If Capcom's "Dark Void" becomes a hit when it comes out in 2010, Brad Pitt's production company Plan B Entertainment will already be ahead of the game, as they've announced they now have the rights to make a film based on the unreleased title.

"As a game, 'Dark Void' was developed with a wide-screen mentality -- a world full of adventure presented in cinematic scope and scale," Capcom Entertainment's senior vice president of licensing Germaine Gioia said in a press release. "Plan B recognized the potential of our newest property and are as excited about bringing 'Dark Void' to life in cinemas as Capcom is to bring the interactive experience to home theaters."

The game's plot follows a pilot named Will who crash lands in the Bermuda Triangle only to wake up and find himself in an alternate reality where aliens with high-tech toys want to take over the world. Thanks to an alliance of humans and a jetpack, though, he's equipped to fight back and save Earth.

"Dark Void" won't be available in North America until January 19th, but Plan B was impressed enough to scoop up the property pre-launch. Pitt's company produced "The Time Traveler's Wife" and is currently in post-production with "The Tree of Life," which will feature the "Inglourious Basterds" star alongside Sean Penn. There's no word on whether or not Pitt has considered strapping on the "Dark Void" jetpack himself for the new project.

Would you like to see Brad Pitt star in a "Dark Void" film? What are your impressions of the game so far? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

I have to admit that back in 2005, I laughed at the idea of "Lego Star Wars." The whole concept seemed too kid-friendly and too corporate at the same time. But I was quickly swept up in the game's quirky sense of humor, refreshingly tight game play and surprising depth. I enthusiastically embraced all the "Lego" games that followed ("Lego Batman" still gets plenty of mileage, and the new "Lego Rock Band" is amazing if only for the presence of Lego David Bowie). But I was disappointed with "Lego Indiana Jones," which felt too loose and not as sharply whimsical as the other games in the series.

Now comes "Lego Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues," which incorporates elements from the first three "Indiana Jones" movies and augments it with a healthy dose of 2008's middling "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull."

The Highs

Tag Team Back Again!
One of the greatest joys of the "Lego" games is the co-op mode, which forces you to cast a perfect problem-solving duo for the games various puzzles and obstacles. It's the same sort of program this time around, except that the characters involved feel a bit more balanced and work together more efficiently. Plus, the slightly tighter controls and the new split screen feature — which allows you to wander away from your partner for more serious free-roaming — make it less likely for me to whip my girlfriend into a crevace (which she appreciates profoundly). This game is best experienced in the co-op mode, mostly because playing with Short Round by himself is pretty useless.

Hey! Look! Colors!
I'm not normally one to notice the way a game looks (quite frankly, I'm still sort of blow away by the graphics of "Earthworm Jim," so my bar isn't very high), but "The Adventure Continues" is pretty stunning. These games don't need to look amazing (after all, you're essentially playing with virtual building blocks), but the levels are all lush and the colors extra-sharp, giving the game a sometimes hallucinogenic feel (which matches the game's cheeky humor completely). Seriously, I never pay attention to colors in a video game, but I was totally blown away.

Just Drive
There's more emphasis on vehicles in this game (including two super-cool planes), which adds another welcome game play element that keep the action varied. Plus, the vehicles are surprisingly lively and versatile — they're involved in races, as weapons, as a part of puzzles and as unlockables in free play mode. The only thing more fun than using a Lego whip? Driving a Lego hot rod!

The Lows

More Like Kingdom of the Crystal DULL
The biggest thing working against "The Adventure Continues" is the heavy emphasis on "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," which was a terrible movie that nobody liked (I may be overstating this). If you're playing through the main story, you have to start in the "Crystal Skull" levels before you can unlock the older games. I may just hold too much resentment over the movie, but the "Crystal Skull" levels feel tedious and boring. Plus, the Lego Shia LaBeouf is about the only chracter who doesn't really look like his human counterpart.

Size Does Matter
As a gamer, I get overwhelmed easily, so the vast expanses of the "Lego" games have usually thrown me off. "Lego Indiana Jones" seemed to have a never-ending parade of bonus levels and hidden items. But "The Adventure Continues" compensates too far in the opposite direction. There are times when the game feels narrow and small (which is not a complaint from me, but anybody looking for the sprawl of the other "Lego" games may be disappointed).

