After years of waiting (and reporting) DC Universe Online has finally made its way to both the PC and PlayStation 3 console. And we are happy to see it has lived up to the hype. While DCUO isn’t a ground breaking experience that will redefine the MMORPG genre, it does provide an addictive and fun super hero world for people to play in.

Taking a few lessons learned from previous super hero titles like City of Heroes and Champions Online, DCUO allows players to experience an MMO world in an iconic universe with well known locations and super hero and villain compatriots at their side. Unlike SOE’s previous iconic MMO with Star Wars Galaxies, players are actually able to fight alongside their favorite heroes and villains instead of just receiving missions from them. The game also has a fully voiced cast, a much notable difference to players of past titles like classics like Everquest or Galaxies.

Gameplay:

DC Universe Online plays similar in many ways to most other successful MMOs. It is to be expected since those formulas have proven successful for the type of game. Players move using the traditional WASD format combined with their mouse for changing directions and looking around and aiming. Different tap and hold button combinations on the mouse (unlocking more as players increase in level) release different attacks on foes. Additional super powers are unlocked and assigned to the 1 through 8 keys that can be used during combat.

Combat itself is fast paced and fun without much down time between. Unlike many MMORPGs, combat is not item-centric where players must worry about equipping tons of healing items to use after each combat instance. As long as players don’t run through like a lunatic kamikaze, they should be able to take a breather between fights to allow their character to quickly heal up before heading into the next encounter.

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Part of what makes E3 so great is that the event isn’t just about business. It’s about having fun too. (And yes, I agree that anyone who complains about working in video games not being fun is nuts.) But even still, sometimes developers and journalists (and celebrities) need to unwind a little bit at industry events such as the Activision E3 Preview event which was held Monday night in the Staples Center.

Our own Chris Ulrich was present for the event where he got to see live performances from Jane’s Addiction, Usher, Rhea, Will.I.Am of the Black Eyed Peas, N.E.R.D., Soundgarden, Rhianna and Eminem. Eminem performed his track, “Won’t Back Down” to the trailer for Call of Duty: Black Ops where explosions in the arena coincided with those on screen. Even Tony Hawk came down to announce his new game Tony Hawk: Shred amidst the gigantic halfpipe that was built in the middle of the Staples Center.

In addition to Chris, celebs Paris Hilton, Seth Green and comic book icon Stan “The Man” Lee walked the red carpet for the event.

Check out some video preparing for the event, some of the performances as well as interviews with Stan, Paris, Usher, Dave Navaro, Perry Farrell and Tony Hawk talking about the video game industry and how it affects them.

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After launching Warhammer Online, it was only a matter of time before an MMO set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe would be released. THQ, publishers of Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War and its expansions and sequels, have finally announced and revealed a trailer for Warhammer 40,000: Dark Millennium Online.

Not much information has been released for Warhammer 40,000: Dark Millennium Online other than more is to come at Gamescon in August. What we can tell from the trailer however is that the game will have a focus on at least three of the Warhammer 40,000 races/factions. Space Marines, the soldiers of the Imperium, may also get a hand from the Imperial Guard as well as there are some unarmored soldiers seen in battle.

Orcs, like they have always been in Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000, will be given a spotlight as foils for the Space Marines. Taking the fight to both races will be the corrupt demon worshipping Chaos Space Marines which spread violence and destruction throughout the galaxy.

Not present yet are Warhammer 40,000 staples, the Tyranids or the Eldar. It is possible that these races will be added in during future expansions.Most notably seen in the game trailer is the presence of titans, gigantic war machines that will presumably lead to epic boss battles.

Take a peek below at the trailer for Warhammer 40,000: Dark Millennium Online and let us know what you think of it in the comments.

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Warhammer 40,000 is giving a double dose to this year’s E3. In addition to the announcement of the Warhammer 40,000 MMO titled Dark Millennium, Relic Entertainment and THQ have also announced Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine which will be coming to the XBox 360 and PlayStation 3. Relic has a lot of familiarity with the Warhammer franchise, having worked on titles such as Dawn of War and its sequels and expansions. They have also developed Company of Heroes and Homeworld.

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine is being billed as a third person Action RPG. Players will control a squad of four Ultramarine Space Marines as a horde of Orks attempt to invite an Imperium controlled world, though right now it is possible the chapter of Space Marines may change. During levels, players will control one of the four members of their squad, be it an Assault Marine, a Tactical Marine, a Sergeant or a Devastator Marine. Each marine type has different roles and weapons according the Warhammer 40,000 lore.

Check out the video and pictures below and let us know what you think about the first peek at Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine.

