A year and a half ago, we came home from San Diego Comic Con and were given the chance to review the XBox Live Arcade rerelease of one of our top games of the previous decade with Marvel vs. Capcom 2.  The game was an instant hit and was quickly brought over to the PlayStation 3 as well.

It’s not surprising that soon after, seeing the game’s tremendous success, that Capcom announced Marvel vs. Capcom 3. With a super stylized trailer, the hype hasn’t died down. Even last week at release, it was almost impossible for players to get a hold of the Special Edition of the game, a problem not usually seen in retail anymore.

As we have talked about with our previous hands-on experience, Marvel vs. Capcom 3 brings the series’ classic feel and action back with a shiny new coat of graphical paint and effects that players expect and demand.

Gameplay:

Marvel vs. Capcom 3: The Fate of Two Worlds doesn’t change the formula that brought Marvel vs. Capcom 2 so much success. The game relies on single round matches between two 3 on 3 teams. Players have three basic attacks of increasing strength, their special attack button, and two assist buttons. These assist buttons can be used to either call in teammates for a quick attack or to switch the character the player is in control of for the fight.

As players throw more attacks and successfully defend against their opponents, they increase their combo meter which builds at the bottom of the screen to unleash Hyper Combos. These hyper combos are special moves that can deal tremendous damage if successful.

This simple control scheme allows for all levels of players to enjoy the game. Expert players will learn advanced combos, juggling and snap backs to eliminate their opponents while newer players will be able to feel like they are setting off tremendous attacks even by just button mashing.

It is an interesting dynamic compared to other fighting games where experience will almost always prevail. While it may be frustrating for an “expert” to get beaten by a lucky combination from a “newbie”, it also makes the game more exciting that outcomes aren’t always so predetermined in multiplayer.

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It’s been about five years since X-Men Legends II: The Rise of Apocalypse, the last true X-Men game, was released. Since that time, the band of merry mutants has only played second fiddle appearing in other Marvel titles. Now, Silicon Knights, with the writing of Mike Carey, will be tackling the X-Men saga.

In the new trailer below, there is the first reveal of gameplay footage as well as some better hints of the mutants who will actually be featured in the game. These look to be Cyclops, Emma Frost, Quicksilver, Pyro, Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Magneto and Surge. The final three look to be the possible characters players can play as.

In the trailer, the first actual gameplay footage is shown very briefly with a young mutant covered in tattoos facing off against a large mutated freak. This could be a reveal that Ink of Young X-Men may be one of the characters playable in the game.

Check back right here for more on X-Men: Destiny as it becomes available.

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What ever happened to simple numeric suffixes to titles like Jaws 2 or Friday the 13th Part 4: The Dream Master? In the past decade, films have gotten more ridiculous with titles of sequels like Step Up 2 The Streets or Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. Now, Darren Aronofsky’s sequel to 2009′s X-Men Origins: Wolverine is taking another route by going by the name The Wolverine.

In an interview with HitFix, Aronofsky explained that his film isn’t a traditional sequel.

The film that he’s directing is officially called “The Wolverine,” and there won’t be a number attached to it.  In our interview, he referred to the movie as a “one-off,” and he emphasized that the film isn’t a sequel in any conventional sense.

In 2009, Origins was said to be the beginning of a film series based around the backstories of specific characters. For a while, Fox was toying with the idea of doing an X-Men Origins: Magneto with Ian McKellan attached. That idea was more than likely put on the shelf due to a certain Hobbit.

We already know that Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine is heading to Japan in the upcoming film, in which we expect to see run ins with the Yakuza-like gang The Hand and possibly even the classic villain Silver Samurai.

The Wolverine begins shooting in March for a possible release in the summer of 2012.

It’s been a while since X-Men fans were really able to enjoy their favorite band of merry mutants in a video game that wasn’t part of a “bigger” picture. The last time was back in 2005 with the release of X-Men Legends II: The Rise of Apocalypse. Since then, the only certain X-Men like Wolverine or Cyclops have made their way into other titles like Marvel Ultimate Alliance or Marvel: Rise of the Imperfects. Now, alongside the announcement of the downloadable re-release of the X-Men arcade game comes a teaser for a new X-Men title, X-Men: Destiny.

