Teh worstest Nintedo game everz!!!

It's generally accepted that the large majority of the Wii's library is filled with piles and piles of completely useless shovelware. Why does anybody continue to buy it, then? It can't just be Wii Sports Resort & Wii Fit, right? Oh alright, it probably can. But odds are if you are not one of the casual gaming crowd (i.e. somebody who actually made trash like Carnival Games a success) and you own a Wii, it's pretty much for the first party exclusives that you can only get your hands on by owning a Nintendo system. There are a couple other hot properties Nintendo has, but generally they've kept an extremely loyal hardcore following with the holy gaming triumvirate of Mario, Link & Samus. These 3 legendary gaming icons and their series are generally considered some of the finest gaming ever offered. Nearly every title has been met with resounding critical acclaim and huge sales. The most amazing thing is probably that though these are Nintendo's flagship franchises, they have rarely played it safe. Each entry is usually a drastic departure from the previous one, and in over 20 years, this has rarely resulted in a bad game.

With this in mind, Metroid: Other M hits today, and reviews started popping up Friday. And compared to the usual high praise, it's taking quite a beating. The majority of reviews are positive, but even those have similar complaints of a terrible story and a very clunky first-person mode. I'm honestly not sure if this will affect sales much, Nintendo loyalists tend to treat anything given less than an outstanding review as "bias" and will snatch it up. I most likely will be picking it up later today, so hopefully I'll be able to at least give some impressions next time I update (most likely Thursday).

Also out today may be the sleeper hit of the year for the Wii. Earlier I said most of the Wii's more casual oriented library is pure garbage. Which frankly might be an insult to garbage. But once in a blue moon, the planets align correctly and you get a really fun game that's aimed at casual crowds yet really well done. This may very well be Disney's own take on Clue, Guilty Party. Not only are the early reviews pretty solid, this quirky little out of nowhere title got quite a bit of attention at E3 for actually being quite fun. I also hope to pick this up today so I'll give my impressions on that as well.

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Actually Gamestop apparently has a plan to detail with the inevitability of everything going digital, and boy is it stupid. Granted, I don't think the day where you download all your games is only 5-10 years years away. The PSPgo being a total and utter failure is evidence of this. There's still a lot of things to work out in the digital space, proper pricing probably being the biggest one, but also that the public is slow to adapt to a huge shift in media. Sure, internet savvy users are already chomping at the bit, but if the internet actually represented anywhere close the majority of the populace, the Wii would be a failure and Scott Pilgrim would be the highest-grossing film of all time. That being said, Gamestop's so-called solution is pretty stupid. Who is going to want to go to the store, purchase content to download, then go back to download it? It's probably still a couple decades off really, but once games truly go digital, Gamestop is in big trouble.

Microsoft has really had a hard time continuing to truly justify charging people to access features most other consoles give you for free (streaming netflix, online play, etc.). So what are they doing about that? They are raising prices.

Sure, that makes sense, the economy is just booming right now, so why not raise prices? Granted, if you buy in before the price hike, you actually save $10 off the previous price of $50 (and if you buy cards instead of renewing online you could be set for years). But I feel most will see this as a ridiculously ludicrous expense just to play Halo: Reach online.

Ok that's all I have for today, but hopefully I should be back Thursday or Friday with impressions of both Metroid: Other M & Guilty Party as well as anything else going on. Til then, here's your TRAILER OF THE WEEK: The Town

Sony not expecting Move to well, move?

