Crossing over with Andrew Albacia

People are suckers for crossovers. Think about it. You love one thing and you love another and you hope for a crossover. Spaghetti with bolognese sauce and macaroni with cheese are two very popular crossovers but if there are places where crossing over is vogue these days, it's comics and (more recently) gaming.

With Marvel vs Capcom 3 on the horizon (launching this Feb) and the recent announcement of Deadpool nemesis, Taskmaster and yet another bloody Street Fighter veteran in the tanned form of the murderous Akuma I've been coming down all crossover-y. Not quite to the DC level of crossovers. For example, I'm not going to start causing some cataclysm that will effect everyone who reads this while deleting several of you that seem stupid or extreme (Like Ace the Bat-Dog). I'm not into crises.

What is the ultimate crossover though? I mean, Batman and Super Man teaming up to make the former seem ineffectual has been happening for decades and when we have crossing-over all over the place with the likes of the Teen Titans, The Avengers or the JLA it all seems a little boring and the norm.The ultimate crossover is the Amalgamation of two IPs that you really struggle to see. None of that internal company bollocks... we love some cross-company love.

So this here will be dedicated to a few things that are currently up in the air, it's been a while since my last post or my last anything and so, I'm fixing that right now. Let's talk comics, games and movies instead of word limits and such.

MvsC3 is due in mid-Feb

Firstly, Marvel vs Capcom 3 is two characters away from its final on-the-disc roster with last night's reveals. Who is up for the last two slots? Well, it will be one character from Marvel and one from Capcom as you would expect but who could fill that role? Could we be seeing Frank West or Chuck Greene stepping up to the plate again? Fresh from Tatsunoko vs Capcom and Dead Rising 2: Case West, hands filled newly obtained combo cards? It would be great but our final roster is also down Mega Man, instead opting to send his ally Zero into the breach - which is odd considering Mega Man's standing that he would be dropped in favour of adding more Street Fighter stars but Zero does have a considerable fanbase.

On Marvel's side of the road we have a fair few fresh faces already, including the bizarre M.O.D.O.K and the arse-kicking Canadian that isn't Wolverine Deadpool. While we also have some characters that seem a touch underwhelming like X-23 (who is essentially James Howlett with an exposed midriff) we have some interesting characters creeping in like Phoenix (Not Wright) and Dormammu. However, Marvel's side for the most part, plays it safe with very well-known characters returning. What could change that? Howard the Duck?

Just to clarify, here's a list so far:

Capcom side

Akuma (From Street Fighter)
Albert Wesker (Resident Evil/Biohazard)
Amaterasu (Okami)
Sir Arthur (Ghosts and Goblins/Ghouls and Ghosts)
Chris Redfield (Resident Evil)
Chun-Li (Street Fighter)
Crimson Viper (Street Fighter)
Dante (Devil May Cry)
Jill Valentine (Resident Evil) - As DLC
Mike Haggar (Final Fight) \O/!
Morrigan Aensland (Darkstalkers)
Nathan Spencer (Bionic Commando)
Ryu (Street Fighter)
Trish (Devil May Cry) - Also, THE LIIIIGHT.
Tron Bonne (Mega Man Legends)
Viewtiful Joe (Viewtiful Joe)
Zero (Mega Man/Mega Man Zero)

Marvel:

Captain America
Deadpool
Doctor Doom
Dormammu
Hulk
Iron Man
Magneto
M.O.D.O.K
Phoenix
She-Hulk
Shuma Gorath - As DLC
Spider-Man
Storm
Super-Skrull
Taskmaster
Thor
Wolverine
X-23 (See Wolverine)

Looking a decent and rounded enough line-up at the moment. Though the smattering of character announcements stretched out over a large period of time as a tool of advertising is becoming increasingly common. Marvel vs Capcom is also offering DLC characters in the future, starting with Jill and Shuma who will be released after the discs ship. Why aren't they on the game? Well... that's becoming increasingly common also.

In Marvel vs Capcom 2, I used Jill Valentine, Cammy White and Captain America but from the lists currently, I'll be swapping the Cap for Deadpool and Cammy (as she isn't present) with somebody else entirely.

Kotobukiya have also begun bulking up their comic book merchandise with a severe increase in their Marvel x Bishoujo line. These PVC figurines feature familiar characters from Marvel's comic books reimagined in the stylings of Shunya Yamashita (former Square-Enix designer amongst other plaudits). If you need to catch up, here are the first three girls that opened the line in 2009.

