Grab your kit gears, we’re going back in against the grubs and we’re taking no prisoners!

In today’s installment of RAD, we welcome Blistered Thumbs own Micah onto the show to talk Gears of War 3:Raam’s shadow. Birdman and Micah break down the latest piece of single player DLC for the Epic Games’ shooter. This time we are set in a post Emergence day Sera but before the days of Delta Squad as we’re out to evacuated a Locust infested city before time runs out. This DLC also lets us take Locust General Raam for a test drive against some very unfortunate COG forces and what can we say,its fun to slaughter the Gears with a swarm of kyrll and a giant damned knife!
Is this DLC worth the 1200 microsoft points or it is better to wait for this single serving DLC?

Send your feedback and hate mail to mike@thisweekingeek.net or call our voice mail line at 817-717-7202

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Click to watch Birdman’s Forgotten Saturday Mornings-Thursday & Friday Nights from 12 AM EST till 3 am
Click here to download RAD episode Gears of War 3:Raam’s shadow
Click here to subscribe to Reviewaday on iTunes

Check out my new Channel Awesome X picture from Andrew Dickman
Go here to see Birdman fused with awesome!

Huge thanks to Axur for the fantastic new RAD animated RAD intro
Please check out his Deviant Art page and check out his work and commission some awesome stuff!

Music
MegaRan-RAD theme
Gary Jules-Mad World

Visit Birdman’s website here: http://www.reviewaday.ca
Be sure to check out Birdman’s other website This Week in Geek for more great geek content!

To get in touch with Micah C, you can follow him on Twitter, or check out his blog at thecynicscorner.tumblr.com

Series Episodes:

Episode 01: Alliance http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXfVuK6dHVY
Episode 02: Seeker http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7NZltO838I
Episode 03: Silence http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tadX6MmvtFU
Episode 04: Avenger http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrwI0jKTnOs
Episode 05: Shatter http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MrJzFZTpOw
Episode 06: Strife http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCumPYwyHjw
Episode 07: Interloper http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xY0oif6OIo
Episode 08: Nefarious http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2IPfL2COGc

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Welcome back to Birdman’s Boombox! We prepare to engage our warp engines all the way up to 11 with today’s interview and listening party!
Warp 11 is not easily classified. At first glance, their torn Federation uniforms might lead you to believe it’s a farce. But Warp 11 is no parody band. This is serious original music, amplifying the raw energy of Green Day, the rebellion of the Beastie Boys, the wit of Weezer and the hard driving tradition of AC/DC into fresh songs that simply won’t leave your head.

Warp 11 is also not a tribute band. While the band members are astute sci-fi / fantasy fans, fully engaging in the occasional D&D game, their music is too honest to be considered a tribute. Instead, Warp 11 lyrics are clever social commentary on the impacts of genre media franchises – a humorous look that is both celebratory and playfully self-deprecating.

Based in Sacramento, the band members spent years in several local punk and hard rock bands honing their musical chops. Their rock-god prowess is demonstrated at packed live gigs throughout Northern California where the band has built a strong, loyal following. Warp 11 shows find an unlikely mix of the sci-fi convention-savvy and the rock club elite all wearing sci-fi costumes, dancing and shouting lyrics to favorites such as “Seven of Mine.” It seems only a matter of time before Warp 11 cannot be contained in California any longer and a warp core breach brings the fun to the world at large.

Their latest release (CD number 6 in their arsenal) is their first concept album entitled “Borgasm.” It’s like Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” meets Rush “2112” meets Williams Shatners “The Transformed Man”

TRACKS PLAYED:
Jerk my Kirk
I Don’t Want to Go to Heaven as Long as They Have Vulcans in Hell
She’s wired

You can find out more by Visiting their official website
and checking out their music and more at The Official Warp 11 Store

Geeks:

Mike “The Birdman” Dodd

Captain Karl Miller of Warp 11

TWIG would like to thank our Sponsors this season for their services

GameAccess.ca
Spacemonkey Mafia Studios

Make sure you Interact with the show via:
Email: Feedback@thisweekingeek.net
Voicemail: 817 717 7202

Be Sure to help as: Birdman Gives Back We are raising money for Toronto’s Sick Kids Hospital
We’re doing a 24 hour charity video game marathon and we will be live streaming the entire event at Birdman’s LiveStream

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Click here to download Birdman’s Boombox Warp 11

RAD Special!

It’s Monday so that means yet another RAD vlog, however this one holds a special place in Birdman’s Heart.

Birdman has decided to take on a monumental challenge and try to change some lives! Mike will be doing a 24 hour marathon for charity and playing some great video games and raising money for Toronto Sick Kids Hospital via Extra Life.Org . Charity work is something that Birdman believes in wholeheartedly and always tries to get involved when a particular cause ruffles his feathers. We even got ourselves our own specialized place where you can donate to this awesome cause! You can donate here at BirdmanGivesBack.com
Be sure to donate and watch the Birdman struggle through a literal gauntlet of games

Check out Warehouse 9 at
here

Special thanks to Ven Hosky
Follow her Twitter @Gethenian
Tell her Birdman sent ya!

Send your feedback and hate mail to mike@thisweekingeek.net or call our voicemail line at 817-717-7202

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Visit Birdman’s website here: http://www.reviewaday.ca
Be sure to check out Birdman’s other website This Week in Geek for more great geek content!

In this special interview on This Week in Geek, we get a chance to talk to one of Spike TV’s coolest guys…Geoff Desmoulin from “Deadliest Warrior”.

Birdman and Geoff sit down and talk about the “Deadliest Warrior” and all the fun that goes into creating one of the funnest shows on television. Geoff also shares what it took to become involved in the show and some of the behind the scenes work that goes into every episode of the show. Birdman also tests Geoff’s skills by placing two of the greatest fictional bad asses against each other….television’s Jack Bauer vs Die Hard films hero John McClane and find out who emerges victorious….
Take a listen and learn some fun new facts about the show,Geoff himself and ultimately who wins a battle of the bad asses!

TWIG would like to thank our Sponsors this season for their services

Just Push Play Arcade.com
GameAccess.ca
Spacemonkey Mafia Studios

Make sure you Interact with the show via:
Email: Feedback@thisweekingeek.net
Voicemail: 817 717 7202

Click here to follow Our Twitter @thisweekingeek
Click here to follow Mike D Twitter @BirdmanDodd

Subscribe to us using iTunes
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Click here to download TWIG Special Interview Geoff Desmoulin

Birdman is getting married!
That’s right guys! Birdman is finally settling down with a soon to be Mrs Birdman but he has to do one final podcast as a single man!
Steve “Snowball” Saylor joins our soon to be wedded pair to share some stories and have some fun as only the TWIG crew knows how to do.
However some celebrities show up to send Birdman off on his next great journey from Duke Nukem to some famous anime voices and more!
Its going to be a nerdy wedding and it’ll be one to remember!

Birdman’s wedding registry

TWIG would like to thank our Sponsors this season for their services

Just Push Play Arcade.com
Console Repair guy.com
GameAccess.ca
Spacemonkey Mafia Studios

Make sure you Interact with the show via:
Email: Feedback@thisweekingeek.net
Voicemail: 817 717 7202

Click here to follow Our Twitter @thisweekingeek
Click here to follow Mike D Twitter @BirdmanDodd
Click Here to follow Steve S Twitter @SteveSaylor
Click here to follow Mike L Twitter @mikelaidman
Click here to follow Mike B Twitter @TFG1Mike
Click here to follow Matt S Twitter @baltmatrix
Click here to follow Ryan M @Nightbeat
Click here to follow Clark P @superfanclark
Click here to follow Scotty B @scottydoo32

And Click here to check out Laidman’s webcomic Mike’s Stupid Comics

Geeks:
Mike “The Birdman” Dodd
Blaire “Buzzy” Dodd
Steve “Snowball”
Jon St John aka Duke Nukem
Brentalfloss
Dragonball Z Announcer
Gohan
Stan Bush

;Subscribe to us using iTunes
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Use any other podcatching client by using http://feeds.feedburner.com/thisweekingeek
or
Click here to download TWIG Wedding night special!

Birdman returns from his sudden hiatus to let everyone know what happened during Resident Evil theme week and why there hasn’t been a new show since. Mike shares the details of what’s happened during all the time as Mike prides himself on sharing his life with you, the community.
A very serious series of events happened to Mike’s Dad and it got tremendously serious very quickly and Mike was at the hospital for the last 2 weeks.
As a result of an illness and ongoing complications with his father and family, RAD will be taking a hiatus til August at the earliest.
Mike is also getting married during July and will be taking time off for that as well. We do have some good news however….
Mike will be appearing with Spoony and Angry Joe, Keith Apicary and the first canadian appearance at Con Bravo in Burlington,Ontario,Canada on July 30-31
For more details visit Con Bravo website

Til next time guys, Live free or die hard!
Also, thank you to everyone who has called,emailed,texted or anything during this very difficult time.
It has been tremendously appreciated.

Send your feedback and hate mail to mike@thisweekingeek.net or call our voicemail line at 817-717-7202

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Click to watch Birdman’s Forgotten Saturday Mornings-Thursday & Friday Nights from 12 AM EST till 3 am (Show will return in August)
Click here to download RAD Hiatus
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Music
Pierce Derks original composition
Jack Wall-The illusive man
Visit Birdman’s website here: http://www.reviewaday.ca

What madness is this?
ANOTHER Video from Birdman?!?!
In this special video leading up to RAD”s return next week with Resident Evil theme week, we decide to walk you through Birdman’s collection of video games!
Take a small tour through the RAD Studio’s and see a little bit behind the scenes as we show off some of Birdman’s collection to you right here!
We managed to squeeze a fat guy and a crap ton of video games into one small two bedroom house along with Birdman’s Arcade machines and so much more!
Expect more video content from Vito and Birdman and Scotty in the future as they do more collection videos and take a look at some of the gaming community in southern Ontario!

RAD returns on Monday with RESIDENT EVIL THEME WEEK!
7 games,7 days of RESIDENT EVIL!

Look for Birdman, ScottyDoo and Vito at the CGCC Video Game Swap meet in Kitchener-THIS SUNDAY!
Expect video very soon!

So guys again thanks so much for you support and I hope you guys enjoy the video featuring two great friends of mine, Scottydoo32 and Vito aka Pixels2polygons.

Pixels2polygons on youtube - http://www.youtube.com/user/Pixels2Polygons

Send your feedback and hate mail to mike@thisweekingeek.net or call our voicemail line at 817-717-7202

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Music
8 Bit boys

Visit Birdman’s website here: http://www.reviewaday.ca

For those who may not know what Video Games Live is, let me explain. Mix video game music played by a live orchestra, add a choir and there you have Video Games Live! This concept was created by video game industry icon Tommy Tallarico. He is a very successful video game composer/television personality, with over 21 years experience in the video gaming industry and has won numerous awards.

At the beginning of the show, attendees have the opportunity to walk around and check out various vendors. This allowed for demos of various games, introduction of products from Microsoft as well as Rogers, and a Guitar Hero competition.

The show is setup with a live orchestra, conductor, and choir. Above them are three screens that will display visuals to go along with the music, or events taking place on stage. The concert itself features the orchestra playing music from a wide variety of games from obscure gems such as Chrono Trigger/Chrono Cross, to popular tracks from fan favourites like Mario, The Legend of Zelda, and Halo. However, sometimes the music can be a mixed bag. The team has to pick and choose which songs they will perform, and not everyone’s favourite will be played. Nevertheless, the production and quality of the music, along with the atmosphere makes even a song an attendee does not recognize very enjoyable.

