PETA’s Comic
I sent away for this about 6 years ago… right at the beginning of my “comic journalist” career. It was intended to be given to children of Mothers who were wearing fur, but the letter does caution that you shouldn’t give the “comic” to children under 13.
Your Mom Kills Animals - the PETA comic from 2003
Reading this again – it makes me all the more disgusted by that group.
If you want to save animals, actually work to help them, like the Humane Society. For all PETA’s talk, they do nothing but get themselves attention, and all of their antics don’t save a single animal.
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October 26, 2009
Goodbye Geocities
Talk about in the nick of time. I read an article this morning talking about the end of Geocities – the service would be taken down today some time.
Like many people, once upon a time, I had my own Geocities site. With a strong dose of nostalgia, I checked – and was surprised to see that my site was still there… untouched since 2002!
So I figured – I might as well preserve this if Geocities won’t! So, even after all these years – still UNDER CONSTRUCTION, my Geocities site!
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August 11, 2009
ZAP! POW! BAM! – and Batman (1943) at the Skirball – a Report
From February 19th through August 9th, the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles, CA presented an exhibit entitled “ZAP! POW! BAM! The Superhero: The Golden Age of Comic Books, 1938-1950.” The Skirball Center explores the connections between the long history of the Jewish Culture and the culture and ideals of America today. This exhibit is especially fitting – the history of the comic medium is rich with renown Jewish creators. Bob Kane, Bill Finger, Jerry Siegel, Joe Shuster, Will Eisner, Stan Lee, Jack Kirby – name any “great” from the entire history of the medium, and odds are you will find they were Jewish. Even some of of the more popular names of today, from Marv Wolfman to Howard Chaykin, and Peter David continue this tradition.
Of course, the impact of Jewish heritage goes deeper than the faith of those who created the most iconic characters of today. The cornerstone of comics, Superman, certainly shares some interesting parallels with the Jewish tradition.After all, when you think of a man who was placed in a tiny conveyance to save his life as an infant, only to realize his full heroic potential after he learns the truth of his heritage, do you think of Superman, or do you think of Moses? The similarity between Kal-El and the hebrew word קל-אל (meaning “the voice of God” or “the light of God”) only strengthens that connection. While other examples might not be so obvious, it is clear that the very foundation of the medium depends heavily on Jewish creators using Jewish themes.
Of course, the exhibit itself was less theological in nature. The entrance to the exhibit featured a bit of fun – a newsstand covered with copies of papers like those you might see in a comic story, as well as a pile of comics obviously meant for people to flip through. There was a lot for the kids – starting with a box filled with Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, and other costumes, along with a phone booth to change in! A glass case contained a glowing piece of “kryptonite” that would loudly warn you away if you got to close. There was even a vintage quarter Batmobile ride (you know, like the ones you see outside the grocery store for kids?), featuring the old Batmobile design from the Adam West TV show. Kids could also watch some 1940s superhero serial shorts in a tiny theater – Superman being the main feature.
On the serious side, the exhibit featured a ton of classic comics under glass (Including a copy of Action Comics #1), and various art-boards for dozens of 
comics, both obscure and well-known. Everything from Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman, to even more obscure Golden Age heroes like Golden Lad, Black Cat, and Ghost Rider were on display.
Jerry Robinson is listed as a “guest exhibitor” of the exhibit, and as such, his original Joker playing card sketch was on display – the piece he claims to be the original inspiration for the Joker character. Of course, there has always been some dispute as to who actually created the Joker – Bob Kane and Bill Finger claim absolute credit for his creation, but Jerry Robinson has always claimed that this playing card sketch was the original genesis of the idea, the concept was his, and Kane and Finger simply played the role of “co-creators.” These days, it is fairly difficult to say for sure what version of the story is true, but all three are generally mentioned when the subject of the Joker’s genesis are discussed, and no matter which version of the story is true, it was great to get to see the original piece up close.
There were also several other non-art artifacts on display – many from Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, including both of their glasses and jackets, and Siegels typewriter and “thinking hat.” Scattered throughout the exhibit were biographies of pretty much every legend in the comic industry you can recall, as well as several you may not have heard of.
