Hulk (Incredibly) Smash Modern Warfare!

There's something pointedly "now" about the idea that FilmCritHulk - the eccentric movie-blogger who pens lengthy, deeply-academic yet immensely readable articles on film and film criticism in the "voice" of The Incredible Hulk - got probably his biggest "boost" in terms of internet publicity for a piece not on films but on video games.

In the wake of said piece, Hulk has scored a (well-deserved) high-profile gig on Devin Faraci's (must-bookmark) site BadassDigest. Now, Hulk once again turns his eyes toward gaming with an AMAZING piece breaking down the (de)evolution of the "Call of Duty" games and, in doing so, making a dozen or so absolutely vital points about problems (but also high-points) of the modern games industry as a whole. It's a MUST READ - and no, NOT (only) because he gives your's truly an extremely gracious shoutout.

Episode 61 COMING SOON (UPDATED!)

UPDATE! Episode 61 will debut for all audiences NEXT WEDNESDAY 12/7 at 10pmCST/11pmEST. ScrewAttack ADVANTAGE subscribers can get an early look TOMORROW at the same time. Remember, if you sign up for ADVANTAGE select "The Game OverThinker" as your show of choice so that your subscription supports THIS show :)

I don't have an exact date/time for Episode 61 yet (other than to say YES, this one will be available one week early for Advantage subscribers) but it's coming very soon. Until then, here's a new trailer currently running on YouTube that contains a veeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeery teeny-tiny tease at upcoming episodes:

Is "GameGadget" The OPEN-SOURCE Platform We've Been Waiting For?

...Probably not, but I like the idea.

"Blaze" is a Europe-based gaming outfit that mostly specializes in making gaming peripherals and those dedicated all-in-one consoles and handhelds pre-loaded with retrogames that you see on mall kiosks around the Holidays. Now, they've thrown their weight behind a still-somewhat-mysterious concept called "GameGadget" that seems like the logical next-step from that particular business model: An open-source, Linux-based handheld (it looks like a plus-sized GameBoy Micro) that aims to be the "iPod of games."


Thus far the press-release from last week and images are the bulk of what's been revealed, but the basic idea is that the device (which DOES appear to have an SD slot) will interface with a proprietary version of the App Store, which Blaze/GameGadget is heavily angling for rights-holders to classic games (pre-PS1, most likely) to fill with their product. The press release makes a BIG deal out of this being a way for publishers to re-monetize their retrogames without much (or any) additional investment. They're also courting small/upstart developers to make new titles for the format, which they claim it's "fully compatible" with SDL and DirectFB.

I LOVE everything about this... except for the fact that it's being put out by a company without much of a profile otherwise - something that's going to involve a lot of back-and-forth between a dizzying number of (theoretical) partnerships needs some muscle behind it, or at least would seem to from my perspective.

I've maintained for awhile that something LIKE this - an everything-in-one-place app store for classic games - would be both a game-changer and an industry-saver; and it's INCREDIBLY frustrating that the main thing preventing it has been Apple's ridiculous resistance to having buttons on the various iDevices - which has severely kneecapped the variety of games most smartphones can (properly) run. Imagine carrying around every Atari/Spectrum/C64/NES/SNES/Genesis/TG16/NeoGeo/Arcade classic you ever loved - plus new stuff in the "golden age"/mobile style - to be there whenever and wherever you needed them? BLISS. Absolute bliss... and also a vital way of keeping The Classics alive and readily available to new generations without the cumbersome extra work of buying/maintaining used equipment and/or murkily-legal emulation. No more game design students walking around without a proper background in the origins of the medium on account of having been born after said origins were easy to get? THAT'S how you save the future of video games, my friends.

I would love, love, LOVE to see something like GameGadget swoop in and either A.) be wildly successful and put a giant dent into Apple's goal of iPhone becoming "The AllGadget" because of their silly button-phobia; or B.) be just successful enough to scare Apple/Android/etc into getting over their silly button-phobia and making one to compete. I'm just not sure GameGadget is actually the thing to do it.

