Regardless of what anyone says, the Playstation 3 (along with its competition the Wii and the Xbox 360) is a very good system, and anyone who says that Sony, Nintendo, or Microsoft is dying anytime soon is an idiot. However, the problem with the system is is that when it was first released, there were hardly any games available for it. Scratch that, there were plenty of good games, but they were already available for Xbox 360, and in many cases, they had been available for the better part of the year prior to the system’s release. Even with new features, people weren’t exactly rushing out to pay $500 – $600 just to play a new version of Fight Night or Marvel Ultimate Alliance when they could already play them on Xbox 360, and the few exclusives that the PS3 had at system launch weren’t exactly anything to write home about. However, is there was one game that was worth the price of the new system, it’s this FPS classic from Insomniac. In fact, this game along almost makes it mandatory to own a PS3.
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So I was able to catch the Video Games Live stop in Lewiston, NY this past Friday, on its North American Tour. Video Games Live, if you have been under a rock in terms of gaming culture, is a roaming show that features live orchestrated music from all the most popular video gaming series, including Sonic, Halo, Mario and others. Co-created by Tommy Tallerico and Jack Wall, both game composers in their own right, the show has traversed the U.S. and Canada and several other countries since 2003 and has gained popularity amongst gamers and music enthusiasts alike. A perfect blend, if you will.
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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.

We are the E, E, E, E, Eeeeeeewoks!

What’s not to like about the Ewoks? A lot of things apparently. It would be dishonest not to mention the near universally negative fan reaction to these characters. They were considered by most to be cutesy characters made to appeal to children and fans consider it unrealistic that a bunch of teddy bears with sticks and stones would overthrow the Empire.

But I don’t want to talk about the hate. Those haters are a bunch of losers. The Ewoks were made to appeal to children? Well I was 5 years old when I saw Return of the Jedi in theatres and I thought the Ewoks were the cat’s ass, and I still do! I have one distinct memory of when I first saw Jedi and that’s when Wicket first appeared on screen and I turned to my mother and said “That’s an Ewok”. Somehow I think she had put that together.

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After Midway struck gold with Mortal Kombat, they tried again, again, and again to repeat its success in the fighting game arena, but failed miserably. While Capcom was able to follow up the wildly successful Street Fighter 2 with Darkstalkers and the Marvel fighting games, SNK successfully presented Art of Fighting (along with King of Fighters, Samurai Showdown, and so many others) as Fatal Fury’s successor, and Namco followed up Tekken with Soul Blade, Midway churned out failures such as Bio Freaks and Mace: The Dark Age. They had some potential though, as Bio Freaks had an dismemberment game mechanic and Mace could have been Soul Edge’s evil twin. However, Midway’s most notable attempt (and by this I mean biggest failure) was War Gods. Although it had some promise, it was dragged down by horrid controls, lousy character design, and a frustratingly cheap artificial intelligence.
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Anyone who has read my articles on Contra 4 and the Mega Man ZX games knows how much I loathe it when DS game developers use stylus/touch screen controls for the sake of using them. However, I have equal praise for those who can make stylus functionality work well. After all, it is the main selling point of the DS, and if a developer can implement in a way which enhances gameplay, then more power to them. Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword is one of those games which utilizes a stylus-driven control scheme in a way that’s intuitive and innovative. Not only that, it makes this DS entry in the series every bit as engaging as its console counterparts.
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Even though Google’s title graphic by Jim Lee features DC characters, Marvel rules San Diego Comic Con. We talk about the last-ever LOST panel (links to videos included — SPOILERS!), and all the Marvel comics we AREN’T reading… because we’re all reading DC and the Blackest Night right now. Take a listen!

Audio Netcast Details
Subscribe to the Powetcast on iTunes
Direct Link: Powetcast Episode 15: SDCC, Marvel, LOST, and DC

(What was your favorite San Diego Comic-Con panel? Are you as excited for the final season of LOST as we are? Share your thoughts and theories in the comments!)

Show notes after the jump!

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San Diego Comic Con was this past weekend and lots of news poured out of the convention. Here is the first of several link round ups trying to recap on most of what went on. This article concentrates on movie announcements and panels. After the jump you’ll find plenty of links for Jonah Hex, Iron Man 2, Sherlock Holmes, Wanted 2 and much much more!
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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.

Created in 1994 for the PC, Diablo was meant to be a compliment to Blizzard’s popular Warcraft series, which had come out a few years prior and was deemed a success. Diablo, meant to be much darker and more gothic than Warcraft, also had a much different change in gameplay. Instead of the strategy of starting off on one side or the other and amassing a huge amount of warriors and weaponry to bash your enemies with, Diablo took to the Dungeon Crawler type of gameplay that was popular with games like DOOM, and added an RPG-type of flare to it like Final Fantasy.

The world of Diablo is deeply rooted in the heaven vs. hell archetype of story telling. Diablo, Lord of Terror, is one of the 3 Prime Evils, which are the highest level of demon in existence, and he and his brothers are in a huge war against the forces of light in a bid to destroy them and take everything over. Humans are the middle ground and both sides try to win them over through either benevolence or violence. Some powerful human mages on the side of good and backed by heavenly forces were able to capture the Prime Evils after they’d been defeated and banished to Sanctuary (aka: pseudo-Earth) and seal them in powerful Soulstones in order to bind them forever. (Apparently high-level demons can’t have their souls destroyed easily and can always resurrect if given the chance) With the souls of the Prime Evils locked away, the Soulstones were scattered and hidden away, with Diablo’s being buried in a catacomb beneath a church that later became the central point for the town of Tristrim. However after a few centuries the Soulstone weakened and Diablo was able to exert influence over the people of Tristrim, which led to massive slaughter and the kidnapping of the King’s son. So begins the game of Diablo.
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