Review: X-Men Destiny

Welcome to another review on 'Stories of Entertainment'.

There are a lot of things out there, in movies, tv shows and video games that can be considered as 'wasted potential'. You have a great concept sitting on your lap, but its execution just leaves it in such a mess that you question where it all went wrong.

The example for this reviews is 'X-Men Destiny'!

(Pretty cool, huh? Well, about to be pretty disappointed)

Developed by Silicon Knights and published by Activision, X-Men Destiny was a game where you play as a mutant who has recently discovered their powers and must choose between joining the X-Men or the Brotherhood. Not a bad premise, eh? Well, it dumbs down to rather standard characters and powers, some poor voice acting, repetitive gameplay, and a campaign mode that can be finished IN LESS THAN A DAY! So yeah, there are a lot of problems with the game, but is story one of them? Lets find out.

The story begins in San Francisco, where a peace rally is being held between the X-Men and the MRD (Mutant Response Division) in honor of Professor X, who died while fighting a mutant-hunting robot named Bastion (who himself died at the hands of Magneto). After the Professor's death, the X-Men had split up and most have moved to San Francisco to begin a new life for themselves. The leader of the MRD, Luis Reyes, offers to help the X-Men bring peace between mutants and humankind. Of course, the offer was accepted and so this peace rally was formed. However, a bit of opposition from the Purifiers (an anti-mutant radical group) to drive the mutants out of San Francisco.

Here is where the play gets to decide which character to play as for the rest of the game:

• Aimi Yoshida: A Japanese girl who was smuggled out from Japan by her father to avoid being sent to mutant concentration camps.
• Grant Alexander: An all-star athelete who is more interested in his future football career than the mutant and human politics
• Adrian Luca: The son of a Purifier who died in combat, now haunted by his father's spirit to fight the mutants in his honor.

Eventually, the rally is interrupted by a supposed mutant attack led by the Brotherhood. From here, your character is given a choice on which powers to use: a warrior-like powerset where you control your density in rock form, a mage-like powerset where you project energy in different forms, and a rogue-like powerset  where you manifest shadow blades. I say it like this because the powers (and the characters themselves) are built around basic RPG classes (the warrior, mage, and rogue). Not that bad of an idea, but not close to being such a good one either.

Anyway, the player meets up with characters like Quicksilver, Iceman, Toad, and Emma Frost telling them that their a mutant, need to pick a side, what kind of danger to expect, etc. A major point occurs when a lead purifier named Cameron Hodge appears (in an advanced robot suit) and starts taking mutants in alive. Thankfully, you're on the scene to save a few, while also meeting up with a teleporter named Pixie and a tracker named Caliban. Eventually, your character meets up with Cyclops and Quicksilver, where the player is given a first choice between choosing which group to work with first: X-Men or the Brotherhood. Regardless, a brawl with the Purifiers with either group results in you confronting Hodge. Near the end of the fight, Magento appears and lifts up an entire section of the Golden Gate bridge and drops it on the combatants. Fortunately, Nightcrawler arrives and manages to save you.

You get dropped off into Chinatown and soon meet up with a group of thieves called the Externals, led by Gambit. After helping them deliver a package, you meet up with Gambit and help his group invade a warehouse run by the Purifiers. There, it is learned that vials containing mutant genes are being dropped off here. Going through a panel into the underground, you find a secret laboratory, which houses not only captured mutants and Purifiers, but a deranged group of scientists called the U-Men, who are known for harvesting mutant DNA. You manage to free several mutants, including Quicksilver, Colossus and Surge, heading deeper into the facility to destroy it for good. Unfortunately, one U-Men, named John Sublime, takes some unrefined mutant DNA and turns himself into a horrid creation that uses the powers of Quicksilver, Colossus and Surge. (How... convenient?) However, John Sublime gets his mutated ass kicked and you recover several vials of mutant DNA. There is a choice whether or not to give the vials to Gambit (earning you some Brotherhood points) or giving them to Colossus (getting X-Men brownie points).

Regardless, you meet up with Cyclops who suggests that there is more than one secret facility and suggests you continue searching the tunnels. You get some help from Wolverine as well, which leads you both to the facility. However, Reyes and the MRD show up and Wolverine starts losing his mind for some reason. Eventually, you are left in the facility all by yourself and must fight through several Purifiers to investigate. Cameron Hodge makes a return, with round 2 of your previous fight starting once more. Midway through, Cameron offers his surrender, which prompts you either to continue fighting him (for Brotherhood) or accept his surrender (for X-Men). Regardless, you fight with Cameron Hodge once more and finally putting the bastard down once and for all.

You later meet up with either Cyclops or Mystique (depending on your choice, of course) and explain the situation to them. From here, you investigate another hidden facility, learning that the satellite hovering above San Francisco houses the intelligence of Bastion, who had apparently survived his fight with Professor X and Magneto. It is also revealed the Luis Reyes is working for Bastion, being granted mental powers similar to Professor X. You soon meet up with Caliban, where it is revealed that Pixie has been kidnapped and her power is being harvested by the MRD. You end up fighting through several Purifiers, including ones who are mutated similar to John Sublime, and use Caliban to track Pixie. Apparently, they are using helicopters to keep her moving and you do her best to find which one she is in. However, you get distracted when you cross paths with Wolverine once more. With Wolverine still going berzerk, you manage to hold him off to allow Emma Frost to free his mind.

After explaining the situation to Cyclops and Emma Frost, you all see the helicopter holding Pixie shot down by a laser similar to Cyclops' optic blasts. You do your best to find the crashed helicopter, fighting through super powered MRD troops along the way. When you come across the crash site, the helicopter explodes as you try to save Pixie. She ends up dying as a result, with Magneto and the Juggernaut arriving on the scene. They blame Cyclops for the incident, yet he stands by saying that he would never do that to his fellow X-Man. A fight breaks out, with you and Cyclops trying to defend themselves against Magento and Juggernaut. Eventually, Juggernaut gets taken out and Magento stops the fight and allows one last choice for the player. All the other choices from the game seem to amount to ziltch, since here you choose either to join the Brotherhood or the X-Men. After making your choice, to leave with either Cyclops or Magneto to figure out what to do next.

The final bit is pretty easy to expect: you and your group tackle the MRD head on, pushing to the tower from which Luis Reyes believes will allow him to control the who world (in reality, it will allow Bastion to take control of his body). Eventually, you come across Reyes, who is now decked out in a supersuit containing several mutant powers and would be used as Bastion's new body. You try to explain to him, it doesn't work, big fight ensues (with a special appearance by classic Sentinels as well) and Reyes and Bastion end up defeated.  In the end your group is triumphant, many hurrahs and an interesting credit sequence where you try to take out as many enemies as possible.

After writing this review, I still feel a lot of dread for this game, if only because its too quick to play through, too repetitive and not having the full potential it could've had. Here's to marvel, hoping they actually do something in the future that will make me forget about this game.

Until next time...

X-Men Destiny was developed by Silicon Knights and published by Activision.

Thanks to MARVEL for the Youtube video.

Review: Justice League Heroes

Welcome to another review on 'Stories of Entertainment'.

I'm still on a bit of a superhero rant here and since I came off the 'Marvel Ultimate Alliance' series, it gave me an opportunity to review another game that had similar capabilities, though ultimately underperformed. That game was 'Justice League Heroes'.

Developed by Snowblind Studios and published by Warner Bros. Games, 'Justice League Heroes' has a similar set up that ultimately had little to no pop. It tried to copy off of the popular multiplayer function that 'X-Men Legends' and 'Marvel Ultimate Alliance' had at the time and didn't really do much of it. However, the storyline does have some interesting traits to it, since it is written by the late Dwayne McDuffie, a veteran comic book writer and one of the lead writers in the 'Justice League of America' animated show.

Does this game have a story that can make up for its crappy gamplay? Time to find out. Lets fly right into 'Justice League Heroes'.

