Category: Written


Who Watches the Watchmen?!

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April 18, 2010

Originally Published: March 8, 2009, on 1050ESPN.com (ESPNNewYork.com)and Lundberg.me

Mine isn’t the most original title, but when talking about DC’s Watchmen, no other title fits. What many experts considered impossible to bring to the big screen, visionary director Zack Snyder (Dawn of the Dead, 300) grabbed by the horns and wrestled into a masterpiece worthy of the novel. To describe this as anything less than a labor of love would take away from the awe-inspiring brilliance ripped straight from one of TIME Magazines 100 Best Novels of All-Time.

The story is simple. Imagine an alternate universe America circa 1985. Superheroes have been outlawed for almost a decade, after a half century of service to their nation and to the world, due to a public outcry from events perpetrated in Vietnam. One of those now retired former heroes, the very definition of an anti-hero named the Comedian, is brutally murdered in his penthouse apartment and a set of events is set in motion that will bring some of the world’s best and brightest heroes together to unearth one of the most shocking conspiracies ever concocted.

Many felt this movie would be impossible to make because you would not be able to include a lot of the writing devices used in the novel and still keep it under three hours. The first and possibly greatest difficulty in bringing Watchmen to the big screen would be being able to still develop the amazingly complex main characters to their full effect without the ancillary characters and chapter addendum devices used throughout the novel.

The novel gave convoluted psychological profiles from everyone from the man selling newspapers on the corner to Dr. Manhattan’s former lover to the prison psychologist that has to analyze Rorschach when he gets taken into custody to help flesh out major plot points and character flaws in the heroes. The novel also had special addendums at the end of each chapter like excerpts from novels within the novel, shipping manuscripts, and other items that only make sense in the novel’s thrilling conclusion. So would the movie still be able to portray the main characters’ full spectrum of personality without these additional materials that could never be included in the movie?

The short answer is yes. The movie develops the main characters just as deeply as in the novel and compensates by keeping most major points from the original story and adding a handful of subtle moments to make up for the lack of these additional writing devices. This, along with some spectacular acting that made it feel like the characters had jumped right off the page, did pure justice to the characters of Watchmen.

Another problem that arose from the lack of extra writing devices was that without the ancillary characters and chapter addendums, the original story’s ending would not make sense. Even though Zack Snyder did his best to be as true to the original novel as possible, several major plot points had to be tweaked or removed in order to make more sense and appeal to a larger audience, especially the ending. Some would argue that the movie’s ending might have been better than the novel’s because it more directly related to the main characters, but that is clearly up for debate. Still, for the most part, the movie of Watchmen is ripped straight from the novel’s pages and it feels like the comic had come to life.

Another amazing aspect of the movie was the artistic style. From the perfectly emulated streets of the run-down 1985 New York City in the novel, to the colorful costumes and devices used by the characters, to the music choices made through many of the scenes from Bob Dylan’s The Times They Are A-Changin’ to Jimi Hendrix’s rendition of All Along the Watchtower. Every visual and audio choice made by Snyder fit perfectly with the style of the novel and the music added so much more to the scenes than you could’ve hoped for.

There are only a couple of major critiques to this movie. I’m all for sex and violence in movies, but one major hang-up, especially amongst die-hard purists of the novel, is that Zack Snyder likes to step up the sensationalism in most of his movies and some of the gore and sex scenes were so amped up by Snyder’s style that you felt some of the movie could have been at NC-17 levels. I know that Dr. Manhattan was naked most of the time in the novel, but it is a little different when you see a blue-man group reject naked on the big screen for almost three hours. Combine that with 10-minute long sex scenes and people being torn to shreds when they aren’t having relations; it was all just too unnecessary.

Another major critique was that if you did not read the novel, you might not have understood or been able to follow as clearly everything that was going on. The plot is very complicated and even with the movie timing out at 2 hours and 43 minutes there are still some things you wish they could have expanded on to help the general audience. For example, if you did not read the novel, you’ll have no clue as to why Ozymandias has a blue tiger as his pet in his Antarctic fortress. Without being explained in the movie, I could see how something like a blue tiger could bother people. I guess we’ll just have to grab the 3 hour and 10 minute Director’s cut when it comes out on DVD. Oh, those tricky marketing and merchandising departments.

In the end, this is not a movie that you can just check your brain at the door. If you have not read the novel (highly recommended before seeing the movie) and miss a moment here and there, you could very likely not understand some of the major plot points. So, be prepared if you’re going to the theatre. Be sure to go to the bathroom, get your snacks beforehand, and get comfortable because if you miss any of the near three hours, the entire experience will likely be markedly worse. For this reason, along with the clearly unnecessary gore and sex, I have to dock my score some.

Watchmen gets 3.5 out of 5.

-Ray Carsillo

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Stepping Up to the Plate

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Originally Published: March 4, 2009, on 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com) and Lundberg.me

For many the wait is torturous. The gap between the Super Bowl and the beginning of baseball season is like a walk through the Sahara of the sports world in which basketball and hockey simply serve as a reminder of a once full canteen now vapid of nourishment.

Don’t fret, though, the gaming world has attempted to provide an oasis to fill our needs for the next month. Just released this week was MLB2K9 for all systems and MLB: The Show ’09 as a PS3 exclusive.

Normally, MLB2K sets up 2K sports for the rest of the year since they have coverage of all three systems and their competition has only the PS3. You would figure that 2K would attempt to provide the best gaming experience out there as they need these sales to get through the fall when they typically get punished in sales by EA Sports in hockey and basketball. You would figure.

Unfortunately, that is not the case. MLB2K9 is as sad an attempt at a video game as Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li was as a movie. 2K is blatantly taking advantage of the fact that they control the market during this time of the year as they are the only MLB title that reaches all three systems, a combined total of 97.29 million hardware units, which gives them a far more reaching audience than MLB: The Show, which only reaches the roughly 7.98 million American PS3 owners, which also happens to be the worst selling of the three main systems. (Numbers provided by http://www.vgchartz.com/ and accurate as of February 28, 2009)

Knowing they have the baseball game market cornered, 2K’s oasis is simply an illusion. This game has more glitches in it than New York City has potholes. While playing the game, I would position my outfielder directly in the circle censor to mark where the ball will fall only to have the ball literally fall through my glove. No error animation, no misjudging the ball, it falls through my glove and this happened several times a game.

And this is only the icing on the cake. The player animations are unrealistic and many stances and motions are recycled from player to player. The graphics are poor to the point that players look blocky and unrealistic, a problem that was corrected in the last generation of video game systems.
Even the menus on the pause and start-up screens are difficult to navigate. You have to go through multiple sub-menus before you find the game doesn’t even have the options you were looking for to begin with. Then again, that might have just been the difficulty in navigating the menu. After trying three different sub-menus looking for controls, I just gave up and played with the game’s defaults.

This game is an abomination and will sell well only because for about 75% of gamers out there, it is their only MLB option.

On the other side, MLB: The Show ’09. This game teleports you out of the Sahara to the French Riviera. And there are no French people around. That’s how good this game is.

