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Join sisters NinJaSistah and Pandalicious and the rest of the ESH Crew each day as they discuss video games, tech gadgets, anime, manga... pretty much everything within the geek chic lifestyle.

From Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, and PC game reviews, previews, news, and gushings to audience questions and rumor mill seeding galore you'll find it here at ESH!
First Nerdgasm of 2010: ESH@CES Las Vegas!
 

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    CES Coverage

    We went to CES and here's what we saw and molested.

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    Xbox 360 Stuffs

    Check out crew rantings on the XB360 platform.

    PS3 Things

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    Wii Little Bits

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    Oh Hai! Anime-niacs

    Peep the stuff we've written about on the anime tip.

    Manga Love

    We less than three manga as well, so peep the manga reviews.

    ESH Photo Galleries

    Check out the snapshots we've taken at events and more here...


    Kanokon Entertains Despite Its Flaws

    posted @ 1/31/2010 11:39:00 AM by King Baby Duck

    Media Blasters recently announced it has licensed the ecchi-comedy Kanokon. Does a show like this merit any sort of attention?

    Based on the light novel series by Katsumi Nishino, Kanokon revolves around Kouta, a first-year high school student who moves from the countryside to the city. On his first day at his new school, a beautiful second-year female student named Chizuru asks him to meet her alone in the music room. When he arrives, she tells him that she is in love with him and, after some heavy kissing, accidentally reveals to him that she is in fact a fox deity. From that day on Chizuru constantly hangs on Kouta, which embarrasses him greatly due to others watching and calling him the Great Erotic King. Meanwhile, a wolf deity named Nozomu transfers into Kouta’s school and class. Since meeting him, she is all over Kouta, causing Chizuru to become annoyed at her new competition for Kouta’s affection. Who’s going to be the one for Kouta, and will he be able to handle her?

    Now this is another show where most of the humor is derived from the fan-service. There is a lot of quirky, perverted silliness, some of which use some great double entendres. Some things made me laugh so hard that I almost fell out of my seat. However one of the biggest issues I have with the show is the fact that it throws away one of its main premises in favor of more perverted humor. I was led to believe that there would be more dealings with the animal deities, but instead we get a cooking episode by #3. This is what happened with Rosario + Vampire, and that didn’t fare out so well. I am also surprised with some of the stuff that made it onto Japanese TV, especially the bare-assed spanking scene at the end of the third episode. Of course it’s not all bad.

    I'm on the fence on what to give this series as a grade. It's truly a guilty pleasure of mine, but at the same time there are far better series out there that you could use your free moments to watch. Having said that, I'll go with my gut instinct and give this series a light B-average. However, don't watch this with your family in your premises. Don't watch it with your lover. Don't watch it with your friends (unless you can make a good drinking game out of it). Just watch it alone, and never speak of it in front of anybody. Hell, admitting that I enjoyed it makes me feel like I'm putting myself at risk of damaging my reputation.

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    Star Trek Online Beta: RPG? Yes please! MMO? I'm not sure.

    posted @ 1/28/2010 01:05:00 AM by Vichus Smith



    If you have every dreamed of blasting a Klingon in the neck with a phaser set to stun, Star Trek Online has finally been made for you to enjoy.

    Besides Star Wars, the other big deal in Sci-fi has been Star Trek, from the original series to its latest rebirth in an alternate timeline, millions have been watching trek and loving its universe. So an MMORPG in that universe is obviously a move that had to be attempted.

    What you get is Star Trek Online, a beautiful entry in the expanded world of Trek that takes place a few generations after the original series.




    In any MMO, you must begin creating your virtual self, and STO gives you a wealth of options. As a Trek novice, I thought the only race options would be between an earthling, a Vulcan, maybe even a Klingon. The list is about 4 times as long as that. The customization doesn't end in picking your race. The character customization will satisfy people who live to carve the best virtual model you can.





    The character I created was Jon Cade, a silver-haired, contemplative science officer. I think he's either an Andorian or a Nausiccan. I don't recall. Seriously, the amount of races overwhelmed me a bit. So once I create Jon Cade, it's off to learn a bit about the world I've been dropped into. What better way to learn how to function in the Star Trek universe than to fight some Borg!

    Damn it feels good to shoot a phaser. Or, when you get up close, it's satisfying to lay a Borg out with a good right hook. Attacking is easy, but i'm not really satisfied with how you move in STO. I like the waypoint style of movement in MMORPGs. The way you move in STO feels like it was made for console analog sticks, not w,a,s, and d. You can move by clicking both mouse buttons, sending your character in the direction your field of vision is pointing. At least give me the option of another style!




    As a casual MMOer (which sounds like blasphemy) I only spent a few hours on the beta. There were away team missions and the space missions, which involves flying around in your own ship and engaging any enemies who you make come up against- like Borg cubes. Just like the movement on foot, moving in your ship is awkward. The ships of STO have to be maneuvered similarly to a boat. It's not smooth sailing, though.

    After a few missions, I was ready to finally go off on my own to accept any mission I wished. I only got as far as the beginning of the big Klingon invasion, but there was something off (not enough servers? my wireless connection just blows) that denied my a final moment of Federation glory.

    I had a fairly positive experience with the game, and while I don't think that this is my ideal world to spend some time in, I think it's a great effort. Since it was a beta, there were obvious hiccups and nagging bits, but to just successfully accomplish Trek in an MMO setting is enough for a thumbs up for me. I would much rather have this game as an offline RPG, but I might be in the minority opinion on that. I didn't really feel like I was part of an online experience anyway, so why not have Star trek for consoles?

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    Apple Brings Another "i" into the World With the iPad

    posted @ 1/27/2010 10:17:00 PM by Douceswild


    I'm pretty sure that at this point, if you can type "www" in an address bar, then you've read about Apple's new baby, the iPad.

    The iPad is definitely an interesting and intriguing device, but is it really necessary? Many are saying it's a step backwards and a little too late for Apple. Would this be more exciting if it came before the iPhone or iPod Touch? I mean, both of devices let us do pretty much all of what the iPad can do. The difference is the iPhone and iPod Touch are less cumbersome to carry around. Don't get me wrong. I think the functionality of the device is great, but haven't I sort of been carrying an iPad for almost three years already. My phone is by Apple. I can watch movies, play games, view pictures, read eBooks, check email, surf the web, and put it in my pocket when I'm done (unlike the iPad).

    Throw an OS on this thing and I might bite, but until then, all I can really say is that the iPad is pretty cool and for what it is and does, the price-point is spot on.

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    I Couldn't Have Said It Better Myself

    posted @ 1/26/2010 02:50:00 PM by evermore
    If you're anything like me, my spare time in these last few weeks has been spent in keeping up with the rumors surrounding Wednesday's announcement of new products by Apple. What is going to become the New Word of 2010? Will it be iSlate, iTablet, iPad, iOhWhatever?

    I was going to write my own pre-announcement story about the iToBeNamedLater, but it has already been written for me -- and it's a gem:

    Some personal thoughts about the Apple Tablet by Mel Martin for The Unofficial Apple Weblog says pretty much what I was going to write -- and it's written better than what I would have done.

    FULL DISCLOSURE: My wife owns Apple stock, currently valued at the price of about 8,000 iTunes songs.

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    MAG in stores tomorrow! Are you excited- or underwhelmed?

    posted @ 1/25/2010 08:03:00 PM by Vichus Smith


    A few weeks ago, all PS3 owners were treated to the wide open beta for MAG, the massive action game which allows for 256 players to battle it out across one of three different factions, all at one time.

    Modern Warfare 2, as you read this, is still being played heavily and often. Will MAG be the big deal when it comes to PlayStation, or is Modern Warfare 2 the superior experience? I have not played Modern Warfare 2, but I have played MAG. I was not bowled over, but it was lots of fun. Having scores of players all playing towards one goal is exciting, but PS3 users tend not to have as many headsets as Xbox Players do, killing the ability to strategize for victory.

    So I will get a copy of MAG, whether it's in rental or retail form. I hope to see some of you there, and I hope you join me as part of MAG's best team!


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    Eggs Without the Estrogen

    posted @ 1/25/2010 08:00:00 AM by Ninjasistah
    Well, not really as this fresh Monday episode of the Electric Sista Hood podcast is just chock fulla ladies!

    Pandalicious and NinJaSistah welcome guest host PyroGirl to the show to chat about the anime and manga series Shugo Chara which former host MagicMysticGrl talk about back in the day. NinJa pretty much just adds the color commentary [sometimes with a really bad "valley" impression] as both Pandalicious and PyroGirl try to impart the seriousness that is Shugo Chara. By seriousness I mean heart of people birthing eggs housing their inner selves... cute, little, chibi selves.

    Shugo Chara is a hard series for me to explain so we'll just impart a quick run down: Cat-Boy not-so-bad-baddie, hints of pedophilia, magical girl syndrome, and girls that turn out to be boys. Oh yeah, probably has some incest in there as well, but the anime series is 102 episodes deep keeping Chara from being some fly-by-night series. Need more convincing to listen to the episode? Here are some of the titles we didn't use
    • All these 80's Movies are Turning Her Into ValleySistah
    • Ferrets Steal Shiny Things Like Magpies (But Magpies Aren't Shiny)
    • For Most Eggs, Their Dreams Ends At KFC
    • I Thought Keybearers Liked Small Locks
    • and finally
    • It's a Good They Didn't Mention the Incest Until Last

    So grab a glass/mug/pint of your favorite beverage and enjoy Electric Sista Hood Podcast Episode 181: I Don't Know Nothin' Bout Birthin' No Eggs

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    "Setokai No Ichizon" Filled With Light Laughs and Heavy Punches

    posted @ 1/24/2010 01:04:00 PM by King Baby Duck

    Satire is one of anime's so-so friends. Sometimes they work well with one another, whereas other times it just plain sucks. Fortunately for Setokai No Ichizon, satire is its best buddy.



