Hi guys, and welcome to Game Box; a new series where I look at some of the games I’ve been playing recently since I finally have a console again. First up, I’m coming to be talking about the recent Open Beta for Gazillion Entertainment’s Marvel Heroes Omega.

Marvel Heroes Omega assembles one of the largest gatherings of iconic Super Heroes, Super Villains, and locations from the Marvel Universe in gaming history for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, and Mac.

Set in the iconic Marvel Universe, Marvel Heroes Omega combines the core game-play style of Action RPGs and MMOs with the expansive library of heroes from the Marvel Universe. In the game, players can collect and play as their favorite Marvel Super Heroes (including Iron Man, Thor, Wolverine, Hulk, Spider-Man, Captain America and many others).

Team up with friends and try to stop Doctor Doom from devastating the world with the power of the Cosmic Cube in a story written by Marvel comic super-scribe Brian Michael Bendis.

From moment one, you’re given a gorgeous introduction sequence featuring some pretty good 3D models and 2D animated sections retelling the origins of the more famous Marvel Heroes. A fair few of the cut scenes in-game follow a more motion comic style and while the blend of styles is a little jarring at first, I give the creators credit for trying something different.

The tutorial drops you in the middle of a mission with Captain America and allows you the time to figure out your buttons before setting you against Ultron and his minions. Each of your attacks is assigned to one of the four face buttons and you can bring up a secondary menu by holding L2. It’s an intuitive system to help console players easily access their full range of abilities that’s a staple of MMOs on consoles.

Throughout the tutorial, you’re given the ability to play as Cap, Black Widow and Hulk before they allow you to access the launch roster of heroes. It’s a right Who’s Who of MCU characters alongside more established characters. You get all the ones you know and then you get the likes of Wiccan, Squirrel Girl and Angela, which is cool. Given this is a Free-To-Play game, you’re given the opportunity to try before you buy any of these characters before Level 10 when you have to pick your starter character.

I eventually chose She-Hulk and upon entering the game proper, I noticed a cute quirk this game has. Depending on the characters in the vicinity, there are unique snippets of dialogue from both your character and those of other players. This gives the world a little more connectivity and hearing Shulkie interact with Gambit in the moments in the mission worlds or at the HQ is pretty fun. The voice cast for this game is exhaustive too, bringing in all the voices you’d associate with these characters from various animated shows as well as bringing in actors such as Clark Gregg and Keith David, voicing Agent Coulson and Nick Fury, respectively.

Being a FTP game, more heroes are unlocked through Founder’s Packs of various price points, by using Eternity Splinters or by accumulating the specfic in-game currency to buy them or unlock additional costumes. You can get an additional hero for nothing though, by downloading Daredevil for free and the additional Man Without Fear costume for free if you are a PS Plus member.

You can customise your heroes with character-specific loot drops for defeating enemies and augment their abilities through levelling or attaching Medallions from defeated super villains.

Given the amount of FTP MMO games on consoles at the moment, you could be forgiven for thinking this is just another but the game plays like the X-Men Legends and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance games, taking an isometric view of the action but adds the MMO component and the whole package feels a little like that Avengers Alliance game for its breadth of characters and customisation potential.

If you’re looking for a quick and fun MMO to get into or are jonesing for a Marvel game that isn’t on mobile (that’s me) then I recommend giving this game a shot. Marvel Heroes Omega is currently available for Open Beta on Playstation 4 and will be officially released on June 4 2017. For more details and updates, head over to the official website and be sure to follow the game’s Twitter.

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In this episode, DJ attempts to play multiple games that we were assured he had played before but he still manages to be really bad at and all of our good ideas about entertaining game play go out of the window. We discuss the many, many superhero movies coming out in 2016, what we’re excited about and what we’re really worried about. Also covered are video games, Yasiin Bey, the Royal Rumble, and a lot of failed segues. 

 Hail to the King, Baby

JJ and his amazing friend Jason are back after an extended breakdown
vacation:) It seems “someone” needed some time off and decided to not post a few episodes that had been recorded because of reasons. Well, now things are back to normal-ish and we are back to doing the podcast! Listen as our heroes talk about the kinds of things they talk about! Pop culture, navel gazing, movies…yep the bingo card will be checked off.

