Tag Archive: comics


When Heroes Collide

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April 24, 2010

Originally Published: October 5, 2009, to 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com), Lundberg.me, and Comicvine.com

Marvel, a while ago, had put out a series of action RPGs involving four-person teams of some of your favorite heroes. Two X-men games, a couple of Fantastic Four titles, and the crème de le crème that culminated in the title that was Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, a joining of many of the heroes from the Marvel Universe, that did extraordinarily well with an original plot line and the game allowed you to mix and match your favorite heroes in any way you saw fit.

The best part of MUA was that it left itself wide open for a sequel involving Galactus, maybe the Silver Surfer, and an even larger array of heroes that encompassed the whole of the Marvel Universe.

But when MUA 2 came out, instead, it looked like the folks at Activision and Vicarious Visions who took over this series of games got lazy and didn’t feel like coming up with an entirely new script again. They took two of the biggest Marvel story arcs in recent history with Nick Fury’s Secret War and the Superhero Civil War and changed the ending so that if they ever decide to be original again, then they can.

Incase you are unfamiliar with these plots I will give you a quick summary: basically Fury’s War was a private attack on Dr. Doom’s Latveria (in this case after the events of MUA 1) as the new governess was also a weapons trafficker and designer. The Civil War pitted hero against hero as the government tried to make superheroes reveal their secret identities by registering with the government to make them liable for collateral damage after the New Warriors underestimated a group of villains in Stamford, CT, and 612 people were killed in the ensuing battle.

I’ll give credit where it is due in that Activision and Vicarious Visions stayed as true to the original comic arcs as they could before trying to get cute in bringing everyone together, but considering they had a plot for a sequel already lined up, it boggles my mind that they would put it on the backburner for something that die-hards spent far too long reading about to begin with.

Aside from my frustrations over the lack of a truly original plot though, this game is just as good as the first MUA in every other aspect. The cut scenes look beautiful and the voice acting is top-notch although I could’ve had a few more lines recorded for each character during the actual gameplay (how many times can you hear “HULK SMASH ALL THERE IS!” before it becomes tiresome?).

The gameplay is everything you would expect from an action RPG with some characters being much better than others and the new Fusion feature makes for some awesome team up moves like the classic “Fastball Special”. Since Colossus isn’t a playable character though, the Hulk, Thing, or Juggernaut (GameStop pre-orders only) stand-in for Wolverine’s X-men tin can teammate. There are a few minor glitches with your characters or enemies sometimes becoming trapped in corners and force you to switch characters to get them out, but aside from that, the game is relatively smooth.

The replay value is also very strong for the game because the only way to unlock everything would be to play through at least twice, once pro-registration and once anti-registration. Of course, the course you choose also affects the characters you can play with. Anyone familiar with the story arcs shouldn’t be surprised that only by choosing anti-registration can they get Luke Cage, Captain America, and Iron Fist and that only by choosing pro-registration can they get Iron Man, Songbird, and Mr. Fantastic.

Of course, once you beat the game one time through, you can play the second time through with any of the 25 playable characters as well as unlock the hardest difficulty. The best team to do that in the least amount of time would be Wolverine, Deadpool, Hulk, and Iron Fist. I don’t know why Iron Fist is as strong as he is, but he’s one of the best characters in the game because he can heal your entire team and Wolverine and Deadpool have healing factors, which makes the trio nearly impossible to kill. And then there is the Hulk (only available at the beginning if you get the game from Best Buy) and like I said before: HULK SMASH ALL THERE IS. Enough said.

In the end, anyone who is a comics fan and followed these story arcs should get this game because it is awesome to see the comics come to life and to see the various personalities of the Marvel Universe mix and mingle on your TV. I’m looking forward to MUA 3 even more now because I still want to see Galactus!

Ratings are based on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the best.

Graphics: 8.0: This gets a slightly better than average score because the cut scenes are awesome, but the regular gameplay graphics are okay at best because of having so many enemies on screen at one time to prevent lag. Typical of these games, but I still have to call them on it.

Audio: 9.0: Great voice acting mixed in with great sound effects make this a strong score, but the music was generic for the most part. The MUA 2 theme for the game was really good though so the audio gets a great score overall.

Plot/Plot Development: 6.5: MUA 2 gets a barely passing score on plot because two-thirds of the game isn’t original whatsoever. They then made up an ending that was so far from the comics it is ridiculous, just to bring everyone together so that they can make a third game with a plot they hinted at in the first game should the opportunity present itself. It passes though because at least they stayed relatively true to the parts they did steal straight from the comics.

