Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #16 Review

Whereas The Ultimates and Ultimate X-Men have been dealing with separate pieces of the same conflict, Ultimate Spider-Man has only recently crawled out of its hole and become more actively involved with these other books. Unfortunately, that's not necessarily to the benefit of this series. Issue #16 spends too much time retreading old ground and focusing on Ultimates-centric matters and not enough on the more "mundane" struggles that have made Miles' journey so interesting.

The most perplexing aspect of this issue is the renewed hostility between Captain America and Miles, as though Cap's acceptance of Miles' activities wasn't just documented in the aftermath of last issue's Rhino battle. I don't mind seeing Cap playing the reluctant mentor to Miles. It makes sense given his lingering guilt over Peter Parker's death and Miles' desperate need for some sort of combat training. But at this point that relationship should be further along than it is. Meanwhile, this issue too often feels like it's working in the shadow of Sam Humphries' Ultimates issues, from the battle with the randomly placed Hydra agents to the rehash of Cap's Presidential acceptance speech. Earlier issues in this arc did a better job of reflecting the new Ultimate status quo without letting that impact the flow of the story.

Issue #16 also suffers from the loss of David Marquez. Ultimate Spider-Man used to be a bastion of visual continuity thanks to artists like Mark Bagley and Stuart Immonen. Those days are clearly gone now. Pepe Larraz steps on board for this issue. While he handles the action scenes well enough, his facial work is too loose and inconsistent to match the detailed expressiveness of artists like Marquez and Sara Pichelli. This series really needs to find some visual stability. I'm sure the recent plotting hiccups will work themselves out, but finding a regular penciller to fill their shoes is a much more difficult proposition.

Jesse is a writer for various IGN channels. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter, or Kicksplode on MyIGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

How Will Monster Hunter 3 Save Transfers Work?

We’ve learned at Tokyo Game Show that if you buy Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate on both Wii U and 3DS, you’ll be able to use the same savegame for both versions, taking your progress with you wherever you go. But how exactly will that work?

Series producer Ryozo Tsujimoto explained to IGN today that you’ll have to download a small, separate app for 3DS in order to make the transfer. You’ll just have to launch the app and press a button – it all happens wirelessly, you don’t need an Internet connection, and it doesn’t take long. “You can think of it as just one save data that both systems are sharing,” he said.

Tsujimoto also hopes that this dual-platform strategy will help Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate reach the biggest possible number of fans. “One of the things we’re trying to emphasise is that because it’s on two platforms, we’re actually trying to appeal to two very different types of playing styles,” he says.

“There are people who want to play outside with the 3DS version, and also people who want to play at home online; hopefully we can hit both of those audiences at the same time. There will of course also be people who will want both versions.

“We’re really hoping that because of the strategy that we have with Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate we will be able to reach out to a greater range of fans.”

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate will be out in the West on 3DS and Wii U in early 2013.

Keza MacDonald is in charge of IGN’s games coverage in the UK, and has spent hundreds of hours hunting monsters on the PS2, PSP and Wii over a good five years now. You can follow her on Twitter and IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

Ultimate Comics: The Ultimates #14 Review

One thing that can be said about the Ultimate Universe is that its heroes are forced to deal with an even heavier dose of misery than those of the regular Marvel Universe. Currently, Ultimate America is in shambles, with soul patch-wearing robots ruling the Southeast, various states seceding from the union, and Texas primed to drop a bomb on New York City.

That's the situation the Ultimates are struggling to deal with in this second chapter of the Divided We Stand arc. And it's that sense of scale and sheer desperation that helps the book stand apart from the umpteen other Avengers-themed titles on the stands. Sam Humphries is finally able to write the Big Three in action as they team with Hawkeye and Black Widow to prevent Texas unleashing nuclear armageddon. Thor isn't given the chance to do much, although this issue does hint at ties between current conflicts and the Asgardian material that Jonathan Hickman dealt with in his issues. But Cap and Iron Man have some solid material. In terms of both the team roster and their personalities, this is a series that should appeal very much to fans of the Avengers movie.

In addition to the main cast, there's also a healthy dose of political conspiracy and maneuvering by the current villains. This material helps spice up the conflict and lend an air of unpredictability to the conflict. Unfortunately, these scenes don't always integrate that well with the Ultimates-focused ones. In particular, the final sequence reaches an awkward and unfulfilling conclusion.

Also disappointing is the return of multiple pencillers. I had hoped the series could avoid that for a while given how prevalent fill-in art was on Humphries' early issues. Billy Tan's pages are generally sound, though his facial work is pretty bland. Timothy Green tackles the remainder. As much as I've enjoyed Green's recent cosmic Marvel work, his pencils are too flat and rushed in appearance here. This series really needs to find a greater level of consistency and regularity when it comes to the visuals.

Jesse is a writer for IGN Comics and IGN Movies. He can't wait until he's old enough to feel ways about stuff. Follow Jesse on Twitter, or find him on IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com