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The success of the Halo franchise has been incredible. So much so, it was only a matter of time before we'd see a movie. Microsoft plans on releasing a seven-part series spanning from its origins to the game's third installment, titled Halo Legends.

The announcement was made at the 2009 Comic-Con in San Diego. The series will be available for download via Xbox Live this fall. According to Blu-ray.com we can expect to see this on Blu-ray sometime in 2010, so there will finally be a disc labeled Halo that will play on the PS3 for all the Halo fans.

However, since the Xbox 360 doesn't support Blu-ray, it makes you wonder if Blu-ray is in the 360's future? Or maybe the next-gen Xbox? Regardless, you kind of have to to hand it to Microsoft for wanting the fans of the Halo franchise to truly experience this mini series on the best media that's out today.

Slated to release the same week as the movie is G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra, the video game, for all major consoles.

This third-person shooter has an exclusive storyline that picks up where the film leaves off. With 20 levels of game play, three character classifications, (Commando: Does well at close range, Heavy: Possesses extraordinary shooting skills, but does it best from a distance, and Combat Soldier: Balanced between the two) and 16 playable characters to choose from. At certain stages in the game players can board drivable Cobra and G.I. Joe vehicles designed for two-player co-op mode. A total of 75 intelligence cards are scattered throughout the game; once collected they can be used to unlock characters, missions, and four PSAs

The Nintendo DS key features are: Create your own G.I Joe battles vs. Cobra via Wi-Fi. Choose from six Joe characters and five Cobra. The game promises twenty plus missions on this unique shooter for the DS.

We got to do a little hands on with G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra and it was an easy pick up. At first it seemed like a new rendition of Commando 2. The control scheme is simple, making the game fun for the casual gamer. The graphics didn't blow us out of the water, but the co-op play makes up for it, especially with power-ups like the accelerator power suit, which allows the player to become invincible and have increased firepower for a short period. During this mode you hear that nostalgic G.I. Joe theme music that just takes you back--if you go that far back.

The one complaint not only with this particular game but all movie games is that they all have a short shelf life. Due to this, we think this game would be great as downloadable content (DLC), Like the Watchman video game. G.I. Joe is priced at $49.99 for the Wii, Xbox 360, and the PlayStation3, $39.99 for the PSP, and $29.99 for the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo DS. All games will include a Hasbro action figure from the toy line. The Watchmen game is $29.99 for the new combo of the two episodic parts. "Now you know, and knowing is half the battle. Yo Joe!"

Has there ever been a movie-to-video-game title that would stand alone without the movie?

Ever since the mobile version of iTunes allowed podcast downloads, there's been reason to rejoice - on-the-fly podcast accessibility is better than ever, but it's still not great for managing subscriptions. For a limited time, Mediafly will be free for download for the iPhone and iPod Touch through the Apple App Store. Mediafly gives users access to video and audio podcasts across the internet. It also allows for downloads for offline listening on subways, a plus for big-city living. And it also accesses Digital City, so what's not to like?

Users can seamlessly create content channels via a Web browser or Internet-capable portable device, which means you can stream or preload your favorite content to devices such as the iPhone, iPod Touch, Creative Zen, and BlackBerry (in beta now), just to name a few. App versions for the Palm Pre and Android and Windows Mobile devices are coming soon, too. The iPhone and iPod Touch versions will go back to costing 99 cents eventually, so grab and play around with it while it's free to see if it's worth your while.

Check out the video below for demo of Mediafly in action. You can also download Mediafly for the iPhone, iPod Touch, or BlackBerry using your mobile browser: enter www.Mediafly.Mobi

(Credit: Sony Pictures)

In 2005, we got to witness the return of two extremely popular characters in the Final Fantasy franchise--Cloud Strife and Sephiroth--but this time they'd do battle in a movie and not in a game. As of 2006 that movie, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, has sold more than 10.5 million copies worldwide on DVD and UMD. And now it's getting the full Blu-ray treatment.

On June 2, Sony pictures is releasing Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete (director's cut) on Blu-ray. Exclusive to the release will be 26 minutes of additional footage and over 1000 revised scenes, each of which was re-recorded with the original voice cast including Rachel Leigh Cook (Josie and the Pussycats) and Mena Suvari (American Beauty), and a 25-minute original anime short film, telling the story of the character Denzel before the events of Advent Children; a featurette showing a story line digest incorporating related footage from the video games; a documentary on the history of Final Fantasy VII; and a first look at the Final Fantasy XIII video game.

We received an early preview of this upcoming release and it looked beautiful. It was so detailed you could count hair strands and see textures in the clothing. ... Read more

Making its debut in 1996 on the Sony PlayStation, Resident Evil (also known as Biohazard) hits the scene and becomes an over night sensation.

