MAILBAG ANNOUNCEMENT!

Game OverThinker: Episode 60 is now in production. Fans and viewers already know that this episode will feature the the big battle between OverThinker, CryoThinker and PyroThinker; but the important part - the topic - hasn't been revealed until now:

It's MAILBAG time!



I'll be answering questions from YOU in the episode! Here's how to submit one: Just post it in the comments section of this blog (or the comments section of where you see the accompanying video) and there you go! Not every question will get in, obviously, but I'll try to get as many of the best/funniest/most-interesting/etc. to fit as I can. (I'll be doing the picking because, y'know, my show and all...)

NOVEMBER 12th is the deadline, so get them posted before that. ALSO: No anonymous questions will be accepted, no matter how good. Even if you're posting as "anonymous," put something you'd want to be called by (doesn't have to be your real name) in the question if you want to ensure it gets considered.

While no topic (within reason) is "off the table," here's some suggestions to make your question more likely to be considered:

BE INTERESTING - lets try to avoid "what is your favorite...," "have you played...," etc. After all, we could be cutting away to your question from a wacky ninja fight-scene, so it should probably be worth cutting away for :)

BE SPECIFIC - we want lots of questions to have room, so very general queries requiring very long answers ("could you give thoughts on a whole genre/series/etc?") are probably not making the cut. Also - keep it short and to the point, only the relevant text of the question will be repeated/read on the episode itself and may be summarized.

BE ON-TOPIC - video game questions, questions about the making of the show, etc. are going to get preference over "what do you think of this or that show/book/sport/etc?" Politics and culture questions should relate back to gaming or the show in some form.

DON'T TROLL - if there's something you dislike about me, the show, a prior episode, etc I WANT you to ask about it here and I will NOT reject a question because it is in some way a negative critique. Obvious trolling, however, will not make the cut; nor will questions designed to be read as "attacks" on certain people, persons, companies, developers, other web hosts etc. Oh, and this should go without saying, but this is not the place or time for "tell me what you think of MY show/game/product/blog/etc."

I'm genuinely eager to see what you guys come up with. Good luck!

This year's pick for Halloweenish themed games: the Castlevania Series

It's that time of year again, Halloween (2011).  Are you looking for some good halloweenish titles to play on your favorite game system (or emulator)?  Here is a short list of halloweenish games you will probably love.  Some are completely halloweenish, while some others are not really halloweenish (though they do have some noteworthy halloweenish themes to them)

image caption: picture of Count Dracula in the game, Castlevania Symphony of the Night (you can find the original screen shot at Moby games at http://www.mobygames.com/game/xbox360/castlevania-symphony-of-the-night/screenshots/gameShotId,430217/).  Count Dracula is the main antagonist of the famous Castlevania series and is a classic if you are looking for halloweenish titles.

Ah, it's been a while since I have posted last.  Been a bit busy, plus this blog is not the only blog I have, as I also have several other blogs, including a blog about demos at http://rjstoredemos.blogspot.com (talks about demos I do, has a section on special promotions online from select retailers, as well as several other features).  I also have 2 relatively new blogs, including one about siberian huskies and alaskan malamutes at http://instantblogsubscribers.com/?w=huskies (yes, I am trying out a new blog host for that blog and it is pretty similar to blogspot, with some differences, such as cleaner layouts for blogs, less restrictions on what you can post about, as well as more ways you can monetize your blogs, such as adding clickbank affiliate links, referral links for your Sokule downline, as well as built in referral links to IBS) and a general animal videos blog at http://rjanimalvideos.blogspot.com.  Feel free to check them out and subscribe to them too as I try to add new posts to them often too.  Anyways, on to this post.  As you probably know, it is halloween season and you might be wondering if there are some good halloweenish games to play, and one game series that you are bound to love is the Castlevania Series (it is definately a classic and a very halloweenish game)


The first game series that SHOULD be on your list is probably the Castlevania series.  This game certainly does bring back memories, especially back in the days of the classic NES when Castlevania 2, Simon's quest came out, when you played as Simon Belmont in his mission to lift a hiddeous curse that turns people into monsters as well as to defeat the evil Count Dracula.  Of course, that is just one of many games in the Castlevania series.  In case if you are not familiar with the Castlevania series, it is a lengthy series of games created by Komnai (the same people who made the Contra series) about heroes such as Simon Belmont (as well as his predecessors and successors) in their struggle against the evil forces of demons lead by the evil Count Dracula, who is the "dark lord" (Satan-like) and the main antagonist of the series (though some of the newer games do have a new villian, such as Satan himself at the end of the Lords of Shadows game, besides the 2 expansion packs).  Many of the games come in different forms and have evolved quite a bit since the NES games with plenty of hit titles, including "Symphony of the Night", Circle of the Moon, Lamment of Innocents, Lords of Shadow, and many other titles. 

