It always disappoints me that there arent more good video games based on comic books and manga/anime. You would think those two mediums are the very best places to cull ideas for games from given the market but rarely do we ever see good games come from either field. However, that does not mean we can't dream. So I've compiled a list of my favorite some of my favorite anime that I think would make fantastic games. Please feel free to make a short list of your own (I'd love to see what you guys think!).

1. Cowboy Bebop- I should have stated straight away that I don't think these games need to be direct continuations or outright retellings of the same stories we've already watched/read. Whereas in comics it's only fun if you're playing as Superman or Thor or Spider-Man, a manga/anime game could be just as fun if you're a new character in the same world. You see, the one thing I think anime/maga does far better than comics is world building. I'd be prefectly content to play in the Bebop universe as a bounty hunter flying through space. Using the same engines as games like Star Citizen or Elite Dangerous to traverse the solar system with our own ships and crew in search of dangerous criminals sounds like some of the best fun I can imagine insofar as gaming.

2. Ghost in The Shell - Same here, I'd love being able to build my own prosthetic body and choose how to set my cyberbrain up. I'd love playing as a Section 9 officer. Imagien features like being able to choose whether to be a heavy cyborg or to add a shotgun to one of your arms. I'd imagine something in the vein of Mass Effect where characeter customization is at the fore of gameplay.

3. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind - This one doesn't really require a lot of description. It'd be great fun to play as Nausicaa and explore this world of overflowing creativity and wonder.

4. Space Brothers - This is on the list because I think it'd be fun to play as an astronaut with realistic (somewhat realistic) technology and physics. Imagine being a part of the first manned team to travel to a planet where life is suspected to exist. No need for deadly alien monsters or deadly alien intelligence. You just explore this untouched, alien world with rainforests, tundras and deserts and you examine life and use realistic rovers and tools to do your job. add in features like a peristent stamina/stress meter, battery life for all equipment used and mini games to happen within the space module and I think you'd have a fantastic new kind of video game that walks the fine line between sim and arcade.

5. Guts - This one is really a no-brainer considering how many fans of the series there are and how many people made Guts in Dark Souls games. This is probably the easiest game to make that's on my list. Put players in the world of Berserk and give them armies and monsters to contend with, with brutal shield and sword mechanics that requires skill and finess to master. The world of Berserk was both beautiful and terrifying and it's a world I think gamers and fans of the series would love to play in.

So that's my list and my opinions. What do you think of them? Do you have a few of your own? Please share :)

I've been thinking about the progression of video game IP's, comic characters and movie franchises I love and how I find myself and others lamenting changes made to them. For me, this has happened with the Hitman franchise, Splinter Cell and Superman. I've found myself saying things like, "this isn't Hitman", "this isn't what Superman should be". And I'd stood firmly on that ground until recently when I found something that I wasn't attached to at all. A game series that has fans of old against fans of new and, on one side, the dinosaurs say that the series has been bastardized into mainstream garbage, on the other, the new comers say that it's only natural and proper for things to move on and evolve into something new and different.

This series I'm talking about is Resident Evil. This is a series of games I had never played or even payed attention to before but for so e reason I bought RE5 and RE6 for 10 bucks from a friend of mine who HATES them. I found myself having a complete blast with both. I loved them. And in talking to him I realized that I had the same issues he did only mine were with Hitman, Splinter Cell and Superman. I disliked the new direction those things have been taken in and I was opposed to other people who loved those new directions. So I rolled around these thoughts in my head for a while and I thought is worthy for discussion here.

How do you think writers, developers, publishers etc. Should proceed with loved properties?

My opinion is that they must do what Hideo Kojima does with Metal Gear: retain enough features so that it feels familiar while adding enough features that it feels fresh.

What do you guys think?

(Excuse the rushed manner of this I'm typing on my phone)

First of all, I want to make it clear that this is done as a joke and an obvious homage to the Youtube channel that does this with film. I am intentionally nitpicking a story that I love for fun and laughs. Fair Warning. As with Cinemasins, it helps if you have read the book already, but if not it will be important to read each scan before the captions below them Also, I will be doing my level best to only think about this single work and no other canon. I am only nitpicking this one graphic novel. So without further ado...

Disclaimer:

No butts were hurt during the making of this blog.

Edit: Okay guys, apparently this idea is inherently in violation of the rules. So I'll be trimming this down to 5 sins and There won't be anymore issues. I understand the rule but just don't have the heart to do it halfway.

First of all, I want to make it clear that this is done as a joke and an obvious homage to the Youtube channel that does this with film. I am intentionally nitpicking a story that I love for fun and laughs. Fair Warning. As with Cinemasins, it helps if you have read the book already, but if not it will be important to read each scan before the captions below them Also, I will be doing my level best to only think about this single work and no other canon. I am only nitpicking this one graphic novel. So without further ado...

Disclaimer:

No butts were hurt during the making of this blog.

Be back here tomorrow for Issue 2...

