Episode 57 Coming... At Some Point...

At this time, I can't give a precise answer as to what the airdate will be for the (still in-production) Episode 57 will air. However, I CAN divulge these three tease-ish facts:

1.) It will cover the Supreme Court Games Decision.

2.) It will touch on the Oslo Massacre perpetrator's "Call of Duty"/training-simulation comments.

3.) The real identities (which NO ONE has correctly guessed yet) of PyroThinker and CryoThinker will be revealed.

Also, since people were asking about an Animated GIF of the two Ninjas dancing from the last episode, here it is (click it for motion.)

"NeverDead" Brings Face-Butt Monsters, MegaDeth

Pre-"Tokyo Games Show" trailer for Konami's "NeverDead;" a Japan/US collaboration featuring crazy monsters, ranting demons, people using medieval weaponry in what looks like the modern world and little creature-guys with human faces where their bumholes should be. Also: MegaDeth, who I'll just assume are still popular in Japan, yes?

These days, that's refreshing - once upon a time, this is what "looks like a video game" meant...

EPISODE 56: "Setting Sun"

UPDATE: As of 9/13/11 this video can now be seen at THIS LINK

The Japanese games-industry is on the wane... but it's Western fans who're paying the price.



Lot of fun making this one, and as usual big ups to my brother Chris for doing a lot of shooting and playing the Ninjas.

REMINDER! New Episode TONIGHT at 11pm ET

Quick reminder, folks: The all-new EPISODE 56 debuts TONIGHT at 11pm ET on ScrewAttack. TGO fans and readers in general are, as always, humbly asked to - if they find it to their liking - tweet, plusone, facebook, hashtag and otherwise spread the HELL out of it :)

Is It Time For "Girl Link?"

I was checking out these excellent "Mario Gender Swap" fanart pix (hat-tip to BAD) from Beth Rolling of RollingRabbit, and it occurs to me that while an actual "Mario Sisters" game would probably be just a little bit too "twee" (or verging on parody) to be taken seriously... any time I've been to a gaming con I see a TON of women cosplaying as Link (from Zelda) and it always looks, well... "right?"

Serious question: Since all the Links are supposed to be reincarnations or inheritors or whatnot, would it not be both perfectly reasonable and even WELCOME for Nintendo to make one of the "next" ones "Female Link?" I'm talking same basic character, same basic additude (or lack thereof,) same general "look," but female?

Something tells me this would not only work, but work REALLY well - the Zelda games have always had a sizable female fanbase, and I don't think Link has ever been prized as some iconic masculine role-model the way that Master Chief or Snake have. It'd end up raising a lot of related issues - do you make Zelda a prince? Do you pull back on Ganon/Ganondorf's fixation on the hero because now it'd look a little "rapey?" The second one I dunno about, but I think leaving Zelda female AND keeping the "friends, not necessarily romantic" angle of most of the games would make for a different dynamic than is usually seen (it's not like DeviantArt won't just gladly fill everyone's 'yuri-quota' either way.)

Am I nuts, or is this one of those "why didn't anyone think of this before" moments?

GOP Candidate Quotes "Pokemon" Lyrics During Debate

Pizza-chain mogul turned Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain cited the following as an inspirational quote from "a poet" at Friday night's Iowa Straw Poll debate:

"A poet once said, 'life can be a challenge, life can seem impossible, but it's never easy when there's so much on the line.'"

Just one problem, though: that's not from any poem, or even any poet - it's a line of lyrics from "The Power of One," a track recorded by Donna Summer as the theme song to "Pokemon: 2000."

To be fair, Cain is a grandfather; so there are likely a dozen perfectly-reasonable ways that he could've come by this particular song and internalized the lyrics. Still, sort of funny I guess. Do people remember that it was briefly treated as some kind of "big deal" for some reason that President Obama used the score to "The Patriot" as the accompaniment to his victory speech?

Episode 56 COMING SOON!!!

Head's up: Episode 56 is set to debut on MONDAY, AUGUST 22nd at 11pm EST. Mark your calendars and arranged your lives accordingly.

It's a little early to start getting into specifics, but as a small preview I'll say that the topic at hand has been requested for a LONG time and that in a sense it's a kind of "thematic-sequel" to Episode 54. I'll also say upfront that it is not the Supreme Court episode. Not yet. OH! And there will probably not be many preview images, as any interesting visual elements from this one would qualify as spoilers.

STAY TUNED!

EPISODE 55: "What We Lost In The Fire"

UPDATE: As of 9/13/11 this video is now at THIS LINK

The OverThinker finally confronts PyroThinker - and, more importantly, confronts the decline of the American Arcade...



I've been wanting to do an Arcade-centric episode for a long time, and this finally gave me a good context through which to approach it. Incidentally, Episode 56 has already been shot and readied, I'll post a date as soon as I have one. For now, enjoy and remember to Tweet, Facebook etc. this if the mood so strikes you!