Gameplay: 7.0: This game is a button masher, plain and simple. You press the same couple of buttons to attack and occasionally team up with your pals to do it, but overall there isn’t a lot of depth to the gameplay. Add in a couple of glitches and it is okay at best.

Replay Value: 10.0: Needing to play through the game twice to unlock everyone and everything, along with 4 play online co-op and more collectibles than I can remember and there is a lot to bring you back to this game. It will take you probably 25-30 hours to find everything in the game if you play through it twice.

Overall (not an average): 7.5: Even though it isn’t the prettiest game, or the most original, the game is still good. Not great and definitely not ground-breaking, but if you are a fan of the Marvel universe, you will definitely enjoy this game. Add in some great surprises at the end and you will walk away with a smile on your face.

-Ray Carsillo

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Just Call Me J. Jonah Jameson

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Originally Published: October 1, 2009, on 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com), Lundberg.me, and Comicvine.com

There are a bevy of articles that I owe the geek community right now. I should be writing about Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 or Batman/Superman: Public Enemies (both are on their way, I promise!), but this last Wednesday, like every Wednesday, I headed to my local comic retailer (Time Warp Comics and Games, 555 Pompton Ave. in Cedar Grove, NJ, 07009. Give a shout out to everyone there) and saw something that needed to be addressed. As I thumbed through the regulars from my pull list, I saw something on the shelf that renewed a fire in my belly I had long since let die down.

After the One More Day Spider-Man story arc, my frustration with Marvel and their treatment of the web head had reached an all-time high. One of the sloppiest re-launches in history had just occurred with Spidey (more like a lobotomy) and almost everything my generation had known and loved about Spider-Man was flushed down the drain along with the fact that Marvel had painted themselves into a corner…again.

Instead of letting the old crone that is Aunt May just die, especially after a séance with Madame Web confirming that Aunt May was at peace, and having Spider-Man take Mary Jane into hiding just like Luke Cage did with Jessica Jones, they have Spidey sell his marriage to Mephisto in order to push the reset button. Every “mistake” that Peter Parker ever made was changed and about 400 issues of continuity were erased.

It was at this instance that I boycotted everything having to do with Spider-Man (except New Avengers, but if Jessica Jones mentions one more time she had a crush on Peter Parker in high school, that is being added to my boycott list as well). I wouldn’t even play as him in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 except in the beginning when you have to. I accepted that my favorite Marvel character was dead to me and that maybe it was time I grew up a little and cut down my weekly comics list.

Now, since I’ve boycotted everything past the first couple of issues of the re-launch (they made Mary Jane a superhero for cryin’ out loud!) I don’t know if anything has been resolved because I haven’t read anything, but a small part of me died, much like the small part of Peter Parker that forever knows his greatest mistake was giving up his love for MJ.

My two favorite super-heroes during my early years, like many people in my generation, were Batman and Spider-Man. I believe many people love these characters because of their humanity. Batman in more literal terms, Spider-Man in more figurative terms because even though he had super powers, the gamut of emotions and struggles he had to deal with hit close to home for many of us.

I like to believe they also gave us the most hope. Batman helped us believe there was always a way out of every bad situation as long as you properly prepared yourself. Spider-Man gave us hope because even through all his pain and torment, he still found true love and also found ways to persevere.

This re-launch destroyed Spider-Man in such a way that I can’t look at him anymore without feeling hate in my heart because I can’t relate to a reset button no matter how hard I try.

With that rant out of the way, I go back to why this seething anger and hatred resurfaced months after the initial offense and ensuing boycott. While at the comic store, I noticed on the shelf the first issue of a six issue miniseries. It was the start of how Spider-Man’s infamous Clone Saga SHOULD have played out and it opened with a one page, heartfelt apology from the folks behind it.

I nearly ripped the issue to shreds on the spot, but, for once, a cooler head prevailed and I placed it back on the shelf with no incident.

In my life, the Clone Saga was the first destruction of Spider-Man. At the time though, it was a more forgivable sin for me because I was a small lad and my knowledge of Spider-Man comics was limited to what had inspired me to read Spidey’s comics, the Maximum Carnage arc (which is still the best Spider-Man arc I ever read).

The thing that fueled the anger was the fact that 20 years after the disastrously drawn out plotline, Marvel admitted, in print, to one of their greatest mistakes. As a fan, it was like a slap in the face. An apology will not fix the two years of wasted paper and ink that the Clone Saga caused nor will it bring back any of the characters who were bumped off after the fan base started warming up to them (unless this most recent re-launch decides to do it all over again so this way Marvel can really stomp on our hearts).

