Magic: The Gathering- TV/Movie Fan Casting

Classic X-box Gems-

-Star Wars- Knights of the Old Republic & Star Wars- Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords:

--8 years before “The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim” was released and became one of the most popular, most detailed, RPG’s known to console gaming, Bioware released what is still considered one of the best games released to both Classic Xbox and the 360. “Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic” was an immensely popular and highly detailed game for its time, and became an instant cult classic. To date, with the exception of Skyrim and the Fallout franchise (both developed by Bethesda Softworks) “Knights of the Old Republic”(KOTR) and its sequel, “KOTR2: The Sith Lords” have been rivaled only by Bioware’s other cult classic, “Jade Empire”.

Both additions to the game feature a customizable character you design from almost the ground up. You can select your gender, basic appearance, and character class-type and all the skill modifiers associated with your class. Throughout the game you have a primary quest-line, with a number of side quests you can choose to complete or leave be. During your quests you have a number of options for conversations and actions that affect your balance between Light and Dark side of the Force and how your main character relates to the NPC’s and sidekick characters that can join you on your quests. Depending on what gender and how Light or Dark you are you will have slightly different selection of allies and even some romantic relationships.

~ ”Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic” (Released 2003) takes place approximately 4,000 years before the events of the movie “Star Wars: The Phantom Menace”, during the start to the Jedi Civil War. Dark Jedi Darth Malak is waging war with the help of the Sith against the Jedi Order and the galaxy is in peril. Your character awakes on board the Republic ship The Endar Spire, under attack by Sith forces over the planet of Taris. A soldier of the Republic, you manage to escape to the planet’s surface with Republic pilot, Carth Onasi. With him by your side you discover that another refugee from the Spire, a Jedi named Bastila Shan, is somewhere on the planet’s surface. You mount a rescue, learning some new skills and taking on some followers along the way, and escape the planet on board a ship called the Ebon Hawk. A smuggler ship acquired from Davik Kang, crime-lord in charge of the Exchange’s assets on Taris, the Ebon Hawk plays a major role in both “KOTR” and its sequel.

Through the course of the game you uncover a plot by Malak to find a massive ship-building engine called the Star Forge and use its resources to turn the tide of the war. You also discover that you are actually Darth Revan, onetime partner of Malak who was betrayed during a battle with Republic forces. Saved by Bastila, Revan was taken in by the Republic and healed, though amnesia set in afterwards. During the course of the story you discover yourself and are able to choose to follow the path you were on during your crusade with Malak, or join the Jedi and foil the efforts of the Sith forces. In the end, you chose to either destroy the Star Forge or take control and continue to take over the galaxy.

~ “Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2- The Sith Lords” is the second instalment in the “Knights of the Old Republic” series. Released in 2004, development of “KOTR2” changed hands from Bioware to Obsidian Entertainment. Gameplay and overall feel of the game remained faithful to the original, and the storyline had enough ties to the original to keep it grounded, but was loose enough to stand alone if needed.