BUT! The thing (apparently) comes out early next year, so we'll see. A man can dream, after all...

Desert Bus Has Begun!

The great folks at LoadingReadyRun have begun their yearly "Child's Play" charity drive, wherein they play Desert Bus - one of the worst games ever made - for your amusement. You can watch the live feed and donate HERE.

I'm scheduled to call in and shoot the breeze with them LIVE at 11am PST (2pm EST) on Monday the 21st, so tune in for that as well.

Happy Birthday to Shigeru Miyamoto

The greatest video-game designer of all time was born today in 1952. Bow your heads and take notice.

EPISODE 60: "NINJAMAGEDDON" (aka "The Mailbag Show")

Episode 60 can now be viewed by EVERYONE here! Did you're questions make the cut? Watch it and find out!

NINJAMAGEDDON: MONDAY, NOVEMBER 14TH!

PLEASE NOTE: This is all coming together fairly quickly, so do not be surprised if these details change.

Episode 60: NINJAMAGEDDON (aka "The Mailbag Show") is all about acknowledging OverThinker fans, and as part of that "thanks guys" we've elected to dramatically shorten (for this episode only) the now-customary one-week "split" between when Advantage users and everyone else gets to see it.

Instead, NINJAMAGEDDON will debut for all audiences tomorrow - Monday, November 14th - at 11pm EST (10pm CST) - on ScrewAttack.com; while Advantage users will have the opportunity of seeing it 24 hours ahead of time tonight at the same 11pm EST time-frame.


I'm really happy with how this one came together. Compared to "War of The Thinkers," this (the story/sketch part) has fewer FX and setups - it's basically a single extended 3-way fight scene - but it has a more cohesive running aesthetic i.e. replicating "gonzo" low-budget kung-fu movies and Japanese Tokusatsu series... though the end result ultimately owes more to the notoriously silly 80s ninja movies of Godfrey Ho. Here's some clips of his film "Ninja Fantasy," to give you some idea of what you're in for:





But that, of course, is just the garnishes. The REAL point of this episode - the important part - is the collection of great questions offered by fans and viewers. I got hundreds of questions, and tried to pick a solid mix funny ones, show-related ones, gaming ones, positives and negatives. In total, about 20 questions made the final cut. Is your's one of them? Tune in and find out Monday, November 14th at 11pm EST.

MAILBAG Entries CLOSED

It's 11/12, which means the Mailbag submissions are now closed. With luck, I'm hoping to have the episode ready for air sometime this coming week, hopefully before the weekend. Stay tuned.

NINJAMAGEDDON

As you may have inferred from the banner, Episode 60 - aka "The Mailbag Show" - now has a title. More news including airdates and schedules coming soon, and remember to ask you question 3 posts down BEFORE the 12th (this Saturday) if you want it to be considered for the episode.

Has The First Truly Great Video Game Movie Been Made?

Below, the trailer for "Gyakuten Saiban" - known to Western gamers as "Pheonix Wright: Ace Attorney" - directed by the legendary Takeshi Miike...



I've said it for years: Adapt the games that have their own wholly unique aesthetic and put it in the hands of filmmakers who "get it." If I'm to be proven right, all the better that it be by Miike.

EPISODE 59: "Bat-Slap" (UPDATED!)

11/08/11 UPDATE: URL of video has changed, links and embeds updated accordingly. If you've tweeted this page before, please consider doing so again for the newness.

Episode 59, which was inspired by the Film Critic Hulk/Arkham City blowup but heads off into MUCH bigger territory than just that one incident, is now available to be viewed by ALL audiences HERE. (embedded after the jump)



REMINDER! The "special topic" for Episode 60 referred to at the end there is the "Mailbag," so go HERE or HERE and ask your question if you haven't already - asking will close on November 12th!