Matt McDaniel over at Yahoo.com had the chance to talk with Marc Webb at the Wondercon. The main topic of discussion surrounded Peter Parker, and Webb’s decision to have Andrew Garfield play him.

Matt McDaniel: For you, what was the moment when you just knew that Andrew was the right guy to play Peter Parker?

Marc Webb:   We tested a lot of really talented, wonderful young actors.  And there was a moment when — I mean this sounds ridiculous, but it’s true.  We were doing a scene that’s not in the movie, where he was eating a cheeseburger and telling Gwen to like calm down or to — trying to put her at ease, while he is eating food.  And the way he ate this food — it was such a dumb task — such a dumb independent activity that you give to an actor to do, and he did it. [Laughs] I just felt like we were in a diner.  We were in the back of the soundstage and I felt like there’s something in the way he embodied and committed to that really tiny minutia — I just hadn’t seen before. I can’t explain exactly what I felt like it worked, but that was it.

And then beyond that, I just felt he was a new face.  That people didn’t have a lot of baggage [with him].  He sort of checked all the boxes. And there was this humor that he had and that he can do, and there was this emotional weight that he can do, but there’s also a physical capability that he can do.  I think the moment was just watching that over and over again.  There was something just compelling about his behavior, his physical behaviors that I thought people would really react to.  I think that there’s the language of the script, which is words, often in dialogues.  And then there’s the behavior that those words have to emerge from.  And he’s a master of understanding of what’s going on underneath the surface.

They also touched base on some of the reactions surrounding the darker portrayal of Peter Parker.

MM: What reactions have you gotten from the fans to the trailers and other footage you’ve released that have surprised you?

MW: I think initially there was a little bit of hesitation amongst the community because they didn’t know what we were doing. And when the materials — when we have gone out and showed people the materials, people have really started to warm up to us, and I think that there’s been — recently, especially since the last trailer — there’s been this real groundswell of support. And when they see Andrew and Emma, there’s something that feels new and really special about it that’s fun.

I can’t say it’s totally surprising because when we were shooting it, you could feel that we’re doing something that felt real and different and new and it had its own identity and I think people are coming around to that.

To check out the rest of the interview, head on over to Yahoo. It’s a really great read. To get you in the mood for the upcoming film, check out the International Japanese Trailer below. It has a few more shots of the Lizard as well as a little more story tying Connors to Peter’s parents.

Spider-Man has one of the best collections of villains ever concocted. Sure there are terrible ones, for every Scorpion, there’s a Hypno Hustler lurking around the corner. When it comes to A-listers though, Spidey has some really good opposite numbers. I wanted to spotlight my personal favorite today. Sure the Green Goblin usually gets top billing as Spidey’s #1 nemesis, but that didn’t happen until he decided to get all personal and murder Gwen Stacy. Before that, the Web-head’s best baddie was always considered to be the guy you see above. He of the bowl cut and multiple appendages, the one, the only Doctor Octopus!

As our story commences, Spidey is on a routine patrol when he comes across some nameless miscreants. Spidey makes such short work of them, that he laments his lot in life. He longs for a villain that can give him a run for his money. I guess that whole “power and responsibility” thing kind of slipped your mind there for a bit, Pete. At this point we leave the cocky web-spinner and cut to one of the many, many nuclear research facilities that existed in the early Marvel Universe. We’re introduced to a man named Otto who with a special harness can well, harness the awesome might of nuclear energy. This apparatus has already earned him the nickname of Dr. Octopus!

"So you see, you put the lime IN the coconut and drink them both together!"

As these things usually go, something goes horribly awry and Octavius is caught in a bit of an explosion. Taken from the wreckage, it is discovered that the good doctor is alive, albeit with a great deal of radiation absorbed into his body. If you think that means he’s slowly dying anyway, you’ve never read a Marvel comic! Welcome to the blog, by the way! Anyway, what the radiation actually does is fuse the arms to Otto’s body somehow. This is comics, we don’t need real science to explain awesome things! As it is, Ock’s brain is also been a bit addled. When he wakes int he hospital some time later, he assumes he is being imprisoned for his vast intellect. Because of this, he lashes out, and finds that the arms now respond to his mental commands rather than clunky analog controls. That’s right, Doc Ock has bluetooth arms, apparently! Of course being the fresh off the operating table maniacal genius he is, Doc Ock decides to just take over the whole damn hospital. Although he does it in a hilarious way.

Thank you Comics Code for keeping the door shut.

