Now that Hunger Games shattered tons of records, making it the biggest film in the past few years, other studios are doing what they can to compensate for the massive train which will be the production of the rest of the Hunger Games trilogy.

The first in that line is Fox, as they’re moving the start time for production on Matthew Vaughn’s X-Men: First Class’s sequel. From THR:

Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that Fox is informing talent agencies Thursday that the studio plans to begin shooting its in-development sequel to X-Men: First Class in January. That means Lionsgate could move forward with an August-September start date for the Hunger Games sequel Catching Fire without a conflict for Lawrence, who is set to star in both. 

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.

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.

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.

The X-Men have potentially been one of the greatest comic book to video game franchises possible. Looking back to the classic arcade days, X-Men was a title that many gamers in their twenties pumped handfuls of quarters into to no end.

After that, pickings were fairly slim until the X-Men Legends games came out, followed by another drought until Wolverine: Origins, one of the few video game movie tie ins that was not only good, but ended up surpassing the quality of the film it was based off of. The X-Men seemingly would be perfect for the video game world with their plethora of both compelling characters and wide variety of powers to play with. But, as seen from title’s like Arcade’s Revenge, not everyone can seemingly get the franchise right.

Take a peek at Silicon Knight’s attempt at the X-Men franchise with X-Men: Destiny. Destiny looks great in motion as all the footage in this trailer is in-engine, not prerendered cut scenes. Each of the characters does a good job capturing the look and feel of the comics, although it is strange that the Juggernaut looks to have almost the same appearance as he did in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2, a game not produced by Silicon Knights.

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.

Since Hpnotiq’s release party a few years ago, a popular drink rising up on the club scene has been the Incredible Hulk. Created in Sean Combs’ New York restaurant, Justin’s, this became one of the first popular superhero inspired drinks. Years ago, no one ever would have uttered the names of comic book characters or sci-fi movies in a popular nightlife hotspot. It was just unheard of. But now with the acceptance of geek culture becoming mainstream, these kinds of drinks are on the rise.

The Incredible Hulk

Much to the delight of guests at the Hilton Bayfront at this year’s San Diego Comic Con, the hotel decided to cater to this rising trend, coming up with their own customer drinks for convention goers and we at The Flickcast were lucky enough to snag one of their recipe charts to share with you.

Some of these are very specific calling for name brand products but most can be substituted for a similar alcohol.

Drinks for the Kids (Non-Alcoholic, obviously)

“Muggle Juice” inspired by Harry Potter
Strawberries, fresh mint, lime, ginger syrup, fill with Soda – served in a highball (8 oz.) or Collins (12 oz.) glass

“Yoda’s Swamp Water” inspired by Star Wars
Cucumber, fresh mint, fill with ginger beer – served in a highball or Collins glass

Martinis

“Golden Lasso” inspired by Wonder Woman
1 1/2 oz. Rum, 1/2 oz. Velvet Falernum (sweet syrup liqueur), 1/2 oz. 99 Bananas (banana liqueur), 1/2 oz. Dole pineapple juice, Pechaud’s Bitters

“Mystique” inspired by the X-Men
3 oz. Van Gogh Acai Blueberry Vodka, lemon, blueberries, cane sugar