What can I say besides PAX Prime 2011 is in full-effect?  This year PAX is huge, packed, and I couldn’t cover it all if I had a year.  Instead I will share with you some highlights from the first part of my PAX experience. 

I kicked the fun off early on Thursday night at a private Pre-PAX Party hosted by Mr. Avery Alix of PopCap Games.  This event was originally going to be held in the 619 Western Arts building, but thanks to the city of Seattle giving local artists the finger, and new venue was required.  Thankfully the awesome folks at Golazo Sports Energy Drinks had a perfect venue that they were willing to share.  The party took place a few blocks up the hill from PAX, at a converted BMW dealerships that is Golazo HQ.  The space was massive.  I arrived early as DJ equipment was set up, an HD projection gaming area was fired up, kegs were loaded in, and mobile GAEMS gaming systems were fired up.  The venue itself sported an indoor soccer arena, foosball, ping-pong, and enough tasty Golazo energy drinks to keep an army of gamers twitchy and wired for a month.  Thanks to cool friends and random chance, I was going to get to attend this exclusive private party with some of the greatest minds in the video game industry!

I must pause here to comment on the amazing collection of artists that were brought together by Mr. Carl Faulkner to show their work at this party.  The best and brightest stars of the Seattle art scene made the space pop by hanging their amazing art.  You should really check these artists out, because they absolutely are KILLING it here:  Carl Faulkner, Redd Walitzki, J.P. Farquar, Wierdo, Ego, Brom, Laurie Brom, and many more people that I will add when I confirm them all.  Seeing all of my favorite local artists in one space was a real treat!

As the sun went down, the people showed up and the ridiculously awesome music started pumping.  Filthy beats thumped throughout the space.  The DJ booth was setup with laptops, turntables, and many Gameboys, Nintendos, along with other gaming systems that were used heavily to provide 8-bit sounds and samples.  The music was just sick and completely blew me away.  A couple of the musical highlights of the evening were a DJ and guitarist/singer duo that went by the moniker CrashFaster, and a wicked DJ/MC called DJ PsyOp. 

Nearly every last one of the attendees I talked to worked in the gaming industry.  I always knew the Seattle/Eastside area was a hotbed of game development, but I really had my eyes opened to just how much is going on in the industry here.  The party people weren’t just local either.  I met industry people from all around the globe.  It is safe to say, the state of gaming is insanely strong right now.

One super-nice gentleman I chatted extensively with was Daniel James, a designer and CEO of Three Rings Design from San Francisco.  Mr. James was dressed in a dapper grey pinstriped three-piece suit, Space Invaders tie, and had a TARDIS on his lapel, and spoke with a charming English accent.  He had actually been a speaker at PAX DEV 2011, a developer only event that takes place in the days leading up to PAX Prime.  He gave a speech about mobile game being the future of the gaming industry, and was nice enough to give me a rundown of his (really interesting) theories.  His company produces many games including dungeon crawlers and casual games, but the subject he spoke of that really grabbed my interest was about a Doctor Who game.  I hope to have much more to share with you about Three Rings Design and their projects in the near future.

 Local video game developers and publishers from Bungie, PopCap, Valve, and Sucker Punch were also at this party in great numbers.  I talked to many different people from PopCap about their recent acquisition by EA Games that I reported on here at Comic Booked not long ago.  Opinions were mixed, but nearly all of the people I talked to admitted that this would give PopCap a chance to reach even more gamers.  Rumors were also confirmed that PopCap will be expanding and hiring many new people, as was suspected when the deal was announced.

People from Bungie spoke of giving a tour of their amazing sound studios to people from Valve.  Apparently the Valve people were so impressed, that plans are in the works to build a state of the art studio of their own.  Other rumors and talk revolved around companies competing for the same buildings and commercial spaces on the eastside.  You can definitely sense a competitive nature between the different companies, but not in mean way.  These people are friends and have often worked with people in these other companies (and judging from all the poaching and job changes likely will work with them again).  If anything, I think these developers are pushing each other and their games to even greater heights, and as gamers that means we win as well.

I had planned on sharing news and some of my hands-on time with different games at the actual PAX Prime event, but will do so in future articles.  Suffice to say that Arkham City is going to be amazing, and with even more polished controls than the first game (if you can believe it).  The Assassin’s Creed: Revelations panel at the Paramount now has me wanting the game more than ever.   An hour-long wait to play Halo: Anniversary was totally worth it.  Portal co-creator, Kim Swift’s new game Quantum Conundrum is going to be a hit with adults and kids alike.  And finally, there could potentially be something to 3-D gaming, as it is actually quite engaging when experienced first-hand.  I took time out from PAX to get this together for you, but there is no rest for the wicked.  I am back to work and play.  Check back here on Comic Booked for more PAX Prime coverage in the near future.  Happy gaming!

