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Marvel Heroes Omega

WARNING: This post contains ‘gamer lingo’, words like XP and gear and beta. If you are not fluent, you may get a little lost. Don’t worry, I’ll try and keep it simple.
So, I played Marvel Heroes Omega today. Actually, I started playing Marvel Heroes back in 2013 in the PC beta, but yesterday was the official console launch. They’ve been in beta on consoles for about a month (which I also played), but now that they’ve fully launched, I’m going to assume that this is the most perfect version of the game they were after for this date. So, with that in mind, I’m going to talk about it!
So I played around with Spider-Man, who I bought the character pack for in the beta. He’s my favorite hero and, after 4 years of playing him in the PC version, I have a pretty good idea of what he can do. I was playing on PS4 with my brother playing as Black Widow. He’s a DC fan, and literally doesn’t like any Marvel hero except for Widow, so that’s fine. I am a big fan of the couch co-op they added, which for obvious reasons couldn’t be done on PC. It’s like when we played Ultimate Alliance back in the day, and it’s way more fun to run around these levels with a friend than it is doing it by your lonesome. We played through the Hell’s Kitchen level, where you’ve got to fight Venom, Electro, Shocker, and Doc Ock, in an attempt to secure the Tablet of Life and Time.
I’ve been through this mission quite a few times, having been on the game for so long. But I must say, they’ve definitely changed the level up. It’s a bit more streamlined for consoles. For instance, Electro would show up at random times and places in the PC version, and you and a group of other players would have to box him in and beat him. Now, he’s got his own little power plant, and his goons! They also changed the Venom fight, not drastically, but, well, Alistair Smythe used to be in the level and now he’s not… The Shocker and Doc Ock fights are basically the same.

I like the gameplay and controls. You can assign which attacks you want to which slots, which makes it nice and easy. I like playing consoles better than PC, I grew up on PlayStation, and a good Duelshock feels right in my hands. In the PC the moves were attached to A, S, D, F, G and H on the keyboard. But using the good old X, square, circle and triangle just feels so much better, and you can access a secondary set of moves by holding L2.

Like the PC version, this one has gear. I feel like the inventory is a lot smaller, which is burdensome when you try to pick up a mask or web shooters and Spider-Man complains “I only have two arms here… usually!” But I overcame inventory in the PC, so I think I can do it here. The system is also simplified, with big green arrows on each piece of gear telling you “Oh, this will make you stronger!” and big red ones saying “Nah fam, trade this in for crafter XP.”

Speaking of XP, more powers unlock as you get higher in level, which would be a problem for my brother, because Black Widow caps at level 10 unless I fully unlock her which would allow her to go to 60. Luckily we finished the level as he hit level 9. But it’s a little jarring, since My Spider-Man on the PC is not only level 60, but has prestige as well, so not having access to all his powers makes me a little impatient. I had to hit level 10 just to web swing!
Now, there are some things I take issue with. For instance, everything is so much more expensive! Like, leaps and bounds. Things you didn’t have to buy, with real or in-game currency, in the PC version are being sold here! Also, the character selection is drastically decreased, as are the costumes, and the sidekicks are absent. But I feel all that will come in time, so I’ll be patient. Except for the Fantastic Four, who have been removed from both versions of the game, but that’s a post for another day. Now this next issue made me very upset. I saw a Spider-Man loot box, with a chance at the Spider-Man Homecoming costume, the hooded version, Spider-Gwen, Amazing Spider-Man, or Iron Man’s Mark 47. Each cost 250 G’s (currency that can only be acquired with real money). I had 500 from the Spider-Man character pack I bought, so I said hey, why not, any of those costumes would be sweet, and I get two chances! What the loot box failed to mention, however, was that I also had a chance to get NO COSTUME AT ALL! Which was the case with both boxes I opened, so now I have zero G’s, no new Spider-Man costumes, and a bunch of useless junk I’m probably going to trade or dismantle later. Stupid me, I guess. Costumes in the PC version have always been for sale, which is why I like Marvel Heroes. No BS ‘chance’ crap like in pretty much every Marvel mobile game, you get what you pay for. But I actually discovered that this is the only way to get the Homecoming stuff, even in the PC version, a chance draw through Fortune Cards, which makes me very sad after how long I’ve been supporting this game.

So, never buying loot boxes again. But other than that, all I’ve ever wanted, since I played the PC beta back in 2013, was for Marvel Heroes to come to PlayStation, and now I finally have that. It’s a great start, and there is room for improvement, but so far, I think that newcomers will be able to jump right in and have a good time. PC players can stick with that, heck, I have more characters and costumes in the PC version, so I’ll still play that too. But playing on the PS4, well, that’s just a dream, that’s finally come true.
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Ingenuity vs. Laziness: Spider-Man Cereal Prizes

My, what has become of toys these days? Cracker Jacks used to come with little prizes and knick knacks, and now you just get not-so-fun “fun facts”. Large, elaborate playsets are now cheaply painted hunks of plastic. But I’m limiting my scope to these three web shooters I pulled out of cereal boxes over time, from the Spider-Man (2002), Spider-Man 2 (2004), and Spider-Man Homecoming (2017) eras.
So I was at the store the other day, and I see Cinnamon Toast Crunch has a Spider-Man ‘web’ shooter, that squirts water. Like a sucker, I bought two boxes (because Spider-Man has two web shooters, I’m sort of OCD like that). So I get home, I open the box, and…
Well, let me get to that. I want to start with the good stuff. So, the first Raimi Spider-Man movie, this is what all the kids were getting in their cereal boxes.


