411 Games Fact or Fiction 07.27.10: Limbo, Little Big Planet 2, Halo Reach, Marvel vs Capcom 3, More

Posted by Mark Salmela on 07.27.2010

Is Marvel vs. Capcom 3 gunning to be the best fighting game ever? Should Sucker Punch change Cole’s look for Infamous 2? Does the new Fight Night need Floyd Mayweather? 411’s Stephen Randle and Mathew Sforcina debate these questions and more in this week's Games Fact or Fiction!



Welcome back to yet another 411 Fact or Fiction Games. I'm your host Mark Salmela and I desperately need a vacation. This week I've gathered two of 411's veteran writers in Stephen Randle and Mathew Sforcina to do battle for your entertainment. As a reminder be sure to check out my other column Games Only a Mother Could Love. You can check out Bloody Death, Streets of Fury, and Tattoo Assassins. Now on with the show!



1.) This year's XBLA Summer of Arcade looks to be the best one yet.



Mathew Sforcina - Fact: I'm really torn on this one, since we can ignore the second one (Apart from MvC2 and Shadow Complex it's nothing), but the first one has Braid and Castle Crashers, which I adore. And nothing this year really floats my boat. But it's not 'this year's will be your favorite', it's 'Best', and thus, objectively, yeah, it wins. Even if I don't like it.

(NOTE: Mathew, since writing this, has purchased Limbo out of boredom and loves it and thus wishes it to be known that his FACT with reservations is now a full blown FACT. He'd rewrite his answer, but he's too busy playing it to do so himself.)

Stephen Randle - Fact: I dunno, 2008 had Castle Crashers, Geometry Wars 2, and Braid, while 2009 had MvC2 and TMNT Re-Shelled, but I'd have to say Castlevania and Lara Croft trump those years pretty easily. Although, have they announced what the potential reward will be this year?

Score: 1 for 1 - I have to say Fiction. I think both 2008 and 2009 were better. As Mathew said 2008 had Castle Crashers, one of my favorite games of this generation *even though it blatantly rips off Guardian Heroes* and Braid. 2009 had Trials HD, Splosion Man, and Shadow Complex. This year is pretty good, but I'm not sold on Monday Night Combat, Lara Croft, or Hydro Thunder Hurricane now that its receiving some mixed reviews. It's true I haven't gotten to play those games, but so far even Limbo hasn't blown me away like Braid did, and I consider myself a platformer aficionado.




2.) Comic Con is becoming one of the biggest shows of the year for video games.



Mathew Sforcina - Fact: Of course it is. Comic Con is so bloody big now it's one of the biggest shows for practically every form of entertainment that exists, so why not video games as well? After all, since there's no 'Must Launch Huge Things' requirement like E3, it can just go out there and if it has game stuff, it presents it. Less pressure can, actually, lead to more. Plus, after Twilight rolled in, the whole thing is ruined anyway...

Stephen Randle - Fiction: No, the biggest show of the year is still E3, and even after that you still have PAX, PAX East, and Blizzcon, all which I feel have a bigger status in the industry than SDCC. If this were about comics and webcomics, then I'd definitely agree, since pretty much every webcomic I read is in San Diego right now and behind on updating because of it (damn you, Milholland!). And since nearly every comic in existence is being made into a movie, it's becoming huge for movies as well. But for video games, especially given the timing (E3 was not that long ago, after all), I don't see anyone in the industry particularly saving up huge news that they wouldn't release at E3 before SDCC. Sure, they'll have follow-up stuff, but for the real big news, you go to E3.

Score: 1 for 2 - I think Comic Con is getting pretty big, but it's nowhere near a Tokyo Game Show or an E3.



3.) The new Fight Night game has Manny Pacquiao. It desperately needs Floyd Mayweather.



Mathew Sforcina - Fiction: Not if it has a "Make a Fighter" feature, in which case you can just make your own. I can only assume there's some huge boxing issue involving those two, but I don't really care. In an age of easily findable 'Create-A-Whatevers', getting the licensed actual people is less of an issue.

Stephen Randle - Fiction: I mean, yeah, without Mayweather you can't re-fight one of the biggest fights of the past few years, but it's not like the roster isn't already stocked. We're not talking EA's MMA game roster compared to the UFC Unleashed one here, Fight Night has all sorts of big boxers already. Money's inclusion, or lack thereof, will not make or break the success of Fight Night, and therefore it's not in desperate need of his participation.

Score: 2 for 3 - I guess I'm just really greedy in wanting Floyd in a boxing game.






