Back when Chris and I went to rent LEGO Harry Potter, the guy at Blockbuster told us about some used games he had behind the counter. All were for Xbox 360, and the prices were fantastic!

The games, which were all $6.99, came in a generic semi-frosted clear case, but no box art, and no booklet. At first, it seemed like all titles were various sports games, but then Assassins Creed II and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed appeared. CHA-CHING! We asked to look at both discs, and they were perfect. Not a scratch on them, and they weren’t refurbished. Instead of spending a little over $60.00 retail on both games brand new, we were able to get them for a few cents over $15.00 – all because they didn’t come with box art and a booklet.

Knowing about this fantastic deal, Chris started to hit up other local Blockbuster store locations on his way home from work, and we got the first Assassins Creed and BioShock for $6.99. Four great Xbox 360 games for less than $30.50 after tax. What a damn bargain! During one of his excursions, Chris game across Splinter Cell: Conviction, but it was priced $34.99 because it came with the booklet. Massive price jump all because of a booklet? Completely ridiculous, so we’ll have to wait on Sam Fisher.

Last week, Chris found a website where gamers who are big into design created mock box art, shockingly similar to the final retail product, so at work he printed out covers for Assassins Creed II and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. Bargain, bargain, bargain!!!

So, are you low on funds, but want some good titles? Check out your local Blockbuster because not only do they have these great deals on 360 games, but they also had PS3 and Wii games to choose from. We aren’t too sure about the pricing for them, but it will still be significantly less than retail!

Happy hunting!

- Me

Like helping others and earning a shot at winning some great prizes by Activision, EA, and others in the process? Check out our One Love for Chi fundraiser and spread the word!

Alright friends of Meh, I promised that today we would be getting something special in the mail for our One Love for Chi/Blogathon fundraiser, and it’s here!

Originally the delivery was slated to arrive around 3 in the afternoon, so I was surprised when the FedEx guy came around 11. Each box weighs about 26 pounds, and it reminded me of the days when I worked at GameStop as an Assistant Manager. I loved shipment days.

Courtesy of the amazing folks at Activision, Team Hero, and Dan Amrich (otherwise known as OneOfSwords), we were given not one..not two…not three, but FOUR complete Band Hero kits to give away as prizes during the Blogathon starting on July 31st!

Each kit includes: the Band Hero game, a microphone, guitar, and drum kit. This is the real deal folks! We have two kits for the Nintendo Wii, one kit for Xbox 360, and another for Sony PlayStation 3. All Band Hero equipment is fully compatible with Guitar Hero, which is awesome, and all kits are retail sealed.

Band Hero comes with an impressive 65 tracks straight out of the box, with some notable songs and artists like:

• Bravery, The – Believe
• Carl Douglas – Kung Fu Fighting
• Cheap Trick – I Want You To Want Me (Live)
• Culture Club – Do You Really Want To Hurt Me
• David Bowie – Let’s Dance
• Devo – Whip It
• Duran Duran – Rio
• Everclear – Santa Monica
• Fall Out Boy – Sugar We’re Goin’ Down
• Filter – Take A Picture
• Finger Eleven – Paralyzer
• Go-Go’s, The – Our Lips Are Sealed
• Hinder – Lips Of An Angel
• Jackson 5 – ABC
• Janet Jackson – Black Cat
• Joan Jett – Bad Reputation
• Katrina And The Waves – Walking On Sunshine
• Maroon 5 – She Will Be Loved
• Marvin Gaye – I Heard It Through The Grapevine
• Mighty Mighty Bosstones – Impression That I Get
• N.E.R.D. – Rock Star
• No Doubt – Just A Girl
• No Doubt – Don’t Speak
• OK Go – A Million Ways
• Papa Roach – Lifeline
• Pat Benatar – Love Is A Battlefield
• Poison – Every Rose Has Its Thorn
• Roy Orbison – Oh Pretty Woman
• Snow Patrol – Take Back The City
• Spice Girls – Wannabe
• Styx – Mr. Roboto
• Taylor Swift – Love Story
• Taylor Swift – You Belong To Me
• The Rolling Stones – Honky Tonk Woman
• Tonic – If You Could Only See
• Turtles, The – Happy Together
• Village People – Y.M.C.A.
• Yellowcard – Ocean Avenue
• …..and many more!

