Tag Archive: comics


EGM Review: LEGO Batman 2: DC Superheroes

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July 8, 2012

You can call me…JOKER!

In my mind, the major issue holding the Lego videogame franchise back since its 2005 debut has been the strict guidelines to which the games adhere, since they’re all based on established properties. Mind you, they’re all terrific franchises: Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean, and soon, Lord of the Rings. But one game in the series that bucked that trend was the first Lego Batman. Though the Caped Crusader’s clearly an established property, the story didn’t limit itself to a comic book, cartoon, or movie story arc—and many of us celebrated that fact.

Flash forward four years after the release of the first Lego Batman, and developer Traveller’s Tales has decided to forgo their proven-successful mold once more with Lego Batman 2: DC Superheroes. Not only does this entry provide players with an original storyline, but it also marks several significant series firsts. Midlevel checkpoints might be one of the more noticeable changes, as the size and scale of each story level is several times larger than anything else seen to date in the Lego franchise. The game also includes a centralized hub world—in this case, Lego Gotham City—that connects players to many of the major plot points.

But let’s get to the biggest change: talking! For the first time ever, each character in the game actually speaks and doesn’t just mime their intentions or resort to physical humor to get a point across. Now, that’s not to say that the childish Lego slapstick’s been entirely done away with—there’s just a bit less of it. And DC Superheroes’ cast is more or less a Who’s Who of voice actors, with Nolan North, Rob Paulsen, Claudia Black, Tara Strong, Jennifer Hale, and many more—spearheaded by Clancy Brown, who reprises his DC Animated role of Lex Luthor.

But as always, it’s that classic Lego gameplay model of destroying and rebuilding everything in your path—and the kooky plot at the center of it all—that really makes DC Superheroes. And, of course, as our tale unfolds, the Joker’s back up to his old hijinks; he crashes the Gotham “Man of the Year” awards, demanding that he should be the recipient. Bruce Wayne, the actual winner, makes a quick costume change into Batman and proceeds to apprehend his longtime nemesis. But Lex Luthor, also in attendance, decides that working with the Joker to possibly help rig his upcoming presidential run could be just what he needs to change his address to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. And so, as soon as the Joker lands back in Arkham Asylum, Lex busts him out. A nefarious duo of such epic proportions might be too much for even Batman to handle, so the entire Justice League comes in to lend their support.

More so than any Lego game to date, this one should strike a chord with audiences of all ages. Older Batfans will appreciate several moments that pay homage to Adam West, Michael Keaton, and essentially every actor who’s worn the cape and cowl over the years, while younger players will love being able to break apart and rebuild an entirely interactive Gotham. And with the expanded roster of the Justice League at your command, exploring the same area with different characters can make DC Superheroes seem like a whole new adventure each time—not to mention that you’ll need to switch often if you want to find every secret red or golden block.

The expanded Gotham does provide some navigational problems, though. Although the game includes a map feature—and you can place markers that create a Fable-like trail in the ground comprised of Lego studs—the markers blend too easily into the background and can be confused with those you pick up as currency to unlock characters. And while there’s also a compass in the upper-left corner of your HUD when in the Gotham hub world, it’s difficult to really tell where you want to go, especially when soaring around in the Batwing or taking hairpin turns in the Batmobile—the compass spins around faster than the Flash on a straightaway!

Despite these occasional navigational issues, though, this is still the most complete experience you’re likely to get in a Lego game. Whether it’s taking to the air as Superman, making constructs as the Green Lantern, or just sticking to the main story as the Dark Knight and rocking out in his iconic vehicles, gamers of all ages should be able to appreciate what Lego Batman 2: DC Superheroes brings to the table.

SUMMARY: Easily the best Lego game yet, Lego Batman 2: DC Superheroes’ expansive world, original story, and bevy of unlockables should please fans of all ages.  

  • THE GOOD: Massive world, entertaining original story.
  • THE BAD: Easy to get lost in Lego Gotham.
  • THE UGLY: Aquaman. Aquaman is always the answer to this one.

SCORE: 9.5

Lego Batman 2: DC Superheros is available on Xbox 360, PS3, PC, Wii, DS, 3DS, and PS Vita. Primary version reviewed was for the Xbox 360. 

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The Pullbox – Issue #1.2

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After a lengthy hiatus, The Pullbox has returned! After careful thought, we have decided to bring it back in a way that hopefully improves it and also makes it more timely, for you, our faithful readers. Instead of picking a Top 5 every week, we will simply pick five books, still in the two Marvel, two DC, and one indie format, to give our thoughts on. This way we can warn you of what may not be a good book as well raise up those that are worthy. And so, without further ado, here is the beginnings of The Pullbox, Volume 2!

DC – Batman #10 – As ‘The Night of the Owls’ story arc begins to wind down, Batman still must tie up the last few loose ends that plagues his city. More specifically, the remaining members of The Court of Owls. Little does he know though that the menace that has tormented him over the past few nights of his life has roots as far reaching as his parents and his becoming Batman.