Capcom ran with its success releasing Resident Evil 2 in 1998 followed by Resident Evil 3 Nemesis in 1999, they were both available for the PlayStation and the Sega Dreamcast.

A port of Resident Evil 2 was released on the Nintendo 64 and all three were released for Windows-based systems. The sequels continued, fast-forward to 2009 with the release of Resident Evil 5 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and will also be available soon on PC.

At this point, one would think Capcom has everything covered. But they're not done yet. It's producing yet another Resident Evil for the iPhone and Pod Touch. This April, Resident Evil Degeneration hit the App Store. The game is based on the CG-animated movie of the same name. The controls for this third-person shooter are simple. navigation is done with an onscreen virtual thumb stick (left side) and the action buttons (right side). Priced at $6.99, this should make this a great infection for the iPhone

With all the success of the Resident Evil series, it's no wonder we've never seen another rendition of Dino Crisis.

(Credit: Gameloft)

We've all gotten accustomed to Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo having video game launches to coincide with blockbuster movie releases. Now we have Apple joining the party.

Just released in time for this summer's blockbuster "Terminator: Salvation" is the iPhone app of the same name. Join the resistance and play as John Conner and Marcus Wright in the post-apocalyptic battle for survival. With Kyle Reese and other freedom fighters, you take on Skynet in this 3D third-person shooter. With six weapon types at your disposal, like the shotgun, surge cannon, and grenade launcher, players can combat hordes and possibly make it out alive. Battle 11 different authentic enemies dispensed by Skynet, plus some exclusive models just for the iPhone and iPod Touch.

Terminator Salvation can be played in multiple languages such as English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, and Spanish. It is only compatible with the iPhone/iPod Touch with the 2.2.1 software. The download is available now on the Apps Store for $9.99.

Let's Golf is a new game for the iPhone and iPod Touch that lets users play 63 holes in four distinct locations that have been remodeled in 3D. Those locations are referred to as Fiji Beach, the American Mountains, the English Countryside, and Scottish Lochs. You can choose to play as one of four customizable characters, and you can compete with friends via a Wi-Fi multiplayer mode. Let's Golf boasts scalable game modes ranging from Advanced, which allows you to add spin to the ball, to Causal, which is easier and lets just about anyone experience a Tiger Woods-like moment.

The player control scheme is fairly simple: using the touch screen to hit the ball, you just bring your finger back in a semicircular motion and then forward again. To turn the golfer, you just tap your finger on the side of the screen you want the player to face.

Let's Golf is compatible with the iPhone and iPod Touch (version 2.2.1) and can be downloaded from the App Store for $5.99. Maybe I'll see you on the green.

So far 2009 is the year for Capcom with the launch of Resident Evil 5, Street Fighter IV, and now the upcoming Lost Planet 2. The hits keep coming, not to mention the newly released DLC for RE5 for both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Now Capcom has teamed with GameStop and the EVO Championship Series to "fight against hunger" at the Street Fighter IV National Championship Finals. This event is one of the largest and longest-running fighting-game tournaments in the world.

It's taking place Saturday, April 18 at 7 p.m. at Fort Mason in San Francisco. Sixteen national finalists will battle it out for the grand prize before advancing to represent the U.S. in an international exhibition featuring champions from Japan and Korea. Fans of the genre will be able to experience the action up close and personal as the finalists will be playing live onstage with a giant jumbo screen to show off every bit of the battle.

Not to be overshadowed by the tournament, attendees are invited to join GameStop and Capcom for the "Street Fighter Fights Hunger" charity food drive in partnership with Second Harvest Food Bank. Guests are invited to do their part by bringing gifts of canned foods or nominal donations to be collected at the event.

With the launch of the Amazon Kindle 2 and its text-to-speech feature, a broader range of reading materials would now be available to the 15 million Americans represented by The Reading Rights Coalition, a group which defends the rights of those who cannot read printed words because of blindness, dyslexia, spinal cord injury, or other disabilities. However, The Authors Guild is looking add a hoop or two for people with print disabilities to jump through .

As previously written by my colleague Greg Sandoval, "the retailer, which makes the popular Kindle electronic-book reader, announced late Friday that the company is modifying systems to allow authors and publishers to decide whether to enable Kindle's text-to-speech function on a per-title basis."

According to The Reading Rights Coalition: "The Guild has told them that in order to read their books with text-to-speech they must either submit to a burdensome special registration system and prove their disabilities--or pay extra. The Guild's position is contrary to the principle of equal opportunity for all and discriminates against millions of people with print disabilities. The Guild's position is outrageous and discriminates against the millions of people with print disabilities who are eager to be their readers and customers."