Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge - Foot Ninja on Minimum Wage

 The turtles need no introduction, but here we go anyway! TMNT is among one of the best and greatest franchises to come out of the 80's. It sold billions upon billions of dollars in toys and spawned everything from TV shows to breakfast cereals and fruit pies. The video games came in droves and this is one that is a love letter to the beat'em ups of old. While TMNT for the arcade (or TMNT 2 for the NES) and TMNT 4: Turtles in Time are seen as the greatest in the genre, this is one that was released in 2022 and cultivated through DLC ever since. 

You'll see, from the very start, that this is one of those beat'em ups that are just intuitive and brings about nostalgia just from the art style the game presents. It doesn't take itself seriously at all, and just brings about ancient ninja turtle enemies and allies unapologetically. Foot ninjas come in all colors with all kinds of weapons and it's just a lot of fun to see what they're doing before you come onto the screen. Sometimes, they just come in and attack you. Sometimes, the foot ninja are doing something else. Some of them are eating, some of them are shopping, some of them are working as desk clerks and fast food cooks. 

There are enemies from all over the TMNT franchise. From Leatherhead to Metalhead, from Bebop and Rocksteady to Tokka and Rahzar, this game has them all! Does it bring about a great, detailed story for this to come in? No! It's a cartoon and it owns up to that through silly game and comic book logic, like Krang's robot body being collected little by little while the turtles over celebrate and fail to notice the obvious badguys. 

It's a beat'em up, so there's a level of monotony, but that's to be expected. It's still well paced and there's a lot of great call-backs to the comics, TV shows and fan service of all kinds popping up through secrets, collectibles and achivements that give those nostalgia bones a pop. You can even play as so many different characters, not only the turtles but also Miyamoto Usagi and Casey Jones! Once you beat the entire game, you start unlocking all kinds of new content. 

Beating the game is actually a ton of fun, especially when you get closer and closer to the end game from the original version. Fighting against Shredder and Krang comes to a new head as you fight the Super Shredder! This fight is so satisfying, especially if you're able to pull it all off, not dying with all of the power ups and health drops. Fans of Turtle Power are sure to love this, especially if you're a huge fan of the arcade classics. 

The DLC's are few and cheap. Just because they are paid DLC doesn't take away from the fact that they elongate this game in the best ways and give you more options of play. This game brings in elements we loved from the games we played back when the NES was popular and arcades ran these games like rivers of gold. It really feels like these types of games being produced so well is becoming more and more rare as time goes on. We should have more games like this. Let's keep fighting Shredder and Krang and keep consuming pepperoni, mushrooms and cheese! Virtua Ninja Pizza Run!!!!

Stadia - How Consoles can Eat Themselves

When the console wars reach new generations, sometimes we start seeing some very strange runners in the race. Every so often, they can be mega billion dollar juggernauts that smash our faces with awesomeness, like Nintendo's initially questionable Switch console. However, sometimes, there comes a console that has everyone scratching their heads, wondering where people came up with these... things. Sometimes the consoles just... aren't there. They were so proud of the fact that you do not have the console in your home and you could play your... thing on any screen in your house. It could be any screen far away, in a hotel. Tablets, smart TV's, phones, anything with access to the internet and some sort of controller feature could be used to play the games you... well... that's another problem. 

Problems, that is a big word you can use when you talk about Google's new project, Stadia. Once the platform launched November 2019, all you needed to do was pay one monthly fee. Well, there was also a $129 bill on top of that, which had people a little confused. You see, this whole "no hardware" deal they had with the console was all based around freedom to play it anywhere, no matter what, so long as it met the specs. Now they're telling customers that there is hardware you need to buy, the controller for the console was still required to be Stadia hardware. This seemed foolish because people already had universally praised Xbox controllers that they hook up to pretty much anything and play. There were a number of ways Google could allow people to use their own controllers, but they still needed that, on top of a connection link that you needed to input. 

The whole idea was that you could play this anytime anywhere and use games from a distant server that held all of your games, now that idea was obscured. This did not look good on them, especially when the console launched and there were... other problems. Users were starting to see this distant server gaming idea as more of an issue than a feature, as connectivity to the controller was very lax. People's input when they pressed the button did not match what was on the screen and there was a half second, sometimes even two or three second delay, depending on connectivity. 

On top of this, the lagging issues with servers and the capability of hardware was starting to show its cracks in their sales pitch. People were seeing strong issues with not simply turning off the Stadia, turning around and switching on literally any other console or PC and playing that way. In a world where you can play classic, beloved titles from your phone, Google was trying to shove their ways into people's hardware with not only terrible connectivity issues, but also a very limited library. 

This Planet Virtua has talked about the issues with people being patient with consoles and building their libraries. Playstation 4 had issues getting games out quickly and that hindered some in their sales, not that it mattered in the end. Stadia, however, was coming out with a brand new "console" with only a handful of current titles, fifty or so older titles, and one single exclusive...  This is not even stating that they had twenty or so games when it actually launched. They needed to play catchup and it felt like they never got any steam going when it came to what people wanted: The GAMES! It was 2019 going into 2020 at a time when people were having to stay in doors and they couldn't pick up the pace to try and strike while the iron is hot. They were still "releasing" games from 2016! 

