Based on their two trademark applications, either a legendary British murderer, a jackhammer-wielding Dreadnok, or the villain from The Last Action Hero is getting his own game.  EA has filed two patents for the name "The Ripper" as it applies to electronic entertainment.

Actually, the trademarks probably refer to the alleged Jack the Ripper game that was mentioned by Ben Fritz of the Los Angeles Times back in July.  That rumored title was alleged to be in development by Visceral Games, but nothing has been heard about the title in months. 

Obviously, there are no details at present, but a Jack the Ripper game could be a very cool idea.  Hopefully, we'll be playing as someone who is hunting Jack, and not the serial killer himself, though I'm sure many gamers would like to have the option to do either. 

[Source]