Are you folks familiar with Gary Friedrich? If you are, then that's good. If you are not, you better read up on him now because he is in a foul mood. Friedrich is the creator of character "Johnny Blaze" and alter-ego Ghost Rider back in 1968. Quite recently, he filed a lawsuit against those responsible for the movie and the video game for copyright infringement.

The said complaint was filed last April 4 in the federal court of Illinois claiming 21 violations. The defendants include Sony's Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, producers Relativity Media, Crystal Sky Pictures, and Michael De Luca Prods, as well as Hasbro Inc. and Take-Two Interactive.

According to Friedrich, Marvel wasn't able to properly utilize and capitalize on the Ghost Rider character, not to mention the fact that the copyrights used in the film and in related products were reverted to him from Marvel in 2001. He added that Marvel failed to secure enough royalties, and companies Take-Two Interactive and Hasbro Inc. improperly created merchandise based on his creation.

A part of the lawsuit states,

In late 2006 or early 2007, the defendants herein wrongfully embarked upon a high-profile campaign, arrangement, joint venture and conspiracy to exploit, profit from and utilize plaintiff's copyrights, the Johnny Blaze character and persona, the origin story and the related characters and personas created by plaintiff, in various endeavors, including, but not limited to, the use of the same in movie theater presentations and promotions, commercials, action-figure toys, video games, clothing and novels.

It wasn't specified how much Friedrich is seeking for damages. Aside from copyright infringement, the mentioned companies are also accused of the following: violations of federal and Illinois state unfair competition laws, negligence, waste, tortuous interference with prospective business expectancy, misappropriation of characters, unauthorized use of the characters, and false advertising and endorsement.

 

Ghost Rider for the PSP, PlayStation 2, and GBA has finally touched down in U.S. store shelves. But in case you're a bit undecided if you'll buy the title or not, we'll give you a bit of a background about the personalities you'll encounter in the game, as well as the think-tanks behind the game.

When talking about Ghost Rider, the mention of the name Johnny Blaze is something inevitable. As my fellow blogger mentioned, he was your usual stunt driver who made a pact with the demon to save someone he deeply cares about. Years later, the demonic being offers him a kind of twisted offer - in exchange for the return of his soul, he should avenge wrongdoers each night as the hellish biker, Ghost Rider - a more aggressive and violence-prone being.

His powers were originally limited. At first, Ghost Rider could generate balls of flame that he could throw at his enemies. Of course, the bike and chains are always there in the scene. He could also travel between dimensions, which came in handy when fighting trans-dimensional villains.

Such as Mephisto, and no, he isn't a devil. This guy is a tempter, a master-manipulator and corrupter of the good. He considers the souls of the dead as his personal collection. Initially, he is the one who takes Blaze's soul and offers it back in exchange for use of Blaze's abilities. He has a demonic son, Blackheart, who is one of Ghost Rider's fiercest rivals and who plans to dethrone him. With that scenario, Mephisto was left with no choice but to unleash Ghost Rider.

The Hell Cycle shares the same notoriety with his frequent rider/user (hmm, who else could that be?). In the comic books, the bike had wheels made entirely out of flames. But in the film and some comic sub-series, the wheels were changed to the traditional rubber but still perpetually on fire.

The writers of the game are comic book writing heavyweights - Garth Ennis and Jimmy Palmiotti. Ennis is best know for his "Preacher" series while Palmiotti is of course known for his work on Hawkman, Superboy, Punisher, The Monolith, among many others.

A little background on Ghost Rider: He was a normal stunt driver named Johnny Blaze who made a pact with a demon named Zarathos to save someone he cared about (no spoilers here). We believe that Ghost Rider is one of the most awesome Marvel characters around. He rides a flaming bike, swings a flaming chain, and his head's a flaming skull. What more could you ask for in a superhero? Anyway, in conjunction with the movie release, the guys at 2K have released the video game on PS2, PSP, and GBA.

So what can we expect from the video game? He will be able to ride around in his flaming motorcycle while bashing enemies with his chain. In addition, he will have his trademark Penance Stare (He has the power to make the criminals feel the emotional pain that they inflict on their victims). The game will have a pseudo-rpg feel to it considering you can upgrade his Hell Cycle and Ghost Rider himself.

Ghost Rider has been rated “T“ for Teen. It is now available for US$ 29.99 for the PlayStation 2 system and the PSP system, while it'll sell for US$ 19.99 for the Game Boy Advance.

If you're a fan of the Marvel Comic turned film Ghost Rider, then this should press all the right buttons. Marvel's comics has an underlying element to them: death, destruction, and of course bad guys; and Ghost Rider has these in abundance. Riding around on what appears to be the devil's motorcycle as a devilish being and slashing through your enemies with your firepower (literally) cannot be beaten - especially when all of these can be achieved on a portable console.

The Ghost Rider trailer shows off the game's impressive fighting and riding modes, some heavy metal music and some amazing graphics - including an array of brightly-colored fighting moves in both CGI and real time gameplay. Riding the motorcycle might remind some of you of the classic PSX game Road Rash, with a slightly more hellish theme. You get to use a fiery chainsaw to know your opponents off their bikes, and if you have played Road Rash then you'll know that it's quite fun.

Caution: This trailer contains loud music, even louder sound effects, and an element of hellish demon-slashing

Download: [Ghost Rider trailer]

That's one hell of a monster caught on fire! Oh, wait. It IS from hell! There sure are a lot of blazin' stuff going on around here in 2K Games' Ghost Rider. But that ain't a surprise, cause it's just staying true to its hot nature. Okay, that was just cheesy.