First off, the basics are all covered. Smooth mechanics and animations, solid graphics, easy to navigate menus, and good gameplay. From there, The Show ’09 takes you above and beyond your typical baseball video game.
The greatest aspect of this game is the overall accuracy to real life. Every player’s stance, motions, and mannerisms have been emulated in this game to at least some degree. The batter’s hot and cold zones have been mapped out accurately and strongly enforced. If you connect with a fastball in one of your cold zones, it is a lot less likely to travel out of the ballpark than if one floated into your wheelhouse.

Add in a batting reticule that you have to maneuver to aim your swing and then watch it contract depending on your skill as a hitter makes offense a lot more challenging than in previous games.

Amidst a plethora of new features and innovations for The Show ’09, the most impressive easily has to be the one called “Sounds of the Game”. This is one of the most exciting features in any sports game to date.

The “Sounds of the Game” feature allows you to download 30 second music clips for everyone in the game. In other words, the music accompanying every at-bat as each individual player approaches the plate, every reliever entering from the bullpen, even hecklers in the crowd can be customized to your liking. You want an authentic Mariano Rivera entrance? Metallica’s Enter Sandman is there. You want Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline after every Red Sox game? Not a problem. And yes, Yankees fans, the Bleacher Creatures are available as well.

Of course, you don’t have to have it be authentic either. You can have Mariano come out to AC/DC’s Highway to Hell if you prefer. The possibilities are near endless and allow you to truly customize the game to your liking and give it an authentic feel you just don’t see in other sports games.

Even though MLB: The Show is far and away the best baseball game out there, it’s a stretch to warrant going out to buy a PS3 for this alone and that forces most people to end up having to settle for MLB2K9. This is really a shame because the only thing that MLB2K9 has better than The Show is their cover athlete. Tim Lincecum over Dustin Pedroia. I’m a Yankees fan, what can I say? I despise the Red Sox.

Whether you have a PS3 or not, both these games are out now and will hopefully provide you with enough sports nourishment to last you another month before baseball season finally gets underway.

-Ray Carsillo

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A Wonder to Behold

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Originally Published: February 21, 2009, on 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com)

The first night of the NY ComicCon held one of the most anticipated events of the entire convention. The IGN theatre was filled to the rafters before a special complete viewing of the highly anticipated Wonder Woman full-length animated, straight to DVD, feature coming out March 3rd, 2009, three days before the Watchmen premieres in theatres (DC drilled that into our heads during the Lauren Montgomery/Bruce Timm/Michael Jelenic panel after the movie).

DC’s animation department has been churning out these full-length features for years now, and they have always pushed themselves to the limits in terms of story telling and doing justice to the characters (except for Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman, I’ve tried for years to delete that from my memory banks). It’s a credit to Producer Bruce Timm and Casting Director Andrea Romano who have been a part of almost all of them. Bruce and Andrea were also in the original brain trust that started the animation revolution in the early 1990s with Batman: The Animated Series and continued their relationship with DC with this project and it shows in another above and beyond effort.

This was a huge undertaking since it marks the first time in 30 years that any media form has devoted a sole project to the Amazonian Princess and DC pulled out all the stops in terms of talent: Keri Russell as Wonder Woman, Alfred Molina as Ares, Oliver Platt as Hades, Nathan Fillion as Steve Trevor, Rosario Dawson as Artemis, and Virginia Madsen as Hippolyta. And, of course, it wouldn’t be a DC animation project without a little pro voice over talent, perfectly cast again by Andrea Romano, with Tara Strong (Raven in Teen Titans, Batgirl in Batman: The Animated Series) as Alexa and John DiMaggio (Bender in Futurama, Marcus Fenix in Gears of War 1 and 2) as Deimos. Director Lauren Montgomery is a veteran in the animation game, but this was her first full-length feature where she was the sole director and she did a great job with such a huge undertaking. Add in veteran cartoon writer Michael Jelenic for the script and the pieces were in place for what could be one of DC’s best cartoon features to date.

Here’s the basic premise for those of you unfamiliar with Wonder Woman’s background. Taken with some liberties from Greek mythology, Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons, wages war against Ares, the god of war, in an attempt to save humanity from itself. After besting Ares in battle, Hippolyta wishes to do away with Ares, but is prevented by Zeus, the father of Ares and king of the gods. Hera, queen of the gods, and patron to Hippolyta, bargains to imprison Ares for all time on the Amazon’s island in the Aegean Sea and Hera would be given a child from the gods for her trouble. So Hippolyta locks Ares away and makes a child out of mud and clay that is blessed by the gods in the form of a daughter, whom Hippolyta names Diana.

Centuries later, the Amazons, who still look smoking hot because they are descended from gods and do not age like humans, are living in tranquility on their island, hidden from man’s eyes by a magic mirror by Hephaestus (Greek god of the forge) when an American fighter jet gets shot down and crashes into the invisible island. Upon landing in what he thinks is heaven (who can blame him), American pilot Steve Trevor is captured and learns that the Amazons’ culture involves the hatred of man and that he must be sent back to America with an emissary from the Amazons’ island. Diana, dying to explore the world, rigs the selection process so that she may be the emissary. At the same time, the Amazons are betrayed by one of their own and Ares is set free so Diana’s mission becomes two-fold, to re-capture Ares as well as escort Steve Trevor home.

This was a great watch. The only real snag I hit with this project was that it still never explained where the heck she got her invisible jet! Everything else was given a detailed, ornate history from her bulletproof bracelets to her Lasso of Truth. The jet though just sort of appeared as if an invisible jet was common place. Then, to add insult to injury, it seemed like too many people could see the invisible jet so it really wasn’t that invisible, was it? My theory is that the Amazons reverse engineered the jet that Steve Trevor crashed in and made their own improvements to it, but it still wasn’t explained outright. Cursed comic book speculation!

Overall, the story is relatively accurate to the comics, with a few liberties taken on the Greek mythos, but it was still done in an enjoyable and meaningful manner that does justice to the original stories from the 1940s. The voice acting was great, the story held your attention the entire way through, and it timed out nicely at nearly an hour and a half. It also answered every question (almost; damn invisible jet) that you might have about Wonder Woman if you weren’t a diehard and not too familiar with the character.

The Wonder Woman animated feature gets 4 out of 5.

-Ray Carsillo

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Collecting Interest

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Originally Published: February 12, 2009, on 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com)

After days of images of Green Lantern Rings, Batarangs, and Webshooters dancing through my head, I’ve finally been able to remotely connect back to reality, dragging myself out of my NY ComicCon overload and managing to write something. The amazing events leading up to and during NY ComicCon included more previews for big movies and video games than I could count and I got exclusive interviews and demos on some of the hottest games and movies coming out in the next couple of months, and enough to keep me writing for a good long time.

