Author: Shane O'Hare

The northern most Geekscapist. I've been doing the 'scape since before it was cool! Video games are my main prerogative but I can be passionately geeky for many things.

Bethesda Gets License to Make S.T.A.L.K.E.R Game: Will S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2 Live?

by Shane O'Hare

The Ukrainian blogger who broke the story of the studio responsible for the S.T.A.L.K.E.R series, GSC Gameworld, shutting down has gotten his hands on some tasty info. Bethesda has a license to make a game in the S.T.A.L.K.E.R universe!

On his blog. Sergey Galyonkin, states from a reputable source that Bethesda has picked up the rights to make a game based on the S.T.A.L.K.E.R universe! He explicitly says that they have not bought ALL rights to the series and just will be allowed to make a game with their own technology, most likely the same engine that was used for Skyrim.

Does this mean that the long sought for S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2 may live? It’s WAY to soon to tell.

Ubisoft DRM ‘UPlay’ Could Let Hackers Take Over Your Machine!

by Shane O'Hare

For a few years now Ubisoft has pushed their hideous DRM system, UPlay, on gamers. It is intrusive on systems. Forces gamers to have an always on connection with Ubisoft servers, that if broken halts gameplay until it is reestablished, and really is just a huge dick to deal with. Now it has been discovered that it will allow a hacker to possibly gain control of your system. And no, that isn’t some scare tactic report from CNN trying to sell copies of Norton.

A report from Ycombinator shows that when UPlay is installed on ones machine, it installs a browser plugin that will allow for remote code execution. Let’s let that sink in for a minute… a Digital Rights Management system that is designed to prevent pirating of games, allows a third party run code WITHOUT YOUR CONSENT  and possibly take over your entire machine.

So if you have any of these Ubisoft games, check the report to see how to check whether or not if your browser has the extension.

Assassin’s Creed II
Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood
Assassin’s Creed: Project Legacy
Assassin’s Creed Revelations
Assassin’s Creed III
Beowulf: The Game
Brothers in Arms: Furious 4
Call of Juarez: The Cartel
Driver: San Francisco
Heroes of Might and Magic VI
Just Dance 3
Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands
Pure Football
R.U.S.E.
Shaun White Skateboarding
Silent Hunter 5: Battle of the Atlantic
The Settlers 7: Paths to a Kingdom
Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X. 2
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier
Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction
Your Shape: Fitness Evolved

To protect yourself from this blunder you can go to your browsers “Plugins” section and disable anything from Ubisoft.

There is currently no word from Ubisoft as to why this exists. We will keep you updated the moment any more information comes out.

Are You A Bad Enough Dude for A Sequel? Bad Dudes 2 Get’s A Kickstarter!

by Shane O'Hare

Are you a dude of the 80’s? Are you a dude of the 90’s? Do you remember one of the greatest arcade beat-em-ups of all time? If you are, then you will be excited to know that Bad Dudes has a sequel planned and you can help get it going with Pinestripes games Kickstarter Campaign! Check out an interview with the developer below for the full story.

Now, it takes a lot to get me excited for a new game, let alone a kickstarter campaign. When I heard that one of my all time favorite games was getting a possible sequel I freaked out. My earliest memories with gaming was my Dad getting me a PC copy of Bad Dudes, with a Gravis joystick and teaching me DOS prompts to get the game running. I was brought into a world where the president was kidnapped by Ninjas and I and a friend were the only hope for the USA.

If you feel only a slight nostalgic for this series, or if you enjoy the great meme the game has offered over the years, then you should donate.

The kickstarter can be found HERE

Pinestripe games can be found HERE

Together we can bring a great game back to the forefront!

Zynga Games Under Investigation As Stock Plummets While Investors Dump $516M Of Shares

by Shane O'Hare

Zynga games, the leader in stealing ideas for social games, had a pretty bad week. Their stock took a colossal hit at the beginning of this week, but that isn’t the only problem they have to contend with.

So with their profits spiraling out of control, a number of investors which include founder Mark Pincus offered a secondary stock offering, which was all shares of their own dumped into the exchange. This was right before the stock took ANOTHER hit and went from $12 a share to just about $3. This of course was good for them as they netted about $516 Million dollars from this firesale. But the high could only last so long.

Marketwatch is reporting that a third party investigation company, Newman Ferra, is looking into these recent goings ons at Zynga. Saying that:

Newman Ferrara’s investigation focuses on whether Zynga misrepresented or failed to disclose material adverse facts about its business and financial condition including, among other things, that Zynga has been: (1) experiencing a rapid decline in user numbers of existing web games; (2) experiencing substantial delays in launching new web games; and (3) entirely dependent on Facebook’s online gaming platform. Newman Ferrara’s investigation also focuses on the 43 million shares of personally held stock sold by Zenga’s executive officers in April at a price of $12 per share for proceeds totaling $516 million. These insider sales were executed during the second quarter of 2012 shortly before Zynga reported terrible financial results for that quarter and prior to the corresponding 40% drop in Zynga stock price.

