Four Player Co-Op 07.24.09: Ultimate Alliance, Updates and The SWAT Team

Posted by John De Large on 07.24.2009

Is the inclusion of the Juggernaut enough to make you want to pre-order the new Ultimate Alliance game? Does the 360 really need another update? Should the police call for backup when dealing with angry gamers? All this and more inside the latest Co-Op!



John De Large has joined the game
Sean Garmer has joined the game
Jacob Lopez has joined the game
Drew Robbins has joined the game

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1. The Marvel Ultimate Alliance website has released 3D pics and bios for Juggernaut and the lesser known Songbird. It would seem that you can only get Juggy and Songbird if you pre-order the game through (shudder) GameStop. Is the inclusion of one of histories greatest supervillains worth it to you to pre-order this game? If not, which villain in the Marvel continuity would be cool enough to sway you to pre-order?



John De Large: I hate GameStop. If a movie studio made a movie about my life, they would be the villain(s). If you want me to throw money their way for this game, there had better be a What If style crossover character. Me and good buddy Elmo Machete were discussing what things would be like if the Venom symbiote found Bruce Banner instead of Peter Parker and what Wolvie would be like if he got mixed with Carnage. Give me either of those characters..... actually, no, give me both and I'll buy from them.

Sean Garmer: Well my favorite characters usually wind up in the game already such as Captain America (my favorite of all-time), Iron Man, Spiderman. So since I know they will never make those pre-orders because people won't buy the game without those characters being in the game, I wouldn't have to worry about it. I do like Hawkeye and Hulk as well, mainly because when I play Marvel Ultimate Alliance I like playing with the Avengers most of the time. So if I did have to pre-order the game it would be because of either one of those two being pre-order only characters. I don't like the whole pre-order incentive thing because sometimes they never make what was "a pre-order special" available otherwise and most of the time I don't buy games when they first come out because I don't have the money to buy every game I want. I usually wait till they at least drop into the 30 dollar range to buy them. 60 bucks is a freaking lot.

Jacob Lopez: Rod (Oracheski) and I were talking about this sort of thing earlier today, but in regards to super strong weapons and stupid crap like that. It is hard to get me into pre-ordering any game, because it limits where I can pick up my copy.

If it were up to me, the answer would be that no one pre-order anything, doing so only makes these guys want to create more exclusives like this. Our industry doesn't need that right now.

Drew Robbins: I'll admit it, the second any game includes Juggernaut, I get an instant desire to play that game. He was a key factor in making my $20 purchase of Marvel vs. Capcom 2 (found it on discount before it became rare), as well as a key factor when I dumped several quarters into the old X-Men arcade game. His snub from the first game was a huge letdown to me, so I'm glad to see they are going to rectify this great mistake by including him, even if it does force people to pre-order the game.

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2. Xbox 360 is getting another update! This one features Netflix options, avatar clothing updates, the ability to re-connect to a disconnected party and there'll be a bunch of name changes. Boring! What do you really want from an Xbox 360 update?



John De Large: Give me a rewards system. For every three DLC items you purchase, the next one should be 1/2 off. Also, speed up the download times, it shouldn't take me an hour to download a 45 minute TV show. C'mon Microsoft! Give gamers something they'll actually use and that they'll actually gush about to those who are on the fence about buying a 360.

Sean Garmer: This update is cool because the Games On-Demand is a great idea to test out the possible future of digital distribution, but eventually it guarantees that you will have to upgrade your hard drive if you want to have a lot of games though. I really think it would benefit Microsoft to lower the price of their hard drives. I think its ridiculous to be paying a $150 dollars for a 120 GB hard drive. The 60 GB is good, but it should also include a transfer kit. Another thing I would like to see is the ability to copy music from Last.FM (maybe for a fee) or movies from Instant Netflix to your hard drive so that if you go to a family or friend's house that doesn't give you wired access to the internet, you can still play music or watch a movie with them.

Jacob Lopez: The updates aren't that bad. Games on Demand is a cool idea, may take a long-ass time, and I am in the minority here, but the idea of downloading a full retail game rocks -- less clutter.

I do want them to hurry it up with that 1080p streaming though. That should have been available in the August update. I think all the consoles should give us these major updates. My PS3 feels pretty much the same as it did the day I got it, and it updates for every damn game I put in the system. Speaking of which, I just got Watchmen on Blu-Ray, so I will be watching that as soon as I finish this column.

