Cover:
A phalanx in a supermarket in front of a shelf of chewing gums. A woman and her child are seen in a near distance from the phalanx. The phalanx holds a cinnamon flavored chewing gum and a tear runs down his face. A large yellow caption saying “Phalanx – Discriminated!” is at the bottom of the cover.

Page 2: Previously...
The uncanny X-Men graced the comic landscape the first time with their presence in the year 1963, and were created by Stan Lee and Jack "King" Kirby. Probably by default, the most profound superhero team in mainstream comics and also one of the most successful.
X-Men was one of the few comics that dealt with mature themes such as racism, sexuality and religion. After “Giant Size X-Men”, the comic became famous for it's diverse characters and pushed those themes more in the foreground. The pinnacle was reached with the “Phoenix Saga”, one of the most striking and influential stories in the X-Universe.
A decade later, the X-Men stories became more superficial and dealt with fun, but dull stories about new characters that rose quickly to popularity.

The ramification of the success was, that the market was flooded with spin-offs series like X-Factor. The X-Universe was now fully established and isolated itself as a niche with a large fanbase. The X-Men and the spin-offs created a large fictional history, that it is even hard for fans to keep up with.
Marvel reacted and “re-launched” the title as “New X-Men”, which was written by Grant Morrison, and again with success and within the own bubble. It took till issue 500 to establish the X-Men back into the shared universe, and this time even with success.

Page 5: “Xenophobia is okay as long if they are aliens!”
“X-Men 2: Clone Wars” for the Sega Genesis is the adaption of the “Phalanx Saga”, and immediately puts you into the battle against the phalanx. The story is told through “conversations” between Cerebro (a large supercomputer) and Professor X (bald headed leader of the X-Men).

But lets get to the meat of it. The gameplay is simply great. You get to control one of six mutants and make use of their sweet abilities. And that's where many games went the wrong way, by limiting the use of your powers and thus making the games too hard and unforgiving, but that isn't present in X-Men 2. The player can use the powers as much as he wants!
That gives the player another feel and invokes an overall great experience, that other X-Men failed to convey. As for the powers though, there are only two characters whose powers feel a little bit idiotic. First, there's Psylocke, which is a bad character to start with, that has her “Psy-dagger” as power....what? Remember Child of Atoms where she had the ultra cool, purple side-slashing attack?
Why not implementing it here instead of a short range attack?
Whatever. Next, is Beast whose powers in the comics is his heightened agility, strength and senses.
So, clearly he's the powerhouse in the game, but being a little sluggish and to counter that with a stupid Hulk-esque punch on the ground is stoopid! Just to make clear, it could be worse. However, when there's such a wide variety of mutants with different powers (give Nightcrawler the swords and substitute Psylocke with Iceman), why not make it?
Talk about the graphics and the sound. Both, are as good as the gameplay and remind of the X-Men animated series that ran at that time. The graphics in some levels feel a tad out of place and look muddy, but in return you get the awesome Sentinel factory map, which is probably the best level in the game.
The boss fights are as tough and long as you'd expect. Sometimes, the feel a little bit overpowered and it can get frustrating, since the X-Men die too fast.
Nevertheless, the biggest flaw though, is the ending. Are you fucking kidding me? Really, all you get is a text ending? At least give me more Jim Lee inspired/swiped pixel art! Urgh!

[b]Page 25: Ads[/img]
In conclusion is the game a pretty nice throwback to the X-Men from the nineties and when you grew up with the animated series, then I recommend this game. I'll even go so far, that I would recommend the game over the comics. The comics at this point recount old stories and tie them back into the continuity, which isn't all to new-reader friendly. Plus, the stories since the “Messiah War” are all intertwined with the sister titles. So, pick up the game if you got a Sega Genesis!

Next issue is going to be the final issue (at least for now)!
(feedback appreciated)

Cover:
Blonde haired and blue eyed American family in front of a suburban house, while an american flag replaces the sky. A silhouette of Captain America beating the crap out of Red Skull is seen.

