Watch Some New Preview Footage from Charlie Sheen's Comedy Central Roast

Six more days and counting to The Comedy Central Roast of Charlie Sheen. The show has already taped, and god knows there’s plenty of spoilers out there if you’re the type who just can’t wait until it airs. In fact, here are a few now! The network has released three short preview clips. Can you resist watching them? Of course you can’t.

Here’s Charlie’s grand entrance, introduced by host Seth MacFarlane. Charlie emerges looking pretty trim, upbeat and lucid in a dark suit, white dress shirt and maroon tie. So much for showing up wasted! (Seriously though—he’s way too put-together to make this evening fun. It’s like cracked-out Tiger Blood Charlie is a fading memory, and now he’s fully focused on his comeback. Oh well. Was good while it lasted.) Behind him is a shredding Slash. Awesome! Guitar! Not sure what that has to do with roasting Charlie Sheen, however. We also get our first glimpse of the set: It looks cheap, as usual.

In the next clip, MacFarlane delivers a bit about having written Charlie’s obituary. It isn’t funny. You know how you can tell if you’re a smug sleazebag? When you’re hosting a Charlie Sheen roast, and you’re the one who comes off like a smug sleazebag.

Finally, here’s the dependable Jeffrey Ross, who showed up dressed as Muammar Gaddafi, delivering a few good jokes, including one about how Sheen's famous brother and dad couldn’t make it “because of a family obligation.” Charlie takes it all in stride.

Has your appetite been whetted? Or were these clips enough to remind you that roasting Charlie Sheen might not be as brutally awesome as you might've hoped?

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Final Fantasy X heading to PS3, Vita

Square Enix has announced that Final Fantasy X is in development for PlayStation 3 and Vita. The news was delivered at Square Enix’s TGS 2011 conference.

A representative said that development is progressing, but didn’t share any actual details. He told fans to be patient for updates.

For those wondering, the project will be a HD port/enhancement of the PlayStation 2 title.

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First Look: The Hobbit's Dwarves

The latest official photo from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has been released, this one showing three of the dwarfs in the long-awaited Peter Jackson-directed adaptation.

The photo, released via The Hobbit's official Facebook page, shows actors Jed Brophy, Adam Brown and Mark Hadlow as Nori, Ori and Nori, respectively.

Don't know who Nori, Ori and Nori are? Not to worry. Here's the official description:

"These three brothers, all sons of the same mother, could not be more different from each other. Dori, the oldest, spends much of his time watching out for Ori, the youngest; making sure he's not caught a chill or got himself killed by Wargs or Goblins. Nobody quite knows what Nori gets up to most of the time, except that it's guaranteed to be dodgy and quite probably, illegal. Dori, Nori and Ori are intensely loyal to each other – and whilst they are perfectly happy fighting amongst themselves, woe-betide anyone who means harm to one of these brothers."

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey opens December 14, 2012.

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Runic Games' Torchlight breaks 1 million sales mark

If there's a formula for how to rock it as an indie developer, odds are you'll find it locked away in the bowels of Runic Games. This week, the Seattle-based studio announced via Twitter that its independently produced RPG Torchlight has reached platinum status, selling a combined total of 1 million copies across PC, Mac and Xbox 360 platforms.

"We're very excited to share Torchlight’s success with our fans and supporters” said Runic president and co-founder Travis Baldree in a statement, adding, “It isn’t every day you sell a million games. We’re grateful to be here."

Torchlight debuted as a PC download in October 2009, and sold 500,000 copies within the first six months thanks to solid reviews and generous word of mouth. The Diablo-esque game was later made available for Macs via Steam, and then appeared on XBLA on March 9 2011, where it hit the highest one-day sales numbers since its release. Over this past weekend, Steam added Torchlight to its July 4th sale – a move which likely helped push it over the 1 million mark.

That's only the official tally, however. During this year's E3, Runic CEO Max Schaefer acknowledged that millions of illegal copies of Torchlight have been downloaded overseas, but the studio was confident rampant piracy will only strengthen the sales of its sequel, Torchlight II, due out on PCs later this year.

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King of Fighters XIII coming to consoles, and don’t worry, Mai Shiranui is back

Good news today for SNK fans, as Atlus has confirmed a console release for the game in Japan. While that may seem less exciting for us console owners outside of Japan, the fact that Atlus is publishing it means there’s an excellent chance it’ll find its way into the rest of the world. And yes, Mai Shiranui and her massive, undulating beach balls have returned.