I don’t understand why Marvel feels it necessary to try to vindicate their mistakes by pressing the panic button whenever there is some negative backlash for their risk taking. I REALLY don’t understand why they keep bringing these mistakes back up years after they have been forgiven in the collective consciousness only to re-open long since healed scars. All I know is I miss Spider-Man. I miss the REAL Spider-Man. The Spider-Man that I grew up with, that was married to Mary Jane, had to team-up with Venom every now and then to take on Carnage, and could still make some sweet wise-cracks. Get me Tom DeFalco RIGHT NOW!

-Ray Carsillo

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Geek Movie Icon

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Originally Published: September 29, 2009, on 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com) and Lundberg.me

Since he exploded into the limelight as Darth Maul in Star Wars: Episode I, Ray Park has been a staple in geek movies. Also being cast as Toad in X-Men and Snake-Eyes in G.I. Joe, this martial arts master and admitted comic book geek is living the dream playing some of the more iconic roles in geek lore.

He has now increased his geek repetoire by being cast on NBC’s Heroes as Edgar, a speedster with a dark side (no Star Wars pun intended).

Robin Lundberg and I had a chance to catch up with the geek icon to talk about his role on Heroes, his past roles, and if he could confirm some rumors for us about the progress of a possible Iron Fist movie.


CLICK HERE – to listen to Robin Lundberg and I interview one of the great geek movie icons of our time, Ray Park.

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No Escape, No Asylum

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April 20, 2010

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

After many delays, Batman: Arkham Asylum has finally arrived. Written by long-time Batman comic and cartoon writer, Paul Dini, this original Dark Knight tale might not only go down as the greatest comic book video game to date, but it is my current choice for the 2009 Game of the Year.

The basic premise of the game is that our hero has caught the Joker once again after he broke free to wreak havoc on Gotham. As Batman helps the Arkham guards escort the Joker to his comfy corner cell, the Joker, in a unique haphazard way all his own, breaks free from their grasp and reveals that his true plot was to lure the Dark Knight into his grandest trap yet, an asylum run by the inmates.

Now the Dark Knight must fight his way through some of his most fearsome foes on their home turf along with a few hundred of Joker’s cronies from Blackgate Prison (that just so happened to be transferred to Arkham in time for Joker’s “surprise party”) as he tries to restore order in the most chaotic situation he has ever been immersed in.

Any Batman fan immediately knows the implications when any story arc will weave its way through Arkham Asylum, never mind an entire video game plot. This is where Batman drops off his degenerate villains after he disrupts their “master plans” to destroy, torment, or conquer Gotham, no matter what they might be. So for the Dark Knight to be surrounded by hundreds of these thugs, lowlifes, and insane super-criminals for an extended period of time, does not bode well for the Caped Crusader as his mind will be tortured just as much as his body.

The look for this game is anything but torture for the player though. The first and most striking aspect of this game is how beautiful it looks. From the gothic architecture of the Old World style buildings of Arkham to the movement of Batman’s cape, the graphics for this game are unreal. You could, for a minute, forget you are playing a game and fool yourself into thinking you’re watching one of the movies.

After you examine the looks for a game, the next thing most people notice is how a game sounds. With an orchestral theme worthy of the movies and superb voice acting from many of the same people who voiced the characters from Batman: The Animated Series including Poison Ivy, Killer Croc, Harley Quinn, and, of course, Batman and the Joker and you have the most pleasant audio experience you could hope for from any video game.

So the peripherals for the game are superb. But what about the gameplay? I can say with full confidence that this was the most engrossing and intense game I have played in a long time. From the FLAWLESS fighting mechanic where you can just string together amazing, free-flowing, bone-crunching combos on thugs to truly stepping into the Dark Knight’s boots as you prey on unsuspecting, gun-toting criminals from the shadows and stringing up goons from gargoyles as a sign for others that you are coming for them and no amount of Joker face paint will save them from your righteous vengeance, there is not a more pleasurable gaming experience to be had from any game I’ve played in the recent past.

Not to mention that the more foes you pummel, the more gadgets and combo moves you can purchase with experience points to give yourself an arsenal truly worthy of Gotham’s Guardian. It is a great feeling to take a thug out of a fight permanently by breaking his ankle or dislocating his shoulder with some upgraded counter moves or bringing an armed henchman to his knees from the shadows with a special sonic emitting batarang without him even knowing you were ever there.