In conjunction with this exhibit was another fun collection called Lights, Camera, Action: Comic Book Heroes of Film and Television. As you might have guessed, this showcased some artifacts relating to comic heroes in film. There was a good deal of movie memorabilia on display, from lunch boxes, puzzles, board games, posters, and action figures, to larger items like movie props and costumes. Featured prominently was the 1966 Batcycle from the television show (complete with the go-cart sidecar), the Captain America costume (with shield) worn by Robert Brown for the 1979 TV pilots, Christopher Reeve’s Superman costume from Superman IV, Michael Keaton’s Batman costume from Batman Returns, and Warren Beatty’s Dick Tracy costume from the 1990 film.
The exhibition began way back in February of this year, but there was a very specific reason I waited until the very last day to pay a visit. That was the day that they would be screening all fifteen parts of the 1943 The Batman Serial. This was ab absolute gem.
A little history – this serial was produced a scant four years after Batman first appeared on the pages of Detective Comics #27. Each chapter was roughly 15 minutes long, and a new chapter would appear each week prior to the theater’s feature film. It stars Lewis Wilson as Batman, a US government agent working to secure the homeland during World War II, Douglas Croft as Robin, J. Carrol Naish as Dr. Daka (the villain), and Shirley Patterson as Linda Page (the love-interest). The serial had an enormous impact on the Batman mythos. It marked the very first appearance of the Batcave (called the Bat’s Cave), and its grandfather clock entrance, something that was later incorporated into the comics. It can also be credited with the creation of Alfred – though he appeared first in the comics (though only a couple of months prior), it is widely speculated that he was conceived of for the film, and was written into the comic once Bob Kane was told about him. Even then, the original comic Alfred was short, stout, and bald – after this serial, Alfred was forever tall, lanky, and mustached – exactly like William Austin in the serial.
The serial’s impact on the genre didn’t stop in 1943. In 1965, it was re-released in theaters. The marathon screening was entitled An Evening With Batman and Robin, and was a smash camp hit. It directly influenced the creation of the 1966 Batman television series (complete with serial-style cliffhangers and teasers), something that had its own impact on Batman’s current form, as well as Batman’s role in pop culture.
The serial itself was a riot to watch, and well worth the four and a half hour viewing time. There was a lot that was done well – but everything that was done poorly had a strange way of amplifying the camp value of the serial, thereby making it more enjoyable. On the whole, the plot really wasn’t that bad. It centered on Dr. Daka, a Japanese spy who was working to sabotage the United State’s War Effort. Each part of the serial dealt with some part of Daka’s plan, Batman and Robin’s attempts to foil it, and Daka’s growing frustration with the masked menace.
The portrayal of Batman and Robin was outstanding and horrible at the same time. I was actually quite surprised at how well they pulled off the “Batman pretending to be a lazy playboy as Bruce Wayne” bit, but that is where the serious admiration ended. The rest was wholly entertaining, and absolutely horrible.
For starters – the costumes. Oh, the costumes. Batman, with a spare tire, wearing an outfit that made Adam West’s costume look dignified. The same was true for Robin (save the spare tire) – it was shocking to see just how bad you could get with a superhero suit. They looked like bad under-roos, and when they rolled around on the ground during fights, it was almost disturbing. And the joy the two of them showed at changing into their identity was hysterical – they almost always changed into their costume in the back of their car, sometimes mere moments after changing back into their civilian identities. There was one scene I will never forget – after Dick and Bruce decide that Batman and Robin are needed, when Dick excitedly exclaims “Swell! Let’s change into our outfits!” After which, the two of them can be seen with enormous grins on their faces, undressing in the back of the car. Alfred wasn’t much better – far from the wise old mentor, this early version of the butler was portrayed as a comedic “femme” – to the point where I was certain they were trying to make some statement about his sexuality.
And the fight scenes themselves were something of a treat. They usually sped up the frame rate slightly, much like an action scene in an old silent film – and while they used fairly standard “smacks” for sound effects, the campy music and the overdone sound made this a giggler. You can definitely see where the 1966 series got its inspiration.The body doubles also got to be a little ridiculous – I couldn’t help but laugh when suddenly Robin was taller than everyone else in the fight, and abotu twice as heavy as he used to be. The cliffhangers get more and more ridiculous as the series progresses – almost every time Batman is placed in a situation where you are sure he had to have died – but at the beginning of the next it is shown how he really survived. He was in a plane crash (just walked away, oddly enough), crushed by a burning roof (again… just walked out of it), tossed in a pit of alligators (pulled a switcheroo), sent off a cliff in a car (jumped out, last minute), and even crushed by a train! (Robin with the last-minute save). The scenarios got more and more ridiculous – to the point where you can see how the cheering and booing audience participation came into play when this was re released in the 60s. You can definitely see the origins of the death-trap cliffhangers in the 60’s TV series.
