We start with the rumors flying around about the successor to the Xbox 360. Will it use Blu Rays, will it have some sort of measures in place restricting gamers from playing used games on the console, and will it actually use a stupid name like Xbox 720? Then in our main topic we address ludology vs. narratology. Does story or interactivity take precedence or does it truly depend on the game? Watch as Brian and Landon duke it out in this extra long episode!

The dark one George Lucas has officially announced his retirement from ruining our childhood in film. We take a look back at his career and the future of his popular franchises. Then in our main topic we ask are video games the new TV? With video game consoles turning into all in one entertainment devices, will it dethrone TV or merge into one ball-o-media goodness? All this and more in Issue #27 of Boomzies!

The other day someone told me that Batman was not a super hero based on the fact that he is only a man, no special powers, just a regular guy. At first I gave my response, a bit angrily I might add, and went on my way. Then I thought to myself, if this person feels this way then surely others do too. Now I wouldn’t be a good Batman fan if I didn’t squash this thought and spread the good word of the Bat. So here it is, my full thoughts on not just why Batman is a super hero but why he is quite possibly the best super hero ever.

Get ready for the long haul on this one folks.

The first assumption here is that to be a super hero you must have some sort of meta-human power. These include but are not limited to; flying, super-speed, super-strength, x-ray vision, power of will, invisibility, and for good measure leaping tall buildings. While these attributes can certainly make one a super hero, they do not define it. Instead it should be defined by the ability to fight crime and injustice on a large, or if you will, super scale. This already makes Batman a super hero by the mere fact he defends Gotham, not to mention the entire world, daily.

There are plenty of other super heroes who are merely mortal as well. Green Lantern’s powers do not come from within but are granted by a ring. Yes, he does amplify those powers with his will, but will alone does not constitute a power. Captain America is only a government guinea pig for a super soldier formula, which grants him his powers. These do not take away from the men or their “super hero-ness” it only means they are not Superman, but I don’t see people arguing if they are considered super heroes.

In fact by Batman being only a man makes him one of, if not the greatest of super heroes. He teaches us; boys, girls, young and old, to overcome the limitations we are taught to accept as mere mortals. He shows us we can do and be better. Granted he has the cash to put his fantasy to greater heights than we can achieve, but it does not stop us from dreaming.

Batman knows he is a human, therefore he understands weakness, pain, and suffering. This makes him a stronger and better hero than others. While Superman can feel pain, he does not know the true weakness of being human. There are only a few instances in comics where he looses his powers and becomes human. In those instances though when Superman regains his powers, he is a better man. He becomes a more powerful hero because he understood weakness, because he was mortal for an instance. Batman is in this state at all times, yet he continuously overcomes it and that is no small feat.

Bruce Wayne is not able to be Batman forever. Inevitably he will have to step down. Being human means you age at a steady pace and Bruce Wayne will grow old. Batman will not. Being Batman is more than being a man, it is being a legend. The cowl can be passed down and live forever, thus extending the legend. See in recent history with Bruce Wayne’s “death” and Dick Grayson taking over the mantle of The Bat (or see Batman Beyond where Bruce trains young Terry McGinnis to be Batman), the legend lives, and grows, with each new installment it grows stronger. Characters like Superman cannot pass on his ability, while he grows old at a slower pace eventually he will be gone, and gone forever.

Batman isn’t called the worlds greatest detective for nothing either. In fact he is so intelligent he has a plan to take down virtually any super villain as well as his fellow heroes should they turn. He has taken down Superman on multiple occasions. This is a testament to not only his skill and training, but his intelligence and will. See The Dark Knight Returns. Batman also has the greatest rogues gallery, and yes, you can be judged by your counterpart. From the insanity and instability of the Joker to the shadowy and illusive nature of Catwoman, Batman truly has faced it all. One of the reason’s Batman’s character has been around for 70+ years is because his foes are so unique and interesting. Nobody wants to read about a hero defeating boring characters.

