Review: Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes (PS3)

Besides offering hours of enjoyment for the kids, Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes did something for me. It reminded me how much I enjoyed the likes of The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction (2005), X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), and the Marvel Ultimate Alliance games (2006, 2009) and then plunged me into a hole of nostalgia eight miles deep reminiscing about Stunt Island (1992) but before I can really explain that it's worth quickly describing Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes.

Besides the actual game, the "starter pack" comes packed with three figures -- Thor, Iron Man, Black Widow -- two Toy Box Game Discs, and the Infinity base, which plugs into your PlayStation 3. To actually play the game, one need only put one of the plastic characters on the base; their digital reflections appear in the game and it's off to the races.

At least, for the kids.

Feature: Modern Day Collectibles

Collecting video games is becoming more and more of a popular hobby. The problem with that, however, is some of the real "Holy Grails" of game collecting are getting more and more difficult to find. Instead of talking about game collectibles that are going to be really tough for you to find, I thought I would showcase some variants and collectibles that should be easier for you to track down today, in the hopes that they will be more valuable and collectible in the future. At the very least, all four of these items are conversation pieces for when your gaming friends come over.

First we have "The Last Remnant." This Square Enix role-playing game was directed at both Western and Japanese audiences, which is partially to blame for the weak reviews this game received. However it still sold reasonably well and a result had more than one print run. For the Xbox 360 version in North America the initial release had a silvery reflective tone to it (as can be seen in the picture on the right hand side). Subsequent releases ditched the silver for standard issue (and likely cheaper) white. If you are a true collector and/or a Square Enix fan, you are definitely going to want to get both.

Collectible: Naked Snake (Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater)

Hot Toys has a reputation -- at least as much as I can put together -- of being the top tier action figure house when it comes to source material accuracy, accessories and the overall quality of construction for figures in the 12" (or 30cm) range). It's something that was pointed out to me when J'Tonello reviewed the The Joker (The Dark Knight).

Maybe a better way to describe Hot Toys overarching mandate is that they produce the Big Mac you see in the print ads. There are no camera tricks or sleight of hand here. What you see is what you get with offerings from Hot Toys. Of course, for a little more than $200 you should be expecting as much. You don't want to be opening that box to a bunch of loose lettuce, patties that have slid sideways from a squashed bun, the cheese congealed on side of the box.

Right from the box that Naked Snake (Sneaking Suite Version) comes in, there's an attention to detail that only Metal Gear Solid fans may notice. The large exclamation point under the top flap, for one, but it's the small details of Snake that really do make this a remarkable figure.

Review: Disney Infinity (PS3)

It's difficult to begin a review of Disney Infinity without providing an ample warning to parents about the real-world action figure economy that Disney has created in some respects (and takes a few cues from the popular Skylanders series).

Besides a video game, there are real-world figures to collect that can be plunked down on the "Infinity Base" which interact with each other, along with optional/additional "Power Discs." Setting these items on the base makes them "live" in the game. The base set comes packed with Mr. Incredible (The Incredibles), Jack Sparrow (Pirates of the Caribbean), and Sulley (Monsters U) and one Power Disc. In practicality, this means three fair sized campaigns ("Play Sets") and plenty of options when it comes to Toy Box mode.

Feature: Collecting - God of War

On March 12, 2013 God of War: Ascension (also known as God of War IV) will be released. The excitement and anticipation mount for this title and so we thought we would take a look back in time to see just where this series started and how far it has come.

Since 2005, God of War has fired up gamers around the world and immersed them in a world filled with Greek mythology and some of the most visceral gaming experiences known to man. So much so, in fact, that this article might actually need to have a mature rating slapped on it for good measure.

Collectible: Zartan vs. Flint Diorama

Sideshow Toys and Hasbro have teamed up produce a collectible that my 7-year old self would have been (figuratively) drooling over.

Members of Cobra Command were always somehow cooler than the GI Joe forces. Snake Eyes was the most memorable character for the Joes. Cobra had Destro, Serpentor, Cobra Commander, and empathic twins Tomax and Xamot, to name only a handful of the better known misfits that were always causing problems for GI Joe. But Destro, Serpentor, and Cobra Commander would have been hard pressed to blend into a crowd. On that issue alone, the coolest of them all was Zartan, master of disguise, who could blend in anywhere.