We’ve seen the game in action at a local arcade, and from the looks of it, a port should be fairly effortless, as even the arcade version has a fully featured training mode and what looked like combo trials built into it. Atlus’ localization is some of the best in the business, leaving the game’s online netcode the only remaining x-factor, pun intended. KOF XIII’s console port will feature an exclusive character, Fatal Fury’s Billy Kane, though there might be more announced since the game doesn’t ship until October in Japan.

As of now, here’s a complete character list:

Andy Bogard

Ash Crimson

Athena Asamiya

Billy Kane (Console exclusive)

Benimaru Nikaido

Chin Gentsai

Clark Steel

Duo Lon

Elisabeth Blanctorche

Goro Diamon

Iori Yagami

Joe Higashi

K’

Kensou

Kim

King

Kula

Kyo Kusanagi

Leona Heidern

Mai Shiranui

Mature

Maxima

Raiden

Ralf Jones

Robert Garcia

Ryo Sakazaki

Shen Woo

Sie Kensou

Terry

Yuri

Boss Characters

Saiki

Evil Ash aka Blood Spiraling into Insanity Ash

KOF XIII will apparently wrap up Ash’s storyline, which makes sense given the appearance of the deliciously Japanese "Blood Spiraling into Insanity Ash". That's right folks, an "Evil" version of a character in a fighting game! KOF XIII hits consoles in Japan on October 25th, and we’ll keep you posted if/when there’s a global release.

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James Spader Officially Joins The Office

It’s offish at The Office: As per the rumors, James Spader has officially joined the series’ eighth season as a regular cast member. He’ll play Robert California, the bizarre-yet-magnetic managerial candidate we met last May in the season finale. In an official NBC press release, executive producer Paul Lieberstein—who also plays Toby Flenderson, the Eeyore-like Human Resources rep—offered this statement about the new hire:

"James will reprise his role as Robert California, this uber-salesman that has a power to convince and manipulate, like a high-class weirdo Jedi warrior. He'll have been hired over the summer as the new manager, but within hours, got himself promoted. Within days, he took over the company. James has an energy that is completely his own, and The Office has no tools for dealing with this guy. We're thrilled he's joining our cast."

I’ve already voiced my love for the Robert California. But is he too dark, or too weird, for The Office’s generally chipper tone? Dwight might casually drop references to his family’s Nazi past, but the character works because ultimately, he’s completely harmless and ineffectual. California is the opposite: He can and does manipulate people to get what he wants, and his motives are nefarious. Many of you have commented that a little could go a long way with Spader’s idiosyncratic creation. I’m of the mind that the show needs something drastic to keep it fresh post-Steve Carell’s departure. This would qualify as pretty drastic. Now all that remains to be seen is whether the risk will pay off, of if the show ends up straying too far into “weirdo Jedi warrior” alien territory.

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Batman: Year One Trailer Hits

MTV has debuted the trailer for Batman: Year One, available on Blu-ray, DVD and OnDemand on October 18. The animated film will have its world premiere at the San Diego Comic-Con on Friday, July 22 at 8:00pm in Ballroom 20, followed by a panel discussion with the cast and crew.

Based on the Frank Miller classic, the movie features the voices of Benjamin McKenzie as Bruce Wayne, Bryan Cranston as Jim Gordon, Eliza Dushku as Catwoman and Katee Sackhoff as Sarah Essen. The film was directed by Lauren Montgomery and Sam Liu from a script by Tab Murphy.

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Microsoft: Halo 4 to take franchise back to its roots

The Anniversary edition of Halo: Combat Evolved is “very much for those who grew up with the franchise,” says Microsoft's UK Xbox/Entertainment director Stephen McGill in an interview with MCV. “The tenth anniversary is huge and is a product of great passion. It’s important we celebrate this.” But the upcoming Halo double whammy isn't just for Halo OGs: “The people who are 18 years old now were only eight when Halo appeared. They probably didn’t play it. That’s the opportunity the Anniversary pack and then Halo 4 have.” McGill says the games, which will kick-start the new trilogy, are a return to the series' roots.

“One of the key things with Halo 4 is going back to what made it amazing for people playing the first Halo... the platform has evolved dramatically in [the last ten years], so it’s worth going back to show how it still stands up as a product made today,” says McGill. Surely many of those memorable features – the regenerating health, cinematic set pieces, organic transitions between styles of play – are things that have since become the norm in other series? McGill doesn't think so: “It’s different to Gears of War, it’s different to Call of Duty. So it stands alongside them.”

Scheduled for a 2012 release, Halo 4 will be the first in a new trilogy and will be the first Halo game not developed by Bungie. Instead, development will be led by Microsoft-established studio 343 Industries, which is responsible for Halo: Reach’s “Defiant” map pack and stat tracking app Halo Waypoint.

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