Tag Archive: ray carsillo


Pullbox – Issue #4

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September 22, 2011

Summer may be almost over, but things are still hot in the comics world as DC’s New 52 is really coming out in full swing starting this week and so we’ll see a lot of “Number One’s” from them for the foreseeable future. Not to be outdone though, Marvel has some big issues of their own that came out and even the Indies are not standing idly by as there were a handful of really solid issues from Image, Dynamite, and IDW to be released as well, so there were some hard decisions that went into this week’s Top 5, which you can see below!

1) Marvel – New Avengers Annual #1: Some time ago, after the conclusion of the Civil War, former Avengers powerhouse Simon Williams, a.k.a. Wonder Man, warned the current Avengers roster that they needed to stop banding together as their actions were just as threatening to the universe as the threats they quelled. Feeling Simon was simply having an episode of sorts, they went about their business as usual as Simon fled to parts unknown to see if his warning would be heeded. It was not. Now in a story arc across annuals that is kicking off here, Simon has formed his own team of super-heroes and reformed villains and looks to bring it to the Avengers like never before. Honestly, the first thing that really gripped me about this comic was the art, especially the five double-spreads that start everything off since you just don’t see that in comics anymore. Very powerful stuff. And then when you hear Simon’s arguments, he sounds mad and delusion, much like a super-villain would, but at the same time makes awesome points, like the rational, prominent Marvel universe hero that he once was. Throw in amazing action sequences and this story arc is going to be something to look forward to in the coming weeks.

2) Marvel – Wolverine #15: We begin to see the aftermath of the Red Right Hand story arc that just concluded as Wolverine, unbeknownst to him, has just slaughtered several bastard children he never knew he sired after they were sent to kill him in the delicious irony that all of Wolverine’s children are out to kill him and he had to kill them instead. And he never even knew until it was too late so it was all in cold blood. Now, Wolverine is punishing himself by constantly climbing up a mountain, throwing himself off of it, healing, and repeating. A tremendous comic as you see Wolverine’s psyche truly break down at several moments and leaves us on this awesome cliffhanger that we just don’t know what Wolverine will do next or if he’ll be able to recover from this anytime soon as this series has amazingly continued to mentally dissect one of Marvel’s most popular heroes for the first time really all the way since issue one. A must pick up for all Wolverine fans.

3) DC – Swamp Thing #1: So far the DC New 52 has surprised me because a lot of comics I was expecting to disappoint me, wowed me, and others I thought that would impress me have been bleh at best. Swamp Thing #1 falls into the former as cameos by some of DC’s biggest superheroes highlight the internal struggle between the newly reborn Dr. Alec Holland and how he must try to cope with the actions he did while he was in the form of the Swamp Thing, all the while trying to avoid becoming a creature of the green once more. Much like the sprouting of a seed, the comic is defined by a lot of brown, bland tones in its first few pages, but as the comic progresses and more plantlife begins to be prominently featured, brilliants shades of green, purple, blue, and other bright colors pepper the pages telling a story as much through the subtly of the art as the word bubbles in each panel. With some interesting super-natural threats looming on the horizon, it should be interesting to see how nature’s greatest defender will evolve in future issues.

4) DC – Batman: Detective Comics #1: A comic book powerhouse for over 70 years, seeing Detective Comics reset to number one may have been the hardest for me to take as it typically featured many of my favorite Batman stories. Needing to pick it up, I was not surprised to see Bruce Wayne don the cowl once more as it was alluded to in the closing issues of what will likely be known as the first volume of Batman related comics. Batman is back to his old tricks of skipping dates, having Commissioner Gordon as his only friend in the police force, and chasing down the Joker, Detective Comics #1 does a great job of both giving you everything that makes a Batman comic great, which in and of itself is almost like paying homage to what came before it, and setting up a new villain to work with Joker (at least in this particular arc), continuing a theme started in the last run of expanding Batman’s Rogues Gallery. Dark, twisted, and seemingly going back to its roots, Detective Comics #1 is a solid way for Batman to kick-off the new 52.

