Since its release back in 2006,  the Gears of War series has been met with both fanatic praise and scornful rejection. Some boast that it “redefined the third-person shooter,” while others claim it only furthers the stereotype of gamers as meat-headed blood junkies. Whatever your stance on the franchise is, the third and (possibly) final chapter of the trilogy is here – and credit must be given where it’s due.

The development team at Epic Games end the story of Marcus Fenix and the rest of Delta Squad with a bang – both in the single-player / co-op campaign and across the online battlefield. From graphic updates to fine-tuning combat controls to completely redesigning one of the most popular multiplayer modes in recent history, all of the pieces of this blood-spattered puzzle fall gloriously into place.

Keep reading to find out how Gears of War 3 stomps on the juicy insides of its predecessors, while also managing to deliver one of the most satisfying ends to a gaming franchise.

Continue Reading →

The world of first person shooters runs rampant in the video game industry but there are very few third person shooters that receive the hype of Gears of War. Military shooters constantly clone Call of Duty hoping to unseat the champ and futuristic sci fi shooters like Resistance look to topple Halo. But Gears of War has gone largely unchallenged. Until now.

Enter Binary Domain, a futuristic cover based third person shooter where players must survive an onslaught of machines that just don’t seem to want to die. Not only does Binary Domain from SEGA look amazing but it doesn’t look to be a Gears of War rip-off either. Aside from the obvious difference in enemies being crazed robots as opposed to creepy underground monsters, the environments are also drastically different too. Binary Domain is more reminiscent of  with fairly clean city that hasn’t had the waste of war laid fully upon it yet.

Binary Domain, as seen from the trailer, looks to be quite the challenging game too as players won’t be able to just take out enemies with a few well placed pop shots like they can against mortal enemies. These robotic threats look like they can keep a licking and keep on ticking. After blowing off limbs, these mechanical attackers will continue coming at players, much like certain zombie games interestingly enough. This definitely changes up the pacing seen in most third person shooters thus far.

Take a look below at the weapons trailer for Binary Domain and stick to the Flickcast for more on this February 2012 release for XBox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Continue Reading →

It’s that time of year again when we all gather together to see our loved ones… that’s right. The Con season has begun. Whether it’s SXSW, Toy Fair, C2E2 or Comic Con in San Diego, if you are a reader (or writer) of the Flickcast, it’s likely you are going to end up at least one, if not all, of the Cons this season. Our first one up on the east coast is Toy Fair. Now while Toy Fair isn’t open to the general public, we made sure to get in and get a peek at some of the hottest new toys of the season.

We got to take a peek at the new models for the Walking Dead action figures alongside our friends from MTV Splashpage as the legendary Todd McFarlane himself explained how the zombie bodies will literally explode in the customer’s hands. We can’t wait to see the final versions in action.

There was a plethora of Green Lantern merchandise that we were unfortunately unable to snag pictures of as well as the brand new Thundercats line which is coming out soon. We were able to sneak a few pictures though of some of the Mezco Green Lantern products though.

The video game world was represented strong with Sonic The Hedgehog, Halo, Deus Ex, Street Fighter, Final Fantasy and Little Big Planet. Activision also announced to the world Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure for the Wii where toys and video games come together in a very interesting new way. Check back later this week for a full post including video of the product in action.

Check out all of our pics from Toy Fair below and keep checking back this week for more from the show (including an appearance on this week’s podcast discussing it with Matt and Chris)!

Continue Reading →

Need proof that major comic book publishers fear that print comics are a dying commodity? News from DC’s camp may just be that. Word has recently come in that the megapublisher will be changing all current comics that are priced at $3.99 to be slashed down to $2.99 starting in January of 2011.

From a DC press release:

“As Co-Publishers, we listened to our fans and to our partners in the retail community who told us that a $3.99 price point for 32 pages was too expensive. Fans were becoming increasingly reluctant to sample new titles and long term fans were beginning to abandon titles and characters that they’d collected for years.” said Dan DiDio, DC Comics Co-Publisher.

“We needed a progressive pricing strategy that supports our existing business model and, more importantly, allows this creative industry to thrive for years to come. With the exceptions of oversized comic books, like annuals and specials, we are committed to a $2.99 price point.”

When taking into account mini-series, annuals and specials, more than 80% of DC’s comic books will be priced at $2.99.