Typical themes in the Castlevania Series:
- you fight through hordes of ghosts, goblins, monsters, demons, and other foul creatures of the night that you would find in a halloween themed game, movie or show.
- Plenty of hideous bosses to fight. In most if not all Castlevania games, you are bound to fight some huge and monsterous minions of the evil Count Dracula (which varies by games), with some noteworthy boss fights including: Frankenstein in Super Castlevania 4, Death (the grim reaper, who is pretty much 2nd in command of Dracula's forces), the "Forgotten One" (a very goulish optional boss you can fight in Lamment of Innocents), Legion (a huge ball of dead bodies that appears in some of hte games), Dullahan (the headless horseman look alike), as well as many others. 
- The final boss in most (though not all Castlevania games) is usually Count Dracula (who usually teleports around a room and hurling fireballs and other projectiles at you), though he usually comes in 2 forms (a human form, followed by a huge demonic/dragon form).
- Levels do come with good Castlevania style music, especially in the earlier games in the series, such as the "vampire killer", "beginning", and "bloody tears" themes (though many of the newer games have different sound tracks).

Noteworthy titles in the Castlevania Series:

1) Lamment of Innocence -


this is the official prequel of the Castlevania series and is almost like a movie in a way (given the 3D nature of the game as well as the voice acting of the characters and all) and features Leon Belmont, who is a distant grandfather of Simon Belmont, who is on a quest to stop an evil vampire named Walter (who happens to be one of the predecessors of Dracula) and save his wife who was kidnaped by Walter (in an attempt to lure Leon into a cat and mouse game at his castle).  While the game may seem a little short, the levels in the game are pretty lenghty and you will fight hordes of skeletons, flying eyeballs (peeping toms), ghosts, zombies, and other creatures of the night, along with some huge bosses like Medusa, a succubus creature, an undead parasite worm, as well as several others.  Even in the main castle, the music is creepy, and yes, there is a hideous monster (known as the "Forgotten One") lurking at the bottom of the main castle that you can fight towards the end of the game when you have gotten a certain item to open the door leading to him and you can hear him moving around as you get closer to him. 

2) Castlevania 64 -


 This is definitely another classic.  If you have a Nintendo 64, you would probably like Castlevania 64 (though the camera graphics can be a little choppy).  You play as either a girl named Carrie or a decendent of Simon Belmont, named Reinhardt Schneider in their latest quests to Dracula's Castle in their mission to stop his evil plans.  By the way, the storylines are slightly different depending on who you play as (for example, if you are Carrie, part of your quest will involve hunting down an evil witch named, Actriz, who is bent on kidnapping and sacrificing young children all in the name of preserving her "youth") and as Belmont, the main mission is to hunt down Dracula (who unbeknownst to him happens to be a mysterious child named Malus though that fact does not get revealed until the end of the game).  Plenty of  memorable features in this game:

- The eerie feel when playing (especially on the first few levels where you are in the woods and heading into the castle).  Also, I do like the boss music as well (the shutter theme) on the early bosses.
- On the 3rd level, you will be going through an eerie maze chasing after Malus (a mysterious kid, who is really Dracula unbeknownst to Reinhardt/Carrie), while watching your back as you have 2 gargoyle dogs and literrally a crazed Frankenstein monster armed with a chain saw (just two hits from that baby can prove fatal for Reinhardt/Carrie) chasing after you for the entire maze portion level (btw, there is a major boss fight at the end of that level).  It is bound to get your adrenaline going, as one false move and it is game over there.  Even the castle you enter before the maze is eerie as it is full of ghosts, vampires (some of them serve as mini bosses too), a "friendly" ghost named Rosa (who becomes a boss character later on in the game), as well as some other eerie features.
- You do collect gold in the game that you can use to buy items and power ups. Be warned though: the salesman is really a demon in disguise as a salesman and if you buy too often, you will have to fight him as a boss character in the last level of the game (before you fight Dracula).
- You do fight vampires on various occasions, and they can turn you into a vampire if they "bite" you (which comes with negative effects too).
- Epic boss battles too, including a massive battle against Death (has the boss theme from Castlevania Dracula X when you face him), Renon (the "businessman" if you buy from him too often), Actriz (the evil witch in the game), as well as a 3 fold battle against Dracula (including the imposter version of Dracula that you fight at the top of the "Clock Tower" level), as well as an epic two part final battle with the real Dracula. 
- Plenty of clip scenes too (plays like a "silent film" though).

