Weather you wish to admit it or not, the Playstation installments of the Final Fantasy series, particularly VII and VIII, marked a major turning point in console role playing games. Up until then, role playing games were only enjoyed by a niche but dedicated audience. What they lacked in graphics, their epic stories made up for a thousandfold. Final Fantasy VII introduced 3-d polygon models, fully rendered cinematics, and graphics that were as epic in scale as the game’s storyline itself. Squaresoft had clearly outdone itself, and in 1999, it was tasked with having to following it up. Released in America on the same day as the Sega Dreamcast, Final Fantasy VIII managed to not only surpass the scale of FFVII, but it managed to set a new standard for role playing games. Despite its critical acclaim amongst gaming media outlets and fans alike, many purists don’t think too highly of this entry in the series. For the life of me I don’t see why, because next to Final Fantasy Tactics, this is arguably the best PS1 Final Fantasy game. In fact, it stands alongside Metal Gear Solid and Resident Evil 2 as one of the greatest PS1 games of all time, and it’s also one of the finest console role playing games ever.

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Here we have my second attempt at a game review. I feel I’m gonna be sticking to the voice-over type for a while, so you all will have to deal. I’m a wee bit more camera-shy than the male staff here at Powet.

Umbrella Chronicles was a great game, and makes me wish I actually had a Wii, rather than holding a friend’s Wii hostage for the duration of my playing experience. Needless to say, I did quite fine without the awful Wii Zapper, which despite being made primarily for games such as Umbrella Chronicles, didn’t live up to my expectations. Live and learn.

Its easy to forget with Iron Man and Batman hype running full steam that Hellboy is coming back. Or at least it was easy until this trailer hit. The first Hellboy was a class-A super hero flick and I expect nothing less. In fact I think the second will be even better now that director Guillermo Del Toro has the incredible Pan’s Labyrinth to his credit.

If you want to see more Hi-Res options for the trailer, check out IGN.

Paramount Pictures is confirming 4 new additions to the GI Joe movie cast according to IESB and Hollywood Reporter.

First up is Storm Shadow, the Cobra ninja and personal bodyguard to Cobra Commander. He’s the “swordbrother” of GI Joe’s resident ninja commando, Snake Eyes. He’ll be played by South Korean actor Byung-hun Lee. Western gamers might recognize him as the face of Wayne Holden in the game “Lost Planet: Extreme Condition”

Model/Actress Rachel Nichols has been cast as the GI Joe member Scarlett (seen above). Scarlett is the team’s counter intelligence officer and uses a cross bow, she’s also been romantically linked to Snake Eyes. Rachel Nichols previously starred as an FBI agent on Alias, and has also taken an unspecified role in the next Star Trek. Nichols will dye her hair red and speak with a southern accent or else everyone will cry.

LOST fans looking for a shot of Mr Eko are going to be pleased to see Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje has been cast as Heavy Duty, the unit’s demolition and ordinance specialist.

Boxer turned actor Said Taghmaoui has also been cast though the announcement makes no mention of his role. Fans speculate he’s taking the roll of Breaker, the communications expert.

Scott Peters, creator and executive producer of the 4400, has posted a note on the official 4400 message board that the 4400 has been canceled.

This will be a great disappointment to fans of the show who were left with yet another cliffhanger at the end of season 4 as a number of questions about the story remained unanswered.

No doubt a barrage of online petitions will follow this announcement. Feel free to write angry letters if you think that might make you feel better.

The first 3 seasons are already available on DVD:

The Neo Geo’s flagship fighting series returns for another year, and it delivers the same SNK 2-D fighting action fans have grown to love for well over a decade. After Ash Crimson stole the Yata Mirror and Mukai broke the Orochi Seal in The King of Fighters 2003, a new organization known as “Those From the Past” sponsor a new tournament. It’s up to you and your chosen team to find out the truth behind the organization and its mysterious leaders. There are 11 teams to choose from, and a number of hidden features and surprises to discover.
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Will Smith stars as a superhero who isn’t so super as people would like. Looks like it has a lot of potential. The trailer pretty much speaks for itself. Coming Summer 2008.

After years in the courts, and constant questions if the movies will ever get made, we finally have an answer. New Line and MGM will be going forward with a pair of movies based on the JRR Tolkien book “The Hobbit.” See the full press release here.

The Hobbit takes place before the Lord Of The Rings trilogy, and follows a younger Bilbo Baggins on his first adventure. The story also features popular LOTR characters like Gandalf The Grey and Gollum.

No casting has been made, no director has been chosen. Effects are expected to be done by WETA workshop and be consistent with the existing Lord Of The Rings films. Shooting will start in 2009 for release of the 2 films in 2010 and 2011.