The girls that started the line

While the line was initially mostly members of the X-men family, this year sees the line expand to incorporate some of the other comic houses in the Marvel Universe. The most notable being the upcoming Ms. Marvel (There's an image of the Ms. Marvel in my last blog post from November) and Susan Storm.

Not content with letting Marvel have their runaway success though, another high-profile company decided that they too would allow their characters to join the ladies of Marvel on your shelf with the release of the first in the DC x Bishoujo line: Bat Girl. This will not cover up the disaster of DC's own AmiComi line of character statues but they are certainly of better quality and Yamashita's artwork is just great for these characters.

Barbara Gordon is due this January and is responsible for not only launching the new DCU line-up but also an increase in scale for the whole series - including Marvel's released after January 2011. This is a mixed blessing however because while big is always better, the scale difference between them and the previous figures could be jarring or awkward for display purposes.

The Marvel characters available as of now are:

Kara El - Cousin of Superman

#1 Black Widow
#2 Rogue
#3 Scarlet Witch
#4 Psylocke
#5 Phoenix
#6 Emma Frost
#7 Black Cat
#8 Ms. Marvel
#9 Invisible Woman

Announced for the new DCU line:

#1 Batgirl
#2 Cat Woman
#3 Wonder Woman
#4 Supergirl

Thoughts? Your favourites there or not? I know my girlfriend is hanging on for the DC line to incorporate more of the Batman family. Most importantly Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy because she has a thing for Harlequins and itchy plants. Even her xbox live avatar is draped in a hellequin outfit - her murderous character of choice in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood's online multiplayer.

They would probably be stupid to not include Bruce Timm's sidekick to the Joker in the line honestly though as she is ridiculously popular. So popular that the comics rolled her into ther continuity from the cartoon series. Something that you would never imagine happening most of the time.

Preferably with her hammer or an oversized comedy gun. Just what you'd expect from the Joker's girlfriend.

So who's up for Watchmen vs Teletubbies?

If you're into gaming, then you are probably looking forward to March. Several things are due to launch then. Firstly, the western versions of Pokémon Black and White arrive then and they are supposed to be the best games in the series so far going on Japanese reviews but we shall see how they are recieved here later. Dragon Age 2 also lands in March which will follow the exploits of a Commander Shepard-like character named Hawke who will be customisable in the typical Bioware fashion and enter a world shaped by your actions in the previous game. The issue people are having is that Hawke is racially restricted to be Human to aid the storytelling while the previous game offered numerous races to play as with its "Warden" lead character. March also hides the launch of the 3DS and its pricepoint is due for release soon. Expect something a bit more expensive than the DS was at launch though...

Andy out, for now!

Backwards and Forwards or thereabouts

Christmas is coming up and the Games industry is sending out the usual surge before that overweight old man with the comical means of transportation alledgedly and entirely illegally trespasses on your property and attempts to give things to your children finally arrives on that frosty morning.

You are the controller (assuming you like to dance)

Did you manage to get hold of Kinect? Did you succumb to Playstation Move? Did you get that labotomy you promised yourself all those years ago? Do you have a mint copy of Panzer Dragoon Saga?

No?

...


If you fall into any of those categories then you are buying into what Microsoft and Sony hope to extend their format's lifespan by a slider of years. They believe that adding the option to become what are essentially HD and (arguably more precise) Wii will allow them to extend their market value. Personally, for what is currently available on Kinect, it is a tad overpriced. Somewhere around £100 would be better but at the moment Dance Central and possibly Kinectimals are the only ones pulling my interest. Sonic the Hedgehog? Nah, not worth the £40 from the review aggregate and footage I've been seeing.

Well, if none of those questions apply to you then you'll probably be playing Call of Duty: Black Ops until Activision drop next years rinse-repeat. While I don't mind you all getting Fidel Castro's knickers in a twist over one of his many attempted assassinations, I do wish you would sample a larger palette on the gaming smorgasboard. One would - if not correctly informed - believe steadfast that shooting games were the only titles being produced and to an extent, you would be correct. We live in a climate where online multiplayer shooters have taken over; from children who are technically not supposed to be playing but feel a need to just so they can call people older than them "fags" when they put a slug in their virtual brain to your elderly grandfather who just realised that games are actually quite fun and not - as the television told him - morally degrading.