5) Dynamite – Kato #12: If you’ve been following the new string of Green Hornet comics then you know that basically this is a new generation of Green Hornet with the original Kato’s daughter taking over and helping out the original Green Hornet’s son live up to the mantle of their crime fighting dads. This title though centers more around Kato and the enemies that she and the Green Hornet have quickly acquired. Although this is the middle issue of an arc, I chose it as my Indie pick of the week because a lot of the comic has Kato fighting for her life in a video game. Meant to tax her brain to the point where she becomes brain dead in the classic, the villain taunts way too much kind of way, Kato is able to overcome the machine’s programming and break out of the spell. Kato even admits to being an avid gamer and when you throw that in with the very provocative cover (those are buttons by the way) and well, what can I say? Hot Asian girl that likes to play video games. Me likey. And you’ll probably be surprised by how solidly written this comic is, too, so it’s definitely worth a look if you’ve got a few extra bucks.

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EGM Review: SkyDrift

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Just driftin’ away

The vehicle combat genre has hit a bit of a dry spell lately so what are fans of racing to the finish line while throwing rockets, bullets, and mines at their friends to do?. Luckily, there seems to be a game coming out that might be able to give them a temporary fix and for a lot less price than a retail game.

SkyDrift is a downloadable plane combat title that pits you against seven other planes as you soar through steep canyons, around frozen glaciers, and over pristine lagoons all over the world. As you win more races, some being your standard get through the finish line first after a couple of laps while others are more objective motivated, like surviving a series of timed cuts that eliminate the farthest behind player, you progress through seven progressively harder series. Along the way you can unlock up to eight different aircraft and four skins for each one to help give you some diversity in your aircraft and play style as the sharp controls help you bob and weave around enemy projectiles or environment hazards.

Unlike some more developed vehicle combat games though, there is really no story behind SkyDrift. It is simply an exercise in you getting behind some crosshairs and trying to blow some friends to kingdom come. So if you’re just looking for a release for your road rage, this might be a solid choice, but if you’re looking for something more in-depth and plot driven with some larger than life characters, then you should really look elsewhere. Also, even with the great weapon variety and solid controls, they can’t make up for the fact that sometimes the flight paths are muddled against generic textures and without a mini-map or compass you’re really kind of hung out to dry once in a while and may crash yourself more than your friends will shoot you down. This can lead to a lot of frustration in those really tight races if you’re still familiarizing yourself with certain courses.

Overall, if you’re looking for a really deep vehicle combat experience, this probably isn’t your best choice, but if you’re just looking to target a bunch of friends casually in your crosshairs before hitting them with a full arsenal of weaponry, then SkyDrift might be worth looking at with its $15 price tag. Especially considering it has nearly three-dozen courses and countless single-player and online versus modes including a Survival mode that clearly focuses more on the combat aspect than the racing one. SkyDrift is a solid, decently polished game that should be enough to stave off some vehicle combat cravings at least for a little while.

SUMMARY: SkyDrift is a fun game that could serve as a decent holdover for vehicle combat fans until something more involved comes along.

  • THE GOOD: Weapon variety and solid controls
  • THE BAD: Lack of a story and motivation through single-player campaign
  • THE UGLY: Unclear flight paths at times leading to bloody stains on canyon walls

SCORE: 6.5

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EGM Review: Crimson Alliance

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Hack ‘n’ Slash at its most mediocre

If you bought all five games in the Xbox Summer of Arcade this year, then you may already have an idea what Crimson Alliance is all about as this game was the promised bonus for purchasing all those downloadable titles. And after playing through this game, I see why it needed to be thrown in as a bonus.

The game follows the story of a mercenary, an assassin, and a wizard who upon happenstance see their paths cross. And once they do cross, well, their lives are never quite the same. So original, I know. The wizard, who is amnesiac, pleads to the mercenary and assassin to help him on a quest to return to his homeland. Both sensing some easy gold, agree. But once they reach what was supposed to be the glorious harbor city of Byzan, they see that it is smoldering in ruin and has seen the water recede permanently back into the ocean. The mercenary and assassin realize they’ve bitten off more than they can chew, but reluctantly agree to help the wizard get to the root of the problem and maybe jog his memory back up.

