8-Bit Left 4 Dead!

This is a couple days old, I apologize, but you all know I can't pass up an 8-Bit downgrade of our favorite modern video games! Apparently, Pixelforce NES and Eric Ruth are teaming up to launch this 8-bit gem in January 2010; available for download (if you have a PC-Justin Long and John Hodgman would not approve... well Hodgman would approve in character, but really I think he'd be unhappy). So this isn't just a clever animation, its a game demo! In the end, the game will feature all 5 special infected (right now you'll only find the boomer... who is offensively cute for so depraved a corpse), all 4 campaigns and all 5 maps. If you thought gun butting a hunter in the head was hella fun, wait till you try it in 8-bit!

Left 4 Dead Pumpkins-Reunited at last!

I was really excited to carve some L4D zombies this year, but was bummed when no one opted for my Tank stencil. But bummed no more! Thanks to Evan, I got to see my L4D Tank in action! I have to say, great job man! It looks pretty abominable-as anything with the Tank's gruesome visage should be! So, at long last, the Special Infected are reunited in pumpkin form! (except for the boomer-but really, if you imagine the special infected throwing a party, do you really think they're gonna invite the boomer? Yeah, I wouldn't either.) Thanks for making this happen Evan!

Now I just have to figure out what next year's batch of pumpkins are gonna be... any satisfactorily geeky ideas?

DJ Hero? More Like Passable DJ

Last Sunday, I stopped by my local GameStop to check out DJ Hero; the latest entry in the field of Pretend Musician Gaming. With this turntable sim, Activision is hoping to capture the attention of guitar heros and rock bandateers as well as a previously untapped market of music fans who like beats to their sweet guitar solos. They're throwing a lot of weight behind the game; talking up it's pre-sale numbers, hiring Jay-Z and Eminem as spokesmen, and buying up companies with competing DJ games and then firing half the staff. DAMN, guys! This game must be totally amazing!

After spending about fifteen minutes with the game, my gamer-sense detected a potential chink in the armor of this supposed juggernaut.

A semi-informed review after the jump...


After the initial thrill of discovering the new set of reflexes it takes to fade between tracks and scratch the little plastic turntable, I found myself thinking "this would be a lot more fun if this mix was any good." I don't want to pretend to be a DJ who mixes passable mashups of trashy pop hits and oldies; I want to pretend to be a DJ HERO! I played three demo tracks; "Hollaback Girl" vs Rick James' "Give It To Me", "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" vs "Feel Good Inc", and a third track I can't remember because, hey! it wasn't very memorable.

The DJ hero setlist includes tons of awesome artists mixed two at a time into "93 exclusive mixes". So who is actually mixing these mixes? They have a lot of professional DJs contributing tracks (DJ Shadow was the only one I knew or cared about), though I can't quite see pros bringing their A material to a children's video game. Go check out the DJ Hero website, and you'll notice something conspicuously absent; a music player that allows you to preview a few of these 93 exclusive mixes. The closest I could find is this video clip of a guest mix by Daft Punk, and even that is unimpressive.

A big part of what was great about previous Music Sim games is that they have all of music history to pull their setlists from, so the game isn't just about perfecting your twitch reflects, but also about enjoying cool tunes (Breaking the Wheel not withstanding). Knowing and loving a song also makes gameplay more intuitive, and sells the illusion that mashing plastic buttons is actually producing the musical artistry coming through your speakers.

It's definitely fun to pretend to scratch, but just because you can mix two songs doesn't necessarily mean you should. It's fun to listen to a DJ mix songs live because it's cool and technically impressive, even if you wouldn't want to listen to it over and over again. The kind of mixology that I DO like listening to over and over again falls into a more repetitive groove, and wouldn't make great gameplay. DJ hero feels more like a standard rhythm game where you're simply sitting on the couch with a stationary controller, and the gratification is getting your reflexes up to par. It doesn't capture the thrill of feeling like you are producing a work of musical art.

So from my limited demo playing experience, I don't see DJ Hero reinventing the Guitar Hero wheel. The wow factor that you got the first time you played Guitar Hero, or the first time you started pounding away on the Rock Band drums is simply not present. All the type and guest stars Activision can buy ultimately can't account for a music sim without great music. Of course it's possible they just picked three mediocre tracks for the demo, and there's some other really mind blowing stuff deeper in.


Probably not as mind blowing as this, though.

Photos: Wiimbledon 2009 Look Book

The first annual Wiimbledon Wii Tennis championship was one of the very first NYC geek events Geekanerd ever covered; you may remember how co-editor Albo famously placed second in the inaugural tournament. It seems like only yesterday!

