Tom Hardy will star in Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, the Ubisoft film adaptation of the game franchise.

Hardy, who of course co-starred as Bane in this summer's The Dark Knight Rises, will play Sam Fisher, a special ops agent for the organization known as Echelon.

Who Is Sam Fisher?

Collider reported earlier today, and Variety now confirms along with this casting news, that Eric Singer (The International) will write the script.

Hardy brings a certain prestige to the game-to-film genre that has often been missing in the past. This tracks with Ubisoft's other big property currently in development, Assassin's Creed, which Michael Fassbender will co-produce and star in for New Regency and Fox. Splinter Cell doesn't have a studio yet, though Ubisoft has already begun talks with Warner Bros. and Paramount.

"Tom Hardy is currently one of the biggest talents in the film industry, and he has a phenomenal ability to take on complex and varied roles with his broad range of acting skills," said Jean-Julien Baronnet, CEO of Ubisoft Motion Pictures. "His involvement in the Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell movie is exciting news for movie and video game fans alike. Meanwhile, Eric Singer is one of the most talented writers of the moment, and ... we're confident he'll bring a fresh approach and create a thrilling story ... while still respecting all the codes and traditions of the franchise that are so important to fans."

Talk to Senior Editor Scott Collura on Twitter at @ScottIGN, on IGN at scottcollura and on Facebook.

Source : feeds[dot]ign[dot]com

After fans were told not to expect a new game in the Mega Man series to coincide with the franchise's 25th anniversary this year, many were worried that this signalled Capcom had no plans to expand upon the series any further. Thankfully, in a new interview the company has revealed this isn't the case.

“

I can say with certainty that you’ve not seen the last of the Blue Bomber on consoles and handhelds.

Speaking with Nintendo Power (via Siliconera), Capcom USA senior vice president Christian Svensson explained that we'd be seeing a lot more of the Blue Bomber in future on both handhelds and, interestingly, consoles too.

He explained, "I can say with certainty that you’ve not seen the last of the Blue Bomber on consoles and handhelds, and, with luck, we’ll be celebrating his 50th anniversary, including all of the games you’re going to enjoy over the next 25 years.

"That said, an issue we’ve had in the past has been talking about games and announcing them before we’re certain they’re going to come out, which unfortunately has lead to profound disappointment for many fans. So for now, I’m going to have to stay mum about any details."

The last game to be released in the series was Mega Man 10 back in 2010 on XBLA, PSN and WiiWare.

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Editorial Assistant. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on IGN and on Twitter.

Source : feeds[dot]ign[dot]com

Check out the new trailer for In the Name of the King 3, director Uwe Boll's latest stab at the Dungeon Siege game franchise on the big screen. Via Twitch Film:

This sequel seems like a poor man's Looper what with its inclusion of a time-traveling hit man (Dominic Purcell). Here's the official plot synopsis:

"Hazen Kaine, an American contract killer living in Sofia, Bulgaria, gets more than he bargains for when he enters into a contract with the mob. One last job before he gets out and starts a new life for himself. The targets: the three children of royal billionaire Andon Dupont. Seems simple enough, or so he thought. Hazen apprehends the children, and before he can blink an eye, a simple necklace worn by one of the children sends his life spiraling back to medieval times. Now completely out of his element, Hazen fights for his life as he tries to escape a medieval army and a fierce fire-breathing dragon. It is here that Hazen learns what is it to be a real man and a true warrior. He must fight alongside these damsels and their people, dodging arrows and fire balls, to reclaim a kingdom that was stolen from them years before."

Source : feeds[dot]ign[dot]com

Today, Bethesda Game Studios – the developer behind Fallout 3 and the Elder Scrolls franchise – Tweeted some interesting news. Notably that the studio is “close on new Skyrim content for PS3 and PC.” It is, of course, the proclamation of being close to a solution to its notorious PS3 DLC issues that’s of real interest here.

Skyrim’s problems on PS3 are, a year out from its initial launch, notorious. And while those problems haven’t plagued everyone who played Skyrim on PlayStation 3, the issues were serious enough that it’s stopped any of the game’s much-anticipated DLC from coming to Sony’s console.

So far, two DLC packs have been released for other platforms. However, both Dawnguard and Hearthfire have yet to come to PlayStation 3, with no word on if or when they would. The third piece of DLC, Dragonborn, was recently revealed.

Unfortunately, the vague nature of the Tweet from Bethesda Game Studios doesn’t indicate much, except that we should likely expect more news sometime in the near future. In the meantime, let’s keep our fingers crossed that PS3 gamers will finally get in on the DLC their Xbox 360 and PC-playing brethren have already experienced.

Colin Moriarty is an IGN PlayStation editor. You can follow him on Twitter and IGN and learn just how sad the life of a New York Islanders and New York Jets fan can be.

Source : feeds[dot]ign[dot]com

I don't get to write about/play games as often as I'd like, as I'm usually nose-deep in comics 24/7. That being said, there is one franchise that I'll always, always, always make time for: The Legend of Zelda. Hands down, Hyrule has been home to my favorite gaming experiences since I was a kid (I'm wearing a Zelda shirt as I write this, in fact). However, despite IGN's glowing review of last year's Skyward Sword, the game left me cold.

It seems I'm not the only one.

The artist behind the world of Braid (another spectacular gaming experience for me), David Hellman, has partnered with writer Tevis Thompson for a new graphic novel called Second Quest, which aims to take their frustrations with recent entries of the Zelda franchise and create their own fantasy world. It's a 50-page graphic novel that they've taken to Kickstarter for funding. The official synopsis of Second Quest is as follows:

Second Quest takes place in a world that has already been saved. Chaos was banished long ago, and the people were united. It is now the Age of Harmony.

A young woman discovers that she can draw out memories from objects just by touching them. But what these objects show her does not fit the legends she’s always been told. What will she discover about her island home? And what place does a curious, daring young woman have in a world that has already been saved?

Second Quest also engages many conversations that are happening in the videogame community right now – about the representations of women in games, the failures of triple-A titles, the role of achievements and trophies, and why we even play games at all. We hope our comic will offer a unique take on these issues.

The artwork shown thus far looks great, and the project is over the halfway mark of their goal with over two weeks to go. You can see more artwork for Second Quest below. For more on the project, check out their Kickstarter campaign.

Joey is IGN's Comics Editor and a comic book creator himself. Follow Joey on Twitter @JoeyEsposito, or find him on IGN at Joey-IGN. He loves superhero pets so hard.

Source : feeds[dot]ign[dot]com