Queen headlines LEGO Rock Band

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and MTV Games today announced that LEGO Rock Band will feature the likeness of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Queen. Appearing in the game as LEGO minifigures, front man Freddie Mercury, guitarist Brian May, bassist John Deacon and drummer Roger Taylor will be rocking out to their hits “We Will Rock You” and “We Are The Champions.”

Guitarist Brian May seems excited about it: “This is IT! I wanna play!,” he said. “When do I get my toy LEGO man?” Right on, we say.

Today also marks the release of the Queen pack for the Rock Band Music Store of downloadable content, featuring 10 of the band’s most loved songs including Killer Queen, Somebody to Love, Fat Bottomed Girls and the Queen/David Bowie collaboration, Under Pressure. In addition, Queen will release Absolute Greatest on Nov. 17, featuring 20 of the band’s biggest hits.

LEGO Rock Band is scheduled for release holiday 2009.

Wizard of Oz RPG coming to DS in Sept.

XSEED Games today announced that The Wizard of Oz: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road will be shipping in North America exclusively for the Nintendo DS on September 2. Released as RIZ-ZOAWD by D3Publisher in Japan, THE WIZARD OF OZ: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road is an RPG inspired by the classic story of Dorothy and her magical journey through the Land of Oz, revealing a new perspective on what happened after reaching the end of the Yellow Brick Road.

XSEED Games partnered with D3Publisher to secure the North American rights to publish and distribute THE WIZARD OF OZ: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road in North America. The game is being developed by Media.Vision and will be available September 29 for a suggested retail price of $29.99. The game was licensed from Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and is rated E for Everyone. Find out more by easing down the road to www.wizardofozds.com.

Mini Ninjas on the loose

Mini Ninjas, co-published in North America by Eidos and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment is now in stores for the Wii, Nintendo DS, PS3, Xbox 360 and Games for Windows. Developed by IO Interactive, Mini Ninjas puts you in the tiny little shoes of Hiro and his friends as they go on a journey to feudal Japan to restore harmony to a world on the brink of chaos.

 The game is a third-person action adventure where players fight evil samurai, collect ingredients to make consumables and weapons, and discover the secrets the world has to offer. The game is a departure from IO’s other work, which as you well know involves a Hitman with a penchant for cold blooded murder.

F.E.A.R. 2: Reborn released

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Monolith Studios have released F.E.A.R. 2: Reborn, an all new single player campaign for F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin, via Xbox Live and PlayStation Network and on various download portals for Windows. Along with the new DLC, which isn’t free, is a brand new update that offers a free new multiplayer mode called Slow-Mo Deathmatch. On Xbox Live the DLC costs 800 Microsoft Points, while over on PlayStation Network you can grab it for $9.99 USD, and on Windows for $9.99 USD via portals like Steam, IGN and Digital River.

F.E.A.R. 2: Reborn puts players in the events following Alma’s antics in an entirely new role: that of Replica Soldier Foxtrot 813. Gamers begin the mission as part of an orbital Powered Armor drop to reinforce their squad, and the ruined city of Auburn emanates supernatural events and familiar voices, beckoning Foxtrot813 to go against orders from Replica command.

The FREE Slow-Mo Deathmatch update offers F.E.A.R. fans an all-new multiplayer mode where players use a slow-mo powerup to slow down enemies in multiplayer deathmatch, gaining short-term advantages. The longer players hold onto the slow-mo powerup, the more objective points are accumulated, contributing to their overall score.

Scene It? goes multi-platform

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Screenlife announced that the latest game in the Scene It? franchise, Scene It? Bright Lights! Big Screen! will be coming to Xbox 360 and for the first time - Wii and PlayStation 3.

Scene It? Bright Lights! Big Screen! will offer a wide variety of media-rich trivia that will provide movie fans and social gamers with a lively, competitive group gaming experience, and will feature trivia content including recently released 2009 movies, as well as fan favorite Hollywood hits from the last four decades. The game will also feature thousands of new questions, a new and improved single player option, and new, unique mini-game content.

Artificial Mind & Movement is developing Scene It? Bright Lights! Big Screen! for Screenlife.

F.E.A.R. 2: Reborn demo now available

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Monolith Studios have released a demo for F.E.A.R. 2: Reborn, the next F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin DLC pack, via Playstation Network and Xbox LIVE Marketplace. The demo gives you some quality hands-on time with the single-player campaign, featuring four all new levels. F.E.A.R. 2: Reborn immerses gamers in the aftermath of Alma’s destruction with a mysterious new point-of-view: that of Replica Soldier Foxtrot 813.

F.E.A.R. 2: Reborn will be available for purchase on September 3 via PlayStation Network and Xbox LIVE. Updates for the PlayStation 3, PC and Xbox 360 will also be released on the dame day and will include Slow-Mo Deathmatch mode capabilities.

Batman: Arkham Asylum now available

Batman: Arkham Asylum is finally in stores to the delight of Dark Knight fans across North America. Now those who have tried the demo on Xbox Live and PlayStation Network can really see what happens when they run headlong into that boss fight with Killer Crock. My opinion on the game (check out our freshly published Batman: Arkham Asylum Review), based on the demo is a big fat question mark. On the one hand you have an incredible cast doing the voice-over work for the game (Batman, Joker and Harley Quinn from the original animated series) stylized and context sensative content, cool bat gadgets and gameplay that is as smooth as silk; and on the other hand you have gameplay that feels like an overabundance of hand-holding and a bizarre art style that makes Harley Quinn look like she just jumped off the operating table after a boob job.

That aside, if you haven’t heard anything about Batman: Arkham Asylum, it was developed by Rocksteady Studios, based on DC Comics’ popular comic book license and co-published by Eidos and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. The game tells the tale of a harrowing night in Arkham Asylum after The Joker and Harley Quinn spring a trap on the Dark Knight. Trapped, Batman will have to face off against his most dangerous enemies and their henchmen to bring The Joker and everyone else to justice. That old saying “the lunatics are running the asylum” is apropos in this situation.

Players will have access to a special bat suit feature called Detective Mode, which provides real-time data on the environment and the people in it, as well as a targeting system to make melee attacks, grappling and gadget use easier to handle. As I mentioned, much of the combat in the game is situational; for example, Bats might use a great height to hit a target with a glide kick or to snipe with the batarang if he so chooses. He’ll need all the help he can get as he takes on The Joker and Gotham City’s most notorious villains, including Harley Quinn, Bane, Killer Croc, Poison Ivy and Scarecrow.

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