I do have to say that I was very disappointed in the hand wringing and apologizing by some of the staff, particularly in a conversation held about the serial during the intermission. They were horrified by the “racism” in the serial, to the point where he said he considered not screening it. While there is no arguing that there were derogatory elements in the serial (specifically calling the villain a “Jap,” referring to him as “slant-eyed,” and comparing his skin color to his obvious cowardice), the staff failed to note that while derogatory, it was no worse than what you heard in similar media in reference to Germans at the time. They also totally failed to give an honest assessment of Dr. Daka, the serial’s antagonist. While Japanese, he was a brilliant, competent opponent. He weaved an almost impenetrable veil of secrecy around his organization, developed a remarkable internal security system, was capable of creating “zombies” (otherwise ordinary people who’s strength was augmented and were forced to obey his every command), invented and built two disintegration rays, was able to reanimate the dead to gain information, had an almost perfect truth serum – as Batman villains went, Daka was a beast. And he was just as nationalistic and bigoted towards the American way of life as the serial’s heroes were toward him. I found it extremely disappointing that the staff simply judged the film bad because of occasional slurs, without giving it an honest, in-context evaluation. That struck me as rather unscientific – and while there was a moderated discussion on the film, the majority of the crowd weren’t prepared for a real honest discussion about the language use in the time, and the discussion was lead by someone who absolutely felt that the language itself was evil, and didn’t look any deeper than that in his analysis.
The exhibit itself was extremely enjoyable, as was the film. If you care to see the serial yourself, it is pretty widely available on DVD. The exhibit itself is over at the Skirball, but it did originalte at the Bremen Museum in Atlanta, Georgia, so there is a good bet it will pop up again.
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August 10, 2009
Jeff Jacques Stole My $23
Or, a Buyer Beware Guide to Supporting Web Comics
Once upon a time, creative success depended on luck and the generosity and goodwill of more wealthy individuals. These days, luck is still a factor, but if your work can translate to the web, you can distribute it yourself. If you are especially talented and lucky, you might eventually get to the point where you can support yourself and family from the work you produce and distribute online. Talk about an artists dream – to be able to maintain control of your artistic endeavor, and make money off of it, without having to compromise your vision in the slightest? Truly it can be said that the internet has done more for the artist than any other innovation in years.
For a webcomic artist, the income formula is fairly standard. Your comic is going to be free – and posted regularly, to generate a steady traffic flow. From there, most successful and profitable webcomic strips will use some combination of three possible income streams. Reader donations (Something Positive and Subculture are two good examples of this, both having Paypal donation buttons on their site), Advertising (Either through brokers like Project Wonderful or if you are large enough: direct sponsorship, and Merchandising.
While donations are often a good way to earn a little income from very generous and devoted readers, nothing attracts average people like an online store. It appeals to a base commercial instinct in most of us – we like to advertise what we like, especially if it involves wearing something that you can’t get just anywhere. This is especially true for “geeks:” and said consumers make up the vast majority of the webcomic market. Plus. many people are wary of donating money because they like to have something tangible in exchange for their money (and “free enjoyment of a creative effort” isn’t really tangible).
Merchandising is easier than ever. Cafepress is a great alternative for the beginning artist, but as your audience and orders grow, an entrepreneurial webcomic artist will need to make some changes to allow for flexibility in their product line and to maximize profits. For many this involves hiring a personal business manager and printing the materials yourself, or hiring another merchandising company to manufacture and sell the products for you.
So what does all of this have to do with Jeph Jacques? He, as many of you know, is the creator of Questionable Content, a week-daily webcomic strip. It’s won its fair share of awards, and has built itself quite a strong audience. To be perfectly frank – the strip is fantastic. I remain a fan of his work. Jacques is one of the fortunate few who has been able to turn his art into a profession. His website boasts the trifecta of income streams – a Donation Button, Advertising, and a Merchandise Store.
So here is where the story takes a darker turn… one that comes with a lesson we should all remember when shopping online – just because you are a fan of a comic strip does not mean that the artist is your friend or trustworthy. Advice I should have remembered at the time.