...and hold it. I'm not saying that Call of Duty is a horrible franchise. I'm saying that to the people that read the tabloids, it is ridiculously popular. The same kind of people who wouldn't play Star Fox because the protagonist is a cartoon canid or they think that Super Mario is for five year olds. The same kind of people that wouldn't know their Shigeru Miyamoto from their Walt Disney or their Sid Meir from their Virginia Woolf. We all know these people and we all ignore them as hard as we can hoping that they will leave us to our consoles.

Oh and if you do happen to have that mint copy of Panza Dragoon Saga, you can send it to me and I'll promise not to shoot you and bury you under a patio in the suburbs of Liverpool, alright?

1935? We know what you are getting at with this picture, Walt XD

Epic Mickey is also out soon. It's a game that I have been monitoring for a while because I remember when Mickey Mouse made video games his bitch. These days, however he is almost entirely marketed to young children and it's about time Disney changed that. The most exciting thing to an avid Video gamer and animation enthusiast? Oswald the Lucky Rabbit is back.

After the simple cartoon studio in Kansas, after the Alice comedies (and the first incarnation of the Bear/Dog/Cat Pete) and before Mickey Mouse graced us was Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Disney lost the rights to this character however after he was refused a pay rise by Charles Mintz' back in the 20s. This caused the creation of a very famous mouse and Oswald was handed over to another Walter famous for a certain maniacal Woodpecker - Walter Lantz - which resulted in some pretty boring Universal-backed cartoons.
 

Capcom and Sega did right by Mickey

...but now Oswald is back under Disney and a Video game is the first medium in over eighty years to portray him in his creator's shadow. It's certainly the first time you are going to see him interacting with the upstart rodent that replaced him. You'd have to wonder what Disney would think about this. I'm sure he would have appreciated the interactivity in gaming. He was always looking for the next new thing in storytelling afterall and if Star Trek teaches you anything, it's that being the controller is definitely the future of storytelling. Remember Back to the Future 2? "You have to use your hands?" the kids scream. Think McFly, think.

Will Mickey return to being a legitimate gaming hero like he was in the 8 and 16-bit worlds? I hope so.

However, I digress. Next year is almost upon us and we have a lot to look forward to. The 3DS is very close on the horizon and it promises a strong opening night in the shape of some lovely exclusives. While these gems are mostly from who you would expect, including Nintendo's legendary banner flyer's like the previously touted Star Fox or the remake of the game of the twentieth century in the shape of the three-dimensional Ocarina of Time or Capcom's stable of strong intellectual properties like Street Fighter, Megaman and Resident Evil we also have some suprising showings such as Konami's Metal Gear Solid.

The PSP2 is also rumoured to be lanching next year with several improvements or refinements, including a touchpad and dual analogue sticks. Though, it will apparently be going commando without a UMD drive and be forced digital download only. While the UMD drive did drain the batteries quickly due to its moving parts and was roughly the volume of a man with a megaphone in the company of the Spanish Inquisition. Will Sony be able to launch this without physical media and succeed? Or will it go the way of the PSP Go? What do you think? Can you go without? Do you like having the boxes and paper manuals? Perhaps you trade in your games frequently?

Next year will also bring us Marvel vs Capcom 3. There are high hopes for this follow-up that took ten years to berserker claw its way back through all those licencing lawyers in Mephisto's domain. Maverick Hunter Zero and the She-Hulk were announced recently along with two characters making a return from the previous games - Jill "I'm a member of S.T.A.R.S!" Valentine and Doctor Strange (and bizarrely Conan the Barbarian) Cthullu wannabe, Shuma Gorath. This pair however will be DLC with Shuma most likely playing like his previous incarnations and Jill, now sporting her bleached hair and purple jumpsuit from Resident Evil 5 will most likely have an entirely new moveset due to Chris Redfield borrowing most of her munitions-based powers this time out.

Rogue learned to fly from Ms. Marvel

I'm still hoping for Ms. Marvel aka Carol Danvers. Already have Deadpool.

Which characters would you like to see appear in Marvel vs Capcom? Which games are you most waiting for next year or even this one if it somehow hasn't realeased yet?

In the meantime, enjoy yourselves killing insurgents in the 1960s, smacking down hollowmen with slightly choppy animation and the vocal talents of Britain, Assassinating allies to the Pope whilst rebuilding Roma, replaying GoldenEye without Sean Bean or whatever else takes your fancy this winter. This year has been a damn fine one for us.

