Let’s just start this one off right:

If you don’t know why Joker looks like he has leprosy it’s because you didn’t finish the first game. Before pre-ordering Batman: Arkham City you should remedy that. No actual news comes with this new screen shot, but when it’s this awesome do you need words too?

Zombietron’s got the details, but allow me to summarize. If you hacked your PS3, your time with PSN is done. Your renewed agreement to the Terms of Service spells it out. It’s up to you to decide if you want to pirate games or access the Playstation Network. Considering how affordable Gamefly is, I’m sticking with PSN access.

If you’ve been anxiously awaiting a reason to put Castlevania: Lords of Shadow back into your disc drive, wait a little longer. “Reverie,” the first chapter of DLC planned for the game has been delayed until March. The second chapter, “Resurrection,” is also scheduled for next month. No word yet if that one will be delayed as well. “Resurrection” takes place after the main game’s ending; “Reverie” has you playing as Laura (an enemy from the main chapter).

In better DLC news, Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood is giving you a reason to reenter the memories of Ezio Auditore. Taking place after the fall of the Borgias, “The Da Vinci Disappearance” (March 2011) has Ezio looking for stolen paintings in an attempt to rescue Leonardo from the Hermeticists. We are promised two new locations and gameplay features and ten more Achievements/Trophies. A multiplayer component is also included. You’ll get four new characters, a Spanish map, and two new game modes. “Escort” has two teams of four protecting/assassinating a VIP. “Assassinate” is a ten minute deathmatch with six to eight players. Sounds like a good package for $10 (or equivalent points).

If you love Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, you also get good news on the DLC front, to the tune of three DLC packs in three weeks, at $7/each. “Armed and Dangerous” hits PSN and XBLA next week, bringing two new online modes. “Lamborghini Untamed” follows with three new cars from the Italian automaker and ten events. Finally, “Porsche Unleashed” also adds three new cars and ten more events.

If you haven’t already signed up for Playstation Plus (I haven’t), you may want to reconsider that decision (I am). Not only did they just give members Stacking for free, but now Sony is giving you some old school Genesis/MegaDrive fun at no cost as well. Sonic the Hedgehog (1&2), Streets of Rage 2, Golden Axe 2, Comix Zone, and Altered Beast will be slowly trickling onto the PSN through out the summer, starting March 1st. The games will be available to standard PSN users for $4.99 each. I should note, however, that Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection from a couple years ago already has all of these games and then some, for about half the price.

Somehow I’ve managed to miss The Darkness for the last four years. Too many great games in the meantime I guess. For those who didn’t miss it and are anxiously awaiting the sequel, I have good news. The Darkness 2 is scheduled for Fall 2011, and Mike Patton of Faith No More will be back as the voice of the Darkness.

As if Fall 2011 wasn’t crowded enough already, the world’s second-greatest detective will be popping up as well. The next step in the renaissance of Doyle’s most hated creation is The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Testament of Sherlock. Focus Home Interactive is publishing the Frogwares-developed title. [For some reason I initially typed the developer as Frogshark, which is a much better name.] Can’t say I really know much about either company but the story synopsis sounds intriguing. Sherlock is accused of a multitude of crimes and is attempting to clear his name. Of course, his skulking, evidence-destroying behavior has even Watson doubting him. Based on the extraordinarily long title it’s safe to assume they plan on this being the first of many Sherlock games.

And now for the news that may blow your minds. Telltale Games (Monkey Island, Sam & Max) has apparently worked a deal to make games for two things Big Shiny Robot! loves, The Walking Dead and Fables. I’ve got very little info on Fables, but Robert Kirkman has spoken a little about The Walking Dead. The deal is for mutliple years, multiple titles, and multiple platforms. It’s sounding like episodic content (which makes sense considering Telltale’s recent history) based on the comic more than the TV show. Telltale recently started releasing the downloadable episodic game based on Back to the Future. Does this mean regular zombie episodes written by Kirkman are hitting PSN and XBLA starting 4th quarter 2011? If true, this might be my most-anticipated game of the year.

Today in our regular surfing of the Playstation Blog we came across this snippit of information regarding what Sony refers to as “circumvention devices”. Don’t worry your wife is still safe to be on birth control and they won’t steal away your internet gamings, however, Sony did release this statement.