This effects many of the major titles and ongoing stories such as American Vampire, Batman: The Dark Knight, Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors, and JSA All-Stars as well as many licensed titles like Gears of War, God of War, Kane & Lynch, and Ratchet & Clank. All of those titles will now be slashed down to $2.99.

Continue Reading →

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.

Continue Reading →

This week On the Radar a bunch of gaming news about Halo and Gears of War, Red Sonja switches up celebrity hotties, Mark Strong talks Sinestro in Green Lantern and Tom Arnold takes to the sea to fight aliens!

Court dismisses Marvel, Stan Lee law suit.  Excelsior!

While Stan Lee has been working overtime on film cameos and convention appearances he’s also been dealing with legal fights.  This one was between Stan Lee Media Inc. and it’s former board members.  At it’s most basic level the case was over ownership of mainstream characters like Spider-Man, the Hulk, and Fantastic Four.

The judge dismissed the case based on two primary factors.  First, the shareholders did not acquire their shares until a year after the issue of ownership occurred and second, said shareholders should not have waited nearly a decade to file their case.  No word yet on whether the decision will be appealed so until next time true believers…

Halo movie will be happening at some point

What should be an easy sell as far as a video game adaption, Halo has struggled to gain traction with studios.  However, Frank O’Connor of Microsoft Game Studios has said the film will happen eventually:

“We’re going to make a movie when the time is right,” he said. “We own the IP. If we want to make a movie, the scale of all the other stuff that we do changes dramatically. We make tens and tens of millions of dollars on ancillary stuff, toys, apparel, music and publishing. If we do a movie all of that will grow exponentially. We have some numbers if we do a movie, but it changes everything. It also changes our target and age demographic.”

Continue Reading →

Sounds confusing or just plain awesome? Capcom announced that not only would Lost Planet 2 feature Microsoft icons Marcus Fenix and Dom Santiago from the Gears of War franchise as playable skins in both single and multiplayer, but at X10 they also revealed that Resident Evil antagonist Albert Wesker will also appear in the game.

As opposed to the faceless space marines we experienced in the multiplayer demo of Lost Planet 2, players will be able to take the reigns as their two favorite Gears or a Resident Evil baddie as they make their way through the environments of E.D.N. III.

Take a look below at screens from the game featuring the latest additions to the Lost Planet universe as well as video that Gamespot.com picked up from X10 as they controlled Marcus Fenix in Lost Planet 2.

As always, stick to the Flickcast for further coverage of Lost Planet 2 as it becomes available.

Continue Reading →

Gears of War aficionados and Cosplayers rejoiced this morning with the announcement of a full scale Gears of War 2 1:1 scale Lancer Assault Rifle from Triforce, LLC. Having already designed a Locust Drone Maquette, TriForce combined the talents of sculptors Erick Sosa, William Valenzuela, Jorge Martinez, Toi Ogunyoku and painter Paul Komoda to create a 40 inch long, 15 lbs replica of Marcus Fenix’s iconic half chainsaw, half assault rifle, all bad ass weapon from the Gears of War franchise.

“When working on something as iconic as the Lancer Assault Rifle you have to get every detail right, in order to pay it the respect it deserves. Working closely with the incredible team at Epic Games we are confident we have created the most painstakingly accurate representation of this intricately designed weapon,” said Drew Seldin, a spokesman for TriForce. “You can only make great pieces if you work with the best and our design team is clearly the best. All you need to do is look at what they created and you will undoubtedly agree.”

Epic Games, the creators of Gears of War is also very happy with what they have seen from TriForce. Chris Perna, art director at Epic Games said, “The guys at TriForce have outdone themselves with this fantastic rendition of the Lancer, and the attention to detail is amazing. They went through great pains and spared no expense to bring to market the absolute finest quality reproduction of the Lancer to date. Working with these detail-oriented professionals has been a pleasure.”

Continue Reading →

The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that Len Wiseman, whose past credits include Underworld and Live Free or Die Hard and who is currently prepping the live-action Gears of War, has signed on to develop and direct a film adaptation of the graphic novel Shrapnel for Radical Pictures.

Shrapnel, which was teased last year during Comic-Con by Radical Publishing, describes a sci-fi future where humans have colonized the solar system and have formed a Solar Alliance to govern all planets. The story focuses on Venus, the last rebellious holdout, where a self-exiled former Marine teaches the colonists how to fight back.

Wiseman stumbled upon the property while shopping for comics with his 10-year-old daughter, Lily. Soon thereafter, his agent at ICM was scouting the rights.