The game is being written by current X-Men: Legacy scribe Mike Carey who has done a great job focusing on the secondary stories lately for the X-Men on their little island of Utopia, putting a lot of focus on Rogue, Magneto and Gambit as of late. Activision tells us that “The all-new original video game casts players as new mutant recruits in a rich, branching storyline that features a deep element of choice and gives players ultimate control of their destiny.”

Other than that, details of the game have been few and far between. The teaser below does a great job of hyping a big game but does little in terms of answering questions about it like, most importantly, just what kind of game it will be. Action platformer? Squad based combat? Action RPG? Everything is still up in the air.

Make sure to take a peek at the trailer after the jump and stick to the Flickcast for all news on X-Men: Destiny as it becomes available.

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It’s no surprise with the amount of sponsorship Capcom has given to the New York Comic Con that they’d have some big announcements for their most anticipated new title, Marvel vs. Capcom 3: The Fate of Two Worlds. Not surprisingly, these announcements came in the form of additions to the roster.

First up is Magneto, returning from his stint in Marvel vs. Capcom 2, this former mutant terrorist turned X-Men gets the HD makeover with all of his favorite Hyper Combos for the next generation of Marvel vs. Capcom combat.

Also buffing up the Marvel side of things is M.O.D.O.K., the Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing. The leader of A.I.M. may seem like an odd choice for a fighting game with his limited mobility but Capcom has shown in the trailer below just what kind of technology this former technician is equipped with to put him toe to toe with Capcom’s best.

Speaking of Capcom, their classic hero Arthur from the Ghosts ‘n Goblins series will make his series debut as a playable character. Fans of the series will remember the underwear wearing knight in all his boxer glory as an assist character in the first Marvel vs. Capcom.

Finally, the Bionic Commando Spencer will be added to the series as well. Take a peek at the video below showing the Mortal Kombat-esque “Get over here” attack that Spencer possesses.

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Promptly following it’s premier at their Comic-con panel, Disney’s Tron: Legacy new trailer has hit the web. For those of you looking for some glowing spandex action, this trailer does not disappoint. With flying L.E.D. motorcycles and L.E.D. covered razor Frisbees, we can expect lots of colorful action, especially in 3D.

It also features the first glimpse of the CGI versions of a young Jeff Bridges’ Flynn. Unfortunately, the technology has not improved much since it was used with Patrick Stewart’s Professor X and Sir Ian McKellan’s Magneto in X-Men: The Last Stand four years ago. It appears that instead of Flynn, we are watching the characters interact with the Tom Hanks character from Polar Express.

Tron: Legacy stars Oscar Winner Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart), Garrett Hedlund (Eragon) and Olivia Wilde (Year One). Rookie director Joseph Kosinski has brought to life the imaginative script of co-writers Richard Jefferies and Adam Horowitz. You may recognize Adam Horowitz’s name from his days as a co-producer and writer on the hit TV show Lost.

With Tron: Legacy being written by someone so heavily involved in Lost, do you think we can expect a similarly mind boggling story line from Tron:Legacy?

Tron: Legacy will be hitting theaters December 17th, but until then keep it here for all your Tron: Legacy news and check out the trailer after the break.

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Hey comics fans, in honor of new comics coming out this week we’ve got your first look at an upcoming book from our friends at Marvel. This one is called New Mutants Forever and looks to take on some pretty serious subjects.

Written by Chris Claremont and drawn by Al Rio, the story concerns Magneto as he joins the Hellfire Club. Once that happens, the New Mutants have no choice but to ally themselves with the Black Queen, Selene, and as you may guess, lots of meyem ensues.

Picking up where he left off, Claremont teams with series co-creator Bob McLeod, and the legendary Bill Sienkiewicz, to bring fans a series no New Mutants fan can miss. You hear that? You can’t miss this.

Check out the previews for this comic after the jump. Look for New Mutants Forever at your local comic book store on August 4.

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According to the Little Big Planet website,  the worlds of Marvel and Little Big Planet will be colliding on July 7th. Starting on that day and continuing each week, there will be four costume packs for a total of 20 of Marvel’s greatest heroes and most despised villains.

It hasn’t been revealed which characters will be getting paired up for the packs as of yet. It is possible that they may be grouped by team such as an Avengers or X-Men pack or it may be a complete free for all where players can get Captain America, The Punisher and the Human Torch all in one oddball purchase.

