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The Digital Continuum: Superhero standoff
Lets face it, the superhero genre is a bit of a niche right now in massively online games. That's not to say it doesn't have lots of potential, but there is certainly a more limited user base to garner steady subscriptions from than, say, fantasy. Ever since Marvel Universe Online got canned, the future was starting to look a bit murky for fans of the super-powered MMO -- at least until recently.
Marvel Universe Online: how would it have worked?
Here's a question I haven't heard anyone ask. I'm a dyed-in-the-wool Marvel Comics geek; I know what both MODOK and AIM stand for; I remember Wolverine from when he wore those silly little eye-wings and whiskers on his mask; heck, I recall Nick Fury heading up the Howling Commandos. So I was pretty excited to hear about the Marvel Universe MMO. I had fantasies of playing as my favorite character (Adam Warlock, in case anyone's interested) until I realized that the game couldn't possibly work that way.Think on it for a second: how many players would want to be Gambit, or the Hulk, or the Punisher? If even just two people, then there's a problem with identity. Even if you were to get around the problem with a suffix, i.e., Punisher213, then the brand has been diluted, and it no longer means anything. So, how would this MMO have worked?
Jack Emmert explains Cryptic's Champions choice
When the news hit that Cryptic Studios' next massively game would be Champions Online, a lot questions cropped up about what we could expect from the game. One of the biggest questions or the only question for some players -- is why? Jack Emmert explains in the first developer blog post on the new official CO website. In the end, it wasn't anything surprising that made Jack stand up and say, "Lets do Champions." It was something incredibly logical and a bit nostalgia-fueled as well, but in a good way.
Interview with Ludo Lullabi, artist of the WoW comic
The good folks over at MTV's Multiplayer blog continue their coverage of the WoW comic with an interview with Ludo Lullabi. Lullabi is the regular artist on the book, and it's great to hear that he's not only a big fan of Warcraft, but that he understands how important it is to use the game as a source-- he even draws straight from screencaps sometimes.Of course, the game can't always work as inspiration-- he says he really had to spruce up the Dire Maul arena to get it to look right in the comic. And he's taken it easy on the game lately while working on the comic. Not being able to play that much of the game because you're spending too much time trying to work on describing it? I can definitely identify with that one.But all in all, Ludo sounds like a smart and talented guy. Good to know the art side of the comic is in such good hands.[Via Incgamers]
To the LEGO-Cave!
We're not really sure what's going on in this picture, but they sure do look guilty, don't they? Or perhaps just annoyed that we're watching while they attempt to sneak up on some villain types. From the latest screenshots from LEGO Batman, there are plenty of those running around. See for yourself in our fresh new gallery!%Gallery-13236%
World of Warcraft comic #1 gets a second printing
People sure do love their World of Warcraft, in whatever form they can get their hands on it. The first WoW comic sold out incredibly fast, and now DC comics has arranged for a second printing of "World of Warcraft #1" that will feature a new black and white version of Jim Lee's cover illustration.You can expect this second printing to be in stores on January the 4th, and you'll probably want to plan ahead or get in quick if you ever want to see one of these in the flesh. As vice president of creative development at Blizzard Entertainment Chris Metzen puts it, "From how quickly the first printing sold out, it's clear that comics fans and World of Warcraft players are also liking what they're seeing."[Via WoW Insider]
The Digital Continuum: Concerning superpowers
It's been a long time since City of Heroes launched and up to the sale of the CoX property to NCsoft, Cryptic Studios added quite a bit more into the game. Not just City of Villains with its slew of additional content but also additional levels, tailors for extra costumes/costume redesigns, epic archetypes, plenty of new zones, PvP elements, game balances, new powers, an item system that allows players to invent all sorts of things and even an alien invasion or two. Just recently players were given with another set of new powers that they themselves were able to help choose via the official forums! While that laundry list of additions is quite well and good, for me it still feels like something is missing from my super hero game.Largely, I think the problem lies with what the game engine is and isn't capable of rendering. The recent inclusion of customizable melee weapons and guns/bows has made me realize something. What about the guy who shoots fire or throws punches full of pure energy? What if I want to create a magic character ala Dr. Strange and green magical fire sounds really cool to me? Well too bad, my fire looks like everyone's boring red fire and there's not a thing that I can do about it. Yet in a game where customization is king, personal touches like green fire or red and purple energy blasts seem to me an incredibly important feature. I've paid a lot more than one or two months of subscription fees just to design myself some characters in CoX and I only manage to get them to around level 14. Just imagine how much more money and time someone would spend given further customization choices.