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Even with games like Kinectimals or Eyepet being announced, there are still some mature games at this year’s E3. Gears of War 3 and Killzone 3 have shown that the world of gaming is not for the light of heart. Following that adult trend comes THQ’s latest revelation, Devil’s Third. Below you will see the trailer of the next game from acclaimed producer Tomonubu Itagaki, head of Team Ninja and producer on games like the Dead or Alive series and Ninja Gaiden.

Looking like a combination of a John Woo movie and Gears of War, Devil’s Third may be the most violent trailer we have seen so far come out of E3. Between the sword fighting, rocket launchers, grenades, shotguns, turrets and gore, Devil’s Third looks to bring mature action platforming to a new level.

As Itagaki has shown us through his recent work on Ninja Gaiden, he can bring entertaining gameplay and merge it with shocking visuals for maximum effect. Now, not hindered by just having the arsenal of a ninja, Itagaki’s creation is poised to become his next masterpiece as the trailer boasts. Hopefully the footage shown is reflective of in game content and not just a CGI cutscene. If it is, Devil’s Third may earn its place as one of the best over the top violent video games ever.

Check out the trailer below and some concept art. Stick to the Flickcast for more news on this exciting, upcoming title coming soon for the XBox 360 and PlayStation 3 as we receive it.

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In the US, there are only two major names in professional wrestling. WWE and TNA. And while Ring of Honor is working its way to become a closer third, it just can’t match the major production budgets that WWE and TNA produce. But wrestling doesn’t revolve just around America. Japan and Mexico each have their own wrestling companies with fans maybe even more intense and fanatical than their American counterparts. And in Mexico, there is nothing bigger than Lucha Libre AAA.

Lucha Libre AAA: Héroes del Ring brings together some of the biggest names in Lucha Libre for a six sided action packed wrestling experience. The game sets itself apart from WWE and TNA games by focusing more on the intensity and athleticism of Lucha Libre instead of the story focus of WWE and TNA.

For those not familiar with AAA, there is a surprisingly large number of recognizable faces there for American pro wrestling fans. Most fans of WWE and WCW will remember the names and faces of men like La Parka, Konnan, Psicosis, Vampiro, Juventud Guerrera and current TNA wrestler X-Pac. In addition, AAA has built itself a stable of well known wrestlers that are Mexican equivalents to John Cena and Triple H. Some of these include Electroshock, Cibernético, Dr. Wagner, Jr. And Teddy Hart (nephew of wrestling legend, Bret Hart).

Lucha Libre AAA: Héroes del Ring is being published by Konami and will be released on August 9th on the XBox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii and Nintendo DSi platforms. After the jump, check out the E3 trailer and let us know what you think!

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17 years and over fifty expansions to the card game, Magic: The Gathering is still with us. In addition, the franchise has spawned eight video game releases as well, all with variations of the popular card game’s rules. Some have been direct ports while others take the game in completely new directions. With this year’s E3, Sony Online Entertainment has chosen to step up with one of these new playstyles for the Magic series and introduced Magic: The Gathering – Tactics.

Taking a page from Final Fantasy: Tactics, players play out their monsters and spells on a board and swap back and forth until all of their opponents creatures are dead. It’s somewhat surprising this is the first time Magic has been fought in such a manner.

One would think with the huge variety of characters available to it, this combination would have been a no-brainer. Sony has already confirmed famed characters such as the Lord of the Pit, Raya Dawnbringer and Serra Angel to appear in the game alongside classic spells like Fireball, Ancestral Recall and Lightning Bolt

Sony Online Entertainment will be bringing this title exclusively to the PlayStation 3 and PC. No XBox 360 plans have been made for the title. Take a look below at the E3 Trailer for Magic: The Gathering - Tactics and some screen shots of the upcoming title.

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One of the best “surprises” of E3 came during the Sony press conference. When it looked like things were winding down, the hyper passive aggressive voice of GLaDOS sounded through the arena. With GLaDOS’s voice came the trailer for Portal 2.

Seen below, years have passed since the escape from Aperture Science where players thought they had killed GLaDOS. Even though there was no cake at the end of the road as promised, players were thrilled to make it out alive.

Now, player’s return to Aperture Science and find themselves in wholly new uncovered and converted sections of the facility. Still using the Aperture Science Hand-held Portal Device (or simply the portal gun), players must endure an ever increasingly difficult series of puzzles based on physics, timing and sometimes plain luck to make it back out alive… and hopefully finally get the cake.

As you will see in the videos below, they have introduced a series of new physics items to help and hinder the progress through the levels of the game. All of these objects can be sent through the portals created by the portal gun as well. The Excursion Funnel acts as a tractor beam to push and pull objects and people through a level. Ariel Faith Plate is a fancy name for a trampoline which launches players in predetermined directions.

