X-Men

i just want to say something before continuing with my article. I have been accused of plagiarism on my own work on this site. Every thing I post anywhere on the internet is my own work and I have all the rights to it. In this case, I posted a video where I spoke with Joe "Mad" Madureira about his upcoming video game, Darksiders.  I have been given permission by THQ/Vigil Games to use the footage in this piece, and all the words leading up to the video are my own.  I joined this site in the hopes of being able to add my opinion to a group of like-minded people and provide some unique perspectives, as well as some unique content, to the topics of discussion on the numerous boards in this community. If I ever take material from another source, you can guarantee I will cite it. I hope this never comes up again, but let it be known I will not tolerate false accusations of any kind. My name is Ray Carsillo (Raymond Carsillo Jr. if you want to be specific), I am a web producer/reporter/columnist for 1050 AM ESPN Radio in NYC, a columnist for Collider.com, Examiner.com, and ESPNvideogames.com, and a Internet TV host for UBATV.com. I know comic books and video games and love talking about them and with others who like them. And all material posted to this and other sites is completely my own. Now, with that being said, here is my interview with Joe Mad.  
 
         

i mean he try to kill a baby that could save the Mutant race and almost kill professor x    

I know we have X-Force and they are supposed to be the mutant hitsquad, but why can't we still have a mutant "spook" team on the side. One that deals with the government sanctions against mutants and going undercover. I like X-force don't get me wrong, but they don't really do anything spy-like. Just go after the enem ies and cut them up. I wanna see some actual undercover work, creating fake id's, gleaning info out of people. And some with actual espionage training/skills. Maybe something like:
 
 the quieter side of mutant warfare


X-Works

Field Agents:1. Bedlam (field leader - makes tech go haywire - hacker)
2. Risque (demolitions - 1st contact for informants)
3. Pulse (portable power dampener - occassional "locksmith/safe cracker")
4. Vincente (cover - quick infiltration - occassional biological attack)
5. Primal (muscle - weapons maker - field medic)
6. Maggot (muscle - reconnaissance)

---------
Operations:
Changeling (the boss)
Tessa (the boss II)
Shortpack (field-handler)
Solo (evac)
----------
Miscellaneous/Informants:
Angelo Espinosa (deep cover operative/criminal informant)
Jacob Gavin jr. (Washington Insider)
Mondo (informant - "travel agent" - provider of exotic transport)
 Elena Ivanova(psychic hotline operator - informant)

and they all get new covert ops-themed costumes.
 
Even though a few of them are dead, they could still be easily replaced with other mutants out there.

remember that team? Cannonball, Marrow, Maggot, Kitty Pride, Wolverine and storm, i think. I cant even start to remember who else was in that team. ROuge i think.  Thunderbird.
idk. good times though....

Tim Pocock as Scott Summers       
 
Tahyna Tozzi as Emma Frost      
  
 Ashley Greene or  Haley Ramm as Jean Grey         
 
Sean Faris as Beast    
 
  
Katerina Graham as Storm     
and people that probaly be in there  
 
Thomas Dekker as Quicksilver     
 
Jamie Bell as Banshee    
 
Odette Yustman  as Scarlet Witch  
   
  
 
Nicholas D'Agosto as Mimic    

Shortly after Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 was released, I realized that I had never beaten the first X-Men Legends game. In fact, I had barely started it. Although I have been reading up on the Marvel Universe lately, I still didn't know much about the X-Men. I knew they were mutants, but beyond that I was clueless. And although the game doesn't deal with their personalities a whole lot (most dialogue is presented in text form and doesn't change depending on the character who speaks it) I can at least identify each character and their powers. That wasn't something I could really do before.

I'm totally enjoying the game, but there are some issues. I'm playing the GameCube version, and because the GameCube controller has one less button than its competitors you have to press X and Z together to use energy packs. Pressing Z first will cause a health pack to be used, so you have to make sure you press X first. But X is also used to grab enemies and pick up objects, so it can be difficult to use in the heat of battle.

Despite that, I was still able to keep playing the game without major problems. But once I reached the Arbiter section, another issue cropped up. During this mission the X-Men have to rescue crewmen from a ship called the Aribiter, which happens to be sinking. You have a limited amount of time to do this, and that alone can be frustrating. But there are also Xtraction points on the Arbiter, which you can use to save. Save without enough time to rescue all the crewmen and you're screwed. If the ship sinks or all your party members die, your only options are to return to the main menu or reload a save. In X-Men Legends you cannot restart a mission from the beginning. I don't think I've yet reached the point where it's impossible to pass the mission, but it's definitely going to take a few more tries. Maybe I should use the Xtraction points to train in the Danger Room. It won't add any additional time, but leveling my characters should help to get through enemies faster.

Another game I've been playing recently is Alter Echo. I had no expectations going in, but it's surprising good. Switching between forms, performing sick combos, it's quite fun. Even the sync node/time dilation stuff - which turned me off initially - ended up working better than I expected it to. Just had to ignore the timing bar and figure out the right pacing myself. A pleasant surprise, and although it doesn't look like it offers much in the way of replayabilty, I may end up doing so at some point anyway.