Meanwhile a the Daily Bugle, J. Jonah Jameson assigns Peter Parker to get some pictures of the scientist. All they know at this point is that no one is being admitted to the hospital. Actually, the whys and wherefores don’t matter. It’s a good excuse to get Spider-Man on the scene! When the titanic teen stumbles across Doc Ock hassling the staff and generally being a bad guy, he jumps through the window, itching for action! What follows is quite a heated battle that introduces many staples to the Doc Ock/Spidey mythos, such as Spidey getting punched by a tentacle and the hero subsequently webbing the arms up. Sadly for the webhead, the battle is not in his favor. In fact, Doctor Octopus makes such short work of the hero, he adds insult to injury by not even bothering to remember Spidey’s name…

At least he remembered the hyphen?

So, after this exchange, Doc Ock literally slaps Spidey around for a bit, and then tosses him out of the 3rd story window like so much garbage. This leaves Peter devastated, as this was his first ever defeat. His confidence is shaken so much, that he goes home as Peter, not Spider-Man. Meanwhile, Doc Ock takes this opportunity to leave the hospital before the police arrive. In the interval, he goes to yet another nuclear research facility (told you there were a lot), and takes it over as well. Thinking himself invincible, Octopus takes the time to gloat.

"Now to resume my vaguely threatening experiments in... RADIATION!"

Cut back to teenage Peter Parker who is being incredibly mopey just because he got his webbed behind handed to him. He goes through his daily routine of getting picked on in school. Not even the promise of the Human Torch coming to school to give a speech can rouse his spirits. In fact, if he wasn’t so mopey, he’d be on the verge of heckling the Torch, thinking it’s easy to exude confidence if you’ve never been defeated. As the Torch’s demonstration continues though, a chord is struck within Pete that truly galvanizes the young lad into action.

No snark here, just a great sequence by Ditko.

As soon as classes for the day end (Peter is responsible, after all.), Spider-Man gets ready to take the fight back to Ock. We even see the first use of the web-catapult to get Spidey past Doc Ock’s defenses. While inside the facility, though, surveillance devices track the web head’s every move. Using his innate cleverness and the trusty ‘ol spider-sense, he manages to evade detection and makes his way to the chem lab. Methinks our young hero has a clever plan.

"Wow! You really DO put the lime in the coconut!"

Spidey finishes his concoction just in time as he is then ambushed by Doc Ock. Using his newly created chemical formula, Web Head manages to fuse two of Ock’s arms together! Doctor Octopus is having none of it though, and still advances on Spidey, backing him into a wall. Worse yet, the arms that got fused together now give Ock a formidable club to smash spiders with! Spider-Man is running out of options, and decides to make a desperate gambit. He manages to web Ock’s glasses to his face, but the arms don’t need eyes to bludgeon the young hero, so that plan was a bit futile.  Ock gets the webbing off of his face and is about to deliver the coup de grâce. Spidey makes one last attempt to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat with his handy spider speed.

"Wow, if I had just HIT him, I could have avoided all of this unpleasantness!"

So, getting by with the skin of his teeth, Spidey wraps the unconscious Doc Ock in copious amounts of webbing and leaves him for the cops, because of course they’ll be able to handle him now that the dirty work is done. While Ock is defeated, this origin tale does a superb job in establishing that he is more than a match for the webbed wonder. In subsequent appearances, Octopus would go on to become a proto-Kingpin as the Crime Master, the de facto leader of the Sinister Six, among other things. Possibly the worst offense was when he very nearly became Peter’s new uncle when he wooed Aunt May. Currently, Ock is kind of a mess, with a debilitating disease leaving him a dying husk. That doesn’t have him down though, he still has the entire world in the palm in his hands with his current machinations.  Over the years, Doctor Octopus has been all over the map in terms of his place in Spidey’s pantheon of villains, but he’ll always be my number 1, thanks in most part to this story here.

This tale was originally printed in Amazing Spider-Man #3, July 1963. It has been re-published too many times to count, notably in Essential Spider-Man Vol. 1 and Marvel Masterworks: Spider-Man Vol. 1. It is also available digitally.

This is traditionally a slow time of year for games and this year will be no exception. There are definitely some good titles on the horizon, but they aren’t as prolific as you’d expect from fourth quarter. I’m hoping that in the future publishers will come to the same realization film distributors are finally reaching, that media doesn’t have seasons. We want to play (or watch) all year long. Just like blockbusters don’t have to open in July to make money, games don’t have to launch in October or November to become best sellers.

4/3/12

I can’t write for Big Shiny Robot! and not say the first thing that’s going to be awesome this quarter is Kinect Star Wars. I have to say it with some trepidation though as I haven’t seen much of it in action and most of the hands-on previews I’ve read have mentioned the janky control. But, it’s Star Wars! There are no bonuses anywhere I could find, so get it wherever is the most convenient or offers the best deal for you.