The Thermal Discouragement Beam is a bright red laser that can be used both as a weapon through the use of reflective blocks and as a key to open exits to levels. Pneumatic Diversity Vent is kind of like the tubes you see at drive up banks and pharmacies that suck everything up and spit them out at the other end.

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One of the best parts of E3 is getting a first look at titles not yet on gamers’ radars. One of the games that is popped up during the show was Snowblind Studios’ The Lord of the Rings: War in the North. In it, players will be given the opportunity to further explore on the PlayStation 3 and XBox 360 the world of Middle Earth that J.R.R. Tolkien first created over sixty years ago .

The Lord of the Rings: War in the North evolves the Action/RPG genre through innovative online, interdependent co-op play for up to three players, who form their own Fellowship and engage in brutal combat. Gamers must play together or perish as they explore previously unexplored lands, story elements and characters as well as elements familiar from past feature films. Players engage in extensive character customization and development, expansive co-op gameplay options and upgradeable weapons, skills and special abilities.

With the film rights being sold to Warner Bros. and the game being distributed from Warner Bros. Interactive, expect some visual tie ins between the two. Playing as either human, dwarf or elf, the action of the game looks to take a darker and more graphic visual style than the violence portrayed in previous The Lord of the Rings titles.

Check out the trailer for The Lord of the Rings: War in the North after the jump.

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Since the “accidental” announcement of Gears of War 3 a few months ago before the Jimmy Fallon Show, the internet has been abuzz with everyone looking to see what the monumental third person shooter would have to offer that was different from the previous games. Especially after the mutliplayer snafu of Gears of War 2, players have been anxiously awaiting what Epic Games will be putting out in the next iteration of the series.

During the Microsoft press conference at E3, Cliffy B of Epic came out with three cohorts to show off the game’s new four player co-op campaign mode. As you’ll see below, players will be taking the fight on two fronts as they deal with the pesky Locusts as well as the new threat, the transforming Lambents. As always, Gears looks beautiful in motion and the new gameplay depth added from a four player mode will inevitably help the series’ success further.

The second video gives some clips from the E3 premiere of Beast mode. The follow-up to Gears of War 2′s Horde mode, players will get to control a horde of Locusts looking to annihilate a group of Gears in this new multiplayer mode. From the look of things, players will have a variety of options with which Locusts they control as they take on the Gears.

These options will likely add hours of new and exciting gameplay for even the most battle hardened Gears of War veterans.
Check out the two gameplay videos after the jump, and keep it here for upcoming news, as it comes to us, on Gears of War 3.

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To open their press conference at this year’s E3, Nintendo needed a heavy hitter. That heavy hitter was Zelda, returning with a brand new title for the Nintendo Wii titled The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Swords. Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto hung out on stage for awhile, giving us a taste of the game play and features of the newest title in the epic Zelda franchise.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Swords uses Nintendo’s Wii Motion Plus technology to help Link swing, swipe, and roll his way through Hyrule. Controls in this game will differ from the previous title, Twilight Princess, as players will use the Wiimote to swing Link’s sword and the Nunchuck as a shield. Another new aspect of game play is the ability to raise your sword to the sky, charging it with solar energy to fling at your enemies.

From what we saw from Miyamoto’s presentation, the game play seems much more realistic and smooth than Twilight Princess. Watching him, it really looked like he was holding a sword and shield, and his movements translated well in the on-screen game play.

The new item system, which Miyamoto described like a “pocket”, seems like a very intuitive system and a welcome change from the last game’s menu. This game also differs from Twilight Princess hugely because of its bright and beautiful scenery.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Swords won’t be released until 2011, but we’ve got a gameplay trailer to keep you occupied after the jump.

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Star Wars: The Old Republic isn’t the only Star Wars highlight from last week’s E3 show. In addition to the still untitled LucasArts game being released for the XBox 360 Kinect, there has also been a trailer released for the upcoming online Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures. Taking place in the same timeline of the Clone Wars animated film and series, younger players get the opportunity to play as either Jedi or Clone Troopers in the war against Count Dooku, General Grievous and the rest of the droid army of the trade federation.

With its cartooney graphics and light hearted feel, this game is certainly aimed at a different demographic than the Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II trailer that was also released this week.  Geared towards the same youth demographic as the cartoon, Star Wars: Clone War Adventures looks to be a combination of casual mini games combined with simple droid destroying lightsaber and star fighter combat. It may not have the crossover appeal to get mature players but some of the most hardcore Star Wars fans will likely use it to get their fix as they await Star Wars: The Old Republic.

Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures will be releasing this fall for the PC. Check out the trailer and screen shots for it after the jump.

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