NEWS: Star Wars 3D Details

The money making machine that is George Lucas has announced that he will release The Phantom Menace next year in glorious 3D ... so we can be disappointed all over again. February 10th 2012 to be exact.


It looks like each year, for the next 6 years, we're going to get all six films playing in all order. I don't think I could sit through all these again but I imagine some people are excited. I'll probably see Empire Strikes Back, maybe Return of the Jedi ... and that's it. Actually, maybe Revenge of the Sith - I quite liked that - did anyone else?

If you can't wait until then, look out for the Blu Rays coming in September.

Anyway, here's what StarWars.com said:

Lucasfilm Ltd. and Twentieth Century Fox announced today that the 3D theatrical launch of Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace now has an official release date — February 10, 2012! Set against the thrilling and exotic backdrop of a “galaxy far, far away,” Star Wars is perfectly suited to the immersive 3D theatrical experience, and Episode I delivers some of the Saga’s most stunning and spectacular sequences — from the Naboo invasion to the Tatooine Podraces to the climactic lightsaber battle between Darth Maul and the Jedi.

Supervised by Industrial Light & Magic, the meticulous conversion is being done with utmost respect for the source material, and with a keen eye for both technological considerations and artistic intentions.

NEWS: Batman Dark Knight Rises Info!

More news on Batman: The Dark Knight Rises - I'd say there were a couple of spoilers ahead. But unless you want to know absolutely nothing, move on - otherwise for some general plot - keep going, it's not exactly spoiling anything.

Basically the Catwoman storyline looks like it will be an origins tale (yawn) but still, hopefully it'll have that Nolan touch. The main evil guys will be the League of Shadows (hmmm) which will be Talia Al'Ghul as reported here a while back (Marion Cotillard?), Tom Hardy as Bane and Joseph Gordon-Levitt as reportedly Black Mask (but nothing confirmed).

For Batman fans, the League of Shadows was mentioned in Batman Begins but in the comics they are called the League of Assassins. If you were in the league and you didn't complete your mission, you'd be targeted by the League - hence a lot of people tried to kill Batman, failed and were subsequently targeted. Maybe that's where Levitt comes in? A character called Dr Darrk was in it who led the group and was more devious than an out-and-out killer. I could see Levitt being that creepy. Is it also a push to think that Liam Neeson could return?

NEWS: Michael Shannon As The Iceman

Michael Shannon to play a hitman in new film The Iceman.


If you're a regular reader, you will know that since Boardwalk Empire, Michael Shannon has quickly become one of my favourite actors. It's good to see then that he is set to be the main role in upcoming movie The Iceman about a mob hitman also starring James Franco and Benicio Del Toro.

Shannon plays Richard Kulinski who claimed to kill over 100 people from the forties to the eighties while maintaining a normal family life. It was said he would freeze his victims bodies so as to confuse the time of death. Director Ariel Vromen has said Michael Shannon was always the first choice and I can't wait to see him leading quite a prestigious cast.

NEWS: Modern Warfare 3 Announced

Activision and Raven team up for MW3 To Be Released This November!

Raven, the team who did the pretty incredible Singularity (reviewed here last year) will assist in the multiplayer production of MW3 for this November and Sledgehammer will work with Activision on the single-player element. This now means the Call of Duty project set in the future has been put on hold.

In other Call of Duty news, Activision are taking EA to court to say that they were working with Infinity Ward to delay the release of the Stimulus Package in time for Battlefield: Bad Company 2 to be released. EA say it's a load of old shit but Activision think differently.

I have to say I don't even recall playing the Singularity multiplayer but I guess Activision had to bring someone in and Singlularity was the freshest FPS I'd seen for a while so it will be interesting to see where this goes, it's just annoying that it won't be set in the future!

Uncharted Movie News

It's official - Sony have cast Mark Wahlberg as Nathan Drake in a movie adaptation of the incredible PS3 Uncharted series.