The show also likes to mix things up. Between songs, short videos were shown on the screens including my personal favourite “Top 10 Worst Voice Acting in Games”, and mashup videos that combine two games for example Mortal Kombat vs Donkey Kong. These videos quickly became a crowd favourite and everyone around me was laughing.

There is a huge emphasis on crowd interaction. Tommy Tallarico encourages attendees to clap, yell, cheer and anything they see fit. Also, there was a live Frogger competition on stage between two members of the audience chosen at random. And it does not stop there, during the Guitar Hero competition mentioned earlier, the winner was able to come on stage to play a song from the game live with Tommy Tallarico on his guitar.

Video Games Live also features the Video Game Pianist himself Martin Leung (http://www.videogamepianist.com). Martin has become a worldwide sensation when his viral video of him playing the Super Mario Bros theme song while blindfolded on the piano hit the internet. The crowd was treated to the pianist playing numerous songs on the piano and even re-enacted the famous video with the blindfold.

Mention has to be given to Laura “Flute Link” Intravia (http://lauraintravia.com). This woman is a tiny powerhouse that lends her incredible voice to lyrics of various video game songs. Laura also performed the routine that caught the creator’s attention, and landed her the spot on the tour. This routine features Laura playing the flute dressed as Link from The Legend of Zelda series.

Tommy Tallarico shines as the host, and guitar player. His personality and love for the industry shines here, captivates the audience and makes them as tho they are all part of one gaming community.

Overall, Video Games Live is an experience I will not be forgetting anytime soon. Gamers of all ages can enjoy tunes from classics such as Pac-man right up to tunes from recently released games such as Portal. The production, orchestra, and choir combined with various talents provide a new way to appreciate the music in video games. Video Games Live shows the audience how far along music in the gaming industry has really come.

A vote for Dodd is a vote for PsyDodd!

In celebration of Canada’s 2011 election. We present to you to our pick for Canada’s next prime minster…Mike “The Birdman” Dodd.
Birdman stands a firm platform of complete dominance over Canada and promises giant robots,ninjas on every street corner and of course.a ZOMBIE PLAN!
What politician has a ZOMBIE PLAN?!?!?!
NO ONE!

Birdman wants you to vote for the right choice to take over Canada….

Birdman has returned from lands afar and he has brought along with him… educator, nerd, hip hop artist Random aka MegaRan.
Today on Review a Day, we take a break from the video games and put on something totally different… a hip hop album based on Final Fantasy 7 called “Black Materia”.
Birdman invites MegaRan onto the show to talk about the creation of Black Materia and its collaboration between its many artists such as The Ranger, Brentalfloss and many others.
It’s a review, it’s an interview and it’s a listening party all rolled into one!
You’ve got to admit it’s a pretty good deal eh?

If you like what you hear, go to Here and pick up Black Materia

Check out the Japan Remix of “Cry of the Planet”
All proceeds will go to help out Japan!
Click here to buy the new Cry of the Planet single to help out Japan

Send us your feedback and hate mail to mike@thisweekingeek.net or call our voicemail line at 817-717-7202

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Click here to download RAD Episode 183-Black Materia
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Music
Pierce Derks original composition

Selected Tracks
MegaRan & Lost Perception-Avalanche
MegaRan & Lost Perception-Cry of the planet
MegaRan & Lost Perception-Aerith (Additional vocals by Spiral Arm)

Visit Birdman’s website here: http://www.reviewaday.ca

Buy the game from GameAccess.ca
After a decade of waiting, iconic Marvel and Capcom characters join forces again in a re-envisioned team fighting game for a new generation. Fill the shoes of legendary characters from the most beloved franchises in entertainment as you battle in a living comic book brought to life in a VS. fighting game for the first time by Capcom’s MT Framework. Get set for the ultimate faceoff when Marvel vs. Capcom 3 hits PlayStation 3 on February 15 2011!

Innovative graphics and gameplay bring the Marvel and Capcom Universes to life: Powered by an advanced version of MT Framework, the engine used in Resident Evil 5 and Lost Planet 2, now comes to Marvel vs. Capcom 3, bringing beautiful backgrounds and character animations to the forefront.
Evolved VS. Fighting System: Wild over-the-top gameplay complete with signature aerial combos, hyper combos and other original systems. The evolved battle system takes the exciting mind-reading game to a whole new level!
3-on-3 Tag Team Fighting: Players build their own perfect team and use Assist Attacks and each character’s special moves to create their own unique fighting style.
Living Comic Book Art Style: See the most adored characters from the Capcom and Marvel universes brought to life in a “moving comic” style, blurring the boundaries between 2D and 3D graphics.

Now I know the particular song stylings of Brentalfloss are not for everyone, especially if you have a vag and boobs, but I am solidly a fan. His advanced training in music is evident when he plays his beautiful a capella interpretations of the Super Mario melodies on his piano and he is a thoroughly competent drummer. These skills as well as his vocal talents and writing skills were showcased in the Jamspace on Friday afternoon at 2:30 pm. He ana special gues guitarist named Dan played a set including some of the old favourites (and of course, to my constant annoyance, his most popular “Tetris Song”) and some newer material that I had not yet heard, such as Zelda II with lyrics and a pokemon song. He put on a good show, throwing candy into the crowd at random intervals (a twix hit me in the bum!) and inviting input from the crowd of about 60. The highlight of the show was the madlibs of his Mega Man 3 with lyrics song and hilarity ensued.

I feel like I’m constantly apologizing for my shortcomings, and in a fine tradition… here I go again. I had never heard the Protomen before MAGFest. I know, right? What the fuck is wrong with me? Well, I’m almost glad because hearing their recordings after the fact, I probably would not have been as excited about them. Don’t get me wrong, they are awesome on their CDs. They just rock so much more live! Seriously, as soon as they hit that first note of the first song of their set on Friday night (from their CD “Act I”) I was hooked. When we went back to see them again the second night I was exhausted. Act II is quite a bit more mellow than the first recording so I found myself nodding off every now and again. I’m sorry! Did I mention is was like 2 am? By the time they had finished their set I was ready to drop dead, but they came back with an encore of songs that I had loved so much the night before. Dodd and I just looked at each other and were like “Yeah!” so we hung out and rocked out to them some more,tyere done their encore they decided to break out with a jamspace favourite from back in the day, a little song called “Total Eclipse of the Heart.” I swear I had goosebumps, it was so f-ing beautiful.

**EDITORS NOTE**I couldnt find video of that particular song but here is something just as awesome…. **Birdman**

Some other great bands we enjoyed were Arm Cannon (I met some of the guys and they were super sweet), Year 200X, who were pretty good, and the Megas who are awesome and so hot. There were tons of other bands but we weren’t able to check them out.There’s always next year! By the way, you didn’t hear it from me but there are some rumblings in the MAGFest community about a potential MAGStock/CAMPFest summer festival in the works! Get behind this people and good things will follow!! Check out the info on the MAGFest website or look it up on facebook and get involved.

The thing that surprised me the most about the bands that I discovered and rediscovered at MAGFest is that they all are centred around or have something to do with Mega Man. Now we all know I’m a terrible geek and I have yet to play Mega Man in any capacity. This is something that will be rectified shortly, I assure you (no hate mail!), through a combination of the anniversary edition of Mega Man and the expertise of Mike “The Birdman” Dodd’s Review A Day with which you all should be familiar. I’m working on it, kids! I swear. Well, until next time, I have been the Infamous Kelly! ~If you don’t know, you’re about to find out!~

Furthermore, I say: Elevator Party!

Check out the bands and more:
http://www.brentalfloss.com
http://www.protomen.com
http://www.magfest.org

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Kelly R on Facebook

Follow me on Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/Adamanthea

This past Monday Mike “The Fist of Justice” Laidman and I were invited to take part in the Toronto media launch event for Little Big Planet 2, which was released on the 18th. A group of website, television, and print journalists gathered for the event where we not only got to play the completed version of the game, but talk with developers and people from Media Molecule, as well as mingling with other gaming enthusiasts.

As a huge fan of the original game, I was excited to see what kinds of improvements, changes, and overall growth had been brought to the series. From television ads and the demo I knew there were going to be a lot of new things added to the series, including a lot of new tools to be used in levels. I’d seen the grabber and the grappling gun, but there were a few others that I didn’t know about, including the cake gun. Yes, cake gun. My biggest concern with all these new toys and trinkets would be an over complication in the gameplay. One of the best things about Little Big Planet was it’s simplicity, throwing in new tricks might bog that down. I quickly realized how easy all the tools were to use and how perfectly suited to their environments and levels they were. Press R1 and you’re in business!

Mike and I gamed pretty hard for a while during the event, and we made it pretty far in the game. We got to see a few different segments and planets while we played and the world map is much easier to use than the first one. Navigating was never hard in LBP1, but sometimes it would get a little tricky trying to use the left stick to get to the level you wanted. This time around things are smoothed out and easy to use. Not only that, but in certain levels you can actually jump into the next level without even exiting and going back to the pod screen.

LBP2 also brings in a range of new friends including those you can interact with more than just people who show up with messages for you. You meet the adorable Sackbots who need a little help from time to time, as well as some animal friends who show up to give Sackboy a hand too!

The game play for the game is perfect for a sequel. It’s like a bigger and better Little Big Planet, which is exactly what one hopes for from a sequel. I took a look at the trophy list and it was quite extensive, including a bunch of hidden story line trophies. Getting that platinum wont be easy in this one folks.

As for the media event we attended, it was a lot of fun! We showed up right when the doors opened and got to sit down at a large TV and game to our heart’s content. There were enough games set up that everyone had a chance to play for as long as they wanted. We were also treated to Sackboy cookies, which were delicious and looked great. The room was decorated really well for the event, and the banners showed some costumes that you can unlock in the game. There is definitely something for every taste in the costume selection .On our way out we were given our choice of Sackboy plush, which was an unexpected surprise for me. I got a Sackgirl (cliched choice, I’m aware) and Mike picked up Marvin, a ‘fro sporting disco stud. It was definitely a great day and Sony and team definitely did a good job making us gaming fans feel not only welcomed, but appreciated as well.

It’s a long freaking drive to Alexandria, Virginia.
Not to mention confusing (thank you Google maps!)
but when we drove over that hill and saw the US Capitol
building all lit up we knew it was gonna be a good time.

I learned many things during our trip but none more
resounding than the fact that I am a terrible geek.
Try as I might, I couldn’t name 5 video game composers,
or understand why the subtitled version of an anime is
soooo much better than the english dub… I swear, I am
trying. Despite my shortcomings, I must
say that MAGFest was one of the best times in my life.

The people I met from thatguywiththeglasses.com and
blisteredthumbs.net were incredibly nice and welcoming
to both Birdman and me, even though he’s new to the
fold and I’m effectively nobody. My biggest surprise
was “The Spoony One.” I honestly didn’t know what to
expect since I have heard so many things but we had
lunch at something called Chik-fil-A at one of the
most ghetto malls I’ve ever seen and talked Buffy
comics, and I gotta say, I am totally a fan.

The tgwtg panel was completely outrageous. There were
about 40 contributors there and despite that things
went rather smoothly. I talked to a couple of the
audience members and they expressed to me how much the
site means to them and I was really touched, and
honored that my friends were making such a difference
in peoples’ lives. It made me want to do more to be a
part of the scene, and to be a better geek and role
model overall.

