Batman: Arkham City features a new voice for Harley Quinn, Batman: Arkham City PC News

Even before we played Batman: Arkham Asylum, the developer had us on its good side just by filling the game’s voice cast with regulars from Batman: The Animated Series. Mark Hamill was the Joker, Kevin Conroy played Batman, and Arleen Sorkin reprised the role she created, Harley Quinn. We had assumed Arleen would be returning in Arkham City along with the confirmed Conroy and Hamill, but developer Rosksteady has revealed the part has been recast, with the role going to voiceover vet Tara Strong,

Above: Skip to 1:09 and you’ll hear Tara Strong doing the voice

From the clip above it seems like Strong is sticking pretty close to Sorkin’s version, so much so that we didn’t even notice it was a different actress in that trailer until today. And Strong is a very accomplished actress, appearing in piles of cartoons and games, including Rikku in Final Fantasy X/X-2, Talwyn in the Ratchet series, and Rachel in Ninja Gaiden. This marks the first time Sorkin has been replaced, with Arleen supplying Harley’s voice most recently in January’s DC Universe Online.

Above: Here's Sorkin as Quinn in Asylum

We’re sad to see Arleen Sorkin leave the role, as writer Paul Dini even created the part with Arleen in mind. Harley was a breakout star on The Animated Series, quickly going from the relatively small part of Joker’s henchgirl to starring in multiple episodes. Ultimately she became so popular that she joined the official comic book universe, a rare feat for animated characters. Watch the below vid with some of her best moments in case you doubt Arleen’s chops:

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Microsoft offers students free 360s with Windows 7 PCs, PC PC News

If you were one of the biggest manufacturers of gaming hardware in the world, and your rival was recovering from a spell of terrible luck, how might you consider capitalizing on the situation? If you're Microsoft, you could tacitly advance the notion that your hardware's so damn ubiquitous that the would-be learners of the next generation don't even have to pay for it.

The dream of a 'Box in every home continues with the announcement that students who(se parents) spend more than $700 on a Windows 7 PC will be eligible for a free 4GB Xbox 360. Those worried that their student experience might involve immersion in new ideas or the opportunity to go outside and physically meet new people can dodge both bullets in one fell swoop by following the steps detailed on theWindows Team Blog.

Above: A player takes a reluctant break from Team Fortress 2 for some obligation of some sort 

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Rapture-proof your iPhone with a chic Pip-Boy 3000 case, Fallout: New Vegas PC News

This Pip-Boy 3000 iPhone case may not actually help you in a real life battle against a Deathclaw, but it can locate and call the nearest hospital if and when the fight goes down. Judging by the quality, it could also fetch a few bottle caps on eBay - assuming you can convince its creator to sell you one in the first place.

The replica Pip-Boy 3000 was constructed by Dale Chance, with Geiger counter sound effects and Pip-Boy programs supplied by the Apple App Store. Chance has crafted other items from the Fallout world including Nuka-Cola and Sunset Sarsaparilla caps and badges, an AEP7 Laser Pistol and 'That Gun'. These are all shown in detail on his Etsy shop, The Chance Emporium, where it appears he's already started selling replicas of his replicas to artsy Fallout fans.

On the page describing his newest Pip-Boy 3000 creation, he writes:“This is sure to make your time in the wastelands that much easier, and face it, no one else will look quite as suave as you would, with this on your arm.”

The man has a point. With this and a few Sarsaparilla bottle caps (guaranteed to add +1 charisma), the cosplay ladies won't stand a chance. And with the whole rapture thing on the way...

{Source: Deviant Art– Chanced1 via Gamma Squad}

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Slow news day leads to Portal 2 adoption“controversy”, Portal 2 PC News

A mildly derisive segment of the script for Portal 2 is at the center of a media firestorm that looks to dominate news cycles in the Charlotte, NC area for the foreseeable future. The game, which features the player character being gently chided by the game's villains for being adopted, has reporters straining their“concerned and outraged” voices as they report on the inappropriateness of antagonists holding moderately contentious views.