The magical powers and fighting in Crimson Alliance are reminiscent of the N64’s Gauntlet Legends, with it’s arcade hack ‘n’ slash feel and the wizard acting as your magic type, the merc as your tank, and the assassin as your long-range/speedster. All while various monsters, mercenaries, and the undead look to take you down across the game’s 11 levels. Each level also has a small horde of collectibles that can power-up your heroes or help reveal more of the game’s back-story. The controls and game play for the most part feel satisfying, even in their repetitive simplicity, and should please any veteran of the arcade who played these ceiling down RPGs in the past. Beyond this though, the game starts to fall flat.

The game tries to tempt you with further replays of the game and particular levels by incorporating a scoring system and awarding you medals and bonus gold depending on how well you do. There are also several challenge arenas where you’ll face off against waves of enemies in the hopes of bonus gold and rare weapons, armor, or shields. Unfortunately, with the generic story, repetitive game play, and the fact it should only take you one play through to find all the items, collectibles, and rack up a decent enough high score, unless you are set on getting platinum, once through should be enough for you.

A possible saving aspect to this abundance of mediocrity would be the game’s options to play with friends either locally or online in co-op, as well as the hint of competition in terms of the scoring system. But again the ball was dropped here as with four slots available and only three classes, it just seems weird to force players into mirror images if you can get a full band of players together and it just comes off as lazy to not have incorporated a fourth character in a type of game that always seems to have plentiful options for people. Another limiting factor here is the fact you have to pay extra to unlock all three characters as playable. If you only buy the game, once you choose your character class, you are locked into it unless you pay extra for the other two. This lack of options is probably the biggest knock against the replay-ability of the game since the experience really would only differ if you changed classes, and forcing players to pay for this option just seems very low end.

When all is said and done, Crimson Alliance is well-polished enough in terms of controls and game play, but is as generic an action/adventure RPG as they come as repetition, multiplayer restrictions, and poor story telling keep this game from being something special. If you got the game as the Summer of Arcade bonus, it was worth it, but I don’t see this as being worth its $15 price tag for all three characters, or $10 for one, and would suggest you look for another downloadable title until this maybe goes on sale.


SUMMARY: Crimson Alliance is well-polished enough in terms of controls and game play, but is as generic an action/adventure RPG as they come in almost every other aspect.

  • THE GOOD: Arcade hack ‘n’ slash action reminiscent of Gauntlet Legends
  • THE BAD:Nothing special to make it stand out above other games of the same genre
  • THE UGLY:Undead zombie priestesses out to consume your soul

SCORE: 6.0

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EGM – Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Multiplayer Interview with Infinity Ward’s Robert Bowling

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September 15, 2011

Originally Published: August 30, 2011, on EGMNOW.COM

I had a chance to sit down with Infinity Ward’s Creative Strategist Robert Bowling and talk a bit about the multiplayer strike packages for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. To check out my full interview with Robert, head to EGMNOW.com or check out EGMi on the iPad and look for Issue 251.5. And for new trailers and more videos from me and the rest of the EGM crew, be sure to check out EGMNOW on Youtube! Multiplayer trailer footage provided by Activision.

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The Pullbox – 9/6/11

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September 13, 2011

Originally Published: September 6, 2011, on EGMNOW.Com

Summer may be almost over, but things are still hot in the comics world as DC’s New 52 is really coming out in full swing starting this week and so we’ll see a lot of “Number One’s” from them for the foreseeable future. Not to be outdone though, Marvel has some big issues of their own that came out and even the Indies are not standing idly by as there were a handful of really solid issues from Image, Dynamite, and IDW to be released as well, so there were some hard decisions that went into this week’s Top 5, which you can see below!

1) Marvel – New Avengers Annual #1: Some time ago, after the conclusion of the Civil War, former Avengers powerhouse Simon Williams, a.k.a. Wonder Man, warned the current Avengers roster that they needed to stop banding together as their actions were just as threatening to the universe as the threats they quelled. Feeling Simon was simply having an episode of sorts, they went about their business as usual as Simon fled to parts unknown to see if his warning would be heeded. It was not. Now in a story arc across annuals that is kicking off here, Simon has formed his own team of super-heroes and reformed villains and looks to bring it to the Avengers like never before. Honestly, the first thing that really gripped me about this comic was the art, especially the five double-spreads that start everything off since you just don’t see that in comics anymore. Very powerful stuff. And then when you hear Simon’s arguments, he sounds mad and delusion, much like a super-villain would, but at the same time makes awesome points, like the rational, prominent Marvel universe hero that he once was. Throw in amazing action sequences and this story arc is going to be something to look forward to in the coming weeks.

