About a month and a half ago, we covered the announcement of the Transformers Prime series getting its own game coming to all the Nintendo platforms. Today, we have the latest trailer for Transformers Prime featuring all gameplay footage. Though the release date hasn’t been revealed yet, Transformers Prime is slated for later this year, likely after Transformers: Fall of Cybertron.

It’s interesting to see two Transformers games coming out in the same year, though it makes sense as the two have widely different audiences of fans of the same core franchise. Transformers: Fall of Cybertron is built around the classic fan who is now in their later twenties or older. The story is more mature, has a darker art design and features classic versions of characters.

Transformers Prime on the other hand is the Transformers for the current youth generation. The character designs are simpler and brighter and the series has the three young human sidekicks for kids to relate to. Transformers Prime also is coming out for the Wii, DS and 3DS, systems which are skewed towards a younger fanbase.

Check out the trailer below and stick to the Flickcast for more on Transformers Prime coming later in 2012 for the Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS and Nintendo 3DS.

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When I first heard there was going to be a movie based on the Battleship tabletop franchise, I was expecting some modern naval epic. Instead, like Michael Bay going to the Ninja Turtles, we got aliens. And now, seeing the game based off the movie off the game takes on a FPS perspective, we can’t help but watch with morbid curiosity at the potential insanity that could be brought to us.

It’s obvious that developer Double Helix Games, known for Silent Hill Homecoming, G.I.Joe: The Rise of Cobra and Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters, were forced to tie in to the theme’s of the movie as opposed to the board game like the 1993 NES and SEGA Game Gear classic. But there is something unmistakably interesting about the premise behind the game, by association to the movie, that we can’t take our eyes off of it.

It could be the thought of combining Call of Duty and Halo style gameplay together on a modern locale like Hawaii. Or it could be the premise of a piece of our childhood being completely shattered like it was during the summer of G.I. Joe, Wolverine Origins, Transformers: Rise of the Fallen and Terminator: Salvation.

But, luckily, the Battleship tabletop game didn’t have characters that we could hold close to heart only to be torn from us. Instead, many people just remember the frustration of trying to program the damned Electronic Battleship that almost never worked as well in real life as it did in the commercial. So now, little white and red plastic pegs are replaced with high grade military grade weaponry in a FPS along with a tactical sea-based warfare game alongside it.

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After the initial announcement of Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure, there was mention of a mobile app in development alongside the proper console release. Just how the game’s plethora of characters and technology would tie between consoles, PC and Apple’s iOS was quickly debated by the toy and gaming communities. Once Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure was released, players were welcomed into two separate but interconnected worlds where their figures gained life both in a classic adventure style game on consoles and the minigame-centric PC community. Now, using those same unique character codes, players can import their Skylander into their iPhone, iPad or iPod touch with Skylanders: Cloud Patrol.

Skylanders: Cloud Patrol is a shooting gallery style game with some inspirations from Fruit Ninja. Players take their Skylander, with the ability to unlock more through either gameplay or redeeming codes from purchased figures, and target the trolls that have escaped into the Skylands. Players group together shots to release combos while avoiding hitting bombs which end the game for them. At only 99 cents, Cloud Patrol is the cheapest addition to the Skylanders library for any player and provides a simple but fun burst of entertainment while utilizing characters players have already become familiar with.

“Skylanders is already a huge success both on consoles and the web with Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure and Skylanders Spyro’s Universe and we are excited to bring the franchise to the mobile platform,”said John Coyne, vice president, consumer marketing. “Now with Cloud Patrol, fans have a brand new way to interact with their favorite Skylanders characters on the go in fun a new form of gameplay.”

Check out the gallery of screen shots for Skylanders: Cloud Patrol for iPod touch, iPhone and iPad after the jump.

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Two Daytime Emmys. A hit toy line. A second season underway and a third already announced. Transformers Prime takes another look at the Transformers mythos to lock in new fans to the franchise’s legacy. It was only a manner of time before the series would be given its own licensed game treatment.