    Don't let the opening fool you. This is probably one of the more underrated shows of 2009. Setokai no Ichizon follows the daily routines of the student council members of Hekiyou Academy. Most of the council members are women, with the exception of Ken; who became a member after scoring the top scores in his level. The other members -- Kurimu (the very short Council President), Chizuru (the sadistic Secretary), Minatsu (the tomboyish Vice-President) and Mafuyu (the bishojou Treasurer) -- taunt him for his antics, but at the end of each show Ken shows them their faults, turning everything around them. One unique thing about this anime is that -- for the most part -- every episode takes place in one scene: the Student Council Room. Granted there are some cut-scenes here and there that take them out of the room for a few seconds, but just about everything happens in this one small room. It even shocks the cast members, who in the first couple minutes of the first episode say that animating a series like Setokai no Ichizon would be impossible and boring.

    Fortunately, it's anything but.

    Setokai no Ichizon is ripe with humor, and on top of that knows how to make fun of itself and just about every other anime that's come out in the last three years. Ken dreams of the other members becoming part of his harem, but instead is slapped in the face with denial (both literally and metaphorically). A swimsuit episode appears, and instead of focusing on the stereotypical fan-service one seems to see in anime the episode hilariously just shows Ken trying to get out of a locker the girls put him in (for obvious reasons). My favorite episode, though, has to be the fourth one, where the council members try to work on a fiction story to improve their image. The ideas range from light-novels to video games; but the best comes in the form of Kurimu starting a rock band. The jokes come fast-paced in this one scene, ranging from the idea of selling character albums for fast cash to just cleverly saying "FUCK YOU!" to Kyoto Animation. (Ken losing it over the lack of dynamic concert performances hit right at home for me, as that was what I thought made K-On! a shit storm of an anime.)

    Of course the show does at time flub up a good opportunity to make fun of other forms of stereotypical anime. It tries to parody the concept of moé, but instead just adds fuel to that over-burning fire. Episode 8 pokes at "loli," and while the "playing doctor" and "house" gags are a riot the underlining theme and concept of it all was kind of unsettling. Despite these two flaws, though, a lot of the humor works well; and when it gets to its serious side (with a sort of "what we learned today" vibe) each episode wraps itself up with something any anime fan can enjoy.

    Setokai no Ichizon earns itself a B+. It's a funny show that jabs at the obvious flaws of the current anime world, while at the same time pokes at itself for falling victim to said flaws.



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    Preview: Blue Microphone Yeti

    posted @ 1/22/2010 09:50:00 PM by Ninjasistah
    If you happened to catch our podcast last week and listened to the entire hour than you know I spent some time with Blue Microphones at CES a couple of weeks ago.

    Well, I'm going to be reviewing that USB mic [called the Yeti] very soon and wanted to give you a sneak peek at what I'm playing with.

    When at CES we talked about Blue Microphone's new iPhone external microphone device "The Mikey" and a soon-to-be release USB microphone designed with podcasters and home musicians in mind. This microphone, "the Yeti," reminded me of why I love working in audio... it's just flat out sexy!

    Lightly coated brushed metal-esque finish, gorgeous steel mesh protecting it's cardioid innards and THX certification emblem is enough to make a gal buy one just to put it on display. Don't get it twisted, I plan on road-testing the hell out of this mic including recording my side of our next few podcasts with it in addition to some special little projects I have created to really push all of Yetis' buttons and see just how well it can handle what people can through in its general direction. If you are in the market for a new USB microphone for professional level recording and don't want to wait for my review, you can pick up a Yeti of your own for the Apple Store Online for $149.95.

    While I have done little more than take it out of the box at this point, I do have some of those nerdc0re photos for you on our newly created Flickr stream! Peep the show below and be on the look out for more images to hit that feed soon!


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    A Robot's Letters to God, No. 36

    posted @ 1/20/2010 08:00:00 AM by evermore

    Here's one more installment of A Robot's Letters to God.



    Do you have an idea for a funny Robot's Letters to God? Just send them to evermore@electricsistahood.com. If we use it, we'll be glad to give you credit!

    In case you missed 'em, click here to check out the previous Robot's Letters to God.

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    Age of Conan: Rise of the Godslayer Trailer

    posted @ 1/19/2010 03:10:00 PM by Douceswild


    Color me stupified, I thought the Age of Conan mmo was on it's way out, but I guess I was wrong. It's getting an expansion. I know, right!?!

    Rise of the Godslayer is the first expansion for the almost 2yr old mmo. Sadly, I didn't even stick around for the free month of gameplay and have never looked back. After watching this trailer...I'm still not going back. I've heard the game has become group-dependent which is always a turn-off for me in an mmo. But for those who you who are still hooked this expansion might be for you.

    Set in the eastern empire of Khitai and including a new playable race - the Khitan - 'Rise of the Godslayer' brings to the table a new story and missions, new player mounts and new areas to explore. No release date has been released yet.

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    Paul McCartney Talks Music on VH1

    posted @ 1/19/2010 02:00:00 PM by Ninjasistah
    Sir McCartney will be on VH1 Classic tonight at 10 p.m talking about music, his to exact which I find pretty cool. I am a late bloomer when it comes to discovering the music of The Beatles, but find myself always thirsty to learn more about what drove and continues to drive their creativity,

    Recently I had the opportunity to see the Cirque du Solei show "Love" while on Las Vegas and fell in love more with the instumental versions of Beatles music played before the show began than the show itself I think.

    The press release says, "The hour-long interview covers all facets of McCartney's fascinating career, from his days with The Beatles to his most recent solo release, Good Evening New York City. This live album was recorded at New York's Citi Field, which sits on the site of the iconic Shea Stadium, where The Beatles played to what was, at the time, the largest crowd to attend a rock and roll concert. Additionally, McCartney touches subjects like The Beatles' catalog going digital, his favorite bass line and MTV Games and Harmonix's critically-acclaimed The Beatles: Rock Band video game."

    So be sure to tune into VH1 Classic tonight, you've got nothing better to do since "Heroes" was on last night. ;)





    - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

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    Titan Studio’s Titan of a Game

    posted @ 1/19/2010 01:40:00 PM by FreeLoader

    Who would’ve thought? Two kingdoms filled completely with chubby chasers; extremely violent chubby chasers at that. Well that’s what we get in the game Fat Princess.

    If you’ve ever played capture the flag, and I know you have, then I’m sure you’ve had the same thought that the developers over at Titan Studios had: “Why can’t I feed my team’s flag so that it’s harder to carry for the other team?” Well your dreams have been answered, except instead of a flag, you’re protecting a princess.

    The nice thing is, it isn’t your princess that you’re feeding, it’s the other team’s princess. That way, you can feed her into a sugar coma without really feeling all that bad. Your concern is more on your princess, that other team is feeding into a sugar coma. So the game is a glorified CTF with a new game mechanic to keep it fresh, right? Wrong.

    Fat Princess is not just a huge game of 16 on 16 CTF. It’s also got elements of real time strategy, but instead of playing a general commanding the troops, there is no general, and you are the troops. You can play as 5 very different classes as you work towards achieving a victory for your team.

    As the worker you collect resources (wood and metal) and use those resources to upgrade the classes, build siege weapons (a catapult that launches teammates into the enemy castle) and other assorted ladders and spring boards around the map: generally making things easier for everyone around you. The worker also gets bombs to compliment his axe with an upgrade. The ranger is exactly what you think it is; a bow wielder with a musket as his upgrade. Rangers provide fire from behind the combat and make great guards for the towers strewn about the maps which provide both a tactical advantage as well as another place for workers to bring resources if your team controls them.

    Then you have your support classes, the priest and the mage. Mages can use fire magic which, when charged up can set enemies ablaze. Their attacks can be area of effect or targeted, making them versatile. Their upgrade is ice magic and allows them to freeze enemies for a short period. Priests are the healers and also have area of effect heals, as well as targeted heals. They are perhaps the most important support class as they can keep their teammates in the fight. For the priest’s upgrade they become a dark priest and sap health from enemies, as well as curse them so that they cannot target.

    And of course, the backbone of the team is the warrior. Formerly one of the worst classes, the warrior was slow and had no range. After an update that beefed up the warrior, making him run faster while charging his attacks, he has become essential to winning any match, especially considering the huge amount of health he has over the other classes. Of course an issue arose with the update (which also nerfed the overpowered dark priest) which allows the warrior to use his shield while carrying anything, including the princess. This is frustrating because it allows the warrior to solo-capture a princess and escape the castle with more than half his health. His shield allows him to block incoming arrows and melee attacks.

    Getting past that issue, let’s talk a little more about gameplay. Every class upgrade except for the warrior and priest comes with a second effect. When the worker is upgraded, the worker hat machine produces large bombs that do detrimental damaged to layers and structures, such as castle doors. After upgrading the mage, a potion starts appearing at regular intervals nearby that, when thrown, turns any players within its area of effect into chickens. Finally, the ranger upgrade grants your castle lit torches. When a warrior or ranger stands near one of these torches, it lights their weapon on fire, giving it a damage boost for a short period of time, which serves as an impeccable castle defense.

    There are 3 other classes in the game, the first being the villager which has the lowest health besides the chicken. Villagers have the fastest movement and capture speed, making them the best choice for feeding the princess cake. The only attack they have is a slap which has a chance to stun a player and force them to drop whatever they are carrying. The other two classes are post game only, one being the reaper and the other, a giant chicken. A player turns into one of these for having the highest score in the match, reaper for being on the winning team, and giant chicken for being on the losing team. The player can then lay waste to the other team with the immense damage and health of this class for fun during the intermission between games. Upon death the giant chicken drops a rainbow colored orb which will turn any player into a reaper if they pick it up. The reaper, which is harder to kill than the chicken because he’s a smaller target, drops a handful of said orbs.