So, with all the mushy crap over with, here’s some
survival tips. You will have a better time if you stay
at the venue. The shuttling back and forth from the
Hilton to the overflow is a huge inconvenience,
especially if you like taking naps or bathing (judging
by the smell, not a huge problem at cons in general).
Speaking of personal hygiene, and a lack thereof, hand
sanitizer is your friend!! Take it from me and my raging
CON-FLU! It’s not worth it!! Also, to maximize your
experience, arrive really early and stay as long as
you can. It is damn-near impossible to see everything
you want to see and still eat and sleep.

And now for the dirt! I spent a large part of the
weekend getting the inside scoop by hanging out with
the founder and chairman of MAGFest, Badge #0001 himself,
Brendan Becker, aka Mr. MAGFest. I saw some of the inner
workings of the security and operations. Stressful! His
phone never stopped buzzing from text messages!

Anyway, Jon St. John, the voice of Duke Nukem, is a party
animal! I was invited to a staff party in a beautiful
suite on the 30th floor and he showed up with an
entourage of about 30 people. Good times! Unfortunately,
they all took off soon after due to a noise complaint
from a neighbouring room. In the interest of full
disclosure he did hit on me twice, which my roommates
Dodd and ScrewAttack.com’s Tom Harvey approved of,
though I did not.

Other cool people I met were Stuttering Craig (who is
super nice!!) also from ScrewAttack.com, Wes Johnson
from many, many video game voiceovers and television
and film appearances, and a slightly tipsy Eddie Lebron,
director of the fam film “MegaMan” and the upcoming
“Sonic” film. I also met some awesome musicians but
you’ll have to wait for the second installment!

As a nerd I am always looking for a place to happen,
and MAGFest just felt like home. I want to say a big
THANKS to Brendan, Nick, and Steph for putting up with
my crap and being so accommodating to us. You guys made
our weekend a dream come true.

Stay tuned for my MAGFest music blog extraordinaire!

One independent film to skip the big screen in most parts but still garner a ton of buzz this year was The Human Centipede, the horror film from Dutch director Tom Six. We’ve all heard about it; a mad German scientist kidnaps tourists to perform diabolical surgeries on them. This isn’t new, but the type of surgery is. He wants to turn them into his new pet, a human centipede. How? By joining them ass to mouth of course! That’s where the buzz came from, the ass to mouth surgery. It’s just too bizarre not to get noticed by the Internet. I finally sat down to watch this movie with Mike “The Fist of Justice” Laidman this weekend. He had absolutely zero desire to see it, but at my insistence he sat down and watched it on Netflix with me.

The movie starts out with an awkward and hilarious scene of our mad scientist Dr. Heiter sitting in his car and crying while stroking a picture of his “Beloved Three Hound.” Yes, we get to see a picture of Dr. Heiter’s first experiment, three rottweilers he made into his first centipede. Yes, we see these dogs ass to mouth. Mind you, it looks like they’re just sniffing each other’s butts, and it’s an hilarious picture to start a scary movie off with.

Soon after this we see Heiter stalk his first victim in an awesomely awkward and gawky way, with a gun hidden so poorly I laughed out loud. His first victim is of course taken whilst in the middle of dropping a deuce in a field.

We then move on to Lindsay and Jenny, two American party girls looking for a good time in Germany. They’re looking for the ultimate clubbing experience and upon hearing a rumour about an amazing club in the middle of nowhere they set off in their rental car. This is where I started telling these girls that they are dumb as shit. I have a bad habit of telling characters in scary movies that what they are doing is dumb, and these girls got a lot of lecturing from me. Who goes off to the middle of nowhere in a foreign country without a map? Have they never seen a horror movie? Of course they get lost in the rain and then get a flat tire. After refusing help from the first pervert who comes across their stranded car (ok, this was a good choice), they decide their best bet is to walk off into the woods in high heels and no coats in the rain for help (this was a bad choice). On this walk the audience gets a taste of these actresses’ range, and it’s not much. They feel a strong urge to say each other’s name at the end of every sentence, which maybe the director felt would help the audience remember who each girl was. Trust me, it didn’t work.

The girls stumble across the home of Dr. Heiter, a retired surgeon, and wisely take drinks from the man even after he gets really creepy, really fast. It’s obvious later in the film there are other houses close enough by, but these girls decided to stay at this place and drink his roofied water. They wake up in his surgical torture chamber, strapped to hospital beds. Heiter is excited that the two girls are a perfect match for surgery, but sadly his first victim is not and he quickly does away with the man, only to replace him with a Japanese tourist soon after. One of the girls manages to make a break for it, but decides to return for her friend, yes another dumb move. Get the cops, come back? No, instead she tries to dragged her drugged out friend up a flight of stairs while a mad man with a gun chases her. Of course she’s captured and because of her insolence she gets the treat of being in the middle of Heiter’s human centipede.

About half way into the movie we finally see the human centipede’s creation, and I assumed it was not pretty, so I looked away. Heiter explains what he’s going to do and I knew I couldn’t watch it. I watched Mike’s face though and from his reactions, but they never went beyond mildly grossed out. Heiter not only wants to combine three people, but to treat them, or it, as his own personal pet. He makes Katsuro, the Japanese tourist who makes up the front of the centipede, eat from a dog dish and come when he’s called, dragging the two girls behind him.

Finally the cops show up looking for the missing tourists, and Heiter offers them roofied water. While Heiter starts freaking out at the one officer for not drinking the water, the other one goes on sipping it. Not really thinking that one through, eh? They then leave to get a search warrant. At the same time as this exchange, the human centipede tries to escape. The ‘Jenny-tail’ is dying of infection and when they hear people upstairs they know it’s their only hope. They manage to wound Heiter enough to slow him down, but they could have done a much better job. They had the element of surprise and could have killed him, but instead they try to get away and up the stairs. This is a huge struggle for them with a lot of ripping and tearing, so I’m not quite sure how Heiter has gotten them up and downstairs so many times already.

The cops have come back while the centipede hides. I said to Mike at this point “if he gets the drop on the cops they are officially the worst cops ever. And he will get the drop on them.” What do you know, I’m right! Worst cops ever! Heiter gets the drop on them, and a shootout occurs while two parts of the centipede are dying in the other room.

The movie was more weird than scary, but it did keep me in suspense at times. That suspenseful feeling often didn’t last very long each time though. Usually something so weird would happen or someone would do or say something too stupid to ignore and I’d be back telling people how dumb they are. Overall it wasn’t very gory either. The surgery was the worst part and Mike said “it wasn’t that bad.” You never see the centipede without bandages covering the ass to mouth, so even that isn’t hard to watch. If you are really looking for torture porn in measure of Saw or Hostel, you wont get it here. As a horror film it really doesn’t measure up in scares or in gore, but for what it lacks in those it makes up for in being balls out weird.

As for the acting, the two girls are awful. Only after they can no longer talk do they become bearable. One is pretty decent at crying though, which you see a lot of. Katsuro yells only in Japanese. Yes, he’s always yelling. It’s hard to tell if someone can act when they do nothing but yell in another language. The two cops are laughable; while tracking Heiter through the house their standard cop stances and actions were so stiff I did laugh. The real shining gem is Dr. Heiter (Dieter Laser). He’s maniacal, he’s creepy, he’s funny, and he’s scary at the same time. He fills the roll of mad scientist well.

Overall it’s a bad movie. B movie status maximum. Despite all its flaws though I highly suggest horror fans check it out. Mostly for the fact that they can say “Oh I saw The Human Centipede” to their friends. It’s like KFC’s DoubleDown, it’s so awful but you need to try it for the bragging rights.

In today’s edition of Birdman’s Boombox,we get a chance to talk with one of Birdman’s favorite new artists. We are talking with Damian Hess aka Mc Frontalot. We get a chance to talk about some of his earliest influences on his music and some of the rumblings from the worlds’ 579th greatest rapper. We also have get to hear 3 tracks from his latest album ZERO day as well. Its a nerdcore wish come true and its only here on ThisWeekingeek.net with Birdman’s boombox.
Also kids remember, don’t be a dick

Check out MC Frontalot’s official Website and buy his CD Zero Day @

Geeks:
Mike Birdman Dodd
MC Frontalot
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Gather your friends and family and take them to see this once-in-a-lifetime exhibition!

The Harry Potter Exhibition at the Ontario Science Centre is truly amazing! As Canadians we all know that sometimes when there’s a tour or traveling exhibition we can sometimes get the short end of the stick, so when I came to the Ontario Science Centre that morning I wasn’t sure what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised that not only was the content of the exhibition of very good quality and relevant to the franchise but presented beautifully and dramatically. We entered through the front curtain and our first treat was being sorted into our houses by the infamous Sorting Hat. I found out once-and-for-all, that I am in fact a Ravenclaw, and oddly enough, so is the Birdman. The lovely Blaire was sorted into Gryffindor, and if you knew her you’d know why. Our host was sorted into the Hufflepuff house upon her first visit to the Sorting Hat, and has been inspiring the young visitors to be loyal and reliable in their lives ever since. We proceeded in where we watched select scenes from the first six movies, then we got a big surprise! (Come on guys, I can’t give everything away!) All the props and costumes were carefully put together to resemble the sets from the movies and the items themselves were the ones held and worn by the actors. This made the exhibition extra special because it put you closer to the stars and to the place where it all started.

We were told that the creator of the Harry Potter world, JK Rowling, herself had approved the exhibition so we know that it was truly representative of her vision for the characters. The ones that stood out the most to me were Professor Snape’s original robes and the Half-Blood Prince’s Potions Book from the most recent movie. The model of Buckbeak, savior of Sirius Black from the Prisoner of Azkaban, was larger than life and very realistic, and I thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful replica of Fawkes, beloved pet phoenix of Professor Dumbledore, featured in the Chamber of Secrets. The interactive areas inspire you to participate in the world and let your imagination run wild. We pulled a mandrake root resulting in the requisite squeal, though our hearing is still intact. We tried our hands at Quidditch, some of us were better than others! Then we sat in Hagrid’s chair. I thought I was a relatively tall person up until then.

We also sat down with Jessica Moss, one of the floor staff for the Centre, and cheesy fake accent aside, she gave us some great insight into how the exhibition can be educational as well as entertaining. Potions as science experiments, learning about creatures featured in the movies, teaching children how to think critically about what they see and encouraging literacy in children of all ages are all key areas on which they focus. The advantage of an exhibition of this type is that it draws in audiences that would not normally be interested in the Science Centre and allows them to learn about familiar concepts in new ways. Visitors are also encouraged to visit the rest of the Centre. I recommend the IMAX movie: Hubble. Jessica also told us about the types of fans who came to see the exhibition; there are tons of Cedric Diggory (played by Robert Pattinson) fans, some Draco Malfoy (played by Tom Felton) fans, and several fans of those in the Gryffindor house. Jessica also told us she thought the books and movies were so successful because the author really created a new world that fans can enjoy on every level. She says though she has been through the displays several times, the excitement of each new group of visitors makes the experience new and exciting every time.

The Harry Potter Exhibition runs until August 22, but while we were at the OSC we heard a rumour that the run may be extended due to popularity. As we were leaving the Gift Shoppe there was quite a line-up to get in so I hope they will!
A little bird also told us that they may be acquiring a very special and very scary treat fresh from the set of the newest installation of the saga, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, a Dementor of Azkaban. Exciting, if true.

