Xcite! The Marvel Avengers Alliance Spec Ops #3 Diary!

So by now you MAA addicts out there might already know that the Spec Ops #3 (SO3) FINALLY kicked off on Friday, & of course, I was all over it! Here I'm serving you guys loads of images, info & tips  from ONLY the Spec Ops #3 that's been released in the Marvel Avengers Alliance game. For other updates (like new X-hero releases) check this post.

SPEC OPS #3: Avengers vs X-Men

In keeping with the current (almost ending) Marvel comics event of Avengers vs X-Men, Playdom has released this clever Spec Ops that revolves around AvX! The ony difference here is that because Playdom didn't have rights to use Namor in the game he is not the fifth member of the Phoenix 5 (yay!). Instead we got Jean Grey aka Phoenix donning a sexy new P5 outfit herself (right>)! The hero reward of the Spec Ops #3 (SO3) is Colossus' sister, Illyana Rasputin aka Magik- Ruler of Limbo.

HIGHLIGHTS:
*Task-based- Like SO2, SO3 is also task based! Finish the 25 tasks (< my current task progress) & Magik will be yours! Then you can always replay the missions in order to stand a chance to win the Boss weapons OR if you simply just want to 4 & 5 star missions so that you can earn the gold & CPs respectively.
 
*Unstable ISO start-off amount- In SO2 you were given a free bonus of 440 uISOs so that you could start playing the SO immediately. This time, it's a whopping 550! Perhaps this is because of the Phoenix 5, but who cares? I know NO MAAers will ever be disappointed with this!

*Plenty of Boss weapons to win- There's a different weapon that you stand a chance to win if you choose to side either team in a particular mission. So it's a total of 8 weapons to be won!

*Cool AvX costumes- I think these uniforms (right>) are gonna work just like how the movie costumes made the Avengers awesome! Phoenix, Cyclops, Emma Frost, Colossus & Magik all have a Phoenix fragment embedded in the AvX costume that grants health regeneration & extra damage. I can't wait till they're made available for purchase with CP but I dread the amount of CP we'll have to shell out. AND I just hope they'll not be limited edition!

*Choose your side- This is a pretty awesome idea from Playdom that will distinguish SO3 from all the SOs past & future! Before you begin any one of the missions, you are first asked (<left) each time if you want to fight alongside the Avengers or X-Men. Depending on your choice, certain heroes from the opposing team will not be available for battles or deploys. Also what's fun is that the bosses are members from the X-Men or the Avengers depending on what team you support in your run of that mission. This way you get to...


*Witness the AvX costumes in action- AND also fight with & against Magik as well! The AvX costumes haven't been released yet so it's great to see what exactly they're capable of via the Boss fights! Also at the end when you obtain Magik, her AvX duds will be her default costume!

 *Daily Bonus- Now you can stand a chance to win some truly amazing rewards from the daily bonus (<left) during the course of the SO3! Some of these rewards include: the Souldrainer (a new Phoenix-related weapon), 10 gold, 20 CPs & even upto 1000 uISOs! Yes- NO KIDDING!

*Gorgeous intro map- We all groaned at how lazily the maps were created for the SOs 1 & 2. SO1 had an old existing map turned to green, add lightning here, green mist there & ta-da! For SO2, use a blue tinted old map, add snowflakes & blue mist & voila! But this time the artists have outdone themselves- when I saw the map for mission 1 (right>) I was stunned! It was a completely new creation AND a stunning one at that! However the mission 2 map is the same old map with golden fire sparks drifting through yellow mist. -_- Mission 3 hasn't been unlocked for me yet but if it's as amazing as the mission 1 map I'll definitely update it out here!

*Dialogues- As always the dialogues in MAA never fail to delight & the SO3 is no different. I think this SO has some really long conversations but it never gets boring & if you have absolutely no clue about the entire AvX event this will definitely give you a good background. Here's some of my fave dialogues from the SO that I've come across so far.

^OMG yes! Beast finally shows his blue furry self as part of a research dialogue! I somehow feel this seems to allude to the fact that he may just be the next new addition to the MAA roster after Magik!

TIPS:
These are just a few quick tips that should help you be able to save (or gain) more uISOs & help you get through the SO easier. For the whole lowdown check out the MAA Forum!

*DO NOT do any deploys except for mission 3 that has the epic boss fight (against Iron Man/Phoenix). This way you manage to save & utilize those initial 550 uISOs for a much longer time period while simultaneously progressing on the tasks. Once you get Magik then you can do deploys & everything else as you please, depending on what boss weapons you have yet to acquire.


 *Continue playing story mode on the side- Especially useful when you are waiting on research, don't waste your uISOs by continuing to play the SO. Instead go back to story mode (or PvP for that matter) as you'll also get uISO drops out there!

*Deploy tasks need not be done within the SO alone. Carry out your deploys in story-mode missions & you'll be able to easily complete tasks #2 & 10, thus saving your precious uISOs.

<I thought using Kitty against the Emma Frost boss fight would be most fitting!



