Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 Review

I’m only a casual video game player nowadays, so I’m excited to write a game review. Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 adapts the Secret Wars and Civil War story arc, from writers Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Miller.

The action starts immediately and in the first level you’re on a secret mission in Latveria with Nick Fury, who fights along side you. Dr. Doom, Latveria’s usual leader, died at the events of last game, but you run afoul of it’s new leader. The next level features the repercussions of that, followed by the Civil War story.

The Civil War comic story is that a team of young superheroes is fighting some villains, and massive human casualties, including children, result. The government passes a law saying all heroes must register with the government or be arrested. Tony Stark leads the charge for registration, and Captain America leads a force against it. Basically a superhero civil war occurs, with some villains getting into the mix as well.

At this part of the game you choose which side to be on, the pro or anti-registration sides. Each side has a few exclusive heroes and has it’s own story. However both sides have the same final levels, The ending in a way is better, or at least makes more sense, that the actual comic.

Once you beat one side you can play on the other, but you have to start from the very beginning. I played the pro-reg side first, thinking it would be easier. I was disappointed to see the anti-side was almost the same story anyway. The levels we’re about the same, in both sides for example, you fight against a giant character. (Goliath for pro, Yellowjacket for anti) Plus upon beating it you can play as any character the second time around. Meaning Iron Man can fight on the anti-reg side against Iron Man. This made for some interesting screen shots. I was also disappointed that only two villains, (not counting Deadpool) Green Goblin and Venom, were playable. I would have liked Bullseye or Taskmaster or several others. The Punisher is sadly absent, though he is mentioned. As in MAU1, Nick Fury is playable once you beat it. There’s more about him but I’d have to ruin the story.

While I’ve been out of touch with video games I’ve heard through the grape vine that, while games are much more expansive these days, they just aren’t as hard as they used to be. This is for a number of reasons. I have to say MAU2 is harder than its predecessor. First time through I played on the hardest level, during which most of the henchmen we’re easy, (Except the last two levels) but some of the bosses were tough. Upon beating the hardest mode a legendary mode is unlocked, which is pretty difficult all around. The Fusion powers are really cool and you really need them. MAU1 was pretty easy, but it did have a few bosses where you really had to figure out what to do, as opposed to just straight combat. While MAU2 was harder I did miss this component. Also the final boss wasn’t really that hard.

The game play is about the same as the first. You can save and switch characters from any point so that’s cool. I think the use of characters is balanced out better. In MAU1 I unlocked Daredevil while in Asgard. Cool, but what good is Daredevil against Frost Giants and Loki? In this game you mostly fight soldiers and robots, so all characters are useful. Like the first one Thor, Iron Man, and Wolverine are really good. Cap seems a little worse. Deadpool is fantastic to use, and is so funny. Stan Lee’s cameo is fantastic. Unique conversations are back and each conversation has an Aggressive, Diplomatic, and Defensive response. They don’t change the game but give little tidbits of info and bonuses are given for each attitude. Team bonuses are present but there didn’t seem to be as many named teams this time.

Most of what I didn’t like, besides what I’d mentioned, are little things. MAU1 had tons of extra costumes, that’s good. But using each costume was almost like a new character, as it had its own stats to build. That’s bad. MAU2 was not like this, that’s good. But each character only had one extra costume, that’s bad. (You got Spidey’s Armor costume too.) Nick Fury however did not seem to have a second costume……. that’s bad. Simulator discs were present but were more training exercises than actual missions fighting other villains like the first game. They did seem easier too, but I’d say that’s bad. (MAU1 discs were REALLY hard though) There was also hidden art which I didn’t care for. Adding to the story were audio discs where you’d hear conversations or news-reports advancing the story. These were at such random places though, video game logic aside it didn’t make sense. They should have been at the bases or something like that. The trivia game returned. MAU1 had lots of expository dialogue to help you. This game had hidden files that you had to read. Forget I’m a teacher for a moment and let me say who wants to read files in a video game!?!