My articles dealing with NY ComicCon will span the next few weeks and probably go in order of what is coming out first so there is less time for you to anticipate the gems galore I was able to get sneak peeks at. Keeping that in mind, my first article deals with a movie that is coming out on Friday, February 13th. No, it isn’t the new Friday the 13th movie, although the horror genre does appeal to a special group of the geek community. No, I’m talking about my advanced screening of The International, the new action-thriller starring Clive Owen and Naomi Watts.

The basic premise is simple. Everyone uses banks to keep their cash safe and to basically earn free money by collecting interest as the money sits in the bank. Of course, the banks are government funded organizations and what most people forget is that the money is allowed to be used by the government to do whatever they deem is necessary for the good of their representatives. So what happens when that money starts being used by the bankers themselves for some very underhanded dealings? Not the Bush Administration, but close!

Clive Owen is an Interpol agent charged with tracking a bank in Luxemburg that allegedly is using investors’ money to illegally buy and sell weapons. He teams up with Naomi Watts who works out of the New York City District Attorney’s Office and has also been tracking this case since the New York branch is one of the top fronts for this bank. Action and drama ensue as the two seem to be the only ones who believe what the clues are telling them as they try to take down one of the most powerful banks in the world.

To be honest, I went into this not expecting much and walked away rather pleased. Not the smartest conspiracy action-thriller to ever come out, it did at least hold your attention for most of the movie and kept the twists and turns fresh and fun from the get-go. Naomi Watts’ performance left something to be desired, but Clive Owen was solid as the Interpol agent whose career has revolved around this one case and would go through any means necessary to see justice delivered.

The ensemble cast around the two stars of the movie was great as well, from the assassin the bank hires, to the men at the top of the bank itself. They all seemed to fit in the movie perfectly, much like the clues Clive Owen finds as he tries to crack this career-long puzzle.

Aside from Ms. Watts’ lackluster performance, the only other negative aspect of this movie was that it seemed like everything came across as too simple, that everything fit too neatly and still not enough people in the movie supported Owen and Watts.

Positives, aside from the cast excluding Ms. Watts, include the overall flow of the movie. The pace was enough to keep you interested to the point that when it ends, you don’t realize that 1 hour 58 minutes has passed. The plot does move at a very traditional pace though with everything slowly building to a climatic shootout followed by a neat winding down of the plot to its conclusion in the final 20 minutes.

With all the God-awful romantic detritus that is out there right now from Confessions of a Shopaholic to He’s Just Not That in to You, it’s nice to see someone come up with a semi-original plot with decent writing and action that holds your attention. If you’re looking for a break from the Hollywood crap factory, for something a little bit smarter, then take a look at The International and you probably won’t be disappointed.

The International gets 3.5 out of 5.

-Ray Carsillo

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Ray Smash Puny Movies!

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Originally Published: February 6, 2009, for Collider.com and 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com)

Its efforts like this from Marvel that have almost made me “Hulk-out” on many an occasion. I will give them some credit; their timing is impeccable. A few months after the release of the solid Incredible Hulk remake with Edward Norton on DVD, days before the New York Comic Con, and only a couple of months before Wolverine: Origins hits theatres, Marvel Studios drops this little wannabe gem on us called Hulk VS.

“Versus who?” you ask. Well, who do you want to see fight the Hulk? This is after all the question that the folks at Marvel seemed to ask themselves since this effort is just a huge piece of fan fiction to drive the fan-boys into frenzied fits at comic-conventions.

Hulk VS. is a straight to DVD release that contains not one, but TWO “movies”. I have to put those magical punctuations around the word “movies” with this because something that can be strung across a pair of Saturday morning cartoon episodes should not be considered an actual movie. To try to make this geek-gasm on a disc worth your money, Marvel paired two separate Hulk adventures onto this DVD and even then it times out to only 82 minutes.

First, we see the not-so-jolly green giant take on the man who is “the best at what he does, and what he does isn’t very nice”. A pre-X-MEN Wolverine has been tasked by his Department H headmasters to locate and subdue a monster who is wreaking havoc in the Canadian countryside. Dept. H is a fictional spin on Canada’s CSIS, by the way. Fictional, of course, because who expects Canada to have any REAL intelligence agency? After picking up the scent, Wolverine begins to track the Hulk across the Canadian Rockies.

The action quickly picks up as Wolverine finds a quivering Bruce Banner in the woods and he wants to know why there is a half-naked man in freezing temperatures out in the middle of nowhere. Wolverine’s subsequent threats get under Banner’s skin, transforming Banner into his worse half and the highlight of the “movie” ensues with a defining battle taking place with moments from all the Hulk vs. Wolverine battles that have happened over the past 30 years, again catering to the fan-boys. Before it can end, Sabertooth, Lady Deathstrike, Deadpool, and Omega Red appear out of nowhere. We then see a montage of Wolverine’s origin story, which is not explained so if you are unfamiliar with the character, you end up lost, confused, and frustrated because I thought the Hulk was supposed to be the main character here and we just had every major bad guy and moment from Wolverine’s history thrown into a five minute montage. The story then continues in a Wolverine and Hulk TEAM-UP against the Weapon X rejects. After they are defeated, the Hulk and Wolverine go back to fighting each other, for no apparent reason, and the credits start to roll on a freeze frame a la Rocky vs. Apollo Creed like they were two friends sparring in some eternal duel.

This first DVD is a complete and utter disappointment. The things that made me furious as a comics fan far outweigh the handful of positives in this. When all the special features vignettes outlast the actual “movie” by almost 20 minutes each, you know you got off on the wrong foot.

The only positives were that the animation style kept in line with the popular Japanese style that many American animation studios have adapted in recent history (starting in 1992 with Batman: The Animated Series and continuing through most major superhero cartoons up to this point) and living up to those standards, they tried to make it play like a comic story arc, and the introduction of Deadpool to animation.

The negatives include the horrible character development, the fact that the name of the title is Hulk vs. Wolverine and it ended up being Hulk and Wolverine vs. Weapon X, the horrible animation model for Sabertooth, who looked nearly the same size as Wolverine, the fact that the entire movie could have been done over the course of a Saturday morning special, and you just have a frustrating, disjointed viewing experience as if you were reading a comic story arc, but missed several issues. If you are a diehard comics fan then you will probably be able to sit through it because you already know the back stories and will recognize the many, many references the “movie” makes to the comics, but if you are a casual fan, this would not be for you. Add in a few typical behind the scenes vignettes and special commentary packages and the special edition part of this disc is not very special at all.

The second piece in this two part Hulk-fest sees Mr. “You Wouldn’t Like Me When I’m Angry” against the mighty Thor, the Norse God of Thunder in the aptly titled: Hulk vs. Thor. This second “movie” was a lot better than the first. With a narrated opening montage that explains all you need to know about Asgard (realm of the Norse gods) and the characters in play, the plot is revealed within the first five minutes and the rest is non-stop smashing. Loki, the Norse God of Mischief and Evil has separated Bruce Banner from the essence that is the Hulk and unleashed him on Asgard during its weakest hour.

