Heroes of Cosplay

Last Thursday night was the season finale of Heroes of Cosplay. I've been putting off reviewing this show for awhile, because I didn't have much good to say about most of the people on the show, and I would like to keep this blog classy. However, once the final episode has aired, I've gained more insight to the people featured on there and so I have a much more well rounded review to give. Overall, it's a very interesting show and I learned a lot about cosplay, such as costume construction, fabrication, materials, and performing skits.

Left to Right: Yaya, Jessica, Riki, Monika

I originally thought this was going to be more like Face Off where a group of contestants would have a weekly competition where the worst cosplayer would be kicked off. This show is actually more of a docuseries where each episode revolves around a specific convention's cosplay contest. The people the show follows is a little different each week, but mostly revolves around the same ones. Yaya Han is in every episode and she is typically the judge in every competition.

There are many highs and lows to this show and many moments where I really hate the cast interspersed with moments that I love them. Almost all the outcomes to every contest are disappointing, but I think that lends to the authenticity of the show. Just because these people are on camera doesn't guarantee them a win.

If I had a more exciting life, I would probably hate this show along with everyone on it. But like I mentioned in my Fangasm article, I really have nothing better to do than watch shows about nerds because I live out in the middle of nowhere.

There are people I do respect on the show. My favorite would be Chloe Dykstra who got a very deserved win on the next to last episode for cosplaying the Mechromancer from Borderlands 2. During the beginning of the season she really advocated for cosplay to be more inclusive, saying that people of all genders, body shapes, and races should be able to cosplay anything they want. If I were Gatsby, I would tell her, "You're worth the whole damn bunch."

 

Another favorite moment of mine was in the season finale when Jinyo used Peter Mayhew to propose to his girlfriend, Victoria. Say what you will about the couple, I cried a little. Mostly because she was wearing a Star Trek uniform to a Star Wars panel.

 

I've always been interested in cosplay (I've even started a costume recently), but this show taught me never to do it competitively because competition sucks the fun out of everything.  I give this show a C-. If SyFy ever decides to make a second season of this show, there are a lot of improvements to be made.

Nintendo Direct for Upcoming 3DS and WiiU Games in 2013

I'm not the biggest Nintendo fan in the world, but because of my childhood nostalgia, I still think I care about what goes in in the world of Nintendo. On Tuesday morning, a Nintendo Direct conference took place and there was tons of news, so I'll make this into a list for you.

1. We all know Super Smash Brothers is an upcoming game for both the 3DS and the WiiU. I'm actually planning on getting this one, even though it will have to be for the 3DS because that's the only current gen Nintendo system I have. On Nintendo Direct, they have announced Sonic the Hedgehog as the newest playable character.

2. Pikmin is getting DLC for $1.99. This is in the form of a pack called "Collect Treasure" which consists of four stages. On October 1, there will be an update for the game and then the DLC will be available to download. Don't worry, there will still be free bonus content for the game.

3. We also have a release date for Super Mario 3D World. The game will release on November 22 in North America on the WiiU. I watched game play on this and it's almost worth getting a WiiU. Mario's newest power is the kitty cat suit, which gives him special jumping powers and lets him climb up to the top of flagpoles at the end of each stage. Also, if you get a cherry, you get two Marios. Almost makes me wish I had bought that Wind Waker bundle!

4. Now for some bad news. Remember how Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Breeze was supposed to release December 6? Well, not so much anymore. The game was pushed back to February 2014.

5. Back to good news. The demo for Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies is now available for download on the 3DS. The game will be released on October 24 and will have day one DLC in the form of outfits for the main characters. If you purchase the game between 10/24 and 11/7, you get the outfit pack for free. After that, the pack will be 99 cents. I am under the understanding that this game is only available for download on the eShop.

6. A new Kirby game was announced for the 3DS! What I got from the trailer is that it's your typical Kirby game, but modernized for 3D. It will release sometime this year. That reminds me, I still have my old Gameboy with Kirby's Dreamland. Time to relive some childhood memories...

7. The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds now has a November 22 release date on the 3DS. Not only that, but the game will be played a bit differently than before. You will be able to play the dungeons in any order you want. In order to be fully prepared for each dungeon, there will be a shop where you can buy important items normally found in other dungeons.

Well, that's about the most important news from the presentation that I have. Like I said, I'm not the biggest Nintendo fan, but I still have huge respect for them, since they were a huge part of my childhood. I'm actually very interested in buying the 3DS games I've mentioned above, and I'll probably download the Phoenix Wright demo within the next few days.

October 2013 New Game Releases

It's October first and we're part of the way through fall, which we all know and love as new video game season. Here is a roundup of all the game releases that are due out this October. Personally, I'm excited about Beyond: Two Souls, Batman Arkham Origins, Battlefield 4, and Assassin's Creed IV.. I'm on the fence about Pokemon X/Y. Which games are you excited about this month?

10/1
Etrian Odyssey Untold: The Milennium Girl (3DS)
NBA 2K14 (PS3, XB360)

10/8
Beyond: Two Souls (PS3)
Disgaea D2: A Brighter Darkness (PS3)
F1 2013 (PC, PS3, XB360)
Just Dance 2014 (Wii, WiiU, XB360, PS3)

10/12
Pokemon X and Y (3DS)

10/13
Skylanders: Swap Force (Wii, WiiU, XB360, PS3)

10/15
Valhalla Knights 3 (PSVita)

10/16
Zumba Fitness: World Party (Wii, WiiU)

10/18
Lego Marvel Super Heroes (PC, WiiU, XB360, PS3, DS, Wii)

10/22
Sonic Lost World (WiiU, 3DS)
SpongeBob SquarePants: Plankton's Robotic Revenge (WiiU, 3DS, XB360, PS3, DS, PC)

10/24
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies (3DS)

10/25
Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate (3DS, PSVita)
Batman: Arkham Origins (PS3, XB360, PC, WiiU)
Wii Party U (WiiU)

10/29
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (PS3, XB360, WiiU)
Battlefield 4 (PC, XB360, PS3)
Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures (PC, PS3, XB360, WiiU, 3DS)
WWE 2K14 (PS3, XB360)

10/31
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate (PSN, XBLA)

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.