Originally Published: March 29, 2011, on Youtube.com/RCars4885
I come to you once again with your weekly geek fix from my mother’s basement! This week’s episode sees me review X-Men #9 from Marvel and the downloadable Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime from Atari. My hot chick pick of the week is Nancy Patton and this week’s theme is Ray Parker Jr.’s Ghostbusters movie theme.
Originally Published: March 28, 2011, on Comicvine.com
It is one of the X-Men’s most persistent threats, mostly because it is a godlike entity that cannot be destroyed. The Phoenix Force has possessed nearly two-dozen characters over the X-Men’s history across several different universes. And it seems to have returned, at least in part, once again. This time in the form of the Mutant Messiah, Hope Summers.
It’s not a question of if the Phoenix Force will make its presence felt via Hope, but when as it has picked several moments to rear its head already. It had its big coming out party against Bastion in order to destroy that threat and save what was left of Utopia. And since then it has been seen deep in the green eyes of Hope as her temper flared some in a meeting with Cyclops in Generation Hope #5. But this is a creature that has the power to both create and destroy, so what exactly is the Phoenix’s agenda this time around and how will it once again affect the destiny of the X-Men?
The first question you really have to ponder is just how powerful the force that inhabits Hope is because this is not the entirety of the Phoenix force. Part of the Phoenix previously possessed the Stepford Cuckoos and in order to overcome it in the Phoenix Warsong mini-series, each Cuckoo turned their hearts to diamond in order to trap the essence. So is Hope harboring the remaining power, or like the Cuckoos, is this just a small fraction of it? And if it is just a small fraction, where is the rest? Could these “lights”, these new mutants the X-Men are now discovering, actually be harbingers of other remnants of the Phoenix force and why Hope feels so close to them? Is that why the “lights” powers’ are so chaotic at first and only Hope can bring their powers under control when she makes contact with them?
Let us assume though for a second that Hope is the embodiment of the remainder of the Phoenix Force. Is Hope simply the form the Phoenix Force chose to take in trying to reform itself? Could this be the reason why she looks SO much like Jean Grey, the form that the Phoenix is most accustomed to and why she flares up more often when Cyclops is around?
The Phoenix could also have just decided to possess a baby this time around and could be molding Hope as she ages into what she thinks she should look like, which would be Jean Grey. Maybe this was some cosmic sized attempt at understanding life by the Phoenix and so in order to do so was hoping to live a full human life. Unfortunately for her, she spent many of her formative years time-hopping with Cable. If that was the Phoenix’s plan, I guess that was a bust.
The most likely scenario for all this though is probably nothing as deep and this will all simply culminate as the fix to M-Day caused by the Scarlet Witch. The question that arises from this is how is it going to be implemented because it makes perfect sense for the Phoenix to be the reason why the mutant race would rise from the ashes. And only a primal force like the Phoenix could overcome the Scarlet Witch’s chaos magic.
Is every issue of Generation Hope going to be her locating new “lights” and bringing them under control? Saving the mutant race one soul at a time? That could work for a little while, but would become boring and tiresome at some point. I can’t see continuing like this for more than a couple dozen issues before we see some major event where either Hope will unleash her full potential and heal a great many “lights” all at once or sacrifice herself and in that noble act serve as the catalyst that once again jump starts the X-gene and saves the mutant race from extinction. And if Hope doesn’t make a noble sacrifice, but learns to control the Phoenix Force, could this be another way for some more recently deceased X-Men to return to the comic pages? No matter what happens, I’m going to be reading any comic that features Hope because she is clearly going to be the catalyst for some major changes happening in the ranks of the X-Men down the line.
Originally Published: March 24, 2011, on Comicvine.com
Nick Fury is one of the Marvel universe’s most important movers and shakers and his history is a long and storied one. World War II hero. Longest ever tenured director of SHIELD. Master manipulator of heroes and villains alike. But Nick Fury has never been the most dynamic of characters by his lonesome and is best known, especially nowadays, as working with a large group of people, whether leading a group of heroes or pulling strings behind the scenes in order to get to what he feels is best for the security of the world. So how could we make Nick the centerpiece of his own game while still playing to this strength?