“I am really drawn to the reluctant-hero story,” said Wiseman, who noted that the last hero he directed — John McClane in “Live Free or Die Hard” — fit that archetypal mold.

Nick Sagan and Zombie Studios chief Mark Long created the property. Radical principal Barry Levine will produce with Wiseman and Mark Gordon. Long and Radical’s Jesse Berger will exec produce. Although Shrapnel is currently being developed as a live-action pic, a 3D approach could be possible. Zombie Studios is planning the video game.

If you’re a fan of video games, big televisions and general awesomeness then this video is for you. Why? Well, it depicts one of the truly awesome experience you can have if you’re an avid gamer and have always wanted to really get your game on in a big, big way.

A tipster sent this in to Engadget showing a player using the enormendous 72 x 160-foot ‘LED wall’ at Dallas Cowboys Stadium to play some Gears of War. Later, video emerged of said player engaged in a bit of Halo and showing off his XBox Gamers Score (which isn’t that much better than mine, btw).

Supposedly, the stadium was being set up for the Jonas Brothers’ June 20th concert and the person taking advantage of this rather unique opportunity was the group’s video director Steve Fatone. Its a cool video and shows what some people will do when given the chance. But really, can you blame him? I would do it in a second.

Check out the video after the break.

Continue Reading →

Check out last week’s Pull List comic reviews here and here. Part two of this week’s list will be out tomorrow.

Pull of the Week

Dark Avengers #4 – Marvel – $3.99
Score: 8.0

After reading just about every Dark Reign book, one thing has become very obvious to the reader, and that is that the status quo has changed. Villains teaming with villains to take on other villains. Something about that picture just doesn’t sound right on paper… but it works in this issue. Without a single “hero” to cheer for, the reader shouldn’t be rooting for anyone in this book, not even the anti-heroes. With the exceptions of Ares and the Sentry, every other character is a murderous, psychopathic lunatic in one capacity or another. Somehow, though, writer Brian Michael Bendis makes the reader hope for the success of the centerpieces in this issue; Norman Osborn and Doctor Doom. Yes. You read that right. The guy who killed Gwen Stacey and ol’ iron face himself are the people who you are hoping win big in this issue. But like Norman likes to remind us, he did kill the Skrull queen so he can’t be THAT bad of a guy right?

Artist Mike Deodato couldn’t have been placed on more perfect a project, given his style. Many of the pages in the issue revolve more around shadow as he allows these villains to hide in plain sight. Call it a gut feeling, but this type of book most likely wouldn’t have been able to work in a style like recent issues of The Runaways, Deadpool or The Avengers: The Initiative with thick outlines and cartoonish colors. Every character’s appearance has a sense of grit and a feel of realism to them.  The cold dead stare of Hawkeye (or Bullseye, whichever you prefer) makes you believe he can–and will–kill you without a second thought.  Deodato has also done a great job with his take on Doctor Doom as he has been able to get so much expression out of a stiff iron mask.

Over the coming issues, it remains to be seen if the titular team is destined to ultimately fall apart due to outside conflict or internal quarrels.  As with many of Bendis’ stories, the issue ends, not with a cliff hanger, but a moment that leaves the reader questioning the thoughts and mentality of the issues key characters. Are they really as insane as we think they are? Is there the potential for them to do some good? Are they beyond redemption? Do they even want it?

Other Pulls:

Thunderbolts #131 – Marvel – $2.99
Score: 7.0

In a market where $2.99 books are becoming fewer and farther between, it’s almost impossible to pass up any Marvel book featuring the Merc with the Mouth for such a reasonable price. Deadpool has proven he is a character that he can elevate any book with a subpar cast (if under the right writer). Deadpool is able to rub some of his popularity on to some of the lesser known characters like the Headsman and Ghost, who have yet to be greatly explored.

Since the team’s roster change, the Thunderbolts are no longer about redemption as they once were. Instead they are a group of black ops killers at the beck and call of the highest bidder, their boss Norman Osborn. Picking up with “Deadpool”, (actually the Taskmaster in disguise),who is in the clutches of the Thunderbolts and Norman, this issue concludes the crossover arc between Deadpool and the T-Bolts. He even attempts a stirring rendition of a Bon Jovi classic. (Well, not that I could actually hear how it sounded, but I imagined the song being done in Ryan Reynolds voice.) Diggle seems to enjoy working with Ant-Man on the team as he has been given a spot as one of the more clever members of the team despite Kirkman’s creation not originally having such tactical insight.