Tags: 2011, Anniversary, Arkham City, art, Assassin’s Creed, Avery Alix, Brom, Bungie, Carl Faulkner, CrashFaster, Daniel James, DEV, DJ PsyOp, Doctor Who, EA, Ego, Gaems, gamers, Games, gaming, Halo, J.P. Farquar, Kim Swift, party, PAX, PopCap, Prime, Quantum Conundrum, Redd Walitzki, Seattle, Sucker-Punch, Three Rings, Valve, Video Games, Wierdo

About the Author

Written by Robb Orr

Robb Orr is a comic bibliophile and game aficionado from the “Emerald City” of Seattle, WA. He hopes to win enough favor to gain pet status after the upcoming and inevitable monkey apocalypse comes to fruition.

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Article source: http://www.comicbooked.com/pax-prime-2011-pre-party-news-and-madness/

Apparently, this is dangerous week to live on the East Coast of the United States. On Tuesday, a 5.8 magnitude earthquake rocked Virginia and sent ripples across a large chunk of the coast. On Sunday, we’re expected to be dealing with one of the largest hurricanes to strike the East Coast in years, Irene. It seems that nature has it out for us; however, no amount of natural phenomena can keep me from delivering some gaming news to all of you. A major controversy rocked the industry this week, so we’ll start there.

- Deus Ex: Human Revolution released this week to overwhelmingly positive reviews. Unfortunately, the critical success of the game has been overshadowed by some dubious behavior from retailer GameStop. Inside the PC edition of DXHR, Square-Enix included a voucher for a free digital coupon redeemable through the OnLive digital distribution service. This didn’t sit well with GameStop, who acquired a digital distribution service of their own earlier in the year. In light of this, a Field Operations manager instructed employees to open the new copies of DXHR and remove the OnLive voucher. GameSpy contacted a GameStop PR rep who confirmed the practice. Gaming media outlets and gamers alike exploded with outrage over the controversial move. Since then, GameStop has further instructed employees to hold all copies of DXHR on PC and wait for replenishment (presumably with boxes that will not contain the OnLive code).

- In an interview with Eurogamer, Gabe Newell, head of Valve, talked about his company’s plans to bring Steamworks, a console version of Steam, to XBOX Live. He noted the success of bringing Steamworks to PS3, but said there are many difficulties in dealing with Microsoft’s restrictions on XBL content, saying:

“The main thing is having Microsoft get comfortable with it and let us do it. Right now, there’s a huge amount of updates and free content we’ve been able to deliver to people who have The Orange Box that we haven’t been able to deliver to the Xbox because of the restrictions that have been placed on us on Xbox Live.

 

We’d love to see those relaxed. Other developers on the PS3 are starting to benefit from Sony’s more open approach. Hopefully that will help Microsoft see that’s a good strategy for making customers happy, that the barbarians won’t tear down the walls of Xbox and turn it into some chaotic wasteland.”

You can check out the entire interview here.

- Get ready to fight. The anticipated Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection, which bundles together the original Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat II, and Ultimate Mortal Kombat III, will be arriving on PSN and XBLA next week. Each title in the bundle includes online combat, leaderboards, achievements/trophies, and the original arcade mode. The bundle, which will sell for 800 MSP/$9.99 PSN, arrives on the PSN on August 30th. The XBLA version will be available the next day.

- SEGA’s long-awaited Aliens: Colonial Marines, a game that has been in development for nearly five years, is set to release next year. Joystiq managed to leak a trailer for the game during the week. As a fan of the Alien franchise, I can’t wait to get my hands on this game. Check out the trailer below:

Please enable Javascript and Flash to view this Viddler video.

- Finally, in keeping with supporting my undying love for all things Portal, I’m pleased to share this short, live-action film: Portal: No Escape. This brilliant short film presents the gritty, bleak life of an Aperture test subject. Check out the film below:

Tags: Aliens: Colonial Marines, comic booked, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, DXHR, Gabe Newell, GameStop, Kyle Black, mortal kombat, Mortal Kombat 2, Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection, OnLive, Portal, Portal: No Escape, PSN, SEGA, SquareEnix, Steam, SteamWorks, Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, Valve, XBLA, Xbox Live

About the Author

Written by Kyle Black

Kyle Black has been a gamer his whole life. Recently, he has decided to merge his love of gaming with his love of writing. The resulting product: a gig here on Comic Booked writing about, what else, video games!

