Blast From the Past: Reset Episode 8

Tony Hawk games, Nintendo “Revolution” talk, Star Wars: Battlefront 2, and an epic lightsaber fight — there’s plenty for you to enjoy in this episode of Reset. It’s fun looking back at the Wii; I don’t know anyone that thought it would be the success it turned out to be, including my two distinguished panelists. The lightsaber fight with Ruby still cracks me up. Check it out!

Part 1 — Activision’s Tony Hawk titles have been thrilling gamers for years. The action-sports excitement continues with the upcoming Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland for consoles and Tony Hawk’s American Sk8land for Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance. Ruby checks out both games and finds out what new features the pair brings to the skate park. And yes, this was filmed at the event where Raymond got in trouble for stealing beer.

Part 2 — Nintendo is trying something truly unique and different with the controller for its upcoming system, the Revolution. Eschewing the conventional gamepad, the Revolution will feature a wireless controller with motion sensors. It sounds wacky, but it might be the defining factor that will make Nintendo stand out from its competitors. Two industry experts — freelancers Christian Nutt and Chris Kohler — drop by Yahoo! Studios to reveal details on the controller and discuss the impact it will have on gaming.

Part 3 — Rebels and Gungans and Ewoks! Wow! Ruby engages in some Jedi training and checks out LucasArts’ exhilarating action game Star Wars: Battlefront 2. Our little Padawan gets the skinny on the game’s new features while interviewing in a Princess Leia steel bikini (just kidding…or so you think). In addition to the interview, Ruby and Raymond get up to some mischief at the event and take on Boba Fett.

Meet Archie’s Openly Gay Character: Kevin Keller

Archie, Betty, Veronica, and Jughead have a new friend in Riverdale — openly gay character Kevin Keller. New to Archie Comics, Keller is an aspiring journalist that loves his comic books. Here’s the scoop from Comics Alliance:

In a story titled “Isn’t it Bromantic?” Keller makes waves as the new kid in town by besting Jughead in an eating contest. From there he gains the attention of boy-crazy Veronica, who is crushing so hard that she’s ready to leave Archie to Betty. When Jughead points out her interest, Kevin’s up front about the fact that he’s gay and spends the rest of the issue introducing himself to the rest of the gang while trying to let a clueless Veronica down easy, much to Jughead’s amusement.

Man, Jughead is kind of a dick in this storyline. He totally wants to mess with Veronica over her affections for Kevin. I always thought Reggie was supposed to be the dick in the Archie books.

Anyway, I think it’s fantastic that there’s a gay character in Archie. It’s real and current and tells children that there isn’t anything wrong with homosexuality. That said, I’m not a parent and I know that a few of you are. How do you feel about the Kevin Keller character?

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Coffee Talk #130: Games You’ve Enjoyed Thanks to Friends

For the most part, we all know what kind of games we’ll like and won’t like. Every now and then, a surprise comes our way. One of the best ways to receive a gaming surprise is through friends. A great friend of mine recently dropped by for lunch on his way back up to San Francisco. We’ve gone through a lot together, but there’s one game that always reminds me of him: Culdcept. I admit that I would have totally ignored this game if he didn’t put it on my radar. Thanks to him, I’ve gotten dozens of hours of entertainment from a game I wouldn’t have tried on my own.

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Tim Tebow going so early in the draft, the Yankees’ first triple play in more than 40 years, or whether the world is passing Nokia/RIM by, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

For the most part, we all know what kind of games we’ll like and won’t like. Every now and then, a surprise comes our way. One of the best ways to receive a gaming surprise is through friends. A great friend of mine recently dropped by for lunch on his way back up to San Francisco. We’ve gone through a lot together, but there’s one game that always reminds me of him: Culdcept. I admit that I would have totally ignored this game if he didn’t put it on my radar. Thanks to him, I’ve gotten dozens of hours of entertainment from a game I wouldn’t have tried on my own.

Do you have any gaming surprises like that? Are there any games you like or love thanks to recommendations by friends? Surely there must be a game you would have dismissed but didn’t, thanks to a pal telling you about it. I want to hear your friends-turn-you-onto-game stories today!