The only weak point the game might have is in replay value. Although it is wonderful to explore every nook and cranny of the massive Arkham Island, once through is really enough to get the full story. There are special collectibles that the Riddler leaves in order to try to test your detective skills, but any decent Batman fan should be able to crack the references rather easily on the first time through.

There is an extra challenge mode where you can step into the boots of the Dark Knight (and the purple wingtips of the Joker if you pick up the PS3 version) as you try to either pummel as many thugs as you can while building up a high score or sneaking around and taking out as many thugs as stealthily as you can as you race the clock, but they grow stale quickly so the only drawback would be that this game just doesn’t give you enough to keep bringing you back for much more.

In the end, the game probably offers a solid 15 hours of gameplay even if you solve all of the Riddler’s riddles and the live up to the challenges of the Challenge Mode. The game is a beautifully crafted masterpiece that plays out like an awe-inspiring comic arc. I would’ve liked more villains to fight aside from Croc, Ivy, Bane, Harley, Zsasz, Scarecrow, and Joker considering their referencing almost 40 villains as you progress through the asylum with special emphasis on Mr. Freeze and Clayface’s cells, but I guess that just means we’ll have to have a sequel to this spectacular gaming experience.

Ratings are based on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the best.

Graphics: 10.0: From little details like battle damage to your batsuit as the game progresses to the way your cape flows as you run across Arkham Island makes Batman: Arkham Asylum the most beautiful game I can remember seeing in a long time.

Audio: 10.0: Bringing back a lot of the original voice talent from Batman: The Animated Series brought back some great memories from my childhood as Mark Hamill and Kevin Conroy are the definition of the Joker and Batman. Along with a musical score worthy of a motion picture and the audio couldn’t help but bring a smile to my face.

Plot/Plot Development: 9.0: Although the plot was superb and the development of things kept you guessing at every turn, I dock a point because I’ve seen the “Batman trapped in Arkham” line before, just to a lesser degree. It has never been flushed out like this, but I had flashbacks at certain points of the game to the Knightfall storyline and a few episodes of the cartoon. It was still spectacular to see it portrayed like this though.

Gameplay: 9.5: Only a couple of minor glitches that I can remember if I accidentally swung around a corner too tightly or was forced into a corner by a crowd of thugs. These can be forgiven though considering how smooth the fighting engine is and there is no greater feeling than swooping down from a gargoyle and stringing up a thug as he screams for help.

Replay Value: 5.0: The Riddler collectibles are easy to find, especially as you go back after unlocking certain devices for your utility belt and the Challenge Mode isn’t very challenging so this is the only aspect I thought the game lacked in. Batman: Arkham Asylum is very much a one and done kind of game.

Overall (not an average): 9.5: Aside from the replay value, this game is spectacular in every aspect. It is my choice for the 2009 Game of the Year as of right now and I can’t stress enough that any video game fan, not just Batman fan, will probably fall in love with the awesomeness of this game. I would’ve liked more villains for a longer game also, but I’m just being picky.

Batman: Arkham Asylum is out now for PS3, Xbox 360, and PC.

-Ray Carsillo

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The Godfather of the Modern Comic Book Movie

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

Michael Uslan is hailed as the Godfather of the modern comic book movie and is probably, inadvertently, solely responsible for the path in life that I have taken (now Mom and Dad know who to blame).

He is the Executive Producer of every Batman movie, animated and live-action, since the 1989 classic starring Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson and directed by Tim Burton. He also executively produced Catwoman, Constantine, National Treasure, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, Swamp Thing, and is currently working on a Captain Marvel movie, a new Shadow movie with Sam Raimi, and, of course, Christopher Nolan’s third Batman movie.

He is also one of the foremost comic book experts around today and is the writer of September’s highly anticipated Archie #600 that begins a six-issue story arc where after 60 years the character will finally propose to Veronica.

The fact that someone so involved with the comic and movie industry was able to take some time out of his schedule for me meant that I was going to get my money’s worth. So below you can download the lengthy conversation I had with Michael as I picked his brain about everything from multi-pronged media campaigns for summer blockbusters to his thoughts on the recent death of the Dark Knight.


CLICK HERE – to listen to Part 1 of my interview with the Godfather of the modern comic book movie, Michael Uslan.


CLICK HERE – to listen to Part 2 of my interview with the Godfather of the modern comic book movie, Michael Uslan.


CLICK HERE – to listen to Part 3 of my interview with the Godfather of the modern comic book movie, Michael Uslan.

