mattbodega

@JackiJinx: Yes! Yes! A thousand times yes! Send away!

You are the lifesaving-ist! We're pretty much buying (or finding) these games, and it's starting to get pricey. Offering a game for playing like ED is a godsend.

As soon as we're done, we'll send your copy back toot sweet!

I totally agree with Nick with on this one, but I didn't have no Minecraft cards. Sometimes you got to play the cards you're dealt.

Literally.

Secret hint! If you look at the bark on the tree, you can see the names of every scary game we could think of carved into it! Top of the tree is the scariest, while the bottom is least scary but still obviously horrifying. Like Shao Khan's arcade towers in MK!

Thank Steve for that touch.

Steve and I are playing through the scariest video games ever made, and we're inviting you to witness the terror for yourself! Welcome.. to the Fear Gauntlet!

Well, we're eventually going to play the scariest games ever made. We have to work our way up to that point! We need to ease into it! So join us as we make our way through a gauntlet of increasingly scary games!

In the wasteland of terrible video game-themed April Fools Day pranks, Blizzard'sPandaren race for Warcraft III was the rare joke that was actually awesome. A fake teaser for a new army to be added in an expansion, the Pandaren army was introduced with authentic screenshots, detailed models and serious lore. It was an elaborate-ass joke, and such was its popularity that real Pandaren characters actually made their way into both Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne and World of Warcraft. But according to a recent patent filling, the Pandaren could very well become the subject of their very own WoW expansion.

MMO-Champion (a site famous for digging through WoW patches to reveal the latest items, mounts, and story content added to the game) managed to locate a recent patent application from Blizzard. The application in question is for an upcoming Blizzard product titled "Mists of Pandaria." According to the patent filling in question, the patent has been filed for a piece of "computer game software", as opposed to, say, a WoW-themed novel or comic book.

Obviously, a patent filing is no sure bet for an upcoming game release, but given that the name of the last WoW expansion similarly leaked out from a patent filing, I'm more than a little inclined to believe that, yes, the next World of Warcraft expansion will take you the homeland of the mystical Pandaren (which, given the animal's origins and the "Mists" title, will be some sort of Chinese-influenced continent to explore). Or maybe I just want to believe as hard as I can that we'll see a Pandaren expansion pack. The idea that this April Fools prank would be the basis of its own release is the best damn way to the end the whole joke.

And I'm sure my enthusiasm (and the enthusiasm of many other Warcraft players) for a Pandaren expansion is no accident. Following the "tepid" sales of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm (though, in this instance, tepid sales means that the expansion didn't grow the size of the subscriber base for WoW), Blizzard's management announced that they would be changing their expansion pack process, focusing on releasing more expansion packs at a faster rate rather than once every 18 months. By announcing that the latest expansion will finally make good on bringing a fan-favorite race into the limelight, Blizzard potentially dodges the accusation that they're tainting the value of Cataclysm by releasing the follow-up so quickly.

As with so many elements regarding Blizzard's upcoming games, we won't hear definite information of a new WoW expansion until Blizzcon, Blizzard's yearly fan conference. However, like Cataclysm before it, I'm sure we'll see similar information leaks about Mists of Pandaren in the months to come. In the meantime, I'll be sitting here thinking about what kind of class my new Panderan will be. Maybe a Pandaren Warrior? Or how about a Pandaren Death Knight? Pandaren Rogue would be good too...

THIS IS A SPOILER THREAD! HERE THERE BE ONLY RUIN!

Turn back if you haven't seen the end of the game! (Unless, like, you don't care about the end of the game! That's cool too!)

And with all that out of the way...

So.... what did you guys choose?

Did you use the Bastion to repopulate the city, restore the world, and return the Kid to his former life? Were you willing to turn back the clock, to take a chance that the story would repeat again, and that the world would once again become the victim of the Calamity? Did you attempt to perpetuate the cycle?

OR

Did you escape the city and travel the world? Did you leave the past as it was, and decide that who you are now--and what life is now--is more important that the life you lead before? Did you op to continue your adventures, at the cost of offering true salvation to the world? Did you choose to perpetuate this current life rather than repeat a potential cycle of death and redirection?

And why did you choose that choice you made?

As for me, I went back in time. I opted to restore the city and the world, even if it meant A) someday repeating the actions that would doom the world and B) setting me on an endless quest to repair the world others damaged. I chose to trap the Kid in the cycle and save the city, even if I was losing my current life in the process.

From Ed Boon's Twitter this morning;

The last pinball machine I programmed was Black Knight 2000. I luv this mix of the game's music with Kanye West vocals! tinyurl.com/6fvogsh

Totally can't wait!

The idea of Rockstar finding the mangagement and working conditions at Team Bondi untenable is the most hilarious instance of the pot calling the kettle black.

@Timing: I may end up posting it to my personal reviews for posterity, but Jeff was right not to post itl; it was a terrible, awkward review. The lastest one was way better,

The short version is that I gave MHTri four stars. I said that players expecting an action game like Devil May Cry and God of War would be super bummed out by MH, as would fans of action RPGs. However, I argued that MHTri works more like a turn based strategy game than an action game; it's all about precise positioning, moving into the right place to deliver strikes while avoiding similar blows. I found that gameplay incredibly compelling, and I understood all of the reasons that game was designed the way it was (the lack of lock-on targeting, ect.).