This drawing comes to us from Todd Douglass via Robot Panic contributor Dale Kulas. Dale says:

One of my buddies read a couple articles on Robot Panic and listened to a few DGRs and he fell in love with you guys. He sent me this piece of fan art. I don’t know if he happened to forward it to you, but I couldn’t help but pass it in your direction.

Thanks a million for the awesome drawing!

So my current thing to watch while working has been the Persona 4 Endurance Run at Giant Bomb. After 40-odd episodes of monster battling and high school shenanigans I decided to try one of out and picked up the latest DS title.

Devil Survivor plays much like an Ogre Battle or other strategy RPGs. The characters form a party, deploy, and kick some demon butt while gaining experience and Macca, which can be used to purchase new demons. A fusion system also allows you to create demons with varying stats and skill sets.  It gets very deep very fast and your first few levels feel more experimental than anything else. Just the kind of thing John would love.

Again, Ogre Battle felt like this to me and I never got into it because of that. However, Survivor doesn’t seem to be overly punitive when it requires experimentation. There’s an easy way to back out of any decision after checking the results and I never felt screwed in a combat because I didn’t optimize enough.

Presentation in the game is functional if not gorgeous, with isometric sprite-based maps for the strategy sessions mixed with the standard immobile-portrait-in-front-of-you schtick that RPGs have been doing since forever. Dialogue is done with talking heads, and the art work here and on the portraits is quite nice. The sound is competent but not as well done as disc-based Atlus games, obviously. Nothing here is really pushing the DS hardware, but everything looks clean and detailed.

Storywise, Devil Survivor is the bastard child of a JRPG and a B disaster movie. Basically demons are eating dudes, the government’s locked down the area, and you and your friends are surviving by summoning your own demons with modified DSes (yes, it looks just as goofy as it sounds, but the game has a bizarre logic that makes this work) and kicking some tail. The video game console also grants you magical demon ass-kicking powers, so your guys do some fighting as well. Take that, Pokemon guy. Most of the game is played through a menu of locations, with indicators showing that you can to go a place and either fight some dudes or get some plot or both.

Time passage also becomes important in the game, as in most Atlus titles. This time you’re gauging things by the half-hour, with events happening at specific times each day. Some things cost no time at all, and early on your party gets the ability to freely grind combats (allowing you some ability to rebuild if you fuse the wrong creatures, for instance) without advancing the plot.

None of these factors really sound stellar, but somehow they tie together to make something far greater than the sum of the parts. I started this up Saturday and my DS hasn’t been off since. Making new demons and tweaking their abilities becomes addictive very quickly, and the combat is enjoyable and relatively quick. Think Pokemon-style battles, not John’s recent “hit A until they all die” experiences. I’ve also never felt the need to grind anything, but have done so just to buy more demons at the auction house and fuse them into new things.

Recommended? It depends on what you want in a DS game. Survivor is a good pick up and play game, as most individual segments of gameplay run about 5 minutes or less and everything can be paused in the middle of the action. The demon auction feature literally takes place in 5 second spurts of bidding that feel like something out of Wario Ware. But, while the fusing system seems interesting and varied, I can see it growing stale if I have to fuse 8 different creatures for one result, or plow through a half-hour tactics battle. Until then I’m loving it. If you’re an Atlus fan or just looking for a somewhat different SRPG, this is likely going to be your game. No online multiplayer, which is weird with the whole emphasis on the wireless communication powers of the DS, but whatever.  You’ll definitely get your $30 worth out of this.

Toodles.

Here she is, folks. My second child Right now she reminds me of a cross between what my first child looked like as a newborn and a 100 year old Japanese Ninja Master.

Thanks for humoring a proud father.

While we don’t officially advocate the illegal procurement of video games, there are times when paying $700 for a 16 bit game featuring a witch on a broom seems ridiculous. There’s also the simple fact that a certain company that starts with N can’t seem to get off it’s plumber ass and release another Earthbound. Those are the times when emulation can be a boon.

Well, if you’re one of those folks that dreams of taking your stolen and illegal games on the road, presumably to run from the law that is actively hunting you down (sinner), then there’s a product for you. Reader and constant DGR punching bag, Lag, sends us this link for the Pocket Retro Game Emulator.

Essentially, it’s a handheld device that emulates your favorite 8 and 16-bit console games and allows you to take them with you without the hassle of having to gut your PSP or mess with the popular SD solution on your DS. Did I say popular? I meant highly illegal and the kind of activity that steals food from tables and causes little children to starve.

