EPISODE 71 ANNOUNCEMENT

UPDATE: Technical issue has been resolved, my apologies for any confusion that may have arisen.
Here we go: EPISODE 71: "Eulogii" will go live for all-audiences this Sunday 6/2. ScrewAttack Advantage members, however, can get their usual early look starting, er... right now HERE.

ALSO: The big announcement made at the end of this one is that Episode 72 will be another MAILBAG... but this one will be exclusive to ScrewAttack G1's (read: members) who ask their questions in the comments-section under this episode (on the screwattack page, NOT HERE.) No, G1 isn't Advantage (i.e. it doesn't cost anything) and yes, we will do another for all-audiences soon.

Big Tease

Apologies for the lack of updates recently - I've been dealing with a lot of stuff. Some of it business, some of it personal, some of it related to the absolute hell of real-estate shopping in Massachusetts, some of it good and some of it just plain old shitty and unpleasant.

In any case, EPISODE 71 has been recorded, edited and readied to go - though I don't have an exact date yet, I believe it will be in the near future and I'll specify when I know for sure. For now, here are three things I can tell you about this particular installment:

1. This will be the second-to-last episode to feature The NecroThinker. Does the same hold true for RetroThinker? I'm not telling.

2. The title of the episode is "Eulogii."

3. A Special Announcement will be made at the conclusion of the episode.

Stay tuned...

EPISODE 70: "Fall of Duty"

Now viewable for ALL AUDIENCES!!! The Game OverThinker takes on "Call of Duty: Black Ops II" and Oliver North...




I like how this one came out, though it certainly wasn't the most fun episode to produce. The "real world" side of this is seriously, seriously ugly stuff; and I never like coming down on a game or a developer for something like this - "your design scheme sucks!" is just an aesthetic critique, and can be a lead-in for humor... "you're associating with despicable people and the increasingly overt ideological-underpinnings of your product are bringing something poisonous and corrupt to the medium" is dark business, and there's nothing "funny" about it.

Got Mass Effect 3 recently

Here is another thing worth posting about:  I got Mass Effect 3 lately and beat the game once as a paragon character.  I will post more about this game later.  By the way, here is a trailer for it you are curious about Mass Effect 3


Game features that you might like:
- Epic finale to the Mass Effect series
- The reapers have arrived and chaos ensues and Shepard (who was temporarily suspended after the events of Mass Effect 2) is called upon once again to save earth and the galaxy from extinction at the hands of the reapers (who launch a genocidal war against all races).
- New multiplayer mode (these didn't exist in the first two games in the series) where you team up with other players and battle hordes of enemies across the galaxy, including reapers, Cerberus (they officially become villians in the 3rd game), and geth
- Lots of story and fateful decisions to make (btw, if you played mass effects 1 and 2, some of your decisions and consequences will carry over to Mass Effect 3, for example if squad members die in the other 2 installments, they don't return in Mass Effect 3). 
- Romance storylines - Shepard can have relationships with other squad members.  Also, it appears that if you had 2 different romance partners from the previous 2 games, they will get jealous, which is kind of funny.
- There are multiple possible endings in the game (both good and bad).

I will talk more about Mass Effect 3 later.   By the way, have you played Mass Effect 3 yet?  If so, what are your experiences?  By the way, if you are new to the Mass Effect series, I recommend playing ME 1 and ME 2 first since not only do you get the full back story, but you have more control over what happens in Mass Effect 3 (otherwise major decisions from the first 2 games will be made for you).

Been playing through Castlevania Harmony of Despair lately

Hey guys, sorry it has been a while since posting last (btw, this is not the only blog I have as I have several other ones as well, both here on Blogspot as well as a blog at Instant Blog Subscribers).  Anyways, I recently got the full version of the game, Castlevania Harmon of Despair and it is definitely a classic in my opinion.



I am actually currently on level 6 in the game (technically the last level of the game unless if you have the DLC levels), and I do have to admit that it is pretty fun and challenging too.  Currently, I've been playing through the game as Shamoa (a female mage), though I will probably play through as other characters as well over time.  The game is pretty fun and is defintely a must for Castlevania fans (especially if you enjoyed titles like Symphony of the Night, Dawn of Sorrow, Portriat of Ruin and Order of Eclessia). 

Cool features in Harmony of Despair:

• 6 levels long (though there are 5 DLC levels that you can add too, for much longer gameplay)
• Multiple players to choose from, such as Shamoa, Soma, Alucard, Jonathan, Charlotte, as well as other castlevania characters (some can even be downloaded too, like Richter and Simon Belmont)
• Huge boss fights (especially on levels 2 and 3), by the way, they do get progressively more challengeing as you go along, especially on the battles against Death and later Dracula)
• Has both single player and multiplayer mode
• Lots of power ups and treasure chests.

I will post more detailed review about this game later, but I am definitely a fan so far.  By the way, if you are struggling on the single player mode, I recommend trying the multiplayer mode as it is usually easier on multiplayer mode (especially when you have a bunch of people in your party).

Episode 70 Coming 5/12

Head's up! Episode 70: "Fall of Duty" will be viewable by everyone starting this Saturday 5/12 at 11:30pm CST.

Subscribers to ScrewAttack Advantage can see it a few days early starting right how HERE.

Moderation

As a rule, I try to let the comments section of these blogs run wild - people can post anonymously if they want, and the only things I tend to delete are abusive comments directed at other users. Unfortunately, owing to the continued bad behavior of some repeat-offenders I'm going to have to start getting more strict. I don't like it, but there it is.

From now on, the comments sections will be moderated by me on the following criteria: No abuse of others, no soliciting, no intentional derailing and try to stay on-topic to whatever degree possible. In other words, attempting to hijack any given conversation or spamming the recurrent "gotcha" lines into every damn post is a good way to get yourself consistently removed. Several recent posts will have their comment-sections culled in this manner once this message is posted.