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Article source: http://www.comicbooked.com/gamer-pulse-hot-water/

It’s time for yet another installment of Throwback Thursday! This week, we’ll go back further in gaming history than we ever have before. We all know that Nintendo is going all out for this year’s 25th Legend of Zelda anniversary. While it’s great to embrace Zelda and all that franchise has done for gaming, it’s important to remember that this year also marks the 25th anniversary of another major Nintendo franchise: Metroid. On August 6, 1986, Samus Aran blasted onto the NES in her debut title, the original Metroid. Since then, Samus has appeared in nine other main franchise releases (ten, if you count Metroid Prime Pinball).

Metroid always ranks highly in “Best of the NES” lists. It’s not really a surprise. The game was praised for intelligently combining the core mechanics of the platforming and adventure genres. The exploration and discovery components of the game set forth new industry standards that would shape games for years to come. When Konami was looking to re-shape the Castlevania franchise, they looked to Metroid to find out how best to integrate exploration into a combat-based game. The result, of course, was the critical blockbuster Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.

The legacy of Metroid was felt so strongly for so long that, in 2004, Nintendo released a critically-adored remake for the Game Boy Advance in the form of Metroid: Zero Mission. The remake expanded upon the story and gameplay of the original while paying homage to everything that Metroid had become famous for.

Despite being one of Nintendo’s best-selling franchises and almost always impressing critics and fans, Samus has always taken a back seat to Mario and Link. Despite being a die-hard Nintendo fan for the first ten years of my gaming career, I didn’t discover the Metroid series until Metroid Fusion. After racing through what is considered to be one of the best GameBoy Advance titles, I became hooked on Metroid. Since then, I’ve played every major installment in the franchise. Metroid ranks highly among my favorite game franchises; in fact, it’s probably safe to say the Metroid ranks as my favorite Nintendo series. With all that in mind, it’s my absolute pleasure to take a look at the title that started it all.

Plot Characters – 7.5/10

The plot of Metroid is simple: Samus Aran, a bounty hunter, is sent to the headquarters of the Space Pirates, where she is ordered to put a stop to the organization and the plots of the devious Mother Brain. While exploring the Planet Zebes, Samus penetrates through a network of caves and bases while killing off the Space Pirates (and several of their commanders). All the while, she encounters the mysterious life forms known as Metroids, vicious parasites that feed off the energy of living beings.

The identity of Samus was only revealed at the end of the game. Nintendo received high praise for creating one of the first female protagonists in games. Since her debut, Samus has received universal fame in the gaming community and is ranked among the best female protagonists in all of gaming. Details about her life and career were not expanded upon until later titles, like Metroid Fusion and Metroid: Other M.

Sound – 8.0/10

Metroid‘s score also received high praise. Composer Hirokazu Tanaka created several themes that have gone on to become some of gaming’s most recognized anthems. Subsequent composers in the Metroid series drew heavily upon Tanaka’s original score and have since expanded the series’ musical profile. Still, the anthems Tanaka crafted for the game have been used in almost every game since the original. Talk about a legacy.

Graphics – 7.5/10

Metroid’s visuals received high praise from contemporary critics. Detailed character models and environments were splashed with color. The result was a very distinct visual style that helped set Metroid apart from other adventure games of the time. While the graphics may look incredibly low-profile to us, it’s important to remember that, for 1986, Metroid looked damn good. Like the score, the visual style from the original Metroid has served as a definitive basis in guiding the graphic style of all subsequent releases.

Gameplay – 9.0/10

Metroid’s most-notable contributions to the evolution of gaming come in its contribution to gameplay. As I said above, this title successfully combined the platforming and adventure genres. The level of exploration and discovery Metroid brought to the table was previously unheard of in games. Combat was tough, especially in boss fights. The power-up system challenged players to explore every nook-and-cranny in order to ensure victory against the game’s toughest enemies. The core gameplay mechanics (side-scrolling combat) have been more-or-less preserved in later releases. Recently, Nintendo has allowed third party developers access to the franchise, the results of which have yielded two new directions for the series (the Metroid Prime trilogy and Metroid: Other M). Even then, the core elements of combat, exploration, discovery, and power-up have not been forgotten. Check out this video of Samus facing off against her nemesis, the Space Pirate commander Ridley:

Overall – 8.5/10

Metroid is a great game. This title gave birth to a franchise that has endured to this day. Samus is one of Nintendo’s most recognizable mascots and has appeared in a respectable amount of games in a starring capacity (as well as appearing as a combatant in the Super Smash Bros. series). The Metroid titles, with very few exceptions, garner universal acclaim. All of that started with this game. While there wasn’t much in the way of “character development” (probably an unknown concept in 1986), the gameplay was intuitive and challenging, the visuals took full advantage of the NES’ resources, and the score immersed players in an atmosphere of mystery. Metroid delivered a great experience to players in 1986. No wonder Nintendo has kept it alive for twenty-five years.

Tags: 1986, comic booked, Kyle Black, Metroid, NES, Nintendo, Samus Aran

About the Author

Written by Kyle Black

Kyle Black has been a gamer his whole life. Recently, he has decided to merge his love of gaming with his love of writing. The resulting product: a gig here on Comic Booked writing about, what else, video games!

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Article source: http://www.comicbooked.com/throwback-thursday-3-metroid/

As each new piece of information comes out concerning Batman: Arkham City, the sequel to the highly praised Batman: Arkham Asylum, it’s easy to see why it’s one of the most anticipated games of the year.

Between the different skins that will be available for Batman, to learning that nearly 10% of the game will be playable as Catwoman, to the video of Mr. Freeze, Batman: Arkham City is looking to surpass the original, Batman: Arkham Asylum, in terms of depth and gameplay. And to add an even deeper gamer experience, the folks at Rocksteady Studios, developer of Batman: Arkham City, have added additional costumes for Robin.

The images of Robin’s alternate costumes was first posted on ArkhamCity.co.uk, a site dedicated to, you guessed it, information about Batman: Arham City. North American fans are already aware that the Tim Drake Robin will be a playable character, an exclusive they receive by pre-ordering the game through Best Buy. First we have Red Robin, the identity Tim Drake recently adopted after learning of Bruce Wayne’s “death”. The dark, brooding, hood-covered Robin in the middle is assumed to also be Tim Drake. And finally we have a brighter, lighter Robin, from the hit cartoon Batman: The Animated Series.

The skins will be packaged along with Robin’s challenge maps and downloadable through Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network shortly after the game’s release to players who reserve their copy.

Expanding on the concept of Batman: Arkahm Asylum, Arkham City shows Gotham overrun by the criminally insane denizens of the famous insane asylum. Naturally, Batman steps up to confront the villains, but this time, he isn’t alone. Batman: Arkham City is slated for release October 18, for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Tags: Arkham Asylum, Arkham City, Batman, Batman The Animated Series, Catwoman, Gotham City, Michael Wirth, Mr. Freeze, playstation, Red Robin, Robin, Rocksteady Studios, Tim Drake, Video Games, xbox

About the Author

Written by Michael Wirth

Hailing from the armpit of America, New Jersey, Michael has been collecting comic books since the age of 10. Now, he deigns to keep his finger on the pulse of pop-culture, keeping up with every passing fad or iconic innovation, never losing sight of his comic book roots.

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Article source: http://www.comicbooked.com/three-robin-skins-revealed-for-batman-arkham-city/

It’s been yet another busy week in the gaming industry. We’ve been busy recruiting some new talent to help expand our games team, so you’ll be seeing some new faces around here pretty soon. In the meantime, let’s take a look at what happened in the industry this week.

- As our own James Halstead announced the other day, Doctor Strange was confirmed to be joining the brawl in Ultimate Marvel VS Capcom 3. You can check out the good doctor in action in the trailer below. UMVC3 will release this November for the PS3 and XBOX 360.

-  Sony announced a new round of price drops for the PS3. The 160 GB model will now retail for $250, while the larger 320 GB model will now retail for $300. The move comes just as we transition from the traditionally slow summer release window into the fall line-up. The price drops have already gone into effect in all regions.

- This has been a busy week for the Battlefield 3 franchise. Hot off last week’s revelation about the title’s absence on Valve‘s digital distribution service, the studio’s leader, Gabe Newell, announced his intention to convince EA to bring Battlefield 3 to Steam.  In an interview with Develop, Newell said,

“We have to show EA it’s a smart decision to have EA games on Steam, and we’re going to try to show them that…Companies have to earn the right to install content on their customers’ PCs on a regular basis. The same thing is true of Steam. We have to prove we are creating value on an ongoing basis, whether it’s to EA or Ubisoft or whoever.”