The easy way out of an article like this would’ve been to just make this some World War II first-person shooter. But we’ve all seen that before and it’s not like Nick has some super powers to mix things up a bit. Plus, you move away from the group dynamic that I think Nick needs. No, this game would have to take place in the modern era and so I recommend featuring the Secret Warriors and making a hybrid game that combines RPG and gameplay elements from a game like Mass Effect 2 and action elements from a game like Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood.
The first problem we would need to consult is the plot and that Nick doesn’t typically leave one of his many secret bases unless it is a severe threat or he is meeting with someone in person (and even then it might just be a Life Model Decoy). Luckily, HYDRA and Leviathan have been pretty busy lately in the comics and keeping Nick active and so this could be our reason for him to have that more hands on approach.
I’ve never been good at coming up with a great conspiracy theory, but I’m sure Jonathan Hickman would be willing to lend a hand on fleshing out the plot since we’re using the characters he’s currently writing and could help come up with an original story since we know all the players who will be involved. We have the Secret Warriors, Leviathan, and HYDRA all mixing it up once again for the fate of the free world. Contessa and Baron von Strucker would have to make an appearance somewhere I’m sure.
Now to get back into the gameplay. Much like Mass Effect 2, we’ll have Nick take point of a three-person party with the other two party members being chosen from the Secret Warriors. What would be interesting about this dynamic is while Nick is taking headshots at HYDRA agents, depending on whom you chose from the team, you could have Quake stunning enemies with concentrated seismic tremors while Druid acts like a mage from a fantasy based RPG boosting powers or casting spells from a distance to help strike down the foes of freedom. I’m still not sure if we’ll have Phobos or Hellfire available since they’re technically dead at this point, but this would still give you five Secret Warriors for Fury to choose from as he hops around the world quelling threat after threat.
It wouldn’t be an RPG though if there wasn’t a leveling up system. I still might include a morality meter like in Mass Effect 2, at least for how the team reacts to Nick, but the traditional leveling up system will be very different. Sure, you can upgrade powers, health, and weapons depending on what character is leveling, but Nick Fury is known for having many pieces in motion at once on his worldwide chessboard. So instead of there being a shared XP system like in most RPGs and everyone leveling up rather evenly, team members who are not with Nick on certain missions can be assigned various secondary tasks, much like your assassin trainees in Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, and in only that way can they level up while you’re out performing your plot required duties. For example, if you always use Slingshot and Stonewall on your team, but then a mission comes up where Eden Fesi’s teleportation powers might prove interesting and you haven’t been sending him on secondary missions, he might not be able to pull his own weight on the plot’s primary mission you want to use him for.
Another aspect of Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood I want to incorporate is the parkour movement aspect. Many, if not all RPGs, can feel very stiff when it comes to movement. Nick Fury is a secret agent though in peak physical condition and has trained all the members of the Secret Warriors himself. So why not have it where you can pull the camera back a little and climb and sneak through various bases and scenarios with your teammates to give it that real espionage feel? Or even have sections where you can choose to have members of your team break off from the group. Have Slingshot race around to the side of a base and flank your enemies or provide a distraction while Nick climbs up and crawls through some ventilation ducts. These choices could really provide a deep strategy aspect to the game as you try to decide what teammates to bring and how to progress through a level.
Another staple of Nick Fury stories is that he has a lot of flashbacks so even though we don’t want to make it the focus, we could have a couple of World War II levels to set up certain missions where Nick teams up with Captain America, Bucky, and/or Wolverine. This could help draw people in with some more name recognition and provide some variety incase we only use the five remaining members of the Secret Warriors as team choices. Or maybe have a few levels where Nick’s agenda could go against those of the Avengers or other heroes to really put a twist on things as Nick and the Secret Warriors could face off against friends and allies.