All I can say is that the time of believing that these non-tangible products like social games or social networks for that matter, have any real world value, is over. More to come as this story unfolds as I am very interested in the outcome. Regardless of what happens, social games are going to get a pretty big change.

Return to Baldur’s Gate! Enhanced Edition to Be Released in September!

by Shane O'Hare

That’s right! Motha’ Fuckin’ Baldur’s Gate is getting an update and rerelease! After the mysterious countdown on the website was finished we are graced with news about improvements and additions. Some of the great changes you can expect are:

  • New Adventure: The Black Pits
  • New Character: Dorn Il-Khan
  • New Character: Neera the Wild Mage
  • New Character: Rasaad yn Bashir
  • A new collection of player character voice sets
  • Native support for high resolution widescreen displays
  • Over 400 improvements to the original game
  • Improved multiplayer support, with connectivity between all platforms

Not only are we getting this HUGE list of new features and improvements, but the Windows edition will be a direct download from Beamdog with NO CLIENT REQUIRED! This means we can get the installer for the game, and that’s it! Nothing else to worry about!

You can preorder the game and get more info about the other platforms: HERE

New Gameplay Footage From ‘Dishonored’ – Escape

by Shane O'Hare

Bethesda’s next big gamer, Dishonored, puts players into a steampunk world controlled by an evil government. Check out the new gameplay footy below and learn three of the countless moves you can use to enact your revenge!

You can get your copy of Dishonored October 9th!

SDCC 2012 Wrap up: The Aquabats Super Show!

by Shane O'Hare

The legendary group of super powered teenagers return for their 2nd SDCC, this time with an entire season of their hit show “The Aquabats! Super Show!” in the can. Come with me, we’re going to dig into what went on during their panel, roundtable interview and the concert at the House of Blues!

The day started off fantastic, working the booth in my Aquabats! gear feeling pretty much a pimp. Time for the panel and interview and I am walking at a nice pace towards the meeting room. High as a kite, so excited to see what great things will happen, when the absolute worst happens! My SD card in my phone imploded. All my pictures and notes from the week were toast. Gone. POOF! My big Aquabat fanatic heart sank. Then it fell even further into depression when I saw the line. It went down the hall, around the corner and looped back THREE times. I slumped down in the hallway and nursed the dieing battery in my phone. Sadness overcame me. I was defeated even before I started. Then I spied the guys from Toddland. The great group of guys that make the new Aquabats! merchandise! I walked over to say high again and to chat more about their products. I walked up and talked to the head beard himself, Todd Masters.

Shane: “So how did you guys come about making this new merchandise for the Aquabats?”

Todd: “Well we all are the old Paul Frank Kids. We created the original belt for the Aquabats. So we were already fans.”

Shane: “Now all your products I’ve seen on the floor are REALLY cool. Where do the designs come from and what is the logic behind them all?”

Todd: “Well we basically make things we like, we make the shirts and wallets and sweaters for us and like minded people are attracted to us. Also everything kind of goes together, the Aquabats wallet goes with the Adventure Time sweater and so on.”

Todd assured me they were just fans making gear for a group they appreciated. Being able to make the pajamas from the “Floating Eye of Death” episode was really really fun for them.

After our brief chat I returned to my wall charger of despair. Knowing I’d never be able to make it into the panel, I was just going to wait for the press round-table. Then again, my eyes spied another friend. JP from The Hub wandered into view. I ran up to say hello and he recognized me and quickly pushed me into the panel. Then my bad luck with my busted SD card started to balance out when I saw our own Matt Blackwood up front saving a seat for me! PLUS HE HAD A WORKING CAMERA!

Photo Credit Todd Williamson/ Invision for The Hub/ AP Images.

The panel started out with normal ‘bat vigor. The lights went out and the opening from the Super Show! played on screen while the ‘bats ran up and took their places. Also joining them were directors Matt Chapman (AKA Strongbad) and Jason deVilliers. The most surprising guest was the panel moderator. Gerard Way!

Photo Credit Todd Williamson/ Invision for The Hub/ AP Images.

The panel went smoothly. Finding out how Matt Chapman met the Aquabats and conversely how they met Gerard Way. Way back when, before MCR, Way was making vinyl figurines in a small shop in New Jersey. One day the Homestarrunner crew came in and wanted some of their own. The rest is history.

We saw some funny bloopers and clips, and even were able to see a commercial that was removed from air just DAYS before the episode went out. It was one directed by Mega64 and it was called “Garage Door Escape”. It was a product that mimics some of Indiana Jones greatest escapes. We see a kid hit his garage door close button, and run through an obstacle course consisting of skeletons, poison darts, boulders and magma. The ultimate goal is to slide under the garage door before it closes, insuring survival. They said The HUB pulled that at the last minute, I’m assuming it’s because if the kid didn’t make it he wouldn’t have “survived”. At the end of it his Dad watering the lawn says “Nice survival son!”. Kind of morbid, but very hilarious.

