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.
Today seems to be a day for crazy short teasers for some great franchises. First we got the misleading teaser for Bay’s new Transformers: Dark of the Moon and now we’re getting a brand new teaser for the upcoming sequel to Batman: Arkham Asylum titled Arkham City.
This game promises to have more of an “open world” element, as it opens up to all of Gotham City, rather than the confines of Arkham Asylum like the last game. Here’s the rundown:
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.
Of course we know that Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill are returning to voice Bats and The Joker. But there are tons of new villains and heroes that this game will feature, so we may get some great new voice actors to join in, adding to an already impressive cast list from Asylum.
The game has already been pushed from January to next fall, which could be either a good thing or bad, depending on how you look at it. In the meantime, click through to check out the all-new teaser for the game and set your inner geek to Stun.
While the game may be delayed until next year, it hasn’t stopped Sony Online Entertainment from ramping up the voice talent for DC Universe Online. Names like Adam Baldwin, Kevin Conroy, and James Marsters are already attached, and the list is only going to get bigger. From Sony:
The new cast additions include Arleen Sorkin (Batman: The Animated Series), Wil Wheaton (Star Trek: The Next Generation), Corey Burton (Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Batman: The Brave and the Bold) and Dwight Schultz (The A-Team, Star Trek: The Next Generation).
“The addition of these actors to our existing cast reaffirms our commitment to gamers to deliver the most fun and authentic DC Universe experience possible,” said Sony Online Entertainment executive producer John Blakely.
Wheaton will be upping his geek cred by voicing Robin, the Boy wonder, while Alreen Sorkin returns for the role that made her famous, Harley Quinn. Also, Dwight Shultz steps in as The Flash and Corey Burton will be voicing the living computer Braniac.
Filling out the rest of the cast is Summer Glau as Supergirl, Mark Hamill as The Joker, Diedrich Bader as Solomon Grundy, Michelle Forbes as Circe, Robert Patrick as Hawkman, and Gina Torres as Wonder Woman. This could end up being the best voice cast for a video game ever seen…if the game ever comes out.
DC’s animated home video department has been on a role as of late. Since last year, they’ve turned out films following Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Justice League, and even a few ansillary characters such as Jonah Hex and The Spectre. The quality of the films have seemingly increased exponentially and the next film, Superman/Batman: Apocalypse looks to continue that trend.
The film follows the Superman/Batman: Supergirl story arc from books by Jeph Loeb, Michael Turner, and Peter Steigerwald and gets another all-star cast of Kevin Conroy as Batman, Tim Daly as Superman, Summer Glau as Supergirl, and Andre Braugher as Darkseid. For those not in the know, here’s the lowdown from the press release.
In Superman/Batman: Apocalypse, a spaceship splashes down in Gotham City Harbor — leading Batman and Superman to encounter a mysterious Kryptonian with powers as great as those of the Man of Steel. The Kryptonian is soon revealed to be Kara, cousin of Superman, who takes her under his wing to educate her about the ways of Earth. However, the villainous Darkseid has other plans.
Seeing an opportunity to finally defeat Superman, Darkseid abducts and gains control of Kara, utilizing the powerful Kryptonian to do his bidding. It’s up to Batman and Superman to save Kara, but they’ll have to take the fight to Darkseid within his hostile world – where unknown, deadly threats lurk around every corner, including a brainwashed Kryptonian able to match Superman blow-for-blow.
The film drops on DVD and Blu-Ray September 28th, but before that, we’ve got two brand new clips for you to check out after the jump, so get to it!
Fans of the MMORPG DC Universe will be happy to know that today Sony Online Entertainment announced that two of their best-known vocal talents will be voicing two of their most popular characters.
Mark Hamill (Star Wars), who voiced The Joker for both the early ’90s Batman: The Animated Series as well as the hit game Batman: Arkham Asylum, will be returning as The Clown Prince of Crime; and Kevin Conroy, voice of Batman himself, also in The Animated Series and Arkham Asylum, will again lend his talents as the Caped Crusader.
In addition to Hamill and Conroy, a number of other well-known voice talents fill out the cast, among them Adam Baldwin (Firefly, The X-Files, Angel) will be providing the voice of Superman while Gina Torres, star of the ABC series Huge and previously the voice of DC favorites Vixen and Superwoman, will be playing the Amazon Wonder Woman.
Even if it might be some time before we get a new Superman and Batman movie that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy some action featuring both of these great heroes. Fortunately, our pals at DC have decided to grace us with another animated movie featuring not only Superman but Batman as well.
The new movie, called Superman/Batman: Apocalypse features the voice talents of Andre Braugher, Ed Asner, Kevin Conroy, Tim Daly and Summer Glau. It revolves around the quest to save an earthbound Kryptonian so the Man of Steel and the Dark Knight must unite once again – this time to battle the powerful forces of Darkseid.
Sounds cool, right? For more, be sure to check out all the info from the official press release:
THE END IS NEAR!
WORLD’S FINEST WAGE WAR WITH DARKSEID IN ALL-NEW DC UNIVERSE ANIMATED ORIGINAL MOVIE SUPERMAN/BATMAN: APOCALYPSE
AVAILABLE FROM WARNER HOME VIDEO SEPTEMBER 28, 2010!