Band Hero has some pretty awesome features as well. With Party Play, your friends can drop in or out of any song, without fearing you’ll fail it, and at the push of a button. You can also switch your personal options, such as instrument or difficulty. Sing-Along mode allows you and up to 3 friends to jam out, karaoke style. Just like in Party Play, Sing-Along allows your friends to drop in or out. Perfect for harmonizing at certain places in songs.

Should you wish to have four singers, four drummers, or four guitarists, you have that option in Band Hero, amongst other combinations. Xbox 360 players who have Xbox Live Gold subscriptions can use their Avatar characters and rock out in any mode, whereas Nintendo Wii gamers have access to an exclusive mode called Mii Freestyle. In Mii Freestyle, players can create their own songs, and be able to record/edit/share their videos showcasing their Mii’s. In addition to being able to use your Avatar or Mii, both Taylor Swift and Maroon 5 frontman, Adam Levine, are playable characters. Guitar Hero owners will love how you can import your tracks from Guitar Hero: World Tour and Guitar Hero 5 straight into Band Hero. So much better than having to constantly change out discs, no?

Want to win one of these? Then donate, or help spread the word to earn entires into our raffle. Each one of these kits sells for around $150.00 retail, not including tax, so wouldn’t you love to win one just by donating $10 dollars? I’d say that’s a pretty good deal!

I can’t even begin to express the amount of gratitude I have right now, because I am completely overwhelmed by Activision’s generosity. They have gone above and beyond, and I can’t thank them enough.

So donate, tell your friends, get them involved, and spread the word about our great cause because it’s all about Chi!

- Me

In their live conference yesterday, Konami started off their presentation with video showing a vault and you heard a voice entering the, now classic, Konami code before going into reel of their upcoming games. Shinji Hirano, President of Konami, introduced himself and welcomed everybody. Hirano-san says that this year, Konami has strong line-up which consists of Konami original IP such as Metal Gear Solid: Rising, Silent Hill, two Castlevania games, Frogger, and Dance Dance Revolution. Read the full story

The Nintendo E3 Press Conference may be over, but that doesn’t mean the excitement has waned. From the get go, Nintendo blew us away. Reggie Fils-Amie came out to debut a new Zelda game, Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, and it got fans really excited.

We were originally led to believe that a man named Bill would be the one doing the live demo, since Shigeru Miyamoto, a mad genius, seemed like he was being video conferenced in. Turns out Miyamoto-san would be the one playing Skyward Sword, and also discussing how it works. Bill remained there, as translator, and the fun began.

The live demo consisted of us getting a tutorial on the controls, the new items, and how we can interact with the environment. Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword will be a must-have game for the Wii console. Unfortunately it isn’t slated to launch until 2011, but more details will be leaked out in the months to come.

Following the excitement over Zelda, Reggie came back onto the stage to announce a new Wii Sports title: Mario Sports Mix. Like Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Mario Sports Mix won’t hit store shelves until 2011, but we saw Mario and friends competing in different arenas this time around. From what I was able to see, I caught volleyball, hockey, field hockey, basketball, and maybe water polo. Everything seemed to go by so quickly, it was difficult to catch it all. Obviously other sports titles like Madden and MLB are coming to the Wii, but a nice surprise was the classic NBA Jam. For E3 attendees, a live demo will be available on the floor.

For those out there who thought the Wii was losing it’s steam, Reggie presented us with some impressive stats. Last December, the Wii set record sales. He also informed us on how “more games have been sold for the Wii in the 43 months since launch in any other platform ever, in the same launch period.” Wii owners were also found to play their console more than other owners, and as for other game sales, Mario Kart on the Wii has sold more than 22 million copies worldwide. The New Super Mario Bros. game has sold more than 14 million copies worldwide. Those are some incredible numbers.

Fans of Mario Party will be interested in the new Wii Party game. In Wii Party, fans can have fun with their Mii’s, participating in multiplayer, and having the ability to choose from 13 different party modes. Board Game Island, which features over 70 different mini games, and Balance Boat were a couple modes presented to us. House Party mode is one the entire family can play together. Wii Party will be available for this holiday season.

On the subject of dancing games, Reggie announced the sequel to the popular Wii dance game, Just Dance by Ubisoft. In Just Dance 2, players will have 40 tracks to jam to. They can also engaged in dancing duets, get their cardio in with the Just Sweat mode, and have dance crew face offs with up to 8 players. Just Dance 2 is slated to launch Fall 2010.

