CBR: The Top Cow: 'We Create' Media Panel

A herd of devoted fans flocked into a packed room for the Top Cow: "We Create" Multimedia panel at Comic-Con International in San Diego on Saturday, sitting before a panel consisting of Top Cow publisher Filip Sablik, president Matt Hawkins, CEO Marc Silvestri and American Original founder Jeff Katz, with plenty of guest panelists and prominent announcements to follow.

The Top Cow panelists kicked things off with a first look at a trailer cut specifically for Comic-Con. Featuring a flashy music video with quick cuts, concert footage and all sorts of burning fanfare, the trailer teased a project built around September Mourning front woman Emily Lazar that's billed as a cross-media entertainment endeavor across comic books, digital downloads, video games, jewelry and much more. Lazar briefly joined the panelists on stage and Silvestri described the mysterious project, saying: "It's coming out real fast and we're going to start teasing it out through the Top Cow Universe. If David Bowie had technology today, this would be Ziggy Stardust."

Although he wouldn't tip his hand on what exactly the Lazar-centric project entails, Silvestri made a promise to the panel's attendees. "I'm being very genuine here," he said. "You're going to remember this day."

Read all our panel announcements here.
Source: CBR

CBR: Witchblade Goes from Comic to Console

Sara Pezzini isn't one to play games, but that's not stopping her from appearing in one.

At Comic-Con International in San Diego, Top Cow Productions announced its development of a "Witchblade" video game based on the comic book company's flagship character. But getting Sara from the paneled page to the digital realm isn't as easy as eviscerating a pack of thugs with a sentient artifact — there is a considerable amount of steps involved when it comes to bringing a video game to life, let alone a game based off of a comic book character. CBR News spoke with Top Cow President Matt Hawkins to learn more about the "Witchblade" game and its development process.

"I've been trying to develop a Witchblade video game for a very long time and developing video games on comic book properties is actually very hard," he told CBR. "With the costs of producing an Xbox 360 and PS3 game pushing $50 million now, [video game companies] want either massively preawareness branded properties or they want to internally generate and build their own characters, as you see with a lot of publishers."

Read the full coverage here.
Source: CBR

Top Computer Games Reviews The Darkness

Graphically, this game is absolutely stunning in its graphical beauty.
The dark gritty New York City streets really give off that "real-city" vibe.
Garbage litters the streets and the subway systems, graffiti covers practically every wall (and this graffiti looks like actually graffiti that you would see in real life).
So much detail has been put into the floors, ceilings, walls and in you general surroundings that it is very easy to get deeply immersed in The Darkness.
Following in true Next Gen graphic style, all the wood surfaces in the game look like real wood, metal resembles real metal, concrete looks amazingly realistic. You can see chips in paint, cracks and chips in the concrete - its literally stunning.

Read the full review here.
Source: topcomputer-games.blogspot.com

Gamecola Reviews The Darkness Game

Even now, almost three years removed from its release date, The Darkness is a beautiful game. But graphics aren’t everything, so how does it fair overall?

The Darkness is a first-person adventure, although it focuses heavily on shooting. I choose to classify it as an adventure game because its emphasis is less on individual levels and more on larger locations within a game world. It feels rather realistic at times, to the point where ”unparalleled realism” is a suitable descriptor.

I won’t go into much more detail—if you’re after a game that makes you think, and makes you kill mafioso, it’s the best shooter your money can buy. Moving on, briskly now!

Feeling like a high-definition Metroid Prime, The Darkness has just the right amount of combat, cutscene, conversation, and exploration. It feels rough around the edges but is impressive throughout—if Starbreeze keeps this up, they might make their way to the top of my “Favourite Game Developers” list.


If you have not yet played The Darkness, the question is just this: why? Today, drop the Big Mac and pick up The Darkness. Just as filling, you may find.

Overall score: 7

Read the full game review here.

Source: Gamecola

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Media Verso Reviews The Darkness Game

The Darkness is a PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 exclusive first person shooter video game that fell under radar. It was one of those game that was completely lost due to all the BioShock madness and based on the comic book the Top Cow. Ironically enough, 2K games (the same game company responsible for The Darkness) made both The Chronicles of Riddick and BioShock. The storyline of The Darkness transpires in New York, and it is about a youthful 21 year old Mafia gang member named Jackie Estacado. He ascertains that his own Mafia (led by Uncle Paulie) is attempting to murder him; moreover, Uncle Paulie sends out a hit on Jackie and his girlfriend Jenny because Uncle Paulie believes that Jackie has stabbed him in the back. Jackie evades death and begins his journey for vengeance. Deceitful plot twists will no doubt keep players interested in the storyline from start to finish. The gameplay in the Darkness is a first person shooter with a twist. The twist being that the protagonist is possessed with this malicious voice named The Darkness. It is not merely a voice; furthermore, The Darkness is capable of controlling over Jackie’s body. These demonic capabilities will give him the chance to accomplish extraordinary feats that a mundane human could not perform.

