Zombies in the Mushroom Kingdom?

In celebration of my brand new Xbox, I submit to you some amazing custom maps for Left 4 Dead. Prepare to have all of your childhood memories drenched in vile, bloated-corpse vomit-because some sick geek has "lovingly" recreated the princess' castle from Mario 64 and added disgusting, god forsaken, zombie abominations. The crazies over at at l4dmaps.com have a whole of slew custom left4dead maps and campaigns. This isn't anything new of course-creating custom maps and mods for beloved games is a time honored tradition. But there's something blissfully disturbing about throwing screaming, defiled undead into your adorable childhood favorites. The mushroom kingdom map really earns its keep when you can get pipe bombs from question mark boxes.

But they don't stop there, they've also recreated the battle of Helm's Deep (see video below), recreated a Zelda dungeon-complete with puzzles and keys, a Night of the Living Dead homage... and there's a Wolfenstein, Starship Troopers, and even Michael Jackson's Thriller mod in the works! Because what cherished memory wouldn't be better when infested with zombies?



via kotaku

Geekanerd Spotter: 8-Bit Mario in Paris

Geekanerd Spotter has seen plenty of 8-bit street art, but what makes this mini-mosaic featuring Mario any different? It's French! Fellow blogger and loyal reader Lena was recently in Paris, and snapped these pictures of Mario in his unnatural habit.

I've always said those Parisians had class. Can any old schoolers tell me the name of the white figure Mario is facing off against?

Geekanerd Spotter: Invincibility Star Street Art

This entire condo complex has an invincibility star! Does that mean that the people who live here will never die, as long as they don't leave their rooms? But what kind of life would that be? Actually that may be a scenario all too familiar to both you and me, dear reader.

And speaking of you, regular readers have certainly noticed by know that our posting schedule and regular features have slowed way down recently - a bit of excusifying after the jump...

The slowdown in production is mainly because I, AHR, am residing outside of NYC for the fall, and accordingly my nerd powers are only operating at about half capacity. You see, LIKE SUPERMAN, I draw my powers from a localized source, in my case the Manhattan/Brooklyn area. I'm currently in Charlotte NC, which has at least one amazing comic store, but sadly not as many amazing nerd events to keep me inspired.



That said, the NYC Weekanerd Event Calendar and our Twitter/Facebook feeds still get updated all the time. Geekanerd proper will still be updated with feature articles, though on a slower schedule for the next few months.

If you have any feedback, holla: tips@geekanerdblog.com

Geekanerd Spotter: Mexico Edition

Hola pistolas! Greetings from warm and sunny Oaxaca, home of half the AHR family tree. Oaxaca is a great place to relax and ride out the inevitable video game withdrawal, but just like the song says, there is always something there to remind me.

Also of note; no one here seems to care about Dark Knight very much, but the Resident Evil animated movies (??) are HUGE.

Also thought some of you might appriciate this...
This image really confused me. It looks like a legit Disney character design, but who is it? From whence did it come? The combination of dark skinned girl, walrus, and penguin had me thinking...Eskimo Princess? Could this be some sort of Direct to DVD Disney flick available only in Central American markets?

The answer is: no. It's just Young Ariel colored to look Latina. The shell necklace is a giveaway. Inside the book, she's a redhead as per usual. Pretty disappointing, actually.

UPDATE: Okay, so the real explanation is even less interesting. A Gnerd commenter more up on the recent crop of Disney Classics informs us that the girl on the book is actually Ariel's DAUGHTER, who does in fact have black hair on account of her parentage (Eric, anyone?). Still...darker skin color, right? Maybe? Bah.

There Will Be Brawl: In-Jokes, Analysis, and Serious Geeking Out

By now, most web-savvy gamers (is there any other kind?) are well-acquainted with the newly minted classic, There Will Be Brawl. If you haven't seen it already, check it out above (mildly NSFW). It's a grim, Noir-ish look into the Mushroom Kingdom, and features awesome production values and appearances by the biggest names in Smash Brothers history (and those who aren't in Episode 1 are on their way...we hear the Pokemon Trainer is next up for the spotlight! Can Pikachu be far behind?).

