Pity developer Beenox for the decision to release their follow-up to the excellent Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions alongside the amazing Batman: Arkham City. The bat signal can’t help but put a dark shadow over a game that already has enough reasons to make Activision worry. Batman aside, Spider-Man: Edge of Time simply isn’t the game its forerunner was and while it’s not terrible, it’s hard to view this sequel as anything but a step backwards.

On the plus side, we absolutely applaud Beenox for focusing on not just the Amazing Spider-Man fans know and love, but Spider-Man 2099–one of the most intriguing characters in Spider-Man’s convoluted history. Created in the early 90’s by legendary comic book writer, Peter David, Spider-Man 2099 has the distinction of being a far better comic book than the awful main Spidey stories that Marvel was pumping out at the time.

When Miguel O’Hara, aka Spider-Man 2099, popped up in Shattered Dimensions last year, fans were instantly onboard and seeing him return in Edge of Time will likely make the game worth checking out for many. The plot this time around is still somewhere dimension shattering. The story opens in 2099, when an extremely zealous scientist named Walker Sloan decides to hasten his way up the corporate ladder of future mega-corporation, Alchemax, through time travel.

Sloan trips back to the 1970s with enough future tech to make Alchemax a mega power well before it was ever even started. After failing to stop Sloan in the future, O’Hara realizes that time must be set right or the consequences will be/are dire—including the death of Peter Parker, the Amazing Spider-Man. To that end, Miguel is able to contact Peter through, well, some bizarre means and tries to warn him.

Parker, being the do gooder he is, decides to put his own personal safety to the wind in order to stop a rampage by Anti-Venom—aka Eddie Brock… aka the original Venom now with polar opposite colors and powers. Confused yet? Well, that’s nothing compared to the inclusion of time distortion between the two spider-men. Somehow, the Spidey in the past can affect the situation of the Spidey in the future.

A good example of this is a cool sequence where Spider-Man 2099 is being pummeled by a giant robot, and Amazing Spider-man has a limited time to destroy the still-in-production robot in the present. Try not to think about it too much, as it raises more questions than the concept could ever answer. Suffice to say, Edge of Time has a terrific flare for the dramatic, especially during such sequences.

The screen will show the in-danger Spider-Man in a smaller view, so players can track his status, while being heroic on the rest of the screen. The problem is that the game hinges entirely on this single time-distortion concept. To make matters worse, the gameplay is entirely linear, so players have no option to just play with the environment to see what happens.

The other major failing here is the environment. Shattered Dimensions may have focused just as much on simple, beat ‘em up action, but it had enough diversity of characters and environments to feel more expansive than it actually was. In Edge of Time, both heroes are stuck in Alchemax’s giant skyscraper, and it’s just not a great place to do all the things a spider can do. The corridors are bland, the air vents are absurdly large (and bland), and enemies are horribly reused. Combat isn’t bad, but just feels repetitive as well.

Both heroes are relatively the same, which isn’t surprising, but the overall combat system and use of combos in particular could really use an overhaul. Each has a special ability—2099 is so fast that enemies keep attacking where he was just standing, while Amazing Spider-man can evade attacks thanks his Spidey sense. In reality, both abilities are almost identical, though they create a cool, multi-colored trailing effect.

As an interactive story-telling medium, Spider-Man: Edge of Time is certainly an appealing game for the heroes’ many fans—especially since Peter David had a strong hand in the writing, particularly the dialogue. Unfortunately, the actual game doesn’t fare quite as well. The combat and environments both feel by the numbers, and its time-tunnel gimmick gets old fast. More importantly, putting these two heroes into confined spaces with nothing to do but endlessly punch bad guys doesn’t do them justice.

Blast Factor: Ultimately, Edge of Time is a definitive step backwards from Shattered Dimensions. We hope this stumbling block doesn’t kill the series, as these characters really do deserve more. The game is still relatively entertaining as a simple brawler and a solid choice for younger players who aren’t quite mature enough for the incredibly dark and violent Batman games.