Moving on.

You can find the little item over at Think Geek.com. You may have heard them mentioned on a SModcast or two as having items for Smart Masses. Here is a description from the site:

“The Pocket Retro Game Emulator looks a bit like the GameBoy Micro but that’s where the similarities end. Load on NES, SNES, GBA, Sega Genesis, or Neo Geo roms and play your old favorites in the palm of your hand. With 4GB of built-in storage and a mini SD slot for expansion you can bring every single game from the best classic consoles with you. Of course in typical all encompassing gadget style you can also play movie files, audio files, use the built-in FM radio, view jpg images, Read E-books, do voice recording etc…”

There’s also a set of specs for the device which you can find by following the Think Geek link up there. Here’s a video of the Pocket Retro Game Emulator in action. Just remember, if you get caught using this thing we were never talking.

I don’t know if this is real or not, but I REALLY want it to be. Thanks to Ain’t It Cool News for the link.

Altogether now!

NEEEEEERRRRRDD!!!

Yeah, that’s right, I’m posting a viral video. Wannafightaboutit?

My friend Kevin sent this over, God bless him. And it really requires no more introduction than that. Other than, perhaps: NSFW.

Without further ado…

We never claimed to be high-brow.

*Ahem* …as you were.

You may remember a few weeks back when we ran a post about something called the Scrub Sport League. You can find the original post with all the information right here but we’ll just mention that it’s a group of great folks playing a shit-ton of Street Fighter IV.

Well, in our initial post on the League, we mentioned that it was PS3 specific at the time and that a 360 group would be put together if there was enough interest in it. Well, my friends, that time has come. If you’re a 360 owner and have been itching to play some Street Fighter IV with a non-douche crew, than here is your chance.

As it was before, if you’re interested follow this link in order to register for the games. It must be noted that registration closes on Sunday, May 10th.

Click on over and get some Street Fighter IV action in! Thanks to Scott Sauer from the Interactive Distractions podcast and Mark Senger from the PSNation podcast for the heads up!

Amazing Spider-man #592

Written by: Mark Waid

Art by: Mike Mckone

Last issue, upon returning from another dimension with the Fantastic Four, Spidey came home to realize his long time enemy, his constant detractor and the one person who wants to be rid of Spider-man the most just got elected as Mayor. No it isn’t Norman Osborn.

J. Jonah Jameson!

Yes, this Hatfield/McCoy feud between Spidey and Jameson has had its share of ups and downs, but nothing has ever had the impact on ol’ Webhead like this one. And his first order of business as the new mayor? Enacting a 24/7 “Anti Spider Squad” with the goal of finally elimating Spider-man from the city and possibly elimating him all together. The squad storms into the offices after Spider-man attempts to make ammends but fails. Jameson hit the silent alarm and has them kicking in the door and opening fire on Spider-man.

So now that he knows that he is JJJ’s main political platform, Spidey takes some shots of his own. Getting in Jonah’s face non-stop. Sacrificing Peter Parker’s “life” in order to stay in costume and just piss off Jonah.

So while this issue is mostly about fun and games and childish behavior between the two, Peter seems to forget that the Hit Squad will be following him 24/7, with their gun’s “safeties” off.

But something that is even more shocking awaits Peter in the last panel. Unaware that Aunt May has been dating for the past 2 months since he left. Side Note: Although time has passed in our world, around 2 months, when Peter and the FF were in the alternate dimension, every hour there was equivalent to about a week back on Earth. So Peter ends up finding out that Aunt May has been dating, the most awkward way he could ever find out, mind you.

It’s been a while since Peter made that infamous deal with Mephisto in order to turn back time and make the world forget that he ever unmasked back in Civil War. He also had to sacrifice his marriage to MJ, but he decided that he must. Leading up to the controversial Brand New Day, readers shared their thoughts about the whole ordeal, with loud outcry. I for one hated the idea, but soon came to like some of the stories post BND. Getting back to the good old days where Peter had to deal with getting to work and paying rent, instead of having cloned kids and Iron Spider Suits. It all felt real Golden Age to me, and I liked it.

But my point of this rant is this. In the last couple of issues, I’ve started to notice that characters are seeming to recall that something happened to Peter a long time ago, but they just can’t quite recall what. So this leads me to believe that soon we will see an end to this new continuity of Spidey and it will go back to the world knowing who he is under the mask.

