Joystiq

LEGO Batman launch event transforms Museum of Natural History into carnival

Andrew Yoon — 2008-09-24T11:25:00+00:00

The American Museum of Natural History is known for being one of the most prestigious ... wait, is that a giant Batman made out of Legos? Yes, the fine folks behind the LEGO Batman video game have somehow managed to turn the sacred Museum grounds into a carnival, filled with good ol' fashioned carnival games. Popcorn, hotdog and suspect lemonade were all on hand as kids and games journalists of all ages partook in all sorts of classics like, er, whatever this game is.

Quite possibly the most attractive display at the event was this mini-warehouse, littered with various LEGO Batman characters. Quite possibly the most deadly display were the cupcakes, with not-so-edible Batman and Joker characters on top. (We found out the hard way. Ouch.)

Gallery: LEGO Batman launch party

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AGDC: The DC Universe Online team spills some beans

Kevin Kelly — 2008-09-17T16:00:00+00:00

Filed under: PC, Sony PlayStation 3, Online, RPGs, GDC, MMO

The Art of the DC Universe Online panel was overshadowed by the presence of artist Jim Lee, who fielded most of the questions about the design elements that are going into this game (as it's based on his visual style). We managed to learn some new elements about the game, including the special "inspired by" mode they've added to character creation.

The panel consisted of art director Jared Carr, Jim Lee, lead character artist Jason Smith, and creative director Jens Anderson. Check out all the zap!, pow!, and bam! highlights after the break.

One of the challenges was creating the female characters for the games. According to Lee, "We tend to draw women with very long legs, and when that gets translated to 3D it doesn't work very well." He didn't say anything about the enormous boobs that most of them are drawn with.
They've had to nail down a lot of design elements that are variable in the comics, like the length of Batman's cape.
When you create your character in the game you can choose "Inspired By," which gives you a set of tools to allow you to create a character like Batman or Superman. Alternatively, you can just create your character entirely from scratch.
The player characters in the game will match the size of the iconic DC characters.
You're able to choose a Power, a Power Source (a ring, a pistol, your eyes, etc), and an Origin, as well as design your own costume.
There are different versions of some of the character's costumes, and in some cases the game artists have improved on the comic book designs.
Jim Lee visits the Sony Online Entertainment Austin offices every three to four months, and the development team also visits the Wildstorm offices in La Jolla, California. They also have weekly calls and video conferences.

In some cases the team is using locations and events that won't appear in the DC comic books for one or two years.
Jim Lee has gotten pretty good at making videos of himself in various character poses, but he's scared it'll leak out all over YouTube. He's thinking about doing them while wearing a Mexican wrestling mask for anonymity, so keep your eyes peeled.
Metropolis and the Daily Planet are definitely in the game, but they haven't revealed other locations yet. "We're trying to make it as wide open as we can."
They hinted that the sewers of Gotham City and the Batcave will definitely be locations or instances in the game.
The initial contract is just for the iconic DC characters to appear in the game, but you might eventually see Wildstorm characters as well.
"We have to run on the PS3 as well as the PC, and the PS3 side has their own budget, so we have to be careful when planning environments." Does that mean they'll have to scale the PC side back to match the PS3? Inquiring minds want to know. We have an email in to Sony to clarify this.
NOTE: Here's the official response from Sony - "No. I was just saying that we will take our vision of the environment to the highest possible quality bar while taking into consideration the scope of our environments. This is naturally going to be driven by the system specs on the PS3. "Scaling back" implies we've gone too far, which as far as I can tell is not the case. I was only making a comment on the fact that building for consoles has a much more specific hardware spec, unlike PCs that have high and low end configurations."
Jim Lee has a not-so-secret obsession with Zatanna.

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Batman: Arkham Asylum screens lose exclusive edge

James Ransom-Wiley — 2008-09-12T15:30:00+00:00

Filed under: PC, Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Galleries

Some of you have seen these before, now buried in a pile of damp, wrinkly magazines stacked next to the john. Others capitalized on the brief window of opportunity that afforded speedy clicksters a glimpse at Game Informer's "world exclusive" Batman: Arkham Asylum images before Warner Bros. had 'em yanked from (most) corners of the internet. Today, the rest of us can finally be in on the experience. So go ahead, browse the gallery below -- and by all means, take your time.

