DC Universe Online
Sony Online Entertainment
PlayStation 3/PC
Price: $59.99 with a $14.99 monthly subscription
Released January 11th, 2011

DC Universe Online is not the first superhero Massively Multiplayer Online RPG to be released, but it is the first to have a major license behind it and it has been widely anticipated by its audience. Thanks to this game, players have the chance to fight alongside some of their favorite characters as well as interact with other fans. The game doesn’t stray too far from the formula perfected by World of Warcraft, which is a good thing, because the setting is really the selling point of the game. Never before have players been able to explore a living, breathing DC universe in this way. However, the game is not without its flaws, and those looking to check it out may want to wait a few weeks while the inevitable bugs are worked out of the system.

The story sets up the flavor of the DC universe right from the start. Lex Luthor has traveled from a future in which he has defeated Superman, but met defeat at the hands of Brainiac. He has traveled back in time and released those most precious of plot devices, nanobots, into the atmosphere in order to turn ordinary people (the player) into an army of superheroes that can defeat Braniac. It doesn’t take a masters degree in DC history to keep up, but a lot of the fun of the game is seeing your favorite DC heroes and villains brought to life and fighting beside them. It also helps to know some of the creators behind the books, as many of the locations are named after famous writers, artists, and editors.

The most wonderful time of the year is once again upon us. The Christmas season is here and with that comes Christmas TV episodes!

For the 25 days leading up til Christmas Day this month, we’ll be spotlighting some of the best Christmas-themed episodes from some of Geek culture’s greatest shows. Each day we’ll cover different shows and episodes and encourage you to watch along with us. So come one, come all, to the 25 Days of Geek TV Christmas!

Monday, December 6th, 2010 – Day 6: Batman: The Animated Series

Season 4, Episode 1: “Holiday Knights”
Directed by: Dan Riba
Written by: Paul Dini
Starring: Kevin Conroy, Tara Strong, Mathew Valencia, Mark Hamill, Ron Perlman, Arleen Sorkin, Diane Pershing, Bob Hastings, Marilu Henner, Robert Costanzo, Liane Schrimer
Original Air Date: September 13, 1997

You can also purchase a copy of the episode at Amazon or iTunes.

The most wonderful time of the year is once again upon us. The Christmas season is here and with that comes Christmas TV episodes!

For the 25 days leading up til Christmas Day this month, we’ll be spotlighting some of the best Christmas-themed episodes from some of Geek culture’s greatest shows. Each day we’ll cover different shows and episodes and encourage you to watch along with us. So come one, come all, to the 25 Days of Geek TV Christmas!

Sunday, December 5th, 2010 – Day 5: Batman: The Animated Series

Season 1, Episode 02: “Christmas With The Joker”
Directed by: Kent Butterworth
Written by: Eddie Gorodetsky
Starring: Kevin Conroy, Loren Lester, Bob Hastings, Robert Costanzo, Mari Devon, Clive Revill, and Mark Hamill.
Original Air Date: November 13, 1992

You can purchase a copy of the episode at Amazon or iTunes.

Those looking forward to DC Universe: Online got a good look at the game on Saturday at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con as the first teaser trailer was shown for the game. The trailer showed Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, and Cyborg taking on Cersei, The Joker, Harley Quinn, Black Adam, and Lex Luther in a battle in a bombed out city. After some fantastic action, Superman flies in to save the day, only to find out he’s too late, as Brainiac shows up with an invasion. We then learn that everything we have just seen has been in the future, and we then see Lex Luther go back in time to hopefully spread the power that will enable players to create their own heroes.

Those at the panel were lucky enough to gain VIP codes to access the beta for the game, which will go live on November 2nd. Other things discussed at the panel were the voice cast, which includes Mark Hamill as the Joker, Kevin Conroy as Batman, Adam Baldwin as Superman, James Marsters as Lex Luthor, and Gina Torres as Wonder Woman. The inclusion of Conroy and Hamill is sure to please a lot of fans of Batman: The Animated Series.

I already covered the news coming out of the Adult Swim side of this panel here, but the bulk of this panel was taken up with news and questions regarding the Venture Brothers. There were a lot of great cosplayers in the crowd, including at least a dozen Dr. Girlfriends, so you could tell that a lot of people were fired up for it.

The biggest thing that the crowd saw was the preview for the new season, which premiers in October. The biggest thing in the preview was the look we got at how Hank and Dean are growing up, especially now that all their clones were destroyed at the end of Season 3. Dr. Venture will be getting a new bodyguard, although it wasn’t shown who that would be. As to be expected there were a lot of funny moments to look forward to.

Some information that has already been announced, but which I will repeat here, is that Season Four will be broken up into two 8-episode sections, with the first 8 in October, and the rest airing next year. Creators Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer confirmed that there will be a lot of characters showing up who have been mentioned before, but never seen, including Monstroso and Captain Sunshine. Viewers will also get to see who the members of the Council of 13 actually are.