 Many years ago I thought how cool would it be to have a Marvel comics video game, with tons of playable characters and levels all over the Marvel Universe. That was MAU1. The sequel’s goal was to adapt a specific story, which it did well. Most of the game you play in America, esp NYC. Other places you go are Latveria, the Negative Zone, and the fictitious African nation of Wakanda. MAU2 is fun to play and harder, but has small disappointments and I didn’t like how it played out the second time around. Due to that I’d give it somewhere in the 70s on a scale of 1-100.

I do hope they keep the two sides formula for future installments. Marvels Secret Invasion and Dark Reign storylines would fit well into that, but you should definitely be able to play as more villains. Until then. Make Mine Marvel!

Consumer Fiction: Marvel DC movie worlds.

Fan Fiction, stories about licensed characters written by fans, have exploded since the internet. What I’m about to write is what I call consumer fiction, not stories necessarily, but what if scenarios imagining certain products coming out.

I’ve written a lot about the Marvel movie universe and DC’s lack thereof. What if DC had started a film universe that went head to head with Marvel’s. It’d be the comic book equivalent to wrestling’s Monday Night Wars.

Year One

Superman

This would basically be Superman Begins. Rebooting the Superman franchise for a new generation, but like the 1978 movie, show lots of Krypton, young Clark, and then have him fight Lex Luthor.

Captain America.

World War II period piece, maybe hinting at, if not showing other heroes of the era. Fights Nazi baddies, Red Skull, ends with his apparent death.

I picked Cap for the first Marvel movie so this year we’d see with the beginning of the Marvel and DC universes.

Year Two

Batman Begins

This could almost be the same movie as what we have. Post credit scene where Superman flies to Wayne Manor, saying they need to talk.

Iron Man

Again could be just about the same movie.

Aquaman.

This could be a good underwater fantasy flick. Post credit scene, a cruise ship rides by, turns out to be Bruce Wayne’s. He makes contact with Aquaman, hints about team.

Year Three

Wonder Woman.

Maybe no WWII references. I’m thinking it all takes place on Paradise island, but perhaps no. Superman appears post credit.

Thor

Continuing the fantasy theme.  Takes place mostly on Asgard.

Green Lantern. Post credit scene with a few heroes.

Year Four

Superman 2. Leads into JLA movie.

Hulk

Justice League,  starring all previous DC characters of course. I’d love to see Darkseid as the big baddie, with hints of him dropped in previous movies.

Avengers.

I’ve always been a Marvel fan, but I think if you look at the core Avengers characters vs JLA, not as many Avengers characters could carry their own movies. That could definitely give DC a box office edge as they’d have more movies to work from. DC COULD HAVE gone toe to toe with Marvel on this, and just might have come out on top. DC Entertainment was announced last month, in an attempt to further capitalize on DC properties,  but is it too late? We’re talking about a company that almost had Jack Black play Green Lantern, so who knows.

Anyway, what do you think.

The Shocking Truth About Alien Abductions

As soon as the 90s started, conspiracy was all the rage. It arguably began in 1991 with Oliver Stone’s JFK, about the alleged conspiracy to kill Kennedy. That same year, the TV show Sightings featured “investigative reports” on paranormal activity. Two years later was The X-Files, the TV Drama that ran through the decade, about alien abductions and government conspiracies.

UFO and abduction tales were nothing new, Whitley Streiber published his encounters with big eyed creatures in 1987’s Communion. The first book about Roswell, the great UFO story of our day, came out in 1980. By the 90s the phenomenon was in fool force.  Books were published, and daytime talkshows were filled with alleged abductees, not just your fly by night hosts either. I remember none other that Oprah Winfrey had an episode about it, complete with an author who studied the phenomenon, and concluded it was real. As a kid these stories freaked me out. At night I’d wonder if big eyed creatures would come in my room and anal probe me!

A few years back I noticed the phenomeon sort of went away, from the mainstream anyway. I wondered what that said for it’s validity. Since the 90s I learned that in the 1950s there was a contactee fad. People claimed they rode UFO’s to Venus and stuff like that, sounds silly looking back on it.