Level Builder: Brick By Boring Brick
I've never been totally convinced of level-building modes in games (though I'm totally in love with the options on "Little Big Planet"), and "The Adventure Continues" doesn't do much to change my mind. It's an interesting idea, I suppose, but feels both too limited and difficult to execute well. It's a nice try, but I would have rather seen them use that mental capacity to build in more secret levels or to re-shoot scenes from "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" to make it not suck.

Final Word

Make no bones about it: "Lego Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues" is easy to pick up and super-fun, especially if you've got somebody to team up with. Its biggest albatross is the fact that "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" was a bad movie, but if you just stick to the fact that it's a fun game (or if you happen to like "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull"), it's a fitting and satisfying extension to the franchise. It won't get any "Game of the Year" votes, but it'll keep me stupidly entertained for the time being.

About the time Trekkies are starting to exhaust the special features on their new "Star Trek" DVD's and Blu-ray discs, they can expect to see the franchise's long-awaited MMO ready to go live. Though it's been in development for about half a decade, it looks like all systems are go for 2010, and the first class of cadets for "Star Trek Online" will see the game's open beta test start up on January 12th in preparation for its February 2nd launch.

"We're all very happy to be able to let you know that 'Star Trek Online' will be in Open Beta from January 12 - January 26, 2010," the announcement on StarTrekOnline.com states. "Keys will be given out on a first come, first served basis, and can be acquired right here on startrekonline.com."

Applications are being accepted right now for the beta program, which requires a registered Cryptic account. Those deemed worthy will be notified via email.

The game will take place in the year 2409 on the original Star Trek timeline, though the events that occurred in J.J. Abrams' film prior to Spock and Nero heading back in time to create an alternate future will be a part of the universe's established history.

My personal favorite race, the Pakled, are unfortunately not listed as playable yet, but I am looking forward to some potential Gorn encounters.

Are you going to try to get in for the "Star Trek Online" beta test? Which alien races do you want to see show up? Share your suggestions in the comment section below.

If "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2" hackers really have unlocked a hidden game mode called "Global Thermonuclear War," it would be a fitting tribute Matthew Broderick's character in the 1983 movie "WarGames" who famously did the same thing on a government computer. "GTW" is one of three multiplayer modes that some players claim to have found locked within "MW2," possibly as content planned for a later release as DLC.

"GTW," "One Flag CTF" and "VIP" are the titles for three modes tinkerers claim to have unearthed in "MW2," according to Modern Warfail 2.

The first mode, as the name implies, involved hunting down a nuclear bomb. Apparently the bomb detonates one you've found it, though, so I'm not sure if there's more to that concept or if it's supposed to offer some greater moral lesson about nuclear warfare.

"One Flag CTF," meanwhile, is traditional and fairly self-explanatory. There's one flag in the middle that you need to bring back to your base.

"VIP" mode designates one player per team who needs to be defended at all costs -- or hunted if you're on an opposing squad.

These modes aren't 100% verified of course, and no one is sure whether they were intended to be DLC or not. For all we know, they could have been buggy modes that were left out of the game on purpose. Nevertheless, "MW2" hackers appear to have another trophy on their shelf.

Would you like to see these multiplayer modes released as DLC? Do you think they should have been unlocked to begin with? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

The original "BioShock" offered up a pretty excellent special edition, if only because of the incredibly well-made, desk-worthy Big Daddy statue. Now it looks like "BioShock 2" is following in his large, clunky footsteps with an equally compelling special edition.

For $100 bucks ($40 more than the normal edition, if you're bad at math), you'll get the following:
-Vintage posters from Rapture (not sure on the size, but based on the shot above, these appear to be suitable for framing.

-A vinyl 180g LP with the original soundtrack of "BioShock." Vinyls are like MP3s, only they're big, black, round and sound better, apparently.

-A CD with the score from "BioShock 2."

-A 164 page art book featuring commentary from the developers.

-The game. Yay.

Up until now I feel like the wrong parts of "BioShock" have been highlighted with the sequel. The first game was quiet and thought provoking, whereas the trailers for "BioShock 2" have been more about huge guns and explosions. I'm hoping this special edition is a clear indication that the game will stay true to the original's quieter, more subtle tone.

