what-a-kick-in-the-quad:

postapocalypticfashion:

When Aisha Tyler was selected to be the presenter for the 2012 Ubisoft E3 press conference, she received an unprecedented flood of hate from trolls who complained about the fact that she knew nothing about gaming. Too bad haters didn’t do their homework first, because as it turns out Aisha Tyler knows more about gaming that all of us put together. Her Facebook response was awesome and predictably went viral. In case you missed it, here’s her masterpiece. Haters, take note.

Dear Gamers

I play.

I’ve played since I was a little kid. 

Since I begged my dad to buy me a Nintendo LCD Donkey Kong, Jr.

Since I blew through three weeks’ allowance playing Defender at the laundromat.

Since you were a twinge in the left side of your daddy’s underoos.

I’ve been a gamer since I made friends with a girl in the 5th grade just to get at her Atari.

Since I missed the bus playing Galaga after school.

Since I missed the start of Return of the Jedi playing Tempest in the theater lobby.

You think you know. You don’t know.

I’ve been a gamer since before you could read.

Since I aced midterms after staying up all night playing Evil Tetris.

Since I became dorm champ at Leisure Suit Larry.

Since I double-wielded on Time Crisis 3 at Fuddrucker’s.

I was a voice in not one, but two major video game titles.

I hosted the Reach Beta tutorial.

I was a Gears of War superfan panelist at ComicCon.

I hosted the Ubisoft presser at E3 2012.

I didn’t do any of it for the money. 

For most I got paid next to nothing, and for some, less than that.

I did it because I love video games.

Because I’ve dreamt since I was a kid of being in one of the games I love.

How many games have you done voices for?

How many cons have you repped at?

Your buddy’s Unreal Tournament garage deathmatch doesn’t count.

I go to E3 each year because I love video games.

Because new titles still get me high.

Because I still love getting swag.

Love wearing my gamer pride on my sleeve.

People ask me what console I play.

Motherfucker, ALL of them.

I get invited to E3 because real gamers know I’m a gamer.

I don’t do it for the money.

I have plenty of money.

I don’t do it for the fame.

Fuck fame.

I do it because I love video games.

I don’t give out my gamertag because I don’t want a mess of noob jackholes lining up

to assassinate me on XBL. 

I don’t give a shit what you think about my gamerscore.

I don’t play to prove a point. 

I don’t play to be the best.

I play because I love it.

I play.

I’ve been playing my whole life. 

I’m not ashamed of it.

I don’t apologize for it.

It’s who I am.

To the core.

I’m a gamer.

So to all the haters out there who claim I don’t play;

To the GAF dicks, 

Gamespot trolls, 

To every illiterate racist douchebag on Youtube:

Flame away. Go nuts.

Post every jackass comment your heart desires.

I’ll still be playing when your mom’s kicked you out of her basement

and you have to sell your old-ass console

and get a real job.

For now, I say to you respectfully,

and I mean this from the bottom of my heart,

GFYS.

Marry me, Aisha. Just marry me.

As awesome as her response is, a part of it kind of irritates me. I don’t like when women feel the need to explain that they play video games with some elaborate answer with all their logged hours playing for however many years or how many consoles they have.

Does she also have to prove what her favorite color is? Or perform testing on her taste buds to justify the foods she likes? Or how about she explains her entire family ancestry to prove her lineage.

This may be an unpopular opinion, but I think feeding the trolls gets you nowhere. She, nor I, nor anyone else who has ever picked up a controller in their life don’t have to explain ourselves to get a bunch of asinine teenagers (and I put teenagers because even if they’re adults, they clearly haven’t aged maturity-wise) to “accept” us as members of the “gaming community” because their acceptance DOESN’T MATTER.

No one needs permission to play games.
No one needs approval from the community to be considered a “legitimate” gamer.
Can we all just agree to stfu and mind our own business? Let whoever like whatever the hell the want. And if you like something and a bunch of strangers feel the need to hate on it over the internet, let them. Who cares. Feeding the trolls by answering them just makes it worse.

/endrant

missmayinga:

alexandraerin:

transgenderstudentlife:

gendertruckery:

missbriannalee:

WARNING. The things in this post can and will probably upset you. This is a long post, but I believe that everyone needs to at least read this.