(...and we have our Justice League for the game)

The story begins after a meteorite crashes into earth and leaves a mysterious stone, which is soon confiscated by S.T.A.R. labs. Some time after, Superman and Batman are called into Metropolis to stop a rampage of robots. Apparently, the set-up was done by Braniac, an advanced Kryptonian AI who seeks only power and knowledge. It has planned in advanced to set up separate bodies to distract the heroes. After Superman and Batman defeat one of Braniac's bodies, they realize they both have been duped. Through video footage, they learn that Braniac has stolen the mysterious rock, as well as some Kryptonian DNA, with Batman refering to is as 'Superman's old sparring partner'.

Back at the Watchtower, the Martian Manhunter and Zatanna head to Metropolis to put an end to the robot threat. However, they also realize that it is a ruse. They learn of a villain called Queen Bee converting humans into mindless drones for her hive. Naturally, the heroes beat the villainess, but the rest of the Justice League discover that the entire communications grid is offline. The Green Lantern and Flash head off to a communications relay near Russia, discovering that whatever is blocking the communications grid is there.

Both of the heroes have an encounter with the villain called the Key, who used his technology to open portals to other dimensions, like one filled with dangerous mushroom men. Meanwhile, Batman has done some separate investigation of his own, learning that a nuclear missile has been launched at a site and find the villainess Killer Frost. He ends up retreating when he encounters several of Killer Frost's ice minions. Back at the communications relay, Green Lantern and Flash manage to stop the Key and get the communications grid back online. In another part of the world, a Braniac robot frees Gorilla Grodd and lets him take control of Gorilla City as a means of a distraction.

Back at the Watchtower, the heroes realize that the nuclear missile has been launched, but is heading for orbit instead. As they try to learn what its trying to do, Wonder Woman and Zatanna join up with Batman to put down Killer Frost. The heroines manage to stop other missiles from being launch, as well as capturing Killer Frost in the act. Meanwhile, the rest of the Justice League learn that the missile that was fired was retro-fitted to enable space flight, letting it fly to its destination: Mars, or more specifically, where the White Martians are being held.

Superman and the Martian Manhunter deal with in the incoming White Martian assault, while Flash, Green Lantern, Batman and Zatanna deal with the situation in Gorilla City. Superman and the Martian Manhunter are able to stop most of the White Martians and put them back into a hibernated state, but are knocked out themselves in the process. A Braniac drone appears and 'thanks' them for their assistance, stealing pieces of White Martian tech for his own uses. Back in Gorilla City, the heroes manage to stop Gorilla Grodd's plans and free the rest of the gorillas from his mind control.

With the White Martian fleet reaching close to Earth orbit, Wonder Woman does her best to stop it by herself. Thankfully, Superman arrives on the scene to lend her a hand, while the Martian Manhunter has returned to to the Watchtower to deal with a possible intruder. While the White Martian fleet has been stopped, the Martian Manhunter gets knocked out by Doomsday, a powerful monster who had killed Superman in the past. While only a clone of the real monster, this Doomsday manages to commendeer the whole Watchtower for some purpose.

The remaining Justice Leaguers regroup in a backup base on the moon, set up by Batman (guy thinks WAY ahead of everybody). The group splits up into 3 teams: one to take care of the Watchtower defenses, another to rescue the Martian Manhunter and the last to fight Doomsday. The Justice League is successful, but not before Braniac steals a device known as the Mother Box, a computer with a very advanced AI and incredible power. Surprisingly, the Mother Box manages to send out a traceable energy signature leading directly to Braniac's main HQ.

The leaguers transport to the HQ, splitting up in hopes of stopping Braniac's plans. Eventually, they reach Braniac who, of course, gets into a fight with the heroes and loses. While Braniac tries to get a second wind, his body breaks down...somehow and its essence is used to reform Darkseid, a powerful god-like being who was trapped in that rock prison some time before the story. He uses his Omega Beams to thoroughly annihilate most of the leaguers except Superman, whom he decides to keep prisoner and let him watch as Darkseid turns the planet Earth into a hellish landscape.

However, the rest of the heroes arrive in an alternate dimension, alive and well. Though split up, the heroes manage to regroup back at the watchtower through a teleporter in that same dimension. Through careful deduction, they realize that the Mother Box helped send them to that other dimension, not only to escape with their lives, but also for the Green Lantern to absorb some special energy to protect the heroes from the Omega Beams. A bit of searching lets them track down where Superman is being kept, planning to free him first before confronting Darkseid himself.

With Superman back with the Justice League, the heroes attacked Darkseid in his throne room. As Darkseid gloats that nothing could stop him, the heroes use Wonder Woman's Lasso of Truth to force him to give the heroes a way to stop him. Using the same power that imprisoned Darkseid, the heroes are able to return the Earth to normal and put Darkseid back into his prison. Finally, the world was at peace once more, thanks to the Justice League.

So how was Justice League Heroes? Kinda so and so. Story does a good job of getting a basic plot across and the climax is pretty exciting once it starts. However, characters seem a bit bland at times and could use a bit more pep. Gameplay-wise, I don't get why it allowed only 2 heroes to play at a time, while X-Men Legends and Marvel Ultimate Alliance allowed 4 player cooperative play. Overall, Justice League Heroes was okay. Nothing to spectacular or crappy, just enough to get in a good run through or two.

Until next time...

Actually, for a special treat, here are some videos showing the different cutscenes in the game, cut and put together to create a full movie of sorts.

Justice League Heroes was developed by Snowblind Studios

Thanks to schetter and Batmitey for the Youtube videos

Review: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2

Welcome back to another edition of 'Stories of Entertainment'.

Continuing off from the last review, "Marvel Ultimate Alliance", its time to take a look at its sequel, simply known as 'Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2'. With the last game ending on a note dealing with an attack from Galactus, what can be expected from the sequel? Nothing of that sort. Really, the Galactus confrontation is just glossed over and not really taken advantage of. One possible story is pushed aside for another.

On a similar note, Vicarious Visions is taking over as the developer of the game, replacing Raven Software from the last game. There is also an update in terms of graphics and controls, which includes a system of combining character powers to form a super move called 'Fusion'. It can be a bit repeditive at times, but it does show a different kind of way to finish of enemies.

Anyway, time to get to the nitty gritty of the game itself. Time to jump right into "Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2"!

(Yep, time for a Secret Invasion-er, War. I mean Secret War)

 So the heroes launch an assault on Latveria, about a year or so after Dr Doom was defeated in the first game. Its ruled by a Lucia Von Bardas who, not surprisingly, has other ideas in store rather than peace between Latveria and America. She even manages to get several villains to work with her as well, which includes Electro, Scorcher, Wizard, and the Tinkerer. Fury manages to coerce the president of the U.S. into launching an attack in Latveria due to Bardas' soldiers committing acts of terrorism.

The heroes manage to push deeper into Bardas' HQ, beating up several villains and soldiers along the way. They reach the main core of the building, soon encountering a powerful robot sent by the Tinkerer. A great battle erupts, with the Tinkerer having used the robot as a distraction to allow him a safe escape. Soon, the entire building falls apart due to a power overload in the core and the heroes escape with their lives intact.

 After a year or so, the heroes get word of some terrorists setting up shop underneath New York City. Ms. Marvel was sent to scout ahead, but hasn't called in. When the heroes arrive, they find Latverian soldiers and robots have set up a base. Villains like the Shocker, Grim Reaper, and Diamondback (with returning villains like Scorcher and Wizard) are also present, now working for a cyber-sized Lucia Von Bardas. As the heroes try to stop them, the villains already launch an assault, using a floating barge to bombard city blocks. In order to stop them, the heroes destroy the cannons on the barge, stop the villains and defeat Lucia Von Bardas once and for all. However, there are darker details here than once realized.

(Kinda expected from an organization with espionage tactics)

So now the government wants to pass the Superhuman Registration Act or the like to get heroes to join up with S.H.I.E.L.D. or be considered outlaws. While some of the heroes venture to Washing D.C. to stake a claim and be heard, another terrorist attack occurs. This time, it is being headed by the villain Titanium Man, who has kidnapped several senators during the assault. As the heroes arrive to kick ass and such, Deadpool appears (saying he was visiting the Cherry Blossom Festival) and just fights the heroes for the heck of it. Deadpool loses, joins team, replacement goldfi-er, Maria Hill appears (new S.H.I.E.L.D. director), gives orders, heroes pursue Titanium Man.