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The Real American Hero

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Originally Published: August 11, 2009, on 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com), Examiner.com, and Collider.com

Although we are still in the midst of summer, the summer blockbuster season is coming to an end and with it, my series of double reviews (to my editor’s relief). Still though, this final one was also one of my most anticipated double-features yet.

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra is another movie inspired by a Hasbro toy line and 80s cartoon series. Many of us were drawn in as small children by the catchy theme song, brightly colored vehicles, and enough lasers to put any pop concert to shame. The PSAs it inspired is still the stuff of spoof nowadays as those of us who grew up on the series can look back now and laugh at the shoddy animation and cheesy dialogue.

So how would it translate to the big screen? Would it be as much of a laugh now as the cartoons are? At least those have the nostalgia of our childhoods to protect them.

I will say this: as an action movie; G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra is top notch. Tons of explosions and non-stop fighting keep your attention for the entirety of the 1 hour and 58 minutes (Sienna Miller in hot leather spandex for 90% of the movie doesn’t hurt either).

Everyone cast in the movie gives a great performance and stays true to their characters’ personalities, which will make movie buffs and GI Joe fans alike pleased. Dennis Quaid does a spectacular job as General Hawk and Marlon Wayans is nowhere near being the weak link many suspected him to be in his performance as Ripcord. Ray Park was the perfect casting call for Snake Eyes and everyone else from Zartan to Destro to Scarlett were all top-notch.

The only casting problem I had was Brendan Fraser making a cameo as Sgt. Slaughter. He had three lines in the movie and was visible for no more than five minutes, all of them were frustrating because his presence stole attention away from other characters to see if he could live up to one of the more prolific characters in GI Joe history due to his wrestling origins. Of course, he failed, partially in my opinion because he didn’t give any of his famous one-liners like “At ease, disease!”

Aside from this, there were only two other problems I had with the movie. One was a minor detail, but would have made hardcore fans like myself beam with joy had it been included. The original GI Joe theme song was left out of the movie. It wasn’t even in the end credits. Considering the movie cost $175 million to make, you would think they could spare a little cash for an orchestra version of the classic cartoon theme.

The other detail was a major oversight and is what makes this great action movie only a so-so GI Joe movie. The movie takes a lot of liberties with the original GI Joe story and makes some changes in order to fit in the obligatory love story. Every character in the movie is related somehow. Baroness is Cobra Commander’s sister and is also Duke’s ex-fiancée. Baroness though is not really evil, but under mind control created by Dr. Mindbender who everyone confuses with Cobra Commander early on because they look exactly alike. By the end of the movie, you’re just shaking your head, as everyone had to be related to everyone else by some weak link.

If you take account of the fact that the movie killed off key characters who never die in the cartoons or the comics and you’re left questioning whether this movie deserves a sequel. I will say it does, but it had better have a different writing staff, that’s for sure.

In the end, this was a great action movie that held your attention the whole way through with great performances, but a really poor GI Joe movie. GI Joe fans have to see it to confirm their fears and non-GI Joe fans should see it if they’re tired of all the romantic comedies out there (or are trying to still get the lewd images from Bruno out of their minds).

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra gets a 3 out of 5.

Typically, video games based on summer movies do not do well, but Transformers 2 broke that trend earlier in the summer. I’m happy to say that G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra: The Video Game also breaks that trend and easily surpasses the movie.

Taking place immediately after the movie, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra: The Video Game begins with the Baroness being teleported out of GI Joe custody via Cobra’s newest weapon, the MASS device, a teleportation tool to increase troop movement across the globe.

Starting with Duke and Scarlett, you begin by searching for kidnapped teammates Heavy Duty and Ripcord as Breaker, Data Frame, and Dial-Tone try to unravel how the MASS device works back at the PIT (GI Joe’s base of operations) and how GI Joe can remove this military advantage from Cobra’s hands.

This game hit every right cord with this hardcore GI Joe geek. It felt like you were playing updated versions of the old-school NES games that were based on the cartoons. You’re able to play with two Joes at a time while selecting from a roster of 12 possible Joes, all with unique weapons and special abilities. You can switch between the two Joes at any time also as long as they do not get knocked out on the mission and this flexibility can help in creating some interesting strategies. You then march across four general terrains in 20 specific missions as you progress through a classic GI Joe storyline.

Although not the prettiest of games in differentiating the terrains, taking cover to take out HISS tanks or hopping in your own MOBAT tank to destroy Cobra watchtowers was a great feeling.