It stands to reason that with a "Kane & Lynch" movie in the works -- potentially starring Bruce Willis -- IO Interactive would want to keep their franchise in motion on game systems. An announcement today indicates that they intend to do just that in 2010 with "Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days" for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. The sequel, which IO says will come laden with a "new visual experience," already has a trailer up on KaneandLynch.com and sounds like it will play up violent shock-value scenes just like the series' first installment did.

"Gamers are always looking for something new and that is exactly what they are going to get with 'Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days,'" IO Interactive general manager Niels Jørgensen said in a press release. "A special thanks to gamers worldwide for their feedback. They are certainly in for a shock as we, with immense pride, welcome back our two dear, violent and somewhat unfortunate friends."

The release says the game's new look will be "inspired by documentary filmmakers and the user-generated era," which from the trailer appears to mean scenes will appear as thought they've been shot through grainy consumer-grade security cameras. It also hopes to redefine "intensity" and "realism" in video games.

It looks like more trailers and screenshots will be on their way soon, judging from the blank "Coming Soon" boxes on the "Kane and Lynch" website, though, so I'm sure we'll find out more in the coming months.

Are you stoked for "Kane & Lynch" sequel? Are there any any improvements you'd like to see after having played the first one? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

Although we're in the midst of the busiest video game time of the year, it's important not to forget the great games that were released, you know, earlier than last week. For example, "Borderlands," which is adding new DLC content on November 24th. I spoke with Paul Helquist, the Design Director on "Borderlands" downloadable content, to get the scoop on what we can expect with the "The Zombie Island Of Doctor Ned." For one thing, zombies. And islands. And a guy named Ned.

The DLC is set on Jakobs Island, home to the titular Doctor Ned. Ned worked for the Jakobs corporation (one of the gun manufacturers in the world of "Borderlands") when he started experimenting with zombies. And, predictably, something went wrong, with Jakobs pulling out, leaving Ned to clean up his own mess. That's where you come in, as you'll arrive at the island and try to stop (or at least profit from) the zombie menace.

I asked Helquist about what sort of scale we can expect from the $9.99 pack:

"We think of it about the same size as one of the smaller zones in the main game. It's probably four to six hours of new gameplay with a lot of new regions, new monsters, that kind of thing. It's probably about the size of the Arid Badlands [the starting zone] and one or two of the doglegs."

In terms of how you'll access the content in game, it's pretty painless. Once you purchase the DLC the game will allow you to fast-travel to Jakobs Cove using one of the teleporters. If you haven't activated the teleporter in the main story yet you'll still be able to travel, but you'll be limited to traveling just to the Cove and back.

Perhaps more interesting is what level the content will be scaled for. Said Helquist:

"As soon as you enter the download content, it detects what level you are and sets the area to about the same level of what you're at. So whenever you buy the DLC, wherever your character happens to be, you can go into Jakobs Cove and you should be good to go."

"I should mention that [level 10] is the minimum level. So if you started a level 1 character and jumped in, the monsters would be level 10. That's because we wanted to be sure that players played the beginning of 'Borderlands' and really understood what 'Borderlands' is about, 'cause there's no training in the download content."

Don't worry about setting the content too low, though. Whenever you return to Jakobs Cove the game will re-scale the enemies and loot, allowing you to play through with a level 50 character and still have a challenge.

Although the draw of "Borderlands" has always been the loot, it didn't sound like that was the main focus this time around, as the DLC won't add any new weapon effects or anything like that. Said Helquist, "The main focus of this download pack is the new region and the new plotline and that sorta thing."

And, thankfully, the enemies, which sound like they're a pretty major departure from anything we've seen so far.

"There's only one, maybe two monsters in the DLC that are basically the same [as the regular game]. We have an undead Rakk who looks sort of skeletal but acts the same. The zombies, some of them look similar to the main game but their behaviors are totally different. In the regular game, when you killed a guy you could blow off an arm or a leg. In this pack you can blow them off and they'll just keep coming.