“KOTR2” takes place about 5 years after the events of the first instalment. The Galaxy has been left in ruins after Revan and Malak’s war over dominance. Your character wakes up on the abandoned Peragus mining station in a med tank. Your other crew members have all been killed by a lethal dose of sedatives and you only survived because of your very faint connection to the Force. Through exploration of the base you discover and old woman named Kreia, a Force-user and overall mystery, and a smuggler named Atton. With their aide, you discover the fate of the mining platform, and how a rouge droid turned all the other mining droids against their human masters. You manage to escape, but not before the appearance of Darth Scion, a Frankenstein-monster of a Dark Jedi who is more dead than alive. After sacrificing Kreia’s hand, you escape on board the Ebon Hawk (told you it would show up again) through the asteroid field surrounding Peragus. Scion tries to blow you out of space and only succeeds to detonate the field and destroy the mining station. You are then taken into custody on the nearby planet of Telos where you start to learn a bit about yourself, Kreia, and the Galaxy you live in. The Sith won the war and left the Galaxy in ruins, the Jedi Counsel has been broken and their conclave demolished. The Exchange (yep, they are still around) has a bounty out on all Jedi, and you are a veteran of the Mandalorian Wars, where you followed Revan and Malak into battle against the Jedi Counsel’s will. To punish you, the Jedi exiled you from the Order and your connection to the Force was somehow severed. Though the connection is slowly being restored, largely thanks to Kreia, you still have a long way to go to find the answers to your own past. Not only that, the Dark Lord Nihilus, along with Darth Scion, are still out to destroy the remanence of the Jedi and either kill you or convert you to the Dark Side. You set off on a quest to find the remaining members of the Jedi Counsel and reconvene them in the ruins of the old Enclave. You finally manage to bring the Jedi back together and question them on your exile and severance from the Force. You discover that you somehow disconnected yourself from the force due to the weight of the deaths during the final battle of the Mandalorian Wars. Your experience and knowledge became the foundation for the reborn Sith teachings and the Counsel now fears you may bring about the death of the Force itself. They prepare to strip you completely and permanently of your connection to the Force, but before they can do it Kreia steps forward and reveals herself to be the leader of the New Sith Order. She goes on to kill the newly-uncovered Jedi Masters and escapes to the site of the last battle of the Mandalorian Wars, Malachor V. You then are forced to face the newly renamed Darth Traya in her new Sith Academy, and after defeating her apprentice, Scion, and all her minions, you finally face Traya herself. Of course, you defeat her and, depending on your actions throughout the previous game, you can choose to defeat the Sith or become their new Dark Lord.

-Star Wars: The Clone Wars:

--Approximately 3 months before the release of the first “Knights of the Old Republic” instalment and less than a year after the release of the “Star Wars: Attack of the Clones” film, Pandemic Studios released what was meant to be a prequel story to the events of “Attack of the Clones”. Following the adventures of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, and Mace Windu, this 2003 game lets you travel through six different planets trying to uncover the ultimate Separatist plot. Count Dooku has discovered an ancient Sith weapon created by the Dark Jedi Exar Kun during the Sith Wars. The Dark Reaper is designed to harness the Force in order to drain the life energy from everything around it, giving it the capability to wipe out entire civilizations and even worlds. Guided by the spirit of Jedi Knight Ulic Qel-Droma, Anakin Skywalker sets out to destroy the Dark Reaper before the Separatists are able to unleash it on the Galaxy.

“The Clone Wars” was a short, but interesting addition to the Star Wars universe. It managed to connect the movie universe with the much vaster universe explored by the Expanded Universe’s books and comics. The game is played primarily from the cockpit of a Republic tank or speeder, though you are able to activate your lightsaber on occasion and slice up some droids. And while the campaign is intriguing and fun to play, the split-screen multiplayer is a blast to play with a friend or a group of people. The user interface is simple and fun and I highly recommend this as a family game.

-Star Wars- Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy:

-- 2003 seems to have been a good year for Star Wars games, in particular. Along with “Knights of the Old Republic” and “The Clone Wars”, another cult classic was released in the form of “Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy.” This 3^rd-person shooter has a similar feel as “KOTOR”, even allows you to create your character’s look and customize their abilities and weapon sets. No matter the gender you choose, you are Jaden Korr, Force-sensitive on your way to Luke Skywalker’s newly founded Jedi Academy on Yavin IV. After being shot down upon descent and fighting off a Sith and their troops, you are accepted as an apprentice to Jedi Knight Kyle Katarn. After some initial training and trials you are sent off into the Galaxy to help aide the fight for peace and to discover the plot associated with the Sith’s appearance on Yavin IV. During your investigation you discover a Sith Cult called the Disciples of Ragnos is looking to resurrect the spirit of Darth Ragnos, a Sith Lord from the Sith Wars. It’s up to you to prevent the Sith’s plan and save the Galaxy, all the while striving to attain the rank of Jedi Knight.

