Injustice: Gods among us review

I have never enjoyed a fighter game in my life. When people were going crazy for street fighter, I was focusing on Final Fantasy or Dragon Warrior. So, Fighters have never had a spot in my gaming library. I picked this game up on a lark,. and didn’t expect to enjoy the game at all. I expected to just tool around with it a bit and go back to playing Battlefield 4, however I found myself quickly hooked on this game!

It’s made by the same folks who did the Mortal Kombat games(And in fact has 1 MK character in it..Scorpion), so you know the game is polished. The graphics are absolutely incredible and will make your eyes melt with pleasure!

So, what’s so great about this game? Too much to list, but I will try to list a few! Most characters have several different costume options/skins, so you can wear a classic superman outfit, or superman from the current movie costume. You can wear a classic batman outfit, or his outfit from Arkham city, You can be Classic Green Arrow, or “The Hood”/Arrow from the series. There are a lot of costumes.

Also, the arenas are interactive, and will become damaged as you have your superbrawl. you can also interact with items around the arena. There’s not TOO many arenas, but enough to give you a variety of choices. I hope more arenas get released as DLC.

The best thing though, is the story mode. Now, I am not a big fan of fighters, so I am not sure if it’s common or not, but this game has a full featured campaign mode, which is basically cutscenes connecting to a pre-determined arena battle. It’s an enjoyable story as well, and I couldn’t stop playing.

Once the campaign is done, the funs not over though, since there are STARS Missions, Multiplayer Arenas and Single player arena battles(Which should just basically be practice for multiplayer mode).

Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited

Marvel comics has an online service called Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited. The idea is great, and in fact I used to subscribe to it. Basically, for one low price(Either monthly or yearly, choice is up to you) you get access to a boat-load of digital comics. Including in some cases, entire series of comics from start to finish. We aren’t talking a small selection here people, we are talking a giant comic book library!

 

As I said, the idea is great, and if it fits your needs, then it really is a great deal! I only have two complaints. The first being, that this service has been around for quite a while, yet they don’t offer any type of free trial. Sure, on occasion they will have a limited time promo code for a free month stuck somewhere, or a free month included in some marvel product(game/movie/book/), but there’s no “REAL” free trial, for people who want to subscribe.

While there aren’t any real free trials, there are many free readable comics, and all comics do have the option to “Sample”, so you aren’t really going into it blind. It won’t drive away customers who don’t buy what they can’t test, because there are those free issues, and sample. Still, it’s nice to offer subscribers a little incentive.

Another issue is, that the service can only be used on your computer/laptop. This to me is an inconvenience, since I really don’t like the idea of having to sit at my computer desk chair, slouched over a monitor just to read a comic. I simply won’t do it! Why can’t they have an Android app to read this? It makes sense! I would happily re-subscribe, if I could lean back in my recliner, or relax in bed with my tablet in hand, and read through some issues while relaxing! Almost like I had the comic book there with me!

Sure, Marvel does have an Android app, but it’s only for their digital comic purchases, it won’t work on their unlimited service, despite the fact that the 2 services work almost exactly the same! Which is great if you purchase comics digitally, I prefer buying the actual issue myself, since those have some chance of possibly gaining some kind of value if they are taken care of and treated well, where as a digital copy just won’t!

The service sadly won’t even run on a PS3 browser, so you can at least read from your couch. You are literally tied to your computer to enjoy the service, and normally that’s fine for most internet services. Most services are best used at your computer, however reading a comic book? I just don’t believe that’s the best way to read.

So, unfortunately I am going to pass on re-subscribing to this, however if for some reason it does fit your needs, and nothing I mentioned here bothers you, then you really should get this service then! Great price, huge comic library, and new comics added all the damn time!

 

Star Trek: Early Voyages – Final Issue

One of the most common things known about me, is that I read, collect and enjoy Comic books.In fact, my favorite comic company is Marvel Comics, though I am definitely not a Marvel Fanboy, as I also enjoy a number of titles from DC comics. I just tend to prefer Marvel, since their stories have just a little more realism to them. At least as much realism as you can have when you are producing stories about people in colorful tights swinging through Manhattan on spider webs. I am mentioning all of this here, because while my love for comics is pretty much common knowledge, I am not 100% sure if I have mentioned it here in my blog.

Another thing I enjoy is Sci-Fi. I am also one of those sci-fi geeks, who enjoy both star wars and star trek equally, and really don’t prefer one over the other, since I firmly believe they are both fantastic franchises in their own right.

All that being said, it’s now time to get down to the meat of this post.

