The Last Post

Well faithful readers, all things come to an end and this will be the last post for the Nerd Alert. I have enjoyed writing and keeping a nerd diary for the last 3 years but it is now time to move on to other things.
Thanks to all of my readers (apparently there have been 4000) over the years. I will be concentrating on writing for the website Comic Book Daily and I would encourage all to check out my column here.

Excelsior!

The List for 2011

With Marvel Vs Capcom 3 almost out, I will need a new game to look forward to, so here is a list of stuff that I am excited about for 2011.

• Mortal Kombat - what can I say? This looks great. 
• The 3rd Birthday - Parasite Eve 3. Need I say more. 
• Final Fantasy IV: Complete Collection - my favourite FF game suped-up for the PSP. 
• L.A. Noire - Rockstar showed us with Red Dead that all its games don't have to be GTA crap. 
• inFamous 2 - Was only lukewarm on the first one, but I have high hopes for this sequel. 
• Uncharted 3 - a can't fail franchise. 
• Elder Scrolls V - I hope that they will add some Fallout type mechanics to the gameplay. 
• The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword - yes, I know that this game will most likely not come out this year. And it will most likely end up on the Wii 2. 

Infestation #1

Zombies are everywhere these days, and so I had mixed feelings when I heard that IDW was doing a zombie related crossover with all its properties. The concept sounds ludicrous: zombies invade the worlds of Transformers, G.I. Joe, Ghosbusters, and Star Trek.

Yet this concept works. Mostly due to the deft pen of writers Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning (who many will remember have been writing all the great cosmic crossovers at Marvel). The concept may be bizzare, but the execution is flawless.

They manage to inject new life into zombie lore: zombies act as a single hive mind, and they come up with a plausible (by comic book standards anyway) reason for the infestation, and they even manage to explain how robots can become zombified.

I am quite excited for the remaining parts of the story. Mostly due to my fanboy anticipation of seeing Snake Eyes fight a horde of zombies.

Tale of the Tape

Cost: $4

Length: About 20 minutes. 

Is it worth it?: A resounding yes.  

Marvel Vs Capcom 3 Trophies

I got a chance to have a preliminary look at the trophy list (achievements for you XB360 nuts) for MVC 3 and I must say that nothing looks too crazy. I could be wrong, but this looks way, way easier than the trophies for Super Street Fighter IV (or Street Fighter IV for that matter).

Anyway, you can check out the list here.

Famous Monsters of Filmland

As any horror movie buff can tell you, Famous Monsters of Filmland was THE magazine for all things spooky for decades until it ended publication in 1983 (it was re-started again from 1993-2008). Recently there has been a reboot, and the magazine holds all of the behind the scenes magic and corny humour that made the original a sci-fi institution.

I picked up issue 254 which celebrates (what would have been) Vincent Price's 100th birthday. There are several articles devoted to the iconic performer, including an interview with his daughter. The magazine holds up to its reputation as you learn so much about the man and see just how much he contributed to Hollywood.

Other articles in the magazine take a look at special effect master Joel Harlow, the computer graphics tool the Zbrush, and IDW's Infestation comic book crossover. The articles are a mix of fanboy love and insider knowledge, and FM has re-established itself as a must have periodical for those who love horror.

Tale of the Tape

Cost: $13 

Length: There is at least 1.5 hours worth of material within these pages. 

Is it worth it?: Magazines are always a tough call. They are quite expensive, but if you have love of the material you will definitely get your money's worth. For anyone in the special effect industry or any horror movie fans the mag is worth it, but for others you should pass this one by. 

Kratos in Mortal Kombat

I know that this is old news, but I am pretty stoked about Kratos being in the PS3 version of the new MK game.

I love the crazy additional characters (Link, Vader, Spawn, etc) that fighters can throw into the fix. Mostly they are over-powered and broken, but always lots of fun to use.

Check out the trailer here.

Haggar is in Marvel VS Capcom 3!

Awesome news fight fans, Haggar from the Final Fight series will be in MVC 3.

For those who don't know Haggar is the Mayor of Metro City and also a professional wrestler. We can only hope that Zangief will also be in the game as well so we can finally have the Zangief, Hulk, Haggar fight we always have dreamed about.

You can check out the video here.