As it would happen, I happen to be dating a girl that is… less than open to comics. I don’t force my strange hobby on her, but over the years when I have found something she likes I definitely encourage it. This has resulted in many Strangers in Paradise, American Spendor, and Ghost World related purchases, to be sure. Needless to say, when she got turned on to Questionable Content, I did everything in my power to 
encourage that. So, on January 16th, 2009, I decided to order her something from the Questionable Content store – specifically the “Hannelore Worry Shirt.”
Long story short? It’s been 7 months, and this order still hasn’t shipped.
Of course, after about a month, I started to get concerned. The order still hadn’t shipped, and I had no idea when it would. I decided an email would be the best way to go at this point. Now, on the Questionable Content site, Jacques specifically states the following:
All merchandise inquiries should be directed to qcmerch (at) mac (dot) com or user name “qcmerch” on AOL Instant Messenger. Merchandise-related questions sent to jephco (at) mac (dot) com will not be replied to.
OK, so email qcmerch@mac.com. Got it.
I didn’t email bomb the guy… I first sent out an email om February 11th politely asking for an update. The thing was, though I was specifically sending my inquiry to the correct address, no one ever replied. I followed up with a second email on March 4th. Again… nothing rude or inflammatory, just a request for an update on the order. Neither email received any kind of reply.
Here is where my concern started to grow into a little something more. See, I was getting ready to move in April. I didn’t consider this at the time I made my order, but at that point I felt it was reasonable to assume that an order would be shipped well before three months had passed. I was even willing to wait – but since I still hadn’t received a reply of any kind at all, I was getting more than a bit irritated, as well as worried the package would ship to my old address (which was vacant), and sit on that front porch until someone decided to toss it. So I decided to take the unforgivable step of sending an email to jephco@mac.com, which appeared to be a more personal email address.
Now I must admit that considering that warning on his contact page, I found it a bit backwards that the first time I actually got a reply to my question was when I sent an email to the address he specifically warned he would not reply to.
Jacques’s reply on March 15th was polite, though brief:
“We’re still catching up on January orders; your shirt will be in the mail by the end of the week if all goes according to plan. Sorry about the delay.
jeph”
He didn’t make any confirmation about my address change, but heck, it was a response with a timeframe. That satisfied me, for a time. I sent a thank you and went back to waiting. I waited another month.
Finally, April 15th rolled around, and I decided to send another email. I went back to the “proper” email address of qcmerch@mac.com, and let him know that I still hadn’t gotten my order, and I had since moved. I included my new address and asked that the item be shipped there. I did express a little irritation at the wait, but nothing too serious or offensive. I shouldn’t have been surprised, but that email was ignored as well. As was the follow up email on June 11th (sent to both addresses), when I finally asked for a refund. After that email was ignored, I sent another one on June 27th, once again asking for a refund. Finally I sent one last email on July 16th, explaining who I was (something I don’t like doing, but heck, it was the only thing I could actually do that might have some effect at that point), and let him know that I would post an article about the transaction if we couldn’t come to some kind of resolution. I thought for sure that would get his attention, and he would just refund my money and be done with me at that point. I know I shouldn’t have been surprised, but I still never received a reply. Since I don’t really believe in making empty threats – here we are.
Here is where the object lesson comes in. At the time of my order, Jacques was sending out his merchandise himself, so there was no customer service line I could complain to. I paid through Paypal – so I thought I should file a dispute there. Unfortunately, you have to file a dispute within 45 days, and at that point we were well past that mark. I knew that there was a deadline to file a dispute, but in my line of thinking, I was supporting an independent webcomic artist – he would fill the order, all I needed was a little patience. So past the deadline, Paypal just shrugged their shoulders and didn’t do a thing to help me. I didn’t purchase the item on a credit card, so I couldn’t dispute the charge (and thus didn’t have a credit card company’s fraud department on my side).
Now this story isn’t meant to discourage you from purchasing merchandise from your favorite webcomic. But you should be cautious when spending your money online. Webcomic artists are members of our community, but that doesn’t mean you should let your guard down. So here are some tips to keep in mind when making your purchase.
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1. Size Matters. The more exposure the Web Comic has, the more likely you are to receive your item. Penny Arcade and PvP are likely going to ship your order fast, as will anyone else that contracts with a large, reputable merchandise service. This doesn’t mean you let your guard down with the big-boys, but it does mean you should be more cautious when dealing with less-mainstream names.