Originally Published: March 22, 2011, on youtube.com/Rcars4885
I come to you once again with your weekly geek fix from my mother’s basement! This week’s episode sees me review Generation Hope #5 from Marvel and Dragon Age II for Xbox 360 from EA and Bioware. My hot chick pick of the week is Carol Zara from DigitallyBlonde.com and this week’s theme is the end credits theme from Dragon Age II, “I’m Not Calling You a Liar” by Florence + The Machine.
Originally Published: March 22, 2011, on Comicvine.com
Likely set in a possible alternate future where Professor Xavier has passed on and mutants are just as alienated as ever from their human counterparts, X-Men Destiny looks to revolve around the choices you will make as a new mutant and a new member of the famed superhero team.
Not much else had been released up to this point about the highly anticipated RPG from Activision and developer Silicon Knights aside from you will choose to be one of three new mutants who will be critical to the X-Men’s future and that the game will have a Fable or Bioware RPG feel to it as the choices you’ll make will greatly affect your fate.
Today though, new details and four new screenshots have been released confirming both Colossus and Gambit will be in the game along with information about the first mutant of the three you can choose from.
The first new character for X-Men Destiny is a 15-year old girl named Aimi Yoshida (not revealed if related to Sunfire in any way) whose bio reveals that she was smuggled out of Japan by her mutant parents before the entire family could be rounded up and incarcerated in the new mutant camps. Not a good sign for the future if there are mutant concentration camps. Anyway, Aimi arrives in San Francisco hidden on a tanker ship. She is too young and frightened to appreciate her parents’ motivations for sending her away, and instead feels only the bitterness and anger of abandonment.
She is described as small in size but strong in mental focus and that Aimi is the mutant ability expert. She specializes in efficient mutant power usage and her fighting style is very acrobatic and graceful.
This unfortunately leaves out what exactly her powers are or if there is an option of you being able to choose what your powers are at the beginning of the game. Maybe Aimi and the other characters are simply like choosing a particular class at the beginning of any other RPG. I’m sure more details will be revealed as we approach the loose Q4 2011 release date for this game. Let us know what you think of Aimi as a character and what you want to see in this X-Men RPG by commenting below!
-Ray Carsillo
Originally Published: March 22, 2011, on Comicvine.com
With their theatrical release date right around the corner and new movie posters being shown off, SEGA wanted to make sure we didn’t forget that they have corresponding video games coming out to go along with these summer blockbuster comic book movies.
Both Thor: God of Thunder and Captain America: Super Soldier will officially be available three days before their respective movies with Thor coming out May 3, 2011, and Captain America coming out July 19, 2011. Both games will also be available on Nintendo Wii, Nintendo 3DS, and in stereoscopic 3D for both the Xbox 360 and PS3. Speaking of the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions, let’s take a look at some of the new screenshots for both games.
Originally Published: March 15, 2011, on youtube.com/Rcars4885
I come to you once again with your weekly geek fix from my mother’s basement! This week’s episode sees me review two comics since I’m still working on Dragon Age II. Ghostbusters: Infestation #1 (of 2) and Venom #1 are reviewed. My hot chick pick of the week is Francine Dee and this week’s theme is the main theme from Separation Anxiety starring Venom and Spider-Man back for the SNES and Sega Genesis.
Originally Published: March 3, 2011, on Comicvine.com
It looks like the members of Uncanny X-Force have been shaken to their core after completing their first mission. Many are questioning their role and the moral implications in the killing of a child who was to grow up into one of their greatest villains, Apocalypse. So what does a team of some of the most badass mutants in the world do when the going gets tough? ROAD TRIP!