DC Online to get Crackdown AI
In a fairly blase bit of news, Sony Online Entertainment has announced that they'll be using Kynogen's Kynapse AI technology for the DC Comics MMO they currently have in development. Kynapse has been used in such successful games as Lord of the Rings Online, Fable 2, and Crackdown, though if you asked us we probably wouldn't be able to figure out what is quite so remarkable about it. The focus of their technology seems to be AI that works well in large environments, which would fit well with the "massive" part of the MMO equation, but you'd really be hard-pressed to find an MMO where that wasn't the case.If we were of a more conspiratorial bend, we might suggest that SOE is using this otherwise innocuous piece of news filler to simply remind gamers everywhere that not every officially-licensed super hero MMO out there is rumored to be on the chopping block. But that would be completely unprofessional, and we'd never do anything like that...[Via NextGen]
Lego Batman to hit Wiis next year
TT Games officially announced today that the next game in the LEGO franchise, LEGO Batman: The Videogame, is coming out on the Wii (and pretty much every other system). The game will be made by the same development team that made the popular LEGO Star Wars games.LEGO Batman not only lets you play as Batman and Robin, but you can also play as the bad guys. The press release didn't specify whether or not villain control will be limited to certain sections of the game or available throughout, but it's still a nice feature to add. More things to look forward to include the vehicle construction feature, utilizing Batman's gadgetry, and a two player co-op mode. We're 100% convinced that this game is going to rock our world. The game is schedule for a Fall 2008 release, though, and we just don't know how we're going to wait that long. Ah, the sweet, sweet torture of it all.[Via press release]
Issue #0 of World of Warcraft comic online
If the first few pages of the first issue of the World of Warcraft comic tickled your proverbial fancy, then you might want to check out the online-only issue #0 that MTV Multiplayer recently put up. The series, which is being published by Wildstorm (a branch of DC Comics) and written by former Hawkgirl author Walter Simonson, seems to pay more attention to lore than most comic book adaptations of popular franchises. For instance, on page three, a level 6 human rogue runs up to a level 70 blood elf warlock, calls him a H0M0L0RD, and /spits on him twenty times.You should be able to find issue #1 in your nearest Cheetos-scented comic book retailer this Wednesday.
Firefly launches DC and Looney Tunes-themed handsets
If the standard translucent blue is boring your tyke to tears, Firefly Mobile has a handful of new variations of its child-oriented handset that might just be what the doctor ordered. Through a deal with Warner Bros. Consumer Products, Chicago-based Firefly Mobile is now peddling versions of its pod-shaped Firefly wrapped in Superman, Supergirl, and Tweety Bird designs. The Tweety Bird version is weirding us out a bit (click through to see what we mean) but we're sure they'll be a hit with the little 'uns this holiday season. Look for the phones in stores now or online at Firefly's site for $90 a pop.[Via Slashphone]
Metareview - Justice League Heroes
The success of the X-Men Legends series proved that there is still a market for good hack-and-slash RPGs. But Warner Bros. Interactive wasn't about to let Activision and Marvel Comics have all the fun -- not when the WB is home to DC Comics and some of the most beloved superheroes of all time. The resulting Justice League Heroes falls a little short of its mutant counterparts, despite the efforts of Snowblind Studios (Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance, Champions of Norrath) and Justice League Unlimited writer Dwayne McDuffie. Die-hard fans will be disappointed by the omission of some popular Leaguers, although the alternate costumes and their unique modifiers might make up for that. More unforgivable is that the members of Gotham City's impressive rogues gallery are absent from a JLH villains roster that sorely needs them. How about a Batman Legends next? Game Informer (73/100) was generally displeased, but cited a first for The Man of Steel: "It only offers two-player offline cooperative play. Enemy types and environmental architecture are highly recycled. The plot reads like a kindergartner's first attempt at writing. On the plus side, this is the first game that successfully makes Superman a fun character to play." 1UP (65/100) wasn't content throwing down with Lex Luthor, Braniac, and Gorilla Grodd: "Maybe the drama would have been more believable if the villains weren't downright dumb. A talking gorilla, an intelligent robot, and a killer bee? That's all you got, DC? Where are all the Batman villains? The Joker, Two-Face, Catwoman -- now those are villains worth fighting. Not some dude who calls himself 'The Key'." IGN (64/100) thinks JLH's character balance is a little off: "Surprisingly, Zatanna is the most potent character in the game. She can heal, cast an over-powered fire attack at low cost (when leveled up), and can turn 95% of all enemies into harmless rabbits. Sadly, Batman is easily the most useless and joyless character you can select. Even Aquaman is more fun to play. Batman's powers, such as calling in a fleet of bats, just don't cut it."
Batman to LEGO brick consoles everywhere
With the release of LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy being close enough for us to start using words like "imminent" and "impending," it's hard not to "imagine" the possibilities brought on by the next franchise selected for LEGO-fication. CVG reports that the world's greatest detective has been chosen by Traveller's Tales to star in the next instalment of the lighthearted series. Following in the square footsteps of the Star Wars games, Batman's blocky adventure is sure to be an amusing parody of everything we've come to know about the caped crusader, Gotham City and its noticeably deranged inhabitants. "Where does he get those wonderful toys?"If you'll recall, it was just last month that Jonathan Smith of Traveller's Tales confirmed that more LEGO games were in the works. Congratulations to Joystiq commenter 32_Footsteps for correctly pinning Batman as the next victim of geometric simplification. We'd dole out some sort of prize, but we think having Batman busting blockheads and battling a juxtaposed Joker is reward enough.
Screens for the Man of Steel
The shaky, disease-ridden addicts over at XboxAddict have posted some new screens of Superman Returns. This could turn out to be a great game, but thus far the screenshots have not thrilled me. They lack zing. No verve at all. Hopefully, my fears are completely unfounded and this will be the best Superman since the arcade game, but I'm not holding my super breath.
