We're a geek culture podcast and blog covering video games, music, food and more. We are the kinds of people who evangelize whatever we are into - it could be anything - but it's usually pretty geeky. We're casual, conversational, NSFW and hopefully interesting. We hope you enjoy it.
posted by Chris on March 31, 2008 7:22 PM in Podcast
We here at The Weekly Geek loathe gimmicks. That's why we aren't trying to draw you in by posting some wacky April Fool's Day version of the podcast. Because we love you. This week Chris, Qais, Colette and Mack scrape the bottom of the barrel of geek news this week to discuss the Portal song in Rock Band, Bawls' G33K B33R, Grand Theft Auto IV, and Microsoft's lawyers being very un-lawyery. We wrap it up with a cool, crisp and refreshing discussion about gimmicky control schemes.
posted by Chris on March 28, 2008 5:10 PM in Movies
Very classic-looking design. Showcases both characters nicely while evoking a sort of "Twilight Zone" vibe. If I had to score it I would give it a holycrapthismovieisgoingtobeawesome out of 10.
posted by Chris on March 28, 2008 12:35 PM in Games
We received our Pedal Metal in the mail yesterday, having ordered one immediately after posting an article about them and were quite impressed with the quality. For around 20 bucks (with shipping and everything) you can get peace of mind for when you are trying to nail Mississippi Queen on expert. It was easy enough to install, just placing the metal on the pedal and using the included self-drilling screws with a regular non-powered screwdriver. Once it's on there, it seems it could be fairly easily removed, though it's most likely at that point you have voided your warranty.
My main concern with the drum pedal is noise and durability. I want to be able to freely push the pedal with vigor, while not making my downstairs neighbor want to come upstairs and kill me with his fists. Pedal Metal is slightly noisier than your standard pedal, my guess would be just because of the added weight. I am usually playing the drums wearing socks or barefoot, as well. The Pedal Metal uses a corrugated steel look and screws with rounded tops, which I am sure add tons of grip for people who play with their shoes on. For people who don't, however, it feels like it could get a little uncomfortable. Ideally, they could have found a way to recess the screw heads into the metal itself, right now they just sort of sit awkwardly on top of whatever random bit of the metal pattern happens to be there. So you have seven little bumps that you have to basically avoid with your foot so you don't get a blister or anything. Not cool.
If you are interested in playing drums on anything other than medium, you're going to be breaking your pedal at some point. The plastic is just going to get worn down and will snap horribly one day. Pedal Metal will help prevent this, but it definitely could use some improvements. For now, I am satisfied with my purchase.
posted by Ross on March 28, 2008 8:16 AM in Movies
Kings of Power 4 Billion % is hard to explain. Imagine if you took every 16-bit shmup you've ever seen, multiply the insanity by a thousand and then set it to an amazing soundtrack and you just about have it. However, no pedestrian explanation can capture the pure awesomeness of Paul Robertson's animated achievement, it's something that must be seen. You can download the video from a number of sources found here.
Knowing you lovable geeklings to be a voracious crowd of gamers, unsatisfied with a few measly pieces of shwag and promotional material with which adorn your dwellings and proclaim superiority over your comrades, it is with delight that I bring you the latest treasure from my regular forays into the wilds of Instructables.
The proposed purpose of this project is simply to make a giant lamp from many smaller lamps, but you know better than that don't you? Look at it, how could that be anything other than a cleverly crafted Katamari, set to spread its cockle-warming glow all throughout your humble abode. The wide array of colors offered by the Swedish furniture shilling powerhouse, Ikea, allow you to get as creative as you'd like.
Pondering this project also brings to mind ways in which it could further simulate its origins, namely with the application of a bit of velcro or some other random adhesive, anything strong enough to firmly grip a household pet or pre-adolescent sibling should suffice.
Hello fellow geekateers! With the wrap-up of the t-shirt design contest, I'm sure you're all wondering when the green, geeky goodness is going to be available for purchase? Good question! SplitReason informed me that the shirt has entered the production queue and should be ready within 2-3 weeks, which puts us at mid-April. The shirt sizes are: S, M, L, XL, and XXL. Even if my vote (which didn't count!) was for the first design, I can hardly wait to start rocking this shirt! Huzzah, indeed! Oops, I meant...hooray for video games!
posted by Chris on March 27, 2008 10:35 AM in Games
On this week's podcast we discussed how awesome it was that Target was supporting indie gaming by selling the Experimental Games Project's array of indie game-themed tees, but Boing Boing Gadgets is now reporting that Target is pulling them from the shelves!
Despite mentions that t-shirts from the Experimental Gameplay Project (that cleverly included the games themselves on a bundled CD) were selling out in some Target locations, a developer whose work was featured has told Boing Boing Gadgets that Target will not be continuing to sell the products.