Notice: Unauthorized circumvention devices for the PlayStation 3 system have been recently released by hackers. These devices permit the use of unauthorized or pirated software. Use of such devices or software violates the terms of the “System Software License Agreement for the PlayStation 3 System” and the “Terms of Services and User Agreement” for the PlayStation Network/Qriocity and its Community Code of Conduct provisions. Violation of the System Software Licence Agreement for the PlayStation 3 System invalidates the consumer guarantee for that system. In addition, copying or playing pirated software is a violation of International Copyright Laws. Consumers using circumvention devices or running unauthorized or pirated software will have access to the PlayStation Network and access to Qriocity services through PlayStation 3 system terminated permanently.
To avoid this, consumers must immediately cease use and remove all circumvention devices and delete all unauthorized or pirated software from their PlayStation 3 systems.

The Playstation Blog then goes onto explain what that could mean to us gamers. And to be honest if you’re not stealing from Sony you have nothing to fear. Personally if you get involved with video game piracy and don’t expect the manufacturers and developers to find ways to prevent your efforts than you’re simply an idiot. Not that I believe those who pirate or game on back ups are idiots, I simply believe that expecting them to be ok with it is a broken ideology.

Circumvention devices and game piracy damage our industry and can potentially injure the online experience for you, our loyal PlayStation customers, via hacks and cheats.
Many PlayStation.Blog readers have asked how we intend to deal with these incidents that they have been reading about in the gaming press, and this is our initial response.
By identifying PlayStation 3 systems that breach our guidelines and terminating their ability to connect to PlayStation Network, we are protecting our business and preserving the honest gameplay experiences that you expect and deserve.
Rest assured, this message does not apply to the overwhelming majority of our users who enjoy the world of entertainment PlayStation 3 has to offer without breaching the guidelines detailed above, and we urge you to continue doing so without fear.

Anyway, if you’ve been using circumvention devices on your PS3 look out, I don’t think this ban wont be fixable by buying a new account. We have contacted SCEA about the matter and will update you if any information is provided.

A zombie project no one had ever heard of? Considering how gamers eat this stuff up like zombies eat brains, I was very surprised to see this flying so low under the radar.

The studio who brought us Call of Juarez, Techland, had announced this several years ago, but it seems it was forgotten until this trailer was released.

IGN had a chance to see an early build of the game recently. Here are their thoughts on it.

If Techland puts the effort into the game that it took to make that trailer, I’m in.

Alice Returns in a Fit of Madness

The new teaser for Alice: Madness Returns is out and it looks like wonderland hasn’t lost the insanity that made the original a must play. American McGee has always had a thumb on the odd and inspiring and to me this trailer looks as if it’s right on par.

Alice: Madness Returns is scheduled for a Q4 2011 release. Here’s the trailer, thanks IGN.

One of my favorite things about the Duke Nukem franchise are the easter eggs. Duke Nukem 3D is stock full of them. This week IGN posted up an easter egg from the upcoming Duke Nukem Forever title. Just before taking on an alien menace, Duke is offered some green power armor. Of course Duke states that power armor is for pussies. I cannot wait to play this game.

Marvel released on their website today that Chris Evans, star of this summer’s Captain America film, will lend his likeness and voice to the video game tie-in to the film, which will be developed by Sega.  Or, more correctly, (I hate to be so cynical, but given the amount of time needed to develop a video game) Evans has already done the mo-cap, voice over, etc, work and they’re just putting out the press release today to  let people know that, yes, there will be a video game tie-in and Evans is in it.

The basics: It will be a third-person action adventure brawler. Cap will use his shield (and fists and feet, no doubt) to smash baddies (mostly HYDRA agents) as he battles through the Hydra castle during WWII. The game will have Red Skull, Baron Strucker, Madame Hydra, Iron Cross, and Arnim Zola.  Those are probably your bosses.

It will be released in 2011 (probably just prior to the movie release in July, although it has no confirmed release date yet) on PS3, Xbox 360, Wii and DS, so no matter which console you have you can play.

What we don’t know: storyline? Or is this just a bash and brawler and story doesn’t really matter? What other characters will we see (Sgt Fury and the Howling Commandos, for example? Bucky?). Also, it would be nice to see a gameplay video ASAP. You hear me, Marvel and Sega? Show us the money! We demand to see some game footage!

