Going On Two Weeks

Going on two weeks in both the MLB season and SMITE and things are definitely still fun.
I’ve gotten past (at least for today) my AFK battles in SMITE and have expanded into different game modes. In MLB, my Angels are on a tear. They keep hanging tough and doing enough to pull out wins in the late innings which is a good sign for things to come this season. Along with those items, I take a look at Tales to Astonish #36 and find it too similar to the previous Marvel comics of October 1962. Between that and the Scooby Doo ending, I don’t rate it very highly.

Angels Comeback

Wow!!! It’s only a bit over a week into the season, but these Angels are fun to watch. And you can’t ever count them out. With Trout and Pujols again coming through in the 9th, this game ended up being the first extra innings affair for the team this season. Then with a leadoff walk to Maybin in the 10th, a single by Espinosa and a bunt by Carlos Perez, the Angels had another walk-off win. The players seem to be having fun and they all seem to feel that they can win any game at this point. I just hope this confidence lasts all season long, but it’s sure fun to watch right now.

Playing Multiple Game Modes

Today I had much better luck in the AFK department. Actually, it hasn’t been bad except for yesterday but it’ll be something I keep an eye on – competitive games can be so horrible with AFKs. Anyway, I was able to get in a few games and I noticed something…SMITE encourages play in multiple game formats, much more than League does. In SMITE, each game mode offers the opportunity to get a “First Win of the Day” bonus whereas League groups all modes together. Thus, in SMITE, I can get 5 or six different bonuses – I think (I don’t remember the number of modes off the top of my head).

This morning I played 3 different modes:

• Conquest which is the 3 lane mode that most closely resembles Summoner’s Rift
• Clash mode which is a 2 lane variant that provides for 5v5 action which can be pretty fun
• Arena which is 5v5 and takes place on a circular map where teams try to stop enemy minions from getting to their portal while helping their own minions

All three modes are fun so far, but like I said, I was able to pick up “first Win of the Day” bonuses 3 times.

Tales to Astonish #36

The Challenge of Comrade X!

This issue pits the Ant-Man against one of the greatest Russian spies of the 60s. Apparently after hearing about how Ant-Man has been helping authorities in the US, the Russian government becomes interested in capturing him. They enlist their top spy – Comrade X and task him with capturing and figuring out the size altering secrets. With the plan in motion, an alert goes out to Ant-Man and he catapults himself to the police station to help a woman who is complaining of a life and death situation. Without her knowing, he sneaks into her purse as she heads home from the station and he announces his presence when she gets home. She tells him of the Comrade X plan and that they are preparing against him at pier 89.

Leading a group of ants, Ant-Man confronts the spy, and is captured and the ship is prepared to head off to Russia. Fortunately, the glass container he was trapped in had air holes that allowed Ant-Man to communicate with ants on the pier to come to the ship and help him escape. Once free, Ant-Man radios the authorities and heads to confront Comrade X. A scuffle ensues and after tripping Comrade X, the ants unveil that he is actually Madame X and she is wearing a mask to make her look male. Ant-Man indicates that not only did he know that Comrade X was a woman because he rummaged through her purse on the drive back from the police station to her place, but that he also was able to distract her long enough for the Coast Guard to show up. So much for the top Russian spy.

The issue is decent but not all that good. I liked the diagram of how Ant-Man gets to and from his lab and while this is reminiscent of the Fantastic Four’s Baxter Building, I think it works for Henry Pym as well. This issue also is similar to Strange Tales issue 101 where the villain is an “innocent civilian” who gets unmasked to show they’re really the big bad and not only that, they’re evil Commies. While I don’t mind this type of unveilings, perhaps Marvel should have spaced them out a bit more – I mean technically, both these issues came out in the same month.

On the plus side, I think the concept of the city-wide network of insects as Ant-Man’s communication system is pretty cool. I also like what I expect will become a common method of attack for Henry…the ’ole tie the shoes together trick – it’s expected but fun to see none-the-less.

On the whole, I give this issue a C since it’s another Scooby Doo ending like the Strange Tales that precedes it. I’d say this wasn’t a very good month for Stan except for the Loki story in Journey into Mystery #85, I gave them all C+ and below.