There has yet to be any official response to Newell and Valve’s campaign.

In better Battlefield 3 news, a new trailer, showing off a massive multiplayer match on the Caspian Border map, was released earlier in the week. Honestly, if you’ve been on the fence about Battlefield 3, this trailer should be enough to sway you. The environments are beautiful, the vehicle combat looks intuitive and fluid, and the game runs incredibly smoothly. Check it out below and prepare to be amazed.

- The long-awaited free Portal 2 DLC will be arriving very soon. Speaking with Kotaku at Gamescom, Doug Lombardi confirmed that the first DLC package, containing challenge maps, new test chambers, and leaderboards for both single and multiplayer will release across all three platforms in September. There has been no word about the future of Portal 2‘s DLC beyond this first pack.

- Nintendo officially threw their hat into the Holiday 2011 arena this week. Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword will release on November 20th. The highly anticipated title will attempt to gain sales footing in a very crowded holiday roster, which our own Robb Orr previewed last week.

- Finally, the already stellar upcoming 3DS title line-up looks to be beefing up a bit. Legendary creator Hideo Kojima tweeted the other day about a strange sculpture on a colleague’s desk. The sculpture in-question, a L.E.V. from the popular (yet, sadly, long-dormant) Zone of the Enders franchise, was curiously juxtaposed against a background with text that appears to say “Z.O.E. 3DS.” There has been no other information about the image yet. Whether this indicates a port of the original Zone of the Enders game or a possible third entry in the franchise remains to be seen. Check out the image below and see what you can get out of it.

That’ll do it for this week’s Gamer Pulse. Thanks for reading, and, as always, stay tuned to Comic Booked!

Tags: battlefield 3, comic booked, Doctor Strange, EA, Gabe Newell, Gamer Pulse, Hideo Kojima, James Halstead, Kyle Black, Legend of Zelda, Nintendo, Robb Orr, Skyward Sword, Steam, Ubisoft, Ultimate Marvel VS Capcom 3, Valve, Zone of the Enders

About the Author

Written by Kyle Black

Kyle Black has been a gamer his whole life. Recently, he has decided to merge his love of gaming with his love of writing. The resulting product: a gig here on Comic Booked writing about, what else, video games!

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Article source: http://www.comicbooked.com/gamer-pulse-business-as-usual/

Last week, we showed some love for a timeless SNES classic. Thanks to the miracle of Netflix, I’ve been catching up on Star Trek. All of it. Right now, I’m finishing up The Next Generation. Given the massive amounts of Star Trek I’ve been watching for the last month, picking a game for this week’s Throwback Thursday was a no-brainer. So, let’s take a look at my favorite Star Trek video game, Star Trek: Armada, a PC game released in 2000 developed and published by Activision.

There exists a lengthy list of Star Trek video games, but, frankly, not very many of them are good. Most of the games come across as lazy attempts to cash in on the franchise; however, every so often, a Star Trek game comes along that taps into the true brilliance behind Star Trek and adapts the best parts of the franchise into a game. Star Trek: Armada is one of those games. Armada is a real-time strategy (RTS) game that allows players to control one of four factions: the Federation, the Klingon Empire, the Romulan Star Empire, and the Borg. While reviews certainly did not catapult Armada to Game-of-the-Year status, they were mostly positive. To date, it remains one of the most warmly received Star Trek gaming adaptations. The game also spawned a similarly-well-received sequel, which was released the following year.

Plot Characters – 8.0/10

The plot of Star Trek: Armada follows four characters from the series: Jean-Luc Picard, Worf, Sela, and Locutus of Borg. The player begins with the Federation campaign, which follows the adventures of the Enterprise after encountering a future Federation time ship, the Premonition, which has traveled back in time to warn the Federation of an oncoming Borg onslaught. Meanwhile, in the Klingon Empire, Worf commands ships loyal to the Empire in the midst of another civil war. Elsewhere, Sela pursues a mysterious Omega Particle, a massive amount of powerful omega molecules, which are said to be able to create mass quantities of power; however, the Borg, who are led by a clone of Locutus are also in pursuit of the Omega Particle. Will the Federation be able to hold off a strengthened Borg assault? Will Worf be able to keep the Klingon Empire united after the reemergence of Toral? Will Sela be able to beat the Borg to the Omega Particle and help expand the Romulan Empire’s dominance in the Alpha Quadrant?