The exhibition is different for everyone who is involved it because everyone contributes and gains something different from it. Seeing this exhibition with my own eyes was truly magical. It was like having scenes from the movies come to life all around me. The exhibits took me back to fond memories not only from the movies, but of the enjoyment I experienced from reading the seven books. It made me want to run home and watch a marathon of Harry Potters!

Harry Potter the Exhibition is not to be missed!

Recently I had the chance to attend a press screening of Batman: Under the Red Hood in Toronto. Warner bros wined and dined myself and a few others in a VIP Cineplex with leather chairs and all sorts of swag (although it was raffle and I didn’t get any. I’m not bitter).

One of the neater aspects of the event was that they brought in Comic artist/ Writer Ty Templeton (http://tytempletonart.wordpress.com) to do a Q&A after the film. Ty was quite funny and a very interesting guy with great thoughts on a variety of subjects. One of my favorite comments was when he was asked what he would say to Chris Nolan if he had input on Batman 3 was ignore Batman Begins and just do what he did in The Dark Knight again. “Pull out a sheet of paper and write down the number of times Batman does something heroic [in Batman Begins]. You’ll find by the end of the movie the paper’s still blank.” Looking back, he has a pretty good point. I’ll have to watch again, pen and paper in hand.

I was fortunate enough to have a short chat with Ty one on one as well to grab his thoughts on Under the Red Hood. “I thought it was a surprisingly sophisticated adaptation of the work. For an animated film you expect a kind of slightly more juvenile approach and they don’t do that. I think it’s a movie that would be enjoyed by the same audience that liked the Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight film. Which is a lovely surprise.” He did go on to talk about the more adult tone of the film. “A little more blood than I expected, but just as much drama and excitement as I was hoping for.”

As for myself? I tend to be in agreement with Ty on this one. Under the Red Hood is extremely well written and packs multiple twists. The plot written by Comic writer Judd Winick covers elements of the “A Death in the Family” and “Under the Hood” storylines from previous years. Being relatively unfamiliar with the latter storyline I went in pretty blank waiting to be wowed. Knowing enough about comics I knew who the villain is revealed to be eventually, but for those who don’t know there’s some HEAVY clues early in the movie so it’s not the big mystery. That’s fine though. Where that character comes from and their motivations? That’s where the mystery and twists lie.

So here’s a synopsis for you. Red hood becomes a new player in Gotham City. He’s as well trained as Batman but the difference is, he’s not afraid to take a life. His war with Black Mask brings in the Caped Crusader who’s really taking hits on all sides and the history of the Red Hood reaches far into Batman’s past bringing in other memorable members of Batman’s Rouge’s gallery like the Joker and Ra’s Al Ghul.

So what’s to like about this one? Tons. The story is well written and ends in a satisfying and very emotional way. The climax of the film is breathtaking, I was on the edge of my seat the entire scene. Why these scenes work so well is because of the voice cast. I was iffy with Bruce Greenwood as Batman at first, but he adds enough gravitas to the part he sold me as a Dark Knight, humbled and much more serious following the outcome of his greatest failure. Speaking of people who surprised me, John Di Maggio as Joker. If that name’s familiar to you and you’re not sure where to place it, John is the voice of Bender on Futurama. Somebody’s been watching old Batman TAS episodes. Di Maggio comes off as Mark Hamill’s Joker if he was much more sinister. His laugh is almost pitch perfect to Hamill’s and I know lots of people are disappointed Mark is retiring from being the Joker after Arkham Asylum 2 but I’m not anymore. Here’s my new favourite (after Mark I mean). A huge surprise is Wade Williams as Black Mask. This guy is amped up to 11 the whole movie and his over the top ranting had me looking forward to every time the guy would show his face again. The music is fitting and the action scenes are extremely well paced and energetic. Like Ty pointed out earlier, this film can be pretty bloody. The opening in particular is brutal to watch and it’s because of how shocking that first scene is it adds so much emotion to later scenes. This movie doesn’t play with kid gloves. It plays with crowbars.

Despite all that good I do have a few problems. Pobody’s nerfect an all that. Personally I felt the story could have done without Nightwing as he was used here. NPH voices Dick Grayson and you know what? He’s great as the character, but he’s barely in it. He essentially shows up to say “Hey Batman you heard of the Red Hood? Here’s some one liners. K bye!” If you’re going to give us NPH, give us NPH. All of the dialogue he has that is important to the plot could have been given to Alfred. The only other gripe I had is so small you could say I’m just nit picking. Red Hood’s mask has these eyeholes that put large black circles around his eyes. He comes off to me looking like Deadpool in a motorcycle jacket. These black circles aren’t present in the comic design, so why are they here? Honestly though, if that’s all that’s wrong with it that tells you just how good this film is.

I’m not going to get into the special features at this time, because to be honest, haven’t seen them yet. Expect a report on those during the audio review in an upcoming week’s Nerd News.

As for the title of this review, what significance does it have? At the time of this writing, a few of us had previously gotten together and recorded a roundtable discussion on all of the Warner Premiere DC Animated films thus far. It won’t be on the site until early August if I remember the schedule. At the close of the cast Birdman poses the question “Which movie was your favorite?” Ignore whatever the hell it was I said. THIS is my favorite. It’s a high recommendation from me. It has it’s flaws like I outlined, but they’re so few and minute it doesn’t subtract from the film at all. Take a look Under the Hood. You’ll be glad you did.

Mike “The Birdman”Dodd sets off into the real world and goes looking for a real job and finds adventure, excitement and more in the world of commercial voice over and even voice acting.
This is some of the video that was shot on the day of.
Special thanks to Amanaguichi for their music so please buy their stuff
Literally they rawks faces off

Special thanks to the folks @ http://www.reviewaday.ca’s fan chats
Kelly
Dud
Paige
Clark
Mary
and everyone else who contributed to the suggestions

Thanks to Theo and Dave and the guys at

http://www.catalent.ca/

This weekend I attended my second ‘nerdgasm’ party. For those of those who aren’t aware of what a nerdgasm is, it’s basically a party where people of all different nerdish leanings get together and enjoy being nerds together. I highly recommend throwing your own nerdgasm party and encouraging your friends to invite their nerdy friends. It’s a great way to not only meet new friends, but also discover new hobbies you might not have considered before.
For all those out there who are intrigued by this concept, I’ll tell you how to throw your own nerdgasm party. It’s pretty simple, really. Once you’ve picked a date, it’s easiest to make a facebook event to invite people to your party. If you haven’t used facebook to make an event before, it’s pretty easy and a great way to keep track of how many people are coming.
Once you’ve invited a bunch of people, see what people are up for activities wise and who can bring what for games, food, and drinks. If you’ve got people who can bring over gaming controllers or even an extra TV or projector get them to do so. This way you can have an awesome LAN party for whatever game you and your friends are up for. It’s even funnier when your party has some FLAN moments because usually people get a good chuckle out of things not working. Both of the nerdgasm parties I’ve been to had video gaming going on and for a good chunk of the night people were playing video games for at least a portion of the night.
Have a table set up, or if you have the space two tables. One table for card gaming and one for tabletop gaming. Even if no one ends up using one of them, at least the option is there for people. You’re most likely to get more guests doing a game that is easy for anyone to pick up, and I learned to play Munchkin at my first nerdgasm and then won at my second. Yes, I’m gloating a little. It’s a great game and very easy to learn, even for drunk people. Plus the cards and art are hilarious, and everyone always laughs like crazy while playing it.
As for drinks and food, have some cups out and a couple things for people, but like most parties it’s probably best if you go BYOB. Get people to bring things like chips, but serve a meal like pizza or sandwiches. Anything people can eat with their hands. Gaming is so much easier with finger foods!
Before I get away from drinking, you should plan a drinking game for your friends. The first nerdgasm I attended had a great game called ‘Wizard Sticks’. All you need is canned beer and tape. Every time you finish a beer, you tape your new can on top of the can you just finished. Tallest stick wins. Host, make sure you have duct tape. Oh, and a wizard costume for the winning wizard to wear. Why? Cause it’s hilarious. I don’t drink and I found this game hilarious to watch, mostly because of the escalating competition between those participating that managed to rise to an insane degree. Cheating is totally allowed if you don’t get caught.
Throwing a nerdgasm party is pretty simple. Most people coming will bring their own forms of entertainment to throw into the mix and the party will just flow. Bring lightsabers, nerf guns, and anything else you can think of. People may choose to bring laptops for playing some WoW or other online games. I brought my Nintendo DSi and played Pokemon while most guests were playing Halo ODST. I’m not a big fan of shooting games, so having my handheld system meant I got to be with the group and still enjoy the conversation and do my own thing at the same time. Ok, the conversation was mostly expletives being shouted by people who had just gotten shot, but still the company was nice and it was hilarious to watch. Like I said, it’s a great way to pick up a new hobby and an even better way to make new friends. The best part of nerdgasm parties is that really everyone gets to do what entertains them and no one is made to feel like a dork for doing something that they enjoy.

I was ten years old when the first Toy Story movie came out. Fifteen for the second. I never felt ‘too old’ for either movie, but I’ve always been a big fan of cartoons. I’ve also always been a pretty big fan of toys. Growing up I collected a lot of toys, and I mean a lot. I had everything from Barbies, to Masters of the Universe, to My Little Ponies, and so much more. I also had more plushes than I could count. So needless to say, the Toy Story movies always resonated with me in a big way. When I heard that Pixar was planning a third movie, I knew I needed to see it the day it opened. I just hoped that I wouldn’t be disappointed. I’m very pleased to report I certainly wasn’t.

I think everyone knows by know the movie is about what happens to Andy’s toys when it’s time for Andy to move off to college. Being a G rated Disney movie, we all know that in the end the toys are going to end up together and happy. Of course the movie delivers on that, but not without making me think, just for just a moment, that Pixar was going to destroy my childhood in a fiery hell pit of doom. The journey from start to finish is pretty obvious from the trailers. They do give away a lot of the plot, but it definitely doesn’t detract from how enjoyable the movie is. So really, for a review I’m not going to talk about the plot much at all. Like I said, we know the toys will end up happy and together, that they will face challenges, and we all know that Buzz brings out his Spanish side.

What really needs discussing is how people will react to the movie, and how it will make them feel. Like I said, I was ten years old when the movie was released. It was a huge step for technology at the time, and really made Pixar into the biggest and best name in animation. When I sat down in the theater, I noticed only one family with kids. Everyone else was at least eighteen, and even then it seemed most people were in their twenties. This movie really wasn’t made for the kids I think. The animators made this for the people who grew up on Toy Story, for those who remember it when it first came out. It’s a story just about all of us have experienced, it’s time to grow up and leave childhood behind. For Andy that means his precious toys. The toys really represent everyone’s childhood. It’s time to move on to adult things, and it’s bittersweet for Andy and the audience. It’s exciting to grow up, but leaving behind the things he cherished so much isn’t so easy.

I admit I cried. I cry easy in movies, especially Pixar ones (hello Up and Wall-E!). I cried once with the whole ‘Holy crap, Pixar is killing my childhood’, but it was the bittersweet end, where a new chapter begins for the toys that doesn’t involve Andy that really started the waterworks. No one can make something so happy and so sad at the same time like Pixar, that’s for sure.

I need to mention the technical aspects of the movie as well I think. First up, the 3D. Yes I watched it in 3D. Did the movie need 3D? No, it definitely did not. Really, there aren’t a lot of movies where it makes the special effects any more intense or enjoyable. But I like 3D; I find it just adds a little something special, a little extra depth to the scenery. It’s not necessary, but it does add to the overall visual appeal. Even without the 3D the movie would have been a treat to watch. The animators have done an amazing job, and while it’s not Pandora, as someone who loves toys so much it’s just as enjoyable to watch as a bunch of blue cat people running around.