In a rare show of caution, Sony is actually not only saying that their entry into the motion control field might not be a huge hit come launch day, they are practically expecting it to start off slow. While this rare attitude towards the launch is almost commendable, one has to wonder about the VP's comment, comparing it to the "hugely successful" Eyetoy. Pretty much nobody actually owns an Eyetoy aside from the small cult following behind Eye of Judgement. It also causes worry about what kind of post-launch support Move will have, as the library of titles that even support Eyetoy is practically non-existent. Sure, Sony is pushing plenty of titles out of the gate, but if sales don't really happen right away, will it be much like the Eyetoy or even Wii's Motion-plus where only a few titles even support it? And sure, some major titles (LittleBigPlanet 2, SOCOM 4, Heavy Rain) are having Move support, but if the experience is equal or better with a normal controller, why switch in the first place? That's probably what most gamers will end up thinking. The real failure on the Wii has been publishers rushing in with a bunch of "me-too" titles with minimal effort. Nintendo and a few select others have shown that quality games that offer a really unique experience can be done that you currently can't get on other platforms. All I've seen so far from the Move lineup is a bunch of Wii knockoffs. And frankly, even if the response is tighter, it won't matter if Move can't offer something unique. They need something that you couldn't possibly pull off on a Wii. Ironically, something like Kinect's in-development Star Wars title would probably be perfect, assuming it could really do 1-to-1 motion.

Well all I've really got left for the day is Shank demo impressions. It's actually pretty reminiscent of the Scott Pilgrim games in a lot of aspects. Has a great, unique style in gloriously unapologetic 2D. And seems nearly impossible and downright cheap in single-player. Encouraging multi-player is all good, but these two titles could also offer a much stronger single-player with just a little tweaking. Hopefully they'll at least fix it in Scott Pilgrim soon, as I'm getting a little tired of being killed by Ramona's lesbian ninja ex...

That's pretty much it for today, I might have something about Metroid: Other M this weekend if I have time. Til then, here's your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: Megaman vs.Metroid

I don't feel I have to wipe everybody out, Tom. Just my enemies...

Granted, to anybody who has wanted to play a modern-day Godfather, you could just pick up any of the GTA games or their various impersonators. But a true GTA-style game set in the same era as the seminal Godfather films has been surprisingly rare. But with Mafia II, the sequel to the classic PC title (and very terrible PS2 port), wannabe Italian mobsters finally get their chance. I did play the demo released a couple of weeks ago, and it seems to support most of the reviews, that the presentation and story is great, but the gameplay could use a little work. Still probably a worthwhile purchase if you enjoy that style of game or just really great story-telling though.

PS3 & 360 gamers get another high-profile downloadable title out this week in Shank, which essentially looks like a 2D God of War with its over-the-top ultra-stylized violence. I plan to download the demo at some point today or tomorrow and hopefully give impressions in my next post.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has had many variations over the years, and they all came together in a glorious mash-up titled Turtles Forever. And now it's been put out on DVD, which you think would be a glorious occasion, but it's a release with a good 9 minutes trimmed out and completely devoid of extras. This seems like a movie tailor-made for Turtles fans of all ages which makes it seem incredibly stupid to release this in such a form. Hopefully some kind of super ultimate edition will come out and rectify this horrible mistake.

Finally, I happened to catch the pilot episode of No Ordinary Family. Best described as a live-action Incredibles, I was really hoping Michael Chiklis and Julie Benz would make this worthwhile, but judging strictly on the pilot, it's pretty terrible writing. Like truly awful. I was cringing most of the way through, hoping it would pick up. It did have some slightly interesting foreshadowing, but if it doesn't improve quick don't expect it to become a regular sci-fi viewing.

That's all for now, hopefully should be back Thursday or Friday with Shank impressions and some other things. Until the, here's your TRAILER OF THE WEEK: Let Me In

The 12 worst sci-fi shows of all time

Ah the beleaguered sci-fi genre. Always a huge risky gamble for networks, its no wonder occasionally it rarely eve has a solid presence on tv. Even the best shows usually have to fight hard to find a solid audience. And for every great show like Battlestar Galactica, there are a dozen sub-par shows (most of which are on this list), including shows that seem to throw in sci-fi elements just for the hell of it. Such as:

12: Family Matters

What? Family matters was a crappy sitcom! Not a sci-fi show! I say otherwise. Had the show truly go on its original intended theme, which was a middle-class black family, I would certainly agree with you. But most internet-savvy people know the story of the most annoying nerd ever, Steve Urkel. He was supposed to be a one-shot character, but was so popular he became more of a focus of the show so much so where the family was pretty much irrelevant to the point of characters popping in and out of continuity or disappearing entirely with no justification. This quickly became the Steve Urkel show, all about his wacky misadventures with science. Which included, but were not limited to alternate personas (which he was able to change into with a potion or chamber), robots and time travel. It had tons of sci-fi elements to it, mainly because it was a horribly unfunny show that relied on outrageous scenarios to cover for that fact.