*Tasks that require you to use certain heroes in battles do not restrict you to just the SO battles. So at tasks #8 & 18 you can use the X-Men & the Avengers respectively in story-mode battles or even PvP!

*If you need to collect a certain amount of uISOs for a task, it can be completed by simply getting them from your daily gifts! This will help you complete Tasks #4 & 14 quickly.

*Apparently task #9 of defeating 10 Jotuns can also be completed in story-mode. However I'd advise you to complete the task in the SO itself as you also gotta 2 star mission 2 in task #17 anyway. 

*If you use gold to skip the research tasks the task does get skipped but you can still get to researching the upgradable weapon later. I woudn't advise you to spend your gold this way though, as there's a lot of time to acquire Magik & seriously there's no major hurry in my opinion unless you're really that impatient.


*If you got the Avengers movie costumes, choose to side the Avengers for most of your mission runs. They make the battles a breeze & help get your scores higher (thus, enabling you to spend minimum uISOs as you reach the Boss faster). I personally feel bad supporting the Avengers most of the time but an MAA player's gotta do what an MAA player's gotta do! :P 
Also imo the Boss weapon that you can win in mission 1 (right>) if you support the X-Men seemed less exciting than the one you could win if you choose the Avengers.

FINAL VERDICT

All in all the ideas were good, the inclusion of (one) new map was refreshing from the standard maps we have to see everyday. The Phoenix 5 costumes look hot & the Emma Frost & Colossus P5 costumes are awesome! And aftetr getting the P5 duds for Cyclops it's made me want to use him battles after AGES lol! 

^I was hell-bent on getting one of the P5 costumes for each of the P5 members- these were suggested to me by the Marvel Friends FB group members to be the best buys from the lot!

However the downside is those deceptive Daily "Bonuses". 2/9 items in it were pretty much useless- I used to immediately put in the Mystical Munitions & Bauxite Interference Helmets into my PVP armory bonus- that was seriously the only thing they were good for, at least for someone like me who's currently at level 177! And when you are constantly getting only those 2 items when you have a choose out of 9 items, it's pretty obvious that the dailies are rigged. It's basically just another way from PD to try & make it's loyal players cough up their cash by using 5 golds & retrying at the dailies. Trust me, in the 30 days that the SO3 was on I only once got 10 gold & max 20 uISOs here & there. Rest of the time, it simply was adding in new munitions & helmets into the PVP bonus.

Another downside is that besides the Captain America boss fight- ALL the other boss fights were pretty darn easy. Now we don't want them SO tough that we'd have to waste 20 CPs retrying at failed boss battles but then they could've been slightly more challenging...

With these points in mind, I give SO3 a 7/10.

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X-Production Diary: The Wolverine movie (news & filming updates)

Well X-fans, The Wolverine film has FINALLY gotten off the ground! Let's hope it's gonna be WAY better than the disappointing X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Thankfully they are sticking more to the comics this time round- Chris Claremont & Frank Miller's Japanese comic saga to be precise.
An early concept poster created for the film that may not be used for the final promotion.>

In X-Production Diary, I'll be posting news for X-movies once they officially get into production. This will include final casting news, set photos, etc. I won't include concept art as I'll be posting that in a separate post after the movie's release & once I've managed to collect all the possible art from various sources. Production on The Wolverine will wrap up by mid-November, with shoots mostly taking place around Sydney & a few weeks in Japan. You can read my previous coverage on this film's development here. And continue to watch this space for more updates...
UPDATE (14/09/2012): The rumor of the Jean Grey school inclusion has been debunked! Scroll down to find out how...
UPDATE (25/09/2012): The first official photo from The Wolverine is released! Scroll down for a new "gallery" of official images that will be updated as when new ones are released.

SYNOPSIS:

Based on the celebrated comic book arc, THE WOLVERINE finds Logan, the eternal warrior and outsider, in Japan. There, samurai steel will clash with adamantium claw as Logan confronts a mysterious figure from his past in an epic battle that will leave him forever changed.

THE CAST:
ComingSoon FINALLY put us out of our misery & revealed the Japanese cast set to star alongside Hugh in the film:
Hiroyuki Sanada (Rush Hour 3, Sunshine) will play Yakuza crime boss, Shingen. You may also recognize him from The Last Samurai so he is pretty much used to donning heavy samurai gear. Shingen, a Yakuza crime boss will be one of the many thorns in Logan's side as he also happens to be the step-brother of Logan's lady love Mariko.

Hal Yamanouchi (The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Push) will be seen as Yashida, who might be playing the head of the Yashida clan that Shingen was a part of.




And the ladies? Two debutantes will be seen filling the roles of Mariko & Yukio- models Tao Okamoto (left) & Rila Fukushima (right) respectively.

Both ladies were love interests for Wolverine- Mariko brought out the more human side of Logan, for which he loved her immensely & in fact they end up getting engaged as well! Yukio, one of Shingen's deadliest assassins, is actually sent on a mission to kill the feral mutant, but only ends up falling in love with him as she identifies with his violent persona.

