The Optima Hybrid Superman One features a pretty intricate design. Plastered on the hood of the car is, of course, Superman’s logo, and on the back windshield you have a very detailed drawing of Superman himself, probably to emphasize that if you buy this car, Superman will have your back. The car is mainly covered in dark, blue body paint with accents of red and maroon detailing parts of the car’s front, rear, and windows. The Superman car also features red LED lights underneath the automobile to make it seem like you’re just one, red blur when you’re zipping away at night.

The interior of the car is when things start to go a bit downhill. However, if you love light-blue, you’re gonna love this. The interior is mostly decked out in light blue, with gray accents all around. The Superman logo is plastered on all of the car seats, as well as your car horn.

Kia and DC didn’t collaborate just to make a Superman car. They also created many more cars based on the entire Justice League. They created cars based on Batman, The Flash, and Green Lantern, and out of all of the cars, I think I would say that the Batmobile would be the only one I’d be willing to drive. The others are too gaudy. These cars were made in order to draw in donations for DC Comic’s “We The Pledge” charity. All of the proceeds go to the children in the Horn of Africa, who are suffering through both a drought and famine.

[via The Jace Hall Show]

NetherRealm Studios are bringing what they call a “bold new franchise” to the fighting game genre complete with a “deep” original story that’s also being released as we speak in real-world comic book form. Each of the heroes and villains you know so well have been given “god-like” powers where applicable to essentially equalize their ability to destroy the other. Multi-tiered fighting arenas also make for a gaming experience that no DC comics hero (or Mortal Kombat character, for that matter) have ever been through before.

Writers Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti are behind the wheel here with a storyline made to engage not only game players but the comic universe as well. Iconic battle arenas are pulled directly from the pages of the comics as the storyline inside the game expands the environment created in the comics. With the power of the advanced computing systems inside the PlayStation 3, Wii U, and Xbox 360, you’ll be able to knock your opponents into, through, and completely out of the arenas in which you do battle.

This game is up for pre-order at several locations in the United States right this minute in standard editions as well as Collectors Editions. The Collector’s Edition includes the game itself, a 12-inch statue with Batman and Wonder Woman making with the action poses, and the “INJUSTICE: Gods Among Us” graphic novel. You’ll also get a digital download copy of the DOOM: Justice League movie and three unique and exclusive skins for your characters in-game based on the comic DC COMICS – THE NEW 52.

[via Official INJUSTICE Webspace]

This release has a limited number of games for which you’ll be able to get next-level optimization on your own GeForce-toting gaming PC. This release pumps up the availability of optimization beyond what the closed beta offered, with both Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad CPU support now ready for action. NVIDIA also added 2560 x 1440 display resolution support this time around – that having not been part of the closed beta release either.

With the GeForce Experience Open Beta you’ll see improved game detection logic as well as a collection of 41 games ready to look and work as magnificent as they’ve ever been on your machine. Having added FarCry 3, Mechwarrior Online, and the battle action heavy Hawken for this release, GeForce Experience is now able to work with 41 total titles. The rest are as follows:

Assassin’s Creed 3, Batman: Arkham City, Battlefield 3, Borderlands 2, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Counter-Strike:GO, CrossFire: Rival Factions, Crysis 2, Deus Ex Human Revolution, Diablo III, Dirt 3, DOTA 2, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, F1 2012, Fable III, Fallout New Vegas, Far Cry 3, FIFA 12, FIFA 13, Football Manager 2013, Hitman Absolution, League of Legends, Left 4 Dead 2, Mass Effect 3, Max Payne 3, Mechwarrior Online, Medal of Honor: Warfighter, Planetside 2, Portal 2, Shogun 2: Total War, Star Wars The Old Republic, StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, Team Fortress 2, The Secret World, The Sims 3, The Sims Medieval, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, World Of Tanks, and World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria.

The actual app and usage therein is beyond simple. Once you’ve got it downloaded and open, you hit the scan button to see if there are any games on your machine that are part of the current list the GeForce Experience works with. The machine we’ve used here is an Alienware M17x R4 (see our full review here), and on it we’ve got none other than Batman: Arkham City (see our full review here) which the GeForce Experience software recognizes easily.

From there it’s just a button click or two more before we’ve got full NVIDIA-approved optimization of our settings, based entirely on the hardware/software combination we’ve got and ready for the best-case-scenario outcome when we kick out the gaming jams.

And that’s it! The simplicity of this app is part of the experience, the GeForce Experience being one that’s meant to be beyond simple. This environment makes certain everyone takes the time to optimize their machines with as easy a process as possible so that NVIDIA’s GeForce graphics can do their work as well as possible – and everything looks and handles hot!

This release includes upgrades in performance for client startup, game scan, billboard display, and nothing less than straight up communication with NVIDIA as well. If you’re all about getting some fantastic support for your games straight from NIVIDA, it’s time you headed over to the GeForce Experience Beta download page and had at it. This release works with Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Vista, and is just 9.16 MB in file size – make it yours!

Bonus! Have a peek at the two videos below direct from NVIDIA – the first was filmed at the CES 2013 event we attended (see the timeline below for more info) with the bossman talking about the release iteration of GeForce Experience. The other video shows the app again in simple terms with fancy graphics flying everywhere – hot stuff!