11. Small Wonder: Arguably one of the creepiest concepts ever for a show, Small Wonder was basically a giant endorsement for child slave labor. Lots of shit happened in this show that supposedly ok because the kid was "just a robot". I'm pretty sure Data, the Cylons and most other sci-fi robots would have something to say about that too. Also, the kid was just plain creepy. Any kid behaving like that would be put under for psych eval in quick order. One of many examples on this list that for whatever reason, sci-fi and comedy don't really mix all that well.

10. Homeboys from Outer Space: One of the many abominations from the short-lived UPN network (which  merged with the slightly less awful WB network to create the mostly awful CW). The borderline racist concept-It's just so wacky that 2 black guys would be in space! Is moronic all on its own, add in tired jokes, production values that made MST3K look impressive, and two extremely unfunny "comedians" as the stars, and you've got a show that is a constant presence on just about any worst list ever.

9. Whoops!: Yeah, that's pretty much the only pic I could find. But this might be the worst sitcom ever made. It's about a nuclear holocaust that apparently only 6 people survived (for really stupid reasons such as being in a Volvo). Bring on the comedy! I'm not saying a comedy about a nuclear holocaust couldn't work, but in traditional dumb sitcom fashion they went for the lowest common denominator, relying on slapstick and featuring really awful production values, with such brilliant plot lines as Santa Claus not being able to save Mrs. Claus and all the elves because HE DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO WORK A DOOR. Yeah, how this thing even got a pilot is beyond me.

8. Heroes: Ah Heroes, such a promising show. The first season was absolutely brilliant. Then things went downhill really fast. Even the creators to their credit acknowledged that essentially they didn't know what the hell they were doing, but they never found their footing again and each season got exponentially worse until its merciful cancellation this year. This is a show that in one of its moments, had a character carry around a turtle on a "spiritual journey". FOR SEVERAL EPISODES. Add to that a tendency to change characters powers and how they worked on a whim and you have one of the most incoherent shows in history.

7. Enterprise: Few shows can lay claim to essentially killing off a thriving franchise and making it in desperate need of a reboot, but hey, JJ Abrams version of Star Trek may have never seen the light of day had Enterprise not been such an awful show. Granted, the popularity of Star Trek in general had been gradually declining since TNG ended, as DS9 and Voyager weren't quite as capable of duplicating the same success. But Enterprise was the real nail in the TV coffin, with characters that were simply boring at even the best of times, a time-traveling plot running through most of the series' run without much rhyme or reason, and episodes that featured things like Captain Archer's dog being sick and trying to find out Tripp's favorite food. Space exploration at its finest, indeed.

6. Manimal: Aside from an extremely stupid name, this travesty of a show featured a cop who could turn into virtually any animal he wanted to. Not a horrible concept all by itself, but add in ridiculously awful production values and the show never had a chance. It seems that the producers of a lot of these shows don't seem to realize that they need a decent budget in the first place in order for them to last.

5. Robocop: Robocop the movie was awesome. It was bloody and gritty. Robocop the series was anything but. Aimed at teens for some unfathomable reason, the violence was gone, Robocop never killed anybody, and the evil OCP corporation was portrayed more as bumbling fools who were merely criminally stupid than actually evil. It even messed with basic continuity (i.e. in the movies everyone knows who Robocop was before he died, it's a key subplot, in the show, no one does). Why this was even made is beyond me, I mean that'd be like making saturday morning cartoon of Sin City.

4. Beauty and the Beast: Yeah, I have no idea how this even existed ever. Let's take the story of Beauty and the Beast, except there's no curse, he's just a random freak, and they solve crimes in modern day! How much blow did TV execs get offered to believe this was a good idea? A truly horrible concept that should have never gotten off the ground, it was actually amazingly popular until Linda Hamilton left, then no one cared anymore and it was canceled in short order.