Page 2: Previously...
America. A haven for hopes, dreams and awesome action flicks with hairy men. What makes the different between America and a country...like Denmark? Maybe it's the fact that in Denmark you get Lego and in America, well, tits for colorful chains. Or it's because America has a superhero that embodies everything good in the most idealistic way possible, and spends his time beating the shizznats out of America's enemies.
Who knows. I, personally, don't care. I think, that Captain America conception as a motivator for american soldiers is long overdue, and surely became more than that over time.
The stories in the nineties, though, were as forgettable as the 131. Pokemon (Fuck Lapras!). They mostly were retconned and have no significance in the continuing stories. Cap is most present and remembered as the leader of the Avengers, and is logic since the Avengers comics were always more successful than his own series. So, it must be the reason why he always appears together with the Avengers. For example, in the 1992 game “Captain America and the Avengers” for the Snes.


Page 5: “I occasionally draw, when I'm not killing the Reds.” - Steve Rogers

Ports. That's what was the only way you could've played the game from the arcade without losing all your pocket money on a fucking hard game and then contemplating the possibility of asking the guy next to you for a quarter. Ah, I feel a little bad for those who thought the “Captain America and the Avengers” was any good, and therefore didn't go to the arcade in order to pay for this shitpile. It's a pretty bad port and it has nothing that speaks for it. This version stales in comparison to the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive one in every aspect. The graphic isn't the worst and is able to convey at least the look of the characters. But that isn't something worth for a medal of honor, it the least you should have done when you do a superhero game, right? So, the graphics doesn't look as good as the Sega version, bu-fucking-hu.
The real fault of this game is, that when you get hit the invincibility isn't really congruent to your flickering character. Meaning, that when you think that your still invincible, but are in reality (or virtually for that matter) vulnerable to hits. This doesn't even exist in the Sega version, which is why its so much superior to the Snes version.
The rest of the game is pretty much the same. A side-scroller and features Vision, Hawkeye and Iron Man as optionable characters. Multiplayer up to two player is also possible and makes this game a little bit more bearable. Music in this game is, to be honest, okay and has typically shitty voiced bits that provide some laughter.
Last but not least, the story which is pretty standard. You have to fight Cap's archenemy Red Skull, who formed a group of villians to help usurp the world. That's pretty much the story, the writing is just horrid, and gives you buyers guilt the second you read the first line.
Overall the game fails to be as fun as the already mediocre arcade game. It just takes the bad things and makes them worse. Its broken and beaten, and the best thing you could do is let it in the dollar bin to die.

Page 24: Ads
Its pretty clear that the game doesn't compare in the slightest imaginable way to the comic. Especially, when the comic is on a hell of a run right now. The creative team, Brubaker and Epting (and sometimes some other fill-in artist), is kicking major ass with Captain America. The started with a whole new Volume (basically a renumbering to attract new readers) and brought fans such monumental moments like the death of Captain America. The book is much more mature than most of the other comics in the marvel stable, and lives a little bit in a bubble in that respect. Which is pretty good when you just want to read one book without constantly going to Wikipedia to find out why Cap is a Cyborg all of a sudden. So, grab the book or wait for Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2, but just stay from that abomination of a game.


Heads up, Lad! See ya!
(Feedback appreciated)

Cover:
Spider-Man steps out of a bar. Through the open door, you can see a women with a black eye giving Spidey the finger.


Page 2: Previously...
Peter Parker aka. Spider-Man is Marvels most prominent, and properly the most popular, character. He became Spider-Man through the bite of a radioactive spider, which gave the problem ridden, adolescent Peter astonishing powers. But he becomes the hero that we all love (or at least should), when he lets a thug escape and has to learn, that the same thug killed his beloved Uncle Ben. Since then he fights crime in the streets of New York, and lives after his mantra: “With great power comes great responsibility”. Great fucking story, innit?
Spider-Man comics in the nineties became a spiral of never ending sagas, the example therefore is the clone saga. Even though the stories were horribly contrived, the sales broke records. The reason was, that the comics were marketed as valuable collectors item with shiny and limited variant covers.
But I don't want to malign a whole era, since a couple of good stories came out of it.
Then again, I have to say that Spider-Man is a character that lost his appeal, and his fake-ass clone was just ridiculous. Nevertheless, the success wouldn't wear off, that's why the decision to venture into different mediums seemed just logical at that point. Next to the cheesy movies (remember Fantastic Four from 1994?), a heap of games were made.
So, the question is, how could the games be when the original material wasn't even holding its own?