Anyway I just finished “The Abduction Enigma: The Truth Behind the Mass Alien Abductions of the Late Twentieth Century.” It was written by Kevin D. Randle, Russ Estes, and William P. Cone, Ph.D, and published in 1999, interestingly enough.

Without rehasing the entire book let me sum up the main points. Abduction tales are like modern day folklore, stories that evolve and change over time, but are spread faster than older folklore due to the mass media. Stories similar to alien abduction can be found in history involving mythological monsters, demons, witches, and fairies. (Of course Streiber notes fairies himself in Communion, hinting it could have been aliens all along).

In the last century science fiction stories have fed us with big eyed alien abduction stories, several movies are noted. If you look at the early abduction tales like Betty and Barney Hill, the descriptions of the aliens don’t totally match the “Greys” we know today. Their appearance has evolved, if you will.

We also know from harrowing child abuse cases that repressed memories are not reliable, niether are hypnosis techniques used to recover them. (Hypnosis is more reliable for relaxation and treatment for addiction) More unsettling is that abduction stories can be fed to a patient by the therapist, through the use of leading questions. (Similar to how alleged psychics do ”Cold Readings.”) More reinforcement comes from paranormal media and UFO support groups. Sleep paralysis also plays a role in not being able to move and seeing strange things in your room.

The authors do not suggest therapists deliberately trick patients, but that sometimes in the mental health field people are desperate to find answers to help their sick patients. So they unintentionally give in to the latest pop psych trend.

There’s no physical evidence of abductions. Abductee claims of implants are just scar tissue and things like that. Small scars/marks on the body are not conclusive. We all can find strange marks on our body if we really look.

Finally, a logical look at the general abduction tale. Creatures who have mastered interstellar travel abduct humans to repeatedly do the same experiments, and erase memories of the experience. Yet primitive mankind today can do tons of genetic research with but a few small genetic samples, and a weekend course in hypnotherapy can un-erase abduction memories. Also, many abductions have a high sexual component, which is often under-reported. Why would aliens abduct women, implant them with an alien fetus, and send them back to earth where they could fall down the steps or get hit by a car and die and lose the fetus. Why not take a man to bang a hot alien chic. Greys, you know where I live.

(Consequently a true laugh out loud moment is on page 97.

As she lay there, immobile on the table, one of the five foot aliens mounted her, looked deep in her eyes, and what she heard him say was, “What you need is a good f#*k!”)

Though very interesting the book isn’t put together well. There’s a few grammar/spelling mistakes, and after presenting all the arguments, gives us 100 pages plus detailing individual UFO researchers and why they’re wrong. I found that tedious. There’s also a strong lead in early on to Satanic Ritual Abuse, an extremely similar phenomenon, but it’s not followed up on until later. Most confusing is the introduction, where two of the three authors say they do in fact believe in the phenomenon. Estes says on p 18, “If asked the question, do I believe in alien contact? I would respond with a simple “Yes.”"

Randle follows up on p22, “I  believe that UFO’s represent, in rare cases, alien visitation…I believe, based on some very compelling evidence, and on some testimony from some very credible sources, that there has been extraterrestrial visitation.”

That confused the greys out of me. I re-read it several times, second guessing myself, but that’s what it says.

When I was real little there was this Buick commercial where a big bird would screech on the screen. I remember a dream I had as a young child where I was laying in my bed at night, and I heard “Jimmy.” I looked up and saw the Buick bird looking at me, and it screeched “Raaahhh.” If the wrong person got a hold of me at the time, they might have convinced my mom I’d been molested. Ten years later they might have convinced me that my dream was a screen for a memory of alien abduction. In it’s own way, either outcome is scarier than what may lurk in the night sky.

Story: And the myth of Art vs Hollywood.

Do you grow weary of “typical Hollywood endings?” Do you crave the “art” films in all there indy/eccentric non-english glory? Are you, like Alan Moore, bemoaning the death of imagination? (See my blog on Death of Imagination) Not so fast, says, Robert Mckee, author of Story.

Story is one of the most acclaimed entries among countless books on how to write screenplay. I won’t be talking about his screenplay advice, but will address his theories on Story in modern society.