2) Marvel – Wolverine #15: We begin to see the aftermath of the Red Right Hand story arc that just concluded as Wolverine, unbeknownst to him, has just slaughtered several bastard children he never knew he sired after they were sent to kill him in the delicious irony that all of Wolverine’s children are out to kill him and he had to kill them instead. And he never even knew until it was too late so it was all in cold blood. Now, Wolverine is punishing himself by constantly climbing up a mountain, throwing himself off of it, healing, and repeating. A tremendous comic as you see Wolverine’s psyche truly break down at several moments and leaves us on this awesome cliffhanger that we just don’t know what Wolverine will do next or if he’ll be able to recover from this anytime soon as this series has amazingly continued to mentally dissect one of Marvel’s most popular heroes for the first time really all the way since issue one. A must pick up for all Wolverine fans.

3) DC – Swamp Thing #1: So far the DC New 52 has surprised me because a lot of comics I was expecting to disappoint me, wowed me, and others I thought that would impress me have been bleh at best. Swamp Thing #1 falls into the former as cameos by some of DC’s biggest superheroes highlight the internal struggle between the newly reborn Dr. Alec Holland and how he must try to cope with the actions he did while he was in the form of the Swamp Thing, all the while trying to avoid becoming a creature of the green once more. Much like the sprouting of a seed, the comic is defined by a lot of brown, bland tones in its first few pages, but as the comic progresses and more plantlife begins to be prominently featured, brilliants shades of green, purple, blue, and other bright colors pepper the pages telling a story as much through the subtly of the art as the word bubbles in each panel. With some interesting super-natural threats looming on the horizon, it should be interesting to see how nature’s greatest defender will evolve in future issues.

4) DC – Batman: Detective Comics #1: A comic book powerhouse for over 70 years, seeing Detective Comics reset to number one may have been the hardest for me to take as it typically featured many of my favorite Batman stories. Needing to pick it up, I was not surprised to see Bruce Wayne don the cowl once more as it was alluded to in the closing issues of what will likely be known as the first volume of Batman related comics. Batman is back to his old tricks of skipping dates, having Commissioner Gordon as his only friend in the police force, and chasing down the Joker, Detective Comics #1 does a great job of both giving you everything that makes a Batman comic great, which in and of itself is almost like paying homage to what came before it, and setting up a new villain to work with Joker (at least in this particular arc), continuing a theme started in the last run of expanding Batman’s Rogues Gallery. Dark, twisted, and seemingly going back to its roots, Detective Comics #1 is a solid way for Batman to kick-off the new 52.

5) Dynamite – Kato #12: If you’ve been following the new string of Green Hornet comics then you know that basically this is a new generation of Green Hornet with the original Kato’s daughter taking over and helping out the original Green Hornet’s son live up to the mantle of their crime fighting dads. This title though centers more around Kato and the enemies that she and the Green Hornet have quickly acquired. Although this is the middle issue of an arc, I chose it as my Indie pick of the week because a lot of the comic has Kato fighting for her life in a video game. Meant to tax her brain to the point where she becomes brain dead in the classic, the villain taunts way too much kind of way, Kato is able to overcome the machine’s programming and break out of the spell. Kato even admits to being an avid gamer and when you throw that in with the very provocative cover (those are buttons by the way) and well, what can I say? Hot Asian girl that likes to play video games. Me likey. And you’ll probably be surprised by how solidly written this comic is, too, so it’s definitely worth a look if you’ve got a few extra bucks.

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Will Leaks Spoil ‘The Dark Knight Rises’?

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Originally Published: September 6, 2011, on EGMNOW.com

Same Bat-Time, Very Different Bat-Channel?

I remember the year or so leading up to the release of The Dark Knight. The cast had been revealed and immediately people, admittedly myself included, started to freak out that Heath Ledger would be the Joker (a role he’d win a posthumous Oscar for). The ‘Broke-bat Mountain’ jokes were numerous and very few of us had the faith that Christopher Nolan could catch lightning in a bottle twice as he did with Batman Begins. Then the movie was released and Ledger is now talked about in geek circles as possibly the best Joker ever (not by me, but he did do a great job). So when casting was announced for The Dark Knight Rises, people definitely raised on eyebrow, but Nolan and his crew had earned the respect of us from the previous movie to have faith in that they knew what they’re doing.

