WTH: Disney buys Marvel, Star Trek vs. Left4Dead2

Before I delve too deeply into these topics, I want to introduce the WTH to you. Basically, it's one of those "new" things I wanted to add to my blog... however, it was originally drafted for Beyond the Entwash as an audio podcast type thing. So Limitless Ramblings will merely hold onto the text version... and be the only version of WTH until I figure out how exactly I want to run the audio version.

WTH means "What the H?" Which is basically a harmless phrase (more ideal than WTF) applied to things that kind of just make me go... WHY? Some of it will be funny, some of it will be serious, and some of it will probably make you go "WHY?" as well.

Also, a heads up - I'm going to do NaBloPoMo for November, as well... but don't expect any epic posts then. Basically, I'll be posting my word count and, if I write something I like enough, excerpts from the novel I'll be attempting to write. ~Lauren

So... Disney bought Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion this past August.

Why am I just now commenting on it? Well... because my annoyance has finally hit critical mass on the topic.

Don't get me wrong... I love Disney, and I love Marvel. But do I love Marvney? Not at all. I mean, I can see the potential in such a partnership, sure.

Marvel could bring a lot to Disney. Their gritty approach to art could create a lot of really epic things for Disney - on a Curse of the Black Pearl level - as made evident by Jeffrey Thomas' Dark Disney Princesses sketches. Not to mention the ability to expand the Kingdom Hearts roster for any future games (Sora with an Iron Man drive form? An Incredible Hulk summon? You know the gamer in you is drooling right now), because we all know there will be future games. Looking at some of the pros, it would seem difficult to find something - anything - wrong with the partnership... but the one thing that I do have a problem with is a big thing in my mind... and it finally boiled over today when I got the new issue of Game Informer.

The cover sports a dark and dreary landscape. A menacing castle rests atop a rickety mountain in the background, lightning and the iconic, forboding cloud vortex floats above. Closer to the foreground there is a very evil looking something, with clawed hands, green eyes and mouth... it looks a lot like a black, gooey, Oogie Boogie. And at the very front of it all stand our hero, complete with iconic yellow shoes, red trousers, white gloves, and rounded ears. The caption reads: EPIC MICKEY. Disney's iconic mouse as you've never seen him.

That's right, folks. The hero of this dark and menacing new game is Mickey Mouse. Now, you only see him from behind, and there is some dark paint or something flying off of him, and he is - rather epicly - gripping his weapon of choice (a paint brush), but it's still MICKEY MOUSE.

I immediately thought of the Disney/Marvel marriage, and everything just exploded. Disney always has been, and always will be my fri-- I mean, it will always make me think of Mickey Mouse. Which is fine. I have nothing against Mickey Mouse... in Disney. Adding him to the Avengers roster, however? Yeah, not so excited about that. That high-speaking, shirtless mouse will be in every superhero movie from now on until eternity.

Now, will that really happen? I hope not... but I know they'll throw something in... I just know it. And it's just... wrong! Mickey Mouse and Iron Man should never be associated with each other! Even on a Kingdom Hearts playing field! Squall and Cloud never should have had to endure that, much less IRON MAN! I can see it now...

"Come on, Iron Man, let's go stop Pete from being mean to Maribel! Oh, and Hulk... haha, maybe you could watch your temper?"

*shudders* I can only hope that Disney will ask Marvel for input***, rather than the other way around... *sigh*... just when comic book movies were getting good, too. I blame Wolverine, the POISON OF THE WORLD.

Thankfully, NaNoWriMo is write around the corner, and will provide a nice distraction from the horrors of The Incredible Mickey. November brings a lot of distractions: Thanksgiving, NaNoWriMo, anniversaries and birthdays, and new video games. Which brings me to my next point.

As if it isn't bad enough that it shares its release date with Assassin's Creed 2, Left4Dead2 also shares its release date with the Star Trek 2009 DVD. When I first read about these epic video game sequels, they were rumoured to be released on November 11, while Paramount was announcing the Star Trek 2009 (2 Disc Special Edition) release as November 17. I'm not sure when the change was made (probably a while ago), but now all 3 titles are set to release November 17.

Which is great, except... now I have to choose. Assassin's Creed 2 vs. Star Trek and Assassin's Creed 2 vs. Left4Dead 2 are both no brainers. I LOVE Assassin's Creed. It's one of the few games where you can KILL PEOPLE FOR THE GOOD OF MAN KIND. Not aliens. Not monsters. Not bad guys. PEOPLE. JUST... KILL... PEOPLE. Sure, you CAN kill bad guys but anyone who finished the first game can attest to the fact that everyone you kill is not as they seem... but you also get to assassinate the annoying beggers and crazy people that punch you in the face. As dark as all that sounds, the game actually requires a ton of skill, too. You have to have fairly good control of Altair as you complete certain tasks, and your actions can unlock any number of achievements. Play the game through over and over again and it's never the same... it's a great game, and I am eagerly awaiting the sequel.

HOWEVER - as fun as that is - I wasn't planning on buying that game on opening day. The ending of AC drove me up a wall. It was too abrupt, it was too unsatisfying... after everything you do in the game, THAT'S the ending you get? A Heroes style "BECAUSE WE CAN" to be continued ending? No thanks... I was lucky I played the first one so late, so I didn't have to wait very long for the 2nd... I planned on waiting till AC 3 was in talks (because it's signed on for 3 games) before I picked up AC 2.

And there was no doubt in my mind that I was going to buy the Star Trek 2009 2-Disc Special Edition DVD. I loved that movie so much and, more than that, I adore Star Trek. There are actually very few things I love in this world as much as Star Trek. And as amazing as that movie was, there was nothing - ALMOST NOTHING - that would make me consider waiting to get it.

UNFORTUNATELY - games that put you smack dab in the middle of the zombiepocalypse qualify as one of those "very few things"... and the Left 4 Dead franchise has my complete and undivided attention. As proven by my L4D Review/L4D2 Sneak Peek, I ADORE this game. In fact, the only video game I love more than it is Halo... so that's saying something.

And now... now I'm being asked to choose between a space set, 23rd century socialist world and a post zombipocalyptic melee? There isn't even a way to pro and con it out... seriously.

CATEGORY//STAR TREK //LEFT4DEAD2
Director// JJ Abrams //An AI that makes your life a living hell.
Conflict// Earth is in Danger //Zombieapocalypse: SURVIVE!
Setting// The Final Frontier //Post Zombiepocalyptic New Orleans
Music// Michael Giaccino //Mike Morasky
Cast //Cast of TOS //4 New southern Characters, as well as new zombies
Highlights// ZQ as Spock// Melee Weapons
//CP as Kirk //Melee Weapons
//BG as Pike // Melee Weapons
//LN as Spock Prime // Melee Weapons
//KU as Bones // Incendiary Ammo and PIPE BOMBS


So, as you can see, there's really no way to justify one over the other... I have no idea what I'm going to do.

SO - WTH, VALVE? WHY'D YOU PUSH IT BACK? Didn't want to go up against Borderlands?? YOU'RE THE ZOMBIEPOCALYPSE!! TAKE SOME RISKS!

It's frustrating to be a geek...

***The cover of Game Informer was not boasting a Marvel Mickey... the game is called EPIC MICKEY, and to it's credit, it looks absolutely epic. Too bad it's for the Wii... XD Still, I'll end up trying it somehow... looks fun.