4/17/12

If you’re not a PC gamer but love RPGs, you may have found yourself wishing you could play The Witcher 2: Assassins Of Kings for months. At long last it’s coming to console, but only for XBox 360. Like most ports, preorder bonuses are kind of nonexistent. However, Amazon is offering a digital copy of The Witcher comic.

4/24/12

Prototype 2 will come with a free upgrade to the RADNET Edition regardless of where you preorder. But, if you get it from GameStop you’ll score an extra finishing move, the Bio-Bomb Butt Kicker. Amazon will give you the Prototype 2 digital comic. Best Buy has a vehicle armor bonus.

5/1/12

Sure, it will have been out on consoles for over a year, but the touch screen controls they’re adding to Mortal Kombat for Vita look like it may actually be enjoyable for fighting game cripples like myself. Again, no preorder bonuses that I’ve seen.

5/15/12

Say goodbye to the PC gamers in your life. They’ve been waiting YEARS for Diablo III. Once again, no preorder bonuses, but the people buying this one don’t need any. Remember though that this won’t have the PvP available on day one. That will be coming via patch at a later date. Blizzard was just ready to get the game out and didn’t want that one mode slowing it down any further. Get your looting fingers limbered.

If you’re not a PC gamer though, Rockstar’s launching Max Payne 3 today as well. They are offering preorder bonuses. GameStop will give you the Cemetery Multiplayer Map. Amazon has the Deadly Force Burst, which will give your bullets more damage in multiplayer. If you order by April 15th at either of those places, you also get the in-game Pill Bottle Loadout. Best Buy is offering the first multiplayer expansion for free. I’m a little unclear on whether that’s the same Cemetery map GameStop is offering.

5/22/12

XBox 360 got the first mention this quarter with a questionable recommendation. Now it’s PS3’s turn with Sorcery. This looks very interesting and built a lot of excitement when it was first announced. It’s since gone through a serious visual change. I’m still not completely sold on the motion control concept, but this could easily be the first Move title that convinces me it was worth my investment.

6/5/12

Inversion is the kind of title that could easily get a lost in a different time of year. Just another reason to avoid the “gaming season” release schedule. Too many games at once means a few good games will go unnoticed. A third person shooter with gravity controlling mechanics has just enough possibility to be interesting. I would be extremely excited for this if it weren’t coming from Namco Bandai. I’m just not sure I trust them enough with the controls for something that could be very complicated. For me, it’s definitely a rent before I buy, but still something I will be playing. Of course that means I’ll miss out on the Verge or Riot multiplayer maps with a preorder from GameStop and Best Buy, respectively.

6/12/12

If Gravity Rush meets expectations, this could be the title that sells me on the PS Vita. Like Inversion this one has you tweaking gravity and physics. I’ve heard this compared to Portal but I’m not sure I understood the explanation of that analogy. The cel-shaded graphics look incredible and it actually uses the motion controls of tilting the Vita in a way that makes sense, not just using the technology simply because it’s there. But that’s not the only notable title this week.

Full consoles players may be more interested in Lollipop Chainsaw. It’s Suda51 and Grasshopper Manufacture, so don’t expect it to make sense. If you don’t know what this one is: cute cheerleader being guided by her boyfriend’s dismembered head as she attempts to reclaim her school, San Romero High, from zombies… with a chainsaw. If that hasn’t sold you then you clearly don’t understand the beauty of ridiculousness. Your retailer determines your preorder costume: Jimmy Urine and Evil Dead‘s Ash from GameStop, Rockabilly from Amazon, and Foxy Funk and Goth Girl from Best Buy.

6/19/12

Come on, if you didn’t think I was going to highlight LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes you’re on the wrong site. Somewhere out there is still someone who thinks the LEGO games are silly time wasters for children. They are. But they’re also incredibly fun and I’ve enjoyed every one of them (except Pirates of the Caribbean but that’s only because I haven’t gotten to it yet). If the LEGOs aren’t enough reason to play it, this one also has Batman! And not just Batman, but Superman, Green Lantern and tons of other DC characters as well. Multitudes of characters are definitely one of the highlights of this series. Unfortunately, they don’t tend to do much with preorder incentives. GameStop is offering a Lex Luthor minifig though.