It also wouldn’t be an Aquabats event if a baddie didn’t show up. This time Snakey walked in from down the hall and caused a ruckus.

Photo Credit Shahab Zargari of Verbicide Magazine
Photo Credit Todd Williamson/ Invision for The Hub/ AP Images.

As you can see he was a menace. He knocked over an easel and pulled all the mic’s off the table. Shortly thereafter the panel was over and all who were there to interview them stayed in the room preparing for the round table. Mulling around I started talking with a couple of guys. I met Ryan Brunty of Insert Coins 21+ arcade in Las Vegas and Shahab Zargari of Verbicide Magazine. Shahab really saved me with these pics from the interview, my SD card was still fried.

The actual interview was fairly mellow. The Aquabats looked very tired, and The Bat Commander was answering most of the questions. The most crucial piece of information was that the HUB is in talks to get the show renewed for a second season, but nothing is confirmed. When asked about a possible soundtrack for the show the band did say they had full length versions of all the songs either recorded or planned out. My hopes are high for some great music to come out of the show. We all shook hands and the group went and recorded some clips for HUBWORLD. I gathered my things and headed home. The next day called for all my energy as I was going to the concert at the House of Blues!

I arrived at the House of Blues and got my press ticket. Brandishing my entire Cadet Uniform I was ready to have a great night. I got some food and partook in the free bar. Now everyone who told me they would be at the show, WEREN’T! I’m looking at you Ben Dunn and Molly Mahan! I did bump into Matt Blackwood again and he snapped some more pics for me. I walked up to the bar and realized I was standing next to Shawn from Mega64! I said hi and we chatted for a bit and I followed him back to the group.

Eric Baudour, Garret Hunter, Shawn Chatfield, Rocco Botte, Lovable-Bill, Bryan Abou Chacra and Derrick Acosta of Mega64

What comes next is stories that are only told in movies and dreams. Eric Baudour and Bryan Abou Chacra and myself, right before the band came on, drank some pretty big shots of tequila and went downstairs into the pit. The second The Aquabats came on stage the crowd erupted into a frenzy. I instantly lost Eric and Bryan for the rest of the show. The ‘bats opened up with “Cat with Two Heads”, a classic from way back when. They played some old, some new and some that wasn’t theirs.

In normal fashion a monster showed up to terrorize the band. A GIANT DINOSAUR!

Photo Credit Matt Blackwood

After he was defeated the Bat Commander shouted “MAN! THAT WAS A TOUGH DINOSAUR DRAGON!”. Then we hear a voice exclaim that this wasn’t a real dragon and he knew who a real dragon is! Out walked Strongbad, from Homestarrunner. In reality it was Matt Chapman in a wrestling mask. Then a childhood dream came true. I witnessed Strongbad sing his hit song Trogdor while the Aquqbats played the tune!

Photo Credit Matt Blackwood

I was having a blast. The show just kept getting better and better. Another great guest was a San Diego local band that had been around forever called Rocket from the Crypt. They played one of their classic songs “Young Livers”. I had never heard of this band before but I was very impressed with their performance. More and more great songs churned out. When the band played “Burger Rain” the crowd from the VIP balcony dropped paper cheeseburgers down in a wonderful rain. It was truly a sight to behold.

The show ended and the crowd dispersed. I was sore, wet and satisfied. The HUB really has a passion for their fans and their shows. They put on a fabulous panel and a one of kind concert.

So you. If you don’t already have the HUB call whoever is your TV provider and demand it. Let’s keep support great people who love to make the world happy.

An SDCC Veteran Tells You What You Really Need To Know At Comic-Con!

by Shane O'Hare

This is the time of year. San Diego Comic Con is about to begin. This will be my 9th SDCC, and over the years I have developed a keen sense of how to have a crazy fun and pain free adventure into the Geek Mecca. Come with me as I give you some Tips & Tricks from a SDCC veteran. If this is your first year, make sure to check out the guide written up by our own Scott Alminiana! It is perfect for the guy who just doesn’t know what kind of adventure Comic Con is.

First off, the look. Yeah, comic con is the pinnacle of bad fashion and geek T-Shirts. Yeah, it’s okay to wear your 10 year old Joker shirt, but please look tidy. The old, virgin me (literally and figuratively)used to wear the Cargo shorts, Hookups Shirt and Golfing hat. FUCK I thought I looked so fly, but I didn’t. I looked like the comic shop owner from The Simpsons. If you look like an adult, you will be treated like an adult.

Next politeness. Be overly nice. The people working booths are going to be tired and worn thin, so you don’t wanna be THAT guy. Don’t ask a cosplayer to see her tits, even if you had cool Two-Toned hair like I did.