Gylt, Stadia's one real exclusive game, was a middling game with passable reviews, and that is the one single title that they are trying to sell us on? So, your server "power" doesn't really mean much if the hardware isn't up to specific requirements, that limits the consoles considerably. Then, your library is floundering from the start and never breaks a hundred until WAY into its lifespan and are played far better on other consoles. 

That was what kneecapped this system from the very start. It brought no innovation to the table, it was selling you back your old games, (which cost money, strangely enough) that people already owned and the experience playing on it was so wonky. One moment you're cruising no problems, then your game starts lagging and the controls go to crap. Stadia never truly fixed the control problems throughout its four year lifespan. The very idea that this bundle of horrible mishaps went on for four years is an abysmal notion. That's like dying from several bullet wounds but still trying to win the 5K run as you fade, this was not healthy for Google. Nor was it good for their cleaning bill.

They proved to be a terrible company, once again, upon Stadia's ending days. Google was going to pull the plug and they made the announcement public. Then game devs and people who worked at Google, on Stadia, found out about it along with the consumers, in September 2022. These people were going to be out of a job and they were given no prior notice to find another job. The console never reached any good heights, it never sold well, and even people who were dedicated to its success admitted that it never reached any real peaks. It was pretty much all valleys. 

They tried to tell us that this was just like Steam, that this was the platform you needed to get because it could be played anywhere on any screen, which made it better. This was going against a company and a platform that was tried and true from the get-go and started modestly, eventually turning into a gaming titan with its own issues. Stadia started out with issues and tried to show us gameplay that still needed processing and work. The technology sounded great on paper, but the execution was absolutely dreadful and unfinished. It just wasn't there. It officially became not there in January 2023. It's still not there. It's just not.

Blood - Drained the Supply

When listing the original first person shooters, a lot of people will give them reverence as i they are legends. In many ways, they are. Obviously, Wolfenstein 3D, Doom and Duke Nukem 3D will be the first ones to come up, but then there will always be that wonderful one syllable title that comes up with such a mundane name: Blood. This will come with a bit of a polarizing reaction. Now, it's not quite as polarizing as Hexen, but it's also not quite as universally loved or even known as Duke Nukem. Blood came out in 1997, a year after Quake and it kind of got lost among the other titles of the time. 

Blood is extremely difficult for a number of reasons. The level design is very macabre, but also very imaginative, as there is an entire level where you derail an entire train and end up at an evil carnival. One very shining reason that this game is hard are the cultists. These hooded cultists come in the very first level and they carry machine guns and TNT. Put them on top of zombies with axes that may or may not die the first time you take them out, and you've got a sandwich that is very delicious but also quite hard to take a bite. 

This is nothing to mention the two crawling creatures, both rats and hands. The hands, by the way, are very possibly one-hit kills as they clamp onto you and strangle you. We haven't even gotten into the bullet sponge enemies! One guy with a white undershirt just spits green goo at you and then two types of gargoyles. Giant spiders, hellhounds, you get the picture, this game is a bit of a daunting task with the enemies alone. 

Then there are puzzles and secrets in the levels that cause a few complications, obviously. The great thing is that the secrets come in the form of spooky mansions, graveyards and crypts. Horror elements in this game have made it iconic among some of the more gothic fans of the FPS genre. You need to make sure you click on every gravestone and tomb you come across, as some of them slide in and give you ammo and health powerups. 

The weapons are quite unique among the original first person shooters as well. There is a machine gun, of course, but your melee weapon is a pitchfork. The mechanics also favor explosives, as they come in the form of TNT, remote mines, and even a can of hairspray that you can also use with a lighter for a flamethrower. The shotgun, however, is one of the better weapons in the game, especially when you get the guns akimbo powerup to have two shotguns. It has a good aim and damage distribution, being able to kill many of the smaller enemies with just one shot. 

One element where this game shines is the story and the boss battles. Now, does it make sense that the main badguy tried to kill you and failed only to make you more powerful to absorb you later? Not really. With so many henchmen and followers, he probably should have estimated that Caleb would grow more powerful than him. The Cerberus dog enemy, the boss gargoyle and the giant spider queen are all just flat out awesome to play and struggle against. It's a fairly safe bet that they can be defeated with the lightning gun, but these are where you expect them to soak up bullets like Officer Murphy. 

The graphics, for the time, were amazing. Early computers couldn't quite play it very well, but that was overcome rather well, as Quake was far more taxing to systems. Blood was still loved enough to invoke the remaster gods... twice. Yes, that's right, it came out again, twice. In fact, one of them came out just a few weeks before this article was written! Blood: Fresh Supply only came out in 2019, just six years later and boom! Blood: Refreshed Supply is released November 2025. 

Now, this is not a complaint, as it is clear that they did this in order to take all of the work they did from Fresh Supply. This allowed them to bring about versions of the game that includes all of the downloadable content and even some of the game mods they decided to make official. Marrow and Deathwish by themselves are well worth getting the new iteration of the game. This newest version is also quite a bit more stable than Fresh Supply, so this is a must have for all of you old school shooters. 

