When one signs up for the Consumer Electronics Show, one expects to get invites to an ungodly number of after-show parties. An ungodly amount. The ungodliest one of all was easily Pink Visual’s much-hyped Pr0n Party, which combines technology lust with good old fashioned regular lust.

The bash was held in the V-Bar (a smallish, but well laid-out space in the Venetian) where journalists from a variety of outlets drank, ate, collected swag, mingled with adult stars Alexis Texas, Lexi Belle, and Kirsten Price, and sampled RealTouch.

Shenanigans ensued, especially from The Other View‘s Terry Lewis who interviewed the stars in most unusual fashion. Check the link to check the action. I admit this very thinly tied to geek culture, but this is just some of the craziness that is CES.

There were a lot of interesting companies and products at CES 2012, but the most interesting by far was Liquipel, a company that specializes in waterproofing electronics such as iPhones. Using a nano coating to permeate the inside and outside of your device, Liquipel helps prevents water damage from accidental spills. You can check out the list of approved electronics on its site.

While I didn’t get a chance to test out any electronics, I did happen to get my hands on a tissue that has been put through the Liquipel process. Check out the video to see what happens.

Note: Before watching the video, you might want to wear a helmet so that you don’t make a mess when I BLOW YOUR MIND.

Note #2: While it does protect your phone, neither Liquipel or 2D-X endorse or suggest submerging your electronics within any liquids.

At CES there’s a lot of stuff. Too much stuff. Robots, cars, haptic displays and entire houses just sitting in the middle of the convention center. It’s a wacky place. Panasonic brought a little order to the show’s chaos by hosting a sit-down conversation with three directors of the James Bond franchise in honor of the 50th Anniversary Blu-ray set ($199, Amazon.com) coming out this year. After walking for hours across the show floor I was relieved to find a place where I could sit, rest my feet, and listen to three film veterans discuss one of my favorite movie franchises.

Before the old folks came out, former Bond girls Olga Kurylenko (Quantum of Solace) and Caterina Murino (Casino Royale) waltzed out first. After looking beautiful and reading a few platitudes about the Bond series from note cards they introduced directors Michael Apted, John Glen, and Martin Campbell. A few select scenes played on Panasonic’s numerous HD TV displays – an array worthy of a Bond villain – then each director reminisced about each clip.

The first scene was the opening vignette from Octopussy when Roger Moore’s Bond flew a plane through a rapidly closing hangar door. I was never big on Roger Moore; I think once he came around scenes in Bond movies became interchangeable and this scene, while great, is good proof of that. It has nothing to do with anything else in the movie and director John Glen, the older of the three with an ultra-rich British timber in his voice, copped to that then explained how the scene involved a lot of forced perspective and miniature work to get the plane through the hangar moment to look right. Apparently the stunt could have been shot for real, with a real plane going through a real hangar door, but it would’ve looked too boring!

From left to right: John Glen, Michael Apted, Martin Campbell

The next scene, from The Spy Who Loved Me, showed Moore-as-Bond escaping from bad guys via ski chase. It was a pretty fun bit, prefaced by some enjoyable cheesy dialogue (“I need you James!” says the girl. “So does England!” Bond replies) though that dated, dated bow-chika-wow-wow soundtrack and rear-projection shots  took me out of the scene a bit. Then the critical part of my brain shut up when the incredible and loooong ski jump took place. Bond twirled and tumbled through the air until his Union Jack parachute popped out and the Bond theme kicked in. So cool. The man who did it was a bespectacled, short guy named Rick Sylvester, someone unassuming that you wouldn’t expect to do this kind of dangerous work, but he stepped up to do kickass stunts when the time was right, according to Glen (who edited The Spy Who Loved Me, but didn’t direct it). Glen then laughed and mentioned how Sylvester pulled down his trousers and “dumped in the snow” after the stunt due to his stomach flipping. Manly!

Michael Apted then took the spotlight with a scene from The World is Not Enough. Not my favorite of the Pierce Brosnan Bonds — I forgot all about it — but this scene reminded me how awesome Brosnan was in the role. It almost seems effortless for him. Anyway, they showed the part when Bond roughs up mob boss Valentin (Harry Potter’s Robbie Coltrane, also in GoldenEye), remote control drives his car to fire missiles at a helicopter, then flinches comedically as his car gets sliced in half by a helicopter wielding a gigantic multi-bladed saw. It was a nice scene, full of gadgets and suspense, and director Michael Apted remarked how he loved to chop a BMW Z8 in half. He also mentioned how the main plot of oil in the Caspian Sea was inspired by real-world controversy in that region that is still on-going today.

