This season, a new format will debut that plans to freshen up and reinvigorate the TUF program. With coaches Tito Ortiz & Chuck Liddell, you can expect great coaching, great fights and bad blood between these two that will make this another must-see season.

It’s a  great time to be a UFC fan. Here are this season’s competitors:

The Ultimate Fighter premieres on SpikeTV on Wednesday, March 31st — check your local listings for showtimes.

Mickey Rourke and the always awesome Sam Rockwell are your villains from what we’ve seen so far. Rourke will play Whiplash (who may or may not also become Crimson Dynamo) and Rockwell is criminal mastermind and businessman Justin Hammer.

Iron Man 2 looks like it has the right spark to start the new summer blockbuster season and quite frankly I wouldn’t have it any other way.

For months now I have been covering the newest characters is SSF4 and I had heard that one more remained to be revealed. It turns out that this new challenger was going to be completely new. Hakan appears to have a very slippery and oily appearance which augment his attacks and give him a unique fighting style which appears to be similar to Hugo with a bit Zangief and Alex as well . My 1st impression was that he looked kind of hokey but after watching some gameplay footage I feel he may prove dangerous in the right hands just like Rufus.The battle begins anew in April!!!

Enjoy!

Video Credit: IGN & Kotaku

Image Credit:Geek Week

MMA

• UFC on VS was discussed
• UFC PPV events
• Andrei Arlovski returns to Strikeforce
• Strikeforce on CBS
• James Toney signs with the UFC and will trained for MMA by Juanito Ibarra.
• UFC will run an event on 4/17 to compete against Strikeforce

Wrestling

• Umaga’s cause of death revealed
• Awesome Kong’s TNA status
• Upcoming RAW guest hosts
• Recently released WWE superstars
• Impact becomes the “Whole Dam Show” on 3/8

Video Games

• Heavy Rain is # 1 in the UK
• Activision vs Infinity Ward
• Splinter Cell Conviction Xbox 360 bundle
• Sony acquires Media Molecule
• Halo Reach — Multiplayer

Movies

• DC movie plans
• Max Steel becomes Stretch Armstrong
• Tron:Legacy a trilogy?
• My thoughts on Zoolander 2 & the Arthur remake starring Russell Brand
• Transformer movie news
• Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter– WTF!!!
• Gilligan’s Island : The Movie
• Iron Man 2 on Kimmel after the awards on 3/7
• Doogie Howser and the smurfs ?
• Green Lantern in 3D
• Marco Polo the movie?

Special thanks to Don Anderson from Tumblin with Tumbleweed for his awesome call with the late Dudley Moore

This weeks plugs

• GirlGamer.com
• MMAValor.com
• MMAHotstuff.com
• Darksiders.com
• Haydndalton.wordpress.com
• VGNRadio.com
• ClevelandSportsRadio.net
• Bornstubbornradio.com
• OCRemix.org
• MMAJunkie.com
• 411mania.com
• Filmdrunk.com

Next week : Darksiders returns to MTR!

The company is called GelaSkins (check out http://www.gelaskins.com/). Their newest collaboration is with Marvel — and they have made some pretty cool things to stick on your stuff. Who wouldn’t want Spidey to save their phone from unsightly scratches??

In addition to Marvel, they also have some stuff from Metal Gear Solid 4 (although that’s just for the iPod Touch and iPhone) and a Dark Horse Comics Collection, which includes the Dark Horse logo, Hellboy, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Tim Burton’s Tragic Toys for Girls and Boys, amongst some others.

The best part — they use 3M “technology” for easy application and removal of the skins, so for klutzes like me, it may actually look good when I’m done.  

Prices range from $14.95 for iPods and iPhones, $19.95 for Netbooks and $29.95 for most laptops and notebooks. Not every piece of artwork is available on every device though, so you need to see what they have.

Check some of them out below and hit up the Gelaskins’ website for the rest…

Click an image to enlarge

When there is nothing else on TV, I have recently found myself watching the WWE again, and to be blunt, it is abysmal. Yes, they have tremendous athletes with all of the physical skill and acting potential in the world, and the high points are truly amazing, but the other 1:56 of the show is borderline unwatchable. What they need are better writers, or at least a more structured format that the fans can identify with. Maybe Vince is jumping in on the writers meeting and saying “this is my show, and this is what we are going to do,” (which would explain the whole Batista ending which Rich discussed in his last show). But let’s move forward and keep the Vince run-ins to a minimum.

