Joystiq

Microsoft trademarks 'Iron Brigade' for video game use

Griffin McElroy — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 13:00:00 EST

Either Microsoft is planning on releasing a new military shooter, or it's really getting into organizing its heavy metals into tightly regimented platoons. The company recently filed a trademark with the USPTO for computer game software titled "Iron Brigade," a possible reference to a Union army unit which served during the American Civil War.

As tech news site Fusible points out, though more modern units share the name, the trademark lines up nicely with the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. Then again, logic can't always be applied to the naming of games; we could just as easily be talking about a future robot dating simulator or something.

Microsoft trademarks 'Iron Brigade' for video game use originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 03 Aug 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rumor: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 wages 'Civil War'

James Ransom-Wiley — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Nintendo DS, Sony PlayStation 2, Sony PlayStation 3, Sony PSP, Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360

One more revelation from yesterday's massive exodus of games out from under the corporate shroud: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 will be based on Marvel's "Civil War" miniseries, which introduces the Superhuman Registration Act. The act requires anyone in the United States with superpowers to register with the government and thereby reveal one's civilian identity. In the comics, the act creates a rift between those heroes who advocate (and, with the help of sanctioned villains, enforce) registration and those who forcefully oppose it. A supposed marketing survey suggests that Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 will follow a similar storyline: "Select your side in the conflict and assemble your team from a roster of 20 Marvel Legends, including Hulk, Wolverine, Spider-Man, Venom, and the Human Torch."

The game will apparently feature a "fusion" system, whereby superpowers from one character can be combined with another, "such as fusing Spider-Man's powers with Storm's to give Spider-Man lightning webs." How about combining Superman's heat vision with Green Lantern's power beam to grant Superman green rays of burning light that shoot from his eyes and can take the shape of ... anything! (Take that Scorpion!) Er, oops ... wrong universe.

[Via NeoGAF]

Rumor: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 wages 'Civil War' originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 16 Jun 2008 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Virtually Overlooked: North and South

Candace Savino — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Virtually Overlooked

Welcome to our weekly feature, Virtually Overlooked, wherein we talk about games that aren't on the Virtual Console yet, but should be. Call it a retro-speculative.

After exploring the offensive Spanish for Everyone over at DS Fanboy, we wracked our brains trying to think of another game that failed to adhere to the politically correct school of thought. The first title that came to mind was North and South, and if you've ever played this game, you'll probably understand why.

This 1989 NES (among others) game is a bit of an oddity. Not only was it one of the first real-time strategy titles in the industry, but it also included two platformer minigames that were all kinds of excellent.

Aside from its genre mixing, though, you're probably wondering what was so controversial about this title. To explain that, we might have to give you a brief history lesson first.

Continue reading Virtually Overlooked: North and South

Virtually Overlooked: North and South originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 15 Nov 2007 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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