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I’m going to skip the usual foreplay because if you’re reading this, then you already know who The Avengers are and what this movie means, not only in terms of comics and the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe but also what this movie means in terms of box office. This movie will make bank and that’s because you will go watch it.

Of course you will, it’s the god damn AVENGERS. So where do I even begin with my review of this 141 minute goliath? How best to express my experience of this cinematic colossus? Simple.

This was probably the most fun I’ve had at a movie in my 27 years of living on this Earth. That isn’t hyperbole, that’s how I feel right now. I’m still not done comprehending what I just watched but it is the culmination of 7 years and 11 movies worth of build-up and it lives up to every bit of hype you might imagine for that.

I’m going to avoid MAJOR spoilers for my American friends, since we in the UK had the good fortune to receive this movie a full week before them so here goes:

You know all those cool snow battle scenes in the trailers? The ones you’d assume are from the climax or, at the very least, the second act. Nope, that’s your first ten minutes. Yeah, let that sink in. It came as a real surprise to me and my friend when right off the bat, we get to see what the Avengers do best and it’s amazing to see. This is a team that hasn’t spent the last three years sitting on their hands, they’ve been busy going on raids against HYDRA and the team’s banter and cohesion as a unit is just glorious to behold.

On the acting front, all the actors are on their toppest of top forms. I could not think of a single line or performance that let me down or held up to (and sometimes surpassed) my expectations. Some stuff bears mentioning specifically though:

James Spader takes on the momentous task of taking Ultron and making him… Real. And I was very surprised by his portrayal. I’ve never had a definitive voice or speech mannerism for Ultron but Spader makes the character glow with charm, wit, intelligence and, most of all, menace. He does a fantastic job of portraying what is, essentially, a gestalt entity but also give it a unique voice all its own.

The Maximoff twins are pretty likeable, even as the antagonists for the early part of the movie. The elephant in the room is obviously whether or not this Quicksilver is better than X-Men: Days of Future Past’s version. Short answer; no. Long answer; Aaron Taylor-Johnson plays a far more mature and damaged Pietro and is not predisposed towards shenanigans but he can be a joker, balancing both attitudes pretty well but he’s not the impish trickster that Evan Peters portrayed and actually comes off better for it in some scenes. Scarlet Witch is perfectly fine, Elizabeth Olsen puts in a pitch-perfect portrayal of the hex-wielding Avenger. She really earns her stripes.

And finally, Paul Bettany as The Vision. Our JARVIS turned Synthezoid Avenger makes for a nice counterpoint to Spader’s Ultron, which is obviously the intention but it’s so much better than I thought. I also adore the way Vision proves his intentions to the team. It’s a fantastic little moment.

There’s also a TON of other performances that are great but SPOILERS so I’ll just leave them for you to see for yourself…

The Hulk vs. Hulkbuster scene is just as awe-inspiring as you’d expect and even finds time to throw in some witty one-liners (from Stark, natch). It’s a knockout brawl through a city and I had a smile through the entire thing.

There’s plenty of surprises to be seen, and some fantastic foreshadowing to future movies. I caught references to at least three, not counting the mid-credits scene. I’ve had it confirmed that there’s no post-credits so there’s nothing to stop you leaving after the mid-credits scene.

If there’s anything negative thing to say, there’s one thing that NEEDED to happen in this movie and Whedon knew that, only to purposely leave you blue-balled; but it’s masterfully done so I can’t stay mad because it made me laugh.

Overall, my opinion doesn’t matter because you’re going to go see the movie. Of course you are, it’s The Avengers but more-so and I can guarantee that you will leave the theatre thoroughly satisfied.

We’re at the point now where I’d be insulting your intelligence if I tried to explain what Avengers is and how this movie came about like I normally would in this section. So lets just watch the trailer, yes?

– Ultron Von Doom

Is anyone else getting a bit of a Doctor Doom vibe off the Ultron character and surrounding sets? Not that I’d complain about that, mind.

He also confirms a lot of what we suspected about the plot. He was created by Tony to take over from Iron Man (a logical expansion of Iron Man 3) but it all goes very wrong.

– We Go On 3. Not 1 2 3 Then Go

I kinda hate really staged and posed action shots but when it looks this pretty…

– Et Tu, Pietro?

Like I said before, this trailer reveals much more plot than previous ones. For example, we kinda figure that Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch would fight against the Avengers before fighting with them and we see plenty of that in these two minutes but I found this shot interesting. It shows the team fighting with Wanda but Pietro is (seemingly) missing.

