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Hulu announces two new Marvel shows including 'Ghost Rider'
Under an expanded deal with Marvel (which is under the wing of its majority owner Disney), Hulu has announced Ghost Rider and Helstrom shows, both of which are set to debut next year. They join other Marvel series including Runaways and several upcoming animated shows on the platform.
Daily iPhone App: Marvel Pinball is a great app hindered by a bad model
Zen Studios is very well known for their pinball titles, which all feature great graphics, well-made themes, and excellent pinball table mechanics. Just today, Zen has brought their very popular Marvel Pinball game to iOS, and you can now download the app itself for 99 cents. Unfortunately, that price is a strange one -- all it will get you is one Avengers-based table, which is interesting enough, with its various Avengers-style pinballs that you can send out into battle as you play for points against Loki. But there are 14 other tables to play with, and all of them need an in-app purchase of $1.99 each. That's it -- there's no way to earn or unlock tables from within the game itself, which is a missed opportunity at the very least. Charging users 99 cents to download the app for one table in this case just seems like charging for a free trial, unfortunately, and I wouldn't be too surprised if the app goes free very soon anyway. The good news is that the pinball mechanics are great, and Zen Studios obviously knows how to make a great pinball-based video game (I especially like the "free look" mode, which allows you to browse around a table just by tilting your device from side to side). But the pricing model here is very flawed and uninviting. If you're a pinball fan, you might think about downloading the app for the Avengers table, and then maybe buying one or two that you like (each table has a trailer and a features list, though you can't play on them to even try them out before you spend the money). For everyone else, Zen Studios has done a big misstep here by hiding their great content behind an awkward pay wall. They should have considered a better way to do this.
Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 vignettes showcase Firebrand, Ghost Rider, Strider, and Hawkeye
Perhaps the variety of trailers released by Capcom last week featuring the various new characters coming to Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 simply weren't enough for you. While we can't imagine how that's possible, we can show you four more.
Marvel Pinball springing onto new devices, rolling out a new title
Marvel Pinball is slinging onto new systems, set to hit mobile devices (iOS, Android, PS Vita, and 3DS), a new stationary console (PC), and a strange mixture of the two (WiiU), all by the end of 2012. Specific release dates will bounce onto the scene closer to each launch. A new Marvel Pinball installment, Vengeance and Virtue, is scheduled to rebound onto Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network this winter, featuring Ghost Rider in a new pack of tables. Marvel lit up its Comic-Con panel with this rollout of news, but more importantly we just made it through this whole post without making a single ball joke. You're welcome.
Free movies available weekly on PSN via Toyota Highlander promo
Finished watching The Tester: Season 2? Used up your free Vudu credit? Well, you can still get some free video content on your PS3 or PSP -- so long as you know how to find it. Every week for the next four weeks, you'll be able to download a free movie rental from the PlayStation Store. How? Just look for the Toyota Highlander ad to appear in the Video section of the Store. Or, click "Featured Collections" to find the promotion. What will you be able to download? Here's the schedule: Now until February 21: The Da Vinci Code Week of February 22: Big Daddy Week of March 1: Ghost Rider Week of March 8: Stranger Than Fiction
Blu-ray movie releases for the week of June 11
This week's Blu-ray movie release list isn't the sexiest thing ever but looks like it has some solid choices. Headlining the pack is the so-bad-its-good comic movie, Ghost Rider, starring a way way too old Nicholas Cage. This title has been fairly highly anticipated amongst the more hardcore videophiles hoping for a pristine visual feast to use as a reference disc. Early reviews of the Blu-ray title have been highly positive when it comes to the visual and audio quality but have been less glowing when it comes to the movie itself. Here's the full list of titles coming out this week: Ghost Rider Cruel Intentions Seven Years in Tibet Primeval Music and Lyrics Blood and Chocolate Daddy's Little Girls Anything pique your fancy? Next week is gonna be a lean one with only a single title coming out (Bridge to Terabitha), so stock up on new releases now -- before it's too late!
Unearthed: Neversoft's lost Ghost Rider game
Long before they dominated the world with the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series and even before they proved that games based on comic books didn't have to suck something awful with Spider-Man, Neversoft toiled away at an adaptation of Ghost Rider. While the game never saw release, much less got into its first, legitimate step in development, Playstation Museum has received an ancient demo of the game. The results? A shame to behold.While 2K Game's Ghost Rider movie tie-in effort looks to be a God of War clone, Neversoft's take was a 2-D platformer in the vein of Castlevania. Presumably canned for being so, would-be publisher Crystal Dynamics passed it up for not sporting that extra third dimension. Judging from the recorded footage (embedded after the break), it only needed more in the way of time than anything else.
Ghost Rider, the flaming skull guy previewed
Could Ghost Rider be God of War with a comic license pasted on top? It's unlikely, but it sure would be amazing if Ghost Rider had even half the game of Kratos. While IGN's current preview does go over some of the game's features, it gives very little opinion on the title's quality. Here are some tidbits from the preview for those interested in Ghost Rider: Ghost Rider has light or heavy attacks he can use to create combos Once an enemy is injured enough, a variety of finishing moves can be used to defeat them Some levels involve riding the Hell Cycle The game has five chapters Between chapters there will be comic book style cut-scenes There will be cameos from other Marvel characters like Lilith and Scarecrow PSP owners will of course get exclusive content like multiplayer via adhoc for up to 4 players To read the preview in full, check out IGN.
Metareview - Marvel Ultimate Alliance
The ongoing debate over which superhero universe reigns supreme may never be settled, but Marvel Comics is looking like the clear winner in the gaming space with Activision's release of Marvel Ultimate Alliance. There's no Incredible Hulk (he's in Vivendi's game), but just about everyone else from the House of Ideas makes an appearance, which amounts to at least 20 playable characters on each platform. Where Ultimate Alliance really shines over Justice League Heroes is in the stronger focus on teamwork, not to mention a more impressive cast of villains. <Your team name here>, assemble! Game Informer (93/100) likes the new transparent rejuvenation system: "In this game, you no longer need to stock potions. When an enemy is slain, there's a chance that the fallen will gift you with a cluster of healing orbs that automatically zoom to your character. This change not only removes the clunky system of healing, it makes you feel more like a hero. Your focus is always on the battlefield, not a meter." GamePro (90/100) appreciates the challenging enemy AI: "The major boss battles are head and shoulders above anything you've seen in the past. The roster of villains changes with such frequency that you never get a chance to get sick of them. Stronger ones boast talents like healing and immunity to certain attacks, while others carry shields that force your active crew of four to work as a team." TeamXbox (88/100) was dazzled by the production quality: "The opening cinematic by Blur Studios is perhaps the finest I have witnessed in a videogame...but it's worth mentioning that the in-game footage cut scenes by Raven are no slouches either. Raven's in-game work is really nice too. Characters all have that comic book look, but have been updated to have their own edge. The backgrounds are just as sweet, flexing a bunch of post-production effects and lots of animations."
