Since it exploded onto the fighting game scene last year, UFC Undisputed became one of the surprise hits of last year. THQ, knowing they had struck gold, has been diligently working on a sequel slated for May 25th release this year for both the XBox 360 and PlayStation 3. A PSP version of the game is also expected for later this year.

According to THQ: UFC Undisputed 2010 will deliver the most advanced and superior virtual MMA action based on the world’s most prominent and respected organization in mixed martial arts, Ultimate Fighting Championship,” said Brian Coleman, Vice President of Global Brand Management, THQ. “Through enriched gameplay and extensive new options, players will understand and appreciate what it takes to be a real UFC fighter.

In addition to the screen shots below, cover athlete Brock Lesner has been announced to grace the box art for the game. Coming from a amateur wrestling and professional wrestling background where he also graced the cover of WWE SmackDown: Bring the Pain, Lesner quickly rose through the UFC ranks and currently resides as the company’s heavyweight champion. UFC President Dana White said, “Brock Lesnar’s intensity and relentless commitment to the sport of mixed martial arts, as well as to the UFC, make him a perfect candidate to be the cover athlete for UFC Undisputed 2010.”

Take a peek below at the first screens of this high octane upcoming title and stick with us for more news as it develops.

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XBox 360 – SouthPeak Games – $49.99

(Also available on PC. Coming soon to PSP and Nintendo DS)

Score: 6.0

Forget the Rose Bowl, the Pro Bowl and the Super Bowl. We are geeks. We don’t watch that stuff anyway. Yesterday, Sunday, the holy day of football just one week before Super Bowl XLIV, we got to take a look at a “new” take on the classic game. Blood Bowl for XBox 360 is actually a play off Games Workshop’s classic tabletop, dice roll based board game set in their Warhammer Fantasy universe. Orcs face off against Humans as the Lizardmen take on the rat-like Skaven in a medieval gridiron beat down.

Gameplay:

Blood Bowl comes with two options for play-style. The first is based on the exact rules of the table top game where players take turns and use dice rolls to play through the events of a game. If you are a classic Blood Bowl fan, the game does an excellent job of translating the original. What seems like would be a slow paced game usually plays out rather quickly as each half’s eight turnovers per team quickly cycles back and forth. A few bad dice rolls and a game can be over and a matter of minutes.

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Every geek has at one point wandered through their local comics or gaming store and come across the miniatures gaming section. Some stores merely carry a few items while others have full sections dedicated to Mechwarrior, Warhammer 40,000 and Warhammer Fantasy. One game that has made its way back on and off the store shelves over the years has also been Blood Bowl.

A mix of American football, rugby and the Warhammer Fantasy universe, Blood Bowl sets teams of miniature figures against each other to score touchdowns or beat the opposing team in to oblivion. After numerous ups and downs in the game’s development it looks like the over the top fantasy football “simulation” will be coming to video game consoles with SouthPeak Games’ Bloodbowl. Retail Windows PC and XBox 360 versions of the game are set for release this month with a PSP version of the game coming in the spring.

From SouthPeak Games Press Release: “Just in time for the human football season’s end, SouthPeak is here to offer a less than traditional spin on classic football. With a rich heritage of table-top gaming, Blood Bowl is poised to tear your Windows PC, Xbox 360 and PSP system a new end zone.

With turn-based gameplay and each play teetering on the roll of the dice, Blood Bowl will keep you on the edge of your seat from kickoff to final score. Inspired by the infamous Warhammer series, Blood Bowl brings some of the most vicious gameplay, dirty tricks and lest we forget – secret weapons – to the field in an all new way.”

Take a look below at some of the screens and trailer for the upcoming game and stay tuned to The Flickcast for more information as it comes.

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Have you been anxiously awaiting the release of Armored in theaters? No. We didn’t think so. But did you say to yourself that you might check it out if it was free or when it came to cable? That one is a little more likely. Well for some people this past week, those wishes came true a little early when Armored, which is still in theaters and hasn’t been put on to DVD, On Demand or any streaming service appeared on the Playstation Store. And to sweeten the deal, they put it up for free.

Even though it was corrected in a matter of hours, a currently unreleased number of Playstation users had already downloaded the file which they can now enjoy on their Playstation 3 and Playstation Portable. Currently, there is no solution from Sony’s end to delete or lock those files which means those users own it for life, or at least until they get bored and delete it.

Since its Dec. 4th release, Armored has pulled in a lowly $11,750,895 domestic box office, barely overtaking the amount of money the characters in the movie are hoping to rob from the armored truck they are trying to rob.

Now if only they could screw up and pre-release movies people actually want to see…

Late last week, the NPD Group who is in charge of tracking, compiling and interpreting sales numbers for the video game industry released their console and game sales figures for the month of October with some surprising results. These numbers do not include Walmart sales or digital distribution of games. Let’s take a look.