Oh yeah, also I uploaded the full blip version of the Pokémon Heart Gold/Soul Silver review I did to youtube. All 13 minutes reunited at last. As Blackadder might say "get it here".

See you in 2002

Andy out

New episodes soon with any luck and University again

Well, quite. As luck would always have it where I am concerned, I managed to pass a bloody exam while being capped at 40%. That's nothing unusual, it's just how things tend to run off. Can't really say why, I stress when there is a paper in front of me. However, what this means is that I never have to look at that black, souless piece of shit module again and have re-enrolled into the second year.

Second year already? As they would say in California, "I know, right?"

The second year of course, means that I have to work out what I'm doing properly. Was difficult to do the daybook development thing when you are using characters that are older than some of your peers. I cannot remember the details about how, say a character that I have been using since 1992 came to be. Well anyways, I don't work like that. Mark me down. I don't give a shite. The characters I am using take a lot from me to talk about. It's slightly embarrassing to me. They grew up with me. There has never been a day in my life since I was six or so when one of them hasn't invaded my mind. This is a long ass time and makes showing "development" difficult. Maybe I should develop something new but with a revised, stripped-down count of about thirty active continuitys, I'm running out of space.

...oh and not knowing what jazz hands are, does not a bad haiku make.

Now, disregarding that and some imminent classroom politics related to this fresh year (People are being mixed up. We're getting it on more with the English people - or as I like to say, those who endure examinations) I will hopefully be getting some new gear and writing up some more videos. There's a possibility that I will take a look at:

Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within - Certainly was my Final thought on the subject of Fantasy, Miss Aki Ross.

Advent Children: Final Fantasy VII - If this really holds up as a watertight movie to you... you have a case of the fanboy and need to be put down.

Postal - This one has been hovering around for a while. I'm ashamed to have watched it in order to review it, honestly and I'm really not sure if anything would come from it. The comedy is so poor and Uwe Boll is so easy to make fun of I don't think it would be great.

Hitman - Agent 47 played by Smallville's rendition of Lex Luthor. There's pointless violence and some weird sado-nudity thrown in there from his russian love interest... hang on. Love interest? Agent 47? I don't think so love.

So yeah, have multiple movies on the cards right now but no games. I really need to get back into making those. Last year, Uni prevented me from really getting anything out and, well, that has to change this time. I can't take another hiatus (It could however have been that FFVII review I did draining me). I've had some attention from the pros on my youtube channel and my blip has made me about 6 cents in advertising revenue. Sure, it's nothing... but it's a start. More than I ever made on youtube from 2008 anyways.

If you haven't seen my ongoing series, check them out here.

Here's my youtube.

This thing will probably upload itself to Facebook in about three days time when I have forgotten that I'd written it. Go team internet!

Schedule for today? More Final Fantasy XI (the overlooked but hard as nails/actually one of the most engaging in the series) and pizza tonight. Going to be a good day, I think.

Andy

Video Game Adaptation Hell: DOA - Dead or Alive Review [Part One]

Click to Play

Into the second part of the wonderful world of Dead or Alive...

Have fun and pull up a chair as we see if breasts can sell a movie as much as they think they can.

Dead or Alive is owned by Tecmo.

Video Game Adaptation Hell: DOA - Dead or Alive Review [Part Two]

Click to Play

Into the second part of the wonderful world of Dead or Alive...

Have fun and pull up a chair as we see if breasts can sell a movie as much as they think they can.

Dead or Alive is owned by Tecmo.

Video Game Adaptation Hell: Pokemon: The First Movie [Mewtwo Strikes Back] Review

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Join in on an epic battle between two legendary Pokémon. It's 1999 and everything about them is totally cool. Is this movie just a moneyspinner or was it actually a useful addition to the franchise? Now eleven years later we have dozens of Pokémon movies to choose from, so what is the genetics cat doing to ensure you remember he exists?

Pokémon and related media are owned by Nintendo and the Pokémon company.

Video Game Adaptation Hell: Sonic the Hedgehog The Movie

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Before Sonic Adventure we had... well, we had this.

The Hedgehog's movie debut look-over, Into the final stretch with a great big battle of blue-hued fighters and weird hangers-on armed to the teeth with vague metareferencing.

Also, global warming is a huge threat here all of a sudden. Should have realised that when there were no Polar Bears in the cast.

...and no, I don't count Bark.

Sonic the Hedgehog is owned by SEGA enterprises.