Of course, you’ll want to take any rumors with a grain of salt until we get official confirmation from the company, but after the success of the first two titles, the idea that Warner Bros would just let the series linger seems silly. The domains were uncovered by Fusible, and were apparently filed by MarkMonitor, a brand protection company Warner has turned to in the past in an attempt to keep secrets from getting out. There are 15 domains in all, with each one using the word “Arkham” in one way, shape, or form.

The list includes domains such as arkhamuniverse.com, dcarkhamverse.com, batmanarkhambegins.com, and batmanarkhamstories.com. At the moment, none of the 15 domains actually lead to any kind of website, so it’s pretty clear that Warner is just sitting on these for the time being. If these are for an upcoming video game, it seems that “Arkham Universe” would be the mostly likely name, though with a list of 15 potential titles, Warner definitely has plenty of options.

Then again, these may not be for a video game at all. With Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy now finished, Warner may look to the successful Arkham series of games as the inspiration for a new Batman movie. While a new Arkham game seems much more likely, it would be foolish to rule out anything when we’re talking about money. Stay tuned.

This vehicle was originally purchased from the Ford Motor Company back in 1959 by legendary car customizer George Barris, his collection being from whens this vehicle is being sold now – customizations and all. It was Barris who customized the vehicle for the original Batman television series and whose collection it never left – even while it was being filmed for the show. Now that it’s just completed its final on-screen showing in the Batmobile documentary filmed for The Dark Knight Rises super special edition DVD, it’s time to head out.

The birth of the vehicle happened not here in the USA, but over the pond in Italy. At Ghia Body Works in Turin, the Ford Motor Company had what was called the “Lincoln Futura” created in 1954. This vehicle was used by Ford as a show-off vehicle for technology for futuristic vehicles galore, having made its debut at the 1955 Chicago Auto Show. This vehicle made one short appearance on-screen in the film It Started with a Kiss with Debbie Reynolds and Glenn Ford, then was purchased from the motor company by Barris for one dollar.

It would seem that the dollar was only a formality as Ford certainly must have recognized the man as a legend even in his own day. He’s also responsible for such masterpiece vehicles as the Torino Green Hornet, the General Lee, and the Beverly Hillbillies truck. Now that he had his hands on the one and only Lincoln Futura, he’d had another fabulous marvel in his garage. But it wasn’t until 20th Century Fox asked him to create a custom car for the then-new Batman TV series that he began work on the most fabulous vehicle of all.

Images above and below via the George Barris collection.

He was given 15 days and a $15,000 USD budget to create the Batmobile. Instead of starting from scratch, he used the already unique Lincoln Futura as a base. From there he made it ring true. According to the official release from the Barrett Jackson auction house, the vehicle features a fabulous assortment of Bat-Features, too!

“The car features a 390-in 1956 Lincoln V-8 engine and a B&M Hydro Automatic transmission. Gadgets include a nose-mounted aluminum Cable Cutter Blade, Bat Ray Projector, Anti-Theft Device, Detect-a-scope, Batscope, Bat Eye Switch, Antenna Activator, Police Band Cut-In Switch, Automatic Tire Inflation Device, Remote Batcomputer, the Batphone, Emergency Bat Turn Lever, Anti-Fire Activator, Bat Smoke, Bat Photoscope, and many other Bat gadgets. If needed, the Batmobile was capable of a quick 180° “bat-turn” thanks to two rear-mounted ten-foot Deist parachutes.”

This beast will be up for auction in January and is sure to fetch a mint. Stay tuned to see how this masterpiece fares in 2013 – and to whom it will be sent! You can keep up to date on all Batmobile dealings by hitting the Bat-Search here on SlashGear!

One of the vehicles is a Flash-inspired Kia Forte Koupe. The car was built by West Coast Customs and has a red-orange-yellow airbrushed exterior that resembles The Flash’s costume. The vehicle has 20-inch Asanti color-matched wheels, uses Continental Extreme Contact tires, and rides on a custom suspension. The car is also customized inside with black leather with red suede and yellow stitching.

The green and gold car is an Aquaman-inspired Rio five-door. This car was chosen for Aquaman because it’s eco-friendly with 85% of its materials recyclable at the end of its life. The car features a special green-gold-orange exterior paint scheme and body kit. Inside the vehicle gets green leather with yellow gold accents and the green suede headliner with the Aquaman logo.

The Green Lantern vehicle is a Soul with a green and black exterior paint scheme and green mirror chrome tinted windows. The car has custom one-of-a-kind wheels and lots more superhero inspired touches. Cyborg gets a Forte 5-door running a custom suspension, custom wheels, and a number of exterior elements inspired by the superhero. The interior of the car is customized with red leather and red suede. All four of the new vehicles also have custom stereo systems and more.

Of course, there were plenty of Batmobiles between 1966 and 2012, and those will all be on display too. These include the Batmobile Michael Keaton drove in Batman and Batman Returns, the one Val Kilmer cruised around in Batman Forever, and the one from 1997′s beyond terrible Batman and Robin. As an added bonus, the Batpod from Christopher Nolan’s films will be on display as well.

The tour kicks off this weekend at Cowboy Stadium in Arlington, Texas. On Saturday, the Batmobiles will be parked outside the Miller Lite Club, while on Sunday, they’ll be on display at half-time during the Cowboys’ game against the New York Giants. After the stint in Arlington, the Batmobiles will move onto Baton Rouge and New Orleans, Lousiana the weekend of November 3.