Spiderman: Edge of Time is available now for the Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, DS and PSP systems. An Xbox 360 copy of the game was provided by the publisher for this review.

At this week’s New York Comic-Con, Activision unveiled the first look at the video game adaptation of next year’s The Amazing Spider-Man; and webheads, your prayers appear to have been answered. Developer Beenox will be returning the character to the open-world style gameplay fans have been asking for since Spider-Man 2. Take a look at the leaked trailer making the rounds below.

Let’s face it, Marvel’s video game offerings lately have been less than stunning. Thor, Iron Man and Captain America were all underwhelming to say the least, but the company has a major chance to redeem themselves in the form of next year’s blockbuster superhero team up flick, The Avengers. As a guy who grew up reading Avengers comics on a weekly basis, I’m going to make it real easy for Sega and Marvel, this is how you make an Avengers game, and make it not suck.

It’s got to be an old school beat-em-up:  I still remember my first time playing with the Avengers in the video game world, it was the Super Nintendo version of arcade side scroller Captain America and the Avengers. Multiple users pick members of the squad and punch, kick and use their abilities to defeat pretty much anything that came in front of them. I’m convinced that this is the only way to do an Avengers game justice. There will undoubtedly be an inkling by Sega and Marvel to put much of the emphasis on the big three of the Avengers; Captain America, Iron Man and Thor, but giving me the chance to play not only as the big names, but characters like Hawkeye, Nick Fury and Black Widow is what makes the Avengers so interesting in the first place.  How well do Hawkeye and Captain America work together? What can I do if I use Nick Fury and Thor together?

Take that formula and add the amenities that come with modern day gaming. Let me play with up to four people on the same screen or online. Give it drop in and drop out and let me bust some baddie skulls as Marvel’s biggest names.

Don’t let me play as the Hulk (at least not at first): Of course, there is another member of Marvel’s movie Avengers; the big green monster known as The Hulk (played by Mark Ruffalo). If Sega and Marvel want to have any chance in making a decent Avengers game, they’ll make the Hulk unplayable…well, at least at first. Rumors suggest that a good portion of the Avengers script is influenced by the first run of The Ultimates, the Brian Michael Bendis penned relaunch of the Avengers from a few years ago. In the arch, Bruce Banner is affiliated with S.H.I.E.L.D and the team, but becomes a problem when he Hulks out and goes on a rampage in downtown Manhattan.

Imagine how cool this would be in an Avengers video game. Now, I’m an admitted scale whore, but having a gigantic Hulk doing damage to an expansive New York City while you attempt to stop him by any means necessary. Nick Fury uses the Quinn Jet to launch The Avenger’s on to rooftops to try to latch on to the big green guy and take him down while Iron Man and Thor use their flight abilities.  In a perfect world, this section would have sections that resemble the battle with Chronos from God of War III, where your enemy is also the environment.

But what about after you take down the Hulk? In the comics Bruce Banner is imprisoned, but why not give gamers a bit of a reward for beating him?  This could be done in one of two ways, the first being making Hulk an unlockable character. The problem with this though is that making the Hulk playable all the time takes away from what makes him such a cool character; he’s not so big and strong all the time, and how boring would it be to play as wimpy old Bruce Banner? In fact, the game for the first Hulk movie with Eric Bana did that and it was all kinds of terrible. My suggestion is to use Hulk as a bit of special attack. Simmilar to that the nuke or RC car in the Call of Duty games, players would be able to call on The Hulk to do serious injury to their enemies and the environment in certain parts of the game. Imagine being over run by enemies only to call on a gigantic Hulk, who comes through and stomps and smashes your way through.

