Remember a few months ago when it seemed like fall 2012 was loaded with tons of awesome, highly anticipated video game releases?

We told you how BioShock: Infinite would be delayed several months and now add another of those high-profile games has jumped ship to early 2013. In an announcement made on Edios Games’ forums, Darrell Gallagher informed us that the Tomb Raider reboot game has been pushed to 2013:

Our priority now is to make sure we fully deliver the very highest quality game. In order to do this, we have decided to move the game’s release date by a few months, from Fall 2012 to the first quarter of 2013.

We’re doing things that are completely new to Tomb Raider in this game and the additional development time will allow us to put the finishing touches into the game and polish it to a level that you deserve. We believe this is the right choice and I guarantee it will be worth the wait. The game is looking amazing and we can’t wait to show it to everyone at E3 in a few weeks.

Unfortunate news for a game that a lot of people were really look forward to. Although we here at The Flickcast think this might be for the best, in a world where Uncharted has set a new standard for action and treasure hunting games, Tomb Raider has a lot to live up to. At the very least the game wont be a no-show at E3 like BioShock, so we wont have to long to wait to see what sort of additions this delay allows.

With PAX East over, it’s now the time to countdown to the biggest show in the gaming world: E3. This 2012′s E3 has the potential to be one of the biggest in gaming history. As both the XBox 360 and PlayStation 3 have hit milestones in their lifecycles, could it be time for both Microsoft and Sony to reveal the latest entrants to the console market? Last year’s E3 revealed the Wii U to mixed feedback.

Nintendo appeared to be playing catch up to the power of both the 360 and PS3 by announcing power specs that are comparable to the current generation’s competitors with another gimmick controller. But what could this next generation of home consoles do to change the game and the way gaming is consumed? Truth be told, we don’t know and the rumor mill around the internet has only lead to widespread debate over possible problems caused by these new consoles as opposed to innovations brought on from them.

The next iteration of consoles will most likely not focus on simple graphic upgrades. Looking at games from the XBox 360′s and PlayStation 3′s launches and comparing them to the most recent releases has shown that these systems have not topped out yet in terms of their processing power and graphical capabilities. In the hands of the right developers, cutting edge visuals are still being developed for consoles and it is rare to see drastic differences between even the highest end PC games to their console counterparts. So while it is realistic that these new systems will have stronger processors with higher capabilities, the noticeable degree of improvement isn’t going to be as drastic as with previous generations.

Continue Reading →

If you feel your current XBox console is starting to get a bit long in the tooth and are anxiously waiting for Microsoft to drop some new, shiny hardware goodness, you are going to have to wait a bit longer. Until next year, in fact.

That’s right, Microsoft has confirmed that the next next-gen console, rumored to be called the Xbox 720, will not even be announced or talked about at the 2012 Electronic Entertainment Expo, or “E3″ as we like to call it.

“While we appreciate all the interest in our long-range plans for the future, we can confirm that there will be no talk of new Xbox hardware at E3 or anytime soon,” the company said in a statement. “For us, 2012 is all about Xbox 360-and it’s the best year ever for Xbox 360. The console is coming off its biggest year ever-a year in which Xbox outsold all other consoles worldwide.”

Well, that’s nice for Microsoft. We’re glad they feel the XBox 360 is still a great gaming platform. In fact, it really is. It still manages to offer a lot to gaming developers and the games still look pretty darn good when played on it.

Continue Reading →

We’re all pretty big gamers at The Flickcast HQ. Some of us are fans of shooters, adventure games, and even open world crime games. One problem most of us have with the latter is that games like Grand Theft Auto or L.A. Noir are based a little too much in reality for them to be as truly enjoyable as possible.

That’s where the Saints Row franchise comes in. The game is based loosely on the concept of a gang-riddled metropolis, but with the open world setting and the twist that absolutely anything can happen. That rule is getting completely amped in the third installment of the franchise, titled simply Saints Row: The Third.

We thought things were insane in the first two games, but this one has things like a giant purple dildo as a weapon, the ability to fly in a fighter jet through town, call in air strikes against your enemies, or just run around naked while punching people with explosive boxing gloves called the Apocofists.

