The music video for “Rain Over You”, Brandyn Burnette’s new single, has been released. The song is a mashup of Gavin Degraw’s “Not Over You” and Bruno Mars’ “It Will Rain.”

The 20-year old Burnette is an artist for Warner Brothers Records, and is known for his other covers for Demi Lovato’s “Skyscraper” and Lil Wayne’s “How to Love.” His debut album is set to be released next year, though the exact date is unknown. Burnette has been involved in music since he was 7-years old.

I still remember the moment I fell in love with Batman: Arkham Asylum. No surprise, it was pretty early in the game, I entered a warehouse type room filled with the Joker’s henchmen, but rather than merely having me go rough ‘em up, I was challenged to find a new way around them, to think in essence, like The Batman. I used my surroundings, I stalked my prey, I turned their own fear against them. It was after this section that I realized that developer Rocksteady wasn’t just giving me the opportunity to play as The Batman; they were giving me a chance to feel what it would be like to be the Dark Knight.

With the sequel, Arkham City, a lot could have gone wrong. We all know most sequels suck and what are the odds of two Batman games in a row being exceptional right? Turns out pretty good. Everything you loved about Asylum returns, but only now they’re tweaked and reconfigured almost to a point of perfection.  Arkham City is a sprawling and gorgeously detailed environment, and Bat-fans are sure to enjoy the little nods to the caped crusader’s past. It may not be perfect, as some of the flaws that hindered the last game are still naggingly present, but Batman’s latest adventure is still a damn good one.

Arkham City picks up mere months after the end of the last game; the asylum’s former warden Quincy Sharp is now Gotham’s mayor and has had the wonderfully smart idea to move all of the city’s most dangerous criminals out of Arkham and into a walled off area in the center of the city. Millionaire playboy Bruce Wayne isn’t a fan of the idea and stages a press conference outside of the newly named Arkham City to oppose it, but it’s not long before he’s arrested under strange circumstances and thrown in himself.  This begins Arkham City proper – and it’s one of the most dynamic openings in recent memory.  From the moment you enter the prison, and an inmate yells “Welcome to hell,” you can’t help but be amazed by the scale of it all, and how theatrical the presentation is this go-around.

THUNK!

These superb presentation levels extend themselves throughout most of the entire game. Arkham City is a decaying mecca in the heart of downtown Gotham City; and it feels like it.  There’s plenty of back alleys and side streets to get lost down if you’re the gutsy exploring type, and the whole thing is done in striking light balance and detail. It’s almost awe-inspiring in certain moments when you’re on top of a building high above Arkham city taking in the scope and detail of the world around you. Of course, it still does suffer from occasional graphical pop-ins, and that damn camera that always seems to turn at just the wrong moment – but more on that later.

Much like the original game, Arkham City will have you ting out thugs and henchmen en-route to taking on Batman’s rouges gallery in an effort to uncover the conspiracy at hand, and that’s one area that this game does a ton better than its predecessor. Batman has perhaps the most well known villains in pop culture, and the first game had a few of them, but they pale in comparison to what Arkham City is packing. Throughout your journey you’ll take on The Joker, Mr. Freeze, Two-Face, the Riddler and a number of surprise guests from Batman’s past that are too cool to spoil here. Interestingly enough, the actual boss fights with the legendary characters aren’t that memorable and can be passed quite easily, but it’s the way Rocksteady built up these events with fantastic pacing that truly make them memorable.

Undoubtedly the game is at its best when it does what the previous one did so well, make you feel like the world’s greatest detective. It’s not uncommon to walk in to a room of ten or more thugs and still feel like you’ve got the upper hand. Though this go-round did feel a bit more linear than the previous game, just how many ways you can go about taking out your enemies is pretty impressive.  You could go in and let your fists do the talking or you could go the route I did and use your wits and gadgets to take them out strategically.  Disappointingly, it’s these large fights that also disappoint most in Arkham City as just like in before the game’s camera system can be incredibly frustrating. I remember one boss fight in particular where I kept having to run away just so I could get enough distance between myself and them to center the camera.

