Let’s not kid ourselves, this is pretty hot. In a recent interview Hayden explains the kiss was her idea.
If ever I was forced to choose my favourite all time superhero from any universe at time of my life, my answer would always instantly be Spiderman. This is why I was so excited to get my hands on the latest Spidey game from long time web slinging publisher Activision, Spiderman Web of Shadows (WoS) for the Xbox 360.
While most superhero video games are just everyday ho-hum storylines involving one villain, or an adaption to the most recent superhero movie; WoS does something I feel no other superhero game or movie has ever done. This game feels exactly like an entire storyline of a comic book! While no other super-game or movie has had this large a scale, most comic storylines spreading over 10, 20, even 50 issues involve grand scheme battles, a plethora of extra characters and real world implications to the issues at hand. And not only is this story intense and huge, but it’s also pretty dark, swinging away from past Spiderman titles in that respect.
The story begins with Spiderman fighting his long time rival Venom in the streets of New York. In the midst of battle, a portion of the Symbiote (the alien ‘suit’ Venom is made out of) leaps onto and is absorbed by Spidey and he is given back his old black suit which changes his mentality. Now, Spiderman has had issues with this suit before, so he knows the repercussions of wearing such a dangerous costume and can control it to a certain degree. Life is ok, Spidey’s got some new duds, is stronger, all that good stuff then all of a sudden humans start acting like venom and it turns out because of their little exchange, Venom can now create little symbiote monsters out of anyone! The game turns from every other super-game into a full out invasion threatening all of New York and maybe even the world! Heroes from all walks of life team up, S.H.I.E.L.D. shows up, and even Spiderman’s villains must all work together to stop the spread of Venom and as such, you can feel the scale of this battle as you watch the entire huge city sprawl into chaos.
There are a few amazing aspects to this game that I would love to point out first. The most important is that while Spiderman was a great hero, what made him stand out was Peter Parker, the man under the cloth, he was an everyday Joe who was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Peter has to deal with such things as morality, the people he cares about, his own needs and the needs of New York and as such, with this symbiote in you, you are given choices. Will you be good and work a little harder for the citizens and the people you love, or will you be evil, use the black suit and get the upper hand in battle? All throughout the game your given choices, act as Spidey would, or act as Venom would, and each decision changes the progression of the story and even the ending. Another topic is the city of New York, it’s huge!!! Taking well over 5 minutes to web swing from one end to another, and the sky scrapers are just as tall, with freefalls galore. As well, no longer does Spiderman swing from clouds, what I mean is that if you are at the top of a building and you want to swing off, you will not be able to until you drop down low enough to use another building to swing. And finally, there are many many mini-sidequests to keep players busy, as well as spider symbols to level up your attributes and allies (both heroes and villains) to call in to help you.
The graphics are amazing, by far the best looking super hero game to date and with the amount of detail (especially Spiderman’s character model), you can see every little web, every flip, every grimace of each person in the game. As Spiderman web-swings or brings out his symbiote, the quality of what you see just makes you smiles. Camera blurs and explosions round out the visual package into a tight tasty treat for your eyes. Unfortunately, the only downside is the camera issues that plague WoS when Spidey gets too high up or moves to quickly across the city for rendering to keep up.
Sound wise, the hustle and bustle of New York streets pre-invasion are all there and present, and while the musical scale can fall flat at times, it works extremely well at others (namely the introduction to the game). All scenes have voice acting with a selection of responses to choose from when speaking to non-playable characters and while Spiderman is just as clever and witty as always, The big issue I have is that while every other voice actor sounds amazing and perfect for the part, Spiderman’s voice is one of the worst I have ever heard, whiny and nasally. It’s a shame such good script writing is ruined by not wanting to listen to what is said.
Spiderman’s controls can range from simple to complex, while you can go about button mashing and probably get far enough in the game, as you level up, you learn new moves and combos. These combos can then be combined with other combos to create Arial combo attacks to take out entire armies of flying monsters or soldiers hanging out on building sides in a flurry of fast paced action. As well, as you level, you are given the choice of learning new moves and skills for Spiderman’s red or black suit, realistically doubling all the maneuvers that can be pulled off. As well as the combos, there are web attacks, cars that can be thrown (nothing else can be thrown however) and counters. Taking this one step further, the counters can be countered by bad guys and even one step further, you can counter the countered counter… I think that’s as far as it can go, but while you are given a tutorial about how to counter a counter, I have only been able to do it once in the game, and that was on my 15th try during the tutorial.
Overall, I feel Spiderman: Web of Shadows is the best super hero game out there and compared to other games coming out this holiday season, I would venture to say the best action game not involving shooting this year! The story is amazing, the scale is huge on so many levels, everyone in Spiderman’s life is involved, the game is so intense that you actually share Peter Parker’s desire to do good (or not if that’s how you roll), the boss battles are huge and heart-pumping, the script is well written and there is plenty to do aside from the story line. Negatively speaking, some things felt missing: the lack of objects to throw aside from cars, the lack of controller sensitivity (its either run or stop, no walking), Spiderman’s voice is horribly annoying, there are camera issues at times and a few times there were minor glitches during cut scenes. Do the pros outweigh the cons? You bet your web slinging patootie it does! Go out and experience the hardships of Spiderman now! Oh, and did I mention that most of the other heroes / villains get infected and become symbiotic?
Gameplay: 4.5/5
Graphics: 4.0/5
Sound: 4.0/5
Replay Value: 3.5/5
Seth Green and Breckin Meyer may be joining the cast of “Heroes.”