Call me crazy, I kinda preferred Olga in Hitman.

The final clip came from Casino Royale – the parkour scene. Still a thrilling setpiece, modern and sleek, it amazed how far the Bond movies have come since the days of obvious blue screens and kitschy ’70s soundtracks. Director Martin Campbell revived Bond with a new actor and new dark style twice – once in the 90s with GoldenEye and again in 2006 with Royale, which he mentioned he wanted to hew closer to Ian Fleming’s original book. I’m not sure how parkour, cell phones and 9/11 references fit in that mission statement, but hey, they worked for the movie. Campbell talked a lot about Daniel Craig and the style of Bond they created together, that he’s “a rough diamond” who thinks with his gut or heart and not his head, thus crashing through walls and invading embassies while chasing a man who can jump off high-altitude construction cranes. Campbell even admitted what many of us have thought, that Bond could’ve just waited at the embassy to catch the guy he was after, though that wouldn’t have made for much of a thrilling sequence.

Formula for 50-year-old film franchise = Gorgeous actresses + Talented directors

After that the Bond girls returned and shared a photo op with the directors. Although each filmmaker came from a different era and perspective it was obvious the three shared a deep love and understanding for Bond. I can’t think of many other franchises, film, book or otherwise, that has had the benefit of the changing of so many hands over 50 years of existence. Maybe they’re out there, but are they as cool or entertaining as Bond?

As of now there’s no release date for Bond’s golden anniversary Blu-ray set. Obviously it will be this year sometime, most likely before SkyFall comes out. Stay tuned at 007.com for future announcements and stay tuned here as I continue to gush (and gripe) about Bond in time for SkyFall’s release. Meanwhile, enjoy the Blu-ray set announcement trailer:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click the pic to see the map in full size

Fellow adventurers, you know the immense size and scope of Bethesda’s Skyrim. Unless you’re a glutton for punishment, or spent an extraordinary amount of time in the mancave, you probably haven’t scratched the surface of this epic fantasy world. But maybe–just maybe–if there were a map with each location, it would great assist in your travels. And if said map were printable, that would be even better.

Well in celebration of its new The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim themed sub-site, GameBanshee has done just that. This Skyrim map does have a few small spoilers in the form of locations and location names, but it is also a good tool for exploring each town, dungeon, and location in the game. GameBanshee also offers a high-resolution version in the form of nine page PDF, that when printed, becomes a 3 x 3 version of the map suitable enough to be hung on a wall. If your interested in printing out the massive map head over to GameBanshee.

Let’s face it: Everyone likes The Walking Dead, despite liking it for different reasons. We also hate The Walking Dead, and we all hate it for the same reason:  You want to commit an act of genocide against the humans before the zombie apocalypse even begins. Before I nerd rage on the comic-book-turned-show, I’m going to warn you: hella spoilers. Don’t read if you want no spoilers up in your business. And with that disclaimer, I shall begin.

Just like America loves Hitler, America loves zombies. Walk into any book, comic, or electronics store, and you’ll find ten thousand items featuring either The Fuhrer or the animated dead. But since this piece is about walking corpses and not an asshat who forever ruined a perfectly good mustache style, let’s stick to zombies.

I’ll start off with the many reasons why we love the show. The show itself is extremely well done in terms of budgeting, storyline, and casting. The show is absolutely mind-blowing; I cannot believe I watched a zombie being cut open and dissected to see if it ate that clearly unintelligent little girl. I swear I didn’t hide under the blanket—much.

We’ve endured cheesy zombie flicks (The Return of the Living Dead), or good, but unrealistic flicks (Romero’s movies). The Walking Dead has brought something different for our viewing, something real–situations and people we can actually relate to. You’ve got kids, the abused wife, the crazy white woman, the jaded old man, the crazy redneck–it makes you feel that the zombie apocalypse can hit at anytime and you can be paired up with just about any type of person for survival.

LOL, "No cure!"