As you can see, Castlevania 64 is a one of a kind game for the 64 and is definately a title you don't want to miss.  A few downsides though: 1) deaths do come cheap on some levels (by the way, it is possible to fall to your doom in this game), 2) the camera angles can be tricky sometimes, and 3) no voice acting in most of the clipscenes (the dialogues play out a bit like that of a silent film where the game shows subtitles when the characters "talk" in the clipscenes).

Tips with Castlevania 64:
- It is recommended that you play on Medium or Hard since you won't get to the end on "easy mode" (the game ends on level 5 if you play on easy mode, which is not really the final level of the game as much as it might seem like the final level at first).
- You do have to try to get through the levels as quickly as possible since you are kind of in a race against another vampire hunter named, Vincent (who is a reckless vampire hunter who wants to reach Dracula before your character does).  If you take too long or you use the sun/moon cards too often, you will have to face Vincent as a boss character, and that makes it so you get the bad ending (though the imposter version of Dracula will seem like the final boss on the surface, especially given the "dance of illusions" theme when you fight him). 
- Be careful not to buy from Renon too often, as you will have to fight him as a boss at the end of the game if you do.


3) Castlevania Dracula X (and it's alternate version: Dracula X Chronicles) -

this game is probably one of my favorites in the series.  You play as Richter Bemont (one of the many successors of Simon Belmont).  Count Dracula had been resurrected by a corrupt priest named, Shaft and Dracula proceeds to kidapping Richter's sister, Maria, as well as his girlfriend (Annette?) and it is up to Richter to "pay a visit" to Dracula's castle, rescue Maria and Annette, and defeat Dracula once again against all odds.  The game spans about 8 levels or and has an arcade style feel.  Some of the levels also have some of the classic Castlevania music tracks, such as the "Bloody Tears" theme on level 3.  At the end of the game is an epic battle against Dracula.  Note: while I have played the SNES version of Dracula X, I haven't played the Dracula X Chronicles verion yet.  I used to have a PSP, but it broke, but I am planning to get a new one some time, and then I can get the game then.  However, I have seen videos of the game on Youtube and definitely seems to be alot different from the SNES version (besides some similarities).  By the way, personally I liked Castlevania Dracula X more than Super Castlevania 4 in many ways (probably given the newer feel to the game).

4) Symphony of the Night -


This is the official sequel to Castlevania Dracula X Chronicles (it appears this game takes place after the events of Castlevania Dracula X Chronicles, not the original Dracula X game).  Set around the time of the end of Dracula X Chronicles (aka Rondo of Blood), Richter Belmont thought that he had defeated Shaft and Dracula and ended his evil plans, but the not yet over, not by a long shot.  Soon, the evil priest named Shaft comes back into the picture, "kidnaps" Richter and causes him to turn evil by making him into "lord" of Dracula's castle, and soon plans the resurrection of the evil Count Dracula (which seems to be inevitable with Richter out of the picture at the time).  However, Dracula's "son", Alucard (who seems to be sympathetic towards the human race) intervenes (thus betraying Dracula's cause) and sets on a quest to rescue Richter from Shaft and Dracula's clutches, defeat Shaft once and for all, and stop Dracula's resurrection before all is lost.  This game is definately a classic and seems to be the inspiraton for many of the current generation 2D Castlevania games, including Circle of the Moon, Harmony of Dissonance, Portrait of Ruin, and others.  You go through not 1, but 2 huge castles (the other one is really a clone of the first one, but everything is upside down there) facing countless foes, hiddeous boss characters (including the infamous Legion/Granlafoon boss, Death, Cerebus, and many others), and make your way to rescue Richter (who is under Shaft's influence) and save the day.  The game also uses a level up system, plenty of weapons, shields and other items you can use to help boost your stats and to help progress through the castles, making your character stronger and more powerful as you progress).  It also comes with a satisfying ending too.  It is probably my favorite Castlevania game.  I used to have the game on the Playstation, but decided to sell it along with the original playstation I had around the time I got the PS 2 (sold it to a guy on Ebay).  Though, I wouldn't mind getting the Xbox Live version some day. 