Now for the past several weeks, on an almost daily basis, a few clever people from Pittsburgh (I know how oxymoronic that sounds) have snuck in camera phones or flip cams to the set where The Dark Knight Rises is being filmed. As locked down as the set of The Dark Knight was, the set of The Dark Knight Rises seems to be as porous. We have confirmation of several tumbler Batmobiles, the Bat-Pod, a breakout from Blackgate, an invaded football stadium converted from the Steelers’ Heinz Field before the NFL pre-season began, a fight between Bane and Batman on the steps of City Hall, Catwoman riding out of City Hall on the Bat-Pod, a blooper of Anne Hathaway’s stunt double smashing an IMAX camera, a Batwing more reminiscent of a UFO, and there are still months of filming left if we are to believe the six month anticipated shooting schedule.

All this leads me to several questions. If Nolan was able to run such a tight ship with The Dark Knight, what has changed, if anything? Or is this all a ploy to throw detail hungry fanboys off the trail of the movie’s bigger picture and to help build up all the hype, much like the release of the first six minutes of the movie did at San Diego Comic Con before The Dark Knight? But even if this is some clever plot to keep us all distracted and away from whatever secrets Nolan is trying to protect, could these images actually do damage to the film instead?

Although Anne Hathaway looks phenomenal in her Catwoman outfit, there has already been fan outrage that she lacks Catwoman staples like a bullwhip and cat-ears. I’m not saying she has to be in bright purple spandex, but some small odes to the comic costumes would be a nice touch. And many are saying Bane looks absolutely abysmal, looking more like a common thug crossed with a young Hannibal Lecter than the mastermind behind the Knightfall comic book story arc of two decades ago. Could these quick to judge fan opinions from leaked footage and stills do anything to the powerhouse audiences this movie is sure to draw next July? Not likely, but if too much of the plot can be determined from this footage, you might start to see the comic community find less and less reason to go see this in theatres, or try harder to procure leaked scripts and film reels like with X-Men Origins: Wolverine a couple of years ago.

Then, of course, there is also the option that Nolan is purposely trying to bring people’s opinion of the movie down. When trying to aspire to great expectations like this movie is, it will be much harder to reach that brass ring with audiences than to surprise audiences who are expecting less. This may be part of the reason that Ledger’s Joker was so successful because many of us going in were filled with doubt about whether or not he could pull it off so that when he gave the performance he did, we immediately put his portrayal onto a previously unthinkable pedestal.

No matter what happens, I’m sure The Dark Knight Rises will draw a ton of bank, but it should be interesting to see how all this leaked footage affects people’s opinions before and after seeing the movie and whether or not it hurts or helps it in the end.

The Dark Knight Rises will hit movie theaters mid-July of 2012 and conclude Christopher Nolan’s celebrated (so far) trilogy of the Caped Crusader. What do you expect from this final movie? Are you disappointed by what members of Batman’s Rogues Gallery were featured? Should Nolan and Bale come back for a fourth? Sound off below!

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Pullbox #2 – 8/24/11

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Originally Published: August 24, 2011, on EGMNOW.com

With the DC Universe re-launch right around the corner, we saw a lot of concluding storylines and one-shots from DC, but Marvel has some re-launches of their own going on and other relatively new storylines dominating their line-up. With that in mind, here are my top five comics released on Wednesday, August 24th, 2011.

1) DC – Batman: Gates of Gotham #5 (of 5): With Batman being the least affected character by the upcoming universe re-launch, DC needed an arc that would help push Dick Grayson out of the role of the Dark Knight and allow Bruce to re-claim the mantle full-time. Gates of Gotham is an arc that helps do that. While still continuing the recent new villain push with the story’s main antagonist, the Architect, the ending also reveals Bruce’s return to Gotham after sowing the seeds of Batman, Inc. around the world. To make the transition back to Bruce a smooth one, this arc pushed Dick to his limits as a person and as a crime-fighter. This makes it easy to write that his confidence has been marred after the carnage caused by Architect and that Bruce recognizes that by Dick returning to his role as Nightwing, where he’ll have less pressure on him to perform and fill Bruce’s all encompassing shadow, he can re-find his groove. The idea seems to be positively embraced by most, if not all, fans of the Dark Knight. Now it’s just a matter of the new #1s to start rolling out. If you haven’t been following this mini-series, then you might want to wait for it to be collected before jumping on this issue, but if you followed it to this point, this concluding chapter will not disappoint.

