Fangasm - Jersey Shore for Nerds

If you know me at all, you know I don't take anything seriously. I do have a passion for geek culture but when people give geeks a bad name - I'm truthfully not bothered by it. That is why I can enjoy shows like Big Bang Theory, King of the Nerds, Heroes of Cosplay, and the new SyFy series, Fangasm, that premiered this past Tuesday.

The best way to describe this show is a Nerd Jersey Shore. Seven nerds from all across the country were chosen to live in a house in L.A. to compete for an internship for Stan Lee's Comikaze Expo. Each episode, they are given a task to complete by co-founder of Comikaze, Regina Carpinelli. When they are not working for her, the contestants have free reign to do whatever they want.

In the first episode, Regina Carpinelli puts the housemates to the task of getting the public to sign a petition to make May 25 Nerd Appreciation Day. Like I need another day of the year I can't go to the bank. Anyway, the housemates get all nerded up to roam the streets of L.A. to get people to sign a petition. They find a bar that is having a burlesque group wearing generic superhero outfits, so they decide to campaign there. Of course, we get to hear a diatribe about how this objectifies women and perpetuates the "fake geek girl" stereotype (something I promise I will never mention again).

In their free time, the housemates go to a comic book store to compete for a chance to have dinner with George Takei. Even though the contest is open to the public, one of the housemates eventually wins and ends up bringing George Takei back to the house, where everyone pretty much has a nervous meltdown.

In the end, this show is so bad, it's good, and then occasionally goes back to bad. If you live somewhere that has no nerd or gamer events at all whatsoever, then this show might fill a hole in your heart. If I didn't live in the middle of nowhere and wasn't bored out of my mind, I would absolutely skip this show.

Steam in your Living Room!

For many years now, there have been rumors that Valve was going to get into the console business. This week, Valve has made 3 announcements making these rumors a reality. They have announced a home console called the Steam Machine, a custom Linux-based operating system called Steam OS, and a brand new controller unlike anything else on the market.

The first announcement was for the Steam OS. This is a Linux based operating system that can be used on a Steam Machine that will allow you to stream games from your Steam library onto your TV. This operating system is going to be open and can be altered. There will be streaming movie, tv and music services built in - probably Netflix and Hulu, but no official word yet. Family sharing, which I've explained in this post, will also be built into the OS. You'll be able to save games to the Steam cloud, and you'll also be able to customize how you view your Steam library. Each gamer in your household will be able to have their own library view, much like how you change the viewer on Netflix. 

The Steam Machine itself is actually a line of consoles that will have different specifications and will be made by different manufacturers. The Steam Machine is currently in development with existing prototypes. They will be released in 2014 and 300 Steam Machines will be sent out to Steam members for beta testing soon.

The final announcement was a bit of a surprise to some. Steam made a separate announcement about the controller that will come with the Steam Machine. It's really unlike anything I've personally seen. This controller has two trackpads instead of analog sticks and a touch screen in the middle. The controller will be fully reprogrammable based on the game you're playing. The best part is you can use this controller with any game in the Steam library, even the ones that don't currently support a controller. This fully replaces a mouse and keyboard. Also the programming for the controller is Open Source, to make it easier for developers to program their own controls into their games. Steam has been pushing for its members to play more games in the living room, so this controller makes things much easier so you don't have to keep a keyboard and mouse on your coffee table all the time (like I do!).

If you are a member on Steam, you can earn the Steam Hardware Enthusiast badge as a way to sign up for the hardware beta. The requirements are as follows:

•  Join the Steam Universe community group
• Agree to the Steam Hardware Beta Terms and Conditions
• Make 10 Steam Friends (This explains why so many people have been asking for my Steam ID this week!)
• Create a public Steam Community profile
• Play a game using a gamepad in Big Picture mode

Only 300 people will be chosen and the current count of people who have earned the badge is 188,999. The deadline to earn the badge is October 25. If anyone needs more friends, you can add me. My Steam ID is r2d2cupcake. 