The heroes eventually corner Titanium Man in an underground parking lot, though he escapes during the fight. The senators are saved (which includes a cameo by Stan Lee) and the heroes find Titanium Man at the Lincoln Memorial. A fight breaks out once more, though Titanium Man gets taken down for the long count. Eventually, the Superhuman Registration Act is put on hold, for now...

(Great, now things have hit the proverbial fan)

The Superhuman Registration Act is underway, with some heroes already picking sides between Pro and Anti. Now its time for the player's choice. This is where things get a bit odd, since the Second Act of the game plays similarly when comparing the two sides. The missions take place in the same area, yet involve different characters depending on whose side you're on. For the sake of this review, I'll be talking about it from the Anti-Registration Side, though i will be including bits of the matching bosses in the opposing side. Confused yet? Well, it should get easier as the review goes on.

After deciding which side to go with, the next part of the story begins. A raid by the Pro-Reg side is launched against the Anti-Reg, where the Pro-Reg heroes attack the Anti-Reg heroes temporary HQ, an old Hydra base (global villain organization). While the Pro-Reg have S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, the Anti-Reg manages to get a group of defectors from S.H.I.E.L.D. calling themselves the White Star to help them (named in honor of Captain America).

Anyway, the Anti-Reg side wants you to save your fellow heroes during the raid, sparking an encounter with the spy hero Black Widow (a Pro-Reg side would involve a fight with Spider-Woman). Going deeper into the base shows more fighting between the sides and another appearance from a super hero. This time, its Iron Man's second hand of sorts, War Machine. (Pro-Reg would have to fight the Greek hero Hercules instead). Finally, reaching the heart of the base shows whose been leading the raid: a time traveling mutant. Ironically enough, both sides have their own. For the Anti-Reg, its a fight with Bishop. For the Pro-Reg, its Cable instead. Its interesting to see how these future mutants view the Registration Act differently. Still, your heroes manage to win the battle, only pissing off Iron Man in the process (or Captain America if Pro-Reg).

The next mission involves a convoy of captured unregistered superheroes to a prison known as Prison 42 (real creative name here). With the battle between Pro and Anti going as it is, the Pro side takes a big step in unleashing supervillains on their side. This involves nanites in the villain's body, which allows them to get controlled through a S.H.I.E.L.D. network.

The convoy mission involves the Anti-Reg heroes freeing prisoners to the Pro-Reg heroes trying to defend it. As the heroes follow the path of the convoy, they come across the supervillain-turned-hero Songbird (Prodigy for Pro-Reg) and do battle with her. Soon, the convoys get stopped and prisoners start getting freed. To quell the rampage, the Pro-Reg unleashes one of their supervillains, Lady Deathstrike (for Pro-Reg, its a freed prisoners called Multiple Man). Halfway through the fight, the Thing makes an appearance. Unlike the other superheroes who picked one side of the other, Thing opted out and went into hiding. Not wanting to take this anymore, he decides to help the heroes with their specific sides. Eventually, the heroes come across either Iron Man or Captain America (depending on their side, of course), trying to get their attention. However, it was a lure to get the heroes to meet a much bigger challenge in the form of Yellowjacket for Anti-Reg and Goliath for Pro-Reg. The fight becomes too much for the heroes and they manage to get some assistance. Firestar for the Anti-Reg (and the villain Molten Man for Pro-Reg) arrives to take down their giant opponent and score another victory.

Onto the final mission of the Second Act, involving an accident at a chemical plant. However, for anyone who knows about Marvel's Civil War, you got an idea of what to expect here...

(In a bit of fairness, the Pro-Reg side did strike first here. They had it coming.)

This is where it gets a bit crazy, if only to try and figure out which bosses goes where. It tends to switch up between single boss to dual bosses, so let me just list the ones that actually make an appearance rather than just trying to compare them to opposing sides.

To start, if you chosen the Anti-Reg side, you'll have to face:

Bullseye (supervillain marksman)

Wonder Man (Energy-based superhuman)

She-Hulk (Green powerhouse)

Molten man (Fire-powered supervillain)

Mr Fantastic (Elastic Superhero)

War Machine (Round 2 from the base invasion)

and Iron Man (Boss of Pro-Reg)

If you chosen the Pro-Reg side, you'll have to fight:

Multiple Man (Round 2, or 3 if you count the second fight involving The Thing)

Patriot (Captain America-inspired sidekick)

Firestar (Fire powerhouse)

Dagger (One half of Cloak and Dagger, light manipulation)

Colossus (Steel skinned giant)

Iron Fist (Martial Arts master)

Luke Cage (Streetwise Superhero)

and Captain America (Boss of Anti-Reg)

Anyway, the fight with the boss of either side ends with them getting away and your heroes needed elsewhere. Unfortunately, the situation turns from bad to worse like so...

(Okay, what else would you expect from nanites controlling supervillains? For them to actually work?)

Nick Fury appears (kinda sorta) and gets the heroes to stop the detonate of several fuel depots. Unfortunately, during the fight with Green Goblin and Venom, Nick Fury is unable to stop the last bomb and an explosion occurs. However, the heroes wake up in a secret facility with Nick Fury present, explaining how they tried to stop all the explosions...

(Hurray for duplicate robots!)

So yeah, time to step out of the Civil War and start doing actual super hero stuff. Nick Fury wants them to figure out who is controlling the nanite supervillains if S.H.I.E.L.D. isn't, which requires a trip to Prison 42. Since it is located in another dimension, the plan is to piggy-back on a strike planned by Captain America to the prison through another called Ryker's Island. Once arriving, the heroes do battle against S.H.I.E.L.D. (even if former Pro-Reg, they treat it like you switch sides) and manages to get access to Prison 42 mainframe from Maria Hill herself. (Oh, so much joy taking her down a peg)

Anyway, the heroes make it to the portal room to Prison 42, needing to beat down the guard named Penance first (former Speedball who went all emo). After defeating him, as well as some nanite prisoners who beat on him as well, the heroes learn what has happened to the nanites. Fact is, the nanites have evolved into a hive mind mentality, subverting wills to their own purpose, yet still retaining their own mind and personality. The only reason the world isn't taken over by them yet is that the Pro-Reg side hasn't sent them all out in full force. Now it comes to the task of stopping the nanites. Nick Fury comes along to Prison 42 (since he can't use his robots to go into the other side for him), as well as Penance wanting to help as well. Once on the other side, they manage to find some samples of the nanites and believe they have a shot at stopping the nanite collective.

However, the fight between Iron Man's Pro-Reg and Captain America's Anti-Reg take a turn for the worst inside Prison 42...

(Well, sh*t. If things can go wrong, they will)

So now it comes down to all of the heroes working together to stop the nanite supervillains in Prison 42. This would involve reactivating the portal back to the home dimension, so our heroes head out to reactivate the backup generators. Along the way, the heroes save others who've been captured and are force into joining the nanite collective. Eventually, the heroes manage to get the generators online, with Nick Fury volunteering to stay behind and activate a self-destruct to shut the portal off from Prison 42's side. As the heroes continue to fight, they manage to get through the portal to their home dimension, but end up leaving several heroes, including Nick Fury, behind in the process...

(Suck it, Maria Hill!)

Naturally, since the game isn't over yet, the nanites manage to get out of Prison 42 and start infecting the world. The heroes split up into two fronts: at Stark Tower and in the nation of Wakanda. Nanite controlled soldiers are already attacking the African nation, being accompanied by nanite superheroes like Havok and Justice. Eventually, the heroes manage to push through to secure a barrier around a city, though radio communications have ceased with the force at Stark Tower. As the heroes reconvene with Black Panther, the ruler of Wakanda, they get a message from none other than Nick Fury. Not surprisingly, he's joined the nanite collectivity, now calling itself the Fold, and offers the heroes a chance to spare the heroes at Stark Tower by joining the Fold willingly. The heroes refuse, with the Fold launching Venom, Green Goblin, and Fold-controlled Wakandans against the heroes. Successfully, the heroes push the fold back and manage to capture Venom and Green Goblin in the process.