Without Banner to keep the Hulk tethered to humanity, the Hulk rampages throughout Asgard, laying waste to all in his path and all that stands between Hulk and the complete destruction of Asgard is Thor. The Hulk, being the only thing that could compete with a god, handily smashes Thor. Loki is betrayed though by his minion, the nicely drawn Enchantress, who revives Thor because it seems she’s got a crush on Mr. Goldilocks. She reveals what Loki has done and the rest of the movie is cut between Thor trying to reunite Banner with the Hulk and Hulk just laying waste to the rest of Asgard’s army as he makes a beeline towards the temporarily incapacitated Odin (near omnipotent king of the gods) with Thor finally succeeding in the end.

This “movie” was much better in terms of establishing the plot and giving the heroes an objective. Still though, being only 45 minutes, again this could have been done over a pair of Saturday morning specials and we could have been done with it. Instead, Marvel wanted to show off the new blood special effects that they have for animation so they could get a PG-13 rating on a cartoon and therefore make it so they couldn’t put it on network Saturday mornings and mass produce these ridiculously overpriced DVDs. Again, the special feature vignettes are just “How we produced 82 minutes of par animation and charged you $24.99 for it” and they last longer than the actual “movie”.

I have to end on the note that I really hope they do better with future releases in the “VS.” series Marvel is planning. On an individual basis, Hulk vs. Wolverine gets a 1 out of 5 and Hulk vs. Thor gets a 2 out of 5 to average it out to a whopping 1.5 out of 5. Unless you are a hardcore Marvel fan-boy, I would probably avoid these or rent them at most.

-Ray Carsillo

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The Gears Keep on Turning for Gearheads

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Originally Published: January 30, 2009, for 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com)

I had said last week that running over a platoon of Covenant troops with a squadron of Warthogs might threaten Gears of War 2‘s Lancer Chainsaw Rifle on the fun-level food chain. In response, the genii at Epic Games unleashed the new Combustible Map Pack for Gears of War 2. Three new maps to freshen up the multiplayer mayhem that Gears of War 2 brings to your XBOX360 to keep you up till 3 AM swearing at kids who can’t even spell the words you are using when you get forced into an Imulsion bath. Ummm…maybe that’s just me, but it still gives the multiplayer a nice new kick to the teeth to make sure the disc stays warm in your system.

First, we’ll look at the Gold Rush map. You are situated in an old, still running, Imulsion refinery with multiple tiers. Oh, and it just so happens to have a mortar launcher smack in the middle of it. A symmetrical level with plenty of nooks and crannies to hide in, if you can grab the mortar positioned in the most open part of the level and make it back to a nook; you can easily control the battle. You can imagine the problems that arise with it being in the middle of an open platform, though. Talk about risking your neck. Not my favorite level personally because of a lack of level hazards, the level’s symmetry, and that any well-coordinated team could easily dominate, it is still a solid multiplayer level.

The second map became near and dear to my heart quickly because it revolves around pyrotechnics. Fuel Station is located around an abandoned fossil fuel station and several well placed re-fueling trucks. The station itself is the center of the map and anyone who controls the station can control the tide of battle very easily. With little cover around the station that does not explode, getting to the station from across the street can be difficult at best if your opponent camps out on the roof and starts setting off all your cover in a blaze of glory with the Mulcher Mini-gun, conveniently located in the station. Maybe all these explosions give you an idea why they call it the “Combustible” Map Pack. Word of advice; do not get discouraged if you aren’t spawned at the station to start the level. A well organized unit could still work their way to the rear of the station and the fight for the stairwell to the roof is always memorable.

The last map is my personal favorite. Flood is the smallest of the three new maps as you are stranded on an island consisting of freeway rubble and debris surrounded by a golden sea of poisonous Imulsion. And if you think it’s a small level to start, wait till the Imulsion level starts rising. The battle that ensues for the raised piece of crumbling freeway is always exciting as there are several paths leading onto that little slice of salvation and a couple of decayed cars that like to go off like the Fuel Station tankers. With little to no cover left, a winner will be forced to emerge from this hazardous situation every time.

These three new maps bring multiplayer mayhem to a whole new level and will keep everyone grinding their gears as these levels successfully keep the game fresh. With the maps themselves providing just as much danger as the opposing teams and, for the most part, preventing anyone from camping out and being a pesky sniper (and no pesky snipers makes me a happy Gearhead), these levels are well worth the download to your XBOX360.

The Gears of War 2 Combustible Map Pack is available now for download on XBOX Live for 800 Microsoft Points (roughly eight American dollars) and there is still nothing more fun in games than sneaking up behind someone and slicing them to ribbons with the Lancer Chainsaw Rifle.

-Ray Carsillo

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The Death of a Batman

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Originally Published: January 18, 2009, on 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com)

A sure fire way to sell comics is to hit readers with something they would not see coming. Even with the rumor mills swirling, most comic readers won’t believe it until they see it. Well, the unthinkable has happened. Almost 70 years after his first appearance in Detective Comics #27, in issue #6 (of 7) of the Final Crisis series, Batman has been killed off by DC Comics. Supposedly, this was well in the works, but Warner Bros., a major stock holder in DC Comics and publisher of all Batman related movies and television programs, had nixed his demise due to the summer blockbuster, The Dark Knight, pulling in over $500 million dollars and proving Batman was at the peak of his popularity.

Written by a master of comic book controversy, Grant Morrison, the final pages of this issue would be the possible final pages of the Caped Crusader. Here is how Morrison’s controversial vision unfolded. Gotham’s Guardian, after having foiled every plot by Darkseid to manipulate the Dark Knight into helping Darkseid create an army of mindless soldiers with Batman’s unique skill set, confronts Darkseid in his earthly stronghold. After exchanging words, the two stare each down in the style of a Wild West duel at high noon. Batman, going against every fiber of his character to never use a gun and to never kill, pulls out the weapon that murdered the New God, Orion. It was a gun that fires Radion bullets. Radion, of course, is the only substance that Darkseid and the other “New Gods” are weak against, much like Superman is weak against Kryptonite. In the battle between man and god, Batman’s trigger finger was faster than Darkseid’s Omega Beams (imagine Superman’s heat vision multiplied by 1000). Batman’s shot was pretty impressive for someone who never used a gun. Unfortunately, Darkseid also got his shot off and vaporized the Dark Knight. The issue ends with Superman carrying Batman’s charred carcass from the stronghold.

If there is anything that has been consistent with these major death/re-launch events is that they provide a temporary boost in sales before a sharp decline sets in as people usually respond unfavorable to the replacements to these heroic icons. There are three major ones from “The Big 2” that stick out in my mind as failures.

The first two were in 1993 when Superman died and Batman had his back broken by Bane and was replaced by Jean Paul Valley, better known as Azrael. The public outcry for Superman to return was immediate and led to one of the worst story arcs in his history as DC struggled to find a way to bring him back. When Batman was replaced, and DC worked to correct it, it at least led to some of the more memorable story arcs in his recent history with the Knightfall and KnightsEnd arcs where it detailed his rehab to come back and wrest the title of Batman back from Azrael who had gone mad with power.