2) DC – Superman Beyond #0: A one-shot that follows a future Superman set in the Batman Beyond universe, this interesting comic still finds a way to encompass everything the Man of Steel represents while giving him new and creative threats, and even more new and creative allies. Hoping to ride on the coat tails of the Batman Beyond series’ popularity, which has been put on hold for the time being for the DCU re-launch, Superman Beyond #0 is written by legend Tom DeFalco and drawn by one of his favorite partners in crime, Ron Frenz, who are both hoping that the one-shot will be popular enough to ensure a monthly spin-off once “The New 52” expands into something more like the “The New 75” later this year. Much like what happened with the original 100+ issues of Spider-Girl that spawned off after another one-shot they had done for Marvel back in the day. If you are a fan of either the Batman Beyond comic or the late 90s cartoon, this one-shot is something you’ll want to take a look at, whether it spawns a monthly or not.

3) Marvel – Uncanny X-Force #13 – Rick Remender continues his brilliant run on this young series as we look at Part 3 of “The Dark Angel Saga”. Wolverine and the rest of X-Force have traveled to the Age of Apocalypse universe to try to acquire a life-seed in order to save their universe’s Archangel. Things go wrong though when they are un-surprisingly betrayed by Dark Beast and must confront the new AoA Apocalypse, who is really that universe’s Wolverine. Although successful in acquiring a life-seed, it comes at a great price as AoA’s Nightcrawler is killed and AoA’s Jean Grey is captured before Wolverine and X-Force are thrown back into their universe. Wolverine has little time to grieve over old wounds that have been ripped open though as Archangel has been busy without Psylocke to keep his Death persona in check. Now, even the life-seed may not be enough to save their universe as Archangel has awoken Onslaught and with the aid of Dark Beast, Ozymandias, and the new Four Horsemen, looks to rise up as the new Apocalypse. Brilliantly written and chock full of action, Uncanny X-Force has been a rare series that does not disappoint month in and month out. Try to gather the first two issues of this arc if you can, but if not, definitely jump on now as the X-Men universe is likely never to be the same when this is done.

4) Marvel – The Ultimates #1 – Although not re-launching all their titles, Marvel did decide to re-launch their “Ultimate” universe with the recent announcement of the new Spider-Man Miles Morales and now a new The Ultimates, which follows that universe’s Avengers. Clearly a ploy to help capitalize on their movie franchises, people who had followed the original Ultimates will see clear similarities between those characters and those that will be seen in next summer’s blockbuster movie and have been already introduced on the big screen. For those who never got into the series the first time around, this could be an interesting new jumping off point though. This could irritate some comics’ fans just as much as excite them so the biggest reason why I’m recommending this is it’s polybagged because Stan Lee signed a handful as they went out into the circulation so its like buying a ticket in the comic book lottery if you buy one.

5) IDW – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 – After a long absence from the comic book scene, the four turtles in the half-shell have come back to their comic book roots with this stellar return to form by original co-creator Kevin Eastman writing it. Although in color and not black and white like the original 1984 comics, the TMNT definitely reek of nostalgia with this opening issue as it both begins to explain an updated origin story featuring Baxter Stockman, Casey Jones, and April O’Neil, sow seeds of their personalities including Raph’s rebellious nature, and features them all wearing the same red colored bandanas, just like the originals. Including alternate covers all featuring a different turtle so you can pick your favorite (I got mine in Donatello), this issue looks to kick off a triumphant return for the lean, green, fighting machines and is a must have for anyone who has ever been a fan of TMNT at some point in their lives.

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Pullbox #1 – 8/17/11

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Originally Published: August 17, 2011, on EGMNOW.com

With so much going on in the comics world right now, it’s hard to limit myself to just the five best, but if you’re reading on a budget, then this is the best place to come to for your comic book recommendations. Here are my top five comics released on Wednesday, August 17th, 2011.

