Spider-Man Redesign

Project Rooftop are hosting a spider-man redesign contest. I may enter, I may not. A quick work doodle of a possible entry I may try with. Still got tweaking to do, but had to get it out of my head.

How to make webcomics

Stuck on a good idea to draw something? Draw said situation of being stuck on a good idea to draw something. An endless cycle.

Nico Minoru

Something for the Classic Marvel Figurine Collection blog. After seeing a proposed sculpt of Nico Minoru, a few of the members thought it didnt quite look right with her wearing a long jacket, especially seeing a sketch of the costume she should be wearing. So I sketched up what she would look like without the coat, added her manga like hair, and widened her legs to give her a better stance. Just felt like I had to do it.

Pokemon Fighter

Pokemon Fighting game...cool.

Avengers: Promotion Poster

I know its Photoshop and not the real poster, but still, badass.

E3: Nintendo Wii U: New Console

Heard the news, Nintendo have revealed the new console at E3. Watch a vid of it 'in action'.

Pretty much what people expected with the controller and the integration with the tv. Are we impressed by it? Nintendo have long needed HD gaming and 3rd party support which Wii U claims to have (how awkward is it to say that? As if Wii wasnt bad enough.) Although they didnt reveal any actual gameplay footage I dont think, the 3rd party titles they announced were footage from PS3 and Xbox games...so basically the newest next gen console is porting current 5 year old gen consoles.

Its main selling point is their ipad like controller, obviously to muscle in on apple's app game market, but also with video chat and internet browsing. Unclear whether you can only chat with Wii U (shudder) users and surf the net with just the controller. The video makes the controller look like a glorified magnifying glass. With buttons, obviously.

It seems to boast clever ideas, but I am hating the marketing again, with the wii fit? Saying you can use it without the tv? How? You cant do those exercises while holding that controller surely! And a device like that is not something suitable for a kid unless you can wrap it up in bubble wrap (I meant the controller, but I guess the child is also another option). How hot will this controller get? Can ipad users say if that gets hot, I dont have one. But charging an xbox pad warms up quite abit, and so does the cintiq after awhile, but I dunno, maybe the ipad avoids this and this Wii U (really, REALLY!?) could be the same.

It says you can use the same wii controllers so not everyone has to have this new controller, (which begs the question, whats the point?), but also, does the normal wii controller have the same amount of buttons? It certainly isnt laid out as well if they are indeed saying we can play the likes of Assassin's Creed and Batman: Arkham City on it.

We don't know how powerful it is compared to the current consoles or what discs it will use, or also how much it will cost. They say it will be competitive value for money. Asked if this would be priced more or less, they reiterated 'it cost will reflect how much value it gives', or something along those lines. Basically saying 'we think its great and should be expensive.' Since the PS3 is £200 after 5 years, this new console will probably come in at £250-£300 for the console and tech involved in it alone. Add on top of that the controller, which must be the price of a DS at a minimum. Another £100, which I think is being very cheap considering what it claims to do, which seems like being an ipad, retailing at £400. So I reckon, at a minimum, this new console bundled with this new controller has to start off at £400, but could be anyway close to £500. And I still think it could cost more. Its boasting the features of ipad, while being a games console and home entertainment system, with all this new technology.

And that is with only 1 controller. Have they shot themselves in the foot being inventive by out-pricing their target audience?

More importantly, are you interested? I will hold judgement until I see it play some proper games and if I get the chance to play it myself. I am sceptical, but maybe I am just burnt by the Wii and how lacklustre that was. And the 3DS. And the Gamecube. And the N64.

(hates gonna hate, but not being fanboyish. Sounds like Sony had a dull E3, and Microsoft had the worst of the bunch. Nintendo made the headlines and stole the show, but I am not convinced yet. Love to hear your thoughts.)

Really? The Wii - fucking- U. REALLY!?

X-Men Origins Wolverine: Game Review

It's that time again. Yep, I have completed another game that was out years ago!

I decided to play X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and I have to say, it is a very good game. I enjoyed it anyway. The graphics are really good, seeing Wolverine taking damage down to his skeleton and then regenerating is pretty cool, and there is gore galore! The first level, easing you in with a tutorial like structure sets the pace with Wolverine dismembering and slicing up opponents and decapitating a helicopter pilot with the chopper's own blades. Yep, as soon as I played the first level, I knew I was going to like it.

The narrative starts off in the future hinting at the 'Days of Future Past' storyline, which I couldnt wait to play. But before we get ahead of ourselves, we play through Wolverine's past and present. If you have seen the movie, these scenarios are the Amazon jungle type setting fighting mercenaries and mutant statues...weird. And then Wolverine's present is in government compounds in search of alkali lake and finding the root of the Weapon X experiment, fining Stryker to right the wrongs done to you. Like I said, if you have seen the movie, you kind of get the idea.

That's not to say the game is like the movie as it builds upon these scenes much more so it doesn't even feel like it's a game of the movie except for the occasional cutscene that reminds you of certain set pieces from the movie, like the Wolverine Vs Sabretooth fight, and the Wolverine getting his bones adamantium...ized for example. It's all good fun with boss battles like most adventure hack n slash games.

It certainly had enough to keep me interested, including a level up system, collectibles and different costumes. The game is relatively easy, however, the dog tag collectibles, 95 in total in the game...I managed 94 and have no idea where the last one is, with no hints or tracking system to know how many are in certain levels etc. Annoying. But the different costumes are great if you ever get bored of looking at Hugh Jackman. Just feels right playing as the classic yellow spandex Wolverine.

The achievements are all quite relatively easy to capture and playing through once I managed around 45 out of 50. You do unlock hard mode with a achievement to follow if you complete it, but beware, collect everything in normal first, as otherwise starting again on hard will wipe all your statistics.