More dates will be announced later on, so no, the Batmobiles will not just be visiting those locations listed above. Make no mistake, if you’re a Bat-fan, this is about as good a chance as any to catch a glimpse at the various Batmobiles that have graced the silver screen throughout the years. Will you be making the trip to see these Batmobiles in person?

The first of those customized Kia cars for the Justice League has turned up, and it’s a Batman-themed Kia Optima SX Limited. The car is finished in matte black with piano black Batman logos and other touches. The car has a lowered suspension using a coilover system and sports a “muscular” ground effects kit.

The customized Kia was also fitted with Ksport performance brakes offering larger rotors and calipers along with improved stopping power and custom-designed 20-inch wheels. The car is also fitted with a performance exhaust system, and a custom front grill shaped like a batwing. The custom grill reportedly took over 40 hours to create.

The vehicle has yellow LED lighting accents all around and the HID headlights have an integrated bat signal. Inside the car, the seats are fitted with custom black leather and suede with yellow stitching. The car also features a Bat Suit and cowl in the trunk along with utility throwing stars in the center console. This vehicle will eventually be auctioned off with the proceeds going to a charity called We Can Be Heroes.

The cars will be designed with help from comic book artist and DC Entertainment co-publisher Jim Lee. Each of the previously mentioned core members of the Justice League will have one-of-a-kind cars unveiled over the next 10 months at major auto shows and comic-cons across the country. The cars will be unveiled at major events, including the New York Comic-Con, SEMA Show in Las Vegas, the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Wonder-Con, and the San Diego Comic-Con.

Kia is supplying the vehicles for the project, and each superhero will be matched to the specific vehicle Kia makes that best matches the hero. The vehicles provided will include the Kia Optima, Soul, Sorrento, Sportage, Rio, and Forte. The cars will be customized by West Coast Customs, Rides Magazine, and Import Tuner magazine.

Other companies will also be lending assistance to the project. Kia and DC are working on the project to benefit a charity called “We Can Be Heroes” that was created to fight hunger in the Horn of Africa. Each of the eight vehicles created in the project will be a drivable custom car and auctioned off to raise money for the charity.

What you’re going to see above and below is a “Dark Knight Rises” themed setup – they’ve also created renderings of a pirate ship for Pirates of the Carribean, another Batcave, and several other any-movie environments as well. The chair model they’re showing here is their simply-titled Model B1 with an arm style B and a backrest style 1.

That said, the folks at Elite HTS do note that this project is going to be a reality somewhere or another in California and that they’re acting as design consultants while they provide the seating for the final product. Their aim was to “fuse together the cozy elements of Wayne Manor, with the Art Deco styling of Gotham City.”

They’ve even gone so far as to include a hidden room behind the book case where your Batmobile will rest near an exit tunnel. This is no small fantasy. It also includes home theater equipment all set up in giant “Batcomputer” configurations while decorations include fully working lights, controls for all elements of the film experience, and authentic movie replicas galore.

Look like your kind of choice for most awesome cave for a geek of all time? We’d like to take a peek at the final product and perhaps think about locking ourselves inside for a bit of a marathon. What do you think?

[via Werd]

Christopher Nolan has stated that he is “done” with the Batman franchise, but there’s always room for involvement in other roles than the director’s seat. Nolan noted with Access Hollywood that Hathaway was not only more than great as Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises, she’s certainly worthy of a follow-up as well.

“She’s an incredible character and we’re very excited to see her and hopefully we’ll leave people wanting more. … I certainly think she deserves [another chance], she’s incredible.” – Nolan

Speaking with Digital Spy this week, Hathaway confirmed that “it would be lovely” to continue to continue the Catwoman story from the point its at in The Dark Knight Rises. She also confirmed that she definitely did not base her Catwoman on past portrayals of the character, noting that “I thought it was probably best to focus on being a part of Chris Nolan’s Gotham City.”

“I think it would be lovely to see more of [Catwoman], but only if it’s with the right people. She lives in this Gotham City and so it would have to be established by the people who have made this Gotham City. For me, at least.” – Hathaway

You can see The Dark Knight Rises in theaters across the USA this week – get out there and experience the last of the trilogy!

Though software didn’t fare as bad as hardware did, it still did pretty terrible. In June 2011 software sales rang in at $461 million, but last month that figure took a 29% dive to $328 million. Accessories, on the other hand, actually grew year-over-year last month, climbing 4% to $169.8 million.

But wait! Before you start saying that we’re headed directly for another video game crash, keep in mind that NPD only tracks data for physical hardware, software, and accessories sales, meaning that everything else isn’t included in these figures. In fact, NPD analyst Anita Frazier says that when the company’s estimates for things like digital software purchases, DLC purchases (which includes money spent on microstransactions and subscriptions), rentals, used sales, and social game spending are all tallied up, consumers spent an estimated $1.36 billion on video games in June.