With this being pushed as The Year of the X-Men, Uncanny X-Force looks to be really thrown into the limelight, as they will be sent on a mission that will take them to Earth- 295. That’s right, X-Force may be done with their universe’s Apocalypse, but they may be seeing him, or at least some of his cronies, a little sooner than they thought in the Age of Apocalypse universe. But just why is X-Force leaving Earth-616? I doubt this is some kind of therapy session to validate the killing (for now) of their universe’s Apocalypse so they can get their heads back in the game.
For those of you who need a quick history lesson, back in 1995 Marvel introduced us to an alternate universe where Charles Xavier’s illegitimate son Legion traveled back in time to kill Magneto, which he thought would allow his dad’s dream of human/mutant equality come to light. Instead, he accidentally kills his dad and creates a branching universe where Magneto, in honor of his good friend, takes up his creed and becomes the fighting de facto leader of mutantkind. Seeing all this take place, Apocalypse, who doesn’t attack for another 10 years in the 616, feels that this is the perfect time to strike and basically conquers North America and lays waste to much of the rest of the world.
In Age of Apocalypse, we saw some radically different takes on classic X-Men characters. Some heroes were villains, like Dark Beast who found his way to the 616 and continues to haunt this universe’s X-Men. Some villains were heroes, like Sabretooth who was a member of the Age of Apocalypse’s X-Men. And some characters were just turned on their heads and we saw mirror images of them, like Nightcrawler who is much more violent and prone to offense than his 616 version and also hates churches, which is in direct contrast to the 616’s Nightcrawler who was very religious.
The first major milestone of this event is that even though mutants from Age of Apocalypse have traveled to the 616 (again, see Dark Beast), this marks the first time that mutants from the 616 will be heading to the Age of Apocalypse. This continues to beg the question though: why? Something to take note of is that in this teaser image, we see Archangel is not present.
“Archangel is not there for a reason, and it’s a reason you don’t expect,” said X-Force writer Rick Remender at the press conference Marvel had to talk about the future of the X-Men family of books. An obvious answer would be that the rest of X-Force fears Archangel not being able to handle possibly seeing Apocalypse again, in any iteration, or he himself fears it and doesn’t want to put any further strain on his special relationship with Psylocke. But if it’s something we don’t expect and since X-Force are the ones doing the time hopping, maybe they’re searching for something, or someone? Maybe to get some answers from some folks more accustomed to dealing with Apocalypse on a daily basis to get some help for their psychologically troubled metal winged friend?
Aside from this little rift in the team lineup, there will be two things that draw a lot of people’s attention from this arc. The first will be how this affects the current members of X-Force who are actually going and mutantkind possibly as a whole. We know nothing phases Fantomex and that he will do whatever necessary to get the job done, which if anything, makes him a character to keep an even closer eye on to see if his cool exterior finally cracks. But the characters we know that should have a reaction is the remainder of the team and it should be interesting to see how it plays out.
How will Wolverine react to seeing these different versions of Jean Grey, the love he could never obtain, Nightcrawler, one of his best friends, and be forced to maybe work alongside his greatest nemesis, Sabretooth, again (AoA Sabretooth is officially missing after his work with the Exiles, but this could bring him back)?
How will Psylocke react to possibly seeing herself? Although not part of the original Age of Apocalypse, she made her presence felt in the 2005 limited series and we learned she was similar to her 616 counterpart, but more ninja-like. I sense an awesome catfight waiting to happen there.
And finally, how will Deadpool react to his AoA counterpart, Dead Man Wade, a special assassin for Apocalypse in the AoA, actually being killed by AoA Nightcrawler? If the other characters meet their counterparts, it would be out of Deadpool’s character to not openly make a fuss in finding out what happened to his other self. Of course, seeing Deadpool as the most shaken of the group after killing the child Apocalypse and the revelation that he never cashed any of Archangel’s checks could be the base to start seeing a bit more mature Deadpool and a little less of the joking maniac we have become accustomed to so we may not see this touched upon as deeply as we would like.
