EPISODE THIRTEEN: "And There Came A Review"

Not that I don't enjoy being a commentator as opposed to a straightforward critic, but sometimes you just want to review something. So I did, to a largely overlooked budget DS platformer called "Barnyard Blast." The only thing you really need to know is that it's hero is a pig who is also a cowboy and that it actually sets out to spoof "Castlevania" and "Ghosts n' Goblins."

EPISODE TWELVE: "Sir Mix-A-Lot Would Approve"

See? Technically, it's a whole day LESS than a month since the last update :)

This one is, chiefly, about "Fat Princess"... or, rather, my likely-to-be-in-vain hope that the inevitable (mutually) embarassing dust-up between Gamers and Feminists over "Fat Princess."



Since "Fat Princess" is still yet to be released even for full reviews, this is probably the EARLIEST I've ever been to the party in terms of current-affairs commentary in game journalism. As you'll see in the video, there's a good reason for that: The earlier you hit a subject, the less usable visual material there is to work with.

As such, I'm not even going to pretend that this is one of the more visually-compelling episodes by any means; though I would perhaps beg a small amount of credit for doing ten minutes of commentary largely about anger amongst womenfolk and not doing a single Sarah Palin joke (saving for later, don't worry.)

EPISODE ELEVEN: "Can It Happen To Us?"

A decade ago, a onetime "niche" industry for the young and the geeky "grew up," conquered the world... and then lost everything. The OverThinker remembers how it happened, and wants to know if the gaming biz is heading down the same path.



I'll try not to let a month pass between installments again - fortunately this one was actually a pretty quick job. What slows these things down is the image-hunting: Some material you'll find TONS of stuff to work with, others... not so much.

EPISODE TEN: "Not A Review Of GTA IV"

In which I most-emphatically DO NOT review one of the biggest titles of 2008.



I went back and forth about putting this one up now, my main concern being that putting up what boils down to a "yeah, but"-ing of one of the four or five biggest post-Playstation franchises isn't going to do much to deter my apparently growing reputation as a cranky nostalgia-gamer - the gaming equivalent of some aging-hippie film professor who STILL won't concede that "Easy Rider" has or ever will be surpassed... BUT it's a relevant entry and (more importantly) was finished and ready to go. I know I've been very blunt about not having a set schedule, but I do start to feel like a slacker if I let too much time go by.

And, of course, the near-garaunteed uptick in traffic that comes from being able to accurately place "GTA" in one's YouTube tags doesn't hurt, either...

EPISODE NINE: "Daisy, Daisy"

In which "Mario Kart Wii" gives me an excuse to string together some tangentially-related bits about Nintendo's "other princess," under-appreciated Hedgehog love-interests and Squaresoft's ever-more-"emo" hero characters. Also: Fixing some issues from last time, some elaboration on audio-editing and Italian softcore starlets.



Most of the time I have a cohesive, essay-ready plan for these. Other times... not so much. Enjoy!

EPISODE EIGHT: "Mississippi Pwning"

Wherein I go against my better judgement and wade into the continuing firestorm over "Resident Evil 5" as a first-step toward getting to a topic we'll probably need to revisit a few more times: Race and ethnic-portrayals in video games.



Had to go back to the sped-up sound a few times this time around, as I've discovered that YouTube doesn't even let DIRECTOR accounts do over ten minutes anymore. Dammit. Also recording sound in a new way, which I don't have exactly where I want it but it DOES allow me to get the material done and uploaded at a MUCH quicker pace. Those issues aside, I think this one came out decently. It's a tough topic, especially since it's not as easy to find appropriate visual aids as it is for, say, "the Boobs episode."

N'Gai Croal, the Newsweek blogger who took a lot of heat - most of it undeserved - from gamers over his negative critique of the trailer, is for the record one of the best game journalists in the mainstream media. I'm thinking of sending him a link to this, which seems courteous since he gets mentioned so often in it, though part of me is a little nervous as to what a professional thinks of my incoherent run-on sentences. Guess we'll see...

EPISODE SEVEN: "The Psychology of Nintendo Fans."

In the world of gaming and game-fandom, there's no insult that gets tossed around the forumscape with more vitriol than "Nintendo Fanboy." The Children of Miyamoto are legendary for the strength of their devotion and infamous for the creepiness of their occasional fanatacism - and both reputations are fairly well deserved. But what exactly makes them tick?

I'm not the first gaming culture-commentator to tackle this one... or the last... or even CLOSE to the best, but we all do our part. Part of what I realized putting this together is that most of us of the age to BE nostalgiac about this are ill-equipped to really get a handle on what it all really means: We're too close to be properly objective no matter how hard we try. EVERYONE knows or at least comprehends that "Nintendo Power" - just to use one example - was market-controlling corporate-propaganda of the first order. Everyone. But it doesn't matter. I remember getting my subscription and first issue as a Christmas present; you'll NEVER fully convince my brain to not hold some measure of fondness for it - any more than you'll convince Brits of certain generations that Golliwog was a cruel racist caricature.



Yeah, so... this one's a little on the sentimental side. More funny-business to come, I promise, but you gotta change it up here and there. I mean, the last installment was like ten solid minutes about BOOBS - I have to find the balance where I can ;)