    So, sounds like a fun game so far right? Well, there are some issues. The latest update took away the host’s power to kick players. This is good because it stops immature players from kicking players that keep beating their team. It is bad because there is now literally no way to deal with team killers. These people will sit around the worker hat machine and throw the giant bombs at their own team’s castle doors. One way to deal with them is to have an upgraded mage sit at the doors and defuse the bombs with ice magic, but this guarantees that two of your players are now doing nothing to further the goals of the team and puts your team at a serious disadvantage.

    Another silly choice by Titan Studios was to leave team balancing up to the players. Now when a team has more human players than the other, the team with less players will start dropping orbs of their team’s color when they die. These orbs, when picked up, give a player a 300 point bonus and switches him to the opposite team, thus balancing them slightly. Unfortunately even the 300 point bonus does little to justify switching teams when your team is in the lead and controls the key points of the map already. Players can also switch teams at the end of the match, but none of it is mandatory.

    The final odd choice for multiplayer would be the matchmaking. When looking for a game the servers seem to only match you with people of your level. This is great for low level players as there are plenty of people out there in plenty of games. But as you get to the higher ranks of King/Queen, you are in games with only other Kings and Queens, which isn’t that many in contrast to the low level players, so high level players many times will delete their whole game save just so they can play with more people.

    Single player is short and sweet, with a campaign that details the supposed story as to why these two kingdoms are killing each other. It contains one of the game’s hardest trophies to obtain in its gladiate mode. This mode pits you as one of the 5 classes against wave after wave of enemies in an arena like setting.

    The game’s charm really shines in the cel-shaded graphics and cute voices of the characters. Of course when a cute voice yells out “I’ll leave you in pieces like the ice truck killer!” it’s hard not to laugh. The taunts are great, and the bloodbath that occurs in every battle is aesthetically pleasing to any gamer. Nothing better than getting to the battle late right in the middle of the map and seeing the huge amount of bodies and blood strewn across the battlefield.

    The community is still very much alive for this game, but with the issues currently out there it makes it hard to get into, and keep interest for. Hopefully Titan Studios will the cry of the fans and fix what is wrong with this otherwise great game. If you’re looking for a game to blow 15 dollars on and aren’t sure what to get, Fat Princess on the PSN is hours of fun. And at least the voice chat works! *glares knowingly at battlefield 1943*

    Written by: Bramimond

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    Panda @ the Boston Post Mortem

    posted @ 1/18/2010 03:10:00 PM by Pandalicious


    When the grog is fresh and gamers are a plenty!


    To some of us, gaming is just a hobby, something that we do to relax, unwind, and have fun. However, what if…we wanted to turn it into our 9-5? There isn’t a doorway that leads straight into our dream careers, though we wish that there were.

    Over time, this hobby grew into a deep appreciation. Like most things we grow deeply attached to, we learn to master it; we desire to be apart of it. We have seen this in examples of LARP groups, Dungeons and Dragons fellowships, and all conventions known to man. So what about gamers? Sure there are events like E3, PAX Prime/East, and E for All, but these are geared more to the consumer industry then to say…a bright-eyed overly enthusiastic game developer who has been recreating arcade classics since they hit college, or even a passionate artist who found their love for drawing by playing Final Fantasy VII. These people exist and I have discovered where they should go to find what they are looking for: the International Game Developers Association or IGDA.

    The IGDA is a professional society for game developers. It is an organization like this that brings about conventions like GDC. Which is for the dedicated masses who are serious about constructing games for a living, the focal point of their gaming year. But like so many who cannot make the pilgrimage to the promised land that is GDC; there are places that allow them to congregate, communicate, and network throughout the year.

    Through some good fortune given to me by the game developer gods, I was given a rare opportunity. These do not come around very often, and only fools do not take them when they are offered; I am no such fool. On January 13, 2010, I went to the Boston Post Mortem. Do not be alarmed if you don’t know what this is. Until just recently I was blissfully unaware it even existed. Now with newfound knowledge I bring its existence to the light in hopes that those who are serious about games will make their way to an IGDA chapter near them. Boston Post Mortem the chapter located in, you guessed it-Boston.

    I walked in expecting to be overwhelmed by gamer professionals. Needless to say I was not disappointed. However it was all very informal which made the experience more comfortable. There was no pressure to have to talk to people, to have to exchange cards. If you wanted to go in balls-to-the-wall then go for it, then no one would stop you.
    Sure, there was a lot of networking going on during the open floor, and after the main talk of the evening, given by Jeff Goodsill of Tencent Boston about “Planning for success in the Chinese Game Market.” However, I didn’t just see potential contacts in this room; I saw people who enjoyed a good light-hearted atmosphere to talk about their love of games and their craft relating to their love.

    So just as a preemptive strike for those of you in the Boston Area who are interested in the Boston Post Mortem here are some things to know.

    -It isn’t always a catered event, so be prepared to pay for your grog and meat.
    -Also be sure to have any and all things business related with you, like business cards, samples of your work (if you an artist)

    -Being you is a big bonus. There is no point in being something that you’re not

    -Lastly, Listen, Observe and have a good time. ☺

    If you are interested in Boston Post Mortem, you can visit their website at http://www.bostonpostmortem.org/. It lists their schedule of activities, directions and all the companies affiliated with their chapter. If you aren’t from the Boston area but are looking to get involved in something like this, look for local IGDA chapters in your area. They are in fact worldwide, so they shouldn’t be too hard to find. Good luck ☺

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    According to Bayonetta, Angels Enjoy Their Crotches

    posted @ 1/18/2010 08:05:00 AM by Ninjasistah
    The first full Monday after the CES recovery week brings with it a new episode of the Electric Sista Hood podcast and this one is focused on Platinum Games new title release Bayonetta.

    Both NinJaSistah and Pandalicious have played through the game and spend the bulk of the hour tripping through the awesome gameplay that is Bayonetta while spoiling the story ending, plot points and more. Did you know there was a music video at the end of the game? You do now!

    We even answer an audience question or two, touch on James Cameron's movie Avatar and start sharing some of the audio interviews Evermore and I conducted during CES 2010. Need more incentive to take a listen, check out some of the titles we came up with for this episode but didn't use:
    • Climaxes Are Different — We'll Get Back to Those
    • She's Wet — And It's Not Just Because She's Been At the Bottom of a Lake
    • and finally
    • The Last Naked Woman to Be Taken Seriously Was Eve

    Grab the beverage of your choice and enjoy Electric Sista Hood Podcast Episode 180: My Other Car Is a Pleasure Pony

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    Top Ten Anime Comedies of the Decade (2000-2009)

    posted @ 1/17/2010 12:57:00 PM by King Baby Duck
    When it comes to comedy, Japan knows its stuff. The past decade has brought us many great anime series that have made people laugh their asses off, and choosing a top ten is a no mere task. Nevertheless, I have listed ten anime comedies that have definitely earned a place in our funny bones.

    10. Love Hina


    This was the show that got me hooked into anime comedies. The story of Keitaro's quest to get into Tokyo University while searching for the girl he made a love promise to many a year ago was something almost any struggling high schooler/community college student could relate to. Add on the fact that Keitaro had to take care of his grandmother's apartment complex -- which contains nothing but girls -- and you get what could've been another harem comedy. Surprisingly the series always managed to make me laugh. Perhaps it was the anime chemistry between Keitaro and Naru (who may or may not be the girl he made the promise to); or perhaps it was the strange and wacky Kaolla Su, the exchange student who was like Cowboy Bebop's Ed on crack. Granted the show did lose its luster with both the Spring Special and Love Hina Again, but the first 24 episodes (and the Christmas Special) were filled with heavy laughs and lots of heart.

    9. Kamen No Maid Guy


    I always use this show as a sort of gateway anime for my buddies, and for good reason: It's maniacally funny! When Naeka is the lone heir to her grandfather's fortunes, she is put in danger of those who want it. So the grandfather hires Kogarashi: The Maid Guy. A transvestite superhero? Well, yes, but think of what it'd look like to see Jason Statham in a dress. It's hilarious, but you know he'll kick your ass if you snicker. Some may complain about the massive fan-service in the show (and there is a lot), but almost all of it is tied to another big laugh that's just around the corner. For example: when Saki sets up cameras in Naeka's bathroom to spy on her, Maid Guy casts one of his frozen powers on her and fixes the camera feed on the old fish salesman flossing his ass with his towel. You'll cringe with Saki, but at the same time it'll make you roll around the floor laughing your head off. Also when the female maid Fubki comes in to put Maid Guy in his place you can always bet that the end result will be hilarious.

    8. Detroit Metal City


    Released to coincide with the movie of the same name, Detroit Metal City followed Negishi, a pop singer who is forced to front a death metal band (under the alias of Krauser II). This follows with crazy antics involving an impromptu street performance that ends with Negishi accidentally smashing his guitar in the face of one police officer, Krauser's first movie role, the love of his life reviewing a DMC show (which ends with Krauser flipping her skirt up and calling her a "pig slut" to loud applause) and other things that can't really be named here. (Wait till you see what happens to Negishi's apartment.) The whole parody of metal bands has been done in both This is Spinal Tap and Metalocalypse, but the concept of taking a Mushroomhead-like band and putting a pop-loving vocalist in the forefront of it is a great example of ironic comedy. And with only each episode lasting about 12 minutes there was no room for Detroit Metal City to lose its blood-curdling steam.

    7. Azumanga Daioh!


    This comedy surrounding a group of stereotypical students didn't have a whole lot of story to it. In fact you can almost compare its plotline to that of Seinfeld: a show about high school students doing nothing. However what we got out of it was pure comedic dialogue. From Tomo's reasons for being an energetic slacker to spacey Osaka's day-dreaming escapades involving Chiyo-chan's hair, the mindset of these seemingly normal (but not really) high school students was not just funny but also imaginative. Not to mention it showed these students growing up in a world too small for them. What also made the show great were the teachers. The bantering between Yukari and Minamo always led itself down the path of drunken silliness, and the creepy teacher Kimura was more hilarious than what is legally allowed. It even succeeds in the fact that, while a Japanese high school comedy, it also has many things that regular high school students can relate to, from the struggles of getting back into school mode after vacation to the stress of preparing for college. And it's all done with a hearty laugh and a wink.