RPG fans rejoiced when details and a trailer for Golden Sun: Dark Dawn were given. I’m a fan of the Golden Sun series, and played the GBA one for countless hours. From what I saw, Golden Sun: Dark Dawn on the DS will be incredible. My only wish is that they made a Golden Sun for the Wii, but who knows. Golden Sun: Dark Dawn will be out in time for the holiday season.

Now, what happened after the Golden Sun section was so incredible. In a trailer, they showed a panel of young gamers, and a man who was asking them about GoldenEye 007. You know, the awesomely popular N64 game? Well, good news my friends – in November of this year, we will be gifted a brand new GoldenEye 007 exclusive for the Nintendo Wii. It will feature split-screen gameplay, multiplayer (yes!), 8 classic characters like Oddjob and Jaws, and 16 special game modes like paintball and melee only. Unfortunately Rare won’t be the ones giving us this gem, but I think we can trust Activision to deliver.

On a nostalgia high, Warren Spector and Adam Creighton graced the stage to give us another Wii exclusive, Disney Epic Mickey. The game, which honors the past 80 years of Disney creativity, was given no release date, but a live demo was nice. In Venture Land you can talk with other characters and purchase items. You can also get quests there and visit memorable places like the Tiki Room and Swiss Family Robinson areas from Disney Land. The Waste Land is full of forgotten things, but they just talked to us about that.

In Disney Epic Mikey, the two ‘weapons’ you have are paint and thinner. With the thinner you can erase people, buildings, objects… just about anything. With the paint you can bring it all back or create new things in the world. How you use the two affects everything in the Epic Mickey world. It will affect how characters interact with you, what they talk to you about, how their stories will end, and more. In the game you can expect adventure, platform, and RPG elements throughout, and we even saw a place known as Travel Zone. In Travel Zone, we saw a black and white level, with Mickey in color, and everything was based off of the popular cartoon Steamboat Willie. In Travel Zone, other popular cartoons will be levels as well, so you get something new each time. Disney Epic Mickey was very impressive, on every level, and I feel confident in saying that children and adults will find the game irresistible.

Following Mickey, another familiar face was shown – Kirby. Can you believe it’s been 7 years since Kirby has had it’s own console game? Neither can I! In Kirby’s Epic Yarn (I know, something about Epic Mickey and Epic Yarn back to back in the presentation seemed odd to me as well) you really get to interact with the enviroment. The trailer, to me, felt like this awesome, new Paper Mario game but with Kirby as the main character. The art style was fresh, the gameplay looked really fun, and you won’t have to wait long to play it. Kirby’s Epic Yarn will be out this Fall.

Another thing that got RPG fans excited was the announcement that Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies would be released in North America, finally. For a long time it was only available in Japan, received great reviews, and from what we were told today, it sounds rather impressive. Players will get to go on 120 mini-quests, participate in several Wi-Fi exclusive mini-quests, slay over 300 monsters, obtain 900 items to customize your character, have fun with an infinite number of randomly generated treasure maps, and be able to link up to 3 additional friends so you can quest together. By putting your DS in ‘tag-mode’ the game will automatically seek out people to play with, and add new maps for your character all while you are away from your DS. In 26 days, July 11th, Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies drops so start saving your hard earned cash now.

Metroid: Other M was shown, and that will be released on August 31st. Metroid: Other M looks very nice. You will get some classic Metroid game play mixed in with Metroid Prime-esque moments. Being able to switch from FPS to third person is a nice combination, and I’m sure fans of the franchise will dig the new features. Samus will still be able to roll up into a ball and do everything we’ve become familiar with. I’m a huge Metroid Prime fan so I’m glad they kept those elements in.

Bringing the nostalgia back, we were shown Donkey Kong Country Returns, for the Wii. Developed by Retro Studios, Donkey Kong Country Returns brings us back to the 2D days of when DK and Diddy Kong were side-scrolling, platforming maniacs. Donkey Kong Country Returns will be out for this holiday season, and I need to get a copy. No joke. It looks that epic.

After all that DK goodness, we were shown the new Nintendo 3DS. I have to admit, it looks rather impressive and boasts some nice features. Satoru Iwata, Global President of Nintendo, gave us the rundown on the newest addition to the handheld family. I won’t go into too many details because we have an actual post going fully into the 3DS, but just know that there will be an analog stick, in addition to the D-Pad, you won’t need to wear glasses for the 3D to work, and you will be capable of watching 3D movies on the Nintendo 3DS.