"We have recently found out that target isnt going to go forward with EGP," said our source. "We are going to try a few other places to see if we can get it picked up."
The developers are looking to other outlets such as Hot Topic or Urban Outfitters, both of which I am sure will be able to move the shirts (and attached games) faster, due to their audiences. Target did seem like a strange, almost shotgun approach to marketing.
Dead Fantasy, a series created by Monty Oum, takes everything that nerds could ever possibly want and puts it into video form. Barring an epic Cheeto vs Mountain Dew battle, that is. It's a mashup of characters, DOA versus Final Fantasy, resulting in one long action sequence. Usually I'd be put off by the blatant fanboyism, but Dead Fantasy is actually really well choreographed. 11 minutes of action can get a little tedious (too much of a good thing, my dear Monty) but it definitely kicks ass.
That's right, nothin'. Today I have played nothing so far! No Rock Band, no Pokeymans. Nothin'. I've been busy putting together my new kick-ass entertainment center, which I will take photos of for you guys to check out once I am done. I'm in the process of really decking out my living room and gaming area, and I think you guys could gleam some neat ideas off of it. But! I do plan on playing some...
World of Warcraft - I have a hankering to do some leveling, my Tauren Shaman is still in the low 30s and my Draenei Mage is still in her teens. I haven't touched my level 63 Undead Priest in months, either...
Half Life 2 Episode 2 - Thanks to everyone for their tips, I'm going to put them to good use and attempt to finally complete this game. I just don't know what I am going to do once I complete it. Without Gordon Freeman in my life... I'm lost. Maybe I'll go play through Half Life 2 again and mop up some achievements.
Rock Band - Downloaded the Boston tracks yesterday and they are awesome. I listened to a ton of classic rock as a teenager and I forgot how brilliant the first Boston album is. Seriously, if you haven't downloaded the Boston pack yet you owe it to yourself to pick it up. I can't imagine even attempting the vocals though. Sheesh.
posted by Chris on March 26, 2008 2:06 PM in Games
Ever wonder why you can't find a copy of your favorite obscure DS game anywhere in town? The MTV Multiplayer Blog has a great article up today giving insights into the process of game distribution. Multiplayer interviewed various companies about how they distribute games to retailers and those interviews resulted in a very interesting look at the business of games. Writer Patrick was curious why he couldn't find copies of Tetris DS at the store and recalled he had a similar problem with Phoenix Wright.
Video games at retail have a different shelf life than other forms of media. While movies and music will remain cataloged in stores, video game sections often only stock new or recent releases, and it seems like the companies themselves are partly responsible.
Have you guys ever had any problems finding a game at a store?
posted by Chris on March 26, 2008 9:19 AM in Games
If you haven't checked out one of the best games of 2007, Crackdown is currently being marked down heavily at Target stores. Kotaku reports that some community members have found copies for as low as $14. Spend part of your tax refund early if you haven't already spent it on something stupid like an iPhone or paying bills or baby food.
I remember my first trip to Archie McPhee in Ballard, near Seattle. Right as I walked through the door I was filled with nostalgia, even if most of the objects were from a time not of my own. I described it as a "dollar store on crack" and today it remains the same. There's no better place to find random medical equipment (bedpans!), flight suits (Chinese flight suits, even!), rubber chickens and religious-themed lollipops.
The Seattlest has received an email from Archie McPhees stating that if a certain new toy law is passed in Washington State, they will have to close. The law will increase testing regulations, requiring toys sold in Washington State to reduce their lead content. From the article:
The new testing requirements would cost Archie McPhee's, which stocks over 10,000 different types of toys and knick-knacks, an estimated $5,000,000 a year. The cost of the tests alone would force McPhee's out of business. And it's not just small, local, beloved businesses that are worried about the new law. America's two largest toy companies, Hasbro and Mattel, met earlier this week with Governor Gregoire to try to halt the measure becoming law.
There seems to be some debate in the comments section of the article, however, as the law may allow small businesses caveats. So, should Archie's be worried at all?
Square Enix launched its brand new "members" website today, offering ridiculous amounts of nothing for signing up. What is being touted as some sort of new Square community at the moment is pretty sparse, only allowing you to sign up for newsletters (hooray?) and edit your personal information (I love editing my personal information!)
Seriously, what did I just sign up for? Not only is this sign up form ridiculously long (why in the world do you need to know what my favorite websites are? Or my home address?) but now I can't figure out why I needed to sign in. Is it just to gain access to the interviews and newsletters? Delving deeper into the site it seems I can download some wallpapers and I can enter myself into a contest to win an autographed Crisis Core soundtrack CD.
I get information about your corporation in exchange for some of my personal data? SIGN ME UP! TWICE!
That was sarcasm, Square. I have subscribed to your RSS feed. Let's see if you do anything awesome with this. In addition, perhaps I can recommend an article for you to read to help you streamline your forms? Because they are kind of ridiculous.