1) Marvel – Venom #6: Rick Remender continues to wow us and remind us why between Uncanny X-Force and Venom he is one of the hottest writers in the comics industry right now. Continuing the events of the just launched “Spider-Island” event, Remender forwards the trend started by Nick Spencer’s Spider-Island: Cloak and Dagger #1 (of 3) last week in that the ancillary titles of this event may actually be better than the main story arc itself. Venom, a.k.a. Flash Thompson, is in for the fight of his life as a budding super-hero and will have his hands full with The Jackal’s number one mutated henchman, Tarantula. A startling revelation at the end makes you question Marvel’s continuity once again with the “Fear Itself” event still going on as well, but this is a sure-fire can’t miss otherwise.

 

2) Marvel – Avengers Academy #18 (Fear Itself Tie-In): The possessed Titania and Absorbing Man continue their relentless assault against the infinite Avengers Mansion. With the members of the Academy cut off from the real world, they are trapped in every sense of the word with these two powerhouse villains and are outmatched in every way power wise. Even in the most action packed of sequences, Avengers Academy writer Christos Gage does a terrific job of continuing to evolve the depth of character of this first Academy class and all it does is leave you wanting more so you can see how these kids can get out of crazy situation after crazy situation. If you haven’t been reading Avengers Academy, what is wrong with you?

 

3) DC – Batman #713: This landmark series will see it’s first re-launch in its 70+ year history next month and so this final issue carries a lot of weight with it. The DC Universe will be scaled back to only 52 books a month, including some new and old DC titles, starting in September. Never fear Bat-fans as 11 of them will revolve around the Bat-family. Although this issue isn’t anything particularly special, it could be worth something to a collector being the last issue of what will be known now as “Batman Vol. 1” as well as it serves as a great point for new fans because it sums up a lot of the Batman history to this point through the eyes of Damian, the new Robin and also Batman’s illegitimate son with Talia al’ Guhl.

 

4) DC – Batman: 1990s Retroactive (One-Shot): Continuing the series of one-shots that look back on DC’s history and that were done to help build up to next month’s universal re-launch, Batman: 1990s Retroactive pits the Dark Knight against a villain who gained a lot of his notoriety in the 90s due to Batman: The Animated Series, the Ventriloquist. Drawn in a style to invokes the memories of those great early 90s cartoons, this one-shot sees the Caped Crusader lured into a trap at the Gotham Museum of Natural History, but things go awry when a very unnatural visitor interrupts and the Dark Knight is left to with more opponents than even he might be able to handle! Throw in a classic mobster tale from the 90s Batman where even Gotham’s Guardian isn’t fast enough to save the day and you have a great 2-for-1 here as we get ready to launch the new DCU.

5) Dark Horse – Star Wars: Knight Errant: Deluge #1 (of 5):Starting a new 5-issue arc for wandering Jedi Kerra Holt, this is technically the sixth comic in the Knight Errant series. Our young Jedi Knight who has made protecting the downtrodden her own personal cause, returns to what was once her home world deep in the space controlled by Sith Lord Damian. Unbeknownst to young Kerra though, a threat just as dangerous as the Sith have decided to reveal themselves in the form of the galaxy known crime lords, the Hutts. In particular one called Zodoh, who has a propensity to technology including a jet pack that helps him get around and a weather manipulator that looks to spell trouble for Kerra. If you enjoy adventures set in the time of the Old Republic, then this tale, which takes place a millennia before the movies should be a fine arc to add to your expanded universe library starting with this issue.

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EGM Review: Rise of Nightmares

Filed under: EGM (Electronic Gaming Monthly) — Leave a comment

Originally Published: September 6, 2011, on EGMMAG.com

The Good: The first real “hardcore” game on the Kinect
The Bad: The lack of ever feeling in real danger, fatigue from playing too long
The Ugly: The macabre clockwork zombies you’ll face by the dozens

Rise of Nightmares is being touted as the first “hardcore” game for the Kinect as it focuses more on a single player narrative experience instead of the party or fitness games we’ve seen to date. You play as Josh, an American tourist on vacation in Romania, trying to put his marriage back together with his wife. While taking a train through the countryside, you and your wife get into another argument and she storms off towards the dining car. After some time, you pursue her, but when you finally catch up, the unimaginable is waiting for him. A Frankenstein like-monster has your wife in his arms and as you begin to give chase, the train derails and is flung into a river. When you come to, you and the other survivors come across a mansion in the woods and your instincts say that whatever that thing was, it took your wife here.