The level of detail throughout Arkham City is impressive.

After you’ve completed the campaign (which you can jump back in to with all of your upgrades thanks to a new game plus mode), Arkham City still offers a ton of content for your money. Challenge maps are back, and much more plentiful, as are the Riddler’s trophy challenges, but what you’re really going to want to check out is the Catwoman mission pack. A code for these missions is included in each new copy (you’ll have to buy one if you’re buying it preowned), and they add a ton of backstory to the game’s main campaign and are best experienced when played in the context of the game itself. I was also surprised at just how much I enjoyed playing as Catwoman; she’s a lot quicker than Batman and is a lot of fun to decimate baddies with.

Rocksteady also must be commended for their remarkable job in delivering fan service to the legions of Batman fans with Arkham City. Exlploring those back alleyways and side streets will prove to be a fruitful endeavor as there are plenty of references and nods to Batman’s impressive history in pop culture.  We’re still finding secrets in Arkham Asylum  to this day; meaning there’s plenty to be found in the game as well.

The Blast Factor: Any game that can make you feel like The Batman is doing something right – -and Arkham City does that very well.  Rocksteady has taken everything from Arkham Asylum and tweaked it enough to create one hell of a love letter to DC’s Dark Knight.  It’s a great licensed game, but perhaps most importantly, it’s a fantastic game in general.

Batman Arkham City is available now for the PS3 and Xbox 360 from Warner Bros Games and Rocksteady Studios. It will be available this November for the PC. A Xbox 360 copy of the game was provided by the publisher for this review.

wireimage.com

A chapter in the puzzling tale of “Two and a Half Men” its talented yet troubled former star has been closed.

Charlie Sheen and Warner Bros. Television settled Sheen’s $100 million wrongful termination lawsuit that the actor brought amidst a verbal tirade against the show’s executives and creator Chuck Lorre.

Warner Bros. confirmed that the two parties “have resolved their dispute” to “mutual satisfaction.”

“The pending lawsuit and arbitration will be dismissed as to all parties. The parties have agreed to maintain confidentiality over the terms of the settlement,” Warner said in a statement.

Details of the settlement were not released, but the Los Angeles Times reported that Warner would settle the suit for $25 million.

Here’s your first look at Robin, as the boy wonder appears in this Fall’s highly anticipated sequel; Batman: Arkham City. The image was posted this morning by Best Buy’s website, which is offering the sidekick as a pre-order bonus for the game’s challenge maps.

Robin comes complete with his own unique gadgets and special moves, and will be playable in all challenge maps in the game, as well as two additional challenge maps that are included with the pack: Black Mask Hideout and Freight Train Escape. The pack will also contain a bonus Red Robin character skin.”

Arkham City launches October 18 for PSe, Xbox 360 and PC.

One of the most prevalent and controversial trends in the gaming industry is the act of publishers requiring an online pass to use a game’s online features. EA does it, THQ does it and now, if an email uncovered by Joystiq is to be believed,  Warner Bros is about to be the next to jump on the bandwagon.

Reportedly, the website received an e-mail that Warner Bros sent to retailers stating that its upcoming Mortal Kombat game (releasing April 19) will require a ”one-time-use registration code” for player’s to use the game’s online features. Reportedly, the game’s box or marketing materials don’t mention the code at all. The code will come free with new copies of the game, those who get it used will get a free two day trial and then have to pony up $9.99 or 800 MS points on PSN and Xbox Live respectively.

Warner Bros upcoming Batman: Arkham City and F.E.A.R 3 are also rumored to require the pass.

Welcome to today’s Charlie Sheen news installment.

Sheen has been officially fired from his starring role in “Two and a Half Men.” His latest comment that he will be back on the show appears to be not a reality anymore.

Warner Bros announced in a statement, “After careful consideration, Warner Bros. Television has terminated Charlie Sheen’s services on ‘Two and a Half Men’ effective immediately.”