Put it on Xbox Live/PSN:  Now I’ll admit, I’m a bit torn by this one, as I want the game to have as much of a budget as it can, but I also know that I’ve been spurned by terrible Marvel games before, so I’m thinking people are going to need a bit of incentive to pick up yet another licensed game, and what better incentive than a bargain price? And plus, XBLA and PSN only titles are increasing in quality and budget incredibly lately, so there’s no reason to not do the Avengers in this way. There’s a stigma with movie tie in games, people know that odds are, they’re going to suck, and going the Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network route, much like the game adaptations of Battle for L.A. and Scott Pilgrim VS the World did offers all the gaming at very low buy in risk.

Give me fan service, and lots of it: From Captain America, to Iron Man and Thor; there’s a lot of history with the characters of the Avengers, why not throw a few bones to the fans? Unlockable classic and alternate costumes, new characters, new abilities. Hell, give me alternate versions of characters like the old school version of Nick Fury (you know, the one played by David Hasselhoff in that terrible movie), a classic Iron Man costume or even red Hulk. There’s a lot of room for creativity with the Avengers characters and their lore, it’d be a shame if Sega didn’t take advantage of it like in recent games.

Well, that’s my list. What do you want in an Avengers game? Blast Magazine — Assemble!

In a move that should surprise pretty much no one; Capcom confirmed today that they’ll release Ultimate Marvel VS Capcom 3, the disc based update for their critically acclaimed and best selling fighter this November. The game will feature combat tweaks, eight new stages and twelve new fighters — four of which were revealed today.

On the Marvel side, Ghost Rider and Hawkeye of the Avengers will be joining the fray, while Firebrand and Strider will represent Capcom. Capcom’s whole idea was to reveal more of the new roster as we approach the release date, but pshhht…this is the internet, and nothings secret, as in almost record time, what looks like the entire new list has leaked on to the web in the form of character sketches found deep within Capcom’s press site. Looks like we’re getting Vergil, Phoenix Wright, Nemesis, and Frank West for Capcom, and Doctor Strange, Rocket Raccoon, Nova, and Iron Fist for Marvel.

The title will hit Xbox 360 and PS3 this November for the budget price of $39.99. Check out the first screens below.

What do you do after crafting movies around some of the world’s best known superheros? Turn to Angry Birds of course.

David Maisel, who served as executive producer for films like Thor and Iron Man is leaving Marvel for Rovio, to create “multiple projects” based off the hit Angry Birds series. Yes, that’s multiple.

“The business model, intellectual properties, and the franchise potential of Angry Birds give Rovio the most exciting prospects I have seen in the entertainment business since Marvel in 2003,” Maisel said.

Source

In the last few years, comic book fans have been spoiled by games like Batman: Arkham Asylum and Spider-Man: Web of Shadows. So it’s logical to hope that Thor: God Of Thunder, the video game tie in for the Summer movie will follow the trend  and not be just another crummy movie tie in. You hoped wrong.  Thor: God of Thunder is less Batman: Arkham Asylum and more Iron Man, it’s just what you hoped it wouldn’t be; another subpar movie tie in that doesn’t seem interested in doing enough to stand out.  Sure, it does some things great, but even those elements can be found done even better in other games.

Much like other movie tie-ins, Thor doesn’t follow the story of its big celluloid brother, rather it features its own unique story written by comics scribe Matt Fraction (who also wrote the Iron Man 2 game).  It’s a shame then that the game’s story which finds Loki tricking Thor into causing destruction on other planets, and as a result going back to have to fix things seems so uninspired. You see, rather than really fixing things in Thor, like the game tells you you’ll be doing, you’ll constantly find yourself going through area after area just smashing anyone and anything you can get your hands on. See that crate? Smash it! See that building? Smash it! Yes, you’ve saved this planet!

Most of the game is held down by this repetitiveness as well. Much of the game finds Thor running from one room to another, getting locked in said room and then moving on and repeating. Luckily, the game’s mechanics save it from being a complete bore, at least at first. It’s easiest to compare Thor’s third person action mechanics to that of Sony’s God of War series; mashing on the attack button unleashes a fury of attacks on your opponents, and redirecting the thumbstick in any direction will cause Thor to attack in that direction. It’s a simple and intuitive formula that works well here until you start to realize that it’s the same set of moves repeating again and again.