I’m not going to give this movie a rating out of five or ten or a thumbs up or down. I’ll simply say it was the perfect way to wrap up the story of Andy and his toys.

I’ve been hearing lots of buzz lately about screen shots from the latest Gears of War 3 trailers and decided I definitely needed to take a look. Not so much for the game play, but the characters. Turns out one of the characters duking it out on the front lines is none other than communications officer Anya Stroud. This has caused a lot of buzz around the game, and not many of the reactions I agree with. It seems a lot of people don’t like the idea, not because gamers are thinking things like ‘girls are lame’ or ‘girls are weak’, but non-gamers are saying it will be detrimental in the fight against violence against women.

I’ve played Gears of War. It’s one of the few shooters I’ve truly enjoyed. I haven’t had the chance to play GoW2, but like I said, I did enjoy the first one. It’s violent. I mean, the gun has a chainsaw on it. And you know what, as a woman I think, “That is awesome.” The big concern here is the violence and how that might affect the female characters. How showing violence against women in the video game will make those playing the game think that violence against women is ok in the real world. I wholly disagree with that assumption. We haven’t even played the game yet, and people assume they know what will happen. They assume Anya and any other women will get brutally killed. And if that happens? Well, you’ve seen many other male characters get the same treatment, why should the women be any different?

That is to say, if they die like the men do. Going out like a champ and taking down as many Locusts in a blaze of glory. Or, you know, something as equally cool. Now, I could see a problem if the game pulls a cut scene with some ‘women in refrigerators’ tactic with Anya. With her romantic connections to Marcus, I can sadly see this happening. “What is ‘women in refrigerators?’” you may ask. It’s a plot moving tactic that women have frowned upon for a long time that’s pretty popular in comics. It comes from an issue of Green Lantern where Kyle Rayner’s girlfriend was killed and stuffed in a refrigerator by villain Major Force. This served no purpose but to move the plot along. The same happened in Alan Moore’s classic Batman issue The Killing Joke, where Barbara Gordon was shot, paralyzing her from the waist down. She’s been in a wheelchair ever since. If this is the type of thing that happens to Anya in GoW3, I will be upset. She’s a strong woman and should fight with the men as an equal, not used as a plot device.

Another aspect of this that critics aren’t mentioning but gamers are is that women gamers like playing women characters. It’s not a deal breaker, but if I have the chance of playing a female character I’m all for it. I’ll pick her over the male character any day. Why? Because a female character is more relatable for me; it helps with the fantasy. Having that option means I’m more likely to check out the game, which for the people putting out those games, it means more revenue. Game companies are realizing that women like gaming too, and if they don’t appeal to that market, it’s a large demographic they’re missing out on.

So yes, is there a chance that GoW3 is going to show completely senseless violence towards a female character? Possibly. Do I think that’s going to be the case? Probably not. The violence will hopefully be on par with what the men face because it’s fair. The game’s writer has told the media a few times now that he sees men and women as equals and thinks women should be treated as such. That means that yes; some female characters are going to get hit with a chainsaw gun. It’s better than showing them as weaklings.

What if this podcast had lyrics?
Well then it would be a transcripted interview now wouldn’t it?

Recently Birdman has had the chance sit down with talented Video game lyricist and musician Brent Black aka BrentalFloss. The duo talk about Brent’s career and inspirations to create his unique niche of nerdcore (Thanks McFrontalot) and discuss some of the tracks of his new CD “What if they CD had lyrics” as well have a small listening party with a few full tracks from the CD.
Brentalfloss lets you into his creative headspace and even shares some of the stories from behind the scenes at Screwattack.com and an exclusive preview of his of upcoming work for “…with lyrics”
Download and enjoy some tunes and an interesting conversation with two nerds.

To Follow Brent’s Work across the web, you can connect with him at the following Websites
Click here to access his official Screwattack page
Click here to access his official twitter @Brentalfloss
Click here to follow his Facebook Page
Click here to buy his CD/Digital Version
Click here to buy his CD/Physical copy
Geeks:
Brent “Brentalfloss” Black
Mike”The Birdman”Dodd

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Music, the Universal language and the one language we all can communicate in.
Birdman has had a huge thing for rap for the last year and in his travels, he recently ran into the awesomely talented, Raheem Jarbo aka Megaran. Megaran’s lyrical stylings are a blend chiptunes with soulful and insightful raps that ring true from the nerd to all walks of in between. Birdman and Megaran talk about his musical influences, his career and the tracks off his latest CD which is Forever Famicom. We get a chance to listen to a few of the songs off Forever Famicom and talk about what went into them and the games themselves
Also hear Megaran rap about Birdman and This Week in Geek with an awesome free style rap

To Follow Raheem’s Work across the web, you can connect with him at the following Websites
Click here to access his official website and blog
Click here to follow him Twitter @megaran
Click here to buy his CD

Geeks:
Raheem “Megaran” Jarbo
Mike”The Birdman”Dodd

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Well guys…it’s finally here! Launch day for Review a day.ca!
Super excited for this to finally come to pass!
Today we’ll be looking at New Super Mario Brothers on the Nintendo DS. This is a game that I didn’t give a chance back when it first came out but its amazing what a vacation will do to your attention span.
Take a listen and hear my thoughts on New Super Mario Brothers DS and the rediscovered love of a franchise!

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Music-
Pierce Derks original composition

So I wasn’t entirely sure what I’d blog about when Mike gave me this opportunity to leave my cave. A little about me, I work in a video game store, and my love for games certainly surpasses my love for Barbie dolls… So the other day I was inspired to write this Blog after an interaction with a lovely woman purchasing MAG for her son. As a responsible customer service representative I thought to let her know that regardless of MAG’s “T” rating, (which was a bit of a shock to me, but I’ll leave that rant for another time), it was purely online play and he’d be interacting with A LOT of real people saying real things and I’ll spare you examples, but let me just tell you the language can get pretty bad.
The ESRB have made it pretty clear that they are not responsible for any of the online interactions of these games and that’s all fine and dandy…
APPARENTLY according to the news the language is the least of her worries.

I am referring to a news article that a lot of people have been talking about lately Fox News Story called SEXBOX. In it they talk about video game systems, and in particular the “sexbox360″ (yea … lets all groan. Thanks FOX) and how safe online play really is. This really really gripes me.
All those children out there blowing the virtual brains out of their opponents, are at major risk from the creepy man in a trench coat on the other side of the screen luring them through their consoles with false promises of candy and “xp”.
I am in NO WAY tolerant of behavior like this, and have ZERO patience when I hear about pedophilia. It unleashes a certain kind of rage within me that I’m sure most of you can agree and empathize with.
That being said I’d like to inform all the worried parents out there that The Xbox 360 has rather robust and modern options for parental controls.
Actually parents will be happy to know that they have tools at their disposal, which are simple and give you complete control so that you don’t have to spend all evening watching little Timmy play Halo and ask him who “PwNURF4c311011″ is or any other online screen name. (sorry Pwn, if you exist…)
Also, these vile beings cannot interact via headset or chat with the innocent children playing the newest COD unless they are added to their friends list. Even if they are, parents could BLOCK and IGNORE them if they feel the need arises.
See! Simple!
I know this little rant had nothing to do with MAG per say but after reading the article I just feel it isn’t fair that the media points fingers at video games for destroying today’s youth. 10 years ago the same things were said about music.

The solution to this problem isn’t to stop making video games like Grand Theft Auto and Call of Duty, it just requires a bit of education.

I’m not going to sugar-coat this (like the metaphorical candy I mentioned above) some things will never change. There are always going to be sketch-bags online, anywhere you go. The anonymity of online play means you’ll never really know who’s hiding behind that avatar, even if it’s something cute like a Panda (Pedobear anybody?)

Another thing that will probably never change, is that I am always going to get my butt handed to me online by some 11 year old whose parents just bought him the latest first-person shooter. Ironically I probably sold the game to them in the first place!

Until next time,
Have a happy Cherise-ster!!
(Yes, I just made a holiday up after myself).

Birdman LOVES music, this is no secret for anyone who listens to the show, however today he gets to talk to someone awesome!
Glenn Case, musician and all around awesome guy and he also did the music for PBC Productions’ The new Adventures of Captain S.
Birdman and Glenn talk about everything from musical influences to the little things like song battles and the like.In this episode you’ll get to see some of Glenn’s songs and covers that have made him a hit on Youtube and abroad.

Call in with your responses to TWIG and The Game Heroes @ 817 717 7202

Be Sure to check out this special request from Birdman for Canadian group “Barenaked ladies” with a song from their debut album “Gordon” with New Kid on the Block

ALSO be sure to check out these from Glenn Case
Glenn Case’s Youtube channel for Acoustic Song a day

Musical guests:
Mike “The Birdman” Dodd
Glenn Case

Subscribe to us using iTunes
or
Use any other podcatching client by using http://feeds.feedburner.com/thisweekingeek
or
Download Birdman’s Boombox Ep8

It’s Friday night and its time to throw down some sick beats!

Birdman and the rest of the TWIG crew LOVE mashups and we learned that one of the Internet’s best has retired,
We mourn the loss of Aggro1 but we honor his retirement with a mash up show of some of our favorites from his extensive library.
He was one of the best of the net artists and was a favorite among the Closest Geek Show and TWIG play lists.
Join us for this tribute to him, his music and some rather odd conversation around the microphone.

Call in with your responses to TWIG and The Game Heroes @ 817 717 7202

ALSO be sure to check out these from Brent Morris aka TGS Stirling
TGS Stirling’s Colors out of space DJ mixes

Musical guests:
Mike “The Birdman” Dodd
Brent”Closet Geek Show” Morris
David “Double D” Denis

Subscribe to us using iTunes
or
Use any other podcatching client by using http://feeds.feedburner.com/thisweekingeek
or
Download Birdman’s Boombox Ep7

Well boys and girls, here is my last entry into my holiday gift before I post my other choices in our annual TWIG holiday gift guide which will be up later on this week @ http://www.thisweekingeek.net

So over the last few entries, the stuff has been pretty cheap and easy to find so now we’re gonna ramp it up and we’re gonna hit the big boys and some of the harder to find stuff but trust me, it’s awesome and so totally worth it in the end. So crack open the wallets and get the credit cards ready for a shopping spree of the nerdiest kind!

Let’s rock and roll!