6/26/12

This was kind of a tough week to pare down to a single highlight. The Amazing Spiderman movie tie-in is releasing this week (and hopefully won’t suck like most movie games). LittleBigPlanet for PS Vita is also tentative. Darksiders II gets the nod for the showcase solely because it has preorder incentives and that’s the point of this column. Argul’s Tomb looks to be a standard pack in at all retailers. Additionally GameStop is giving you the Death Rides expansion pack with multiple side quests. Amazon has the Deadly Despair pack which will speed up Death’s mount, Despair, to get you across the massive map faster.

That’ll finish out the quarter. As always, release dates and incentives are subject to change.

We all know the Mass Effect 3 ending has been somewhat controversial. It’s been a little troublesome to discuss while avoiding spoilers as the game is still new. Late last week Arse-bot decided it was time to blow this wide open, and spoilers be damned. If you’re ready to hear the ending (his version at least, which was very similar to mine) and discuss the controversy he’s got two great articles. The first simply describes the ending as he saw it and will let you in on the questions he had as it happened. The second is a little more in-depth about why so many people are disappointed with the ending and includes a few theories about what’s really happening. Remember though, both of these are chock full of spoilers. If you’re not done yet and you don’t want to how it ends, don’t read them.

Other than that, this weekend’s news was solid, if not prolific:

If you dig the fantasy genre, reading or gaming, you’ll want to check out Mistborn: Birthright late next year on PS3, 360, PC, and Mac. Little Orbit, who is also working on a Young Justice game, is developing this prequel to Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn saga of books. Sanderson is writing the story, which takes place four hundred years before the first novel about metal eating wizards. Yeah, it sounds a little bizarre, but it’s a very creative world and one of the reasons Sanderson has been called “one of the most popular new fantasy writers to emerge in the last ten years.” In addition to Mistborn, he’s also written the successful Stormlight novels, handled story development on Infinity Blade II, and is finishing the final novel in Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time.

Battlefield 3 will be getting a stout patch on PS3 today. Patches for PC and 360 will be detailed soon. For the full rundown, check Battlefield’s site as this thing is far too massive to cover completely in this space. If you don’t need all the details, suffice to say I counted 21 general gameplay fixes, 67 vehicle fixes, 71 weapon tweaks, 11 scope adjustments, three bipod, five heavy barrel, four IRNV, two foregrip, two laser sight, four suppressor, three flash suppressor, 21 gadgets, seven team deathmatch, and four on squad death match. In addition, you’ll now be able to turn off anti-aliasing on the PS3 to reduce lag, and the minimap will now be more clear. This update will also include the “rent-a-server- program mentioned a few weeks ago, which allows PS3 players to host their own servers with their own rules, similar to the PC options that have been around for years.

At least three different editions seem to be coming for Assassins’ Creed III this October. The “Freedom Edition” looks to be top dog with a 24cm Connor figurine, steelbook case, George Washington’s notebook about the Templar/Assassin war, lithograph, two single player missions with additional weapons (Lost Mayan Ruins that unlocks Captain Kidd’s sword, and Ghost of War that unlocks the Pontiac’s War Club), and the multiplayer Sharpshooter package (new character, one relic, one emblem, special picture, and the title of “The Jester”).

The “Join or Die Edition” has a little less of the good stuff, but still looks great. This one includes Connor’s medallion, George Washington’s notebook, the Ghost of War mission, and the Sharpshooter package.

Finally, there’s the “Special Edition.” This one is fairly basic, coming with a special package and a bonus mission, “A Dangerous Secret,” that scores you a Flintlock Musket. It’s worth noting, as you’ll see the PEGI 18 rating logo in the pics, that I got the assets from a UK announcement. Ubisoft didn’t bring the specials from Revelations to the US, but this game is set in colonial America so I’m expecting some form of each of these will be available in the US as well. If not, serious collectors may want to import. Also, while pricing was not announced I’d like to make my predictions (in US dollars). The “Special Edition” will likely be a free upgrade for preorders, meaning the bonus mission and Sharpshooter stuff is actually going to be unlockable with the online pass. The “Join or Die Edition” strikes me as a typical $80 package. That 24cm figurine is what’s going to boost the cost on the “Freedom Edition.” I’d expect $120.

If you’re a Call of Duty fan (despite internet bitching, the sales numbers would indicate you probably are), you might be interested to know that the Robert Bowling announced he’s moving on yesterday. Bowling was the Creative Strategist for Infinity Ward and was generally the public face of Modern Warfare. Making the announcement on Twitter, Bowling said “Today, I resign from my position as Creative Strategist of Call of Duty, as a lead of Infinity Ward, and as an employee of Activision.” He didn’t mention where he’s headed or what’s next in his career. Activision responded in a positive manner, stating “We sincerely thank Robert for his many years of service. He’s been a trusted and valued member of the Infinity Ward team. We wish him all the best on his decision to pursue future opportunities.” Seems like an amicable departure. It will be interesting to see where this move takes Bowling and the franchise that’s benefited from his contributions.