Hooray! This design garnered 19 votes for the win! Thanks to everyone who participated, and we will let you know when these shirts are available for purchase. We also had three contest winners, so congratulations to Danton D, Amy B and Miles! Your prizes are in the emails.
posted by Chris on March 24, 2008 6:03 PM in Podcast
Excitement! Intrigue! Feats of amazement, designed to astound! These are things not normally found in a podcast, but no! The Weekly Geek presents you with all that and more. This week, Chris and Mack announce the T-shirt contest winners, how Rock Band on the Wii may or may not be awesome (you be the judge! A new interactive feature!), the cramp-inducing Guitar Hero DS peripheral is revealed, and they talk a bit about SNL after the writer's strike. You know what else is awesome? The rest of the podcast, that's what. This includes a discussion of affairs medical, affairs scientific, affairs cryptozoological and affairs regarding magic powder.
There are few games that give me the same feeling of childlike joy when I play them. That feeling I had back in the SNES days, that shiny Christmassy feeling of contentment and happiness. I spent most of my time this last weekend with two titles which garner that reaction from me: Rez HD and Pikmin 2. I am attempting to mop up the remaining achievements I have for Rez, and in doing so I am falling in love with it all over again. Over and over again. I just sit here, bobbing to the music, entranced by the lights, sounds and vibrations. After popping in Pikmin 2 for the first time in years, the lady saw how incredibly adorable all the little Pikmin are and demanded I relinquish the controller. I happily obliged and sat watching her play for hours.
Today is a bit slow both on the games and the blogging front, so while doing various things around the house I am playing...
Puzzle Quest - My knight is about level 30 and steadily kicking ass. I got to thinking, why isn't there a board game version of Puzzle Quest? You could easily replicate the spells and characters using cards, and the gems can be actual little plastic gems you move around a laMancala. The only difficulty would be how you place new gems into the board as you clear them. Hrm.
No More Heroes - Got this in the mail today off of Goozex, and in it was a nice note from the person who traded it to me. I love receiving notes in my Goozex trades and always try to either write something or put a business card in the package for when I trade. Now that I am using my Wii a bit more I am excited to be playing this game, which everyone tells me is great. I know it is probably great. There's just not enough time in the day to play all the games in the world, is all. I'll let you all know how I enjoy it.
This hand-made robot from Let's Make Robots! is an adorable self-contained drum machine. It uses its little sonar sensors to detect objects, putters over to them, and then taps out a beat. Then the robot loops that beat and taps out another to loop. I can imagine armies of these robots, swarming people in their homes and harassing children in the streets. One day, with all of the possible rhythm combinations already tapped out, the collective hive mind of the drum machine robots develops faster-than-light space travel in order to explore new galaxies... to search for extra-dimensional beats. Or snacks. Whichever comes first.
posted by Chris on March 24, 2008 1:53 PM in Music
This weekend Sexcab came by to play some board games. As these board game sessions go, not only do I subject my guests to poorly mixed drinks and slightly manhandled snacks, I force them to listen to my music. Luckily The Flaming Lips came on to which Sexcab remarked "I love robot music from the future." Then I kicked his ass thoroughly at Carcassonné. Enjoy this epic theme which accompanied said ass-kicking.
posted by Chris on March 24, 2008 12:48 PM in Games
Thanks to the Gamerscore Blog this morning for linking to Co-Optimus.com, a site dedicated to co-op gaming. They are meticulous about their dedication to co-op, with a blog dedicated to co-op game news, reviews of only the co-op parts of games, and giant checklists divided by system which allow you to quickly skim to see what games offer co-op and to what extent. Handy if you're into things like coordinating Friday night co-op nights for you and your friends, or if you have a human which you find attractive who you would like to win over by showing them your mad co-op skillz. This technique is often overlooked.
Last chance to vote! Voting ends tonight at 7pm pst! GET YOUR VOTES IN OH GOD --- The management
We're going to be printing some Weekly Geek T-shirts and instead of forcing you to wear something that maybe you don't like we're letting you choose which design will eventually clothe your miserable naked body. Vote in the comments and you will also be entered to win one of three awesome and vaguely t-shirt related prizes! Two $25 gift certificates to Split Reason, or a code for Triggerheart Exelica for the XBLA. The shirt design that gets the most votes will be announced on the March 24th podcast, along with who won the fabulous prizes. Only one entry per person plz.
Vote by posting a comment stating which shirt is your favorite! Here are the shirts!
Shirt 1: "Huzzah!" (designed by Chris)
Shirt 2: "VIDEO GAMES" (designed by Chris)
Shirt 2: "Weekly Geek Pixel Logo" (designed by Qais)
Slow game day, as I have spent most of it enjoying the sunshine induced motivation to clean the apartment. Also I had to take some fool who's name starts with a Q and ends with an ais to the airport. Jerk. This morning however, I played some
Half Life 2 Episode 2 - Goddamn striders. Goddamn striders and their damn hunter friends. Fuck em all.
