The adorable blonde woman in question is Lucy Stillman, the Abstergo employee with a dark secret of secretive darkness. Lucy plays an even bigger role in Assassin's Creed II, and the former Heroes and Veronica Mars cast member was Ubisoft's only choice to fill her shoes. Well, Patrice's only choice.

"Kristen Bell is a talented actress that brought the depth and emotion necessary for the mysterious role of Lucy for the first Assassin's Creed video game. She breathed life into her character in a way that deepened the gaming experience," said Patrice Desilets, creative director for Assassin's Creed II. "She did such a fantastic job for this character that, for me, Kristen Bell is Lucy Stillman and no one else can play that role."

If I were Kristen Bell I wouldn't be writing up this story, for one, and I'd probably be worried that I would be typecast as an adorable blonde woman until the end of time. She seems okay with it though.

"Being a part of the first Assassin's Creed video game was an amazing experience. Video games is such a creative entertainment medium, and to be able to see and play myself as a video game character was surreal. As an actress, it's both challenging and rewarding to play a complex character with this great mysterious background. I'm very happy to be Lucy once more, and I look forward to fans discovering more about her - they will be pleasantly surprised."

I am always pleasantly surprised by Kristen Bell.

Dakota Fanning, Keith David, and Robert Bailey Jr will be voicing their characters from the film in the video game version, which is due out for the Wii , PlayStation 2, and Nintendo DS on January 27th, a little more than a week before the film's February 6th release. Fanning lends her voice to the titular Coraline Jones, which David and Bailey Jr. play the roles of Cat and Wybie Lovat respectively.

While I know the video game of the film of the novella is so far removed from Neil Gaiman it's silly, the raging Gaiman fan in me is going to make me pick this game up, creepy screenshots or no.

D3Publisher Announces Voice Talent for Videogame Based on LAIKA and Focus Features’ Coraline

LOS ANGELES—(BUSINESS WIRE)—D3Publisher announced today that the Coraline videogame, based on LAIKA’s exciting new movie – the first-ever stop-motion animated feature to be made in 3-D – will feature the voice talents of Dakota Fanning, Keith David, and Robert Bailey Jr. All three actors will reprise their onscreen voiced roles of Coraline Jones (Fanning), Cat (David) and Wybie Lovat (Bailey Jr.). The Coraline videogame will ship to North American retail stores for the Wii™ system, Nintendo DS™ and the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system on January 27, 2009 to coincide with Focus Features’ nationwide domestic release of the movie on February 6, 2009, in both 3-D and non-3-D theaters.

The only videogame based on the upcoming movie, the Coraline videogame will let players take on the role of the adventurous heroine Coraline and interact with the wondrous characters from the movie while navigating the scheming Other Mother’s web of deceit in a fantastical adventure through two distinct and interactive worlds. Coraline will allow players to explore and interact with such immersive 3-D environments from the movie as the Pink Palace, its nooks and crannies and apartments, and the unpredictable Other World. Players will engage in unique mini-games and adventures with Coraline’s faithful friends, Wybie and Cat, as they collect items that will unlock the mysteries of the Other World.

Coraline for Wii and the PlayStation 2 system is developed by Papaya Studios and is rated “E 10+” (Everyone 10 and up – Mild Cartoon Violence, Mild Suggestive Themes) by the ESRB. Coraline for Nintendo DS is developed by Art Co. Ltd., and is rated “E” (Everyone – Mild Cartoon Violence, Mild Suggestive Themes) by the ESRB.

For more information on the game, please visit: www.CoralineTheGame.com.

Hopper plays George Struggs, the owner of a run-down gas station with a plot to get his hands on some Civil War gold. It's sort of a story within the story, with the humans thinking they are the stars when in reality the titular Deadly Creatures are the ones in the spotlight. Towards the end of the video, Hopper calms any fears that the game might be a flop, assuring us all that "gamers are going to love Deadly Creatures," and who knows gamers' tastes better than King Koopa himself?

THQ has announced that the two actors will be voicing human characters in the game, unfortunately not covering the lead roles of Scorpion and Tarantula, which is a shame as I couldn't imagine a more appropriate casting.

“What surprised me about Deadly Creatures is how it looks…like watching a movie,” said Billy Bob Thornton. “The scorpion and tarantula are like two actors meeting up for a gun fight.”

If you ask me, this is terrible news, but then I am an arachnophobe who is also a big fan of Hopper and Thornton. I just have to figure out if their voices will be enough to keep me from getting that itchy, jumpy feeling I am getting right just imagining playing the game.

Billy Bob Thornton and Dennis Hopper to Voice Characters in THQ’s Wii-Exclusive, Deadly Creatures™
Award Winning Actors Bring Triple-A Talent to Action-Thriller Wii Title

AGOURA HILLS, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—THQ Inc. (NASDAQ:THQI) today announced that Academy Award® Winning actor Billy Bob Thornton and Academy Award® Nominated actor Dennis Hopper are lending their famous voices to THQ’s new action thriller Wii™ game: Deadly Creatures™. Critically recognized as a unique, one-of-a-kind Wii experience, Deadly Creatures is scheduled to hit retail outlets worldwide in February 2009.