I recently wrote a detailed review of the show, which you can read at Tilzy.TV. But more importantly, our resident Nintendo specialist Degan was good enough to take meticulous notes on the series, including annotations for the show's many in-jokes and references. You can play the video and read along, or just skim through to see all the nerdy references you may have missed the first time.

• Abductions and mutilations? I'm not sure if this is a yet-to-be-revealed plot point or a reference to some character i'm not thinking of... are the abductions referencing the weird trophy-fying gun that Bowser uses on the characters in the brawl story mode?
• Toad people! Its not the mushroom kingdom without Toads!
• I believe the first Noir music cue is a tune from Mario 2.
• Wii fit ad a nice touch ("unseen arbiter").
• Creepy mask guy in the hallway is from Mario 2.
• "Pileup on Moonview Highway to Moo Moo meadows" is from Mario Kart.

More after the jump? You better believe it.

• Lakitu newscaster is from a bunch of games, but the fact that he's a newscaster is a reference to Mario Kart, where he's the cameraman for the instant replays, and fishes you out after you throw yourself off a cliff. Here, he's complete with fishing pole, and if you look closely you'll see his desk is cloud with eyes.
  
• Luigi's drinking the classic red health potion (I believe first seen in Zelda-but its such a video game convention that I'm not even sure anymore). [edit: there's some debate on the TWBB forums about this potion... many there seem to think its the warp potion from Mario 2... I still maintain that it's regular old health potion. For one, they never drank the warp potions... they threw them on the ground to create doors! So in the context of the scene, it doesn't make much sense for Luigi to be drinking a warp potion... unless he's trying to commit suicide by "internal door".]
  
• Police chief Link and his "Hylean" brand justice-reference to Lake Hylia in Hyrule... apparently an authoritarian police state... never knew. [edit: apparently the "Hylians" are the people of Hyrule... not just lake Hylia]
  
• Awesome violin Mario music that starts as the Mario Death tune and leads into the classic Mario Theme!
• Power up boxes! sweet! And power up mushrooms complete with Mario World sound effects!
• Wario's awesome! And those ice climbers are super creepy... why does Nana need a monobrow?!?
• Roy and Pichu are two characters who didn't make into the line-up for Smash Brothers Brawl...now we know why.
  
• More reference to the mutilations and "tiny guts"? Is that just cause Pichu is tiny... or is there some shrinking thing I'm not picking up?
• Blinking Wario growth a nice touch too
• "Tunic-wearing fairy"- nasty way to refer to Link... "his pigs"? Either just your typical slur for police or possibly a reference to the pigs of Ness' New Pork City? Are there even pigs there though? I don't know...
• Mario Dungeon Theme when Mario confronts Wario and Luigi (actually its the Haunted House theme from Mario World)
• I love the princess' undercover-celebrity-glasses and hoodie! At first I thought the princess was terribly acted... then i realized she's trying to do that obnoxious high-pitched monosyllabic speaking style she always has in the games... pretty clever.
• Mario's medical practice! Dr. Mario reference, natch. [edit: it only just occurred to us the reason for Mario's "failed medical practice"... Dr. Mario isn't featured in Brawl-it's how they killed him off (like they did Pichu, Roy, and MewTwo)]
  
• Shrinking noise from Super Mario World when Mario attacks Wario.
• Ha, "Been a referee (Punchout), been a doctor (obviously Dr. Mario)". Man, Mario's been around.
• Is there tension between Waluigi and Wario? He seems pretty touchy about the issue.
• Awesome awesome ringtone! Sonic Boom! The theme song from the barely played Sonic CD for the even more barely owned SegaCD (I think I owned the only one) I guess that means she's in contact with Sonic... Also surprising they used this since I was one of 7 people who owned SegaCD.
• Ha, "dance around in your skin!" Cause that's kinda what Kirby does!
• "Her own court anymore?" And since when have the Mario Bros not been useful? Not sure if these are game references or again, yet-to-be-revealed plot points...
• Megavitamins.... that's what Dr. Mario used!
• Kirby's a scary freak!

That he is, Degan, that he is. No, seriously. When I had to check the credits for my review, I put my hand over the screen in case I went too far back and ended up on a still of him. Not joking, people.