    6. Nodame Cantabile


    This classical music-based comedy followed the silly antics of Nodame the talented pianist and Chiaki the wannabe conductor. Like The Odd Couple, Chiaki's clean lifestyle was always fucked when Nodame's pigsty of a personality was in the same room as him. Nodame had a lot of heart to overcome her silliness, but at the same time that heart was almost instantly smothered by Chiaki's common sense. And there was that "Gyabo!" that Nodame would shout when things don't go as planned, which always brought a smile to my face. It also made it funny when they would use the works of classical performers to emphasize the comedic elements in the show (though not as criminally insane as when Ren & Stimpy did it). On top of that Nodame Cantabile had a great set of supporting characters, including the perverted conductor Stresemann and the openly-gay Masumi, who once dressed in a ballroom gown for one of the Rising Star Orchestra performances. Plus you would learn about classical music when watching, making it something of an educational aspect for the show. But what made it great was the comedic chemistry between Chiaki and Nodame. They were too different for one another, but you knew they would wind up together somehow. Seeing it happen is both sweet and comic gold. (I also recommend the live-action version, which is at times superior to the anime.)

    5. Gintama


    Just over 200 episodes have been made since Gintama first premiered in 2006, and it shows no signs of slowing down. Unlike some shows that refuse to die (I'm looking at you, Naruto!) this weekly program continues to bring viewers in thanks in part to its down-to-earth characters, clever plot lines, hilarious parodies and quotable one-liners. Set in a futuristic Edo Period (where samurai warriors watch TV and eat fast food) the series follows three numbskulls who must do various jobs in order to pay their rent; whether it may be saving the universe or walking an old lady down the street. Gintoki always manages to keep the spotlight to himself, even when his costars Shinpachi and Kagura try to steal it. Gintama is the type of anime comedy where watching one episode at a time just doesn't cut it. Watch five in a row, and see how many pounds you lose just from laughing.

    4. Ouran High School Host Club


    There are not a lot of romantic comedies out there that play out to both genders, and still manage to entertain them equally. Ouran High School Host Club is one such romantic comedy. A reverse harem if there ever was one, Ouran focuses on a host club in a rich high school, where new student Haruhi accidentally breaks the club's prized vase. In order to pay them back, Haruhi must work for the Host Club and bring forth a thousand customers. When the rest of the club members find out that Haruhi's a girl, that's when the strong romantic comedy element appears. Tamaki may be the king of the club, but it's the jesters Hikaru & Kaoru Hitachiin that bring some of the biggest comedic moments to the show. From their school pranks to the classic fight in Episode Five these two manage to create huge laughs that anyone will love. And of course there is Honey-sempai, the small twelfth-grader whose cute shell hides a master of martial arts. Ouran High School Host Club has enough lovey-dovey stuff for the girls, and a ton of comedy to keep the guys entertained without having to look at their watch.

    3. My Bride Is a Mermaid


    Known in Japan as Seto no Hanayome this anime about a junior high school student who must marry the daughter of a mermaid yakuza leader knew how to bring the funny. From Sun's crazy father and Masa-san to Lunar's Terminator-based dad and the jealous students that always beat the shit out of Nagasumi whenever another girl appears to be swooned by him, My Bride is a Mermaid was one series that got funnier as it progressed (rather than lose its steam halfway through). I especially love the side character Saru, who comes in either to be perverted or to give a hilariously epic speech when times are rough for Nagasumi. What makes this anime great is its timing. The jokes and visual gags flow perfectly, and when they inter-loop one another they mend together in slick harmony. You'll laugh until you cry, and then yearn for more series like this. Yes, it does steal some of its laws of the mermaids from the Ron Howard film Splash. Who cares? In my opinion this is the type of mermaid comedy Mr. Howard would've loved to have made rather than that film.

    2. School Rumble


    Give props to a comedy series that not only manages to be funny throughout the first season, and then find a way to be even funnier in the second. The twisted love triangle of Tenma, Harima and Karasuma never fails to entertain. From in-class tests to trips to the woods, there was no scenario that couldn't be done in a hilarious fashion. Even the disturbingly violent third episode of Season Two had a great punchline in the end that made all the violence laughable. Plus it managed to do someone many anime series couldn't do: be better than their original manga source. Now that takes a lot of great writing talent to pull off! Props also must be given to FUNimation, who not only licensed both seasons but also made an English dub that was funnier than the Japanese one. School Rumble had it all: great characters, a perfectly-match cast, huge laughs and plenty of plot to keep viewers watching.

    1. Hayate the Combat Butler


    No other series made me crave more like it than Hayate the Combat Butler. The story of the debt-ridden butler who must serve Lady Nagi was practically BBC-worthy. Viewers couldn't go more than twenty seconds without struggling to keep their head on while laughing. Not only did Hayate and Nagi bring the laughs, but so did every other character (even Random Man #27 Who Stands In Corner). Out of every character, though, it was the Narrator that brought the most personality; and even though you couldn't see him, you could read his facial expressions through his sarcastic wit and fourth-wall smashing commentary. Hayate and the others even get into huge fights with The Man In The Sky (no relation to the one mentioned in The Invention of Lying), leading towards the anime's biggest and most clever laughs. I was sad to see the show end last year, and hope that they renew it for a third season. It had something for everyone, otaku or not, and not a single episode of Hayate the Combat Butler failed to bring the funny. The funniest anime of that decade, and one of the best-written cartoon comedies of any time.


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    A closer look at the Tekken movie trailer

    posted @ 1/16/2010 11:00:00 AM by Vichus Smith


    The Tekken trailer has been making its rounds on the internet. Here's my take: 2010 is not the year that video game adaptations will be rescued from the land of horridness.

    What went wrong with this Tekken? Take a look:





    It starts out looking alright, but then the bad acting begins. You see some quick cuts of fighters being acrobatic, but then one tatted up fighter taunts "This is Iron Fist!"

    OH, IS IT?

    Next, we see our first familiar face, Heihachi Mishima. That is Cary Tagawa (Mortal Kombat) He looks a lot smaller than the Heihachi from the games, doesn't he? Some people may hate that they didn't get a super buff octogenarian to play Heihachi, but this movie looks like it needs as many actual actors in it as possible. I'd rather have Cary playing Heihachi over some old meathead.

    Then there are some glimpses of the many Tekken fighters. Some are more obvious analogs to their digital counterparts than others.

    1. Bryan Fury (?)

    2. Lei Wulong (?)

    3.Yoshimitsu.

    4.Raven.

    5.Eddy Gordo.

    6. Lee (?)

    7. Nina Williams.

    This is when the trailer is most faithful to Tekken. You see the match-up screen, the Announcer shouts the names of Raven and Eddy Gordo. (SPOILERS: Eddy Gordo wins :) ) We are then introduced to our young hero, the poor, Mom-less Jin Kazama. I think that this guy is not an entirely terrible actor.Jin gets the "people's choice" spot, which means he comes in off the street and kicks some ass. Jin's love interest (I suppose) is a cornball. Where's Ling Xiaoyu? Speaking of corniness, marvel at how Raven sounds like the Blade Rip-off that he is. Oh man, there is so much to hate in this trailer.

    Maybe Kazuya can save this movie. Whoever the guy hiding in the shadows is, that's most likely him. To end the trailer, we get a lot of dull, unimpressive action that doesn't at all hint at the moves the characters pull off in the game. Besides the bad acting and the dull sets is the lack of some big budget effects. If any movie needs to have some flash to it, it's a film based on a bright-colored, flashy game like Tekken. Tekken looks like an college kid did it and blew most of his meager budget on some MMA fighters he found at a local gym. There are no two better words for this trailer than "It stinks!"

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    Finish what you start...

    Panda's Got Armor On: Demon's Souls

    posted @ 1/16/2010 10:02:00 AM by Pandalicious

    With shield raised, I'm ready to face the beast that is Demon's Souls


    Since we were little boys and girls, we often dreamt up worlds where men were brave chivalrous knights. Women were princesses imprisoned by maleficent witches and corrupt wizards. Books, movies, and electronic entertainment alike have been able to recapture, redefine and revamp this fantasy world for us. For once however, there is no princess locked in a tower. There is no sole evil entity moving throughout this world. This is a world plagued with demons; some of which are meek while others are maliciously powerful. This is the world of Demon’s Souls.

    The moment Atlus/From Software starting toying around with the idea of dark fantasy action RPG, they made sure to bold, italicize and underline the word: Punishment in their brainstorm. Demon’s Souls is an exclusive for the Playstation 3 console, though I don’t see why they would minimize the number of people who have been clamoring for some brutal punishment. Gamers these days have become somewhat jaded. We want graphics, we want story, we want a well-behaved camera, oh and we don’t want to be treated like babies. Well Atlus and From Software heard you and gave you what you wanted. However I digress, so let us walk through this game one category at a time.

    Visuals

    The demon-infested world of Boletaria can be summed up one word: majestic. It is set in an Arthurian time period, which means: huge tracks of land! All of which is captivating to witness. However, this can only be said if (and I stress if) your PS3 is using HDMI cables. In this age of interactive video entertainment, playing a game with anything less then component cables is doing yourself a huge disservice. This disservice extends to that expensive HDMI-capable LCD flat screen TV in your bedroom/living room. There is too much effort put into this world to ignore it completely. So Don’t.


    If you happen to be the kind of gamer who loves customizing your character then enjoy. You get the choice in Demon Souls to truly customize your protagonist. However if you are aiming to mimic your features to a fault, then I suggest you taking several pictures of yourself and pinning them up next to your screen. This is where you flick your directional pad either left or right while waiting to see your facial characteristics present themselves. If you have the patience of a saint, this will only take 30 to 45 minutes to do. Stay committed to your features because if you don’t, you’ll end up with a massive forehead, hair lip and wandering left eye.