I was digging around in my comic collection and came across a Star trek comic, which was produced by Marvel Comics. The series was titled “Star Trek: Early Voyages” and the only one I had, was the Special Final issue. I originally had picked it up, because to be honest, it was the first time I had seen the title, otherwise I would have gotten the whole series, but the other reason I picked it up, was because it was the final issue. I am a sucker for first issues and final issues.

Anyway, I flipped through the book, and looked at the back of the mag, where they say their farewells, and how great it’s been producing the comic, and how they hope you had as much reading them, as they did producing them. You know the routine.

Anyway, after their “Good-bye”, there was a little blurb. I will quote it here.

Attention to all subscribers of EARLY VOYAGES – after this issue, your subscription will be transferred to IRON MAN! Face it, True Believer – You’ve definitely hit the jackpot! If you already have a subscription to IRON MAN, it will be extended accordingly!

To that I say: Huh?!

How does that even make sense?! Where do I start? To begin with, how fucked up is that? If I were subscribing I would be seriously pissed off! To begin with, I think it’s a tad unfair that they willingly took your cash, then cancelled the stories you were interested in, but then to add insult to injury, they decide instead of returning your money prorated, they would just keep it, and pick out a comic themselves to send to you!

Hey, if they want to keep your cash, fine! At least give the subscribers a choice of what comic they want though! It’s their money! They should have a choice on what it goes for!

Speaking of choices? The whole “your subscription will be transferred to IRON MAN! Face it, True Believer – You’ve definitely hit the jackpot!” line? Just stupid! To begin with, they cancelled the comic that the subscriber was interested in! That’s what the subscriber wanted to read. If they wanted Iron Man, they would have subscribed to Iron Man to begin with! So, I ask you, how the hell is that hitting the jackpot? What it should say is “Face it subscriber – You definitely got screwed and didn’t even get taken to dinner first!”

That’s pretty much all the ranting I have regarding that.

Stargate comic art

If something is popular enough, one thing you can be certain of, is that a publisher will eventually turn it into a comic book, either an ongoing series, a comic adaptation, graphic novel or a Comic book mini-series event. This has been true for as far back as I recall. Everything from Star Trek to Robocop, From Indiana Jones to the Predator. Hell, even hit MMORPGs like Everquest and World of Warcraft ends up getting comics based on them.

Keeping in mind, that popularity usually equals comic book, it should come as no surprise that Stargate ended up with its own comic as well. I am talking about the movie, not the kick ass television series Stagate SG-1, though to be fair SG-1 did get its own comic as well.

That being said, the Stargate comic is an adaptation of the movie, and is done really well, at least in terms of writing, but considering it was an adaptation of a great movie, that’s not surprising. The art department though? While certainly not horrible, it does leave much to be desired. Especially in one particular panel, that shows Doctor Daniel Jackson, played by the ultra-creepy looking James Spader. I could describe it, but I think a picture would explain it much more clearly than words ever will.

While the above artwork, does manage to capture the sheer creepiness of Spader, I think they might have went overboard on the fingers. I mean, I don’t know Spader personally, so I can’t say with complete certainty that his fingers don’t look a thing like that, but I am pretty sure they don’t! Those fingers resemble long creepy alien fingers, not a human beings hand! It’s like, his fingers fell off, and his palm grew spider legs!

Walking Dead on AMC

Image by statelyenglishmanor via Flickr

I hope everyone had a wonderful, enjoyable and most importantly, a safe Halloween!

As for my Halloween? Nothing fancy, but it was enjoyable! I handed out Candy and watched a little TV. In fact, I watched the new series Walking Dead on AMC! Did you miss it? Shame on you!

It’s an excellent show, and I am not just saying that because I am a zombie junkie! It really is quite enjoyable! Granted, it’s only been on for one episode, but it’s still an incredible series, which happens to be based off of an incredible comic book series of the same name.

One thing I want to mention here; is that the series, so far anyway, has remained faithful to the comics, while still keeping things fresh and interesting. If you are a walking dead comic fan, a zombie fan, or even just a lover of horror in general, this is a series you don’t want to miss out on!

Sundays on AMC!

Related Articles

• The Walking Dead Premiere Sets New Ratings Record for AMC (filmjunk.com)
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Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions – Review

Image via Wikipedia

Marvel is my all time favorite Comic company. I also love most of the newer movies and games that have been released and based on Marvel properties. So, when I heard about the release of Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, that was going to give you the ability to play, not just one spider-man, but 4 different spider-men from 4 different established marvel realities. Unfortunately, Zombie Spider-Man wasn’t one of the characters.

In any event, I picked the game up for the PS3, because I wanted to try and build my trophy list on that system. What kind of differences are their between the games on different platforms? Couldn’t tell you, but this review will be regarding the PS3 version.