Wiimbledon is now in it's third year, and while Team Geekanerd was sadly absent in the field of play, I swung by anyway (get it, swung?) to grab some pictures of the competitors. True to it's Brooklyn Hipster-Nerd roots, Wiimbledon has always been as much an excuse to put together an awesome Tennis outfit as it is about playing imaginary wrist-tennis.





Check out our full gallery Geekanerd's Flickr.

Beatles Rock Band Trailer AND Intro!

After the E3 expo earlier this week, these 2 gems popped up on the tubes... no I'm not talking about the rumors of a new Wii Zelda game... or the New Orleans Left4Dead trailer... or the Nintendo "Vitality Sensor" (?!?). NO. I'm talking about the Beatles Rock Band trailer and game intro! Above is the insanely beautiful intro video for the upcoming game. Though I love the intros to both Rock Bands, I'm glad Harmonix opted to go for this beautiful mixed animation style rather than their 3d modeled players. If you want to see some gameplay footage, check out the trailer below!

Left 4 Dead 2 Coming Soon....Yay?

Finally! The Science of the Mushroom Kingdom Explained!

Who doesn't love psuedo-science explaining the bizarre fantasies of our youth? One intrepid Kotaku reader (and Carnegie Mellon University student) decided to tackle one of the most scientifically absurd mythos' (mythoses? mythi? can that be made plural) in video game history: the wondrous and mysterious mushroom kingdom! Ooooh. Though only a few chapters of what is certainly to be a mighty tome of bizarre evolutionary missteps, creator Theyab seeks to explain some of the most ludicrous elements of typical kingdom plumber's toolbelt.

Anyway, below is the first chapter on the near-miraculous super mushroom (I appreciate the use of Dr. Mario viruses standing in as fungal bacterium). Do yourself a favor and check out the rest here. Now if someone could just explain the Tanooki suit!

via Kotaku

Oh God No

No...nonono...oh god...NO!

AH, WHY!!




"Those fools at Geek And Nerd dared to cancel my Movie Review Feature after one post! Perhaps they feel they should devote more time to Video Game Reviews...let's see how well they review video games without....THEIR FAVORITE CONSOLE! The delicate innards of the Xbox 360 are no match for my mighty mechanical arms! Hope you like Mario Tennis Party, you no talent hacks! MUAHAHAHA!"

Geekanerd Spotter: Game Boy Love

Someone loves their old school Gameboy so much, they just had to leave a declaration in sharpie in the Union Square subway.

Five Things I Learned About Playstation Home

There's been a lot of to-do about Playstation Home these days, and exactly how many PS3ers are actually logging on to Playstation's attempt to merge the narcissistic thrill of creating a Mii with the empowerment fantasy of Warcraft with the creepy consumerism of Second Life. Five million have joined, but does anybody actually hang out?

I decided to overcome my crippling fear of anything resembling Second Life and check out P3's digital realm from corner to corner. Here are the five most interesting things I learned.

5. Someone Had a Lot of Fun Turning Resident Evil 5 Into Universal Studios

When you log into Resident Evil 5 World, not only do you get to take your Home avatar on a sightseeing tour of the first level, you get to pretend you're on on the game's  actual"set", complete with director's chairs, lights, scaffolding, and gigantic green screens.  Artificial artiface....we media studies nerds love this crap.
This is an awesome idea.  I wish they would take it even further, with zombie extras walking around half in costume, drinking coffee and eating off of craft service tables.  What if they had a NPC Chris Redfield walking around, out of character, and you could line up and take your picture with him?  Also there should be a snack stand.  Basically, I just really like Universal Studios, and I would like to see it pulled even further in that direction.  Some sort of water rollercoaster would also be cool.



4. Lots of People Use This Thing as a Dating Sim

I saw so many people on avatar-dates. It's scary how easily people can transfer stereoyptical social interaction, like hanging out at a mall, into a virtual setting. In the main plaza of home, there's a movie theater you can enter to watch trailers for terrible movies, like Knowing. While looking around the theater, I saw a boy and a girl sitting down in seats, watching the trailers, and chatting to each other about their feelings and stuff. I also saw another couple seemingly in a fight, perhaps on the verge of breaking up.  The guy was apologizing a lot, I'll say that much.  

It's all well and good to date a computer character, but my question is; why would you conduct your internet relationship in a public place, where any 12 year old nerd can interrupt your deep emotional conversation by humping your leg or breakdancing in the six inches of space between you and your sweetie? I guess what I'm saying is, get a room, people.