"We've also got this awesome monster called the Loot Goon who's this giant Frankenstein-like creature, but he's got a treasure chest on his back, so he fights you, and when you kill him he keels over and you can get in the treasure chest."

Helquist went on to say that the number of enemies you'll be facing at any given time is a lot higher than the original game, which should give that classic overwhelmed-by-zombies feel.

And, lastly, what of the hated/loved/possibly killer robot CL4P-TP (aka Clap Trap?). You needn't worry. "We've got some fun surprises with Clap Trap, as well," assured Helquist. Phew.

There's no denying that the original "Left 4 Dead" hit the nail on the head with its fantastic blend of action, suspense, and co-operative play. And here we are just one short year later with a follow-up that Valve promises delivers much, much more: more locations, more weapons, more infected, and more variety is the name of the game in "Left 4 Dead 2." So does the core gameplay still shine with all the extra trimmings there hiding it from view?

The Basics

Players take on the role of one of four survivors -- immune to the infectious zombie outbreak that's left the world in turmoil -- who must fight there way across five campaigns, set throughout the southern United States. Along the way, they must collect weapons and ammo, fight off a number of new special infected zombies, and constantly watch each other's backs to make sure the party survives.

Meanwhile Valve's dynamic AI Director 2.0 sets the pace and tone of each encounter while controlling everything from weapon drops, enemy spawn points and population, as well as lighting and some basic level layout. You'll never play the same game twice.

The Highs

A Series of Peaks and Valleys
If you've ever seen a graph of a solid three-act story structure, you know that each act builds, dips briefly at the beginning of the following act, then increases the drama until the story reaches a climax and can reach no higher point. Well Valve, and their fantastic AI Director 2.0, are masters of this structure, but they do it dynamically, on the fly. Each campaign builds up tension and releases it at just the opportune moments. Whether you're collecting ammo before calling in the horde or screaming into your headset for a buddy to "get this damn Jockey off my head," there are nearly limitless opportunities for tension (and action) to swell up to greater heights.

Just when things start looking bad… a Tank will show up, you'll ride an elevator to the floor of a burning building, or a Witch will start sobbing in the distance. And that's all before you get to one of the five distinct finales the game that will have you running and gunning for your life.

More Stuff = More Opportunities
The original "Left 4 Dead" was an incredibly tight game that had a number of pieces (weapons, infected, or items like pills or medkits) that worked together very well. Unfortunately, there were just very few of those pieces. "Left 4 Dead 2" expands and builds upon each of those pieces wonderfully, providing many more opportunities for memorable moments to occur.

Adrenaline, as an alternative to pills, can provide players with a temporary speed boost to all their abilities. The Bile Bomb attracts nearby infected to attack its target. A defibrillator unit allows characters to revive dead comrades. All these options change up gameplay and make the never-ending joy of killing zombies all the more jubilant.

The Environment
I'm not going to say it’s the locations themselves, or the content of the locations that's so impressive in "Left 4 Dead 2," it's how those locations are presented to the player that really sets the bar high.
Throughout the course of any one campaign the day may shift into night, showcasing the varying grays and hues of light that take place during dusk. And the Heavy Rain campaign in particular -- where players must fetch gasoline and return to the starting location -- is possibly one of the greatest examples of how one location can evoke a tremendously different response from players under a different set of parameters. A slight drizzle morphs into a massive rainstorm where rain and wind literally beat the player back as they progress back through familiar territory, only this time it all seems less familiar.

Infectuous Infected
"Left 4 Dead 2" brings three new special infected types into the mix, and each has their own unique skill for splitting up the survivors. The Charger bowls through them, picking up a lone survivor and dragging them across the map until hitting up against a solid object. The Jockey grabs a survivor and steers them away from safety. And the Spitter can eject a ground-covering blast of acid that tears through health and forces the party to evacuate their current location. The sheer variety of these attacks keeps players on their toes while providing some excellent tactical opportunities for players working together as infected in either of the games adversarial modes.

Scavenger Mode
One of my biggest complaints about the first "Left 4 Dead" revolved around time. The game simply required too much time for me to casually drop in and play for a half-hour sitting. The new Scavenger Mode -- where two teams take turns trying to collect as many gas cans on a given map as possible -- is a wonderful, faster alternative to the game's campaign and versus modes. It packs all that "Left 4 Dead" punch into a much smaller serving.