While the WWE has amped up the “Entertainment” it has somehow lost sight of the Sport. Yes wrestling is scripted, but that doesn’t mean that what got you to the dance, one man fighting another for victory and the crowds adoration, shouldn’t still be a major focus.

I propose setting up a simple ranking system, similar to boxing where all wrestlers in the WWE would be given a ranking based on where they stand in title contention. For example, if Batista is the WWE Champion, Cena would be #1, Orton would be #2, Triple H #3, etc. The same would be done for all of the belts.

Rules would need to be established to maintain order. Title holder must fight number one contender within a certain period of time, or forfeit the belt. Only the champion can sanction a match with a contender that is not #1. “Unbiased” computer system determines rankings, not Vince or anyone else (This is on air, not behind the scenes of course). This means, use the jumbotron and act surprised when the rankings don’t come out the way you want them to. So I think you see where I am going with this.

The benefits of a ranked system are that the fans will constantly know where each wrestler stands in the picture. Number 9 fighting number 8 doesn’t sound that exciting, but if 9 wins, that moves him up a spot and now 7 is involved and so on. Make the storyline better by constantly having guys choose between fighting to move up in the rankings, and settling personal feuds. It also gives importance back to the belts, which has been sorely missed. It makes being a champion mean something. So Batista is champion. What does that mean? I don’t know. Do you? I bet you knew what it meant when Hogan beat the Iron Sheik.

The ranking system offers so many additional story options and streamlines the shows so that the fans can keep track of what is going on week to week. You can still have your crazy over the top soap-opera style gimmicks, but now people will be taking a look at the guys that are not top stars because you are giving them a clear path to get to the top. Fight your way up to number 1 and you’ll get the title shot you always dreamed of. This is a simple and effective way of building the next Superstars.

“All I’ve ever wanted to do was kill him…A day doesn’t go by where I don’t think about subjecting him to every horrendous torture he’s dealt out to others and then.…end him.”

Wow.

Sources: www.batmanredhood.com and www.imdb.com for voice talent (Andrea Romano is the voice director)

Nowadays, you open a magazine and you see MMA fighters (both male and female) endorsing products. Whether it’s t-shirts, supplements or apparel, Mixed Martial Arts has become a viable marketing machine that captures the key demographics for a lot of products across the board.

Let’s not forget that MMA is now seen on broadcast TV, thanks in part to the now defunct EliteXC, as well as StrikeForce, which broadcasts on CBS. In addition to that, companies like Fathead are now acknowledging MMA fighters as “mainstream” athletes with “mainstream” appeal. You can now hear names like GSP, Fedor, Gina Carano, Chuck Liddell and many others mentioned in the same sentences as athletes like Michael Phelps, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Dwayne Wade. This shows that combat sports other than boxing have now assimilated themselves into today’s sports coverage and beyond. 

Here are just a few examples of how MMA is now part of mainstream media.

StrikeForce Fighter Gina Carano on the cover of ESPN along with the likes of Dwight Howard and Serena Williams.

Former light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson seen in this Nike Ad also was joined but fellow athlete Lance Armstrong.

UFC welterweight champion GSP is now an Under Armour athlete and he joins Michael Phelps,Brandon Jennings and others in “Protecting This House”

Fathead recently announced that they would add UFC fighters to their wall graphic offerings .UFC fighters getting the Fathead treatment are

• BJ Penn
• Brock Lesnar
• Georges St-Pierre
• Jon Jones
• Anderson Silva
• Nate Marquardt
• Junior Dos Santos

Pretty soon MMA will share equal billing with other mainstream organizations like MLB,NHL,NBA and NFL and it’ll be sooner rather than later.

Here is some media for a few of the items that were discussed

The Dishwasher:Vampire Smile trailer

Super SF4 exclusives –Credit Joystiq

You can listen to this episode in the player or visit BTR

This weeks plugs

• OCRemix
• GirlGamer
• MMAValor
• MMAHotstuff
• VGN Radio
• Born Stubborn Radio
• Cleveland Sports Radio

What’s more deadly than the god of war? War itself.

Ever had a bad day? I mean a really bad day? Well War, the first Horseman of the Apocalypse, doesn’t wanna hear you whine about the day you spilled coffee on your brand new, white silk suit. One hundred years ago, he had the mother of them all. All he wants now is to right the wrongs he committed that day and find out who set him up, and then make them have one final, excruciatingly bad day. Darksiders puts you in control of War and lets you unleash rage the likes of which have never been seen before. Even certain Spartans would tell this guy to calm down, Unfortunately, anger management is not in this guy’s vocabulary.