You do get a break from the monotony of the button mashing though, in the form of the game’s surprisingly well done boss fights. The majority of these bosses are much larger than anything in the game, and as an admitted scale whore, I really enjoyed each of them. While they do of course feature the same basic mechanics, the elements of timing and strategy found in the boss fights makes it feel much different than the other areas of the game.

Playing through Thor, you’ll gain experience points, which in turn will give you tokens. These tokens can be used to upgrade Thor’s abilities, unlock new attacks or health. Exploring in certain areas will result in finding more tokens for these upgrades, but the game is so linear that there’s not really much to explore. In fact, you’ll notice that going pretty much anywhere off the beaten path will result in getting more of these tokens.

Visually, Thor: God of Thunder is a mixed bag, while environments like Asgard and several cityscapes look impressive, the majority of the game looks like it’s straight out of the last console generation. Characters look awkward and move even worse, and some of the environments and objects tend to get pixilated and blocky often. One bright spot in the game is the voiceovers, which are impressive, especially for a licensed game.

Blast Factor: Thor: God of Thunder isn’t a terrible game, it just doesn’t do much to break out of the monotony that hold so many licensed games. It’s a paint by numbers third person action game that if it didn’t have the likeness of Marvel’s Thunder God, wouldn’t even be noticeable. If you’re a huge fan of the character, you may want to check out Thor, otherwise – there’s always Captain America (fingers crossed).

Meet Mike Haggar. Mike Haggar is a complicated man; he’s a fighter, a mayor and he hates shirts. He’s also one of the newest reveals for the upcoming and highly anticipated Marvel VS Capcom 3.

The reveal comes via a new and reportedly leaked trailer posted by VideoJuegos, which shows the Final Fight character as one of the last reveals for the game.

But wait, there’s more! Another, completely seperate trailer shows that X:Men’s fiery Phoenix as yet another roster reveal.

Stick with Blast Magazine for more on Marvel VS Capcom 3 until the game’s release next month.

One of the most highly anticipated games to be released this fall, is Fallout: New Vegas. Well, the game’s publisher, Bethesda Softworks has announced that “All Roads”, the hardcover graphic novel which tells the story of some of the characters and events that lead up to the game, will feature cover art created by legendary illustrator and comic book artist Geof Darrow with colors by Peter Doherty. The graphic novel also features art by Jean Diaz (Incorruptible) and Wellinton Alves (Marvel’s Shadowland: Blood on the Streets, Nova) What you’re looking at above, is a sneak peek of the cover.

Exclusively available in the Fallout: New Vegas collector’s edition, “All Roads” was written by Chris Avellone, the game’s creative director, and created in conjunction with Dark Horse Comics. The game can be pre-ordered now through participating retailers, and will be released on October 19, 2010.

For more information on Fallout: New Vegas, visit www.falloutnewvegas.com

In 2005, director Christopher Nolan released “Batman Begins,” and a new film-making commandment was born: “Thou shalt not smile.” Whatever that film’s excellent points and gifts to the film canon (and believe me, there are many), it will forever be known as the picture that killed the fun in making a superhero movie. Producers, looking for their next cash cows, mined the DC and Marvel universes for their darkest, most nihilistic tales, and found actors who could deliver the best glower to be their protagonists.

Then came Jon Favreau, a man best known for following Vince Vaughn into a pit of sin in “Swingers.” He wanted to make “Iron Man.” But more than that, he wanted to make “Iron Man” what it should be: a comedy. And what do you know, it turns out American audiences also wanted to have a laugh.

“Iron Man 2″ is more of the same- a lot more. This episode has Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) fighting on several fronts: he’s battling the U.S. Government for control of his Iron Man suit, a rival businessman (Sam Rockwell) who’s trying to build his own suit and a crazed Russian physicist who’s trying to avenge his father’s ruined career. It’s a crowded docket.