Cover art for the film tie-in of The Amazing Spider-Man has been revealed. That little graphic in the top corner quietly announced something Beenox hadn’t mentioned yet, Move compatibility. I can’t confirm Kinect compatibility, but it stands to reason. Right? If we don’t get details first, we’ll find out exactly what the compatibility means (punching, swinging, silly dance numbers with Gwen Stacy?) when the game launches on June 26th.

Don’t forget, it’s time again to vote for the cover athlete on this year’s Madden NFL 13. Voting is going on now at ESPN.com. Ticelli Bot has more details on the process, who’s in the running, and a clever mock-up of what the cover would be if ALL of the finalists made it.

Finally, with April just around the corner, Sony has announced the month’s PlayStation Plus bonuses. It’s not the best month I’ve seen, but it’s still a good offering. First, you’ll get a demo for House of the Dead 4 and early access to the closed beta on Ghost Recon Future Soldier. There’s also Shank 2 (PSN), Shift 2 Unleashed (PS3), Silent Hill (PSOne), and Frogger Returns (PSN) for free. In the minis department, Canabalt, Farm Frenzy, and Mystic Garden will be available. As usual, there will be a pile of avatars, themes, discounted DLC, and several full game trials – including Saints’ Row: The Third and Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition.

Sony released a viral video to promote The Amazing Spider-Man.

I’ve been trying to get the phone number to work, but I’ve got nothing but a busy signal for the last hour.

WIll this campaign lead to something as cool as The Dark Knight? Only time will tell, but it’s worth investigating.

In addition to the phone number, the video also brings you to a site called “The Webbed Menace.”

It’s time to do some exploring…

Saturday, April 1st, DisneyXD and Marvel TV will premiere Ultimate Spider-Man, an “ultimate” cartoon version of our friendly-neighborhood webslinger. Color me excited, since this will be paired with one of the best cartoons ever, Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.

Here’s a quick trailer, courtesy of our friends at the House of Ideas:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFRXos7-rr4

From Marvel:

Can’t wait until April 1st to catch your favorite Super Hero in action? Check out Marvel’s new Ultimate Spider-Man trailer debuting on Marvel.com! Watch as Nick Fury offers Spider-Man the biggest opportunity of his life: to join S.H.I.E.L.D., take on evil villains, and learn what it takes to become the ULTIMATE Spider-Man.  Get a fresh look at Spidey’s action-packed adventures, new Spidey Tech, and special guest stars to excite fans and bring everyone’s favorite Wallcrawler to the small screen like never before!  The series premieres April 1 at 11am/10c inside Marvel Universe on Disney XD!
And if you’re at WonderCon in Anaheim this weekend, you can be among the first to go inside Marvel Universe when Head of Marvel TV, Jeph Loeb presents the series premiere of Ultimate Spider-Man, and the Season 2 premiere of The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, as well as  a look at future Marvel Universe series! Join us for “Marvel Television Presents from 12:00 – 1:00p in Room 213ABCD.

Pretty awesome, eh?

I caught a sneak peek of this at SXSW this weekend, and it looks amazing. While I have to hold my official review until April 1st, let me give you some highlights:

This is not Ultimate Spider-Man like the Ultimate comics. There’s some twists.

However, Ultimate Spidey scribe Brian Michael Bendis is helping on the show– part of what head of Marvel TV Jeph Loeb referred to in their panel as “the Murderer’s Row of animation.” This includes animation giants Paul Dini and “Man of Action”– the team behind Ben 10 and Generator Rex.  I think you can see a lot of their influence in the USM trailer above.

It’s so good, it makes me less excited for Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. And that’s saying something.

Premiere episode “With Great Power…” premieres April 1st on Disney XD.  Be there. And don’t forget to check out the Ultimate Spider-Man tie-in comic that premieres on Free Comic Book Day which Kill-tacular-tron wrote about here.

This morning I got an email from Petsmart. It was the most wonderful email. Vintage Marvel toys and clothes for my dogs! There has been Marvel stuff for dogs before but it was from Tokidoki and was stupidly expensive. $80 for some dog clothes? No. Just no. $6? Yup sure enough. I planned to get my ass down to the store as soon as I could. Without even talking all day Arse-bot had the same plans and sent me a picture of the Avengers Bandana he got for his dog. For folks like us this is great. I will buy my dogs stupid stuff anyway but now it has Marvel characters on them. I can play tug of war with a Hulk Hand, and I’ve changed my dogs into superheroes! If you want to spoil your dogs with some Marvel branded fun get down to Petsmart before April 22nd when they take it off the shelves.

