By Matt Peters
This year is scheduled to be one of the biggest of note in the world of comics, video games, and all-around geekiness. We here at Pads & Panels would like to give you twelve reasons that 2012 will be awesome. Let’s hope our Mayan overlords don’t return from outer space until we get to experience most of it. Take a look below for some of the highlights:
Publisher/Developer: Capcom
This year, Marvel and Capcom took us for a ride with an addition to the mega popular fighting series. A large roster to master, online play and the fast pacing satisfied the fans of the series… up until the follow-up, Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3, was released nine months later. (more…)
Title: Dead Rising 2: Off the Record
Platform: PS3, 360, PC
ESRB: M
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Blue Castle Games
Rating: [3 out of 5]
Review by: Matt Peters
Frank West is back. The reason that last sentence wasn’t punctuated with an exclamation point is because it’s been happening so frequently as of late. Between Dead Rising 2’s DLC and fighting games, we’ve seen plenty of the war-torn photographer. Off the Record marks the first time Frank’s been in a starring role since the first Dead Rising, and time has not been on his side. (more…)
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Title: Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
Platform: DS
ESRB: T
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom
Rating: 
Review by: Archie Easter
I was very pleasantly surprised by Capcom’s Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective. It’s been some time since I’ve come across a DS game with this much charm, personality, and overall fun gameplay. In a twist of the normal standard, the game actually begins with the death of the main character, Sissel. He awakes with no memory of who he is and must quickly discover who he was before he died and the reason behind his untimely demise. Fairly early on, he discovers he has “ghost tricks,” special powers that allow him to influence objects in the living world and even rewind time to change the fates of the recently deceased. (more…)
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So when Matt and Archie aren’t putting their writing talents to good use here at Pads & Panels, the duo has been hard at work creating an awesome podcast every other week called Games Comics and Puppy Dogs (more affectionately known as GCPD) for their site, Mighty Ink Comics and Entertainment. It’s swell, and we’ve been promising for awhile now that we would start posting their episodes on a regular basis.
Well, it only figures that Matt and Archie had to practically bribe yours truly with a guest spot on the show this episode to finally get the job done. But that’s neither here nor there. The gents are celebrating the milestone of their 20th episode, and I joined them in the studio this week to see the magic unfold (and interject a few stupid lines of my own).
Along with a chance to win some cool prizes, the dynamic duo discusses LittleBigPlanet 2, Hothead Games, Capcom, a Spider-Man screen, Bruce Campbell and so much more. It’s an episode not to be missed…so we suggest you don’t miss it. You can listen to it streaming below, or visit the guys over at www.mightyinkcomics.com.
–Bill Jones
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
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Title: Dead Rising 2: Case West
Platform: 360
ESRB: M
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Blue Castle Games
Rating: 
Review by: Matt Peters
Frank West fans rejoice! Capcom’s latest DLC offering for the Xbox 360 unlocks the ability to step into the shoes of the man himself. Fortunately, this doesn’t mean the end of Chuck Greene, Dead Rising 2’s protagonist. In a new twist on the already established play mechanics, players will learn that Frank’s not just a survivor…he’s a badass.
Beginning almost exactly where the main game left off, our two heroes meet as Chuck is confronted with the now-undead boss of the main game. After an assist from Mr. West and a quick stare-down/chest pounding/grunt-off, the two quickly whisk away to a research lab AKA “a place to kill more zombies.” (more…)
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I’ve been thinking about this for a while, pondering even. Over the past few years, we’ve been given an increasing amount of movies based on comics. Is this necessarily a good thing? You may be thinking to yourself, “Definitely! I need my Marvel fix on the big screen!” The thing is (besides Michael Chiklis), we’re being told the same story a minimum of three times!
Take the 1989 Batman, for example. When the movie was released and shown to be a cash cow prime for the milking, DC began releasing more comics, more cartoons and more video games based on the character. Some of these turn out good like Spider-Man for PS2. Most of them turn out bad…Iron Man bad. (more…)
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Title: Dead Rising: Case Zero
Platform: XBLA
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom
Rating:
Review by: Matt Peters
Since zombie survival is arguably the most popular horror genre today, it’s tempting to write off Dead Rising: Case Zero as a quick cash grab. After all, it’s published by the same company that’s brought us countless Resident Evil titles.
What differentiated the original Dead Rising from Resident Evil, however, was the sense of humor the game had about itself. The inclusion of such items as tennis rackets, a Servbot helmet and a full Mega Man costume gave some much needed hilarity to a melodramatic story. It created one of the most enjoyable early experiences I had with my Xbox 360. (more…)
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Capcom had a fairly large booth showing at Penny Arcade Expo 2010, and Archie got a chance to go hands on with two of the publisher’s most hotly anticipated titles – Dead Rising 2 and Marvel vs Capcom 3. Archie reports…
Dead Rising 2 looks to be ready to give fans of the first game everything they liked about the original title and more. One of the most new and talked about features is the weapon customization that has been added to the game. Although Capcom promises a bevy of possible combinations in the full retail game, the PAX demo on display only featured a subset of them. Trying to find new possible combinations is already very addicting, and will do wonders for the game’s replayability. (more…)
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Publisher: Ubisoft – Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
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Splinter Cell: Conviction is arguably the best installment in the series, and definitely the most accessible. It allows players to tackle it as an action game, but rewards them for stealth execution. And Conviction is a case of the entire package being greater than simply the sum of its parts, with campaign, co-op and competitive multiplayer offering plenty of value.
–Bill (more…)
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