“I’m not hiding. The only reason…

I have kept my blog mostly video game/anime/comic book/etc etc related, but I don’t feel right reading this and simply skimming over it on my dashboard.

I think this post is so frustrating for me because of how much hatred this girl apparently has towards complete strangers. It’s also irritating to see her throw around the words “gay” and “transexual” as though they are interchangeable. She clearly has never met a member of the LGBTQ community in her life, or else she would realize that we are literally JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE IN THE WORLD.

I’ve never understood why people get so hung up on sexuality. As though who I’m attracted to has an influence on others or changes who I am as a human being. I specifically don’t call myself a “lesbian” because honestly, that word doesn’t define who I am. The word “woman” doesn’t define who I am. The word “human” doesn’t even really define who I am. Why? Because all of these words have a definition. Their overall concept can be explained in short series of words, arranged in a sentence fragment on a piece of paper or displayed on a monitor. They can hold meaning, sure, just like any other word. But I feel as though people are too complex to be reduced to a textbook definition of a word.

I am simply “me” just as every other person on this planet is their own “me”s. Forgive me if this sounds cliche, but why can’t we just live and let live? I have my life, my priorities, my goals and dreams, my hobbies and interests, and you have yours. No two people are exactly the same on this planet, so obviously we’ll have our differences, but why do they have to push us apart? Why is it that the fact that I have a preference for other women makes me “abnormal” and for that matter, why does everyone have to be “normal” anyway? Who defines normalcy?

Honestly, it is the year 2012. We, as human beings, have been recording time for over 2000 years and have been occupying this planet long before that. We are the most intelligent creatures that live on this Earth. We can look to the past and plot every point where a technological innovation changed lives, or when a peace treaty was signed to end a conflict, or when people traveled into the unknown searching for a “new world” and yet, equality for all people has not been plotted in the world’s history book. Two-thousand years and people are still threatening to commit mass genocide on a group of people with nothing in common except the community they belong to?

People need to wake up already.

(via bilbochan)

From the title of this post, you’re probably thinking that this rant is yet another one of the many complaints about the Day One DLC for Mass Effect 3 which SPOLIERS!! apparently has something to do with the Protheans, meaning it is rather relevant to the game. /SPOILERS!!

Nope, my problem is with people getting mad at me because I will be getting it day one from buying the Collector’s Edition of the game. I’m really sick of hearing about how I don’t understand why someone else is frustrated because I get the DLC “free” on launch day. Let the rant commence:

First off: No, actually, I don’t get the DLC free, I paid extra for the collector’s edition which means I get the DLC most likely either on my receipt or with the box set. I didn’t pay $60 and Bioware just decided, “Well, they bought the special-super-galactic-fun-time version which totally costs the same as the other edition, better throw in some extra content for them for no fucking reason!!” No, people who pre-order collector’s editions of games always, ALWAYS get some sort of extra content. ALWAYS. That’s the fucking point of getting the special edition. Sure, I’m pumped to get an N7 Patch and a lithograph thing, but given the past several years of video games, why would you be shocked that there’s day one downloadable content for one of Bioware and EA’s biggest games?

Second: IT IS AVAILABLE TO YOU THE SAME DAY AS LAUNCH! I’m not getting the content before you. It’s not like I’m getting special privileges here. Everyone gets access to the DLC on the same day. And, again, I paid for my copy of it through my extra $20 for the collector’s edition. Which is $10 MORE than what the DLC costs. You’re paying less than I am by getting it on launch day.

Third: Honestly, I get where these people are coming from. They feel that they are paying full price for an unfinished and incomplete game. I get it. I have this same issue with online pass code bullshit: It’s fucking stupid. I bought Saints Row, for example, why do I have to buy an online pass code? It’s because I bought it used. And I get it, the game developers make a profit off NEW copies of their games, but it’s frustrating when I have to pay just to play a goofy game like Saint’s Row the Third with one other person online. Same goes with the Cerberus Network in ME2. I just wanted Zaeed, but I had to pay 1200 Microsoft points because I bought the game used an entire year after the game had been released. And by that point, the Cerberus Network wasn’t even being used anymore for updates, so basically I had paid that much for a mission equivalent to Kasumi’s mission, which costs 560 MPs, so it was doubley-stupid and a hell of a lot more money than I should have had to pay for one mission and another character.

