In addition to being a cartoonist and musician, James Kochalka also has a passion for what he calls “obsessive compulsive narcissistic twiddling” to insert himself into a hacked version of the classic video game Super Mario Bros.

The video game blog Offworld has posted Kochalka’s mod of the classic Nintendo game in which you can play as Kochalka himself. Game on!

…That’s right, a brand-new Ghostbusters web site.

With a new video game in the works, as well as some strong hopes to a third film in the making, it’s perhaps no surprise that the Dan Aykroyd-led franchise is getting itself a facelift.

The new site has message boards, photos, as well as resources for the upcoming video game.

After quite a bit of speculation from the fan base, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, TT Games, and the Lego Group have announced that the latest franchise to get the bumps-and-blocks treatment will be none other than the legend of Hogwarts, Harry Potter!

Not to be confused with the earlier Lego Creator: Harry Potter games, TT Games will be infusing Lego: Harry Potter: Years 1-4 with the same sort of 3D action and metahumor that has been seen in Lego Indiana Jones, Lego Star Wars, and Lego Batman. Here’s a trailer, posted by Romain766, for the uninitiated:

According to the group’s press release, this game will span Harry’s first four years at Hogwarts (through the Goblet of Fire, if you’re wondering), and will allow players to control Harry, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger, as you explore areas like Hogwarts, Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade, and the Forbidden Forest. The game is scheduled for release in 2010.

The Flash is the latest character released by Sony Online Entertainment to appear in the upcoming MMORPG DC Universe Online. The game will allow gamers to create their own super hero or super villain to fight alongside and against the big names (and some of the small ones) from across the DCU. Comic art living legend Jim Lee and a team of artists are designing each character and environment, then seeing them rendered in 3D. Click through for more of Wally West, including the game’s description of the Fastest Man Alive and some hints of villains players might encounter when running alongside the speedster.

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Reports have popped up today that Warner Bros. Entertainment has bid 33 million dollars to purchase Midway Games. The buyout would include Midway, the Mortal Kombat franchise, and the Chicago and Seattle development studios. Midway has been suffering for nearly two years now, having already shutdown several projects and locations, and laying off much of their staff at remaining locations. The deal apparently does not include the TNA Wrestling license, nor two other development studios. There will be an auction before the deal goes through to allow other companies to take a shot, but it’s expected that WB will come out on top.

A sell-out was expected, as it is the only way at this point that the Mortal Kombat franchise and Midway as a whole could avoid a fatality. Time Warner clearly wants a larger stake in the games industry. Their first major step, buying a chunk of Eidos Interactive, was foiled a few months ago when Square Enix decided to buy the company outright. This move would all but assure a sequel to last year’s well-received Mortal Kombat vs. DCUniverse, and possibly see a new internal development point for more of Warner’s many properties to be translated into games.

Despite zombies being en vogue after Marvel Zombies (volumes 1 all the way through 4, natch) as well as DC’s upcoming storyline Blackest Night, I’m pretty sure nobody saw this toy coming:

Aw yeah. Zombie Solid Snake, from Metal Gear Solid. Or as I propose we call him, Rotting Snake.

I can pretty much see him at work — he’s sneaking up on someone under his trademark cardboard box, when suddenly a security guard is like, “jeez, what is that awful smell? It’s like somebody left the garbage out in the sun or something.” And then Snake’ll jump out and yell, “I have a condition!!!”

This toy’ll be available for order starting in October (appropriate, I guess) for about $79.99. There’s also a more “realistic” version of Zombie Snake available here.

[Link spotted via Ryan Penagos]

Image by Capcom, courtesy of Marvel.com

Can I get a big bad hell yeah? It’s been rumored for months, but tonight on Marvel.com, they finally confirmed it: Marvel vs. Capcom 2, quite possibly the best 2D fighting game ever, is coming to LIVE and PSN. I can’t wait to own this for a third and possibly fourth platform (already have it for Dreamcast and PS2), and for any who missed out on the notoriously hard-to-find home editions of the game, this’ll be a great chance to have a ton of fun with over 50 awesome characters. Online multiplayer is confirmed (some may say obviously), and Marvel’s got a trailer to remind everyone of the awesomeness. No word yet on the release date, but they do say this year.