Drew Robbins: Being one of the seemingly few people who frequents this site to not own a 360, I have no idea what I would want from these updates. Heck, the last time I was able to start up a 360, before the great trade-in-for-a-PS3-because-my-360-broke incident of 2008, it still used the blades system to navigate menus. So...I've got nothing for this question. Soon though, I plan on getting a 360 once again some time in the next six months!

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3. According to a Nintendo rep, Nintendo has, "no plans to have other colors of Wii in the U.S." That means no back in black Wii! What are your thoughts exactly?



John De Large: If your Nintendo Wii needs to be a certain color, then get a skin. Next!

Sean Garmer: I know a lot of gamers are crying foul, but honestly, just because you want it, doesn't mean you are actually going to go out and buy it. That's 250 dollars regardless of the color.

Jacob Lopez: I highly doubt it. If you look at Nintendo's history, they always give us a new color. The rep has either A) been instructed not to say a thing about it B) Know nothing about it.

Nintendo is notorious for being able to keep information from leaking. They will probably just announce the new color at their fall media summit and ship it by November. We know that regular PR reps don't make the announcements, and if they had, Nintendo would lose potential sales as people decide to wait for the black color scheme.

Drew Robbins: My Wii, for the most part, is a Rock Band/Smash Bros. machine. When I'm not having friends over, it is usually collecting dust. You would figure that a new color means nothing to me, but damn, that Black Wii looked sweet. The fact that it isn't going to reach the US is probably a good thing for me, as I won't spend any time thinking about how I own the stupid looking model of the system as opposed to the second best looking model. You know what color we could use? Let's get some golden Wii's like the one the Queen of England received.

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4. XSeed is going to adapt The Wizard Of Oz into an RPG for the Nintendo DS. Admit it, if they get good and bloody with this game and Dorothy gets a sword and/or gun, you're going to buy this. If not, what creative change WOULD make you buy this?



John De Large: Forget the weapons, I wonder what will be used for regenerative items and in lieu of Phoenix Downs.

Creative changes: Give Alice some tits and a gun and make Toto a Rottweiler. Make sure the battle system is a la Chrono Trigger and you've got a winner.

Sean Garmer: If this Wizard of Oz is done in the "Alice" style I would buy this. However, if we are talking about a Disney straight adaptation and just make it a game where you play through the movie there is no way I'm touching it. I have a feeling if XSeed is thinking of making this game it would be because they want to make it a different experience. Dorothy with a gun, Scarecrow slicing people up, and the Lion just being goofy, equals a buy from me. The game has to actually be good regardless of the cosmetics though.

Jacob Lopez: Well, I believe that the game is being developed by Media.Vision. XSEED is handling the publishing. Still, I am a big fan of the publisher, and have not yet been let down by them. Somehow, I doubt that they are aiming for bloody. I may be wrong, but there is too much potential for mass appeal with a game that is still considered kid friendly.

Drew Robbins: First and foremost, I'm just glad Square isn't the one taking control of this RPG. Let me assure you, if Square had it, Scarecrow would be nothing but belts, the cowardly Lion would have spiky hair, and Dorothy would have big...boots. On the proper subject, though, I still wouldn't buy this game even if it included Dorothy going all Kratos on the Wicked Witch's ass.

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5. New to Rock Band, it's the Rock Band Network, a batch of music authoring tools for Rock Band. You can create Rock Band tracks from your own recordings chart note highways, select pricing tiers, and then submit the custom tracks to the in-game music store. Once again Rock Band, has one-upped Guitar Hero and once again, it won't be long before Guitar Hero copies Rock Band.



John De Large: Authoring songs and setting prices makes me think you'd be able to make a profit off of your song. But then, if you DID sell your song, how would you make sure it wasn't just dead air or one note? I guess this is a cool little add-on to impress friends with, but it really just seems like such a lame creation option.