The real life best friends and production partners would play “Atlanta-based comic book nerds aficionados who cross paths with (and perhaps serve as advisors to) one of the Heroes,” reports Entertainment Weekly.
With most of the cast returning and more and more stars being signed to the show, this season’s talent will be almost as exciting as the show’s plotlines.
Green and Meyer currently work together on “Robot Chicken.”
Hayden Panettiere’s father might just need a hero to get him out of this predicament.
According to E! News, Alan Panettiere was arrested early Monday morning for allegedly hitting his wife, Lesley Panettiere. Sgt. Scott Wolf, a spokesperson for the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Department, said Hayden’s father got into an argument with Hayden’s mother and struck her on the left cheek up to two times with a closed fist.
The “Heroes” star’s mother called the police who arrive at the home and took her statement.
Reports claim that the spat occurred over a party the couple attended. Hayden’s dad is currently being held for $50,000 bail.
No word whether the 18-year-old star or her younger brother, Jansen Panettiere, were present during the altercation.
It most likely will not be back this season, but “Heroes” has been renewed by NBC.
Entertainment Weekly reports that the Peacock network plans to relaunch the sci-fi series in the fall, along with freshman dramas “Life” and “Chuck.”
The three shows were put into question when the writers went on strike, and due to “Heroes” use of narrative storytelling, many critics assumed it would not come back this season for four or five extra episodes.
Most other series will be back before the end of this year’s television season in May. ABC has already announced “Lost” will feature five additional episodes on top of the eight already in the can for a season total of 13.
Expect most other series to return in mid-April.
“Heroes” hotties Milo Ventimiglia and Hayden Panettiere can deny it all they want, but People Magazine have confirmed that they are a couple.
Panettiere, 18, and Ventimiglia, 30, first set tongues wagging in September by appearing very intimate at an Emmy party. But Panettiere, Ventimiglia and their “Heroes” co-stars claimed the pair were just friends.
A rep for Panettiere was mum on the subject, saying “We do not respond to inquiries from the media regarding Ms. Panettiere’s personal life.” However, “People” magazine does not print stories that they have not confirmed, at least off the record.
According to the magazine, Panettiere’s mother doesn’t mind that her barely legal daughter is dating a 30-year-old. “Hayden’s mom adores Milo,” a family friend told People. “She thinks he’s so cute. She tells her friends that he’s her boyfriend. She’s very proud.”
If Hayden Panettiere wants to stay out of jail, she should probably stay away from Japan.
An arrest warrant has been issued in Japan for the Heroes star, she revealed in a recent interview.
“I learned today that I have an arrest warrant out for me in Japan because of what I did for Save the Whales,” the 18-year-old star told E! News.
Last month, footage of the actor-turned-activist engaging in a heated confrontation with Japanese fisherman was swirling around the internet. Panettiere joined other activists in an attempt to interfere with a dolphin hunt in a cove near Taiji in southwestern Japan and garnered a lot of attention for her heroic endeavour.
When asked what the warrant could mean for her, Panettiere said, “Potentially jail, but I doubt it. … I guess they could come here and get us, but probably not.”
She also seemed to be unfazed by the fear of incarceration. “I’d do it again,” she said of the protest to E! “Very possibly, might do it again.”
The star is also surprised at the media coverage her good deeds have attracted.
“I was very excited that people were interested in what we did,” she said. “In [Hollywood], you tend to only get publicity for not wearing underwear or going to rehab.”
Heroes star Hayden Panettiere seems to be getting some inspiration from her TV character.
The 18-year-old star played real-life hero last week as she joined activists from the U.S. and Australia in paddling out on surfboards to try and reach a pod of dolphins before it was driven into a nearby cove and slaughtered.
Before the team of activists could reach the dolphins, their path was blocked by a fishing boat of angry fisherman intent on carrying on with their hunting.
The altercation was caught on video and the footage shows the fisherman using the boat’s propellers to stop the surfers and even poking at them with a boat hook, eventually forcing the team to return to shore. The video also captured an emotional Panettiere returning to shore visibly shaken by the incident as tears stream down the starlet’s face.
Panettiere was working with the Save Japan Dolphins coalition that attempts to disrupt the annual slaughter of dolphins by Japanese fisherman, who kill an estimated 23,000 of the sea creatures each year.
In parts of Japan many locals believe dolphins should be treated like fish and the hunting of the mammals is seen as culturally acceptable.
Amidst stern denials of romance, Milo Ventimiglia has reportedly bought “Heroes” co-star Hayden Panettiere an 18 karat gold ring.
According to “In Touch,” the Tiffany & Co. ring is worth $1,950 and Ventimiglia had it inscribed with the words “Sweet like Hayden.”
The belated birthday gift from 30-year-old Ventimiglia to 18-year-old Panettiere may very well be a platonic gift between friends, but it’s not going to help them avoid those pesky rumours.
Hostel director Eli Roth will write and direct an episode of the NBC spinoff Heroes: Origins.
The series will act as a prequel to the primetime hit, which premiered for its second season last night. Origins will delve into the world of extraordinary characters not previously seen. Viewers will eventually choose their favourite Origins character, who will then be added the main cast of the original show next season.
NBC has already ordered 6 episodes of the spinoff, which will premiere midseason while Heroes is on hiatus.
Michael Dougherty (Superman Returns) and Kevin Smith (Clerks) will also write and direct for the new series.