In conclusion to this lengthy thought, Batman is 100% a super hero any way you slice it. While he doesn’t have meta human powers he does indeed have the ability to fight crime on a large scale. He teaches us to be better, to overcome the limitations we are taught to accept, and to be fearless. Batman is more than a man, more than a hero, he is a legend and it doesn’t get much better than that.

We have a live Q&A session with Richard Ross of Operation Rainfall to get their side of the story and how this organization of dedicated Nintendo fans is seeking the international localization of three Wii games. Then in our main topic we talk about World of Warcraft vs. Star Wars: The Old Republic. With Star Wars The Old Republic beginning beta testing, there’s a lot of buzz surrounding the release of this game. Will WoW retain its’ throne or will Star Wars usurp the the reigning MMORPG king?

Also we talk about bums, how to keep you bum fresh, and how to properly care for your bum……BUM!

After years of resisting, George Lucas is finally releasing the Star Wars films onto Blu Ray. But there is a disturbance in the force as even more changes are being made! Then in our main topic we talk about genre distinction in video games. With so many more genres and games mixing elements from varied genres, have the lines between genres been blurred too much?

There are times when a man must make a difficult decision. Is she the right one? Should I take this job? Are pink rubber pants the right look for me? But then there are those decisions which can alter the very space time continuum. I face such an obstacle. I must decide which Batman costume my son will wear for Halloween this year!

What one should I choose?! You tell me after the jump!

My choices consist of two similar but very different Batman costumes. First is a costume based off ‘Batman The Brave and the Bold’. Second is a costume based off ‘Batman the Animated Series’. Now this might seem like a simple choice, but after closer inspection it’s a choice filled with more questions than answers. It’s serious internet business! Let us review the candidates.

On one hand, The Brave and the Bold costume has that classic blue and grey vibe. The blue and grey would definitely stand out compared to the ‘Dark Knight’ Batman costume most kids will be wearing. I’m not sure if it’s how the kid is wearing it, but the cowl looks a little better as well. On the other hand the Animated costume is near and dear to my heart because hey, it’s from one of the finest animated series of all time. I like the black and grey, but it seems dull compared to the aforementioned blue and grey.

So here I stand, on the precipice of possibly one of the most important decision of not only my life, but my child’s life. I mean this costume could change my son’s very future and the man he grows up to be. O.K. so maybe not, but I’m still torn between these two costumes.

So here’s where you come in. I need your vote to determine which costume wins!

You can cast your vote below. Voting ends September 9th, 2011 at 11:59 p.m. so get your votes in. The winner will be announced on the September 10th edition of Boomzies. Vote for justice and the American way!

- Brian

If you are a comic book fan, this isn’t new to you. You either are excited about this change or upset (fine, I guess you can be somewhere in the middle too). Some books are going away, some change drastically, and some things don’t really change at all. I am personally upset that the Red Robin book is ending. I have been a big fan of the 3rd Robin, Tim Drake, from the beginning. He isn’t quite going away though, he just won’t have his own book, I can still read him in Teen Titans #1.

Stepping back though, what things are changing?

First off, this is a great time for new readers to jump into the comic book world. If you have ever been on the fence about reading because these books have been around for generations and afraid you might be missing out, no need to feel that way anymore. There will be all new 52 issues, re-numbered to #1’s. Also if you don’t have a comic book store near you, or you prefer your fancy, expensive iPad, DC is making every issue available digitally day of (Yes, that is a BIG deal). And you know these stories will be good.

How can I say that, you might ask. My thought behind this is that if you are going to do something this huge, this drastic, you had better have the stories to back them up. They certainly have the right creative teams, some fabulous writers and artist like Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, and Jim Lee are all leading this change. I’m only worried certain things will be a little rushed to get these characters started up, like all the introductions needed for the Justice League.

The DC Relaunch- patrickhwillems

Click here to view the embedded video.

A few key changes in the DC Universe will be taking place. I will try to break these down as best as possible.

Batman – Not too much changes for Batman himself, but there are some tweaks in his entourage. Batman has been in operation for a few years already (before Superman makes a public debut). Batman Inc. still holds strong, although Dick Grayson and Damian Wayne are no longer partners. Bruce Wayne as Batman takes helm back in Gotham and his son Damian is now his Robin.