However, if you want to work for the “Winning” star, now there is a chance as Sheen tweeted Monday, “I’m looking to hire a #Winning INTERN with #TigerBlood.” The tweet is a paid-for endorsement from Internships.com.

Warner bros has announced that supernatural shooter F.E.A.R 3 has slipped from it’s March 2010 release date. The game is now expected to release in May.

“The F.E.A.R. 3 launch date will now be in May 2011, as we look to deliver the best possible game for our consumers,” the publisher told Destructoid this morning.

This isn’t the first delay for the game, as it was originally scheduled for a Winter 2010 release.

Legendary band R.E.M. has just finished work on their 15th studio album, which is set for release in the spring by Warner Bros. Records.

(WireImage)

The team of singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, and bassist Mike Mills teamed with producer Jacknife Lee, who produced their last album, Accelerate. Lee has also worked with US, Snow Patrol, The Hives, Kasabian, Aqualung, and Bloc Party.

The new album will be the follow-up to 2008′s Accelerate, which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Top 200 album chart. Three hit singles, "Supernatural Superserious," "Hollow Man," and "Man-Sized Wreath" came from that album.

R.E.M. also released a two-CD live set, entitled R.E.M. Live At The Olympia, last October.

Rocksteady Studios, one of the most compelling, talented and now proven developers in the business, have been bought by Warner Bros. today.

Warner Bros. owns this now.

Warner Bros. were attached to the first “Arkham Asylum” game but now own a majority stake in the developer and its impending sequel, “Arkham Asylum 2,” its working title.

“The Rocksteady team is very much looking forward to creating more great games based on widely recognised Warner Bros. brands like Batman”, Rocksteady’s Sefton Hill said about the now finalized deal.

Seriously, if you missed “Arkham Asylum,” do yourself a favor, and snag a copy of the game today.

When your imagination is the game, just how much fun can you have?

Scribblenauts, the hotly anticipated Nintendo DS project from 5^th Cell, is a wildly ambitious digital endeavor. The idea is simple yet extremely deep; “Write Anything, Solve Everything.” ‚ And for the most part, it works, and it’s damn fun.

Filled with hundreds of puzzles, a cute art style and addicting and unique game-play, does Scribblenauts live up to the massive hype it’s up against, or will it be known as a simple gimmicky toy?

In Scribblenauts you play as Maxwell, an innocent and cute young lad and are tasked with solving puzzles by helping friends, defeating bad guys, and putting your mind to the test to do so. The game provides no back-story for who you are (besides your name), how you got there, or where you’re going, but none of this matters.

Puzzles in Scribblenauts are broken into two sections; “Action Mode” and “Puzzle Mode.” In both types you’re tasked with collecting Starites, the game’s reward for completing a level.‚  In Puzzle Mode you’re thrust into what 5^th cell calls a “real-world circumstance” and are granted a hint, something like “Feed Me” at which point writing the name any foodstuff (apple, pretzel, corn dog, etc) and giving it to the hungry man will make a Starite appear and end the level. In Action Mode, my favorite, you’re only shown where the Starite is, and are not guided towards its retrieval. Both are exciting in their own respective rights and balance each other out very well, especially when you grow tired of one or the other.

Completing each level earns you Merits which in turn yield “ËœOllars, the game’s currency, spendable in the aptly named “ËœOllar store on extra songs and avatars if you so desire. Merits are rewards that relate to the manner in which you solved a particular puzzle. If you don’t use a weapon, or repeat a word you’ll earn these task-specific rewards, and when playing to earn the most possible Ollars, you’ll really have to stretch your imagination.

Scribblenauts is all about solving these puzzles in your own way. The unprecedented level of freedom is staggering. If a Polar Bear is guarding a cave you must enter, you’ve got limitless options in getting through. I shot him in the face multiple times with a shotgun, but I could have just as easily lured him away with a hunk of meat, or any of the seemingly infinite other ways.

