Here are two excellent videos that will give you a behind-the-scenes look at the voice-over sessions for Atlus’ Trauma Team
January 2010 Issue of Playboy Features Tara Reid and Gamer Girls
The January 2010 issue of Playboy is looking completely awesome — it features the sexy Tara Reid (naked) and a bunch of female videogame characters (also naked). The (naked) gamer girls include Heavy Rain’s
Tara Reid has a special place in my heart and it all started at a videogame event. I’ve had a crush on her ever since I saw her throw a huge tantrum at a PlayStation 2 anniversary party in Los Angeles. Security wouldn’t let her into the after-party and she was cursing up a storm. She demanded that the hotel let her into the party or get her a limo. After a few minutes of swearing like a sailor, her limousine arrived. It was pretty hot.
Pandora Handheld Shown Playing Mario 64
A few weeks ago, I told you about Pandora, a powerful open-source handheld coming in 2010. The team has unveiled a video of the system running Mario 64 and other Nintendo 64 classics. It’s pretty cool stuff that’s worth a peak.
For the most part, you guys don’t talk much about the PSP and DS systems. Is Pandora more to your liking?
Google Wave Sums Up 2009
Although Google Wave can be useful for office collaboration, it’s far more entertaining as a tool to make funny videos. Here’s a short clip that sums up 2009’s major events using Wave. It includes Barack Obama becoming president, the swine flu causing a global panic, the Susan Boyle phenomenon, Kanye West being a dick to Taylor Swift, Michael Jackson’s death, the NY Yankees winning the world series, Manny Pacquiao’s brilliant boxing, and much more.
Square Enix’s Tetsuya Nomura Has Two New Games in the Pipe
Square Enix’s Tetsuya Nomura — the James Brown of the gaming industry for being one of the hardest working men in the business — has two games in the pipe. With his work on Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep nearly done, the renowned character designer and game director still has Final Fantasy XIII Versus on his plate…which of course isn’t enough for him. Translating a recent issue of Famitsu, Andriasang quoted Nomura as saying:
There’s a title that’s yet to be shown that’s progressing faster than expected. Development is progressing smoothly. Voice recording has started. It’s not totally new, but there’s one more more unannounced title. Please look forward to the announcement.
Any guesses as to what Nomura is working on?
Coffee Talk #52: Holding Out for a (Super) Hero (Videogame)
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, Biz Markie teaming up with The Shack, this excellent Dhalsim song, or your upcoming holiday feasts, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
As a bunch of you were discussing the Iron Man 2 trailer, the subject of super hero dream games came up. In the spirit of Coffee Talk #6, I thought it would be an excellent idea to talk about the spandex game of your dreams. So let’s do it!
As for me, there are two games DC Comics games that I’d love to see. The one that’s more likely is a Green Lantern title. With the success of the Nintendo Wii and motion controls from Microsoft and Sony coming in 2010, there’s a decent chance that the Green Lantern game of my dreams will be made. It would star Hal Jordan (and hopefully Guy Gardner) and use motion controls to create various power-ring constructs. It could be something unique and imaginative if handled by the right developer.
The second super-hero game I want will never happen. It’s just too late. I want a buddy-action game, similar to Army of Two, starring Blue Beetle and Booster Gold. The JLI era of Justice League was one of my favorite comic-book runs of all time. It was unique and hilarious, but still contained enough action to keep traditionalists happy. My Blue and Gold game would be full of fast-paced action and high-tech gadgets, but the dialogue would be key. The game would be full of witty quips, immature insults, and tons of “bwahahahaha” laughter that Beetle and Booster were famous for back in the day.
As a special shout out to my friend at Marvel — make a frickin’ Quasar game already!!!
Anyway, let me know about the super-hero videogame of your dreams. Kindly list the character and describe your game. Quantum bands for life!!!
17 Minute Video of Final Fantasy XIII Gameplay
Soak up the glory!
Statutory Rape Through Xbox Live = 10 Years in the Slammer
27-year old Edward Stout of Missouri was sentenced to more than 10 years of prison, lifetime supervision, and sex offender registration for crossing state lines to have sex with a 15-year old girl he met through Xbox Live. The Associated Press has reported:
Prosecutors say Stout and the girl developed a relationship in April, 2008 and talked while playing video games on Xbox Live.
They say in late January 2009 Stout drove almost nonstop for 30 hours from Missouri to Sanger, where he engaged in sexual activity with the girl.
*sigh* Between this scumbag and the idiot that married a Nintendo DS character, I fear that gamers will be viewed as freaks again. Hopefully that’s not the case. Crazy people come from all walks of life.
Big Surprise: Final Fantasy XIII is a PS3 System Seller
Square Enix should give itself a pat on the back for selling more than 1.5-million copies of Final Fantasy XIII
While some American journalists are whining about FFXIII’s gameplay (hi Kohler!), there’s no doubt that this will be a monster hit worldwide. The game has already conquered Japan. The rest of the world is next in March 2010.
Coffee Talk #51: Horrendous Moments in Professional Wrestling
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, the sudden death of Brittany Murphy, how the NFL playoff picture is shaping up, or the U.S. government’s healthcare reform efforts, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
In Coffee Talk #45, Iceman asked for a column dedicated to the worst moments in professional wrestling. Here it is! As much as I love the “sport”, it has served up so many ridiculous storylines and scenarios, some of which made me question why I was a fun. At the end of the day, I’ll always love the violent soap opera that is professional wrestling, but I can’t forget its stupidity. Here are two moments that made me go, “WTF?!?”
Sid Vicious and Vader Send a Midget to Blow Up Sting’s Boat
Every now and then, I have to watch this old WCW video to remember that this actually happened. While Davey Boy Smith and Sting played volleyball on the beach, the heels employed a short person to blow up Sting’s boat. Forget the overacting by the heels or the unintentionally gay beach-volleyball scene — some WCW writer thought the heels would get heat by sending a little person to blow up Sting’s boat! It’s especially sad that the legendary Harley Race was used in this nonsense.
Robocop Saves Sting From the Four Horsemen
WCW had a number of lame celebrity angles over the years — Jason Hervey, Jay Leno, David Arquette, Dennis Rodman, Kevin Green, Karl Malone, etc. The worst of the bunch involved Robocop. Sure, this angle took place when pro-wrestling wasn’t up front about being staged, but what kind of moron would believe that a fictitious movie character would come to the aid of Sting? On the plus side, major professionalism points have to be awarded to Arn Anderson, Ole Anderson, and Sid Vicious for pretending to be scared of Robocop and not bursting out in laughter.
Bonus: Shawn Michaels Oversells Hulk Hogan
Okay, this isn’t one of wrestling’s worst moments, but I love watching this clip and I wanted to share with you. Shawn Michaels bent over backwards to get Hulk Hogan over in this angle, even going as far as to turn heel. HBK was originally booked to win this match, but Hogan exerted creative control and put himself over. Annoyed that he gave up so much only to become a jobber, Michaels totally oversold Hogan’s offense in this match. It’s frickin’ hilarious. Not only did he make Hogan look silly, he also buried him on the mic on the following Raw. Hogan deserved it for being a prick.
What are some of your “worst moments in wrestling”? Please list them in the comments and let everyone know the reasoning behind your picks. I can’t wait to read your comments for this story!!!