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

I don't have cable and because of that, I'm not exposed to too many commercials or too much hype about brand new shows. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., however, has been plastered everywhere for the past five months. There was so much hype about this show, that I was a little worried it was going to pander to mainstream audiences too heavily. After the pilot episode premiered on Tuesday on ABC, I was not disappointed. I should have had a lot more faith, actually, seeing as how this series was created by Joss Whedon (and it shows).

There is definitely the "misfit crew" theme that permeates throughout much of Whedon's TV work. Part of me thought about the "Scoobies" from Buffy The Vampire Slayer, and I also was reminded of the crew of the Firefly. It was also great to see a guest appearance from an actor on Firefly, who shall remain nameless. It's better off being a surprise. It was also great to see Maria Hill (played by Cobie Smulders or Robin Sparkles) to tie the show into The Avengers movie.

Don't be mad if I talk about Agent Coulson. He was obviously featured heavily in all the commercials for the show, so he is obviously alive. Don't take it as a spoiler though, because there is much secrecy about his "death" in The Avengers. It seems like the higher-ups of S.H.I.E.L.D. is telling him his death was faked, but it seems like there's a lot more to it than that.

It's comforting to see Marvel on TV on a weekly basis. The first episode definitely did not disappoint and I would recommend this show to pretty much anyone. If you don't like Marvel comics or superheros, you could at least be entertained by the humor and dialogue. I'm scoring the pilot 9/10 and I can't wait for next Tuesday.

Upgrade Old Gen Games to Next Gen for $10!

Fall has always been the season for the biggest and best video game releases. This year, we get huge new games as well as a new generation of consoles. So what happens when a new game comes out before the new console you plan on buying?

Several video game retailers are striking a deal where you can buy your new games on XB360 or PS3, and when the new consoles are released, you only have to pay $10 to get the game for XboxOne and PS4. Participating retailers are GameStop, Best Buy, Microsoft, and Amazon.

The current games available for the $10 upgrade are as follows:

Battlefield 4
Assassin's Creed IV
Watch Dogs
Call of Duty: Ghosts (DLC carries over too!)
Need for Speed Rivals
A bunch of sports games no one cares about

This $10 offer is different at different retailers, seeing as how you are required you to trade in your last generation game disc. Also, the deals aren't always available for both of the new consoles. Another downside is you can't transfer the save data from the old system to the new, so for a story based game like Assassin's Creed IV, you would have to start all over when you get your next gen game.

I'm still undecided about which next generation console I'm buying at launch, but I would rather wait to buy these games with the new console instead of playing it on the old.

ICO Free for Playstation Plus Members!

It looks like I bought my Playstation 3 at just the right time, because ICO is currently free on the Playstation Network if you are a Playstation Plus member. ICO is considered a masterpiece of the Playstation 2 and an HD version of it packaged with Shadows of the Colossus was released awhile back. I had ICO on my top games I want to play for PS3 list on this post here.

If you have the PSP of Playstation Vita, you can download Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories for free, in spirit of the recent release of Grand Theft Auto V.

Other new deals for Playstation Plus members include Kane and Lynch: Dead Men for $5.99, Kane and Lynch 2: Dog Days for $7.99, and Sleeping Dogs for $9.99, among others.

Blizzard Shutting Down Diablo III's Auction House

Blizzard has recently announced their intentions of closing down Diablo III's Auction House on March 18, 2014. The Auction House was a unique feature of the game, allowing players to sell the best loot of the game for real money. Blizzard says the decision to close down the Auction House is in preparation for the next Diablo III expansion, Reaper of Souls.

Along with Reaper of Souls will be a new looting system called Loot 2.0. This new system features a new game mode called Loot Run which guarantees special item drops at the end. Also, dropped items will be more relevant to your character's class. There will be less item drops, but when items do drop they will be better quality. Legendary items will drop more frequently and the drops will start at lower levels. Also, there will be the introduction of bind on account and bind on equip items.

