Monday, January 26, 2009

HALO WARS!



The name of the game says it all. Halo Wars is a prequel in the canon of Halo, but some would consider it a look forward for the series in terms of its grand war-like scale. Halo Wars turns the Halo series on its head by taking it out of the 1st person shooter perspective and pulling the camera way back to a satellite view and turning it into a Real-Time Strategy game.

Now, initial reactions when this game was revealed were a chorus of moans and groans because, traditionally, it is impossible to have any good RTS on a console and people were afraid of what it would do to the Halo series. In terms of problems, many times in console RTS games it is hard to manage and find your resources, difficult to choose units and the glitches with troop movement are enough to make you throw your controller through the TV. I had a chance to play an early make of the game and it seems that most of these problems have been corrected.

Managing resources is a breeze because all the resources have been streamlined into one resource that is produced right next your base. Basically, the construction that manages your resources is a helipad and you are constantly getting supplies from your mother ship sent to your base of operations planet-side. Finding and managing resources, taken care of.

Choosing groups of troops and commanding them has also been streamlined. By pressing the A button, you can either choose unit by unit, or if you hold it, the cursor turns into a larger paintbrush type tool that will select troops highlighted by this large circular cursor. This method simplifies making groups of troops to the point that you'll be sending scouting parties, making flanking maneuvers, and leaving no man behind in barely any time at all.

The gameplay is smooth and crisp and the story has been reworked repeatedly to sit well with all those hardcore Halo fan-boys. I also have found something that might compete with the Gears of War Lancer Chainsaw Rifle fun-level; running over a platoon of Covenant ground troops with a squadron of Warthog vehicles. Their screams of fear and pain followed by a satisfying *squish* may be my new guilty gaming pleasure.

Also, for you die-hard Halo fans, wrap your heads around this. You enjoy controlling one Spartan in Master Chief. Think about controlling an entire platoon. Let the geek-gasms commence. (I know, there is still only one Master Chief, though)

This game could pave the way for the RTS genre to finally find a foothold on consoles. It solves the traditional problems that come with an RTS on a console and has the backing of the powerhouse Halo franchise. It's easy to just pick up and start playing and once you start playing, you don't want to stop. I had to have the controller forcible ripped from my hands once my time with the demo was up and I spent three days in a dark room going through painful Halo Wars withdrawal involving the sounds of muted screams of Covenant troops and flashes of images of Warthogs and dropships. And, of course, a Master Chief with a rotating head.

I soon won't be the only one addicted because Microsoft announced a couple of weeks ago at this year's Consumer Electronics Show that a downloadable demo for Halo Wars will be available on February 5, 2009, via XBOX Live. If you can't wait for the downloadable demo, then take a look at the video above where I had a chance to sit down with Graeme Devine, Lead Story Writer for Halo Wars, and take a look at some awesome actual gameplay and cinemas and hear from the source how the plot unfolds. Be sure to check back here when the game comes out for a full review, but early impressions have me saying that Halo Wars looks like one of the first must-haves of the year, and if you want a little more than a demo, look for it on store shelves March 3, 2009.

-Ray Carsillo

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

THE DEATH OF A BATMAN

A sure fire way to sell comics is to hit readers with something they would not see coming. Even with the rumor mills swirling, most comic readers won't believe it until they see it. Well, the unthinkable has happened. Almost 70 years after his first appearance in Detective Comics #27, in issue #6 (of 7) of the Final Crisis series, Batman has been killed off by DC Comics. Supposedly, this was well in the works, but Warner Bros., a major stock holder in DC Comics and publisher of all Batman related movies and television programs, had nixed his demise due to the summer blockbuster, The Dark Knight, pulling in over $500 million dollars and proving Batman was at the peak of his popularity.

Written by a master of comic book controversy, Grant Morrison, the final pages of this issue would be the possible final pages of the Caped Crusader. Here is how Morrison's controversial vision unfolded. Gotham's Guardian, after having foiled every plot by Darkseid to manipulate the Dark Knight into helping Darkseid create an army of mindless soldiers with Batman's unique skill set, confronts Darkseid in his earthly stronghold. After exchanging words, the two stare each down in the style of a Wild West duel at high noon. Batman, going against every fiber of his character to never use a gun and to never kill, pulls out the weapon that murdered the New God, Orion. It was a gun that fires Radion bullets. Radion, of course, is the only substance that Darkseid and the other "New Gods" are weak against, much like Superman is weak against Kryptonite. In the battle between man and god, Batman's trigger finger was faster than Darkseid's Omega Beams (imagine Superman's heat vision multiplied by 1000). Batman's shot was pretty impressive for someone who never used a gun. Unfortunately, Darkseid also got his shot off and vaporized the Dark Knight. The issue ends with Superman carrying Batman's charred carcass from the stronghold.