I understand that in order to try to modernize Batman within this ‘New 52’ that new villains have been created and small changes have been made along the way to Batman and his history and that as a whole, he has received the least amount of changes of many of DC’s classic heroes. But when you couple last week’s Batman Annual #1 that radically changed the origins of Mr. Freeze and now you create basically a main universe Owl Man that is related to Bruce Wayne and I’m just left shaking my head. The ‘New 52’ isn’t even a year old and it has already jumped the shark with most of its major characters and this is just another example of taking things too far. Much like Batman Annual #1, this issue started off fantastically and then took a nosedive off a cliff and has me worried for the future of The Dark Knight.

DC – Batman: Arkham Unhinged #3 – Delving deep into the stories that took place between Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City, this month’s issue re-examines the relationship between the Joker and Penguin and just where their now infamous feud started that would of course carry over into the game.

At first the idea of a continuing comic book monthly telling the untold stories within the Arkham City universe sounded tremendously appealing to me. But after reading this issue I came to realize there is nothing original about these stories at all really. These comic stories are based on a lot of the recordings that you collect in game revolving around various villains because I remember hearing this actual story being told in Nolan North’s over-the-top cockney accent from the game. As much as I enjoyed Arkham City, there is really no reason for me to waste my time reading stories I’ve already been told in comic book form. It just seems like another way for DC to try to capitalize on the Batman franchise as many of their other books struggle along. The only positive was the short scene where the Joker was in ‘human face’ in order to blend in with the public a bit before unceremoniously having it removed to reveal his true color and causing havoc in the Iceberg Lounge.

Marvel – The Incredible Hulk #9 – The Hulk has realized that whereas he used to occupy Banner’s body, the gamma bomb that was set off on Banner’s own Island of Doctor Moreau early in this recently re-launched series has turned the tables and now Banner occupies Hulk’s body instead. And Banner only emerges when Hulk calms down. And much like how Banner had no idea how he ended up in the various predicaments the Hulk used to get him in, Hulk is always surprised to find the surroundings Banner takes him to when he’s in control. This time, they end up at the bottom of the ocean.

For as much as DC has screwed up their universal relaunch, it seems that Marvel has gotten a lot of their individual relaunches right and that includes this monthly. Basically picking up right where the old series left off, The Incredible Hulk relaunch marked a different tone, different writers, and reset the numbering, but kept in line with the continuity and in this case found a way to turn the Hulk on his head for the third or fourth time in the past decade as a character and still kept him interesting. And he still smashes everything in sight. Everyone wins. This was another exciting issue that had a great beginning, middle, and end, but still left it open enough that we want to pick up the next issue as Hulk starts under the sea, and ends up in deep space. A terrific adventure as the Hulk continues to battle the enemy within makes The Incredible Hulk a monthly to definitely to keep an eye on.

Marvel – Deadpool #56 – The Merc with a Mouth continues trying to adjust to being without his healing factor and feels he needs to get his mojo back as years of relying on the healing factor has taken away his edge. So he calls on Taskmaster to help him. But Taskmaster obviously is someone who can’t be trusted and so Deadpool learns a hard lesson in dealing with the world now that he is powerless.

Even without his healing factor, Deadpool is still one of the funniest books out there as the inner dialogue with the voices in his head, and the rise of Paste Pot Pete as his new nemesis, is just great to see develop over the past couple of issues and continue here. The thing that I worry about is that it took 50 issues for Deadpool to change even slightly as a character and although still entertaining to read, now that he is without his healing factor and blowing himself up a lot less, the book seems to have lost something. So I hope that Marvel gets Deadpool out of this ‘finding himself’ funk sooner rather than later because this self-pitying ‘pool could get old fast.

 

Archie – Mega Man #14 – The anti-robot activist group known as The Emerald Spears has trapped dozens of robots in the convention center and its up to Mega Man and the rest of the robot masters to make sure that humans and robots alike make it out alive! Meanwhile, Dr. Wily is lost in the wilderness concocting his next scheme and getting ready to deploy his next group of robot villains.

I was worried a bit about this monthly because in only 12 issues, they blew through the first two Mega Man games basically. But introducing new enemies like The Emerald Spears to delay moving into Mega Man 3 really makes me think that this book could have a long and ongoing shelf life. And that thrills me to no end because this is possibly the best-written monthly video game inspired comic book we’ve ever seen. It gives a lot of great characters personality we didn’t know they had and delivers on the action that we grew up actually playing. And as new robots are introduced like Quake Woman in the last issue, you wonder if the comic book may lead to some new game inspirations down the line for the Blue Bomber. It may be because the Mega Man franchise has always been one of my personal favorite gaming properties, but I can’t get enough of this book. I love the tone, the character arcs, and the fact that a lot of the robot masters that Mega Man liberates return to Dr. Light’s care and add a lot of surprising depth as the roster grows as the stories move through the games. If you love Mega Man, then get on board with this book NOW.

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EGM Review: Batman: Arkham City—Harley Quinn’s Revenge

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June 2, 2012

Ever seen a clown cry?

SPOILER WARNING: If you haven’t finished Batman: Arkham City, major plot spoilers follow.