The other big aspect is that Remender also talked about naturally expanding the X- Force roster and about Dark Beast being a major character again in this arc. Could he be the catalyst that propels our heroes to Earth-295? Could Dark Beast be the reason why Archangel is not present with the rest of X-Force or that the team will land in the AoA universe 10 years after the events of the 2005 limited series? Dark Beast could also be a perfect fit for the darker, seedier missions that X-Force usually has to take on so could he actually find himself as a new member of the team?
There are also a lot of characters that weren’t even mentioned. What characters from the AoA would you like to see be prominently featured in the new AoA arc and maybe even possibly join the X-Force roster? Comment below and weigh in on all these questions and let us know what you think! We’ll start to get our answers to what is shaping up to be a huge shake-up with Uncanny X-Force #11 in June.
Originally Published: February 27, 2011, on my StrongProtector account on GiantBomb.com
In high school and even later in college, my friends and I back in Jersey would head over to the mall arcade maybe once a week and feed a ton of quarters into our favorite machines. A couple guys would settle into the chair of a racer like Initial-D, but I would always head over to the Marvel vs Capcom 2 cabinet. This went on until I graduated college and the arcade, like many others in Jersey, closed down.
Fortunately for me, shortly after that, Capcom would give us Marvel vs Capcom junkies a downloadable version for current generation consoles. Instead of placating us though, all this ended up doing was feed the fires for myself and others like me who wanted another sequel to this beloved brawler. And now, after a decade of waiting, its finally here. But with so much hype and anticipation surrounding it, could Marvel vs Capcom 3: The Fate of Two Worlds live up to the lofty expectations of addicts like me?
The basic plot of the game is that Doctor Doom has tampered with his dark magic a bit too much and has discovered a parallel Earth populated by the characters of our favorite Capcom games (and a future Earth with Zero). Tempted with the thought of conquering multiple worlds, Doom teams up with not only the greatest threats of his Earth like Dormammu and M.O.D.O.K., but also with the greatest of the Capcom universe, Albert Wesker. Unfortunately, this wormhole into other dimensions has also stoked the hunger of the greatest nemesis anyone, hero or villain, has ever faced, the cosmic being Galactus. With a smorgasbord of planets to possibly quell his insatiable hunger, Galactus has begun his approach and now heroes and villains will have to unite to save all universes threatened by his cosmic power.
Right off the bat, this is probably the best plot of the series as it has more of traditional Marvel comics feel and you can credit veteran comic writer Frank Tieri for that. On top of the plot being heavily influenced by comics, the entire art direction of the game seems to be ripped from comics as well. Bright, stylized, cel-shaded graphics with beautifully drawn paneled cut scenes, much like a comic book page, has the game seem more like a fan service for loyal Marvelites out there. All you need is Stan Lee to yell “Excelsior!” before every match. Even the character select screen sees the chosen characters placed onto a graphic novel style tablet as you choose their assists before a battle.
The audio is also very strong as instead of each level having a set theme, now each character has their own theme and you’ll hear the theme of whomever you may be facing. From a more patriotic ballad for Captain America to the classic Bionic Commando and Street Fighter themes for when Spencer or Ryu jump on screen, the music is tremendous. It’s not the only part of the audio that shines though as the voice acting is also well done. With each character having specific taunts both in battle and after every victory depending on whom they’re facing, like Captain America yelling at Iron Man “That was for the Civil War!”, the audio is simply top notch all around for Marvel vs Capcom 3.
Marvel vs Capcom 3 isn’t perfect though. The standards of the series return such as three member tag-teams and huge hyper combos that can be done singly or with your team if you have enough power bars. But other diehards of the series might be a little put-off by the fact that the combat system has been simplified in many ways. Instead of having the standard six attack buttons like the old arcade cabinets (high punch, med punch, low punch, high kick, med kick, low kick), now there are only four comprised of a low, medium, high, and special attack that can be used to launch foes into the air. This offered me a lot of confusion when I first started playing the game and was trying to perform a low kick with Iron Man.
