Super Simpsons?

Every month or so there's a new mission in the Simpsons Tapped Out freemium game. As far as I'm concerned the regular game is fun all on its own. If they do these special events too often, it can get tiresome, especially if it's complicated like the last few. Keep it simple. Sometimes I just wanna whack snakes, ya know?

The new mission's theme is comic books and superheroes, so you'd think I'd be all in, right? Not quite. I have issues, pun unintended.

There are a lot of superheroes involved in the Simpsons universe, and I'm not talking about the Simpsonizations of real characters. They have their own heroes. There's Radioactive Man and Fallout Boy, Bartman, Duffman, and Pie-Man just off the top of my head. The last two are even in the game, along with Mr. Burns' Fruit Bat Man.

My problem is that the character you want the most - much like Sideshow Bob - they have removed from the game. You can't have/play Radioactive Man, because they've killed him. Where's the fun in that?

I'm enjoying what I can while I can. I'm happy to have Bartman, Fallout Boy, and Spider-Pig, but I also can't wait to get back to the regular game. Or at least simpler missions. Is it snake whacking time yet?

Powers on the Sony PlayStation Network

Based on the comic series by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming, "Powers" the television series has debuted on the Sony PlayStation Network. You can check out my review here. Enjoy.

Daddy and Daughter on Disney Infinity

I will get around soon to writing about Disney Infinity here on the Non-Gamer's Gamer's Blog myself soon enough, but until then, here's something better.

My friend, author, and the editor-in-chief of Biff Bam Pop!, Andy Burns, wrote this piece this Valentine's Day weekend over at that pop culture site.

Not only is it a nice piece about daddy/daughter time, but also the videogame Disney Infinity, both the original and 2.0, but also a new book out from DK - The Disney Infinity: Character Encyclopedia.

You can check out the article here.

Super Bowl Pac-Man

In case you missed it the other night (although I don't really get how, it was both the most watched Super Bowl in history, and a hell of a game), here is one of the best commercials of the night, for Budweiser.

Part of their series of #UpForWhatever commercials, a man was put inside a gigantic Pac-Man machine, and made to play the game.

Are we really sure that Marvel Comics super-villain Arcade isn't in charge of the Budweiser's advertising department??

The video below that is the making of the commercial. Enjoy.

Injustice

I like games with superheroes, mostly because I'm a big comic book geek. Injustice: Gods Among Us is therefore my jam. You've got known DC Comics superheroes squaring off against DC Comics super-villains, or not.

The fact is, you can manipulate any character to fight any other character involved, even themselves. The story revolves around the concept of multiple parallel universes, a pretty common bugaboo in DC Comics. So you not only have the characters you know, but you also have evil, and sometimes good versions of those characters as well.

The characters at your disposal, at least at first, include heroes Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Aquaman, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Hawkgirl, Shazam (sooo disappointed it's not Captain Marvel), Nightwing, Raven, and villains Lex Luthor, Catwoman, Sinestro, Solomon Grundy, Ares, Deathstroke, Killer Frost, Black Adam, Doomsday, Bane, Harley Quinn, and the Joker. Later characters were Zatanna, Martian Manhunter, Batgirl, Lobo, Zod, even Mortal Kombat's Scorpion. Additional skins were available for a number of concepts like Blackest Night, Red Son, Earth 2 and others.

The game is very similar to MK, mostly because it's designed by NetherRealm Studios, the folks who did Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, so there you go as far control techniques and the appearance of Scorpion. I found his presence charming, but also a bit distracting. Scorpion isn't a DC character, ya know?

Another bonus is the locations and the background characters. All the choice DCU places are here, Arkham, Gotham, Metropolis, Atlantis, Themyscira, and the Batcave, the Fortress of Solitude, and the Hall of Justice just to name a few. Easter eggs are many, look for characters and the like in the background. My favorite is watching Atom Smasher battle Giganta as you fight your own fight.

There's also some fabulous voicework by folks who have worked in DC Comics animation, videogames, and even in the case of Stephen Amell as Arrow, their live-action properties. Listen for Kevin Conroy as Batman, Susan Eisenberg as Wonder Woman, Phil LaMarr as John Stewart, and Tara Strong as Raven, among others. Great skins have been available as well, covering the New 52, Earth 2, Red Son, and Blackest Night, just to name a few. However, any new characters or skins have been halted in the same manner that Pain was stopped by Sony. They're just not supporting the game any longer…