Beyond solving puzzles, Scribblenauts has a basic level editor allowing creative types the ability to create a fantastical world fit for such an imaginative game. You can place objects, assign actions to them, and place the Starite wherever the hell you want. Best of all, the levels you dream up can be shared with fellow creators via the Wi-Fi connection. The level editor is a nifty little tool to play around with, but you likely won’t spend much time here.

Where Scribblenauts suffers, and suffers hard, is in the control department. The game makes effective use of both screens, and I liked this, but controlling Maxwell is a painful endeavor. The directional pad on the DS controls the camera while the stylus exclusively guides Maxwell in a real-time-strategy, point and move manner.‚  Basically you point at that tree over there and he runs to it. This design choice is apparent but not yet frustrating in early levels, but in the game’s mid to latter stages, when you attempt to traverse more hazardous environments, accidental deaths will run rampant, likely causing you to put the game down hopefully ‚ before you get really mad.

The controls don’t ruin the experience by any stretch of the imagination. You’ll adapt and you’ll die less after you grow accustom to the design choices, but I just wish 5th Cell allowed us to tweak these to allow for directional pad control. Maybe in the sequel?

What 5^th Cell accomplished in Scribblenauts is mind-blowing and wholly impressive. With thousands upon thousands of objects, items, and people available to mess around with you’ll likely spend hours on the main screen doing nothing but creating. Ever want to know if God riding a skateboard wielding a shotgun could take down the mighty Kraken? In Scribblenauts, such a scene is possible, and this novelty alone is worth the price to play.

Blast Factor: Scribblenauts is a wildly imaginative, unique, and cute adventure game, but it’s not without faults. Controlling Maxwell can be painful at times, and this simply cannot be ignored. Beyond its detriments though is pure, child-like fun that will undoubtedly keep you coming back for more and more.

Played through approximately 130 of the 200 puzzles. Toyed with the level editor; tried all it’s features. Wrote hundreds upon hundreds of words so as to test the game’s catalogue. Pit God versus a shotgun-wielding Death. Results were hilarious.

Scribblenauts is available exclusively on the Nintendo DS and DSi systems, and retails for $29.99

NEW YORK — There are things you can count on in the gaming world, things that seem to never change. For one, licensed titles, especially ones based on movies, are generally lame. Many are conceived as quick cash-ins to the movie, and are rushed in production in order to be out in time for the theatrical release. This may work for kid’s games, as they will consume anything and everything with their new flavor of the week character in it, but for adults, we need a little more from our games in order to justify dropping $60 and 10 hours of time into them.

That’s why I was pleasantly surprised when I was given the chance to play the video game version of Wanted, which released in theaters last year. Actually, that right there was my first hint that things could be different with this game, as it was not rushed onto shelves to coincide with the movie’s release, but was instead given time to develop.

I was told that this is something like “Wanted: 1.5″, as it begins five hours after the movie’s end and begins to tell a new story in the Wanted universe. It’s a third-person shooter, and boasts elements such as Assassin Time (which is essentially a version of Bullet Time) in order to make the gameplay more than just run and gun. Assassin Time by itself wouldn’t be that impressive, but Wanted has something that no other game on the market does: curving bullets.

Curving bullets is fun, and it’s easy to pick up on. I tested this out on the Xbox 360, so to curve, you press RB to have a trail pop up on the screen, and then you use the right analog stick to adjust the path of the bullet. When the enemy in focus is red, you aren’t going to hit him, but when it’s white, release RB and you’ll give the guard behind cover a little surprise.

The developers made it so that you can’t just spam curved bullets all day long from behind cover. You have a gauge that fills up whenever you kill an enemy (though enemies killed by curving bullets do not count towards this gauge) and once that gauge is full, you can curve bullets. The kill from a curved bullet is often a real-time event that happens very quickly, but occasionally, the game will slow things down like the movie and you’ll get the chance to see a gory visual event as a curved bullet takes down a guard.