3. Red Bull Land Has A Terrorist Training Program!

The Red Bull world is a nice place - it's a beautiful sunlit island with a boardwalk surrounding a lovely white beach that you can't actually walk on.  You can also rent a Red Bull glider and race the pros around this tropical paradise. Or if competition isn't your thing, you can veer off the course and crash you plane into the public square in a magnificent fireball, over, and over, and over again. Surely I am not the only person who thought to do this.

2. There Are Way Too Many Options For Character Creation

I am something of an artiste when it comes to creating avatars. All my friends come to me to design their Miis, or their Rock Band characters, or their Xbox Guys, or whathaveyou. But the character creator in Home is freaking out of control. You can basically make a near photo-realistic CG model of yourself, if you feel like spending 45 minutes to do so. And once you do, what then? Do you really want to see a scarily accurate version of yourself running around the uncanny valley, bumping into walls and getting leg-humped by people wearing street fighter costumes? I certainly don't. Besides, gamers have enough trouble drawing the line between the real and unreal. This is going to make people jump out some windows.

1. Home Is A Soulless Dystopia

What does one's life consist of in Home? Looking at placid bodies of water, staring up at towering white architecture plastered with ads, buying things for your apartment, and having short conversations with other CG people, and trying not to stare too hard into their cold, lifeless eyes.

So that's my impression of Home. Some hits, some misses. The level of tolerability of any online community usually depends on the median IQ of the people who inhabit it, and the people I saw on Home struck me as surprisingly polite (saw almost no griefers or heavily censored text balloons) and not too set on making waves, adding to the overall dystopian effect. There is definitely a lot of room for home to become much more interesting and much more creepy, and I don't doubt it will get there. Just don't get hooked by buying pretend yuppie furniture and clothes with real money. You will be tempted. Resist.

D-Pad Hero: Retconned Video Game History!

Some ingenious nerds have gone and created D-Pad Hero, the "original" Guitar Hero! An NES Rom game that brilliantly imagines what a guitar hero game would actually look like on the NES (I particularly love the audience members). Almost more brilliant than that, the above video sneakily combines 3 of the most popular internet memes; That Daft Punk Song, Guitar Hero, and 8-bit recreations of things we love; creating some sort of concentrated, weaponized viral video in the process.

Unfortunately, the game only has 4 songs so far; which you can check out at their website. Now, as a comic book geek, one of the most interesting elements of this Rom game, is the concept of retconning real world history. We're used to retconned comic book history-I mean, it wouldn't make sense for superman to have fought during WWII and continue to work today as a 30 something reporter... sure, he's an alien, anything goes. But that would put Lois in her early hundreds... She's pretty hot for a 103 year old. Though unintentional, it's fun to think of Guitar Hero as a poweful enough milestone in video game evolution that people feel the need to back date it and write it into Videogame's ancestry. Either way, fun to think about, fun to watch... and probably very hard to play...

Dying Artforms: The Best Left 4 Dead Fan Art On The Web

Remember how much we at Geekanerd love Portal? Sure you do. Well, for the past few months, we've devoted a sizable fraction of that love to Valve's newest venture, Left 4 Dead. Perhaps you've heard of it.

While I would not attempt to try to recreate the monument of fandom that is Portal Authority, I've been looking at so much Left 4 Dead fan art in the last few days, I find it's necessary to share the highlights as a service to you, the reader.


First up, an adorable Hunter jumping an adorably oblivious Louis. This is from DeviantArtist Slushy-man's spin on Left 4 Dead DeviantArt meme, a source of endless fun.

Scary zombies, cute zombies, animated zombies, sexy zombies, and PEELS, after the jump...



Apparently this is this whole subculture of geek icons rendered in crochet...and windgie79 posted these Left 4 Dead "super zombies" on the Crafter.org messageboard. As much as I like to see zombie bile rendered in yarn, I would pay cash money for that lil Hunter on my desk. I would throw it at my roommates EVERY DAY.


I think we've all been here. From SAsukaLangley's L4D meme.

These are only two female characters in L4D. Here is them kissing, courtesy of Bar1Scorpio. For more Zoe/Witch escapades, check out this Nyoro meme comic by DDRshaman38. No pron, sorry.


Here's yet more Zoe/Witch BFFness...although if you read the full comic by Fishgut-San, you'll see it's all just part of a cunning plan.



Part of the LD4 meme is drawing yourself as your favorite character. This is a nice take on Zoe, and bonus points to artist Lauren for so subtly weaving in the Peelz Meme.

Speaking of the Peelz Meme...

Impressive work by CosmicD. The best part of this is the first 40 seconds. I'm thinking using the "Pills Here!" chorus as the backing track for my yet-to-be-written L4D rap.


Grabbin' seels. And if you think that's a misspelling, you need to brush up on your Pokerap.