I only say this because given Marvel v Capcom 3’s release this week, we were seeing full matches and gameplay more than six months ago, and this game comes out in probably 4 months. Guild Wars 2, Star Wars: The Old Republic- the tentpole releases we expect this year have full gameplay videos. If you want to get us salivating to play a Captain America game, then you better give us something to drool over rather than just telling us Chris Evans did the mo-cap and voice work.

But that being said, what say you robots? Will we finally get a great Captain America game? I’m intrigued, at least, and can commit to at least a rental for this game.

Activision announced last week the end of two major franchises, the Tony Hawk skateboarding series and Guitar Hero. At this point in gaming why should anyone care? I’ve been listening to people come in to the game store I work at and say “Meh, those games needed to be over a long time ago anyway.” The idea that these franchises had been beaten to death over a long period of time isn’t exciting or new to anyone. No one was blindsided with this news and cried over it (with the exception of maybe Tony Hawk). So why does news like this frustrate me? Why does the cancellation of True Crime and the legal issues (which I’m not gonna pretend I truly understand) with Infinity Ward make me think things are headed in a direction that is bad for gamers?

Quality versus Quantity. If it makes us money, make more of it whatever the cost. If it takes more time to make a better game, that’s not gonna work. Turn and burn those sequels until the franchise dies on a conference call. How many games have you bought over the last few years that had a number at the end of the title or a very common name at the beginning? Halo Reach? Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood? Need for Speed Hot Pursuit (which they didn’t bother with a number because they have had so many they can’t keep them straight anymore)? Fable 3? Call of Duty: Black Ops? Star Wars Force Unleashed 2? God of War 3? These games have been wildly successful. A lot of the examples here are some of the biggest games to have ever been released., but there was a time that Guitar Hero and Tony Hawk would have been in the mix for a piece of what these games have now. As game players, a sad truth can be found in the fate of Tony Hawk Pro Skater and Guitar Hero for all our favorite games. Who knows which blockbuster game series is gonna get the treatment next. If it makes us money, make more of it whatever the cost.

The implication here,  is that Activision ran these games into the dirt and didn’t provide the necessary support to make these games successful. This may be unfair, it may have just been time for these games to end due to the public wanting nothing more to do with them. As the mainstream of the industry shifts, games do get left behind. It’s something that has gone on for a long time in most forms of media. People make what sells and it seems these games were in a position where their time was up. That could be true, but you have to wonder if the publisher was partly responsible for the demise of Tony Hawk Pro Skater and Guitar Hero by flooding the market with these games year after year after year because they were good for a quick easy buck, I ask you who’s next?

Moral of the story: Next time you are in your favorite game store watching promotions for the games you enjoy run on the giant TV, think about how much time your series may have left.

Sort of a slow news week again so far. Maybe we’ll get something to be hyped about over the next couple days to end the week with a bang.

Not that you really need much news to be excited about since Marvel vs. Capcom 3 came out yesterday. If you’ve already picked this one up you’ll be glad to know the first pack of costume DLC has been announced for March 1st. The $5 pack will get you Chris Redfield’s original STARS uniform, Ryu with red gloves and sandals, Dante’s father (Sparda), unmasked Steve Rogers, classic Thor, and Iron Patriot (standing in for Iron Man). If you’d like to win a copy of MvC3 or just want to show off your mad fighting skills to other geeks, come see us at our third anniversary party this Sunday at Brewvies.

In other news, the rumored HD remake of the cult hit Beyond Good & Evil is happening. Playable demos have already made their way into some journalists’ hands and the reviews are good so far. The game is expected on XBLA and PSN sometime in March. Predicted price is $10 (or equivalent points). Good sales of this game could mean the long-awaited sequel may finally come to fruition.

Sticking with the same developer, Ubisoft has surprised no one by announcing another installment in the Assassin’s Creed franchise. Considering Brotherhood sold over 6.5 million copies they’d be fools not to follow up. The next title in the series should be hitting stores later this year, I’m guessing October. Ubisoft hasn’t said much, but plans to reveal more in May. Whether the multiplayer is included again is up for debate, as is the setting. Based on clues from Brotherhood it will probably be the French Revolution. Let’s just hope they make a logical progression with Desmond’s story and end it reasonably instead of losing focus just to keep making money.

