Captain Marvel vs. Sub-Zero. Who Wins?

I'm very very picky when it comes to video games.


I've been playing video games since I was five years old. On Christmas Day I opened up a great big box and pulled out my very first PlayStation System and my very first game: Crash Bandicoot. I remember playing the hell out of that game.In fact I still have that very first disc. It still works!


I played games for hours when I was younger and I was always looking for more games. So of course, it wouldn't be long before I found my very first BAD game.


I remember it... it was called "Rascal." It was about a kid who traveled through time and shot things with a bubble gun. The thing is the difficulty curve was set so frigging high from the very beginning that it wasn't even "Nintendo Hard," it was "I Wanna Be the Guy"hard.
...or maybe that was just the fact that I was only seven when it came out... but honestly given how the game was pitched and the content of it I can't really imagine somebody much older than that enjoying it... :/


But let's get to the point, shall we? After several experiences with really bad games I very quickly learned that you can't buy a game simply because it has a character you enjoy or because it looks pretty or because it's very popular. Take a look at Crash Bandicoot: Twinsanity, Rage, and Halo and I'll rest my case there (no, fans. Halo is not a good game. it is middle of the road. Deal with it.).


Indeed, I very soon learned that I had to read reviews of games from TRUSTED sources and think very hard about whether or not it was worth my money before I would buy a game. While occasionally, if I found a game in a bargain bin, I might buy it on premise or just appearance alone, usually a video game has to put forward a really damn good case these days before I'll even consider putting money down for it. This is me taking a central route to persuasion (Petty & Cacioppo, 1986).


However, the Central Route doesn't always hold up with me... I must admit, occasionally I do falter from this method. Such was the case with "Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe." It's worth mentioning that I am a HUGE fam of Mortal Kombat. For a fighting game, it has a really interesting story, a ton of colorful characters with neat personalities and backgrounds, and a very intricate mythology and eyecatching settings. Also, it's always felt like the stakes for what you're playing for are a lot higher than in any other fighting game. It's also worth mentioning that I am a big-time comics reader and I love characters like Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. So now there's a game where the two universes and the characters therein (Including my favorite Mortal Kombat character: Sub-Zero and my favorite DCU character: Captain Marvel) are going to go head to head?


Well that was enough to rope me in.


...And wouldn't you know it, the game was crap.


The fighting mechanics were slower than normal, the story was ludicrous, the characters all acted like idiots and there were no decent unlockables to be found. The game was sub-par at best.


Indeed, this time I had taken a peripheral route to persuasion (Petty & Cacioppo, 1986), and it cost me. I had been roped in by a more superficial aspect of the game (the characters involved) and it ended up costing me a good 40 dollars. 


What I'm most angry at though is how they could possibly screw a game like this up. >_<




Well, no matter. I'm off to speculate what would happen if Mortal Kombat met Marvel. Ghost Rider vs. Scorpion... now THAT'S a battle for the ages...








~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
References:


Petty, R. E. & Cacioppo, J. T. (1986). Communication and persuasion: Central and peripheral routes to attitude change. New York: Springer-Verlag.