Ghostbusters: Activision has a NEW Game on the Way!

     With the release date in only about 6 months time, the reboot Ghostbusters film has now got a full onslaught of marketing goodies for all of us nerds and collectors.

Good News Ray, there's a new game staring right at me.

     Over at the Retail Merchandiser Sony has announced a slew of products:

"In the lead off to the movie’s release, Sony Pictures Consumer Products is working to ensure it has items available at every price range, from $9.99 action figures  aimed at children to high-end replica proton packs for adult collectors. Apparel companies such as Hybrid and FAB NY are adapting scenes from the movie into T-shirts and backpacks. IDW is continuing its work on the Ghostbusters comic series while Simon & Schuster is developing a junior novelization and a Guide to Ghostbusting book that will give the franchise a presence in stores like Barnes & Noble."

      But for this post in particular, I was drawn to this next part:

"Ghostbusters is also returning to video games. Already, the Ghostbusters sets are on sale for Lego Dimensions, a toys-to-life game featuring the classic building blocks and a new full-fledged Ghostbusters video game from Activision will release alongside the movie on the Xbox One and PlayStation 4."

     Most recently there's been the Ghostbusters addition to Lego Dimensions, which is standard Lego game playing fun, there's the mundane Ghostbusters: Puzzle Fighter game, the surprisingly entertaining Little Ghostbusters phone game, the interesting and oddly-fun-yet-still-terrible augmented reality game Ghostbusters: Paranormal Blast, and the very under-appreciated Ghostbusters: The Video Game.  That's a game I would very much recommend to any fans of the films, or even of the old 80's cartoon and toys series.  You know what I'd even recommend it to the, like 20 fans of the Extreme Ghostbusters.  I'm not quite sure how they could cram that much 90's into one show, but they managed to do so with a spectacular level of overconfidence.

     Anyways, if this new Activision game is even remotely as good as Ghostbusters: The Video Game, the new game will make a killing.  It would be of great note here that Activision has also got another top notch property game in the works with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan, and if their previous game Transformers: Devastation is any indication, the new Ghostbusters will likely be a very good game.  It sounds like Activision has finally started to learn to actually listen to what the fans want.

     Now, for those of us that remember it, we can only hope that they re-release Ecto Cooler Hi-C drinks.  I drank that stuff by the gallon.

    Ghostbusters hits theaters July 22nd, 2016.

     Source [ Retail Mechandiser ] via [ IGN ]

Marvel Hereos 2016: Launches TODAY!!!

     The massive Marvel Heroes update launches today bringing us into the 2016 edition.  With that comes a wealth of new goodies and improvements over it's 2014 and 2015 versions.

     With the update the free-to-play game gets a Secret Invasion level addition, visually updated costumes for Captain America, Black Widow, and Jean Grey to make them fit in more with the tremendous newer models.  Deadpool has received his update gaining new animations, moves, and effects arriving early preparing players for his movie premiere on February 12th.  There's also some new features, leaderboards, Steam Achievements, and finally some MAC support.  To top this all off is the arrival of the 55th playable character Black Cat!

     If you haven't tried this game out, now is definitely the time.  It's free-to-play through either its own client or through Steam.  It's the only game I've made an effort to play at least a half hour a day for the last year.  It's just amazing and it keeps getting better.  Thank you Gazillion.  Marvel Heroes 2016 is a must play for fans of any Marvel properties.

Conan the Barbarian: Funcom Announces "Conan Exiles" & Trailer

     In late December there was a nice little message from Age of Conan developer Funcom, saying they'd be announcing a new Conan game announcement coming in January.  Lo' and it hath arrived!

     Here's the official site's description:

SURVIVE. BUILD. DOMINATE.

Play alone in single-player mode, or forge alliances and make enemies online on both public and private servers.

Will you dominate the exiled lands or will your enemies sacrifice you on the altar of their god?
You are an exile, one of thousands cast out to fend for themselves in a barbaric wasteland swept by terrible sandstorms and besieged on every side by enemies. Here you must fight to survive, build and dominate.

Hungry, thirsty and alone, your very first battle is that against the harsh environment. Grow crops or hunt animals for food. Harvest resources to build weapons and tools. Build a shelter to survive. Ride across a vast world and explore alone, or band together with other players to build entire settlements and strongholds to withstand fierce invasions.

When strong enough, march forth into battle and wage war against your enemies as you fight to dominate the exiled lands. Sacrifice enemy players on the altars of the gods and shift the balance of power your way. Unleash your fury in savage, fast-paced combat and execute bloody and bone-crushing attacks that will see heads rolling and limbs flying.