After the fight, the remaining heroes try to plan out their next attack. They realize that several towers have been set up in countries where the Fold conquered, as a means to spread their control. The heroes decide to use it to their advantage by launching a virus that safely shuts down all members of the Fold. In doing so, the heroes would have the time to free them from the Fold, once they successfully test some new tech on Venom and Green Goblin. With their freedom, the villains agree to help the heroes stop the Fold, if only to get revenge. Comparing notes, the heroes realize a tower located in Iceland would provide the best way to spread out the virus before the Fold could counteract it and set off to the country.

The heroes need to fight through several Fold-controlled people, including several superheroes who have recently been taken over. Whats worse is that the Tinkerer, who not only joined the Fold willingly, but is also helping in upgrading the systems to allow each unit to house every power within the collective. Fortunately, the early development stages are still no match for the heroes and they manage to fight their way to the top of the tower. As they deliver the computer virus to the console, all of the Fold quickly shut down, ending their threat to the world.

However, a surprise boss in the form of a nanite powered Nick Fury appears, channeling several Fold superhero powers as a means to stop the heroes. Despite all that power, even Nick Fury is defeated and the Fold is gone for good. In the end, both Pro-Reg and Anti-Reg sides call a truce and the Registration Act either is turned into an amendment with some changes or completely repealed. (Depending on which side the player chose in the beginning)

So yeah, that was Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2. Compared to its predecessar, its story and gameplay are very much improved, though is ending is rather lacking. Still, the challenges and characters do make this game a good repeat whenever board. Its interesting to see how each side is done. Best of all, it does a better job of telling the 'Civil War' story than in the original Marvel comics.

Until next time...

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 was developed by Vicarious Visions.


Thanks to MahaloVideoGames, imthebest6, and Penmaster3000 for the Youtube videos.

Review: Marvel Ultimate Alliance

Hello and welcome to another review on 'Stories of Entertainment'.

Superheroes and video games. Something like that will usually perk someone's interest, since that kind of thing has been going on for years now. Its not really all too uncommon to find video games that feature superheroes, famous or otherwise. Sometimes, the games can turn out great and really memorable, or they could end up like crap. (Superman 64, people. All time low.)

Some of these games usually have one character to focus on (like Spider Man or Batman) or a single team (Fantastic Four or Justice League), with an ensemble of supporting characters and villains. This game, however, decides to take it a step further, featuring several heroes and villains from one franchise: Marvel. That's right, its Marvel Ultimate Alliance!

(Many Marvel Heroes, all in one place)

Marvel Ultimate Alliance is an action RPG based on the heroes and villains of the Marvel universe. It was developed by Raven Software (who also did the X-men Legend games, as well as some Star Trek and Star Wars games) and was published by Activision. The game boasts several different heroes to play as, such as Captain America, Thor, Wolverine, Spider-Man, all of the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Doctor Strange, and more. The gameplay is very similar to the X-men legend games, so it can get repetitive at times. Still, with a variety of extras to unlock like costumes and comic missions, it does know how to stretch its hours. Now all that is left is to see what story can be told with all these heroes.

The story begins at the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, which is currently under attack...

 (Captain America, Thor, Spider-Man and Wolverine will be our designated heroes for the cutscenes, unfortunately. Would've been nice to see other playable heroes in CGI too)

 Long story short, Doctor Doom is attacking the Helicarrier for something, with Nick Fury organizing a task force composed of heroes to fight him and his group: The Masters of Evil! During the scramble, the heroes stop Scorpion (five guesses on what he does), Bullseye (an assassin who can't miss), Winter Soldier and the Radioactive Man (dangerous soldier and...kinda obvious right?) and Fin Fang Foom (giant dragon alien...thing) from bringing the Helicarrier down and potentially killing millions. Amidst the chaos, however, some information gets stolen from the Helicarrier and now need to figure out what was taken.

(Small bit over on what can go on in between missions)

Nothing much to do aside from comic missions, training, and talking with other characters for some interesting insight to them and the like. However, there is a subplot that can be explored. Apparently, the Black Widow (Russian super spy who works for S.H.I.E.L.D.) left her laptop on the Helicarrier in the middle of a firefight. Curious as to why she would do that, the heroes enlist the aid of a hacker named Weasel to see what is up. After each mission, you can check up on him and help his progress if you feel like it.

Anyway, onto the next mission, which involves a trip to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Omega Base...

(Not sure how function mobile labs would be if they were several stories tall. Maybe they just move slowly.)

Anyway, the team meets up with Dum Dum Dugan, who says that the Masters of Evil have caused the Omega Base to head for a crash course to a close by dam. Not only do the heroes need to stop the villains, but also the base itself. Not necessarily an easy fight, with villains like the Crimson Dynamo (Iron Man rip-off) and Mysterio (master of hollywood 'magic') in the way. However, the real brains behind the attack is a being known as MODOK (Mechanical Organism Designed Only for Killing) which is basically a giant floating head. It (or he) leads an army of AIM scientists (Advanced Idea Mechanics), as well as some Super Soldier experiments that turn men into monsters. Naturally, the heroes beat the oversized brain of MODOK and stop the Omega Base. Unfortunately, the villains managed to escape with some of the experimental Super Soldier serum and a device known as a Mutant Amplifier, which can increase a mutant's powers, but ends up killing them if used for an extended time.

After the mission, from new information from Weasel suggests that Black Widow might be working for the enemy, though further details will be needed to help him dig deeper. Once done, its time to head off to Atlantis, where more trouble is abound...

(Thanks to this amazing technology, even the Human Torch can use his powers underwater. Many scientists are crying over this somewhere.)

 Three words: Water physics sucks. Now with that out of the way, the heroes manage to fight through some Atlanteans to figure out what had happened. Apparently, the villains Attuma (enemy of Namor) and Tiger Shark (Also enemy of Namor) used machines to drive the other Atlanteans insane and trap Namor. With the machines destroyed and Namor free, the heroes turn their sights to Attuma and Tiger Shark. An undersea battle ensues, after which the villains explain that they were after a tome dealing with other dimensions. When the heroes tried to find the tome, a villain known as the Mandarin (arrogant tech villain of Iron Man) has stolen the tome and has let loose a dangerous monster known as the Kraken (giant sea monster) on the heroes. Fortunately, the heroes defeat the Kraken and realize that a trip to Mandarin's lair is necessary.

Another break from the action, the heroes make off for Mandarin's lair, which is located in the Valley of Spirits in China. However, all is not as it seems...

(Behold, the Masters of Green Evil!)

 Apparently, Mandarin wasn't the only one who defected. He managed to get Grey Gargoyle (can turn people to stone with touch) and Dragon Man (robot that looks like humanoid dragon) on his side, as well as control a massive robot known as Ultimo. Fortunately, Dr. Strange (Sorceror Supreme of the Marvel U) is also there, joining up with the team to tackle the Mandarin's Lair. The team manages to blast through every opponent Mandarin throws at them until they corner the big villain himself. However, he reveals to them that he defected from the Masters of Evil after trying to take them over, meaning that the heroes were also tricked into attacking him as well. Worse, while the heroes were gone, the X-Mansion, home of the X-men, was attacked, with Nightcrawler and Jean Grey captured.

What wonders Dr. Doom and his Masters of Evil have in store for them...

(Guy's got defenses up the wazoo. Still, A for effort.)

With the realization that magic is involved, the heroes relocate to Dr. Strange's home, the Sanctorum Sanctum.  Professor X is also there, helping in locating Jean Grey and Nightcrawler. They manage to locate Jean Grey in Latveria, right in Dr. Doom's castle. The team uses a mystical artifact to help them travel to the iron fortress.

However, the villains have another trick up their sleeves...