February has passed us by and March is marching in, bringing with it the long overdue snow in northern Utah. If we can just keep the roads clear on Tuesday until after I’m home with my copy of Mass Effect 3 then it’s welcome to snow for the next five days. I won’t be leaving my basement as I prepare the galaxy for war against the Reapers.

Meantime, there’s still news from this week to cover. The top story, as far as I’m concerned has already been well covered by Wrath.o.Tron. If you haven’t read his reveal on Assassin’s Creed III yet, do it now. There’s a lot we don’t know, but that art work answers the biggest question of when and where this game will take place. It looks like plenty more will be exposed next week so stay tuned. For now, release is still planned for October 30, 2012.

When it comes to DLC expansions, it’s hard to please everyone. Is an extra two hours of missions worth $10? How about $5 for two new costumes? Someone always thinks there’s too much extra content to buy while someone else thinks they need even more. Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is set for its first major DLC, “The Legend of Dead Kel,” on March 20th and they definitely seem to be erroring on the side of too big. No word yet on pricing (rumored to be $10), but the expansion is a whole new continent, Gallows End! As you’d expect with a new content, you’ll be finding new dungeons, new enemies, and additional options for player housing. According to EA, “‘The Legend of Dead Kel’ is only part of the story of Gallows End. It intertwines with numerous side quests, multiple dungeons to explore and a colorful cast of characters.”

It seems it’s been a while since we’ve heard about an HD collection release of a classic from last generation. Are they tapped out? Of course not, as this week’s reminder of Zone of the Enders HD Collection clearly shows. This was originally announced by Konami alongside Metal Gear Solid HD Collection and Silent Hill HD Collection but has been missing from the news reels ever since. The collection will bundle remastered versions of the two games. A formal release date was not announced, but it has been narrowed down to Fall 2012.

While we’re on the subject, remember when Silent Hill HD Collection got delayed back in January. Supposedly the new release date was going to be given later the same week, but that never happened. Originally scheduled for March 6th, the game is now set for release two weeks later on March 20th. This collection bundles HD remasters of Silent Hill 2 and 3.

Rumors for the next Final Fantasy XIII-2 DLC are springing up. Three new Coliseum battles are reportedly in the cards: Gilgamesh from FF V, Jihl Nabaat from FF XIII, and an unnamed character from FF VI. All three are just rumors, but it also looks like Gilgamesh will be added to your monster party when you win the battle. I’ve played and enjoyed several of the FF titles but I’ve never been a superfan. I’m actually in the midst of playing FF V for the first time as a PSOne Classic on my PSP but I haven’t run into this Gilgamesh character yet. I do remember seeing him in other games though.

Ah, video games cameos. Perfect transition. Guess who’s going to show up in The Amazing Spider-Man video game? Who else, but Smilin’ Stan Lee. Will it be a walk on cameo role like he’ll surely have in the upcoming film? Not according to Lee himself. Speaking to a fan at the London Super Comic Convention, Stan says he’ll be aplayable character in the game. What this means is anybody’s guess, but the prevailing thought is that the super-octogenarian will be a skin-swap for Spidey himself.

Have you heard of Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit, an upcoming PSN title? I have no idea what to make of this game, but the lunatic concept has me sold already. The lead character is Ash, a devil rabbit and prince of Hell. Ash is apparently hunting dow Fat Rabbit, a rival who posted Ash’s sexy pictures on the Hellternet. The game, coming to PSN, XBLA, and PC from SEGA later this year, will apparently have customizable weapons and loads of cartoon gore. An idea this wacky is either going to be brilliant, or incredibly disappointing. I’m hoping for brilliance, obviously.

“Battle for Earth,” the third expansion for DC Universe Online, has been announced for release on March 13th. This latest expansion brings in one of the most deadly foes of DC lore, Brainiac. The add-on also introduces Wonder Woman’s home of Themyscira and new Earth powers. As with the last two DLC packs, Legendary subscribers will have free access. Free or Premium subscribers will be spending $9.99 for the extra content.

Finally, a few quick release updates to finish out the week.

Gravity Rush, one of the most interesting Vita titles overseas has been given a US release date of June 12th. You’ll have the option for a physical, retail card or digital download.

Time Machine: Rogue Pilot is releasing to PSN on March 13th. Price is still unannounced but is said to be “just a few bucks.” The puzzle adventure game will have a demo available and is also coming to PC.