Another thing that keeps you from hiding behind cover is that the AI is far too smart to let you do that. They will surround you, they will hunt you down, and they will kill you if you just sit in one place. The developers designed a cover mechanic that resembles a combination of Gears of War 2 but with a character who is as quick and deadly as an assassin.

Simply press A to hide behind cover, and then point in a direction and press A again to shift as fast as a ninja to the next wave of cover. With some practice, you’ll be fast enough to shoot while you’re hopping from cover spot to cover spot, and the enemies will be fooled and continue shooting where you used to be rather than where you are. That’s a great way to then sneak up behind enemies and stab them to refill your gauge.

In addition to the regular levels, you also have ones that are on rails, where you need to take out enemies as fast as you can. You will experience Assassin Time here as well, and be able to slow things down enough that you can see bullets coming at you. Target those bullets to stop them from hitting you, and take out the enemies shooting you while you’re at it. These break up the standard gameplay mechanic, and make for some good fun, especially since your goal is to get through these parts as fast as you can.

I was told that the game gets to be ridiculously difficult; after all, with some practice ducking between different cover spots, your ability to curve bullets and your assassin time, you should be nigh invincible. No worries though: there will be enemies that won’t die via curved bullets, and they will send plenty of intelligent soldiers after you at the same time in order to keep you on your toes. There are also multiple difficulty levels; to unlock the hardest, you will need to beat the game once, but no worries, as things are meant to be so difficult on the hardest level that you will need the initial experience in order to get by.

Between the new game mechanics with curved bullets, the difficulty and the style that is dripping from the game in both its approach to third-person shooters and the killing systems, Wanted: Weapons of Fate looks like a title that is going to exceed our expectations for movie-based titles and be worth a purchase when it releases in late March.

You know, about 45 minutes ago, I had no fear of 8-year-old girls.

I also had no fear of walking down hallways, streets and Metro stations, but this was all before I decided to download and play the recently released F.E.A.R. 2 demo off of Xbox Live.

F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin, an action-adventure FPS slash pseudo-Japanese horror story from Monolith Productions, is the second installment of one of the most talked about and frightening FPS franchises in recent memory. Though I never did get on the bandwagon to play the original title, the Project Origin demo did more than enough to convince me that the hype was well deserved.

Project Origin begins with a dramatic opening cinematic. Starting with a deep black screen, you hear the words “Her name is Alma” spoken by the narrator. If you’ve ever been to a video game forum or website in the last year, you know that when Alma is mentioned, you’re probably in big trouble.

From the black screen, the cinematic slowly zooms into Alma, a seemingly harmless 8-year-old child blessed (or should I say cursed?) with psychic abilities, playing on a swing set atop a peaceful grassy hill. However, the portrait is not pleasant for long as the sequence starts to dart violently back and forth between clips of burning buildings and mayhem. Each frame becomes more dramatic, pulsating and contracting. The tension builds as the shot slowly closes in on the girl on the swing set. The cinematic converts seamlessly to gameplay, reminding me of the opening sequence of Bioshock. It was a true “Oh wow, this IS the game” moment.

Once you realize that you’re in control, you assume the role of a weaponless Michael Beckett on an abandoned street. As you walk Beckett further down the street, you see Alma just ahead of you, signaling to the player of which direction to head. Why you would want to chase Alma down a street sans a weapon, I have no idea.

From there, you navigate your way through streets, schools and subways systems, finding weapons and Delta Force members along the way. You also encounter a good variety of foes including ghosts, mechwarriors and one particularly annoying falling bus.

Reflex Time was one of my favorite parts of Project Origin. If I ever found myself surrounded by enemies, I would just toggle the Y button and unload with my shotgun. It was a satisfaction I’ve missed since Max Payne’s Bullet Time.

What was great about this demo was the fact that you never really know what is coming or when it is going to happen. All you know is that it WILL happen and that you may need another clean pair of boxers very soon.

From this, you are trapped in a constant state of terror. You are continuously wondering when the next paranormal event will happen. This is definitely tolerable in a demo format but I do wonder what affect it may have on players in a full-scale campaign.

