Robin Gameplay Footage From Arkham City

Often times I feel a bit fatigued from all the Batman bad-assery talk from long time fans and general public alike. Even though ole Batty isn't my favorite character, there's no doubt he seems to be the only character DC can continue to keep popular in various forms of media.

Checking out my Arkham City countdown app on my phone, we're left with 11 days until the release of the highly anticipated sequel to a Arkham Asylum. That was a fun game and quiet possibly the best comic book related game to date. Arkham City seems to have stepped everything up a notch with being able to take Batman out in the city for more exploration of Gotham.

This Robin clip that debuted today has me more excited about the game than before. These levels will be the ones I look forward to playing most. For the moment this character is only available with an exclusive pre-order through Best Buy. I hate these exclusives and wish they would just have it as a standard option when you purchase the game, but there could be hope later on to get the levels with Robin by other means. 

More Arkham City Gameplay

Arkham City is almost here. Superherohype has the gameplay footage that will have to help hold fans over until the release date on October 18th. Batman makes smooth transitions from one task to the next as he glides above the city and swoops down in the streets to eliminate the threats in an Gotham City gone mad. 

X-Men Destiny Trailer

From Comic Book Resources:

“X-Men Destiny” Launch Trailer

A new breed of mutant heroes will invade game consoles on September 27, 2011 in X-Men: Destiny, from Marvel Entertainment and Activision. 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.

Visit the official site here.

Justice League: Doom Voice Cast

A trailer debut was announced last week set to be revealed at the New York Comic Con and TV Guide has landed the actors behind the characters for DC's next animated feature following Batman: Year One. 

The voice cast will include; Tim Daly as Superman, Nathan Fillion as Green Lantern, Michael Rosenbaum as the Flash, Carl Lumbly as the Martian Manhunter, Susan Eisenberg as Wonder Woman, Kevin Conroy as Batman, and Bumper Robinson as Cyborg.

Cyborg isn't featured originally as one of the members, but DC has pushed the character into the forefront in recent months. It looks as though he will be taking the spots of Aquaman and Plastic Man.

The story is taken from "Tower Of Babel" in the Justice League comic written by Mark Waid, which deals with Batman keeping secret records of each members strengths and weaknesses, beyond their knowing, with ways to render them inactive should they turn rouge at any point. This backfires as Ra's Al Ghul steals the files and uses them to prevent the League from interfering with his plans. 

Certain aspects of this story was previously adapted for the Justice League animated series in a three part finale called "Starcrossed". Dwayne McDuffie wrote the script before his tragic death back in February, while Lauren Montgomery will direct. Montgomery is no stranger to the animated world of DC with four of the feature length films on her resume already.

In addition to the preview at New York Comic-Con on Oct. 14th, the trailer will also be included with the Batman: Year One release on Oct. 18th. There is no official release date for Justice League: Doom, but it's planned to be out in early 2012.

Avengers Footage At NYCC

With the New York Comic Con less than a month away, the schedule slate has been revealed and Marvel Studios will be greeting the fans at the event with some new footage of the highly anticipated Avengers flick. They also give a tease that mystery guests will show up which I assume could include any members of the cast from the movie, possibly director Joss Whedon even. Look for bootleg quality of the footage to find its way online before the studio requests or demands it be taken down. Fans attending can catch all the goodies on Saturday, October 15 from 6:30pm - 7:30pm in the IGN Theater.

Continuing the epic big-screen adventures started in "Iron Man," "The Incredible Hulk," "Iron Man 2," "Thor" and "Captain America: The First Avenger," in "Marvel's The Avengers" the world's greatest Super Heroes must assemble to pull the world back from the brink of disaster when an unexpected enemy threatens global security. This special presentation will feature never-before-seen footage and appearances by special surprise guests.

DC Universe Online Drops Charge

I am a huge fan of the DC Universe in all aspects. Comics, cartoons, movies, action figures, statues, you name it I probably have it if it's DC. When the DC Universe online game was announced my excitement level was through the roof with the potential this game would bring. It took about 2 or 3 years upon it's initial announcement of being made and when the day finally arrived all excitement dropped when I learned that you had to pay monthly to even play the damn game. Luckily today Sony Entertainment released the official statement below giving players three levels of access to the game, one of those being free.

Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE) today announced a new free-to-play business model for its popular massively multiplayer online (MMO) game DC Universe Online (DCUO) - where players have the freedom to become legendary, fighting alongside DC Comics icons like Superman, Batman and The Joker in an ever-evolving online action adventure that has seen players log more than 42 million hours of super-powered gameplay action since its launch earlier this year.

Beginning late October, players will be able to download and access DCUO for free on both the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and PC. As part of this transition, SOE is introducing three new access levels to the game: Free, Premium and Legendary. All three levels will provide access to open world gameplay and missions, general game updates and fixes to the game, with each level offering different game options and benefits.

"When we launched DC Universe Online, we introduced a very different brand of massive online game driven by fast action combat to PC and PS3™ gamers and with that, we discovered a new type of online gamer," said John Smedley, President, Sony Online Entertainment. "We've listened to our community, and we've determined that the free-to-play model is the best fit for DC Universe Online."

Smedley added, "Our philosophy embraces learning from our experience and as a pioneer in the free-to-play space with proven successful games like Free Realms and Clone Wars Adventures, we believe this new model will expand the DCUO experience and offer more options that cater to every type of player so they can play the game in a way that fits them."

