Deadpool: Mouthing Off 2

Part 2 of 2

I've done my best to stay away from the review sites across the Internets, but I'm assuming this game is going to be well received by Deadpool fans and lumped into an average rating by most gamers. The Deadpool game fits the summer-popcorn-movie stereotype. It's good but not great; kind of short for the $49.99 release price. I'm also guessing that people who are unfamiliar with Deadpool will be put-off by his antics and confused by his humor. Or just irritated. Probably irritated

Now that I've finished the story campaign, I wish there was more to the story campaign. I feel like I got enough; I played the game for three hours a night, starting on the Tuesday night that it released. I finished the story campaign on Thursday night. Normally, I hop around from game to game while playing. Deadpool had me hooked and satisfied from the minute I started playing. That doesn't happen very often. Now that I know the story and how it ends, I just wish it could continue...or have a new arc start in the same universe.

To wrap this up, in the best way that I can, I have to label the Deadpool game as scatterbrained. If this were a normal game, that label wouldn't be compliment. I think the game would be accused doing or including too many things. For example: most of the Deadpool game is a hack n' slash, beat 'em up....but it's also a third-person shooter/platformer/adventure/stealth game. It contains a side-scrolling level (I would take more of this), a couple shooter-on-rails sections (think turrets), and a retro-style Atari level in the sewers (only for a couple minutes). The point being: it is all over the place.

And that's Deadpool. He's all over the place.

Speaking of all over the place, go to Part 1

Deadpool: Mouthing Off 1

Part 1 of 2

After sinking 3 to 4 hours in it, I think I'm qualified (by Internet standards) to talk about the new Deadpool game that dropped this Tuesday. I walked out of GameStop with a copy of the PS3 version, stopped at Chick-fil-A (sorry, no chimichangas), and plopped down on my couch to get reacquainted with the Merc with a Mouth.

The first little section of the game serves to do just that, teach the player about this masked madman by exploring his apartment. I was laughing the whole time, especially while Deadpool made fun of achievements by giving me the first and second ones for "free," I'm glad Deadpool shares my opinion on trophies and achievements.

Once out of the crazy-filthy apartment, it was sword-swinging, gun-toting, tutorial time. At first thought, I'd call Deadpool a hack n' slash game with a bit of platforming, but that's because I didn't want to use my guns, like ever. I guess I have more fun slicing and dicing enemies; even when the enemies were poised for a duck-and-cover shoot-out, I would run head-first into enemy fire (what's the point of a healing factor if you're not going to use it) and stab, stab, stab.

The non-shooting combat is easy to learn and the enemy AI is pretty dumb. And, oh I forgot about the teleport dodge: it makes the sword combat and countering very over-powered. I had honestly forgotten that Deadpool had that teleport technology. Where's Weasel when I want to thank him? Anyway, it was later into the game when I realized I was in trouble for not using/upgrading my gun arsenal.

The "heavy" baddies are much easier when Deadpool is dual-wielding shotguns. Maybe that's the case for all the baddies. Still, I get bored with third-person shooting faster than I do stringing together bloody-bladed melee combos. The melee gameplay is no Arkham Asylum, but I still enjoyed it. I like my Deadpool with his blades; I also like the sai, but I haven't used them much. The swords are fully upgraded, the sai are newly unlocked, and the hammers, well, I haven't purchased them yet.

Most of the glitches that I've seen have occurred during combat, but nothing has made me want to eat my controller. Occasionally an enemy will end up on top of Deadpool; sometimes my hits connect with the displaced enemy and sometimes they don't. Meh. Deadpool points (DP) don't always revert to the previous amount if you die and then continue from the nearest checkpoint. Last, but not least, enemies can deal lots of damage to each other; I've always thought friendly fire is a stupid concept, so when a "heavy" baddie clears all the normal enemies for me, I wonder if that was intentional.

Even though the game is linear, I'll praise the level design and variety. From Deadpool's apartment to the mucky sewers to the catacombs of Genosha, the scenery is a sight to behold. I'd also like to get my hands on some concept art, especially the final level in Genosha. Floating platforms as far as the eye can see. Again, thank you Weasel for the teleportation.

Speaking of teleportation, BAMF over to Part 2

My Fantasy Team: Pawns, Points, and Munchkin

This fall marks an unprecedented moment in my gaming life: I'm playing fantasy football for the first time ever, ever. So far, I've been pretty hands off (I let the yahoo robots draft my team) and things seem to be going well. I don't think I could have done better had I drafted my team in person.

With very little connection to these players, I'm just viewing them as pawns. That seems too generous. These players are more like energy sources; their statistics a numerical fuel that produces points. Points? Ug. I hate points.

The top point sources are my nine starting players, plus a defense. Then I have seven players who are "sitting on the bench," but I'm thinking of them as unequipped or stored in my stash. Honestly, these nonstarters are pretty crappy; trash items in gaming terms.

Now I'm thinking of my players in terms of equipment...like in...

Yes! Fantasy football is Munchkin! It all makes sense now.

I'm strapping players to my body as armor and wielding players as weapons. Each player provides an undetermined amount of points that count to my total. At the end of the week, my opponent and I tally our points and go head to head using that point total. The person with the equipment that generates the most points wins. It's that easy.

The truth is that I'm having a lot of fun imagining Drew Brees as chainsaw or fruitcake. Too bad he's not on my team. Instead I have Michael Vick. I guess, as a piece of equipment, he could be a spikey dog collar (+3 against Animal Rights Activists).

Keeping with the fantasy theme, I have a douchey-looking white wide receiver named Eric Decker and I've already started calling him Eric Deckard Cain.

Did I mention that I don't give two craps about NFL football? Or its players? I barely give one crap about college football. It was the NAU Grease Rats that got me caring about football at all. In memory of that NCAA Football 2007 college team, I named my fantasy football team The Grease Rats. Perhaps it will bring me luck. Greasy rats are lucky, right?