From A**holes to Apples
Finally, thank you Valve. Thank you for somehow turning the most racist, hateful, and dickish of the internet community into team players interested in my well being. Maybe your game design is some form of subconscious suggestion, or maybe the will to survive a zombie outbreak is a common link between all of mankind, but "Left 4 Dead 2" changes people on Xbox Live. It changes them for the better.

The Lows

Single Player
While "Left 4 Dead 2" can be played solo with the aid of friendly AI, I cannot in any way recommend it. It's a neutered experience that feels empty without the relationships that develop when you play the game co-operatively with others. To make matters worse, the friendly AI serves as little more than a group of turrets wandering slowly after you at your heels. They never push forward, and they still don't make use of any of the grenades drops located throughout the game. One can't help but wish these guys were just a little smarter.

Zombies Amble, My Internet Connection Does Not
Over the course of this past pre-release weekend, I connected to a number of matches where I suffered from some terrible latency issues. Even a few matches that I started solo fell victim to an awful amount of lag. Exiting a match and starting a new one was typically all the work I needed to do to get a solid connection going, but I wish that wasn't the case. That said, this is most likely a problem that will disappear as Valve patches the game in the future.

Where's My Plane Crash Moment?
This may be petty given the breadth of the experience on offer, but not once did I ever come across a moment as cinematically visceral as the plane crash during the finale of Dead Air in the original "Left 4 Dead." That one moment has been seared into my gaming memory and I was shocked to discover that "Left 4 Dead 2" didn't capitalize on the success of that moment. Sure, jets soar overhead, the rain beats down on you, and you get to watch a tanker explode in the distance, but I never saw anything that prompted me to stop in my tracks and allow the moment to sink in like that scene in the original.

Final Word

"Left 4 Dead 2" bests the original "Left 4 Dead" in nearly every way.
Under all those blood and guts and carnage is a technical ballet, seamlessly integrating a variety of elements into one great performance that any fan of the original should not miss. It's not a major leap forward, but the new content and rich mechanics make this game a hard sell to pass up.

We recently sat down with Tomo Miličević and Jared Leto of 30 Seconds to Mars to talk about their collaboration with EA and BioWare for "Dragon Age: Origins." Specifically their song, "This Is War," made its debut within the game. Check out the clip up top.

"Left 4 Dead 2" drops today and you may be one of many out there that's itching to grab a copy and jump online. Before I get to posting my review, I need to spend a bit more time with the game post-release to really see how the game handles with the countless servers running the whole zombie apocalypse show.

I only say this because this past weekend on Xbox Live I ran into an enemy more deadly and more terrifying than "Left 4 Dead 2's" own Witch or Tank infected. If you can't tell from the headline above, I'm talking about lag.

Now it wasn't an issue 100% of the time, but it did crop often enough that it felt like something just wasn't working as expected. Given that the first game rarely suffered from lag, even at launch, this conundrum seems all the more perplexing. Let me elaborate.

My first run-in with lag happened during an online campaign with myself and two other local Los Angeles-based writers. We all noted the lag right away, but it didn't render the game unplayable, so we continued on and worked through the minor delays we were experiencing between input and response. It wasn't until we entered a 4v4 versus campaign that things really started to vault downhill. Every single person in the room displayed the lowest possible latency rating, and we were all jumping about and shooting rather aimlessly. We quickly exited and started up a new match, and that worked just fine.

Now, I do understand lag during pre-release because the number of players and matches is relatively low while distance between those players remains high, but it was one particular scenario that kept cropping up that prompted me to write this post: I suffered from terrible lag while playing the campaign online by myself. I'm talking about at least a second between my input and response on screen. And that second makes all the difference when you're trying to judge which zombies are alive and which are in the process of dying before squeezing off your last few rounds of shotgun ammo.

Thankfully, exiting the current match and starting a new campaign (one most likely hosted by a completely different server) managed to remedy the issue.

An update released yesterday may be there to fix the latency issues I've experienced so far. I've pinged Valve for comment, but have yet to receive any word on the matter.

Are you online playing "Left 4 Dead 2"? How has your experience been?