EB Games Expo 2012

EB Games Expo 2012, what an amazing spectacle.

From the FMX stunt team, to the dancers, to the amazing amount of epic loot available and amazing presentations. I'm one sore reviewer.

The Sydney Olympic Park was packed at all time and game queues had many people waiting in excess of two hours just to get a taste of some of the amazing games heading out to a games store near you, soon.

The only thing I suggest for people next year is: get the Express pass. It's well worth the money.

EB Games really put on a fantastic show and the running of it was executed amazingly.

Also, props go to the Just Dance 4 dancers who danced for days and days and never showed any fatigue at all. Great work.

I personally would like to thank all the EB staff and helpers, game devs and publishers and media for making this the best show we have seen thus far.

What we played and how we felt:

BEST IN SHOW
Assassin's Creed 3:
Although the level we got to play was "more of the same old", the story and the game play seemed much better. The AI of the enemy is a little more forgiving and I can see this being a top seller for sure.

Injustice, Gods Among Us:
Simply amazing, this Mortal Kombat based DC fighting game was nothing short of amazing fun. Kicking ass as some of our fave DC heroes and villains was fantastic, the detail and graphics were amazing and the game play was button spam HEAVEN

Medal of Honor: War Fighter:
I have already stated my love for this game, and it was echoed by fans young and old as they raced around ganking each other in the multiplayer. I also got some time on the single player and for me, this is where this title really shines.

Skylanders: Giants: I was a little disappointed with this sequel as they didn't really add much to the game and it feels even more like a money sink hole than the first.

CoD: Black Ops 2:
More of the same? not exactly. Same game, new maps, better kill streak rewards. It was a lot of fun to play and even more fun to play with a bunch of other gamers. The game feels new and makes me wish I did actually pre-order it.

Metal Gear Rising Revengeance:
Blown away. This is the only way to describe the game play and feel of MGR:R. The AR mode we got to try just felt like a new IP, it did not feel like "much the same copy paste bored now" like some of the previous MGS games.

Zombie-U:
If ANYTHING would make me buy a Wii-U, it would be THIS GAME. Look for a review on why, soon.

WORST IN SHOW
Marvel The Avengers: Battle for Earth:
Kinect games always make me wonder why they bother at all, and this game is no different.  The sensor wasn't picking my movements up very well, the game play was chunky and slow and it felt like a turn based game. Not the exciting action we were hoping for. Nothing like the trailers.

Fable The Journey:
Please no, no more Kinect. Just say no. This was for sure one of the worst games of show. If you want a kinect game, go buy Star Wars Kinect, it is actually BETTER than this game has thus far shown.

The Wii-U: still not 100% sold on it as a console.

Superman Vs The Elite- Review

Should you watch this movie? Yes.
Is it the best animated movie DC has ever done? No.
Can the story be picked apart in the first ten minutes and the ending obvious? Not really.

Jumping right in, the animated movie starts with what I can only say is a throw back to psychadelic 70's feeling with art from the 40's era of the comics. Loud and explosive mono coloured I was at first wondering if the company DC used to package this movie up accidentally put the wrong Bluray in the case. We are so used to a modern credit roll of scenes from other animated series and movies, that this was a real shock to the system.

from here, the movie launches into a "pre-film" cartoon that was drawn like the old Roger Ramjet cartoons, that silly skinny legged big body style, making me think this was going to be a crap-tastic throw back movie where they try and do something they had not done before. Lucky they didn't, or this movie would have sucked worse than trying to hear Bane in TDKR.

The movie itself focuses on a group of super-powered humans from around the world, who have gotten together to "rights wrongs" and in the process, kill super bad guys outright. A no holds barred, screw anyone who gets in the way, collateral damage is acceptable type of story.

And really, it is amazing that DC pulled this off as a PG13 considering the side bad guy, Atomic Skull, starts the movie off by killing a whole heap of people.

The main "good guy" is a Brittish "super hero" named Manchester Black, a psychopathic killer who really from the get go has you thinking "something with this guy just isn't right", even though the writer had tried to mask it as best he could. Eventually when you find out what The Elite is up to, you already know.
Hearing him say "wanker" so many times and also Superman saying it once was also a bit of a shock, a word that used to be considered a swear word, being used as though it was some kind of comical catch phrase.