3. Mortal Kombat: Conquest: Yeah, adapting video games is seemingly always a bad idea, be it movies or TV, and this might be the worst of the lot. It didn't even feature most of the rather large MK cast, focusing pretty much on Kung Lao and making up several unnecessary characters. Why they think they could make a series based on a fighting game is mind-boggling at best, and like most shows of this type, it suffered from bad acting, worse writing, and laughably awful production values.

2. Ok yes, the original TMNT movie was live action, and it's awesome. But that doesn't mean you should make a whole series that is live action, it just gets to Power Rangers-level of ridiculousness (which they had a crossover with oddly enough). But really, the major psychological trauma was Venus De Milo, the first femal ninja turtle:

Seriously, WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!? But all of the combined above ridiculousness is nothing compared to:

1. Baywatch Nights: Let's see, what made Baywatch popular? Surely it was Michael Hasslehoff, and absolutely nothing else. So clearly, we should give the guy his own show as the same character, only with a job as a P.I.(which it's not really clear if this is a part time gig or he's just switched careers). What you say? That's not enough? Well let's make it a poorly done X-Files riipoff in the second season dealing with ghosts, werewolves, vampires, aliens and the like. Yeah, not suprisingly, that not only didn't work, but made this one of the most mind-baffingly awful shows this side of Walker: Texas Ranger. This is truly the most godawful attempt at sci-fi ever. No contest. The only way it might've worked is they added a laugh track.

Ok that's the list. I will try and post one more time this week, but Monday or Tuesday is looking more likely. Til then, here's your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: Achievement Unlocked 2

6 things all video games must have! But don't really need...

Ok, Scott Pilgrim failed. Epically. People can point to reasons why and why not, personally I like this article over at Den of Geek, basically pointing out that the initial box office probably doesn't actually matter for a film like this, as the fanbase and critics loved it, and it's almost bound to do very well on DVD.

Now, onto today's main topic: When considering making a game, what needs to go into it? It seems like there's almost a checklist these days that every single game needs to have a certain basic set of features. It's not a completely universal thing, but enough so that it's expected and getting to the point where even games as different as Fable & Red Dead Redemption are actually pretty similar on a lot of levels. Do games really need all this stuff? Probably not, which is why a lot of feels shoehorned in. So let's get to the list:

3-D!: 3-D has been around a long time. It's been the standard for games essentially since the original Playstation came out, and while a great many games have come out that wouldn't work without 3D, the consequence has been the near disappearance of fantastic 2D games. Why? Nintendo pretty much seems to get the idea that 2D is a really viable option, with their big holiday titles (Kirby's Epic Yarn & Donkey Kong Country Returns) being 2D, but that probably also has something to do with just how insanely successful New Super Mario Bros. does as well. There is an extreme lack of these on the PS3 and the 360 unless you count some of the games on PSN/XBLA. There is an audience for these, and given the skyrocketing budget of games these days, more developers should be looking that way.

Realism: This is arguably the hardest for me to understand as I'd say 99% of us play games to escape reality. Yet games getting more realistic is the in thing more and more. Bullets doing real damage, needing to eat, etc. Why? Why in games do you need to even consider this stuff? I really don't want to worry about maintaining relationships, my health by having to worry about what I eat or having to follow some kind of medical procedure (see Metal Gear Solid 3) instead of just using a goddamned medpac.

Moral Choice: With games like Mass Effect; Moral Choice is an essential gameplay element. Unfortunately, now it's being shoehorned into a lot of other games without much thought. You can be a complete bastard in Fable II or Red Dead Redemption, but it doesn't affect the story. And really, unless it changes the way the story plays out drastically, it's extremely unnecessary. But it's creeping into more and more titles with haphazard results. Arguably the biggest Wii title coming out this year is Epic Mickey, which seemed to actually have a really solid morality system, then after moronic focus testing, has some sort of middle ground that's sure to please no one compared to what it could have been.