After the amazing ending of Batman: Arkham City, fans everywhere were left wondering just what would happen now in the dark, gritty, urban nightmare the boys at Rocksteady had cooked up—and had comic fanboys ranting and raving for months. Well, with the new Harley Quinn’s Revenge DLC, players will get a little more light shed on the endgame situation as they once again don the cape and cowl of the Caped Crusader.

Set several days after the end of the main game, Harley Quinn’s Revenge revolves around the Joker’s No. 1 girl looking for vengeance on the man she blames for slaughtering her poor ‘Mistah J’: the Batman. Using the GCPD as bait, Harley hunkers down in the Joker’s hideout from the main game—the Sionis Steel Mill—gives it a feminine flair, and dares Batman to rescue the Gotham pigs from the fryer. Things don’t quite go according to plan for the Dark Knight, though, and Harley manages to get the jump on Bats, leaving it up to Robin to rescue Batman, bring down Harley, and shut down the last villainous bastion of Arkham City once and for all.

Harley Quinn’s Revenge succeeds in doing a lot of things right, and fans of the main Arkham City campaign will immediately be able to jump right in. The DLC maintains the tone and pacing of the main game very well and gives everything a special Harley flair, as you see her thugs dressed in garb to match her traditional red-and-black playing-card jumpsuit; meanwhile, Harley gives herself a slight redesign by dyeing her hair black and donning a widow’s mourning veil.

The story also gives a bit of closure to Harley as a character. Though the DLC’s only two to three hours in length, it does a great job of providing her motivation—and possible future motivation—as well as confirming that the Joker, at least for now, has indeed passed on. It also gives an interesting look at how the Joker’s death is actually affecting Batman—and, in turn, the rest of the Bat-family, planting seeds for some interesting future plotlines.

Plus, Harley Quinn’s Revenge gives Batfans what they’ve wanted for a while—and that’s some gameplay with Robin. In fact, half the DLC sees you controlling the Boy Wonder, and he definitely feels much different than Batman. Aside from a different array of gadgets, Robin’s also a lot quicker than the Caped Crusader, but he also needs to land more hits to take down foes. His bo staff definitely helps even the odds when it comes to ranged attacks, and his bullet shield (which I’d like to think is a small homage to the Adam West/Burt Ward Bullet Shield) provides a novel aspect to working past armed thugs.

The biggest problem with this DLC, though—and it’s most evident when playing as Robin—is the lack of an option to go back out into the glorious open world which most of the main game took place in. The entire DLC is set in and around the Sionis Steel Mill, and you have almost no opportunities to go back and explore, making it feel very linear—and like a completely separate entity from Arkham City. I would’ve loved to have seen some objectives scattered about the city, just to see what Arkham looks like a week after the endgame chaos, but instead, you’re just moving through a small dungeon and typically have to go back over the same areas, as the story forces you to switch back and forth between Batman and Robin as the latter follows the former’s trail.

Still, Harley Quinn’s Revenge does a great job of bringing players back into the universe of Rocksteady’s Batman. The story and characters are just as compelling as before, the combat’s still amazingly tight, and the limited view of the world you get still looks and feels great. The only problem really lies within the linearity of the story, which makes you feel like you’ve taken a step backward and are playing a level from Arkham Asylum instead of Arkham City. Despite this, Batman fans of all shapes and sizes should get this DLC—and revel in Harley’s short time in the spotlight as the main villainess.

SUMMARY:  Harley Quinn’s Revenge is limited in scope compared to the main campaign, but fans of Arkham City should still jump at the chance to play this DLC, which adds two to three hours of original gameplay in Rocksteady’s gorgeously gothic world.

  • THE GOOD: Combat and story are just as tight as if they shipped with the main game.
  • THE BAD: Lacks the open-world feel of Arkham City.
  • THE UGLY: Harley dying her hair black while mourning.

SCORE: 9.0

Batman: Arkham City—Harley Quinn’s Revenge DLC is available on Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. Primary version reviewed was on Xbox 360.

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EGM Preview: The Amazing Spider-Man

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April 16, 2012

Catchin’ Thieves Just Like Flies

Since developer Beenox took over the Spider-Man franchise for Activision, they’ve put out a couple of great Spidey titles that gave fans of the wall-crawler hope for his future in video games. But now that they’re going to do a game based off of a movie instead of an original story, many are wondering if the developer will have enough wiggle room to produce the top-tier title fans have started to expect from them with the web-head.

After seeing a brief demo of The Amazing Spider-Man, I have hope renewed. Although the game will be released about a week before the movie actually hits theaters, the game takes place after the events of the movie and will feature Dr. Curt Connors (no word on if he’ll turn into the Lizard in the game), Gwen Stacy (basically confirming she won’t get killed off in the first movie), and our dear Peter Parker. Aside from them, exclusive to the game we also saw a very bestial looking Rhino (although we’re not allowed to go into much more detail than that).

Beyond the characters though, the thing that really jumped out at me was the look. Crisp, clean, and very cinematic, Beenox has taken their time to craft what is shaping up to be their most life-life Spidey yet in a fully realized Manhattan. And part of this was the camera angle, especially when web-slinging.

