Nerdy Show

Aaron and Mike are back in The Geek Easy to talk about this week’s best comics – hurray!  Brian’s INFINITY GAUNTLET miniseries starts this week – how’s that for awesome?!

Here’s the list of this week’s TOP COMICS. Not only does it show you what we think is the best shit coming out this week but we write funny and/or informational captions for them.  We even have special meetings to decide on them… really!

Ask me (Triforce Mike) something on my Formspring, dammit!

International viewers unable to use YouTube, try watching on Facebook.

Contest CLOSED

As with any convention, we came away from Star Wars Celebration V with a lot of neat stuff.  So now here’s your chance to win win win these cool items and have a some fun doing it too.  Perhaps you’re familiar with Willrow Hood, aka “The Ice Cream Maker Guy” If not, let me tell ya.  This background extra stumbled through the scene as our heroes escaped Bespin, clutching what looks suspiciously like an ice cream maker.  Star Wars has been expanding its background characters for years and it’s only natural that fans would come to celebrate the pudgy guy in orange with a love for mint chip.  As the years went by, fans were clamoring for Willrow/ICMG’s backstory and, of course, an action figure – both of which, he eventually got.  We want to expand Willrow’s universe even further.

WHAT IS THY BIDDING MY MASTER?

Show Willrow some fan love!  Expand his universe! Give us your version of his background story or contribute to his expanded universe story.  What did Willrow do when he decided to “take it easy”?  Was he a ladies man?  What’s his favorite ice cream flavor?  We know you’ve got the answers. Don’t make us send and interrogation droid to get them out of you.

We’ll accept any medium – tell your story however you can.  Heck, it doesn’t have to even be good to compete.  Tell your story the old fashioned way with text, send us some audio, or go all Princess Leia and webcam you telling your story to us and upload the video.  You can also draw some cool fan art or commit Willrow’s epic to song.  Take pictures of your Willrow action figure doing cool stuff.  Anything!  We serve all kinds here.

DUE DATE EXTENDED: Sunday, September 5th, 11:59PM est

WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME?:

1st place -

• $25 Sideshow Collectibles Gift Card
• EXCLUSIVE Darkhorse/ Del Ray Star Wars: Knight Errant issue 0 comic SIGNED by Knight Errant comic and novel author, John Jackson Miller and series editor, Dave Marshall
• EXCLUSIVE Jango/Boba Fett double-sided promo mask from Darkhorse
• EXCLUSIVE single-packed Hasbro Galactic Heroes X-Wing Pilot Luke
• Star Wars: The Old Republic Republic Cog shirt
• Star Wars Celebration V Media Kit
• BOTH Sci-Fried albums: Geeks Unite and Ramming Speed.

2nd place -

• $25 Sideshow Collectibles Gift Card
• EXCLUSIVE Darkhorse/ Del Ray Star Wars: Knight Errant issue 0 comic
• EXCLUSIVE Jango/Boba Fett double-sided promo mask from Darkhorse
• BOTH Sci-Fried albums: Geeks Unite and Ramming Speed
• Lego Star Wars Darth Vader pen.

3rd place –

• EXCLUSIVE Hasbro poster of scenes from and the poster to Empire Strikes Back done with action figures
• + other random goodies.

Additional items may be added!

WHAT GOOD IS A REWARD IF YOU AIN’T AROUND TO USE IT?:

Send your submissions or submission links to contest@nerdyshow.com.  For YouTube videos be sure to include “nerdy show” in the tags and label it as “Nerdy Show Star Wars Celebration V Giveaway”.  Be sure to e-mail us from an account you actually check and include your mailing address in your e-mail – these prizes ain’t gonna mail themselves.  Nerdy Show reserves the right to repost or redistribute any content made for this contest – we want to share your awesomeness, but we won’t take credit for it (promise).

Now: GO GO GO!

Bioware’s Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic games, wowed players with a new precedent in multi-layered decision-based action RPGs.  When gamers judge the quality of a game with dynamic story choices these games are still a unit of measure.  Bioware went on the set the complexity of their story telling methods even higher with Dragon Age and the Mass Effect games, the latter of which famed game designer, Cliff Bleszinski called “Star Wars for this new generation”.  Excitement is building for Bioware’s return to The Old Republic, but this time you won’t be returning alone – the game is an MMORPG, and everything Bioware has ever done has been leading up to it.

Cap and Mike passed the interview duties off once again to Colin, whose experience with Bioware’s titles runs deep.  Join Colin for an in-depth interview with Bioware lead writer, Daniel Erickson, and find out why this game will revolutionize MMORPGs, interactive storytelling, how it fits into the Star Wars cannon, and how they’ll finally bring the depth of tabletop role playing to video games.  (Cap’s note: Not only is this guy super-cool, but he sounds kinda like Henchman #24 from Venture Bros).

Part 1:

Part 2:

And don’t forget to also check out our E3 coverage of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2:

<< Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2 / :: Archive :: / MORE COMING SOON >>

Help us fund our crazy adventures:

You know how we’ve been inviting you to Ask Triforce Mike Anything on Formspring?  Now’s your chance to ASK NERDYSHOW ANYTHING – LIVE!

This Monday, August 2nd between 7pm and 9pm EST

We’re holding a call-in show.  Dial us up in to ask the gang anything you want or strike up a conversation about your favorite nerdy topic!  Is there something you wish we’d talk about that we never have?  Ask us about it!

(321) 332-7906 in the U.S. or via Skype at nerdy.show

Triforce Mike, Cap, Hex, Brian will be there as well as other Nerdy Show peoples:

Tony Baldini – Writer and artist of Nerdy Strip

Gina Lockwood – Video Game Correspondent

Jon West - Sci-Tech correspondent

+ …More?!  Maybe!  You never know who you might be sharing the line with!