2. Reputation Matters Ultimately, if a site is likely to rip you off, odds are you will hear about it somehow. In addition to size, reputation is important – and a little time and effort on Google should reveal quickly if they are going to send your item or not. If you are dealing with a smaller, less-established webcomic store, take a little time to check them out before sending in the money. Also consider how long the comic has been around, or how long they have been selling items. If the comic is brand new and started selling shirts 2 months ago, you might want to wait a while before making that purchase. You might love the comic and want to support them, but until they demonstrate longevity and have several months of consistent shipping under their belt, you don’t want to be the one to test their trustworthiness.
3. Paypal is Not Your Friend. Sure, Paypal is extremely convenient, but you have to take care of yourself there. If you pay via Paypal and pass the 45 Day deadline to file a dispute, you literally have no recourse at all.
Instead, you should use a credit card or main a postal money order. Credit Card companies are much easier to work with when you have a dispute, and will often refund your charge while the dispute is being investigated. Any dispute you make with a credit card company should be done within 60 days 
of the transaction if you want to be protected under the Fair Credit Billing Act (which may not cover you if the charge is under $50), but Credit Card Companies will often go above and beyond to serve their clients, even if you are filing past the usual deadline. Just remember to try and resolve it on your own first, and document everything if you go this route – your credit card company will probably go to bat for you if you have been legitimately defrauded, no matter how long it has been.
Postal Money Orders may not be accepted by an online retailer, but if you can mail in payment, they add an interesting bit of added protection. If you pay for an item with a Postal Money Order and the item isn’t shipped – they have committed mail fraud. You can bet that the Post Office takes that seriously, and will prosecute.
4. Don’t Be Nice If something doesn’t ship within a certain time frame, file the dispute. If you use Paypal to make a payment, and you haven’t received your item on the 44th day, just file the dispute.There is no being friendly about it – you can’t decide to give them more time (this was the mistake I made). Remember the old “Allow 4-6 Weeks For Delivery” at the end of commercials? That is an excellent guideline. If you don’t have it in 6 weeks, and they haven’t given you a tracking number, something is wrong. You aren’t a bad person for demanding your item ship within a reasonable time frame, especially if you are paying for the item in advance and paying a shipping and handling fee.
5. Check The Forums If a Web Comic is popular enough, odds are they have a forum. Sign up for an account, and ask people there if they had ordered from the store, and how long it took to get their items. If someone is posting there still, odds are they will support the artist, but if you get a few people reporting slow shipment (it took a little while to get there, but he is so busy, so I was cool with it!), odds are they are not a reliable merchant, and you should think twice before ordering from them.
6. Wait for the Con A lot of times Web Comic artists will visit several conventions a year, and do make appearances. Odds are, they will have merchandise on them. Find out what conventions or signings they will be attending, and if possible, arrange to make your purchase there. There is much less chance of fraud when the transaction is face to face.
At the end of the day, I deserve what I got – I wasn’t a smart consumer, and I lost $23 in the process. So what now – do I organize some kind of massive campaign against Jeph Jacques for stealing my money? Boycott? Email attack? Show up at a convention with a photographer and demand he pay me right then?
Even after all this, I do enjoy his work. I still read the comic, and I would encourage you to as well. I would even say that if you were planning on purchasing some Questionable Content merch, that you could probably feel safe in doing so. Since I made my order, Jacques has contracted Topatoco to manufacture and sell his products, and they have developed a fairly good reputation in their relatively short existence. I think it is doubtful that anyone purchasing something today would experience anything like what I have.
So to try an organize what would probably be a futile attempt at retaliation? Kind of pointless if you ask me. Jeff Jaques did steal from me – that’s as plain as you can put it. He did take money from me, and did not deliver what he promised. This was aggravated by the fact that he is a professional, and he literally eats if people like me support his work by purchasing his merchandise. I emailed his customer service address, and didn’t receive a single reply (he only replied to the ‘fan’ address) – in that time, I can’t have been the only one. It’s unprofessional, and disrespectful to the people that put a roof over his head.
I am irritated, but I am going to let it go. It’s pointless to start a crusade against him, but I did feel it was necessary to share my experience – not only so his readers could know what happened, but also in the hopes that other potential consumers out there would be more cautious when spending money to support their favorite webcomic artists.
Though I wouldn’t mind it if, next time you see him at a con, you told him to “Send Craig his damned money back.”
(Want to comment? Why not head over to comiXtreme.com?)