This folks, is your tutorial.

STORY

In the beginning there was only Heaven and hell. Mankind came to be amidst this eternal struggle for power and it is believed that man is the key to it all. A truce was called between the blessed and accursed forces; a pact sealed with seven signs which were not to be broken until the time of the endwar. Quick check…yep, the seals are all still intact, so…why is the first Horseman on Earth laying waste to well, everything? Leave it to Vigil Games to give you a tutorial in the middle of the actual apocalypse. You fight your way through human, demon and angel, killing indiscriminately until you come upon Abbadon, leader of the Angelic forces and Uriel, his lieutenant. Abbadon meets a swift end at the hands of Straga, leader of the chosen demons and one nasty individual. You face off with Straga and teach him that depth perception is not for big nasty demons but before you can kill him you suddenly lose all of your powers and realize that you have broken sacred law. Straga laughs as he takes advantage of this and crushes you to death. Here’s the funny part: one hundred years later your bosses, known as the Charred Council, revive you in order to carry out your punishment – death. According to them the seals were not broken and War was not summoned. He swears that he received the call and begs the opportunity to prove his loyalty or die trying. They bind this scraggly little turd of a wraith to you called the Watcher to make sure you stay in line and send you back to (now) post-apocalyptic Earth. You have been stripped on roughly ninety-nine percent of your true power. Still, you are War and you are determined to show whoever is behind your betrayal why you are the one true herald of the end of all things.

Score 9.5/10

War has a sick fetish for wings — not kidding

GRAPHICS/CAMERA

The second and third pictures above are in-game, action shots, not cut scenes. This game is visually stunning and moments like the above battle with the bat queen Tiamat really make you want to just go “wow,” but if you stop to stare, you will get torn to pieces. The art of Joe Madureira has wowed countless comic book fans for over ten years and now his work comes to the video game realm in Darksiders. If ever a game needed a replay feature it is this one because there are times you just wish you could see that last move or even that last demon again up close. The camera is a bit lazy in this game unless you control it and that is not really a bad thing. What I mean is that the camera tends to sit back and sort of stay away from the action giving you a wide field of view. This becomes invaluable during the frequent swarms of enemies you encounter. Your primary weapon is not great for sweeping around your body so being able to see when to dodge and reposition is wonderful.  I only had a problem with the camera at one point where I was so used to leaving the camera alone that it affected my jump direction and I died. I also have one minor gripe about the transition from game to cut scene and vice-versa. There is a noticeable lag when the transition happens and I have become so used to games being seamless that it really kind of bugged me. It does not take away from the enjoyment of the game in any way and another person might not care but I just felt it was a lack of polish on the final product. This is an IP that will definitely continue based on both the end of the story and the successful sales; I look forward to seeing the next installment fix these little hiccups.

Score: 9.8/10

MUSIC/SOUND EFFECTS/VOICE ACTING

The music in the game is unfortunately quite absent during much of the game. There are themes for the opening and the ending and each boss has a decent piece to complement its battle. Sadly, when you are not in one of these gargantuan battles, the music pretty much goes silent. Instead, it is replaced with the ambient sounds one might expect if one were stuck in post-apocalyptic nowhere: creaking metal and crumbling rock, along with eerie howling winds that have you checking behind you every five seconds. Every monster in the game either talks to you or makes some kind of distinct sound to let you know it is near. If that wasn’t enough, some of the nastier ones come out of demonic portals and you can hear those opening as well. The gripe about no music again is just a personal preference, as the battle noises (especially while you ride Ruin) are pretty much all the atmosphere that is needed for this title. The voice acting in this game is nothing less than top notch. I chose the above movie because Ulthane was second only to War himself in my list of favorites in this game. I loved his voice because he made me think of him as a mix of the Juggernaut and Thor, with the voice of Shrek. However, JB Blanc (the voice of Ulthane) has to step aside for some heavy hitters in this recording booth: Moon Bloodgood (Uriel), Mark Hamill (The Watcher), Phil Lamarr (Vulgrim) and Liam O’Brien (War) bring their characters to life with spectacular voices, to name but a few. When you turn this game on, I hope you have a home theater or at least a really good sound bar because Dolby Digital is going to be your friend.