“The camera is more of an over-the-shoulder shot than a traditional third-person view and is much closer than in any previous Spider-Man game ever when web-swinging. It gives you this incredible connection to the character. This is extremely different from anything anyone has tried before in a Spider-Man game and, for me, this provides the most outstanding web-swinging experience ever because of that familiarity you quickly develop with Spidey from it,” said Dee Brown, Studio Head at Beenox when talking about the new cameras while swinging around Manhattan.

And speaking of getting around Manhattan, the movement was definitely one of the key aspects of the demo shown to us. One of my favorite sequences involved Spidey trying to get to the front of a high-speed car chase, using both his normal webs, and a new move called “Web Rush” where Spidey can stop in a moment and pick a specific point he wants to throw his web. The game engine then performs real-time computation to get Spidey to that point in the fastest, most acrobatic way possible. When Spidey got to the front of the chase, we were rewarded with him spinning a massive web that caught the entire getaway vehicle and left the robbers high and dry for the cops to clean up with a very distinct Spider-Man calling card.

The web rush ability was very cool to see, and it showed off how powerful Beenox’s new engine is, but my only concern is that there were a lot of yellow Spidey silhouettes showing where he could go and I hope that they will only be active during the mode or that those silhouettes were still early build markers as I could see that getting distracting very quickly in game.

Aside from the movement, we also saw some of Spidey’s new combat. Incorporating some of the stealth maneuvers Beenox had played around with in Shattered Dimensions with Spider-Man Noir, Beenox has it now so that in the indoor areas Spidey will traverse, he can either go in with web-shooters blazing or take the sneaky route and really strike some fear into the foes he will face.

Although the game is still a few months from release, again, what I saw gave me a lot of hope. Beenox knows they’ve set a pretty high bar to hit and know that being tied to a movie can both help and hurt them. But from what I saw, I think everyone is just going to really enjoy being Spider-Man again and I, for one, can’t wait to see the finished product.

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EGM Preview: LEGO Batman 2: DC Superheroes

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March 16, 2012

Where Does He Get Those Wonderful Toys?

We all kind of know what to expect from the LEGO series of games now, whether it’s Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Wars, or Harry Potter. But with one branch of the LEGO franchise, Telltale Games has decided to be a bit different this time around. Yes, LEGO Batman 2: DC Superheroes looks to be the biggest and best game in the LEGO universe yet and from the demo we saw at GDC, anyone who is fan of LEGOs will not want to miss out on this title.

It’s hard to know where to start with this one as there is so many new features added in that differentiates this game from all those that came before it, but we’ll begin with the story. In a plot that reminded me of the Adam West Batman, the Joker has crashed the Gotham Man of the Year Awards, angry that HE wasn’t this year’s recipient. Thought to have been locked away safely in Arkham Asylum (yeah right), Batman knows he must get to the bottom of it and realizes Joker had help. Lex Luthor busted Joker out for reasons still unknown and so Batman realizes he needs some help. Enter the Justice League.

Now we don’t know how deep the roster is for the JL, but knowing the LEGO series, I don’t see them pulling out any stops with this and so we can expect a lot more than just Green Lantern, Cyborg, and Superman, who were just a couple of the members we saw briefly in action during our demo. And Superman’s entrance was epic in how he drifted down from the sky set to his movie theme, much how a lot of LEGO Batman’s scenes have Danny Elfman’s classic 1989 score in the background as well.

The most stunning aspect of the demo though was the central HUB world. Instead of being restricted to the Batcave like in the first game, all of Gotham, including landmarks like Wayne Tower, Amusement Mile, and the Botanical Gardens, are fully realized in a LEGO 3D environment that you can explore by flying around with Superman or one of the other JL members or drive around in one of Batman’s preferred vehicles. This also leaves a lot of opportunity for teaming up as we special LEGO blocks that could only be picked up by Batman, but needed Superman to melt special gold grating first with his heat vision.

And Batman isn’t alone on the power front. Much like in the first game, him and Robin see brand new specialized suits appear for certain situations. We saw Batman’s Electricity Suit, which makes him immune to electricity and can power up machinery, his Sensor Suit that makes him invisible to security cameras and can let him see through walls, and his Power Suit that gives him rocket launchers and limited strength abilities. We also saw a pair of Robin suits where Robin channels shades of both Tim Drake and Dick Grayson in his Acrobat Suit, which includes a bo staff and the ability to do Prince of Persia style flips from poles and his Hazard Suit which allows him to put out fires and swim underwater.

We were also told that a few new additions were inspired from critiques of previous games on the fan forums. These include mid-level saves for the longer levels, split-screen for when playing in co-op mode to allow for more individual player freedom, and for the first time ever in a LEGO game, voice actors. Yes, finally all the heroes and villains of the DC LEGO-verse will speak. There was no reveal of who the particular voice actors were for each character, but it was hinted at that fans would not be disappointed.

Honestly, I went into this meeting at GDC and had my mind blown by the differences we saw between the first LEGO Batman and this new game and the idea of exploring LEGO Gotham had me a lot more excited than I thought it would. It made me feel like a kid again and I think that’s what has always been part of the appeal of the LEGO games and already with an early build, this game has succeeded on that front for me. Now it’s just a matter of trying to develop some patience before LEGO Batman 2: DC Superheroes’s Summer 2012 release.