As for this weekend it's going to be all about checking out the new Rock Band store and utilizing the fan cap increase. How about you guys? Whatchoo up to this weekend?
posted by Chris on March 21, 2008 3:58 PM in Games
You've got the cocktails flowing. Your guests are marveling at your awesome home theater setup and most are drooling to get a chance to play Rock Band. Maybe it's their first time. You're feeling good and decide to attempt Mississippi Queen on expert with the drums. Rockin'. Nothing ruins your perfect Rock Band party more than that horrible snapping noise while you're nailing the big rock ending. These kick pedal pads from Pedal Metal look like they may just solve any future party fouls. They are made of actual metal and only require a minor bit of surgery on your existing pedal.
The Rock Band pedals snap easily from normal use as the plastic starts to warp, so this might be a wise purchase for anyone serious about the fake drums. I had my pedal snap, and while EA's return process was relatively easy I would have liked to avoid the process altogether. I'm going to grab me some metal.
That's right. I just said "I'm going to grab me some metal."
Here's a hilarious video from The Onion of a future newscast from a world dominated by robots. Deadpan, brilliant and slightly sad. Also featuring one of the guys from Best Week Ever and that dude who did the Top 5 show on Food Network! You know. That one guy. With the shirt.
Today Qais and I had the honor of attending a momentous event. No, not just an event. A happening in true history-making style. I am of course talking about the Harvey Dent political rally at Pike's Place Market in Seattle today. While it was fun to get a bunch of free Batman-themed swag including a comic book, some stickers, t-shirts and buttons, I was left slightly disappointed in the turnout. What could have been a proper flash mob style viral marketing event was only attended by about 40 people, half of whom didn't really know what they were rallying for. A group of teenage girls from Salem, Oregon here on a choir trip chanted through their braces "We believe in Harvey Dent!" over and over again, cheering and holding up signs as cars passed. I observed one of them being sent to investigate just what they were cheering for, only to report back "guys they said this isn't for a movie, it's a real political campaign."
Did this whip Seattle into a frenzy about the new Batman movie? No. Was it fun to geek it up in a very public place in the middle of the day? Hell yes. A gallery of photos after the jump (click to zoom).
As many of you know, I try to be as involved in politics as I can, attending speeches and showing my support for my candidate of choice. Today I attended a political rally for Harvey Dent, who is looking to clean up Gotham. Personally I agree with his core values, see eye to eye on most issues (crime prevention, dual personalities) and definitely think he'd be a welcome change in this world of two-faced politicians. Besides attending the rally down at Pike's Place today, I'm going to be playing...
Rock Band - Do I even need to mention playing Rock Band anymore? It's basically every day. The beauty is that I can play one or two songs, be satisified and go on to something else. With Rock Band, every song I play feels like I am earning experience points. Practicing for the big day when I can live my rock dream. My rock dream meaning the day when I can finally say "I got all the achievements in Rock Band".
Mass Effect - I'm in the mood for a nice sit-down RPG, so I think it's time to dust off the ol' Mass Effect and continue progressing. I'm not sure if I should plunk down the points for the DLC quite yet, as everything is still pretty new to me in the game. The only thing I think that has been keeping me back is in trying to make the main character resemble myself I ended up creating a hideous freak monster. That is to say he is ugly. I should have stuck with the default face. Man, for someone who always plays down how important aesthetics are in games, that seems to be a big issue for me. I am a total hypocrite.
Nanostray 2 - Usually I tend to ignore DS shovelware that gets sent to me, but I vaguely remember enjoying the first Nanostray so I popped it in last night and man. It's gorgeous. Expect a full review in a few days.
posted by Chris on March 20, 2008 10:11 AM in Games
EA just blasted my inbox with some exciting news: Rock Band is getting an update this week, with the focus being on a brand new in-game music store. The music store will allow you to view tracks sorted by album, genre and more, with album art and song difficulty for each instrument displayed. This update will also include "additional game features that address many of the popular requests by the gaming community" which could mean anything!
I am thrilled to see EA keeping their word in making Rock Band a brand new way to experience music, and the addition of a music store means better organization for the 100+ downloadable tracks so far, and also most likely means that full album downloads are mere weeks away. Rock Band is already my favorite game of all time, and with this news its only going to get favoriter. Is that even a word?
posted by Chris on March 19, 2008 5:39 PM in Music
Oh how I have waited for this day. Ten years since the last Portishead album. Ten years we have had to wait to hear anything from the brilliant trio that is Beth Gibbons, Adrian Utley and Geoff Barrow. Ten freakin' years. I'd like to say that you will have to wait till April to hear their newest album, Third, but you know what? Fuck it. It's out right now on the internets and I urge you to find it. Third is epic life-changing music filled with sounds that literally I have never heard before. Listen to the first single off the album, Machine Gun, and enjoy being filled with the beauty that is Portishead once again. The beats sound like two robots fighting, and watching the loops being drummed live is remarkable. Delicious.