Gallery: Batman: Arkham Asylum

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MK vs. DC Achievements reveal Lex Luthor, Darkseid, more

Ludwig Kietzmann — 2008-09-11T13:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Fighting

The queue of people looking to take advantage of Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe's plot devices and punch Superman to death continues to grow, with a ~~unconfirmed~~ list of Xbox 360 Achievements revealing several previously unannounced characters. The relatively straightforward challenges task players with performing the "expert combos" for several kombatants, both known -- Batman, The Joker, Scorpion etc. -- and until now, unknown.

The latter category features intergalactic menace Darkseid, sinister slap-head Lex Luthor and Outworld favorite Baraka, who probably wasn't hugged much as a child. Peer past the break for the complete list of known characters while we poke Midway for confirmation.

Update: One curt comment: "Midway has not officially released the Xbox 360 achievements for MK vs. DCU."
Update 2: Midway has just confirmed the full lineup of characters. You'll find 'em all after the break.

Mortal Kombat:

Baraka
Jax
Kano
Kitana
Liu Kang
Raiden
Scorpion
Shang Tsung
Shao Khan
Sonya
Sub-Zero

DC Universe:

Batman
Catwoman
Darkseid
Deathstroke
Flash
Green Lantern
Joker
Lex Luthor
Shazam
Superman
Wonder Woman

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Lego Batman cartoon coming, same Lego Bat-time, same Lego Bat-Channel!

Kevin Kelly — 2008-08-29T07:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture, Nintendo DS, PC, Sony PlayStation 2, Sony PlayStation 3, Sony PSP, Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360

Lego Batman is going to use his grappling hook to swing from consoles to television screens sometime in the near future. Traveller's Tales producer Rich Earl dropped the news that an unnamed studio is working on a spinoff animated show. Right now, it's a one-off 20 minute production, but they're undoubtedly looking to make it into a series. You've got Lego, you've got Batman... what else do you need?

We wouldn't mind seeing an Indiana Jones and the Mysterious Lego show either. The tongue-in-cheek humor that appears in these games is perfect for animated shows, and it could prep young, malleable minds to become Robot Chicken fans down the line. Speaking of which, where's Robot Chicken: The Game? Curse you television, for warping our young minds. Now pass us that video game controller.

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GC 2008: Joker, Green Lantern duke it out in new MK vs. DC screens

Ludwig Kietzmann — 2008-08-20T15:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Fighting

Let's put a smile on that face by checking out Midway's latest batch of Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe screenshots, rife with cross-dimensional brawling and enough continuity issues to drive fanboys round the bend. While you enjoy the sight of The Joker blasting Scorpion right out of the Batcave or the Green Lantern putting the squeeze on Shang Tsung, we'll frantically attempt to figure out how Ed Boon managed to steal all our closeted fan fictions.

If these guys don't pummel your fancy, Midway has also informed us that series stalwarts Raiden and Kano will join the game's kombatants, along with the DC universe's Wonder Woman and Deathstoke.

Gallery: Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe (08/20/2008)

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Picture it: Batman Arkham Asylum [update]

James Ransom-Wiley — 2008-08-15T11:29:00+00:00

Filed under: PC, Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360

Vin Diesel vs. The Batman? If we didn't know better, we'd have mistaken the first Batman Arkham Asylum screens for the spiffy new chapter in the Chronicles of Riddick remake. (After all, Bats has tangoed with Aliens and Predator -- so why not the Alpha Furyan?) But we digress. Rocksteady Studios eagerly released the "WORLDWIDE EXCLUSIVE Game Informer screens" on its website, but then realized, uh, they're exclusive, and promptly pulled them. Unfortunately, erasing an internet blunder is never as easy as refreshing the page, and the images have spread to new hosts. ~~Hellooo NeoGAF!~~ [Argh, pulled! ... CVG has 'em.]

Update: Warner Bros. Interactive is making the rounds this afternoon, trying to bottle up the pesky genie that escaped earlier today. "The images of Batman Arkham Asylum that Rocksteady posted on their website were done in error," a representative has explained to Joystiq. In turn, we have complied with the company's request to remove any screenshots from this post and will surely not remind you that the images in question are still floating around the internet, maybe even locatable through links posted in the comments section...