Because of these new upgrades to the looting system, the Auction House will be pretty much irrelevant. The point of the Diablo series is to kill as many monsters as you can and pick up cool loot, the auction house defeats the purpose of gameplay since you can use your own money to purchase the best items in the game.

You can view the original blog post from Blizzard's official Diablo III blog here.

Grand Theft Auto V Review, Part 1

First Impressions

There's really nothing quite like standing in line before midnight to buy one of the year's most anticipated new games. I was going to skip out on Grand Theft Auto V until a GameStop manager texted me saying there weren't many people in line and there were free tacos. I decided what the hell not, I'll buy it.

I'm actually glad I did. As dorky as it sounds, I really like being part of the day one fuss of a brand new AAA game release. I had my reservations though, because I'm just really not a Grand Theft Auto fan. I like my random acts of violence games to be more tongue-in-cheek like the Saints Row franchise. Grand Theft Auto V delivers a hilarious parody of everyday life that I missed out on in Grand Theft Auto IV.  I honestly think I could drive around Los Santos for an hour just cracking up over radio ads.

The Story

You can play as three different low-life bad guys. The most interesting thing about this is that you can switch between the three characters at any time. Also, their stories interweave each other. They become friends and get involved in each other's lives. You can play almost any mission as any of the three guys, but some missions are specific to each character. Also, each character has a special power that can be activated by pushing in left and right sticks.

My Opinion So Far

Grand Theft Auto V has exceeded my expectations so far. I didn't really plan on buying this game seeing as how I'm not really a fan of this franchise. I don't consider my review of this game to be traditional or professional. This is just a blog post. So with that in mind, I would score this game
a solid 9. If you know me at all, I'm your typical Bioware/Bethesda fangirl, so giving this game a 9 is a really huge deal for me. I could easily see Grand Theft Auto V as being in my top five
games for the year.

Celestia Ponies Are A Bunch Of Assholes

I never knew the ponies of Canterlot were such assholes. This story is told from Princess Celestia's viewpoint and takes place in Canterlot Castle. Celestia is hosting a Royal High Tea for the students and teachers of the School For Gifted Unicorns. We all know ponies from Canterlot are a bunch of snobs, but just add this to the equation that we're at a PTA party for prep school unicorns. Think of this as Hogwarts, but everypony is from Slytherin. The parent ponies petition Celestia to force retirement on an aging teacher named Inkwell after all hell breaks loose in the dining hall. It's Princess Celestia's job to remind the parent ponies the impact Inkwell had on them when they were students. Honestly, I don't know what keeps Princess Celestia from going on a homicidal rampage in this story.

This is the eighth installment of the My Little Pony Micro-series. These are self-contained comics told through the viewpoint of a single pony. These stores include the Mane Six as well as the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Issues are planned for Spike and Princess Luna, as well.

Anyway, here are the details:
Published by IDW
Story by Georgia Ball
Art by Amy Mebberson

Steam Announces Family Sharing Plan

In a big F-you to Microsoft, Steam has recently announced the new feature added to it's digital gaming service - the family sharing plan. You can "share" games on the cloud to 10 designated friends. They can play the games whenever you want, as long as you aren't already playing them. The downside, of course, is that you will not be able to share DLC, which belongs to the original owner of the game.

However, the good outweighs the bad. Sharing your games with friends is a great way to try out games you are unsure about before you spend money on them. Also, it's a good way for indie games to get good exposure and to boost sales.

Microsoft seems to be the originator of the idea. When the XBox One was announced last May, the only decent feature of the console was the family sharing plan. Because of wide public dissent of the majority of XBox One features, however, the good and the bad features were nixed from the console. Perhaps this sparked Valve's interest so the plan could be implemented on Steam.

The sharing plan is currently in closed beta, but will be available to all Steam members soon.

New Cosplay Ideas

Recently, I've decided to get back into cosplay. I've truly only cosplayed one time and I was a Silent Hill Nurse for a Halloween party. The pictures I took of myself were horrendous, but in person the cosplay wasn't so bad. If you're fortunate enough to be my Facebook friend, you can see them in what I believe is a Halloween 2009 album.