-Star Wars: Battlefront 2:

-- In 2004 Pandemic Studios released “Star Wars: Battlefront”, a game that broke from standard Star Wars genre by focusing more on the combat elements than the plotline. A year later they released the sequel, “Star Wars: Battlefront 2”, which served mainly as an updated version of the game’s predecessor. The campaign, which does differ from the first game, focuses on the Republic 501^st Legion and their battle through the Clone Wars up until the battle of Hoth from the “Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back” film. But the primary focus of the game is engaging in spectacular multiplayer battles on the ground and in space. Through the Galactic Conquest levels you can even control fleet and troop movements while still fighting individual battles as you strive for dominance of the Galaxy. This is a great game for friends and family to engage in, and the storyline is an interesting side to Star Wars cannon.

-Justice League: Heroes:

-- Historically speaking, DC Comics has not had great luck with their video games up until the release of the “Batman: Arkham” series in 2009. While some of their comic-based instalments have had some standing as cult-classics (e.g.: “Superman: The Man of Steel”(2002), “Aquaman”(2003), and “Batman: Dark Tomorrow”(2003)), the first truly amazing development from DC’s vault of characters was Snowblind Studio’s 2006 “Justice League: Heroes”. Released literally a week before Marvel’s “Marvel: Ultimate Alliance”, “Heroes” was unfortunately overshadowed by the “Alliance’s” massive marketing and media backing.
“Heroes” has a very similar gameplay and player interface as “Alliance”, though maybe not so heavy on managing a fully-customizable hero team. As you play through the levels you are given two characters from the Justice League of America team roster to play as, pulling from each character’s unique set of powers and abilities to defeat hordes of enemies. “Heroes” is based on the “Justice League of America” comics and is considered to be one of the most origin-faithful Justice League video game from DC.

I have to stop here to make a mention of “Heroes” script writer, Dwayne Glenn McDuffie (February 20, 1962 – February 21, 2011). Mr. McDuffie not only scripted “Justice League: Heroes”, but also worked for Marvel Comics, Milestone Comics, and DC Comics. Some of his more notable projects were; the “Teen Titans”, “What’s New, Scooby Doo?”, “Ben 10: Alien Force”, and “Ben 10: Ultimate Alien” tv shows, and he scripted “Fantastic Four”, “Beyond”, and “Damage Control” for Marvel, and then “Justice League”, “Justice League: Unlimited”, “Justice League of America”, “Firestorm”, and “Milestone Forever” for DC Comics.

Back to “Justice League: Heroes”, the story follows the members of the Justice League as they track down minions apparently belonging to Brainiac, only to uncover a more sinister plot by Darkseid. With appearances of major players such as Brainiac, Killer Frost, Queen Bee, the White Martians, and even Doomsday, it’s up to the Justice League to save the world, and potentially the universe.

- X-men 2: Wolverine’s Revenge:

-- In 2003 Brian Singer and 20^th Century Fox released the much anticipated sequel to their “X-men”(2000) movie. Considered to be the greatest superhero movie until the advent of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it is still thought to be one of the superhero film’s greatest works to date. The world was flooded with comics, action figures, costumes, TV spots, magazine articles and video games all with the X-men brand plastered over them. While some of the paraphernalia from that time have (and gladly so) fallen through the cracks of time, some stood out as comic book gold. One such example was “X-men 2: Wolverine’s Revenge”, produced by GenePool Software as a promotional movie tie-in.
“Wolverine’s Revenge” was designed as a movie tie-in, sure. It featured Hugh Jackman’s face on the cover, featured Patrick Stewart as Professor X, and carried the “X2” movie logo. But the storyline, penned by “Batman” and “X-men” comic author, Larry Hama, was set outside of the movie’s universe and featured characters more akin to the comic books than the film universe. 