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Eidos makes Batman: Arkham Asylum official

Jason Dobson — 2008-08-13T08:30:00+00:00

Filed under: PC, Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Action, Adventure

Eidos has made Batman: Arkham Asylum all official, confirming the earlier revealed Rocksteady Studios-developed trip to Gotham City. Calling the game a "haunting, action detective game," Eidos notes that it and Warner Bros. will publish the action adventure title globally for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC in 2009.

According to Eidos, the game's story, penned by Batman Beyond's Paul Dini, will center on a trap set by Arkham Asylum inmates for Batman as he delivers Joker to the infamous prison. While much of the thunder of Eidos' announcement was taken by the dynamic duo of Game Informer and NeoGAF yesterday, Warner Bros. Interactive president Martin Tremblay calls the game both "graphically distinct" and "incredibly dark," as players hunt down and do battle with Gotham's worst. We look forward to additional details about Batman: Arkham Asylum as they become available, and have tossed a batarang in Eidos' direction for more.

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Batman: Arkham Asylum revealed by Game Informer

Ross Miller — 2008-08-12T18:24:00+00:00

Filed under: PC, Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Action, Adventure

While the rumored "Bat Theft Auto" Pandemic title may still prove true, we now have definite news of a new Batman game in the works care of Game Informer. Batman: Arkham Asylum is being developed by Rocksteady Studios (Urban Chaos Riot Response) and Eidos. According to Game Informer's online teaser, the Joker will be the main villain in the story of a prison break gone awry, written by Paul Dini (Justice League, Batman Beyond).

Additionally, a 10-digit countdown can be seen on Rocksteady's site. Our math is a little fuzzy, but it's going to take approximately "a good while" (i.e. over 2 years) to reach zero.

Update: Some details reportedly from GI have been posted on NeoGAF (read: we can't confirm any of this at the moment). The Unreal Engine 3-powered game is going for a gritty, Chronicles of Riddick-esque feel. DC Comics' Wildstorm is crafting the characters' look. Some villains in the game include Joker, Harley Quinn, Killer Croc, Penguin, Riddler, Scarecrow and more. According to the post, Arkham Asylum is projected for a 2009 release on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 and is not being rushed to tie into any TV or film marketing cycles.

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Rumor: Dark Knight to prowl GTA-style city

Ludwig Kietzmann — 2008-08-12T18:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Action

In the category of things that are not surprising, you're certain to find the existence of a video game based on a stunningly successful superhero film. You'll also find Kotaku's report on the alleged first details of said game, which see the titular Dark Knight roaming the GTA-style streets of Gotham City, racing about in the Batmobile and swinging through the urban jungle on the hunt for society's less reputable elements.

But it's the game's unusual failure to release -- or even be officially acknowledged by anyone other than Commissioner Gordon -- that you might file in the less crowded category of surprising things. The report attributes Batman's no-show to the developer's continued struggle against a dodgy camera system and repetitive combat, the latter of which is no doubt a challenging side effect of film director Christoper Nolan slamming our hero's cape in the door of reality.

There's hope for a successful outcome (Vigilante's Creed, anyone?) within such a vaporous release schedule, but we're already concerned by the game's supposed adoption of the now-standard "Superhero + GTA = Video Game" formula. EA, we know you ignored us when we pleaded with you to put the Tumbler into Burnout Paradise as an unlockable, but listen to us this one time: People want to be Batman -- all of him. We want to be a billionaire playboy, the world's greatest detective and Gotham's Dark Knight. Don't make us beat up petty thugs in generic alleys all game long, okay?

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The AP asks: Where's the Dark Knight game?

Justin McElroy — 2008-08-08T10:45:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture

We don't know about you, but we've been doing a little internal happy dance that a crummy video game version of The Dark Knight wasn't rushed to shelves, sullying in some way our love of the film. But The Batman's absence was apparently enough to get under the skin of the AP, which tried to dig up any dirt they could on the Caped Crusader's video game incarnation.

The general consensus? No one expected The Dark Knight to do as well as it did, meaning EA didn't feel a rush to get the game out day-and-date with the film, a miscalculation that analyst Michael Pachter estimates cost the company $100 million. Of course, it's mainly guesswork and speculation at this point, what really happened is anybody's guess. But make no mistake: Though we're happy there's no botched Dark Knight title on the market, we do want one. We just want the right one.