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The Pullbox – Issue #23

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It’s been a crazy couple of weeks folks, but we are back. A slow week comic book wise and so we look at a pair of Indies and only one DC title as the New 52 really continues to just disappoint on almost every front that isn’t a Batman book. Marvel continues their strong push with a bunch of Avengers books including one we’ll be featuring today. So without further ado, here is this week’s Pullbox!

1) Marvel – Venom #13.4: Blackheart has all the cards and has done the unthinkable and brought hell to Earth, literally. Even Earth’s most magically attuned heroes like Doctor Strange and the Ghost Rider cannot hold back the onslaught and only Venom, Red Hulk, and X-23 can hope to turn the tides. But at what cost? 

This has been an interesting adventure for Venom, the new Ghost Rider, Red Hulk, and X-23, and the fact it has been coming out every week has given a sense of a bigger event than it really is. The best part of this though is the fact that Blackheart, one of the more nefarious and powerful villains in the Marvel universe has been given the spotlight for the first time in a while. And where there is Blackheart, you know Mephisto isn’t far behind. Obviously this is something you should pick up the first chapters to, but this issue’s ending leaves you on a cliffhanger that means the next issue could really shake things up for all the characters involved on a permanent basis.

2) Marvel – New Avengers #22: Norman Osborn’s plan to slander the Avengers continues and the team led by Luke Cage has had enough after Jessica and Squirrel Girl left the mansion with Luke’s newborn baby. And the team is finally ready to start listening to Spider-Man and Victoria Hand looks to be their target at how to get to the bottom of this.

The team finally decided to go after Victoria Hand after they realized she had to have been the one setting them up, but Hand comes up with a story that is almost too unbelievable to be false. So now the New Avengers have to figure out how to take down Osborn while also trying to keep a raging Luke Cage in control as Jessica Jones has left with no trace. The resolution in this issue was key to a lot of loose ends that had been opened in early parts of this story, but it almost seems like things may be coming to a head a bit too quickly. Whatever happens, the New Avengers are going to be shaken to their core and the more interesting secondary story that may be developing is Luke and Jessica’s relationship after the fallout of this event.

3) DC – Batman Beyond Unlimited #1: Terry McGinnis returns with a pair of adventures kicking off this new book. The first sees him investigating a nation wide migration by various Jokerz gangs to Gotham City. The second part sees Terry team up with the Justice League again to take on the terrorist group Kobra who may be working out of Cadmus Labs.

One of my biggest disappointments of the New 52 was the fact that Batman Beyond had been put on hold and so this has been one of my more anticipated new titles to come out in a while. The fact the book is also double wide and features two concurrent story lines makes it easily the best bang for your buck of the week most likely. With each story subtly re-introducing a lot of our favorite characters from the cartoon and last year’s monthly comic run, hopefully this is the beginning of a long and prosperous run for our favorite Batman from the future.

4) IDW – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Donatello (One-shot): Continuing the series of one-shots that look at each turtle individually, Donatello’s sees him attend a science fair incognito only to find out it is really a front for Baxter Stockman trying to draft scientific talent and now Donnie must save someone he once thought to be an internet rival while also escaping with his own shell in tact.

These one-shots from IDW are great ways to establish the turtles’ personalities for TMNT newcomers and this one continues the success started off with Raphael’s one-shot. Featuring a lot of fun action, great dialogue, and even a dig at Stan Lee and Marvel for the keener comic book fan, this one-shot is a must have whether you’re an old-school turtles fan or someone just starting out. It’s also a big plus for video game fans as we learn that Donnie is a big MMORPG fan and seeing him try to explain it to Leonardo to no avail is a great short scene in the book.

5) Image – PIGS #6: After finding out their inside man had failed at his assassination attempt, the sleeper agents realize they are going to have to get their hands dirty and break into the prison themselves and take out their target. It won’t be easy though as a neo-Nazi inmate is also the high-value target’s number one bodyguard.

We see another stunning form of the sleepers training as kids in a flashback in this book and it helps to explain the widening divide emerge between certain members. As loose ends are tied up by some members of the team, the others really work on the tension that is clearly there by the hesitancy of some members to go along with the more violent plans they wish to carry out. As plans continue to move forward, the big question that is looming is what will the pay off be for this series and these characters once the high value target is eliminated and what is going on in the global picture as hinted at in the first pair of issues in the series. I can’t wait to see the next issue to see just how the sleepers infiltrate the prison and if that long awaited pay off finally comes.

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EGM Review: Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 – PS VITA

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February 23, 2012

It’s déjà vu all over again

It was one of last year’s premiere fighting games and it is a franchise that arcade fighting fans absolutely can’t get enough of. So, much in the same vein of how the Nintendo 3DS had Super Street Fighter IV at their handheld system launch, Sony wanted to make sure they had a premiere fighting game to go along with their handheld on launch day as well.

That game, of course, is Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. But with a game already heralded as a superior fighting product that gave fans everything they wanted and then some, what could they possibly do with their port to the PS Vita? Nothing. Well, that’s not entirely true, but relatively speaking Capcom did very little with this latest version of the game that makes it stand out from its console brethren.