Blood is considered among the best in the genre. Among the original Doom Clones, it has a very steady fanbase. Well, now you can play it online again, and even get to know some of the new features. Blood is an acquired taste for some, but if you really want to get a taste of the original first person shooters, this is required playing. Just be sure not to turn the difficulty all the way up right away, not unless you want to be punished for something very bad. In that case, crank the Blood up to eleven! Virtua Blam!

Sonic Christmas Blast - The Sonic Stink in your Stocking (Virtua Sonic #9)

One of the worst facts about Sonic's TV series is that the one that lasted the longest with the most episodes was Adventures of Sonic. Yes, we have covered this show in a previous article, but now we're here at the Yule tide season and we're going to be talking about the final installment of the entire series, Sonic Christmas Blast. It has been made no mystery that this show is awful. The Christmas special in question today is no different. 

What was different about this special is that, beyond being the ultimate installment, was also the first installment to do a lot of things. First off, this is the first time it has really been made clear that there is a humanoid civilization on... I'm guessing this is Mobius, I really don't remember... and this is the first time we get a real huge city. All of the other places have been much more shallow while this one actually has a population and some sort of eco system. 

Not that they're very smart, as they immediately get pulled into a Robotnik (yes, he is called Robotnik in this) scheme that really shouldn't have worked in the first place. Sonic catches onto Robotnik having a robot Santa relinquish the name to Mr. Roboto so that he is now Robotnik Claus. It's as dumb as it sounds. Obviously, this shouldn't have worked, but it does. Instead of giving presents to the children and people, they are to all give him presents. They must also do so under pain of imprisonment and/or financial destitution and seizure of all owned assets--MY GOD! Why am I saying any of this? 

It does not take a genius to understand why this is dumb, and that is proven because I watched this at the age of 10 and I still knew it was dumb. At that age, I understood VERY well that SAT AM was the best show and that this was just a filler to watch when nothing was on Nickelodean or WB. So, we're forced to shift to the belief that Santa had the authority to give to the people, but also take from the people with no consequences. Where is the government of this so-called "civilization"?! 

Okay, overthinking it. So Sonic obviously finds Santa Claus and... the story gets even dumber, if you really need to know. He tells Sonic that if he wants to become the next Santa, he needs to pass the... Impossible Tasks? For real, he calls them Impossible Tasks and all of them are seriously so easy that Sonic is able to gain the power of Santa's world traveling ability and he rushes out against Robotnik. 

So, obviously Robotnik's plan is Deus Ex Machina'd BOOM BAM! The little rebellious kid who always believed in Sonic would save them sees that he's now Sonic Claus when he brings the gifts back to his home. It's not a bad moment, really. It's cheesy and heart warming and Christmas is saved. Now, believe it or not, despite its flaws, it does end the entire series on a very fascinating high note. Santa decides it is, indeed, time for him to retire. He officially passes the mantle over to Sonic and that is, actually, it. There is no episode after this. Making Sonic the new Santa and seriously just halting everything there was probably the most genius move they ever made. 

So, yes, this entire series is overall garbage, but it is something to say that there was care put into this last Christmas special. For one thing, the name, Sonic Christmas Blast, was from the game Sonic 3D Blast, but it was supposed to be Sonic Christmas X-treme that was going to come out for the Sega Saturn. It never did and they changed the name before it aired. Thanks to Phelous on Youtube for a lot of this extra information and reminding me that this Christmas Special existed in the first place. Watching it again, it didn't take multiple viewings and that says something about the quality. That means it's better than one episode of Sonic Underground OOOOOHHHHHH VIRTUA SONIC BLAST!!!!!! 

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from Planet Virtua! 

Give the Gift of Physical Media! - Planet Virtua Christmas 2025!

Well, as is the tradition, we'll be opening our presents on Christmas Eve, and we'd really like them to be wrapped in paper and topped with a bow. That's right, this year, we're going to be giving the gift of physical media to those who wish to keep their games safe and on the shelves. Shelves are not so bad, sheet books for discs, or just flat out stack them in the old CD-R containters. Digital is not the devil, and it has its place, but always remember to keep your discs. 

It astounded me that they even thought to make a PS5 that is wholly digital, especially with the size of those games in the old storage that can balloon in both space and price very quickly. It's like they want you to just prepay for the 1TB or even the storage extensions. Or, you know, you can keep the majority of your library in cyberspace and hope and pray that your internet stays in tact or, God forbid, one day companies decide they want to stop leasing out their games to your library and POOF they're gone. 

No, I'm not saying that is an inevitability, even if it very well could be, but it is rather disconcerting that they would flat out tell you that you should become comfortable not owning your game. Yes, our comeback of not owning meaning pirating is not stealing is very witty and clever, but that doesn't stop the fact that the word "comfort" became very ironic, as the comment stirred up a great deal of discomfort. 

Physical media is our dragon horde, and it is much better when you are able to cover yourself and sleep within it. Yes, that is weird metaphor but the intention is the same. Yes, you must put up with the fact that you can lose your disc and cover box, needing to store it in whatever as said previously, but at least you know it's there in that comfortable space where you can reach it and pop it into that good old Saturn or PS2 or Gamecube, whatever is your jam. 