The first thing I noticed was that the cutscenes were boring. They weren’t very animated, and I suppose this was done to reflect the Comic book history of the characters, but to me it was just a humdrum experience. Other than the cutscenes however, the games graphics were beatiful! The cartoony look gave just the right tone to the game, and helped put me in the proper mind set for the game.

One thing I found disappointing was, how different it was from previous Spider-Man titles. It wasn’t the same style or gameplay that I have grown to love and expect from a spidey game. Instead of the world being free-roam and sandbox, it has become very linear, and is broken down into “Levels”. Each level requires you to play a different spider-man, and battle baddies in a different location within their universe.

Maybe the gameplay format isn’t a big deal, but it’s what I have grown to expect, and to be honest; I am not thrilled with linear level based gameplay anymore, unless it gives you some sort of freedom.

I sincerely hope, that this isn’t what we can expect from future Spider-man titles. I hope, that after this release they will return to the normal sandbox style of gameplay and leave the linear level based gameplay behind.

Related Articles

• Spider-Man Shattered Dimensions Web-Slings Into Retailers (cinemablend.com)
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New Television season

Image via Wikipedia

It’s time for old favorites to be returning to the moving picture box, that we affectionately call the T.V., not only that, but also time for new shows to grace our doorstep. The majority of the new shows in my opinion stink though. However, there are a few that show promise. Like, Raising Hope for instance. I wasn’t interested in the show when I first saw some ads for it, but when I actually watched the show, I was impressed with it.

One show however that I didn’t find amusing or impressive however was the new sitcom series “Outsourced”, which is based on a movie of the same name. Now, I didn’t like the movie at all, so it came as no surprise to me, when I rolled my eyes watching the series. I did kind of hope that the show would improve on certain aspects of the movie, instead it seemed like just a lot of rehashing of the same garbage that the movie tried to shovel down the viewers throats.

There were a few other shows released this year, but none of them I found really noteworthy.

Onto the returning favorites! First, Dexter returned this year, and as usual I was very excited about that, seeing as how it’s one of my favorite TV shows. When it came on, I sat in anticipation with a bag of ruffles in one hand, and a can of pepsi in the other. Bottom Line; The season premier was a slight disappointment, it was a tad boring, but that’s to be expected. The season has to get into full swing, and really after least seasons finale, it’s going to be really hard to top!

Another show that came back this year, was Smallville. Considering I am a major comic book geek, it’s probably not much of a surprise that this show is listed as one of my favorite shows right? The first thing, and probably the worst thing, is that this is going to be the final season of smallville, It’s going to be sad to see it go, although I honestly don’t see why it has to go anywhere. I mean, just end this season and go full on Superman! Costume, flight, everything. Let Smallville pass away and start up “Yet even MORE new adventures of Superman”. Tom Welling I doubt would refuse the role, because seriously, I doubt he can do anything else that isn’t Clark Kent related. It’s what he’s known for and people will continue to see Clark Kent, no matter what role he is doing.

There’s a lot more shows obviously out there, but I don’t have the time or space to comment on each and every one of them. Pick up your TV remote, and watch some! Then, if you feel so inclined, come back and let me know what you think of a certain show that’s airing this season.

Related Articles

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The Walking Dead TV series!

A new Television series is getting ready to come on the air. The TV show is called “The Walking Dead“, and as I am sure you were able to figure out, it is a show dealing with the zombie apocolypse! Not the zombie aspect of it mind you, but from the survivors perspective.

Now, if you are anything like me, then the title of this new series may sound familiar to you. Which it should, because it’s based on a Black & White comic book published by Image Comics, of the same name.

Personally, I loved the comic! It was one of my favorite comic book series. In fact, it ranked right up there with 100 bullets, Y: The last man, Preacher and Punisher. Yea, it’s just that good!

Enough about the comic though, the point is the new series! Now, the series is on AMC, which did come as a surprise to me, becase I honestly did not even know AMC made TV shows! Apprently however they do, and this new series is one of them.

So when is this show set to air? I will give you a clue. Sometime in the month of October. Right! You guessed it! Halloween, october 31st! Having it start on Halloween, considering the premise, is a great idea! Although, if you live in a house that get’s a lot of trick-or-teaters, then you might find yourself missing a lot as you get up and down to answer the door.

Will the show last and become a huge hit? Well, I really do hope so! However, I doubt it will last and/or become a TV hit. Why? Well, it’s on AMC! People don’t normally go scanning AMC for new Fall TV shows to watch! Perhaps though they should start? I know from now on AMC is getting checked by me for new shows!

Punisher Movie Roundup!

