Earlier this week we got news that along with the new "Justice League" movie, Batman v Superman, DC and Warner Bros. is planning to release a lineup of superhero movies for most of the superheroes involved. That means we will be getting an Aquaman movie along with a Wonder Woman movie (finally). Warner Bros. and DC are already making plans for Wonder Woman, looking for female directors to make the film. Does all of these movies being planned after a huge all-star superhero lineup movie sound familiar? It should. It sounds like DC is taking a lesson from Marvel's Movie Universe and they are making a universe of their own.
This is kinda no surprise. We hear that the sequel to Man of Steel is going to not only Batman in it, then Wonder Woman, and then Aquaman, Cyborg, The Flash, and possibly a Robin? Not only who's in the movie, it would be awfully foolish of DC not to try to copy Marvel's movie strategy. Ever since Marvel came up with this idea to have a majority of every superhero movie they come out linked, every movie has been a hit. The Avengers, which brings this universe all together is Marvel's biggest success to date and its follow up, The Age of Ultron, is the most anticipated movie of 2014. DC's plan seems to be let's beat Marvel at its own game. The question is what can Marvel do to stay on top?
As far as movies go, Marvel doesn't need to do much. As long as they keep up with the quality of story and production, they will be fine. Marvel has a finely ran machine in the movie department. If it isn't broke, don't fix it. In order for Marvel to excel, they have to go past movies and maybe start venturing into new territory. Maybe Primetime TV? Primetime TV is where DC reign. DC has had it run of Primetime shows for the past few years. We had Lois and Clark before Smallville on the CW and now DC has shows like Arrow as well as newly premiered shows like The Flash and Gotham. Since DC is trying to take on Marvel on their home turf, movies, Marvel needs to do the same. We haven't gotten much from Marvel when it comes to Primetime shows. We do have Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, but that seems to be the only thing right now. The time is now for them to expand a bit. There's a possibility that S.H.I.E.L.D might be them testing the waters for something big. There are rumors that there is an X-Men TV series being planned and that would be a good start for Marvel to come out on the offensive. They do have some good material for them to put out. It would be nice if we do see something else like a Fantastic Four drama on the CW or Fox as well.
Whatever the plan is for Marvel, they have to consider how they're going to outdo not only themselves and the competition. They have reinvented the Superhero genere, making it a spectacle instead of it just being a movie about your favorite superhero. Whether or not if they are going to do the Primetime TV takeover route, I'm sure they are making plans on what they can do. Hopefully it will be good.
Creator of Feminist Frequency, Anita Sarkeesian posted on her Twitter account disdain over the recently released game Bayonetta 2, criticizing it as being oversexualized attended for male gamers. She also attacked several sites for "turning a blind eye" and not mainly talking about how overtly sexual the character is. Along with Sarkersian, Polygon in a none accusing sexism manner bashed the new game, giving it a 7.5 for it being too sexy. The question is: Is Bayonetta too sexy and is it too sexy to the point of it be objectifying to women?
First of all, this is not an attack on Ms. Sarkeesian at all. This is a disagreement. I respect and admire her a lot for exposing a well known problem we have in the gaming community with sexism. Any other time she would be right. There are several games out here that do overtly sexualize women to the point that their only purpose in the game is to just be a big pair of tits that talk. From the bikini ninja women (Kitana, Mileena, Jade, Tanya, & Skarlet) of Mortal Kombat to the women of DOA, which went to a kinda respectable fighting game to just pure fanservice by having them play volleyball and jiggle physics. Again, she would be right any other time, but her tirade against Bayonetta 2 is just over reaching.
Going back to the original question of whether Bayonetta the game and character is sexy, of course she is. The game screams sex. It is brazen with its sexual themes. It is full of sexual undertones and it is unapologetic for them. Is it sexy to the point where it is objectifying women? No. Again, the character Bayonetta is a very fanservicey character that is sexualized a lot, it's not in the same way as the female characters in Mortal Kombat or the girl in that chainsaw zombie game. Those other female characters are sexualized for the sake of sex whereas Bayonetta isn't. Living up to the origin of her name, bayonet, there is something deeper to Bayonetta's sexuality. It is empowering. Her character is one who is fearless and will put it out there and won't care if you are offended, especially when it comes to being sexy. She uses it and is actually in control with it. She puts it in your face, forcing you to deal with it. Bayonetta uses her sexuality as a weapon. One way you can compare Bayonetta to is a dominatrix. She exuberates sex and also used as a powerful force. She gets her jollies pummeling her enemies into oblivion and doing it in a sexy way.
Is it possible for a woman to be sexy, in control with it without it being considered to be pandering or her being objectified to men? It is, but some people can't see it that way. There does seem to be an issue with some feminists and women's sexuality. It's almost and still sad to this day that a woman to this day cannot claim to be sexy without being slut shamed, even by the so called people who fight for her rights to do so. It's almost like a few feminist that bashed Beyonce over her recent album for its adult tone. They are wrong for doing so. Sexuality is a good thing. It's not something to be ashamed of. Owning it and not caring what people think is a bold and brave thing, especially if you are a woman. In a way, Bayonetta, the games and the character, are a fine example of feminism. She using something that people are afraid of against them. If that isn't pro woman. I don't know is. What are your thoughts on Bayonetta being sexual? Is it TOO much and/oris it really objectifying?