Well, there are many other noteworthy games in the Castlevania series (this list would be too long if I posted them all) and is worth mentioning.

By the way, what do you think of the Castlevania series?  Do you have any favorites?  The latest one I've played is the Lords of Shadow version, which is the latest 3D Castlevania game, where you play as Gabriel Belmont in his quest to avenge the death of his wife and rescue her spirit (which is in limbo after her death).  The only downside to the Lords of Shadow version is that it is definitely much darker than many of the previous Castlevania games I've played (even on the boss battles, your character now has gruesom fatality moves that you can use to completely destroy bosses when you beat them) and plus part of the game takes your character to Hell (literally), with the end boss being Satan himself (I guess they decided to make Satan the angagonist for LOS), which may be offensive to some, especially mothers.

Looking for a information about particular Castlevania game?  Take advantage of this search widget below from Amazon:

EPISODE 59 now viewable for ADVANTAGE subscribers (UPDATED!)

UPDATE: Okay, now that I'm no longer posting this in-between reel changes at an all-night film festival...

EPISODE 59, "Bat-Slap," will debute wide NEXT Saturday November 5th at 11pm EST; but ScrewAttack Advantage members can get an early look as of now RIGHT HERE.

Just to clarify, as I'm seeing some misunderstanding circulating about this one: It's NOT a review of the game (I really, really like the game so far - though I wish more of the missions/challenges weren't essentially "follow the Bat-GPS to [blank]"), nor is it a follow-up to the previous episode (re: this has NOTHING to do with "Other M," Japan, etc.)

In fact, it's primarily about the way online gaming culture reacts to criticism and/or negative observations about the medium (re: like a bunch of infants, too much of the time) with the Arkham City mini-blowup as a jumping-off point. In this respect, it's more of a "sequel" to 'Supreme Responsibility' than anything else.

Episode 59 ANNOUNCEMENT

Head's up: EPISODE 59 - which deals with the "sexism in Arkham City" controversy - will debut WIDE a week from today EXCLUSIVELY on ScrewAttack.com Saturday, November 5 at 11pm EST.

As with before, ScrewAttack Advantage members have the option of seeing it early beginning TONIGHT at 11pm! Remember: A portion of the Advantage membership fee goes toward the favorite show of your choice.

Let's See More of THIS, Huh?

Below, the trailer for the downloadable XBLA/PSN title "War of The Worlds" - which adapts H.G. Wells' original version of the story into the format of a 2D sidescoller leaning heavily on the "alien lights in pitch-darkness" visual scheme. Yes, please.

EPISODE 58: "Heavens To Metroid - Revisited"

Head's-up, folks: Episode 58 is now viewable by EVERYONE at ScrewAttack. Go watch HERE!

Will "Arkham City" Be This Year's "Other M?"

REMINDER: "Game OverThinker's" new episode about "Other M" will be viewable by EVERYONE tomorrow on ScrewAttack.

Short answer: Probably not, as it's a much bigger/more-anticipated game of the "we will riot if insert-reviewer-here gives it below a 9" variety and because I don't think anyone is as protective of Harley Quinn and Catwoman as gamers are of Samus Aran. Still, it's an intriguing prospect to see this play out...


DISCLAIMER: I'm buying the game today, have not played it yet and will refrain from judgement until I have. The great Film Critic Hulk, however, has (you should be reading this site - it's seriously highbrow movie/culture commentary in the "voice" of The Incredible Hulk) and makes some troubling observations about the content which have now been echoed by Kotaku.

The crux of the issue is that theres (apparently) a much heavier emphasis on violence against women in this sequel, and that it's favorite (T-rated) cuss word is "bitch;" mainly from bad guy NPCs engaging in surly "guy talk" about Catwoman etc.

Now, since it's unlikely that Rocksteady is employing a bunch of unreconstructed misogynists on it's design teams; it's fairly easy to imagine how this happens: The premise of the game is an Escape From NY/LA-style "city of prisoners;" and this was how the writers chose to make them sound like "real inmates" since for whatever reason sexist-slurs are deemed more 'teen-friendly' than racist or homophobic ones (which is a related but whole other issue altogether.)

Here's where this get's interesting, to me:

From where I stood, this is exactly what the problem was with "Other M" - an awkward writing decision that left the game, however unintentionally, open to interpretation as sexist. The difference (at least so far) is that while "M" was immediately (and continuingly) savaged for this, up to and including the wide dissemination of baseless accusations of intentional sexism on the part of the designers and a hefty helping of deplorable racism in the form of ascribing said intentional sexism onto some kind of endemic woman-hatred in the Japanese psyche. "Arkham," on the other hand, is so far recieving what looks like the expected wagon-circling defense in the gamer-sphere - "It's just a game," "that's how prisoners would talk," etc. And hey - maybe I'll agree.