An Open World: It really kickstarted with Grand Theft Auto III, and in that series and some like it, it makes sense. But many games just seem to throw in an open world without much thought to what to actually do, when a linear approach would've been much better. I mean sometimes just getting from point A to Point B in those is a laborious chore in itself. off the top of my head the perfect example is probably No More Heroes (which is a little older, but being remade for the 360 & PS3). A fantastic action game with an open world you must go through to get to your missions, but it was completely empty. No citizens, no random thugs to beat up, nothing. What was the point? Apparently none, as it was just dropped completely in the sequel.

Multi-Player: Bioshock was a fantastic single-player experience. I was hoping the sequel would offer something similar, but the single-player was diluted in favor of really mediocre multi-player. Splinter Cell sells itself as a gritty single-player spy game, but instead we get a very short single-player experience. Multi-player is all well and good, but not if it comes at the expense of delivering a quality, lengthy single-player one. Nearly every game these days really feels the need to put in some kind of multi-player aspect, no matter how minor. Even Dragonquest IX, an-old school style rpg, has completely unnecessary (and frankly, clumsy and pointless) multi-player features. It's the old trying to please everyone one while pleasing no one routine and its getting old. Game companies need to really realize that there are actually seperate audiences that can support a dedicated single-player experience, as well as a multi-player one, which brings to to my last item on the last:

Single-Player: This seems to be something the game companies are slowly realizing, with MMOs finally making once in a blue moon appearances on consoles (MAG, FFXIV, etc.), but most games seem content with hedging their bets, providing both single and multi-player, and one usually suffers horribly. Any multi-player game could probably succeed if it creates a really well-developed experience. The only reason PC gaming is still alive is because it can deliver a dedicated multi-player experience, but consoles, despite being far more dominant, have barely dipped their feet in the water. Hopefully some game will come along soon that changes all that. Because until then, fans of either type of play suffer because developers feels the need to include both.

Ok, that's all for today, I should be back tomorrow or Friday with something else, until then, here's your TRAILER OF THE WEEK: DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK

More Don't Be Afraid of the Dark News & Previews

Epic Scrooge?

What does Warren Spector, creator of Deus Ex and the upcoming Epic Mickey game want to do next? Ducktales, that's what. Now, the original Ducktales game is a true NES classic, and if anyone could bring it into modern day gaming while retaining the inherent greatness of the license, it's Spector. If Epic Mickey id half as good as it seems, Warren Spector should have spin on nearly every Disney property, frankly.

I did manage to go see Scott Pilgrim at midnight on Thursday, and it was a truly amazing film. This is kind of like if Hollywood actually treated video games with the respect they deserved when making them into movies, because although yes it's based on a comic, Scott Pilgrim is pretty much like a video game, with tons of references littered throughout. Even if you are not familiar with the comics, if you are a geek. you will probably loves this movie, as it totally works (i.e. my fiancee & her cousin saw it with me, having almost no knowledge of the series, and absolutely loved it). It's funny, charming original and action-packed. This is easily the most fun I've had at theatres this year so far, everyone should go see it.

Video game novels are pretty much a crapshoot. I've read several, and they mostly range from not horrible to nearly unreadable (the Halo series of books covers the entire range). These days, I'd probably need a little extra incentive to pick one up. The people behind the upcoming Fable novel, The Balverine Order, seem to release this, and are offering a code for an exclusive yet-to-be named weapon if you purchase the novel. Granted, exclusive items haven't seemed to do much in games beyond being a status symbol, but as a somewhat avid reader, I'll support anything that encourages reading (plus the fiancee is completely obsessed with Fable II and is highly anticipating the 3rd game, so I pretty much have to buy it).

Finally, Star Wars is really finally coming to blu-ray, but only in the newer crappier "Greedo shot first" editions, and possibly only in all-in-one box set with all 6 films. Screw you Lucas. I'm pretty sure I'm passing on anything Lucas has a hand in forever, as he's essentially spent the last 20 or so years ruining two of the biggest franchises of all time.