Console Sales

1. Nintendo Wii: 506,900 (up from 462,800)

2. Nintendo DS: 457,600 (down from 524,200, includes all Nintendo DS SKU’s and Nintendo DSi)

3. Playstation 3: 320,600 (down from 491,800)

4. XBox 360: 249,700 (down from 352,600)

5. PSP: 174,600 (up from 146,000, includes all PSP SKU’s and PSP Go)

6. Playstation 2: 117,800 (down from 146,000)

So what does this mean for the video game industry? A few things. Nintendo takes back their top non-portable spot after losing it last month to the price reduced Playstation 3. Back over the half million a month mark, the Nintendo Wii price reduction to $199 had been a long time coming and has shown it was enough of a stimulus to even beat out the Nintendo DS as the top selling console of the month. While Sony made a huge campaign out of their price drop back in September, Nintendo has been more subtle about theirs, only posting in circulars instead of the TV adds Sony has used to attempt to make up ground.

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We’ve been talking a lot about the PSPgo here at The Flickcast, both comparing it to the earlier PSP models and discussing problems with its impending release. The biggest issue the PSPgo is facing is the removal of the UMD drive. Because the PSPgo doesn’t allow for the use of UMDs, if you already own PSP games you won’t be able to play them on your new console just yet.

Fans are wary about running out and buy a brand new device without the ability to play the extensive collection of games they already have for it, and retailers in some countries are even refusing to carry the device, citing that they don’t agree with Sony’s download-only sales strategy.

However, Kotaku reports that Sony’s got a solution to this problem… in Europe. Anyone upgrading from the PSP to the PSPgo will recieve three free PSP titles. Seventeen titles are being offered, including Killzone: Liberation, SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo 3, WipEout Pure, echochrome, LocoRoco, and Papaton. In order to get your three free games, you’ll need any UMD, an older PSP, and an internet connection to access the Playstation Network.

This solution is certainly better than rebuying all your old PSP games, but for gamers with far more than three PSP games are sure to still feel frustrated. You’ll be able to receive your three free games  from October 1, 2009 to March 31, 2010 in European territories. The PSPgo hits shelves October 1st in the US, and we here at The Flickcast hope that Sony will bring this option to us here in America as well.

Just weeks after the release of the new Playstation 3 Slim, Sony is unleashing a new console into the market: The PSPGo. This little gadget, while not a new console, has many improvements over the previous models. But is it worth it to upgrade, especially if you already own a PSP? The Flickcast takes a closer look to find out . . .

What We Like

• Sony has decided to do away with UMDs, and has instead built in 16 GB of internal flash memory into the console. Now you won’t have to carry around those round discs anymore, which are very delicate and take up a bunch of space, and you’ll be able to download a lot of old Playstation games and the new PSP Minis (similar to iPhone games) from the Playstation Network Store. This space is expandable up to 48 GB.

• The PSPGo is 43% lighter and 56% smaller than the original PSP-1000 and 16% lighter and 35% smaller than the PSP-3000. The portable has always been a bit bulkier than its competitor, the Nintendo DS/DSi and now Sony seems to be doing something about it.

• Instead of having all the controls right on the sides of the screen, the PSPGo slides down, revealing the d-pad, the standard Playstation action buttons, start/select buttons, and the “Home” button.

• The console will have Bluetooth capabilities, allowing for Bluetooth headphones, speakers, and tethering between computers or cell phones.

What We Don’t Like

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Rock Band Tracks This Week for XBox 360 and Playstation 3:

He may not be with us anymore but the King of Pop’s musical legacy is still alive and kicking with one of his first hits (along with his brothers) when “ABC” from the Jackson 5 makes it way to Rock Band this week. In addition, super-zero themed “Kryptonite” from 3 Doors Down joins them. Along with Audioslave’s “Gasoline” and AFI’s “Miss Murder”, all these singles will be available for $1.99 each (160 Microsoft points) when they go live on the Rock Band store on XBox 360 on September 8th and the Playstation 3 on September 10th.

In celebration of this past weekend’s Penny Arcade Expo PAX, the Freezepop Pack 01* and PAX 2009 Collection** will both be available with a selection of songs from the event’s performers. All the Freezepop and PAX songs will be available for $1.00 (80 Microsoft points) each or as 3 song packs for $2.99 (240 Microsoft points) when they go live on the Rock Band store on XBox 360 on September 8th and the Playstation 3 on September 10th.

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Following Nintendo’s Wii Sports Resort and Mario filled press events, Sony Computer Entertainment of America’s CEO and President Jack Trentton took the stage. Jack said that despite numerous press leaks, Sony still had some tricks up their sleeve. He was proud to announce Sony would be releasing 364 games this year before pointing out that Sony was the only company currently running three separate systems at the same time (which isn’t entirely true as Nintendo has the Wii, DS and DSi, which has some different games not available to the DS). After giving some projected sales figures for the Playstation 3, he applauded the success of Infamous, calling it the first successful summer blockbuster game with ratings averaging over 90%.

The first new title shown, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, was presented by Evan Wells, CEO of developer Naughty Dog. The single player gameplay footage showed Drake and a female companion climbing across rooftops when they were attacked by a helicopter. Running toward the copter and then through a building dispatching enemies on the way, the game looked beautiful.

The backgrounds expanded in the distance as the town Drake is adventuring in is burning in certain spots. In addition to the ability to kick over furniture to create cover, the demo ended with a great scene of the building you are in toppling over with furniture crashing all around you before a harrowing escape.  Jack Trentton made sure to add that Uncharted 2 is a PS3 exclusive as it was something that “could only be done on the Playstation 3.” This turned out to be the “phrase of the day” for the Sony representative.

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