Andre Braugher, Summer Glau, Ed Asner join popular voices Kevin Conroy & Tim Daly; New DC Showcase GREEN ARROW on Special Edition Blu-ray & 2-Disc Special Edition DVD
For those who still haven’t jumped onto the bandwagon, Venture Bros. is one of those shows you shouldn’t be missing. There is a period of time when a show bubbles out, or “jumps the shark”, and this program has only killed the shark on a weekly basis.
Season four is currently underway, with two episodes being aired. Last week, legendary voice actor Kevin Conroy voiced the character Captain Sunshine in an episode that left fans of Batman and Superman squealing like children after the episode.
This week’s episode looks to be as amazing, as it’s a Dean-centric episode. According to a Cartoon Network press release, this week’s episode is entitled “Perchance to Dean”:
Hank, along with is friend, Dermott, start breaking all of the Venture Compound Rules in a bid to get his father’s attention. But Dr. Venture is focused completely on Dean, who is taking his first steps in joining the family business as a Super Scientist. But someone else wants Dr. Venture’s attention, too: A shadowy figure from Dr. Venture’s past who is out to steal Dean’s future.
Check out an exclusive clip of the episode after the jump, in which Dr. Venture shows Dean where his inspiration for “sciencing” comes from, and it leads to an interesting development. Catch “Perchance to Dean” this Sunday at Midnight only on Adult Swim.
The animation departments of DC and Warner brothers has been on quite a hot streak since last year’s release of Justice League: New Frontier. Their releases of both Wonder Woman and Green Lantern films over the last year were both critically well reviewed and did well in the stores. Since New Frontier, this project is the first story that was taken almost directly from a published storyline, originally written by Jeph Loeb.
The great part about Jeph Loeb’s Public Enemies is he teamed up with artist Ed McGuinness, who is best known for his animated art style. This made the announcement of the direct-to-DVD feature all the more exciting. Not only was the source material well done, but casting director Andrea Romano was also able to bring back the dream team of DC voice actors to return to characters they helped make immortal.
Tim Daly, Kevin Conroy, and Clancy Brown all returned to the roles of Superman, Batman, and Lex Luthor, respectively, for the first time since the Animated Adventures of Superman and Batman nearly 9 years ago. Aside from the “dream team”, some other great names were added to the project, making this an epic animated feature.
Though many have thrown on the cowl and rubber boots on both the silver and TV screens, there has always been a constant when it comes to the voice of the animated Dark Knight, and his name is Kevin Conroy. For nearly 20 years, Conroy has been the voice of the bat in shows like Batman: The Animated Series, Justice League, and Batman Beyond to video games like Batman: Arkham Asylum. Now, he gets to don the animated cape once more in Superman/Batman: Public Enemies.
Not only does Conroy return as Batman, but legendary voice actors Clancy Brown and Tim Daly return as both Lex Luthor and Superman. We got a chance to talk to Kevin about his return to the role, and working opposite Daly in what he likes to call “a buddie cop movie” with capes.
Check out the interview with Kevin Conroy after the jump where he discusses the upcoming film, working as Batman for so many years, and his take on some of the other actors portraying the world’s greatest detective. Be sure to keep it here for another Superman/Batman: Public Enemies interview tomorrow, and grab the DVD next Tuesday, September 29th.
Batman: Arkham Asylum has been a video game property shrouded in mystery as of late. Up until now, the only exposure the public had with the game was the opening cinematic but we were recently given some time to play through the early part of this Batman adventure in what looks like it could be the first game to finally do the character justice.
Pulling from seventy years of Batman history, the developers of Batman: Arkham Asylum had a breadth of material to pick and inevitably chose the elements they thought would work best for the game. Arkham takes a much darker tone than previous Batman games, taking some influence from the relaunched movie series.
Though not tied in to the movie, it’s hard not to see a resemblance between the character models and gritty overtones of the game and those of the movies. The game starts with Batman bringing the Joker in to custody to Arkham Island. Things go awry and the Joker escapes and in the process unleashes the other denizens of Arkham Asylum.
Now that all the dust has settled, and San Diego Comic-Con is slowly becoming a fading memory, we wanted to bring our readers a look at some of the things we saw, people we talked to, and stuff we did during what we like to call NerdiGras.
We put together this little video to show you what we all went through last week, so check it out, and be sure to stay tuned for all of the interviews, specials, and news we have to offer you from The Flickcast team!
With DC’s animated division releasing Green Lantern: First Flight later this year, the marketing for the next direct-to-DVD film is already starting up. This time, the focus will shift on the world’s finest, as Superman and Batman take on Lex Luthor in an adaptation of Jeph Loeb’s Public Enemies story arc. From a Warner Home Video Press Release:
The movie reunites the lead voices of Superman, Batman and Lex Luthor from the landmark “Superman: The Animated Series” and “Batman: The Animated Series”. Tim Daly (Private Practice), Kevin Conroy (Batman: The Animated Series, Justice League) and Clancy Brown (The Shawshank Redemption) reprise their roles as Superman, Batman and Lex Luthor, respectively.
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.
Batman: Arkham Asylum has been a video game property shrouded in mystery as of late. Up until now, the only exposure the public had with the game was the opening cinematic but we were recently given some time to play through the early part of this Batman adventure in what looks like it could be the first game to finally do the character justice.
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