There’s no great changes to film culture, no Oscar-winning performances, or fascinating forays into psychology. Stark is a manic, self-serving and self-destructive billionaire playboy. He has a giant suit that fights evil, usually by blowing shit up. It’s simple. It’s straightforward. And it’s awesome.

It’s major gift, of course, is the cast. Downey, reprising his role as the crusader, puts on all of his performances like a well-tailored suit- he always looks good, but it’s never like he’s trying to hard. He’s there, first and foremost, to have a good time. Don Cheadle makes a good replacement for Terrance Howard as Lt. Col. Rhodes, and even Scarlett Johansson, who I usually barely tolerate, is likable (probably because she’s best in films where all she has to do is look hot and try not to talk too much.) And Mickey Rourke, enjoying an actor’s second summer, is terrific as Ivan Vanko, the Russian who might just be smarter than Stark. Rourke, of course, is best when he’s just playing himself. He may not be a physicist (or Russian, for that matter), but he is a hulking, intimidating form, which belies unexpected intelligence. I simply enjoyed watching Rourke move throughout this film, striding confidently through a laboratory wearing a sleeveless shirt that exposes his many worn tattoos along with a snappy pair of spectacles.

Writer Justin Theroux and Favreau both wanted to create something driven by good styling and a sense of fun. One could read into the plot lines- the private business owner versus Big Government, the nature of war in the modern age, blah, blah, blah. Lame, and done before. But you know what is entertaining? A ten-minute long scene where Col. Rhodes and Stark, both in Iron Man suits, gratuitously destroy Stark’s fabulous home in Malibu.

Favfreau’s not a great director, but he is one who delivers on his promises, which is almost as important. He promised us a spicy, funny action flick with nerdy in-jokes, sexy women in catsuits and tons of Shit Blowing Up. He lets “Iron Man” be what’s it’s supposed to be. These days, that’s an art form in itself.

“Iron Man” was huge in 2008. “Iron Man 2″ is going to be huge in 2010.

And Robert Downey Jr. says you should bank on “Iron Man 3″ coming afterward.

“Iron Man 2,” which comes out this weekend, has a chance to unseat “Dark Knight” for the biggest opening weekend ever. After that, Marvel and its Disney owners have a busy few years with a Captain America movie and “Thor” next year and “The Avengers” in 2012. But Downey Jr. told MTV that Iron Man 3 will definitely be made at some point.

What do you think? Wanna see more “Iron Man?” Drop us come comment love.

Disney, still seemingly high off the fumes of last week’s monumental Marvel purchase, today bought Wideload Games with Bungie Founder Alex Seropian signing on as Vice President of creative endeavors for the studio.

Seropian’s exact role? He’ll be pegged with overseeing creative development across Disney Interactive Studios’ portfolio of video games. So, the man who founded Bungie, made “Myth,” “Marathon,” and most notably the premier Xbox launch title “Halo,” will now lead Disney Interactive projects moving forward.

“Wideload Games is among the premier small creative game development studios in the world. Wideload Games will be a great fit for our portfolio of internal studios, and Alex joining the global product development team provides the entire Disney game portfolio with a strong creative influence” said Graham Hopper, executive vice president and general manager, Disney Interactive Studios. “Alex has built his reputation around the power of original thinking. In leading the studio that created Halo, he helped turn great storytelling, exceptional design and polished gameplay into the “Ëœkiller app’ for Xbox. Alex’s leadership of our creative community will enhance our ability to be a magnet for the best talent in the industry and enable the company to take an even more significant role in developing industry leading products.”

Disney promises that Wideload’s main focus will remain centered upon creating original video game properties, though we don’t know what any of them are at this time.

What will Disney buy next?

In the wake of breaking business news yesterday about Disney’s decision to buy Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion, we’re already seeing a headline that runs contrary to our 10 possible Disney/Marvel crossovers.

20th Century Fox, not Disney, has announced plans for another Fantastic Four film with a new flick produced by Akiva Goldsman and written by Michael Green.