I've been watching Heroes of Cosplay on SyFy a lot lately, and it's making me want to cosplay more, and to not cosplay lazily. I have quite a few ideas swimming around in my head and I'm not sure where to start, so I'll give you a list of some characters I'm very deadset on cosplaying.

1. New 52 Poison Ivy
I'm not against showing skin in cosplay, but this Poison Ivy is...more respectable? I'd be happy cosplaying new Poison Ivy, old scantily clad Poison Ivy. I just like how this makes her look more like a super villain instead of a stripper.

2. Leixia from Soul Calibur
Soul Calibur is truly the only game where I have ever bragged about my skills and Leixia is who I kick everybody's ass with.

3. Purple Heart from Hyperdimension Neptunia
Hyperdimension Neptunia is a very interesting JRPG I played on PS3 a couple years ago where the girls represent different game consoles. I came up with the idea to cosplay her because I wanted something Japanese/Anime to do if I were to go to a more anime focused convention.

 

4. Kotobukiya Bishoujo Mystique
I love Kotobukiya Bishoujo figures, but this is one of my favorites. I have every statue, including this one, on my Amazon wishlist. I think what draws me to doing Mystique is I can paint myself blue and make a lot of Tobias from Arrested Development jokes.

Back in this post here, I talked about how badly I wanted to go to conventions and hadn't been to one yet. My boyfriend and I are both interested in cosplay and we've had some debate over whether or not we should compete or just cosplay for fun and pictures. I used to think we should compete locally only, but now I agree with my boyfriend that we should just do it for fun and pictures. I also said that I didn't want to reveal who I was going to cosplay as, but I've changed my mind about that too. All of these four ideas have been done before. I just need to get some experience making costumes before start anything too creative. I'm ok at using a sewing machine, but I think I could do a really good job with hair and makeup. I'm super excited to get started on some cosplay and I'll be showing my progress here on the blog. Let me know in the comments of any good East Coast cons to go to!

How I Got Into Comic Books

When I was starting to read as a child, my family used to buy me Archie and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle comics (the first ones!). Yes, I'm that old. Other than that, I lived a fairly comic-less life until around 2009. What sparked my interest was watching a trailer for The Watchmen. I thought it looked amazing and I was very intrigued. It's funny because I wasn't really that impressed with the movie itself. However, I'm one of those people who have to read the book before the movie comes out. I think I read The Watchmen all in one sitting because I was so hooked, and basically my story goes from there.

After finishing The Watchmen, I wanted to try more comics. For some reason, I was really turned off by the idea of reading traditional superhero Marvel/DC comics. I was mostly just intimidated because at the time there were over 600 issues of just Batman alone. How was I going to find time to read all that? So, I picked comics based off of things I was familiar with, such as comics based on movies I had already seen and comics I had heard friends talk about. My next choices in comic books were 300, V For Vendetta, Sin City, and The Crow. Around that time, the Scott Pilgrim movie was announced so I read that too.

Since I was in school to be a nurse at that time, I broke down and decided to read Arkham Asylum, since I thought it was relevant to my studies, with it being a mental hospital and all. After that, I became hooked on Batman and Arkham Asylum remains one of my favorite comic books of all time (ironically, I am now a psychiatric nurse). I started reading absolutely everything I could on Batman from Year One to The Killing Floor. I also started picking out certain storylines that interested me from the main issues.

Anyway, I thought the only superhero I would follow was Batman, but I ended up being wrong about that. I saw all the Marvel movies coming out like X-men:First Class, The Amazing Spiderman and The Avengers and decided to delve into the Marvel Universe. By this point, I was trying to keep up with Batman while reading old Amazing Spiderman and Uncanny X-men.I started watching Comic Book Men on AMC and then my love for comics exploded even more.

Now, I do read mostly Marvel Now titles, as well as keeping up with New 52 Batman. I also love Saga. I do know a lot about other comics outside of the Marvel/DC universe. That's just what I happen to be reading right now.