Add-in the more destruction you caused to Cobra facilities, the more you could fill up your accelerator suit bar, which basically rendered you invincible with tank-like firepower for about 15-20 seconds. The best part of this was during your invincible rampage, almost as classic as Mario’s superstar song, an orchestrated version of the original GI Joe theme played. This alone will endear this game to any and all GI Joe fans.

The only thing this game really lacked in was the gameplay. Even on the hardest difficulty it only took me about 10 hours to complete all 20 missions and unlock all characters. The auto-targeting system was also abysmal. If you storm a room full of Neo-Vipers and turrets, the system would lock onto the 2500 bonus points item in the far corner of the room. It’s not fun trying to avoid a hail of blue lasers and adjust your targeting system at the same time. Not to mention the inability to control the game camera making it easy for enemies to ambush you around blind corners adding an unnecessary level of difficulty.

If you can fight your way through the glitches, you’ll enjoy the storyline and the homage to the old school GI Joe cartoon and games. With tons of collectibles and unlockable characters, the addition of bosses like Firefly, enemies like the B.A.T.s (Battle Android Troopers), and another 20-30 NPC GI Joes that you interact with over the course of the game, this game is easily a must have for any GI Joe fanatic.


Ratings are based on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the best.

Graphics: 7.0: There is nothing special about the visuals. A third-person, arcade-style shooter set in very generic locations, the graphics will not blow you away. They won’t take away from the experience either, though.

Audio: 10.0: Original orchestrations for each level and the inclusion of the original GI Joe theme when you strap on the accelerator suit makes the music a definite strong point for this game. Add-in solid sound effects and just enough overacting from the voice talent (only Cobra Commander from the movie cast was also in the video game, which might be the reason why) to make this a very enjoyable auditory experience.

Plot/Plot Development: 9.0: An original plot more along the lines of the original cartoon and only loosely based on the movie script with Cobra acquiring a super weapon and GI Joe needs to save the day. None of the relationships established in the movie were referenced in the game, which made me very happy, and the introductions of all the characters were perfectly done. The only fault I found with the development was that it all seemed to come together too quickly at the end, like they had ran out of time. Other than that, this was classic GI Joe.


Gameplay: 4.0: This is where the game stumbles. A horrible camera system that never follows the characters as closely as it should, an even worse targeting system, and only about 10 hours of gameplay on the hardest difficulty keeps this game from being a superior product.

Replay Value: 8.0: A co-op mission mode, at least five collectibles per mission, and 14 unlockable characters will make you want to keep playing G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra: The Video Game for a good while. The only disappointment was a lack of a vs. mode, but considering the style of the game, it probably wouldn’t have been very good anyway.

Overall (not an average): 8.0: Any and every GI Joe fan will love this game because it gives you what you want on every level. You have the ability to switch between two Joes at a time on the fly, the original theme, a plot worthy of its namesake, and enough classic collectibles to keep you on the hunt for hours. Glitchy gameplay is really the only thing that keeps this from being an upper echelon game, but considering it is only $50 instead of $60 and hits every fiber of nostalgia in my being, this is a great game.

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra: The Video Game is available now for all systems.

And now you know…and knowing is half the battle (blue lasers and red lasers is the other half).

-Ray Carsillo

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Green Lantern’s Light!

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

Perfectly timed by DC Comics to coincide with the Blackest Night comic saga and news of Ryan Reynolds being cast as Hal Jordan for a live-action movie, Green Lantern: First Flight is the next installment in the DC Comics/Warner Bros. series of animated spectacles dealing with some of DC’s greatest heroes.

Christopher Meloni (Law and Order: SVU) as Hal Jordan, Michael Madsen (Reservoir Dogs) as Kilowog, and Victor Garber (Alias) as Sinestro headline an all-star voice cast brought together by Warner Bros. Animation veteran voice casting director Andrea Romano and directed by another WB vet, Lauren Montgomery.

Green Lantern: First Flight deals with how Hal Jordan, one of the most celebrated of the Green Lantern Corps and founding member of the Justice League, came into possession of the galaxy’s most powerful weapon, a Green Lantern ring. It also goes into depth with the beginnings of his relationship with Sinestro, once thought to be the greatest of all the Green Lanterns, and now Jordan’s greatest foe.

One of the movie’s greatest strengths also may have been its greatest flaw in that Jordan gets his ring within the first five minutes of the movie. Although it throws you right into the action with him having to prove himself against Sinestro, Boodikka, Tomar Re, and Kilowog (all major ranked officers in the Corps) before he gets shipped to Oa (the Green Lantern Universal Headquarters) for basic training, you don’t get a real sense of his relationship with Carol Ferris, his boss and main love interest in the comics, or his love of his job as a test pilot.

