Team Superfriends|Fighting the good fight

E! Online - Miley Cyrus isn't the only one saying we probably won't be seeing a sequel to the not-even-released yet Hannah Montana movie.

AP - Walt Disney is going 3-D on a lot of future films — and some from its past.

E! Online - Liam Neeson knew the show had to go on, so he got it over with.

AP - Leave it to Robert Downey Jr. to turn Sherlock Holmes into a wisecracking action hero who ends up handcuffed naked to a bed.

Here's a tip for you if your Tuesday is getting a little dull: Head on over to Xbox LIVE and download the Snowblind map pack for Gears of War 2. It's going to be a cold day in multiplayer hell... This winter-themed pack of four maps for multiplayer and Horde action will cost you 800 Microsoft points.

Here's what's on the agenda:

• "Under Hill:" Features both underground tunnels and high-altitude, open areas.
• "Grind Yard:" This massive industrial complex gives numerous bunkers for cover, but also high perches for snipers.
• "Courtyard:" The map for you if you're a fan of the great outdoors, Courtyard features wide-open spaces to give you plenty of opportunities to gun down your enemies.
• "Fuel Depot:" Back by popular demand from Gears of War, but with a dusting of powder. Brrrr.

Check out the new maps in the video below:

Watch Larger Version | Watch HD Version

While new maps are certainly welcome for Gears of War 2, the community might not be totally psyched for this download. I haven't played much Gear 2 multiplayer, so I'm deferring to TheFeed's Brian Leahy for this. But due to Gears 2's matchmaking system, everyone in a multiplayer group would have to have this pack installed in order for anyone to play it -- even queues geared only toward the new maps might not have every game type out there. So whether you can get to play these maps the way you'd like if you do decide to download them involves a certain amount of luck.

It's Leahy's opinion that this release could have another splintering effect on the Gears of War 2 multiplayer community, so much of the hardcore may be staying away from this release. But hey, you guys are the community, so leave word below in our comments section: Are you downloading "Snowblind?" How's it going for you so far?

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Watch Larger Version | Watch HD Version

Updated: New Trailer and Screens

The first downloadable content for open-world, urban sandbox game Saints Row 2 will be available April 16th on the 360 and PlayStation 3. Called Ultor Exposed, this is the first of three add-on packs that are coming for the homeboy-centric game. No word yet on details or release dates on the next two chapters of the game.

Ultor Exposed will feature three new missions, a competitive co-op "metagame," new vehicles, new weapons and new maps. Also: The DLC will grant you a new homie. While I would have chosen legendary hip hop star Biz Markie to be my money-grip and/or homie, the smarter people at THQ picked pornographic actress and all-around sizzling hottie Tera Patrick as the player's companion. Tera will come complete with a new car, The Temptress, described as "probably the most balanced performance car in Stilwater." She will be on-call and available in all co-op missions.

The DLC's competitive co-op mode allows players to cooperate and compete at the same time: You earn points for destruction while working together to complete missions. At the end, scores are tallied and one player is rewarded cash for having won. The single-player missions will last approximately two hours.

It might not be fair to always compare Saints Row to Grand Theft Auto; the two game franchises have obvious and much-discussed similarities, but with marked differences, as well. Saints Row has always been more about ridiculous fun, especially given the way GTA IV moved the series in a serious, almost somber direction. So tonally, this DLC will likely be very different from The Lost and Damned. But Rockstar have set the bar exceptionally high with their add-on. The Lost and Damned DLC is huge and fascinating -- practically another game -- and while I appreciate any addition to Saints Row 2, I gotta wonder how this content is going to stack up. We'll see on April 16th when it comes out.

If you're on the fence about whether you want to pay 800 Microsoft Points for this content, I'll leave you with this quote from James Torbit, DLC Producer on Saints Row 2.

"Consider this: You've got Tera Patrick on speed dial. She's unloading an assault rifle into a Masako super soldier while you're driving around a truck full of dead bodies. In your garage you've got an armored vehicle that fires heat-seeking missiles as fast as you can pull the trigger… and you're wearing a new alien costume."

Okay. I get it.

To totally switch gears a sec: Many PlayStation 3 fans of Saints Row 2 would like trophies. That seems like a pretty reasonable things to ask for, but as far as I know, this DLC doesn't include support for trophies. I've contacted THQ to make sure and see if there's any plans for them in the future. Watch this space for the reply!

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The first Call of Duty: World at War map pack has been purchased and downloaded over 1 million times on for the Xbox 360 and PSN in its first week of availability. It took the CoD4 map pack nine days to do this, althought it was not released simultaneously across both consoles.

The maps are still not available on the PC.

There is no word on the split across the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, but Microsoft reports that it is their fastest selling piece of paid DLC to date. I'm guessing, based on this information, that most of the downloads were for the Xbox 360 version, but this makes sense as there are more copies of the Xbox 360 in the wild.

Did you get "Map Pack 1"? What do you think of the new levels?

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The weekly stats for Xbox LIVE activity are out, so let's take a look at last week's charts for the week of March 23rd.