Rise of Nightmares may break ground as the first “hardcore” Kinect game, but I feel it is more limited by the technology than empowered by it. If you really want to set the mood and try to give yourself a scare by turning off the lights while playing, you can’t because then the Kinect can’t see you and you can’t progress so whether you like it or not, all the lights in the room have to stay on.

Then comes the combat. There are no guns in the game so you have to get up close and personal with nearly every foe you face. And while it does feel satisfying to punch a zombie out with brass knuckles, bash what’s left of their brains in with a lead pipe, or dismember them with a bloody chainsaw, because of all the movement that is involved with setting yourself up for the kill, the game’s A.I. is beyond simple to prevent frustration with the Kinect controls. In turn, this nullifies the fear factor because you never feel like your character is in any real danger most of the time when the zombies shuffle onto the screen. Many zombies will simply shamble right into the path of whatever weapon you are wielding and the larger challenge comes in keeping your real-life stamina up than in mowing down the constant stream of proverbial cannon fodder.

And this leads us to the fatigue factor. Although the movement and combat controls are simplified and picked up rather well for the most part once you get used to them, like shifting your shoulders to turn around, sticking one leg out to walk, and various quick time inspired events like ducking or climbing, you may become too tired to devote a long amount of time to the game per play session. I played for three hours the first time I put the disc in and didn’t realize till afterward that since movement is only controlled by one leg, that what became my pivot leg’s knee had locked up from putting my weight on it constantly for much of the game as I explored the castle grounds.

Despite what are really just minor annoyances though, the game is actually a solid experience overall. You could write off the “shambling” of the zombies to their uniquely written macabre clockwork origins, even if they aren’t that threatening, and the plot is engaging enough, with just enough cheesy B-horror movie voice acting, to make you want to push on with the story and find out the mysteries lurking in the castle. There are also some very satisfying moments sprinkled in like digging through a fresh cadaver or fishing through a blood filled toilet for items, or luring zombies into some of the mansion’s traps like giant rotating blades or electrified water. It’s just at the end of the day, although different from any other gaming experience I’ve ever had because of the Kinect controls, I can’t help but feel that I would have preferred having a traditional controller in my hand during a lot of it. Still, if you’re looking to get some more use out of your Kinect, this is a fine example of the potential for this device if developers turn themselves away from the cheesy party and exercise games and really focus on giving you a gaming experience.

Score: 7.0

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EGM Buzz: Halo 4 Warthog Easter Egg in Forza 4

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Originally Published: September 6, 2011, on EGMMAG.com

THE BUZZ: Turn 10, the developer for Microsoft’s Forza franchise, has teamed up with 343 Industries to provide a unique experience in Forza 4. A special Halo 4 Warthog Easter egg will be featured in Forza 4’s brand new Autovista mode, which allows gamers to get a detailed look at some of the game’s super cars, and will provide fans of both franchises a chance to get up close and personal with the iconic all-terrain vehicle like never before.

WHAT WE KNOW: Turn 10 head Dan Greenawalt made sure to point out that this was an Easter egg meaning only the most hardcore of Forza 4 drivers would likely have a shot at unlocking the Warthog in the Kinect compatible Autovista mode. And considering you can’t drive the vehicle in the game (it would get smoked off the line as its top speed is only 78 MPH, but I wonder if a Ferrari could out run the bullets from its mini-turret), only the mightiest of mechanics might even be interested in going for it. An extra special addition to the Warthog Easter egg will be Cortana providing never before heard commentary as you explore the inner and outer workings of the vehicle.

WHAT IT MEANS: It’s not unheard of for a company to cross-promote with exclusive franchises, but I think it is actually a plus that the Warthog is not a drivable vehicle because when you cross promote too much, you might turn off the audience that is only interested in the primary franchise, in this case Forza 4, to begin with.

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