Wanna know what one of the most funnest panels that you don’t think would be fun for the everyday geek? Burn Notice. Or really any of the USA networks panels for that matter. Burn Notice is just Bruce Campbell being Bruce, having fun with the audience and telling funny stories. One year I went to it and he was giving out $20 bills to fans that asked flattering questions. Best part? Everyone in the audience gets a ticket, you go to a secret room hand them the ticket BOOM! Free shirt!

So with most of the common sense out of the way, lets get into the nitty gritty. Preview. Fucking. Night. If you are lucky enough to get into the most exclusive night then you are a lucky goose. First off, DO NOT BRING ANYTHING! The only thing open Preview Night is the convention floor, so it will be packed. The entirety of the attendees will all be sharing the same room together. There wont be a couple thousand in Hall H. There wont be the hundreds hanging out in Ballroom 20. They will all be there with you, cluttering up the main floor. If you have a bag or anything extra to carry, you are going to be bumped, torn and jostled more than an unwanted baby. Do not plan on buying anything either. Yeah, the Death Star collectors set from last year was fucking rad, but I saw a dude literally start crying from having to carry it around the floor for a few hours. Use preview night to check out some of the great booths, like GEEKSCAPE #3919 and pick out some stuff you wanna buy. Do your shopping Thursday or Sunday.

Now we all know the best part of the Con after hours is the fucking parties. There are a shit ton going on all around San Diego. Downtown has a bunch of bars and clubs that cater exclusive events such as the Suicide Girls from years past, after they were banned from SDCC. But you asked “Shane! I am not cool enough to get into some of the exclusive events, an I spent the most of my bribe money on Hasbro Exclusives (Like I am going to). WHAT PARTIES CAN I GET INTO?”. The easiest and cheapest party if you wanna see some cool people, isn’t even a party at all. It is the downstairs lobby bar for the Hyatt just a few blocks away from the convention center. Just wander in and hang out with the important people. This is the place where the famous tussle happened. This is also where I drunkenly yelled at whom I thought to be a random blonde, ended up being Tricia Helfer from BSG. I think I may have called her a stuck up bitch. I can’t remember much from that night.

Now we get to the most important part of the convention. Trying to hookup with hot chicks. Now, for most of you it is going to be a hard task. Most girls hot girls will have their shields up from all the picture requests and just want to head home with good old Mr. Hitachi Magicwand. The dorky nerdy girls will be oblivious to your come ons and more focused on the sweet swag or the KAWAII anime hats. So lets say you strike out preview night. Then Thursday. Then Friday. Saturday morning comes and you are getting desperate. You start browsing Craigslist while in line for signings. You’re getting drastic. Well NEVER FEAR SHANE IS HERE! Most people are aware of the grandiose masquerade. Ballroom 20 turns into cosplay heaven. You will most likely be geared to wandering into the giant ballroom to watch the fun. DO NOT DO THIS! This is a mistake. Instead get into the line dedicated for the ballroom overflow. This will lead you into the Sails Pavilion. Where SDCC has provided you a wonderful room for festivities. They put up a big ass projector and broadcast the costume contest via CCTV for you to see. There are tables, chairs and most importantly BOOZE! The vodka cranberrys they make here are cheap, get you drunk (possibly crunk) and ready for fun. Keep feeding yourself booze until the contest is over. Then you will see the Sails Pavilion turn from modest theater to FANTASTIC NIGHT CLUB! A DJ emerges from the back, the lights go down and the music goes up. What was before a group of conservative and quiet nerds is now a raving mosh pit of drunk party goers. People in costume jumping, dancing and twirling glowsticks is really a sight to be seen. Speaking as an electro DJ, the music is usually pretty good. The best part though is the fruit. The low hanging fruit. AKA the girls who couldn’t get into the Stan Lee party and are bummed out are now drunk and in their slutty Anime Nurse costumes looking for fun. Buy them a Vodka Cranberry, make it a double, and apply dance moves. No one cares how bad you are at it, the only light will be glowsticks and strobes. If you do not care about what kind of costume she is wearing, this is your place to pick up some ladies. This goes to about 1 AM!

PROTIP: Behind the curtains just beyond the DJ booth are more tables. Perfect for an anonymous encounter with a cosplaying lady.

Afterwards if you are still standing, you can find a golf cart and drive it a few blocks to the Hyatt and randomly join up with a BSG tweetup.

So that’s that! Come, have fun, be flexible with your schedule and life will be glorious this weekend. HEY! If you are clever enough with tools, you could make a GoPro mount for your shoes! Perfect for those booth babe photo ops!

Before The Doors Open: Photos From The SDCC Floor!

by Shane O'Hare

Today me and our fearless leader got into the San Diego Comic Con and snapped some photos of the show floor, before ANYONE else! Take a look below!

SO! Come! Stay a while and listen! We are at booth #3919! And keep checking the site for updated schedule of special guests!