Mckee points out what most of us know, but maybe never thought of. Every year Hollywood makes over 400 films,  and buys thousands and thousands of scripts that will never be made. During the 1990 s, Hollywood spent $500 million dollars a year on script development. 3/4s of that were for movies we never saw.  (McKee 13) As much as critics hated Transformers 2, for the most part there are no better movies than those produced. “The hard to believe truth is that what we see on the screen each year is  a reasonable reflection of the best writing of the past few years.” (14)

As far as Hollywood” vs “art” films are concerned, consider this. The Fisher King, Blue Velvet, JFK, Dangerous Liasons, and Do the Right Thing are all succesful “Hollywood” movies. 1988’s, The Accidental Tourist made 250 million world wide, more than most action flicks at the time. (2008’s Benjamin Button made 332 million, which was more than say, John Rambo)What the artsy snob calls “Hollywood films” are the 30 some FX movies, usually released in the summer. These are far less than half the films that come out each year. (39)

The “Art Film” typically means non-hollywood, often narrowed to do foreign, and more specifically European. This of course does not include gory Italian horror/action films or hardcore German pornography, but rather the few good European films that are shown stateside. (39)

Finally he addresses a cliche we all know, you have to learn the rules before you break them.  It’s ok to want to make something “avant garde,” but before first master the basic craft or else the results are just a bunch of weird stuff. Eccentricness is not creativity, it’s just odd.

That’s all I’ll cover, but he has many fine points on screenwriting.  I included myself among the cultural snobs once, but as I become a grumpy old man I see their pretentiousness. Plus some of them are just weird, and that’s something coming from me.

It was easy to be a snob 10-15 years ago. The blockbuster type movies of my college days were terrible; Batman and Robin, Independence Day, Armageddon, Fifth Element, etc.  My last semester I flocked to the downtown theater that started showing indy-flicks, and I saw some real good stuff like Bufallo 66 and Smoke Signals. (They also showed Pi, but I saw that later) Of course it didn’t last, being it was a small town and all. But anyway most blockbuster type movies nowadays are actually good, Iron Man and The Dark Knight for example.

Anyway to our art snobs, stop whining about Hollywood, get your nose out of the air and get cracking on the craft.

Good writing

What Really Pisses Me Off About Wrestling.

This year I found myself on a Nitro kick. In 1995, WCW Monday Night Nitro aired on TNT, going head to head against WWF Raw on USA. This led to what many feel was the greatest era in wrestling history, the Monday Night Wars.

Unfortunately, I totally missed out on it, having sworn off wrestling maybe 4 years prior. Years later I’d heard about how special this time was, the NWO, Hogan as a villain, the Montreal Screwjob, Austin 3:16, wrestlers switching from one brand to the next, and in the midst of all that was ECW.

Anyway thanks to sites like youtube we can re-live these glory days, or see them for the first time. I found the first few months of Nitro available online and watched for a bit. Even pre-NWO (when Hogan was still a hero) was still pretty entertaining. One day I saw something that truly caught my eye. Check this out.

What did we just see! A great tag team W OMEN’S match. It was fast paced, back and forth, exciting and unique. Did you see the move at 5:16? Not to mention the other airborne moves and such.

Now, if you can bare it, watch this.

Now look I’m a guy ok. I like looking at hot chicks and bikini babes and all that but give me a break. I bet there’s a lot of other heterosexual male wrestling fans that feel the same way.  It’s a shame to watch that WCW match and see the direction WWE took women’s wrestling. Oh well.

P.S. The Japanese wrestlers were Bull Nakano and Akira Hokuto, who defeated Mayumi Ozaki, Cutie Suzuki.

DC Entertainment: Thinking out loud…

A week after the Disney Marvel news, Warner Brothers announced DC Entertainment, a corporate restructuring for the purpose of bringing DC characters across multimedia platforms.  The head of DC entertainment is Diane Nelson, who oversaw the Harry Potter franchise.