(What is also inevitable is another encounter with the Green Evils!)

 Yeah, it turns out to be a trick. Despite arriving at 'Doom's Castle', it is soon revealed to be an elaborate deathtrap set up by the villain Arcade ('assassin' who uses gag props to kill) called Murderworld. The heroes do manage to recover Jean Grey, but was transformed into the villainess Phoenix. A brief fight knocks her out of it and she returns to normal. Now, the heroes need to fight through Murderworld in order to live, picking fights with the villains Rhino (obvious) and Shocker (not as obvious). The heroes also come across Blade, a vampire hunter. Why he is in Murderworld is beyond me, but hey, another hero joins the team. At the end, they confront Arcade, who has put himself into a giant robot to crush the heroes. No surprise, the heroes managed to overcome Arcade, who talks about how Nightcrawler has sent a group of villains to Mephisto's Realm (think hell, only less cool and more annoying).

After a bit of resting up, the heroes prepare for a trip to Mephisto's Realm...

(WolverineXNightcrawler? Yes, it is possible.)

Mephisto's Realm can get annoying gameplay wise, but there is a good sense of dread in the place. The fact that Nightcrawler is abandoned by the Masters of Green Evil and being chased by a being called Blackheart (being composed of pure evil) can get to a couple of people. Even with psychic blocks set up by Professor X and Jean Grey (who heads to Mephisto's Realm as well to increase psychic block power), Blackheart breaks through. Both Jean Grey and Nightcrawler get captured and now the situation has become more dire. The group manages to find another hero, the Ghost Rider (spirit of vengeance) and defeat Blackheart, but a dangerous choice must be made. Blackheart managed to set up a device that would send one of his prisoners plunging into a vortex of death if the other was freed. It came down to the player to either rescue Nightcrawler or Jean Grey. Personally, I rescued Nightcrawler and let Jean Grey die. As the Phoenix, she would come back eventually. Anyway, to make a long story shorter, the group confronts Mephisto, the demon manages to bring back the dead hero as a slave, fighting ensues, and the dead hero sacrifices themselves to stop Mephisto.

Whew, that was a long trip. Now we just need to figure out where the Masters of Green Evil have gone to...

(Well shit)

Yeah, Asgard has been taken over by the Masters of Green, er, Evil.  The heroes make home in Valhalla in hopes to free Asgard from evil's clutches. Here, a choice is made for what mission to take next: either open the Bifrost Bridge to retrieve reinforcements, or attack Asgard to free some of the captured gods. Purely aesthetic choice here, since it doesn't really change the plot too much choosing one over the other.

For the sake of the review, we'll be tackling the Bifrost Bridge first...

(Maybe there is a guy called Ralph in the group. If you get this reference, thank you.)

So, the heroes need to fight their way through several deceased Norsemen, thanks to the powers of Hela.  A bit of traversing through floating rocks and ships, the heroes manage to reach the Bifrost Bridge. Of course, the Wrecking Crew is there, waiting for them. In short, its a 4v4 fight between good and evil. Despite the power of the Wrecking Crew, the heroes manage to overcome them and open the Bifrost Bridge, bringing in the much needed reinforcements.

By completing either missions from the get-go allows the player to enter the halls of Valhalla and meet with other heroes. When you're done, its time for the next mission. In this case, its rescuing the gods themselves...

(Brief coffee break before the Masters of Green head out)

 When the heroes make it to Asgard, they find Balder hung out to dry. In order to free the shining god, the heroes need to free Heimdall and Tyr first. Aside from groups of trolls, viking soldiers, and some remaining Super Soldier experiments, the heroes also need to fight Shocker, Rhino, and Scorpion again, along with a new villain called the Lizard (self-explanatory). After saving both gods, the heroes regroup with Balder, but not before getting into another fight. This time, the Enchantress makes her appearance known to the heroes and summons her right hand enforcer, the Executioner. After a long battle, the heroes are victorious.

If you've been helping Weasel on discovering if Black Widow is a traitor or not, then it pays off here. Its discovered that Dr. Doom hacked into the S.H.I.E.L.D. network and gained access to a section dealing with plans against Asgard. One of them involved stealing the power of Odin through a weapon known as the Twilight Sword. If successful, then the power would turn that person into a god.

Now is the time to move on and stop the evil before they can complete their plans...

(Price of failure: imminent)

The heroes travel to Niffelheim, since that is where Odin was last scene fighting Frost Giants. The heroes themselves come across Frost Giants as well, plus some more undead vikings and dark elves. They also encounter Kurse (dark elf in enchanted armor) and Ulik (strong troll), who they just defeat easily. As they travel further, they find a scene of a great battle taken place, with a sword shattered near center. It is suggested that the sword (Twilight Sword) was used on Odin and is taken to Raven Spire, a mystical place, where the villains would take his power. From there, the heroes fight and defeat Ymir, king of the Frost Giants.  As they close in on Raven Spire, the heroes find Baron Mordo and Ultron, who have been tricked by Loki and Dr Doom. Abandoned by their allies, the two villains decide to destroy the heroes in their place. They fail. Eventually, the heroes manage to reach the top of the Spire and encounter Loki, who uses the place to enhance his own magical powers and use something called the Destroyer Armor to take out the heroes. He fails and the heroes take the Destroyer Armor back with them, hoping to use it themselves.

They manage to free the Destroyer Armor from its prison, but it is later discovered to be a ruse by Loki. As Loki inhabits the armor with his soul, the heroes try to figure out a way to defeat him since their attacks can't even hurt the armor. They eventually manage to trick the armor into attacking Loki's vulnerable body, defeating the God of Mischief. However, Dr. Doom appears and reveals that he now has all of Odin's power. He then turns it on the heroes.

The story doesn't end here...

(Should probably switch from the Watcher to the Speaker)

The heroes are transported to Avalon, home of the Inhumans, a species whose leader, Black Bolt, has helped defend Earth several times in the past. The Watcher (guess what he does) states how Dr Doom is abusing Odin's power, universe is at stake, blah blah blah. The plan is to recover tech that will help stop Dr. Doom and return everything to normal.

First on the list is the M'Krann Crystal, which rests in the heart of the Shi'ar Empire...

(Nothing can go wrong with this plan, right?)

 If it can go wrong, it will go wrong. Heroes arrive in Shi'ar space and are immediatly attacked. A space pirate named Corsair (good friend of the X-men) helps them and says that the current leader, Lilandra, was usurped by her evil sister, Deathbird. So the heroes not only need to fight through Shi'ar soldiers, but also the Imperial Guard, a group of powerful aliens led by an expy of Superman known as Gladiator. Even worse, a few of the Guard actually helped Deathbird's rise to power and they get thrashed for their treachery. Once the heroes manage to beat Deathbird herself, she takes it badly and intends to blow up the entire ship they're on. The heroes stop the destruction and manage to acquire a piece of the M'Krann crystal for their plan.

Now all that's left is to head for Skrull space, with a face to face encounter with Galactus...

(At least they know it will be bad going into it)

 So the heroes need to fight through different Skrulls and Galactus warriors to find the Muonic Inducer. The Skrulls, being mostly jerks, try to send some of their strongest warriors against them, which included the Super Skrull (all powers of the Fantastic 4) and Paibok (energy Skrull). The heroes also encounter Titannius, an unwilling Skrull participant in the Skrull Super Soldier project. The heroes manage to locate Galactus and end up on the bad side of the fight. However, they get aid from Galactus' herald, the Silver Surfer. The Surfer helps in forcing Galactus to retreat by forcing his own power to explode on himself. As Galactus retreats for the time being, the Silver Surfer joins the heroes in stopping Dr. Doom.

However, there may be the possibility that they are too late to help...

(Well...double shit)

Yes, Doom has pretty much converted the world to his ideas thanks to his new god powers. He even manages to convert buildings into his image, like when the heroes returned to Stark Tower, now redesigned to express Doom's desires. It is quickly undersiege by Doom bots, but the heroes manage to push them back. While they have lost the element of surprise, the heroes haven't lost the fight yet.