The Christmas tree, stockings or gift pile looks so much better with colorful boxes and retro media of all sorts. Give the gift of DVD and Blu-rays new in the box and let them fill someone's home with old school joy. Give a child a Dreamcast and show them the ways of Jet Grind Radio as it was originally intended (of course buying it for 5 bucks on Steam is also a viable option, but let's stay on topic). They will thank you and possibly beat your score and cause deep resentment. Family is fun! 

Above all, whether it be digital or physical, remember to be safe and happy however you can while keeping warm with those close to you. Remember to find your player 2, whoever they may be, as long as they bring you joy for the holidays. Bring them joy and beautiful 32-bit games you can put in your console. Have fun, take some time off and decompress. That's what games are for. Make some time and it would help if you shared it with someone special. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from Planet Virtua! 

Virtua Dasher!

Resident Evil (2002) - The Zomb Before the Storm

 Zombie movies have a very touch and go relationship with pretty much every genre there is. There are zombie romance stories involving zombies, obviously, kids zombie movies, zombie comedies, animated zombie movies and pretty much any other you can think of. The idea of a video game zombie movie was not a novel one. This could be the first one ever and it honestly wouldn't be that impressive. Video game movies still had the stigma of being terrible, and this was a bit of a sneaker hit. It wasn't a masterpiece of any sort but it was enough to earn it a cult following. 

The big problem with it for a lot of people was its extreme lack of source material in the script. Not only do we not get any characters from the game, but there's barely anything about a house. Instead we get more of a mystery science fiction thriller movie, in stark contrast to the survival horror featuring giant spiders. Mila Jovovich stars as Alice, and yes, there is a lot of Alice in Wonderland symbolism that leads to literally nothing. All of it stems from an earlier version of the script, where the Alice stuff actually had something to do with what was in the plot. They changed so much of it, that it hardly matters at all. 

Alice has amnesia, which is always a terrible sign with any movie wanting to do cheap twists. Seriously, the house puts "Forget everything" chemicals in the air for no reason at all. So, we're whisked away on the plot as a SWAT team from Umbrella Corp and lead them from the house, down into the basement where there's an entire headquarters doing experimentation called the HIVE. She's taken with her... "husband" Spence who is played by James Purefoy and they go through the facility, which is now completely silent. 

The SWAT team has no idea what the HIVE was working on because Umbrella never told them, they just deployed them to the location and thought they could figure it out on their own. Again, this makes no sense, but they go through and within minutes, most of them are dead. How did they die? Laser trap security systems. By the time we get to the zombies, there are two SWAT people, one of them played by Michelle Rodriguez. 

What follows is a lot of confusion. One of the people they bring along with them (played by Matt Addison) was involved, but only because he was looking for his sister. Alice soon finds out that his sister was her contact and now she is a zombie who is dead. Sad day. The zombie hordes and the zombie dogs are fun for the most part, and the lickers come into play at the end. For the time, the computer generated images are pretty good. They're nothing to write home about but they do their job and the artists blended it pretty well. 

The plot is full of truck-sized holes. Paul W.S. Anderson is not known for his stellar storytelling, more for slightly following the lore while telling a passable narrative along the way. Keeping to that narrative, however, will prove to be his biggest weakpoint when it comes to the Resident Evil series that this movie started. Sad to say, it was all downhill from here. The moment that this movie took the brother of the zombie sister and sliced him in the arm, the words "Nemesis Program" got people hyped for a sequel that would... fail to deliver. There was Nemesis and he was a prominent figure, but the execution... we'll leave that for the next movie review. Virtua braaaaaains...

The Saturn vs The Arcade

There will be tremendous amounts of talk between gamers about what all caused the great arcade crash. Obviously, once the home consoles began to take on more power, the arcade machines, big and clunky as they were, were starting to lose their usefulness. The arcade was not just a place to play games. It was a place to go when you wanted to be alone with your headphones and thoughts, a place to go with friends to play games either apart or in local multiplayer, and it was a place to go for parties and a party-like atmosphere. 

Many houses did not have this, but then arcades were also not conveniently in your home, usually. So, over time, the convenience of the home console outweighed going out and socializing or pouring gigantic amounts of quarters into machines. Of course, today arcades have the good sense to give you free arcade machines at a door price, rather than the alternative: spend every quarter you can find. 

Once I got a Sega Saturn, everything changed. Where I loved the rail shooters of old, especially Terminator, Virtua Cop solved that problem for me immediately. I was never good at racing games, so I never was very good at reaching the checkpoint in the alotted time. Well, Daytona USA and Sega Rally Championship scratched that itch just fine. Every single 3D and 2D fighting game was matched with Virtua Fighter 2 and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. The Sega Saturn was already going above and beyond. 

I never truly stopped going to the arcade. In fact, I went to the arcade as often as I could. Through high school, that grew harder and harder until the arcade finally closed. Now, of course the Saturn and the Dreamcast answered many of the problems that came about the arcade's demise. What it didn't do, was offer a proper substitute. Anyone will tell you that getting off your butt and going somewhere fun is a good way to kill an evening. You can game at home anytime you can carve out a moment to do so, but sometimes, you need to stretch your legs and check out some retro and new games at the 'cade, bro!