Some of you might remember the name Project Sora. It was announced back in like January of 2009. Kingdom Hearts fans might have thought it was a new game in the works, but holy Hell, what they showed today was so much more. I was so overwhelmed with joy that I got teary eyed. Kid. Fucking. Icarus. Yeah I said it. KID ICARUS! As a child I loved the Kid Icarus game, so when I saw him, I couldn’t help but get amazing flashbacks. A Nintendo 3DS exclusive, Kid Icarus: Uprising looks absolutely gorgeous. I’m so excited about this game, I can’t even compose a proper sentence. All I know is that I want it, and I hope I get it. It’s Kid Icarus!

Nintendo has partnered up with E3 to create an E3 network for those who were unable to attend. If you check out their page, you can gather information on the event, get behind the scene looks, screenshots, trailers, and more.

- Me

At the beginning of Nintendo’s E3 Press Conference, we were treated to a surprise – Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. Exclusive for the Wii, Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword promises to be something so incredible, something so amazing, and by the looks of it, I want it… today. On hand to provide a live demonstration was Mr. Shigeru Miyamoto himself. Miyamoto-san, a genius in my opinion, gave us an awesome tutorial on how to play the newest installment to the Zelda franchise.

Using the Wii-mote Motion Plus, and having the nunchuck connected, players will fully assume the role of Link. The Wii-mote will act as the sword, and your nunchuck will be your shield. Miyamoto-san advised us to really get into it and pretend as if you were holding a physical sword and shield combo. By pressing Z on the nunchuck, you can target your enemies or objects, and the A button has two different functions. In combat, A will make Link jump. When you aren’t swinging your sword, the A button will allow Link to run. If you aim the sword to the sky, it will charge up with the power of the Heavens, hence the title Skyward Sword. From there you can use that energy to let loose some sword beams.

By moving both of your hands in the same direction, Link will swing the sword around in a quick circle. Shaking your left hand quickly will make your shield pop up. Another cool thing we saw was  how you can knock back rocks, or other projectiles by performing the shield bash move. The object can then be used to attack enemies.

Being able to interact with your environment is something more games should offer, and Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword doesn’t disappoint. You are able to cut grass, cut down trees, and more. Link, this time around, has a few more items at his disposal. To access your items, just turn the Wii-mote down, like you’re reaching into your pocket, and the menu will pop up on your screen. From there, you can select what you want to equip. Obviously his sword and shield have returned, along with the bow and arrow and slingshot, but Link now has a whip and a beetle. I found the beetle to be awesome. You just aim where you want it to go, and by using the Wii-mote, you can control where it flies. Your beetle can look around the world and even pick up items. With the whip, how you move determines the movement of it. We saw how you can whip enemies, items, and even use it to bring items to you. Swapping out between whip and sword was easy too.

Another thing I liked in the presentation were the bombs. Again, you select the item out of your menu, and you can do a couple of things with the bombs. You can raise the Wii-mote and throw them, you can place them on the ground in front of you, or you can drop your hand and roll it like a bowling ball. When demoing the bomb section, Miyamoto-san accidentally blew Link up. It was pretty comical. There were a few issues during the demo, like when too many people were using wireless devices, throwing off the Wii-mote connection to the Wii, but like true professionals, they kept on going.

Overall, the presentation was fantastic. It was so nice watching Miyamoto-san up there on stage having a blast, because that’s what gaming is all about. Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, unfortunately, isn’t even close to being completed, so all we know for now is that it will be out sometime in 2011.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alsWeDp_z0k

- Me

It’s been a while, but we’re within sight of the end!  I popped Super Mario Galaxy in last night and managed to hammer my way through three more stars.  I completed the Bedroom Galaxy (Bowser’s level here was very annoying because of gravity, screen orientation, and control manipulation).  After completing the Bedroom Galaxy, I was informed that I had gathered enough stars to grant me access to the final level, Bowser’s Galaxy Reactor.  However, I still hadn’t touched the newly available Engine Room Galaxy, so I decided to try it out for shits and giggles.  I jumped into the 1-star galaxy to knock out a quick star, the Bonefin Galaxy.  This is a very small world, made of water.  Almost immediately after jumping into the world, a giant bone shark comes out and starts swimming.  Using koopa shells, the shark is defeated and a star is earned.

One final update remains until I’ve beaten the game.  If it allows me to keep playing galaxies after beating it, maybe I’ll go for full completion, but I don’t know about that right now.