Dick Grayson seems to be leaving the cowl behind and going back to being Nightwing and gets his own series again! This is great as I was also upset that he lost his own series during the Battle for the Cowl story arc, but was relieved when he became Batman.

HOLY WHEELCHAIR, Batman! Err…Lack there-of I should say. Barbara Gordan is no longer Oracle and wheelchair bound as she regains her position as Batgirl! Take that Joker!

Superman – First major change is Clark Kent and Lois Lane are not married anymore. No, there wasn’t some crazy Kryptonian divorce, it just hasn’t happened yet. Maybe we will get to see another huge Superman wedding craze like in the 90’s.

He ditches the red underwear. Don’t worry though, his suit is relatively still the same, and don’t freak out if you are surfing the net and see one of the new reboot images of him in jeans and work boots, as that is just a transitional phase before he dawns the real deal.

Here is the biggest change for him in my opinion. I believe this go-around BOTH of his adoptive parents, Martha and Jonathan Kent, are long dead. This will certainly change and affect how Superman is this time around compared to last, we will just have to wait and see it.

Green Lantern – Welp…Sinestro is totally a Green Lantern again. So, there is that.

Wonder Woman, The Flash and Green Arrow – These all look to be staying similar to where they were, we will probably just get a new origin story for each. I’m sure there will be a few tweaks, iron out some things to suit them to today, but their basic timeline looks to stay the same.

Aquaman – Wait…They are keeping Aquaman? Shit… (I’m kidding, don’t hate me if you like Aquaman)

I am very excited about these changes and certainly hope this works out to DC’s favor. How does everyone else feel about the changes? Does this make you want to go out and start reading, or make you shift over to Marvel permanently? Leave us some comments and tells us how you really feel.

- Landon

Fads are just a fact of life. An undeniable cliche we as humans are so easily susceptible to. The dictionary defines a fad as:

“A temporary fashion, notion, manner of conduct, etc., esp. one followed enthusiastically by a group.”

In the context of video games, zombies are the super ultra mega Jersey Shore OMG like totally rad fad of the day. In my last article I talked about a game that’s on the receiving end of a lot of hype, Dead Island. A zombie themed co-op FPS. One of the big draws for the game is the inclusion of zombies. The more I thought about it, the more I realized we have been bombarded with zombie themed games. The list of games containing zombies in the last few years is staggering.

Red Dead Redemption
Call of Duty Black Ops
Dead Rising 2
Plants vs. Zombies
Borderlands
Zombie Tycoon
Zombie Wranglers
Left 4 Dead
Shellshock 2: Blood Trails
Alive 4-Ever
Burn, Zombie Burn!
Call of Duty: World at War: Zombies,
Fort Zombie
Atom Zombie Smasher
I Made a Game with Zombies in It!
Zombie Apocalypse
Zombie Driver
Zombie Panic in Wonderland
Dead Island

As I stated in the aforementioned article, if you’re desperate for a hot theme to base your game on, look no further than zombies. It’s slowly becoming the gaming de facto. It’s almost a surprise when a game either doesn’t have zombies, or at least has zombie themed DLC. Just get it over with and release a 3-D zombie game. Kill two fads with one stone. Creativity has been replaced with the commonplace. Games with zombies in them tend to sell. Developers and publishers alike know this so they continue to churn them out.

This isn’t to say zombie themed games or DLC makes the game itself terrible or any less fun. I can pick out a handful of games on the above list I personally enjoy. Zombies are easy to kill with little remorse because well, they’re already dead. I can also pick out a handful of games that had the word “Zombie” pasted on just because some yahoo in R&D said it was a good idea.

Case and point. I immensely enjoyed Michael Jackson’s music video for “Thriller”. Why, because it was a unique and awesome video for a unique and awesome song. Had every other Micheal Jackson video been zombie themed, it would have been less and less awesome.

Now I won’t pretend video games are the only form of media that’s caught the zombie fever. Movies, television, and comic books all use the undead to a great degree. Case in point, the crossover of ‘The Walking Dead’ from comic book to television adaptation. I simply feel video games have not utilized it as effectively as these other mediums.