Goldsman is currently producing movies based on DC properties “Jonah Hex” and “The Losers,” while Green is co-writing “Green Lantern” starring Ryan Reynolds and is the co-executive producer of “Heroes.”

Neither of the previous two Tim Story-directed Fantastic Four fims have been particularly good, nor have they received particularly good reviews.

There is no word on whether or not Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans and Michael Chiklis will return for a third go around.

With Disney forking over $4 billion for some Marvel and its 5,000+ characters, we here at Blast thought we’d help the two companies think up ways to combine their portfolios.

Here’s what we came up with:

10. X-men meet the Seven Dwarfs

The X-men have always lacked just a little something, but by adding Dopey, Sleepy Grumpy and the gang they pick up seven little somethings in one fell swoop. And if you don’t think the dwarfs are mutants, you haven’t seen Grumpy eat soup.

9. Sub-Mariner meets The Little Mermaid

A couple of nights with Namor and Ariel would never pine for the surface world again.

Do you get the metaphor?

8. Donald Duck meets Howard the Duck

Oh, the (in)humanity!

You have heard of Howard the Duck, right?

7. Bambi meets The Incredible Hulk

Each an orphan in his own way, the purple panted one and the world’s most beloved deer would get along famously — at least, a helluva lot better than Bambi and Godzilla did!

6. Beauty & the Beast meet Wolverine

The two beastie boys battling over Belle? Put some protective covering on the furniture and an extra coat of scratch-resistant polish on the floors!

5. Deadpool meets Dumbo

Teleportation is so overdone. What better way to strike terror in the hearts of your enemies than to come swooping in on a flying baby elephant who cries if you criticize his ears?

4. Spider-man meets Aladdin

You gotta believe smart-alec Spidey and the jovial blue Genie would get along famously. Although with skyscrapers hard to find in the ancient middle east, the magic carpet could get a bit crowded!

3. Iron Man meets Wall-E

I’m sure each has a few spare parts the other would love to accessorize, and imagine the epic quests across the galaxy looking for a 220-volt outlet!

2. Daredevil meets Goofy

The blind leading the congenitally idiotic! At least Goofy could lighten the mood during some of those tense courtroom battles..

1. Captain America meets Toy Story

Could there be two more pompous crimefighters than Cap and Buzz Lightyear? By the time the two of them decide on a rallying cry/motto, all the super villains will have retired.

The Walt Disney Company announced Monday it has agreed to buy Marvel Entertainment, the comics powerhouse behind Iron Man, X-Men, Spider-Man and thousands more, for about $4 billion in cash and stock purchases.

“This transaction combines Marvel’s strong global brand and … unparalleled global portfolio of entertainment properties, and a business structure that maximizes the value of creative properties across multiple platforms and territories,” said Robert A. Iger, president and chief executive officer of The Walt Disney Company, in a statement. “We are pleased to bring this talent and these great assets to Disney.”

Under the deal, Marvel shareholders will receive a total of $30 per share in cash plus approximately 0.745 Disney shares for each Marvel share they own.

The gives Disney more than 5,000 new characters to work with.

It also gives Marvel a cash influx.

“This is an unparalleled opportunity for Marvel to build upon its vibrant brand and character properties by accessing Disney’s tremendous global organization and infrastructure around the world,” said Ike Perlmutter, Marvel’s chief executive officer.

In 2006, Disney bought Pixar Animation Studios, the creator of “Toy Story” and “Cars,” for $7.4-billion.

Both companies’ boards of directors approved the deal, which is pending governmental antitrust review.

Marvel vs. Capcom 2 for X-box 360 is a near exact replica of the classic Dreamcast game.‚  All fifty six characters split down the middle with Capcom heroes like Ryu and Mega-man and Morrigan on the left side and Marvel heroes like Capt. America and Cyclops and Juggernaut on the right side.‚  The three on three tag system, one of the most innovative inclusions to a fighting game to date, is alive and well as a welcome addition to the less team oriented fighters populating the genre today.