The only real weakness of the issue that prevented it from reaching it’s real potential was the artwork. Understandably, the editors must have wanted a more lighthearted feel to the book, as opposed to the dirty, dark style of Dark Avengers, to help fit Deadpool’s insane nature. This, however, was taken too far as the issue resembled Saturday morning cartoons more than it did a comic book. The characters are surrounded by bold, thick black lines that often are so stark, they distract from the rest of the panel. Often times the characters faces and poses don’t resemble human anatomy anymore or the way a person’s body can actually move.
Gears of War #6 – Wildstorm – $3.99
Score: 6.0

I know what you are thinking. “A video game adapted into a comic book… There’s no way it can be good.” While the series has, by no means, been mind-blowing, it has been enjoyable read for any fan of the video game franchise. (One nice thing about the comic series has been the exclusion of Dom’s hopeless–and often annoying–stories about his wife that he hasn’t found in ten years that plague the narrative of the game.) The book is comfortable to read for anyone who enjoyed the game as it has a similar pacing. The group of heroes known as “the Cogs” find themselves traveling between locations only to be forced into a series of battles against the locust horde. Marcus and Dom drop a few four letter words and shoot their way out of the situation as the supporting cast comes and goes. While the story is told from the perspective Jace (one of the cogs), it is obvious that the real hero of the story is Marcus which was smart since he is the most recognizable figure of the franchise.

Scribe Joshua Ortega and artist Liam Sharp together bring this normally interactive story to the page in the same spirit as the creators of the famed Xbox 360 series.  One very interesting aspect of the book comes from the perspective of Jace as he describes his thoughts during the issue’s encounter with a Berserker. As he describes the mad locust destroyer, his sentiments echo the thoughts of many gamers who recall their similar encounter from the first Gears game.  Sharp captures the violent nature of the game in a way that it doesn’t feel gratuitous, which is surprising considering the level of bloodshed often seen hitting television screens during the game.

Gears of War as a comic, like all others come before it, inevitably faces the fact that it will be compared with its parent property. Unfortunately for the comic, this property is not known for its rich mythos and compelling characterizations. Gears of War as a whole is best if taken in small doses as a source of mindless fun action sequences. The comic carries along that tradition as well, despite attempts at the underlying emotional strings that Jace’s story tries to bring with it. A fan of the game is much more likely to enjoy Gears than a casual reader but anyone looking for a quick, violent read can enjoy the series as well.
Uncanny X-Men #509 – Marvel – $2.99
Score: 7.5

Not since Joss Whedon’s first issues of his run on Astonishing X-Men has a writer connected to an X-Men cast like Matt Fraction. Something about Fraction’s style captures many of the lesser known mutants in the series and instantly makes the reader care about them. While Northstar, Dazzler, Pixie or Hank McCoy’s genetic genius team “X-Club” won’t be receiving any series of their own any time soon, they are the ones who help drive this book. Fraction also does a great job of splitting the book in terms of character progression and action with much of the book building smoothly to the events of the final few pages.

The issue itself is layered with multiple stories going on in the X-Men saga ranging from the relocation of the group to San Francisco, a proposed mutant breeding law and the group of scientists working to reawaken the X-gene to the return of Madelyne Pryor’s villainy and Northstar’s reinstatement to the X-Men. That has always been one of the strong suits of the X-Men’s story. While they were forced to deal with immediate problems such as a power-hungry mutant’s attack on them, they were always dealing with the underlying political climate and world view of themselves at the same time.

Greg Land does a great job of bringing Fraction’s world to life with brilliant detail. The only weakness that could be seen from his illustrations are the sometimes vacant eyes of some of the characters who are often drawn without pupils. This can easily be overlooked though because of how beautiful the rest of the issue looks. Also, bonus points to Fraction and Land for the panel of Rockslide and Colossus, wearing a Gladiator helmet at an Oakland Raiders game.

While it’s hard to say which X-story is currently the best being told, it is obvious that Uncanny X-Men takes the role as being the central hub through which all other X books are tied in to. Members of every team are present as the book works to push the larger events in the lives of the characters forward. While Madelyne villainous story isn’t the most enthralling, the return of Psylocke to the main Marvel universe and the dynamic of the X-Men make this book well worth the read.

Be sure to check back tomorrow for part two of John’s reviews of comic books coming out this week. A brand new feature right here at The Flickcast.