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Warner Bros. is moving front and center with the sequel to this year's surprise hit, Batman: Arkham Asylum, with former publisher Eidos Interactive (now owned by Square Enix) being dropped to the wayside. Eidos was purchased by the Final Fantasy publisher earlier this year.

Rocksteady Games, the studio that developed the original, is still working on the sequel.

Warner Bros. confirmed neither Square Enix nor Eidos is involved with the second installment.

"Eidos is not involved," a Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment spokesperson told me.

The contract between Warner Bros. and Eidos must have only been for a single product and after the resounding critical and commercial response to Batman: Arkham Asylum, Warner Bros. must have felt confident enough to strike out on their own for the follow-up. It also means more money for themselves.

Have something to share? Have a news tip? E-mail me. You can also follow me on Twitter.

In the first gameplay trailer for Crackdown 2, Pacific City's new generation of Agents prowl the streets cleaning up everything in their way.  Of course, being Crackdown, they appear to generate more mayhem in their "peace-keeping" than the original source of public disturbance. As it should be.

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For the very first actual off-screen footage click through for X-Play's TGS 09 demo coverage after the cut.

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Ubisoft has announced the next installment in its acclaimed Prince of Persia series,Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands. The series appears to be taking a break from the hyper-stylized design of last year’s Prince of Persia, and will be set between the events of Prince of Persia: Sands of Time and Prince of Persia: Warrior Within.

For his newest adventure, our chiseled, wall-running Prince will be tasked with saving his brother's kingdom and gaining control over an ancient and powerful sand-based force. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Sand -- It will mess you up.

Here's a quick rundown of some of the game's new features, taken from a Ubisoft press release today:

• Classic Gameplay Reinvented: From huge-scale multi-enemy combat to dizzying feats of acrobatic prowess in gigantic environments enhanced by the Prince's ability to control nature and time, Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands will push the Prince's prodigious abilities to unseen levels.
• A Blockbuster Experience: Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands will offer players unforgettable set pieces made possible by the advanced technology offered by the award-winning Anvil engine. With all-out war at the gates of the kingdom, the Prince's abilities will be challenged like never before through the course of epic wow moments.
• Mastery Over Nature: Wielding powers of nature and time, the Prince will have unparalleled mastery over his environment and his enemies. The Prince will discover that harnessing the forces of nature itself will prove to be a devastating companion to his ability to rewind time.

Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands is scheduled to hit PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, PSP, DS and PC in May 2010.

EA resurfaces Medal of Honor, their legendary FPS franchise, with the first ever trailer showing off their new modern-day battle locales.

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One of the most anticipated games of 2010, Quantic Dreams and Sony's Heavy Rain, is a unique project. We've had the pleasure of speaking with director David Cage on numerous occasions, but our hands-on time with the game has been brief. No longer!

Armed with a preview build, our own Andrew Pfister "played" through the first 11 chapters of the game. Why do I put quotes around "played"? Andrew explains:

I’ve completed the first eleven scenes of Quantic Dream’s Heavy Rain, and I’m not entirely convinced I should be calling it a “game.” Don’t take that as effusive pre-release praise about games being some form of higher art; it’s just that Heavy Rain, thus far, makes me feel like I’m an actor more than a player.

Click here to read the full preview.

Many of the games announced over the weekend are a long ways off. Not Mega Man 10, though. Nintendo's released a brief schedule of their first and third-party lineup for Wii in early 2010 and revealed the release date for Capcom's next downloadable retro sequel: March.

It's expected Mega Man 10 will be released on Xbox Live and PlayStation Network, too, though Capcom has been mum about the blue bomber's next adventure. So far, it's WiiWare-only.

Have something to share? Have a news tip? E-mail me. You can also follow me on Twitter.

Over the weekend, 2K Games unveiled Spec-Ops: The Line, a "story-driven, modern military shooter" for release on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC. Developed by German studio Yager, Spec-Ops: The Line will  focus on an "elite Delta Force team" entering a sandstorm-ravaged version of Dubai to hunt down a rogue American officer named John Konrad. Along with the single-player campaign, Spec Ops: The Line will feature multiplayer fun too, just as you might expect from a self-respecting, modern military shooter.

"Spec Ops: The Line is the epitome of a 2K Games title and incorporates all of our gameplay values: immersive experiences that draw you in, unique and innovative features that make you rethink the way you play them, and an amazingly high quality bar that is synonymous with the 2K name," said 2K president Christoph Hartmann in a statement. "By meeting these core values, I'm confident that Spec Ops: The Line will be a great experience that people will enjoy playing for years to come."