This game has it all, and allows you to just cause complete chaos in a very cathartic experience for any gamer (preferably over the age of 16).

There’s a brand new gameplay video of the new features, with commentary from the game’s writer Drew Holmes, that we have waiting for you after the jump. Check it out, and be sure to grab Saints Row: The Third on November 15th.

Continue Reading →

So back in 2010, Microsoft debuted the next great technology, where they let people be their own controller. No more holding plastic gizmos to get characters on screen to perform actions. Instead, they just had to do it themselves and their character would follow suit. People could bowl or play soccer in Kinect Sports, river raft and traverse obstacle courses in Kinect Adventures and improve their dance moves with Dance Central… and then there was a drastic shortage in titles for the Kinect that anyone really cared about playing.

This E3, Microsoft intended on showing people this wasn’t the case when they announced a slew of new Kinect games and the implementation of Kinect in other existing titles and franchises. One of the stand out titles in terms of curiosity is Rise of Nightmares from SEGA. Now, the horror survival genre is nothing new. Games like the early Resident Evil and Silent Hill perfected the formula early on. It has even made its way to the first person with titles like F.E.A.R. and Condemned. But never before have those trying to survive been forced to fight their way out with their own two hands… and feet… and even head.

Rise of Nightmares promises to not only let players use their body as the controller, but it also acts as the weapon to. It’s one thing to punch a zombie’s face off, but it’s a whole other thing to headbutt it clear off. This is definitely a game we will be keeping an eye on and will hopefully be getting some hands on preview coverage with in the coming months.

Check out the live action teaser trailer and in game screens below and stick to The Flickcast for more on Rise of Nightmares coming to the XBox 360 for Kinect.

Continue Reading →

“It’s a bloodfest.” “Unleash visible violent death.” These are the worlds of the developers, not PR, as they describe their own game with Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine. This E3, THQ gave us more details and a new trailer to Space Marine. In addition to what we saw last year at the game’s reveal, Space Marine is further delved into this year with these three new videos.

Most notable is the addition of the Chaos and the Imperial Guard to Space Marine. Originally thought to be only Ultramarines vs. Orcs, these new trailers give glimpses of Chaos Space Marines , Chaos daemons and some of the Imperial Guard marines as well.

The trailers also take a closer look at the actual combat of the game. Instead of just being a third person cover based shooter like Gears of War where players will plant themselves in a location and hunker down and systematically pick off enemies, Space Marine encourages players to run headfirst into combat and actually rewards them more for doing so. The developers say that the quickest way to regenerate health is by staying in the thick of battle.

Make sure to check out all three videos after the jump. Warhamer 40,000: Space Marines hits stores in August 2011 for XBox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Continue Reading →

As expected, Activision made a strong showing at this year’s E3. Of course, they headlined with their premiere franchise Call of Duty with Modern Warfare 3. But they didn’t forget about the rest of their games.

One of the games right now being most closely followed by us is Spider-Man: Edge of Time.  The followup from Beenox from Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, Edge of Time tells a story about time being ravaged by the untimely death of the modern day Peter Parker and the ripples it sends in to the future.

In the latest trailer and screen shots below, one of the game’s first major villains is revealed with Anti-Venom. Anyone reading the current Amazing Spider-Man arc will be familiar with Anti-Venom who fancies himself as a cure on society’s cancers. Much like Eddie Brock’s former lethal protector mentality as Venom, Eddie’s personal delusions get in the way of his motives and inevitably put Spider-Man in the sites as one of his targets.

How this will play out in the game remains to be seen but it is refreshing to see Beenox putting newer characters in to their game instead of just rehashing the most famous of Spider-Man’s rouges over and over again.

Take a peek below at Spider-Man: Edge of Time featuring Anti-Venom, Spider-Man 2099 and of course everyone’s favorite modern day Spidey. Stick to The Flickcast for more on Spider-Man: Edge of Time as it becomes available.

Continue Reading →

Last week at E3, tons of new and innovative games and software enhancements were announced that will completely change the face of video gaming and technology in general as we know it. One new announcement was one surrounding UbiSoft’s new Ghost Recon Future Soldier game that will make science fiction look like an everyday toaster.