This was a great example of not knowing what we had when we had it. Even I was stupid enough to think that just because the games were getting more awesome and graphically inclined as the arcades, then why would I need to go somewhere to game? Well, arcades took a nap for a while, and there were some places that offered you to game on PC's in LAN settings, but those did not last very long. There were even places that let you game on a console for a door fee, but for some reason, those places were often overpriced and often did not last long at all. It seemed we were going through more experimental phases, leaving arcades in lobbies of theaters and other facilities instead of full on arcade facilities. 

It wasn't until in the past decade that arcades have started to gain more traction with the onlooking public. Real arcades with the aforementioned door fees started coming along and offering old arcade cabinets, consoles and new arcade cabinets with game menus that offer more games. The better arcades will even come back with pinball machines along with them, though they still require more expensive and elaborate maintenance. It is very nice to see people come to their senses and actually get up to go to these places, learning from their mistakes from the past. 

The arcades are just a fun place to be, whether it be with friends, family, or people you wish to get to know. Remember to not take them for granted, because they can die out as easily as they did in the early 2000's once again if we ignore them. Gaming graphics shouldn't affect our decisions on such a level that we forget we have friends and sometimes arcades just have the atmosphere we crave with a crowd we like. Just remember to not over do it on the soda and drink some Liquid Death... which is just water.

Doomverse #25 - The Spear and the Spia!

 Was six episodes of killing the third reich just not enough for you? Would you like to fight some more zombies and increasingly powerful supernatural beings? Well, here you go, not only did ID Software make the first episode of Spear of Destiny, but they outsourced to Formgen Corporation for the sequels lumped in with it. While the game sold rather well and the sequels met with some fairly bad reviews for shoddy graphics, that is only the beginning of what is really wrong with the entire sequel itself. 

The real problem was, as great as Wolfenstein 3D turned out to be for its time, it was also rather long and the quality dipped near the end. In fact, Episode 6 was rather exhausting, especially if you're having a full run of the game. This did not do the game any favors when Spear of Destiny came out. There were a number of players that were more than willing to return to the trenches and kill more of the Axis. The vast majority, though, had already had the full run and approached with a lot less enthusiasm. 

It was more of a good thing, but it was also more twisting and turning halls with a lot more annoying closets full of SS, guards and officers. Then, there is the return of the mutants and there inlies one of the game's biggest flaws. The mutants were easily one of the worst things about the first Wolfenstein 3D release. Wolfenstein 3D's original Episode 2 was a lot easier when you just went to kill the doctor. His many range attacks are easily avoided and he has around the same amount of HP as the other bosses. The mutants, on the other hand, make no sound to alert you of their presence. They begin shooting almost immediately whether you see them or not and two shots up close is more than enough to take your health all the way down. 

Including them in this sequel was an abysmal decision and the game suffers as a result. Once you get into the levels and the hallways, you get the good old Wolfenstein feel. If you haven't played in a long time, it's passable. You even get a good sense of nostalgia as you finally start finding the bosses within the levels. Their designs are rather different, but that's nothing compared to the next episodes. Formgen's designs were very, very strange all around and that only started the problems.

The new weapon designs, level designs and boss designs throughout Spear of Destiny's sequel episodes (sequels within sequels) were all just flat out off-putting. This was where the series took a dip for most everyone involved. Yes, it has a following and yes, there are fans who will live and die by the original Wolfenstein 3D games, but the guns look like cheap toys! They look like poorly made plastic renditions of the original guns. That may sound like a nitpick but it is so distracting. People compared this to a poorly made fan mod of the game, and there were already numerous fan made mods that were better than Spear of Destiny's sequel episodes. 

The supernatural elements they added did bring an interesting flavor to the game, but it is just not worth the effort to reach the bosses. It is a slog to get through these maze levels of very similar tiling and even more similar array of guards, SS and officers that all of the games are riddled with. Needless to say, Wolfenstein 3D is good, but Spear of Destiny needs tiny doses. It's still your run and gun third reich killing fun and it's playable. That's right, one good thing you can say about Spear of Destiny is that it is Wolfenstein and it is playable. Try it for yourself and remember, if you need to, you can drink the floor blood. Virtua Grosse.

Doomverse #24 - Weapons of Hindsight

Quake's creation is unique among ID Software's game library in several ways. From the very beginning, this game marked the very first time that a speed-driven, totally 3D game was made with full vertical and horizontal angle controls. They almost didn't go with the full mouse look. This was also the first time that John Carmack required help in creating an engine. He and Michael Abrash worked night and day in its creation, toiling through countless bugs, world holes and glitches throughout. Originally, the plan was to create a game where you are Quake, and you hold a hammer. There was a giant backlash against the hammer, and somehow it boiled down to a one-handed axe, hardly bigger than a hatchet. 

The idea was that this game was going to be a roleplaying style fantasy game with melee focused combat. There was such a different blueprint in the beginning, but John Romero was dismayed to find out that the complexities of creating his dream game just couldn't happen in the timeframe they were on. The game was already behind schedule and the chaotic creation of the game's engine and levels made the atmosphere already toxic. Instead, it was decided that they would bring about a full 3D shooter with a Doom style weapon arsenal. As fun as the original Quake sounds, let's be completely honest, would it have been better?