I'm definitely open to suggestion about different comics to read, especially ones that aren't so "mainstream" as the ones I read right now. Let me know what you read or if you have any suggestions of what I should read next in the comments below.

Halo 4 Game of the Year Edition

So, this past fall was the first fall in many years that I have not worked for a video game store. Because of that, I missed out on a lot of big releases that I would have normally preordered and bought/worked at the midnight release.

I Bought A Playstation 3!

Today I am an official Playstation 3 owner...again...

I had been planning on buying a PS3 for several months, actually when Last of Us was released. I found a good opportunity to buy a 80 GB backwards compatible PS3 at Gamestop last night. I went in right before close and bought it. Turned out the disc drive didn't work. So, this afternoon I decided to spend the extra $20 to buy a brand new PS3. This time I bought what I call the super slim PS3 that came with Uncharted 3 and one year free of Playstation Plus. I also bought Last of Us with my original PS3 purchase, but I haven't been able to play it yet.

I've owned a PS3 before. I believe it was in the summer of 2010. I think I bought it when God of War 3 was released, even though I didn't end up playing that game. I already had a XB360, so I played all my games on it and used the PS3 as a very expensive BluRay player. Then, Gamestop was having this huge trade promotion where you could trade in any PS3 for $200 store credit. This was right before fall, so a lot of games were about to come out. Since the only thing I really played on my PS3 was 3D Dot Game Heroes, I decided to go ahead and trade it in. I think I ended up switching all my pre-orders over to collector's editions with my trade credit.

Anyway, there are a lot of PS3 exclusive games that I'm excited to play. Here they are in no particular order.

1. Last of Us
I don't know what it is about this game. Yeah I do, it's the story. I had just beat Bioshock Infinite for PC when Last of Us was released and I felt empty inside. I know that sounds pathetic, but I was really wanting to get attached to characters again and feel part of a story. That's definitely what drew me to this game.

 2. Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch
This beautiful adventure RPG is made by Studio Ghibli. This game got great reviews and I can't wait to play and review it myself. This will definitely be the second purchase I make for the PS3.

3. Dragon's Crown
I feel a slight obligation to play as many Atlus games as I can. This is no exception. This co-op RPG was made by the same people who did Odin Sphere and Murumasa, and if you played those, you know this game is going to be gorgeous. I just hope I can find a co-op partner for this.

4. Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix
Sometimes I'm just amazed that someone thought it would be a good idea to mix Final Fantasy characters in with the Disney Universe. I used to have Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2 for PS2, but I traded them in like an idiot. This is somewhat of a chance to get that experience back. The disc includes a revamped edition of Kingdom Hearts 1 as well as Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories. You also get cinematic footage of Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days.

5. Hatsune Miku: Project Diva F
I've always wanted to play a Hatsune Miku game and this one was just released a few weeks ago for the first time in the US. I don't have the most extreme urgency for it, but if I can find a used copy, I'll be sure to snatch it up.

6. Metal Gear Solid: The Legacy Collection
This really just comes with everything you can think of related to Metal Gear Solid for just $50. It even comes with digital graphic novels. This is a franchise I've missed out on, so I would like to be able to play it all from the beginning.

7. Journey Collector's Edition
I'd like to end this list with Journey. I don't even know how to describe this game, seeing as how I haven't played it yet. I just know that I'm ready for something new.

I've been a Microsoft girl for so many years, so now I need PSN friends. Let me know what your PSN name is in the comments below and I will add you!

Batman 23.1 Joker #1 Review

Where the hell is Batman, because Joker is going ape-shit! Literally! One of the many DC bad guys/girls is of course, the VIP villain of Gotham, The Joker.

In this issue we get somewhat of a back story on Joker, but for the most part, this issue is as random as Joker himself! We get some insight into his upbringing by an evil Aunt which is paralleled by Joker raising a baby gorilla he names Jackanapes into adulthood. See what happens when Gotham City Counsel tries to shut down the city zoo and put down the animals, including Jackanape's mom! After reading this issue, I think I'd like my own evil gorilla to do my bidding.