As anyone knows, Wahlberg's perpetual worried look will make a lot of fans displeased. Look at his Max Payne game remake for instance. Nathan Fillion had expressed an interest in playing the role, which would have been a million times better but instead we're left to see an amazing game franchise get completely raped by a crap actor. Yes crap. Does anyone else agree? "Oh what about The Departed?" umm.. wasn't he just an angry the whole time? Isn't he just supposed to look angry all the time? I think it can be safely said that whatever films he does, he's not a bankable star by any means.

So what about the director? David O Russell will take the helm which is a surprise because he's done some very strange films and is known for well... not getting on with his cast. George Clooney smacked him about in Three Kings and there's that fight on YouTube he has with Lily Tomlin in I Heart Huckabees, and he's got The Fighter coming out with Wahlberg and Bale which might be a good impression of how much he can get out of Wahlberg's limited acting. Pesci and De Niro have even been rumoured to play Wahlberg's father and uncle - which will be strange. I'm just hoping it won't be another National Treasure ... I'd rather kill myself.

Gaming News

Metal Gear Solid: Rising

It's finally here! The new episode in MGS which will feature Raiden, and not shitty Raiden from MGS2 either, but the hardcore totally fucked up Ninja one from MGS4. As a little treat for my little Bores (that's you) here's the teaser trailer for the game. Aren't you spoilt?!





Gears Of War 3

Not much has been said about the new Gears Of War except that it might be the final one in the series. By the looks of the trailer, there's a new female character as well. There's also talk of 4 player co-op.The first two were incredible and I can't wait to get back into the fray! Here's the trailer for your eyes only.




Demon's Souls

This Namco Bandai game was a RPG PS3 exclusive last year and was regarded overseas as one of the top games of the year. The reason you might not have heard of it? It's because it's only just been talked about getting a release over here in Europe. Something to look forward to for anyone who has completed FFXIII.

Infinity Ward

Modern Warfare's kids have started to leave the sinking ship after Activision fired it's founding members. The two have now gone off to start up their own company (again) but this time with EA, 13 people have left since this was announced only a little while back. Uncertain future for CoD now perhaps.

F.3.A.R

F.E.A.R gets another chapter where Alma is set to have another freakish son but this time you have the option of going co-op! Though strangely, you can play as Point Man or Fettel who are enemies, so as much as you might be assisting each other, you can go off and do your own thing as well which is something quite unique. Can't upload the live-action trailer for some reason but it's on YouTube.

Transformers

For all you uber-geeks like me out there, you might cream your pants. Activision have announced Transformers: War On Cybertron, where it's an all out slug fest on their home planet. It takes after the actual anime series rather than the films thank God and after seeing the trailer, I think Michael Bay will have a lot to live up to when this is released in June. Check it out on YouTube, I can't upload the bastard.

New iPhone!

Hold on to your old handsets for the moment because what with the release of Apple's 4.0 iPhone OS, June 22nd has been booked to reveal the brand new spanking iPhone. Rumours suggest it will obviously be faster, but also have a forward-facing camera and 4G wireless support. With the 4.0 OS offering a multi-tasking ability so you can run several apps at once, it also has an Xbox Live-like gaming system with achievements and all that, so the gaming aspect of the iPhone has been already given a dramatic focus, oh and you will be able to read books on it and all that.

New Xbox

If you haven't heard already, it looks like Microsoft is going to reveal it's new slim Xbox 360 model which is likely to coincide with the release of Natal. It looks set to have wireless stuff, perhaps play Blu-Rays and all that. So basically it's going to be a PS3.

Call of Duty

For those PS3 owners still awaiting the new Call of Duty maps, it looks like you'll only have to wait til early May to get hold of them. Keep waiting!

Heavy Rain

...is a huge success! It's topped a million units and looks set to get 1.5 million by the end of the year. Seeing as people thought it would get between 200-300 thousand, it just goes to prove time and time again that gaming is more for adults these days than kids.

E3

Of course June is the gaming month of the year as E3 takes place in LA. There looks set to be a lot on show but for me, Konami's announcement of a new Silent Hill game might top it!