“If you're an adopted parent, it's literally the worst thing you could have possibly heard,” says a visibly mildly-perturbed Neil Stapel, Charlotte resident. Stapel, who was playing the game with his adopted Chinese daughter when the Steven Merchant character called the protagonist“Fatty fatty no parents,” says his daughter still likes the game and is, um,“pretending” not to have been affected by the remarks.

Two things come across in this report: that Neil Stapel is, kidding aside, a stand-up guy who loves his daughter very much and is doing a great job of raising her honestly and responsibly (if imparting a dangerous tendency to misuse the word“literally”); and that wow, there is nothing going on in North Carolina this week.

“We did contact Sony... they told us to contact Valve, who actually created the game. We've not heard back from them,” concludes the report:“They're obviously passing the buck.” We're now abandoning serious journalism for another year, because WBTV Charlotte has that Pulitzer in the bag.

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'Films as Cartridges' image collection is obvious, charming, PC PC News

Few will observethis collectionof Atari-era game carts based on contemporary films and think,"what a novel idea!"(or worse,"JJ Abrams is going to get so sued!"). If it's contemporary and popular, it's inevitable that it'll get the"what if it were old?"treatment. However, as obvious jokes go, you can't fault these sleeves' fantastic attention to detail.

Graphic pranksters Penny Design– whose previous work includesthis similarly affectionate90s re-imagining of Angry Birds– put together these mockups for a series of pixel-age licenses of modern movies and TV shows, and the little touches really help them stand out from the crowd. Dig the ex-rental sticker on Tokyo Drift, or the“Merry Christmas '78” note on The Dark Knight.

See the whole sethere. Which ones do you like best?

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The Witcher 2 features snarky Assassin's Creed tie-in, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings PC News

Games developers can be pretty catty. There's a long-standing tradition of bitching at the competition in-game: think Duke Nukem's“Doomed Space Marine” or the directive in GTA 3 to kill the“strangely animated” protagonist of Driver. The Witcher 2 submits its application to the Mean Girls' club via a fairly open swipe at the reigning king of story-based period adventure, poorly hidden about 30 mins in.

As you can see, CD Projekt's throwdown proceeds thusly: Geralt wanders past a church featuring the requisite tall steeply bit and spies a familiar figure, sprawled dead in a pile of hay– the obvious consequences of a failed Leap of Faith. Oh, snap!

Questions raised by the diss are, of course, numerous. If your series features elemental genies and great big glowing magical spells and what-all, can you really afford to get snippy about a game mechanic like“the law of gravity”? Is a four-year-old game openly acknowledged as a bit disappointing really the ripest target for a takedown? What, is The Witcher 3 going to be slamming on Rise of the Robots?

Anyway, not like this isn't a neat wee aside. What do you think? What's your favorite in-game swipe at another title?

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Ubisoft Motion Pictures prepping 3D Assassin's Creed, Splinter Cell and Ghost Recon films, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood PC News

Ezio Auditore, Sam Fisher and The Ghosts are about to go Hollywood. This weekend, Ubisoft Motion Pictures confirmed plans to break into the movie biz with 3D films based on the Assassin's Creed, Ghost Recon and Splinter Cell franchises.

The movies are the first projects to be green lit by Ubisoft's newly formed film and TV branch in Paris. They are being developed with consultation from Ubisoft's gaming wing in an effort to stay true to their video game roots.

"Our strategy is not to diversify but to bolster the appeal of our franchises,"said the studio's senior VP of international marketing and distribution Jean de Rivieres, noting,"That's why we want to make sure our films will reflect the brands accurately and consolidate our fan base while expanding beyond the games' primary target audience."

This June, Rivieres will be heading stateside with Ubisoft Motion Pictures boss Jean-Julien Baronnet and senior VP of production and development Didier Lupfer to discuss the projects with US studios, screenwriters and agents.

"We want to keep ownership, retain control over the film content, and we're open to work with studios on the development of our projects, and eventually collaborate on the pre-casting, pre-budget and script,"said Baronnet.

Rivieres added that at least one of the scripts should be ready by the end of 2011.

{Source: Variety}

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