But agree or not, I SERIOUSLY doubt that you'll see anywhere near the level of condemnation "Other M" got for a variety of reasons - mainly that it comes in two different forms (i.e. one game where a poor narrative choice led to implications of sexism versus another where intentional "in-character" sexism is suspiciously prevalent) but also because - and I'm speaking VERY generally and ONLY in my opinion here - because the loss/gain ratio is different: "Arkham City" is a game that gamers are invested in even without having played it - a hardcore "gamer's game" that's also the successor to arguably the best superhero game ever.

"Other M," meanwhile, was a Wii game (strike one) doing the retro-throwback thing after the series had spent three prior console installments in a well-regarded FPS series (strike two) and... egh, look... I'm not going to go saying that people who GENUINELY hated it or were GENUINELY offended by it were "wrong" or un-genuine in their opinions, but I get a real sense that at least SOME of that shitstorm was the result of folks in and around the Western gaming scene having finally found a 'weak one among the herd' to single out and vent long pent-up issues against Japanese developers in general and Nintendo/Team Ninja specifically. Just an observation/opinion.

I'll probably have more to say, one way or another, once I've had a work-free minute to play it.

P.S. Regardless of how the game itself "works" for me, the "it's how prisoners would talk!!!" thing doesn't work for me. As said, it's weird that they'd be sexists but not ALSO racists; and also the notion of "realistic criminals/gang-thugs" goes out the window when we're talking about a scenario where the crooks in question are being leg by clowns, mad scientists and ice-blooded guys in spacesuits.

"Velayutham" - the 'Assassin's Creed' Cosplay Superhero from India

Below, the trailer for "Velayutham," an upcoming Indian action film about a rural guy who adopts a costumed vigilante identity to battle corporate corruption in the big city. His costume, weaponry and fighting style might look a little familiar to fans of "Assassin's Creed;" to the point that Ubisoft is apparently considering a lawsuit.

Fun fact: What you're looking at is NOT a "Bollywood" film - the Bollywood nickname technically only refers to the Hindi-language film industry, which is India's largest; but many of the recent "big" Indian films to hit International theaters ("Endhiran," for example) are actually Tamil-language features produced in a wholly different region.

Can "Infinity Blade" Save Arcades?

You may recall me suggesting that a "partnership" between standup public machines and the ubiquity of mobile/smartphone gaming would be one thing that might help keep the American arcade scene going. In at least one respect, that "partnership" is now getting a shot at reality: An arcade-sized version of the iPhone hit "Infinity Blade" is coming to Dave & Busters - with plans to expand further if it works.

This has already been tried, with some success, with "Flight Control" and "Fruit Ninja;" but what's notable is that "Blade" is regarded as the "gamer's game" on the iOS scene. I'd like to see this catch on - though one imagines we won't know that it has until "Angry Birds" gets similarly ported...

Episode 58 is Now Viewable for ADVANTAGE Users

Episode 58, "Heavens to Metroid: Revisited" is now available to be viewed by ScrewAttack Advantage members HERE. It will be viewable by everyone one week from today on 10/20.

Folks who're interested in giving Advantage a shot (a portion of the subscription fee goes directly to support your show of choice) can check it out HERE.

Is "Act of Valor" the Movie the "Call of Duty" Generation Has Been Waiting For?

Here's a production-backstory that will make some people kinda queasy and others kinda thrilled:

"Act of Valor" supposedly began life as a bigger-budget-than-usual, up-to-date Navy SEAL recruitment film; but was reworked into a "traditional" feature film (one has to assume public-interest in the SEALs following the killing of bin Laden played a part, yes?) and is now being released in February by Relativity Media. The Navy still seems to have "signed off" on the project, though - so all the gear, tech and tactics are as authentic as possible and (most interestingly of all) the main hero-cast are played by actual SEAL members.

Episode 58 DATED

Alright. In related news to the prior announcements that TGO has become part of the ScrewAttack Advantage program, I can now confirm the debut dates for Episode 58: "Heavens to Metroid - Revisited." Yes, dates. Plural.

Here's how it's going to work: ScrewAttack users ("G1's") who have subscribed to the Advantage Program will be able to see the episode EARLY on October 13th; while everyone else will be able to view it starting October 20th.