    Results: 5 out of 5

    Story
    Demon’s Souls tells the story of a king, King Allant XII, who sought great power. This power is obtained by the consumption of souls. This leads his kingdom of Boletaria to prosper until the plot arrived. A thick colorless fog starts to invade the land's borders, which, cuts Boletaria off from the rest of existence.

    Many brave and noble heroes have entered the fog, never to be seen or heard from again. So the last hope for humanity lies in your sword… polearm…I mean weapon of choice and in you go into this fogged encased kingdom…only to be slaughtered by a gigantic demon. Which yes, kills you. This death lands you in the Nexus. It is here that we learn the origin of this colorless fog. Underneath the Nexus is beast of legend and lore, The Old One.

    It was content in its slumber but has been awakened by a power hungry king. Yep you guessed it, King Allant XII. With the Old One awake and the colorless fog slowly engulfing all of Boletaria also comes with the addition of soul devouring demons. Those who fight these demons and lose do not just lose their soul—their sanity as well.

    The Nexus contains five Archstones, which will take you to Boletaria Palace, Stonefang Tunnel, Tower of Latria, Shrine of Storms, and the Valley of Defilement these are all starting zones for the areas most affected by the Old One Being awake. Vanquishing the Arch Demon from each of these areas is the only way to be deemed worthy to encounter the Old One.

    With a range of interactive characters and a concrete story, your presence in this game will be felt, measured and put on display for the whole Demon’s Souls’ world to see. The true demon’s souls begins here.

    Result: 5 of 5

    Gameplay:

    Single player
    The minute this game hit PS3’s all over the world, one word seemed to rise up like a phoenix from the ashes: RAGE. The gameplay isn’t hard but any measure, but your success in this game rests in a word that most gamers do not like to hear: Patience. No rushing in head first with a disproportionate broadsword…it will be the death of you. No invisible walls either so those long falls are looooooooooong, and death causing if you hadn’t figured it out. The majority of death in this game is in direct correlation with the assumption that the game would not let you fall. GET THIS NOTION OUT OF YOUR HEAD. Reality has hit gaming in a manner that we all wanted in theory, but not in practice.

    You may come to find that 95 % of this game is played in death. Yes, this is correct. Instead of the standard “Oh you die and come back to life” bit you assume the form of a spirit, this cuts your health by half, if you don’t have a particular item that gives you a little bit more than that. Demon’s Souls’ philosophy is rooted in the fact that you do not need your body. Success comes with death.

    Methodically planning out a set number of maneuvers is key to survival. Each enemy has a different pattern ranging in severity of attack. This means that one poor judgment can result in the weakest of enemies claiming your body, and or the souls you have previously gathered on your first attempt in the area. All of these mixed together is a recipe for: over-the-top rage quits, several fresh fist impressions in your wall, and calling a loved one something that you’ve only ever thought about saying to their face. (I am sorry about that Mom.)

    Demon’s Souls is very complex and detailed. Some of these concepts should be learned straight away. Here they are:

    1.Every action you make can influence your Character Tendency.
    2.Every action you make can influence your World Tendency.
    3.Don’t assume that button mashing will save you: it won’t
    4.Learn every attack command, they are there to help you

    Now I know most of these reek of common gamer sense, but many of us over look number 3 and 4. 1 and 2 are specific to this game. Character Tendency deals with your character. The more good that you do by clearing worlds of arch demons, saving captured NPC’s, and not dying in body form will all raise your Character Tendency this can in turn unlock other NPC’s and better weapons. The reverse will yield the same kind of result except some of the weapons are a lot more powerful.

    World Tendency can be hard to master. Most will situate themselves in a pure white or just plain white WT during their first playthrough. However when entering New Game + one may want to start turning the World Tendency to Black or Pure Black. When we think White and Black, we think of Easy and Hard. This is exactly as we perceive it. In a White/Pure White Tendency enemies are easier to handle, and certain NPC’s will be unlocked. In a Black/Pure Black World Tendency all the enemies are a lot harder, and certain NPC’s will appear as Black Phantoms. Their rewards are worth manipulating the world however. Also, as an aside, if you are a trophy hunter you will have to manipulate the world tendency to get the platinum trophy.

    Atlus has already given us previews of these world tendencies in the form of events. If you picked this up on Halloween you took part in a world of Pure Black. Winter Solstice brought with it a Pure White World. There are ways to get around having to actually do work to manipulate the world tendency, but what fun is that?

    Result: 5 of 5

    Multiplayer

    From Software, the developers of Demon Souls, did not just want to give us a standard, run-of –the-mill multiplayer experience, they wanted to make it more of a test of faith in a silent partner. That’s right people, Demon’s Souls makes you believe that you can rest comfortably in notion of co-play but then strips the must fundamental aspect from it: game chat. Sure you can summon Blue Phantoms to help you in a level, but don’t expect that you’ll be sharing your life story with them. They-can-not-hear-you. They are simply voiceless spirits out to reclaim some souls and their bodies. Also there is a heavily implied threat to summoning Blue Phantoms into your game. This requires you to be in body form, which makes you prey to Black Phantoms. They are not usually very kind, and in fact are there to tear you a new one and laugh about it later.

    Obviously the option to be a Blue or Black Phantom is something that all players in this game have a choice to do. Being a Blue Phantom who successfully assists someone in body form will gain a decent amount of souls and their body back. Black Phantoms, if successful will gain the same things at your misfortune. Which one will you be? Dare I say Schadenfreude?


    Result 5 of 5

    Overall Result 20 of 20

    You will get a sense of accomplishment by completing this game. It will in a way, make you appreciate all the other games you played that made it impossible for you to die by anything other than the action of an enemy. You will think twice about when you will take a health potion, when you’ll lead with a strong attack and when you’ll attempt stealth by ranged attacks. In fact you’ll think twice about EVERYTHING, which isn’t as bad as it sounds.

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    Finish what you start...

    You are reading MAG trophies (MAG!)

    posted @ 1/15/2010 10:00:00 AM by Vichus Smith

    Maybe you've had some time to play the MAG open beta and you're excited about the full version. Well, to whet your appetite for 256 player destruction, here are the trophies revealed. MAG is getting a full release on January 26, 2010.



    Bronze

    • Angel of Mercy – 25 enemies killed in their in incapacitated state over a career
    • Boom Town – Earn the Mortar Demolition, Total Blackout and AAA Demolition Ribbons
    • Close Call — Earn three Bomb Squad Ribbons
    • Clown Car – Awarded when a player destroys an APC or a Bunker, killing two players
    • Commandon’t – Awarded when a player kills 50 of a certain specialty: Commando
    • Coughing Killer – Killed an enemy while affect by poison gas grenades
    • Dropping Like Flies – Destroy five enemy helicopters
    • Duteous Maximus – Be on the winning faction for 10 Directive matches
    • Efficiency Engineer – Earn three Bunker Buster Ribbons
    • I Drink Your Milkshake – Awarded when a player kills 50 of a certain specialty: Field Support
    • I Got 5 On It – Kill 5 enemies with a single Strategic Strike, excluding Poison Gas Barrage
    • In Your Face – Earn five Combat Melee Ribbons
    • Jack of One Trade – Awarded when a player reaches the bottom tier of a skill tree
    • Junkyard Jockey – Earn three Mr. Badwrench Ribbons
    • Lil Buddy – Earn two Purple Sidekick Ribbons
    • Mia Culpa – Kill 50 enemies in a turret over a career
    • Out of Scope – Awarded when a player kills 50 of a certain specialty: Sniper
    • Screeching Halt – Awarded when a player kills 50 of a certain specialty: Rapid Assault
    • Target Practice – Awarded when a player shoots down 25 paratroopers over a career
    • The Harder They Fall – Awarded when a player kills 50 of a certain specialty: Direct Action

    Silver

    • A Whole Lotta Hurt – Earn five Combat Machine Gun Ribbons and five Combat Fragger Ribbons
    • Baby Need a Bandage? – Earn 5 Silver Cross Ribbons and 5 Golden Cross Ribbons
    • Chest Candy – Awarded when a player has earned one of every ribbon
    • Devil Dog – Earn 5 Combat Assault Ribbons and 5 Combat Sidearm Ribbons
    • Double Trouble – Earn the Golden Cross Medal and the Grim Reaper Medal
    • Hammer of the Gods – Called in 50 cluster bombs or mortar barrages
    • Headhunter – Earn 5 Silver Bullet Ribbons, the Longshot Ribbon and the Sniper Master Specialist Medal
    • Precious Cargo – Destroy 20 Escort Vehicles over a career
    • Silent But Deadly – Awarded when a player kills 25 enemies with Poison Gas over a career
    • Steamroller – Have a 3-to-1 Kill-to-Death Ratio in any match
    • Take Me to Your Leader – Earn 1 win as a squad leader
    • The Streaker – Earn the Streaker Medal
    • Triple Threat – Earn 5 Silver Cross Ribbons, 5 Master Engineer Ribbons and the Grim Reaper Medal

    Gold

    • Commandant in Chief – Awarded when a player reaches level 60 with a Raven character
    • Eager Beaver – Awarded when a player has earned one of each medal
    • Prima Noyan – Awarded when a player reaches level 60 with a S.V.E.R. character
    • Sergeant Major – Awarded when a player reaches level 60 with a Valor character

    Platinum

    • Massive Action Gamer – Won All Trophies

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    Finish what you start...

    A Robot's Letters to God, No. 35

    posted @ 1/13/2010 08:00:00 AM by evermore

    We're continuing A Robot's Letters to God with this new installment.



    Do you have an idea for a funny Robot's Letters to God? Just send them to evermore@electricsistahood.com. If we use it, we'll be glad to give you credit!

    In case you missed 'em, click here to check out the previous Robot's Letters to God.