Louis is featured more heavily in this story, this time around, and she is not the Louis we all know, she is actually on The Elite's side and tells Superman that he is basically outdated for modern times, that he SHOULD take that one step over the line and kill bad guys so they can't escape over and over. Clark seems like he is losing hope with Earth as everyone starts to turn on him and call for him to take life, something he would NEVER do.

I won't spoil the ending, but I will say it is the one thing about this movie that will shock you, the way that the ending is done provides for a huge twitst. DC seemed to be trying to say something about how the world is at the moment, but the message is lost in translation.

All in all, the movie is entertaining, but not anywhere near as great as other animated movies featuring a full cast of the Justice League.

6/10 Red Capes

Also, thank you to Kings Comics in Sydney (AUST) http://www.kingscomics.com/ for the Bluray thanks to a competition they had run. They are an awesome store (and I'm saying this because they actually are) and they have a huge selection of comics and geek related items you should probably check out.

Joss Whedon, Marvel's Main Man?

Disney has released information stating that Joss Whedon is now contracted to The Avengers 2, the man who made The Avengers into a billion dollar box office smash had previously been non-commital on the rumours that he would direct and write the 2nd of the franchise during SDCC (San Diego Comic Con 2012).

Disney's Bob Iger announced that Whedon has been contracted in their Investors Confrence Call, much to the delight of Whedon fans everywhere. Also, it seems that the Marvel Universe TV live action show (ABC USA) will also have Joss on board.

Joss Whedon, best known for Firefly, Buffy: The Vampire Slayer and Angel, has proven time and again that he can do TV better than anyone and this should lead to amazing things with Marvel.
Also, the very idea that Joss has signed on to The Avengers 2 has this guys right here SQUIRMING in his seat, wanting it now, rather than later.

It's an exciting time to be a comic fan, especially Marvel.

NOW, if only we could get him on an X-Men movie.

Ten Reasons The Dark Knight Rises Was Mediocre (At Best)

10- The film felt like it could have been a 2 part movie and not a full film. Nothing like the story restarting an hour or so in.

It’s worked for other films, such as Harry Potter so there is no reason why they couldn’t do it here and potentially double the box office revenue.

9- If you can understand Bane’s voice through the mask one hundred percent of the time, you either have amazing hearing or started making up conversations in your head.

“Mr Wayne, would you like to come over for a barbeque? We have s-mores and your favourite imported beer.”

8- Teasing at the end that we finally see Robin and yet know that no more films will be made for years?

Especially Batman related films feels like a kick to the you-know-what.

Meanwhile, Marvel races ahead of DC in the movie war making one wonder if DC really care at all, or if they just want to make some money and are no longer interested in the long standing war against Marvel.

7- Bane starts a new revolution, however instead of carrying it through, he is going to blow up Gotham instead? Making himself just another terrorist and not actually enacting any new social movement AT ALL?

In fact, his actions would have made America MORE paranoid than ever. Good job, Nolan. You tried to say so much and it meant nothing at all.

(Stupid sexy Flanders)

6- Bane, what is that you’re wearing on your head? Why does it look like a pair of stretched rubber underpants with a breather mask attached?

5- Batman/Bruce Wayne was absent from the goings on of Gotham for eight years? Wayne would NEVER do such a thing. There will always be crime, and when there will always be crime, there will always be Batman. Anyone who reads/watches Batman knows that there is no way he would distance himself from the city whom he loves so dearly.

4- The film score was not the score we deserved. Recycle that score, boys. It will make it cheaper! Really, the same music (pretty much) again feels like Nolan just didn’t bother.

3-Tahlia Al Ghul states that Bats killed her father, who she hated, and thus she is in Gotham to enact revenge. Wait up crazy lady, you hated your father a whole lot, but have come to Gotham to AVENGE him?

Yeah, that makes about as much sense as LOST DID.

Come to think of it, I need to check the writers, I feel a “dead end story becomes not a dead end that is a dead end that’s not what you think yet is yet isn’t rollfaceonkeyboardhihowareyouimgoodthanksyouyeahgood” writing of lost through the movie.