Check back here for the full roster of who’s gonna be in the studio.  What’s gonna make this episode awesome is you, you, you!  So reach out and geek out with us. It’s gonna be crazy!

RSVP on facebook

The first Force Unleashed took gamers and Star Wars fans alike by surprise.  Vader’s secret apprentice, Starkiller, massive twists and turns in the plot, and the destructive capabilities of the Force like never seen before… This game was off the charts!  But Starkiller died in the end, so how’s there a sequel?  Clones, baby!  And you thought Starkiller’s wielding of the Force was brutal before – you ain’t seen nothin’ yet!

Mike and Cap have become totally jaded by Star Wars so they passed the mic off to stalwart videographer Colin Peterson to aptly wield his expanded universe knowledge… but will he use his powers for good… or evil?

Oh yeah, AND we’ve got a video for BioWare and LucasArts’ Star Wars MMO The Old Republic so check that out below:

<< Hands-on High Voltage’s The Grinder / :: Archive :: / Bioware’s Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO >>

Help us fund our crazy adventures:

When was the last time you played a game like Gauntlet Legends, Zombies Ate My Neighbors, or Smash TV? No, not on an emulator, a NEW game. …Uh-huh, that what I thought.  Well get ready kids, ’cause co-op arcade monster slayin’ is back!

High Voltage Software, the guys who brought you Conduit and Hunter: The Reckoning are cooking up something amazing.  The game’s called The Grinder, no, it’s not a delicious Italian-style sandwich, it’s a mining machine that’s burrowed straight to hell and it let something nasty out.  Now you, as one of four comic book-style bounty hunter miscreants must save the day for cash and glory and leave a pile of otherworldly corpses in your wake.  Check out our hands-on demo of the game and see why it’s one of the forthcoming titles we’re most excited about:

<< Cap & Mike Play GoldenEye 007 / :: Archive :: / Star Wars : The Force Unleashed 2 >>

Help us fund our crazy adventures:

The classic James Bond FPS returns to Nintendo!  But how!?  How did GoldenEye make it past the legal nightmare of right and royalties and onto the E3 showroom floor again?  Simple: remake it from the ground up and put Daniel Craig in it.

The new game is an interpretation of the original shooter, both an adaptation of the 1995 movie and the 1997 game.  Can it possibly live up to the original, or is it just a pretender like the forgettable GoldenEye: Rogue Agent from 2004?  Cap and Mike have the answers.  Watch them try to kill each other (and a Nintendo representative) in an old-fashioned deathmatch:

<< Hands-on With Fable 3 / :: Archive :: / Hands-on High Voltage’s The Grinder >>

Help us fund our crazy adventures:

We waited eons for the first Fable to finally materialize on the original X-Box and it took four years after that for Fable 2 to rear its head, but now, only two years after that FABLE 3 is almost here!  The Fable series has always had very lofty goals and though it’s often criticized for reaching higher than it can actually achieve each game is immersive, exciting, and innovative. 

Fable 3 needs to prove that it’s not just a clone of Fable 2, and Lionhead Studios is aware of that.  Cap met up with the game’s Senior Artist, Jon Eckersley to find out not just what makes this game different from its predecessor, but what might make it the best Fable of all:

Part 1:

Part 2:

<< The First Templar – Historical Action RPG / :: Archive :: / Cap & Mike Play GoldenEye 007 >>

Help us fund our crazy adventures:

The bulk of RPGs, particularly action RPGs have always focused on a Tolkien-inspired medieval setting and very few of them, if any, have focused on real historical settings and stories.  Goblins and elves and magic are cool and all, but anyone whose ever poured over a Viking comic or perhaps even an actual history book will tell you – fantasy’s got nothin’ on the brutality of the real Middle Ages.

The First Templar takes place during the 13th century and features 20 historically accurate locations. You take the roles of a French Templar and a noble lady who has been branded a heretic.  Going into E3 we were really excited to get the scoop on this new title from Kalypso Media and Haemimont Games (Tropico).  This is thier first action RPG and has a unique story concept that feels like an issue of Northlanders come to life (…well, different time period, but that same gritty, ball grabbing, historical realism that you just don’t see in games these days).  Even Assassin’s Creed needs a sci-fi plot to hold it together, The First Templar is the real deal.

We talked with Kalypso’s Mark Allen as he took us to the forests of Gaul and demoed for us fun action gameplay, innovative co-op, lush level design, a solid leveling system, and even found the time to trash talk Indy 4.  Aw yeah.

Now that you’ve seen that, check out the more action-packed trailer!

<< Inside the Bethesda Booth – Fallout: New Vegas & RAGE / :: Archive :: / Hands-on With Fable 3 >>

Help us fund our crazy adventures:

In our most recent episode, “Nerdapalooza AFTERMATH” we handed out 5 awards for stand-out awesomeness.  We were deranged and exhausted when we recorded the episode, but we’ve got some sleep in us now so it’s time to make this official!   Here’s some swanky ‘lil trophies:
 

Outstanding Pre-Party Performance:

MC Cool Whip

Luke Skywalker Award:

Deputy Protoman:

The Ringer

Best Stage Show:

Emergency Pizza Party

MVP (Solid Snake Award):

Marc With a C

Breakout Act (Arkanoid Award):

ZeaLouS1 & the Bossfights

 
 
 
 
 
Listen to our episode to hear our Nerdapalooza 2010 experiences and the whys and wherefores of these awards. These guys earned ‘em! And if you’re into Nerdapalooza and you love lists check out Wired’s Geek Dad blog’s article: “Top 10 Awesome Moments From Nerdapalooza 2010“.