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    You Don't Want to Hear My Choice

    posted @ 1/13/2010 12:56:00 AM by evermore


    My biggest WTF moment at CES came when I encountered this little guy on Sunday afternoon. I have a funny caption for it, but NinjaSistah is sure it will offend her sister, so I'm withholding it for now. Perhaps you can come up with a better one.

    If you have a good idea for a caption, please send it along to questions@esh.mobi. If we think it is as funny as you do, we'll publish it here.

    What exactly is this little guy? Well, he is supposed to help teach little kids a foreign language. Just looks scary to me.

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    Where In the World Are the Sistahs?

    posted @ 1/11/2010 12:09:00 PM by evermore


    Although this girl is pointing to somewhere in the desert of Saudi Arabia, the Sistahs weren't even close to there when recording this week's podcast. Instead, NinjaSistah was in the desert (Las Vegas), covering the Consumer Electronics Show, while Pandalicious was comfortably at home in the snowdrifts of New England (and perhaps pant-less).

    As you might expect, CES was at the forefront of their discussion on the podcast this week, focusing on 3D television technology, e-readers and some new games for the PS3, as well as some talk on Google's new Nexus One phone.

    Here are the titles we rejected for this week's podcast:

    Now Vanna Can Turn the Letters Right In Your Living Room

    But Sony Loves Kids -- Just Look At the Game Boy

    The Mac and Cheese Torch Has Been Passed

    Books -- You Know -- Manga Without Pictures


    Get a load of this and all the usual ESH goodness -- as well as our replacement for toast -- by listening to Episode 179: 3D! It Kinda Reeks of Poop.

    (By the way, the girl in the photo is a representative of Kimin Electronic Co., Ltd., a company which manufactures large -- up to 42-inch -- touchscreen monitors. It's very impressive stuff, but they don't fit in your pocket like an iPhone.)

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    CES Last Day Thoughts

    posted @ 1/10/2010 07:44:00 PM by Ninjasistah
    I'm writing this on my iPhone as I make my way from the LVCC North Hall on the last day of CES 2010 and I have to say that all in all it has been a very successful show.

    The crowd returned this year as evidenced by my lack of getting lunch on a regular basis with the press room (which opened for lunch at 11:30am) being out of boxed sandwiches by 20 after noon, but I was glad to see it. It means that both the economy and the consumer electronic market is makinging a comeback.

    Over the past four days I've seen more tech designed to help your tech better reflect your personality, save you money by using less power and even things that just don't make that much sense (yes iGuGu Game Core I'm looking at you) than I can currently wrap my mind around. One thing is for sure: I would change a single moment of it.

    Shows like CES help breed competition within an industry while introducing new ideas and shining the spotlight on industry thought leaders. In an age where transparency and innovation are key to economic success it is incredibly cool to see events like CES not only surviving but thriving.

    As I start tunneling through the mountains of PR materials I've picked up this week and writing articles on some of the gadgets, companies, and people that impressed me one way or another it won't be the aching of my calves or feet that sticks out in my mind nor the lady in the bathroom that boosted some of my swag while I was taking a tinkle, it will be the excitement of celebrating the new and shared geeking out moments that will dominante the memories of Vegas and that's not too shabby.

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    And We Thought Wii Was a Funny Name

    posted @ 1/10/2010 02:30:00 AM by evermore


    The most unfortunately named thing at CES this year is a made-for-TV gaming console called the iGUGU. But the unfortunate part doesn't end there.

    In fact, the sorry name is only one of the iGUGU's problems. Look at the product's slogan to the right of the iGUGU logo in this picture. They didn't hire anyone who could spell?

    And that's not all. A reviewer from Joystiq actually tried the thing out this week and gives this biting observation.

    Obviously, the iGUGU is something that would make any self-respecting gamer iGagGag.

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    The 21st Century Equivalent of a Tin Can and String

    posted @ 1/10/2010 02:22:00 AM by evermore


    It's not the sound of the ocean that this woman is listening to at CES -- no, it's her iPod! The ice bucket she is holding is one she borrowed from her Las Vegas hotel room. That little thing stuck on the end is the Rock-It, a device that creates vibrations to amplify the sound from an MP3 player so that almost any such object can be used as a makeshift amplifier.

    She and another woman demonstrated the device at the OrigAudio booth, sticking the business-end of the Rock-It to plastic water bottles and cardboard boxes, demonstrating the ability to pump up the volume of their little music player.

    At that point, I saw the opportunity to take a funny photo, with her holding up the bucket to her ear like a tin can on a string, and she gladly complied. That's the fun thing about being a photojournalist -- you can get almost anybody to do almost anything you want them to do.

    But now that I think about it, I feel a little bad. She was friendly and helpful, and I took advantage of her like that.

    But look at it like this -- if I hadn't seen a funny photo opportunity, I wouldn't have taken the picture. And I wouldn't have posted it to this website. And you wouldn't have read about this otherwise useful product. So perhaps I'm doing them a little good. In fact, I urge you to check out the Rock-It at the OrigAudio website. If you decide to buy, enter the promo code Plugtouchrock to get 20 percent off your order.

    Now I don't feel so bad.

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    Madden 1.9K82

    posted @ 1/09/2010 02:57:00 AM by evermore


    Believe it or not, this is one of the "new" games introduced this year at CES in Las Vegas.

    It's part of Microsoft's soon-to-come Gameroom for Xbox 360, in which you are a visitor in a giant three-story mall arcade with some of the favorite games from the 1970s and '80s, including Centipede, Pitfall and Lunar Lander.

    You'll hear more about this and more modern games like the forthcoming Mass Effect 2 on the next couple of ESH podcasts.

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    Hello Kitty -- Putting Fun Back in Child Labor

    posted @ 1/09/2010 02:30:00 AM by evermore


    Although this Hello Kitty looks like it wants to walk like an Egyptian, it's designed to be an MPG -- that's short for "Man-Powered Generator." To be honest with you, I don't know any men who would be caught dead cranking on a Hello Kitty ride.

    It's hard to envision the dimensions of the unit by this picture, but it seems to be designed for a small child, perhaps 60 or 70 pounds at most, to ride and turn the handlebars round and round to generate power.

    According to the literature provided by the manufacturer, Porng Da Electronic Co., Ltd, of Guangdong Province in China, it would take 30 minutes of cranking on Hello Kitty to provide 25 minutes of power for a notebook computer. Just leave it to the Chinese to make child labor seem fun.

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    Another Elvis Sighting

    posted @ 1/09/2010 01:04:00 AM by evermore
    Well, it wouldn't be Las Vegas without Elvis, and during CES, Elvises sprout up like Santa Clauses at Christmas.



    This particular Elvis was helping the company Tiffen to demonstrate a holder for the iPhone that acted as a Steadicam, keeping the picture from being jumpy when the camera was being moved around.

    As it turned out, Ninjasistah was in the same area just a little earlier, and Faux Elvis sang Barry White's "You're My First, My Last, My Everything" to her.

    I wish I had gotten a picture of that.

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    How Much Is That Singing Doggie In the Window?

    posted @ 1/08/2010 02:15:00 AM by evermore
    Although Ninjasistah has nightmares of Teddy Ruxpin when she sees something like this, I couldn't resist taking a picture of this animatronic dog singing along with an iPod Nano at the CES convention Wednesday afternoon.

    Of course, once Miley Cyrus started singing "Party in the U.S.A.," the dog stopped singing, glared at me and walked indignantly from the room.

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    Mobility At CES

    posted @ 1/07/2010 11:50:00 PM by Ninjasistah
    Wednesday night I spent a glob of time at Digital Experience a mini CES one-night event that runs in parallel with with its larger bastard cousin here in Las Vegas, which I enjoy because it allows me to get some intimate time with some PR folks before the exhaustion that is 4 days in the desert sets in.

    One such encounter happened at the Lenovo table.

    The avid Mac fanatic in me was screaming the entire way over to the table, but the fact of the matter is as much as I love my 15 inch MacBook Pro he's not easy to lug around trade show events like CES. It's a bit cumbersome to whip out Alem (the name of my MBP) at a presser that has less space open then a sardine can. I do have a 12 inch Power Book G4 that I used to bring around and I may start doing that again but part of the reason I brought Alem into my life was to have a machine powerful enough to do video and audio work on the spot as well as any fast graphics I may need to turn around for an article. It's this last statement that for the most part has kept me out of the netbook range outside of the fact that they are all Windows OS based machines. (Though some can be hackintosh'd. Don't know what that means, Google It.) However, until the fine folks at 1 Infinite Loop decide to hook a sista up with a 10 inch MBP (the sucker has to at least let me run Aperture on it, my library is on an external drive so I only need 160GB internal... in case Apple is listening) I am heavily looking into finding a small machine that can handle my fingers of furious internet searching, coding, and twittering.

    And with that, I was introduced to the Lenovo X100e. Starting around $499 with many customizations available (up to a 320 GB internal drive, 4GB of RAM and Bluetooth) and sporting Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium (upgradable to Windows 7 Pro) she's not a bad lil machine. I say she because the model I got to play with was hooker red and whenever I think of hookers, I think of ladies of the night not dudes of the night. Sexist I know, but what can you do? The X100e sports an 11 inch screen and offers up around 5 hours of battery life which should get any social media addict through a days' work with a minute or two to spare. Where I was nearly sold on an impulse by was the weight of the machine. If you haven't gotten it by now, size does matter to me as well as weight. I do not want to carry around the equivalent of a bowling ball on my back or hip all day to have the ability to do my job.

    I even went as far earlier today to visit the Lenovo Web site and price out a machine for my needs and built a 160GB Windows 7 Pro 2 GB machine with Norton Antivirus pre-installed and Lenovo's standard warranty for $554 which isn't too bad considering what I would be walking away with, but I'm not jumping ship just yet so Alem has nothing to fear...today. As we start ramping up the events we cover here at ESH mobility is going to be king, and I'm not sure that Alem will always be a travel companion for me because he's just too big.