Sean Garmer: Technically Guitar Hero did come out with a version of this with GH Tunes. However, that looks cheap compared to the RB Network that Harmonix has announced. This will be cool for any record producer, new artists, or perhaps established artists to get into Rock Band on their own terms. It's a great way for new artists to get their songs out there and let people hear and play their music. With us being in the Digital Age, I bet that would equal song buys on I-Tunes or streams on Rhapsody. Also, this is a good way for established artists who haven't signed deals with Harmonix to set their own prices for their songs, and put the songs they want on the game. I wouldn't be surprised if artists get into disputes over Harmonix or Activision wanting certain songs, and then the artists not wanting to just put all their "Greatest Hits" on the game, or wanting more money for those hits, or even wanting to introduce fans and non-fans to lesser known songs to get them to really enjoy the band. Regardless, this will be a huge deal if they get some big bands to join via this. I can just imagine the press this will bring, if a new band suddenly gains a huge following because they loved playing their songs on Rock Band. Trust me, MTV, VH1, and the music press would have a field day with it. Another step for Harmonix into making Rock Band a music platform, and not just a music game. Take note Activision, because your lack of commitment and basically whoring out the GH franchise will cost you. Activision has so many GH titles coming out they are almost making me apathetic towards GH period. If they announce one more game before GH 5 hits, I'm not buying it. I'm sure Harmonix will copy the party play thing and the ability to play with four of the same instrument for RB 3, but I wouldn't be surprised if Harmonix blew them out of the water. The fact that Harmonix has taken all this time releasing DLC and making Beatles and LEGO good and unique, in that time GH is releasing three games, DJ Hero, and I wouldn't be surprised to see another DS game in that time, that way too much. I only say this because I don't want the Music Game genre to die because Activision doesn't know how to keep from harassing people's pockets with games every two months. Sorry for the rant.

Jacob Lopez: To be fair, Rock Band was created by the original developers of Guitar Hero. Rock Band just happens to have a group of developers who are always two steps ahead of Guitar Hero's. Really though, it's more of a game of each of them continually taking ideas from each other and trying to make them better. That competition is what forces these guys to keep coming up with new ideas.

But to better answer your question, yes, Guitar Hero will follow suit, but probably try to give it their own flavor. Me? I kinda fell out of the genre after Guitar Hero 2.

Drew Robbins: Its true, I'm becoming a bit of a Rock Band fanboy. Everything about Guitar Hero makes me angry deep down, and in contrast Rock Band is like some sort of flawless angel. Fanboy tendencies aside, this is a great idea to bring more bands into the fold of music games. Bands that you would normally never see in a game can now submit tracks to get that little extra push of publicity and gain a decent amount of money. Being an indy band just got a whole lot sweeter.

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6. A New Jersey man had the SWAT team called on him when he got a little loud playing some video games.



What's really going on?

A) The NJPD must have been bored/stupid as hell to respond to a noise complaint with SWAT.
B) The person who filed the complaint is likely an uptight WASP or at the very least, a hater.
C) The dude who was loud was likely belligerent to the police officers and he deserves what he gets.
D) All of the above.
E) None of the above.

John De Large: A. I know if you're a cop and some loud dude won't let you in his house that there has to be an in between point between "Sir, we've been receiving some noise complaints," and "Sir, the SWAT team is out here ready to stomp your ass." I don't know what the happy medium actually is, but I'm sure that calling for SWAT backup was overkill. Man, whoever went to all that trouble to get SWAT must've got ridden pretty hard once they got back to the precinct.

Sean Garmer: C. The guy was belligerent to police and threatened. I don't care if you feel like the police shouldn't be coming into your house or knocking on your door. You don't threaten police, much less talk to them and then slam the door in their face. You are asking for it, there are better ways to resolve the issue.

(Sigh) This is the kinda of stuff the media loves to eat up because video games get blamed for something else. Quite frankly, unless they find he had some kind of mental condition, he deserves whatever he gets.

Jacob Lopez: C. According to the report I read, the SWAT team showed up because he was disturbing the peace, and refused to let the cops in. He wanted to be an asshole, and they decided to play rough.

Even better is the story about the dumb-ass who wants to sue Sony for "violating his right to freedom of speech." Unfortunately, because this is on Sony's online network, I am no law expert, and correct me if I am wrong, but first amendment rights don't apply there.

Drew Robbins: A. Seriously, the SWAT team? I know plenty of people who get loud playing games, I recall my brother getting pretty friendly with some four-letter words playing Devil May Cry 4, and he was pretty loud about it too. Even with the rage generated by DMC4, I don't think a SWAT team would have been needed to bring the man down. What could the neighbor have possibly said to bring over an entire SWAT team to this one man's home? Regardless, he must have done some pretty impressive shouting to bring on a SWAT team.

That's it for this week! Thanks for tuning in and until next time, use your comment box! Peace!