Anyhows, we have here some new screenshots for you to enjoy. Johnny Blaze definitely is rockin' it out as the unorthodox savior of mankind from the "souls of the wicked and the damned". Too bad his kick-ass motorcycle ain't in any of the shots. Oh well. you'll see more of that kind of action in the movie with Nicolas Cage. But here, the star's the game.

Much more after the jump!

 

Well, I'll be damned. Err, actually, Ghost Rider is damned. Literally.

Flaming skulled Johnny Blaze is promising to be one heck of a hell blazer (oops, wrong comic) on the PSP, PS2, and GBA. In fiery light of the upcoming movie starring Nicholas Cage as the title character, this 2K Games action-adventure thrill ride will be released on February.

We've got a handful more screenshots for you, and all of them focus on the gameplay. Talk about a pyromaniac's dream come true. We're not sure if there's a single attack of Ghost Rider that doesn't involve fire. His chain sparks in flames; his Hell Cycle runs on combustible wheels... Doesn't it make you wonder if he can throw his head around as a bomb too?

Damned if you will, damned if you don't.

Check out more hell blazing screens by clicking on the "Full Article" link below!

Quick news post for all the Ghost Rider fans out there. The Ghost Rider videogame for the PSP now has its own website over at 2KGames.com.

Right now, the website has two sections up: Information and Screenshots. Information has pretty much all the detail that's been released regarding the game. Screenshots, of course, has screenshots. The images are all from the PS2 version of the game, though.

There's also an announcement over at the website that says "Official site coming soon," and we're not sure if it's just something that 2K Games forgot to take out or if the website is just semi-official or something. If it's the latter, then we're looking forward to whatever extra goodies are included in the official one.

Is anybody out there as excited about Ghost Rider game and movie as we are? Okay, maybe the buzz about the game has been on the mute but we do love the movie trailer. The movie stars Nicholas Cage who almost played another comic hero. According to Hollywood legend, Cage has a bizarre screen test in full Superman regalia hiding where discarded screen tests go to slumber. That character was Superman (1978 version) which eventually went to the late Christopher Reeves.

We agree with that casting decision. Cage has this streak of quirkiness that doesn't look good on the squeaky clean Man of Steel. But as Ghost Rider - now that's a role that fits Cage the way a six-fingered glove fits a six-fingered hand. The character he plays, Johnny Blaze, trades his soul to Satan to save the life of his mentor. But somehow his soul is welded to an entity called Zarathos. Zarathos takes over Blaze's head and turns into a flaming skull as he rides a fiery motorcycle (complete with trademark blasts of hellfire from his skeletal hands).

Anyway, going back to the Ghost Rider the PSP game, some screens were finally released on Worth Playing and they look hot enough to make demons sweat bullets!

More screenshots at the Full Article.

Ghost Rider first came to life in the Marvel Comics Universe in 1972 and has sold more than 45 million copies since then. The comic plot features motorcyclist Johnny Blaze who agrees to sublet his body bad-ass demon Zarathos in exchange for the life of his mentor. When under Zarathos’ powers, Blaze's head turns into a flaming skull and his motorcycle into a Hell's Angel Harley-Davidson. Literally. Ghost Rider then moved to TV and will zoom and vroom on the big screen in the upcoming film starring Nicholas Cage.

Meanwhile Ghost Rider the PSP game is expected to arrive February next year. The title relies on Marvel Comics stylized action combined with high impact combat and motorcycle action. Ghost Rider will take place in a large variety of scenes and locations with a lot of familiar faces from both the Marvel comic universe and the movie doing guest appearances.

If you want more info about Ghost Rider PSP check out the official features below:

• Authentic Comic Storyline – Famed comic writers Garth Ennis and Jimmy Palmiotti penned the game’s storyline.
• Vengeful Combat – Fast paced, combo based combat against multiple enemies using Ghost Rider’s trademark hellfire chain and hellfire shotgun.
• Adrenaline Fuelled Motorbike Action – Ride the terrifying Hell Cycle, swing your chain at enemies and use the bike’s powers: ride on water, boost over jumps, power down under obstacles, etc.
• Diverse Scenery – Ride through varied locations from the movie including the Quentin Carnival and Caretaker’s Graveyard, then take a ride down the sky scraper that links Earth to the depths of Hell.
• Upgrade and Improve –Add upgrades to the Hell Cycle and Hellfire Chain, plus new moves and stat increases using the essence of defeated foes as currency.
• Penance Stare – Besides possessing superhuman strength, speed and durability, Ghost Rider can force criminals to experience a level of emotional pain equivalent to that which they have caused in others.
• Go Toe to Toe with Giant Super Villains – Spectacular boss battles with key Ghost Rider villains will test your combat skills to the limit.
• Loads of Unlockables – Artwork, bonus characters, interviews and more extend replay value and challenge players to dig deep into the experience.
• Developed by Climax—the experienced team behind cutting-edge games like ATV Offroad Fury 3, the MotoGP: Ultimate Racing Technology series and Sudeki.
• PSP offers new levels, bosses and gameplay including Wi-Fi multiplayer and motorcycle deathmatch for up to 4 players.

Along with the Ghost Rider fact sheet, Sony has released a trailer of theupcoming movie (not the game) formatted for the PSP. You may want to take a look at it as well.

Download: [Ghost Rider Film Trailer]