While it is not considered canon, the game is guided by an excellent plot. Time travel tends to be a frequent plot device in Star Trek, so it’s easy to screw that up. Armada does a good job of integrating time travel into the story. Each of the four separate campaigns are well-told and interesting. The game’s final few missions are epic in scale and are a wonderful culmination of the game’s various storylines.

All four of the game’s leads maintain their characterizations that made them famous. While their isn’t much character interaction (save for the in-and-out-of-mission cut scenes), the story can definitely command your interest.

Sound – 7.0/10

The game’s music score is nothing of particular mention. Composer Danny Baker used musical themes and queues from The Next Generation and added some generic battle scores into the mix. It serves the game well, but, again, it’s nothing particularly special. The same forgetfulness cannot be said of the voice cast though. Activision managed to secure original actors Patrick Stewart, Michael Dorn, and Denise Crosby and have them reprise the roles they originated on The Next Generation. Each actor gives a great performance and really adds to the authenticity of the game. Sometimes, Star Trek games have to settle for cheap sound-a-likes, especially with big-name actors. So, it was a genuine treat to have these three return to the franchise and step back into their much-beloved personas.

Graphics – 7.0/10

Armada’s visuals, much like the soundtrack, are nothing special. Given the time of development, these visuals are perfectly adequate. The cutscenes and character models, though extremely dated now, were standard fare back in the day. Ship models were detailed and the campaign maps were all distinct and well-designed. The game ran smoothly even on modest systems. Overall, it looked good, but the game won’t be remembered as being a major milestone in the evolution of graphics.

Gameplay – 7.0/10

Armada‘s gameplay featured no distinct contributions to the evolution of the RTS genre. It featured a resource system, specific build patterns, and your typical drag-and-click unit movement system. It featured both local and online multiplayer as well. The gameplay was nothing distinctly different from any other RTS in that time. You can check out the game’s first mission in action below:

Overall – 7.0/10

Again, on paper, Armada isn’t the most unique game ever released. While it doesn’t do anything particularly poorly, it isn’t particularly innovative. Still, this game succeeded well in one area: it delivered fans of Star Trek a fun, entertaining game wrapped up inside an RTS shell. If you’re a fan of Star Trek, then you’ll be able to hop right into the story and lose countless hours micromanaging your own fleet of Star Trek ships. It also serves as a great stepping-off point for those trying to get their feet wet in the demanding waters of the RTS genre. The game’s helpful tutorials will show you the basics of RTS gameplay and challenge you to better yourself as a player in the process.

Look forward to tomorrow’s Gamer Pulse and next week’s Throwback Thursday. Until then, thanks for reading and stay tuned to Comic Booked!

Tags: activision, Borg, comic booked, Denise Crosby, Jean-Luc Picard, Klingon, Kyle Black, Locutus of Borg, Michael Dorn, Patrick Stewart, PC games, Romulan, RTS, Sela, Star Trek, Star Trek: Armada, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Throwback Thursday, Worf

About the Author

Written by Kyle Black

Kyle Black has been a gamer his whole life. Recently, he has decided to merge his love of gaming with his love of writing. The resulting product: a gig here on Comic Booked writing about, what else, video games!

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Article source: http://www.comicbooked.com/throwback-thursday-2-star-trek-armada/

Having picked up Marvel vs Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds when it came out, I wore my fingers to the bone playing it. My line up consisted of Doctor Doom, Spider-Man, and Dante. I must have beat that game multiple times in the span of a few days and was eagerly awaiting new characters to be released. We did receive two characters, fan favorites, Jill Valentine and Shuma-Gorath as downloadable content, but production had to cease because of the tragic earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on March 11th. Capcom and Marvel have announced plans for a new game entitled Ultimate Marvel VS Capcom 3, which will feature the same line up from the original as well as adding 12 new characters to the mix.

Doctor Strange, Ghost Rider, Hawkeye, Iron Fist, Nova, and Rocket Raccoon are joining the fray from Marvel’s camp, and Firebrand, Frank West, Nemesis(T-Type), Phoenix Wright, Strider Hiryu, and Vergil round out Capcom’s league.

Very impressive line up, especially with Hawkeye as a playable character (I have always been a big fan of his).