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Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe adds a killing Joker

Randy Nelson — 2008-07-25T19:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Fighting

Siliconera brings word from San Diego Comic-Con that more karacters have been added to the roster of Midway's crossover fighter, Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. Specifically, the site confirms Jax and Kitana from the MK games are set to appear, along with DC Comics characters Green Lantern and the clown prince of crime himself, Joker. The site speculates that, since villains in MK vs. DC will be able to perform fatalities, Joker could conceivably kill Superman. We're not sure how happy DC would be about that, so don't get too excited.

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Watch as Oldman spills The Dark Knight game details

Randy Nelson — 2008-07-24T18:45:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Action

Like a Batarang, this story didn't come back - it stuck. We're talking about our original report on G4's interview with actor Gary Oldman, in which he specifically speaks about an upcoming game based on the smash hit movie The Dark Knight. G4 had pulled the video, but, like a boomerang, it's back.

Oldman, who plays the role of Gotham City police lieutenant Jim Gordon in the film, reveals during the interview that he's "seen a tiny little piece of [the game]" and that its developer (rumored to be the now EA-owned Pandemic) is focusing a lot of effort on realistic, seamless gliding sequences. Meanwhile, his interviewer looks more uncomfortable and confused than enthused about the fact that she's sitting across from a film legend. Why so serious?

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Oldman confirms Dark Knight game, G4 pulls video

Christopher Grant — 2008-07-22T20:59:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture, Business

[Update: Now with video (thanks, VVP)! Watch Gary Oldman spill the beans after the break. And hey, G4 - you guys totally got that story fair and square, so why pull the video?]

Far be it from us to tell Electronic Arts how to run its business, but one would think that announcing a long-since-leaked game based on a hugely anticipated movie which just so happened to premier the very same week of the industry's largest press event would be - what we in the video game blogging business call - "a no-brainer." But, then again, we're not Electronic Arts so, despite being first rumored and then leaked by IGN over a year ago, Pandemic's totally secret adaptation of The Dark Knight did not make its debut during the serendipitous collision of E3 and Batman-mania last week.

As if EA's counter-intuitive marketing plan wasn't funny enough, an interview on G4 with Commissioner Gordon himself, Gary Oldman, revealed - surprise! - that a game was indeed in development. Oldman stopped short of naming developer Pandemic or EA, but we all know the score; in response, G4 had the video removed from YouTube as well as their own site. Our favorite part from the interview teaser reel? When Oldman says, "It's hard to make a movie like this under the radar." You know what, we were just thinking the same thing about games ...

Source - IGN forums
Source - YouTube video (since pulled by g4 Media, Inc.)

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Today in Joystiq: July 21, 2008

Ross Miller — 2008-07-21T23:59:00+00:00

... And we're back to the grind! We're still finishing up some of the impression backlog and some other post-E3 shenanigans, but more or less it's a return to normalcy. The screenshot above comes from the first Batman video game, circa 1986. Check out the highlights for today:

Post-E3 Impressions Wrapup
Joystiq E3 eyes-on: inFamous
Joystiq E3 eyes-on: Monster Lab
Joystiq E3 eyes-on: Sonic Unleashed
Joystiq E3 eyes-on: Stormrise
Joystiq E3 hands-on: Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway
Joystiq E3 hands-on: Flock
Joystiq E3 hands-on: flower (PSN)
Joystiq hands-on: Mega Man 9
Joystiq E3 hands-on: Red Faction: Guerrilla
Joystiq E3 hands-on: Resistance Retribution
Joystiq E3 hands-on: Tom Clancy's EndWar
Joystiq E3 hands-on: What's Cooking? With Jamie Oliver

Joystiquery
E3 2008 news roundup
The Joystiq Free Game Club: Kongai
Joystiq interview: Bethesda's Todd Howard on Fallout 3
Law of the Game on Joystiq: Non-Disclosure Agre3ments
The unbearable smallness of E3 2008, in pictures

News
New games this week: Final Fantasy IV edition
Major Nelson continues to clear up New Xbox Experience
Gears of War prequel novel gets new name, author, release date
EA extends Take-Two takeover offer to Aug. 18
Uncharted and Warhawk Home spaces snapshots
Gley Lancer, Super Fantasy Zone shoot up Virtual Console
Sega confirms Sonic and the Black Knight, Spring 2009
Pirates find The Key of Dreams on WiiWare
Target cards reveal possible LittleBigPlanet release date
Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop coming to Wii this winter
Jade Empire now an Xbox Original
Konami releases full MGO problem report, issues apology
Jimi Hendrix joins Guitar Hero World Tour
This Wednesday: Go! Go! Break Steady and 1942 jointly strike XBLA
Show of hands: Left 4 Dead box art gets a thumbs off
First video of Sony's The Last Guy
Video of how Netflix works on Xbox 360
Puzzle Quest update to infect XBLA this Wednesday