Batman: Arkham City will not have multiplayer. This has been confirmed by Sefton Hill of Rocksteady. I completely agree with their decision as there seems to be no reason for multiplayer in a Batman game, especially this one. Then I get to thinking, what if you didn’t play as Batman? Multiplayer strategic battles between Bat-villains as they vie for control of the prison city has potential. But I’m glad they decided to commit their resources to excellent single-player instead of tacked on multiplayer.

Do you like Transformers? Of course you do. What about Transformers games? You’re probably thinking, “Yeah, the War for Cybertron game was pretty bad ass, but the movie tie-in ones suck.” Well, that’s true for most movie tie-ins. For Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Activision is hoping to make a good tie-in, by not making it follow the story of the film. Instead it will be a prologue leading up to the new movie. This kind of plan has been tried before with mixed success. One little detail that has potential though is the idea of a “third state.” This new mechanic will be a partial transformation, not quite robot and not quite vehicle, that will allow for new gameplay options. Expect release around the same time as the movie (July 1st).

Whatever the cake may be, pre-order bonuses are not a lie. Valve has announced that pre-ordering Portal 2 (April 19) at Gamestop or Amazon is good for a $5 discount and downloadable skins for Atlas and P-Body, the co-op bots.

Another pre-order bonus you may want is Cloud’s Kingdom Hearts gear (Gamestop) or an alternate costume for Tifa (Amazon) designed by Yoshitaka Amano. These alternate outfits are available for Dissidia 012 [duodecim] Final Fantasy, coming March 22, 2011.

The latest reveals for the Mortal Kombat reboot (April 18) are Noob Saibot (with weird shadow clone) and Sindel. Neither are huge in my opinion, but this game keeps sounding better and better.

So with all of the great games coming this year, what one franchise could make 2011 break the awesome meter? If the meter isn’t shattered by fall, shield your eyes. Voltron is coming! Considering the new toy lines planned and the new cartoon coming to Nicktoons, this is a great time to bring the giant-robot-made-from-many-smaller-robots-that-are-also-lions concept to the game world. Since no consoles have been announced I’m expecting it will hit all of them. If it’s exclusive they usually say so right away.

I don’t normally follow many XBox exclusive items but one caught my attention today. Double Fine, Tim Schafer’s company that created Brutal Legend, Costume Quest, and Stacking, is now working on a Kinect game for Sesame Street. Once Upon a Monster will be a series of motion-based minigames (dancing, flying, etc.) starring Elmo, Cookie Monster, and other Sesame Street favorites involving players in an interactive episode of the 41 year old series. I’m in my 30s, don’t own an XBox and have no children, yet I love the idea of this game. I’m thrilled to see games being marketed for children that involve exercise, learning and interactivity. Sure it means your kids will be making noise, and they might even want you to play with them. But kids have a ton of energy and this is a much better way to keep them occupied than just sitting them in front of the TV with a bag of corn chips.

Finally, this is a bit of a loose fit here but I’ll include it anyway. You may want to watch (or at least DVR) Late Night with Jimmy Fallon Tonight. I wouldn’t bother with it any other night. Previewing on the show will be the six-part Dragon Age web series coming later this year. Frankly, this would sound terrible if it weren’t written by and starring Felicia Day. Felicia Day in elf ears and fantasy gear? Yeah, I’m watching that.

Which of these bits have you most excited?

This Sunday is Big Shiny Robot’s 3 year anniversary event at Brewvies! Part of this event is going to include a casual Marvel vs. Capcom 3 tournament – on the movie screen!

All skill levels are welcome to sign up and throw down for a few rounds. To put your name in for the tournament, just fill out the registration form (clicky, clicky)! The winner will take home a 3′ x 4′ Marvel vs. Capcom 3 window poster! Also, all of you that show up between 3pm MT and 5pm MT can enter a raffle to win a copy of Marvel vs. Capcom 3! This raffle will be open to both, tournament players and spectators!

So join BSR! at our 3 year anniversary event at Brewvies this Sunday, February 20, between 3pm-5pm MT for some Marvel vs. Capcom on the big screen!