NYCC 08 Cosplay Roundup

As we wrap up our Comic Con coverage, let's take a look at some of our favorite cosplayers...
This Golden Age Green Lantern was extremely well put together. Although... *ahem* Alan Scott wore the ring on his left middle finger.

There's a bunch more enthusiastic dressers after the jump!

Batman sneaks up on his rogue's gallery while I distract them with a camera.

The Black Cat. Prrr.

This Chewie had an awesome voice box that gave him a very authentic Chewie grumble.

Team Fortress 2's Medic is looking for someone to heal. He struck this pose without even thinking twice about it, the body language is straight out of the game. TF2 was a really popular cosplay choice this year, probably cause it gives folks a chance to make big cardboard and PVC versions of the weapons.

Aura Sing is just happy to be here. Remember how big a deal she was before Episode I? She was supposed to be the new Boba Fett....but the prequels destroyed all that they touched, and she's been mostly forgotten, though apparently not by this lady.

An unlikely couple, but I guess Superman has plenty of time on his hands now that he's drinking Red Bull. Click to get the high res pic so you can check out his killer blue contacts.

An excellent Static Shock, looking like a life-sized action figure with flying disc included.

The Monarch and the butter-voiced Dr. Girlfriend. At the Venture Brothers panel, these two asked Doc Hammer to be their minister at their upcoming wedding. He said he'd seriously consider it. A match made in nerd heaven, obviously.

Mario and Luigi in the house, plumbing gear at the ready.

These Spider-Men were getting along famously, posing for photos together and chatting up a storm.

This guy nails the Hugh Jackman eyebrows, and his claws were impressive to say the least.

This is one deadly lady. Francine Castle?

Anyone know who the lady with V is?

The Escapist Says Mario Is Unmarketable

Aaron Linde at The Escapist wonders if the world would accept Mario if he wasn't already so ingrained in mainstream culture.

As an icon, Mario is inseparable from the medium he represents, a name practically synonymous with the pastime, and like other creations brought about in gaming's infancy, absolutely absurd. Stare too long and you realize he's an overweight, mustachioed Italian stereotype who battles sentient turtles and grows to immense proportions when he comes in contact with mushrooms. But these are conventions of a universe that we've had over 20 years to become familiar with. Why does the mushroom make Mario big? Because it's a super mushroom. Duh.

But they accepted all that twenty years ago, why not now? Is the argument that people have become too literal minded and afraid of a little surrealism? Or does the improvement of graphics technology leave less room for playful abstraction? Linde won't settle the issue for you, but he might give you something to think about.

Image from Rob's SketchBlog.

Web Game of the Week: Asteroids Revenge III

Every Thursday, Geekanerd Johnny brings you a new web game to pour your precious time into...

Sometimes villains are ill-depicted. In 1991 the softer side of the Tazmanian Devil was shown in Taz-Mania. 2003's The Fog Of War allowed Robert S. McNamara to have his say on life, business and the Vietnam War. In 1982 Nintendo showed to be bipartisan in the Donkey Kong/Mario dispute by making Donkey Kong Jr. Finally, in 1979, a small space ship was attacked by gigantic rocks in Asteroids; 28 years later those rocks were vindicated and Asteroids Revenge III was made.

"For hundreds of years humans have destroyed asteroids. It wasn't personal... it was just business. One day an asteroid woke up and saw the destruction..." So begins the techno beat induced epic retaliation of asteroids to the humans. Your goal is to build up an army of ally rocks to battle the mother ship and to buy enough time as possible to let your friends escape the onslaught of the human forces. While the controls initially seem cumbersome and slightly counter-intuitive (they're explained throughout the game), the game itself is rather easy. Just follow the instructions and you'll have a blast.

Strategy: Having as many allies as possible is essential, however, never neglect getting armor, speed, and spin. The C key is your friend.

Want more? Past Editions of Web Game of the Week

Mario vs. The Joker

"I am going to ruin your lives and eat your souls and I can't. Wait. To do it."

Shudder! Heath is gonna have to step it up if he wants to outdo the guy who plays the Joker in this fan movie which has the Clown Prince of Crime going up against the Fat Prince of Plumbing. I imagine somewhere in the background Harley Quinn and Luigi are duking it out as well. The video was part of a comic book/video game mashup contest at GameTrailers, and there are a couple other notable finalists to be seen...