First up…. DVD box sets

YO JOE!
The battle cry of the top secret organization who saved the world many times over, GI Joe. Shout Factory recently compiled one of the best box sets I have ever had the pleasure of owning. The box set spans 17 discs and has tons of special features from documentaries to behind the scenes with the voice actors and my personal favorite, old toy commercials. This set is tremendously well put together in presentation because it’s a small military foot locker made from metal and wood and includes a fake GI Joe control panel. Other cool things include a flash drive that has extras on it and it’s shaped like a dog tag and it’s a nice touch to overall feeling of the set. The set includes everything except the GI Joe movie but to Shout Factory’s credit; they actually left a spot open in set for you to put your copy in. Seriously GI Joe:The complete series is one of the best buys available right now if your into the classic era of 80′s animation.
Click here to buy from Amazon

“Autobots,Transform and roll out!”
The immortal words of Optimus Prime have echoed across a generation and finally we have the best version of the 80′s toon available to own in one set. Shout Factory has once again done a kick ass job of bringing this adventure home to you. The series is spread across 16 discs and enclosed within an openable Matrix of Leadership box which is kinda bad ass; also included are magnets and a booklet. There are some pretty informative documentaries included with some of the producers and voice actors from the series and thats what I really wanted because I love learning more about the series. The video and audio are better then what has been previously released via Rhino and Shout Factory really wanted to make sure the fans were happy and well, they did an awesome job. If you want the best version of the series then this is a really good investment for your time and money.
Click here to buy from Amazon

Collectibles

I am a huge fan of things that look awesome and movie accurate in detail or just things that look very pleasing to the eye. I collect a few things that are high end and here are some of my pics for this year’s gift guide that I think should be in your collection

“This is the weapon of a Jedi Knight. Not as clumsy or random as a blaster; an elegant weapon for a more civilized age”

Hasbro acquired one of the coolest things of all time when it got the Force FX line from Master Replicas. A Force FX lightsaber is a in scale prop replica that actually ignites like a lightsaber with sequential LEDs and you can actually do some light dueling if you know someone with another FX saber. I’ve collected them when they were with MR and was impressed and I have to say that HASBRO has continued on the quality that I have come to expect. The MR saber that I received for consideration was the Darth Vader Episode 5 Empire Strikes back version but according to my knowledge, the saber was actually a new hope model but thats a simple misprint. The saber details are still pretty spot on and make for an excellent addition to your collection, you have to love the response these things get when your show them off for the first time. The Hasbro Force FX saber is a worthy addition to your collection and definitely should be under the tree and make sure you make your choice wisely and own a piece of the Star Wars universe.
Click here to see a selection from Amazon

While Terminator:Salvation may not have been the best movie of the summer, it did produce some fantastic items from Sideshow Collectibles. This little bad boy is quite impressive and it pretty bad ass because it’s the T-600 and part of the machine force that helped exterminate humanity. Sideshow’s attention to detail is second to none when it comes to their 12 inch figure line. Terminator is the perfect starter collector for many because it looks awesome and is easy to maintain and relatively easy to find as well. There are alot of options within this line such as the T-600 with battle damaged and John Connor and Marcus and other Terminators. Seriously collecting Sideshow is well worth it and this should be under your tree.
Check out Sideshow for more options

Misc collectible of the year!

Yes, the Bumblebee voice changer helmet!
I had a blast with this toy because it made roleplaying toys fun again and is alot more comfortable then the previous offering of Optimus Prime. It’s a nice sculpt from the ROTF line and has ALOT of voice options like random clips but none from the movie itself which is odd. The main reason I am recommending this is because it’s alot of fun to play with your kids or goof around with your college buddies. I could see alot of kids having fun with this as well and that doesn’t mean it should not go into your nerd lair of awesome, just don’t do anything weird with this helmet on that would make Bumbleebee cry okay?
Click here to buy from the Hasbro Toyshop

So guys that does it for my blog edition of the holiday gift guide!
Take it from what you will and enjoy this holiday season!

So without any more screwing around, let’s get into this and get started with DVD’s and Blu rays!

Star Wars: The Clone wars the complete first season on Blu ray
I’ll be the first to admit that I misjudged this series when it first came out and now that I’ve had to chance over see some stuff,it’s bad ass. The series is a continuation of the movie that came out last year with Anakin Skywalker and Obi Wan Kenobi fighting pre Episode 3 battles with alot more of the SW universe explored. I’ve always been a fan of the Clone wars era from the battle droids to the way that galaxy is torn apart by Count Dooku and his armies and it’s great fun all together as well. The thing that really makes this set awesome and worth your $$ is the sheer amount of extras your getting such as TONS of featurettes and behind the scenes stuff and a pretty cool little booklet if you go with the Blu ray version. However Asoka still sucks and that is the only real downside of the series itself but if you can move past that, then it’s worth adding to your own jedi temple this holiday season
Click here to buy on Amazon.com

It’s no lie that I am a huge Dragonball Z fan and boy was I surprised when this arrived in my mailbox a few weeks ago. The Dragonbox is available for the first time in North America and is originally from Japan from the uncut masters of the original series and it looks fantastic. This is the way the series was meant to be seen, uncut and in the original Japanese audio (dub is included as well) and everything left intact like openings and closings and more. I’ve only ever seen the dubs before and this was certainly a new experience for me as a DBZ fan. The thing that really makes the set complete in my eyes is the Dragonbook that is included that has all kinds of neat background information on the characters. It’s a little strange to see the series in it’s original aspect ratio but, it still looks great as the day it was broadcast.
This is a recommend if you didn’t get the orange sets from a few years ago or if your a DBZ purist at heart!
Click here to buy from Amazon

Yes, I am recommended this for my Holiday gift because It’s Transformers BUT one of the best blu rays I’ve seen this year. There’s enough reviews out there that I’ll leave the movie summaries to the pros but let me talk about why you should get this movie who is a info buff. The features across this two disc set really make it worth for someone who is a transformers nut such as info gallery on the characters which includes clips from the G1 cartoon and toy galleries spanning from g1 to current incarnations. There are also HOURS of extras and they are in glorious HD as well which was a real surprise, the Michael Bay featurettes on the making of the movie is really indepth and interesting.There is also quite the wealth of knowledge of what this movie could have been coming from the writers during the features as well which really surprised me.The usual commentaries are there as well and are worth a listen to if your a fan of movie making.
Trust me, its worth it when you get a chance to dig into this movie and it’s even got a feature where you can make your own Transformer.
Click here to buy from Amazon

Now we’re moving onto something else entirely and something that you know me well for, video games
I’ll be taking a look at a variety of games from the past year and some ones that are definitely worth checking out.

Well, this is the pink elephant in the room that we all need to talk about and well, it’s AWESOME!
Seriously, Modern Warfare 2 is a game that really takes what an FPS can be and improves upon the perfection that was Modern Warfare. The action pretty much grabs you right by the bits and never lets up at all. The mulitplayer is where this game really shines and will make a gamer out of you damned right if you play online and are dedicated to learning but beware, you will get bitch slapped if your not ready for serious online play. The sheer amount of enjoyment you’ll get from the firefights in this game will really make you appreciate quick reactions and killstreaks when you can make them happen.There are also quite number of licensed controllers and headsets from Mad Catz and they really do enhance the experience and besides they glow green and thats just cool I’ll talk more about this in my next gift guide installment.
However in closing Modern Warfare 2 is a great addition to your collection and even if you don’t like playing online, it’s an experience that should not be missed.
Click here to buy from Amazon

This was an unexpected surprise in this year’s entry into the racing genre. Dirt 2 is a rally racer that puts you on and off road and really makes the whole experience akin in my opinion to Tony Hawk but with cars.The driving in this game really feels natural and all the cars and trucks have their own distinct handling and that really adds to the experience.The soundtrack really stood out to me and make the game come alive that much more to me. I had alot more fun with this game then I thought I would and I think if your looking for a new racing experience for someone this Christmas then you can’t do much better then this. Give Dirt 2 a try and I seriously think you’ll make someone super happy
Click here to buy from Amazon

Its no secret that I’m not a huge Wii fan but this was one that surprised me when it came out. Dead Space:Extraction happens before the first Deadspace game and act as a prequel to the first game but as an on the rails shooter. The game looks really good for a wii game and that says something that the hardware can be pushed to do more. The Deadspace game really lays on thick with atmosphere and really does do it’s part to make you feel isolated, alone and most of all somewhat helpless in the face of danger. Its one of the best rail shooters experiences you can have on the wii right now and is totally worth it for someone who has a wii and loves action. I’d recommend getting a Nyko perfect shot to go along with the experience because it’ll add layers of more fun to the game play experience.
Click here to buy the game from amazon

I recommend this to go with the game

Click here to buy from Amazon

Well that does it for Part 2 of the gift guide. There’s alot of stuff I didnt mention but you likely already have it like Batman:Arkham Aslyum or Halo:ODST so thats why I didn’t include it. However the next edition of the Gift guide will include my personal picks and picks for the collector and will be of a higher end of stuff so prepared to have your credit card’s maxed out.
Till next time!

Ralphie

So boys and girls, its that time of year again and it’s time to raid the shelves of all sorts of cool stuff and hope it makes it under the tree for Christmas day. I’ve decided to do an audio and blog post for what I think kicks ass and what you should check out this holiday season. Let’s start some with some kick ass toys!

TOYS!

One of the coolest RC vehicles I’ve ever had the privilege to own, The NKOK Halo RC Warthog. Sure, it’s not super high powered and not gonna easily cross your backyard but for chasing the cat around in style, it’s perfect Nicely detailed and comes with a Master Chief and another Spartan,it’s pretty bad ass all things considered and runs off 4 Double A batteries. Get this for the Halo fanboy in your life!

Check it out from Amazon.com

What kid didn’t want this when they were younger and who didn’t regret when we lost this vehicle to childhood garage sales or destruction? Playmates toys brought this back for the 25th Anniversary of our heroes on the half shell and thank God, cause now can truly appreciate how awesome this actually was. It’s already got the stickers pre applied so no worrying about messing it up and making not show accurate. Make sure to pick up the 25th anniversary turtles to go with it. This is a total must be if your into Turtles and want to relive some childhood memories

Check it out to buy it from Amazon

I’ve been wanting an HK since the Terminator 2 toys came out in the 90′s and finally my wishes were made true. The thing that really makes this toy kick ass is the amount of detail put into the mold and it’s a nice display piece on it’s own or could be part of an awesome diorama if you have the time. It also shoots missiles and has it’s fans able to rotate and a little t-700 included as a pilot as well. It’s pretty cool and definitely a cool thing to have this holiday to run around the house shouting “Pew! Pew!”

Check it out from Amazon

ELECTRONICS

Electronics power my life in almost every aspect to the point where I wonder if I am apart of the Matrix or a cyborg. Here are some of my picks for this holiday season for the gadget freak in your shopping list

Who doesn’t want to see in the dark? Seriously NIGHT VISION goggles that work and at an affordable price…well technically its a toy but it’s seriously bad ass. There was a version included with Modern Warfare 2 that looks more like a military version but still it actually works. This could actually have some neat applications for you in practicality like power outages or seeing around your car if it’s dark and it breaks down or something similar. I want a pair of these so bad I can taste it

Check it out on Amazon

GP2X Wiz MAME/Amiga/Console Emulator

Now this sound tremendously cool because of what it can do. This thing can be play so many ROMs and other things that it’s pretty amazing and is something that I’d love to see other companies put into their handhelds. This thing can play….Atari ST games, Commodore 64, NES, SNES, Gameboy, Gameboy Advance, NeoGeo, Flash Games and more. The fact that I could bring Super Metroid or something like Megaman 3 makes me jones for this something awful

Now here is something directly from Thinkgeek.com’s site description on this item

Important Note

The Wiz does not come with any emulator software or game roms pre-installed. Out of the box you can play some built in Flash games, but that’s it. You’ll need to download the freeware emulator for the console or computer system you want to emulate. Then you’ll need to unzip the emulator software, and copy it to an SD card along with some game roms you’ve downloaded. Then start-up the Wiz, go into the “launcher” option and run the emulator. Inside the emulator you’ll choose the rom you want to load and then the game can begin. Each emulator software interface is a bit different and most give you the option to overclock the Wiz to get the best performance. Remember you are running emulator software… most games work perfectly, but some may run slow or be glitchy. You may have to configure the controls to work well with the game you want to play. Documentation is not always the best, so you might need to put in a bit of effort to figure things out. If any of this scares you, then you may want to reconsider your purchase.