-[insert revolutionary thinking here]

(Editor’s note: This was written in September.  It has been waiting on the fancy little “Featured Articles” icon to be created.)

Upon completion of this fourth star, I noticed that the Daredevil comit was in orbit around the Gusty Garden Galaxy, giving me a fifth star to grab!  I had to beat Major Burrows again, but with only one health piece!  One hit and I was a goner.  Major Burrows was easy, though, since I figured out how to defeat him last update.  One quick battle later, and another star was mine!

Having finished every other galaxy in the Bedroom Observatory (except for the Bowser Boss galaxy), I went back into the Dusty Dune Galaxy.  This star was interesting.  There was a great deal of fast moving sand that kept you moving in a particular direction whether you wanted it to or not.  Smart navigating and jumping was the key to making it past this obstacle.  Then, a double sided world with a timed obstacle was the last thing standing between me and my star!

That’s it for progress update 16!  Progress Update 17 should be coming sometime this week!

-[insert revolutionary thinking here]

(Editor’s note: This was written in September.  It has been waiting on the fancy little “Featured Articles” icon to be created.  This means the last time I played SMG was in June.)

Wow.  Three months since I last played Super Mario Galaxy.  Time to jump back in and grab a few more stars!  With my last update, I had unlocked and completed the Trial Galaxies.  I am now ready to continue into the Bedroom Observatory to tackle the Gusty Garden Galaxy!

In the Gusty Garden Galaxy, I was faced with multiple floating islands with a special flower.  The special flower raised me up into the air currents and pushed me towards the next island.  I had to spin the flower to regain altitude, but the drawback is that you only get three spins before the flower disappears, so they had to be timed just right!  Eventually, I arrived at a cube shaped planet.  To win this star, I had to chase and catch a rabbit.  It took a ew moments, but in the end, the deed was done and the star was mine!

The second run through the Gusty Garden Galaxy gave me a new enemy, the burrowing moles.  These moles had spiked hard hats on, so I couldn’t just thwomp them.  I had to butt slam the ground next to them in order to bring them above ground, then spin attack them.  At the end of this star level, I had to battle Major Burrows, the giant burrowing mole.  This took a slightly different strategy, because he was big, and fast.  He spent most of his time underground, instead of half-underground like the previous burrowing moles.  I could only get him to pop up fully after he surfaced half-way to get his bearings.  A ground pound would pop him out and in, and a second ground pound would pop him out and stun him.  A spin attack later, and he drops back into the ground.  Rinse and repeat, and voila, the second Gusty Garden Galaxy was mine!

The final star had a great series of gravity puzzles and traps.  It was pretty straightforward, but very fun.

That’s it for progress update 15!  Hopefully it doesn’t take another three months for me to get around to progress update 16!

-[insert revolutionary thinking here]

Most people know who the Super Mario Bros. are.  Even if they don’t know who Luigi is (poor guy), they know who Mario is.  New Super Mario Bros. Wii fits in to that famous legacy perfectly.

Whoops…Wrong Mario.

I know I’ve got it around here somewhere….

*rummage*

Aha!

I’ve been playing Mario games since I was a kid; my first time playing Mario Bros. on the Nintendo Entertainment System (the original, pre-Super Mario Bros. game) was well over two decades ago, and my love of the series has remained steadfast ever since.  When most people think of the Mario series (excluding the Kart and Smash spin-offs), they think “one player.”  New Super Mario Bros. Wii has brought the series into the multi-player co-op world for the first time since the original Mario Bros. with a great four-player experience that can be both exciting and excruciating at the same time.  The game is a partial port of the New Super Mario Bros. game for the Nintendo DS, with some new additions and, disappointingly, some deductions (I speak of the giant mushroom).  There are a few new power-ups available, such as the Ice Flower, which gives you the ability to shoot snowballs in much the same way the Fire Flower shoots fireballs, but with the added ability to encapsulate your enemies in a block of ice, the Penguin Suit, which gives you the abilities of the Ice Flower, as well as faster swimming, and an easier time on ice, and the Propeller Suit, which gives you the ability to fly for short, controlled bursts.  Certain levels also give the player access to Yoshis, which is something that I have sorely missed.