Culture & Community
Witness the on-stage Rock Revolution press conference failure

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MK vs. DC to have 20+ characters, download support

Jason Dobson — 2008-07-16T22:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Fighting, E3

Even cynics like us have to admit at least a passing curiosity with the nerd orgasm that is Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe and its cross-universe roster. Earlier today we approached the game's production coordinator, Hector Sanchez, and while he would not let us in on the game's complete lineup, he admitted that the team is looking to feature between 20 to 25 characters, "split up evenly half and half, and then split up again between heroes and villains."

Additionally, while talking about possible alternate costumes or other unlockables, Sanchez told us that the team is "planning to support downloadable content," before stopping short and saying he "was going to say something" but couldn't. Downloadable characters seems the obvious source of his pursed lips, making us continue wondering what comic book icons will be further ground beneath the heel of Midway's floundering franchise.

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Midway at E3: Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe

Mike Schramm — 2008-07-16T16:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Features, Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Fighting, Interviews, E3

Scorpion vs. Batman. Catwoman vs. Subzero. These aren't exactly matchups players have always dreamed of, but Midway is going to do their best to cram two disparate universes into one with Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, the very first Mortal Kombat game on the next-gen systems. Here at E3, Joystiq got to sit down with Brian Lebaron, senior designer for the game, and we talked about why it's OK to set the Flash on fire, why Bizarro probably won't be in the game, and what Midway is doing to Toasty uppercut the fighting genre.

After the break, find our hands on with the game, as well as details from our chat with Lebaron. When MK vs. DC comes out, you'll finally be able to find out whether Liu Kang's kicks can catch the Flash in the jaw.

The game looks really nice so far, but "so far" is the operative phrase there -- the game is far from done. There are only six fighters in the game we played: Flash, Superman and Batman represent the comic book side, while Scorpion, Sub-zero, and Sonya are in from the MK series. Catwoman, Sheng Tsung, Captain Marvel, and Liu Kang have been announced as well, but Lebaron told us that Midway probably won't have your favorite character Zatanna in the game -- he says they're sticking pretty mainstream with their character choices for now. And unfortunately, they don't have full access to the DC Universe. "We can't do Bizarro as an alternate costume to Superman," he said as an example, "there are licensing things to deal with." But the benefit there is that by sticking to the mainstream DC superheroes, they can make sure to get all the standard moves in there, and a few more.

Case in point: Batman has a few different batarang actions -- he can either just wing one at his opponent, or actually toss it upwards off the screen, at which point it hits Subzero in the back, and pulls him in closer to Bats to start up a combo. And Mortal Kombat veterans will even find some familiar moves mixed in with the superheroes' new arsenal -- Batman has a smoke pellet teleport that's old school for MK (fall off the bottom of the screen, fall back from the top on the opponent's other side), while Flash can do the Scorpion teleport -- jump off the back of the screen, and dash around to the other side. The move sets we saw weren't anywhere near finished, but we did see an interesting mix of MK with DC.

And Midway has really innovated in a few places, most notably during throws and stage transitions (where you knock someone off one part of the stage and into another). In the past, these two experiences have been pretty passive for whoever's getting thrown or knocked away, but Midway has put in a fun counter system to break things up. Whenever you throw someone, the screen zooms in a bit and slows down, and down in the corners, you can actually see what your opponent is pressing to attack. This makes it much easier for the opposing player to counter in the middle of the action, if they know what each button counters and how to time it exactly right.

Stage transitions have the same element, with an added bonus: there's a "super meter" that builds up while fighting, and when a counter is done, your opponent can actually steal your super meter power. So there's a balance between fighting to build the super meter, and using that power before your opponent is able to counter the attack and steal the momentum. Both of those innovations definitely make what was previously a cutscene into something much more interesting.

They're also squeezing combos into the regular gameplay, as another fighting game has done -- the game will feature moves that can be "upgraded" with really tough timed button presses, i.e. hitting X in the middle of a combo at exactly the right time. Lebaron says that "even perfect players won't be able to hit it all the time."