UPDATE: Michael Fassbender To Star As Desmond Miles In ‘Assassin’s Creed’ Movie

by Shane O'Hare

That’s right folks! It was announced today that Michael Fassbender will not only be Co-Producing the Assassin’s Creed film adaptation, but he will be STARRING in it too!

“Michael Fassbender was our first choice” to play the franchise’s iconic hooded hero, said Jean-Julien Baronnet, CEO of Paris-based Ubisoft Motion Pictures. “Michael (Fassbender) is an extremely smart, talented, versatile and committed actor.”

Talks with Sony have since halted and the French videogame developer has created it’s own studio, Ubisoft Motion Pictures, and plans on releasing not only the Assassin’s Creed movies on their own but Splinter Cell and Ghost Recon ones as well!

Though the release doesn’t say WHO Fassbender will be playing, we can all assume he is going to be the series protagonist Desmond Miles.

For more info check out the full story HERE.

UPDATE: LA Times has now confirmed that the actor will be playing the role of Desmond Miles.

Fassbender, who will play Miles, has a unique cachet. He’s a highly skilled actor who’s also hugely popular, something that can’t be said of many of the actors who’ve tried this before.

 

CBS Films Is Adapting ‘Deus Ex’ For The Big Screen

by Shane O'Hare

In a stunning “out-of-left-field” move, CBS Films has optioned the phenomenally successful “Deus Ex” series of video games and are actually involving the Square team in the development of the film. Roy Lee and Geekscape friend Adrian Askarieh are attached to produce with John P. Middleton executive producing.

CBS Films C0-President, Terry Press was quoted:

As is clear from the wild success of the game, Square Enix and Eidos-Montréal know how to exceed their audience’s expectations by engineering incredible worlds, No one knows Human Revolution like the team that created it and we look forward to working with them from day one to make a film adaptation worthy of the Deus Ex name.

So they’re bringing the whole Square team on board. That is one of the smartest decisions a film studio can make in wanting to do a video game adaptation. It is a trend that is starting to make sense (just look at ‘Marvel’). The people who create these worlds know what should go into the story and characters from a fan perspective. Deus Ex is one of the most powerful narrative driven games out there so I for one am very excited to see what comes of this.

Source: Deadline

The My Little Pony Friendship Express Trolley Sighting

by Shane O'Hare

We recently posted about the My Little Pony goings on during Comic Con. Specifically that San Diego Metro and The HUB were turning one of the trolleys into the MLP:Friendship Express! Now a intrepid user Fabian has spotted and recorded the Trolley in San Diego. Check it out below.

OMGOSHOMGOSHOMGOSHOMGOSHOMGOSH!!! I am jumping with delight! I cannot wait for Comic Con! If you are attending the convention be sure to ride the trolley, and come by the Geekscape Booth #3919 and say hello to your truly!

‘The Expendables 2’ Exclusive Comic Con Poster.

by Shane O'Hare

If you are a fan of the Expendables, and really who isn’t, then Hall H is the place you want to be.

Not only is Lionsgate hosting a gigantic panel that features the likes of Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dolph Lundgren, Terry Crews, and Randy Couture. They are giving away, to the first 250 attendees THIS poster signed by the cast!

Valve Announces Steam Greenlight: You Can Help Decide What Goes in The Steam Store

by Shane O'Hare

The merry band of merry makers merrily marched their way into yet another gaming field. Today they announce their community driven game approval process “Steam Greenlight”

Steam Greenlight, in a nutshell, is Valves method of streamlining the game approval process. It allows developers to submit their game with screenshots, details, specs and trailers and lets the Steam community vote on weather or not the game gets put into the store!

Now I personally think this is great, but I have two concerns with some of their requirements.

Are there any restrictions on what can be posted?

Your game must not contain offensive material or violate copyright or intellectual property rights.

Not contain offensive material? That is pretty vague. I feel that leaves a big window open for valve to say no to certain games and yet let others pass no problem. I am sure some people find a lot of the M rated games on Steam to be offensive. I would like more clarification on this. Safe to say that stuff like JFK: Reloaded will NOT make it onto the store.

What do I need in order to submit my game?

You’ll need a valid and non-limited Steam account (yes, that means you’ll need to own a game on Steam).

Interesting. What constitutes as “owning” a game. Do free to play games like TF2 Free or Fallen Earth count? Is this just a nice way of saying ” you need to grease our palms BEFORE you submit a game that we take a cut of.”.

Those two gripes aside, this is still PRETTY exciting! I can’t wait to see what comes of this.

The Aquabats Have Super Rad Merch for Comic Con 2012

by Shane O'Hare

The crazy cool teenaged superheroes The Aquabats! will be some heavy hitters this year at San Diego Comic Con! Not only will they have a panel on Friday, but merchandizer ToddLand will be selling some crazy cool gear at their booth! Take a look at their menu of cool!

 

So if you are able to attend the con, check out booth #3449

SEGA Officially Announces American Release of Phantasy Star Online 2

by Shane O'Hare

Today SEGA informed the world that the Free 2 Play update of their juggernaut MMO, Phantasy Star Online 2, will in fact be getting a North American and Western Release. Check out the teaser trailer below.