2- Catwoman, not just another pretty face. Oh, never mind then. They put her in to be a love interest to Bruce/Bats but really, she just felt like the DC answer to Black Widow (The Avengers) only less cleavage.

Much less.  Depressingly less. Horridly less. Sorry Anne, Scarlet just blows you out of the pool.

1- This was not the hero we needed, nor was it the Hero we deserved. The Dark Knight Rises had so much hype that it felt like it was to be THE film that defined a generation, that no other film could even go NEAR, The Avengers already gets that title.

The Amazing Spider-man Movie Review

Peter Parker (Richard Garfield) and Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone)

Red and Blue, swinging through the streets of Manhattan. Heart and action balanced in almost perfect harmony with a little cheese and brilliant characters. Spine tingling action sequences and "woooo YEAH!" moments, this film was A LOT of fun.

The reboot of Spider-man and an origin story closer to the original comics was much better than I anticipated. A great mix of Stan Lee's original Spider-man and Michael Bendis' Ultimate Spider-man story lines. A lot of fans (myself included) were a little worried with the reboot idea, I have made a point of stating how much I disliked McGuire as Spider-man, but also I liked how Raimi portrayed Spider-man....Mostly.

The movie does balance out the amazing and fun action scenes and the small emotional character explanations rather well, the only real issue here is that Flash Thompson, Peter's "frenemy", goes from hating Parker, to being all buddy buddy with no explanation what so ever. Gwen Stacy was introduced well and they really showed Parker's adolescent awkwardness well.

The plot was rather predictable, but it was written much better than the Raimi Spider-man, I would almost say it was executed rather beautifully in all of the relationships of the characters, Parker getting his Spider-like abilities and even the hilariousness of Parker discovering how strong he is (I won't spoil it for you, but when you see it you will laugh like a mad person).

The Lizard is animated near perfectly and I'm happy they went with more of a humanoid lizard look, over the comics crocodile humanoid look. This could have had the "make or break" for the movie and it really did make the movie that much better. The only issue with the story of The Lizard is it felt like they dumbed it down for the audience, explaining The Lizard's nefarious plan when we all know what was going on from the start. I can't explain it without a spoiler, so I will leave it at that.

This is no mere re-telling of the story though, rather this is a refitted and upgraded version of what has come before and does not disappoint at all. Parker still has his camera but is not a photographer for the Daily Bugle, the red haired Mary-Jane has been traded in (upgraded IMHO) for the Smart and sexy Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone), the web-shooters are no longer genetic, but mechanical (thank goodness) and the new suit make over really worked well.

All in all a solid film that does not focus too much on action, Marvel really left the huge fight scene until the end of the film (just like all the other Marvel movies, really). No Bruce Campbell was a little sad, that guy should be in everything, however Martin Sheen (Ben Parker) and Denis Leary (Captain Stacy) really made up for that a little. Stan Lee' Cameo is fantastic and laugh out loud funny.

Stay until after the credits for a little surprise /winkyface.

I strongly suggest you go see this movie, it's not as good as The Avengers, but man is it a great film.

7.5/10 Spider bites

SPIDER-SENSE TINGLING!

The (Not So) Amazing Spider-man Game 


                                                       (Photo credit: theragingnerd.com)

Wow Activision (and Beenox, yeah I'm scowling at you Dee), you really did just copy (albeit badly) Rocksteady's Arkham Asylum and Arkham city games, huh. Two years in the making and you couldn't even deliver on your promise of "brand new, exceptional, fresh" you just used the same old 2004 game template, no kidding. The only new is "web rush" and it's not really that great anyway.


The game is set after the new movie rather than a tie-in and begins with a promotional video from Oscorp introducing Dr. Alistair Smythe, whom is Curt Connor's successor. In it, Smythe explains how the new face of Oscorp will be nano-bot technology, and that "Oscorp is a new company with the same name you trust."

And at this point I have a major jones, this is amazing, this is cool, this IS new. The first cut scene allows you to look around Oscorp's lab even though you are "on tracks", but later during the game you start to realize that it was one of the ONLY cut scenes that allows this and it's the same old game as always.

The combat is boring, it's the same as the 2004 Spider-man game, in fact, just play the 2004 Spider-man game, the graphics won't be as pretty but at least you won't feel ripped off.