Any video game with a map will appease those (like me) with no sense of direction. The multiplayer is present but is not as engrossing as the single player campaign. Graphically, The Darkness is remarkable. I really felt like I was in New York when as I was playing the game. The little things like graffiti and street lights give The Big Apple an authentic feel. Unfortunately, you cannot really explore every part of New York. You are coerced into following a linear pathway during the game. What really sells The Darkness is the presentation entailing the music and the voice acting. Although the animations are not as phenomenal as Heavenly Sword, I enjoyed watching the dialogue between characters.

Overall, The Darkness is a unique game as soon as the opening scenes begins.

Read the review in full here.

Source: Media Verso

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Darkness Listed in 20 Games That Are Charmed on Xbox 360

An innovative product that debuted in the gaming arena years ago, continues to rule the minds of enthusiasts world over. The Xbox 360, when it arrived for the first time, charmed thousands who even carried with them the passion to own the device. The age-defying console still rules, promising that the Xbox 360 is one device one would never want to miss.

With the customer base still continuing to grow, Xbox 360 games are much sought after at online stores and retail outlets. Though loved by gamers of all ages, the astounding popularity of Xbox 360 games rests on the teenagers worldwide. We present before you the most popular games now available on Xbox 360 and sought after by millions.

The Darkness (2K Games)



Adaptation of a comic book series, this game dwells upon mafia hit man Jackie Estacado’s exploits. He comes face to face with the paranormal world and imbibes powers to call upon frightening and destructive demons. A fascinating storyboard helped the game, though it portrays explicit violence.

Source: Technology.am

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Escapist Magazine Journeys Into the Darkness

Villains come in a wide variety of flavors, from the good guy led astray to the murderous psychopath. The more complicated the relationship between the villain and the hero that fights against him, the more interesting the conflict. The idea of two opposing forces, whether individuals, organizations or a mixture of both, is a familiar one in film, literature and games. But what do you do when your worst enemy is an inseparable part of you, something that you can neither run away from nor fight?
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Based on the Top Cow comic of the same name, Starbreeze Studios' The Darkness casts you as Jackie Estacado, a mafia hitman who turns 21 on the same night his adoptive uncle and head of the local family, Paulie Franchetti, decides he's had enough of Jackie's defiant attitude and orders a hit on him.

Read the full article here.

Source: Escapist Magazine

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City of Heroes Game Launches Second Round of Guest Authors

Paragon Studios has launched the second round of Guest Author missions for its Mission Architect system in City of Heroes, and these three new arcs feature the works of Mercedes Lackey, Troy Hickman and Austin Grossman.

Lackey is the author of more than 75 books, including the Heralds of Valdemar series; Hickman is a two-time Eisner Award nominee for his comic book Common Grounds; and Grossman is a game designer and writer whose handiwork spans from System Shock and Deus Ex to his novel "Soon I Will Be Invincible."

The three missions were released today, so log into City of Heroes and check them out.

Troy Hickman -
"A Little Night Music" (arc id:369271) - Citadel needs your assistance. The Fifth Column have resurrected the dreaded WWII villain Nachtmusik, and he in turn has kidnapped Jimmy Preston. Citadel needs you to enter the dreamworld and save his young friend...and hopefully the world. You say you're not afraid? You will be...

Source: Zam News

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ComicBookMovie: Troy Hickman Authors Arc on City of Heroes Game

The MMORPG that let's you play as your own comic book super hero now has missions designed by actual comic book writers.

Troy Hickman, an author best known for his work with Top Cow's Witchblade and Common Ground comic book series, has written a mission story arc for the massively multiplayer online role playing game City Of Heroes. For anyone that has ever played this game, Issue 14: Mission Architect lets the players design their own mission story arcs. City Of Heroes has long promised stories written by actual comic book authors and they are now up and running! My account has been inactive for a short time, but as a fan of the Witchblade series, I might have to reactivate it and check this one out. Hope to see you in game!

Read the full article here.

Source: Comic Book Movie

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Publisher Filip Sablik Talks Top Cow's History and Future with ComicBook.com

ComicBook.com's Nick Winstead took time to discuss with Publisher Filip Sablik his upcoming plans for the company as well as offering perspective of the company's history.

In looking towards the next few years and trying to get more non-comics readers into comics through film and media adaptations, Sablik took some time to celebrate an important past year for Top Cow, describing how the company was able to produce the Top Cow Bible, a publication that chronicles all the properties the company has published over the years. It debuted at San Diego Comic-Con, and in addition to that, Sablik also felt proud that, “In a rough economic year, we continued to push the envelope in the types of stories we’re telling and the artists we worked with,” not a small feat given tough decisions that many comic book companies were and are making over the course of the past year and a half.

To read the rest of the article, click here.


Source: ComicBook.com

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CBSB Reviews the City of Heroes MMORPG

For me, what makes this City of Heroes game so great, is its versatility. I’m not talking about how fully customizable the heroes you create are, from height, build, skin tone, hair style, hair color, costume, powers, etc. What I mean is you can play solo, doing missions given to you by contacts (police detectives, reporters, snitches, etc.), patrol the zones looking for criminals (muggers, arsonist, vandals, etc.), or simply collect badges. Or, you can join / form a team to take on harder missions ie higher level villains. The missions themselves vary, from timed, rescue, defeat all the baddies, prevent an escape, to locating items, etc. There are tunnels, caves, warehouses, secret labs, sewers, etc. The different zones of the game are easily navigable and offer their own unique look, back story, and resident villains.