My issue with this whole thing is when gamers turn on eachother. As though I’m the bad guy because I’m getting the DLC code with my game when I pick it up at midnight. Honestly, I get where the fans are coming from, but I also get where Bioware and EA could be coming from. They have to make a profit. And honestly, it’s an add-on for a reason; it ADDS to your game experience. I like to think that Bioware and EA aren’t purposely leaving out entire portions of the game that are important to the core of the game.

I mean, let’s be real here: ALL the DLC is relevant to the story in all the Mass Effect games. You learn more about the plot, characters, races, histories, etc. etc. via the DLC, but it’s moreso extra goodies. Like, I LOVED the Overlord DLC for ME2 because it genuinely made me uncomfortable and was one of the two or three points in the game where I really felt strongly about making a decision. Am I glad I paid extra for it? Hell yea. Would I have died without playing it? Of course not. It made the game more fun for me personally, but it really didn’t have any outcome, consequences or ramifications in the plotline. Again, extra goodies. Again, I get where everyone’s coming from, but take your frustrations out with the people at fault here, not those who bought the Collector’s Edition.

Every few months, I check on the wonderful world wide web, hoping for some news in regards to the new Godzilla movie. For those who are unaware, Legendary Pictures had acquired the rights to make a Godzilla movie back in 2010.

…It’s 2012. The year of the first scheduled release date.

Obviously, as with most projects, there have been setbacks (including three different writers taking on the project) and rescheduled date after rescheduled date. It’s been pushed back to 2014. Which is fine, I would prefer they do Godzilla right than see another abomination like the one TriStar gave us. I know, I know! We’re not supposed to talk about it! It doesn’t really exist (just like the Avatar the Last Airbender movie or Dragonball Evolution or Batman & Robin…man were those God awful, to say the least).

However, luckily for us, Gareth Edwards, the director, has said, “This will definitely have a very different feel than the most recent US film, and our biggest concern is making sure we get it right for the fans because we know their concerns. It must be brilliant in every category because I’m a fan as well.”

I just wish I could find some more recent news. I’ve seen all the concept pictures and art; confirmed, unconfirmed, and outright denied by Legendary Pictures. I’ve read every article I could find. I’ve scoured Youtube hoping for a legitimate teaser trailer. And yet, nothing. Waiting for word of some progress on this project is absolutely killing me. The IMDB site for it is practically empty. At that point, why is it even up? It’s just there to torment me into constantly checking for an update. Freaking Jurassic Park IV has more information up on the IMDB and it doesn’t even have an estimated release date… never mind the fact that it’s been in development hell since 2002!

Anyway, just needed to get that out there. I absolutely LOVE Godzilla. I grew up watching everything Toho: from Godzilla’s monsters to Pocket Monsters, Toho has had a special place in my childhood (right next to the Batman animated series) and hearing about a new American Godzilla project with Toho’s direct involvement would be a great way to erase bad memories about…well, you know what I’m talking about. I refuse to acknowledge its existence twice in this post. Anyway, fingers crossed on some new updates in the coming future. In the meantime, I leave you with a trailer for one of my favorite Godzilla films when I was growing up:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEj69hFGs_A&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sS_bGpe9qE8

So I think I’m the only one who isn’t super pumped about Resident Evil 6. Allow me to explain with a lengthy rant of sorts.

Within the first 30 or so seconds of the trailer, I was immediately confused, annoyed, and downright infuriated with Leon Kennedy’s actions (or lack thereof). For those who aren’t up to speed: Leon Scott Kennedy is a police officer-turned special agent for the United States. He saw the T-Virus outbreak first hand as a rookie cop, and years later, was entrusted with a job to rescue the President’s daughter in a foreign country, all the while trying to survive against hordes of the undead and a brainwashed cult known as Los Illuminados.

So riddle me this: WHY THE FUCK DOES LEON HESITATE TO SHOOT THE ZOMBIE IN THE BEGINNING OF THE TRAILER?!