Glitches? WE GOT GLITCHES!

Swinging through the streets, up and over a building, go to collect a comic cover and BAM. Stuck.

So far I have has an entire boss fight bug out, gotten stuck in scenery, had a room vanish to blackness in an indoors level, voices continue to clip after rescuing a sick person, had lag in the sound from a boss fight and had to reset my xbox because of in game "lag".

The game feels like it was rushed through to meet the release of the film

All in all, this is NOT the revolutionary video game Activision and Beenox made it out to be.
The combat is simple and boring, the Web Rush mechanic is not well used and it really does feel like a copy of the previous free-roaming games.


Maybe Activision should have just copied Mortal Kombat and made a Spider-man fighting game. That would be worth the $70....
This game obviously has no multilayer, single player only.
6/10 Spider-tracers, wait for it to go to the bargain bin in 4 weeks and get it at $20.

Top 5 Worst Super Flops

With so many great superhero movies coming out and The Avengers topping the charts, I thought we should explore some....Uhhh....Less than awesome movies.
Some movies that you would probably be embarrassed being seen purchasing at the counter of....Well, anywhere.
So in movie history, what have we learned? Don't ever pirate movies, because the authorities will be laughing at you while they lock you away if it's any of these five.............

5: The Green Lantern.

In a universe as vast as it is mysterious, a small but powerful force has existed for centuries. Protectors of horrible skin tight CGI uniforms, they are called the Green Lantern Corps. A brotherhood of cartoon faced badly rendered warriors sworn to keep intergalactic order, each Green Lantern wears a ring that grants him superpowers. But when a new enemy called Parallax threatens to destroy the balance of power in the Universe (eventually), their fate and the fate of Earth lie in the hands of their newest recruit, the first human ever selected: Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds). Hal is a gifted and cocky test pilot, but the Green Lanterns have little respect for humans, who have never harnessed the infinite powers of the ring before.

Chunky CGI effects, horrible villains and a call from most fans that Ryan Reynolds was "phoning it in". This film made $250,000,000 less than what was expected by the studio. Don't hold your breath for number two, this franchise was dead before it even had time to go anywhere.
The film was visually boring, the ads made it look like the GLC was in more than around ten minutes of the film and the human villain takes an hour to set up, and less than five minutes to kill off.





4: Spiderman 3

Your friendly neighborhood web-slinger is back, only this time, he's EMO. No really, this film was more like a "how not to" for film writers. Just don't. James Franco (green Goblin) was ALMOST a saving grace for the film, Sandman was seemingly impervious and Venom was the weedy kid from That 70's Show (Topher Grace.....)n. This was really just an emo fest. Spiderman was emo, Venom was WHINGY and emo, Green Goblin "waaaa you killed my father" emo.........UGH.










3: Spawn (1997)

One of the most popular independent comic books of it's era, Spawn, Was the mind child of Todd MaCfarlane. A pitty that this self insulgent, toy parade of a movie sucked so bad. It was far too bloody and adult for it's time and the special effects felt like a kid playing with a camcorder and some plasticine, only these kids were well paid and really bad at what they do. The movie had no real saving grace, at least "The Violator" didn't do what he did in the comics....No one wants to see that.


The whole thing is set around demons and evil, but really all it was is another "Darkman" ripoff. Todd dropped the ball and reaally should have held tighter direction on his flag ship comic book movie.

In sayiong that, I really hop Todd tries again, I think it would make from a fantastic break from the comedy of marvel and serious-but-not-too-serious DC comics.








2: Captain America (1992)
Transformed into a superhero during a secret World War II military experiment, Captain America (Matt Salinger) awakens from suspended animation forty years later to face his old enemy, the Nazi warrior Red Skull (Scott Paulin). Someone explain HOW Red Skull is Italian?With terrible special effects, a leading man with the charisma of a wall, a whole section of film shot in blue light like some cheesy 90's prono and more shield throwing than........I don't know, insert something here about a woodchuck chucking wood.
Not only was this a horrible film for it's time (no really, look at Tim Burton's BATMAN!!), it was alsdo terribly low budget.