The flaws in this demo are few and far between. Sometimes the enemy character models as well as the doors and other landmarks can be hard to see due to shading and shadows. I recommend keeping your flashlight on at all times and perhaps even adjusting the brightness settings in the game menu up a notch or two. I did enjoy the gore, though I thought it to be a bit over the top when combined with Reflex Time.

In any case, I am looking forward to the full version of F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin. From what I saw, the story has potential and the campaign will certainly be full of surprises. The only doubts I have about the game are with the brightness of the in-game environments and how many hours I will be able to play before I start having nightmares about Alma.

Nerds can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Warner Bros’ soon-to-be blockbuster “Watchmen” looks like it will be coming out on its intended release date of March 6. A recent ruling deemed that Fox was the owner of the rights to the film, even though Warner Bros is finishing production on their own movie now.

Neither studio was willing to risk walking away empty handed, so a settlement has been made between Warner Bros and Fox, allowing both film studios to profit. Fox claims to have owned the rights to the film, and that Warner Bros did not have them transferred. Warner Brothers claimed that they were made the same offer, and Fox has been sitting on the rights with no intention of using them.

Both sides have their points, but when Judge Gary Feess ruled in favor of Fox, it put both sides into a standstill. With Warner Bros unable to release the movie, and Fox wanting to profit, they approached the judge and announced a settlement.

The terms were not disclosed, but Warner looks to be paying Fox outright, as well as giving them a percentage of the box office take. No word on whether this will also influence DVD sales.

The both companies released a statement saying “Warner Bros. and Fox, like all ‘Watchmen’ fans, look forward with great anticipation to this film’s March 6 release in theaters”.

It looks like in Hollywood, there is no problem that a little cash and profit sharing can’t fix.

The Watchmen will be simultaneously released in both standard format and in IMAX, and is shaping up to be one of the biggest releases of the year.

Everyone is watching the Watchmen–or rather, everyone is watching the dueling studios 20th Century Fox and Warner Brothers as the fate of the highly-anticipated film is gradually shrouded in uncertainty and confusion. With Rorschach, the Comedian, Silk Specter, Nite Owl, and the rest of Alan Moore and David Gibbons’ brilliant cast so tantalizingly close to the silver screen, fans and film-lovers alike are anxious over the conflict. Will there be “Watchmen” on the night of March 6th, the day of the film’s scheduled release? Or will the conflict remain unresolved, as many fear, and result in postponement or even cancellation?

But let’s back up. Where does this all begin? The story is familiar by now: Fox bought the rights to distribute a film adaptation of Watchmen shortly after the acclaimed graphic novel’s release and spent the next twenty years doing absolutely nothing with it. Warner Brothers decided to develop the so-called “unfilmable” story anyway and managed to produce the $130 million epic with “300″ director Zack Snyder at the helm.

Of course, it’s not that simple – it never is. Before filming began, Fox approached Warner Brothers and a suit began over the rights to the project, though it is obvious Warner Brothers continued with production regardless of legal troubles. Unfortunately for Warner Brothers, in late December Judge Gary Feess brought down the gavel on Fox’s side of things and since then, Fox has made it clear that they want to prevent the release of the film, a possibility which will be decided on January 20th. The only good news for fans in this bleak tale is that lawyers on both sides of the conflict are working on a settlement.

The legal conflict hasn’t stopped Warner Brothers from mounting a variety of marketing strategies. Snyder and company took full advantage of the comic-book hype of “The Dark Knight,” releasing the first trailer just before Batman hit theaters.

A series of prequel video games called “Watchmen: The End is Nigh” will be released during the month of March to (hopefully) go along with the film. Patrick Wilson (Nite Owl) and Jackie Earle Haley (Rorschach) lend their voices and‚ original artist David Gibbons served as an advisor during production of the seventies period game.

“The Tales of the Black Freighter,” the fictional comic book in the original graphic novel, will be included as an animated feature for Watchmen’s (hopeful) DVD release, with Gerard Butler voicing the main role.