To be straight forward, Quake created a huge culture of Deathmatching because of its very tight controls and fast paced explosions going off as you drive nails into your opponent. The melee combat would have a lot to live up to. Speaking of nails, that's a perfect place to start, not only did this game bring back the Super Shotgun, but it introduced the Nailgun. If that wasn't enough, they also brought about the Super Nailgun in the same breath. Putting NIN on every nail ammo box was also a stroke of genius. 

Among its well known weapons is the Thunderbolt, more commonly known as the Lightning Gun. Hazardous to use in water, but also slightly overpowered, the Lightning Gun brought about a decent replacement for the Plasma Rifle from Doom. If you need to take down a Shambler, use their own weapon against them. It's cool that you start with a Shotgun, but if that's all you have, I hope you know how to strafe. 

The Grenade Launcher is a case of acquired tastes. They're obviously not especially accurate, but the grenades do explode as they touch the enemy. This is also true for stupid, stinky ogre grenades! For some people, this is their pride and glory among the weapons. It has its advantages, as it does a ton of damage and has a chance of killing multiple targets in one explosion. 

It goes to show that, while they bemoaned creating essentially the same game while mastering Doom beforehand, Quake turned out to be a very different game. It has a similar arsenal, but the many minor differences stack up to a unique experience. While John Romero has stated that the Super Shotgun is his favorite Doomverse weapon, many have cited Quake's introductory weapons as their primary choices. These weapons have been updated and changed to fit future games to great effect. 

Quake 3 Arena was the game that really brought some of these weapons back in style. The Lightning Gun and the Grenade Launcher are prime examples of this, but sadly, we wouldn't be getting a new Nail Gun until Doom The Dark Ages. Once they brought it back, though, they brought it back with some serious lavish. The only weapon that never really saw a return was the Axe, which isn't much of a surprise, but it would have been nice to see in The Dark Ages at least. 

It is plain to see that Quake had just as much to do with the culture of the FPS genre in Arena Fighting as Doom did. It added weapons for future use and it brought a literal new dimension to the gaming scene back in the 90's while still having a strong following to this very day. The best weapon arsenal among these ID legends would be a laborious task, as all of them have their own balance and pros. The best way to appreciate these weapons is to figure out which ones you'd like to use when you're in a scuffle or an all out battle. Whether it be Doom, Quake or Wolfenstein, choose which weapon you prefer when faced with the challenge of destroying evil. Just remember to destroy it with big explosions and shells, lot's of shells. Virtua Buckshot.

Batman or Spider-man? - Feature Length VHS (Pt. 2)

 Who can say who the real Batman is? Who is your favorite Spider-man? Can you believe how many Spider-men there have already been? Live action superhero films were always expected to be low quality, and a lot of the time, they were. That is, unless they were Batman or Spider-man. Not only did Batman from 1989 show people that superhero films can be not only awesome but also gritty, but Spider-man fired off the superhero genre in serious film. Batman, Blade, X-men and Spider-man finally proved, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that modern superhero movies can be fantastic! (Okay, no, there has not been a really good Fantastic 4 movie, but that's a subject for later) Excelsior! 

This will be a look at multiple movies, because there are many different series, even if there are even more actors. Somehow, Batman and Batman Return are in the same series as Batman Forever and Batman and Robin. Many will say that Pattinson or Bale are the real Batman, and there are even a few that would count Affleck with that title. These are all valid choices. Even if Kilmer wasn't the best Batman, we still love him and hope his family and friends remember him fondly. 

Batman Returns

No, friends, here we recognize Michael Keaton as the real Batman. We've taken a fairly close look at the 1989 title already, and it's most assuredly winning him some points in this race, but many would argue that Batman Returns is his magnum opus. Getting personal for a moment, this movie just lacked a lot of tact and taste. Seriously, I liked those Burger King toys that came out with the movie, but they got shelved because this movie was very vulgar and graphic for children. Still, there is no denying its quality and it is still Michael Keaton. 

Batman doesn't bag as many bodies in this title, but there is no shortage of villain death at his hands. He lights a guy on fire and makes another one explode! The dark tone to this movie is not undershot by Michelle Pfeiffer, who is absolutely flawless in execution. She even learned how to use a whip to near perfection for this role and that just proves her dedication. Her performance is also irreplaceable. 

Then there's Christopher Walken! He is always awesome and kills any argument against this movie. He is so calm throughout this entire movie, and yet he is so sadistic that he will kill someone to gain business advantages and/or silence them for finding out the many illegal acts of fraud and embezzlement. Seriously, this guy makes a guy in a batsuit look sane. 

The action set pieces are awesome, but the look of a thousand penguins in mechinized kamikaze rockets is just haunting. They make the circus henchmen out to be colorful and have their own gimmick. One guy played by Vincent Shiavelli uses a monkey, while a very pale woman uses a very tiny dog who is able to catch a batarang. Penguin had a decent plan to become mayor. He just screwed with the wrong bat! 

I love how Bruce Wayne was the only one who was skeptical of Cobblepot, knowing he wasn't doing what he said he was doing. It really plays into Batman being a detective and it also pushes him to his limits. When the Batmobile comes under the control of a transmitter, it's just fun to see how Batman counters Penguin's strikes. He even strikes back by ruining his speech for mayor. 