The difference between MvC2 and many other fighters, like Soul Calibur IV or Tekken or Virtua Fighter (there are many), is that each player is allowed to pick three characters for each fight.‚  Once you’ve selected your characters and their assist type, which means that with the tap of the left bumper or the right bumper another character you’ve chosen who isn’t on the screen fighting at the time will jump in and shoot something or heal you or grab your opponent and jump back out, the battles ensue.

The combat is fast and frantic, but with only four main buttons:‚  Low Punch, High Punch, Low Kick, High Kick, and the two assists, the battles are all about button combinations and timing.‚  By offering players the ability to select three characters, the variety in teams is wide.‚  Even the best players can be beaten if they pick an un-unified team whose assists don’t work well with their move set.

If you’ve missed the jazzy theme song that guides players through the game, you’re in luck.‚  The song still sings above all of the action in the game, on repeat, which will probably grow on your nerves after the 10^th “I wanna take you for a ride.”‚  I can’t complain, the song is nostalgic and something fans of the game have to deal with.

The display options offer to pretty up the game and smooth out some of the pixels, but if you’re a purist and insist on playing MvC2 in it’s original pixilated form, the option is also available.

The real charm of the whole purchase is in the online play.‚  With Ranked and Player matches of up to six players with four spectators per round and minimal lag, the throwback fun of standing around an arcade cabinet while you wait your turn returns.‚  There’s nothing like basking in the smell of teenagers sweating around a machine in a dimly lit room, but MvC2′s online play is still incredibly fun.

Fingers crossed for some downloadable content for this package.‚  Although all fifty six characters have six costumes, some more wouldn’t hurt.‚  Some new levels and characters (a new theme song?) would surely help keep MvC2 at the top of gamer’s minds in terms of fighting games.‚  As is, the package is no different than the Dreamcast version, excluding online play.‚  But that’s good enough for me.

Blast Factor: A classic fighter, with everything unlocked from the beginning, now available on Xbox Live Arcade with the online play that never made it over from the original Japanese release. If you loved it before, get it, but if you’re new to the series, be sure to give this a shot.

Marvel vs. Capcom 2 is available on XBLA, as part of the Summer of Arcade, for 1200 Microsoft Points.

Sure, you played Marvel vs. Capcom 2 in the arcade and on last generation’s systems, but now you get to play it with a lot of the original, hi-definition assets intact, meaning this will be the prettiest version of an old classic you can play. Plus, it’s $15, which is far less than you can get it for used in retailers and online.

Today, Capcom shows off Storm from the X-Men and Jill Valentine of Resident Evil fame. A mutant with the ability to control weather hardly seems like a fair match for Jill, but I don’t see Storm toting a rocket launcher either, and anyone who has played Resident Evil knows that rocket launchers are capable of saving the world.

In addition to the screens, we also have strategy videos for the two characters. Enjoy remembering how you went about kicking ass back in the day.

SAN DIEGO — It’s coming out on DVD in January, but we got the chance to screen the upcoming Marvel/Lionsgate animated feature “Hulk vs. Wolverine” on Thursday.

Fans of the animated series will appreciate the spirit of the yellow-clad, “bub” shouting, canine-familiar superhero and the transformation between a meek Dr. Banner and a monstrous Hulk calling Wolverine “little man.”

The 40-minute movie opens true to the pair’s first comic book meeting, with The Incredible Hulk tearing up Canada and the military calling on Wolverine to put a stop to him. They square off before the story pans to some of Logan’s past and the origins of the Weapon X program, nicely paying tribute to the comic book roots.

The Weapon X program and its maniacle “Professor” are back, and they want Wolverine and the Hulk as weapons for themselves. The Weapon X crew includes Sabretooth, Omega Red, Lady Deathstrike and a hilarious Deadpool who steals the show.

It’s a bloody, limb-ripping feature that will surely please X-Men fans come January. It ship on one disc with Hulk vs. Thor.