And, since this is a super-hero game after all, there’s a monthly comic-book by Top Cow too.


Read the full review here.


Source: CBSB

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Nintendo Tips Lists The Darkness as One of PS3 Sleeper Hits

Sleeper hits.

These PS3 games should merit serious consideration from avid gamers as they deserve your patronage. What are these PS3 games? Here are the 5 best PS3 games that only a few people have played:

The Darkness. Not really among the exclusive PS3 games, as the Darkness has also appeared on the Xbox 360, but it is definitely one of the most underrated. Based on a Top Cow comic book, the Darkness is an FPS that follows one man’s journey from betrayal to death to resurrection into something that is more than human. The presentation is one of the best you’ll ever get to experience in PS3 games, and the storyline will have you glued until the very end.

READ MORE.

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Tis the Season for Giving and Gaming

Gamers United is kicking off a month-long drive to collect games and more from the community to update the Teen Lounge at the Mattel Children’s Hospital of UCLA with an event on Wednesday, December 9th, at the Custom Hotel in Los Angeles. Read the full release here.

For the LA-based Top Cow Herd, you may RSVP to the event here. The event asks to you bring a donation of a new and unwrapped E- or T-rated game, game accessory/peripheral or the like.

For other members of the Herd who are feeling the season of giving and gaming, please donate to their cause and help bring joy to young gamers.

LEARN MORE.

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Newsarama reviews inFAMOUS & discusses William Harms' work on game

Not a day goes by that I don’t hear a joke about the PlayStation 3 being “a great Blu-ray player... and not much else.” Yes, these jokes are often from fanboys of one brand or another, but the greater gaming populace is under this impression as well. The only way for Sony to change this image is to have some really fantastic games available for their system. Multiplatform games are important, of course, but they are just that: you can play them on other systems. The real key, then, is for great exclusive content, games you can’t play anywhere else than on the PlayStation 3. Luckily, Sucker Punch Studios, after a long career with the PS2, decided to stick by Sony’s side and come to their rescue with inFAMOUS.

The other surprising standout, again necessary for the game to rise above its many peers, is the story. The story was written by William Harms (Impaler Comic, Supreme Commander game).

READ MORE.

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REVIEW: Wanted: Weapons of Fate

This game, set in the Wanted movie universe, does so many things right. It’s a shame, then, that it took less than four hours to play.

Wanted: Weapons of Fate takes place both after and before the events of the movie. The game jumps back and forth between Wesley (in the “present”) and his father, Cross (in the past), as we discover more about the international Fraternities and how Wesley came to be. If you liked the story of Wanted the movie, you’ll enjoy the story of this game quite a bit. It’s all handled well, acted well, and directed well. The cinematic sequences in the game all look like they could be scenes from another movie, though a few had really odd resolution drops, causing blocky and pixilated images to show up on screen. Other than that, this was a cool story with the same not-taking-itself-too-seriously tone, where the storyline (a basic investigation into a personal mystery) was really there in service of the action.

READ MORE.

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Interactive Action in "Wanted: Weapons of Fate"

Pete Wanat, Executive Producer, explains how designers captured the feel of the movie as they put weapons into gamers' hands.

WATCH THE VIDEO.

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6 New Wanted: Weapons of Fate Banners

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Producer Talks Wanted: Weapons of Fate

Mark Millar and J.G. Jones unleashed their twisted take on the superhero genre in 2003 with “Wanted” from Top Cow. In the book, main character Wesley Gibson finds out that he is the son of a famous supervillain called The Killer, and that years ago, all of the supervillains banded together to wipe superheroes off the face of the planet, even going so far as to make people forget they ever existed. The story follows Wesley as he embraces his father’s legacy and joins the Fraternity, the group of supervillains that secretly runs the world.

READ MORE.

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GameStop Offers Exclusive JG Jones "Wanted" Covers

Fans of the “Wanted” franchise can now obtain a limited edition “Wanted” collectible exclusively via GameStop. Pre-order “Wanted: Weapons of Fate,” the third-person action videogame based on Universal Pictures' adrenaline-charged thriller “Wanted,” due for release on March 24, 2009 for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION3 Computer Entertainment System and PC from any GameStop retail outlet and receive one of three exclusive limited edition cover variants of “Wanted” #1 bundled with your order.

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Blog@Newsarama reviews Wanted: Weapons of Fate

Usually when a game ties in to a movie, the aim is to release it alongside the film, or at the latest alongside the DVD. However, some developers and publishers have actually recognized that movie tie-in games tend to, well, suck, and have elected to do what they can to buck the trend and produce some quality games that happen to tie-in to movies. The upcoming X-Men Origins: Wolverine game was actually being developed before they got a license for the movie, and includes a whole bunch of new content written by Marc Guggenheim. The most popular movie last year, The Dark Knight, skipped the movie tie-in altogether; instead, Warner is releasing an original game that has more to do with the comics than the movies this summer with Arkham Asylum.

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