While it is not my favorite title, it is still a beloved relic of when movies did their own thing and had their own artistic style. It's a shame that Burton was removed for the threequel and Keaton left when Burton wasn't on board as director. This movie was very dark, but it seems like he could have been asked to reign it in a bit. Either way, what we got with Joel Schumacher was at least good for a laugh from another old friend who seemed to genuinely be a good human being. 

Spider-man 

Tobey Mcguire had some very large shoes to fill when it came to the character he was taking on in 2002. There was a lot of expectation in the Sam Raimi directed summer blockbuster film. And bust that block it did, because Spider-man was a massive hit. It was yet another piece of evidence that superhero movies were capable of being awesome and garner praise from both fans and critics while making them truckloads of money. To put it bluntly, this movie is kind of weird, but in a very good way. Somehow, they went slightly old school comic book with the dialogue style and the world. A lot of the dialogue can sound stilted or unnatural, but somehow, still fit into this very... different reality. 

Peter is likeable, and it's good that he's not just pushed around, he is known to fight back to some extent. The character moments where he gets bit by the spider and becomes arrogant does kind of come out of nowhere, but it is evident throughout his entire fight with Macho Man Randy Savage, who is wrestling under the name BOOOOOOONE SAWWWWWW!!!! Macho Man never looked so awesome as he did when he made a cameo appearance in the very first Spider-man movie. 

It was a shame to lose Cliff Robertson, as his character Uncle Ben, but that's how the story goes. The movie follows along with the origins of Spider-man rather well, and of course they put a more modern spin on it. The costume we know and love comes about after his uncle's murderer accidentally falls to his death. Yes, it would have been nice to have the original introduction to the costume, but with the tragedy that happened, it's probably a good idea that they nixed it. 

The Green Goblin with Wilem Dafoe is a standout performance. That is saying something when it comes to this cast, because everyone pulls their weight, but Dafoe is so cartoonishly evil, you can't help but love to hate the hell out of him. His tech looks really cool, with the pumpkins looking very futuristic, but yes, the mask is rather overly cartoonish. This is not a wussy version of the Goblin that just explodes to harm people or cause headaches. He flat out kills people with his pumpkin bombs and they still get away with it being not all that brutal.   

Then there is Kirstin Dunst, yes, we must talk about her. In retrospect, it probably could have gone better with their relationship. As it stands, it's a bit more of a fairytale relationship by comparison to the comic book's relationship between them. Still, in the first movie, they screw it up still, yes, but at least she didn't know he was Spider-man, yet. The relationship they have throughout the film may not have been the healthiest one, but it was certainly cinematic. 

The love scenes are fun, the action scenes slap, when it comes right down to it, this movie is solid all around. The extras' acting could use a bit more direction in some cases, other than the true Raimi form in bringing in Bruce Campbell for a cameo. He announced the match for Spider-man vs Bone Saw. Yet another memorable element to that legendary scene. 

When you compare the Batman series with the Spider-man series, there are a lot of similarities. The third installments were not great but the movies started out very strong. In this case, though, the scoring system that is very real has decided that Batman wins this round. If I had a golden VHS trophy, it'd go to Michael Keaton, but Tobey Mcguire in Spider-man 1 and 2 pulled those movies together and was a strong performer as Peter Parker, and he had a good performance as Spider-man. Batman just has to be a bit more legendary, but this is a very close call. Batman receives a score-tying 5 points. Happy Thanksgiving, folks! Virtua Bat Punch!

Top 10 Favorite Outside Comic Book Superheroes

 There's more to comic book heroes than Marvel and DC. Sometimes, publishers will get lucky and they'll create something that hits the big time. This doesn't help some studios from closing but it does become a great bargaining chip before being bought up by a different studio. Dark Horse, IDW and Mirage have hit the big time by either creating a great comic book character, or creating comic books for big characters in other mediums. This is a look at comic book superheroes that exist with a little less fanfare but no shortage of charm and cool factor. 

The Mask

Obviously, I saw the movie first, but once I saw the comic book, it was a little much in some areas, especially gore. The Mask is far more violent, and his crazy antics are far more crazy here. The artwork isn't anything to write home about, but it has its own bit of charm to it. His jokes kill people and the story works out far different than the film. Let's be real here, this doesn't honestly belong on a superhero list, but at least Kelly uses the Bighead Mask persona to try and do good things like take down the mob and the crime bosses. The comic books only really were good in the first two, after that, they kind of just go from person to person with people who discover the mask. To its credit, at the very least, it didn't have a Son of the Mask followup. We can be thankful for that. 

Savage Dragon

Far more violent and adult oriented than the animated TV show. While it didn't gain any mainstream success like the X-men, it still had a decently healthy run. The comic book series has that beautiful 90's gleam to it and just stands as an example of 90's nostalgic art. This was a sign of the times, especially with the huge imaginative roster of monsters like Arachnid and Barbaric. Savage Dragon is just a smart mouth cop who takes his job very seriously and takes down monsters in order to protect the public. 