Looking at the top 10 software list for June, we see that Lego Batman 2 took the top spot, followed by Ghost Recon: Future Soldier in second place. Diablo III landed a third place ranking, while Max Payne 3 and NBA 2K12 rounded out the top five. Take a look at the full top ten list, but remember that this list only covers physical media sales:

1. Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes – 360, Wii, PS3, PC, DS, 3DS, Vita
2. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier – PC, PS3, 360
3. Diablo III – PC
4. Max Payne 3 – PC, 360, PS3
5. NBA 2K12 – PC, 360, PS3, Wii, PS2, PSP
6. Batman: Arkham City – PC, 360, PS3
7. Pokemon Conquest – DS
8. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 – 360, Wii, PS3, PC
9. Battlefield 3 – PC, 360, PS3
10. The Amazing Spider-Man – 360, PS3, Wii, DS, 3DS

Finally, the Xbox 360 finished off the month with 257,000 units sold, while Nintendo says that the 3DS sold 155,000 units, the DS 150,000, and the Wii rounded out the bottom with 95,000 sales. Sony has not yet commented on how many PS3s, PSPs, and Vitas were sold last month.

[via VG247]

According the rumor, the next Batman game from Rocksteady is set during the silver age of comics (which began in the mid-1950s, ending around 1970) and will focus on the Caped Crusader’s first encounter with the Joker. The game also covers the formation of the Justice League of America, which suggests that characters like Superman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, and Green Lantern will appear in some capacity.

A game that focuses on the early days of the Justice League would definitely be one to pay attention to, especially if it’s coming from Rocksteady. Though this is merely a rumor at this point in time, it definitely isn’t outside the realm of possibility, considering Rocksteady has said in the past that it would like to branch out and make video games about different superheroes.

Here’s hoping that Warner Brothers gets the ball rolling on such a project, if only because Superman is in dire need of being associated with something that’s actually good.

[via Variety]

Nokia is playing the full details as close to its chest as Bruce Wayne keeps his secret identity on the down-low, but this could be pure catnip to any Batman fan. The Lumia range gets an exclusive The Dark Knight Rises app, which comes with cast info, movie showtimes, trailers and more, as well as wallpapers and ringtones.

There’s also a location-based game, powered by Foursquare, which allows players to take the role of Batman or Bane and build up territory by checking into places, all with updates pushed to a Live Tile on the Windows Phone homescreen. It’s not clear whether those checkins will have any connection with the 3D Gotham map.

We don’t know when the 3D map will be released, but with The Dark Knight Rises set to hit theaters on July 20 that seems a reasonable time for Nokia to push it out.

Update: Now we’ve got some screenshots of the interface: looks like this is a desktop 3D mapping system rather than a phone app. Check out full-size shots in the gallery below.

Most of the new Nokia trailer is structured much in the same way as the official one we’ve all seen before, but with some new music pumping in the background along with different chanting. New footage includes a little bit more of the Bane vs Batman showdown, mayhem occurring in Gotham, and a few nice exchanges between familiar characters like Lucius Fox and Alfred.

Make sure to check out the new trailer in full. If you haven’t already booked your tickets for the flick, you’ll probably want to go do that right this very minute. The film opens on July 20th with IMAX screenings in addition to regular 2D showings.

[via Whatley Dude]

Full details around the new title have not been released, so it’s unclear what section of the movie’s storyline will be playable. Also unclear is the pricing; Gameloft could release it under the freemium model, with levels unlocked through in-app purchases, or simply for a single upfront fee.

As for the graphics, it’s hard to know how the teaser video below will translate to actual gameplay on Android and iOS devices, but it’s looking pretty darn good for a mobile title. Gameloft hasn’t said whether there’ll be a multiplayer mode.

The new smartphone title is just one of a number of Batman-themed tie-in games expected in the coming months. Earlier this week we went hands-on with Batman Arkham City Armored Edition on the Nintendo Wii U, which turns the touchscreen Gamepad controller into a remote control for some of the superhero’s gadgets and toys.

[via Joystiq]

The folks at Mimoco don’t mess around when it comes to releasing these lovely little beasts, both of them fabulous examples of how the group can go big with a release in the video you’re about to see below. These bots are released in collaboration with Warner Bros. Consumer Products on behalf of DC Entertainment and will be busting out extremely soon! Also note: the Bane character will be limited to 500 pieces and will be released at SDCC for people at the convention in-person only!

Superman is also about to be available with his lovely blue curled hair and Yellow S-symbol on Red Cape, a classic container for no less than your most valuable data in need of transport. The same is true of The Flash, made into a MIMOBOT designer USB flash drive in as ironic a was as possible. As Mimobots note: “Could there be a more perfect character for a character-based flash drive?” Heck no! Head over to Mimobots online shop to see what’s available now – no one drive is unlimited!

In the months since we first played with the Wii U, back at E3 2011, the Gamepad itself has grown slightly wider and gained more tactile analog sticks than the sliding nubs of before. It also has a more ergonomic back panel – matte finish versus the gloss of the fascia – which makes for an easier, grippier experience, though we did still find ourselves accidentally hitting the lower shoulder buttons more often than we’d like. The front sticks are a notable improvement, though, and the touchscreen itself is still bright and reasonably responsive.

We also spent some time fondling the Wii U Pro Controller, the new “classic” style option to accompany the Gamepad and Wiimote. It’s a chunky thing to hold, but pleasant, and the buttons are nicely sprung. Unfortunately we couldn’t try out any titles with twin-Gamepad input, something Nintendo has confirmed will be possible (albeit with reduced touchscreen framerates).