On Friday, we just got news that there might be a Labyrinth sequel! In an article in Variety, we learned that in an interview with Jim Henson, talking about Billy Crystal being involved in their upcoming film "Which Witch" that the company is considering developing a sequel to the 1986 film, along with a Fraggle Rock movie and a sequel to The Dark Crystal. A lot of people, including myself, are excited about this. Labyrinth is an 80s classic. I can ensure you that it is constantly brought up in discussion of what is the best movie of the 80s. Jim Henson took you into a magical world full of wonderment full of creatures that could remove limbs at will, fruit that could take to a party in your wildest dreams, and the wonderment of David Bowe in tights. The news is fascinating, there's a dread in me that the sequel, if everything is confirmed and set to film, would not live up to standards.
The idea of doing sequels years later isn't new. A lot of times they have been bad and less than stellar as well. Rarely do these year-gaped sequels do well at all. The Star Wars prequels had people in awe over what the exact hell did they just watched, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull moved people to get out of their seats and asked for their money back, and we don't speak of Oz: The Great and Powerful. Why is it that these movie sequels fail? There are some considerations.
One is that as obvious there is an age gap between sequel and original, the same could be said for the demographic. You have two different audiences to consider. The ones who grew up watching the movie and the one who mostly didn't. It can be hard trying to appeal to both demographics. Some things will get lost with the new moviegoers and whatever to appeal to the new moviegoers will not get the old generation. Another factor is how the sequel is made is the movie itself. Usually the reason a studio decides to make a sequel for a movie years ago is to make a quick buck off of nostalgia and it shows. It shows how poorly put together it is compared to the originals and it puts off the entire audience.
Before I put the Labyrinth sequel down even before it is even green lit, there is a chance it could be good. There are some year-gaped sequels that are good, not better than the original, but they don't suck. Even it technically isn't a sequel, Disney's Return to Oz was great. To some, not better than the 1939 movie with Judy Garland, but it was a far more superior Oz movie than Oz: The Great and Powerful and the recent Oz sequel Dorothy of Oz was. Why was that? Because they kept true to the source material. The producer and writers knew what they were doing and that they had to remember the magic of the first movie and what made people love the source material. Hopefully whoever attaches themselves to this movie remembers that.
What are your thoughts on the Labyrinth sequel? Is a sequel a good idea? Will it be good?
The most anticipated game of 2014 is finally here! Super Smash Bros. for the Nintendo 3DS was released last Friday. Super Smash Bros. for the Nintendo 3DS, along with the upcoming Wii U version, is the fourth and the latest installment of the insanely popular Smash Bros series. The 3DS version is also the first time the series has been introduced on a handheld system. The struggle was real. We have suffered the constant waiting for a while. We had postponement after postponement, teases, character reveals, and leaks. After all the trials and tribulations and wandering in the video game dessert seeking the promised land of October 3rd, it's finally here and I've gotten my hands on it. But the question is the latest Smash Bros. for the 3DS worthy for you to get it. Does it suck?
Gameplay
If you're new to Smash Bros, it's a fighting game that features an all-star cast of Nintendo's biggest and most memorable characters from popular Nintendo in a intense yet-cartoonish battle royale. Almost like Wacky Races meets Street Fighter. Super Smash Bros. is different from other fighting games. The other fighting games involve you fighting each other until the yours or the other player's HP is gone. Super Smash Bros involves you fighting your opponent on a stage and you hitting them enough that they rack up enough damage points to the point where it will be easier to knock them further and further away from the stage. There are items and stage hazards to help or hinder you.
The Combat is a big step up from Brawl which a lot of people complained was a lot slower than Melee. It's quick. The AI, even set a low level, can be smart at times so you have to be a bit strategic. Not much has changed to Classic, other than it presented as a choose your path scenario with the same challenges we all know and love from the other Smash Bros. games, and Muiltiplayer, but then again if it ain't broke don't fix it.
There are some changes or tweeks to the gameplay this time around for the latest installment. The first is that they had tweeked some characters. Characters like Yoshi and Bowser got an upgrade, changing their posture to a more fighter stance to balance them out. Sheik, Zelda, and Samus along with Zero Suit Samus have been seperated and they have been designed to be even more of their own characters, not with a new Down-B or just a character design without armor.
What's new to Smash Bros. for the 3DS is the option to customize your fighter. You can almost change the fighting style of the character as well as special moves. You want Mario's Up-B to have a bit more jump, you can do that or if you need his attacks to pack a bit more punch, you can do that. You can acquire these upgrades in Classic or in Smash Run, the "Adventure Mode" of the game where you travel across a gigantic stage, beating up enemies from Nintendo games and collecting power-ups to use later on.
Controls
Controls are easy. Even if you're a new player or are just playing Smash Bros. on the 3DS for the first time, you learn things quickly. You understand quickly what buttons do what. The B-button is the special moves button just like in all games. The control stick is for moving and a quick swipe to the left and right triggers your side smash The It's been a while since I played a Smash Bros. game so I had a bit of difficulty figuring things out. After practicing a bit, I got the hang of things.