In the game you play as the titular character, Logan, AKA: Wolverine (voiced by Star Wars legend Mark Hamil) finds out that when Weapon X bonded his skeleton with adamantium, the lead doctor infected him with a lethal virus. As he escaped from Weapon X the doctor tells him that because of his healing abilities he doesn’t know when the virus will kill him, but it will. Now, present day, Beast informs Wolverine he only has 2 days left to live… unless he can recover the 2-part antidote. So, claws out and rage on, Wolverine has to fight through masses of minions and some of the major names in the Marvel Universe. With appearances by Wendigo, Lady Deathstrike, Omega Red, Collossus, Rouge, and many others; and starring the voice talents of the aforementioned Mark Hamil, Patrick Stewart, Fred Tatasciore(“Kung Fu Panda” 1 & 2, “The Boxtrolls”, “Angry Birds”) and Mayim Bialik(“Big Bang Theory”), “Wolverine’s Revenge” is a must-play classic for any X-man fan.

- X-men: Legends & X-men- Legends 2: Age of Apocalypse:

-- Even before the advent of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the widespread introduction of Marvel’s cast of superheroes to the world, a Wisconsin-based company called Raven Software was well on their way to making the X-men and Marvel’s other characters household names. In 2004, Raven (a subsidiary of Activision) released “X-men: Legends”. The first of a two-part series, “Legends” set the groundwork for other popular games of its type, including “Marvel: Ultimate Alliance” and “Justice League: Heroes”.

--"X-men: Legends" allows you to play as any number of X-men heroes, though the primary character of the plotline is New Mutant Allison Crestmere, later known as the X-man Magma. Starting from her rescue from government soldiers and the Brotherhood of Mutants, Magma sets out on a journey to become an X-man under the tutelage of Professor X (voiced, of course, by Patrick Stewart). After training, the story revolves around trying to rouse Collossus’ sister, Illyana, from a coma induced by the Shadow King. After Professor X falls into the same coma, it is up to Magma and the rest of the X-men to foil the Shadow King and then stop Magneto, then General Kincaid in their respective plans to dominate the world.

--“X-men: Legends 2- Age of Apocalypse” takes place sometime after the first “Legends” instalment, and leaves the story of Magma behind to focus on the mutant Apocalypse’s plot to attain massive powers and take over the world. You play as the X-men and new Brotherhood allies as you work to foil the plots of Apocalypse and his minion, Mister Sinister.

-Marvel: Ultimate Alliance:

-- October 2006 saw the release of Marvel’s massive team-up, “Marvel: Ultimate Alliance”. Using the same style of gameplay as Marvel’s previous “X-men: Legends” instalments, and overshadowing the previous week’s release of DC’s own videogame team-up event, “Justice League: Heroes”, “Ultimate Alliance” was groundbreaking for both the comic book and videogame industry.

“Alliance” begins with Dr. Doom and The Masters of Evil attacking a Shield Helicarrier. You start with your team consisting of Wolverine, Spider-Man, Captain America, and Thor, though you can select from over 22 heroes as you progress in the game. Your team, headed up by Nick Fury himself, must fight through waves of enemies and you uncover the plot behind the Master of Evil’s schemes. You will travel through Atlantis, Murderworld, Asgard, and even a dimensional version of Hell as you build and name your own customizable team. With characters like Ghost Rider, Silver Surfer, The Fantastic Four, Dr. Strange, and a slew of other playable characters joined in the ultimate superhero alliance, the Masters of Evil don’t stand a chance.

-The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King:

-- Surprisingly, when Peter Jackson brought literary classic and legend “The Lord of the Rings” to the silver screen, it was surprising how few video game releases accompanied the movies. An official movie-based game for “The Fellowship of the Rings” was never developed. Instead, EA Games combined the “Fellowship” storyline with their “Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” game. While “The Two Towers” wasn’t a bad game, it did leave some to be desired with its user interface and its gameplay sometimes felt a little too difficult. The sequel, “The Return of the King”, however, was a great game that seemed to blend the story and gameplay fairly well. The graphics, especially between cut scenes, was sometimes glitch, and EA took some minor liberty with the story in order to be able to add more levels to the game, but overall it was a great game with a fairly decent multiplayer. And of course, if you beat all levels you got to unlock the “Palantir of Saruman” bonus level. Approximately 20 waves of Mordor bad-asses that you and a friend could fight through, proving once and for all the true champions of Middle Earth.