GOD DAMN! This old PSO1&2 veteran just got giddy as a school girl. SEGA says the Western release of the game will be early 2013. For more info on the game check out their teaser site HERE.

Did You Like The Mass Effect 3 Extended Cut? Get The Music FREE!

by Shane O'Hare

The chaps over at BioWare have another positive move in order to please fans. The release of the extended cut ending that was released Tuesday, that offered players 1.8 Gigs of new cut scenes, choices and most importantly CLOSURE. Along with it, the developer has released the “Extended Cut Soundtrack“.

Consisting of seven songs created by composer Sam Hulick for the new content, it is FREE for any and all who wish to have some delicious Mass Effect sounds on their Zune.

An account for BioWare’s social site is required, but after that it is fairly painless to get the songs. Take a gander at the awesome, albeit short soundtrack here!

Fuck me that is good. I always loved the music from this series, the first one had a real big Blade Runner vibe and that sold me SO hard on the game.

Expect ‘The Walking Dead: Season 2’ From Telltale Games

by Shane O'Hare

Today we got some nice juicy details confirmed by Steve Allison, Telltale Games VP of Marketing . In a recent interview with Polygon he stated:

“Following the digital release of our fifth episode we will also be coming to North American retail shortly thereafter and this will not be the last The Walking Dead game series that we do.”

So, if you are the kind of person that doesn’t like watching a show as it comes out week to week and would rather have the DVD boxed set at the end of the day, do not fear! The entire Season 1 of The Walking Dead game will show up as a collected works not long after the last episode is released.

This is fantastic news! The Telltale Games version of The Walking Dead has been praised as the best version of The Walking Dead out there by our fearless leader and myself as well. They are really putting all of Telltales talent towards making a really slick game.

When asked about the Activision shooter set in the same universe Steve was quoted saying

“Regarding today’s announcement of a project based [on] the AMC TV series coming in 2013,” Allison said, “as huge fans of the franchise and the show, we’re looking forward to seeing Terminal Reality’s game when it comes out.”

Murder Brits With This Assassin’s Creed Steel Tomahawk

by Shane O'Hare

You to can relive moments from the great American Revolution with your own Assassins Tomahawk! FEEL THE BLOOD OF YOUR ENEMIES ON YOUR COLD STEEL! The folks over at The Deals Only Webstore have put up, what I believe to be the COOLEST toy since the Halo Plasma Weapons offered from HotTopic. Take a gander at some of the pics below!

The DELICIOUS excerpt from the site makes me want this even more than I did before.

A warrior is defined by his weapon. An extension of his arm, his character is reflected in his instrument of war.

These axes are 17.5″ inches of pure grace. The blades is finely crafted of pure steel, firmly gripping the beautifully decorated wood handle. The lower grip is padded with realistic faux leather, and the upper neck is adorned with additional decorations including a feather charm.

This piece will feel great in your hand, and is weighted well to facilitate strong swings. This tomahawk is a fantastic piece for any collector, and is great for costumes and cosplay.

Be prepared for the revolution.

Features:

  • Finely crafted steel blade
  • Beautiful wooden handle
  • Quality faux leather grip and decorations
  • Great for costumes and collections

Did you read that last bit? “Be prepared for the revolution”. My Alaskan, red meat eating, Ron Paul Loving, .44 Magnum bear killing heart got a tad bit aroused after reading that. For only $40 plus shipping I am SO READY FOR THE REVOLUTION!

Peep This Final Fantasy VII for PC Announcement Trailer!

by Shane O'Hare

July 4th is just a day of days. Not only did we get a new AC3 trailer, depicting our country rising up against the British, but our eye holes are graced with the confirmation of the FFVII PC rumors that have been going around. Gaze upon a trailer, about a group of freedom fighters rising up against the evil Shinra Corp.

Unlike the BADASS AC3 trailer, this one falls a tad short. With the announcement we also get the specs for the PC, which reveal a few fears I’ve had.

-Microsoft Windows XP/Vista/7 (32/64-bit)
-2GHz Processor or faster
-1GB RAM
-DirectX 9-compatible graphic card

So all the rumblings that this is a HD remake or a full redo like what we witnessed in the PS3 tech demo have been debunked. What this ends up being is a PC re-release available through the Square Online store. Yeah the extra online features are nice, but I have serious doubts it can compete with some of the community mods of the game, like the Final Fantasy VII Remix that is floating out there that comes with a stack of Hi-Res texture mods.

COME ON SQUARE! WE WANT A FF7 GAME THAT LOOKS LIKE ADVENT CHILDREN!

Celebrate Independence Day With The New Assassin’s Creed III Trailer ‘Rise’

by Shane O'Hare

Today, July 4th. American Independence Day. And on one of the most historically auspicious days for our country we are reminded of our fight for independence by a French video game developer. Check out the newest trailer for AC3 sent to us by Ubisoft!

