elastic and flexible she can be when taking down the thugs of Gotham.

Check out the video after the jump, and catch Batman Arkham Asylum on shelves October 18th.

Continue Reading →

Probably one of the most anticipated games of 2011, any kind of footage or information for Batman: Arkham Asylum is getting gobbled up by fans the moment it hits the web. A few months ago, we got the first trailer for the game, which didn’t show us much. Now we’re finally getting some gameplay.

In this new trailer, we see not only some new villains make an appearance, such as Catwoman, Two Face, Hugo Strange, and Joker, but some great new features in what looks to be an almost open-world style game. Basically, what would Grand Theft Auto be like if you were Batman.

Some great new features have been added that we can pick up on, including the ability to practically fly through Gotham City with the use of the grappling gun and Batman’s cape-gliding skills, and some advanced combat skills.

Sadly, still no word on whether local or online multiplayer will be added in this sequel, but we still have a solid 6 months before the game is released on October 18th.

Check out the all-new extended trailer after the jump, and let us know what you think!

Continue Reading →

Nerds everywhere thought we could rest easy after years of contemplation and speculation as to who the next villain[s] would be in the Nolan’s third Batman film, and who they’d be played by.

Not long ago, we got word that Selena Kyle would be the film’s main villain, played by Anne Hathaway. Also joining the film would be Inception star Tom Hardy as the secondary villain Bane. Now the door of mystery has opened up once again as Joseph Gordon-Levitt is in talks to play yet another mysterious role in the film.

From Deadline.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is in talks to reunite with his Inception director Christopher Nolan in The Dark Knight Rises for Warner Bros. I’m not sure what role he’ll play, but I’m told that he will be in the movie when Nolan starts production this spring.

Continue Reading →

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.

Let’s get started!

• Will Smith is currently working on a remake of Annie with his daughter Willow taking on the titular role and having Daddy Warbucks played by himself. Nepotism Shmepotism.

• Let’s face it, horror is IN! Even Syfy is getting behind their newest reality show Face Off with a killer swag contest.

• Take a look at one of the ads Fox rejected for the SuperBowl. The sad part is that it isn’t even very clever, or very good…it just has cheating.

• In case you missed it, Pee Wee made his triumphant return to TV last week, as a guest star during SNL’s Digital Short. To say the least, he’s definitely not the classic Pee Wee we grew up with.

• Gamers rejoice as the world of portable gaming and 3D finally align with the Nintendo 3Ds. The only question is…where do I put my Avatar tail?

• In case you have trouble seeing Anne Hathaway as Catwoman in the upcoming Dark Knight Rises. This may help you visualize it.

• Tarantino fan? Porn fan? Then this one is for you. The Reservoir Dogs porno.

• We love animated shorts, and this one, titled I’m a Monster is definitely one not to miss.

• There’s a brand new film out of China about a married couple who are also retired super heroes. The best part? Their names are Mr. and Mrs. Incredible. This…sounds…familiar…

Somehow with all the news that comes out every day we missed this interesting bit of casting. Okay, the truth is we were a bit hungover after one of Managing Editor Matt Raub’s trivia parties last night and we just forgot to put this up. Sorry folks, you deserve better.

Anyway, what news am I talking about? Why it’s the news that Anne Hathaway has been confirmed as Selina Kyle (aka Catwoman) in the upcoming Batman Threequel The Dark Knight Rises. Christopher Nolan and Warner Bros. have announced that the Oscar-nominated actress is joining the film and according to the report they could not be happier about it.

“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Anne Hathaway, who will be a fantastic addition to our ensemble as we complete our story,” Nolan said in an official statement.

But wait, there’s more. Nolan also revealed that longtime cast member Tom Hardy will be playing the role of Bane: “I am delighted to be working with Tom again and excited to watch him bring to life our new interpretation of one of Batman’s most formidable enemies.”

So basically Nolan is both thrilled and delighted. That’s a good way to start a project as massive as this one undoubtedly is. I think I’m thrilled and delighted as well. Hardy is awesome and will make a great Bane. Anne Hathaway should do well as Catwoman too and should have no trouble sexing things up for the Caped Crusader.

What about you guys? Do you like these casting choices or who would you have preferred to see as Catwoman and Bane?