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    It's Been a Monster of a Day

    posted @ 1/07/2010 08:35:00 PM by Ninjasistah
    As my first day at CES starts winding down (at least the big business end of it that is) I wanted to chime in with the company that made the largest impression on me today: Monster Cables.

    In the past I have made no secret of the fact that I love music. I have a separate 2 Terabyte (2TB) storage system (that I intend to grow to a 4TB system shortly) just for my itunes library. All new music imported to that library comes in as Apple Lossless and video comes in at as high a bit rate as I can stand to let process overnight. The speaker system I use at home to listen to that music does pretty well for being a jerry-rigged/patched set of 11 year old Labtec computer speakers wired to an Olevia television set, but I have not been satisfied with my headphone options for when I am on the go.

    Being a designer in my day job, quality and customization are big-ticket issues for me when it comes to the technology I purchase. In a former life I worked at an Apple Retail store and spent a lot of time with customers talking through what they wanted out of their own mobile listening experience. We would run through all kinds of questions ranging from "what kind of music do you predominately listen to on the go?" to the inevitable "how much do you want to spend?" or "do you want something that will last you a few years or just get you through a month of working out?" Over time I noticed one common thread seemed to always be the bottom line of the conversation: it had to last, sound great, and not look like ass.

    Love them or hate them one thing is for sure, the things I saw today while visiting with Monster Audio do all three of those things.

    I started out my hour with Daniel Torres who does European Training for Monster talking about the different models of Beats by Dre on the market today, and then was treated to a demo at a listening station 3 different types of music samples to listen to. (Hip-Hop/Rap, Pop, and Rock) The first thing I noticed about the listening station that I thought was ballsy of Monster was that they allowed you to plug in your own set of headphones and compare your set to the Classic Beats and Solo Beats on the spot. The second thing I noticed was the sound. My ever-loving-deep-bass heart did skip a beat but I'll get back to that later on. We then spent some time in a media room where I was treated to sampling of Monster's entire line of high-end audio headsets and in-ear headphones. From the Lady GaGa designed heartBeats to the Monster Turbine Pro Professional Edition every set had its own unique style, audio profile, and audience. This is where that "customization" item I mentioned earlier comes in.

    I have in the past year alone purchased and either returned or "gifted to friends and family" no less than 10 sets of headphones/earbud because they have disappointed me in either their style or audio quality. I am not an audio snob, but I am starting to become quite the little audiophile much to the disappointment of my husband. Whenever I get a new set of headphones/earbuds I immediately run them through the Kick-Ass test. In my iTunes library I have a playlist I call "Kick Ass" that has a sampling of songs that I feel tells me if I have found the perfect set of speakers/headphones/earbuds for me. A couple of songs on "Kick Ass" include:
    • My Week Beats Your Year - by Telefon Tel Aviv
    • Why You Wanna - by T.I.
    • Wait - by the Ying Yang Twins
    • Sexy Lady - by Yung Berg
    • Spin Spin Sugar - by Sneaker Pimps
    • Knights of Cydonia - by Muse
    • Organ Donor - by DJ Shaddow
    • Bounce - by MSTRKRFT
    • Higher Ground - by Stevie Wonder
    • Sledgehammer - by Peter Gabriel
    • Life's What You Make It - by Talk Talk
    • Beginners Falafel - by Flying Lotus
    • Once in a Lifetime - by Talking Heads
    That list is eclectic, I know. So am I.

    I have owned 3 sets of V-Moda in ear headphones, 2 sets of Sennheiser over the ear headsets, a pair of SkullCandy over the ear headphones (which got returned), and a pair of SkullCandy in-ears that I kept, a pair of Shure in-ear headphones, and a set of over the ear cans from Audio-Technica and while the list does go on I'm going to stop here. All those headsets either left me wanting in the quality department, (bass too heavy or not enough, in some cases non-existant) or in the looks department. (too butch looking, too loudly colored or just plain, well plain looking) Like those people at the Apple Store, I want something that sounds great, (if I have to turn the iPhone Equalizer on you lose) fits great in my weird little ear canals, and on the aesthetic side kinda reflects my personality.

    I'm anxious to try out the in-ear sets and the Solo Beats because they seem like the best "road warrior" safe sets created by Monster. You can bet I'll test them against my "Kick Ass" playlist and let you know how well they score.

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    If You Can't Say Anything Good...

    posted @ 1/07/2010 12:11:00 PM by evermore
    For about the 325th consecutive year, Microsoft delivered a keynote address at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas Wednesday night. Billionaire Steve Ballmer might as well have phoned the thing in.

    It is a guarantee at these things that some major glitch or computer crash will occur during Microsoft keynotes. YouTube is filled with such fun clips. Wednesday's keynote was no exception as the major problem occurred just 10 minutes before the thing was supposed to start.

    I sat in the press section -- the best seats in the house, in the first seven rows right in the middle of the Las Vegas Hilton Center -- as all the lights in the house suddenly shut down, leaving us in darkness for a few moments before the emergency power kicked in. When we saw that the dozen Microsoft monitors were still dark, we knew we were in for an unwanted adventure.

    It was interesting to watch the world's largest Black Screen of Death.

    About the time the keynote was scheduled to start, an announcement came over the loudspeaker: A "small power problem" has occurred and we would be starting in "about five minutes." Then technicians rushed the stage frantically trying to bring life back to the still powerless PCs on the stage.

    "About five minutes" turned into 30, and it was obvious that some of the PCs were still having difficulty being restored to their former health. Microsoft finally gave in and started the show anyway.

    What followed could only be adequately described as "Amateur Hour." I'm sure it resembled the old Homebrew Computer Club demonstrations of the mid-1970s more than what passes for modern keynote deliveries of the 21st Century.

    Steve Jobs of Apple has set the standard on the modern keynote address, with his simple graphics and well-rehearsed deliveries. It's rare that a glitch occurs in his keynotes, and when they do, he always manages to pass it off with a funny line and gets on with it.

    Steve Ballmer's keynote couldn't have been more different. He fumbled over his words during some rocky moments and when it came time for humor, it was obvious that it was scripted. You coud tell he was about to make a joke because he would raise the volume of his voice in order to let all of us know that he was about to make a joke.

    Ballmer's hit the road during 2009 making a lot of speeches about just how crappy Microsoft's products have been. He's apologized on different occasions about the Xbox red rings problem, the worthlessness of Windows Mobile 6.5 and just how much everybody hated Windows Vista. He offered no such apologies in Wednesday's keynote. In fact, he acted as if Microsoft didn't have any problems at all.

    For example, as the media was being seated before the show, we were all instructed to turn off "our cell phones and Windows Mobile devices." Well, practically anybody in the press corps who might have owned a Windows Mobile device had turned it off a long time ago. It was probably sitting in a shoebox at home.

    But Ballmer, talking about Windows Mobile 6.5, acted as if it was the industry's leading mobile phone OS, with marketshare expected to be growing into the next year (and probably throughout the millenium to come). The media folks rolled their collective eyes.

    It was a rambling presentation, with a lot of empty words being spoken about a lot of equally empty products. Ballmer didn't offer anything new. After talking about Windows Mobile, Windows 7 and a new cellphone designed to run WiMo, he finally got the media excited when he revealed some examples of some new "slate" computers that were being developed. Ahhh, here's the Apple-killer everyone wanted to see. But when he admitted that it was just a concept, everyone slumped down in their seats again. Alas, Microsoft's patened FUD (fear-uncertainty-doubt) struck again.

    Finally, Ballmer relinquished the stage to Microsoft's Entertainment head, who presented some genuinely interesting -- and actual -- products, such as the next version of Halo and some more details about the gamer-is-the-controller concept they call Project Natal. He even promised that Project Natal would actualy be available during 2010.

    But by that time, Steve Ballmer was already gone, not to return to the stage. With the keynote being at the Las Vegas Hilton, Elvis Presley's old hangout, I expected an announcement along the lines of "Steve Ballmer has left the building," but it didn't happen.

    Instead, he rode out in the same silence that will undoubtedly surround most of Microsoft's big ventures of 2010.

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    All is (or will be) full of love.

    posted @ 1/06/2010 11:00:00 AM by Vichus Smith



    Quel Solaar is about to open up the world of Love. More people will be able to try out one of the most curious MMORPGs to make the scene in a long while.



    The Love beta is said to be open to "everyone." Not clear on whether that is certainly a worldwide invitation.


    There is a catch, though. Since this is one man crating an entire MMO instead of a big company, he will be charging about $4.30 for a month. That's not a bad deal to try out for at least 30 days.





    So keep tuned to this space for tomorrow's big update!

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    It's 5am Somewhere

    posted @ 1/06/2010 08:59:00 AM by Ninjasistah
    It's 8:21 am as I start to type this post, and thanks to the fine folks at Google and Virgin America I write this from my flight to Las Vegas as I make my way to another Consumer Electronics Show. [A.K.A CES]

    While I'm still uncertain about EXACTLY what I will get to see and play with this year one thing is for sure: 2010 has already started off as the year of gadgets. Google's Nexus One is on sale contract free for $549 and will work with most SIM cards that use the GSM protocol. [Saddly no AT&T 3G support yet, but Google is never satisfied with anything short of perfection so I am certain this will change. Oh yeah, and you can get it for $149 with a T-Mobile contract.]

    The folks over at Sling Media have announced a new touch screen remote that looks amazing [it get's your channel guide from the interwebs via built in wifi] but according to team Engadget the catch is that the remote will be made available via cable providers only. Take a gander at it, it's pretty geek chic. Let's hope my cable provider get's pressured by the local pro sports players that want the sucker so they can look cool on their episode of MTV Cribs.

    Oh yeah, and we can't for get the rumors of what Apple will be announcing on the 27th. God help my budget if it's a tablet. It will mean I can put the MacBook Air purchase off and get a mobile machine that I want to replace my older-school 15 inch MacBook Pro who gave me the scare of the week so far when it booted to a kernel panic this morning.