The film got nothing short of no praise, little advertising and a whole lot of fans saying "WTF?!?!?!", and not in a good way. This is during the time when Marvel had NO idea at all what made a good superhero movie. and it REALLY shows. I decided to go get this movie to make sure I was being fair, as it was some time since I had seen it...Even the Spiderman 1978 "Strikes Back" movie was on par with this, and that was HORRIBLE. The one thing we can safely say now, thank GOODNESS Marvel has picked up their game.








1 Superman IV: The Quest for Peace

This is one of those movies that you see because it's part of a major franchise and the previous few movies have been between amazing and passable, and suffers from the inevitable "fourth movie curse". Any franchise that makes it to four, simply drowns itself, and TQfP does just that.

Superman (Christopher Reeve) tries to save the world from nuclear destruction at the hands of Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman). In a speech to the United Nations, Superman declares he will rid the world of all nuclear weapons. Arch-villain Luthor emerges from prison and creates an adversary known as Nuclear Man (Mark Pillow). The two engage in a fight to the death blah blah blah.
Not only were the studio who produced it tightwads, they also had NO IDEA what they were doing. You know what killed Reeve? not his disease......Ok, so it did, but if he died of old age, we would say HEART ACHE. The Superman we came to love that he played so very well, was forced into a ludicrous stumbling, ridiculous cartoon. Except live action. It was a hard toss up between this movie and the latest "Lex Luthor walks around for three hours carrying stuff and taking" movie..

Max Payne 3 Review.

Max Payne 3 has been nothing short of amazing. The very few shortfalls of the game are far out weighed by the other factors that really kept me playing.

I have tried other first person shooters for their story modes, but none has really captured me like this game has, most of them I either finish eventually only because online multiplayer servers for that game are down, or I don't finish the story mode at all.

I found a lot of FPS games focus on the multiplayer side, but don't do much to captivate you and pull you in to the story mode much if at all.

In saying that, Max Payne was never a multiplayer FPS to start with and was pur story driven, however more games should support a decent story instead of a focus on mindless blasting of other players.

It was a cold rainy day. I had a cup of hot joe and a mouth full of chocolate.

The story itself dragged me in and made me connect and care for Max, something that most other games these days don't seem to be able to do.

In addition to the attachment, is the gritty gum-shoe detective monologue and the emphases on words (some,  for no reason) when Max is talking, you would see a word flash on the screen and flicker a little, it made for a great experience (OOOOO SHINY!!)

STOP! Bullet Time

The mechanic known as bullet time was excellent in the main story mode, it provided a way to pick off many enemies with head shots and dodge bullets, shoot grenades out of the air as well as rockets and Molotov cocktails.

In the online multiplayer, however, it was more of a hindrance and takes a lot of getting used to, usually I would be killed while it was happening as my reaction time seemed to be laggy and could have been better perhaps if our internet speed in Australia was up to scratch with the USA.

Also, the multiplayer has a loot function that seemed to be a function that does not work well, loot an enemy, get shot by the next passer-by. Not the best mechanic in a shooter, it helps collect funds to unlock weapons.

I have a wager, you’re going to lose.

The wager system in multiplayer means that before a match starts, you can bet on a player to get the first kill, most corpses looted etc, I also found this to be a bit random. Sure you can wager on the guy with the highest kill streak from the last game to get the first kill, but anyone out of 16 players could get that first kill and you’re now out of pocket.

I have all the guns, but I have no ammunition.

Like most FPS games, you have a certain amount of ammunition that is replenished by dead opponents or picking up guns, in the story mode I found this a little frustrating, as when you go from one room to another (an action sequence for some rooms would involve opening a door and then being locked out of the previous room) and you would not have enough ammunition either from shooting people or not changing to a new gun. This would lead to entering a new room and having to try and melee a bad guy, the issue here is melee does not kill them initially and you would have to kick them while they are down over and over, meaning that the other guys in the room would just hammer and wail on you while you tried to get a new gun or extra ammunition.

All in all, a great game, the story mode draws you in and makes a great connection, the story is solid and does not have the usual plot holes, the twist at the end is somewhat expected in a way, but leaves you questioning it until it happens.