The Punisher! I would say he is my favorite Super-hero, but in all honesty, can he be considered a super-hero? If anything he is a criminal, even if his actions are what saves lives. By definition, he is a criminal, I would even go so far as to say he is a Serial Killer. So, since he can’t be really considered a super hero, all i can say he is one of my most favorite comic book characters. He ranks up there with Richard Fell, Yorick, Rick Grimes and Jesse Custer. Although The punisher fits closer to the “Super Hero” category than the comic characters I just mentioned.

There have also been several attempts to capture the greatness of the Punisher comics, and none of them were able to quite do it. There was always something missing. So, let’s take a look at past Punisher flicks, and point and laugh at them til they cry and pee their pants in the sandbox shall we? 🙂

The Punisher: The WORST punisher film ever released. I am surprised Marvel even allowed this. This is just a vigiliante movie. They stuck the title “The Punisher” on it to try and score with comic book fan boys. Frank Castle through out the movie never even wears the skull! Sure, he has a dagger that has a skull on it, but that’s nothing.

As if the skull thing wasn’t enough, they Changed his wifes name to Julie instead of Maria and instead of having a son and a daughter, he had 2 daughters. Whats the point of EITHER of these changes? Nothing! There’s more changes too. Instead of the family having a picnic and being gunned down by the mob and frank getting left for dead, the writers decided it would be cooler to have Franks family get blown up in a car bomb that was designed for him.

Lot of changes! If they named the main Character to Marc Walrus, I would never have known it was supposed to be the Punisher! It’s obvious to see why this movie flopped! Oh yea, and it had Dolph lundgren, so obviously it was destined for failure.

The Punisher: several years pass, the stench of the 1989 movie of the same name has lifted, movie companies decide “We have more technology now! We can create a more complex piece of cinema crap!” thus they proceeded to create The punisher! This movie too failed and was frowned on by most people actually. I mean, it turned out less crap than Dolphs version, but seriously guys, is that anything to brag about? That’s like saying “Look! My oozing crotch sore drips less puss than yours!”

So, what made the next incarnation of the Punisher suck? Well, for me it was because plotwise the movie borrowed WAY to much from the comics. I mean, esentially i was just reading the Garth Ennis run of my Punisher Comics all mished and mashed and mixxed together. Sadly I don’t believe there was enough originality to hold my interest. I will state though, that out of the three movie released, this is my favorite. That’s not saying much though.

Punisher War Zone: The newest Punisher movie outing. I had hopes for this movie. Three time’s the charm I muttered to myself. I sincerely believed this movie, would at least fall into the realm of tolerable. I was wrong.

To me, it was a hard choice to make. Was the ’89 punisher flick or this punisher flick the worst movie ever? It was difficult to decide. What did save this movie from being the worst, was at least it stayed true to the comics to a degree. Plus Ray Stevenson made a more realistic punisher than the previous actors.

So, WHY did the newest punisher flick suck? True to source material, Original content, someone that actually fits the bill of Frank Castle? Where did they go wrong? Oh yes! Wayne Knight was in it! Yea, that helped sink it! Also the movie was more boring than watching snot dribble out of the  nose of a sick old man.

—BONUS!!: The last two Punisher movies have inspired video games. “The Punisher Video game” was inspired by the second movie in these stinking bombs. It also has the voice of Thomas Jane….and is quite possibly the BEST video game ever produced! No shit? No SHIT!

Not to be outdone, The newest Punisher movie too has inspired a video game. This game is called “Punisher: No mercy” Which at the time of this writing looks like its going to be a piece of crap. I could however be wrong though. If I am, I will be the first to admit that I do indeed suck! 😀

The art of comics

I have said this time and time again. I enjoy Comic book. Does this make me a geek? Yes, it probably does. However that does NOT change the fact that I honestly believe Comics are an incredible source of art. Everything from the drawing, to the inking, to the stories! Each Comic book contains a plethora of pieces of art!

That being said, I must also admit that not everything you find in a comic book are top notch, in fact a lot of it can be laughable. Take for instance this epic and action packed moment:

No, this isn’t from a charlie brown comic, and no the people shown above aren’t doing some new dance craze, or a classic dance craze. n fact, this REALLY is an action packed scene! See, Punisher is escorting a woman through a building while enemies are in hot pursuit. If you look closely you can see a gun in the guys hand, so OBVIOUSLY it’s the punisher.

I know, lame! But you could also just keep on pretending it’s the punisher dancing the funky chicken. That’s a visual you don’t get every day. Keep in mind though, most comic book issues are ALL incredibly detailed. If you haven’t picked up a comic in awhile, you might want to stop by your local comic book store(Yea! Seriously! They have stores devoted to these things now a days!!) and pick yourself up a comic. Although keep in mind, most comics aren’t self contained stories anymore, they have usually 6 issue story arcs or so, that way they fit better into a graphic novel format so they can get the real bucks! 😀