“What surprised me about Deadly Creatures is how it looks…like watching a movie,” said Billy Bob Thornton. “The scorpion and tarantula are like two actors meeting up for a gun fight.”

“Gamers are really going to love Deadly Creatures,” added Dennis Hopper.

“Billy Bob Thornton and Dennis Hopper’s involvement as the voice talent for the human characters in Deadly Creatures is a testament to the game’s high level of quality,” said Nick Wlodyka, General Manager, Rainbow Studios. “The AAA talent helps bring this cinematic storyline of greed and betrayal to life in a one-of–a-kind action-thriller exclusively on Wii.”

Deadly Creatures has been recognized by top media outlets as a very unique, stylized Wii experience.

“One of the most compelling third-party games to hit Nintendo’s console”
- IGN.com, October 2008

“The concept behind Deadly Creatures is unique and intriguing”
- Gamespot.com, July 2008

“Deadly Creatures definitely gets points for originality”
– 1up.com, July 2008

About Deadly Creatures

Deadly Creatures is a 3rd person action-thriller set amidst a desert world of venomous terror, exclusively for Wii. Players control an armored Scorpion and a deadly Tarantula as they fight for survival against Gila monsters, lizards, black widows and many more terrifying creatures. Featuring intuitive motion controls and a deep combo-based combat system, Deadly Creatures is a thrilling mix of brutal, creature-crushing action and suspenseful exploration of vast 360 degree desert and man-made environments. Gamers will explore this darkly compelling story through the eyes of two of the world’s most deadly creatures.

Mr. Sanchez has one of the most recognized and authoritative voices ever put to work in a video game, so when you hear him say, for instance, "Epic Fail", you truly feel like you failed on a rather epic scale. Conversely, when his deep voice rumbles your speakers with "Flawless....Ensemble", you can't help but feel like you've really made your outfit come together.

Maxim was kind enough to make an embeddable version of their Unlocked Mortal Kombat Phrases soundboard, which I have been kind enough to embed, after the jump. Enjoy!

Exclusive: Unlocked Mortal Kombat Phrase Soundboard [Maxim.com]

Bionic Commando Nathan Spencer will be voiced by former lead singer of Faith no More, Mike Patton, Capcom says in their official press release for the game.

The release goes on to detail the storyline for the once classic title.

On an interesting side note, I've been hearing about this remake for nearly two years. Apparently Capcom's been bouncing it around between developers for quite awhile now, though it looks like they've finally settled on a group. Now they just need to lose the hot dog arm and I'll be happy.

SAN MATEO, Calif. - October 16, 2007 - Capcom® Entertainment, a leading worldwide developer and publisher of video games, today confirmed the return of one of its classic franchises with the announcement that Bionic Commando® is in development for the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and PC platforms.

Taking its inspiration from its 8-bit namesake released on the Nintendo Entertainment System back in 1988, Bionic Commando features Nathan Spencer (voiced by former lead singer of Faith No More, Mike Patton), a shining example of the technological advances made by the Federal Bionic Armaments Development Division. After distinguishing himself in a fierce conflict against the Imperials, Spencer is betrayed and falsely imprisoned by the very people he unquestioningly served.

Three years later, on the very day he is due to be executed for his supposed crimes, an experimental weapon detonates in Ascension City, unleashing an immensely powerful earthquake coupled with a radiation shockwave that leaves the city in ruins, wiping out its populace. Military intelligence suggests that a large terrorist search force has moved in and occupied Ascension City, but as yet their motives remain unclear. With the terrain in ruins and the terrorists in control of Ascension City's air defenses the FSA has only one option open to them the reactivation of Nathan Spencer.

Bionic Commando harnesses the power of the latest generation of hardware to fully exploit the swing mechanic that made the original title so unique. The ruins of Ascension City and its surroundings provide an engaging environment of towering buildings, suspended roadways and monorails, deep canyons and sheer rock faces that allow gamers to traverse each area via multiple routes using swinging, rappelling, climbing and wall walking techniques.

An expertly trained operative, Spencer is able to target and take out enemies while hanging upside down, climbing a building or even in mid-swing. At close quarters, the bionic arm packs a mean punch, while from a distance, objects such as boulders and cars can be grabbed and launched at enemies.

The development team behind Bionic Commando represents a unique and compelling collaboration of cultures and skills, consisting of an American Producer living in Japan, a Japanese Creative Advisor and highly-rated Swedish developer GRIN providing a European influence. This partnership provides a further example of Capcom's strategy to work with the best developer talent, while maintaining the unique elements of creativity and approach to game design for which Capcom is renowned.

The official Bionic Commando website is now live at www.bioniccommando.com

Having made his stamp on the clothing world, Mark Ecko wanted to branch out. If 50 Cent could get his own video game, so could he. With that, Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure — "based on graffiti culture" — was born.

But instead of pondering the degree to which this is a total vanity project, check out the voice talent attached to the game: Talib Kweli, the RZA, P.Diddy, Rosario Dawson, Brittany Murphy, Adam West, Andy Dick, Charlie Murphy (Darkness!), Giovanni Ribisi, George Hamilton, and Michael "M.C. Serch" Berrin.

Something tells me the names will sell this game more than the plot.

-SM