The game will feature franchise stalwarts Optimus Prime and Bumblebee along with others from the series Arcee, Ratchet and Bulkhead along with the human kids Jack, Miko and Raf as they try to of course save earth from Megatron. There is also a fleeting image throughout the trailer of a robot that looks a LOT like Eva-001 from Neon Genesis: Evangelion.

“Hasbro Studios has done a phenomenal job with the TRANSFORMERS PRIMEtelevision show,” said David Oxford, Executive Vice President at Activision Publishing. “We are collaborating closely with the series creators to capture all the adventure, humor and friendships from the show to create an authentic action experience for TRANSFORMERS fans of all ages to enjoy.”

“Hasbro is thrilled to be working with Activision again on an exciting new TRANSFORMERS video game,” said Mark Blecher, Senior Vice President of Digital Media and Marketing at Hasbro. “The TRANSFORMERS PRIME animated series has resonated strongly with kids and fans and we’re looking forward to delivering this new way to experience the adventure.”

Though story details are slim at the moment, check out the trailer below for the first glimpse of Transformers Prime: The Game coming to the Nintendo Wii, 3DS and DS from Activision and Nowpro after the jump.

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Even though things are ramping up for Skylanders: Giants which is expected this fall, things aren’t slowing down for the Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure releases. This new wave features two new individual characters Lightning Rod and Zook and a new Adventure Pack called the Dragon’s Peek and featuring the Skylander Sunburn.

Lightning Rod looks to be a play off of Zeus, with a burly beard and the ability to shoot lighting at enemies. Zook looks like some sort of mutant vegetable tree hybrid with quite possibly the coolest weapon to be added to the game yet with a rocket launcher along with his ability to drop cover to hid behind as well. The Dragon’s Peek Adventure pack adds an additional level to the game as well as the Sunburn character which is half dragon and half phoenix.

Check out the profiles and videos below of all three new Skylanders in action coming to Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure and stay tuned for more on Skylanders: Giants as it becomes available.

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Check out the latest episode of the Bitcast with JC and WallE as they explore the world of gaming. In the news, the two reflect on the Grand Theft Auto V launch trailer and recap their predictions from the last episode and see who did better. Also discussed are the November 8th PSN releases of Crono Cross, Final Fantasy V and Final Fantasy VI.

In the Topic of the Week section, the Bitcast takes a look at the Free to Play gaming model which is becoming more and more prevelent in gaming today. The two discuss both the merits and concerns of the concept, look at how it has been implemented in existing titles and talk about what it can have in store for the future.

In their Now Playing, WallE has a throwback moment as he looks back at the original Uncharted for the PS3. JC expands further on his time with his review for Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure.

It’s been year since the release of a quality X-Men title. Not since X-Men Legends and its sequel has there really been a game that captured the essence of Marvel’s band of merry mutants, especially with the pitiful movie tie-in titles that have been released.

When X-Men: Destiny was announced by Activision and Silicon Knights, the makers of Too Human, players hoped their prayers would be answered as they would get to experience what it was like for an emerging mutant caught between the turmoil of the X-Men, Magneto’s Brotherhood of Mutants and the humans who seek to end the “mutant menace”.

Instead, what they got was a half handed execution that feels like a franchise cash-in rushed out in order to hit the holiday game season before the larger releases like Battlefield 3 and Modern Warfare 3.

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When looking back at the most truly terrifying moments in film in the last thirty years, some can be found in both Alien and its sequel Aliens. Though the series started to focus more on action than horror in its later iterations, no one can say the first time they saw Sigorney Weaver face to face with a xenomorph that it wasn’t a horrifying experience.

The Alien franchise has always had a home in video games with everything from side scrolling adventures on the NES to the much acclaimed first person shooter Aliens vs. Predator titles on PC in 1999. SEGA is now bringing out two new Aliens titles over the coming months. The most prominent of the two comes in the form of Aliens: Colonial Marines for PC, XBox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Aliens: Colonial Marines has been a subject of much discussion in the video game world. At one point, there was a game set to release in 2002 entitled Aliens: Colonial Marines which ended up being canceled. Later, SEGA revived the name with a new development team and concept, slating it for a 2009 release. It would end up being delayed for about three years in favor of development of the updated Aliens vs. Predators title which came out to mixed reviews.