Oh, and the part of the 'Days of Future Past'? It's a lie. Just when you think you are about to play that level, the game ends. I was pretty disappointed by that since no sequel has been announced, probably until the next movie which is a shame, as I think this game is so much more fun than the film and rightfully stands alone as one of Marvel's best computer games.

4/5

Spectacular Spider-Man

You may remember I posted a sketch of this last year. Finally got around to colouring it in.

Piccolo

Final DBZ fanart for a while...promise...

Devil May Cry 4 Review

So next up in my long list of games years old that have never been played is Devil May Cry 4. I remember I played it on the PS2 and had great fun. Crazy sword and gun combos, big bosses, it was a cool game when you are a teenager, so here I was hoping it would live up to that madness.

And it does. Although, my memory must be hazy as I must have only played the 1st Devil May Cry, as I had no clue what was really going on. To make matters worse, you don't even start the game off with Dante, who is introduced as an antagonist to our new hero...Nero. A Dante clone who has a demon arm. It all reminded me abit of Enchanted Arms on the Xbox...but mainly because I completed that game not long ago either.

While I started off detesting this new, emo version of Dante, I did grow to like him. He had cool combos and moves when I finally got going. The game is just as crazy, with the boss battles bigger and badder than ever. Athough it seemed alot easier than I remembered. No real thought needs to go into beating them. There are quite a lot of cut scenes too, to my surprise. Well polished for its time as an early next gen title, but the voice acting is a little hammy.

When you finally get to play as Dante, you basically repeat the levels already visited by Nero, including some boss battles, which made me feel cheated and uninspired. First getting to grips with Dante, I did miss Nero's moves. But then as you level up and get accustomed to him, I think he is more powerful. Although just when you get the hang of things kicking ass, you switch back to Nero for the final chapters.

Its an enjoyable arcadey game that doesnt take all too long to complete. I cant remember the exact time, but it was around 10-14 hours I would say at the very most. Although there is a lot more to unlock and achievements to gain, with it impossible to unlock everything playing it once. However I don't intend on visiting the game again any time soon just to play it on hard, ridiculously hard and finally 'one hit and you die' hard. Not now anyway. I got more ridiculously old games to try completing before the next xbox console comes out....

Rating : 3 / 5

Its fun, but a little lightweight and repetitive, and yet to get the most out of it, you have to complete it numerous times.

Naruto

Very quick, didnt finish.

Goku Revisited

Finished up that lunchtime sketch.

Goku

Drew up a quick Goku sketch during my lunch break in work. Probably spent about 10 minutes on it.

Thor Movie Review

Finally got around to seeing Thor on the bank holiday in glorious, revolutionary 2D! Well, with it being made 3D in post-production, I thought it would be a waste of money, and usually dulls the colour and detail making it a bit blurry anyway.

So Thor may not be the most well known superhero to Joe Public. Thor isn't really a comic favourite of mine and I personally enjoy seeing him as part of a team, and with the Avengers movie lined up in 2012, you would be mistaken in thinking this is a cheap rushed movie to get audiences aware of the character before the huge marvel movie event next year.

Thor deserves to stand alone in it's own right as a good marvel film. It sets up it's own unique universe and feels like it's own movie. There are nods to the marvel universe, but it doesn't feel as heavily drilled down the throats of an Avengers prequel as Iron Man 2 was.

Asgard looks great and so are the effects. Well I wasn't first convinced with Thor's costume in the promo pictures, it works in the film. Chris Hemsworth makes a good Thor, and Tom Hiddleston is a good Loki. It does seem odd why he auditioned for the part of Thor though, but in general the cast are good. I thought Natalie Portman would be distracting and out of place in a movie like this, but she had a character with substance and fitted in well.

Thor has everything to make it a blockbuster success. A good looking cast, big hollywood names, big special effects, action galore, very funny moments, and finally a heart. It feels like a Marvel movie, and while I am unsure whether Thor will personally get a sequel, I can't wait to see him in the Avengers.

Rating 4 / 5

Beowulf: The Game - Review

So I finally got around to playing Beowulf: The Game and completed it. A game released in 2007, that I picked up probably in 2009 for £6.99 and took 9 hours to complete...so the in game counter tells me. It felt alot longer.

The game is pretty mindless hack and slashing your way through very dark, dull levels against repetitive, uninspiring enemy hordes. I even fancied my chances on the Legendary mode during the first play. I don't normally do this, but then I didn't expect much from the game.

The achievements are pretty easy to pick up without really trying too hard. Probably managed to pick up around 25 out of 31 without looking through all the collectibles. There were some tricky, frustrating moments but it was generally an easy ride, even the boss battles, with the end boss being ridiculously easy. Who da thought a giant gold dragon would be so easy to defeat?

Would I recommend the game? If you were a fan of the film, and just like picking up achievements, give it a try if its cheap enough.

Rating 2/5

Captain Britain

A quick Captain Britain sketch. Was bored and wanted to draw something, just didnt know what, so here we go, nothing great.

Best Friends

My MA Animation final project, well, half of it. An epic story of friendship, love, revenge and superhero fighting!

Aurora

Finally gotten around to finishing the colours on this piece. Enjoy.

Justice League

Did this a couple of days ago. Bam!

Great Odin's Raven!

The folks over at the Classic Marvel Figurine Collection posted an amazing preview sculpt of the upcoming Odin special. Check it out, its a gorgeous sculpt.

Inspired, and also bored, I played around in photoshop slapping some colours on top of the preview pictures to rough up what the figurine could look like painted. I think it looks pretty sweet, and makes me want the figurine even more.

Damn August/September wait.