Update: PSN will have the exclusive demo this Thursday, according to the Playstation Blog. More info at that link about which characters/features are in the demo. (Thanks for the tip, FunkDoctor!)

Oh baby, yes! Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment just announced via a press release that The Joker will be a playable character in the upcoming Batman: Arkham Asylum.

The catch, however, is that the villain will only be playable on the PlayStation 3 version of the game, and only in the challenge levels of the game. These are said to take place in Crime Alley and allow for players to fight against swarms of enemies, and now they’ll be able to dance around laughing while shooting them rather than stalking in the dark and taking them down without the kill.

It’s a nice bonus for PS3 owners desperate for exclusive content. There’s no reason given for the exclusive, but I’d offer conjecture that it has something to do with Sony/WBIE’s upcoming DCUOnline. Of course, the character will actually be DLC released the same day as the game, so there’s always the possibility of it being a timed exclusive, giving 360 owners the chance to laugh further down the line. Either way, this game just keeps looking better, and June isn’t too far away.

Sony Online Entertainment continues the slow trickle of character and location reveals leading up to the PS3/PC MMORPG, DCUOnline, today. Solomon Grundy, from Sketch to Render is shown off, and looking appropriately brutish. The included character description from the press release follows:

Solomon Grundy™ is part zombie and part plant, a bizarre, centuries-old half-human life form filled with confused anger. At times he is a rampaging monster, at others a calculating and coldblooded villain.

Solomon Grundy’s enhanced strength makes him a threat even to the DC Universe’s strongest heroes. As an immortal, massive blows or injuries can’t kill or hurt him -  afterwards, he simply regenerates to rise again.

Solomon Grundy has been seen skulking in swamps, sewers, and abandoned buildings in both Metropolis and Gotham City. Denizens of these cities beware the low growl of “Solomon Grundy, born on a Monday…”

The Sketches/designs are being done by a group of artists led by Jim Lee, Executive Creative Director for the game. It’s another good looking, iconic version of a DCU character; personally, I’m waiting to see some of the B and C listers to see how well these new designs carry over to the extended DCU. Full Renders are after the break. (more…)

In a surprisingly candid post, it was revealed today on the official PlayStation Blog that inFamous, the electric-powered and parkour-traveling superhero PS3 exclusive, will not be shipping in June after all. Indeed, in a surprising move, the release date was bumped UP to May 26th. While not the first time a game’s release has been bumped up, it is still rare to see.

The report also included the above screenshot, showing exclusive DLC if gamers pre-order:

An exclusive ‘Gigawatt Blades’ Super Power: The Gigawatt Blades supercharges Cole’s arm into an instrument of destruction unmatched by any other melee weapon in game. Although very powerful, you’ll still have to use this weapon wisely, as it takes a considerable drain on your powers.

An exclusive outfit for your Home avatar and early access to the demo is also included with a pre-order. inFamous now ships May 26th, 2009 in the US, exclusively for the PS3.

The jury is still out on whether this will be the first really great Batman game, though it does sound promising. Today Eidos and Warners announced the (inevitable) Collector’s Edition of the game, and hot damn does it have some cool stuff. From the Press Release:

14″ Batarang with stand
Matches the Batarang’s in-game design

Arkham Doctor’s Journal
48 pages of notes on Arkham’s inmates
Embossed leather dust jacket

2 Sleeve Digi-pack, including:
Game disc
Behind-the-scenes DVD

Code for downloadable Challenge Map
Exclusive “Crime Alley” map, available immediately

OK, the Batarang and Arkham Journal alone sound more than worth the extra scratch for this version of the game. I lok forward to the inevitable injury reports from people throwing the Batarang around, though. No word on if the Journal was written by Paul Dini, who is scripting the game, but I’ll update here if/when I get a response. Regardless, it’s nice to see a Collector’s Edition that actually offers some fun pack-ins. The game is due this summer, and official Facebook and MySpace pages have been setup for fans to keep track of the latest announcements.