And this can be a good thing because why mess with something if isn’t broken? The game still has stunning visuals due to Vita’s processing power and the full 48-character roster of fighters remains completely in tact. The arcade, training, mission, and versus modes all return as nothing content wise was cut to facilitate the small size of the Vita’s cartridge. The voice acting and original music is still all there, the story cut scenes done in a style similar to comic book panels, the hyper combos, Galactus as the final boss, and even personalizing your online card is still present. All of the patches and balancing tweaks that console players had to wait for are all packaged in the game and because of it you still get one of the premiere fighting experiences of 2011 available to you.

The problem is that now it is 2012. And most people who were going to buy this game already have. And the major negative of making little to no changes with the game is now evident. If the audience has already been tapped, who is going to buy the exact same game twice?

Sure, it’s portable now and you can link up with friends to get in some quick versus matches. That’s a cool feature, but again, most people won’t have need of it really if they already bought the game unless they are so hardcore that this game is the center of their entire gaming universe and must have it with them AT ALL TIMES. But for the rest of us, what might sell us on this? Will a new touch screen system make us want to pick this game up? No. Especially since the touch screen is mostly pointless as it is crucial to actually see the screen when playing a fighting game to learn hit boxes, range, patterns, and other critical elements to victory and so you can’t have your fingers constantly getting in the way of that.

And speaking of fingers, it does become a bit harder to pull off a lot of the moves you’re accustomed to with the smaller joystick and buttons of the Vita. And the one thing the Vita version of Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 does lack isn’t a shortcoming with the game itself, but with the hardware as you only have two shoulder buttons to try to pull off moves that were originally mapped to four. This can lead to some unnecessary button mashing that changes the game play for the worse.

But, aside from that, if you should pick this game up again, you’ll get everything you would expect from the console version. And if you missed it the first time around on a console, then picking it up for the Vita will definitely be money well-spent. There just isn’t enough of a positive difference though between the console and Vita versions to warrant owning both in most cases.

SUMMARY: Still a stellar fighting game, but if you already have it on a console, there’s no point in picking it up again.

  • THE GOOD: Basically the same game as on consoles
  • THE BAD: Pointless touch controls, lack of shoulder buttons sacrifices move list
  • THE UGLY: Tiny buttons and joysticks make button mashing more difficult

SCORE: 8.0

Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is available on Xbox 360, PS3, and PS VITA. This review was based on the PS VITA version of the game.

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EGM Review: Gotham City Impostors

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February 14, 2012

I’m Batman…and so are you

Loosely based off DC Comics’ Detective Comics #867-870, Gotham City Impostors thrusts you into a Gotham gone mad where the majority of the populous has either taken up the mantle of Gotham’s Guardian, Batman, or the constant acid-dipped thorn in his side, the Joker, and you have decided to join in on the chaos. But, even if you’re not familiar with that story arc, you’re still likely to have a lot of fun as this online versus multiplayer shooter has had so much comic-book infused personality injected into it that it has the potential to become as addictive and as popular as games like Team Fortress.

Now many of you out there are probably wondering how guns and Batman would work, but Monolith brilliantly also inserted an “Initiation” mission that will allow you to not only get used to the smooth controls should you choose to play it (as well as it unlocks an achievement), but also explains why the Batz and Jokerz use the weapons that they do. Quite simply, Joe the Plumber doesn’t have the bank that Bruce Wayne has to use the moral high ground of non-lethal weapons. Whereas a PVC Pipe Rocket Launcher sounds a lot more pliable for Joe. And for those slow times when there may not be as many people online, the game also features a single-player Challenges mode that allows players to really hone their skills with their various weapons and tools before jumping right into the fray and for which they can earn extra experience to level up with.

The meat of the game though revolves around the online play. Much like any other online versus multiplayer out there, you gain experience for winning matches and performing a variety of kills out on the field and when you gain experience, you unlock new customization features, weapons, and accessories. Some of the best stuff can be a bit of a grind weapons-wise, but should you feel more inclined to drop some extra cash, you can perform some micro-transactions for different costume items should making your Batz or Jokerz look just the way you want be a priority as well. Same goes for your “Calling Card”, the custom image your foes see when you kill them along with a taunting one-liner. You can buy backgrounds inspired by the comic work of artists like Jim Lee or more cartoony versions of some already available backgrounds to truly bring your unique style to the game.

You can also customize a load out and this is where the game starts to differentiate itself really. You have an assortment of guns and pistols with Batman and Joker style ornaments, but the gadgets are unlike anything seen before in this genre. Glider kits allow you to hover after jumping off high points or ride up open ventilation shafts and then dive bomb onto unsuspecting foes and your grappling hook can have you racing across an entire level in no time if you get the right vantage point. Roller skates give you a huge speed boost and let you trick off ramps and spring boots give you twice as much jumping power.

All this flair and polish though can also be seen as a distraction from some of the game’s flaws. Although the levels are very well designed and offer some frantic action, there are only five of them and so it can get repetitive at times knowing you’ll end up at only one of five locations, even if they are some of Gotham’s most iconic in Ace Chemical, Amusement Mile, Crime Alley, Gotham Power, and The Docks.