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

Jet lag is still kicking my ass (to be fair, I’m not putting up much of a fight), but I’m finally ready to get back to some real gaming! I’m totally jumping back into Final Fantasy XIII. Hopefully my timing with paradigm shifts won’t be too bad after two weeks away from the game. If I remember correctly, I’m in chapter 10. FFXIII has been a really enjoyable experience so far and from what I understand, the best is yet to come. I really don’t understand what some people have been complaining about. Stuff it haters!

As always, let me know what you’re playing this weekend!

Mickie James, Shelton Benjamin, and Others Released By WWE

WWE has announced that it has released Mickie James, Shelton Benjamin, Katie Lea Burchill, Jimmy Wang Yang, Kung Fu Naki, and Slam Master J. I’m mildly surprised that Benjamin was released. He’s a phenomenal talent, but the company struggled to highlight him (no, I’m not talking about his hair). I’m personally bummed that he was let go since he was always super nice to me during THQ’s videogame tournaments. I’m shocked that Mickie was released. She was arguably the best all-around worker in the Divas division. I was proud to write her storyline in SmackDown vs. Raw 2010 and was completely surprised by the hug she laid on me after I interviewed her at last year’s WrestleMania.

Any thoughts on these WWE layoffs?

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Win an HTC Evo 4G From Sprint

Sprint Premier customers have a chance to win an HTC Evo 4G before it comes out. If you’re a loyal Sprint customer and lusting for some Android-WiMax action then check out this contest. Ten lucky winners will take home an Evo 4G, while four finalists will win a trip to a city that has Sprint 4G service (Chicago, Houston, Las Vegas, or Maui).

Are any of you Sprint Premier customers? If so, are you going to enter the contest? I used to be Sprint Premier, but left the company for T-Mobile…and am totally pleased with my decision. I love underdogs (T-Mobile), but can’t back a loser (Sprint).

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Outstanding Feature on Mark Cerny

I think this is the first time I’ve done this on RPad.tv, but 1Up Sam Kennedy’s feature on Mark Cerny is so good that I want you to leave my site for a bit and visit his. It profiles Cerny’s career — which is legendary and underrated at the same time — with excellent text and several video interviews. Cerny is one of my favorite people in the business. I’m just blown away by everything he’s done and how under-appreciated he is by Joe Gamer.

Anyway, please, Please, PLEASE check out this profile on Mark Cerny.

MLB.tv Comes to PlayStation 3

Sony Computer Entertainment America has announced that MLB.tv content is now available on the PlayStation 3. Subscriptions for the service start at $19.95 a month or $99.95 for the entire season. A premium package is available for $24.95 a month or $119.95 for the season. Here are some bullet points from the press release:

  • Home and Away Feeds — Choose to watch either the home or away broadcast feed.
  • Live Game DVR Functionality — Use the live video overlay to pause and rewind live games or fast-forward back to live game action.
  • Scrollable Linescore — Go directly to any half-inning to watch only that portion of the game.
  • MLB Scoreboard — Scrollable league-wide scoreboard for each day’s games in three modes: Pre-game with scheduled starting pitchers; Live with up-to-the-minute game status; and Post-game with final pitching decisions and archived feed selection.
  • Favorite Team Selection — Pick a favorite team or teams to be featured first on the daily scoreboard.
  • Calendar Schedule — Scroll through the entire 2010 Major League Baseball schedule in calendar format or the user-designated favorite team’s schedule.

I know that a few of you are baseball fans and that some of you have excellent taste in teams (go Yankees!). Are you interested in MLB.tv‘s offering on the PlayStation 3? I’m very tempted. I’d love to be able to see Phil Hughes’ excellent game from yesterday, but don’t have a legal way to do it at the moment. Streaming live Yankee goodness in HD sounds excellent to me!

Poll: Avengers vs. JLA — Fight!!!

A few of you guys started this debate in today’s Coffee Talk. Now here’s the poll! In my mind, this is a blowout. I’m with the Justice League all the way. Who’s the most powerful Avenger? Thor? The JLA has Superman, Wonder Woman, and Martian Manhunter to mop the floor with him.

Anyway, kindly make your vote and state your case.

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