Looks like it’s video game movie news day. The latest has the artful epic PS2 adventure Shadow of the Colossus heading to the big screen. The 2005 game was a critical hit but hardly a household name as far as consumer response.

The main feature of the spiritual sequel to equally beautiful Ico had a boy named Wander (sometimes accompanied by his trusty steed) doing battle with creatures that were approximately 800,000x larger than him. This kind of dwarfing should be interesting to see on screen, to say the least. Wander climbs along the behemoths searching for weak spots to attack.

The story will need a LOT of work to be a compelling film. The game’s focus was on the beautiful scenery and characters, and the unique gameplay. Justin Marks, screenwriter of the upcoming Hack/Slash comic adaptation, the upcoming new adaptation of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and what looks like a surefire sweeping victory winner at the Razzies (the anti-Oscars) Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li which currently holds an absolutely horrendous 4% on RottenTomatoes.com, will see if his pen can have more success with this game. With this, he becomes the busiest adaptation screenwriter in Hollywood, also attached to DC’s Suicide Squad and Green Arrow: Escape from Supermax, as well as He-Man and Voltron.

Capcom’s Dark Void, a Sci-Fi “Vertical” 3rd Person shooter looks to bring some new mechanics (namely jetpacks and mostly vertical levels) and an engaging story to the 3rd person shooter field. Now, they’ve gotten some help from composer Ben McCreary. While the name may not be a household one, most Sci-Fi fans have heard his music. McCreary provided score for the recently completed Battlestar Galactica re-imagining, as well as Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles. According to the press release, this is his first video game score:

“When I got the call from Capcom to work on the music for Dark Void, I jumped at the chance to do it, considering my love for Capcom games.” said McCreary. “I have been looking for the opportunity to compose a game score for a long time, but I’ve been waiting for the right one.  Dark Void’s epic story and unique gameplay drew me in immediately and I have had a lot of fun working on the project.”

So at least the music is sure to be awesome! Gamers can find out if the rest of the game is, too, on August 25, 2009, the currently scheduled release date.

Joystiq got tipped yesterday that Sony Computer Entertainment Europe is testing the waters on a major new addition to their online store: a dedicated section for Comics. The selection process, seen in the video below, shows a system remarkably similar to Apple’s “cover flow” used in iTunes, OSX.5, and the iPod/iPhone family. They also remark on a panel by panel system, similar to how many comics have been presented on the iPhone already, which gives an easier way for readers to view the comic on such a small screen. Sony has been touting that they have big plans for the struggling handheld this year. Would an “iTunes for comics” that’s limited to the PSP be appealing to you? How about if you could also view them on your PS3? It sure seems like the technology world is certainly interested in being the first to mainstream-ize comics on e-devices.

Caleb was apparently right on cue to bring up the topic of video game movies a short week ago. Gaming powerhouse EA revealed through Variety last night that their in-development game due out this fall, Dante’s Inferno, is now also an in-development movie. Dan Harris, one of the writers responsible for Superman Returns and X-Men 2 (so that makes him 1-1, right?) is writing the movie’s screenplay, basing it off the game which is apparently very loosely based on the book. The movie will be a live-action film from Universal Pictures, and produced by folks from both Universal and EA, with some help from the game’s “creator” (as it is listed by Variety), Jonathan Knight.

Variety reminded readers as well that EA also has Army of Two, The Sims, and Mass Effect in development as game-to-movie translations.

While video game movies have at best seen moderate success financially and less so critically, this seems to indicate a new movement by studios to look at games, like comics, as an IP farm. This particular game was optioned not just before the game was released, but before the game even had a proper title. While the team producing it proved themselves admirably last fall with the survival horror (and multi-media bonanza with comics, motion comics, and a direct-to-dvd movie) Dead Space, it still seems like an odd choice to immediately throw money and a decently “name” writer at. I imagine we’ll start seeing this happen at an increasing rate, and hopefully we’ll start seeing game-to-movies of a much higher caliber.