The third is the very recent re-launch of Spider-Man where he sold his marriage with Mary Jane to Mephisto (the devil) to save Aunt May’s life. This was one of the worst implemented re-launches in comic history and Spidey’s sales have suffered greatly because of it. With a horribly written four issue story arc called One More Day, Marvel rewrote over 20 years and 250 issues worth of continuity. How do you think the conversation between Marvel executives go when this decision came down? I think it would go something along the lines of a Guinness beer commercial.

Marvel Exec. 1: How do we re-launch Spider-Man and save Aunt May?

Marvel Exec. 2: This is a tough one. We need something that will do the character justice and stay true to him while making sure our readers understand why we made our decision to do this.

Marvel Exec. 1: Let’s just have him sell his marriage to Mephisto and we’ll go from there.

Marvel Exec. 2: Brilliant!

Marvel Exec. 1: Brilliant!

Everything I knew about Spider-Man, that I had learned over my 23 years, was gone in a matter of four weeks. Since the re-launch, Marvel has been reduced to using gimmicks like Spider-Man meeting President-Elect Obama to try and push sales and save one of their most beloved heroes.

A major issue DC has, is now that Batman has passed on, how do they keep Batman, Detective Comics, and all other Batman related series going without the main character, or at least until they decide to bring Batman back. They have already announced the I AM BATMAN story arc beginning in March that will encompass all existing titles as Robin, Nightwing, Damian (Batman’s illegitimate son with Talia Al’ Guhl), the newly resurrected Jason Todd (card carrying member with the revolving door of death), Alfred, Batwoman, Batgirl, Catwoman, and everyone else who might have any claim to the cowl duke it out to see who will inherit the mantra of the Dark Knight. My money is on the current Robin, Tim Drake. He has the best detective skills of all the candidates and was closest to the dearly departed.

Another dilemma that could (and should) arise is that once DC realizes the error of their ways, how do they bring back someone they had vaporized? In the very same issue, Superman was in the future (read the rest of Final Crisis to understand why) and as he was about to return back to the present, Brainiac 8 of the Legion of Superheroes in the 31st century, revealed to Superman a device called the Miracle Machine. This device was created in the 29th century by the Guardians of the Universe, the same guardians who created the Central Power Battery for the Green Lantern Corps. With the experience of creating devices powered by one’s will, the Guardians created this device that was so powerful, that the simplest thought entered into the Miracle Machine, could be made into reality. Of course, such a powerful device is kept under constant watch by the Legion of Superheroes and only a select few even know of its existence. Here is your obvious fix to bring Batman back once DC sees their sales plummet. Send Superman to the future (since he seems to be there every year or two anyways), grab the machine, think Batman back into existence, and the problem is solved. I know it is ridiculous, but these are the kind of things that fit right into revolving door of death in comics.

The landscape of comics is always changing, but this might be the straw that breaks a lot of backs. This ranks up there with some of the worst storyline moves ever made in comics history and I am sure I am not the only one that is shaking their head in disbelief. I would not be surprised to see some of the worst backlash in comic history from this. Batman is at an all-time popularity high with the comics, movies, video games, merchandise, and anything else you can stick a Batman emblem on in the public domain, and DC has just sent their cash cow to the hamburger factory for no apparent reason. Keep looking here as this situation continues to unfold in the coming months.

-Ray Carsillo

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Nine Must Haves for 2009

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Originally Published: January, 6, 2009, on 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com)

A new year means a whole new heaping helping of games to help whittle away the hours. There are so many that have been announced this year already that look so good. So which ones are the MUST HAVES? Which are the ones that no boy or girl should be without and should start saving their pennies for now? That’s simple. Just look at this list:

1. GHOSTBUSTERS – After being pushed back several times and threats that it would never be made, the closest thing to us ever seeing a third Ghostbusters movie is coming straight to your XBOX360, PS3, Wii, or PC in June. Set just a couple of years after the end of Ghostbusters II, the game sees our heroes as just that, heroes. Still “savin’ the day” on a regular basis, the boys are finally getting the just rewards they were denied in the beginning of the second film. An abnormal amount of activity from the other side, though begins to take its toll on the fabulous foursome and so they decide to add a fifth.

The fifth is your character. You get trained in all the Ghostbusters’ patented gadgets as you go around the city trying to unravel a ghoulish mystery worthy of the Ghostbusters name. Screens and demos have this being more fun than both movies combined. With the original cast coming back to voice over all their characters and with a tremendous amount of input from Harold Ramis and Dan Aykroyd, ‘bustin’ will make you feel good, all over again.



2. BATMAN: ARKHAM ASYLUM – Based on one of the greatest graphic novels of all time, DC made up for not coming out with a movie-based game for The Dark Knight when they announced this game. Batman must once again hunt down his arch-nemesis, the Joker, but this time it is completely on the Joker’s terms as he is causing havoc from inside the walls of Arkham Asylum. Early screens show a gritty, well-detailed Batman looking like he leapt straight from a Jim Lee drawing as he fights his way through inmates turned Joker henchmen in what looks to be the sub-levels of the asylum. This one is due out closer to Halloween and we are all holding our breath that it does not get pushed back farther than that. It will be released on PS3 and XBOX360.

3. RESIDENT EVIL 5 – After Resident Evil 4 saved the series by giving it a new 3rd person shooting perspective to FINALLY fix those pain in the neck controls that plagued the series for far too long, Resident Evil 5 takes a look at another character from the famous Raccoon City incident. Whereas RE4 followed Leon Kennedy in Europe, RE5 follows Chris Redfield through Africa as he seems to have stumbled on a similar plot to the parasitic zombie virus that Leon found while chasing the president’s daughter in Spain.

Capcom realized that to top RE4, they were going to have to do more than change the camera angle again. This time Chris has a partner that can actually defend herself and the co-op play will be critical to beating the main story mode. Add in that you can expect enemies to be anywhere now due to current-gen graphics, no shadow is safe. If you jumped at the surprises in RE4, you just might need to keep an extra few pairs of pants around while playing RE5. It’ll be out on, of course, Friday, March 13th, 2009 for XBOX360 and PS3.

4. MADWORLD – It is rare to see any Wii-exclusive, Sega made game push the envelope, but that is exactly what Madworld seems to do. Imagine Sin City meets The Running Man and you have Madworld, a black, white, and red cartoon romp with enough violence to satiate Charles Manson in the form of a game show. With rewards being given for more and more inventive ways of killing your enemies beyond the use of your chainsaw, which you start the game with, (and we all know how much I loved that in Gears of War 2) and the comic book-esqe onomatopoeia for explosions and crashes, this has a chance to be a big underground hit along the lines of No More Heroes. The only question is the plotline that is still unrevealed beyond the game show aspects, but is promised to be enthralling by the higher-ups at Sega. Sega and Nintendo coming together again, what is the world coming to? It will be a mad, mad, mad, Madworld on March 10th. At least it has nothing to do with a little blue hedgehog this time.