Level selection is done via a world map similar to Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World.  Each level contains a save point, similar to the original Sonic the Hedgehog with the red/blue balloon in the middle of a course.  If all players die, and are booted to the world map screen, the level can be resumed at that save point.  Additionally, the Star Coins from New Super Mario Bros. DS return, with three in each level.  These can be used to purchase hint movies, but also have a much more important purpose.  There are initially 8 worlds available for play.  By collecting every single Star Coin in each of the 8 worlds, a new level in World 9 is unlocked.  World 9 can only be played at the completion of the game, and can only be played if all of the game’s Star Coins have been found.  I’m looking forward to gathering the rest of the Star Coins and giving it a try.

There have been a lot of…warnings…about playing New Super Mario Bros. Wii co-operatively with loved ones.  The game has been called a marriage killer and a family breaker.  This is both accurate and inaccurate.  Players who are well coordinated and have strong communication skills should experience few problems with co-operative play.  Players who ignore co-operative strategy and don’t communicate will become the target of the other player(s) ire.  It is easy to either accidentally or “accidentally” kill your co-operative playmates.  Something as simple as jumping from one ledge to another can become a heated argument about patience and consideration.  Take, for example, the experience Lindsey and I had while playing New Super Mario Bros. Wii.  Approximately 75% of my deaths in the game were caused by a certain someone’s impatience, lack of communication, lack of awareness, and lack of coordination when jumping or progressing through a level.  Granted, I caused some deaths for her as well, but not nearly to the extent of the great Mario Massacre of 2009 (in which I play the role of Mario, being continuously slaughtered).

Sorry, sweetie.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii is a fantastic game.  The replay value may not be too high, but there are some replay sections, such as finding the remaining Star Coins and completing World 9.  I’d say worth a purchase, especially if you’re a Mario fan.

-[insert revolutionary thinking here]

A few weeks ago, Lindsey and I rented Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe for our Xbox 360.  We generally like the vs. series of games (Marvel vs. Capcom, Capcom vs. SNK, etc), so we had high hopes.

We were severely disappointed.

The problem with Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe does not lie with the graphics.  there are some characters that do not look quite right, but overall, the graphics are very nice.  The problem comes from the gameplay, the story, the overwhelming introduction of a plethora of new powers and abilities, and the seeming laziness with which the game was programmed.

Gameplay first.  The gameplay is very uninteractive.  In Mortal Kombat: Deception, the Konquest mode allowed you to navigate the world en route to your next Mortal Kombat as a part of the story.  In MKvDCU, you are treated to a cutscene followed by Mortal Kombat…followed by a cutscene followed by Mortal Kombat followed by a cutscene followed by Mortal Kombat followed by what the fuck is wrong with Midway.

The story is another point that sticks in my craw.  Yeah.  I’m so miffed that I’m resorting to using a ridiculous idiom to express my displeasure.  The story, as I was saying, is awful.  There is no real introduction to why people are fighting, or what’s going on.  Dialogue is sparse.  New interactions usually consist of one or two sentences, followed by “FIGHT!”, followed by Mortal Kombat, followed by one or two sentences, followed by “FIGHT!”, followed by goddammit, I’m doing it again.  The story eventually unfolds to reveal that because of the actions of Superman defeating Darkseid, and Raiden defeating Shao Kahn, the two have fused into Dark Kahn (Lindsey and I prefer Shao Side).  As a result of this, the two universes are merging, causing havoc with shit that I really don’t care about.

Many of the characters come jam-packed with a ridiculous number of new abilities and powers.  Some of these powers and abilities are stolen from other characters.  Wonder Woman has moves from Sonya Blade.  Scorpion can apparently create a levitating duplicate of himself before teleporting, etc.  I miss the original Mortal Kombat games when characters had distinct powers and abilities, and they stuck with what the knew.

Laziness!  After a defeat, each character has their own little move to get back to their feet before the next round of fighting commences.  I’m sorry, did I say each character had their own move?  Actually, only two or three moves were programmed into the entire game, and the characters just share.  Green Lantern, Sonya Blade, and Wonder Woman all share the same stand-up between fights.  There are other laziness issues that I can’t remember, given the time gap.

As you can see from the pictures, the graphics are not awful.  Some of the character representations are very good, actually.  On the other hand, some don’t really look like who they are supposed to be, but I guess you can’t expect complete perfection.

For some reason, MKvDCU has been selling ridiculously well, which boggles my mind.  The game was awful.  Save your money and buy Tatsunoko vs. Capcom for the Wii.

-[insert revolutionary thinking here]