Funko Gets All American Horror Story On Fans In September – Make Room For Some Cute Creeps…

funko logo Guess who’s coming for dinner (and guess who may end up AS dinner)?

cordelia pop fiona pop legba pop

marie pop misty pop myrtle pop

rubber man pop tate pop

As you can see, Seasons One and Three of the show are well represented in this upcoming collection of Pop! Television: American Horror Story vinyl figures. Available in September at your favorite comic shop or online retailer that stocks Funko products, this dark lot looks to invade your personal space and perhaps put the fear of… something into you as you try and get a decent night’s rest. You know, I’ve only seen maybe four episodes of that show? I never could get into it for some reason and it certainly didn’t creep me out as much as some people. Hmm… perhaps that’s thanks to my new normal just being weirder than usual…

Gamescom 2014: Why Tomb Raider As An Xbox One Exclusive Is A Lousy Move…

One: Tomb Raider got its start at a multiplatform game (PlayStation, Sega Saturn and PC), allowing many millions of gamers to see what original development team Core Design had created. While (very) dated by today’s standards, the innovation on a few technical fronts, a strong female lead character and the game paying homage to everything from Prince of Persia to the Indiana Jones movies made it an instant smash worldwide. Clamping the new game onto ONE system “forever” is to me, a mistake that’s going to result in lower sales for the new game unless there’s guarantee people will buy an Xbox One because of the new game. It’s likely in some cases, but I’d bet an old penny that any console sales are absolutely nowhere near what both Tomb Raider and Tomb Raider II did for PlayStation sales back when both games were released.

In my years in retail, there have been a handful of games I’ve seen people slap down money to buy a console for and the first three Tomb Raider games are on that list. Granted, TR III was a bit problematic on a few fronts (and how!), but crazy difficulty aside, it still sold systems… Continue reading

Mr. Williams Takes His Final Bow…

(thanks, lvlagentoTV!) 

I posted this on facebook earlier, but it bears repeating: Every time a great comedian dies and some dictator is still around fucking up people’s lives, it proves more and more that there is no god.

That may seem harsh to some of you, but I’d bet if we lost genocidal dictators and their armies at the same rate we do people who actually do some good in this world by sharing their assorted talents, there would indeed be a great deal more happy people all over the world. Comedy serves a huge purpose in life, as it helps you laugh through anything you’re going through or at least make you realize laughter is a great thing to have and share with others. What do you get with someone who has no sense of humor and access to an army of any size? Nothing but less people to laugh at the end of the day. Foo… closing up shop for the evening. This isn’t a way to end a Monday, that’s for sure.

And yes, while his stand-up comedy work was unstoppable and fall off something hilarious, I say catch Insomnia and One Hour Photo at some point to see two intense performances from a man who had many facets. Good Night for now – back on Tuesday…

WIN FREE STUFF! Want An Orbital Gear Steam Code? Act FAST!

 

ORBITAL GEARSooooo… I happen to have three download codes for Orbital Gear, a new fast-paced multiplayer only arcade run ‘n gun game by indie developer Night Node Software that’s available via Steam. All you need to to to get ONE code is leave a reply below. I’ll know who you are and where to send it because I have spies everywhere! Anyway, get to it, as once these are gone, they’re gone for good. One code per person, of course. Sure you can ring up a friend you want to play with and have him or her reply as well. I can always use the additional traffic!

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What, you’re still ogling screenshots? Go hit me up for a code, already!

Funko Drops A Walmart Surprise Down For The Walking Dead Fans (Plus A Chance To WIN!)

BW DD Pop 

Ha! Funko slipped this into my inbox and I’m a little late in posting but “ATTENTION WALMART SHOPPERS!” Today you can stroll into your favorite one (is there such a thing as a “favorite” Walmart? I dunno, as there are ZERO near me) and get this cool Walmart Exclusive Black and White Daryl Dixon Pop! for your collection. Heck, buy out the entire pallet and put the whole thing against one wall of your room just so you can sleep better at night knowing that you’re safer in the Upcoming Zombie Apocaylpse (TM). Or not. Hey, Funko is so cool these days that they’re also giving you a chance to win one of these vinyls in the usual manner. Hop on over to one of the company’s social channels:

www.facebook.com/OriginalFunko
www.twitter.com/OriginalFunko
Instagram @OriginalFunko

Enter and keep your fingers crossed that you win before there’s something scratching and clawing at your door. Hmmmm… perhaps it’s the postman? You’d better go and check! You may be the winner! Oh, wait… you didn’t enter yet and the contest is still going on. DON’T OPEN THAT DOOR! Ooops. Too late… well, I gotta run – er, see you in a bit (maybe?)(exits, stage left)

Dead Island 2 “Sunshine & Slaughter” Trailer: Not For The Squeamish (Unless Gore Makes You Giddy)…

Hey, I did warn you up there in the title, right. Last chance to hold out for a less violent post in 3… 2… (oops):

I kind of slipped and fell in a pool of blood (not my own, thankfully), but didn’t crack my own skull open because I fell on top of a freshly decapitated zombie. Ewww. Um… anyone know how to get some rather stinky blood and brains out of a pair of jeans and a T-shirt? Well, the shirt IS black, so I guess I can get away with tossing it in the laundry pile. As for the jeans? Well, they USED to be jet black many years ago, but have faded to a comfortable black/grey blend. I guess a new dye job is in the works for them once I put them through the wash with that T, huh? Anyway, Dead Island 2 is going to be a “lock up the kids!” game for sure, so you can get a head start on that NOW by finding a nice closet space for the little ones (make sure to measure them and add a few inches, as they’ll most likely grow a bit before the game is released).