Now it is time for the biggest challenge yet...

(So no pressure, 'kay?)

Apparently, Dr. Doom has done some remodeling to his castle, using his powers to modify and change it to suit his needs. He's known of the heroes' survival but has chosen to let them live as a way to 'have them appreciate his work' of sorts. The heroes still intend to stop him though and end up battling modified Doom bots and soldiers. Whats worse is that Dr. Doom ends up sending an army of his own heroes, which are a mix between converted heroes and dark reflections of our heroes, to fight as well. Of course, they amount to 'jack' and end up getting defeated. For a guy with all the powers of Odin, you'd think Dr. Doom would have the wisdom of seeing this coming a mile away.

Once the heroes finally confront Dr. Doom, the bad doctor is incredible over confident. He believes that his powers would allow him to fix the universe himself  (he's right, though thinks its beneath him) and just wants to destroy the heroes then and there. Despite using a group of Dark Fantastic Four members helping him in the fight, Dr Doom ends up losing his powers as they are returned to Odin.

And now its time for the end result...

(Sequel time!)

There is actually another part of the ending involving which side quests you've completed in the game. Nothing too important, since it doesn't really affect the next game at all. Mostly for fun, I'm assuming.

And that would be the end of 'Marvel Ultimate Alliance'. Again, its not really a bad game as some might put it out to be, but it still has a lot of shining moments. If you manage to come across a bargain bin price of the game, check it out yourself.

Until next time...

Marvel Ultimate Alliance is owned by Ravensoft and Activision.

Thanks to HarryPlayer, swagbucks, and BlentK for the videos.

Review: Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves

Welcome to another review on 'Stories of Entertainment'.

Rounding out the final game of the Sly Cooper PS2 trilogy is Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves. I wouldn't exactly call it a 'swan song' game, since the fourth installment is coming on the PS3, Sly 4: Thieves in Time. However, this would end the series (temporarily) on a high note of sorts. Working off the last game are a big pair of shoes to fill, but the third installment manages to pull it off splendidly. How so, exactly? Lets jump right into Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves.

(They're putting the band back together)

The story actually begins with Sly and his gang (now composed of other, mysterious members aside from Bentley and Murray) are attempting to open a vault on an island owned by a deranged Dr. M, a mandrill scientist.  During the heist, Sly gets attacked by Dr. M and a mutated creature controlled by the bad doc. From there, Sly gets grabbed and starts thinking back to where it all began. Yep, most of the game takes place in a flashback, so just sit back and try to enjoy.

The flashback begins when Sly meets with a walrus named McSweeney, who told the raccoon how he used to work with Sly's father in the past, kinda like Murray and Bentley. McSweeney talks about an island called Kaine Island, which is home to the Cooper Vault. The Cooper Vault is a treasure trove built up by past members of the Cooper Clan. In essence, it was Cooper's birthright. However, the island has been taken over by Dr. M, who has since built a fortress on it to try and penetrate the Cooper Vault and take the wealth for himself. Realizing how out-matched he is, Sly decides to reform the Cooper Gang since its dissolution after the Clock-La incident.

 As of this point, its just Sly and Bentley, who is now confided to a suped-up wheelchair. Murray, feeling bad that what happened to Bentley was his own fault, has been on a spiritual journey for a while. Sly and Bentley manage to track their friend to Venice, Italy, but soon realize that their friend could have a nasty run-in with the local mafia boss, Octavio.

Octavio was once an opera singer, who could've been famous if not for the popularity of rock music. After his downward spiral, he joined the mafia since they actually did enjoy his singing. Eventually, he rose up to be the main 'don' of Venice, dumping black sludge into the water as a disposal method.

 Sly manages to get some help from an unlikely source: Dmitri from the second game. In exchange for arranging a meeting with Murray, Sly freed Dmitri from his temporary prison cell. Once the gang reunites, Murray says that he cannot go back on his teacher's orders. He says that he needs to help 'the black water run clear' or something to the like. Putting two and two together, Sly and Bentley realizes that Murray was sent to bring Octavio to justice in order to get their friend back.

After a few successful missions, with some assistance from Murray, the group managed to corner Octavio. However, Carmelita interrupts their mission and tries to arrest them. Not willing to back down, Octavio tried to flee, knocking Bentley out of his wheelchair. Seeing his friend in so much pain, Murray decided to fight Octavio himself. With some help from Sly, Murray knocks out Ocatvio and rejoins the Cooper Gang. Finally, the gang is back together again.

 However, Murray hasn't really gone back to his old self, feeling that he let down his friend and teacher, the Guru. Not wanting to see their friend so upset, Sly takes him back to the Guru, who is operating in Australia. Once they got there, the land was being dug up and destroyed by a digging company. The gang decided to take action against them, even managing to find the Guru, who was captured. Once they helped find his items (a staff and mystic ball), the Guru agreed to help the gang in order to stop a malicious entity: the Mask of Dark Earth.

Utilizing the Guru's talents well, the gang decide to try and capture the Mask of Dark Earth through a trap. However, Carmelita is on the scene and the Mask of Dark Earth latches onto her face. The mask starts empowering her, making her much bigger and stronger. For awhile, nothing the gang has at their disposal sees to stop her (from Bentley's sleep darts to a massive demolitions truck). Realizing her current size (which would probably put her being twice the size of King Kong or more), Sly actually climbs up her bootlaces and to the mask,tricking her into knocking it down. The Mask of Darth Earth is soon destroyed and the Guru officially joins the Cooper Gang.

 After a break from Australia, Bentley tries to go over plans to assault Dr. M's fortress and comes to the conclusion that the group needed a mechanical specialist. They manage to discover Penelope, a mechanic who works for a flyer named the Black Baron. The Black Baron is considered one of the most talented flyers in existence and even hosts a competition known as ACES. A bargain is struck: if Sly and his gang beat the Black Baron, then they can consider Penelope as part of their team.

The gang reaches Holland, where the ACES competition is held and even meet some familiar (if not friendly) faces. They find Dmitri, who is working as an announcer of sorts for the competition, and try to make him list the names and locations of the other teams. Dmitri, however, wanted a favor in return. Seeing no other way out of it, Sly agreed and Dmitri willingly gave the information to the Cooper Gang. Unfortunately, they hit another roadblock in the form of an old enemy: Muggshot.

The group needed a way to get Muggshot out of the picture. Luckily, Carmelita happened to be in town and the gang came up with a plan. With some disguises and a few insults, they managed to get Muggshot out in the open for a brawl, but found Carmelita instead. After a nasty scuffle, Carmelita was able to beat the bulldog, carting him off to jail once more. Unfortunately, the paperwork would keep her busy, leaving the Cooper Gang open to tackle the ACES competition.

The gang continues to use a few underhanded tactics that help them propel through the rest of the competition till they reach the Black Baron himself.  Once Sly and the Baron square off, its revealed that the Black Baron isn't as much of an honest man as he makes himself out to be. Sure enough, Sly and his gang manage to out think the Black Baron and were able to claim victory. Surprisingly, the Black Baron turned out to be Penelope herself, having put on the disguise in the first place just to get around the age restrictions. Once she lost, she could finally ditch the disguise and work for the Cooper Gang.

A bit more research and planning into the heist on Dr. M's island revealed that Bentley's expertise in demolitions wouldn't be enough. In place, they would need a full-time demolitions expert. Unfortunately, the suggestion was a risky choice: the Panda King. Sly was adamantly against getting the Panda King for help, but reconsidered once told that his help is necessary. The gang manages to track the Panda King to a secluded section of China, where he is in deep mediation. Sly manages to wake the big guy out of his stupor and get him to help the team. Of course, there is a price that needs to be paid.

Apparently, his daughter was kidnapped by an evil general named Tsao. General Tsao plans for Jing King (Panda King's daughter) and himself to be married, thereby improving the bloodlines for both families. Overall, General Tsao is a complete bastard, doing things only to suit his own needs and puts down everyone he comes across. On top of that, he also has magical powers. Terrific.

