Since its announcement and showcase at the San Diego Comic Con Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe has gotten fans from both camps pumped. There really hasn’t been a good straight up fight game in a long time. Having played the game I found myself torn between loving it for its graphics, by far the best Mortal Kombat game to date, and the lack of having an actual opponent in the room to play against.
Having no one to play the game against when I got it I picked the story mode knowing this would be the best way to see what the characters in the game could do. Having the Flash battle Deathstroke was a bit of a snore. Sure the Flash was going to win as this was my first opponent and without a Geoff Johns type-writer crafting the story Deathstroke fell pretty quick. Likewise with Catwoman who proved how great the graphics were as she jiggled in all the right places. It wasn’t until the Flash fought Kano that the game got interesting. Sure Batman vs. Superman squaring off against each other has been done before but now the conflict was uncertain. Now there was an x-factor that made the game interesting.
That’s the hook. You know it, I know it and Midway appealed to so many fan boys by making a game of it. For some characters such as Captain Marvel and Death Stroke this was their first straight up fighting game appearance. Having Superman battle Captain Marvel was a great way to see if magic could really take down the man of steel (it didn’t, two out of three times). If I had to complain about anything as it pertains to the characters it would have to be that there weren’t enough DC villains. Lex Luther, Deathstroke and the Joker (by far the most fun to play) are present but only these three? Black Adam, who enjoyed the spotlight in DC’s “52”, could have replaced Captain Marvel easily. Perhaps even one of the many different incarnations of Brainiac would have fit nicely into this game as well. With such a huge rogues gallery in the DC universe I am sure that they could have stepped up on the baddies. Then again, I guess that is what sequels of games are for.
The x-factor is all that really saves this game. It is a straight up arena fight with clever moves and brutal hits that make it worth popping in this holiday season and squaring off against friends and family for a good laugh. However, in this new era of big expensive game consoles I found myself playing the game alone. Not everyone has the same system anymore and getting extra controllers and online hook ups has become really expensive. Sure online play is an option but against some stranger? Where is the personal trash talking as you wait your turn because only two of you can play at time? Where is knocking the controller out of you buddies hands? Let’s not forget your opponent pausing to answer the phone and then you un-pausing to kick the hell out of them when they are not in the room. I found myself missing all these things and realized that is what made games like the original Mortal Kombat and even Aklaim’s Justice League Task Force fun. Sitting together and enjoying it together. I love the game but it lacks what the older games will always have for me, comradery.
5 Worst Action Figures Ever:
Each and every one of us who has ever collected action figures knows that there are always some real duds in a toy line. Usually these figures are of characters that were either part of the story or were the single female characters obligating them into the line. Sometimes these figures either gave us another alien or a goon for the hero to pound on. The following illustrious five are the best of the worst action figures ever created.
Let us start with a real turd, literally, Stinkor the Evil Master of Odors from the Masters of the Universe series literally stunk (see gallery). If you ever got this guy for your birthday, Christmas or whatever you quickly realized what a mistake it was. A Stinkor once came across my path and he instantly gave me a headache and made my hands reek. Whoever at Mattel thought a giant walking skunk would make great toy should seriously have had their head examined. Even Stinkor’s own body armor looked as if he had some sort of breathing apparatus so he didn’t have to smell his own stink.
Growing up when Saturday morning cartoons actually meant something I witnessed some of the best animation and stories to date. The Super Powers was a great window into a more modern Justice League than their early incarnations, the SuperFriends. The action figures alone were out of this world and each had a special action ability. Like all companies Kenner got greedy and started making new characters that weren’t part of the DC Universe. The Golden Pharaoh was such character (see gallery). Imagine its Christmas morning you are tearing through your gifts hoping that Aunt Jenny got you Superman or even Firestorm. You pull away the paper and see, The Golden Pharaoh. A quick double take, your best fake smile to Aunt Jenny and you are moving on to your next gift. All the while thinking who is The Golden Pharaoh? For shame Kenner, at least you could have made the Blue Beetle or a Superboy figure instead.