Spec Ops: The Line is currently scheduled for release in 2K's 2011 fiscal year, which starts on November 1, 2010. We should have the teaser trailer up for you shortly, so don't miss it.

Rock band Green Day revealed back in June that it was working on its very own version of Rock Band, and today we can say with absolute certainty: Green Day: Rock Band is coming next year.

“We are thrilled to work with Green Day to revisit key moments from their career, including their likenesses, content and imagery, through our innovative form of musical interaction,” said Harmonix CEO and co-founder Alex Rigopulos in a statement.

The entire track list from the standalone game will also be exportable for play in Rock Band and Rock Band 2 on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

But if you’re looking for some more Green Day in your Rock Band to hold you over, the band will also be releasing a new track pack on Dec. 15 that will include three more songs from the band’s acclaimed album, 21st Century Breakdown: "Christian’s Inferno,” “Last of the American Girls,” and “¡Viva La Gloria!”

My first concert ever was a stop on Green Day’s Dookie Tour, and I was a fan even before that, so naturally I’m kind of excited about this news. Although, I’m not too thrilled to be utterly owned by Tre Cool’s drumming, but it’s a price I’m willing to pay.

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Disney Interactive Studios this weekend announced that a video game version of its upcoming Tron film will be released.

Developed by Propaganda Games, Disney Interactive Studios’ action and role-playing game studio in Vancouver, British Columbia, TRON: Evolution is scheduled for release in Holiday 2010 before the TRON: Legacy film arrives in theaters. Here's the official description of the game:

"Set during the era between the two TRON films, TRON: Evolution conveys the story of significant events within the TRON mythology. The game features an epic adventure across a massive digital world filled with high-mobility disc-based combat and advanced light cycles."

Okay, movie tie-in games are almost always terrible, but the Tron universe (Troni-verse?) has such possibilities, that I actually have high hopes for this one. What about you? Looking forward to it?

Microsoft and Bungie unveil the first real look into the world of Halo: Reach with their latest trailer. Check it out below and fire away your thoughts in the comments section on the 2010 Halo prequel. 

 

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For more intel, be sure to check out Bungie's official site.

A video game based in an epic world of fantasy, elves and dragons requires a very special type of music to propel it, with a specific sound, feeling and even a bit of magic to it. EA has just released the soundtrack album for Dragon Age: Origins. Does this popular RPG have that magic in its music? We spun the album to find out and even have a pair of pieces for your listening enjoyment.

Inon Zur is among the game world’s most prolific composers, with Fallout 3, Crysis, Starcraft: Ghost and multiple Prince of Persia games being graced by his talents. As the wizard behind the music of EverQuest II: Rise of Kunark and Icewind Dale II, he is no stranger to conjuring the sounds of fantasy-themed game worlds. Inon Zur’s score for Dragon Age: Origins succeeds in capturing the high fantasy world of the game. This is especially true of the game’s theme song...check it out below:

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Performed by the Northwest Sinfonia, this 35 track album plays like a short symphony. Just put it on and let it play. You will likely not even notice the gaps between songs as you listen. The music fits the game world like a custom set of dwarf-forged armor.

Lending her enchanting vocals to the performance is singer Aubrey Ashburn. The inclusion of two versions of her vocal track “I am the One,” which just recently won the award for Best Original Song at The Hollywood Music in Media Awards, and the fact that Ashburn also sang on the soundtracks of Devil May Cry 4 and Lost Planet: Extreme Condition, will definitely make this set appeal to Japanese game music fans as well.

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Who is this album for? Players of Dragon Age: Origins obviously, but even if you haven’t played the game yet you will appreciate Zur’s music on it is own. And if you are among the pen and paper D&D crowd, who enjoy appropriately themed music playing in the background whilst you role play with plastic polyhedrons, I can definitely recommend you include this album alongside the collected works of Manowar  and various sword & sorcery film soundtracks as excellent gaming session background music. Or am I the only one who did that?

The soundtrack for Dragon Age: Origins is available now as a download from Amazon and iTunes. Come back tomorrow when The Feed takes a listen to a new disc of Chiptunes holiday music!

TONIGHT at 6PM ET, the competition to become the next American Ninja Warrior begins, as thousands of hopefuls duke it out to see which 10 will have the chance to head to Japan to take on Mt. Midoriyama and see if they can conquer the Ninja Warrior course.