I get it, he’s the President of the United States. He’s kind of a big deal. But Leon is, at this point in the series, a trained Secret Service agent. It is his job to protect the President (which he clearly sucked at). BUT Kennedy is obviously highly experienced when it comes to zombies. It’s pretty obvious that once you’re infected, 9 times out of 10, there’s no saving you. So again, why did Leon hesitate? And more so, why did he bother trying to communicate with him? He knows that the President’s infected. He knows that there’s no reasoning with the undead. He has been trained to shoot them on sight. I can’t explain how angry that scene made me…

So Leon has some new partner who whines and cries that something is all her fault. What exactly? Who knows. And frankly, who cares.

Here’s the thing that ALWAYS irritates me with most zombie-mediums: lack of consistancy. In one of the first shots you see of the zombies, they look like the traditional undead. They slowly stumble towards a bus, lumbering along with their arms limp at their sides. This scene was a cinimatic and I appreciated it. I like traditional zombies - they’re horrifying! They slowly make their way toward you, grunting and moaning sounds that seem to come from hell itself, with the intention of painstakingly tearing the flesh off you with their rotted, blood-filled mouths while you’re still breathing. Horrifying, I love it…

Then they show actual gameplay…Two words: Jumping. Zombies.

As much as the movies are lol-worthy and aren’t that good, there was one scene in the first one that I love which explained that the undead function off of one sole purpose: the need to feed. The rest of the body is dead, the brain is simply willing it forward to eat to “survive.”

So, since the body of a zombie is basically dead, which means it can’t even physically move its legs in a way where it can RUN, how does it manage to bend its knees and use the deteriorated, dead muscles in its rotting legs to leap upwards at its prey? And why would it do so anyway? If the tasty person is close enough to just fall forward on top of to start munching away, why go through the effort of jumping upward to fall down on top of it? More importantly: most animals jump on prey with the intention of stabbing with their claws or crushing their prey to weaken them in order to kill them to feed themselves and their young. Zombies don’t give a fuck. They don’t care if you’re alive, and they don’t care if any other zombies get fed. I just can’t stress how stupid it is for a zombie dragging itself forward to suddenly have the capacity to jump in the air. Seriously, it’s fucking stupid and it makes my head hurt.

Okay moving on. So then we get to Chris Redfield, who is coming in on a helicopter in China.

One of the first things he does is shove a reporter’s camera in his face, so someone must have pissed in his coffee that morning. However, that scene looks interesting; civilians are running in a panic, a car is set ablaze, it looks like pandemonium. You hear a higher up of some sort say that they are to suppress the bioterrism outbreak while proceeding to Ace of Spades, which at this point, I hope is based entirely off of Motorhead. Seriously, Chris belting out the lyrics into a microphone above his head so he can ignore the crowd of zombies gathering below him sounds like a good addition to this trailer.

Now there’s people shooting. At Chris. Why? Who are these people? Terrorists? Hoodlums setting out to loot whatever they want in the panic? Who knows. I assume it’s so you have more things to deal with aside from zombies…which is silly. Why make a zombie game if you have to fight random guys with masks and submachine guns?

It’s a distraction from the horrors of zombies. Their threat is downplayed because we are all so accustomed to guns and bullets. They’re normal, and in a zombie-ridden world, they become a safety blanket. If I played this game, I would assume I’d be looking forward to human enemies because they’re not nearly as terrifying, which I assume is NOT the point of the game. I doubt you’re supposed to openly go searching for live people to try to kill you because it’s more natural to kill someone with a gun shooting at you rather than shooting a stinking corpse that resembles a civilian trying desperately to eat you. Not to mention, people with guns = more ammunition for you after you kill them, which kills the anxiety you would feel about running out of ammo. Basically, I feel like having people shooting at you takes away from the horror aspect. A lot.

Then some asshole shows up.

There’s theory that he’s Hunk without his whole getup considering no one’s ever heard him speak without his mask and he kiiiiinnnddd of looks like him? Kind of? I guess? I don’t know, but either way he’s an asshole. Why? Because he uses kung fu against zombies. Personally, I would think the LAST thing you would want to do in a zombie apocalypse is fight the undead with your bare hands. It’s like you’re trying to get yourself infected. “What’s the matter Mr. Zombie? Can’t reach my yummy fleshy leg? Here, let me kick you in the mouth and hope that you’ll clench down on my ankle and rip out my achilles tendon.” Oh what’s this? Leon’s doing it too. Thank god.