Now I love Star Wars, which is obvious if you have ever read this column (see my Star Wars Toy Column) and their line is probably now almost impossible to collect if you are anyone other than Steven Sansweet. Some of their variants have always left me dumbfounded. In particular, how many Darth Vaders do we really need? The worst figure in the line isn’t Aunt Beru or even the original Snaggletooth. By far R5-D4 has to be the worst figure in the entire Star Wars collection. He is on screen for all of a minute and then self destructs. I couldn’t think of a worst figure to give a kid then this one. What astounds me is that they keep making different versions of him and have even included him in the 12 inch line. Why? At least he once had his own adventure in a “Star Wars Tales” #1 where it was revealed that he was a self aware Jedi named Skippy. You might not have known that but it still doesn’t make him any cooler.
When Battlestar Galactica premiered back in 1978 they capitalized on the Star Wars insanity and fan thirst for more science fiction. Jumping on the marketing band wagon Mattel put out their own action figure line for the TV show. There were Cylons, Starbuck and a Boray (see gallery). The Boray were a pig faced alien species that Apollo encounters during the “Lost Warrior” episode. With all the great characters on that show (Apollo, Boomer, Cassiopeia even Col. Tigh) Mattel chose to make a walking pig guy. The only thing Boray and his club ever did that was worth while was populate my Star Wars Cantina.
Finally, the worst figure on my list of worst action figures has to be Lt. Ilia from Star Trek the Motion Picture. Not only did she chew up precious screen time but she inadvertently dies and then becomes a messenger for VEGER. Plus how unnerving was it to see a bald headed woman back in 1979? She was essential to the story but as action figures go not really. What stories could you act out with Lt. Ilia? She became host to a super alien intelligence and then merged with a man to become a beam of light. As Star Trek figures go I would have rather had two Admiral Kirks and have them fight each other (which did happen more than once) than have gotten Lt. Ilia at all.
Now I would like to hear from you. Who is on your list of worst action figures ever?
RETRO Toy Commercial of the week:
With our look at the Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe and The Golden Pharaoh I thought a little retro Super Powers action this week would be fitting.
Video Games Release This Week:
PS3, PS2 and PSP
Mytran Wars by Deep Silver (Sony PSP)
Winter Sports 2 The Ultimate Challenge by Conspiracy (PlayStation2)
Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS
Age of Empires: Mythologies by THQ (Nintendo DS)
All Star Cheer Squad by THQ (Nintendo DS)
Cake Mania: In the Mix! by Majesco Sales Inc. (Nintendo Wii)
Chrono Trigger by Square Enix (Nintendo DS)
Disney Club Penguin: Elite Penguin Force by Disney (Nintendo DS)
Garfield Gets Real by Zoo Games (Nintendo DS)
Neopets Puzzle Adventure by Capcom (Nintendo DS)
Personal Trainer: Cooking by Nintendo (Nintendo DS)
Skate City Heroes by Zoo Games (Nintendo Wii)
Ultimate Band by Disney (Nintendo DS)
Ultimate Band by Disney (Nintendo Wii)
Winter Sports 2 The Ultimate Challenge by Conspiracy (Nintendo Wii)
Xbox 360
Sonic Unleashed by Sega Of America, Inc. (Xbox 360)
Winter Sports 2 The Ultimate Challenge by Conspiracy (Xbox 360)
PC
A Vampyre Story by Dreamcatcher Interactive (Windows Vista / XP)
King of Fighters Collection: The Orochi Saga by SNK (Nintendo Wii)
Lego Indiana Jones by Feral Interactive (Mac OS X, Mac OS X Intel)
Mumbojumbo 6 Pack by Mumbo Jumbo (Windows 2000 / Vista / XP)
Neopets Puzzle Adventure by Capcom USA (Windows Vista / XP)
Samantha Swift and the Hidden Roses of Athena by Mumbo Jumbo (Windows Vista / XP)
Dude, Catwoman is in the game, she's a villain so that brings the total DC villains to 4 out of 10 DC characters, that's good enough. You had some villains in the Mortal Kombat side as well, not all the characters could be evil.
They could've gone with other DC villains sure, but at least they got 4 in there.
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Dude, Catwoman is in the game, she's a villain so that brings the total DC villains to 4 out of 10 DC characters, that's good enough. You had some villains in the Mortal Kombat side as well, not all the characters could be evil.
They could've gone with other DC villains sure, but at least they got 4 in there.