 The Gang does their best to counter General Tsao and rescue Jing King, During this time, Murray manages to find the old Cooper Gang van (which was left behind near the end of Sly 2) and wants to get it back. Panda King gets inspired by Murray's actions and vows to do the same for Jing King. In another bit, Sly Cooper manages to trick Carmelita into thinking that he would disguise himself as General Tsao for the wedding. By planting the false information, Carmelita ends up taking the place of the rescued bride, while the rest of the gang fight off a dragon summoned by General Tsao. In the end, Jing King is saved, General Tsao is arrested, and the Panda King officially joins the Cooper Gang, albeit with some reasonable distrust thrown in.

 Later, Dmitri sends out a message saying that Sly owes him a favor. Arranging for some transport, Dmitri tells the gang the story about his grandfather, who used to be a 'frogman' (undersea diver)in a town called Bloodbath Bay (a town with strong pirate roots). There, he would loot sunken ships for their treasure. At one point, Dmitri's grandfather had his gear and treasure stolen by another pirates and soon started a family. With the favor, Dmitri asks for Sly and his gang's help in retrieving the lost gear and treasure for his family.

They arrive in Bloodbath Bay and find the man who stole from Dmitri's grandfather, a parrot named Black Spot Pete. However, they learn that Pete had also been robbed, having lost his treasure and the suit to a pirate captain named LeFwee, the self-proclaimed "smartest man in all of the seven seas". Guy may dress up like a pirate and act like one, but he does have more intelligence than the average pirate (which is saying a lot).

Sly and his gang do their best to take out Captain LeFwee and get everything the pirate ever stole. During this time, they managed to find Dmitri's grandfather's old diving gear, bringing the iguana much joy and satisfaction. They also managed to coerce a giant kraken creature named Crusher to help them as well (thanks to the Guru). Of course,a bit of a snag occurs and Penelope gets kidnapped by LeFwee. Seriously, smart enough to fly and build planes, yet keeps getting kidnapped on every mission so far. Really need to place a tracker on her or something.

The Cooper Gang decide to take the fight to LeFwee, tricking him into revealing the location of Penelope. To LeFwee's credit, he does manage to trick the group right back by giving them the wrong location, but it doesn't last long. Crusher gets released onto LeFwee, but the mad pirate parrot won't back down just yet. After knocking down Bentley for just having a superior intelligence, LeFwee gets cornered by Penelope, who intends to stop LeFwee in Bentley's honor. In a surprise move, it comes down to a pirate sword fight, with Penelope knocked LeFwee overboard and into the ocean. So, LeFwee is defeated, Penelope and Bentley start dating, and Dmitri joins the Cooper Gang as their 'frogman'...despite not being asked in the first place. Still, his help could have its uses.

...and here is where the flashback ends, back to Sly getting ready to be some mutated monster's next meal. Fortunately, Carmelita  arrives (more likely to capture everyone on the island) and helps free Sly from Dr. M's grasp. The bad doctor (calling him 'good' is an incredible understatement) tries to get Carmelita off his back by saying that the others were trespassing, but Carmelita doesn't budge from her goal. During the fight, Sly loses his family staff, with the rest of the gang doing their best to retrieve it.

Eventually, the cooper staff is retrieved and Sly manages to access the vault. He asks Bentley and Murray to come along too, since they are his closest friends and deserve a chance to see the treasure for themselves. The 3 managed to meet up (with Panda King putting his explosives to work by launching the gang van to sly. Yes, it is as awesome as it sounds), though it is shown that only Coopers could access the entire vault and Sly goes in alone. With Murray and Bentley waiting on the outside, Bentley wonders if he is only playing second fiddle to Sly. However, Murray doesn't believe that and thinks that Sly would do the same in Bentley's position. Dr. M also appears, trying to appeal to Bentley's intelligence, saying how he used to be the 'smart guy' in Sly's father's gang. He left cause he couldn't handle the 'mistreatment' and vowed to steal the Cooper Vault fortune for himself. A scuffle breaks out, with Bentley sent off to find Sly while Murray tries to stop Dr. M.

Meanwhile, in the Cooper Vault, Sly moves through different sections of the vault, seeing the relics of his ancestors in the form of traps and tests. The last test, set up by Sly's father, involves sliding on laser wires. At the end, Sly meets up with Dr. M once more, resulting in a fight that knocks Sly out. Carmelita quickly appears and manages to save Sly, though discovering that he has amnesia. Soon, the vault begins to collapse from the fighting, leading to...

...and that was Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves.

In a way, its a great cap-off for the original PS2 trilogy. The stakes have been raised to a new level and the heroes need more than just themselves to win the fight. The story is great, the characters (as usual) are great, and the level designs are great. Again, the trilogy has ended on a high note.

Lately, Sly 4 is already on the move and seems like it would live up to its predecessors. There are already videos of Sly's return as a thief, as well as playable sections of some of Sly's ancestors. Some rumors say that Clockwerk might make a return. One could hope...

Until next time...

Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves was produced by Sucker Punch Productions.

Thanks to ThoddeusCooper and 0xybelis for the videos.

Review: Sly 2: Band of Thieves

Hello and welcome to another review here on 'Stories of Entertainment'.

Sorry for lateness of post. This should've been up last Saturday, but something went wrong. Note to self: when finished with page, press publish.

Continuing off from the last review, I'll be talking about the next game in the Sly Cooper series: Sly 2: Band of Thieves! Now, Sly Cooper won't be the only character out in the open to play as in this game. Now his partners in crime, Bentley the Turtle and Murray the Hippo, the Cooper Gang is together and ready to pull off some major heists. However, with the remnants of an old enemy still around, will they be able to treasure their valuable friendship through the upcoming trials?

Straight from the Sucker Punch Productions studio and published by Sony, its time for the second game of the Sly Cooper series.

(Time to see Bentley and Murray in playable action!)

The game takes place two years after the events of the first game, with the pieces of Clockwerk being on display in a museum in Cairo, Egypt. Not wanting the pieces to fall into the wrong hands, the Cooper Gang decide to try and steal them back. Here, we get a good showing of Bentley and Murray operating out in the field, using their respective talents to help Sly Cooper reach the parts. Unfortunately, by the time Sly gets to them, the Clockwerk parts have already been stolen.

Sure enough, Carmelita is not far behind, now being partnered with a purple tiger lady (literally) named Neyla. While Carmelita immediatly suspects Sly (for good reason), Neyla suggests it was the work of another group known as the Klaww Gang. Making a note of that idea, Sly Cooper and his gang escape, leaving Carmelita infuriated. 

The gang agrees that any part of Clockwerk is dangerous and do their best to get as much research as they can on the Klaww Gang, in that inevitable event where both gangs cross each other. The first one they come across is a counterfeit moneymaker/night club owner named Dmitri. Dmitri is an Iguana guy who tried making a name for himself as an artist. Since that didn't take, he turned to forging, first by making famous paintings and now money. Interestedly enough, he makes his money using the Clockwerk Tail Feathers. That gives the Cooper Gang more reason to take a trip to Dmitri's night club.

 

(Apparently, he learned to speak English by watching hip hop videos. Explains why most, if not everything, he says makes no sense.)

A bit of sneaking and surveying was in order, with Sly Cooper managing to break into Dmitri's forgery facility. Dmitri, in his own 'interesting' form of English, tries to bribe Sly Cooper into letting iguana keep the Clockwerk Tail Feathers. When an agreement couldn't be reached (as well as an insult from Sly questioning Dmitri's tastes in suits), a fight breaks out. Dmitri puts up a surprising fight, shooting out lasers from what looks like his rings. Naturally, Sly manages to bean the iguana criminal and take back the Clockwerk Tail Feathers.

After a brief break from a successful heist, the Cooper Gang move on to their next target: an illegal 'spice' lord named Rajan. Rajan is an India tiger who grew up as a street urchin, making a living by selling 'spice' in the black market. As he got older, he made a killing out of it and started to take on a more 'royal' appearance. Rajan does his best to make himself seem like royalty, even purchasing a palace and calling it his 'ancestral' home. Heck, he even uses one of the Clockwerk pieces (namely, the wings), as nothing more than decoration.