Wii U 2012 redesign hands-on:

It’s the games that are the most important element, though, and as you might expect it’s those that take the most advantage of the dual-screen option that feel most successful. Batman Arkham City Armored Edition, for instance, turns the Gamepad into the controller built into Batman’s wrist computer: it can be used to scroll through different mask scanning options, or see the camera from a remotely-controlled batarang, while on the main screen Batman himself is looking down at his wrist. Other times – as in other games we tried, like ZombiU - it shows a floorplan map or an enlarged view of the big-screen action.

Other titles use the potential for private viewing: Game & Wario, for instance, has a subgame that requires the Gamepad controller to navigate a secret thief, while other players watch their TV and try to identify them. Picking them out in the subsequent line-up is done by handing the Gamepad around, reminiscent of some sort of boardgame; it’s elements like that which will particularly appeal to families playing together.

The Gamepad isn’t the only sensor-packed control that will be used. In Wii Fit U, the Wii Fit Balance Board is used for a new set of more arduous exercise challenges than in the previous version. In our video demo above, you can see a balance game where players have to physically run around a restaurant while holding a Gamepad “tray” steady.

The big challenge for Nintendo will be rival multi-screen systems like Xbox SmartGlass. Microsoft’s system has the advantage of working with a broader range of hardware – smartphones, Windows 8 tablets, PCs and notebooks – but presents a challenge to game developers who won’t know for certain what extra screens each player is bringing to the table. In contrast, every Wii U will have at least one Gamepad.

We won’t know for sure how successful the Wii U is – and how well Nintendo takes advantages of things like NFC integration – until the console launches at the end of this year. Based on our experience today, though, we’ve a feeling it will be another hit among casual gamers who might not normally go anywhere near a traditional console.

This version of the game was described by Reid Schneider of WB Games Montreal whose studio was responsible for this version of the game for the Wii U exclusively. He describes gameplay that includes using the GamePad with gyroscope, touch, and button/joystick controls. This mode of play is called B.A.T. mode and takes on quite a few of the gameplay elements we’ve already seen in the regular edition of Arkham City like the remote-control Batarang and Explosive Gel and puts them deeper in your control than was possible on any other platform.

From your controller you’ll be able to access all menus, both in the game and out of it, with Batman’s full utility belt as close to your own as you’ve ever wanted it to be. Check out the video above courtesy of Nintendo to see the awesome Armored Edition action, and head below for all the Batman Arkham City sweetness you could ever desire.

Also note that this release comes rather soon after the newest and perhaps final chapter in the Dark Knight saga in the film world: The Dark Knight Rises. This film will be 2 hours and 45 minutes (so says AMC via MTV Stay tuned to SlashGear for more information on that film as we inch closer and closer to the premiere!

Here’s a nice little bonus: even if you don’t want the Batman edition of the Lumia 900, the regular edition will come with a free pair of cinema tickets for The Dark Knight Rises when the film opens on July 20th. Not only that, but customers will be entered into a competition that would see them potentially scoring VIP tickets to the movie premiere in London.

The phone, meanwhile, will come with an exclusive Dark Knight Rises app, offering additional content such as wallpapers and ringtones, plus a “Claim Gotham City” challenge that sees you checking in at designated Foursquare locations to score points and unlock additional goodies.

Phones4u will be offering the limited edition of the phone for free on £31 a month contracts, or you can pick it up SIM free for £599.95. The phone will be available online and in stores, although with only 900 available, you’ll have to be quick.

It’s not that long now before Batman fans – and really, just fans of good, quality cinema – will be treated to The Dark Knight Rises in movie theaters across the country. But until then, we have to soak up every new trailer as soon as it comes online and start its requisite climb to become viral ahead of the theatrical release.

Unfortunately, as with any good marketing campaign, even though we’re seeing more of the movie now, it’s resulting in more questions being asked instead of answered. For example, there’s an ominous suggestion that Bruce Wayne is “not being Batman anymore.” Is that meant to set the tone for this new Dark Knight installment? We’ll see, folks. We’ll see.

Currently Phones4u has an exclusive on the Lumia 900 in the UK, and Pocket-Lint reports that the phone retailer will also stock The Dark Knight Rises edition of the phone. The Lumia 800 version came with custom wallpapers and Dark Knight tile on the homescreen. It hasn’t been confirmed if those extras will make it to the Lumia 900, but we would expect so.

Nokia hasn’t confirmed how many editions of the handset will be made, but it sounds like there won’t be too many. Everyone will have a chance to get their hands on one, but you’ll probably have to act quickly if you’re desperate. Otherwise the phone will be identical to the regular Lumia 900: a 4.3-inch ClearBlack AMOLED WVGA screen, 1.4Ghz single-core processor, 512MB of RAM, 16GB of storage, eight megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss lens, and HSPA+ up to 42Mbit/s.

The epic viral campaign involved chalk depictions of bats at locations across the globe. Users were tasked with photographing these chalk etchings, and with each new photograph, a new frame was released. And yes, it’s time for all that hard work to pay off. Once all the pieces were put together, a 139-second tease of the flick was pushed to the Web. In a word, it is intense. In a few words, it’s everything you should hope the new Dark Knight movie will be.

After you get through the 10 second of company idents, you’ll find more than two minutes of eerily quiet music, a lot of edits that showcase the various action scenes and special effects, and, well, a fair amount of silence. The intensity comes from a lack of intense music and dialogue. You can’t take your eyes off it, so check it out below. The Dark Knight Rises heads to theaters on July 20.

