Marvel's upcoming cosmic super-team epic, Guardians of the Galaxy has apparently found its lead. Beating out a long list of potential candidates with names far bigger than him, it is being reported that Chris Pratt has landed the role of Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord.

Pratt, a regular on Parks and Recreation, has been carving out quite a resume on the side in films like Moneyball and The Five-Year Engagement. However, his recent outing as a buffed-up U.S. Navy SEAL in Zero Dark Thirty has swung momentum his way like never before. The actor now nabs his first big-screen moment in the spotlight and does so in a major way with this Marvel movie tentpole.

With its apparent star, Pratt still far from a household name, Marvel will likely look for star power to serve in a supporting capacity. With Star-Lord only being the first official casting decision, it could be the case that roles for other team members who will be portrayed in a live-action capacity like Drax the Destroyer and Gamora will be filled by more recognizable names. In fact, a recent rumor which has comedy icons, Jim Carrey and Adam Sandler in the running to voice furry fellow, Rocket Raccoon still seems to hold water. -- Plus, rumors point to events in this May's Iron Man 3 leading to Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark showing up in Guardians in some capacity, which is definitely some major supporting star power.

So, who is Star-Lord, anyway? Let's take a quick look below.

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Fans who are waiting patiently for Kurt Sutter to figure out his Sons of Anarchy game can take comfort in the fact that the Deep Silver-published Ride To Hell, from Eutechnyx, is still in development. Deep Silver's Martin Wein told PlayNews (via Polygon) that an announcement regarding the game's development will be happening "in the near future."

For those who aren't familiar, Ride To Hell was announced way back in 2008 as an open world game focused on West Coast biker culture (think: '60s-era Hell's Angels). The initial reveal had the game pegged for a mid-2009 release on multiple platforms, though those plans have obviously changed. Polygon also notes that the game's official website, which was still active as of 2012, now redirects to Deep Silver's homepage.

The game has undoubtedly changed somewhat since 2009, but you can take a look at G4's coverage from back then to get a sense of what the game was originally aiming to do.

Zen Studios, the game developer and publisher best known for their popular Pinball FX franchise, announced Star Wars Pinball today. Developed in partnership with LucasArts, Star Wars Pinball will feature all new Star Wars themed tables and be available for download in February 2013 on most digital platforms (i.e. Xbox Live, PlayStation Network, Google Play, Apple App Store). The first, 3 table pack will be based on Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, Boba Fett and Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Pretty solid choices if you ask me.

“It’s been over 30 years since Star Wars, video games, and solid state pinball all burst onto the entertainment scene, and their popularity endures today. We’re excited to be combining all three for the very first time,” said Neil Sorens, Zen Studios’ Creative Director. “Our designers are huge Star Wars fans, and you can expect every detail in every table to reflect their passion for the Star Wars universe."

Each Star Wars table will feature different moments from the Star Wars universe with interactive 3D characters and unique gameplay. Check out the trailer below:

So we’re getting new Star Wars movies AND a new Star Wars pinball game? If McDonald’s brings back those lead paint based Star Wars novelty glasses it’ll be 1982 all over again. What do you think?

Twitch.tv is now a service that you can pay for, provided that ditching ads is a thing that you're interested in. The gamer-oriented live-streaming service now offers Twitch Turbo subscriptions for $8.99 that comes with a number of benefits for those who take their video game webcasting seriously.

Subscribers receive a number of benefits, starting with the removal of all ads; as the website says, "no pre-rolls, no mid-rolls, no companions, no display ads, and broadcasters still get paid." Turbo subscribers also receive a custom set of emoticons, an assortment of Turbo-only chat colors, and "priority" customer support. You can sign up for Turbo right now on the Twitch.tv website.

It appears that this fall's film follow-up, Sin City: A Dame To Kill For has another formidable finagler to add to its ever-growing ensemble. Actor, Stacy Keach has been tapped to take the role of Wallenquist, aka "The Kraut."

Describing the character, the original comic creator and film's co-director, Frank Miller referred to Wallenquist as "the one man who can't be redeemed in Sin City. He is pure evil." While confirmed details about the film, based on Miller's original graphic novel of the same name were sporadic, it did seem likely to feature the rapacious racketeer, who, while rarely seen, maintains a presence throughout the various Sin City stories. Now, the on-screen representation of this pernicious puppet master behind most of Sin City's major marks of malfeasance will, ironically enough, be portrayed by Keach, an actor famously known for playing a heroic detective on television as Mike Hammer.