-Fable:

-- In 2004 a small studio called Big Blue Box Studios released what would become Classic X-box legend. “Fable” is a fantastical game with a tongue-in-cheek motif and a rather dark core. It features 3^rd person gameplay and comic-book style graphics. While the latter two additions to the series incorporate more of a steampunk-ish world, the first game is generally grounded in a late-renaissance style era.

You are a young villager from Oakvale in the realms of Albion. The day of your sister’s birthday your village is invaded by bandits and your entire family is killed. You are taken in by a Hero from the Hero’s Guild called Maze and taken to the Guild where you spend the next few years growing up and training to be a Hero. After your training is complete, Maze sends you to infiltrate a bandit camp in search for a blind seeress. Upon infiltration of the camp you discover the Seeress is actually your thought-dead older sister, Theresa. Like you were taken in by Maze, Theresa was taken in by the new Bandit King and former Hero, Twinblade. This discovery sets you on a journey that will bring you and your sister up against the bandit Jack of Blades, the one who attacked your village and blinded your sister. You will strive to defeat him as you take your place as either a Hero, or the Villain of all Albion.

-Darkwatch:

--In 2005, High Moon Studios released an intriguing mix between a wild-western and horror-thriller. “Darkwatch” is a first-person shooter that was reminiscent of “Halo: Combat Evolved”. It featured Christopher Corey Smith as Jericho Cross, gunslinger and train robber. During his “one last job”, Jericho tries to hijack a train belonging to the Darkwatch, an ancient organization that exists to hunt vampires and other mystical monsters. Your heist goes south and you inadvertently release vampire Lazarus Malkoth, who manages to bite you during his escape. Now, part-human, ever increasingly part- vampire, you are forcibly recruited into the Darkwatch to stop the plague of Malkoth’s dark reign. Through the course of your mission you will have choices whether to curse or save the souls of the lost and make other decisions that will align you with either evil or good. And in the end you will face the ultimate choice, defeat Lazarus and become a monster just like him, or continue as a redeeming agent for good in the ever-changing West.

-TimeSplitters: Future Perfect:

--Another series that has earned “Legendary” status in the gaming world is the “TimeSplitters” franchise. The first instalment was a first-person shooter released in 2000 by Free Radical Design for PlayStation 2 only. The second and third instalment, “TimeSplitters 2” and “TimeSplitters: Future Perfect” were released in 2002 and 2005. The series featured a race of time-travelling aliens set on destroying the human race. In the second “TimeSplitters” game you play as Sergeant Cortez, a space marine with the humans, looking to stop the Splitters from going back in time and ending the human race. You manage to save the human race and stop the Splitters, escaping just before your space station is destroyed. “Future Perfect” picks up just as Cortez crash lands on a future Earth being invaded by Splitters and bad guys from the future. Upon reaching the human military base Cortez is told of a brave plan to prevent the Splitters from attacking the human race to start with. Cortez then sets out on adventures through time and space to stop the Splitters and their human allies in an attempt to save the human race.
While the gameplay is quirky, interesting, and you run into everything from mutant monsters to aliens to World War-era soldiers and ghosts, I find myself obligated to also mention the game’s multiplayer experience. Like a lot of similar games such as Halo, Frontline and even the Call of Duty series, you are given the choice of maps and gameplay options and can have up to 4 players. You also have a selection of weapons you can select from, along with a list of character bots you can set up to play with and/or against. I have played a lot of multiplayer games coming from a big family, and few games have had a multiplayer experience like “TimeSplitters: Future Perfect”.