Characters
With over 52 characters, you would think certain ones would get repetitive or boring, but that is not the case. With the roster, you get a lot of variety that makes gameplay exciting each time. You get to test drive which characters you like and fight with them. The system of unlocking characters is relatively easy. For every 10th fight in Smash mode, you'll trigger an unlock battle. You don't even have to win a match for it to count. After playing a few hours, I was able to unlock half of the 12 hidden characters in the game. I feel like Sakurai did this as a way to get the task of unlocking characters out of the way and allow people to enjoy and pick their main quicker. As I stated in an earlier post, some characters had to be cut like Ice Climbers, due to the technological limits of the 3DS, Wolf, and Pokemon Trainer (Boo) and Dr. Mario who is back from Melee. There's an issue that has been brought up with Smash Bros and its clones (Lucina, Dr. Mario, Falco, and Dark Pit) and I don't see it as a problem. For the most part, you have a lot of fighters that give you a lot of variety that you wouldn't even care if there's only a handful of clones in the game, except Dark Pit. Seriously regular Pit even has you as an alternate costume. Why are you even here? Speaking of alternate costumes, it is nice to see and learn the history behind the alternate colors behind every character. I might do a few posts about them perhaps?
Stages
Director Masahiro Sakurai stated that the 3DS version of Super Smash Bros. will feature stages from handheld titles of Nintendo games. Smash Bros. not only does that, but you also get some stages from past Smash Bros. games like Corneria from Melee and Star Fox 64 (A remake was made for the 3DS) and Planet Zebes from the original Smash Bros. and Metroid: Zero Mission. Honestly before getting the game, I was let down by seeing clips of the stages, but actually playing them my mood changed. Seeing the pics don't do the stages justice. Actually playing them, you get a feel of the personality of the stages and you get a feel of Nintendo history and nostalgia playing them.
Visuals
How things look visually in the game are amazing. It's pretty amazing to see the 3DS display these kind of graphics. It almost looked like Brawl on a handheld. Ironically,a small problem I had was with the camera. Sometimes too much would be going on and it zooms out. This would leave me to takes a while for you to process where you are on the screen and where your opponents are.
Music
Just like every other Smash Bros. game in the series, you get a collection of rearranged music from classic Nintendo titles by well known Nintendo composers as well as songs from actual Nintendo games, including the previous Smash Bros. games. It's always nice to hear how they would rearrange your the melodies from your favorite games, but hearing some songs in this game left me in a meh state. To me, Brawl set the bar for how creative the composers could be and with the current game, they haven't excelled or set the bar higher. You felt the awesomeness with Brawl's composition. I'm not saying the songs in the 3DS version are bad. It on par with Brawl but better than Melee so there's that.
Final Verdict
If you can guess what the tone of the game is, you could say that it was to take a step up from the previous game, Brawl. In some ways they did. The gameplay overall is a big step up from Brawl. They revamped the game by allowing the feature of customization, giving fresh life into the game. The only problem you would have is again the screen. Everything else seems fine. Does it suck? Nope. If there was a ratings system, I would give it a 4.5 out of 5. Super Smash Bros. for the 3DS is fun and fast ensuring good times for hours, or until the Wii U version comes out Nov 21. Buy it or buy both.
Ladies and gentlemen, the time has finally come. Super Smash Bros. for the Nintendo 3DS is here! I'm sure that you and just as excited as I am that after years and years of waiting it is finally in our hands. We are treated with a large character roster with a total of over 50 playable characters from Nintendo's history to fight. We also have an impressive selection of stages to choose from. The question is can we have more?
Back in E3 2013, Director Masahiro Sakurai said in regards to DLC: "At the current time we have no plans," Sakurai told me. "I consider my job at this point, and my main responsibility, to make the Wii U and 3DS versions the best and the fullest experience possible. That said, once finished, it's the type of thing we could take into consideration, but for now, you could consider DLC as not being in the cards."
That was back in 2013 and of course things and ideas change. Sakurai has also stated that Pacman wouldn't make it in Smash Bros. and yet Pacman is in the game.
There is the question as well as the possibility that we could be getting DLC in Super Smash Bros. There are reasons that we could. Nintendo has (finally) warmed up to the idea of giving DLC content for its consumers and games. We have gotten a bundle of DLC content in the recent big title like Mario Kart 8, New Super Mario Bros. U and Hyrule Warriors. Why not have DLC in one of the most anticipated game they have of the year. It would almost be a waste, a matter of fact a huge blunder, not to have anything. Having new character and stages as DLC would give the gamers a little something fresh and new after we get tired of playing of Smash Bros. on the 3DS, especially with some of us waiting for the Wii U version. And playing the game on the 3DS feels like something is missing. Maybe DLC can fill that hole. There's also the demand for past characters like Wolf or Mewtwo to comback. People want them back. Them as DLC would be wonderful.
What characters or stages would you want as DLC in the new Smash Bros. except for Ridley, we all know they will never put him in?