Likely to carry a German accent, Keach's Wallenquist will probably have his tentacles in most, if not all of the stories in this film. It also appears likely that he will be the main antagonist in an original story entitled "The Long Bad Night" in which a cocky gambler named Johnny, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, takes his swindling act a bit too far. According to co-director, Robert Rodriguez in a recent interview with MTV, the hopeless huckster "tries to beat the biggest villain in Sin City at his own game." So, Johnny's life is pretty much going to suck from that point on and it won't just be a dream within a dream.

With the gorgeous Eva Green recently cast as the film's sinister seductress, Ava Lord and now Keach as Wallenquist, it appears that Sin City: A Dame To Kill For will have no shortage of villains who are sure to be memorable for much different reasons when it hits theaters on October 4.

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DayZ continues to shamble ever-forward toward its eventual standalone release, and ArmA 2 mod creator Dean "Rocket" Hall can prove it with this new video blog. There remains no set release date for DayZ; the footage here looks fairly rough, but Hall has said previously that he's a fan of Mojang's Minecraft model of post-release development.

Don't expect too much from this first of a planned series of video blogs; Hall, along with Bohemia Interactive's Matthew Lightfoot, sticks primarily to the game's clothing, map, and interior locations. Visually, the game is looking solid, but it's hard to say how far along development is based on what's shown here.

According to Aint It Cool News, Yoda, the ancient, wise, and backward-speaking Jedi Master of Star Wars is heading back to the big screen. -- Whoa, hold on a second, NOT for the upcoming J.J. Abrams-directed Episode VII, but rather, for what would prospectively be the first Star Wars stand alone film.

Indeed, fans knew that last fall's acquisition of Lucasfilm by Disney would be the catalyst for some changes, but when rumors started to swirl about the possibility of spinoff films set in the Star Wars Universe, it was clear that we could be looking at a radical change in approach to how this movie canon manifested. Once previously held onto tightly by George Lucas, the proverbial Pandora's Box has been opened.

At this point, no details are available on exactly when in Yoda's long, long life the film is set to take place. There are numerous possibilities ranging from the story of a young Yoda getting his first lessons in the Jedi arts, to a bittersweet tale of how Yoda's apprentice, Count Dooku descended to the Dark Side, or even a post-Jedi Purge story documenting events taking place in Yoda's early days exiled on the "slimy mudhole" of Dagobah. There may even be some strategy to make the film more relevant to the new material by basing it on a storyline that will ultimately connect with the Abrams-christened sequel films.

Should the report prove true, it sets things up for other popular characters to get their own solo outings on the big screen like Boba Fett, Darth Maul, Jabba The Hutt...or maybe even the Rebellion's portly pilot, Jek Porkins. (jk) -- It's a Star Wars universe, we're just pretending to live in it.

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The Ouya console will be available in retail stores starting in June 2013, the company confirms in a morning announcement. The official website for the console confirms that those interested in the console will be able to snag it from Amazon, GameStop, Target, and Best Buy.

The Rubiks cube-sized console will carry a $99.99 price tag, with a single controller also packed into the box. Additional controllers will sell for $49.99. Retail is the final destination for the Kickstarted console, which ships to backers in march. Pre-orders placed by non-backers through Ouya's website arrive next, in April.

Full disclosure: I am an Ouya backer.

CD Projekt Red is ready to share the first details on the next chapter on Geralt's adventure in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The game, which is the subject of the next Game Informer issue's cover story, will be released in 2014 for PC and "all high-end platforms available." In case it's not clear, that's a reference to the next set of consoles.

Described as a "standalone sequel," Wild Hunt uses an open world that is significantly larger than The Witcher 2's was and that eclipses even Bethesda's Skyrim. A few of the new features, such as a dedicated Monster Hunting questline, are mentioned in the trailer above. You can also find a more detailed rundown of what's discussed in the GI feature at Gematsu.

This is one of those good news/bad news situations. The good news is that Injustice: Gods Among Us has a confirmed DLC pack that was inspired Mark Millar's superb comic book miniseries, Superman: Red Son. The bad news is that the DLC is confirmed by way of a UK-only limited edition offer that packs in the DLC for free with the game.

Of course, DLC tends to not remain restricted to the realm of pre-order bonuses or regional exclusivity when there's money to be made. The content pack includes 20 missions set in the alternate universe spin-off's timeline along with three character skins, for Superman, Wonder Woman, and Solomon Grundy. Too bad there's not one for the Russky Batman as well.