Then Variety reported that Will Yun Lee (Total Recall [remake], Die Another Day) will be playing the main villain in the film, Kenuichio Harada aka Silver Samurai. Lee is no stranger to comic book fare, having also been seen in the Witchblade TV series & TV movie as well as the (disappointing) Elektra. Besides he's also done minor voice work for The Amazing Spider-Man video game.Let's see how he fares against Jackman's Logan as the main baddie...

And finally- Viper. Previously I had told you guys that Israeli model Sarai Givaty may have auditioned for the part but that was way back then. Most recently Jessica Biel was approached to essay the role of the villainous vixen but had to turn it down due to scheduling conflicts. Currently Russian actress Svetlana Khodchenkova (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy) is said to be chosen to play the part, but there's been no official word from Fox. Guess we'll have to wait for some more set photos to confirm it. :P

Frankly I'm pretty happy things didn't work out with Biel- I don't think she'd be perfect for the part. She doesn't have that menacing, intimidating quality required. Now, I haven't seen Svetlana's work in TTSS, but she definitely looks the part AND her Russian accent would be very helpful here as well cos Viper (aka Madame Hydra) hails from Eastern Europe.

OFFICIAL PHOTOS:

THE LOOK & COSTUMES:

^Hobo Logan- Hugh was spotted in Picton sporting this hairy look.
Last photo is from the Surry Hills, New South Wales (NSW) set.

Hugh Jackman spoke to Total Film via Coventry Telegraph-
On how this movie is not connected with X-Men Origins: Wolverine in any way:
We've deliberately not called it Wolverine 2 because we want it to be placed & feel like a standalone picture. With an all-new cast & setting it in Japan, it's going to give us a whole new visual aesthetic.
The approach to character means we won't be overloaded with mutants & teams & the like, so it'll be more character-based. I think in many ways it will feel like a completely different X-Men film.

^Hugh shooting at the POW set built at Kurnell, NSW.

On not taking the franchise for granted & making the best film they possibly can:
I talked to Jeffrey Katzenberg (Dreamworks Animation CEO) about Wolverine & that franchise. He was relating to his experiences on Shrek & said it's really got to do with the strength of the idea- the concept of why that film exists must be strong, you can't assume that the brand will bring people along.
So we went to Christopher McQuarrie, who was involved in X-Men & The Usual Suspects. He's a brilliant writer & he came up with a concept that was just phenomenal. I rang Jeffrey & he went 'Great, now you have a good idea, just go for it.' I think it's the best idea we've had, the strongest script we've had and that now we really have an opportunity to make something really great.

Filming is currently underway in Japan. The set photos below are  from the Zojoji temple in Tokyo, where a funeral scene was being shot. In the last image Hugh is joined by Rila Fukushima:
I think the main topic of discussion has been about how Yukio is a long-haired red-head. Also note that it may be because it's a funeral scene that she's in a Japanese costume rather than her customary sexy catsuit. We may see her in those duds during some action scenes...

While the crew was filming at the Fukuyama Station in Japan, we got our first look at Tao Okamoto as Mariko, & what we see is good! :D

THE SETS:
The first set photos that appeared on the Net were actually these spy captures taken at Fox Studios itself:
Rumors are now surfacing that there might be a connection in the movie made to the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning, thanks to the emblem (right>) you see in the center of that blue circular symbol in image #1 above.
UPDATE (14/11/2012): This rumor is now debunked by runningman3000 in the SuperheroHype Forum. Turns out the set in image #1 was previously used in The Great Gatsby! Watch the trailer & you'll spot the blue design at 1:13. So the "JG" stood for "Jay Gatsby" after all! *forehead slap*

An impressive World War II Prisoner of War camp set was constructed at the Bonna Point Reserve in Kurnell (NSW, Australia). Check out the revealing video below:



The residents of Picton (NSW, Australia) were pleased to find out that their small town was being used as a shooting location for The Wolverine. Parts of the town were covered in artificial snow as it was standing in for northern Canada’s Yukon region:

In Surry Hills, shooting mainly took place at the Hopetoun Hotel:

 

The movie crew filming at the Zojoji temple in Tokyo:

And finally to end this post, here's what director James Mangold tweeted about the movies that inspire him while making The Wolverine:

movies I think about as I make #TheWolverine : Eastwood's Josie Wales, Powell's Back Narcissus, Hitchcock's Rear Window, Marnie, Vertigo
— James Mangold (@mang0ld) August 15, 2012

more : Ozu's Floating Weeds, Kurosawa's High & Low, Polanski's Chinatown, everything by Wong Kar Wai And Chris Doyle, Besson's Professional
— James Mangold (@mang0ld) August 15, 2012

CREDITS:
Images:
Fox Studios set photos- XMenFilms

Picton set photos- SuperHeroHype Forums, Jasmin Gardener
Kurnell (& Picton) photos- Daily Telegraph
Surry Hills set photos- Daily Pedestrian
Zojoji temple photos- Model Press, SHH Forums
Fukuyama Station photos- Togetter

Synopsis- JoBlo

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