It isn’t a major gripe because as a movie watcher it helps hold your attention for the entire 77 minutes, but as a die-hard fan of the Green Lantern mythology, I wanted a little more depth. Not going into Hal’s relationships on Earth left him as a very one-dimensional character when he left for Oa five minutes into the movie.

Another major gripe was the death of Abin Sur, the Green Lantern who bestows his ring to Hal Jordan upon his death. Atrocius, one of the most dangerous criminals in the galaxy, killed Abin Sur in the comics. In the movie, Cuch, a two-bit henchman, killed him to help further the plot that Sinestro is going to betray the Green Lanterns.

This aspect of the storyline disappointed me because it goes against Sinestro’s character to work with anyone in any kind of a partnership. His ego prevents him from being anything but the alpha dog and having him cavort with space pirates in a conspiracy does not do the character justice.

Along with those gripes is the fact that many of the more infamous, non-Earth based Lanterns are killed off including Boodikka, whose character is completely trashed in the movie, and Tomar Re.

Aside from these inconsistencies from the original comic storylines, the movie is actually very good as a stand-alone tale. It establishes the yellow impurity against the green (although again, nothing like in the comics), turns Sinestro evil very early and shows that he is willing to go to any lengths to achieve his means of establishing his order throughout the galaxy, and shows the Lantern Corps’ early distrust of Hal Jordan before he saves them all.

Overall, the movie is solid and should be watched by any fan of the Justice League or the Green Lanterns, especially considering it is only $12.99 at most stores in regular DVD format. If you want to drop a few extra bucks, you can get the 2-disc special edition (like yours truly) and get an extra three hours of content along with a three and a half inch action figure with 14 points of articulation.

The extra DVD features were definitely worth it. From Geoff Johns, long-time Green Lantern writer, talking about the future of the franchise, the purpose of the movie, and the origins of the characters to episodes of Justice League Unlimited and Duck Dodgers featuring the Green Lanterns, the bonus features were just as good as the movie and make this a must purchase for Green Lantern fans.

My critical points aside, Green Lantern: First Flight is an interesting take on the Green Lantern/Hal Jordan origin story. Combined with some great voice acting from all those involved, this was a fun, action packed watch that can hold your attention the whole way through with great bonus DVD features.

Green Lantern: First Flight gets 3 out of 5.

-Ray Carsillo

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Crush on Hu

Filed under: Audio — Leave a comment

Originally Published: July 28, 2009, on 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com)

X-Men 2: X-Men United was easily one of the best comic book movies of all-time. It introduced some of the most memorable characters from the long-hallowed canon of the X-Men while still delivering a compelling plot. One of these infamous characters was Lady Deathstrike, played by the lovely Kelly Hu.

Kelly has a lot on her plate, though, besides appeasing her obsessive comic book fans (a group I begrudgingly admit that I fall into). As an accomplished actress and voice actress, with numerous TV and movie credits to her name, Kelly continues to build her comic book fan base as the new character Sha Shan Nguyen in the new Specatcular Spider-Man cartoon, which has new episodes airing every Monday at 7:30 PM on Disney XD.

But many of us geeks still idolize and think of her as Deathstrike. So, when Robin Lundberg and I had the chance to talk with Kelly, we both knew we were going to focus on the clawed femme fatale.

With that in mind, in honor of the passing of the recent San Diego ComicCon, Robin and I sat down with Kelly to ask her how she handles dealing with some of the more absurd individuals in the comic community (again, myself included) and how it is to play such an iconic character like Deathstrike.


CLICK HERE – to listen to Robin Lundberg and I interview the very lovely Kelly Hu.

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A New Prototype for the Superhero Genre

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Originally Published: June 25, 2009, on 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com), Lundberg.me, and Examiner.com

With super hero popularity at an all time high, one of the premiere super hero video game publishers, Activision, teamed up with DC and Wildstorm to create a brand new anti-hero and to put out a brand new game.

In Prototype, you fill the shoes of Dr. Alex Mercer after he wakes up on a morgue slab with amazing metamorphic abilities; the ability to change his body’s structure at the molecular level into almost anything he can think of. Along with enhanced speed, strength, leaping, and the ability to run straight up walls, Dr. Mercer must use his new found powers to piece together his lost memory and figure out the nature of a pandemic virus that turns those it infects into uncontrollable, zombie-like beasts.

