So I finally got a copy of Eclipso, Hero and Villain in ONE MAN! It's an old DC comic from the 1960's about a man who when exposed to an eclipse (or any time light gets blocked by anything) he becomes Eclipso, the embodiment of evil! This character has become the butt of many of Tim and my jokes. Upon researching him I learned that later on in his comic book career he gained the power to transform other super powered people into eclipsed versions of themselves...which means villains. In his early life though, he becomes a villain and fights Bruce Gordon, his human alter ego. But come on, Bruce Gordon? Bruce Wayne and Commissioner Gordon...seriously DC, new names!
Alright, so just from the premise, this is a ridiculous comic book. I mean really...how often do you have an eclipse so that he can even become Eclipso? And burst of light transforms him back...so trap yourself in a box and have someone shine a flashlight on you at the point you turn. Problem solved...but this world has more eclipses and random things that are "like an eclipse" that Bruce turns into Eclipso ever issue. And here's the kicker, you feel like you're missing information. Eclipso appears because of an unplanned eclipse, but luckily the last time he was here he hid his costume near by...cause he knew where Bruce would be week before? How? Can he see the future?
Now let's sum up the story of just one issue for you, and maybe you'll see why this is a joke of a comic! First few pages Bruce and his girlfriend are taking a vacation, and somehow she now knows that he is also Eclipso and they say they'll explain that next issue. A little odd, but moving on. They learn that his girlfriends father created a plant growth serum and it is spreading around an island so they are kidnapped to fix it. Bruce goes to crop dust the plants and fix the problem but gets attached by a giant robot then is attacked by his captor and learns that he is the Nazi villain who unleashed the plant growth. Then an eclipse happens and Bruce becomes Eclipso (but don't worry, his costume was hidden in Bruce's suitcase) and is saved by the Nazi, and is shown the master plan. That plan involved growing birds into giant monsters he can control. Eclipso doesn't like this so he steals he black diamand (which everyone seems to have) and attacks him, but a flash of light turns him back into Bruce so he's captured. The Nazi apparently knew Eclipso and Bruce were one and the same. The Nazi tries to run away and leave the captured Bruce, but because his makeup was running he gets mistaken for Eclipso, gets shot dead and Bruce gets freed.....ALL OF THIS IN 13 PAGES!
And this villain has come back to battle the justice league in a new short series...Old school comics are fun aren't they?
February 17, 2011
February 6, 2011
Prototype in Disaster
So I've tried to be accepting of all video games over the years. Even the most flawed games can have there up sides. Take Brutal Legend for example. This game starts out amazing but gradually gets a bit worse as poorly planned real time strategy aspects get added. It has many random glitches and some of the controls don't feel fine tuned. In the end, it's still a great game. The humor is amazing and after all is said and done you're left craving more. Somehow this amazing video game doesn't get a sequel regardless of a large fan base and great reviews.
On the opposite end of the review spectrum is games like Dynasty Warriors. After years of rehashing the same game with only better graphics, more characters and minor changes the reviews have fallen apart. Most of the games barely break the 50% rating and many fail at that. At the same time those games have a huge fan following and can be greatly enjoyed for mindless fun. As a result they get sequels upon sequels because of the money they bring in.
I thought I'd finally figured out how the gaming world worked, but then games like Prototype start to appear. Fairly recently they announced Prototype 2, but under what basis? The game had average to poor reviews and made average money for the creators. So where is the value in creating a sequel and not spending the money on something new?
Let me just say, I enjoyed the beginning of Prototype. Running around the city and destroying everything was a blast. There's barely any slow intro, your just thrown into a chaotic world and expected to battle. Each new power excited me, but around the half way point that quickly falls apart. The games challenge level sky rockets, but the controls and gameplay don't follow. You start spending 90% of your time running away to heal or get undetected just to run back, punch and enemy once and do it all over again. Even though your powers are constantly growing, you end up using objects and military weapons to do most of your fighting. What's the point in being a big super biological weapon if you're not going to use your powers?
The only redeeming factor is when everything is over and you've beaten the game you can return to simply running around and doing what you want, but even that leaves a bitter taste in my mouth cause I now understand all the flaws. Who can run straight up a wall but the second you try to go sideways you get unstable and go crazy directions?
I'm disappointed in the game creators and I'm more disappointed in DC for putting their name in this. I mean it's story is barely there and what is there is generic and predictable. You'd think a comic book company with years of experience would have stopped them at the drawing board and said "ok, we're out."
Now it's getting a sequel while great games like Brutal Legend, Zone of the Enders, and The World Ends With You are left twiddling their thumbs hoping their directors will come back to them some day. It's just frustrating!
On the opposite end of the review spectrum is games like Dynasty Warriors. After years of rehashing the same game with only better graphics, more characters and minor changes the reviews have fallen apart. Most of the games barely break the 50% rating and many fail at that. At the same time those games have a huge fan following and can be greatly enjoyed for mindless fun. As a result they get sequels upon sequels because of the money they bring in.
I thought I'd finally figured out how the gaming world worked, but then games like Prototype start to appear. Fairly recently they announced Prototype 2, but under what basis? The game had average to poor reviews and made average money for the creators. So where is the value in creating a sequel and not spending the money on something new?
Let me just say, I enjoyed the beginning of Prototype. Running around the city and destroying everything was a blast. There's barely any slow intro, your just thrown into a chaotic world and expected to battle. Each new power excited me, but around the half way point that quickly falls apart. The games challenge level sky rockets, but the controls and gameplay don't follow. You start spending 90% of your time running away to heal or get undetected just to run back, punch and enemy once and do it all over again. Even though your powers are constantly growing, you end up using objects and military weapons to do most of your fighting. What's the point in being a big super biological weapon if you're not going to use your powers?
The only redeeming factor is when everything is over and you've beaten the game you can return to simply running around and doing what you want, but even that leaves a bitter taste in my mouth cause I now understand all the flaws. Who can run straight up a wall but the second you try to go sideways you get unstable and go crazy directions?
I'm disappointed in the game creators and I'm more disappointed in DC for putting their name in this. I mean it's story is barely there and what is there is generic and predictable. You'd think a comic book company with years of experience would have stopped them at the drawing board and said "ok, we're out."
Now it's getting a sequel while great games like Brutal Legend, Zone of the Enders, and The World Ends With You are left twiddling their thumbs hoping their directors will come back to them some day. It's just frustrating!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)