To help remedy this, there is a new missions mode reminiscent of some of the later Mortal Kombat games which serves as a chance for you to learn some basic combos and special moves to get the feel of the game if you wish. Each character has 10 missions and so this lets you either become well-rounded with many characters, or really specialize in two or three.
One positive to the new button layout is that it is much easier to switch characters in and out, call for assists, or perform your hyper combos as now each one of those maneuvers has been assigned their own button on the controllers. This does allow for more rookie fighters to jump right into it and level the playing field with more veterans, but there are plenty of new maneuvers that have been added to help separate the rookies from the veterans as well like the brand new team air combos and new reversal systems.
Another new aspect added is the “X-Factor” where by smashing the four attack buttons at the same time, you can increase the attack power and heal your active character. This new feature does give an interesting strategic twist, but again diehards of previous titles in the series probably won’t even remember to use it as it just feels so gimmicky and foreign to this series.
The biggest disappointment probably for the game is the lack of characters though, both old and new. There are only 36 characters total at launch, with more coming in DLC to sap you of more money. Sure new characters like Deadpool, Super-Skrull, Viewtiful Joe, and Amaterasu are great original additions to the series, but others are just rip-offs of characters who were removed or are still in the game. Haggar is just a Zangief rip-off with a steel pipe, X-23 replaces the “bone claw” version of Wolverine, and Zero is Mega Man with a sword.
I understand that Capcom wanted to streamline the 56 characters that were in Marvel vs Capcom 2, but to cut out 20 characters including a lot of fan favorites? Just to re-package them as DLC later? Of course fans will still buy it, but I think I speak for a lot of people when I say how disappointing that is. Cutting out half the roster when making a fighting game sequel is not usually the way to go because by pure definition that is not bigger nor better.
Despite all this, Marvel vs Capcom 3 is still a very good fighting game. Technically it is very sound and it is easy to pick up but hard to master with a great storyline that will make any and every Marvel fan squeal in delight. If you are a fan of the franchise, Marvel, Capcom, or just fighters in general, then this is a game you should add to your collection even if you’ll walk away feeling it is a bit more generic than you’d initially expect.
Ratings are based on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the best.
Graphics: 10.0: The visuals for MvC3 are absolutely tremendous done in a stylized cel-shading that really stresses the comic book feel that is persistent throughout the game as you are bombarded by bright and vibrant colors all day long.
Audio: 10.0: Redone classic video game themes for all the Capcom characters and fitting original themes for the Marvel characters is one of the great highlights of this game. Coupled with great voice acting from all those involved and the audio is as perfect as can be.
Plot/Plot Development: 4.0: Most fighting games truly lack a compelling plot, and MvC3 may have the most piss poor of them all. Never even properly explained, all you have to go on is a stylized opening sequence and a solid boss battle with Galactus to put together that Wesker and Doom have partnered together. Solid comic book plot, but it needed to be explained a lot better than it was.
Gameplay: 7.0: Many diehards will be irritated with the button changes and new features added, but at the end of the day, they work and will appeal to a mass audience. Too bad for this review, I’m representing the diehards.
Replay Value: 6.5: Like any good fighting game nowadays, the replay value really comes in the online play, especially since you can blow through the single player offline mode in a weekend if need be. Unfortunately, it may take you 20 minutes to find an opponent to play online and therefore make the online play moot because who wants to play three matches in an hour? So if you don’t have some friends to form a lobby with, then you might think twice about the worth of MvC3.
Overall (not an average): 8.0: MvC3 is a very solid fighter on a technical level, but fans of the series will be put off by the gimmicks added and the arcade style of play that is the true staple of this series. More bells and whistles are all well and good, but it felt like Capcom sold the soul of this game. So even with it being technically perfect, this game falls just short of being put into elite status in my mind.
Originally Published: February 1, 2011, on youtube.com/CGRUndertow
As a part of CGR Undertow, I reviewed Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 for the Xbox 360.
RayCarsilloWrites.com 