Now, Aliens: Colonial Marines looks like it is finally set to come out in 2012 from Gearbox Software. Gearbox is the team that put together the Opposing Force and Blue Shift expansions for the original Half-Life and most recently released the now infamous Duke Nukem Forever.

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At Comic Con, the Flickcast got our first hands on with X-Men: Destiny to mixed reviews from the team. While the game is still some time away, there lies a lot of potential for the game to take a turn for the better or the worse. When we had the chance to talk to Denis Dyack, who also headed up past projects such as Too Human, it helped sooth some of our concerns. Now, with PAX this weekend, the team at Silicon Knights gives us some further insight into the game with its new Powers trailer and a host of new screen shots.

In the new X-Men: Destiny screens, our main characters Aimi, Grant and Adrian can be seen in costumes different from their original character designs. The most notable are Grant fighting alongside the Juggernaut in similar wardrobe and Aimi who is wearing what looks like a New Mutants style uniform. This could be a sign that over the course of gameplay, certain decisions will not only change the world in front of the characters but the appearance of the characters themselves.

In the Powers trailer below, all three power sets that can be chosen by any of the game’s three characters are seen in action. At Comic Con, we chose the Density Control which used close by rock and asphalt to create a melee focused set, giving players an experience similar to that of the X-Man Rockslide. Energy Projection looks to be more of a sniper class where players will have the opportunity to take out enemies from a distance, playing more like Cyclops. Shadow Matter looks like it combines a mix of the two giving players some distance attacks and other close up enhancements.

Take a look at the trailer and screens below. As always, stick to the Flickcast for more on X-Men: Destiny as it approaches its September 27th release for XBox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii and Nintendo DS.

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Every time we hear about an announced comic book movie being tied in to a game, we get a little nervous. There have been so many failed attempts with it in the past. Between Iron Man 2 and most recently Thor: God of Thunder, SEGA hasn’t had the best track record with them. Knowing they’d be publishing the action adventure based Captain America: Super Soldier, the cringing was understandable.

Fortunately, Next Level Games, the people who brought us Super Mario Strikers for both the Gamecube and Wii as well as Punch Out!! for the Wii, tossed a mighty star spangled shield at us and bucked the trend to produce a fun classic beat ‘em up that fits well into the Captain America mythos and uses the movie signature in a positive way.

Gameplay:

Captain America: Super Soldier takes place in an “open world” much like that of the classic Metroid. We use the term loosely because players have the option to back track and explore the European castle to find hidden collectibles but the majority of the game can be done without ever needing to turn back. The size of the level is fairly impressive too with both a castle to explore and the underground workings below it.

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Recently, we got the chance to get hands on with X-Men: Destiny for the first time. In our demo we got to check out the first level of the game where we had the opportunity to choose between the game’s three possible protagonists Aimi, Grant and Adrian. When a massive Purifier attack hits downtown San Francisco, the player must also decide on the spot which of the three power sets they would like to equip their character with.

The early level surprisingly has a lot of conversation within it as players meet members of both the X-Men and Brotherhood who are both fighting against the Purifiers. Because of the noise in the Activision event, we couldn’t really hear the dialogue at the time but the gist we got was that both sides were already actively beginning to recruit this new mutant to their side.

X-Men: Destiny plays much like a standard 3D street brawler with the added bonus of mutant powers. There are your basic light, heavy, special and grab attacks along with blocking and dodging mechanics as expected. The gameplay itself was fun but the story possibilities are definitely the most intriguing part for us.

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It’s gearing up to be an X-Man-y type of summer. First with the release of X-Men: First Class (there’s an awesome review of the film here) and then the release of the game  ­X-Men: Destiny this fall

The game puts players into the role of a newly minted member of the X-Men in a detailed storyline that forces them to make choices that ultimately decide the destiny of their character.

But September is a long way off, so to tide you over, here’s two trailers that offer a behind-the-scenes look at the production of the game, featuring two of its voice talents, Milo Ventimiglia and Jamie Chung, as well as offering a glimpse of the game’s universe and story. Take a peek after the fold.

X-Men: Destiny hits shelves September 27^th for PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360, and Nintendo DS.

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