Fan Art

Check out this nifty TGO fan art from elbubojr, imagining what the show's characters might look like if it were animated (or if I had a higher costume budget and/or more actors):

Love it.

He also did color versions of NecroThinker, PyroThinker, CryoThinker, RetroThinker and both forms of The Anti-Thinker, after the jump:

Sony's "Smash Bros." Clone Looks Like a "Smash Bros." Clone

People have been referring to the rumored "Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale" as a Playstation-centric version of "Super Smash Bros" since it was first mentioned, but I doubt anyone was expecting it would be almost exactly the same game:

EPISODE 69: "AfterMass"

Sick of talking/hearing about "Mass Effect?" Me too. But newsworthy is newsworthy, and the next "big" gaming story (in terms of news or even a discussionworthy new release) has yet to rear it's head. So one more round - especially in light of how dramatically the Bioware/Re-Take thing evolved after the last episode. And even if that's not really your bag, this one also has zombies, gunfights, the return of The OverSword and a much bigger helping of Ivan the Intern:

JOY

There may come a day when Nintendo's monetization of nostalgia becomes so completely predictable that something as relatively simple as ressurecting power-ups from Super Mario Bros. 3 is no longer sufficient to settle anything that could be bothering me at any given moment, leaving me in a blissful near-stupor of psychological comfort.

Today is not that day:

Episode 69 Announcement!

"Episode 69: AfterMass" will be viewable by all audiences on Wednesday, April 25th. ScrewAttack Advantage members can get an early look at this link NOW.

COD Elite Has Pro-Hitler Staff Pick

Accident of internet-algorithims gone unchecked? Probably. Classic Kotaku sensationalism? Definitely. Darkly amusing, given the game(s) in question? You betcha.

The "Staff Picks" linked to a Call of Duty Elite user account - troublingly named "GhostOfTheReich," incidentally - include a YouTube video for a White Supremacist rock group called "Final War." Activision has yet to comment on the issue, which is at this point about three days old.

Badass Digest Out-Geeks "Re-Take," Again

Episode 69 is in the can and awaiting a release date (you'll find out right after I do), but it's not a spoiler to reveal that I'm going one more round with "Re-Take Mass Effect" in light of EA/BioWare's decision to attempt placating them* with "story-expanding" free DLC. I'm glad I finished it up last night, because I probably would've felt compelled to scrap my plans in a fit of "what else can I POSSIBLY add after this!?" envy and defeat after reading today's piece by Badass Digest's Devin Faraci. B.A.D. should be a daily stop for geeks and film buffs anyway, but this was a real (if SPOILER-Y!) treat.

VOTE!

Okay, this isn't necessarily scientific or going to amount to anything, but I thought I'd take an informal poll of viewers/readers/fans/whatever. The subject: Here's a list of ten characters who've appeared on the show between, er... since we started having characters other than me on the show - I'd like to see people "rank" them in order of favorite to least-favorite in order of 1-10, 10 being least-favorite and 1 being favorite:

Better Business Bureau Agrees "Mass Effect 3" Falsely-Advertised

Well, so much for THIS nonsense being over with.

The Escapist reports that a communications director at the Better Business Bureau has come out in public agreement with the position that Bioware's pre-release hype about ME3 was sufficiently different enough from the final product as to constitute wrongdoing.

COME SEE THE OVERTHINKER AT PAX EAST 2012!

I'll be starting my weekend-long stint at PAX East tomorrow afternoon. If you see me around the floor, feel free to say hi - in addition, I'll be featured at the following two panels on Friday night:

6:00 PM - "BLANKETY BLANK PANEL" (Manticore Theater)
A gamer/geek centric version of The Match Game. Should be a blast!

10:30 PM - "ESCAPIST MOVIE NIGHT" (Wyvern Theater)
Escapist editors, Shamus Young, the LoadingReadyRun crew, The Space Janitors, myself and others present select episodes of The Escapist's most popular shows (including some never-before-seen new stuff!) preceded by a live Q&A.

See you there!

Home

Whatever the ultimate fate is of The RetroThinker (keep watching, his story is far from over) I'd like to think he'd be heartened by this pair of stories that broke today; giving renewed hope that The Golden Age of gaming still has yet to slip completely away:

Yes, More "Mass Effect"

WARNING! All links and everything after the jump carries a MASSIVE SPOILER WARNING!

"Bob, WHY do you keep talking about this??" Because it's still THE story in this particular realm, that's why.

In any case, Devin Faraci of BadassDigest is the latest web-personality to weigh in on the controversial finale of "Mass Effect" - apparently he didn't get the memo that movie critics' opinions on video games aren't to be taken seriously, either. He does, however, bring the thus-far rare perspective of someone who - whether he is officially a "true gamer" or not - has played through the entirety of "Mass Effect" and actually really likes the ending. It's an extremely thoughtful piece (I don't always see eye-to-eye with Devin, but he knows his shit) that gamers would do well to consider:

Yes, I Saw The Jimquisition

Jim Sterling and I have shows on the same network, so yes I've seen his Mass Effect video. Stop Asking.