Yesterday I was lucky enough to get my hands on a copy of Monkey Island 2 for the ol' IBM PC in pretty decent condition, which contained all its original contents, including the Lucasarts Company Newsletter: The Adventurer. There are forum threads where people have enshrined these magazines (newspapers, really) but have you seen what's inside? For this week's Wayback Wednesday I present you with a heaping helping of nostalgia with scans of every page of The Adventurer issue 3. Marvel at the artistic prowess of "Adobe Systems' Photoshop"! Be astounded at the new technology called "scanning" (which is like a copier, but instead of copying to paper it copies to your computer!) Stare with awe at the company store, which sold tan fanny packs bearing the Indiana Jones name! Enjoy the hilariously funny Sam and Max comic, written and drawn by Steve Purcell, exclusive to The Adventurer!
I am sure many of you read these cover to cover back in the day. Full scans after the jump (they are large! Click to zoom!)
posted by Chris on March 19, 2008 4:39 PM in Games
Hello! Is it Wednesday already? Oh my. After yesterday's Rock Band drum marathon I decided to scale back a bit and work on some blogging stuff. But at the same time I was playing...
Rock Band - Attempting to complete the guitar solo tour on hard while scanning in pages for the Wayback Wednesday post today. The difficulty seems to scale up rapidly once you get past the first few venues, but luckily I already know all of these songs pretty dang well. I downloaded a few tracks that I for whatever reason forgot to pick up (such as My Sharona and Juke Box Hero) and commenced the rocking. I really need to start mixing between up and down strums on the guitar, these hard songs are making my arm tired. I can strum up and down just fine when playing bass parts but somehow adapting that method to the guitar just plain eludes me.
Carcassonne - Picked up the kings and barons expansion and tested that out. Jinny has been a bit obsessed with the XBLA version of this game recently and I choose a "rather than beat them join them" approach. It's neat to see someone's skills get so finely honed after a short period of time, but that's how she works. One day she will surpass me in every game I own, completing the prophesy and foretelling the doom of all mankind.
Bioshock - After starting a new game last night with the intent of beating it on hard without dying, I realized how futile the attempt was and just played to enjoy. What a revelation! See? Achievements aren't the root of all evil, we can play games without striving for them all the time! Now to get that one for finding every audio diary...
Are you a fan of both innuendo and politics? Well then what other choice do you have besides clothing yourself in this attractive Obama-wear? A friend of mine is printing these clever Obama shirts which are not only awesome and stylish but a portion of money earned from shirt sales will go to the Obama campaign. Slogans include "Rock out with your Barack out" and "Barack your socks off". I would have only been able to come up with something like "Between a Barack and a hard place" or "Detroit Barack City". It's a good thing there are people more clever than I!
Did you ever sit and wonder, late into the night, about what it would be like to have friends? You know, other humans that you can tolerate being around enough to enhance your life in new and interesting ways? I know, it's crazy. Personally I want to stab anyone who jumps into my 5 foot radius "stabby zone", but perhaps if I had a setup like these 9 awesome home theaters featured on Geek About I could get over my predilection for stabbery.
My favorite is this "Gamer's Paradise". Simple, elegant, full of gadgetry. It is also fairly similar to my own! Except I don't have 4 guitar controllers. Also, why do you need 4 guitar controllers, really. The man has gone mad with power!
posted by Chris on March 19, 2008 9:06 AM in Games
Check out this awesome eBay auction, the exact ingredients for a perfect childhood. One Japanese SNES signed by visionary genius Shigeru Miyamoto, and a load of classic games to play: Super Mario Kart, Donkey Kong Country (called Super Donkey Kong in Japan. I didn't know that!), Super Game Boy, Super Mario All Stars, Mario and Wario and what looks to be Magical Quest Starring Mickey Mouse (surprisingly a FABULOUS Capcom SNES platformer).
This is sure to fetch a hefty price, but perhaps you are in the market for a dose of nostalgia? You could even recreate your childhood in a sort of parallel universe way, pretending to be a Japanese child. This would be a reasonable adult thing to do.
Every now and again a band comes along that feels like the first summer wind after a long winter - you know, the kind that gives you the warm fuzzy feeling inside. Bands that can easily give you the goosebumps whether you want them to or not. Fleet Foxes definitely fall under that category.