Recently a new trailer for the game was released, showcasing Dr. Strange’s amazing fighting style and sorcery skills. We have also seen several videos featuring Dr. Strange, going toe to toe with the overpowering Nemesis. The videos can be viewed over at Marvel’s site, and after viewing them I must say, Strange’s abilities look quite impressive as he is quite quick and agile, and even uses the Book of the Vishanti. Nemesis on the other hand, lumbers around and has a lot of brute force attacks, and carries his trademark bazooka.

The game is scheduled for release in November, added with the new characters, the game will include new stages and game play modes. There will also be enhancements to the gameplay and online play, at a budget price. Very excited for this title, as long as the price is savvy, I’ll be picking this one up as well!

Tags: capcom, Dante, Doctor Doom, Dr. Strange, Firebrand, Frank West, Ghost Rider, Hawkeye, Iron Fist, Marvel, nemesis, Nova, Phoenix Wright, Rocket Raccoon, Spider-Man, Strider Hiryu, Ultimate Marvel VS Capcom 3, Vergil, Video Games

About the Author

Written by James Victor Von Halstead

When not battling the forces of the undead you can find James at the local cinema watching whatever comic book inspired film that was just released, for the third time.

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Article source: http://www.comicbooked.com/dr-strange-enters-the-fight-ultimate-marvel-vs-capcom-3/

Former Smallville Supergirl Laura Vandervoort will soon be taking the mantle of another comic book mainstay. In a new trailer for Activision‘s Spider-Man: Edge of Time, Vandervoort discusses how excited she is about voicing Mary Jane Watson in the upcoming adaptation. The game follows Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2099 as they team up to prevent Spider-Man’s untimely end.

Activision describes the game as follows:

Play as both Amazing Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2099 in SPIDER-MAN: EDGE OF TIME, a high-octane, adrenaline-fueled adventure that puts gamers on a mission to prevent a cataclysmic event that leads to an unexpected outcome: the death of Amazing Spider-Man.

Also included are two additional behind the scenes videos, including former Batman Forever star Val Kilmer discussing his role as villain Walker Sloan, and Stan Lee and the Beenox crew discussing the story and the differences between the two versions of our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Via Gametrailers.com

Tags: activision, Beenox, Comics, Games, Laura Vandervoort, Smallville, Spider-Man: Edge of Time, Stan Lee, Val Kilmer

About the Author

Written by Jason Padua

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Article source: http://www.comicbooked.com/former-supergirl-takes-on-mary-jane/

It seems like just yesterday we found out that Arkham Asylum was going to be getting a sequel.  Since that day, everyone has been clamoring for one thing: to play this freaking game.  From the very first trailer that featured none other than Hugo Strange to the most recent release which features Mr. Freeze, this game looks more and more impressive with every bit of video, news, or scoop that gets released.  Batman: Arkham City is set for release October 18, 2011 under Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.

SPOILER ALERT!

The video contains information that may be vital to the game’s story and characters.  Apparently, Batman is having a case of the Mondays and is not really looking to deal with Victor Fries pining over the loss of his beloved Nora for the hundredth time.   In the video, it appears that Batman is exhausted, probably from going through and fighting villain after villain.    END OF SPOILERS

More videos and news items are sure to pop up in the coming weeks. We’ll keep you posted.

Tags: Arkham Asylum, Batman, Batman: Arkham City, Bruce Wayne, comic booked, Comics, DC, Mr. Freeze, Nick Furious, Nora, Victor

About the Author

Written by Nick Furious

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Article source: http://www.comicbooked.com/batman-arkham-city-feat-mr-freeze/

The dog days of summer, here in August, feel like a wasteland for new video game releases.  Sure we have Deus Ex: Human Revolution dropping next week, and for football fans Madden NFL 12 comes out at the end of the month; but there are currently no titles that really jump out and make me count down the days until the game comes out.  Good thing there is a robust selection of game releases just around the corner this fall.  I thought it would be fun to take a look ahead to the five must-play games of fall 2011!

5.  Battlefield 3 (PS3, Xbox 360, PC) Release date: October 25^th The upcoming release of DICE’s new battlefield shooter could seriously challenge Call of Duty for gamer’s hard-earned cash and playtime.  The graphics look amazing this time around thanks to the Frostbite 2 engine:  improved screen-blur, scale, realistic lighting-effects, explosions, and environmental damage all add up to a feast for the eyes.  Streamlined player-classes, improved vehicle-damage systems and new sniper mechanics should all improve gameplay and make Battlefield 3 a real contender.