Damn. That was REALLY good. Ubisoft definitely took a note from the Halo adverts with this one. The hype for this game just will not stop, and I am SO excited for its release. Hopefully what Ubisoft shows us at San Diego Comic Con will keep this hype train rolling.

And I hope that you laugh at the fact that this is the UK marketing trailer as well.

Exclusive: Official My Little Pony: FiM Inspirational Posters and Trolley for SDCC

by Shane O'Hare

The super rad fine folks over at The HUB have clued the Geekscape team in on some of the special things they have planned for this years San Diego Comic Con. They have made eight official “My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic” inspirational posters that will be part of the decor at their booth and their special Trolley car! Check out the awesome below!

They also let us know that they will have an “MLP:FiM” trolley that runs on the San Diego Trolley lines! It is a special trolley car called The Friendship Express. It starts running on the city trolley tracks this Saturday, June 30th, and runs through the entire month of July!

Also, SDCC released their Friday schedule today and there IS a pony panel going on.

10:00-11:00 Hasbro Studios: My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic— Panelists from Hasbro Studios and The HUB TV Network’s My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic share details of the making of the animated series and how the “friendship” and “magic” are brought to life. Fans won’t want to miss it! Also includes Q&A time. Room 23ABC

So if you are going to be at the convention, make sure you get a ticket to ride with the Mane 6!

Guild Wars 2 Release Date Revealed

by Shane O'Hare

The GENIUSES over at Arenanet have been saying for a year now “Guild Wars 2 will come out when we are done with it. OK?”. I have been eagerly craving this game since the first announcement waaaaay back before 2010. So I thought today the news of the games arrival was just my eyes playing tricks. I refreshed the page numerous times. I thought it was lies. Then I saw this video.

OH! YES! YOU SAW IT HERE FOLKS! AUGUST 28TH!

Let us bow our heads to the ArenaNet and thank them for this fall bounty.

Pokemon Black & White Version 2 Gets US Release Date

by Shane O'Hare

That’s right boys and girls. You get the chance to return to the Unova region. Two years after the events in the first B&W. October 7th!

Though the game is played only in 2D, 3DS owners get some nifty additional perks.

If they are playing on Nintendo 3DS, players can transfer Pokémon they have caught with Pokémon Dream Radar into their Pokémon Black Version 2 and Pokémon White Version 2games (visible in 2D only). Pokémon Dream Radar lets players use several different features of the Nintendo 3DS system, including the Nintendo 3DS camera, motion control and augmented-reality technology, to discover and catch Pokémon. The game includes hard-to-find Pokémon such as the new Therian Formes of Legendary Pokémon Tornadus, Thundurus and Landorus.

For more deets check out the official website 

Team Fortress 2 ‘Pyromania: Day 3’ Meet the Pyro and Source Filmmaker

by Shane O'Hare

Well it’s over. The Pyromania three day event is done, and it finished with flourish. Haaaaaave you met Pyro?

Well, that was…interesting. I can safely say that was the best “Meet The” video hands down. Today not only marks the end of Pyromania but it introduces the newest tool from Valve. The Source Filmmaker.

Source Filmmaker (SFM) is the tool Valve developed inside the source engine that it used to animate all nine of the TF2 shorts. It takes an entire animation studio and puts it inside a single gaming PC. From the Press Release.

The goal of the SFM was to develop a story telling tool that allowed us to create computer animated movies more efficiently, and with greater creative freedom,” said Bay Raitt, designer at Valve. “Over the past five years, we’ve produced more than 50 animated shorts with the SFM. The Source Filmmaker will allow our community to create their own movies in Team Fortress 2 and in their own Source SDK-created mods.

SFM is currently in a closed beta, but Valve is going to release it FREE OF CHARGE later this year.

I don’t like to throw this word around too often, but this is fucking AMAZING! What Valve is bringing to gamers and machinma artists alike is nothing but astounding. I cannot wait to see what groups like Lit Fuse Films will be able to do with this tool.

For more info on SFM check out the official page.

Day 2 of Pyromania is HERE.

Quantum Conundrum Gets A Real Life Game Show Hosted by Kevin Pereira

by Shane O'Hare

It was just announced that the quirky puzzle-adventure-game, Quantum Conundrum, will be getting its own real life game show, and it’s hosted by Kevin Pereira! Check out the teaser trailer below.

From the Press Release:

Unsuspecting contestants are transformed and taken to real-life fluffy, heavy, anti-gravity and slow motion dimensions in “The Super Dimensional Quantum Learning’s Problems and Solutions Gametime Spectacular!!” Joining host Kevin Pereira is Professor Quadwrangle’s pet, an Interdimensional Kinetic Entity better known as Ike. On the show, Ike is a one-of-a-kind puppet hand-crafted by industry veteran, Russ Walko.