Scott Pilgrim

Just a guy who wants to date a girl. However, if he wants to get with Ramona, he has to fight through her Seven Deadly Exes. This was a very creative way to depict a story of jealousy in a bright light while also having some great fight scenes. No two battles are the same, and Scott learns a lot through the whole thing. Now, is he a superhero? Well, he certainly has skills like a superhero and is able to fight at a superior level to normal humans. Like some of these others, this was a bit of a bending of the rules. Scott Pilgrim is pretty awesome. The ending could have been better but the story itself is quite satisfying anyway.

V

This is another bending of the rules, much like the Watchmen segment in the DC list. Yes, DC published this, but they were not the first publishers of the British version. The story and characters are quite different from the brilliant 2005 film. V is different, but he's still pretty brilliant when it comes to fighting for an idea to protect the people's rights. The way he did it was a little hard to believe, but it was awesome to see one man bring a corrupt government to their knees. His mask has become iconic, as is his theme about the 5th of November. Call him an anti-hero all you want, he's a hero in these books.

The Tick

Let's be honest here, this is primarily the TV Show. The comics are good, but the TV show is brilliantly hilarious. The comedic timing and the insanity of all of the characters is just so fun to watch. The villains are very imaginative and have their own funny gimmicks. Some of them follow this gimmick to an almost religious degree while some of them just shrug their gimmicks off and only use them when they think about them. The Tick is just so dedicated to justice and fighting evil doers that he takes this to an annoying degree, especially to his sidekick, Arthur. Arthur is the straight man throughout the whole thing. While the Tick just accepts things as weird, Arthur is there to point out the logic in the whole situation and how there is none. While the comics are fun and have their own charm, for some reason, the TV series was angled more toward children and they actually used that restraint. Somehow, this made the comedy a bit more funny. This is an arguable standpoint but try them both for yourself.

Hellboy

The comics are dark, grim, and sometimes just hilarious. This is a monster hunter who fights Hitler while going down to fight monsters from Hell itself. Hellboy was brought to my attention by the Ron Pearlman movie and that is probably still my favorite iteration of the character. For some reason, the sequel didn't come off quite as good as the first one, and the movies just went straight down hill from there. The comics, however, remain very entertaining, and even the cartoon movies had a good bit of charm to them. If you'd like to explore this character, just be careful with the live actions. Otherwise, he's a dark taste and he may surprise you. 

Miyamoto Usagi 

The tales of Usagi are long, and he is a major badass. He is no nonsense, his fighting style rivals even that of the Ninja Turtles, as he has proven that he exceeds their skill level to some small degree. This is not reflected in his appearance in the 1987 series. There, he is mistakenly called Usagi Yojimbo as his name, but Yojimbo is just his title as bodyguard. He is much better depicted in the 2012 series, in their fifth season. Miyamoto Usagi and his sword are amazing, and you'll find yourself getting very interested in his many exploits.

Judge Dredd

The darkness of the world needs order, and Judge Dredd is dedicated to doing his part in making that happen. He is deadly with his multifunction pistol and his knowledge of fighting. Judge Dredd often uses strategic advantage to win the battle and even luck when his partner helps him. The comic series is parted into two collections. There's the 1977 original series that is very crude and written for a British magazine. Then there is the new releases that started in 2012. Either way, the battle between Judge Dredd and Judge Death are some of the most captivating of the series, and his battle against the villainous judges is a milestone in the series. Karl Urban's movie is probably the best example of bringing him to the big screen. Drokk it...

Spawn

Todd McFarlane came into the comic scene hardcore through Spider-man and he used that leverage to get him into the comic book scene for himself. He created Spawn, and it changed the landscape of the entire industry. All the sudden, a warrior from Hell can be a knight of heroism and Spawn can take on the Violator with chains and hellfire! Spawn came to the Earth and started taking out villains of all kinds, even ones that parents don't want their kids to know about. The Klown can be covered in blood and Satan's generals can go after Spawn from all across the dimensions. This comic series is long and very, very dark. If you want a good media to watch besides the comics, check out the animated series from HBO. Do not bring the kids.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Yes, I'm including all of them, because I didn't want them to take up four whole spots on this list. The phenomenon that was the TMNT series was beyond any expectations. It seemed that no matter what they did, they made money with this series through toys, movies, many TV series, apparel, and video games of all kinds. The comic books for this series has passed from the original Mirage to IDW and the whole series is pretty awesome in its own right. Not all of it is stellar, but the comic books had a more adult orientation, where the 1987 TV series was geared much more toward kids, which it hit very hard. Even after originally killing the Shredder in the first issue, the Ninja Turtles got rebooted in IDW where the story kept its very mature theme and the violence was kept fairly graphic while also adding more and more villains and new mutant characters. The turtles have had a very stable range of characteristics. Michaelangelo has kept a more child-like persona, craving pizza and keeping a very humorous view on life. Donatello is smart, loves computers and creates a vast range of technical marvels to solve problems. Raphael uses his brute strength to deal with situations, is quick to anger and is one of the better fighters among them. Leonardo is their leader with a more duty oriented view of fighting their opponents while also protecting his friends and family. None of this was really evident in the first official run of the comic books. The characters evolved from their original comics and have garnered a following that still loves them to this day. Virtua Cowabunga!