Many people have already found out how good Prototype is considering it sold nearly 500,000 units combined for PS3 and Xbox 360 in its first week, but for those of you who haven’t and are looking for a solid action/adventure game, this is something you should probably consider picking up. The action is frenzied and there are always missions to complete and upgrades to collect. The experience reminded me of the Spider-Man 2 game from the last generation of consoles (also an Activision product), which was easily the best super hero movie/video game adaptation in a long time.

The bounty of powers and possibilities is obviously the biggest draw for this game. From making hammer-fists or blades come out of your arms, creating full body armor and developing limited flight, to absorbing your enemies into your body to regain heath, it’s hard to see how you couldn’t have fun with this on your quest to becoming the ultimate weapon.

The main drawback I felt for the game though was also the big draw; there might actually have been too many powers. All of those choices left a lot of room for experimentation, but usually you filtered out powers you never used and only used these powers during the missions in which you earn them. I never used the heat vision or the shield feature once you developed the full body armor; they were pointless.

Aside from the abundance of powers, there really wasn’t much to complain about with this game. Running up buildings could be difficult at times because it seemed Alex had trouble with any uneven surface; this glitch could be frustrating. But, when you have streets full of New York City residents screaming in terror as hive zombies emerge from infected buildings without any lag, it can be forgiven. Add in music that set the mood perfectly and your senses are kept constantly stimulated.

Unfortunately, again, aside from the powers, there isn’t anything that sets this apart from any other super hero game either. I was able to draw too many parallels to games that come before it. This prevented Prototype from feeling as if it was something truly special and original.

Although the game lacks multi-player, there are plenty of collectibles scattered around New York City and the opportunity to try and get gold medals on any and all challenges will keep you coming back for more. Plus, there aren’t many things I enjoy more in gaming than climbing to the top of a virtual Empire State Building and then flying off into the skyline.

Prototype is out now for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.

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

Graphics: 9.0: The graphics weren’t overly flashy, but being able to have an abundance of Non-Player Characters on screen at once and having some awesome live-action cut scenes when absorbing enemies make this a visual gem.

Audio: 8.5: There isn’t a theme song that will stick in your head or anything truly memorable, but the music does a fine job of setting the mood. The SFX are all solid and the voice acting is top-notch with voice-acting vets like Phil LaMarr or big screen talent like Barry Pepper lending their talents to the game.

Plot/Plot Development: 8.5: The story is a little predictable in most aspects, however, a surprise ending and the overall mystery to the game makes this a memorable plot more-than-worthy of the super hero genre.

Gameplay: 7.0: A minimum of general glitches in terms of lag, but the difficulty with running up curved walls, switching between powers in the middle of battle, and aerial attacks make the gameplay only on par with most games of this nature.

Replay Value: 6.0: A lack of a multiplayer mode hurts this game, but it still gets an okay score because there are plenty of collectibles and the chance to replay side-missions for higher scores.


Overall: 8.0 (not an average): The game really revolves around your powers and their development more than anything and this is a huge plus and downfall for the game at the same time. Even considering this dependency on your powers and not a great amount of originality, this game is still worthy of the super hero genre and deserves a look from any action/adventure fan.

-Ray Carsillo

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Who Ya Gonna Call?

Filed under: Audio — Leave a comment
April 19, 2010

Originally Published: June 8, 2009, for 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com) and Examiner.com

When trailers were leaked on Youtube about 18 months ago, I can still remember the cheers eminating around the office as I forwarded the link along.

Ghostbusters: The Video Game strikes a cord with fans young and old alike and looks like everything die-hards of the franchise have been waiting for since the end of the cartoon series.

Picking up about three years after the second movie, the Ghostbusters are revered like heroes, but the ever rising amount of paranormal activity leaves them looking to expand their ranks.

That’s where you come in. You’ll get your chance on June 16th (ironically, the 25th anniversary of the franchise) to strap on a proton pack and lace up your boots as the 5th Ghostbuster and learn the ropes as you battle the newest paranormal threat to NYC.

I had a chance to catch up with the man who played Dr. Egon Spengler, acclaimed writer, director, and actor, Harold Ramis, about the franchise lasting 25 years, doing voice over work for the new game, and if we will ever finally see a third Ghostbusters movie.


CLICK HERE – to listen to my interview with one of the original Ghostbusters, comedic genius Harold Ramis.

Also, be sure to check out my preview of the game with Josh Parker of Red Flag Studios who worked on the Ghostbusters video game.

Ray Carsillo: Ghostbusters: The Video Game Preview
Video by Jared Bodden

Look for my full review of Ghostbusters: The Video Game when it is released on June 16th, 2009.

-Ray Carsillo

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