For baseball fans, Sony is showing their hand a bit on promoting games for both PS3 and Vita. The first will be MLB 12 The Show. According to Sony, buying both versions in the same transaction at any retailer will save you $20 (PS3 for $60 + Vita for $40 = $100 – $20 = $80 for both). Why do you need both? “You can transfer your Season, Franchise, or Road to the Show mode save files between your PS3 and PS Vita anywhere at any time through the PlayStation Network.” This seems like a good step forward for releases on both platforms. The weak link looks to be the retailers, will they be savvy enough to understand the promotion? Going forward, how will third parties respond to and continue the concept?

That does it for this week. Remember to come back next week for the big reveal coverage on Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed III. Tuesday’s post will likely be scatter-brained lunacy as my excitement for Mass Effect 3 overhwelms my circuits. But that also means I’ll have my first impressions of the game included in next Friday’s VGQH.

Following up on the bizarre promo shot we had recently, three DLC packs have been announced for Asura’s Wrath. The first two will fill some gaps between chapters in the main game. The third will feature Asura fighting the stars of the Street Fighter universe, including Ryu as seen in that promo. No release date for the DLC has been announced, but there shouldn’t be any hurry considering the main game was only released on Tuesday this week.

The Vita hype continues as Capcom has announced they’ll be bringing Street Fighter x Tekken to the new handheld. In typical Capcom fashion, the game hasn’t even released on consoles yet and it’s already got an expanded version planned. The Vita version will include an additional 12 fighters, on top of the PS3 exclusives (Cole McGrath, Kuro, Toru, Pac-Man and 80s cover Mega Man) already on the roster. From the Street Fighter side they’ll be adding Blanka, Cody, Dudley, Elena, Guy and Sakura. Alisa Bosconovitch, Bryan Fury, Christie Monteiro, Jack, Lars Alexandersson, and Lei Wulong join the Tekken side of the crew. These fighters could also be coming to consoles via DLC an/or an expanded retail version. The console version is heading to stores on March 6th. The Vita version is scheduled for Fall 2012.

Speaking of March 6th, Mass Effect 3 is coming. The N7 Collector’s Edition seems to be sold out virtually everywhere so if you didn’t preorder it already you’re probably out of luck. But it’s okay. The bonus character and other add-on content that comes with collector’s edition will be available as day one DLC for $10 in the “From Ashes” add-on. This works well for me as I only recently tried to upgrade my preorder to no avail. I had initially passed on the N7 edition thinking all of the stuff I wanted would eventually be available for about $10 and I didn’t want to spend the extra $10 on an art book and fancy case that I didn’t need. I started second-guessing myself when I realized most of my purchase was being paid for by trade-ins. As it turns out, not only was I right initially, but I don’t even have to wait for the release of the extras. Now if only someone wanted to give me their N7 patch….

Do you want to get your copy of Mass Effect 3 early? Do you live in Las Vegas, New York, London, Paris, or Berlin? Starting yesterday in San Francisco, copies of the game will be sent into the upper atmosphere on a weather balloon then dropping back to the surface for a lucky fan to find. Today’s Las Vegas launch is happening between 7-10AM. Additional locations and their release dates are New York (2/25), London (2/27), Paris (2/28), and Berlin (2/29). These copies will also include a special fan package for the lucky hunter. If you’re looking to be one of the two fans that will score a copy (360 or PS3) you’ll want to create an EA online account and follow the GPS data. Then lace up your running shoes.

Borderlands 2 has finally been given a release date, September 18, 2012. Not only does a release date mean you can start preordering, but Gearbox already wants to encourage it. Preorders get a bump to the “Premiere Club.” This nets you a whole collection of additional weapons in the Gearbox Gun Pack, a Golden Key to unlock a rare item in the Golden Sanctuary Loot Chest, and access to the Vault Hunter’s Relic to boost your fortune. If you loved the first game, like so many others, go put your five dollars down now.

In case you missed it, the first DLC for Neverdead hit the download services earlier this week for $3.99. The second pack is scheduled for next week, presumably at the same price. While the first add-on gave you Nikki Summerfield as a playable character, the next pack brings NADA Chief Sullivan. The new pack will also include three new modes: Egg Hunt, Fragile Alliance, and Onslaught.

Another game I’ve been eyeballing since it’s announcement, solely because of the descriptive title, is Shoot Many Robots. Gameplay doesn’t look exceptional, but it does look good. P. Walter Tugnut is on a mission to shoot many robots. He’ll have lots of weapon customization and frantic destruction. Anyway, I mention it again only because it’s been given an official release date, March 13, 2012. Pricing looks to be about $10. As always, members of the Big Shiny Robot! team do not condone, and will usually discourage, the actual shooting of robots.