Detective Comics 23.1 Featuring Poison Ivy

Throughout all of September, DC is launching Villains Month.  Each comic released this month will feature one of the most famous villains in the DC universe. We'll see what happens when the villains have free reign after the heroes have fallen after the events of the Trinity War. 

Xbox Live Rewards Are Back And Easier To Understand!

I got an email from Microsoft late last night/early this morning, letting me know that they had relaunched the Xbox Live Rewards system. I thought they suspended the system until the Xbox One would be released (November 22), but I was wrong. Basically, you earn credits that can be converted into either cash, rebates, or discounts.

My avatar

You can earn credits by completing several different "missions." If you buy 5 map packs between now and October 31, you get 5,000 credits. Make five or more purchases on movies and tv shows, that's 3,000 credits. A real shocker to me was if you download a brand new app that you have never downloaded before and stay logged into that app for 25 hours or more, you get 1,000 credits. This would be easy if you have never downloaded the Netflix app on your gamertag.

You also get points for filling out a monthly survey, renewing your gold account, and referring friends to subscribe to gold. Another interesting way to earn credits is by playing 10 hours of a new release within the first 30 days it's been out. This should be an easy way to earn credits for all the people who recently purchased Diablo 3 this week.

The new website for the rewards program is much easier to understand and makes it easier to track your progress towards credits. 5,000 credits equals $5 USD. If you've racked up at least 5,000 credits, Microsoft will credit you with the dollar amount to your Xbox Live account. You will get two deposits per month, on the 15th and 30th. You can also request early deposits once you reach your first 1,000 points which will be deposited in your account at the first available scheduled deposit date. You know, you really have to get that dollar.

The more I research the rewards program, the more I want to use my Xbox360. It's become a sad Netflix and Hulu machine that I occasionally play Beautiful Katamari on when I'm too lazy to hook up the PS2 for some proper Katamari.

The Star Wars #1 out of 8

You might have heard lately about the newest Star Wars comic series released this Wednesday entitled "The Star Wars." Yes, you read right. This comic is an eight issue run based off of the first draft George Lucas wrote of Star Wars back in 1974.

First of all, Luke Skywalker is a middle aged general of Aquilae's army, the last independent system in the Empire still harboring the outlawed Jedi. We also meet Darth Vader, who is not in a helmet! Last but not least of the Star Wars cast we are familiar with is Princess Leia, who we see sent off to college by her father, the king of Aquilae.

There are other characters new to us as well - Kane Starkiller and his son Annikin. Kane is an old Jedi friend of Luke's and Annikin is a teenage boy who kind of looks like a mix between Jason Mewes and Aaron Paul. Kane and Annikin seek refuge in Aquilae as well as making a huge request from Luke.

I'm really excited to see where this series goes. So far it's been fun trying to imagine what life would be like if George Lucas had gone with his original script. I'm also excited to see how Han Solo will be depicted like a shady lizard man.

This was a big day for comic releases, so don't freak out if that's all I write about for awhile.

Spend A Year On My Wishlist, Become My New Obsession...Towns!

 

I've ended up with a really awesome game on this weekend's Steam sale called Towns. The game was originally part of Steam's Project Greenlight and was developed by Xavi Canal and Ben Palgi. It was originally released about a year ago and has been on my wishlist for just as long. You take the sterotypical concept of an RPG and you flip it and reverse it.

I Have To Buy Eight Controllers Now? *With Update*

Today, Microsoft was full of pointless controller feature announcements. The XboxOne will supposedly have eight controller support. Also, you will be able to use your controller from 30 feet away.

Dragon Age INQUISITION New Playable Race...

I have never been so excited about a game that isn't even scheduled to come out for another year. That's right, I'm talking about Dragon Age Inquisition, the game formerly known as Dragon Age 3. I'm assuming this name change by BioWare is an attempt to separate the game from the crapwagon known as Dragon Age 2. Okay, I don't really think the game was that bad, but it was not quite the worthy sequel to Dragon Age Origins.