By Jason Cipriano

"Dead Rising 2" fixed a lot of the problems that gamers had with the original "Dead Rising," as well as added numerous improvements that left fans wanting more. However, there was one key thing missing from the "DR2": Frank West. The hardened photojournalist that survived the Willamette Mall outbreak had won the hearts of fans, but was left out of his own game's sequel. While Frank's absence didn’t detract from the overall enjoyment that "Dead Rising 2" offered, his people pleaded for his return, and in "Dead Rising 2: Off The Record" their prayers are answered.

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Tags Capcom, Dead Rising, Dead Rising 2: Off The Record, Frank West, Video Games

This is it. You have three days left to live before the asteroid hits, and you’ve decided that rather than spending time with loved ones, you’re going to hit up New York Comic-Con, and hang out with 100,000 of your fellow geeks. Good choice! So if we may, here’s a Bucket List of the ten things you have to do before you die… At New York Comic-Con:

1. Hit Up Artist Alley
I mean, duh right? Except last year, Artist Alley was alarmingly sparsely populated with guests, at least as opposed to the rest of the over-packed Con floor. That may have something to do with it being separated by a passageway from the main floor, but this year, you can also check out the Small Press section in the same area. Particularly when you get fed up with waiting three days to play Arkham City, Artist Alley is a great place to actually buy stuff, chat with artists and writers, and you know, experience what a Comic Con is all about. Also, if you want a sketch, be sure to hit the more popular artists up early, their schedules off fill up even before the Con.

2. Play Quidditch
Seriously. The sport of Wizards may not involve flying around on broomsticks in the real world, but the International Quidditch Association is counting down to their fifth annual World Cup (which maybe your faithful writer will be an announcer at, so look for more news there maybe soon?), and will be prepping with an exhibition match at the Con. If magical sports aren’t your style, there’s always Wand battle demonstrations, light saber fights, and even a real life version of the Running Man! Not really, but I will be hunting people for sport, so there is that.

3. Snag An Exclusive
You can get trades and figures almost anywhere (well, if you live in New York City, literally anywhere), but every Con has its own exclusive figures, variants, and debuts. And yes, there’s the action figures that will put you on line all day, and the books that are “exclusive!” until Wednesday… But our favorites are always the quirky Con stuff you can’t get anywhere else, like Katie Cook’s adorable cute piggy variant for Image’s PIGS #1.

4. Submit Your Portfolio
Your best in to the comic book industry is always going to be, “publish your own comic,” and hey, luckily at a Con there’s plenty of opportunities to schmooze with artists or writers – go back to Tip #1. But particularly if you’re an artist, this is your chance to get a portfolio review by one or more of the big publishers. Will it pan out to anything? Probably not. Will you even get a chance, considering the reviews fill up super early? Again, maybe not. But check with the publishers early about their rules, submit your best, most current work, and more than anything: listen to their advice. Be humble and helpful, because a good attitude goes a long way. Read more...

Tags kevin smith, New York Comic Con, NYCC

The publisher details some of the comics and creators you'll see at NYCC and how to get some Aspen swag while you're at the con.

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Tags Aspen Comics, Broken Pieces, Chap Taylor, David Wohl, Dead Man's Run, Emilio Lopez, Fathom, Frank Mastromauro, Greg Pak, Haunted City, J.T. Krul, Jason Fabok, Joe Benitez, Khary Randolph, Lady Mechanika, Micah Gunnell, NYCC 2011, Oliver Nome, Valhalla Entertainment

Today is, once again, new comic book day, and this week there’s an eclectic mix coming at you that should please comic book readers of any taste.

First and foremost, every comic book reader who likes reading comics and free speech should pick up a copy of the CBLDF LIBERTY ANNUAL 2011 #4 from Image Comics. Proceeds go to help the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, and as a nice bonus, you get awesome new stories by some of the best in the industry. Read more...

Tags Buffy the Vampire Slayer, DC Comics, Image Comics, Immortals, Marvel Comics, new comic book day, The Shade

Oh, you guys... guys. I would pay good money for a polished, cross-country racing game based on the classic* Cannonball Run. For the time being, it looks like the closest we'll get is the Blackbox-developed Need For Speed: The Run, coming to consoles in November.