Tying in with XBox Kinect, the game has an exclusive “Gunsmith Mode” that allows the user to reconstruct and upgrade your gun using Minority Report-like hand and arm gestures.

This is exactly the use that had everyone up in arms when the Kinect was first announced, that basically brings the technology we’ve seen in sci-fi movies for decades to the real world, and at an affordable price!

This is just the start of what we can expect to see with technology and the future of gaming. With the creation of the WiiU, you can also expect to see tons of new and innovative ways that people play everyday games, and we have to say we’ve never been more excited.

Check out exactly what you can look forward to with Ghost Recon Future Soldier on the Xbox 360 after the jump, and grab the game when it hits shelves March of next year.

Continue Reading →

With E3 coming to a close today it’s time to take a look at the rest of the photos we took over the last three days. Well, we can’t actually show you all of the photos due to several factors: we shot way too many and some of them contain embarrassing moments best left for a night of cocktails at Trader Vic’s.

However, we do have quite a few we can share so in this gallery we’ve included those. Yes, they contain more booths, some gameplay, cool cars and, of course, a selection of beautiful booth babes.

What E3 would be complete without them? A less beautiful experience to say the least.

Click through for all the pics. See you next year!

Continue Reading →

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.

Continue Reading →

With all the talk about E3 let’s not forget Apple is having a little confrence of its own: WWDC. At that show, several things were announced by our favorite fruit flavored tech company.

Also announced, and in keeping with the gaming-related week we’re having, was a new title from Madfinger Games, creators of Samurai II: Vengeance. This new title, called SHADOWGUN, “showcases next-gen graphics and immersive gameplay authored in the Unity development platform.”

Interested? Cool because here’s more about the game from the official press release:

Authored with the Unity development platform, SHADOWGUN combines tactical combat with third person harrowing action, ushering in a new visual standard for handheld gaming. SHADOWGUN puts players into the role of John Slade, a professional bounty hunter in the year 2350. Slade’s mission: hunt down Dr. Edgar Simon, renowned geneticist and former employee of the trans-galactic corporation Toltech Enterprises.

Players must lead “shadowgun” John Slade as he infiltrates Dr. Simon’s mountain fortress and fights his personal army of mutants, cyborgs, and genetically-enhanced humanoids using state-of-the-art weaponry, ships, and the assistance of S.A.R.A. — Slade’s personal android assistant. The story is written by award winning author Micah Nathan who has joined the MadFinger team as executive creative consultant for SHADOWGUN.”

With how good this looks on the iPad I have a hard time beging excited about something like the PS Vita. Sorry Sony, too little too late.

Click through to check out the trailer fror this new game.

Continue Reading →

E3′s got lots of news this week that has us excited. It seems that the big news of the week goes to Nintendo, with the announcement of their WiiU interactive controller and console. Along with the WiiU, the company has also announced some pretty awesome games for their already existing consoles.

One that has piqued our interest pretty hard is Super Mario 3D, which looks to be the complete culmination of all Mario games into one action-packed handheld game. Here’s the rundown for the game.

Super Mario 3D combines the gameplay of 3D Mario titles, which includes some of Mario’s moves such as the running jump and ground pound, with some of the more traditional elements of 2D Mario titles. The game utilises a similar system to the 2D titles, in which Mario will lose outfits or shrink to Small Mario if he is hit, losing a life if he is hit whilst in Small Mario form or falls into a bottomless pit.

Confirmed items revealed so far are the Super Mushroom, which allows Small Mario to grow into Super Mario, the Fire Flower, which allows Mario to shoot fireballs, the Starman, which makes Mario temporarily invincible, and the Super Leaf (Mario tranforms into Tanooki Mario instead of Raccoon Mario), which allows Mario to do a tail whip attack and hover in the air.

Levels are completed by reaching a flag similar to that of Super Mario Bros. and New Super Mario Bros., with more points or an extra life earned the higher the player lands on it. Comet Medals also make a reappearance from Super Mario Galaxy 2, hinting that more difficult variations of the levels can be unlocked.

The game is set to hit stores later this year, but you can check out the first gameplay trailer after the jump to get excited.

Continue Reading →