Now Very Bad…

Tag: games

Lego Batman: The Videogame (2008)

Batman turned 75 years old earlier this year (2014). In recognition, we are rebranding our site for one week to Now Very Bat… and focusing on the blockbusters, the smaller films, the comics and the video games that feature the Dark Knight. Also if you are a fan of casino games, you might want to visit 666CASINO website, and play some exciting casino games.

These games are huge in my household. We all love playing in the “smashy smashy” world of Lego where we get to bash through bricks in order to get studs and the only thing that happens when you die is your body disassembles amusingly and you lose some points. It’s unbelievably addictive and the simplicity of the games are a real strength.

The Lego games feature the best gameplay feature in the world: drop-in/drop-out cooperative play. If your child is having trouble with a situation just grab a controller and hop in to help. If you have to step away for a moment just drop out for a bit. Every single videogame should come with this feature.

One of the most enjoyable things about the Lego series of games must be the humor. The teams responsible for these games do a marvelous job of injecting a light-hearted feel to familiar characters while retaining the spirit of the source material. Regardless of the franchise, they consistently hit it out of the park with their plastic versions. And the little Lego figures are so cute!

Lego Batman varies from earlier other in the series in two significant ways: it isn’t based on an adapted story and it lets you play half of the game as the villains. This last idea is particularly inspired. You play through the story as Batman and Robin, thwarting the Rogue’s Gallery, only to then return to the same basic plot but playing as the bad guys, able to succeed because it’s all essentially happening before Bats shows up.

Lego Batman is the 5th game in the Lego series by developer Traveller’s Tales, after 3 Star Wars games and Indiana Jones. So they should have the formula perfect by this point, but the game was released only three months after Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures, so anything that was a problem in that one wasn’t fixed here. And it shows. The first Lego Batman & Indy games are in my mind the weakest the series has produced. They’re still great fun and have the wonderful wit of all of the games, but the gameplay is not really up to that of the Lego Star Wars games. Fortunately, they’d take a year to put out the next game in the series, Indy 2, and it’s pretty much all been gravy since then.

December 15, 2014
Now Very Bat…75 years of Batman

Batman turned 75 years old earlier this year (2014). In recognition, we are rebranding our site for one week to Now Very Bat… and focusing on the blockbusters, the smaller films, the comics and the video games that feature the Dark Knight.

The first superhero I was aware of may have been Spider-Man. I remember seeing him in a department store as a kid – he gave me a Spidey ring that I may still have somewhere. I saw him on The Electric Company and maybe the newspaper. I will always have great affection for the web-slinger. And I loved Supes. I knew the music from Superman: The Motion Picture as well as any of John Williams works and still love the Man of Steel. (The man, not the movie Man of Steel – that sucked.) But Batman was always my favorite.

Partly it’s because he’s just a man. Incredibly strong billionaire, yes, but still just a human without superpowers. Partly it’s because he fashions himself as a detective. The idea that his first instinct when fighting crime is to use the same methods as the police somewhat lessens the vigilante stance. He uses his head more than his fists.

But more than anything, he’s just cool. He looks cool, he has cool gadgets, he hides in the dark and scares people. He was the first superhero to choose to do what he does; he had a backstory, not an atomic-era accident that turned him into something. That darkness is what keeps the character fresh.

Most of that darkness is thanks to Bill Finger. I won’t be reviewing it here, but check out the 2012 kids book Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman by Marc Tyler Nobleman & Ty Templeton. Amazing that it would take a children’s book to truly bring the full story of Bill Finger to life. As the title suggests, Bill was the unsung co-creator of Batman. His part in bringing to life one of the most popular and beloved comic characters of all time was unknown to most people, and even those who were aware there was a story there likely didn’t realize how instrumental he was.

The Batman figure and the Batmobile pictured here were left for me by the Tooth Fairy after I lost my first tooth!

Batman had the best writers and best storylines, and he had, by far, the best villains. The Joker is the single greatest comic book villain of all time, and the rest of Batman’s Rogues Gallery could successfully populate any other 5 series you name.

Over the 7 days, we’ll be looking at a Batman title in each of 4 categories: blockbuster film, other film, comic book & video game. So stay tuned to this Bat-Channel!

December 14, 2014
Now Very Beholder…40 years of Dungeons & Dragons

Dungeons & Dragons turned 40 years old in January of this year (2014). In recognition, we are rebranding our site for one week to Now Very Beholder… and focusing just on the films that star or in some way revolve around D&D.

I love Dungeons & Dragons. It was a big part of my life as a kid, it was one of the main ways I kept out of trouble as a teenager and despite not playing in years still holds great interest for me as an adult. I may not have had an active game in decades, but I still consider myself a D&D gamer. It’s the lens through which I view fantasy novels and films, and I still feel protective of the game and the way gamers are portrayed.

I was lucky to grow up in an open-minded, supportive town and school system that never fell in with the hysteria surrounding the supposed dangers of the game. I was even luckier to have two attentive, loving parents that not only weren’t swayed by the ridiculous claims that the game was dark, occult propaganda, but took the time to take an interest in what this thing was that my sister and I were so fascinated by. I remember a lot of miniatures under the Christmas tree in our house.

Games are important. Whether sports, board games, card games, tabletop role-playing games (RPGs), live action role-play (LARP), fantasy football, dice, or playing cops and robbers in the backyard, games are arguably human-kinds greatest pastime. Whether for diversion, entertainment or profession, engaging in games develops vital skills and abilities for life.

Many learned people more erudite than I can and have written pieces on how vital role-play is in the development of imagination, confidence, identity, strategic thinking, and emotional growth. I’ll just say that I consider RPGs in general and Dungeons & Dragons in specific fantastic tools in developing creative and interesting members of our society, regardless of how they experience or participate in the games.

But whether LARPing or sitting around a table, there’s something truly special about the human interaction that really is the root of all of these experiences. I am an avowed tech geek and have long wished for the creation of a great technological system for enabling people to belly up to a digital table and really recreate that experience. (There’s lots of workarounds and tools, but I have yet to see something that really works seamlessly and feels like a suitable replacement for meeting in my friend John’s basement with a group of friends.) But whether you’re in the same room or on different corners of the Earth, all that matters is the human connection.

It’s just a ton of fun. Play Pathfinder or Candyland. Just play…

December 8, 2014