Xbox 360 Top Live Titles -- Includes gamers player single-player while signed into Xbox LIVE

1. Call of Duty: WaW 
2. Halo 3 
3. Call of Duty 4 
4. Gears of War 2 
5. RESIDENT EVIL 5 
6. GTA IV 
7. FIFA 09 
8. Left 4 Dead 
9. Halo Wars 
10. Fallout 3

The top 10 is mostly the same with Gears of War 2 switching places with Resident Evil 5 and Fallout 3 reappearing at #10 with the release of The Pitt. FIFA 09's presence always surprises me until I remember that this is a worldwide list. I'm guessing the top spots of this list will stay mostly constant until the releases of Halo 3: ODST and Modern Warfare 2. Multiplayer shooters always dominate the top spots on the Xbox 360.

Click through for the Xbox LIVE Arcade, Xbox Originals, and Community Games lists.

Top Arcade Titles -- Full Versions Only

1. UNO RUSH 
2. Peggle 
3. Castle Crashers 
4. Worms 
5. UNO 
6. CRYSTAL DEFENDERS 
7. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 
8. 3 on 3 NHL Arcade 
9. A Kingdom for Keflings 
10. Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3

Top Xbox Originals

1. Halo 2 
2. Star Wars: Battlfrnt 2 
3. Fable 
4. Counter-Strike 
5. Splinter Cell Chaos 
6. Conker: Live Reloaded 
7. Doom 3 
8. Star Wars: Battlefront 
9. Call of Duty 3 
10. SW: Republic Commando

Top Community Games -- Full Versions Only

1. RC-AirSim 
2. Solar 
3. Rumble Massage 
4. Aquarium HD 
5. DrumKit 
6. ZP2K9 
7. Remote Masseuse 
8. NextWar: The Quest for Earth 
9. Little Racers 
10. A Fading Melody

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Update 3/31/09: Product manager Laura Scholl clarified her remarks:

In my 'During the Dead Rising 2' presentation at GDC this past Friday, while I was describing how Blue Castle is using mental mill technology in character development, I mistakenly referred to the game as multiplayer instead of multiplatform. I apologize for the confusion.

This doesn't necessarily mean that the game won't feature multiplayer, but we now know that this was a miscommunication and not a confirmation of anything at this point. (Source)

In real life, people generally prefer fewer zombies, but in Dead Rising 2, the more undead, the merrier. It's hard to imagine Capcom shoving more ghouls into a game than there are in Dead Rising. Remember their "Kill 53,594 zombies" achievement? Apparently the company is trying to raise the number of undead who appear onscreen at once in Dead Rising 2. Oh, and the game will apparently feature multiplayer. (Drool.)

At a GDC meeting last week, Laura Scholl, product manager of Dead Rising 2, said that the development team at Blue Castle games is preparing for players to encounter as many as 6,000 characters on screen at once. That's a lot of zombies! Reportedly, the 6,000 zombie number refers to multiplayer... which means the game will have multiplayer. Capcom hasn't officially said a thing about the game's online capability.

Update: Capcom's PR has officially told me "no comment," but promised to send an update when they are ready to reveal more info.

While not confirming that specific number, Izmeth Siddeek, Dead Rising 2's character art lead, said Dead Rising 2 aims to render "The greatest number of characters ever seen in a video game...Everything else needed to be subordinated to this requirement.” The game will track at least 800 separate clothing textures so zombies appear more unique and players are less likely to say, "I already killed that same dude like 8 times!" Judging by the official screenshot above, there's a ways to go; I count four dudes with construction helmets and black-and-white shirts!

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Looks like the boys are once again, about to "show this pre-historic b***h how they do things downtown."

In a recent interview with MTV, Actor/Director, Harold Ramis discussed some details about the upcoming third Ghostbusters film. With the franchise getting revived after being dormant for 20 years, it left many wondering exactly how a comeback would be handled and whether or not all our favorite paranormal exterminators would return. According to Ramis...HELL YEAH! (Well, those weren't his exact words, but...)

That's right, in addition to Ramis himself (Egon Spengler), the new film will feature the original Ghostbusters Bill Murray (Peter Venkman), Dan Aykroyd (Ray Stantz), and Ernie Hudson (Winston Zeddmore.) However, there is no official word on the supposedly retired-from-acting Rick Moranis (Louis Tully) or Annie Potts (Janine Melnitz.)

Ramis, who is currently waiting on the first draft of the script, also provided some insight into the concept of the film.

"We're all going to be in it in different kinds of roles," Ramis said. "We're going to be the sage mentors. There are going to be young Ghostbusters."

I don't think it would take the clairvoyance of Nostradamus to predict that the original Ghostbusters are getting "up there" in age, and that a new Ghostbusters film featuring them would likely be a vehicle for passing the baton. When it comes down to it, this is the only concept that is feasible and it CAN work.

This, I suppose, would be the part where we start speculating on the casting of the "New Ghostbusters." Standard industry names will likely come up: Ben Stiller, Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd, Russell Brand, Steve Carell (and basically anyone from The Office.)

Oh! Could we see some female Ghostbusters? It is 2009, after all. It's likely that they would scour the field of current and ex-Saturday Night Live cast members. Tina Fey? Amy Poehler? Kristen Wiig? 

What's important is that they don't give into the temptation for the film to become some watered-down parody of the franchise. While it needs to retain its roots, it also has to be something that transitions smoothly into the atmosphere and sensibilities of the world of today (while not getting too caught up in that aspect, either.) It also needs to be funny, yet cannot be campy, relying on generic 80's nostalgia. It's a fine line to walk, and I'm sure that writing this script will be a long and difficult process. 

If you ask me: It needs more Vigo The Carpathian.

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