If you want a multiplayer online FPA, though, I would still suggest Call of Duty, as the multiplayer in Max Payne 3 is just a pain to get used to. RockStar have really stepped up here though and attempted something that may eventually become a great thing.

My rating: 7/10

Avengers: Battle for Earth

A number of things come to mind when I see any games studio or manufacturer release an online video for a new game and don’t show any game play, usually they come to me as listed below:

1 The video is pretty, what about the ACTUAL game though?

2 Please don’t let it suck

3 Please, please don’t let it suck

4 What consoles will it be available on?

5 What is the story based on?

Avengers: Battle for Earth provides one of these questions with an answer, apparently Wii-U, Xbox 360/kinect.

What throws me off at this stage is the fact that they state xbox 360/Kinnect, I hope it is not a Kinnect game, and instead has the option to use Kinnect.

Kinnect could be a decent way to play games, if only the games thus far brought out were not as buggy and slow to react as they currently are (see the Star Wars dance game fiasco).

Also, they show Spiderman, Wolverine, Venom, Magneto and Storm in the clip. Ok, so we know that it is the Marvel Universe and as such, we would see some other Marvel IP’s in the world/game, but are they playable?

Will I be able to swing through the streets as Spiderman? Claw my way up buildings with Wolverine? Fry the crap out of bad guys with Storm? Throw cars at good guys with Magneto? I have no opinion on the game until I see what they ACTUALLY intend to do, but one thing is certain.....The video is pretty.
 

I would love to see Marvel use the Skylanders system to create a Marvel Universe variant using figures of even Super Hero Squad, it would be great to see them do this, it would stick to the kid theme and should move units.

Market it just the same, you get a great painted figure of your fave characters AND the in game character to use.

Also, you could have it like the Lego: Batman game, where you can play as either Hero or Villain.

Oh the possibilities.

Also, a super smash brothers style game would be excellent, sure it would just be smash brothers, but with Marvel. I would buy it for sure.

Going forward with merchandise, limited edition X-Men xbox? Wolverine controller? I’d buy that. Hell, Imagine if th

rger figures Galactus, Sentinel Prime and the like?

 Amazing.

Al's Geek Dating Tips.

Blogging is cool, right? well I thought I would blog funny stupid crap, because that's kind of me, a little "left of the mark", so to speak.

ENJOY!!

OK, geeks....It's time to get off that brand new xbox you bought and get some action...

FIRSTLY- do not assume that your date will know all of your "1337 5p3ak" and slang. LOL, ROFL, ROFLMAO, LOLPWNED and the like should NOT be used.

Oh, and she does not CARE what planet Klingons, Romulans, Wookies, Ewoks and the like are from, however she may think your "James T Kirk" modified my little pony is cute.....

BE CLASSIC; Look her in the eye and say, "Let's go somewhere we can be alone." Resist the urge to use a French accent.

When removing her undergarments, don't say something stupid in a French accent like "au au au, i'm going to give you de French tickler" no matter the geeky urge you have to be funny....

BE ALL ABOUT HER: Give her the impression that you can't stop whatever you've been doing until she is satisfied (THIS MEANS NO WORLD OF WARCRAFT). Sure, you'll probably get off in the process, but assure her that she is going to have fun, too.

BE SICKENINGLY SWEET but not a DOUCHEBAG: "Want to come over and cuddle and a movie?" Note: This puts you at risk for just cuddling, so remember to slip the hand from her tummy to her boob.....trust me.

BE PLAYFUL: Smile and say, "I'll come over if you promise to make me bacon and eggs in the morning." This gives her the opportunity to say no to one part of the request--hopefully the bacon and eggs part or kick your ass and put it up on youtube.

When removing her bra, perhaps it's better for her to do it, lets face it...if you are reading this, you wont have ANY idea of what you are doing....unless you have worn one before....

YOU may find it amusing to put her black silky g-string on your head and pretend to be Darth Vader, however chances are she is going to A) think about how stupid you look, B) expect you to make "light sabre" sounds when putting on a condom and C) wonder if you are HUNG like a wookie, or just smell as BAD as a wookie...

Ahhh the final step, the "moment of truth", her vagina is NOT THE DEATH STAR, you make a tiefighter noise, and expect her to stay? that would be like rolling off to watch start trek, your screwed now....