There are also only three play modes once you go online. First, there is your standard Team Deathmatch with up to six people on a team. Then, there is a mode called Fumigation, which is basically like Capture the Point. You and your team must try to control three special gas emitters and the person who pollutes the atmosphere 100% with their special concoction first wins the match. The final mode is Psychological Warfare and is very much like Capture the Flag. You’re objective is to take a randomly spawned car battery and attached it to a bevy of speakers that will pump negative propaganda into the brains of your enemies. This will render them unable to use their weapons for 30 seconds and the team who can trigger the propaganda the most in a time-limit wins.

So, when you strip away the fancy gadgets and customization features, the game is your standard run-of-the-mill online versus multiplayer shooter, but it handles so well and looks good enough that if you are a fan of the genre then the Batman flair gives you just enough of a difference from the standard fare for these kinds of games to be enjoyable and worth going back to should Monolith continue to support it down the line with some new maps and modes.

SUMMARY: Gotham City Impostors looks and feels great and adds just enough personality to differentiate it from the crowd of similar online multiplayer games.

  • THE GOOD: Looks and feels great and is on par with most online versus shooter multiplayers out there
  • THE BAD: Lack of maps and modes can shorten the experience
  • THE UGLY: Fat guy in a little Joker-coat

SCORE: 8.0

Gotham City Impostors is available on Xbox 360 (XBLA) and PS3 (PSN). Primary version reviewed was on Xbox 360.

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The Pullbox – Issue #22

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Sorry to have missed last week folks, but after a crazy celebration over the New York Giants winning the Super Bowl followed up by a week in Vegas for the 15th annual DICE Awards and I think you all might understand why I couldn’t get around to doing a write-up last week, which is especially sad because it was a very good week for comics. But, the week of February 8th was a very good week as well, especially for Marvel, and so without further ado here is the Pullbox.

1) Marvel – Deadpool #50: Kicking off the first really big event for our favorite Merc with a Mouth, Deadpool #50 starts off the “DEAD” story arc where Deadpool’s obsession with Death has pushed him to the brink (even for him) and so now he is playing his own sick game of chess with X-Force, Daken, The Kingpin, and many others in the Marvel Universe in order to finally fulfill his death wish.

Deadpool has been continually one of the consistently best written Marvel books due to writer Daniel Way writing the entire series up to this point (almost unheard of nowadays) and just when you thought things were going to start drying up and go stale, he kicks off this arc, which looks to shake up what we think of Deadpool in every way imaginable and have us laughing the whole time while he is doing it. Even if remotely a Deadpool fan, pick up this issue as it surely is a sign of big things to come. Or the end of everything. Not really sure which.

2) Marvel – The Incredible Hulk #5: Hulk begins fighting his way through Banner’s island of misfit gamma irradiated animals while Banner deals with his very human enemies on the other side of the island while trying to bring his mad quest to be reunited with the Hulk to an end.

The most shocking thing about this issue was the surprisingly crisp banter between all the characters. And the irradiated monkey poop. Easily the funniest moment of the week because it literally came from nowhere. The best part of this issue though is we finally learn how Hulk and Banner were separated and it was done by none other than Dr. Doom. Once again able to do what no one else in the Marvel Universe could (as is the greatness that is Doom), everything of course comes with a price and so finally it looks as if we are going to get the explosive issue we have been waiting for as Hulk comes face to face with Banner and will likely result in their re-bonding and Doom will call in the favor he earned by separating the two originally.

3) DC – Batman and Robin #6: Robin finally shows his true colors and we find out that he has been playing both Batman and Nobody and Batman tends to be a bit more forgiving of these things, and that’s saying something. 

This story had been drawn out just enough as we learn both a key element of Batman’s past via flashback and Robin endears himself to the audience as we realize he is just a son looking for his father’s acceptance. And in the superhero world, taking down a super villain by yourself would be the logical way to do that I suppose if you’re a 10-year old boy. But Robin is clearly in over his head and that vulnerability all around for the first time from this character I think really keeps him from falling down the Jason Todd path of 25 years ago as fans were starting to get uneasy with the smart mouth brat that is Damian most of the time. It will be interesting how Batman comes in to save the day and it will be even more interesting to see where the book goes from here.

4) DC – The Penguin: Pain and Prejudice #5 (of 5): The Penguin can’t help but resort to his old ways and they finally catch up to him and everything he thought he might have had is once again forcibly ripped away from him. 

This book is great because it helps show off the tragic dimensions of a character like the Penguin as many of the snippets we get where he plays the villain to Batman’s hero play him off mostly one-dimensionally. This book is also a real throwback to how Batman moves and reacts to all the situations around him and panel sequences where he moves silently through the shadows taking down one thug at a time reminds us just how awesome he is in a book that is supposed to be all about the Penguin. A tragic end for this tragic character really drives the point of the mini-series home and was overall a very well written book. If you’re looking for a little more depth from the Penguin for whatever reason, then this is a great series to start with and is highly recommended for all Batman fans.

5) Archie – Mega Man #10: Mega Man’s budding rivalry with Quick Man comes to a head and we start to see the Blue Bomber go a little power mad again as he begins collecting all these new powers. Will Mega Man be able to continue his pursuit of Dr. Wily or will this constant pace finally get the best of him? 