Does he possibly not join them? Is he slower to see the error of his ways? I’m fascinated to find out.

– I Can See Clearly Now…

Fiiiiiiiinally, we get a view of The Vision. Looking good!

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Overall: The only worry Marvel has at this point is giving us too much so that they ruin it on us. This is the closest I think they should get now with revealing plot. We can even see in this trailer the crumbs that will lead us to their Civil War movies. We just need to watch the film now!

Too damn long.

Let’s watch this first proper taste of Avengers 2: Evil Android Boogaloo

– “It is… ALIVE!”

It’s hard to tell if this is Ultron’s first appearance in the film (everyone seems pretty shocked about it) or if it’s a return from being smashed up. Either way, it’s in bad shape.

By the way, did you see Rhodey in the background? Nice to see him hanging out with the big boys!

– No More Mu… I mean, Ultrons. No More Ultrons

Wanda Maximoff has a sordid history in the Marvel Universe. A lot of writers have been very cruel to her. It seems that her luck hasn’t changed much.

Having said that, this is Whedon. He knows how to write women (I recognise that’s a dumb phrase to say, but lord knows there are too many people out there who can’t write women properly). I’m sure The Scarlet Witch is going to have a great role to play in this story.

– Awwwwwww Yeeeeaaaaaaah

Lets face it. We were all dying to see this. The Hulkbuster suit.

People have been hinting at this thing happening since Iron Man 2. There are going to be a lot of nerdgasms.

– Fashion Tips From Comic Strips

Ok, so I know this is a tiny thing, and I recognise I’m a bit of a loser for spotting it but…

You may have seen an alteration to Hawkeye’s costume. No? His coat is longer and flaps about. Yeah, you see they gave him is old design:

Alright, alright. It’s not exactly the same but still, it’s little touches and references like this that makes this Marvel fanboy happy.

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Overall: While the trailer doesn’t give away an awful lot (still no Vision and who the hell is Andy Serkis?) but it still has lots of little details to digest (Cap’s broken shield and hey, look, it’s Andy Serkis!).

This movie is not a hard sell, we’re all dying to see it. As long as the trailers don’t damage that status, and this one certainly doesn’t, then Marvel are due to break records all over again.

Tensions were riding super-high last week and I was fully prepared for this week to be less intense and I was correct. The tension in this episode, following the revelation and return to the fold of Hydra double-agent Ward, is much more subdued as Ward is left to skulk around the secret base while the rest of the team is off hunting a Fridge escapee and Coulson’s ex-girlfriend.

Amy Acker guest stars this week as Coulson’s cellist love interest that was mentioned in Avengers. Now, I’m going to let you in on something, dear viewers. In the lead up to this episode, I was discussing who the cellist is, the actress and how she’d appeared in the pilot with TV buddy (I have one of those, don’t judge me.) My friend was throwing out theories to what this all meant and when it came to the episode, I had a stunning realisation that warranted a pausing of our [DVR’d] viewing. In a bizarre Crisis on Infinite Whedon-Earths, my brain had transplanted Amy Acker’s scientist character from Cabin in the Woods and put her into the pilot of Agents of SHIELD. Why? Best I can figure is because Ron Glass was in the episode, an alum from ANOTHER Whedon project. I am IMMENSELY stupid sometimes.

Anyways, the team (Coulson, Triplett, Fitz and Simmons) head off to save Audrey Nathan (Acker) from a super-powered stalker by the name of Marcus Daniels, aka Blackout. I think I saw this villain once in a big event book but I know nothing about the character other than what is exposited in this episode. Mainly that his powers are drawn from the Darkforce (Which I DO know as the source of power for Darkhawk and Darkstar. Much dark. Very force. Meow.) He shoots thick ropey strands of darkness and can drain the life out of humans with a touch, so yeah, pretty big deal. He sees Audrey as his Only Light in the Darkness which is a nice title reference so he stalk her upon his escape.

Audrey is played perfectly, as both frightened victim and staunch defender of SHIELD. Her revelation of a past relationship with Coulson shocks the team but none reveal his rebirth to her. Coulson has his reasons for not doing so himself and I agree with his mentality but it’s still pretty awesome to go full-on Ghostbusters on Blackout with a gamma flashlight and reassure a mostly unconcious Audrey before she wakes up.