It’s a great design, fits right on the wrist, and when you do the web signal, the water comes out in spades! I love these things, I actually feel like Spider-Man when I’m wearing them!



Next up we’ve got Spider-Man 2. Now this doesn’t shoot webs, but if you turn out the lights, it shines an awesome Spider Light on the wall! Which, actually, Peter has in the new movie, so… missed opportunity there. But this is even better because it’s got an adjustable strap! As you can see, I kind of wore it down, but I was a kid, and it was fun to shine the light. Hours of entertainment!


Then there’s these. Let me continue my story: So I get home, I open the box, and… out come these soulless machinations of man! First of all, I figured out that there’s six different kinds, which sucked since I was trying to get a matching pair. Next, the little squirter holds about ¼ of the water the Spider-Man 1 ones did, barely getting off 1.5 squirts (And they have the nerve to put target practice markers on the back of the box!) And lastly, they go on backwards, which is not only counter-intuitive, but it takes away the thrill of actually ‘spinning a web’, and you have to press it with your other hand for water to come out! I will admit, however, they do look cool.
So, if anything, I just feel sorry for the kids of today, since this is all they get to play with. I hope they find some joy in them, but in my opinion, these big cereal companies need more ingenuity, and less lazy designs! I write this out of love! For Spider-Man, and for the children!
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First Inhumans Trailer!

Watch the trailer below!
Marvel has dropped the first trailer for Inhumans, and I’ve got to say, I am very pleased. This looks like an Inhuman comic coming to life. A Maximus coup, teleporting Lockjaw, and the costumes are so comic accurate and colorful! Oh, and Attilan is on the moon! And this is a TV show! Granted, the first two episodes are going to be in IMAX theaters, but that just makes me even more excited. What are you guys thinking? Comment below, let’s start a conversation.

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Marvel’s Spider-Man: All-New Animated Show

So Spidey’s been put through the wringer quite a few times on TV. Everyone has their favorites, people tend to lean towards either Spectacular Spider-Man or the 90’s series (it’s 90’s for me, but Spectacular is a close second!). Then there’s Ultimate Spider-Man. Now, Ultimate Spider-Man definitely has its episodes. The season 1 finale pitting Spider-Man against the Green Goblin, the Spider-Verse and the Return to the Spider-Verse, responsible for animated debuts of Miles and Spider-Gwen respectively. And for some reason, I really like the Iron Spider episode (real early season 1). But for the most part, I admit Ultimate was inferior to previous incarnations. And you all know why, so I won’t get into all that.
But Ultimate Spider-Man is gone, thankfully with an actual (and full circle) ending, which is more than most cartoons get these days (*cough* Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, Tron, Thundercats, Young Ju- oh wait… never mind). Now they’ve got this new show, simply called Marvel’s Spider-Man, conveniently coming out around the same time as Homecoming. Now, I have to say, I like what I see so far. Here’s the clip:
So apparently this is the first of six shorts telling Peter’s origin, similar to what they did with Secret Wars earlier this month. They name dropped a ton, so let’s dig in.
- Harry, science nerd. Kind of defeats the purpose of his friendship with Peter because Peter always helped him with science, but I guess this new direction they’re taking has them connecting on a nerdy level, so I’m fine.

- Smythe is a student, and his dad is a teacher at Midtown! Now, we all know Alistair went rogue because his dad died dishonored and with no respect on his name, which I think might be a little dark for the show, but maybe they’ll go the 90’s route and put him in a coma, forcing Alistair into some Spider-Slayer action!

- Liz Allen. Hm. She had quite the role in Spectacular and even played a good supporting part in the 90’s series, but it looks as if they’re using her as the main girl here. You know, because of Homecoming. I’m not gonna make any assumptions, but I really miss the days of Spider-Man and Mary Jane (Dang Mephisto… dang One More Day… gosh dang Brand New Day!!!). Also the neck tie reminds me of Pepper from Iron Man: Armored Adventures, but that may or may not be related to the fact that I’ve started re-watching that show from the beginning…

Now, I like the animation just fine, some people were complaining about it in the Scorpion clip (Found Here!) but I think it’s fine. Peter is nerdy, which is good. And the tone of the show seems perfect. I’m gonna wait on the other five parts to come out, but I’m already excited. I’m a little upset that we still don’t have a release date, but let’s hope it’s soon!
So what are you guys thinking? Comment below, let’s talk! New Spider-Man show, yay or nay? Let me know!