In addition, there will be a Marvel Level Kit which contains four missions pitting the Sackboys and Sackgirls against Magneto. Beating these four stages will unlock Marvel music, objects stickers and a “Rooftop” background for your own level creations.

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With James McAvoy already signed on to play Professor Charles Xavier in Matthew Vaughn’s X-Men: First Class, word now comes that the film may have secured the talents of Michael Fassbender to play Xavier’s friend turned nemesis Eric Lensherr (aka Magneto). The actor has reportedly entered into negotiations (well, his agents have at least) to take on the role in the film.

Fassbender, whose previous work includes Inglorious Basterds, Jonah Hex and Neil Marshall’s upcoming Centurion, joins other actors such as Aaron Johnson and Andrew Garfield who are also being considered for roles in the film. While no deal is set, Fassbender is currently the front runner for the job and the top pick of both Vaughn and the studio.

The exact plot of X-Men: First Class is still not known, but we do know it will concern the younger versions of the X-Men and most likely focus on recruitment of younger mutants and the first team to be assembled. It will also have to show the development of the team and eventual rift between Xavier and Magneto which leads to them becoming arch enemies and sets up the events of later X-Men films.

I don’t know about you guys but I think Fassbender seems like and excellent choice to play Magneto. His work in previous films like Basterds and the upcoming Centurion shows his range and skill. Playing opposite McAvoy’s Xavier should make for an interesting dynamic indeed. I hope this deal gets finalized. Then, we can move onto the really important stuff like who’s gonna play Emma Frost.

Okay, we’ve got Xavier and most likely Magneto. Who should play the rest of the young X-Men?

Wanted actor James McAvoy has agreed to portray young Charles Xavier in X-Men: First Class, the origin story focusing on the friendship and eventual fallout between Professor X and Magneto. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Fox has characterized the film as the “epic beginning of the X-Men saga”

The film reportedly covers the time before Charles Xavier and Eric Lensherr became Professor X and Magneto. They were two young men discovering their powers for the first time and before they were archenemies, they were the closest of friends, working together, with other Mutants (some familiar, some new), to stop the greatest threat the world has ever known.

In the process, a rift between them opened, which began the eternal war between Magneto’s Brotherhood and Professor X’s X-Men. Plus, its spawned several movies, TV shows and comics.

Fox anticipates filming this summer in London, with the movie tentatively scheduled for a June 3, 2011, release.

Stay tuned to The Flickcast for the latest news on this X-Men origin story.

Anyone who has been reading “X-Men: Second Coming” knows there are some HUGE changes in store for Marvel’s band of merry mutants. X-Men are crossing lines they never thought they would have to and it’s obvious that not everyone is going to be making it out of this event alive.

Not that it’s a spoiler, but we do know that in the end, the X-Men will survive the event of Second Coming but it looks like not only the team, but the entire concept of the word X-Men will be changing forever.

For the past week, Marvel has been rolling out promotional images, in a similar vein to their “I’m an Avenger” campaign showing off the new roster of the X-Men. Some of them are expected (pending they survive Second Coming) like Magneto and Gambit.

Others seem to come totally out of left field like Blade, Spider-Man and the Savage She-Hulk, all non-mutants. Take a look below at the images along with some added insight from Marvel editor Nick Lowe about these new X-Men.

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With the first full downloadable character pack for Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 hitting the Xbox Live Arcade later today, the final character has also been announced, which will round out the five-character bundle. That character is none other than the Master of Magnetism, Magneto.

It was rumored that Magneto was going to be added to the game after a tester leaked the info a few weeks back, but this is the first actual confirmation we’ve received from the game developers. The character will have more telekinetic and energy-based powers for you to toy with in the game, which should be a nice addition to your roster.

Magneto tops off the five-character bundle (consisting of Carnage, Psylocke, Cable, and Black Panther), which can be picked up on the Xbox Live Arcade later today for 800 Microsoft Points (or roughly $9.99). There is also the opportunity to purchase Juggernaut as a downloadable character for only $1.99, as well. Both packages will be available on the PlayStation Network on November 12.

Check out the full image of Magneto as well as a few action shots after the jump, and be sure to keep it here for more Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 news as it comes to us.

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