Page 6: "女性の破壊者のSpider-Man!"
The genius Spider-Man is that he has an incredible rogue gallery, powers and design. Pretty much the whole package, right? So, you wonder how somebody could fuck something up like “LJN” did.
The two games I'm referring to are “Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage” (1994) and the follow-up “Venom/Spider-Man: Separation Anxiety” (1995). Both pretty much the same travesty, just that the latter is a little more polished. The games are side-scrollers, and each of them loosely a storyline from the comics. The only “significant” difference is that you can play Separation Anxiety with two players. However, the music is terrible and doesn't fit to a Spider-Man game, the stories are what you'd expect (= dull) and the graphics are mediocre. Like the graphics, the gameplay reeks of mediocrity, and the worst thing is that the web-slinging is only useful when you're in climbing stages. The essence of wanting to play Spider-Man is because of those sweet and sticky webs, man! And pretty questionable are the enemies. Why do you punch a courier and even worser two young women? They don't even look remotely dangerous to me, and I have yet to open a Spider-Man issue where he just beats up girls for fun.

The worst is that when you finish the games you get a puny “Game completed” and then the credits roll. What the fuck?!
That's when I had enough and looked for a different game, what I found was “The Amazing Spider-Man: Lethal Foes”. A japan exclusive game that's also based loosely on the comic miniseries “The Lethal Foes of Spider-Man”, in which Spidey has to deal with his, now united, foes.

Since the game is in japanese I can't tell if its fully adapted that story or just the premise, nevertheless I can surely say something about the awesome gameplay. Like the aforementioned games is this a side-scroller. Although, the movements are pretty basic, the fact that every button on the controller has its function from, which the most notable is the web-slinging, that makes the gameplay feel so consummate. The web slinging is assigned to the shoulder buttons of the snes controller, which makes it a lot intuitive than you'd expect, plus there webs are unlimited. The enemies are pretty much the same in all those levels, but that didn't bother me as much. The different levels are mediocre, but look very good. The graphics, in general, looks bright and the models more refined, and reminded me a little bit of that Spider-Man television show from Toei. Good Times.

Overall, the game is, like the Punisher game, a great, fun and especially unexpected surprise. It doesn't get too deep into the Spider-Man universe, and since everything is in japanese a lot of the quirkiness of the character gets lost. But that's the only flaw, the rest of the game gives a good insight into his rogue gallery, which is as important as the superhero himself.
But the question I always ask is unanswered. Is/Are the game/s better than the comics?

Page 24: Ads
But the question I always ask is unanswered. Is/Are the game/s better than the comics?
The comic, after the “Brand New Day”-storyline, got better and harkens back to the old Spider-Man comics again. With that, I mean, the good and old ones, those were Peter Parker is more important than the costume. Plus, as a newbie you can get into it with every issue(except when there is a longer story arc) without feeling lost. The stories are light, fun and easy to digest, so don't expect a “Watchmen”-esque story and gritty art. Lastly, there is the fact that you can get to see great art of some of the best newcomers and old masters of the industry.

But in conclusion I have to say I wouldn't recommend the comic over the game (fuck the other two), since the game is really hard to get. So, it's a draw. When you ever get hands on to the game, grab it and play the shit out of it, and when you ever wanted to read a Spider-Man comic, go get a copy (while its hot!) of the amazing Spider-Man!

Excelsior, Nerds! See ya next week (hopefully)!
(Feedback appreciated!)

Cover:
A big, bald bear with his fists stretched towards the skies in agony. Behind him a cinema that currently plays the new Punisher movie. And also the bears eyes bleed.

Page 2: Previously in C&G
New York, home of Frank Castle, better known as the vigilante named "Punisher". He became the Punisher after his family got killed by the mob, after they witness them doing dirty work. Thereafter, he skulks New York for criminals and sometimes even heroes.
Historically, is the Punisher the first anti-hero in the marvel universe, and thus was written mostly as a gritty, brutal and unforgiving character, making him later impossible to exist in the “616”-Universe.
That's why most of his new stories got written for the “MAX” imprint of Marvel, that aims exclusively toward mature readers.
Even though the Punisher was a popular character, his series often got canceled. Another failing were the movies dealing with him. Most people remember the two Punisher movies in the recent five years, but forget the horrible one from the 80's with Dolph Lundgren. So, it isn't surprising to see that there was a Punisher arcade game. The game is a 2D-brawler and was developed by Capcom, who'll go on to make a heap of Marvel games later on.