The Xbox 360 and PS3 each already have some very strong multimedia capabilities. The 360 has that wonderful Netflix streaming, allowing Gold members to stream their “Watch Now” playlist directly to their TV, even with some shows and movies in HD. The PS3 is famously a blu ray player, and one of the best on the market. If you’ve seen blu ray in action, you know that it really is a substantial difference. Both have various applications available for both PC and Mac that allow you to stream video that’s on your computer to your system of choice, moving you away from the computer screen and back to the living room, and can play most divx files off your computer or a burned disc.

But what about that wonder of wonders, Hulu? Hulu, for the uninitiated, is a website that streams video from several sources like Fox, NBC, Comedy Central, and many many more. Missed your favorite show? Forgot to Tivo it? Hulu to the rescue. However, the limitation has been that you have to watch it on the computer. This is something a lot of people have gotten used to and really don’t mind too much, but it’s still not the optimum way to watch video when you have that big widescreen in front of your couch.

Enter PlayOn. From MediaMall Technologies, PlayOn solves the Hulu problem (and much more) for Xbox360 and PS3 owners. The program is remarkably easy to use. Download the server onto your PC (XP and Vista only for now), and there’s virtually no setup. On most computers, the automatic settings are perfect (it even auto-detects your firewalls) and you’re literally good to go the moment you start the program and turn on your console. You can also input your Hulu username and password to access your queue. Varying quality settings allow the streaming to work no matter how fast your system and internet connection, provided you meet the relatively low minimum requirements. Now, this is still internet streaming, so this is not high definition quality, but it’s good enough to have in the background or to watch that missed episode. Videophiles will complain, but the general public should love it.

Hulu is actually only the tip of the iceberg, as well. Youtube (including user queues) streams nicely through PlayOn, as does CBS, ESPN, Amazon Video On Demand, and even Netflix. That last one is quite the boon for PS3 owners jealous of their 360 counterparts. Again, since it’s through an extra server, you’re not going to get quite the same quality. HD is not yet available through this extra software, but the quality is passable; think pre-digital cable and you have a pretty good idea of how things will look on your TV.

PlayOn is not free beyond the two week trial. The $39.99 price tag is the only downside to the story. This is considerably steeper than most media servers, but it also does a lot more than just stream your saved video. They have also recently launched an affiliate program, allowing you to get the software for free by signing up for a number of other services. If the program were $20 or even $30, this would be an absolute must-own for 360 or PS3 owners. At $40, I can still give it the highest recommendation for PS3 owners, as it equalizes the Netflix issue, plus adds the bonuses of an easy-to-use interface for Hulu and Youtube. For 360 owners, only tv/movie addicts need apply, but it certainly does expand the options for them in a major way. Easy to use from start (on your PC) to finish (on your 360 or PS3), MediaMall Technologies has put together an amazing product, updates it on a regular basis, and has turned two great multimedia hubs in the living room into something even more special.

MTV has the exclusive on the new trailer, but with the help of handy dandy embed code, we get to share it with you! Unfortunately, since it’s from MTV, it is not viewable outside the US. As soon as the trailer is available to the general press, we’ll get it up in our video section here so the whole world can see. Until then, enjoy the trailer focused on just one part of the gameplay, “Invisible Predator”, America!

Do you like Snood? Do you like Iron Man? Are you excited about the upcoming Iron Man animated series? Do you like free web based games? Do you think I could write this entire post using nothing but questions? If you answered yes to all of those questions, you were wrong. If you answered yes to all but the final one, Marvel has a fun little treat in store for you, by the name of Iron Man Armored Popper.