Director Zack Snyder didn’t forget the fans, either. He took to Watchmen’s Youtube channel and started a contest for Youtubers to create commercials for Veidt Enterprises, a fictional corporation in the Watchmen world. Some of the top entries can be found‚ here.

Action figures are due to be released this month and this past Wednesday, a footage-packed‚ featurette was released via Apple that depicts the original generation of superheroes of the Watchmen universe, the Minutemen, whose story plays an important role in the story. The featurette was accompanied by a‚ Japanese trailer for the film that also plays host to some never-before-seen footage.

Recently, Warner Brothers launched a new‚ website that plays homage to vigilante Rorschach’s publication of choice, the fictional conspiracy theory magazine The New Frontiersman. While there are no apparent easter eggs, the website includes a few nods to Watchmen fans, incorporating the original Minuteman photo, an ink blot (also known as a Rorschach test), and the ubiquitous blood-stained smiley face pin into the site’s design.

So whether or not there will actually be a film to see on March 6th is still up in the air. But Warner Brothers isn’t about to back down and fans can only hope that their legal team is as aggressive as the marketing campaign–or, even better, as aggressive as the Watchmen themselves.

Electronic Arts Inc and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment confirmed this week that the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince‚ video game will be released globally Summer 2009, alongside the Warner Bros. Pictures’ film based on J.K. Rowling’s sixth Harry Potter book.

They tried to remain upbeat.

“We’re excited about the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince video game in development and its high level of authenticity and playability,” said Robert Nashak, Vice President EA Casual Studios. “We are creating an immersive game experience that Potter fans around the world will really enjoy playing as they fly and duel their way through the story of the film. The game will feature new Wii gestures and increased gameplay capabilities across all of the platforms.”

“The Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince game will be an excellent interactive extension of the film and all of the new action that comes with it,” said Martin Tremblay, President, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. “EA is creating the Harry Potter video games that fans will love, and this game will deliver new gameplay elements and the magic players are looking forward to.”

“We have enjoyed a wonderful partnership with EA in collaborating on the videogames for all of the Harry Potter films,” said Harry Potter film Producer David Heyman. “The visual look of the game for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is incredibly authentic to the film and will provide a truly compelling experience for everyone who plays.”

In the game of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, players will return to Hogwarts to help Harry survive a fraught sixth year. They will also have a chance to engage in exciting wizard duels, mix and brew magical ingredients in Potions class and take to the air to lead the Gryffindor Quidditch team to victory. Players may even get sidetracked by Ron’s romantic entanglements as they journey towards a dramatic climax and discover the identity of the Half-Blood Prince.

“Twilight” will fill the November 21 vacancy recently left by the nine-month delay of “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.”

According to the vampire flick’s producers at Summit Entertainment, the eagerly anticipated “Twilight” movie release date will be moved up from December 12.

“When Warner Bros. decided to move ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’ to the summer of 2009, we saw a unique opportunity to slot in our film which has been gaining tremendous awareness and momentum over the past several months,” Summit said in the statement Friday. “We by no means are trying to fill the shoes of the incredible POTTER franchise for 2008, rather we are just looking to bring the fans of Stephenie Meyer’s incredible book series the film as soon possible from a programming perspective.”

While Summit declines all suggestion that they are trying to replace “Harry Potter” in the holiday season, it looks like “Twilight” is going to be the “it” kids movie of Christmas break. We at Blast speculate that it could soon be filling another big set of shoes that the witches and wizards have left empty … big screen, possibly three-dimensional shoes.

The following was released by Warner Bros. Thursday:

“Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince” Moves To Summer 2009

(August 14, 2008 – Burbank, CA) – Warner Bros. Pictures today announced that it has moved back the release date of “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” to Summer 2009. The sixth installment of the blockbuster Harry Potter franchise will now open day-and-date domestically and in the major international markets on July 17, 2009. The announcement was made by Alan Horn, President and Chief Operating Officer, Warner Bros.