Score: 8/10

GAMEPLAY

If one were to simply look at this game, “god of war clone” would probably be one of the first thoughts and that person would not be totally wrong. The whole truth, however, is that while there are similarities to Sony’s sunshine boy Kratos, this game does play differently enough that you do not feel like you are in some random corner of Greek mythology. It is difficult to explain in words so I do encourage anyone that enjoyed those games to give this one a go. War offers up the ultra-violence, complete with special kill moves and he is faced with puzzles that will temporarily infuriate you. The controls are very responsive and it is wonderful that War can instantly cancel a combo if, for example, an enemy became stunned and he wanted to go for the instant kill. This was a smart move by developers because War is very frequently surrounded by enemies (some much more powerful) and going into an instant kill makes him temporarily invincible. Even with little tricks like that, you will die quite often on Apocalyptic difficulty, so you had best collect your wrath core shards, life stone pieces and abyssal armor pieces in order. Without them, even the regular bad guys are going to smack you around. The combat can be considered button mashing, but it becomes somewhat important and very helpful to be a little bit diverse in your technique. One could beat the entire game using only the Chaoseater sword, but there are enemies that will be so much easier if you use the Harvester (scythe) and Tremor Gauntlet and keep all three main weapons upgraded. Upgrades come from killing monsters and earning experience points for the weapon you are using. There are tokens you can collect to augment your weapons to either give you more souls, regenerate health, power up your weapon faster, etc. Customization is key to balancing out your abilities and fortunately it can be done at almost any time in the game. Mid-combo you can pause a game and switch from the sword to the gauntlet (or scythe), add a new or different token to any or all of the weapons and go right on back to causing grievous bodily harm. The only downside I can even think of in terms of controls comes from War’s trusty steed, Pain. For the most part, Pain is fun to ride and very easy to control, but the only way to prevent damage (and possibly being knocked off) is to literally dodge a hit. There is no blocking ability while riding Pain and many of your weapons become needlessly unusable. This would not be a pain for someone who does not care about 100% completion and is not going to bother riding Pain for 100 game miles or killing 150 enemies on horseback. There is still the issue of certain areas of the Ashlands, where riding Pain is necessary since War is completely defenseless on foot there. There are many corridors that you ride through that are too narrow for combat. The majority of the hits I took while on horseback were because I was circling an enemy and hit a wall, which kills your momentum and it takes a few extra seconds to get off the wall. Even with the horse controls feeling like they needed more, the gameplay of Darksiders is fun and very easy to learn. Once you get good with switching weapons on the fly, you start feeling like an overpowered version of Dexter and creatively mutilating bad guys becomes an art.

Score: 9.5/10

Darksiders trophies

REPLAY VALUE/TROPHY & ACHIEVEMENT HUNTING

The classic and unfortunate drawback of great single player games is that usually once you are done with them, you are very much done with them. Darksiders really has little to recommend even a second playthrough unless you just want to experience the cool story again. If you are like me and try to get everything on the first playthrough then you would have pieced together the Abyssal Armor and it becomes available to you from the beginning of the new game. It is worth mentioning that even towards the end of this game, the armor made anything attacking you that was not at least five times your size feel like a naughty tickle. If you played the game on a lower difficulty and got the armor then I would say go ahead and crank it to Apocalyptic difficulty and have some fun. Truth of the matter is that I started on apocalyptic and the game is not that difficult. There is an item towards the end that even shows you where all the collectible stuff is located so the only place you have to worry about missing anything is in Eden and the first area of the Iron Canopy. You can backtrack anywhere else in the game. As for the achievements/trophies, only four of the forty-three can be missed and one of those you can get within the first five minutes of a new game. Anyone that wants a platinum trophy in this one is going to get it.

Score: 7.7/10

The Four Horse“men?”

OVERALL

Darksiders was a wonderful game to experience and a great way to kick off 2010 gaming. If this is the worst title to come out this year then we have a lot to look forward to. A “Zelda-esque” beat-‘em-up; a Kratos adventure with 007 gadgets; these are a few of the ways I can think of to describe the game. War also took weaponry and abilities from his “brothers,” (yes, I see a girl in the picture also) which along with the ending and words from developers is ensuring that we will see more of the Horsemen in the future. In my book that makes this title the opening chapter in what I hope to be a deep and satisfying series of games. I hope to see much improvement from the next game and either a new main character or some online co-operative options. This game is a solid rental at bare minimum however I would not discourage a purchase – some early adopters got a code that got them a free copy of Red Faction: Guerrilla. I would not put it past Vigil and THQ to make your saved game worth something in the next title. Maybe the next Horseman will have use of War’s sword? Who knows? I know I will be one of those to find out.

FINAL SCORE: 8.9