I loved this book because it had a ton of action with more classic Mega Man 2 bosses as Mega Man hits both the halfway point of his boss battles and the halfway point of this story. We also learn a bit of history about the bosses as Flame Man reveals and confirms that he is indeed Fireman 2.0 basically and Quick Man talks about how he is a combination of Gutsman and Bombman. Of course, this pattern will continue for many issues to come hopefully as I can’t wait to see now how Mega Man deals with Airman and the other remaining bosses before dealing with Wily again himself. If you grew up on the Blue Bomber’s video games, there is absolutely no reason not to be reading and loving this monthly right now.

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The Pullbox – Issue #21

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DC’s New 52 is really starting to stall and this week wasn’t much better. In fact, there is only one title from DC I felt was worthy to talk about and since there was a very strong Indie push this week, we’re spotlighting two Indies and one DC title. Marvel maintained the course and was solid, but not spectacular in many ways this week. So, without further ado, here is this week’s pullbox!

1) IDW – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #6: A mysterious French parkour ninja is hunted down by the Foot Clan as the Turtles continue to recon this threat. Meanwhile, Baxter Stockman begins to pull out all the stops to help Old Hob catch the Turtles and Splinter and reveals a redesigned blast from the past that should make all TMNT fans jump for joy.

A lot of pieces begin to fall into place for the future of this monthly as the Foot Clan finally reveals itself to the Turtles, Casey Jones and April O’Neil meet for the first time, and Baxter Stockman unveils a new generation of Mousers that look to no longer be the jokes they once were for the Mean, Green, Fighting Machines. If you haven’t been picking up this monthly, now is the perfect time to jump on board because business looks like it is about to pick up.  Kevin Eastman continues to remind us what made the original Turtles great with this series as it balances great humor with superb action on a consistent basis.

2) Comix Tribe – SCAM #1 (of 5): A group of conmen with some extraordinary powers are set up in what was meant to be the heist of their lives. Forced to scatter to the winds after being betrayed by one of their own, they come back together for one more gig in the hopes of sticking it to the man who stuck it to them and still get that legendary heist they were all waiting for.

This comic has everything you want from a first issue and the premise feels like Ocean’s Eleven meets the X-Men as you have a bevy of con-artists with superpowers in Las Vegas. Great art tempered with action, thrills, and a brilliant set-up makes this everything you’d want for $3.99. And amazingly enough, it all comes from one man as Joe Mulvey makes his big debut in comics with a splash. If the rest of this series is anywhere as good as this first issue, Mulvey is going to be a writer/artist to watch in the future in the comics industry for sure.

3) DC – Green Lantern: New Guardians #5: Kyle Rayner and the rest of the lantern color spectrum representatives finally begin to explore the traveling solar system that has revealed itself and are shocked at what they find. Even more surprising though is the reaction the lanterns receive and a new enemy who looks to rise up and make his presence felt by the lantern representatives.

With all the power being wielded between these new lanterns you need a threat that is worthy of them, and a hostile, traveling star system, and its crazy guardian that lives within its sun is a good way to start, so I’m all for a new villain in this case. The big question now though is what will DC actually do with him. This could be when this series really starts to ramp up its action and we finally start to get some answers, but if DC really starts to drag this out, it could get stale fast. One thing is for sure though, this issue is definitely good enough to warrant picking up this month and next month at least to see what happens.

4) Marvel – X-Men Legacy #261: An old foe returns to harass Wolverine and his new school in Westchester as it seems the school has the biggest target in the universe painted on it as they can’t go a week without being threatened with their untimely demise. After harrowing another threat though, Wolverine realizes he may have accidentally shifted that target to Cyclops and Utopia and so now the school has its first official road trip to help out their former teammates.

So as you can tell by the cover, the old foe is of course Exodus and his tremendous psychic abilities always make him an Omega level threat to whomever he should target. The unexpected humor of this issue though was a pleasant surprise as finally after talking Exodus down from his attempted mind wipe of the entire school to force them to unite with Utopia, they then have to follow Exodus as he flies off towards San Francisco to attack Cyclops and his X-Men instead. My only problem with that is that it seems to be bringing the two teams together a bit too soon after they separated so this is a tenuous situation that Marvel needs to handle properly so as not to undo everything that has been done in recent months.

5) Marvel – Astonishing X-Men #46: Cyclops takes on the mantle of leader once again as he and his multi-verse team finally learn that the Savior is his universe’s Charles Xavier. With some interesting drama between Cyclops and the multi-verse Wolverine, all out action then breaks out as they begin their attack on Savior’s tower in the hopes of escaping back to their own realities. 

The action is really the highlight of this issue as it builds to an interesting conclusion as Savior uses the services of Storm and a few other X-Men that he employs in his service to try to hold Cyclops, Wolverine, Emma Frost, Nightcrawler, and Shadowcat back to continue to power his universe’s bio-force. If you haven’t been reading this comic, now might not be the time to jump in as it’s the middle of a very deep story arc, but this continues a great run that Astonishing X-Men has been on since its inception (minus a random gap between issues about a year ago).

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