The first season, which was much too short, ended on a weird note. Crazy scientist whispered something in the sheriff’s ear, and the look on the officer’s face showed more shock than when Hagrid told Harry, “You’re a wizard!” In the second season, Rick briefly mentioned that the scientist told him there was no cure. But who does Hollywood think it’s kidding? That’s not what he said. It’s something much more shocking than that, and we know the creators are sitting there laughing hysterically hoping we forget and they never have to come up with something to explain to us. Let’s call it the Lost syndrome.

But I  digress. The show definitely has characters that I see myself partnering up with in the event of a zombie apocalypse. Daryl (Norman Reedus), Glenn (Steven Yeun), and Dale (Jeffrey DeMunn), all have a good grasp of what’s going on, and aren’t clouded with constant emotional conflict, irrationality, and ignorance. Although Daryl has a bit of a temper, he is the most intelligent and best trained of the group. I mean, c’mon, the man packs a goddamned crossbow.

This man is better than you.

Then there are the cast members that I’d love to see get swallowed whole. Both the kids, and parents, are idiots (really? Let your ten-year-old go out searching in a zombie-infested land for the other dumb kid? REALLY?), the little girl’s mom is much too emotionally unstable, and the whole Rick-Lori-Shane love triangle makes me want to load a gun and shoot them myself. Shane clearly has issues, and by almost raping Lori, makes me care little to nothing for him. Lori’s blatant cheating and dishonesty about the whole situation makes me realize why women are stupid. Rick, on the other hand, isn’t quite as stupid as the rest, but he needs to open his eyes a bit, as it is pretty obvious that Shane hasn’t been completely honest with him on anything. As a best friend, you don’t scoop your bud’s wife up after you think he’s dead and gone.

Pictured: A dumbass.

The worst of the three, however, is most definitely Andrea (Lorie Holden). At first I liked her because I’m a huge fan of the Silent Hill movie, and enjoyed her character thoroughly there. On this show however, I keep waiting for her to get killed. First of all, what was the point of her taking the gun in the bathroom trying to put it back together? What was she going to do, shoot the zombie? She would have gotten eaten by the other hundreds of zombies because the gunshot would have drawn their collective attention. She is completely irrational about, well, everything, and for some reason, Lori gave her a gun. At this point, I honestly wish Dale had shut his mouth and left her to die in the exploding CDC building. She’s all drama, and I hope for her and Shane to get eaten together somewhere in the woods and die happily ever after.

So, I’m going to tell you all why you, and I, love The Walking Dead: It pisses you off.

It pisses you off to no end because all the people on the show are so damn dim, and they call zombies “walkers” like they’ve never heard of “zombies” before. But watching dumbasses doing dumbass things on a Sunday night makes you feel a wee bit better about yourself. Until you encounter that one episode that pisses you off so much that your brain implodes from the amount of rage your neurons fire into it.

The Walking Dead…I love you.

Have you ever fancied the universe-shattering idea of what contemporary games such as Dead Space, God of War, or Halo would be like if they were given the 8-bit treatment? If you said yes, well, god bless you good, sir or madam.

72pins sells decorative NES cartridges with cart-art featuring pixelated images of popular game characters. No, the cartridges don’t contain 8-bit demakes; instead, they’re fully functional random NES games. That’s right, your Dead Space NES cart may actually be a copy of Athena. The world is odd in that way.

Each game has a plastic hook on the back so that you can wall mount and impress those within your geek circle. Each cart is $20 a pop–not too shabby .

[Hat tip: Kotaku]

 Stockholm, Sweden proves that the love for 8-bit pixel art knows not geographic bounds.

A portion of the city’s subway system is now adorned with 8-bit art inspired by Pac-Man and Super Mario Bros. As such, you can find clouds, mushrooms, pipes, ghosts, ladders, and other elements from old school games. Bit Rebels has several shots of the retro-themed tile art that is worth a gander if you’re a fan of ol’ school visuals.

[Hat tip: Bit Rebels]

We’re chronicling New York Comic Con 2011 with photos. Here you’ll find the killer booths, killer booth babes, killer cosplay, and other show floor merriment. Return here often during the course of the show to check out new photos.

Nerd up!

Mileena is returning to New York City Comic Con.