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July 24, 2009
Hands on Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 and Singularity
At SDCC, Activision showcased two upcoming games, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 and Singularity. They were kind enough to allow me to spend some time playing demos of both of them last night.
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 was without a doubt the highlight of their presentation last night. The game is due out on September 15th, and will feature 24 characters in its playable roster. So far, the “revealed” character roster consists of:
- Spider-Man
- Wolverine
- Iron Man
- Captain America
- Hulk
- Human Torch
- Invisible Woman
- Mr. Fantastic
- Thing
- Thor
- Daredevil
- Luke Cage
- Storm
- Songbird
- Iron Fist
- Deadpool
- Venom
- Green Goblin
- Juggernaut
- Jean Grey (just announced)
- Gambit (just announced)
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 Juggernaut in Action
Juggernaut has been announced as a “GameStop pre-order exclusive” character. He was featured in the demo presentation, and was available for use when I sampled the game, and he handles about like you would expect him to. If you want information about the GameStop promotion, it can be found here.
The story itself follows the Civil War event in the comics – basically, you get to choose which side of the Registration issue you fall on, and the story will progress based on your selection. I didn’t get the sense that they were incorporating a moral choice engine here, instead I just got the sense that there were two paths you could follow in this game, so you would have to run through it twice: once from each perspective.
Running through the game for the first time, I have to admit that I feared a repeat of X-Men Legends II here. As many will recall, the basic form of this game traces its lineage back to the original X-Men Legends game (4 heroes at a time, top-down point of view, destructible environment) which was outstanding. The sequel to this game, while fun, did suffer a bit from “too much stuff.” By trying to make the game bigger and badder, they made it more complex, and muted some of the things that made each character special. In releasing the original Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, I felt some of these problems were corrected and was a bit wary about what they might bring in the sequel.
Thankfully, my fears seem mostly unfounded. There is a new game play feature to the game, “Power Fusions.” If you will recall from the last Ultimate Alliance game, each character had their own special attack that could use to lay waste to a field of enemies and cause massive damage. That seems to have been replaced with the Power Fusion concept here. Each and every character has a special joint attack with every other character in the game – that is some serious variety. I played on the X-Box 360, and to activate these Power Fusions you would pull the left trigger, and hit the button corresponding to the character you want to use in the pairing. During the ‘event,’ you can often guide the course of the attack, increasing the speed, size, and direction of the elements involved.
During my time with the game, I got to experience several of these Power Fusions – Deadpool and Thor had an interesting combo where Deadpool chucked a bunch of grenades in a tornado to destructive effect. Iron Man and Wolverine had an odd one were Iron Man reflected a beam attack off Wolverine’s claws. Many of the combos involved reflecting attacks off Captain America’s shield – Storm’s Lightning and Human Torch’s flame come to mind there. Juggernaut could do what amounted to a Fastball Special with Wolverine, and Wolverine and Deadpool had this odd tandem charging attack. Clearly there are many, many more combinations, listing them all here would get redundant. I found this change to be a pretty good one – it encourages using many different team combinations throughout the game.
I have to say that the combat mechanics were changed for the better. First off, there were many, many more opponents on the screen at one time. In the last game you’d encounter maybe 3 or 4 at once… I was easily encountering over a dozen at a time here. It was chaos… you are clearly superior to the opponents you are fighting, but you get so overwhelmed by the numbers you actually feel a sense or urgency and danger. This was missing from the previous incarnations of this game, and I found this to be a huge change for the better (this is thanks to technology above all else). And often times elements of your defeated opponents remain behind – it is kind of neat to stand in a pile of robot pieces after plowing through a dozen or so robots who were trying to dog-pile you.
Utilizing basic attacks and abilities works much like it did in previous games, as does the upgrade system. It was fine in the previous incarnations, so if it isn’t broke, why fix it, eh? The different power-sets for the characters has been tweaked a bit, and it was mostly for the better from what I saw. “Fluid” is a good way of putting it – sometime in the last game, some characters didn’t necessarily fight in a way that you might imagine they would. It made certain characters not quite so fun to play with. Granted, I didn’t get the chance to sample every character in the game, but the ones I did play seem to work quite logically.
One aspect of the combat I enjoyed was the fact that different opponents and characters were resistant to certain attacks. Whether they are robots resistant to energy attacks, or even something as basic as Human Torch not taking damage in fire, at points in the game you find you have to adjust your tactics because some enemies are flat out immune to your special attacks. I believe that element is something comic fans will appreciate in particular.