Last Friday I bought some new games. They were Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box, Scribblenauts, and Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story. First, Scribblenauts. Everything you've heard about the game is true. Yes, you can create just about anything. Yes, most of those things serve no purpose. And yes, the controls are terrible. But despite that, it's still a good deal of fun. What other game would let you tame Cthulhu and have God ride around on a T-Rex? Yes, the title screen really is the best part of the game.

After spending some time with Scribblenauts I popped in Diabolical Box. Although I haven't spent a lot of time with the game, so far it's exactly what I'd want out of a Professor Layton sequel. Love the puzzles, and Luke's attempt to remove Inspector Chelmey's "disguise" was great. I haven't started Bowser's Inside Story yet, but I hope to do so in the near future.

Though this list is still not a complete one since I still haven't played other good comic book games like Batman: Arkham Asylum, X-Men: The Arcade Game, X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Marvel vs Capcom 2, but for now allow me to show you my personal Favorite Comic Book Games, and they are (In Order): 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles In Time (Arcade, SNES) 
One of my all time favorite games. This game was released when the Turtles and Nintendo was at the peak of success at the time, and I was very lucky enough to be part of it. Turtles In Time is a solid beat-em-up game with memorable characters, awesome music and non-stop action. A perfect blend of a true arcade game. Recommended playing with friends. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2. Batman Returns (SNES)  
Normally movie-based video games either a hit or miss (Mostly a big miss) but Batman Returns was surprisingly good. You play as Batman obviously and you get to play in locales which took place in the movie and fight bosses from the movie as well. The most coolest thing in the game (Which was not from the movie) is the power bomb that Batman throws to the ground, the screen fades to white and everybody gets knocked out. Fantastic!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
3. Marvel vs Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes (Arcade, Dreamcast, PS) 
This game throws in a whole smorgasbord of characters, fun and action, and the developers did a good job of mixing them all together into pure greatness. Nothing is more painful and menacing than fighting with the almighty Onslaught who is a real pain in the butt. But it was worth it.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4. The Adventures of Batman & Robin (SNES) 
I'm a big fan of the Animated Series and it's still my favorite Batman cartoon compared to the other shows that comes after it (The Batman...uggh!). The Adventures of Batman & Robin had great visuals, sound effects and it really stays true to the source material. The character sprites really stood up and it was fun beating the hell out of everything. The only bummer about this game is no multiplayer. Even though the title says "Batman & Robin" you'd assume you get to play as both characters but no, Robin only makes one appearance and that's it. So lame. Also, the game was really tough in general even for a gaming expert like me, especially the Two-Face's driving stage and the Riddler's puzzle stage. If you haven't seen the Riddler's "If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich?" episode then you'll never guess the answer to the minotaur's riddle. Good luck figuring that one out.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
5. Spider-Man (PS, N64, PC)  
If you're playing Spider-Man for the first time right now, you'll be baffled as to how awful the characters look like with its blocky figures and terrible facial makeover but at the time, it was one of the best game you'd ever seen. Spider-Man gets to meet all the classic bad guys like Venom, Doc Ock, Carnage, Rhino, Scorpion, Mysterio and Lizard with the help of the feline babe- the Black Cat. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
6. Marvel: Ultimate Alliance (PS2, XBOX, PS3, XBOX360, PSP) 
I believe superhero games are best played with a friend, and Ultimate Alliance is no exception. Ultimate Alliance has a great story and kick ass cutscenes which will not disappoint any Marvel fans.
  

 "I am Magneto...fear me!"

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  

 
 
7. X-Men Legends (PS2, XBOX) 
Another amazing Marvel game but this time, it focuses solely on the X-Men. The game starts with a character named Alice who is new to the X-Men and is confused with her surroundings and her newly ability to create lava powers (Thus calling her Magma). It's a great story and it's fun exploring the Xavier's Institute for the first time.  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  

 
8. Batman: Return of The Joker (NES, Game Boy)  
This game is a followup to the Batman game on the NES which I didn't get a chance to play honestly even though it was nominated to be one of the best NES games of all time. Anyway, Batman doesn't use a lot of his fists in Return of The Joker but instead, he uses a bat gun which you can upgrade it using power ups. It was pretty challenging like its predecessor but it has a great soundtrack to boot and the tune still lingers in my mind to this day. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
9. Spider-Man: The Video Game (Arcade) 
While it may not have anything spectacular due to its short length, but it was a great experience to play with three other buddies as Spider-Man, Black Cat, Hawkeye and Namor the Sub-Mariner. The only bummer about this game is that it was only released for the arcade and not home consoles. Please re-release it on XBLA or the PSP. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  

10. The Death & Return of Superman (SNES) 
Probably the only Superman game that didn't suck, The Death & Return of Superman tells a tale of the defeat of the Man of Steel after getting clobbered by Doomsday and he was presumed dead to the world. Soon after, a bunch of other playable superheroes emerge who have some resemblance to Superman and they are the Cyborg, The Eradicator, Superboy and Steel. Though the game had a great storyline, The Death & Return of Superman was slow paced in general because of the enemies who kept coming and coming even you haven't pass to the next screen.

 
So there you have it- my favorite comic book games of all time, but what about my least favorite? Next blog. So until then, play more games (And don't neglect your comic books too).

- Psykhophear

yes becaue I like namor and he looks like an x men sometimes.