     We aren't given much in the way of information on actual gameplay, but the survival tease and hints leave me anxious to re-enter the Hyborean age to join in tales of adventure undreamed of.  To me it sounds like a combination of action, survival, and maybe a bit of world building.  I'm curious as to how much of each we'll be forced to do.  I really don't want to be hunting down berries for hours just to have enough energy to ward off the dark armies of the evil wizard Xaltotun.
     No matter what it is, I am very intrigued, and my excitement is growing even more because rumor has it the new Schwarzenegger The Legend of Conan film's script has recently been completed.

     Early access to Conan Exiles is set to begin summer 2016 and PC launch slightly later, with consoles to follow.

     For more check their official site [ Conan Exiles ]

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan: Official Trailer

     After the Platinum Games announcement tweet this morning saying that they'd release a full trailer tomorrow for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan game that has been known about for a while, but never officially confirmed, Platinum Games' leak streak was once again topped, and the trailer was leaked.
     In response Activision took the upper hand and simply released the trailer via their youtube channel.  Well played Activision, well played.

     After speculation has been high, this game looks every bit as awesome as I was hoping for.  We may have ourselves a true heir to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles video game franchise worthy of our time.  I mean the last one I was genuinely impressed with was the Game Boy Advance's TMNT movie tie-in.  I'm not kidding, it was an unbelievably well done game.  All the other versions of the tie-in were terrible, but somehow the GBA version was spectacular.

     Anyways, the only way I could be more excited about this is if it supports 4 player online co-op, and offers more unlockable/playable characters than just the four Turtles themselves.  I want to play as Metal Head, Splinter, Slash, or even as April O'Neil.  We need some options!

     TMNT: Mutants in Manhattan is set to arrive in "Summer 2016."  (Presumably in time for the sequel to the 2014 film, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, which arrives in theaters June 3rd.)

     For more of my Turtles related posts [ TMNT ]

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Official Platinum Games: Leaked Trailer for the Trailer! (TMNT)

     First we got a ratings leak, then a cover art leak, then we got an achievements leak, then some screenshot leaks, and now we hilariously receive an official Platinum Games' upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan trailer leak for a full trailer coming tomorrow... via a leaky pipe.

#TMNT pic.twitter.com/n60KV8bE0P

— PlatinumGames Inc. (@platinumgames) January 25, 2016

    Check back tomorrow for the official announcement.  It's about time.

     The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have needed a proper video game treatment for years, and they may finally be getting one with Platinum's Mutants in Manhattan.

     For more of my Turtles related posts [ TMNT ]

Deadpool Movie: Colossus GIF

     Since I can't write much tonight and it's been a few days since my last post, and because I've returned to my favorite Marvel Heroes 2015 game character, Colossus, I decided to make a small GIF of him from the trailer for the highly anticipated Deadpool film, in which Fox actually appears to have listened to what the fans want to see.

     Not only are they nailing Deadpool's character, it seems they've gotten most of them spot-on, from Colossus to Weasel and so on.  Even the entire marketing campaign is genius- the Valentine's Day poster that makes it look like a romantic dramedy, the absurd and hilarious emoticon billboards that a bunch of people apparently didn't get at first, and the wonderful trailers are all perfectly tailored to this character.  Fox is finally getting it right.

     Now we have to see if they can help Hugh Jackman's last Wolverine film be one worth seeing, I've bitched here on numerous occasions that they need to lose the kiddie gloves, and prove that he is the "best at what he does."  And it isn't angst-ridden moping, it's bloody wetwork that no one else can do.  We want to see that, and Deadpool is the starting point for these films to finally grow up and reach a bigger and better demographic.

     Deadpool hits theaters February 12th.

Disney Infinity 3.0: Marvel Battlegrounds: Local Multiplayer Only & Thoughts

     For as excited as I was for more Disney Infinity 3.0 stuff, this week has been an enormous letdown for news concerning the upcoming Marvel Battlegrounds playset.  First it was announced that the set would only come with a singular figure, Captain America (The First Avenger), and we know there are only currently 3 other figures slated (Ant-Man, Black Panther, and Vision- with no female figures at all) with mere rumor that more are on the way, and now we get the news that the set will be LOCAL MULTIPLAYER ONLY.