Blah blah blah, some girl shows up who looks like Ashley, but has been confirmed as Sherry Birkin. She will most likely be just as irritating as Ashley so I’m going to call her Asherry. Sounds fitting.

So Chris apparantly has a personal vendetta against some woman who he nicely refers to as ‘that bitch’ as he slams his fist on something. Then some guy who kind of looks like Matt Damon calms him down saying ‘I’m right there with you Captain,’ as he puts his hands on Chris’s chest, so I sense a bromance coming along nicely.

Then, ACTIONSCENESACTIONSCENESOMGLOOKATTHATEXPLOSIONDIDYOUSEETHEACTIONTANKACTION

THEN LEON FUCKING SLIDES INBETWEEN A ZOMBIE’S LEGS TO SHOOT AT IT WHILE LAYING ON THE GROUND. AGAIN, THIS IS A TRAINED SECRET SERVICE AGENT. A MAN WHO HAS BEEN ON THE FRONT LINES WITH THE UNDEAD AND KNOWS HOW THEY WORK AND WHAT THEY DO. AND HIS MOST LOGICAL THOUGHT IS “Hmm instead of just shooting this zombie once in the head and moving on, or better yet, trying to find a way to get through this unscathed without wasting bullets, let me FUCKING SLIDE INBETWEEN IT’S LEGS and then REAMAIN ON THE GROUND SHOOTING IT IN THE BACK SEVERAL TIMES. Nevermind the fact that I slid through the zombie’s legs into a group of MORE ZOMBIES WHICH ARE NOW BEHIND ME AND HAVE ME IN A PERFECT POSITION TO SIMPLY FALL ON TOP OF ME AND START CHOMPING AWAY!”

I enjoy action, I really do, but I like it when it makes sense to do epic things. There was absolutely NO logic whatsoever in doing what he did in the trailer. NONE.

I will say this: the game looks visually appealing. The environments are well done as well as the people.

The gameplay looked solid from the few clips shown. It looks like they’re bringing a Giant thing similar to the ones in RE 4 and 5, and maybe some kind of Nemesis or Tyrant-ish looking BOWs.

 I appreciate the fact that they are trying to bring two of the most popular male characters in the series together, I get it. And honestly, I’m not expecting much horror from a game series that is releasing Operation: Raccoon City in a few months, not to mention the games stopped being scary around the time Leon really started to shine through in 4 anyway. I just have a problem with inconsistencies, lack of appreciation for details, and excess things that just feel like they have no place being in the game. But we’ll see what happens, this is the first trailer released and it’s not coming out until November so maybe the game will show some promise, but as of now, not planning on adding it to my game collection.

Everywhere I’ve seen, people freaking RAVED over how fantastic X-Men: First Class was, how great the acting was, how awesome the fight scenes were, or worst of all: Professor X/Magneto ships. They acted like it was the best movie of all time, let alone the best in the series. Seriously, people went berserk over this thing. Am I really the only one who thought it was a total pile of crap?

Let me explain. (Spoiler City to follow) It’s pretty obvious just from watching a trailer of the movie, or even knowing that it’s a movie to know that it’s nothing like the comics. First off, if you read the comics, you’re aware that Magneto and Professor X were never BFFs, bopping around in the 60’s, listening to Frank Sinatra in a fuckin’ LeSabre…NO. Just fuckin’ no. Erik and Charles had a rather brief encounter in a hospital, discussed the possibilities of humanity being at odds with mutants, realized they had polar opposite goals, and moved on with their lives. Nope, no Cuban Missile bullshit. No hanging out at Charles’ sweet estate learning life lessons. None of that. Not to mention, by this time in Charles’ life, he should be fucking bald. Oh and did I forget, THE MUTANTS IN THE MOVIE AREN’T EVEN THE FIRST CLASS X-MEN.

Jesus, they got two people right: Professor X and Beast. If they were the actual First Class, the line-up would also consist of Cyclops, Jean Grey, Angel, and Iceman. Who’d the movie go for? Darwin, Mystique, Banshee, a different Angel, and Havok. First off, why these characters? None of them are really vital to the X-Men, not to mention, since this movie is clearly for people who aren’t fans of the comics, wouldn’t they WANT to include more recognizable characters? It’s not like answering either of those questions actually matters anyway, as the majority of them switch sides or just die by the end of the film.