This set of futures solidifies what we expected to come from the NVIDIA camp for mobile processors as thus far NVIDIA has had no dual-core or more architecture with LTE capabilities. The name Icera should ring a bell for you, it being featured back in February of this year as NVIDIA’s new modem complete with voice-over-LTE. This innovation should have Tegra back in the good books for those now needing the speed of LTE throughout the USA.

NVIDIA showed several of these names, including Grey and Wayne, back in 2011 when they first showed their superhero roadmap for multi-core processors. Each of the names is taken from a superhero, Tegra 3 originally called Kal-El (aka Superman), while Grey is Jean Grey (aka the Phoenix) and Wayne is of course Bruce Wayne (Batman.) This roadmap lets us know that yes, indeed, NVIDIA does have great things continuing to fill their future in the mobile world.

Can’t wait to see what’s next!

[via Vincent Nguyen]

This character Iron Man has over the past few years been shown off in theaters as another character with no real super powers (other than, like Batman, his ultra-keen intellect) being made super with advanced technology. During this same period of time, we’ve seen the exponential growth of the personal technology world, mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets being made a reality for the common citizen. The Iron Man films show this technology being used alongside personal technology we’ve again not quite ready to work with in real life.

“I think that people will experience the future in different ways. The first future will apply to the ultra-connected … those with the will and resources to embrace new technology. They’re the few … for this group the limits are only what science can develop and what society deems acceptable” – Eric Schmidt, chairman of Google

Google has recently been tipped as making a pair of heads-up display smart glasses that allow us to access a user interface connected to either a camera, the web, or both. More than just a few times this past week at Mobile World Congress we heard the same experience being shared by people from all over the world: we keep thinking touch-screens are everywhere already – that reality isn’t far off. Software companies are creating technology that allows masses of products to be made by hardware companies that would have otherwise had to invest masses of energy, dollars, and years of effort to produce, and they’re giving it away for free.

We’re traveling toward the reality we see in the Iron Man movies so fast that it’s almost absurd, and it’s certainly exciting. The Iron Man films are popular not just because they’re well made as entertainment units in and of themselves, but because they’re windows to tomorrow – and the “tomorrow” that used to always be tens of years away is now just years away, and in some cases months away. The gigantic monster leviathan you see at the end of the Avengers trailer – less so.

Among the goodies contained in the download are new maps like the “25th Floor,” weapons such as the Falcoln Blade and Kingmaker, and other items. It also includes new costumes for playable characters, as well as functional updates like the ability to join online multiplayer games that are already in progress. It is really more like a game update than a true DLC add-on.

As has become increasingly common in the world of console DLC, this add-on bundle is currently only available on the Xbox 360. However, it will eventually make its way to the PS3 and PC as well. Microsoft has developed an addiction for handing money over to publishers in exchange for the right to offer DLC before any other platform.

The storyline here is loosely based around the idea that Batman impersonators would certainly take to the streets if Batman ever went missing (it’s happened before!) and tossing in a whole clown-car full of Junior Jokerz, this game blows the top off of what was established in Gotham City and pours a bunch of hot sauce into it. Inside the game you’ve got the option of playing to your own skillset and are able to turn your character in to whatever you want it to be – hair, weapons, makeup and all!

If you’re unable to see this game in your download area for any of the platforms you’ve got right this moment, just wait! This game is slated for yesterday and today and is being rolled out to each system as they’re prepared to bring the fun! Meanwhile we’ve got the game here and are testing it out tonight – so get ready for some fun in the interim if you’re up for it!

So you take this little guy, you flip out the back and plug your microSD card in, taking the whole device then and plugging it in to your USB 2.0 port so you can see the contents of your card on your computer. MicroSD cards are the ones you pop into your smartphone, this device giving you a fun way to get media on or off your smartphone, essentially. And it’s Star Wars, so you can’t go wrong.

These little monsters will be out in March, 2012, and will cost you $12.95 each. There’s also DC comic book characters such as Superman, Batman, and the like, and they’ll cost the same as well. And you can pop em on your keychain just like the rest of the Mimobot line. Fun!

It used to be that if you wanted to rent a movie from Warner and many of the other major studios, you might have to wait as long as a month before you could get your hands on it. There was a 28-day delay between the launch of the film on DVD, and it coming to kiosks. Warner has made a new deal with Netflix, Redbox, and Blockbuster that will double that delay to 56 days.

The longer delay is all in the name of propping up sagging DVD sales. The sad part is you can bet since the three movie rental/streaming firms accepted the deal other studios will follow suit. After 56 days, I’m not going to rent a movie that I haven’t seen, it’s off my radar completely and the only flicks I buy are kid’s movies that my kids will watch repeatedly. I for one sincerely hope that Warner Brothers sees the profits fall even more. If it wants to spur DVD sales, make your movies cheaper and put them on the market faster, not slower for rentals. They don’t seem to understand that renting or streaming is the only way many of us watch their films.

[via AllThingsD]

Matching packaging – wrapping up the traditional bright Nokia blue with a matte black sleeve complete with black Batman logo – rounds out the package. There’s a movie tie-in Live Tile visible on the screen in the video below, though it’s not clear exactly what specific software or apps Nokia has added at this stage.

Although the chances of picking up a Batman Dark Knight Rises Lumia 800 in stores is low, we wouldn’t be surprised if one or two show up on eBay eventually. Otherwise the regular black Lumia 800 and some time with a laser etching machine are your best bet; check out our full Nokia Lumia 800 review here.