     The official site lists:

"Battle up to 3 opponents in the arena with 4-person local multiplayer"

   Honestly, if Marvel Battlegrounds is supposed to be a "game changer" for the Infinity brand, they really need to up their game- opening up online multiplayer is an absolute must.  To me this feels like they are currently selling us merely the face of a game.  Essentially we are getting a fancy box and no real content or true expansion to the brand.  Infinity is on the 3rd generation and there still isn't multiplayer offerings.  The story modes are meager at best in the playsets, the minigames are mundane, and they really aren't giving players anything new.  Battlegrounds may provide us with a fighting arena, but how many players don't have the option of playing in groups locally?

     Supporters have asked consistently for online play, and we got a broken, or at least rarely functioning, online play with "Flynn's Arcade"- leaving the bitter taste of horrible disappointment in our mouths.  What makes this even more questionable is the lack of a confirmation that their will even be AI opponents to play against.  It's generally assumed that will be the case, but it isn't stated anywhere.  Sadly, this might be the first time I am disgusted with how lacking a new playset appears to be.  Barely any new characters, no online support, and it was mentioned previously there will be no story mode.
     Disney is one of the biggest companies in the world, there is no reason they can't compete with other game companies in the video game arena.  This should be an area where they make the Lego Dimensions and Skylanders toys-to-life games look infantile.  They have the reasources to make something staggeringly big- I'm thinking toys-to-life in an Elder Scrolls sized game world.  instead we've been getting sparse gameplay and some mediocre extras.  Stuff I'd expect for mobile games, but nothing really console sized.
     Disney Infinity, coming from an avid supporter, the game needs a huge overhaul and it needs one quick.  This is a case where just the addition of online multiplayer would do wonders.  I recall Disney being all about imagination, so show us that creativity is truly valued, and give us a game worthy of our investment.

     Disney Infinity 3.0: Marvel Battlegrounds will be available March 15th.

     Source [ Infinity Inquirer ]

Marvel Future Fight: All New, All Different New Year Update Trailer & Thoughts

     I didn't think it was possible, but with every update Netmarble Games has somehow made Marvel Future Fight an even better game than the last one.  The newest update arrived yesterday and brought us a cleaned up main screen and menu system, a slew of new costumes, and a whole lot more fun.

     Seriously, this is the only mobile game that I make daily visits to, and continually toss a few bucks into for cosmetic things like new costumes.  As long as their updates maintain being this great, I'll be more than happy to continue to support them.  If my readers here haven't given it a try, it's a free to play game that I would instantly recommend to fans of either action games or of Marvel properties.  It makes me a bit sad that there aren't any X-men related characters, more than likely due to licensing quibbles between studios- Marvel's stranglehold on eliminating the support for those things they can't make ALL the money off of- but otherwise, Future Fight's roster is huge, and the game play is top notch for a mobile title.  Hopefully I can crank out some let's play type videos with this game soon.

     On a side note: we are about 3 months from the one year anniversary of the game and I can't wait to see what surprises they bring.  I'm crossing my fingers for characters like Squirrel Girl or maybe a Doctor Strange from the upcoming film, as there are already a lot of television and movie tie-in costumes.

     Here's the link to the [ Official Patch Notes ]

Disney Infinity 3.0: Marvel Battlegrounds Playset Release Information & Thoughts

     The announcement of the release date isn't new, as the March 15th leak had happened already, but what is surprising about the Disney Infinity 3.0: Marvel Battlegrounds playset is the fact it only comes with a single figure (Captain America: The First Avenger) instead of the customary 2 or 3.

     What bothers me even more is it's a character that many players already have, albeit with a new skin and potentially some new moves.  One more issue is the fact that there are currently NO female figures for the set.  Where's Scarlet Witch?  Where's Captain Marvel?  Where's Wasp?  This set definitely needs a few female figures to balance out the roster.

     I suppose the good news is that ANY of the Marvel Infinity figures will work with the game, not limiting it to just the 3.0 group which is small to begin with.  It's also been stated that many of the 2.0 Marvel characters have been "retooled" to be of better use in Battlegrounds.  It is also a plus that the price is cheaper at $29.99 than before.  To pad this pack out they are offering a pre-order bonus from "Participating Retailers" (currently only Best Buy and the Disney Store) of any one of your choice of a Disney Infinity Marvel 2.0 figure.