4.  The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (PS3, Xbox 360, PC) Release date: November 11^th RPG fans don’t despair, the fall game releases have a treat for you as well!  Bethesda is a beloved game developer (even hackers don’t want to cause chaos after breaching the company’s network) and The Elder Scrolls is a beloved series.  In this newest installment expect special emphasis on graphic improvement.  More realistic facial-animations, lighting, and sense of scale, and improved third-person views are but a few of the promised graphic upgrades.  Players will now be able to dual-wield weapons and have a new method of attack known as “Dragon Chants” to round out their arsenal. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim should be epic!  Bethesda almost had two entries in this list, so be sure to check the “Honorable Mentions” section below to find out what else they have on tap for you this fall.

3.  Assassin’s Creed Revelations (PS3, Xbox 360, PC) Release date: November 15^th What can you say about Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed series?  The series that started off decent enough with the first installment has evolved into one of the finest franchises out there (in my opinion).  With a heady blend of climbing, exploring, free-running, stealth, history, conspiracy and combat, the series has continued to get better and more polished with each game.  This time around expect a new city (Constantinople in 1511), new bombs and weapons, even further combat refinement, and the end of the Ezio and Altair storylines.  Don’t sleep on this title!

2.  Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception (PS3 exclusive) Release date: November 1^stNaughty Dog’s Uncharted series is just awesome sauce!  The first entry, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, was enough to convince me to buy a PS3, and Uncharted 2: Among Thieves was the first PS3 game to widely receive a perfect score from many reviewers.  Uncharted is like getting to play the game version of a blockbuster summer movie like Indiana Jones.  Action, adventure, exploration, climbing, and gun-play all factor in to make Uncharted games a white-knuckle thrill-ride.  Beautiful cinematic sequences, great voice acting, and fun plots are all hallmarks of this series that seriously blurs the line between movies and games.  Expect a more seasoned and capable Drake this time around, and do not miss out on what is sure to be one of the hit games this autumn!

1.  Batman: Arkham City (PS3, Xbox 360, PC) Release date: October 18^th Right before Halloween the wait for Rocksteady’s new Batman game will finally be over!  More new trailers and information come out about this hotly-anticipated sequel by the day.  Even today new Mr. Freeze info was released (see the Nick Furious article about it here on Comic Booked).  The first Batman game is one of the finest comic based games to ever be released.  Players actually feel like they have taken control of The Dark Knight in a game worthy of his legendary comic book character status.  Excellent gameplay, inspired voice acting (click here to access an interview with the voice behind the game and cartoon Batman), wonderful gadgets, and fight dynamics put the first installment atop the comic game pantheon, and that game took place completely within the walls of Arkham Asylum.  As the title of the new game suggests, this time players will have an entire city to explore.  The graphics and trailers for this game are just eye-popping (check it out for below).  Who needs summer when we get Batman: Arkham City in the fall?

Honorable Mentions: Rage (from Bethesda), Saints Row: The Third (from THQ), Gears of War 3 (from Microsoft Game Studios), and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (from Activision)

Yes, I fully expect to get grief for leaving Call of Duty off the list.  I love the franchise and have played it for more hours than I care to admit, but the series seems to be getting opting for a more “on the rails” style of gameplay, with more set pieces and less innovation.  Maybe C.O.D. doesn’t need to evolve; IT IS after all, the most popular game out there.  So regardless of what I write, C.O.D. is going to sell millions of copies, and it seemed a bit pointless to include it on this list.

So there you have my list of five must-play games for fall.  What fall games are you excited about?  What other games would you have included on the list?  Feel free to leave comments below, and get in on the conversation!  Thank you for reading.

Tags: 12, 3, Arkham City, Assassin’s Creed, Batman, battlefield 3, Bethesda, Call of Duty, Comic, Comics, Deus Ex, DICE, Drake’s Deception, EA, Electronic Arts, Frostbite 2, gamers, gaming, Gears of War, Human Revolution, Madden, Modern Warfare, Mr. Freeze, Naughty Dog, news, NFL, Nick Taylor, Rage, Revelations, Robb Orr, Rocksteady, RPG, Saints Row, Skyrim, The Elder Scrolls, The Third, trailers, Ubisoft, Uncharted, V, video, Video Games

About the Author

Written by Robb Orr

Robb Orr is a comic bibliophile and game aficionado from the “Emerald City” of Seattle, WA. He hopes to win enough favor to gain pet status after the upcoming and inevitable monkey apocalypse comes to fruition.

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Article source: http://www.comicbooked.com/5-must-play-fall-video-games/