Category Archives: DC
New DC Superheroes Game On Its Way in Arena Battle Format
I had no idea that Multiplayer Online Battle Arena games were their own genre. I play some DOTA2, but apparently there are more games, and they’re a big enough hit that DC Comics is going to make their own featuring a wide range of characters from across the Multiverse! Behind, Infinite Crisis!
So the game apparently has nothing to do with the comic book Infinite Crisis from 2005, and that’s fine. It’s a good name for a superhero game. The new game is going to be free-to-play and only online, though of course you can buy all sorts of new characters and upgrades through the in-game shop. That’s how these things make their money. And based on the premise, it sounds to me like there would be a lot of fun characters to choose from.
One would think there’d be more than enough characters in the normal DC Universe, but opening the game up to alternate universe characters is a pretty cool idea. They’re even going to make new versions of alternate universe characters, like a Catwoman from the Gotham by Gaslight universe. Sounds neat!
For those who don’t know, and I’m mostly guessing here, Multiplayer Online Battle Arena games involve a single map filled with player characters duking it out. You each have a bunch of special powers, skills and moves, and it all comes down to who can play their character better and level up faster. Imagine Diablo if the game was just about pitting your character against other players’ characters. It’s kind of fun in the game DOTA2, though there is a steep learning curve that I don’t particularly like about that game. It would probably be even worse if other players can simply buy a bigger, stronger, better character.
Infinite Crisis is due out sometime later this year. Here’s a screenshot so you can get an idea of how the game would look.
You can see Flash, Captain Marvel, Doomsday and Zatanna in that image, and that’s probably the usual scale the game will use. So just picture those characters smacking the crap out of each other and occasionally whipping out a special move or two until only one is left standing.
Click here for a ton of more screenshots.
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 3/23/13
Another third week is upon us and once again I find myself reviewing more than a dozen comics! I wish I knew how it worked out that all my favorite comics seem to come out on the same week. It’s like some kind of conspiracy against me and my poor wallet. At least they’re all mostly good comics. Seriously, not a stinker in the bunch…but maybe that’s just because I tend to stop buying comics that I don’t like. I’ve whittled away all the bad comics and am left with a great lineup of quality stories. I can live with that.
Comic Book of the Week was hard to choose because none of these issues rose to real greatness. They’re all just generally good and entertaining. It came down to a battle between the viciousness of Doc Ock in Superior Spider-Man vs. the adorable cheerfulness of Captain Marvel, and I’m happy to say Carol pulled through another win! Captain Marvel is just a fantastic series.
Comic Reviews: All-New X-Men #9, Avengers #8, Batwoman #18, Captain Marvel #11, Green Lantern: New Guardians #18, Indestructible Hulk #5, Justice League #18, Justice League of America #2, New Avengers #4, Nightwing #18, Nova #2, Red Hood and the Outlaws #18, Superior Spider-Man #6 and Wonder Woman #18.
I Will Not Give Up The Fight – Injustice for Robin!
Here I am again to share two new videos debuting two new characters for the upcoming video game Injustice: Gods Among Us. Unfortunately, neither character is Robin the Boy Wonder. Why isn’t DC listening to me? Who do I have to reach at Warner Bros. to make this a reality? Why are none of the people at NeatherRealm Studios reading my blog?
First up, we have Doomsday, the villain who killed Superman back in the 90s.
I think Doomsday is a great choice for a fighting game like Injustice. He’s big, he’s burly and he’s got a cool look. If I had to design someone who killed Superman on brute strength alone, Doomsday is a great look. Plus, since I think the plot of the game has Superman as a villain, maybe Doomsday rises to become some kind of secret weapon for the good guys.
Next up is Raven, the black magic magician of the Teen Titans.
Raven is probably also a good choice, if an obscure one. It’s a good idea to diversify and include as many female fighters as possible, plus Raven uses magic, so I’m sure that will help when it comes to special attacks. She also starred in that Teen Titans cartoon a few years ago, so I’m sure she’s got some good street cred.
But she’s not Robin. Neither of them is Robin. How hard is it to put Robin in this game? Why is the concept of Batman vs. Robin so hard to grasp?
There are several more characters to be revealed. So stay tuned as I keep you as up to date as possible. Will my persistence pay off in the end? Or will my dreams be crushed like so many sky blue eggshells?
Thanks to Xavier for the find!
P.S. Did anyone else see that video of one level where Giganta and Atom Smasher are fighting in the background, and will interact with the combatants? I think the developers had more fun coming up with the levels than they are the fighters.
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 3/16/13
This was not a good week for friend-of-the-blog Jason Aaron. I’ve been a huge fan of his Thor: God of Thunder series, and have enjoyed his Wolverine and the X-Men comic, but both of them take horrifying nose dives in quality this week. I was shocked at just how bad those comics were. Maybe it’s because they both take a break from the normal storytelling to focus an issue on the villain. Is Aaron just bad at villains? I couldn’t say, but both comics were very disappointing.
On the better side of things, we have a few Batman titles tackling the fallout of Damian’s death, and we have hot and cold Brian Michael Bendis. The second issue of his Age of Ultron is a dud, but the new issue of Uncanny X-Men is everything I want from this comic. It’s on fire, and easily wins Comic Book of the Week. This is the best Cyclops has been since Joss Whedon was writing, and honestly, this is the best any superhero has been in years!
Comics Reviewed: Age of Ultron #2, Batman #18, Batman and Robin #18, Fearless Defenders #2, Thor: God of Thunder #6, Uncanny X-Men #3, and Wolverine and the X-Men #26.
Robin Watch: Harper Row Gets It Right
Welcome to a new, ongoing feature here at Henchman-4-Hire! By now we all know that the most recent Robin, Damian Wayne, died in the heat of battle. And so for the first time since the late 80s, Batman is without a Robin. But like how chocolate needs peanut butter and peanut butter needs jelly, Batman needs a Robin, so it’s only a matter of time before a new hero rises into that iconic role.
Being the huge Robin fan that I am, I’m going to cover the ongoing search for a new Robin. Whether it happens in the comics themselves or maybe interviews with the writers and creators, I’m going to stay on the front lines of Batman journalism – which, of course, is the best kind of journalism.
Let’s kick things off with this week’s Batman #18, one of the first comics to deal with the fallout of Damian’s death. Writer Scott Snyder has taken the curious tactic of having the issue star Robin frontrunner Harper Row as she tries to help a grieving Batman.
With an butt-kicking
I was a big fan of this issue, and my full review will go up on Saturday with the rest of the Hench-Sized reviews. But first I want to explore this issue for the ways in which it pushes Harper ever closer to becoming the new Robin. I recently wrote several articles about this subject, both on why I fully support Harper as the new Robin, as well as the criteria that goes into picking a successful new Robin.
Suffice to say, in this issue, Harper Row gets everything right.
Join me after the jump to see what I mean.
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