Watch as they face a series of challenges and eliminations designed to test their strength and endurance, and to weed out the weak to try and get to the best that America has to offer. It's going to be grueling, to say the least.

Hosts Blair Herter and Alison Haislip will be there every step of the way, leading you through the process, helping you pick your favorite hopefuls, and setting the scene as these athletes prove their mettle.

Keep it tuned to G4 throughout the process, and as 10 remarkable athletes try and become the American Ninja Warrior!

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Build your own movie theater at home with the Klipsch HD 300 Home Theater with its compact and stylish design, exclusive horn-loaded technology and more for only $249. See if this is worth finding under the Christmas tree.

Check out the full Attack of the Show review after the cut.

What You Need to Know

• Each satellite speaker is about 4” deep and 5.5” tall.
• The center channel is just a little bigger.
• The sub woofer is just under 1’ tall.
• All of the speakers have detachable grills and wall mounts.
• The system doesn't come with a receiver or Blu-ray player to hook them up to, which means, at the very least, you'll need to buy a receiver.
• In our testing, they sounded spectacular.
• Each satellite has a 2.5” woofer and 0.75” tweeter, so lows, mids, and highs are extremely clear with very little sound lost between ranges.
• The subwoofer pumps with a 6.5” driver that produces room-filling bass.
• The louder they get, the better they sound, which is the sign of a great home theater system.
• We didn't use top of the line components to test with either, just a $300 Harman Kardon receiver and the LG BD-390 Blu-ray Player.

Price

• It's worth mentioning that these were originally $400, but were reduced to $250 about a week ago.
• At this price, this is the best-sounding home theater system we've ever reviewed; the receiver will cost you extra if you need one, but it's still worth it. 

Overall Rating

• Buy (How do we rate gadgets?)

Want something reviewed on Gadget Pr0n? Email us your suggestions to gadgetpron@g4tv.com.

Hopefully, seeing the word "Transformers" didn’t instantly cause you to fly into a Michael Bay-inspired rage, because the below teaser trailer for High Moon Studios’ Transformers: War for Cybertron appears to have nothing to do with the recent big-screen adaptations.

In fact, the game takes place during the pre-Earth battling between the Autobots and Decepticons on their home planet of Cybertron, and while it’s hard to tell exactly what kind of game it will end up being, the setting/timeframe are certainly intriguing.

Funnily enough, High Moon posted a job listing (via Gamasutra) today for a senior sound designer for an "action-packed title for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC," so if you’ve always wanted to work on a Transformers game, and you have senior-level design experience, now might be the perfect time to send in those resumes.

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After several late nights, I finally managed to finish Assassin's Creed II. I still don't know what the heck happened at the end, but it's bizarre enough that they've hooked me into the inevitable sequel, if only to see how everything eventually plays out. After such a marathon, I'm not sure what to move onto next. I'm tempted to check out the original Assassin's Creed (against the advice from pretty much everyone) or make progress in New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Hmm. What are you playing this weekend?

If you ask me, it’s rare to find a collector’s edition that’s actually worth collecting and hanging onto. Most of the time, you’re better off getting pre-order swag than what you’re paying an extra ten to twenty bucks for. And again, if you ask me, exclusive pre-order DLC needs to go away, and fast. As the year comes to a close, I decided to tally up the Limited Editions that have graced our offices, be they publisher-sent or employee-purchased. I’ve broken down the contents, retail price at launch, the current lowest eBay price/resell value, and the badass to bamboozle ratio.

Street Fighter IV (360, PS3)
  Released: 2/17/09 Limited Edition also contains: Limited edition figurine, hour-long HD anime movie (Blu-ray on PS3, game disc outputting in 720p on 360), mini-strategy guide, CD soundtrack. Retail Price: $79.99 Cost difference: $20 Badass to bamboozle ratio: Do you live in a city far removed from shops where you could just buy a Ryu figurine? If the answer is “yes,” then $20 isn’t a bad price to pay for said figurine. You should probably just buy it used at this point, though, if that’s what you’re looking for. The anime movie is one step removed from Flash-generated fan art. Figurine tips the scale slightly away from bamboozle. Office-friendly swag? A Ryu figurine, while geeky, is far less ridiculous than most plastic baubles in your cubicle. Lowest eBay price as of article publish: Same retail price (sealed), $50 used. eBay resell value: Roughly on par with the amount the game's price has dropped since releasing ten months ago.