Once again, if you'd like to give Advantage a shot (it's available in both monthly and yearly flavors) you can do so by going HERE (you'll have to register for ScrewAttack first, which is free.) If you do, make sure you pick "The Game OverThinker" from the drop-down menu asking which show you were "referred" by; which ensures that a cut of your subscription fee goes directly to supporting your show of choice.

TGO ScrewAttack ADVANTAGE How-To-Sign-Up Promo

Regarding our previous news that the show will be part of ScrewAttack ADVANTAGE, here is a new video up on YouTube explaining how that's going to work and what those who wish to sign up need to do to make that happen...



Once again, sincere thanks to all fans who sign up or consider signing up; and to everyone who has and continues to help make "The Game OverThinker" a reality.

GAME OVERTHINKER is now part of SCREWATTACK ADVANTAGE!

SHORT VERSION: Please consider going here and signing up, if so inclined.

Full disclosure: Yes, this is basically an advertisement. I don't love doing that, but I love being broke even less. Also, I'm no-bullshit very enthusiastic about "special benefit" subscriptions like this as the proper path for professional websites. So, here's the deal:

As of today, "The Game OverThinker" is part of ScrewAttack.com's "Advantage Program;" which allows subscribers ($3.95 monthly, $40.00 yearly) to see a largely ad-free version of the site and to see certain videos earlier than non-subscribers. Here's how this applies to THIS show and how, if you so choose, it can apply to you:

When/if a user signs up for "Advantage," which you can do RIGHT HERE, there is a drop-down menu that allows them to pick which series has primarily motivated them to sign up or visit the site in general. Whichever show you pick (you only get to pick one and ONCE, so be careful) gets a cut of the profits from the subscription fees. So... yes. If you're a fan or supporter of the show, this is a concrete tangible way for you to show it directly and get access to cool stuff from one of the web's better gaming sites. I'm thrilled to be part of this, and I would truly deeply appreciate any and all fans who'd consider signing up and being part of this.

REMEMBER! It's very important that you select "The Game OverThinker" from the "PICK THE SHOW YOU WERE REFERRED BY" drop-down menu, and it cannot be changed afterwards so click carefully!

Don't worry - you will still be able to watch the show if you don't sign up, though eventually it might be a few days after subscribers do. I want to preemptively thank any fans who DO choose to sign up, and all fans in general who've helped get the show to this point. Thank you ALL :)

Is This the Best Game Console Commercial of This Generation?

I think it may be, and not just because of the irony of how awful the PS3's advertising was in the beginning...




The premise is a bunch of game characters (some exclusive, some not) meeting in a bar and talking about a revered figure to whom they owe their lives and successes... which turns out to be a PS3 player named Michael. Yeah, that's pretty sweet - shades of Tron and "The User" and all.

Part of me wants to point out that the fact that these allegedly-disparate characters all "go together" so well - sure is an aaaaaawful lot of gruff-voiced, stubble-faced angry white dudes in there, eh? - is just more evidence of how bland and staid modern game design has become; or to point out how much more powerful this same premise might've been in an era when it would've been guys like Master Higgins, MegaMan, Rygar, etc. chilling in that bar... (same part that kinda just did point that out, I guess...) but all things considered, that's pretty terrific stuff. Well done.

Episode 60 Production Stills

Episode 58, the "Other M" revisitation, is currently near the end of it's post-production (aka editing); and Episode 59 is about to wrap pre-production (aka "writing the script.") No confirmed airdate for either yet, but I'll definitely let you all known when I have them.

Until then, please enjoy some largely spoiler-free stills taken "on-location" from the first day of live-action shooting for Episode 60 by friend-of-the-show Sarah...

My brother Chris, shooting a closeup of The OverThinker, holding

a Chinese dao broadsword. Where'd he get that? Stay tuned...

CryoThinker (Chris, in this shot) posing with a fighting-axe.

PyroThinker (Chris again, what a trooper) posing with quarterstaff.

It doesn't show well at this angle, but that staff is actually just about

7 feet tall. We made it as a prop for a movie that fell apart awhile

back, feels good and proper to finally put it to use.

Chris and myself, verbally working out some fight choreography. The

prop sword has no "edge" to speak of, but it's made of wood to get

the proper "weight" in motion, same deal with PyroThinker's staff - so

if either of us "miss" and connect it's still gonna hurt like hell. So far,

no injuries (and we really got into it after this shot) so fingers crossed!