All right, that is it for today, I should hopefully be back by Tuesday with... something.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The Expendables vs. Julia Roberts

Admittedly, the Expendables isn't taking aim directly at Scott Pilgrim, it's more concerned with with the super chick flick Eat, Pray, Love starring Julia Roberts. And I don't think there's ever been so much testosterone in one flick, even with key players missing (seriously, you couldn't nab Vin Diesel or The Rock? That would've been better than UfC fighter Randy Couture or Dolph Lungren, who's entire claim to fame is Ivan Drago). But all three movies are opening this weekend, vying for top spot. Admittedly I do want to check out Expendables, but I'm pushing it just trying to catch Scott Pilgrim at midnight tonight(which if that does happen, expect a review tomorrow night), so that'll probably wait for video. What would be awesome is if Scott Pilgrim leaves these two in the dust, it would actually be a huge message to studios that there really is a big audience for something that has big game references and doesn't treat the gaming culture at large with disdain.

So if you're like me, you've watched the Scott Pilgrim trailers a bunch of times already, because they are epic, but even more epic is the trailer matched up the the graphic novel series it's based on:

And I've now played through several levels of the Scott Pilgrim game, and it's pretty sweet. If you enjoy side-scrolling brawlers, it's hard to go wrong here, especially since it's only $10. The soundtrack is extremely memorable, and the game looks fantastic, and it's really fun to go through the levels repeatedly, which is good, because one of the biggest complaints about this game is probably going to be how hard it is, especially solo. The enemies are brutal and cheap, but enough powering up through buying items and leveling balances it out. But easily the biggest sin is a lack of online play, as this game seems built for it, and it's just odd. Still this is easily one of the best downloadable games of the year even with those glaring flaws, so do yourself a favor and download it.

And as old school as the game is, the pitch goes back even further to more of an 8-bit look:



While that would've been kind of cool, I'm glad they went aimed a little bit higher with a 16-bit feel for the actual game.

Ok, that's really all I've got for today, hopefully back tomorrow with a Scott Pilgrim review and some non-Scott Pilgrim stuff. Until then, here's your TRAILER OF THE WEEK: Skyline

Scott Pilgrim > Madden

Hell just about anything is better than another goddamn Madden game. And later today, we get what is already being called one of the best video game adaptations to date, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, the Video Game. It just sucks that unlike when something comes out on the 360 to download and we can get it at 12 am, we have to wait til the official PSN update hits, which is always a vague "sometime Tuesday", which usually translates to around 5 pm from what I've experienced. Admittedly that's better than waiting til August 24th, which is what you are going to have to do if you only have a 360. Of course I guess that's better than only having a Wii, which as of now, it isn't even coming out on, which makes no sense, since everybody seems to be comparing it to River City Ransom, one of the best games on the NES, which is available for download on the virtual console). Of course, I guess Wii owners could console (no pun intended) themselves by downloading RCR, it is only $5 and still stands as a completely awesome title.

In other Scott Pilgrim awesomeness, check out these fake movie posters for Chris Evans character, Lucas Lee:

The only thing that would make this more awesome is if they made fake trailers for them ala Funny People or Grindhouse. Course then someone may get the idea to actually make one of these in (which is how Machete happened) in which case the joke's gone a little too far.

One more cool Scott Pilgrim thing before I move on, you can check out both the Soundtrack and Original Score right now for free over at Spinner. Ad the game's soudtrack is available for a listen at the Playstation Blog

Jumping back a step, River City Ransom is one of many great games that have been released on the VC, but where all the great releases lately? 2010 has seen very few releases period, and barely ay of note. Is the VC pretty much a dead thing now that Wiiware is fully up and running?  IGN certainly seems to think so, and it would be hard to prove them wrong. I had no idea Japan's VC library is nearly double the size of the US one, and it seems like we basically get scraps with no explanation as to why. Admittedly it bothers me less lately with plenty of fantastic new content both retail and digital to spend my money on consitently, but it would be a shame to have the service basically slowly wither and die as it seems to be doing, even though there's a mountain of old school titles left untouched.

Is Blockbuster going to finally be able to challenge netflix and gamefly by combining games & movies into one rental service? That is what they are now trying. Admittedly, as I currently pay for both Netflix and Gamefly, an all-in-one subscription is overall a tempting offer, but as Netflix offers streaming and I'm overall pretty happy with Gamefly's service and selection, I'm willing to pay a bit more until Blockbuster can prove they offer something better. It honestly may be too little, too late anyways, as Gamefly and especially Netflix are ingrained into the public as where you go for online rentals.