So as some of you may know, yesterday i made a thread begging the question of whether or not feats were a necessary part of the super-hero genre of comic books. The responses were appreciated and they got me thinking. So i pondered and pontificated and googled a bunch of words until i found other words and formed my refined opinion on "feats" (you diggin' the italics? yeah......i know you are.). So if I were to be asked that same question again my answer would be that "feats" as a tool are indeed necessary to the super-hero genre. I say this not because of battle forums or debates but because, in my opinion, "feats" are a vital part of what make superheroes, superheroes. Would you read a comic about an everyday fireman? I would, but if you tell me that fireman can shoot lasers out of his eyes i would have two responses; the first being one that calls into question the irony there, and the second being me becoming even more interested from a nerdy standpoint. If we're all being honest with ourselves and each other we all want feats in some capacity when we read or watch our super-heroes. If you went to see MOS and Clark had no powers, then it would just be a movie about a guy. If you bought a silver surfer comic nd he was just on Zenn-La with no powers you may not be as likely to read that book. Because we LOVE super-heroes. We love the fantasy of being able to fly and catch a falling airplane. Part of the fun of Super-heroes is that they can solve the unsolvable problems while they themselves deal with the everyday unsolvable problems we deal with in our everyday lives. Spider-man can stop a bank robbery, a rape, a kidnapping and an dragon monster attack in an afternoon but he's worried about tax season just like the rest of us. We read the book for both reasons. Because there is a feeling of normalcy and awe. We want to read about Peter Parker and Spider-man and how similar and different they are. could you read a book about a guy and his wife? Ask Brian K. Vaughn. But dont you want your super-heroes to do super-things? i do. and im not ashamed of it. It's part of the fabric of the entire genre. "it's a bird! It's a plane!" isnt a reference to the triumphs of spirit in Clark Kent's life. Its excitement because a dude can fly! Thats awesome! There was one thing i read in my research ("research") for this blog that spoke about the first issue of Mr. Majestics series. One of the reviewers said something that really touched my inner geek (but nor in that perverted way youre thinking......sicko) he said "remember that time when Super-heroes could move planets?" I look on that time fondly. A time where wonder was as key to the reading experience as exposition, rising action, climax, falling action and resolution. And That's why we really love our Super-heroes isnt it? Wonder. They make us dream. They make us, if for only a moment believe in the utterly and physically and emotionally impossible. And ain't nothing wrong with that. So blow up a planet with a hammer and bench press a planet for five days in complete disregard for everything Newton, Einstein and Hawking have dedicated their entire lives to. Because, if for no other reason, that shit is cool!

These are two of the most hotly debated talking points in the battle forums.

"(insert Marvel Characters name here) is a planet buster! i have scans to prove it! (Character X) would only need to land one planet busting (attack) and its allover!"

"Well he would never be able to hit (insert DC character;'s name here) because they are too slow and would be a statue! Thus allowing (Character X) to pummel them into oblivion!"

We've all seen these and lets be honest we've all used these at some point or another. But I believe that this discrepancy is where one of the fundamental differences in Marvel and DC lies. Lets put this in boxing terms; Marvel is to Mike Tyson what DC is to Flloyd Mayweather. The two companies seem, at least in my eyes, to have two different ways of showing power. Judging by Thor's recent exploits he should never have a fight on a planet he cares about because he may well destroy it and everyone on it. I think we would all agree that Superman, Black Adam, Thor and Hyperion are all on a similar level of strength correct? not the exact same level but theyre all in the same league right? So why is it that when Superman fights BA, or when WW fights Superman AND Hal Jordan or when Superman fights someone that dwarfs him in power (He'l or Wraith) Dc's planet earth is left completely unharmed save a few craters and toppled buildings? Thor hits a guy in space and busts an adjacent world. Superman punches He'l while pinned on the ground and merely shakes the world. I say that only two logical conclusions can be drawn:

a) Marvel planets are less durable than DC planets ( i kid i kid)

or

b) The two companies have different ideas of what should be done to display power.

The big fight between Superman and Wraith isn't for another two months but i guarantee you no planets will be destroyed. Because thats just not how DC does things. But you wait and see. whenever Marvel really wants to establish a character as a heavy hitter, they will have he/she destroy some nameless planet that we dont care about (dont worry itll be empty). Im not saying one way is better than the other or that one way is wrong and one way is right but i am saying that one thing we need to take into the battle forums with us is this: Perspective. simply put you cant use a ruler to measure wind speed.

So thats my take on this topic. hopefully you will see something you deem debate worthy. cheers.

Id like to start off by saying that Green Lanterns are one of my personal favorites. I love them. in fact I still hope that one day an emerald ring will burst through my window and ask me if I accept. but I have a big problem with, not the green lanterns but rather with the way theyre written. now let me explain how I think they Green Lanterns should be written. First of all green lanterns have a weakness; their weakness is that their power is based off creativity and requires an especially creative writer and artist to really do them justice. green lanterns should be doing incredibly imaginative things with thse rings but rather you see them doing generic blasts and boxing gloves. Now should every lantern be able to transform with their rings? to turn into smoke or to create a black hole or creating breaking things apart at an atomic level or phasing through solid objects? not at all. but the top tier lanterns should be doing the things I listed and more. lanterns like hal, kyle, sinestro, kilowag etc. should be amazing us with feats of incredible power imo. another problem I have with lanterns and the way theyre written now is that there are no real definitions of the power difference between a hal Jordan and a random alien in the background other than the comics saying hal is better. hal should do things that other lanterns didn't even think was possible. another thing I think would be cool if added to the mythos would be that if a lantern had enough will power, like john stewart or hal or sinestro or kyle, they wouldn't have to charge the ring anymore. to me it makes sense that the ring is powered by will and if your will is strong enough you don't need to charge it. but these are just a few of my opinions. let me know what you guys think