The next Medal of Honor game has finalyl been announced. Tier 1 fans should be dancing right now, but you may want to slow down just a bit. I realize it’s just a subtitle, but could they pick anything more bland than Medal of Honor: Warfighter? [Cue the franchise bashing for CoD.] For fans of the series there is one important development to watch. As with the last game, Danger Close is developing using DICE’s Frostbite 2.0 engine. Unlike the last game, Danger Close is also developing their own multiplayer, not DICE. This may not mean much, but multiplayer is a key feature for any military shooter and a change in developer will likely bring a significant change to the feel of it. Could be good, bad, or negligible, but it’s definitely something to watch. We’ll know more when it releases in October, but you can get a good look at it next month in OXM.

It’s been a while since EA released an NBA game, following the cancellation on NBA Elite 11 some time ago. The goal has always been to return to the franchise when they felt the innovation and development had reached an acceptable level. It seems that time has come. According to an announcement on EA.com, “We have a new studio and a new development team, and this fall we’ll launch an all-new experience that captures the future of basketball with NBA Live 13.” They’ve promised more details on Monday. Frankly, I hope this does well. Not because EA needs yet another blockbuster sprots franchise, but because I think it’s a model that should be used in more sports games. I would probably buy a football game more often than every seven years if they were only released every two or three. Why not release Madden every three years at $60 with annual roster updates for $20 via DLC? You may not see as much net profit, but it would go further in innovating and creating better games in the long run. You’d lose annual buyers, but you’d be getting more buyers like me to counter.

Knowing there’s a Spidey film reboot upcoming means knowing there’s a game to coincide. Actually, that doesn’t take brilliant deductive work, we’ve already covered the announcement The Amazing Spider-Man weeks ago. But if you were curious when it was releasing, besides very close to the same time as the movie, know that it will be June 26th. The film is coming on . In case you want some details on the game, too bad. Nothing substantial is announced yet, but it does have Rhino.

If you’re the kind of gamer that enjoys competitive multiplayer but could care less about single player campaigns, then Sony has a deal for you. The Killzone 3 multiplayer modes and maps will be coming as a standaone product to PSN next week. The package will come in two versions. The free to play option will let you play all of the maps, but will stick you with an XP limit and level cap. To remove the limit and access the skill tree beyond the level cap will be $15.

Personally, I’m not much of one for art books with my games. Maybe I’m just not classy enough, or perhaps my attention span is such that I’d rather play with the pretty thing than look at it. Which probably explains why I keep getting stomped by the bouncers at strip clubs. Regardless, if art books are your thing, but you don’t want to spend the extra $10-20 for a Collector’s Edition, take a look at preordering the upcoming Game of Thrones RPG. Supplies are limited, and they’re only available at select retailers, but the 64 page, full color, hard bound books will be free of charge with your preorder. The game is out May 15th, but if you want the art book I’d get that preorder in now.

On April 1st the first episode of Ultimate Spider-Man will air on Disney XD. While I am very excited to hear my favorite comic book is getting turned into a television series, the fact that it’s on Disney worries me. Ultimate Spider-Man is a pretty mature comic with lots of mature themes. Sure, at the heart of the comic is a teenager in tights saving New Yorkers from criminals. But for me, the stuff that really makes the comic shine are those not-so-kiddy conversations. For instance, the issue where Peter and MJ discuss wether or not they should consummate their relationship.

That said, I am very interested to see how they handle this. Spectacular Spider-Man was a really amazing rendition of Spider-Man on the small screen. Keeping this character alive on television is just another great way to introduce lots of young folks to the wonderful world of comics. Spider-Man: The Animated Series is what introduced me to the Marvel universe. It’s probably a big part of the reason I read comics today.

On Free Comic Book Day, Marvel is releasing an introduction to this television series via comic book. Kinda funny, creating a new comic to kick off a TV series based off of another comic book. Press release is included below:

The most-anticipated new show of 2012 is almost here—Ultimate Spider-Man swings into the Marvel Universe block on Disney XD on April 1, giving fans of all ages a whole new look at the world’s greatest Super Hero! But you can get your first look at this all-new animated series in Ultimate Spider-Man Premiere, a screen capture comic book adaptation of the premiere episode, utilizing the same story and art you’ll see on the small screen, but presented like you won’t see anywhere else. This comic is perfect for fans of all ages and a must-have item to have in stock for Free Comic Book Day!

Retailers, check the Marvel Mailer and Diamond Daily for more information on Ultimate Spider-Man Premiere (NOV118181), arriving in stores March 28.