Mario vs Luigi: the 16 bit Burly Brawl

Boo-yeah! A sequel to the Joe Schmo show is coming out this summer.

Funny as hell:The Rainbow Plucking Orgy

Jesus Christ: Action Figure!

John Woo has optioned Nintendo's best-selling video game franchise Metroid for the big screen, says The Hollywood Reporter. Woo will produce the sci-fi movie and has the option to direct.

Special shout out to Stephen for mentioning Penny Arcade Remix the other day.

Micah Wright on the War in Iraq

CNN reports that the Shi'ite holy city of Najaf has fallen to Mehdi's Army, the insurgent militia directed by Moqtada al-Sadr.
So now the insurgents are fighting in the streets in Baghdad, Fallujah, Basra, Amarah, Nasiriyah and Najaf. There has also been combat between al-Sadr's forces and Ukranian troops in Kut. Reports have it that Fallujah is still under the control of insurgents (Marines are "fighting their way in") and now CNN reports that al-Sadr's forces are in control of "government, religious and security buildings" in Najaf. It's reported that "Iraqi police are negotiating to regain their stations."

The Evening Standard reports that Iraq has been plunged into "anarchy". Elements of Mehdi's Army are said to have seized control of "key bridges" on the Euphrates.

Even as Iraq slips into anarchy and insurgents take over entire cities (Fallujah and Najaf) American proconsul L. Paul Bremer continues to insist that everything is just fine. Bremer says "There is no question we have control over the country. I know if you just report on those few places, it does look chaotic. But if you travel around the country, what you find is a bustling economy, people opening businesses right and left, unemployment has dropped."

It becomes clear that Mr. Bremer is either attempting to systematically mislead the American people or has lost touch with reality when he begins to talk about unemployment dropping while Iraq erupts into terrible guerilla warfare all around him. It must be the dropping unemployment that has led to the order forbidding travel of CPA officials outside the Green Zone. "Danger! Falling unemployment!"

The reality is that the cities home to 77% of Iraq's population are now engulfed in battle. Insurgents, instead of simply hitting and running, are now digging in. Government buildings are being seized. The trappings of occupation — police stations and bureacratic centers — have been seized.

Bremer will continue insisting that unemployment is down even as the angry mobs breach the Green Zone. If it comes to it he will be yelling "unemployment is down!" as the mobs set upon his headquarters and his helicopter lifts off to bring him to safety.

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Happiness Controler

Sony Computer Entertainment, along with its new fish simulating game, recently announced Koufuku Sousakan, which translates as "happiness and prosperity controller." The goal of Happiness Controller is to make 100 people that you control happy. The kinds of characters the player needs to keep happy drastically vary, from the white collar average Joe to a social recluse. Each character has their own daily cycle, enabling you to control interactions at home, in the workplace, or outside. Some of the types of people you need to make happy include:

-Happily married businessman, whose company is about to go bankrupt
-Manga artist
-Party animal with an utter disregard for everybody around her
-A child whose father is a slob, and whose mother comes home late at night drunk
-Bar club hostess, who gets paid to listen to rich Japanese businessmen talk

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The Genius of Pac-man

I believe there are only a few software games ever created having perfect and pure gameplay. Tetris and Pac Man are two examples, but Pac Man is the better example because it's a more complex game, and therefore the greater feat. Every aspect of Pac Man has gameplay repercussions and provides the player with decisions that involve trade-offs. Also, the game is extremely quick to learn, but nearly impossible to master, and has just one ultra-intuitive control, a single joystick.

Just the act of eating dots is perfectly designed, because eating them slows Pac Man down, slightly slower than the pursuing ghosts. This makes the act of eating dots a trade-off decision for the player because to eat dots – to accomplish the game's primary goal – is to put the player in greater danger. While staying in lanes where there are no dots allows the player to move slightly faster than the ghosts, but does not accomplish the game's goal. A lesser designed game would have not slowed down Pac Mac just the right amount when eating dots.

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The Accidental Game Porn Archive

Air America is now online
Did anyone get a chance to listen to the O'Franken Factor? I heard that it was pretty funny.