    One thing for sure, I will be:
    • caught doing karaoke
    • checking into as many new mobile and personal tech gadgets as I can get my hands on
    • keeping my Nexus One money in my pocket until I see what Jobs announces on the 27th.

    If you have gadget predictions, make sure to send them our way either via our email address [Questions@ESH.mobi] or through twitter [twitter.com/eshnews]

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    A Robot's Letters to God, No. 34

    posted @ 1/06/2010 08:00:00 AM by evermore

    This installment of A Robot's Letters to God is from long-time ESH fan Richard Shaddox. Enjoy!



    Do you have an idea for a funny Robot's Letters to God? Just send them to evermore@electricsistahood.com. If we use it, we'll be glad to give you credit!

    In case you missed 'em, click here to check out the previous Robot's Letters to God.

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    It's 2010- Put on your Jetpacks!

    posted @ 1/05/2010 07:00:00 PM by Vichus Smith


    It is every man woman and child's dream to strap on a jetpack, put on a helmet and soar through the skies, thwarting evil along the way.

    There is only one day until we all can download the Dark Void demo, getting vertical like no gamer's gotten vertical before.








    The Dark Void Demo is coming to the PS3 PC and Xbox 360, with the demo available on the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live.

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    Mass Effect 2 Trailer

    posted @ 1/05/2010 08:03:00 AM by Douceswild


    Anyone here remember a little RPG by Bioware called Mass Effect? I thought you might. Well, Mass Effect 2 will be hitting store shelves in a couple of weeks and I'm already sitting outside of Gamestop waiting.

    OK, so the second part isn't true. I'm not waiting outside...yet. Nonetheless, I still want to play Mass Effect 2 when it come out on January 26. In the meantime, I'll just have to settle for the trailer that shows John Shepard's new crew kicking some butt.

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    Would it be wise to enter this "Tekken"?

    posted @ 1/04/2010 11:00:00 AM by Vichus Smith


    Sooooo, a Tekken movie is coming out soon. I guess the gamer/geek community is supposed to be happy about that?

    Director Dwight Little and screenwriter Alan McElroy are bringing the live action adaptation to the screen with a cast including Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Chiaki Kuriyama, Gary Daniels, Cung Le, and Kelly Overton.

    Dwight Little has worked on TV shows like Bones, Dollhouse, Prison Break, and Millennium. That's a pretty good pedigree there. McElroy, however, is partly responsible for Wrong Turn, Rapid Fire, Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever, The Marine, and Spawn. That mixed bag is something of a turn off.

    Now for our actors. Cary Tagawa will look familiar to you from a previous video game adaptation, Mortal Kombat. He's playing the Mishima patriarch, Heihachi. I wouldn't expect them to cast a big burly guy to play Heihachi, but still Tagawa is not as young as he used to be.

    Chiaki Kuriyama played a mace-wielding schoolgirl in Kill Bill Vol. 1. Her role in Tekken is unspecified, but she looks like she would most likely play the happy-go-lucky Ling Xiaoyu. The rest of the cast from here are virtual unknowns.

    Gary Daniels is a buff mofo who has starred in a lot of martial arts flicks and has his plate full in 2010. He plays Brian Fury, and he looks every bit as scary as Tekken's psychopathic cyborg.

    Cung Le is also a bona fide martial artist, but not with as big of a film history as Daniels. He takes the role of Marshall Law. Kelly Overton is the most curious casting of the bunch. She is playing Christine Montiero, which is a relatively new character in Tekken's fiction. That gives you a hint as too how much of the Tekken story might be used in this adaptation.

    So that is a taste of this year's Tekken. One would hope this is the year video game adaptations are done right.

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    New Year Bonus!

    posted @ 1/04/2010 08:00:00 AM by Ninjasistah
    A new Monday. A new year. A new clip show piece will kick off 2010 for us here in the land of ESH.

    As the next day effects of ushering in a new year subside and I finalize CES travel preparations Evermore has put together an extra bit for those of you who listened to our farewell to toast episode through iTunes last week. [If you catch the show on AllGames.com then you will get piece two of the podcast this week]

    Next week, we will be bringing you our final thoughts before leaving the bouncing bosom of Las Vegas with our CES wrap up episode.

    But for now, enjoy Electric Sista Hood podcast episode 178: A Farewell to Toast: The Bonus Bits

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    Top Five Worst Anime of 2009

    posted @ 1/03/2010 01:28:00 PM by King Baby Duck
    2009 will never be known as a good year in anime. Instead it'll be seen as the year the anime world went down the toilet. Here are five series that prove my point.

    5. Zan Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei

    The first two seasons of Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei were some of my guilty pleasures, with its hilarious dialogue, insane characters and clever plays-on-words. Unfortunately they quickly ran out of ideas by the time they got to Season Three. The jokes were weak, and the background humor went by so fast that it was nearly impossible to catch them. Granted a quick chuckle would come along in each episode, but it's not enough to save what was once a hugely funny program. I would say to not expect a Season Four, but with the way 2009 was with crappy anime there's no way to know for sure. (I will admit, though, that it has one of the best opening theme songs of the year. It at least has that going for them.)

    4. K-On!

    Imagine you're a really big fan of music-based anime (i.e.: Beck, Nerima Daikon Brothers), and you heard that Kyoto Animation -- the studio responsible for some of the best series of the past decade -- would be making a show about an all-girl rock band. You'd be pretty excited, right? Well...that excitement turned to huge disappointment with K-On!, a series that instead of showcasing -- as Brandon Flowers put it -- glamorous indie rock 'n' roll went on to focus on the music club members eating sweets and trying to act all cute for the loli-moé crowd. Setokai no Ichizon put it best in one of their early episodes: why focus on the dynamics of a rock band when you can just have cute girls doing cute things in order to sell a shitload of character albums and crappy merchandise. Thanks, but no thanks, and I sure as hell won't be tuning in to the just-announced second season.

    3. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya: Season Two

    Haruhists had a long wait ahead of them for new episodes (three years, to be exact), and what was their patience rewarded with? Eight episodes of the same fucking thing over and over and over again! The infamous "Endless Eight" arc practically killed the entire Haruhi Suzumiya franchise. Fans hated it, critics hated it, the original Haruhi director who was fired from Kyoto Animation hated it, and even Haruhi's voice actress Aya Hirano went so far as to apologize to her entire fanbase for putting up with it all. Rumor is Bandai Entertainment will be releasing it sometime in 2010, but I bet they had to do it in order to get their hands on the upcoming movie The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya (which if it fails to succeed will put to end to Haruhi Suzumiya).

    2. Queen's Blade


    One of the most sexist cartoons to ever be made. Scantly-clad women fight one another to the death (or until one of them pisses themselves so the whole world can see). Take out all the "fan-service" (if that's what it really is), and they would've had something of a decent plot on their hands. Alas that was not the case, and both seasons (which I still can't figure out how or why it survived the first) pushed the Women's Rights Movement back another 100 years. (Yep, Queen's Blade took away women's suffrage. It's their fault.) How the series managed to score such big voice actresses as Rie Tanaka, Aya Hirano, and Yuko Goto baffles my brain. (Perhaps the paycheck was too big to refuse). It's vulgar, disgusting and will offend any woman who watches it (even more so than the Ikki Tousen saga).

    1. Akikan!


    The first anime I reviewed in 2009, and the worst show I have ever seen! Soda cans that transform into magical girls?! Is that the best the writers can come up with?! The characters were annoying as fuck, the pathetic male lead was so perverted that the word "sympathy" never crossed my mind, and the fan-service in the show made series like Rosario + Vampire and Ikki Tousen look like Matthew Barney's The Cremaster Cycle (Google it). Not to mention the semi-villain Hidehiko, who always tries to put the moves on the main male lead. It would've made Sacha Baron Cohen's Brüno cry foul, and the GLBT community rally up to beat the shit out of the creator of this atrocity. It was a sign of things to come in the anime world of 2009: a sign to expect the worst shows to come out of Japan since the invention of loli-con!

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    CES 2010: Gotta Start Packing

    posted @ 1/03/2010 12:51:00 AM by Ninjasistah
    So the trade show behemoth known as CES [Consumer Electronics Show] is nearly upon us all and I haven't even begun to pack. As if 4 days chock full of playing with the latest, greatest, and possibly lamest tech gadgets isn't enough to get my heart pumping, but it's 4 days full of playing with tech in Las Vegas.

    I really need to pack.

    Both myself and Evermore will be on hand trolling the halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center [LVCC] talking with PR reps, VP's, folks taking their own inventions out for a spin and in all honesty I can't wait. Ever since I visited the city of sin to attend my first CES event I have been infatuated with it. If you have listened to any of my previous CES coverage then you already know that I have never been to COMDEX, and reget not going to the show when I had the opportunity back in 1999. Technology has always interested me, and the idea of an entire gigantic event focused on highlighting tech just seemed like a place I should be found at.

    CES is huge. I can not stress that enough. I am sure if you took all the square footage that has been rented by all the various companies exhibiting at the show and laid it end to end from McCarran Airport that it would reach across the country to Boston's Logan Airport easily. I have visited CES for the last 3 years now and have yet to even visit all of the halls at the LVCC let alone the various suites among the hotels lining the infamous Las Vegas Strip, so I have no delusions of covering all of the show this year or any year that I visit the show. I do plan on seeing everything I can in three areas: video games, computers and personal tech gadgets.

    From January 6th through the 10th I promise to fill this site with as much show coverage as my stubby little fingers can create. My twitter stream as well as the official site twitter stream will overflow with random geek-outs, iPhone pics and probably an intoxicated tweet or two. [Or four]

    If you have anything you want me to check out for you while I'm at the show drop me a line either via our email address Questions@esh.mobi or kick me a message via twitter. 2010 will be whatever we make of it. I intend to make it geektastic.

    Enough of this, I still gotta pack.

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