Ok, That's it for today, I do apologize for only one post last week, but I was super busy and not a whole lot seemed to be going on that wasn't covered to death. I should be back Thursday with a review if the game, I sadly probably will not be able to see the movie til at least Monday due to me weekend just being packed work-wise, so expect of review of the film then. In the meantime enjoy 101 FREE GAMES to make up for lack of posting last week.

7 licenses that should be given the Lego Treatment

Lego games have pretty much become their own genre at this point. And why not? What could've been a bunch of shoddy kiddy games has turned out to be a series of mostly fun all ages action titles brilliantly spoofing some great franchises. But With 2 Indiana Jones games and the upcoming release of yet another Star Wars Lego game based on the Clone Wars, they seem to be short on overall ideas. So here are 7 that could easily give the Lego games a much needed boost.

7. The Prince of Persia



Yeah, the movie bombed and the games have sort of gone downhill since the original Sands of Time. But the property itself would be pretty awesome for a lego game to be set in, with the cool palaces and dungeons. And Lego games have certainly proven that they can make even craptacular movies like the Star Wars prequels incredibly entertaining. The only downside would probably be that POP isn't exactly loaded with memorable characters, but that shouldn't get in the way of fun gameplay. I mean just look at the video, wouldn't that be awesome to actually play?

6. Evil Dead

Ok, going a little outside the box here, but seeing Ash and the Deadites lego-fied would just be pure awesome. I mean, it's a series known for not taking itself seriously in any way, shape or form to begin with, so making it a lego game wouldn't seem that out of the realm of possibility (aside from the fact that clearly Lego only wants to do family friendly properties). There's certainly an audience for it, as you can tell by the fan art above, and you can find any number of Evil Dead lego videos on youtube.

5. Alien/Predator

Arguably a much richer field to mine than Evil Dead, the Alien/Predator movies have become much like any other long-running horror franchise, definitely not scary and almost a joke. So might as well go all the way with it. And I could certainly see a lot of rich comedy opportunities in the usual Lego manner. Best of all, they could theoretically not eve have to cut down on the violence cause hey, it's just Lego characters, they get body parts cut off all the time!

4. DC/Marvel

Yeah, there's Lego Batman. But both the DC and Marvel Universes are so huge, any one of their key properties could easily be a Lego game in its own right, but obviously having something like a Justice League or Avengers or any random mismash ala the Marvel Ultmate Alliance games would be the preferred way to go. Since Batman has already been done, I'd rather  see a Marvel-based game, but really, somebody needs to get on this.

3. Pirates of the Caribbean

Unfortunately I think the only reason this hasn't happened yet is that some company named Mega Bloks owns the rights, because otherwise this just seems way too obvious. It's got a ton of characters, sets ideal for lego adventures and it's very popular with families. My guess is we'll see it at some point, hopefully in the not too far off future (and preferably before another Lego Harry potter game).

2. Transformers

Granted, this might have to be handled a little more carefully to be done right, but Transformers in a lego setting would be ridiculously awesome. And just seeing Autobots, Deceptiocons, Dinobots, and whatever the hell else bots in the glorious Lego selves would be worth $50 or $60 all on its own.

1. Lord of the Rings



This would be my top wish. Seeing the awesome battles and characters in Lego form would be epic. And with Harry Potter arguably being the best Lego game to date, it's been proven that a fantasy setting as such would work really well. The time might not be right now, but hopefully if the Hobbit films ever get off the ground, it would be perfect opportunity.

All in all, the Lego franchise has the potential to remain frash for a long time, as long as they don't milk it by doing licenses either no one cares about, or continuing to mine already familiar ground (i.e. no more Star Wars). So hopefully, they'll be smart enough to do so.

Ok, that's it for today, I hopefully should be back a little later in the week with something. In the meantime, here's your TRAILER OF THE WEEK: Sucker Punch