Check this out on Thinkgeek.com

The Nzxt Avatar gaming mouse is a surpringly little entry into my gift guide because I thought all mouses were built the same but I was dead wrong. I got my hands on this a few months ago and been playing games like Left 4 Dead and Fallout 3 and it works like a dream. It’s got adjustable sensitivity and all sorts of other customization options so if your FPS or a MMO player, it’s got you covered. One of the things I like about it how comfortable it is in your hand and since I do alot of audio editing on my PC, it’s nice to have something that won’t cramp your hand. Totally worth it for your work or gaming needs.

Buy directly from Nzxt

Apparel

Without clothes we would be naked and while I enjoy naked people, we do need clothes to go outside or less we be arrested. So I looked around the web and found some cool clothes for the nerd in your shopping list

I normally don’t care about shoes but seriously after seeing this posted over at Carol Zara’s website, I had to know more.

These shoes are customized or off the rack awesome sauce, seriously having a pair of Megman shoes or something like that just adds oodles of nerd cred.

They are expensive but hey, its the price of cool

Check it out here and order a pair

Want to be ready when the zombie apocalypse hits? Well you’ll be set with these threads on your back. I am most impressed by these shirts simply because they look awesome and especially with the little in-universe nods like the health pack slapped onto the back of them. The website Glitchgear has some pretty cool stuff like hats, wristbands and all sorts of other shirts from Left 4 dead and some other cool shirts as well. Totally worth a browse around the site

Check out the website and see all sorts of cool stuff

So guys thats my first part of my Holiday gift guide and in the next installments will include video games and movies and some other items that you may not expect.

Feel free to comment and let me know what YOUR picks are

I was contacted by South Peak a few weeks ago to check out one of their newest DS titles and Its one of the first times as a journalist that I’ve been asked to do something like this so suffice to say, I immediately jumped on the chance. It was really cool because it came on a cart that I have never seen before and I’ve got a admit, it made me feel like an industry insider.

Crime puts you into the shows of a new forensic detective named Matt Simmons and already not 10 minutes in the door you are called away on a case about a potential murder suicide of a fellow police officer. The game is portrayed like a point and click adventure with an art style that suits the game and seems right at home with the feel of the game’s dark subject matter.

I’ll only talk about the first bit of the game simply because no one wants to be spoiled before the mysteries are finished.

The play style allows you to explore crime scenes using tools of the trade like swabs for fluids and finger print kits and the tweezers to collect bullets and other small clues and several other forensic tools familiar to those of the CSI persuasion. It was something different then what I was expecting as I started swabbing blood from an exit wound on the wall from someone’s murdered wife.

That was pretty cool.

The thing that I liked most about this game is that it didn’t pull any punches when it came to descriptions of the crime scene’s such as “..her chest was pulverized.” and that really grabbed my attention. Using the stylus to interface with the crime scene can be a fun but at times frustrating especially when it comes to swabbing but this game also requires finesse and patience both of which are lacking on the FPS generation. Getting into the head of the investigative mind was a tremendous draw for me especially when you got into the crime lab section of the game and started playing with some of the forensic tools.

The game really does have a difficulty curve to it but that’s part of the charm as it’s like a crime itself,some crimes are easy to solve and some are quite the puzzle in themselves. You have something called a credibility meter and each time you screw up, it goes down so it really helps to pay attention when the game tells you to do something and do it right the first time. It’ll take a little bit of getting used with tools like the fluid swab but eventually it becomes second nature. I’m a bit of crime nut and it was fun to play a game like this on a handheld since I haven’t tried any of the CSI games or even the Murder she wrote games but thats more because of the horrible reviews then lack of interest. Solving crimes is something that happens every day and shows like Criminal Minds and CSI and the like all portray it in a different light and Crime scene tries to give you a taste of that world and I had fun with it. The difficulty is what will challenge most players but if you sit down and act like a real detective, I think your in for a real treat.

I was asked to not play past a certain point in the game and thats fine because I’ll be looking forward to playing this game when it’s released in February 2010.

Overall, I had a great time with this game and it’s what I’ve been looking for in terms of a forensic game should be, challenging and really makes you think about examining a scene and one of the coolest parts is using the microscope and the laser to eliminate unwanted cells on a slide.

Look for Crime Scene in February 2010 for your Nintendo DS.

Loose:
The Matrix: Path of Neo
Ratchet & Clank

X-Box
007: Agent Under Fire
007: Everything or Nothing
007: Nightfire
50 Cent: Bulletproof
Call of Cthulhu
Capcom Classics Collection
Castlevania: Curse of Darkness
Conker: Live and Reloaded
Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge
Dark Summit
Dead or Alive
Dead or Alive 2
Dead or Alive 3
Dead to Rights
Dead to Rights 2
Destroy All Humans
Destroy All Humans 2
Doom 3
Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil
Fatal Frame 2
Fighting Evolution
The Godfather: The Game
Grand Theft Auto 3
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Guilty Gear X2
The Guy Game
Halo
Halo 2
Hunter The Reckoning
Hunter The Reckoning: Redeemer
The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction
Jade Empire
Jaws: Unleashed
The King of Fighters: Neo Wave
Land of the Dead: road to Fiddler’s Green
Max Payne
Mech Assault 2: Lone Wolf
Mega Man Anniversary Collection
Mortal Kombat: Armageddon
Mortal Kombat: Deception
Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks
Playboy: The Mansion
Robocop
Robotech: Battle Cry
Robotech: Invasion
Samurai Showdown 5
Scarface: The World Is Yours
Sega GT 2002/ Jet Set Radio Future
Silent Scope Complete
SNK Vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos
Sonic Mega Collection Plus
Soul Caliber 2
Spider-Man 2
Splinter Cell
Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory
Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow
Star Wars: Battlefront
Star Wars: Battlefront 2
Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith
Star Wars: Republic Commando
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
Tony Hawk’s Underground
Tony Hawk’s Underground 2
Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland
TMNT: Mutant Melee
Tron 2.0: Killer App
True Crime: New York City
Ultimate Spider-Man
X-Box Game Disc (x2)
X2: Wolverine’s Revenge
X-Men Legends 2: Rise of Apocalypse

Loose:
Amped
Counter Strike
Dead or Alive: Xtreme Beach Volleyball
Fable
Ninja Gaiden
Mech Assault
Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance
Metal Slug 3
Unreal Championship

Game Cube
BMX: XXX
Die Hard: Vendetta
Eternal Darkness Sanity’s Requiem
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes
Metroid Prime
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
Resident Evil
Resident Evil: Zero
Sonic Adventure 2: Battle
Sonic Gems Collection
Soul Caliber 2
Star Wars: Rogue Leader
Super Smash Brothers: Melee
Terminator 3: Redemption
Viewtiful Joe
Viewtiful Joe: Red Hot Rumble

Loose:
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Nightmare 3

Playstation
Big Cases:
Battle Arena Toshinden
PO’ed
Twisted Metal
V Tennis
Viewpoint
Wrestlemania: The Arcade Game

Small Cases:
Crash Bandicoot
Crash Bandicoot: Warped
Crash Bash
Crash Team Racing
Codename: Tenka
Frogger
Jampack Volume 1
Jampack Volume 2
Oddworld: Abe’s Exodus
Resident Evil 2
Resident Evil 3: Nemesis
Street Fighter: EX Plus A
Tenchu: Stealth Assassins
Tomb Raider 2
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater
Twisted Metal 3
Twisted Metal 4

Loose:
Resident Evil

Genesis
NBA Jam
Sonic The Hedgehog
Sonic The Hedgehog 2

Nintendo Entertainment System
Air Wolf
Blades of Steel
Bill and Ted’s Excellent Video Game Adventure
Bionic Commando
Flying Dragon: The Secret Scroll
The Hunt for Red October
Jaws
Kabuki: Quantum Fighter
Kings of the Beach
Metroid
Mission Impossible
The Rocketeer
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
Silent Service
Star Tropics
Super Mario Brothers/ Duck Hunt
Super Mario Brothers 3
Superman
Tecmo Bowl
WWF Wrestlemania
Unclassified

X-Box 360
Alone in the Dark
Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts
Beautiful Katamari
Bioshock
Bolt
The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena
Call of Duty: World at War
Call of Duty 4:Modern Warfare
Call of Jaurez: Bound in Blood
Crackdown
Damnation
The Darkness
Darkest of Days
Dead or Alive 4
Dead or Alive Xtreme 2
Dead Rising
Devil May Cry 4
Dragonball Z: Burst Limit
Dynasty Warriors: Gundam
Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 2
End War
Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard
Fable 2
Fallout 3
G-Force
Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter
Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2
Gears of War
Gears of War 2
The Godfather 2
Grand Theft Auto 4
Guitar Hero 2
Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock
Guitar Hero: World at War
Guitar Hero 5
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith
Guitar Hero: Metallica
Guitar Hero: Smash Hits
Halo 3
Halo Wars
Hellboy: the Science of Evil
Left 4 Dead
Legendary
Lips
Lost Odyssey
The Orange Box
Perfect Dark: Zero
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
Mass Effect
Monsters vs. Aliens
Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe
Namco Museum: Virtual Arcade
Ninja Gaiden 2
Prototype
Project Sylpheed
Raiden Fighters: Aces
Rainbow Six: Vegas
Rainbow Six: Vegas 2
Red Faction: Guerrilla
Rise of the Argonauts
Rockband
Rockband 2
Rockband: The Beatles
Rockband Track Pack: AC/DC Live
Rockband Track Pack: Classic Rock
Saint’s Row 2
Scene It: Lights, Camera, Action
Scene It: Box Office Smash
Section 8
Skate 2
Spider-Man: Web of Shadows
Splinter Cell: Double Agent
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Street Fighter 4
Superman Returns
Terminator Salvation
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
UFC 2009: Undisputed
Velvet Assassin
Wanted
Wheelman
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
You’re in the Movies

Playstation 3
50 Cent: Blood of the Sand
007: Quantum of Solace
Afro Samurai
Assassin’s Creed
Batman: Arkham Asylum
The Bigs 2
Bionic Commando
Blaz Blue: Calamity Trigger
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3
Dead Space
Dirt 2
F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin
Fight Night: Round 4
Ghostbusters: The Video Game
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
Guitar Hero: World Tour
Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 2
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Infamous
Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol Encore
Killzone 2
The King of Fighters 12
Lego Batman: The Video Game
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
Mirror’s Edge
MLB: Front Office Manager
Need for Speed: Undercover
Prototype
Resident Evil 5
Resistence: Fall of Man
Resistence 2
Rockband 2
Rockband Track Pack: AC/DC Live
Silent Hill: Homecoming
Singstar Queen
Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection
Sonic Unleashed
Soul Caliber IV
Smackdown Vs. Raw 2009
Street Fighter 4
Tomb Raider: Underworld
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
UFC 2009: Undisputed
Watchmen: The End is Nigh: The Complete Experience
Wet
WWE: Legends of Wrestlemania
X Blades

Wii
The Conduit
De Blob
Dead Rising: Chop ‘Till You Drop
Deadly Creatures
The Destiny of Zorro
Dirt 2
Don King: Boxing
Guitar Hero 5
The House of the Dead: Overkill
The King of Fighters Collection: The Orochi Saga
Klonoa
Mariokart: Wii
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
Monsters vs. Aliens
The Munchables
Onechanbara: Bikini Zombie Slayers
Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles
Rolling Stone: Drum King
Sam & Max: Season 1
Spectrobes: Origins
Super Smash Brothers: Brawl
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Wii Sports
Wii Sports: Resort