So I ask, no beg you video game creators and publishers to use zombies with care. Make amazing games with zombie themes, but use that noggin’ of yours to come up with something new and interesting. Something beyond the status quo.

P.S. We tried contacting a zombie to get their thoughts on this story, but all they had to say was, “NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM.”

As many of you might know production of the new Zack Snyder Superman reboot Man of Steel has already begun. The new film stars Henry Cavill as Superman and from the image above, he has ditched the classic hair style of the past. This past week the plot synopsis has leaked to the public. Some of you might find it a bit familiar, for better or worse. Here’s a hint, most feel for worse.

See the full synopsis and our breakdown of the new photo after the jump.

Let me preface this article by saying I am by no means a Superman fanatic, if this article were about Batman however we might run out of space, and everyone else would be bored by the end of it. While I’m on the topic, Dark Knight Rises is looking damn good so far. How is everyone liking some of the leaked footage?

With the new DC Comics reboot, and in turn new Jim Lee costumes, what look could we be expecting out of this film? By the released photo of Cavill as Superman, it looks like they have ditched the traditional hair curl, and you can’t really see if they are also ditching the classic red undies and going for the new DC reboot look. The suit looks to have some serious texture to it, similar to the new Amazing Spiderman suit that looked like a basketball. In any case, hopefully we will see more photos released and get a better view of the suit.

Here is where most people find an issue, the plot synopsis:

• “In the pantheon of superheroes, Superman is the most recognized and revered character of all time. Clark Kent/Kal-El (Cavill) is a young twentysomething journalist who feels alienated by powers beyond anyone’s imagination. Transported to Earth years ago from Krypton, an advanced alien planet, Clark struggles with the ultimate question – Why am I here? Shaped by the values of his adoptive parents Martha (Lane) and Jonathan Kent (Costner), Clark soon discovers that having super abilities means making very difficult decisions. But when the world needs stability the most, it comes under attack. Will his abilities be used to maintain peace or ultimately used to divide and conquer? Clark must become the hero known as “Superman,” not only to shine as the world’s last beacon of hope but to protect the ones he loves.”

Okay sooooo……another Smallville? Do we really need one more origin story? I mean, I am all for origin stories to an extent, but this is Superman. 90% of the world already knows Superman’s origin, so I’m pretty sure we can skip past that point. Looks like Warner Bros doesn’t feel the same.

The other thing I have issue with in this film is the statement of “…will his abilities maintain peace or used to divide and conquer…” I don’t know about anyone else, but Superman is the big blue boy scout here to do good all the time, always try, always be…Superman. Don’t get me wrong, this still could be quite a great movie, and I certainly hope it is. From the image above there is already more action than the entire Superman Returns movie (I jest, I actually quite enjoyed that movie, it could have been better but overall I had fun). He is tearing apart some kind of large metal door/vault and I certainly hope there will be more of this kind of action.

Overall, I am cautiously optimistic about this film. Like I said though, I am not a huge Superman fanboy so I can’t say too much on the topic. Smallville was a fun TV show that lasted 10 years, I think we need to see Superman as Superman for an entire film, kicking ass for America and the world!

What are your thoughts?

- Landon

UPDATE 08.27.11

Based on this pretty awful cell phone image, looks like they have decided to ditch the red undies of classic superman, and going with the all blue suit similar to the new DC reboot. I’m on the fence about this, from this image it makes me a little unsure about it, but maybe some new hi-res shots later will change my mind.

Our Spider sense is tingling as we start things off by talking about Spiderman’s new threads for his 2012 flick. Then in our main topic we’re talking about collectible video game crap. Does limited, special, or collector’s mean anything, or is is just another way for publishers to make a quick buck? Let the epic battle begin!

From the creators of Substance TV comes Extra Joy!. A weekly show covering everything from video games, toys, comic books, movies, TV, music, art, design, culture, news, and much more. Every week Brian and Erik will pick three things they are playing, watching, listening to, reading, or thinking about and give you the quick rundown. Enjoy the first edition!