Alyssa, the cosplayer who sent whispers through the halls of the Jacob Javits Center (and prompted many a messageboard, Twitter, and Facebook query) is making her grand reappearance at New York City’s geekiest of geekfests. 2D-X interviewed the Mortal Kombat fan last year, so we thought it only appropriate to check in on her plans for this year’s show.

Consider this mini-interview a teaser of a bigger interview to come at the show itself. And a teaser for the new outfit itself.

Your Mileena cosplay at last year’s NYCC generated quite the buzz both on the showfloor and on various gaming, cosplay, and social media sites. Why did you decide to return to the character this year?
Did I ? I decided to cosplay as Mileena because she is a one-of-a-kind badass. After playing the newly released Mortal Kombat 9 and seeing her new costumes and her wild attitude, I couldn’t say no.

Will the outfit be the same as last year’s?
The costume will be totally different. Last year’s was from Mortal Kombat Gold and this one is from MK9. Many people dressed as her this year, but wanting to be different, I chose something that hasn’t been done yet. It’s a surprise.

NYCC embraces all forms of geek culture. What are your more geeky tendencies?
Although I do enjoy the culture’s entirety, from reading comics to gaming, I have to say cosplaying and seeing other cosplayers excite me most. Being able to transform into your favorite character is something special. I admire those cosplayers who show craftsmanship and accuracy in their costume and can also perform as their characters.

Does your significant other, family, or friends support those tendencies?
Of course! My friends are especially supportive! They also like to dress-up in their favorite characters. We had a sewing party and we helped each other with creating our costumes. Not geeky at all.

So some of your friends will join you at NYCC?
Yes, a handful of my closest friends will be with me. If you see Mileena, Kitana, Sub-Zero, Altair, and Taiga, you will have found our group.

What are you most excited to see/do at the show?
Again, I am most excited to see all these comic book, video game, and anime characters brought to life. I know I will be blown away by some of these costumes. Hopefully, I can amaze some people too.

What are some of your non geek tendencies that makes you smile?
Being quite bubbly, many things make me smile. Being with my friends or puppy make me smile. Volunteering, watching comedies, baking, eating cupcakes, having people read my writings, and a whole lot more make me happy.

]]> http://www.2d-x.com/nycc-2011-guess-whos-back/feed/ 3 http://www.2d-x.com/barcade/ http://www.2d-x.com/barcade/#comments Sat, 01 Oct 2011 18:48:29 +0000 Eric Guzman http://www.2d-x.com/?p=21182

A trip down memory lane.

It smells of beer and cigarettes at the door, like any other bar. But this bar is special. Sure, the establishment has a wide variety of beers (many from local breweries) and indie rock pumping through its sound system, but this bar stands out from the rest of NYC’s watering holes because aligning its walls is an ode to the golden age of gaming: the arcades.

Entering Barcade immediately took me to my childhood. A warm, nostalgic feeling rushed through me, because I was exposed to gaming at an earlier age than most (3 years old). The arcade joints in my neighborhood only had a handful of classics like Pac-man, Donkey Kong, Frogger, and Gauntlet, but Barcade has all of those 2D games plus a great many that my childhood arcade didn’t.

Playing Rampage with a few friends was extremely fun as we smashed buildings and talked about the originality of games during this time period. Finally finding a Ghosts’ N Goblins cabinet was incredible. I quickly remembered why I’m enthralled with that gaming era more than any other; the games were creative and brutally difficult. And I will forever love them for that.

This is as difficult as it gets.

Thankfully, the games were all only a quarter to play (no game cards!), so my pockets weren’t hit too hard. Plus, now that I’m an adult, it was satisfying to grab a beer in between gaming sessions. This is the essence of Barcade: It caters to adult gamers whose hearts remain in the simple, fun games of yesteryear with over 20 different brews, an amazing social environment, and great music. Barcade also has an all-time high scores list. I didn’t try to tackle any of the scores, but I will when I return.

The retrogaming-loving crowd.

The arcade is the forefather of gaming, and it will always have a special place in my nerdy interior. Before online gaming, the arcade was where you went to compete, co-op face-to-face with others, and tried to reach the top of the hi-score list to gain immortality. Thanks, Barcade, for reminding me why I fell in love with gaming.

If you’re ever in the Williamsburg area of Brooklyn, step in enjoy a beer, but more importantly, appreciate the classic cabinets.