5. DANTE’S INFERNO – Part of one of the all time great works of literature, it painted an amazingly detailed picture of what one man believed hell to be. The idea of layers or levels of hell was still a relatively new concept, and by the amazing looking trailer, this game will have you fighting through every single one of them. Limbo, Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Anger, Heresy, Violence, Fraud, and Treachery (try saying that five times fast)…I always knew I was going to go to hell, just never like this. How the plot of the epic poem will actually work into the game is still a mystery, but it looks like if you know what’s good for you, it’ll be a warm winter in hell when this is released just in time for the holidays on PS3, XBOX360, and PC.

6. BIOSHOCK 2: SEA OF DREAMS – This has been one of the most tightly kept secrets in games since it was announced that BioShock would be a trilogy. All that we have to go on is a teaser trailer that shows almost nothing (here’s a screen from it), a title, and a release date around August. I mean, what is that? A little sister all grown up? No one knows ANYTHING.

Easily one of the best games I have ever played, the original BioShock was a masterpiece. I cannot praise it enough. So the fact that we still have so little to go on but the reputation of the first one keeps this from being at the top of my list. The mystery is part of the beauty though and if they let me, I’ll camp out for this one and take a week off of work if it is anywhere near the first one. The very thought though that we are only seven months away from another BioShock, though, makes me want to run screaming through the halls here at ESPN with tears of joy streaming down my face for this XBOX360, PS3, and PC release.

7. BRUTAL LEGEND – What happens when you take Rob Halford of Judas Priest and Jack Black and throw them into a video game? You simply get the MOST ROCKING VIDEO GAME OF ALL TIME! At least according to them you do. Their biased opinions aside, this does look like an amazing game as you control Eddie Riggs (voiced by Jack Black) as he takes part on an epic quest during the “dark days of metal” and attempts to work his way up from meager roadie to rock god.

I don’t know how good this game is going to be, but I know I am going to have a good time playing it. It just looks absolutely hysterical. Riggs is obviously modeled after Jack Black and his one-liners along with what looks like a lot of carnage and I am sure you will enjoy this game. If you hate metal, humor, or all things good in the world, this game might not be for you, though. It just looks like a fun action-adventure game that will make you laugh and bang your head as you trek through the metal-inspired universe. Prepare to rock out in August on XBOX360 and PS3.

8. PUNCH-OUT!! – Another Wii-exclusive, the long dormant Punch-Out series has been revamped, retooled, and will be released for the Wii in April. Bringing back all your favorites like King Hippo and Glass Joe to take on the ultimate underdog in Little Mac, this will be instant nostalgia heaven for anyone who played the original Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out for the NES. For obvious reasons, Iron Mike is no longer associated with the game since Nintendo, after all, is a family company. Although the graphics look a little on the cartoony side, if the controls are anywhere near accurate in terms of sensitivity, this is going to be a great throwback for old fans of the game and a great new boxing game for the Wii for the newcomers. (In the screenshot, what’s up with that pineapple in front of King Hippo though?)

9. GOD OF WAR III – Before I continue with anything, the God of War series takes place in Greece, centered on Greek mythology. So why have they been using ROMAN numerals for the game? Never mind; moving on. It is the conclusion to one of the most popular trilogies in history and has more riding on it than just doing the series justice. God of War III is the ace in the hole for a struggling Sony company. One on a short list of exclusives this year for the PS3, Sony needs this game to have gone platinum a month ago.

In terms of the game itself, it looks just as good as the first two so if you enjoyed the first two, then you need to get the third to know how everything finishes and see if Kratos finally gets the mythological Prozac he is so desperately in need of. There are new weapons, more mythological creatures, and the climax to a tale that Homer himself wishes he crafted. God of War III will keep the PS3’s heart pumping for a little while longer as it is released just in time for the holiday push.

So that’s it. If a game you are looking forward to didn’t make the list, don’t worry. There are a lot of GREAT games coming out this year. These are just, in my opinion, the top ones. Trust me, I will still be looking at Halo Wars, Godfather II, House of the Dead 4, DC Universe Online, Watchmen: The End is Nigh, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2: Fusion, Damnation, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, Onechanbara: Bikini Samurai Squad (you cannot tell me you aren’t the least bit curious about that one), and Street Fighter 4. It is going to be a great year for games and I hope you all enjoy it as much as I will.

–Ray Carsillo

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Triple DS Review for Holiday Travel

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Originally Published: December 21, 2008, on 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com)

It’s late Christmas morning and all the presents have been opened and little Billy and Susie Cunningham are enjoying their new toys. Then, suddenly, their mother’s voice pierces the frozen air, “Get ready! It’s time to go to Grandma’s house!” Billy and Susie are forced to leave many of their toys behind as they are herded into the family car for the 90 minute drive to their grandmother’s house, after which they will have to wait several hours until after Christmas dinner to open a second round of presents, and then endure another 90 minute drive back before they see their new toys again. And the entire time they will nag their parents, “Can we open presents now?” By the time everyone gets home, no one wants to see each other for at least another three days, the children playing with their new toys, and the parents happy to not hear the whining about unopened presents.

A tragic story, I know. I remember many of my childhood Christmases having a similar story. Twenty years later though, there are so many new and innovative things that children can fit in their pockets to keep them occupied for the normally tortuous drives and to keep them from chewing their parents’ ears off. One of these ingenious devices is, of course, Nintendo’s DS system. Standing for “Dual-Screen”, the DS fits in the palm of an adult’s hand and plays some great games that will keep the children occupied on any long drive. The DS is great for plane rides, car trips, sitting in the doctor’s office. It’s one of the reasons why I have one myself because even for adults it is a great, portable way to pass the time.

Now, most of you already probably have a DS since it is the most popular selling handheld of all time so I don’t have to sell you on it anymore. The real question now is what games you get for it. With the holiday quickly approaching and that DS needing a new game to keep the kiddies occupied, here are a few quick reviews on some of the newest games for Nintendo DS.

NINJATOWN

Recommended in my last article, I felt this was a good way to go more in-depth into a good kid’s game. Ninjatown is based on the popular Shawnimals plush toys that your children are already probably familiar with. It is a RTS (real-time strategy) game that is a great way to introduce them into strategy games and develop those critical thinking skills while actually being fun to play. The graphics are simple, but so are the toys so that is no surprise. It lacks replay value due to no unlockables or the like, but it does have a multi-player mode which is crucial to all RTS games.

With many different types of ridiculously cute ninjas to train for your war on the evil Mr. Demon and only one resource to maintain, this is a great introductory RTS game that will keep your children occupied for a solid 10-15 hours.

Ratings are based on a system of 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest.

Graphics: 6.5: Nothing special in terms of graphics. This is a simple game that is more about the characters and the strategy than about looking good. Still though, for a DS game, it is about average.

Audio: 5.0: No voice acting to speak of and the music is pretty much the same for most of the game and can get very repetitive and annoying by the time you advance to the harder stages. It is the same for the SFX, you want to stab yourself in the ears with the stylus as you hear the same enemies with the same groans over the course of 36 stages.