A call back to the pastoral pop of Brian Wilson and Simon & Garfunkel, while in keeping with contemporaries like Midlake and Grizzly Bear, Fleet Foxes have an amazingly timeless sound and the tools to deliver it flawlessly. Their harmonies are the obvious draw, and after watching several live videos where boisterous club crowds are silenced in awe of their talents, I have to believe these guys will be sticking around for quite a while in independent music circles.
Yesterday I finally got through Vasoline for drums on hard in Rock Band, and even managed to five-star Green Grass and High Tides. It's neat to finally be at a place where I am comfortable with any song on the drums. For a long time I was sure I had no rhythm, but Rock Band has seemed to give me a rhythm transplant of sorts. I played a little bit this morning, just trying to get through the band world tour but every single setlist I have open is either ridiculously difficult, or ridiculously long. It's going to take much more effort to progress further.
After a bite to eat for breakfast, the lady and I went to Half Price Books to check out what treasures they may hold in the video game department, and lo! Check out this copy of Monkey Island 2 we scored! It's got big ol floppy disks and everything. This is going to make a fantastic prize for some future awesome contest of awesomeness. It's even got the original Lucasarts Newsletter, featuring a Sam and Max comic and everything! So exciting. Here are some pictures!
Today, however, is going to be spent playing Bioshock and trying to mop up the last few achievements for the game. I'll be playing through on Hard trying not to die. I haven't actually played the game since the last DLC was released, and never had a chance to check out the new plasmids and junk. Also, the lady hasn't yet had the chance to experience the awesomeness, as she tends to get a bit too freaked out hearing splicers raving up and down hallways. I don't really blame her. Now, if you'll excuse me, it's time to get cozy and freak myself out.
In 1989 there was a brief lived show called The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! featuring Lou Albano as Mario. For whatever reason, I could never get over the fact that DIC (a company whose name I found hilarious as a kid) cast some nearly washed up wrestler as Mario. Lou Albano was OK I guess, but he didn't really look like Mario to me, something just didn't jive.
Now I know what was missing, what vital component my live action Mario experience was lacking; it was complete and total horror. The rendition of Mario above as "real" is fairly accurate when you think about it. Mario is a short little goblin-man with freakishly disproportionate eyes, nose, and moustache. He is nothing but a horrible mutant with the warped frame of mind that inclines one to eat mushrooms and random plant life, both things bound to put a semi-permanent five o' clock shadow on your face and a cracked expression in your eyes.
If The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! was redone with this Mario rather than an aging, out of work actor-cum-wrestler, you can bet your ass I'd be parked in front of my TV every Saturday morning, Princess Peach footy pajamas and all.
posted by Chris on March 17, 2008 5:56 PM in Podcast
It's just Chris and Qais on the podcast this week, as the duo discuss the Weekly Geek t-shirt contest, how St. Patrick's day sucks, free Guitar Hero DLC, and how Dreamworks sucks. But not everything sucks! We also talk about the MMO documentary Second Skin, and how we think that it would be nice to see a documentary paint gamers in a kind light, but how it's not likely to fill seats at the theater. Ok, that kind of sucks. All of these topics and more await you!
Who is Asthmatic Kitty, you ask? You mean, besides the home of Sufjan Stevens? Well it's also a music label that has seemed to collectively obsess over Audiosurf. Audiosurf is of course the Steam-based PC music mashup that all the kids are raving about these days. Pitchfork is reporting that Sufjan along with a bunch of other artists that you have never heard of (but should listen to!), has released this free album to the world wide internets.
I love it when you can get glimpses into creative inspiration like this. It seems like games like Rock Band, Guitar Hero and Audiosurf are hearkening a new awakening in artistic expression. People are sharing their successes on YouTube, creating hacked versions for Commodore 64, integrating the peripherals into actual music-making instruments, adapting the peripherals to better resemble playing an actual instrument, and now artists are contributing massively in droves to this new way to experience music. It's exciting times for gamers and music lovers.
posted by Mike on March 17, 2008 11:05 AM in Music
You could say that for half this decade Trent Reznor has been lost. After writing probably the most fitting funeral piece for the dying 90s - The Fragile - he has struggled to stay relevant. The music of the young century has caught up with and surpassed the industrial sounds he popularized in the late 80s. Perhaps more unnerving for Nine Inch Nails fans, Reznor's lyrics have hardly grown past the angst-ridden, teen-aimed themes he preferred when he was younger.
But something strange happened with Year Zero last April. Almost as if he was taking the title literally, the album signaled a personal and musical revolution for Reznor. Nothing was particularly innovative about the record's content, but the way it was marketed and distributed gave Nine Inch Nails fans a reason to clamor. Now, less than a year later, Ghosts purposely rids the lengthy pre-production that plagued his early releases. And more significantly, the lyrics that shackled his past work to an immature audience have vanished too.
posted by Chris on March 17, 2008 10:40 AM in Games
I know that every week you, the astute Weekly Geek listener, are waiting with baited breath to hear about what games we've been playing this week. Yes, you enjoy hearing about our antics even more than you enjoy playing games yourself. I know. That is why I am now taking the time every day to keep a sort of video game diary, to show you how I split up my time between games. Now that I don't have a full time job it seemed like the right thing to do. These might have a few spoilers as I discuss, so for those of you who are spoiler-allergic, this is a warning!