Page 5: “A Man Named Frank”
It starts in a house were Frank and you beat the shit out of some thugs. As a brawler it's natural to become repetitive, but that is part of the fun. It is mindless and entertaining, and...violent, funny violent. It one scene Frank gets hold of Scully and has him at gun-point. And you'd believe that he lets him go, tch, he shoots him! Witnessing the whole scene is a bus driver, who doesn't seem to find anything wrong with that. And gives the casual and approving thumbs up. Ice cold!

His enemies include: punks, thugs, karate-ka, ninja-women and freakish robot from the 'burbs. Those, of course, carry a variety of weapons, most notably is Arthur's lance from “Ghosts and Ghoul's”. Needless to say, that you can use them once you've picked them up. But all that is seldom needed, since Frank is a powerhouse of its own. He has a limited list of combos, however all of them are nicely animated. So, it's not as bad as in other brawlers. An odd thing is that an animation sequence is only available in the japanese version. When you hit an enemy with up, down and button 1, you make a half-roundhouse kick which sets the enemy ablaze in a blue flame. Why was that cut out?

It's not crucial and I realize how trivial to even write about it, but it interests me. Mostly, because there is a flame animation already in the game, next to sprites dedicated for a nice blood effect.
The story is merely present and acts as a frame, in order to let you fight against villains from The Punisher's rogue gallery. The important and most recognizable is the Kingpin. As the end boss he's a tough motherfucker, and I mean it. He casually slaps, blows and shoots at you while his goons laugh at you. If you want to know why kids want to be criminals you just have to look at the Kingpin. The other bosses aren't that hard or even worth mentioning. Much like the levels, which are all mediocre and nothing mind blowing, but look good with some nice details.
The multiplayer mode lets player two play Nick Fury, who isn't that special. He has a slightly different attack palette and dialogue, but that's about it. Nonetheless, the game is with six stages a very short but somewhat enjoyable and odd gaming experience.

Page 23: Ads

Overall, the game exceeded my expectation, since it depicts the Punisher like you'd now from the comics. A tough and unforgiving character with mean lines. And when you like that version of the Punisher than I advise you to pick up the comic, instead of the game. Why? The only appealing aspect to this is that it is a Punisher game, and I'm responding to it with the comic fan part of my brain. The game doesn't have any notable features or historical significance in game history. It's basically just another 2D-brawler. Then there's the fact, that the only port was for the Sega Mega Drive, which probably most people don't posses.
While his comic version celebrates his comeback into the “616”-universe with a new series called “Punisher: Dark Reign”. The book deals with the repercussion of the “Secret Invasion” event, where Norman Osborn slowly usurps over the american government. The Punisher reacts and starts a guerilla war against Osborn and his goons. The book is very new-reader friendly and accosts on many different levels, while the game is only one of those curiosities that nobody really needs. So, if you're enjoying the character and look for something with him in it, then I can only recommend the comic.


So, that was the first issue...puuh! See ya next week!
(Feedback appreciated!)

While I was thinking on how I'm going to contribute to the Destructoid community I was ordering some comics. Later, playing “MvC”, I got an epiphany. I'm making a little series dedicating to comics and their game adaptations.
There exists a bunch of games based on comics, and most of them weren't worth shit. Since there tried to feature the most popular characters to sell some figures, much like the flicks. Hurm, at least they preserve this old tradition.
Anyways, I'm gonna pick some Marvel games up to “Marvel vs. Capcom 2”, and look at how they used, presented and tie the properties into the games. Also after each review I'll conclude by telling you, if you're should seek out the games or have a better time reading the comics. That means also that I'll give some insights into the current comic series with the featured character or team.
So, since this is a zero issue I'm giving a little tease for what's to come.



What will happen next issue? From where came the violence in the early nineties? And what did Bus drivers thought about that never-ending circle of violence?