Check your local listings, PBS is bringing Video Games Live home.

After five years of fan demand, VGL will release a DVD and PBS will exclusively air 90 minutes of it this summer. As part of the PBS Pledge Drive, The Video Games Live DVD, Blu Ray, and CD will only be available via PBS through November 1. This will be a great chance to support public television in your community and get a sweet DVD while you’re at it. Thats a lot better than a tote bag!

Dates will vary from city to city and station to station depending on when your local PBS station will run its pledge drive, so definitely keep an eye on the schedule. Video Games Live will run from July 31 through the month of August.

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Since the alphabet is the building block of our language, the Powet Alphabet is the building block of what makes us geeks.

Okay, so while this week’s Powet Alphabet isn’t STRICTLY for geeks, it is just as relevant to geekdom as Transformers, Sailor Moon, X-men, or Street Fighter.  The Wire was an HBO series that ran from 2002 until 2008.  It was created by writers Dave Simon and Ed Burns.  Simon’s previous works, the tv series Homicide: Life on the Street (based on the novel of the same name) and the HBO miniseries The Corner (which he collaborated with Burns on) served as testing grounds for many of the concepts explored on the Wire.  Although it never got the viewership it deserved, it was critically acclaimed amongst fans from nearly every walk of life, and was even declared to be ‘The best show on television”.  The Wire is one of those works of fiction which has something to offer everyone.  Geeks will appreciate the intricate multi-layered plot, the cool kids will appreciate the hardcore gang members, many of which closely resemble or are inspired by real-life celebrities, parents will appreciate the underlying messages that the show conveys, political heads, both liberal and conservative will appreciate the show’s political commentary, and even the gay and lesbian communities will love the prominent roles that homosexual characters have on the show.  Click below to read more.  Just a fair warning, this article contains some spoilers, although I’ve tried to keep them to a minimum.

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The follow up to 2009’s best open world game, Red Faction Armageddon takes the destruction underground. You’ll play Darius Mason, the grandson of Red Faction Guerilla’s Alec Mason.

Game is coming March 2011, so you’ve got 9 months to camp outside your favorite retailer before you can take the deadly Nano Forge / Sledgehammer combo to some underground alien settlements. Oh yeah, this is the fourth game in the series and the first to actually include Martians.

Source: Redfaction.com
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“No”, says Nolan emphatically and unhesitatingly. He resists elaborating simply because, quite understandably, he says, “I just don’t feel comfortable talking about it”.

The above quote is taken directly from Empire magazine, currently on sale. Nolan also rules out Mr Freeze and The Penguin for his next Batman project, due in 2012. Though its less likely those omissions are a tribute to performances by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny Devito.

By process of elimination, Riddler and Catwoman are still on the table, though more obscure characters could still prevail. Black Mask? Bane? Johnny Depp as Mad Hatter?

An extensive look back at the series that redefined network television. We discuss and dissect the final episode, compare island philosphies, and examine six years of great (and godawful!) storytelling. Spoilers abound, but you knew that anyway!

Direct Link: Cool Beans: LOST Series Finale Edition

Audio Netcast Details
Subscribe to the Powetcast on iTunes
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Here is the good news: Jeremy Renner, hot off his Academy Award nominated performance in The Hurt Locker is in final talks to be Marvel’s Hawkeye in The Avengers directed by Joss Whedon. Everything about that sentence is exciting. Renner is a perfect fit, as anyone who saw Renner’s cavalier bomb squad specialist can attest.

Hawkeye is likely to appear as a villain in the movie, as his comic counterpart was initially. His attraction to Black Widow is likely to turn his head (along with most of the male audience) toward joining the team. Still no word on who Whedon has in mind to confront the team as the main bad guy.

Here is the bad news: Edward Norton may be out of the picture. THR reports that the Hulk may still be a character in the movie, but he might not show up in Norton form. Which is a real shame since Norton is an incredible actor and his Bruce Banner was terrific.

No word on Ant Man, Wasp, or any other second-string Avengers. They might not appear, or in smaller roles (think some of the background mutants in X-Men).

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Blood is an alumni from the early days of the fps genre, and its graduating class includes Hexen, Doom, Duke Nukem 3D, and Marathon. Back in those days, you didn’t need AI companions, ragdoll physics, quick-time events, a fancy 3D graphics engine, or any other neat bells and whistles to get players into your game, just guns, blood, and gore. Developed by Monolith and 3D realms, Blood utilized an enhanced version of the Build engine that had previously been seen in Duke Nukem 3D. It may not exactly have changed the way we look at gaming, but like many other games released during the period, it was chaotic grisly fun.
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