This last weekend was filled with Rock Band, Puzzle Quest, Smash Brothers Brawl and even a little bit of Pokémon. That's right, I'm playing Pokémon again. Today is going to be filled with:
Rock Band - Still trying to complete the drum solo tour on hard. I can't seem to get past Vasoline, it's got such a strange beat to it. I can complete songs on expert just fine but for some odd reason I can't get this Stone Temple Pilots craziness. More practice is in order! I was also checking out the achievements list for Rock Band and noticed there's a few for the tug of war and online battle modes, which surprisingly I have never played. Time to put my mad drum skillz on show. Gaining skill playing the drums in Rock Band has been one of the most fulfilling gaming experiences I've ever had, I really really enjoy it.
Pokémon Pearl - Picked up Diamond for the lady the other day and decided I should return to Sinnoh and see what my Pokeymans have been up to. Turns out I only played Pearl up to about level 20 and gave up. Why? Who knows. The game is still as fun as I remember it being when I was younger and I am really looking forward to having someone to battle and trade with now. I am also looking forward to coming up with ridiculous/offensive names for future Pokémon I capture. I just got an Abra last night that I named "Coitus". Gonna level up some of my lower level dudes and take the team to the third gym for my badge.
Half Life 2: Episode 2 - about 4 hours in and loving every single second of this game. If I could be progressing through a Half Life game for the rest of my life I'd be very happy. The story is so incredibly epic, and the episodic nature of the game doesn't impede it by any means. I'm considering going back after I finish and playing through the first Half Life 2 again just to see if I can't rack up the rest of the achievements.
That's what I'm up to today. In addition to coding up the new site design (yay!) and recording the podcast later this evening, my day's full of gaming goodness.
It's no big secret that we here at The Weekly Geek love Destructoid. Not only have we co-opted two of their editors for our own personal use, I'm listed not once but TWICE on the Destructoid about page. Amazing! Heck, I'd even say that The Weekly Geek is unofficially part of the Destructoid network just based on the amount of time we all spend together at conventions and the like. It's Destructoid's 2 year anniversary (and site creator/leader Niero's birthday) and in honor of this joyous occasion Niero has decided to unearth something so personal and nostalgic it impressed even me. Niero, like many 10 year olds back in "the day" was a huge Nintendo nerd. He kept this notebook filled with his own Nintendo club secrets and has scanned in each and every page for your perusal. I have to say, Niero, not only are you pretty much the nicest guy I know in my adult life, I am pretty sure we would have been best friends in childhood had we known each other. My friends and I had our own Nintendo club where we would hold tournaments, which basically just were us playing video games all day without really paying attention to scores. We also drew Mega Man bosses and decorated envelopes for Nintendo Power letters. Man we would have had some times let me tell you what.
Here's to a bunch more years of awesome Destructoid goodness.
posted by Chris on March 14, 2008 10:02 AM in Games
So I am sitting here in my unemployment pants (which are, in fact, no pants at all) playing Smash Brothers Brawl and realizing that I am having a ton of fun. While having fun playing video games isn't rare for me, having a lot of fun playing a Wii game is quite rare. I am usually sitting here fuming about how I am being forced to waggle my arm, as if someone deemed that the pinnacle of all the great things you can do in life and said YOU GONNA LIKE IT. Well I don't. At all. I think it's pretty insipid in fact, so why am I having fun with Brawl? You don't have to waggle!
The addition of the choose-your-own-control-scheme feature is remarkable. HAL Laboratories have really outdone themselves with Brawl, creating one of the most detailed and intricate fighters I have ever seen. There is always the danger of over complicating things with a fighter that has so many characters to represent, like the many Dragon Ball Z fighters before it. Those games are a mess of rules, button combinations, customization and ridiculousness. I hate them. Brawl on the other hand marries all these complicated elements perfectly. It's got that Nintendo-brand glossy shine.
You know what I could do without, though? Why is it that whenever Nintendo wants to celebrate their vast library of excellent compositions, they have to make horrible cheap-feeling jazz renditions? Each and every song in this game sounds like a bad cover version, with horribly cheesy guitar solos and swelling grand finishes. I hate them like I hate fire. Just skip the Donkey Konga-esque cheese (I still shudder at the idea of playing Bingo on the drums) and give us the original tracks. We don't want to hear some band named Top 40 doing their samba version of the Legend of Zelda theme. It's awful.