Naturally numerous questions abounded, such as will we finally see a Wonder Woman movie? Will there be a Superman reboot? Will we finally see a JLA movie/shared universe to compete with the Marvel movie universe/Avengers movie?

My question is why wasn’t this done 10, 20, or even 30 years ago? The first Superman movie in 1978 was a gamble. No comic book movie had been a smash hit before. Once it did hit big, why did they not follow up with a Batman movie? (Tim Burton’s Batman came over ten years later, (89) and by that time the Superman film series died a horrible death) Plus, the late 70s-early 80s was the Star Wars era, so why not throw a Green Lantern movie into the mix? In the early 80s, fantasy hit big with Arnold’s movie Conan the Barbarian. A Wonder Woman movie anyone? It all could have tied together and we could have had a JLA movie by 1986. Comic books greatest year indeed.

But it didn’t happen, oh well. Maybe it can finally happen now. DC, and Warner Brother specifically, if they want it bad enough, can still go toe to toe with the Marvel Movie universe. Here’s to hoping it happens.

More about DC entertainment can be read here.

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/090909-DC-Restructuring.html

Disney Buys Marvel: A Fan’s Sober Look

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Was my reaction this mornng when reading what undoubtly will be the comic book news of the decade.  Disney is in fact buying Marvel Comics, who have been on a roll this past year with it’s self produced films and more on the way, including 2012’s fanboy dream The Avengers. The internet has truly broken in half as concerns immediately arose of Disney meddling with Mighty Marvel characters.  In the 24 hours since this news broke fans already speculated of  Marvel getting kidified, canning or softening characters like Punisher and Wolverine, and stupid crossovers like Goofy in X-men. Although some concern is legitimate, lets think this through.

First of all, really, a Disney Executive is not going to walk into Marvel offices and make the Punisher go away, put the Disney logo on all comics, cancel the Max Line, or tone down Deadpool and Wolverine. Donald Duck is not going to appear in the Avengers movie, and Mickey Mouse is not going to magically appear in the Amazing Spiderman. Mickey isn’t even used much by Disney anymore. Even if someday there is a Spidey Mickey story, it would be a special book done to appeal to kids, and if you have a problem with that, come on.

Disney has already stated that the licensing agreements with with Fox for X-men and FF characters, and Sony Spidey characters will stay in place, as will the distribution deal with Paramount. (They will stay in place until said agreements expire at least, the Paramount deal is for 5 films) They see that Marvel has properly managed it’s characters to be profitable and are not going to mess with that.

Disney has no reason to worry about Marvel’s mature MAX line or any other edgier books. Take DC comics for example. Being owned by Warner Brothers does not stop them from publishing edgy/mature titles in their Vertigo line  or their Wildstorm imprint. It’s not like Marvel isn’t a corporation themselves who already balance Ghost Rider with something like the Marvel Adventures line.

On the film front, the self financed Marvel Studios films are not adult themed anyway. Even if they were, they will still be made under the Marvel banner, just as Pixar makes Up under the Pixar logo. The Disney logo is only used on real Disney family oriented products. If you look they actually own ABC, ESPN, Dimension films, Miramax, among many other holdings.

Mirimax’s film library is a good example of why not to worry about this deal. Let’s look at some of what they’ve made and/or distributed; both Crow movies, Kill Bill 1 and 2, Pulp Fiction, Halloween 6,  3 Helllraiser movies; (Bloodlines, Inferno, and Deader) Clerks, Dogma, and Trainspotting. If Disney money went to Pinhead and Michael Meyers, I wouldn’t worry about Iron Man and the Hulk.

Plus look at the upside. Disney is a juggernaught of liscencing and distribution, which Marvel can take advantage of. Plus representatives from Marvel have already met with Pixar. Disney CEO Bob Iger says;

“We actually have had some conversations internally, and John Lasseter (from Pixar) met with some of the key Marvel creative executives fairly recently and the group got very excited pretty fast…..We had to say, ’slow down guys, we haven’t done this deal yet…you can put a lot of creative, enthusiastic people in a room that can appreciate the value of great characters and interesting worlds, a lot can happen… sparks can fly.”