I’m not to sure how I feel about this. For one, I thought that MJ and Pete’s marriage was essential to the book. Without MJ, Pete was just not the same. Marvel really gave up a good thing going, all because some writers didn’t know what to do with the two anymore. Before being cancelled and turned into the tri-weekly release as Amazing Spider-man, Sensational Spider-man had an Annual come out a while back just focusing on what was so great about the relationship Pete and MJ shared. It is one of my favorite issues of Spider-man ever. I plan on getting into it in more detail when I finally get around to posting up some of my fav comic books of all time, but that is just due to my extreme laziness.

I do really enjoy the current ASM stories. Utilizing some lesser known villains to tell some great stories, and really just getting back to the roots of what makes Spider-man my favorite and millions of other people’s favorite super-hero of all time. But it can’t be perfect. Essentially writing MJ out of the Marvel Universe all together, but in the mean time, having some really great Spider-man issues. So hopefully, this post Brand New Day world can finally reunite Mj and Peter and still maintain the Golden Age style stories.

I really think that Spider-man has been the best it’s ever been in recent times, but there are still some things I really want need in my Spider-man comics.

So huge rant aside, I do really like that Mark Waid is back on ASM. He is a big proponent of super-heros being good and bad guys being bad. He manages to get in some really funny moments between Jameson and Parker. The two argue like an old married couple, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

And Mike Mckone’s art is just amazing. Sorry for the pun. Some really great scenes of Spidey swinging around doing his flips and shit, to the looks on JJJ’s face when he finally thinks he has Spidey trapped. Good stuff.

What’s great about the current tri-weekly release of ASM is that if you don’t like a writer/artist team, you just have to wait a month and a new team comes in. And the stories don’t have too much continuity between the two. Basically just piggybacking off whatever happened the last arc and creating a new story. Plus the DB! style recaps in the front pages really help newbie readers catch up on what’s happening in the Wallcrawler’s world.

I have to give it to Marvel. They really take ASM seriously right now. Devoting alot of man power into making sure that ASM is accessible. And they should. It’s one of if not their biggest flag ship title. So if you haven’t been reading ASM lately, you should. I personally love the classic Webslinger feeling stories. Nothing too high brow and nothing that makes you feel too old to read it. Just good old fashioned Spider-man tales.
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Pices
Go through your cell phone and clean out your contacts list. The stars are betting you are not talking to five or more people on your list anymore.

Aquarius
You were enraged about something but later found out it was a hoax. I guess that’s ok, but you know people are believing the hoax as fact and causing more problems with it. Either way, you also found the whole situation pretty funny. A happy span of weeks for you.

Capricorn
Not having played the lotto often, you decided you should grab a Mega Millions ticket for the hell of it. You will win $1.

Sagittarius
By chance, you’re going to find a magnet you want to keep to put on your fridge because it actually sticks to things well. So you put it in your pocket. Little did you know, your pocket also has your keys. Chances are you’re with the times and have a USB drive hooked on your keychain. What ends up happening is the magnet you kept latches to your thumbdrive and corrupts all your data on it. Sucks to be you, dude.

Scorpio
Wanna play with your brain a little? Netflix up Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf. The selling point is the entire cast is drunk the entire time. Deadly serious. The entire time.
The downside is these people ain’t happy drunks. Also, black ‘n white.

Libra
You were planning a date for about a week. You have a 38% chance all will go according to strategy.

Virgo
Reluctantly, you saw or are somehow going to see Fast and Furious. Bring a flask to the presentation.

Leo
The hair and junk in your shower drain is reaching critical mass. The stars suggest opening that up and pulling the gnarly hair out. Also, rub the hair mass on somebody and watch them freak out and punch you.

Cancer
You will buy a Japan 360 in the near future. The Cave games you’re going to buy for it will trigger a series of events that will land you on the sex offenders list. Oh Japan: Nation of pedophiles.

Gemini
Time to go on a video game binge. You have some leaderboard chases to uphold. Cancers, Taurus’, and Luthors will shine upon your greatness if you can meet your objectives.

Taurus
Steal some Armed Police Batrider and fuck some shit up on a hoverbike. Gotta get the Japan B or the code to unlock half the player ships though. Goddamn those medals. Goddamn them.

Aries
You need to buy a sweet license plate. In practice, this will probably look retarded but kick the idea around a bit. Seven characters, letter and numbers only.

Luthor
Mixing Ruination IPA, Dragon’s Milk, and Advil in one cocktail is not recommended.