Another gripe is the added single player mode "The Subspace Emissary". The story sucks. The story sucks hard. It feels like it was written by a 12 year old fanfic writer. As a matter of fact, I wouldn't be surprised if someone told me that they held a contest to see who could write a storyline for Smash Brothers, and then some 12 year old creamed all over a computer screen typing about how rad it would be to see Sonic and Mario fight and then BECOME FRIENDS AND FIGHT TOGETHER AGAINST A COMMON EVIL. It's generic and horrible and don't give me that "well they are writing a script for freaking Smash Brothers how good could it be" garbage. It could be much better in the hands of a competent writer. Character designs are cool though, having been designed by the guy who did Kingdom Hearts. It certainly has a Kingdom Hearts feel to it, which is welcome.
I haven't yet checked out the online mode, I am still currently going through and playing the classic mode with all the characters, unlocking things and getting coins like a junkie. If you haven't played it yet, or were dubious you might not enjoy it, check it out. For anyone who has ever played a video game in their life it's going to be at least amusing to see all these awesome characters fight it out. And the frenetic pace of the game play will make for some pretty raucous and exciting parties in your future. Having Brawl and Rock Band on your shelf will basically make your house the party house and no one will ever want to leave that magical place. Whether that is a good or a bad thing is up to you.
posted by Chris on March 13, 2008 1:08 PM in Games
I was in Costco today picking up a pair of new glasses and lo! Either my new prescription makes it so video game prices are awesome, or Costco is selling Smash Brothers Brawl for the Wii for $43.59. That's a good six or so dollars off of the standard price! If you have yet to pick up the Brawls, I'd suggest checking out Costco first. That is, if you're a member. I hear it's a pretty exclusive club.
I know now that absinthe is legal in the states, all you crazy kids are going to want to go out and get all wacky on the green stuff. As a long-time absinthe drinker myself I can tell you that it is indeed delicious, but it's not the crazy party drug pharmaceutical that movies such as Moulin Rouge portray it to be. You won't see Kylie Minogue in a Tinkerbell outfit if you drink it, though you might get a special headache in the morning if you are lucky. This intrepid baker has decided to incorporate the beverage into a cupcake recipe, which to me sounds awful.
Making absinthe cupcakes is not at all a fun mash up like adding bacon to ice cream. That fits. Absinthe is an anisette, which means that it tastes not wholly unlike licorice. Have you ever had licorice cupcakes? With one giant sugar cube on top? No? There's a reason for that. The horrible taste is the reason. If you get your hands on some absinthe (might I recommend MANsinth for the comedic value of the name alone?) please don't make this recipe and then blame me for your projectile vomiting. I absolve myself of all responsibility.
Artist Angela Yuan has built this Etch-A-Sketch clock that erases and redraws the time every minute, allowing you to both see what time it is and be reminded at how inept you were at actually using an Etch-A-Sketch.
posted by Ross on March 12, 2008 8:37 AM in Movies
Few people may have associated Patrick Stewart with anything other than Star Trek: The Next Generation and his various stage roles previous to his recurring role on American Dad but the man who once claimed in an interview to be a huge fan of Beavis and Butthead is an equally impressive comedic actor as well. Here he guest stars in an episode of Ricky Gervais's Extras describing a film treatment he's done in which he controls the world with his mind and women's clothes magically fall off.
posted by Chris on March 11, 2008 1:46 PM in Games
The rise in popularity of Guitar Hero, Rock Band and other fake-plastic-instrument music games has led to a golden age of videos of those games being played on YouTube. Indeed, we are seeing a virtual renaissance of watching a video screen display color bars to music and now we have an entirely new medium ready to set the world ablaze: Guitar Hero for the Commodore 64.
Tony Westbrook of Synthetic Dreams has created Shredz64, a Guitar Hero sort of game for the Commodore 64 (which he dubs "the best selling computer of all time"). Here we see a video of young Tony, straight off of his job as an extra in Miami Vice apparently, explaining how using a controller works to move around in menus and other boring things. Then at around 4 and a half minutes things get exciting when he demonstrates a suspiciously familiar theme song...
Shredz64 boasts the ability to load new and user-generated music and also the ability to make you look really nerdy and awkward when you talk about it at parties. Check out the video and enjoy.
posted by Mike on March 11, 2008 10:05 AM in Music
I'll admit: I was a late-comer to The National's acclaimed 2007 record Boxer. When I did discover it, I was almost instantly enamored. There's a depth to their calm, collected charisma that doesn't let you glean enough from the first listen - and that's a good thing. It forces you to try again harder to get their message fully.
"Fake Empire", Boxer's opening track, is a great example of said depth. There's a lot of urgency in rock music these days and not a lot of mystery, and The National are nothing if not mysterious. This live version on Letterman gives a great glimpse into the shadowy glow of this band. Anybody who gives it time will see why they're one of my current favorites.
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