In making the announcement, Mr. Horn stated, “Our reasons for shifting ‘Half-Blood Prince’ to summer are twofold: we know the summer season is an ideal window for a family tent pole release, as proven by the success of our last Harry Potter film, which is the second-highest grossing film in the franchise, behind only the first installment. Additionally, like every other studio, we are still feeling the repercussions of the writers’ strike, which impacted the readiness of scripts for other films-changing the competitive landscape for 2009 and offering new windows of opportunity that we wanted to take advantage of. We agreed the best strategy was to move ‘Half-Blood Prince’ to July, where it perfectly fills the gap for a major tent pole release for mid-summer.”

Jeff Robinov, President of Warner Bros. Pictures Group, confirmed, “The release date change does not alter the production schedule for this or future Harry Potter films. Post-production on ‘Half-Blood Prince’ was completed on time, and the studio’s release plans for the two-part ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’ will not be affected by this change. We know Harry Potter fans are eagerly anticipating seeing the final chapters unfold onscreen. In fact, the good news for them is that the gap will now be shortened between ‘Half-Blood Prince’ and the first part of ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.’”

Commenting on the release date change for “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” David Heyman, the producer of all the Harry Potter films, offered, “When Jeff Robinov explained the rationale behind moving the release date of ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’ to July 2009, it was immediately apparent that this offered us the potential to reach the widest possible audience. I am extremely proud of this latest film and of the work of David Yates and our incomparable cast; I believe we have developed and pushed the series further still. We are all looking forward to sharing it with Harry Potter fans around the world, even if we have to wait just a bit longer.”

David Yates, the director of both “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” and “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” and who will also helm “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,’ added, “It has been a joy to work on ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.’ Dan, Rupert and Emma and all our returning young cast continue to blossom, and our new cast members bring fresh color and life to Hogwarts. Even as we put the finishing touches on this latest film, we are already beginning preparations on the final two films-we start filming in February-and I am excited to bring this remarkable series to the exciting and moving conclusion its loyal fans deserve.”

In “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” Voldemort is tightening his grip on both the Muggle and wizarding worlds and Hogwarts is no longer the safe haven it once was. Harry suspects that dangers may even lie within the castle, but Dumbledore is more intent upon preparing him for the final battle that he knows is fast approaching. Meanwhile, the students are under attack from a very different adversary as teenage hormones rage across the ramparts. Love is in the air, but tragedy lies ahead and Hogwarts may never be the same again.

Warner Bros. Pictures presents a Heyday Films production, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.” David Yates, who directed last year’s summer blockbuster “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” returns to direct “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.” David Heyman and David Barron are the producers, with Lionel Wigram serving as executive producer. Steve Kloves wrote the screenplay, based on the book by J.K. Rowling.

Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson are reprising their roles as young wizards Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. The film also stars Jim Broadbent, Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane, Warwick Davis, Michael Gambon, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, Timothy Spall, David Thewlis and Julie Walters. The cast also features David Bradley, Jessie Cave, Frank Dillane, Tom Felton, Matthew Lewis, Evanna Lynch, Helen McCrory, Natalia Tena, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, and Bonnie Wright.

“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” will be released by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

Big news comic book fans; a Watchmen trailer has finally been released!

LOS ANGELES — While it wasn’t Golden Sun 3, Capcom’s big surprise announcement certainly knocked the socks off quite a few gamers. During their press conference Tuesday, Capcom and Warner Bros. announced that they were going to create a live-action Lost Planet movie, set to release sometime in 2011.

No actors or directors or stuntmen have been recruited to the project yet. The film remains in the very early stages of its development. Writer David Hayter (Watchmen, X2) and father and son producers Avi and Ari Arad (behind The Incredible Hulk and Iron Man) are more than excited to be a part of the film.

They didn’t give us much, but it’s something to look forward to. It’s interesting that the most surprising announcement at one of the premiere video game conventions was the release of a movie.