This is one of those years where EA publishes a NFS where you spend time outside the car doing stuff and typically--I'm gonna be honest here--that's never really the best part. This time around, you're in the shoes of Jack, a guy who has to race cross-country from San Francisco to New York with a $25 million prize on the line. Apparently, this will add in some elements of Hot Pursuit, with your character not only tangling with other racers, but cops and crooks who want to take you out before the finish line.

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Tags EA, EA Blackbox, Firebrand Games, Need For Speed: The Run

X-Men Regenesis #1 is a bit of an odd duck. It’s essentially a coda to X-Men: Schism, the five issue series that split Marvel’s mutants into two sides, one following Wolverine, the other Cyclops. And as a coda, it’s not so much something new, as a recapitulation of themes presented during Schism.

Also, because of this, it works more as a piece of business, tying up little bits of storyline, and showing where the various main characters fall out, on which side, and why. So its tempting to dismiss this as something just for hardcore X-Men fans, the people who would ask at Cons, “Wait, why is Storm on HIS side, that makes no sense.” Instead, the X-Office can point to this one-shot and say, “This is why.” So in that sense, its necessary for wonks, but not so much for the casual buyer.

At least, that’s what I COULD say if Kieron Gillen’s writing wasn’t so solid, and the structure so fascinating. I’m not spoiling a lot here, but the events of various characters choosing a side – and why – is compared to cavemen (okay, fine, very well costumed cavemen) siding with one tribe leader or another. It’s a riff I feel like I’ve seen a lot, particularly where Wolverine is concerned, but it works here because what the X-Men are doing are, essentially, separating into tribes. They’re still the same species, but are irrevocably split, heading in two different directions.

By the way, for those of you not familiar with Schism: Cyclops is leading the more militant faction of Mutants, the people who want to use their superpowers to act like superheroes; Wolverine, on the other hand, is opening a school, in order to train and protect the next generation of mutants. Cyclops sees what Wolverine is doing as a massive step backwards, while Wolverine thinks Cyclops is one step from ending up as villainous as Magneto ever was. What’s most interesting about what Gillen puts in this issue is that there are very clear reasons why both sides are right – and both are wrong. Read more...

Tags Marvel Comics, X-Men Regenesis

Faster then a speeding bullet-- these exclusive DC Universe Super Heroes minifigures will be disappearing from the LEGO booth at this year's New York Comic-Con! While Batman and Green Lantern were given out to fans during San Diego Comic-Con, this will be everyone's first chance to score the Man of Steel himself, Superman! Yep, a tiny Kal-El can be in your pocket for free by simply stopping by the LEGO booth... like you needed an excuse.

The new LEGO DC Universe SUPER HEROES collection will feature 13 iconic super heroes in LEGO minifigure form, including: Batman™, Robin™, Catwoman™, The Joker, The Riddler™, Two-Face, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn™, Bane, Bruce Wayne, Superman™, Lex Luthor™ and Wonder Woman™. Buildable characters will include Batman, The Joker and Green Lantern.

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Tags Batman, Convention Exclusives, DC Comics, green lantern, LEGO, Minifigures, mtv, MTV Geek, Super Heroes, Superman

Nathan Drake braves the desert in this gameplay video and Associate Producer Victor Harris teases some big moments from Naughty Dog's latest.
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Tags Naughty Dog, PS3, Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, Victor Harris

Comics' most complicated vampire squares off against fiction's most popular bloodsucker in a story spinning out of the works of Alan Moore.
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Tags alan moore, Dynamite Comics, Joe Harris, Joseph Michael Linsner, NYCC 2011, Vampirella, Vampirella vs. Dracula

The Penny Arcade Expo may be long over, but one of its marquee events has just been posted online for your viewing pleasure. Fans of the Penny Arcade webcomic need no introduction, but for the uninitiated, know that its creators like to occasionally play a little Dungeons & Dragons. Sometimes, thousands of fans gather in person to watch them do so live on stage. The end result is a group of gamers giving you more laughs over a game of D&D than even a prime-time sitcom can deliver.

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Tags Acquisitions Inc., Dungeons & Dragons, PAX Prime, Penny Arcade, Scott Kurtz, Wil Wheaton