-Doom 3:

--When ID Software released the original “Doom” in 1993it was groundbreaking game that pioneered first-person shooters. It and its subsequent installments all received stellar reviews and achieved cult-classic status. In 2004 the game was rebooted as “Doom 3” with even better gameplay and graphics. You play as a Union Aerospace Corporation marine come to Mars on the tail of an investigation into some strange happenings on the Mars base. Next thing you know, people are dead and dying and demons are popping up everywhere trying to kill you. Why? Who is responsible? It is up to you to find out and stop it, especially before it finds its way back home to Earth.
The graphics in this game are definitely an improvement over its predecessors. The game manages to cross sci-fi thriller with supernatural horror in a way that keeps even an experienced gamer like me on my toes throughout the entire game. And if you like “Doom 3”, there is a DLC of sorts in the add-on game, “Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil”, which I will cover later in this list.

-Halo 2:

--When Microsoft first released their original “DirectXbox”(or “Xbox”, as we commonly know it) back on November 15^th, 2001, they released with it what would become a staple for Xbox gamers and a groundbreaker for video gaming as a whole. “Halo: Combat Evolved” was the launch title for the Classic Xbox, and it instantly took the gaming world by storm. Not only was it the number one first-person shooter of its time, it was a must-play for anyone who wanted to be considered a serious gamer. I can still remember back in 8^th grade and all the kids in my grade were talking about their “Halo parties” and how they would get 3 or 4 people with Xboxes and tvs to come over and system-link their consoles in order to wage massive multiplayer battles against each other.
--While Microsoft and its Xbox console was able to ride on the back of “Halo’s” success for a few years at least, it was inevitable they would come out with a sequel. “Halo 2” was released in 2004, and with a few minor exceptions, it only improved the “Halo” experience. Still considered to be one of the best additions to the franchise, “Halo 2” is still a favorite of many gamers. It was the first game to introduce dual-weapon wielding, and though it got rid of the fan-favorite assault rifle, it introduced the Battle Rifle, along with a new set of alien weaponry. While many admit that “Halo 2” was still just a stepping stone to the newer, more developed instalments to the franchise, it still remains a classic favorite and is still a must-play for anyone who is a fan of the “Halo” games.

-Jade Empire:

--Do you remember me mentioning a video game developer called “Bioware”? Bioware has released some pretty amazing game franchises, “Mass Effect”, “Dragon Age”, “Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic” and “Baldur’s Gate” just to name a few. In 2005 Bioware hit the market with what has become an all but forgotten Xbox classic, Jade Empire. What could be said is an interesting cross between the gameplay of “Knights of the Old Republic”, the storyline of “Fable” with an Imperial China setting.

You play as a student of the Two Rivers martial arts school. Your school is attacked by a mysterious figure in a strange ship and an army of ghosts. This attack sets you on a journey that will make you stronger as either a force for good or evil. And in the end, your choices will set you on the path to either save the kingdom, or condemn it.

Like “Knights of the Old Republic”, “Jade Empire” allows you to choose the gender of your character, along with its good/evil orientation and skill sets. The game can have different outcomes depending on your choices, and depending on your skill set and what you choose to focus on, combat can be more or less difficult. While it doesn’t have as in-depth character development as “KOTOR” and other, similar games, “Jade Empire” helped set the groundworks for every other RPG came that has come since.

Notable Classics for Classic’s Sake:

(The following is a list of games that are considered either classics or cult classics. They leave a lot to be desired, especially in graphics, and most will end up lost to the pixels of time. But these games have enough going for them to earn honorable mention. I wont provide descriptions at the moment, but as I have time and remember I will add information to the titles listed. Until I do though, look them up. See if any catch your interest.)

-The Scooby Doo Franchise

            --Night of 100 Frights (2003)

            --Mystery Mayhem (2004)

            --Scooby Doo Unmasked (2005)

-The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (2002)

-Magic: Battlegrounds (2003)

-Van Helsing (2004)

-Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil (2005)

-Halo: Combat Evolved (Original Edition) (2001)