Link roundup

1. Screenshots from the Aliens: Infestation sidescroller for the Nintendo DS, featuring art design by Chris Bachalo.

2. Sam Wolfe Connelly is giving away a poster.

3. Photos of the new Terrax Marvel Legends series.

4. And speaking of Marvel, there's a good selection of recent Marvel collections on sale for 40% off at TFAW.

Link roundup

1. Screenshots from the Aliens: Infestation sidescroller for the Nintendo DS, featuring art design by Chris Bachalo.

2. Sam Wolfe Connelly is giving away a poster.

3. Photos of the new Terrax Marvel Legends series.

4. And speaking of Marvel, there's a good selection of recent Marvel collections on sale for 40% off at TFAW.

Link roundup

1. "A 10,000 square kilometer (3,861 sq. mile) island sank beneath the waves long ago, in the frigid waters of the Atlantic north of Scotland."

2. Last chance to enter my iPad game giveaway. I'll pick a winner tonight.

3. Smog miniature-painting contest announced.

4. This is a positive review of Captain America: Super Soldier, and it's still only a 6.5 out of 10. You know, when I was a kid, we really didn't know any better. There was no internet, and Gamepro was brand new. Mostly, you bought a game based on the packaging and then realized your mistake almost as soon as you turned on the NES. But now, with games costing $60 each, and online reviews being so quick and easy to find, how do video game publishers keep getting away with selling garbage?

Link roundup

1. "A 10,000 square kilometer (3,861 sq. mile) island sank beneath the waves long ago, in the frigid waters of the Atlantic north of Scotland."

2. Last chance to enter my iPad game giveaway. I'll pick a winner tonight.

3. Smog miniature-painting contest announced.

4. This is a positive review of Captain America: Super Soldier, and it's still only a 6.5 out of 10. You know, when I was a kid, we really didn't know any better. There was no internet, and Gamepro was brand new. Mostly, you bought a game based on the packaging and then realized your mistake almost as soon as you turned on the NES. But now, with games costing $60 each, and online reviews being so quick and easy to find, how do video game publishers keep getting away with selling garbage?

Star Wars: The Old Republic preorder bundle details

Per Kotaku, supposedly this is the Star Wars: The Old Republic Collector's Edition, retailing for €149.95/$175 USD:

Exclusive Gentle Giant Darth Malgus statue
Star Wars: The Old Republic game disks in collectible metal case
The Journal of Master Gnost-Dural annotated by Satele Shan
Old Republic galaxy map
Custom Security Authentication Key
Exclusive Music of Star Wars: The Old Republic CD
High-quality collector's edition box
Includes 7 additional digital items

Flare Gun: Fires flares into the air.
Training Droid: Hovers at your side for combat assistance.
HoloDancer: Project your own holographic dancer.
HoloCam: Keep visual records of in-game adventures.
STAP: Sleek and unique in-game vehicle.
Exclusive Mouse Droid: Spunky droid to join your adventures.
Exclusive Collector's Edition Store: Unique in-game vendor with a dynamic assortment of items.

Sounds pretty unimpressive to me, and the reports are that EA will try to manufacture desire by limiting preorders. Of course, Amazon is always bloated with collector's editions that don't sell even at reduced prices.

It would be cool if there was a standalone character creator like with Spore.

Star Wars: The Old Republic preorder bundle details

Per Kotaku, supposedly this is the Star Wars: The Old Republic Collector's Edition, retailing for €149.95/$175 USD:

Exclusive Gentle Giant Darth Malgus statue
Star Wars: The Old Republic game disks in collectible metal case
The Journal of Master Gnost-Dural annotated by Satele Shan
Old Republic galaxy map
Custom Security Authentication Key
Exclusive Music of Star Wars: The Old Republic CD
High-quality collector's edition box
Includes 7 additional digital items

Flare Gun: Fires flares into the air.
Training Droid: Hovers at your side for combat assistance.
HoloDancer: Project your own holographic dancer.
HoloCam: Keep visual records of in-game adventures.
STAP: Sleek and unique in-game vehicle.
Exclusive Mouse Droid: Spunky droid to join your adventures.
Exclusive Collector's Edition Store: Unique in-game vendor with a dynamic assortment of items.

Sounds pretty unimpressive to me, and the reports are that EA will try to manufacture desire by limiting preorders. Of course, Amazon is always bloated with collector's editions that don't sell even at reduced prices.