Imagine a Pixar Fantastic Four film, and I’m not even an FF fan.

Will there be Disney comics, probably. But why should Mickey Mouse comics bother anyone? So what if there’s a Hannah Montana comic, if you don’t like it don’t buy it.

(On a related note I wonder will Gargoyles or Tron come into the Marvel Universe, and will there be a revival of Crossgen, the comic company Disney bought years ago? What about Marvel characters in a Kindgom Hearts game)

One question is what will happen to the Marvel rides at Universal Studios. Time will tell.

What was so neat about Marvel was their autonomy as a company, which is why I, and many others, had the reaction we did. (Plus when I was 22 I hated Disney) It could have been worse, it could have been DC buying them. I would have hated that. My nerd dream was for Marvel to buy DC.

Let’s not be stupid fanboys about this. Disney is not dumb. They are not going to spend 4 billion dollars on a growing company and change the formula that made it work.

So until the Punisher sings a duet with Minnie Mouse, make mine Marvel!

An investor call session about the deal can be heard at

http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=129198&p=irol-eventDetails&EventId=2413571

Whose Da Geekiest: Star Trek, and Final Thoughts

Names. Trekkies, Trekkers.  Trekkers are simply fans of the show. Trekkies are the uber devoted Klingon speaking type.

Size and Mainstreamness:. Given that the original TV show aired 40 some years ago, followed by several movies and other TV shows, Star Trek fandom is pretty substantial. Anyone else who isn’t into it undoubtedly knows what it is.

Babe factor: I’d bet moderate to high.

Random acts of nerdiness. Star Trek people are the original geeks. The fans made the Klingon language for gods sake. Check this out http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/West/05/10/offbeat.klingon.interpreter/) There are summer camps you can go to to actually learn Klingon. People get married in full Klingon Garb and name their kids Kirk, after Shatner. Arguably the first fan fiction was from Star Trek fandom,  was probably the first franchise to have a convention dedicated to itself specifically. Go to any convention, Star Trek or not, and there’s always that one Klingon walking around..

For a classic moment, see William Shatner on Saturday Night Live. “Why don’t you people get a life!!!”

Gathering points: Pretty much any sci-fi/fandom convention, of course there are the Star Trek specific cons and the Klingon summer camp.

The Big Debate: I bet some of the original online arguments between geeks were Kirk vs Picard.

Then there’s always Star Trek vs Star Wars.

Final thoughts: So there we have it. The major media fandoms, comics, role playing, video games, CCGs, anime,  and the franchise specific fandom of Star Wars and Star Trek. Most fandom now has a lot of commonality with the rise of the convention scene. In the US, just about every weekend of the year there is a convention somewhere, filled with people dressing up in costumes of all types. There are other more recent franchise specific fandoms such as Buffy, Babylon 5 and Stargate, the last of which has their own cos-play fan groups dressing up in military garbs ala the Stormtrooper units. Plus who knows what the future will bring in terms of new franchises to geek out on, and new media to enjoy them in. MMORPGs could probably now be considered separate from video game fandom, as World of Warcraft is practically a way of life in Korea.

So, who is the geekiest? Hard to say, video games are probably the most widespread, with Role Playing being the most obscure. Anime probably has the most girls, while a girl at a comic show is like ants chasing honey, and Star Trek fans are probably the Original Gangsters of nerdom. To some point of course it’s hard to quantify, because how do you know for sure. Are there more girls in Anime than Star Trek? Whose more anti-social, comic nerds or gamers? Who’s more obsessive, Star Wars fans or Poke’Mon players? Tough to measure, but I was just curious, so that’s why I wrote this.

I’ve got a kick out of writing this and I hope you got a kick out of reading it too. Please share feedback and give me some good stories!

Part of why I wrote his, is because over time I’ve seen the bad side of the things I love. I’ve been a comic nerd for almost 30 years now. I still remember that summer when I was 13 when I hardly had any friends, and my life revolved around that weekly trip to the comic shop. I look back on times like that and see the folly totally devoting yourself to one thing. It’s ok to be a comic geek, but turn on the game once and a while, read a history book, find a good woman.  Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to read Guns Germs and Steel.