4.) With characters like Dante, Doctor Doom, Thor, and Amaterasu from Okami Marvel vs Capcom 3 is gunning to be the best fighting game ever.



Stephen Randle - Fact: Although the lack of the Fantastic Four continues to puzzle. The last two Street Fighters seemed to bring fighting games to the forefront again, after a lull following the death of a) the arcades and b) the Dreamcast, which was loaded with fighters. Now MvC feels pressured to blow those games out of the water, and with the ability to have a much bigger roster, drawing from a lot more sources, the best way to do that is to pack it full of fan-loved characters.

Mathew Sforcina - Fact: On a technicality, in that it certainly WANTS to be the best fighting game ever, and it will be analyzed and examined and talked about. But the underlying question (that it's gonna be really really good)... I dunno. The day some company nails a 3D fighting system, 2D games are all gonna get marked down in all but the hardcore fighter fans eyes...

Score: 3 for 4 - Super-Skrull is substituting for the Fantastic 4. He has all their moves. As long as they have Phoenix Wright and the Juggernaut I'm good. Yeah I still love the Juggernaut bitch.





5.) Changing Cole's look back in Infamous 2 more to what he looked like in Infamous 1 is a smart move.



Stephen Randle - Fact: You want your audience to identify with your protagonist. You can't do that if you keep changing his appearance. This is especially true in a game that was a surprise hit already; you just gained this audience that you weren't expecting, you can't really afford to piss them off right away, especially when it involves something so small and easily remedied. Hey, you don't see Mario getting a makeover just to change things up, do you?

Mathew Sforcina - Fact: Fact since it wins 2 out of 3. The hardcore fans who loved Infamous 1 are now happy. The people who know nothing about it will have an impetus to start with 1 and then head to 2, which is smart business wise. I just dislike the notion that 'CHANGE IS BAD AND MUST BE HATED!' How dare the character evolved and change over time, who ever heard of someone growing and changing their look over time, right?

Right?

Score: 4 for 5 - I don't see why they'd change up Cole's established look from Infamous 1 in the first place. You released the game, so his look is established. Besides, who really hated Cole's look that much?



6.) You are surprised Little Big Planet 2 is actually coming out this year.



Stephen Randle - Fiction: No, not really. It has been quite a while since the first one, hasn't it? In addition, back when the first LBP came out, it was the big fish in a small pond of early PS3 releases. Now that the system is hitting its stride, there are so many different choices for the conscientious gamer, and it's almost imperative that another LBP hits the market quickly, so they can a) gain a share of the new, bigger, PS3 fanbase, and b) remind people why the original game won a lot of Game of the Year awards. Especially since Christmas is coming, and as I recall, LBP is an E for Everyone game, right? Sounds like the hot thing to buy your young kid for the holiday season to me.

Mathew Sforcina - Fiction: Why would Sony, after getting over the hurdle of convincing everyone to make it, not want to rush it out as soon as they could? This is Sony we are talking about, a company that really, really, REALLY wants to be the giant monolith that crushed all beneath its heel like it was a few years ago, and LBP is one of the few true success stories they had (at least, in terms of everything except really good sales), so why wouldn't they go 148% full bore with the sequel?

Score: 5 for 6 - I never actually thought Little Big Planet 2 would make it this year. I'm really glad it is, and Sony needed something this holiday other than PlayStation Move and Gran Turismo 5.



Bonus Question: There's still money to be made off of Halo branded Xbox 360s and Xbox gear.



Stephen Randle - Fact: Shockingly, in modern society, there are millions of people out there who will buy any sort of crap that you can sling out there onto the market. This is why Tyler Perry movies always win the box office the first week of release. This is why there are five million "party" games for the Wii. Halo-branded XBoxes? You might as well call them money trees.

Mathew Sforcina - Fact: Of course there is. There are still people who think Halo is the hotness, ergo, money to be made. When 'Master Chief' is just another term for a sexual act or something, that's when the well is dry.

Mark Salmela - Fact: Of course there's still money to be made. The Halo 3 360 came out in 2007, I'm sure they've all red ringed by now. Just kidding. But in all seriousness Halo rules the world and it's hard not to be excited for Halo Reach. People love Halo, and people will continue to buy Halo related products, even if they look kind of ugly.



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It looks like these two wrestling zone turned gaming zone writers finish with a solid 5 for 6. If you'll excuse me I need to go back to playing Target Terror. While I'm in video game heaven be sure to leave your opinions below in the comments section. We'll be back next week with two more victims. Cya in 7!