Meanwhile, in the Bunker! May quits the team, narrowly missing Ward’s attempted assassination. Koening gets garroted by Ward and the show loses Patton Oswalt. Boo-urns! He was a great character! This leaves only Skye and Ward alone in the bunker and I could hear the moistening of a thousand SkyeWard shippers from here. Again, I would like to point out that this motherfucker has killed dozens of people, even people we actually knew! Fancying Skye does not a road to redemption make. Thankfully, Skye realises Ward is a double-agent so that should put a stop to THAT nonsense. Hats off to Chloe Bennett for her amazing acting during her later scenes. She pulls a Romanoff and manages to convince Ward that all is well but I feel she might have left something for the team to help her.

Stinger for this week is a bad-ass May hiking all the way to a highway near Ontario before her transport arrives. She called her mum! That’s hilarious and sweet on so many levels. Her mum appears to have been apart of some other government agency (Possibly a Chinese equivalent of SHIELD?) and is a pretty sweet old lady. I really liked this scene, it added some much needed levity.

Overall, another fantastic episode leading into the finale in just THREE WEEKS TIME! I’ll see you guys next week!

Right out of the gate, we’re introduced to the downtrodden, out of work father of one, Mike Peterson (played by Angel Alumni, J. August Richards) as he’s witness to an apartment explosion and wastes no time in jumping in to rescue a woman. His heroic efforts catch the eye of a young hacker and, eventually, the attention of SHIELD as Coulson and Maria Hill gather a new team together in an effort to recruit new heroes as they appear and put a stop to foreseeable threats.

Being the pilot for a new show, we’re hit with a lot of information very fast but none of it feels especially rushed. We spend a little more time with Maria Hill and learn that she actually has a sense of humour, as well being conspiratorial with SHIELD physician, Dr. Streiten, played by Firefly Alumni Ron Glass. If more and more actors from Whedon’s past projects show up, I’ll be a happy camper. Who wouldn’t want to see the likes of Nathan Fillion, Jewel Staite and Adam Baldwin in this show?

Now, to the subject of speculation: Phil “Agent” Coulson. We all saw the Son of Coul die in New York but why is he here now? According the man himself, Fury faked his death and sent him on vacation to Tahiti but Hill and Dr. Streiten seem to know more. Is he a clone? A Life Model Decoy? Hell, is he even human? This will no doubt be an underlying subplot throughtout the season but my personal take is this: He is Coulson. Doesn’t matter what he is, he’s still Coulson and that’s good enough for me. For now.

The rest of the team is assembled and is a surprisingly diverse bunch. Ward is a specialist, conflict resolution, that kind of deal, but he admits to being scared of women and that he loves his Grandma. Admittedly, he said that after being nailed with truth serum by Coulson but still. Melinda May is Mulan the pilot and obviously has a mysterious reputation as a field agent. Fitz and Simmons are the adorable techies who have a really fun brother/sister bond and Skye is the hacker I mentioned earlier. They don’t get much development but you get a good sense of each character and we’ll be seeing more of them throughout the season so it’s a good introduction.

One thing I love in my entertainment is continuity and references so this show will be perfect for me. All the little nods to the cinematic universe and to a larger Marvel Universe made me smile. Mentions of Puente Antiguo, Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S., and freakin’ Longshot all had me sitting there saying:

The pilot episode was quick, to the point and highly entertaining. I can see so much potential for this show being the springboard for concepts later seen in the movies and vice-versa. We could have all-new heroes and villains to deal with and, budget be willing, maybe even some A-list guest stars (The A stand for Avenger). I’m looking forward to what wonders and woes this series will bring us and I hope you’ll be following along with his here on The Website of Doom! See you next weeeeeeeeeek!

JJ and his amazing friend Aaron are here to…blah, blah, blah. Look, here’s what happens. Aaron and I have both seen Iron Man 3. He already aired his viewpoint on Weekend Justice, and when I asked him if he wanted to talk about it, he wisely pointed out that we have The Drive In Of Doom to tear apart what we like and don’t like in movies. Fair enough. I received some contact stating that Mars Needs listeners would like to hear what we had to say about the film. So I figured we would dedicate 10-15 minutes to a little Tony Stark talk. What follows is an hour and a half of Iron Man 3 spoilers and dissection. Like it or hate it, we can sure rattle on about film.

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