It would be cool if there was a standalone character creator like with Spore.

Link roundup

1. Art box giveaway.

2. Really interesting article about the economy.

3. The new Captain America: Super Solider video game is apparently barely worth a day rental: "The game (which runs to a stingy six hours at best) is sparsely populated by instantly-forgettable enemies."

4. io9 reviews the Warren Ellis/Berg comic SVK ($32 for 40 lackluster pages).

Link roundup

1. Art box giveaway.

2. Really interesting article about the economy.

3. The new Captain America: Super Solider video game is apparently barely worth a day rental: "The game (which runs to a stingy six hours at best) is sparsely populated by instantly-forgettable enemies."

4. io9 reviews the Warren Ellis/Berg comic SVK ($32 for 40 lackluster pages).

To-Fu: The Trials of Chi giveaway

UDPATE: Contest is closed, thanks everyone. I'll have another giveaway soon.

Here's the trailer for ios game To-Fu: The Trials of Chi, which is a bit like the melding of the best elements of Super Meat Boy and World of Goo:



Here's a glowing review:



The lite version can be downloaded for free. And I have three 3 iPad promocodes to giveaway. For a chance to win, simply comment on this post and make sure your comment includes an email so I can get in touch.

To-Fu: The Trials of Chi giveaway

UDPATE: Contest is closed, thanks everyone. I'll have another giveaway soon.

Here's the trailer for ios game To-Fu: The Trials of Chi, which is a bit like the melding of the best elements of Super Meat Boy and World of Goo:



Here's a glowing review:



The lite version can be downloaded for free. And I have three 3 iPad promocodes to giveaway. For a chance to win, simply comment on this post and make sure your comment includes an email so I can get in touch.

Two sides of the video game violence debate

First, Penn and Teller speak against video game violence. They certainly have a point, but I think it might be more about the wisdom of banning football (via):



Jon Stewart had the better view several weeks ago:

The Daily Show - Moral Kombat
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

(When I saw the new Mortal Kombat fatalities, I called them snuff films.)

Two sides of the video game violence debate

First, Penn and Teller speak against video game violence. They certainly have a point, but I think it might be more about the wisdom of banning football (via):



Jon Stewart had the better view several weeks ago:

The Daily Show - Moral Kombat
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

(When I saw the new Mortal Kombat fatalities, I called them snuff films.)

Not Your Typical Knuckles Tattoo

Last month I was trying to figure out why so many interesting people were walking around the Penn Station area when a trio of tattooed guys enlightened me: it was the Friday commencement of the New York Comic Con.

Now, I realize, I could go to one of these events and have a field day with some amazing tattoos on some very committed fans, but then I'd also be writing up posts for another month or two, as well, so I was content to chat with Rob and his two friends (who will appear in subsequent posts - stay tuned-).

Rob offered us one of his three tattoos, this animated creature on his inner right forearm:

This is, I'm sure many of you may know, a character from Sonic the Hedgehog, an iconic video game series that appeared in the early 1990's and has since sold, according to Wikipedia, 70 million units worldwide.

Rob explained that he grew up playing Sonic games and his favorite character was Knuckles the Echidna, who first appeared in Sonic the Hedgehog 3. "He was the only one I wanted to be," Rob told me. An echidna, by the way, is another name for a spiny anteater.

Rob credited this tattoo to "Debbie Doo" at Skin Deep Tattoo in Levittown, New York.

Thanks to Rob for sharing his Knuckles Tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Preston's Invaders Take Tattoosday

I met Preston in early May on the train platform at West 4th Street.

I spotted his tattoo and we talked about it.After along wait, we finally get to see this, one of Preston's five tattoos, here on Tattoosday:

These are,of course, images from the original Atari Space Invaders, one of the forerunners that was the first video game to truly take the world by storm.

Preston told me that these symbols represent space invasion. The neon green color makes them stick out even more and, he added, they make a "great ice breaker".

As a result, he continued, "people invade my space" when they question him (as I was doing) about his tattoo.

Preston is a musician by trade, who goes by the moniker Press Reset. Check out his website here. And this link will take you to his new record <3 on iTunes, where you can listen to (and hopefully, buy) his music.

Preston credits the tattoo to an artist named Ziggy who tattoos out of South Florida.

Thanks to Preston for sharing his alien neck tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!