If there is anything that has been consistent with these major death/re-launch events is that they provide a temporary boost in sales before a sharp decline sets in as people usually respond unfavorable to the replacements to these heroic icons. There are three major ones from "The Big 2" that stick out in my mind as failures.

The first two were in 1993 when Superman died and Batman had his back broken by Bane and was replaced by Jean Paul Valley, better known as Azrael. The public outcry for Superman to return was immediate and led to one of the worst story arcs in his history as DC struggled to find a way to bring him back. When Batman was replaced, and DC worked to correct it, it at least led to some of the more memorable story arcs in his recent history with the Knightfall and KnightsEnd arcs where it detailed his rehab to come back and wrest the title of Batman back from Azrael who had gone mad with power.

The third is the very recent re-launch of Spider-Man where he sold his marriage with Mary Jane to Mephisto (the devil) to save Aunt May's life. This was one of the worst implemented re-launches in comic history and Spidey's sales have suffered greatly because of it. With a horribly written four issue story arc called One More Day, Marvel rewrote over 20 years and 250 issues worth of continuity. How do you think the conversation between Marvel executives go when this decision came down? I think it would go something along the lines of a Guinness beer commercial.

Marvel Exec. 1: How do we re-launch Spider-Man and save Aunt May?

Marvel Exec. 2: This is a tough one. We need something that will do the character justice and stay true to him while making sure our readers understand why we made our decision to do this.

Marvel Exec. 1: Let's just have him sell his marriage to Mephisto and we'll go from there.

Marvel Exec. 2: Brilliant!

Marvel Exec. 1: Brilliant!

Everything I knew about Spider-Man, that I had learned over my 23 years, was gone in a matter of four weeks. Since the re-launch, Marvel has been reduced to using gimmicks like Spider-Man meeting President-Elect Obama to try and push sales and save one of their most beloved heroes.

A major issue DC has, is now that Batman has passed on, how do they keep Batman, Detective Comics, and all other Batman related series going without the main character, or at least until they decide to bring Batman back. They have already announced the I AM BATMAN story arc beginning in March that will encompass all existing titles as Robin, Nightwing, Damian (Batman's illegitimate son with Talia Al' Guhl), the newly resurrected Jason Todd (card carrying member with the revolving door of death), Alfred, Batwoman, Batgirl, Catwoman, and everyone else who might have any claim to the cowl duke it out to see who will inherit the mantra of the Dark Knight. My money is on the current Robin, Tim Drake. He has the best detective skills of all the candidates and was closest to the dearly departed.

Another dilemma that could (and should) arise is that once DC realizes the error of their ways, how do they bring back someone they had vaporized? In the very same issue, Superman was in the future (read the rest of Final Crisis to understand why) and as he was about to return back to the present, Brainiac 8 of the Legion of Superheroes in the 31st century, revealed to Superman a device called the Miracle Machine. This device was created in the 29th century by the Guardians of the Universe, the same guardians who created the Central Power Battery for the Green Lantern Corps. With the experience of creating devices powered by one's will, the Guardians created this device that was so powerful, that the simplest thought entered into the Miracle Machine, could be made into reality. Of course, such a powerful device is kept under constant watch by the Legion of Superheroes and only a select few even know of its existence. Here is your obvious fix to bring Batman back once DC sees their sales plummet. Send Superman to the future (since he seems to be there every year or two anyways), grab the machine, think Batman back into existence, and the problem is solved. I know it is ridiculous, but these are the kind of things that fit right into revolving door of death in comics.

The landscape of comics is always changing, but this might be the straw that breaks a lot of backs. This ranks up there with some of the worst storyline moves ever made in comics history and I am sure I am not the only one that is shaking their head in disbelief. I would not be surprised to see some of the worst backlash in comic history from this. Batman is at an all-time popularity high with the comics, movies, video games, merchandise, and anything else you can stick a Batman emblem on in the public domain, and DC has just sent their cash cow to the hamburger factory for no apparent reason. Keep looking here as this situation continues to unfold in the coming months.

-Ray Carsillo