(There is more to this guy than meets the eye and there is no doubt that he has a few tricks up his non-existent sleeves)

Taking the opportunity, the Cooper gang manages to infiltrate Rajan's home, with Sly going undercover during a party the Indian tiger has set up. Sly manages to encounter Carmelita at the party as well, who is also undercover. Sly decides to dance with Carmelita as a way to distract Rajan while Murray goes in to take the wings. With Murray successful, Sly makes a quick exit while everyone is distracted by the theft of the Clockwerk Wings. Furious, Carmelita reveals herself as a police officer, making several arrests. Unfortunately, Rajan escapes capture and heads deeper into the Indian jungle.

 After a brief break from the action (which involves a trip to Bollywood, India's Hollywood equivalent), the Cooper gang continue their search for Rajan. This leads them to a jungle that is home to some ancient ruins. Here, they discover Rajan's main 'spice' facility, there he makes and distributes his product across the black market. He also has another piece of Clockwerk: his heart. With it, Rajan has managed to increase 'spice' production immensely. Now, there is even more reason to stop Rajan.

As they gang are close to stopping Rajan, Neyla comes by to offer her assistance. While skeptical, Sly agrees and two try to charge Rajan. However, Neyla betrays Sly and Sly ends up knocked out by Rajan. Seeing his friend taken out, Murray jumps in to take on the tiger. This does show off how much of a force Murray is when he sees his friends in danger. Sure enough, Murray lays the smack down on Rajan and reclaims the Clockwerk Heart.

However, things take a turn for the worst, with Neyla appearing with Carmelita and a spider lady named the Contessa (Its actually a title. Her real name is currently unknown). Not only is Sly and Murray arrested, but Carmelita as well, with Neyla using the dance with Sly and Carmelita as evidence. Bentley manages to escape, but realizes he must break into a maximum security prison to save his friends.

(Someone on the Sucker Punch team must be a fan of D&D.)

The Contessa is definitely one of the darker characters in the Sly Cooper franchise, having very little to do with humor at all, both in design and actions. Her history states that she was a widow to a wealthy aristocrat who died under mysterious circumstances (though it is suggested that she poisoned one of his drinks). She works in Interpol as a criminal rehabilitation expert, creating a maximum security prison in Prague. One of her techniques involves hypno-therapy, which will no doubt be used on Sly and Murray. Now it was time for Bentley to rescue his friends, even if it would mean his own capture.

Bentley manages to get out Sly fine enough , but they run into more trouble when they realize Murray is being subjected to hypno-therapy. So the pair devise a plan to get Murray out (using a tank as a 'trojan horse' of sorts) and need to smack some sense into Murray (who had ingested some 'spice' and has gone nuts). They manage to reunite, bu the Contessa escapes from the Cooper Gang. Despite losing the drider, the gang was glad to be back together.

After a break, the Cooper gang decide to take on the Contessa in her own home, discovering some new information about her: Not only is she an undercover member of he Klaww Gang but she also has the Clockwerk Eyes with her as well. Even more importantly, (at least to Sly Cooper), Carmelita is also there as well, being subjugated by hypno-therapy.

Naturally, the Cooper Gang manages to bear the Contessa and retrieve the Clockwerk Eyes. However, Neyla gets the credit for the capture instead and Carmelita is still on the run. The Cooper Gang hides out for a bit before learning where the rest of the Clockwerk pieces are kept.

 A bit of sleuthing would reveal several of the pieces in Canada, used by one of the last members of the Klaww Gang (apart from their leader): Jean Bison. The Canadian Bison once lived in the 1850s, during a great gold rush in Canada. An accident occurred which led to the guy being frozen solid. Cut to about 150 years later and he manages to wake up in modern times. Sticking to his values, Jean Bison carved a nasty trail of deforestation and train ways.

(In the past, Jean Bison might've been considered a hero in a way. Now, he is just another criminal.)

 The first few missions against the Canadian Bison deals with hijacking a few of his trains, which were shipping lots of 'spices' across North America. Oddly enough, the trains are powered up by the Clockwerk Lungs and Stomach (How does this relate to trains, I may never know). While they managed to retrieve the lungs without too much difficulty, Neyla manages to encounter them on the train containing the stomach. Despite her having an advantage with an airplane, Neyla gets blasted out of the sky and the Cooper Gang recovers the Clockwerk Stomach.

However, the Cooper Gang aren't finished yet. They learn of how Jean Bison had a connected to the Northern Lights, which were acting strangely for quite some time now. The gang also discover that Jean Bison also has the Clockwerk Talons, which are capable of cutting straight through steel. Wasting no time, the gang goes to work.

They find a lighthouse being used to collect the energy given off by the Northern Lights and storing it into a battery. With that destroyed, they decide to confront Jean Bison himself. Interestingly enough, he is hosting a set of 'lumberjack games' with the Talons as a prize. The group enter and manage to win (while cheating in a few games), though Jean Bison sees through their deceit and just gives them the Talons by throwing them straight at the gang, knocking them out instantly.

They soon wake up, having been captured by Jean Bison and placed inside a control room. Bentley manages to squeeze through a small opening to get outside and try to free his friends. Unfortunately, Bentley comes across Jean Bison, who revealed that he managed to find all of the Clockwerk parts the gang stashed in a secret hideout and sold them to Arpeggio. Not willing to put up with Jean Bison's taunting, Bentely decides to take him head on, with a little help from Sly in the control room.

With Jean Bison's defeat, the gang gets word of Arpeggio paying a visit to pick up the Northern Lights battery. The gang decides to hide out in the battery and wait for the pick-up. They are successful, but realize how desperate their situation has become. With Arpeggio in possession of all of the Clockwerk parts, it'll only be a matter of time before Clockwerk is reborn once more.

 (Despite his small frame and evilness, he is quite stylish. I really want that beret.)

The gang manages to confront Arpeggio, with Neyla also present and working with the Klaww Gang leader. Arpeggio explains how he intends to use the Northern Lights battery to power a hypnotizing device that was built by the Contessa. He uses it to influence people who've eaten food sprinkled with spice (thanks to Dmitri) to send everyone in Paris into a frenzy of hate. He also reveals a key component to the Clockwerk frame, which actually powers all of the other Clockwerk parts: the Hate Chip. Its this component that has kept Clockwerk alive for as long as he was, containing all that hate of rage to power the framework and effectively granting immortality to him (of sorts).

Before entering the Clockwerk body, Arpeggio is betrayed by Neyla (wow, what a shocker). Considering how much betraying she has done in the past, its a wonder that Arpeggio is even surprised by her actions. So Neyla jumps into the framework instead, becoming Clock-la. A great battle ensues on Arpeggio's blimp, with the Cooper Gang doing their best to take on Clock-la. An interesting note is that as the battle goes on, Clock-la starts to get angrier and angrier. This is probably a sign of what kind of effects the Hate Chip has on people through prolonged contact.

The gang manages to ground Clock-la and make their way to the head, which houses the Hate Chip. After they open the mouth, Bentley (being the smallest) manages to squeeze through to grab the chip. However, the mouth closes on Bentley as he tries to get out. After Murray pushes the mouth back open, we get a line that had probably shook several video gamers once they first heard it:

"Someone pick me up! I can't move my legs!"

 I'm guessing that got a lot of people surprised at seeing one of the main characters injured like that. There aren't that many games (at least to my knowledge) to do something like that.

As for the ending itself, er, I'll let it play as is.

...and that would be the end of Sly 2: Band of Thieves.

Like its predecessor, Sly 2 manages to combine a cast of colorful characters with a story that can get down right intimidating. With some great gameplay added to the mix and we have another great game for the Sly Cooper series. Tune in next time for the third game in the series: Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves.

Until next time...

Sly 2: Band of Thieves is owned by Sucker Punch productions.

 Thanks to JakandDaxterMaster and Oxybelis for the videos.