And frankly, with Disney stock footage-styled scenes like that, I was content with never seeing them again.

But let’s say you didn’t give a shit about the canon and just wanted another great X-Men movie. Man, were there some disappointments in this 2-hour pile of crap. First, the acting is either spot on or dreadfully awful. Take for example, James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender: great actors, did an awesome job with what they were given. Good show, chaps.

This kid:

And basically all of the above mentioned unimportant mutants…oh god, what is there to say? I had a feeling this movie was gonna suck right from the get-go with this kid. So it opens with a typical ‘hey, look at how shitty the world is, you’re in Auschwitz watching a mother and child get separated and everything is dark and it’s raining and ARE YOU FUCKING SAD YET?!’-scene and you’re introduced to Erik and a total asshole, Schmidt. Schmidt tells Erik to move a coin, because he knows Erik has some sort of special ability, while aiming a gun at his frail, weak mother. Erik can’t do it. Schmidt shoots his mom. It’s depressing, it’s fucked up, BUT THEN THIS KID RUINS EVERYTHING THE SCENE WAS TRYING TO PORTRAY. Of course, he loses it, yells for like 10 minutes, crushes the helmets of two Nazis in the room which squishes their Nazi heads, and moves a bunch of shit in the adjacent room, all the while standing in the most awkward-looking position:

Yup, he just kinda stands there with his arms open like he wants to give you a fucking bear-hug while halfheartedly yelling. Did I mention he just messes a bunch of shit up AND DOESN’T HARM THE MAN WHO JUST SHOT HIS MOM? Yup, totally makes sense. He can’t control his powers to the point where he kills two people in the room and makes a big ol’ mess in the next one, but has enough control to not harm the man who killed his mom with a fucking grin on his face? Are you kidding me?!

It’s not like it gets better after that (and that was only the very beginning!). From then on, it takes forever for even remotely exciting shit like this to happen:

And all the while, you have to deal with all kinds of teen-angst bullshit where everyone’s fucking ashamed of themselves for being different and the only ones who DON’T wish they were normal ARE THE FUCKING BAD ONES. It’s like the movie wants you to believe that if you like yourself then you’re a terrible person. I get it, they’re outcasts, they’re scared of what people will think upon discovering their secret, BUT SERIOUSLY? God why can’t one person, aside from Charles, just be okay with themselves from the get-go?

Another thing that had me literally yelling ‘ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME’ were the TERRIBLE one-liners spouted off. I’ll leave you with a few:

Professor X: “Next thing you know, I’ll be going bald.”
And another reference, this time to Hank after asking about shaving Charles’ hair: “Don’t touch my hair.”

WE GET IT. PROFESSOR X IS BALD. EVERYONE FUCKING GETS IT.

And last but not least: “I can’t feel my legs.” OH MY GOD WAS I FURIOUS WHEN THAT FUCKING HAPPENED. In a totally climactic, original and unexpected ending (can you read the sarcasm? I sure hope you can), Charles ends up paralyzed from the waist down from a single deflected bullet hitting him in the spine. Again, not how the comics went, but I digress. MY LORD WAS THE PART FUCKING DRAWN OUT AND COMPLETELY EXPECTED. He falls to the ground, can’t move and, after a good few minutes simply says, “I can’t feel my legs” over and over to the rest of the “First Class” X-Men at his side. This is after he talks to Magneto for a little and then he and the Hellfire none-of-us-are-really-important-and-we-all-only-have-a-combined-total-of-seven-lines Club disappear using what looks like Nightcrawler’s teleportation stock footage. Then the X-Men really awkwardly run over to him solely to hear him repeat a line five times, I assume, considering none of them went near him when he got shot and they didn’t really react much to him revealing that he was paralyzed.

Honestly, the only redeeming parts of this movie were watching Erik push a coin through a guy’s skull and seeing a very brief Wolverine cameo where he basically tells Charles to fuck off.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8Cimh_cfGU

And in a perfect world, the movie would have ended right there.