“I’d be in the crazy dimension to pass up the role as host for the most epic show ever,” said host Kevin Pereira, former host of “Attack of the Show.” “Have you SEEN Ike? How can you say no to anything involving that little guy?”

You can tag me on Facebook as excited! Check out some sneak peak screens as well!

While you are at it, check out our own Molotov Cupcake’s review of the game

The Walking Dead: Episode 2 Gets A Release Date | Mini Review of Episode 1

by Shane O'Hare

Telltale Games very successful narrative driven, pseudo point-and-click adventure game, “The Walking Dead” gets its second episode release date. And it’s sooner than you think.

Xbox players can dive into “Episode 2: Starved for Help” TODAY! Whereas PS3 and PC players have to wait until Friday.

This episode takes up three months after the end of the first one. Your character, Lee Everett and whomever he befriended and saved, have been held up in a motel that they have barricaded up in. Food has officially run out and more survivors are approaching the stronghold.

Data collected from players decisions will help Telltale craft upcoming episodes. I myself just finished the first episode a few hours ago. This is the first time in a LONG while that a narrative in a game has driven me to keep playing. I particularly enjoy the relationship mechanic in this game. You meetup with some characters early on and have to explain your relationship with a small girl. You can tell the truth or choose from a couple of lies. You decide what sounds right. Then you have to keep the lies or truth up throughout the game, and some characters may try to break holes in your story. Another cool feature I liked was the ally system. In heated arguments between two NPCs, you can interject and weather or not if you chose to defend them they will remember your choices. Their loyalty to you will depend on how you choose to interact with them. Couple that with some pretty fucked up decisions you have to make, the story is truly customized to your choices.

The story is great, and I really felt like my decisions meant something.

Check out the official website for the game HERE

Check out Jonathan’s review of Episode 1 HERE

You can buy the season pass for STEAM HERE

Check out the episode 2 trailer below. Bare in mind that your choices in the game affect the contents of the trailer (you see this at the end of episode 1). This one I am showing you is drastically different from the one I got.

FarCry 3 PC Delayed Until 2013

by Shane O'Hare

The folks over at Ubisoft have dropped a few bombs. After hearing that the upcoming FarCry 3 was going to be pushed back from September 6th to November 26th, we find out that the PC version will not be released until 2013!!!

On a Romanian blog Ubisoft Employee “Alex” says the PC version of both Assassin’s Creed III and FarCry 3 will be delayed due to a contract signed with Microsoft and Sony. AC3 ships on November 23rd but inexplicably FC3 gets pushed back to 2013!

The ongoing rumor is because of Ubisoft trying to get their DRM and Anti-Piracy locked down but “Alex” assures readers that it is because of a delayed launch contract that was signed recently by the two console companies. Does this kind of show M$ and Sony’s attitude towards the PC market? Are the two console giants starting to be afraid of the home PC market again? Only time will tell.

Source: Tech Source

DCS: P-51D Mustang: The Crysis of Flight Sims Announces New Iteration

by Shane O'Hare

The spiritual successor to Microsoft Combat Simulator and IL2, Digital Combat Simulator continues to impress. Check out the GORGEOUS trailer below.

Featuring two modes, first an “Easy-To-Play” mode that lets anyone jump and and start flying, think arcade mode. Second a full simulation mode, they claim it “is the most authentic simulation of the P-51D Mustang that has ever been done for the PC”

My personal favorite part, besides the fucking graphics, is the 32 player multiplayer. That will be ballistically fun.

If they can pull off proper damage models and have realistic physics, this is a no-brainer for any flight enthusiast .

You can pre-purchase the game HERE and get early beta access as well.

Team Fortress 2 ‘Pyromania: Day One’ Begins, Culminating with “Meet The Pyro”

by Shane O'Hare

That’s right Team Fortress 2 fanboys and Valve lovers. You read it correctly. At the end of this week we will have the “Meet The Pyro” video!

If you have been living under a rock for the past few years, let me bring you up to speed. Periodically, Valve has released small vignettes introducing the different classes from their hit team shooter, Team Fortress 2. They’ve been critically received and highly praised all around. The gaming community for a while now has been craving the one introducing the Pyro class. The wait is over.

Announced today over on the TF2 blog that this week is PYROMANIA!

Day One sneaks the peek at the new map “Doomsday”.

Doomsday pits BLU against RED, with only one team getting the honor of transporting a suitcase nuke full of recalled Mann Co. Australium to American monkeynaut Poopy Joe’s rocket, so he can blast off and hunt down Soviet space chimp Vladimir Bananas. It’s the same spirit of competitive enterprise that stalled the moon landing by three years when Buzz Aldrin suplexed Neil Armstrong into a pile of folding chairs at Astromania ’69! Both teams will attempt to get the necessary fuel up a preposterously slow-moving elevator and into Poopy Joe’s Australium-powered rocket to the stars.

So keep and eye out here and the TF2 blog for more updates as they come out!