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 Tinkerer Boss Fight
I also rather enjoyed the ability to revive a fallen ally in the middle of a level – it really was a pain to have to wait for a save location to bring your team back up to four. In fact, there were two notable things missing from the demo – any save location, and the “base” levels (you know, those annoying intra-mission levels where you had to walk around and perform mindless errands and get boring side-quests from the previous games?). I have no idea if these will be in the final version of the game, but if they aren’t, good riddance. The bases were always the most annoying part of Ultimate Alliance and Legends, I can’t say I would be sorry to see them go.
The look of the game is improved, but there were also some elements that were difficult to get used to. Obviously the graphics have taken a step up from the last game, but I was most surprised by the open levels. Both Ultimate Alliance and X-Men Legends had a bit of a claustrophobic feel… it was fun to smash everything around you, but even the outdoor levels felt very enclosed. That wasn’t the case here at all. When you are outside, there is room to breathe. There is a lot going on at the same time still, but the increased number of enemies makes up for the lack of garbage around you all the time.
The voice acting, what I heard of it, wasn’t too bad. They are definitely getting better at portraying these characters over time, and it reflected in my time with the game. Being a Deadpool fanboy, I was excited that I got to play through his boss encounter almost immediately. Of course, many characters start as bosses that will later join your team after you defeat them. Deadpool is no exception. It was difficult to hear, but he spoke pretty well how you might expect him to – rambling, random, and darkly silly. I am not sure about the voice quality, only because I couldn’t hear it too well (what constitutes “speaking yellow” really is something you have to hear to know if it is right), but he definitely broke the 4th wall, displaying his awareness that he was in a video game. Nice attention to detail there.
There is a lot more to see of this game, but from what I was exposed to, it looks like it is going to be a pretty solid game.
Playing Singularity
I didn’t get quite as much time with Singularity while I was there, but I have to say there is some promise there. For those that haven’t heard of it, Singularity is a First Person Shooter that is built around the discovery of an element called “Element 99” (creative, huh!). Element 99 has displayed an ability to manipulate the time-state of objects it interacts with. The Russians develop this element in an effort to change history and win the Cold War. You get sent in to stop them.
One of the game’s taglines is that you get to “use time as a weapon,” which is pretty accurate. You have two specific weapons towards this end. One is your E-99 Pistol, which fires bullets you can steer. More importantly is your TMD (Time Manipulation Device), which uses Element 99 to alter the time-state of your targets. This can be used on some environment pieces, as well as your enemies. In combat, you can use it to age or revert your opponents (reverting your opponent turns them into a placental rebirth that in turn attacks everything around it, including its allies), or fire an “impulse” which is basically a shove that causes varying degrees of damage, and brings some opponents back into phase. Your TMD can also be used to restore stairways that have crumbled, rust away a lock or a wall, or refill empty oil barrels, among other things.
Looking out a window in Singularity
This is one I am going to have to say has potential, but I need to see more of before I get excited about it. The FPS aspect was about how you would expect – though I have to admit switching between your different weapons and the TMD wasn’t very intuitive. This might be something you need to go through the game’s inevitable beginning tutorial to really grasp. The puzzler aspect could go either way. The TMD seems like a fun idea, but the environment items you can use it on are very limited. In combat its utility is varied and ever-present, but there are only very specific things you can use it on that don’t involve combat. This makes sense, but knowing when and where you are supposed to use it is something the game hopefully spells out for you a little better than the single level I got to play around with.
This game isn’t due out until sometime in the beginning of 2010, so I imagine there will be some improvements before the game is finally released. Singularity is developed by Raven Software, which is also behind the X-Men Origins: Wolverine game, both of which make use of Unreal Engine 3. If you enjoyed X-Men Origins: Wolverine, this might be a game you want to check out.
TITLE INFORMATION
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2
Developer: Vicarious Visions
Publisher: Activision
Platforms: Nintendo Wii, X-Box 360, Playstation 3, Playstation Portable, Playstation 2, Nintendo DS
Players: 1-4
Genre: Action RPG
Rating: TBA
Official Website: http://marvelultimatealliance.marvel.com/
Release Date: September 15th. 2009
Singularity
Developer: Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Platforms: X-Box 360, Playstation 3, PC
Players: 1, possible multiplayer
Genre: First Person Shooter, Puzzler
Rating: TBA
Official Website: http://www.singularity-game.com/
Release Date: 2010
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