I don't like it, but that's the way it has to be. Hopefully this will not overly impact the vast majority of commenters who don't make trouble.

Episode 70 Announcement!

I'm still working out some scheduling details, but I can now confirm that Episode 70 - which will cover the Oliver North/Call of Duty issue at length - should make it's debut later this week. Until then, do yourselves a favor and read this solid editorial on Kotaku that gets into some of the other more troubling aspects of the campaign and the general Fox News-style fear-selling vibe that has set in across the COD franchise in general.

The Avengers Assemble @ Gallery 1988

***UPDATE #2***

If you're heading to San Diego for Comic Con 2013, you can purchase this shirt exclusively at the Marvel booth (#2329)

***UPDATE***

I am so proud to be a part of this!! Marvel has announced their upcoming exclusive merchandise for New York Comic Con 2012 (Oct. 11 - 14) including this artwork in T-Shirt form! Read more about it below for more info!

http://marvel.com/news/story/19489/marvel_celebrates_new_york_comic_con_with_exclusive_items

*********************************************************************************
This is kind of a huge deal for me...

It's no secret that I am a fan of Joss Whedon. I have created artwork based off of several of his creations including Firefly, Dr. Horrible, and most recently, Buffy The Vampire Slayer. I am extremely honored to be a part of this show as both a fan of Whedon's work as well as a huge Marvel fan.

On May 4th, 2012, Joss Whedon will unleash his most ambitious project yet with Marvel's The Avengers. The night before however, Gallery 1988 in Los Angeles is holding a very special art exhibition put on by Marvel and Disney featuring some very talented people.

I am very proud and very honored to present my artwork for The Avengers show at Gallery 1988:

A limited number of signed and numbered prints will be available exclusively at Gallery 1988. You can get them in person through the weekend (if they're still available) and online. CLICK HERE! Sorry folks, all sold out.

Along with prints will be a framed album complete with Captain America's shield for the record! I had a fun time creating this one. I am a huge Weezer fan and I knew that they had released The Red Album on red vinyl so I tracked one down and put a white circle in the middle to create the shield look. Below is a mock-up of what the framed album looks like. There is only one of these in existence, so hopefully a lucky person gets to take this home with them after the gallery opening.

image courtesy of Collider

I also created an album back complete with track listing just for this blog. The artwork below will not be for sale, I just got really into what I was working on:

I am very excited for this show, and as you can see by the list below, there are some very talented people involved with this.

I'd like to thank Marvel, Disney, and Gallery 1988 for the opportunity to create some artwork for this event. It really is so awesome to be involved with a project like this. I'd also like to give a special thanks to Joss Whedon for all of his hard work and dedication to telling stories in the way he does.

Marvel's "The Avengers" assembles in theaters everywhere on Friday May 4th

Artists Assemble at Gallery 1988 on Thursday May 3rd and it's only open through the weekend folks so hurry on down, otherwise you might make the Hulk angry, and you won't like him when he's angry.

"Assemble"
Thursday May 3rd, 2012
7021 Melrose Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90038
http://www.gallery1988.com
http://marvel.com

To purchase prints of my previous artwork, head on over to my Etsy store and take a look around!

Oliver North is The Pitchman for "Call of Duty"

Every time I think the modern gaming industry cannot sink any lower, I am proven wrong. This is... inexcusable, even for this industry. This is disgusting, despicable. This is evil. Oliver North - a man who was convicted of what many feel amount to (but do not technically qualify as) war crimes - is doing commercials for "Call of Duty."

Hey, I've got an idea - Charles Manson isn't doing anything right now, maybe he'd like to lend a thumbs-up to the next "Manhunt?" Or maybe we can get some actual gangbangers to stump for GTAV?

Are you fucking SERIOUS, Activision??
For those you too young to remember, North was the central figure in the Iran-Contra scandal - in which he was effectively the "bagman" for a covert and illegal scheme by agents of the U.S. government to sell weapons to Iran (an enemy nation) and funnel the profits to The Contras, a Nicaragaun rebel group opposing the Sandinista government of the time.

North was convicted, but it was overturned via an ACLU appeal (strange bedfellows and all that); and since the Sandinista's were "dirty commies" and North did his dirty-work during the time of Saint Reagan, he remains a folk-hero to far-right Conservatives to this day. But this isn't an issue of politics - or rather it shouldn't be. If you can't see why this is a horrifying development after reading the provided links about who North is, I don't know what else to say to you.

Congratulations, Activision - this is officially the worst thing a video game company has ever done to promote it's game. You win. You're the new champ. Say hi to EA for me when you go to pick up the trophy.

Un-fucking-believable...

BLOPS To The Future

With this emergence into general public knowledge of weaponized military drones over the last few years, it seemed innevitable that we were going to start getting schlocky technophobe-paranoia action movies reminding us how "Ya just can't trust those dang machines!!!" and that no matter how advanced our fancy-shmancy technobabble gets we're always gonna need "Real. Hard. Men. RARGH!" to bail us out.

What didn't seem innevitable - but, in retrospect, probably ought to have - was that Hollywood would get beaten to the punch on this new subgenre by a "Call of Duty" game: The trailer for "Black Ops 2" reveals that the game takes place in the near-future and finds you battling unmanned military machinery that's been hijacked by Al Qaeda/North Korea/Russia/Neo-Nazis/China/Does-It-Really-Matter. I like the Tank With Feet:



I'm not even joking - I think Tank With Feet is immediately my favorite "Call of Duty" character ever.

I'd also like to thank the good folks at Treyarch for effectively demonstrating what Michael Bay's adaptation of "Metal Gear" would look like...