All three levels provide access to the current game, but allow differing tiers of convenience and flexibility. The levels are:

Free: New players will now have access to the current gameplay in DC Universe Online (including Gotham City, Metropolis, and all current raids and alerts), with the ability to create two characters, join a league and many other benefits. Free level players will be able to purchase downloadable game packs/updates, additional character slots, powers and more through microtransactions.

Premium: Any player who has spent at least $5 USD (including former paid subscribers and new players who have purchased $5 of in-game items) will qualify for the Premium access level. Premium level players will have more benefits available to them than the Free level player, including additional character slots, additional inventory slots, and higher cash limits. Downloadable adventure packs, additional character slots, and more can be purchased in-game.

Legendary: Maximum features and benefits are included at this level. Loaded with enhanced additional features, Legendary access will be available for a $14.99 USD monthly fee and includes all DLC packs at no cost, more than 15 character slots, more than 80 inventory slots, the ability to form unrestricted-sized leagues, and many other benefits.

More information on the DCUO free-to-play access levels can be found here: www.DCUniverseOnline.com/free.

DC Universe Online combines immersive environments and fascinating story arcs with fast-paced, physics-based combat, allowing players to pick up buses and other objects in the environment, fly into the air and throw them at enemies; run up the sides of buildings to engage in melee brawls while shooting flames of fire from their hands; or cling to the side of buildings while using a grappling hook to pull flying opponents out of the sky - all while fighting alongside or against the legendary characters of DC Comics and charting their own path to legendary.

The Daily Planet Arrives

The Daily Planet has found a location and its conveniently inside of Wayne Enterprises. For the upcoming Superman flick, Man of Steel, Chicago's Board of Trade building will be housing the established newspaper which was also the exterior for Wayne Enterprises in The Dark Knight. i09 has a glimpse at a globe replica inside the building. Not sure if this means the one usually seen up top will be absent or if it's just an extra piece for scenes in this area of the building.

Thor & Loki: Blood Brothers DVD Clip

"The great halls of Asgard have fallen silent since a new king has overtaken the throne. His name is Loki, son of almighty Odin, brother to the Thunder God, Thor. Once a powerful trickster, the God of Mischief, Loki now rules a grand kingdom with little regard for its subjects. His only thoughts are focused inward, toward the origins of his own pain and suffering. To quell his torment and to gain the respect he feels he so rightfully deserves, Loki must now execute the prisoner chained deep within the dungeons of Asgard, the one man who has ever shown him love. His own brother.

Adapted from the acclaimed miniseries Loki, from Robert Rodi and Esad Ribic, 'Thor & Loki: Blood Brothers' takes a powerful look inside the minds of two legendary nemeses, shedding light, like never before, on the depths of Thor and Loki's hatred, and love, for one another"

Thor & Loki: Blood Brothers will be released tomorrow (9/13)

The WWE Network

Professional wrestling once consumed my life. From 1995 until around 2003, wrestling was the only topic of conversation if anyone decided to open their mouth to me. WCW was the company that hooked me in with wrestlers like Sting, 4 Horsemen, Macho Man and Hulk Hogan. Midway through 1996 came the emergence of the nWo and what could be credited as the starting point to wrestlings rise to huge popularity.

As WCW was sold to WWE, some of my favorite wrestlers eventually vanished and my love for it began to fade away. The past few weeks I've been tuning in to RAW out of curiosity and last night they aired a spot for the upcoming WWE Network. This would absolutely be a channel to view daily for me as long as there is no subscription required. It seems like the company will be releasing more information through the official Facebook page for the channel when it's available. I think it's a great idea and could bring high viewership from all the fans who used to watch the programs in past years.

Captain America Blu-ray Release

 

From Blu-ray.com;

Amazon is currently taking pre-orders for the Blu-ray release of the 2011 summer blockbuster, Captain America: The First Avenger. The Paramount/Marvel Studios co-production will be available in a 3D Limited Edition combo pack (Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray, DVD, Digital Copy) and a standard combo pack (Blu-ray, DVD, Digital Copy). These will hit retail with starting prices of $54.99 and $42.99 respectively. 

The Joe Johnston (Jurassic Park III) feature stars Chris Evans as the iconic superhero along with Hayley Atwell (The Duchess), Hugo Weaving (The Matrix) and Tommy Lee Jones (No Country for Old Men). The film tells the origin story of Steve Rogers' transformation into the super-soldier Captain America and his mission to stop Nazi officer Johann Schmidt/Red Skull (played by Weaving).Captain America performed strong at the box office last month and has hauled in over $316 million worldwide to date.

The Blu-ray for The First Avenger will feature DTS HD Master Audio 7.1 and a 2:39:1 aspect ratio. Though Paramount has yet to fully detail the release, an unconfirmed listing of special features is outlined below.

• Audio Commentary with director Joe Johnston, cinematographer Shelly Johnson and editor Jeffrey Ford
• Outfitting a Hero
• The Assembly Begins
• Howling Commandos
• Heightened Technology
• The Transformation
• Behind the Skull
• Captain America's Origins
• Deleted Scenes
• Marvel One Shot: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer
• The Avengers animated series trailer

Captain America: The First Avenger streets on October 25th, 2011.