NVIDIA notes that this driver download enables NVIDIA Surround on the newest X79 SLI-certified motherboards and those of you with BenQ XL2420T and BenQ XL2420TX monitors can now get 3D Vision DisplayPort 1.1 connections natively. Ambient Occlusion is included for Skyrim and MW3, this feature activated in your control panel once you’ve got it all downloaded and loaded. Ambient Occlusion essentially means you’ll have the best in-game shadow effects in the business. To get to this feature in your control panel, hit 3D Settings, Manage 3D settings, and find Ambient Occlusion (should be at the top) and set it to either Performance or Quality, then hit the Apply button.

UPDATE: head to this NVIDIA slider page to see how the shadows will improve your experience in all places!

Of course this only works after you’ve got the new driver downloaded and attached, which you’ll have to head to the Beta and Legacy Drivers page on NVIDIA to get. Once you’ve got it ready to go, have a peek at the full release notes here on what you’ve done to your computer. Only great things, only big hits! You’re gonna love it!

NVIDIA Ambient Occlusion
• Adds NVIDIA Control Panel ambient occlusion support for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
• Adds NVIDIA Control Panel ambient occlusion support for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.

NVIDIA PhysX
• Updates PhysX System Software to version 9.11.1107 for the best PhysX experience in Batman: Arkham City.

NVIDIA Surround
• Enables NVIDIA Surround support for Intel X79 SLI-certified motherboards.

NVIDIA SLI
• Added or updated SLI profiles for Crysis 2, Heroes and Generals, Inversion, Stronghold 3, and Syndicate.

3D Vision
• Adds support for 3D Vision over native DisplayPort 1.1 connection – available on BenQ XL2420T and BenQ XL2420TX monitors.
• Added or updated the following 3D Vision game profiles:
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 – Rated Good
Cang Sheng – Rated Good
Diablo 3 – Rated Good
Fei fei – Rated Good
Final Combat – Rated Good
L.A. Noire – Updated Rating To 3D Vision Ready
LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7 – Rated Fair
Qian Nv You Hun Online – Rated Good
QQ Xi You – Rated Good
Sonic Generations – Rated Good
Xian Tu – Rated Good
Yong Bing Tian Xia Online – Rated Good

HD Audio
• Updates HD Audio driver to version 1.3.9.0.

Bug Fixes
• Fixes random flickering as Windows boot logo is loading or fading away.
• Fixes corruption in Crysis 2 with SLI and lower quality shadow settings.
• Fixes ability to set Surround resolutions to 5760×1080 using custom resolutions.
• Fixes some random instances of triangular artifacts when playing Battlefield 3.
• Fixes corruption and flickering of some objects in Battlefield 3 in the New York single-player level when anti-aliasing is enabled.
• Fixes corruption seen in Settlers 7 with the NVIDIA 275.33 drivers.
• Fixes playback of videos or live TV using Window Media Center resulting in a black screen.
• Fixes the issue where 1920×1080 @60Hz PC resolution mode switched down to @59Hz.
• Fixes mouse cursor flickering and shaking in Crysis 2, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Deus Ex and Civilization V when SLI is enabled when using 3DTV Play.

Don’t forget to check out our full review of Batman while you’re down here, it’s Battastic!

Storyline

The storyline here is one that takes place some months after the prison madness of Batman: Arkham Asylum, the first game in this series. What’s gone on since then is the city government of Gotham City has created a walled-in miniature town in which all the criminals that would otherwise have been sent to the asylum for the criminally insane have been confined – this city is called Arkham City. This and the fact that a set of corrupt police officers under the orders of the fellow who’s been left in charge of the city have tossed Bruce Wayne in the city to fend for himself make this storyline appear rather familiar.

This is a re-written version of Escape from New York (or Escape from Los Angeles, if you prefer), and Bruce Wayne, aka Batman, is Snake Plissken. Once you’ve been pulled into the city by the sinister Hugo Strange, who is running the city in this storyline, your goal is to continue the investigation you started before you were captured – and with your endless arsenal of gadgets, abilities, and skills in both the combat and detective arenas, you’ll have more than an engaging time doing so. The story does aim at making this a quintessential Batman game as it does appear to try to contain each and every one of the main villains, but of course its unlikely nature is easily trumped by the vastness of the environment and your complete freedom in exploring all of your possibilities.

This is a Batman story, and because it takes on the story started in the first Arkham game and expands upon it by literally turning the asylum into an entire city, it’s great. And not only do you get to move through the main storyline, there are side-stories and tasks you can attain as well. And of course, what good game centered around a city would be complete without Grand Theft Auto free-play, your ability to explore nearly without limit!

Gameplay

When you play this game, you are Batman. You’ll want to put on your movie-quality Batman mask and put on the sharp gloves because you’ll feel like you’re the real deal. You play the part of the real detective Batman, the one with vast sets of maps, decoding tools, and your trusty pal Alfred Pennyworth (aka Bruce Wayne’s butler and Batman’s most valuable helper, for those of you unfamiliar). You also play the part of the fully equipped Batman, complete with every little Bat-tool you’ve ever heard of. Fly to the tops of buildings with your Line Launcher pulling you from the ground all the way up, glide around the town with your cape-cum-Bat-Glider, and traverse the landscape as you discover the ever-changing set of situations in the whole of Arkham City.