And the other challenge Midway is facing is walking the line between treating DC superheroes like superheroes, and being as brutal as Mortal Kombat is known to be. The most well-known collision so far is the Fatalities -- as most Batman fans know, he's not much for the killing, so while seeing him stripping the spine out of someone might be cool, it's not exactly in character for the guy. Lebaron confirmed what we've heard before: that certain superheroes will perform "Brutalities" ("They might not end up being called that," says Lebaron), and severely maim opponents instead of outright killing them.

For their part, Lebaron did say that Midway is trying to push the line as much as possible, both with DC and with the ESRB (the game is set to be rated T): he showed us a Scorpion fatality against the Flash where Bart Allen (at least we saw him as Bart Allen -- when we asked Lebaron which Flash he was, Midway said they weren't choosing a certain one) fell to the ground, his costume and skin charred and burned. Lebaron said that death animation was already approved by DC, and that in the future, if DC or the ESRB has a problem with something they come up with, they'll take it back out and try it again, rather than just removing animations from the game. Villians will have fatalities for sure -- Lebaron confirmed that Catwoman, among other villains, will be killing their opponents.

The version we played was very early, but Lebaron told us that right before E3, the game went into quality assurance mode, so progress is being made (he did say that they're still tweaking the moves -- we overheard Lebaron say to someone else that the Xbox 360's D-pad was giving them problems). Online modes are "what you'd expect in a fighting game," so Superman will be able to beat up Johnny Cage from anywhere in the world. We also asked about DLC, and Lebaron said Midway would like to do it -- "add characters into the game that we didn't add for five bucks or something like that," but that they didn't have any plans yet.

All in all, MK vs. DC is shaping up pretty well -- it's headed for a release later this year, and fans of both Mortal Kombat and DC will probably find some good fun in it.

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Holy us rendered in Lego, Lego Batman!

Kevin Kelly — 2008-07-16T07:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Action, Adventure, E3

Warner Interactive's booth features both miniature and massive-iture versions of the Lego Batman characters. We first noticed that the check-in desk for Warner Bros. Interactive features teeny tiny Lego versions of Robin, Harley Quinn, Catwoman, and the Joker on display. Nifty, eh?

Well, apparently being a blogger kills your peripheral vision, so one of the fine WB show runners told us, "Turn around." Lo and behold, a gigantic version of the Lego versions of Batman and Robin, made out of... well, Lego. We wish we had the time, the skill, and the sheer amount of bricks to build things like these. Check 'em out after the jump.

Even standing on huge Lego bases! Now that's attention to detail. Plus, just check out those hands.

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The closest you can get to a Dark Knight game

Justin McElroy — 2008-07-15T20:00:00+00:00

Filed under: PC

Despite plenty of nerd chat about the upcoming film at the conference, E3 has been free of any news about an adaptation of the upcoming Batman Begins sequel, The Dark Knight. So, as heart-breaking as it is, it looks like the closest we're going to get to a Dark Knight game for the moment is free web game Gotham City Street Chase.

Luckily, this is the Batman game you've always dreamed of, with The World's Greatest Detective chasing down grenade-tossing vans while he tries to avoid oncoming traffic. Yeah, it's exactly as fun as it sounds.

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Ed Boon clarifies Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe fatalities

Ludwig Kietzmann — 2008-06-24T17:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Fighting

In a brief interview with Gamespot, Midway's Ed Boon has (once again) discussed the return of fatalities in upcoming cross-brand brawler, Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. The infamous finishing moves will be performed by all Mortal Kombatants and DC Comics villains, but not by any of DC's untarnished heroes. You know, the ones "who don't kill that often." Instead, nicer folks like The Flash will have "brutalities," moves which inflict pain upon the recipients without totally murdering them.

Of course, don't expect the levels of violence and depravity to be quite up there (down there?) with previous Mortal Kombat games, as Ed Boon mentions that this Unreal-powered showdown is still pushing a slightly Tamer boundary. "Certain animations, blood effects, and sound effects that we have in the game are really pushing the T-rating envelope," he said. We're sure gore hounds will find this worthy of debate, but we're more concerned about everything that happens before the fatality.

Let's hope E3 grants us the opportunity to beat the snot out of that smug Superman.

Gallery: Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe

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