Dual Screen
Blue Dragon Plus
Boing Docomodake: DS
Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
Chrono Trigger
The Dark Spire
Dirt 2
Dragonball: Origins
Ghostbusters: The Video Game
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
Legacy of X: Books 1 and 2
Lego Battles
Lux-Pain
Metal Slug 7
Metroid Prime: Hunters
Monsters Vs. Aliens
Naruto Shippuden: Ninja Council 4
New Super Mario Bros.
Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword
Ninja Town
Steal Princess
Tokyo Beatdown
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: Autobots
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: Decepticons
Ultimate Band

Loose:
Guitar Hero: On Tour
Guitar Hero: On Tour: Decades
Guitar Hero: On Tour: Modern Hits

Gameboy Advance
Final Fantasy VI: Advance
Metroid
Metroid: Fusion
Metroid: Zero Mission
Pokemon: Fire Red Version
Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Brothers 3

Playstation Portable
Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles
Class of Heroes
Crimson Gem Saga
Darkstalkers Chronicle: The Chaos Tower
Dirt 2
Dragonball: Evolution
Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core
God of War: Chains of Olympus
Justice League Heroes
Killzone: Liberation
Mega Man X: Maverick Hunter
Mega Man: Powered Up
Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops
Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus
Parappa The Rapper
Pangya: Fantasy Golf
Rock Band: Unplugged
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Valhalla Knights 2

XBL/PSN games NOT listed but will be soon
Arcade Machine games not listed as well

Mostly accurate-Need to add some stuff coming this week and double check some stuff

I can feel it coming over me
I feel it all around me
I’ve been waiting for this moment all my life it’s my destiny
There’s a fire deep inside of me
It’s waiting to come out now
No matter what, no matter how, I know I’ll make it through somehow
Exile-The Next Door (Indestructible)
Theme to SF4

Hey guys!

BirdmanTWIG, former g1 of the year 2007 returning for what will become a weekly blog entry of my thoughts as a journalist as well as an upcoming hopeful competitive player in the fighting game genre with games like Street Fighter 4 and Super Smash Brothers Brawl. This week I’m looking at the the competitive scene with SF4.

Over the last months, I’ve been working at an E-Sports arena in Hamilton,Ontario called The Pownz Game Centre and it’s opened up a new and exciting world to me – the realm of competitive gaming. 

As a journalist, I’ve been able to report on it to a limited degree but I’ve been limited to date with little knowledge of the scene. However, as time passed and I got into the games like SF4 and beyond, I saw and experienced something new. Street Fighter was always one of those games that I played as a hobby against my friends and mostly just to see new endings for the characters. As part of my job I started attending more and more tournaments and seeing what was happening between the player and the stick and what it meant to be better, train harder and eventually win.

I began working with my co-workers and playing for fun and eventually competing in the fun ladder nights and being PWN’d and I don’t just mean I was beaten. It was so bad that I was utterly destroyed, left my dignity at the door and may have well of been beating up my grandmother bad. I was absolutely humiliated. I’m not one who likes to be beat and I love a good challenge at the same time. 

I started watching some of the EVO videos and seeing how good other people were and figured I’d be good if I could take on a few tough competitors… Boy was I wrong…dead wrong. I was also talking with the people I was competing against which helped to fuel my interest so I knew that it took YEARS of training to get this good. It’s a given that it takes a long time to get good at anything but seeing a true digital athlete was something I hadn’t seen before. EVO and the tournaments like it have been around for years and there’s a huge community around them too. More than that, companies like SF2HD Remix is proof the companies are listening to that community.

There is also a real excitement with the people that get into the competition scene and seemingly A LOT with Street Fighter players I’ve had the honor of being with. The last tournament I attended was a 46-man bracket and I finished 33rd – thank God for byes. LOL. Still, when the games got started it was like being in an NHL arena during playoff seasons – especially when the finals hit. The last match I had the pleasure of watching and commenting on at ufragtv.com was a match between a Toronto veteran and a new kid who played with a controller instead of a stick and it was intense. It was so quiet at times that all you could hear was people hitting the controllers and the baited breath between rounds. Finally the match ended and the NEW kid was the champion…a kid with a controller with NO tournament experience.

It was said at the tournament by some of the crowd, the future is here and in my mind it really is. Seeing this kid win this tournament from some of the best Ontario has to offer got me thinking… I want to be part of this world. I want to endure the training, and feel that heat of competition. I want to be able to stand toe to toe with some of the best the sport has to offer. Watching that crowd erupt for that him – some cheers, some genuine jeers – but seeing him stand triumphant against all odds and win… I want that.

The competitive scene is something I’ve only observed for a little while I’m ready to be part of it. I know that this will not be an overnight victory and it’ll be a long road filled with lots of ups and downs but isn’t that the true measure of what makes it worth while? It’s the journey to be the best and be along with the like minded and have them encourage, challenge you to your limits. I totally get I make this sound so much larger then what it is but to us gamers, this is excitement and to some this is a way of life.

It’s being part of a community and being a competitor… and it’s an exciting world to be in. I love every time we sit down and fight it out. It’s actually much like when I used to be in martial arts and it’s inspiring me to go back to that world to feel that thrill and rush.

So I’ve begun training myself with some of the people at work on our Wednesday night Street Fighter 4 matches and so far so good. I decided if I wanted to play like the pros I had to be equipped like the pros and so I got a Mad Catz SF4 Tournament stick and had to unlearn YEARS of pad knowledge. It’s been harder then I thought but once I got into a pattern, it really helped bring up my game and now I can throw a fireballs and upper cuts with no problem. I’ve become aware of technical things like hit boxes and frames when it comes to attacks and have learned that this is a lot deeper than I had originally thought. Part of any sport is knowing the history and the technical aspects of it as talent will only get you so far and knowing that it takes dedication to become a contender and eventually a champion.

There have been a lot of losses and a few hard earned wins but it’s worth the defeats because I learn something new every time I fight. The knowledge gained from a loss is immeasurable when I think about it and go back to have my coaches analyze me… Yes, I even have coaches. Right now, I’m what’s called a Flowchart Ken in my mind. Sure, that’s a bit of a joke but I’m starting to grasp concepts like spacing and wake up’s and anti airs. I still lose… but now I can feel my game improving every day and with every match.

Eventually when all is said done, we’ll see if all my training pays off but even if it doesn’t, I can take a page from Ryu’s book and continue fighting till I find what I am looking for in the heart of battle.

Recently I decided to make a comeback into the world of video and with help of my live in video editor, Dave; we made this little video.

Special thanks to Flip Video for the help with the Flip Video Ultra HD and Aksys Systems and lastly Mad Catz for the SF 4 TE Fight Stick

Few games capture my interest based on artwork alone and hype but Blazeblue: Calamity trigger did but it did and it made quite the impression. I am sure your asking right now…

“Birdman, what the hell is Blazeblue?”
Well, I’m glad you asked.

Blazeblue is the next generation fighter that seems to be very much the spiritual successor of the Guilty Gear series and was and still is an Arcade success which debuted last year and made the leap to consoles in the last little while. My work at Pownz brings into the competitive fighting game scene and this really made me want to ramp up my skills,etc and this is where I heard about this game.  The game has an amazing artstyle and a soundtrack that was sonic awesome-ness.

If you can find an LE version of this game then pick it up because I have a feeling copies will get scarce in a month or so as word spreads of this fighter. I’ll call it right now, sleeper hit of the year that will eventually find it’s way into MANY MANY homes by year’s end.

So playing Blazeblue with a tournament stick was like going back to the arcades of old and having a grand old time and especially with the world class ass kicking. Still, I’m still very new at the game and have only played a few matches against Stef and Dave but love what I am playing so far, it deep, fun and most of all, it’s new to the vast majority of people.

Blazeblue, as we said on the competitive Edge with Chris, we don’t know where it’ll end up in terms of the competitive scene. I hope this becomes a next level competetive level game like Street fighter 4 and SF 2 HD Remix but only time will tell and I know I’ll be following EVO very closely and seeing where this ends up.

Anyway guys, this was our trip into Buffalo and our epic quest to find this great game.

I’ll be posting alot more as I move towards my new goal of becoming a competitive gamer and the video game journalist with a PH.D

Live free or die hard

On today’s Birdman’s Boombox, Mike speaks to Entity and The Ranger from the nerd rap group 8 Bit Boys. The 8 Bit Boys album, 8 Bit Diagrams, samples primarily from the music of classic NES games and the lyrics are laden with references to games and gaming. The free and retail versions of their album are available from www.8bitboys.com.

So download and enjoy!

Geeks:
Mike “The Birdman” Dodd

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Download TWiG-8BitBoys.mp3

Birdman is back with his personal blog of music awesomeness and this week Mike brings back Brent Morris (http://twitter.com/closetgeekshow) showcasing the music that both Mike and Brent love.

Playlist:
8Bit Boys – 8bit Blisters
Bryan Simon – One Shot on my X
Coco Loves Alcorn – Intellectual Boys
Falco Lombardi – The Girl Oceanic
The Mountain Goats – Sorry Your Princess is in Another Castle
Derek Kurth – The Ballad of the T-1000

Links mentioned in episode:
mario opera – http://www.mannmade.tv
http://bit.ly/dailyremix
http://bit.ly/sausage

So download and enjoy!

Geeks:
Mike “The Birdman” Dodd
Brent “The Closet Geek” Morris

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Download TWiG-BirdmansBoombox-005.mp3

Reaching the final day of our week of daily updates, we bring you a Birdman’s Boombox interview Mike did with Perpetual Emotion Machine. You may recognize PEM’s music in our TWiG extro music. Make sure to check his music out at http://perpetualemotionmachine.ca

So download and enjoy!

Geeks:
Mike “The Birdman” Dodd

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Download TWiG-BirdmansBoombox-004.mp3

Bringing back a blast from the past, Mike was able to sit down virtually with one of our favorite geeks, Brent Morris (@theclosetgeekshow on twitter), to spin some tunes for Birdman’s Boombox!

Songs played:
Party Ben – Galvanize the Empire – John Williams “Imperial March”vs. Chemical Brothers “Galvanize”

locK3Down – Faulter – Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – “flaunt line” vs. Filter – “Hey man nice shot”

Wax Audio – Come to Nazareth – Beatles “Come Together” vs. Justice “Waters of Nazareth”

Beastie Boys vs. Blass Kleph – Intergalactic Coup D’etat (Hook & Sling vs. Elusive Remix)

So download and enjoy!

Geeks:
Mike “The Birdman” Dodd
Brent “The Closet Geek” Morris

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Download TWiG-BirdmansBoombox-003.mp3

Continuing Part 2 of the original, yes thats right a sequal *groan*

No, seriously this is a good one….Seriously.

TWiG Blog attacks again with Birdman’s Boombox Episode 002

Want to comment on the episode? Discuss it on the TWiG Forums, by going to http://www.thisweekingeek.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=112

Download and enjoy.

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Continuing on in our effort to take over the world, TWiG brings you another TWiG Blog. But this time it’s from our very own Mike “The Birdman” Dodd with “Birdman’s Boombox” which is part of his own personal blog at http://birdmanofsteel.vox.com

This episode Birdman digs into the mix tape of Video Game Remixes.

Want to comment on the episode? Discuss it on the TWiG Forums, by going to http://www.thisweekingeek.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=28

Download, Enjoy and go play something.

To all are one!

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Download TWiG-BirdmanBoombox-001-Part1.mp3