You’ve got levels on top of levels of ways to interact with your environment, from punching a bad guy in the face to attaching a line to a horizon scaffold to lower yourself down on top of the enemy head-first. You can attack a villain from above, flipping down to knock him out with your boot. You can make a glide-attack from a half-mile above a group of gangsters directly to a fellow’s face. Toss your Remote Controlled Batarang and make it flip and fly from your hand down the aisle, around the corner, and under a table to hit a notorious fellow in the kneecap. You will know the meaning of a diverse set of views and controls when you work here in the city.

You’ll want to choose your controls wisely. The folks who make the game have some special edition Batarang controllers you can use, but know this: there are many ways. When you see the demonstration video you’ll see your humble narrator using the keyboard on the laptop and a plain ol’ two-button and a scroll wheel mouse. You’ve got many choices, to say the least.

Graphics

Again I must say that this is far and away the most aesthetically voluptuous video game I’ve ever played, and with the setup I’ve got running here there’s no waiting for anything. Flowing cape, purple haze, and masses of bats haunt your vision as you move through a very real (yet virtual, believe it or not) world of Arkham City. You’ll walk across a collapsing set of poles over motel metal, gaze over the masses of buildings complete with weather, and move in and out of cinematics without even a moment’s delay.

When you fight a set of gangsters, you’ll know you’ve beaten them all because whichever ends up being your final punch or kick is swiftly zoomed in on shown in ultra slow-motion. It’s just lovely. Have a peek at the enhancements you’ll be working with should you play this game with the same GPU we’re having a look at here – lots more floaties!

Hands-on with Batman: Arkham City on an Alienware M17xR3

The 3rd Dimension

I played this game in 3D with the NVIDIA 3D Vision 2 wireless 3D glasses you see in the hands-on video. Notice in the video that you’re not seeing in 3D — that’s not because the 3D glasses don’t work, its because the camera can’t translate the effect. What you’re seeing instead is one of two frames that the glasses would otherwise send to your two eyes for the full 3D effect. And that effect is good. Where I’m by no means a fan of the 3D era we’re in right this moment, these glasses fit my face, the lenses cover my eyes adequately, and I don’t get a headache like I did with the ol’ blue and red glasses or these no-glasses 3D effects we’re seeing with some smartphones this past year.

Those are nasty, this is undeniably good.

Wrap-up

This game is the one rig giants will be using as their go-to for “look at how amazing this machine is” for quite some time, without a doubt. The folks at Rocksteady Studios have done a fantastic job of both developing and delivering the game, this including promoting the game with several offers on each different iteration of the game – like Gamestop where you’ll find the reviews sitting at 10 out of 10 almost without end. This game is out now for several platforms including Playstation 3 and Xbox 360, but as this PC version is without a doubt the most aesthetically powerful, this is the one you should get. Suit up now.

And know this – as with all of our reviews here on SlashGear of products like smartphones, tablets, computers of all types, and even the tiniest of remote control vehicles, you’re welcome to continue to ask questions throughout the future that your humble narrator (or whoever did each particular review) will do their best to answer. In other words – what else do you want to know?

On the left of the screen here you’re going to be seeing the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT, still one of the most popular graphics cards in many gamer circles including amongst Steam’s 35 million gamers. NVIDIA gives the statistic: “the 9800 and 8800 are one in the same, and combined account for 9.69% of all graphics cards used on Valve’s service.” What you’re about to see is a massive amount of additional bits, essentially, smoother movement and more detail than your eyeballs can handle. Pay special close attention to the bank notes, for starters, starting at 33 seconds into the video. Notice how they float around not just based on some pre-arranged path, but based on the people moving through them and even Catwoman’s whip cracks.

At 41 seconds in, you’ll see a “fully functional steel mill” which without GeForce GTX has only canned animations. With GeForce GTX activated, your CUDA Cores create hundreds of shiny particles that not only bounce off surfaces all around, they bounce off yours and the computer’s characters as well.

Real steel!

In the next scene there’s smoke, in the scene after that there’s another heavy amount of paper bills floating around, and all throughout your brain will be melting with the pleasure that comes from seeing TOO MUCH awesome stuff going on in a single gaming screen. Then there’s one more bit you’ll need to know for now, and it’s about tessellation. With PhysX effects you’ll now be able to enable enhancements including DirectX 11 tessellation. You can see the result of this new property in the image below, it showing Catwoman at rest in front of one of Batman: Arkham City’s tessellated environments

Detailed enough for you?

We can’t wait!

*BONUS from the original Arkham Asylum, here’s a bit of Scarecrow’s Nightmare. If you thought these graphics were fabulous, just you wait!

[via GeForce]

This replica is based on the 1989 Batmobile car and it is better than the vehicles used in the film. This car is actually powered by a turbine engine. The engine came out of a drone helicopter called the Gyrodyne QH-50 Dash. The engine directly powers the rear wheels of the vehicle and makes in the area of 365hp and uses a sequentially shifted 4-speed transmission with reverse. The car body is made from fiberglass and aluminum. The turbine runs on Jet A, kerosene, or diesel

The car was handmade at a racecar assembly hop and is listed as street legal and drivable, it looks very low to the ground in the photos, but the car has an air compressor and suspension system that allows the driver to adjust the height of the car. This is a one of a kind car that you will not see anywhere else. You can park it in your Batcave for $620,000.

[via eBay]