Plot/Plot Development: 7.5: The characters are plush toys so the fact that they came up with a relatively coherent plot is impressive. Reminiscent of something out of a CareBears movie, the plot was enjoyable and got a few laughs out of a more hardcore gamer such as myself that your kids might really enjoy. Not bad.

Gameplay: 9.0: Crisp, smooth, classic RTS style gameplay. A little difficult to conduct everything with the DS’s stylus, but overall no hitches make this a solid gaming experience.

Replay Value: 5.0: With no unlockables to think of, once you beat the 36 game stages, there isn’t much to bring you back to it aside from the multi-player mode, which is a must have for all RTS games anyway. The fun gameplay, though, makes the multi-player very enjoyable at least.

Overall (not an average): 7.0: An average RTS game that was made well for the Nintendo DS. Its appeal to younger kids cannot go unnoticed and carries a lot of weight in my recommendation for those long car rides. It does have some appeal to older folks, but more as something to just laugh at. Overall, Ninjatown isn’t a bad way to kill 10-15 hours if you need something to help pass the time.

METAL SLUG 7

Nothing quite like the old school, button mashing, shoot everything in sight, arcade game. Yet another installment in the Metal Slug series, Metal Slug 7 is pretty much the same as every other Metal Slug game. You choose a character and you shoot everything in sight through several stages and a handful of continues. With the DS version, though, you can go back with a full batch of continues to the last level you reached and since there are only seven levels, to say this is a fast game is the understatement of the century.

Sure, there is some replay value if you want to go back and try to rescue all the prisoners or if you are an old school buff that loves trying to beat your own high score over and over, but aside from that there really isn’t that much to bring you back to this after you beat it the first time. If you need a game for one car ride, then this works. That’s it. After that, the case makes a great coaster. The graphics and music are around Super Nintendo level so don’t expect to be dazzled visually either.

It was given a T-rating, but it could easily have been an E-10+ because there just is not enough in this game to warrant the T-rating. I’ve seen a lot more cartoon violence with a lot more questionable language be given a E-10+, but since previous Metal Slugs have been given that rating, the ESRB decided probably to just mail this one in. I guess when you have a horse and it runs, you just keep beating it until its corpse turns to a fine powder.

Ratings are based on a system of 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest.

Graphics: 6.0: Reminiscent of the Super Nintendo days, this doesn’t even push the DS at all. It’s colorful, but nothing that really screams out at you as impressive.

Audio: 5.5: Another game with no voice acting. Another game with repetitive sound effects. At least this game had different music in different levels to give it the extra half point. Super Nintendo quality music though.

Plot/Plot Development: 4.0: It is as simple as it gets. Evil tyrant escapes. You and your army cohorts have to stop him. Again. For the seventh time. No twists or turns or anything special. Pitiful.

Gameplay: 7.0: The game handles well. Although it is a little bit difficult to flick switches or judge all your jumps. But, then again, how hard is it to just keep pressing the shoot button and aim your gun?

Replay Value: 3.0: Unless you are obsessed with increasing your high score, this is not a game that you can replay much, especially when it you can beat the whole thing in only 2-3 hours the first time through.

Overall (not an average): 4.5: If you like Centipede, Space Invaders, and other arcade-style games that are more about score than the game actually being difficult, then this is the game for you. For the rest of us who have evolved past the coin-fueled twitch stage, Metal Slug 7 is a waste of $30.

CHRONO TRIGGER DS

With games like Final Fantasy IV and VI, Earthbound, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, the SNES was a haven for RPG fans. Another classic game was a little known hit called Chrono Trigger. The first game with multiple endings depending on what you accomplished over the course of the story, it would set the table for what many RPGs, and games overall, are today.

Now, over a decade and a port to the PS1 later, it is back in the hands of Nintendo and has been given a facelift for the Nintendo DS. With some new, awesome anime cut scenes to help develop the characters and a new look to the battle sequences; Chrono Trigger DS is even better than the original.

The story is the same. You are the young, rambunctious Crono and you bump into a beautiful girl at the fair named Marle. She asks you to show her around and being young and rambunctious, you go along. You happen upon your friend Lucca and you all have a wonderful time until Lucca’s latest invention malfunctions and Marle gets sent back in time! One of the most developed plots in the history of RPGs then begins to unfold as you begin on a quest to not only save Marle, but all of time itself.

This is still one of my favorite games of all time. The characters are timeless. The plot is well written with twists and turns in every major chapter. The graphics are still only Super Nintendo level, but considering that was the original system it was made for, it is forgivable. The music is timeless. I was playing this a few days ago when a friend called and I had to pause the game. The music kept playing in the background and my friend who had not played the game since it first came out, recognized it instantly. It doesn’t get more timeless than that. It was a sleeper hit when it first came out, it was a hit when it was ported to PS1, I say it should be a smash hit now that it is back home on a Nintendo system. A must have for RPG fans and a great way to help pass some video game history onto the kids. Add in that it will kill at least 20 hours and you know you’re set with the kiddies on that car ride.

Ratings are based on a system of 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest.

Graphics: 7.0: Still with the same old Super Nintendo graphics, it has at least been upgraded with some awesome anime cut scenes during major moments of the game to update the look and feel of the game a bit.

Audio: 8.0: Again, only Super Nintendo level sound: there are no voiceovers and the SFX do leave a little to be desired. But considering that the music is the kind that passes the test of time (fitting, it being a time travel game), I can’t take off too much for it.

Plot/Plot Development: 9.0: A quest to save time and the girl. A classic plot, classily done, and it still holds up even now. Just as fun playing through now as it was a decade ago.

Gameplay: 9.0: The new battle system takes a little time to get used to and it can be a pain fighting multiple enemies to select who you want to hit, but other than that, this is a crisp playing game.

Replay Value: 6.0: There is a no co-op or true multi-player mode, however this does include a new arena mode where you can buy monsters that you find in the game and raise them to do battle. Sounds a little too much like Pokémon to me to really appeal to die-hard Chrono Trigger fans, but the multiple endings are something that might bring you back to play it through a few times.

Overall (not an average): 8.5: The game could use a facelift in terms if graphics and music, but aside from the aesthetics, it is still a classic RPG that stands this test of time. This game is definitely worth it, both as a way to introduce to new gamers to great RPGs and for the older gamers looking for a little bit of nostalgia. This is a must have.

So there it is, folks. Some ways to pass the time on those holiday drives. Peace on earth is a nice thought, but we got to have peace in the household first, right?

Have a happy holiday season.

-Ray Carsillo

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Last Minute Shopping

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Originally Published: December 17, 2008, on 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com)

The nights are growing shorter and so is your time to get that last solid present for under the tree. You know they want a video game, but which one? You don’t want to have it end up just as another trade-in at the local GameStop and most clerks at these places can’t tell their elbow from a Wiimote. Well have no fear, lucky reader. I am here to give you a list of last minute winners guaranteed to put a smile on their face.