Resident Evil 5 (360, PS3)
  Released: 3/13/09 Limited Edition also contains: A bonus disc with special features, including "The Making of Resident Evil 5," a digital art gallery, and a trailer for Resident Evil: Degeneration. A Tricell messenger bag featuring designs based on the game's storyline and setting, a Chris Redfield figurine, a BSAA patch, a Kijuju-inspired pendant, a custom-made steel case with special art showcasing signature elements of the RE5 campaign. Retail Price: $89.99 Cost difference: $30 Badass to bamboozle ratio: There’s a nine year-old Spike Lee movie about racism on television... basically, there’s little badass here, and a lot more bamboozle. No matter how ardent of an RE fan you are (and trust me, I liked RE5 a lot more than Mr. Sessler), it’s hard to justify damn near $100 with sales tax for a few baubles and a metal case. The Chris Redfield figurine isn’t too impressive, and the messenger bag feels cheap. Office-friendly swag? Unless you want your co-workers to think that you’re a sucker and a huge nerd, don’t bother showing any of this stuff off. Better yet, don’t bother with it. Lowest eBay price as of article publish: $9.99 sealed. eBay resell value: Woeful.   BlazBlue (360, PS3)
  Released: 6/30/09 (Limited Edition), 7/28/09 (standard edition) Limited Edition also contains: Two-disc original soundtrack and a bonus video with tutorials. Retail Price: $49.99 Cost difference: $10. Already out of print; this was the rare occasion when the limited edition released first for the fans. Badass to bamboozle ratio: You know if you’re the target audience for BlazBlue. A one-month headstart on the general public is more badass than bamboozle, even if that time’s up now. Office-friendly swag? Not a bit of it. Lowest eBay price as of article publish: $36 eBay resell value: Not that high, currently.   Batman: Arkham Asylum (360, PS3)
  Released: 8/24/09 Limited Edition also contains: Waynetech Batarang Storage Box 12” In-Game Design Batarang; 50 page character encyclopedia, behind-the-scenes five-chapter series DVD featuring interviews with Mark Hamill and Kevin Conroy, exclusive Challenge Map DLC. Retail Price: $99.99 Cost difference. $40 Badass to bamboozle ratio: The Batarang is plastic, and it’s mounted to a stand. Take off your rose-colored Bat-goggles and decide if that’s worth an extra $40. Office-friendly swag? X-Play’s Matt Keil has the Batarang above his cubicle. Let’s ask him what he thinks:   “By far the worst Limited Edition I’ve ever bought, certainly in memory, because nothing in it is useful. The Batarang is deliberately preworn, so it looks like it was scuffed, but most likely by someone in a warehouse. The encyclopedia contains the same material that you unlock in the game, but in print, and I never watched the DVD. The box can’t fit anywhere. I still have it in my cubicle, because I have nowhere to fit it at home.”   Lowest eBay price as of article publish: $84.99. Used. eBay resell value: Shockingly high.   Demon’s Souls (PS3)
  Released: 10/6/09 Limited Edition also contains: 150 page strategy guide and large outer slipcase. Retail Price: $69.99 Cost difference: $10 Badass to bamboozle ratio: It’s a strategy guide for one of the most balls-kickingly difficult games in recent memory. Don’t worry, the only people who will look down on you are checking GameFAQs for walkthroughs behind your back. Office-friendly swag? No reason to keep it at your cubicle when it should be on your coffee table with a bottle of Maalox. Lowest eBay price as of article publish: $71 sealed. eBay resell value: Word is that this one's already out of print. Check back in a few months. It could skyrocket in value.     Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (360, PS3)
  Released: 11/10/09 Hardened Edition also contains: Steel case, “Behind the Lines” concept art book, Call of Duty Classic downloadable voucher. Prestige Edition also contains: Night Vision goggles with stand and the contents of Hardened Edition. Retail Price: $79.99 (Hardened), $149.99 (Prestige) Cost difference. $20 (Hardened), $90 (Prestige) Badass to bamboozle ratio: Depends. After pushing my sinuses into my neck, I needed to loosen up the goggles a bit. They’re fun, but getting $90 worth of it depends on how often you plan to cosplay as Capt. Price or Soap McTavish. Office-friendly swag? If you have a pair of $90 night vision goggles at your cubicle, you either work somewhere with trustworthy folks or you’re crazy. As for the Hardened Edition, you're basically paying $5 for a tin box and an art book and committing to purchasing Call of Duty Classic. Lowest eBay price as of article publish: Hardened: An auction on the verge of finishing is up to $62. But Amazon is selling it for the same price as the standard game as of writing. Prestige: A heated auction that ends in 15 minutes is up to $130. eBay resell value: Still high. The buzz on MW2 is still strong. Check back in six months.   Assassin’s Creed II (360, PS3)
  Released: 11/17/09 Limited Edition also contains: ginormous collectible tin, an 8.5” Ezio collectible statue, two exclusive in-game maps (if you want 100% completion, apparently you need the exclusive maps), hardcover art book, bonus disc including soundtrack and behind the scenes footage. Asia got two similar limited editions with two different Ezio statues. Retail Price: It was a Gamestop exclusive that retailed for $80. Good luck finding one now.   Cost difference: $20. Badass to bamboozle ratio: As Limited Editions go, this is actually pretty badass. The statue is cool, the tin is large enough for some sort of reuse (controllers, peripherals, etc), and the game soundtrack is good enough to listen to on its own. Office-friendly swag? An 8.5” statues is pretty big and bulky, but it's a nice statue. Depends on the geek threshold of your co-workers. Lowest eBay price as of article publish: $95, but it’s also got 8 bids. Most bids have tipped well over $100, and only one used copy has surfaced. eBay resell value: A search for used Master Assassin’s Editions on eBay reveals one being sold for around $65. At that point, though, you’re paying for the statue, the game, and a tin box. The DLC codes have probably been used. Take that for what you will.   This won't be the last time I focus on Collector's Editions. In the future, I'll be taking a look at Limited Edition games from years past and seeing if they've actually increased in value. For now, let the buyer beware!

