New New York Never Looked Blockier

It's hard not to like Futurama. I love it not only because it's well written, hilarious, and filled with unforgettable characters, but also because it takes place is my home town of New York. Well, sorta. New New York, as it's called in Futurama, is filled with quirky nods to the Old New York that I was born and raised in. Things like Madison Cube Garden, Citihall, etc always make a gangsta smile. 

Flickr member Pepa Quin aka Matt has gone all crazy and created New New York out of Legos. That is some dedication Matt! His creation of NNY is full of Futurama flavor, like brick characters, Slurm billboards, and.. A landspeeder with Luke, Obi Wan, R2 and 3P0? Huh, okay.. Well, weird but, cool regardless! Check out all the nuances of New New York here.

Beyond Black Mesa, The Half Life 2 Film

I never really got into the Half Life series. It seemed too much like a run of the mill FPS to me. Though Valve must have really done something right, because HL2 has a massive cult following around the 'nets. Also they most definitely hit the character design on the head, any hero that resemble's House's Hugh Laurie is good in my book.

Beyond Black Mesa is a short film created by a bunch of loyal HL2 fans that follows the story of a small band of resistance fighters in the Half Life universe. I must say, HL2 has some seriously skilled fans, because this is not the first amazing short we've seen set within the Half Life storyline. 

Beyond Black Mesa is schedule to show at the Action on Film Festival in California later this month. As a bunch of hardcore fans who put the money they earn at their day jobs into something they love, many of us can feel where these dudes are coming from. I can't wait to see this flick in full! 

Geeks Have Sex Too

Safe sex at that! A guy by the name of Ben Marsh devised the brilliant idea of pairing two things that no one ever expects to go together; video games and sex. I'll have the uninitiated know that we ain't all about games, gadgets, and geekery. No, us geeks love sex, as Mr. Marsh has illustrated. With the condoms sporting catchy wrappers like Donkey Shlong, Sextrix, and The Long End of Zelda, not only did he hit it out of the park with the design, but the puns too! 

Check out some more photos at Geek Art. Thankfully, there are no pictures of the condoms in use. 

The Last Story is the Next Evolutuion

Role playing games? *yawn* I haven't played a good one in ages. Maybe there have been some released, but on their surface, none of them have gotten me hyped enough to go out and buy a copy. The last RPG I played through was Demon's Souls, which was awesome because it added some elements we've never seen before in an RPG. Aside from that, I'm sick of seeing the same thing over and over in these RPGs, aren't you?

That's why when I saw this trailer for Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi's The Last Story, I perked up a bit. Maybe there's hope for this bludgeoned horse after all. The esteemed Sakaguchi-san, who's behind what used to be my favorite game series is trying to redefine the genre with this title that mixes real-time action, a cover system, some crazy targeting system, guns, swords, magic, and an ass-kicking soundtrack. I think that's enough to get me playing. Only major drawback? Wii exclusive. ARGH, damned Wii!

GTA Vice City Re-Release?

Rumor on the streets is that we may be in store for a re-release of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. Amazing news, seeing as how Vice City was the last good Rockstar game for consoles. Don't get me wrong, I liked GTA4, but Vice City was just so vibrant, full of life, fun, and funny. After Vice City, it just seemed like Rockstar started taking themselves way to seriously and forgot to have fun with any following titles. But that's a conversation for another post. 

The Aussie Classification Board has a listing for GTA: Vice City, stating that the game is a modified version. What does modified mean? New great graphics in HD, with multiplayer? We can dream, can't we? It's most likely a remake for a handheld system, but nonetheless, it's nice to see my favorite and possibly the best GTA game get some love.

Review: Transformers The War for Cybertron

I was a bright eyed kid growing up in the 80s, setting the foundation for many of the things I love today; video games, toys, cartoons, awesome music, and women. Back then, liking toys and cartoons, you had to be a hermit to not enjoy Transformers. The brand was everywhere, and for good reason; it kicked ass.

When I heard Transformers was going through it's latest remake by High Moon studios, I was excited. No cautious optimism, none of that "we'll see" bullshit, no. Excitement. Where so many other studios have tried and failed when it comes to Transformers, I knew High Moon would get it right, and here's why.

Click to read more ...

Vanquish Slides On

Last month we saw the Vanquish launch trailer on the E3 floor, and we were all wholly impressed, weren't we? I know I was. If you want the rundown, click the above link for thoughts and impressions.

Enough talk! Like Vanquish, this post is about action! Suck on this trailer, gangsta scum!

Infamous 2 Looks Crazy; Cole Looks Dumb

This is new gameplay footage for Infamous 2. Wow! This game looks official. The cinematic gameplay action reminds me of Uncharted, except you know.. Cole can throw lightning bolts. Speaking of Cole, why the redesign guys?! I liked original Cole's style. Leather jacket, sling pack, cargos; all things I would personally wear if I were granted with super powers and was kicking the shit out of baddies across town. It says superhero and anti-hero at the same time! Cole's new style is too bland. He looks like Nathan Drake in gym clothes. Lame.

Enough talk about Cole's fashion faux pas. Enjoy this awesome gameplay footage from the new Infamous. Damn, as if there weren't enough games I haven't played that I should, add the original Infamous to the list. It keeps piling up! 

The Omega Key

Here at Otaku But Gangsta, we have a soft spot for toys. We also have a soft spot for Transformers. Currently, I'm in the midst of Transformers War for Cybertron (review soon) and seeing Omega Supreme in game action really made me remember how awesome I thought he was when I was a kid. He's bigger than all the other Autobots AND Decepticons, is what I would exclaim to my cousin, who owned the orginal Omega Supreme figure. 

Here, some 20-odd years later, my mind is blown by another Omega Supreme toy. TFW2005 member uuser has created an incredible Omega Supreme custom. Seriously, INCREDIBLE. The figure is currently listed on eBay for a cool three grand. Yep, $3,000. Worth it? Maybe not, but that is an awe inspiring piece of work. I can only imagine how much time and effort uuser put into that damn thing not only to get it looking so amazing, but also that it transforms from robot mode, to space cruiser, to launch base. Holy hell man! Don't believe it? Check out the pictures below. For more, check out the original post at TFW2005.

Halo Reach, In Space! (part 2)

In a previous post, which we discussed Halo Reach's E3 trailer, my pants felt a little funny after seeing the clip of a space fighter battle from the game's campaign. Good funny. While that isn't the only reason why I'm excited, it's a pretty big contributing factor. The multiplayer demo was solid enough to sell me on a buy, but the space fighter battle might be a section of the campaign I'll have to play over and over.

It reminds me of good old air combat games on the systems of yesteryear, a genre which I feel hasn't been explored and built upon on these latest gen consoles. There have been a few releases which try to recreate the fire old flying shooters had, such as Snoopy Flying Ace, the H.A.W.X. series, Warhawk, et al, but I'm waiting for a very intense and deep space shooter. Until then, here's the Halo: Reach excerpt.