Oddly enough, now I’m a bit hungry and even more interesting is I’m having gnocchi with a nice red wine/meat sauce for dinner. What can I say? I made that sauce last night and had no idea I’d be reminded of it while watching a bunch of undead get mutilated in a game trailer. Two more hours ’til dinner… shut up, stomach with that growling!

An Eclectic (& Inexpensive For A Day) Mix In This Week’s IndieGala Every Monday Bundle…

IndieGale EMB 8_11 

A paltry $1.89 for this week’s set of Steam code delivered indies is a great deal especially when you take into consideration the assortment you’re getting. A bit of space strategy and combat, some retro action games and a funky little game about some poor guy waiting for his late date to arrive as he contemplates life and such:

I’d like to think that Dinner Date is worth that under two clams alone, but I know some you will disagree on that front. I guess it’s a good thing there are six other games in this deal, huh? To wit: Famaze! (it sure looks like fun!):

Anyway, you know what to do – your backlog needs to be bigger than mine so I can feel better about not getting to EVERY game I’d like to this year. Boo, but that’s how it goes in this digital age. Out of sight is NEVER out of mind. Just out of hard drive space (ha and ha)…

Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment Hands-On: .hacking Away At A Fun Soon To Be Sleeper…

SAO_keyvisual_w_LogoI was a rather huge fan of the seven .hack games back in the day (well, it wasn’t THAT long ago), so getting the chance to go hands-on with Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment at Bandai Namco’s recent NYC event was a must. The two series are similar on the surface in that you play a character trapped in an (faux) online game’s deadly world and both are solo experiences with no actual online play modes.

The game will also include an HD version of the Japanese PSP-only Sword Art Online: Infinity Moment, meaning you’re getting two games for the price of one, a good deal in this age of consumers wanting more bang for their gaming buck. Of course, you’ll probably be wanting to know if the game isn any god, right? Well, let me soothe any potential fears and report that it’s all good (and hard) in this one so far… Continue reading

Project CARS Hands-On: Simple Sample Reveals Miles Of Depth…

ProjectCARS_PC_USA_f ProjectCARS_PS4_USA_f ProjectCARS_XONE_USA_fSure, it was a single course (Brands Hatch) and car to drive on that course, but the Project CARS demo running at Bandai Namco’s recent NYC event floored me on a few fronts.

ka01This super-popular initially thought headed for high-end PC-only racer is coming to next-gen consoles in November and (surprise!) is actually set for a Wii U appearance sometime in 2015. More on that later, as overhearing that news from Marketing Director Brian Hong hit me like a ton of bricks as someone was filming me play the demo for their website and I probably skidded off the track and hit something from the shock of that news… Continue reading

Let Classic Arts Showcase Come to the Rescue When You Need A Dose of Random Culture

(thanks, danime2003!) 

CAS_logoIf you’ve never been exposed to the entertaining wonder that is Classic Arts Showcase, it’s time to upgrade your television viewing experience. I could bore you with a retelling of the history of this fully funded highbrow clip show that runs seemingly endlessly in eight hour blocks on cable networks across the country (and is now online for even more people to check out), but that’s what the link to the official site is for. Actually, CAS is rarely “boring” unless you COMPLETELY hate the arts and don’t want to see some of the most unique and completely RANDOM performances from stage, screen and even TV, many of which are unavailable elsewhere.

In case you’re THAT lazy, here’s what the CAS site says about their programming:

Expect the Unexpected

There is no program guide for CAS, because the beauty of CAS is that you’ll never know what to expect. One moment you might be watching a rare film of George Gershwin performing one of his own compositions on the piano, and less than five minutes later you might see Beverly Sills in a great moment from a classic opera. Each weekly eight-hour show is downlinked by hundreds of channels across the country at different times, with different schedules. The element of surprise — not knowing exactly what’s coming up next — is part of what CAS is all about. The goal is to generate excitement and build a new audience for the wide range of performances presented through the arts.

(thanks, bayareabert!) 

And I can VERY safely say that the randomness indeed makes CAS so much fun to watch. Yesterday I happened to flip by the channel here with about 45 minutes of free time floating about and caught a long clip from a Hitchcock film, a bit of Swan Lake, an aria or two, a clip from the film Aria, a fun bit of an old TV show that had a waltz turning into a sort of sock hop and back again, and part of a Nat King Cole TV performance before I had to head out the door. How cool is that? Sometimes you’ll see old animation, sometimes a musical performance or super-arty film segment, an brief interview with a long dead genius and more. This fragmented presentation recalls MTV in its early days when it played stuff seemingly at will, although if you watch CAS long enough, you’ll see there’s a method to the non-madness.

Anyway, if you’re bored this summer thanks to the TV dry spell, give Classic Arts Showcase a look-see and if you find yourself strangely addicted to it, well… my work here is done.