Just a snippet from one of the better L4D comics I've seen. He's got a pretty good command of the survivor's personalities, and Louis's plan made me LOL. Read the whole thing at Sean's DA Page.


Are you noticing that there's a lot of really simple art here? You can't deny this scene from Wibbletfish has personality.


This is evidence if a disturbed and brilliant mind. "The Left For Deadfast Club", via Visually Pink. I have to include the artist's captions as well.

Thomas the Tank - A star football quarterback, likes throwing shit.

Bobby "Boomer" - Awkward fat kid, always sick, but when he's around, he really gets the party started.

Smokin' Sam - Weird smoking dude, always doing his own thing in the corner. Might get lung cancer or something worse one day.

Whitney - Quiet, sad girl. Always down for some reason. The boys don't know how to deal with her, so they just leave her alone.

Hunter - Sharp, quick kid. Don't know why he dresses like that - you look like a hoodlum, boy. >:/

Bright kids, with a bright future!! What lies in store for them!? Only time will tell!!

Haw!


Chibi-tastic cartoon, by Brad Redfield. People seem to really feel for the witch. I think perhaps there is a bit of The Witch in all gamers.

Beavotron has made a whole series of nerdy valentine cards, including one for each Special Infected. This is my favorite, because it's the only one that reaches it's full PUNtential (dies).


There are tons upon tons of these fan created "movie" posters, and almost all of them are terrible. I like this one by Naruzap, because the title is PUNderful and I'd love to see zombie congressmen.

This post has been a little Cute Overload for the most part, so here are some distressing images to close...


Not everyone survives a campaign. "Zoey's Final Moment" by Xerios.

And finally...it probably comes as a surprise to no one that there is a definite trend towards Smoker smex in fan art, combining the fun of tentacle rape with the emo-ness of necrophilia. Can't wait for those keyword searches to roll in. Oy. It's unavoidable on L4D fan art searches, so here are two relatively inoffensive examples.


Zoe is the focus of most of this stuff...poor girl.


OTP indeed. Seeing Francis like this is really upsetting. From super Smoker fan, Queen DeDeDe's meme.


Ahah, shoe's on the other foot now! Also by Queen DeDeDe.

Sorry to subject you to that, dear readers. Here some excellent non-sexual Smoker art by Browning43 to get that, ahem, taste out of your mouth. Uch. It's late.




HALLOWEEN UPDATE: This year Gnerd editor Degan went ahead and made a Smoker pumpkin. We've even got the stencils posted on our Halloween wrap-up, go check it out!


That's it for now. If I missed anything insanely brilliant, hit us up. I've got to go get my Zoey costume ready for ComicCon.

Geek Icons: The Eye Scar

Geekanerd has already taught you how to get some of that Mad Scientist style.

Now, we will teach you, the reader, how to look like a total scary badass, ALL THE TIME.

The secret is: EYE SCAR. Get an eye scar. This is a vertical scar that appears above and below the eye socket.


That's right, an Eye Scar. They're not just for Scar anymore. Though he does have a good one.

Eye Scars say to the world, someone tried to stab my eye out, and it just makes me look cooler. Cable knows it.

You can compliment the scar with a dead-eye, if that works for you. It's makes you look more creepy and villainous, but you risk losing sex appeal. Le Chiffre manages to pull it off.


This is probably going overboard, but you can decide the size of your eye scar yourself.

This is just the beginning. Much more after the jump. You know you're interested.



You don't HAVE to be evil if you have an eye scar. John Locke is a badass, but he's still a good guy. OR IS HE? You can never tell, with eye scars.

Hudson from Gargoyles is a good guy, but there's that edge. He also makes the dead eye work for him. "Grizzled" is an adjective you can often apply to people with eye scars.

Eye scars indicate that even if you're a cool customer like Jet, you are not to be messed with.

Eye Scars are also a good indicator of capacity for evil.

If you put an eye scar on an otherwise inoffensive looking person, like Bullworth Academy student Gary Smith, it's a good indicator of insanity.

Eye scars can be messy....

Or clean.



If you want to push yourself into the realm of "freakishly intimidating", you can make the eye scar REALLY messy.

At this point, the eye scar is just a jumping off point. But be careful; as with all forms of plastic surgery, it's easy to go too far. You don't want to end up like....

...THIS...

...or THIS...

...or God forbid, THIS.

As long as you avoid these pitfalls, a good eye scar will inspire intimidation wherever you go. I should know; when I was fifteen, I crashed into a tree and had an eye scar for a good month or so. It was the greatest month of my life, and I was feared and respected by all. It can work for you too!