Now, if you’re looking for games for some little ones and don’t feel they’re ready for an over the top, alien shoot ’em up, or some action-adventure, sword wielding bloodbath, then here are a few E-rated games that will keep them happy till their birthday rolls around.

1. Warioland: Shake It! – Nintendo Wii – This title reminds me of the old Super Mario World games for Super Nintendo. With some stellar cartoon cell-shaded graphics and a very forgiving life system, your child will love the cartoon antics of Wario when he catches fire or gets frozen as he goes searching for treasure over 30 unique stages. With at least three missions and secret treasures to find on each level, the replay value is strong for a children’s game and the race back to the beginning of the level is a great twist on the stage-ending mechanic. A great way to introduce your children into the classic platformer.


2. Ninja Town – Nintendo DS – Based on the popular Shawnimals plush toys, I admit I did not expect much from this game, but ended up being blown away. It easily deserves all the accolades it has won. This game is a great way to introduce kids into the RTS (real-time strategy) genre. With only one resource to maintain (your magical ninja cookies, of course) you do not have to worry about foraging constantly to create new dojo for your ninjas to become stronger and concentrate on pure strategy. Add in the ridiculously cute creatures that populate Ninja Town (that your kids might already be familiar with) and you have a winner whether they are looking to get into the RTS genre or simply hone their skills.

3. Lego: Batman – All systems – If your kids are fans of any of the other Lego based games, then this is a fine addition to the series. Star Wars is still the best, by far, but if your child has a predisposition towards the Gotham Guardian, this works on lots of levels. Warner Bros. opened the vault to help make this as authentic a Batman game as possible while still keeping it kid friendly. With the new movie just coming out on Blu-Ray, it could be a Caped Crusader Christmas.

“But, Ray! My kid is in high school and I don’t think these childish games will work for him/her.” Never fear! There is plenty of T-rated games just waiting to be picked up.

1. Prince of Persia – XBOX360, PS3, PC – The trilogy with the last prince was complete, so the fine folks at Ubisoft Montreal have started a new storyline with a new prince, a beautiful new world to traverse, and a fine looking mystical companion. The amazing new storyline plays out across an expansive world with new fighting mechanics and the same great wall jumping and acrobatics that made the series a breakthrough to begin with. This action/adventure gem is at the top of a lot of people’s lists for good reason so if you’re teen is into that kind of game, then this is a must pick-up.

2. Tales of Vesperia – XBOX360 – A Xbox exclusive, this one is for the more financially minded consumer. If your teen is a fan of RPGs (role-playing games), anime, or both, then this is great way to make them happy and to make sure they don’t go looking for another game for a while. With a minimum of 40-45 hours of gameplay before completion, this game will sit in the system for a while before they go looking for their next video game fix. The gameplay is solid, the storyline is compelling, and the characters are unforgettable. This will make a solid present under any tree.

3. Mirror’s Edge – XBOX360, PS3, PC – Another action/adventure game that deals with amazing acrobats, but this time you are in the head of a female urban free runner (those are the people that jump off and climb buildings for fun). The story takes place in a futuristic world where information is monitored and only the urban free runner can get the real information through. A sinister conspiracy is uncovered involving your family and things go for a crazy turn. Not a tremendously long game, this seems to be setting the table for something bigger (Do I smell a sequel?) and it is ridiculously fun leaping from rooftop to rooftop. Another strong showing for the action/adventure genre.

Now you’re wondering, “What about the games for Mommy and Daddy?” Well, there are plenty of M-rated games out there for long after the kiddies go to bed.

1. Left 4 Dead – XBOX360, PC – A gory, survival-horror game in a bright green case and tons of Christmas red blood splattering on the screen to represent the most wonderful time of the year. One of the best online multiplayer games to come out in years, this is a game you’ll want to play with a friend. The graphics aren’t as sharp as you would like, but this is truly a game focused on the gameplay. Hordes of zombies with little to no lag and never enough bullets to go around make this one of the best survival-horrors to come out in a long time.

2. Fable 2 – XBOX360 – The long awaited sequel to the revolutionary RPG. If you enjoyed the first one, then you have to have the second. Improved graphics, more choices and consequences, and all the RPG elements you’ve come to know and love make this a great 20-30 hour romp in the woods of Albion. You even get a dog this time around!

3. Fallout 3 – XBOX360, PS3, PC – This has truly been the year of the sequel and the biggest jump in terms of quality between titles is evident in this series. The year is 2277 and the U.S.A. is a nuclear wasteland. Your mission: survive. What makes this game memorable is learning how to survive. From constructing exploding teddy bears to locking in for a Matrix-like kill system; this game will consume your time well until it is safe to come out of your nuclear bunker.

Those are the games that will make everyone you know, no matter their age, happy. On this last list, are the games that leave everyone cringing and they will be returned. Guaranteed. Avoid these games at all costs Grandma!

1. Sam and Max: Season 1 – Nintendo Wii – It was a short-lived cartoon whose humor did not resonate with an audience. Now, I remember why. The series had an underground following on the PC, so it has been ported to the Wii for this holiday season and helps remind us why point and click adventures only work for the PC. I could not finish this game because it was just plain awful. Repeated, tired humor, with unresponsive controls makes this one of the worst games I’ve played in a while. If you are looking for a funny, point and click game, you might have better luck with Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law.

2. Castlevania: Judgement – Nintendo Wii – People jumped for joy at the announcement of a Castlevania game for the Wii. Then they heard it would be a fighting game. Moans and groans echoed throughout the video game community, as people feared how Konami would screw this up. Well, there were more ways than I could count. The powers were cool, and the story was okay, but it gets repetitive much too quickly, even for a fighting game. The levels were nicely themed and had some cool hazards, but I would rather fight the zombies and monster fish that were hazards as bosses than against characters that haven’t been around in over a decade. It left me completely unsatisfied as I yearned for the classic side-scrolling that defined the series. Overall, this was a sad effort from Konami.

3. Resistance 2 – PS3 – I was really surprised at this one. The first game was amazing, it put the PS3 on the map, and was an instant hit. The second game looks like the folks at Insomniac Games saw what Epic was doing with Gears of War and they would steal as much as they could. You can no longer carry different types of weapons as you come across them, you can only carry two at a time. Very frustrating for when you need a shotgun against a certain type of enemy, but dropped it at the beginning of the level for a rifle because you did not know what you were going to be up against. It may make the game harder, but it also makes it more frustrating when I could carry eight weapons in the first game. The enemy A.I. is predictable and the bosses are too simple to be anything more than a nuisance. It becomes more of a chore to beat the levels than an enjoyable experience because it is the same wave after wave of enemy as you progress. No puzzles or choices or anything imaginative to mix it up. The graphics are much better, but the game lacks so much of the soul from the first installment that I had to put this on my “Do Not Buy” list.

Well folks, there it is. For all you last minute shoppers out there, those are some helpful hints. I tried my best to showcase games that I have not highlighted before, so this might be a good time to look in my archives if you still need more ideas. Thanks for reading my article and have a happy and safe holiday season.

-Ray Carsillo

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