Live Long and Prosper.

Origionally published on myspace on 2/20/07

Whose Da Geekiest: Star Wars

Name: Is there a name, Star Wars fans?

Lingo: Original trilogy, Medachlorians, The Force, Lightsaber, Pod-racing, Jar-Jar, (haha) Special Edition

Mainstreamness. Nerd or not almost every person alive in the United States and Canada has at least seen Star Wars. Anyone that hasn’t seen it at least is aware of it, unlike other fandom.

Girl factor. Probably high, again since most people have seen Star Wars at least once. However, the only people I ever knew who never saw Star Wars were girls.

Random Acts of Nerdiness. There was a time when I would have considered Star Wars less geeky than other fandom, that is, until 1999. Two months before Episode I was released I heard stories of people camping out in front of theaters in California waiting to see it. Camping out is one thing, but 2 months? I’d ask if these people had lives, but I suppose that’s a rhetorical question, so my next question would be, don’t these people have jobs? Other stories I’ve heard include the woman (In NJ I think) who legally changed her name to Obi-Won Knobi. Plus there was the rumor in Britain about getting Jedi recognized as a religion.

Then there was the fact that all the people who saw Star Wars when they were 12 years old boys and thought it was the greatest movie ever, were utterly disgusted by Episode I. Their reason why, it was made for 12 year old boys.

Before the releases of all 3 prequels local theaters would advertise which movie had the Star Wars trailer. Receipts for said movie went up considerably.

There are the Storm Trooper divisions. Fan groups that spend hundreds of dollars to dress up as the lamest characters in the Star Wars universe. However, like the Klingon guards, they also do things for charity, so I guess I can’t pick on them too much.

The Big Debates: Han Shot First, one of the biggest debates in all of geekdom. The Special Edition modifications in general, and the general re-releases of the movies, including an upcoming one I’d heard of making it a 3-D movie.

Gathering Points. I think there are Star Wars fan fests but not sure.

Next is  Star Trek, until then, May The Force Be With You.

Originally Published on myspace on 2/11/07

Whose Da Geekiest: Collectible Card Games

Mainstreamness. I’d say third behind video games and anime. How many estimated Magic players were there, was it 4 million? I’m sure there’s not 4 million people reading comics and definitely not role playing. Before there were big video game tournaments, national Magic Tournaments were shown on ESPN 2. Adds for Magic the Gathering appeared on television and in mainstream magazines like Rolling Stone. There is an entire generation of kids who’ve played Poke-mon and Yu-Gi-Oh in school. So it’s definitely pretty big and mainstream/normal.

Babe factor, I’d bet with Magic pretty low. With Poke-Mon and Yu-Gi-Oh games maybe higher, but in my time working with kids stateside I don’t remember ever seeing a girl playing either one.

Random acts of Nerdiness: When Poke-Mon first hit, there were reports of young kids stabbing each other over the cards, and printing out counterfeit cards on the computer. CCGs are probably the most competitive hobby. Probably even more than video games. Nerds generally aren’t athletic, so a CCG tournament brings competition into their lives. Hence they  know all the rules and the ins and outs of the game, spending every last dime they have building the biggest baddest 60 card deck possible. They’ll spend  $2000 on a deck to win a $50 prize.

A Word on Minatures. I don’t have anything specific to say about fans of minature games. (Hero clicks, Mage Knight, Warhammer, etc)Most of the above factors can also be attributed to players of these games. One distinction I’ll mention is that Warhammer is incredibly expensive to play, which makes it fairly unique. Other than that the hobbies are very similar.

Gathering Points: Not sure here. There are still national Magic tournaments I think, most big comic book/sci-fi conventions have card tournaments, but I don’t know what the big tournaments are.

Lingo: Tapping, Mana, Chase Cards, Foil Cards. Draft tournaments. Banned List. 60 card deck. Type I, Type II. Customized deck.

This is the last medium specific column of the series. The last two entires will be about Star Wars and Star Trek.

Originally published on myspace on 2/4/07