 

Resident Evil 5 has DLC lined up to bring your back to the kijuju frenzy. Today, Capcom drops a duo of videos showing a couple of the new costumes available. 

First, take a look at Sheva Alomar's trashy, new fairy tale duds.

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Then, click on through to Chris Redfield's post-apocalyptic outfit.

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If you long for the days of racking up points on brightly lit neon arcade screens, Gravity Crash might be for you. The new downloadable game available on the PlayStation 3 wraps collecting and destroying in a delicious retro tortilla, forming a burrito of fun--if you're into that sort of thing. Jeremy Zoss has the review:

"In the end, the amount of enjoyment you get out of Gravity Crash is going to be directly tied to how much you like old school gaming. If you enjoy a good challenge, you’ll probably dig Gravity Crash’s exacting, repetitious gameplay. There are two control schemes to choose from and multiple gameplay options, including campaign and Planet mode (which lets you replay unlocked levels to master them). There’s the aforementioned level creator and even multiplayer. But every mode still relies on that same classic arcade simplicity, so if you prefer the depth of more modern games, this one isn’t likely to speak much to you."

Click here to read the rest of the Gravity Crash review and see the game's score.

 

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Just as white bread is lame without peanut butter (or perhaps some salami and swiss), life is lame without Around the Net. You see, it's the paintball gun assassins, kittens with wigs, police cyborgs and ballers with no hoop game which give existence its bold flavor and zest.

Find the direct video links from Around the Net on Attack of the Show after the jump.

eBaum Nation: Paintball Gun Ambush

Vimeo: Kitty Wigs

YouTube: Jodie Foster vs. Robocop

Break.com: Girl with No Hoop Game

YouTube: It's Christmas

If you’re a diehard fan of Valve’s class-based shooter-vaganza Team Fortress 2, and you tend to lean towards either the Soldier or the Demoman, then you know that your classes of choice are currently at war.

What’s all the fighting about? Why, the game’s latest update of course, and one super secret killing device that will soon be handed over to one of the two classes. See, each of these classes will be receiving three new weapons in a new update, but Valve is currently holding a kill-off to determine which class will receive a mysterious seventh new weapon. So whenever a Soldier kills a Demoman, or vice versa, that kill is registered, and whichever side ends up with the most kills by the end of the warring period, wins!

According to the official Team Fortress blog, the current death totals sit at 1,290,988 Soldiers killed and 1,390,017 Demos killed. What’s even crazier is that those 2.6-plus million kills were achieved in around 16 hours. It isn’t clear when the war will end, but if you’re a Demo fan, you might want to lend your hand to the fight as soon as possible.

Which class do you normally favor? Are you currently taking part in the war?