GameOver News Update

It's Memorial Day and I hope you all made sure to thank our men and women in arms. As this will be the last week of regular classes, I'm working on my multimedia project for the Pulse. I'll be creating a Frank Miller inspired noir comic for Deadly Premonition. This is to show my own talents beyond cartoon characters and as a big tribute to the guys at GiantBomb for pulling off a second amazing endurance run after Persona 4. It is basically done but I'll have the panels up on the blog by the end of the week. The Pulse site will have the video as well with "dynamic" sound effects and voice work...sort of. Later, gamers!

Prince of Persia film casting called "insulting"

Before I begin, go ahead and check out the little blurb connected to this blog theme. Now that you are back (I hope) we can start the discussion. Apparently hiring white actors for roles supposedly envisioned for people of color is being called "insulting" by critics. The foul move is made in the Prince of Persia video game based movie hitting theaters soon with Jake Gyllenhaal in the lead. The adaptation of The Last Airbender is also under attack though because this blog is focused on gaming, the Prince is our main concern. I am not seeing a complete fault with the casting choices made by the filmmakers in this regard though I honestly don't know the full extent they went through to find the best actors for the specified roles. In reality, most casting for such pieces as this involves finding actors who physically resemble the given character. Gyllenhaal does seem to embody the appearance of the Prince that gamers are familiar with and, quite frankly, never appeared to be truly Persian to begin with in later games. I'd also like to mention the fact that the voice actor for the role hasn't been Persian either, more or less British as with Sands of Time and then American in the newer Prince of Persia, aka Nolan North. Do we really need to find things to complain about? It's as if people are trying to hate turn what they can into hate crimes against other cultures. If there had been a Persian actor fit and able to play the role better than Gyllenhaal, then I would say that that individual is the best choice but again, I don't know all the facts of that decision. Hope you don't go cross like I have but all the same, make up your own minds about what to believe. Later, gamers!

The name's Wake...Alan Wake

It goes without saying that Alan Wake is only one more title out this month that will make our wallets a little thinner. Between Red Dead Redemption and Split/Second, I'll be broke before the end of the month (I'm also a little miffed that Alan Wake is a Xbox 360 exclusive). The game features some of the best lighting mechanics in any game to date. It also has product placement all over like I made note of in the "Your Ad Here" comic posted a little while back. Even though I mentioned all that stuff before, this visual aid is far better. Enjoy. Later, gamers!

Red Dead Tuesday

Hola, gamers! Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption is almost here and I can hardly contain myself. I'm salivating at the thought of what I can do in what is already being called the greatest western themed game of all time. It may be hard to argue that fact given the poor selection of cowboy titles we've seen over the years but what really stands out with Red Dead Redemption is the free-roam play option on its multiplayer: a gigantic world ready and ripe for the taking by the best cowboy or lowlife. But that is enough rambling from me. Expect to see more on Red Dead as I get into it myself and look for a comic featuring some goofy part of the title next week. Alan Wake is also on the horizon and I'll have its comic strip "A Drum in the Night" up by the end of Thursday. Now all I have to do is see whether or not I can create my ideal character for online Red Dead... Doc Brown! Later, gamers!
"Look! If your horse threw a shoe, bring him back and I'll reshoe him."
"I done shot that horse!"
"Well, that's your problem, TANNEN!"

War Machines

The battle between Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 wages on almost endlessly. The arguments always seem to turn towards petty issues like network lag or drops in frame rate, yada, yada. The Xbox does come in the black Elite package, but for the sake of this comic strip, I had to pull the black and white card. And which of the systems is the superior, you ask? Well you'll have to read my article analysis of the hardware each company boasts in their console software. The article will be posted on the Pulse later this week so be sure to check it out when you can. Later, gamers!

MEGAMANia

ScrewAttack has the premiere fan film for viewing pleasure on its site. Eddie Lebron's Mega Man feature film is over 90 minutes of fan boy goodness and obvious cheese. If you haven't already checked it out, I strongly urge followers of the Blue Bomber and casual gamers alike to give it a view. Plus, a big shout out to the Megas for offering up some great music accompaniment to the film! Later, gamers!

Who Done It?!

Lucky 24-year-old Alabama gamer Wade McGilberry is sitting pretty with one million bucks from the folks at 2K and its MLB 2K10 contest. Congrats to you, McGilberry who pitched the perfect game! You give the rest of us in the gaming community hope that we too will someday be able to say we created our fortune by playing a video game. I bet he's already converted that fat, over-sized check into a lawn chair and is dabbing at his forehead with a wad of fifties...lucky son of a bitch.

YOUR AD HERE

If this ever works, I'll never say anything bad about in-game advertising again. Anyone who remembers Crazy Taxi on the Sega Dreamcast knows that it alone is likely responsible for most product placement in gaming today. Like Craig of ScrewAttack said, at one point we wore nothing but Fila. More often it is about satire in game advertising like the blurbs and broadcasts of Grand Theft Auto IV. With Alan Wake coming soon for the 360 promoting Energizer batteries and other products, I did this strip as more of a satire than anything. Sad thing is now I'm just imagining if it actually gains some attention. If anyone out in the wide, webby world wants something of theirs to be advertised in one of Andy and Brett's strips, please contact us at daehne2@yahoo.com. Be sure to include a detailed plan about what you are marketing and any elements that are needed for your message. Let the experiment begin!

Plugged In the News

Looking at Al's Morning Meeting, I came by this little bit of news. Apparently the California state legislators were attempting to put a restriction on rental outlets regarding violent video games. They would require the agency to put an "18" label on the product to signify its rating though games are already required to present a clear ESRB rating on the packaging. Retailers that failed to comply would be fined up to $1,000. The law was turned down as the court found no merit to its claims based on the little data regarding violence connected to gaming. Check out the article yourself for more information at http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=2&aid=182183. As I work in retail selling mature content games and movies, I act as the gap between the minor and their mature gaming/cinema title. Most shops today are pushing controlled sales to minors regardless of what concerned parents and community members believe.We all need to accept responsibility for what happens to ourselves and those we care for. Pointing fingers is not getting anyone anywhere.