     In addition to the figures listed as being part of the Battlegrounds wave (Ant-Man, Black Panther, and Vision) and the recent Ultron and Hulkbuster Iron Man, Disney is offering the Marvel's Avengers Figure Pack (consisting of Iron Man, Black Widow, and Thor from the 2.0 Playset) for $29.99.  To me this is just an added slap to the face that instead of more new figures, they're once again offering old figures- at least the Captain America will be a little new.

     John Vignocchi put out a statement about the release:

Marvel Battlegrounds is a four-player, arcade-style brawler that allows you to battle with up to three friends locally. You get to play in 12 levels across eight all-new arenas, including Knowhere and Wakanda. You’ll also be able to battle as any playable Disney Infinity (2.0 Edition): Marvel Super Heroes figure, making Marvel Battlegrounds the Play Set with the largest selection of playable characters.

You guys know that the Disney Infinity team is always listening to your feedback, and we make changes along the way based on what we hear from the community. Your feedback has led to one significant change in our Play Set configuration. We heard from you that you want more choice in how you expand your Disney Infinity collections, especially with the Play Sets. With this in mind, the Marvel Battlegrounds Play Set Pack will come with the Play Set piece and one figure (Captain America – The First Avenger). Now it’s up to you to decide which other Marvel Super Heroes and Super Villains you want to fight with in Marvel Battlegrounds from a selection of 25 characters and with more to join the roster soon!

     All right, not to sound too nit picky here, but there will be 26* total figures available for Marvel, and 28 if you count the Black suit Spider-Man (which is getting a single release after the PS Vita pack exclusive) and the new version of Cap as separate, so there's already more figures than they've mentioned.  So I want to know will there actually be more on the way that we've yet to see?  Especially because this round of Marvel figures is so sparse.  They always say there's some more to join coming, but what does that really mean?
     We want more individual figures, I mean if Battlegrounds is supposed to be such a game changer for Disney Infinity where's all the supporting figures like the Winter Soldier, Scarlet Witch, Wasp, or Captain Marvel?  And no, we don't want more duplicates or repaints.  Because I'm sure someone will suggest a War Machine that'll be essentially Iron Man with a gun, unless he's drastically different, it could rightfully be a costume disc.
     When it comese down to it, I'm wondering when we'll start getting major Marvel characters like Luke Cage, Daredevil, and Jessica Jones.  Where's our the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or Agent Carter?  When will we get Squirrel Girl or Ghost Rider now that we've got his chain and bike as power discs?  I can understand the IP rights feud keeping out the mutant population, but seriously, where's all the rest of the Marvel Universe.  If battlegrounds is going to be this big thing, show us by giving us a huge selection of NEW figures to go with it.
     I don't know if I want to wait until Disney Infinity 4.0 for a Doctor Strange.

     Source [ Infinity Inquirer ] [ Inf. Inq. 2 ]

*Iron Man, Black Widow, Thor, Hulk, Hawkeye, Cap, Loki, Falcon
Iron Fist, Nick Fury, Spider-Man, Nova, Venom, Green Goblin
Star Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket Raccoon, Groot, Yondu, Ronan
Ultron, Hulkbuster
Ant-Man, Black Panther, Vision

Wonder Woman: First Footage & Thoughts

     Hot on the heels of DC Comics' amazing new Suicide Squad "Worst Heroes Ever" trailer, the CW had Kevin Smith on to talk about the upcoming Wonder Woman film yesterday and we get to see some of the film in action.  As Gadot (Diana "Wonder Woman" Prince herself) says, "We're going to see her coming of age, an entire history."

     So it sounds and looks like we'll be seeing yetanother origin story movie.  Similar to Marvel's Captain America, this one seems set to Nazi crushing World War 2 era and some flashbacks to a much older time.

     I think it looks pretty damn good.  Zack Snyder's influence on the dark and muted colors appears to be a little heavy handed, but what footage there is, is decent.  I'll remain cautiously optimistic in the mean time.  I was hoping for a much bulkier Amazonian warrior, someone that looks like they are right out of the WW2 era like, and apologies for the 2nd Marvel reference in this post, but something more like Agent Carter- a woman with some meat.
     That might sound crude, but I've written about it time and time again.  I think Gadot still looks far too slim for the role, and while she might be super strong and an Amazonian fighter, she also should look like the part.  The physique should reflect the activity and lifestyle.  No one would believe a super scrawny 150 pound Superman, because sometimes image does matter, so why do we still have a stick-figure thin Wonder Woman?

     Despite the qualms, Wonder Woman looks good enough to give me hope for more female led super hero films.

     Wonder Woman is set to hit theaters on June 23rd, 2017.