Also, while I've got your attention: read Superman: Red Son. It imagines what would have happened if the spaceship that delivered Kal-El to Earth had crashed in the Soviet Ukraine, and it's great.

BioShock Infinite is slightly less than two months away now, and a newly revealed Xbox 360 Achievements list may help tide you over during the wait. The list is entirely spoiler-free from a story perspective, with all narrative-related cheevos seemingly locked away behind secret Achievements.

The larger, visible portion of the list contains plenty of new information as well, it's just more in the vein of content and features. You can, for example, find a full list of weapon names and types. You'll also learn how many Vigors (think: Plasmids) there are in the game, overall.

There are also a few cheevos related to the previously teased 1999 Mode; one for unlocking it, another for completing the game in it, and a third for completing a 1999 Mode game "without purchasing anything from a Dollar Bill vending machine." If you're only worried about story spoilers, know that you can read this list freely without fear.

According to a report from Latino Review, it appears that The Avengers' irascible, irradiated emerald brute could find himself the center of some major activity by the time Marvel's Movie Universe reaches its "Phase Three" era.

While Marvel has tried its hand multiple times in the last decade to get the box-office ball rolling for The Hulk to varying degrees of success, it took an ensemble performance in last year's The Avengers cast with Mark Ruffalo mixing solid rage action with plenty of comic relief to finally make things click for the gamma giant. Indeed, it appears that having finally bottled the right chemistry, Marvel Studios intends to target it effectively sometime late in the upcoming "Phase Two" era of the films, which officially kicks off with this May's Iron Man 3.

Once seemingly the odd man out with an impending cosmic crucible on deck against the powerful Titan, Thanos and the rise of the Guardians of the Galaxy next year, Hulk could be poised to steal the show to an even larger extent than he did in The Avengers. According to LR's report, this will manifest in the buildup to what will be a new solo film franchise for the scientist-turned-towering-troglodyte, who is "always angry."

Think you've seen that movie before? Well think again. Keep going below for what may be some spoileriffic details regarding the Phase Three fate of The Hulk.

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Bethesda Softworks yanked Prey 2 off of its upcoming slate in summer 2012 when it became clear that the game would not be ready anytime soon, but a newly discovered countdown site hints at a reveal related to the game scheduled for March 1, 2013. The website, AlienNoire.com, doesn't explicitly mention Prey 2, though NeoGAF users (via Joystiq) captured an image of the (now-changed) source code, which bore keyword entries for the game title and its developer, Human Head Studios.

A WHOIS lookup reveals the domain owner's name to be "The Collective," with an address in Tahlequa, OK. That's also where Tommy, Prey's protagonist, is from, and where the capital of the Cherokee nation was originally founded. Tommy is also a Cherokee. Add to that the fact that the newly edited source code for the website still includes a telling hidden reference to the first game's protagonist, with a message that reads "Tommy needs your help."

Bear in mind, it is entirely possible that this is the work of a creative fan who wants to get people talking about the absent game again. We'll just have to wait and see, until either Bethesada offers some comment or, more likely, until March 1 arrives.

American Ninja Warrior returns for an all-new season this summer on G4 and NBC! So now it's time to ask yourself the age-old question: Do you have what it takes to become the next American Ninja Warrior?

The search for the fifth season's contestants has officially begun! If you're interested in putting your own strength, agility, balance and willpower to the test through a series of diabolical obstacle courses (and you're over the age of 21), then visit the American Ninja Warrior casting website. From there:

To be considered, applicants (21 years and older) must submit an online video which describes why they should be deemed worthy enough to join the schoolteachers, firemen, police officers, social workers and other everyday heroes as they transform into fearless acrobatic contestants.

So what do you think? Will the summer of 2013 be your Year of the American Ninja Warrior? There's only one way to find out.

For the latest news, updates and additional information regarding dates and locations, visit the American Ninja Warrior casting website at ANWTryouts.com and follow American Ninja Warrior on Twitter and Facebook!

The outstanding facial capture work of Depth Analysis was a key ingredient in Rockstar Games' L.A. Noire, and this newly released outtakes montage highlights just how capable the company's MotionScan technology is. The 32-camera setup captures everything about a person's performance (their face only) then reconstructs it as a virtual character. Even when said real-life actor screws things up.

Such is the case with this collection of clips, which delves deep into Uncanny Valley. L.A. Noire did a fine job skirting past the subconscious discomfort that many people feel at the sight of a "too real" digital creation, but that careful balancing act tumbles as you watch these actors break character after flubbing a line. It's really neat too, and the technology will only improve over time. For now though?

KILL IT! KILL IT!