Amazing Spider-Man #618-620

Mysterio joins The Gauntlet in what is probably the best Spider-Man story in years. Mr. Negative and the Maggia have a gang war and both sides are being manipulated by the villainous master of illusion.

The art is top notch, the storytelling is tight, and the overall presentation make this three-issue run a must have for any Spidey-fan.

The only down-side is that the next issue or three will be completed by a different creative team, which will result in the issues being boring, filler, or total garbage.

Marvel needs to put ASM back to a once-monthly schedule.

Dragon Ball Evolution

Totally crazy and completely unwatchable for anyone who has never seen the anime, but fans of the original series will enjoy the movie as long as they don't care about it being perfectly faithful.

Ghostbusters: The Video Game

I really enjoyed this game. The story is fun and the voice acting is top notch (this was to be expected as Ackroyd and Ramis wrote the script and everyone from the movie returned to give their voices). The  game is on the short side (about 10 hours), but you get a quality gaming experience with lots of interesting trophies and a multiplayer game to extend playability. It currently retails for $40 and at $4 per hour you are getting a bargain. 

One warning though: the game is very buggy. Recent patches have fixed the most egregious of bugs (one of the trophies was unobtainable), but there is still a chance you will get stuck in a wall or against a crate and need to reset at the last checkpoint. 

If you are a fan of the movies this game is a must have, but if you don't know what I'm talking about when I say "someone blows their nose and you want to keep it", you may wish to leave this title on the shelf.

Mega Man 10 Trophies

Mega Man 10 hits the PSN on March 11th and the XBLA on March 31st, and the trophy list has been revealed. You can check it out here. They seem incredibly hard. Clear the game without taking any damage is only a silver trophy!? Have the trophy people never played a Mega Man game before?

That silver trophy is harder than several platinum trophies combined.

Yakuza 3 Demo

The popularity of specific video games varies from country to country. At times some games are universally popular and sell millions of copies across the globe, and at other times the popularity of games is localized. The latter is true for the Yakuza series of video games. The titles are classic beat-em-up-style sandbox games with rpg elements and a fantastic story weaved throughout, so it is no wonder that this is a huge seller in Japan. And I mean huge. Yakuza 3 was the second highest selling video game in Japan in 2009. It beat out Resident Evil 5 and lost only to Final Fantasy XIII.

The story is rich, complex, and, quite literally, Japan's version of the Corleone Family Saga from Mario Puzo's The Godfather. If you enjoy GTA games, mob stories, or anything that has a lot of kicking in it, this game is for you.

It hits the North American shelves on March 9th, but you can download the demo now on the PSN. You will not be disappointed.

Critter Crunch

I just downloaded Critter Crunch on the PSN and it is a lot of fun. Anyone who enjoys puzzle games should check it out.

Heavy Rain Demo

The Heavy Rain demo is now available for download on the PSN, and recently I got a chance to check it out. The graphics and music are amazing; they really fit murder-mystery storyline. I was less impressed with the controls; walking is clunky and I don't really need to control basic, mundane movements. For example, when you want to get out of your car or open a door you press down on the right analog stick. Ooooo, exciting. I don't know about the rest of you, but I like my video games to be about things I can't do in real life: jump on goombas, fight zombies, or quest for magical items. I don't need the realism of opening a door in my video games.

The storyline is intriguing and you do want to know the identity of the origami killer, but the controls will keep me away from this one at launch. I will eventually check the game out, but probably once it goes down to $30.

Siege #2

This issue was fine. Faint praise I know, but I could not really get overly excited about this one. I am not a big fan of the longer, nothing really happens way of storytelling that is popular in comics these days. At the end of issue #1 we saw Captain America looking angry, and now, at the end of issue #2, we get to see the reflection of his shield in the Iron Patriot's visor. This didn't need an entire issue's worth of build. Spoilers next (scroll down).










I also was not happy with the overly gross death of Ares. The Sentry rips him apart and we see a gush of blood, guts, and pieces of spine. I am not against violence in comics but this seems a bit much for a standard superhero tale. The book is rated T+ in Marvel's fake rating system, but, again, I am not sure that graphic depictions of violence is something that a 13 year old should be reading.

I'll pick up issues #3 and #4 with the hope that this potentially awesome, yet currently boring, storyline will come to a great finish.

Twilight's Identity Revealed

Any fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 will already have heard the news, but here it is again: the secret identity of Twilight is none other than Angel.

This seems like a bit of a stretch, so I am interested to see where this is going. Is Angel the Big Bad to prepare Buffy for an even worse evil? Has he lost his soul (again)? Is it not really Angel (some sort of Scooby-Doo double mask deal)?

The big reveal happens in a few months with issue #34. It is sure to be a big seller.

The Muppet Show #1

I am quite pleased to see that kids' comics are making a comeback and that young readers are having greater choice at their local comic book shop. This book is a good read for any Muppet-fan, young or old. The creative team has done a great job keeping the style and playful comedy of the original show and movies while transferring Kermit and the gang to a new medium.

The art, panels, and colouring are all perfect, and the writer does an excellent job of creating a plausible linear story while peppering the tale with great non-sequitur comedy (my favourite panel is where Gonzo shows up out of nowhere and asks Miss Piggy if she wants an onion sandwich).

If you have a young one who is getting into the comic hobby, or if you want to stroll down memory lane, pick up this book; you will not be disappointed.

Amazing Spider-Man #617

Excellent issue with a great use of the Rhino. Along with the "Flowers for Rhino" story from Tangled Web and that Hulk story where the Rhino pretends to be Santa Claus this is probably the best use of the villain. I must admit, however, that despite being pretty well versed in Spider-lore I did not know that the Rhino was Russian. Retcon?

Doom's Mother

The Superhero Squad show deserves a post all of its own, but in the mean time check out the concept art for Doom's mother here. Mind-blowing, isn't it?

This seems like a bad idea...

Scientists have created a device that would allow humans to walk on walls like Spider-Man. You don't need a Phd in anything to know that this will be a bad idea once the fanboys get ahold of it. Read the story here.

Total Failure

I recently downloaded the demo for the new Aliens VS Predator game and I tried to test it out today: total failure.

The demo is only a multiplayer demo; there is no single player mode. That isn't great, but it would be tolerable if I could find someone to play with online. After several attempts and about ten minutes of waiting I gave up on this game.

Poor show all round Sega. This does not make me want to buy your game.