The game, surprisingly, has nothing to do with popping corn for Rhodey and Pepper. Instead, it’s a matching game, where you fire one of the icons at the ones above you, the goal being to match 3 or more and remove all of them from the screen. If it sound familiar, well, that’s because there’ve been about 30,000 of this type of game out there. This is the first one thats linked with ‘ole (er… young…) Shellhead, though, and it’s free, so the price is right; it does also increase Marvel’s already massive web presence. Sure it’s on the Marvel Kids site, but fun is allowed to be had by all ages, so give it a click, and brag about your high score here.

The Sixth Sense: Not the Bruce Willis movie, but some crazy technology that Warren Ellis has video of over at his blog. Is crazy, and very cool. Go check it out.

Watchmen: The Hathor Legacy reviews Watchmen, though I’d like to have seen them deconstruct Laurie’s character more. Oh well, maybe I’ll do it myself one of these days.

PIXU: Via Becky Cloonan, apparently there’s a 17-page PIXU preview at Publishers Weekly. You’re welcome.

More Previews: Jason Aaron has preview pages from this week’s Ghost Rider and Scalped. If you’ve any sense you’re already buying Scalped regardless of preview pages, but if you haven’t the sense maybe this will convince you. Also, flaming skull head guy.

Racialicious on The Big Bang Theory, Nerds of Color, and Stereotypes. An interesting look at the assumed whiteness of “nerds” and of geek culture in general, and how the different stereotypes play out on TV.

Eliza Dushku not only stars in Dollhouse (to which I am now completely addicted), she’s also a producer.

Jezebel takes on the Japanese rape simulation video game. And here I was really hoping this was a bad joke.

Finally, a good friend of mine took me up on my suggestion that he read Northlanders. He was thrilled with the results. (Like the comic, the review contains some adult language.)

Usually when a game ties in to a movie, the aim is to release it alongside the film, or at the latest alongside the DVD. However, some developers and publishers have actually recognized that movie tie-in games tend to, well, suck, and have elected to do what they can to buck the trend and produce some quality games that happen to tie-in to movies. The upcoming X-Men Origins: Wolverine game was actually being developed before they got a license for the movie, and includes a whole bunch of new content written by Marc Guggenheim. The most popular movie last year, The Dark Knight, skipped the movie tie-in altogether; instead, Warner is releasing an original game that has more to do with the comics than the movies this summer with Arkham Asylum.

Now the Wanted tie-in is coming, set after the events of the movie, and based on the demo that’s available now on Xbox Live and PSN, this game is going to be a ton of fun. The demo features a few tutorials to give you the basics of the cover system and a few of the advanced techniques, then throws you into the airplane level that’s been in every trailer for the game since it was announced.

The tutorial gives a quick look at just how easy developers Grin implemented things like Bullet Curving and their version of “bullet time:” “Assassin Time.” You charge your special meter the easiest way possible, by killing some bad guys. There’s a fantastic sticky cover system here, complete with flashy animations for dashing from one point of cover to another. Baseball slides, tuck and rolls, roadie-runs, they’ve got them all, and it looks great. There are basically two levels to Assassin Time, too. One is achieved simply by blind firing from cover. This puts you just a hair faster than your enemies, but does allow you to sneak up behind them and use your knife (or hands, or knees) for a swift kill, if there’s enough cover to navigate. The other is an actual special ability that almost pauses the screen, allowing you to quickly take aim and fire on as many enemies as you can see.

The bullet curving is an easy to use, one button (plus thumbstick) function. Hold the button, find the right angle, and release- it’s that easy. This isn’t typically going to kill an enemy, but it will hit one in cover without you having to break cover yourself, and usually causes them to stumble out into the open, ready for an easy kill.

Great cover system, easy-to-use advanced moves, solid controls, voices of the actors from the movie, a sensibility that combines the movie and comic a bit more; this is all adding up to be a great game that just happens to tie-in to a movie, just the way gamers have hoped. The game comes out March 24th in the US (European gamers have to wait a little longer- 26 June for them), and we’ll have the full review for you here. Until then, I’ll be mastering the airplane level. If it’s any indication (and I’ve now played the demo 10+ times), this game will be wanted all over.