Screenshots from Joystiq

From the moment I first saw Optimus Prime transform from a truck into a giant robotic fighting machine, I’ve wanted to control his raw, transforming power.

If you’re on the same page, then you’re probably excited for High Moon Studios and Activision’s upcoming release, Transformers: War for Cybertron.

Judging by the trailers I’ve seen, this just might be what the doctor ordered for what’s been a shaky run for our beloved franchise in disguise. Especially after having to deal with the subpar movie-tie ins Transformers: The Game and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

This fresh installment in the Transformers gaming saga looks to deliver Gears of War-esque gameplay and a new storyline that’ll add to the Transformers cannon. Gamers can also look forward to building their own custom Transformer for the online multiplayer.

Two of the classic Transformers were recently revealed as playable characters in the game, Ironhide  on the Autobot side and Skywarp from the Decepticons. I’ve included some concept art of these two guys after the jump, have a look.

So, dear readers, what do you think? Will the War for Cybertron save the Transformers video game franchise? Sound off in the replies.

(more…)

As a child of the 80s, I was a huge fan of the original MacGyver, long before the classic television show was spoofed by Saturday Night Live in their MacGruber skits. When I got the news they were going to turn them into a feature length film, I couldn’t wait to see what they would do with the property.

If you’re not familiar with the concept of MacGruber it goes something like this:

Will Forte stars as special operations agent MacGruber, in a throw back to the 80s adventure series MacGyver. MacGruber is tasked in each episode with deactivating a ticking bomb, but becomes distracted by personal issues, resulting in the bomb’s detonation and (presumably) the deaths of his companions and himself.

The film hits theaters Friday, May 21st, and thanks to the folks at Rogue Pictures we have 30 passes for 2 to an advance screening happening Thursday, May 20th, at the Ritz 5. To enter, just tell me if you were diffusing a bomb, which wire would you cut? The red, blue or green? Check out the trailer below!

Black Widow hates Spoilers too!

A few years ago, I used to enjoy spoilers of shows and movies. It wasn’t out of a need to be the first person to know the ending to a film, or the last five minutes of a tv shows finale. I just liked having the information. It’s not like I went around blurting out crucial plot points that some fans may be patiently waiting for. I just enjoyed them every now and then.

Nowadays it’s a whole different ballgame. Spoiling a films ending, such as the after credits sequence to Iron Man 2 (Don’t worry, no spoiler in the article), or revealing the final crucial minutes of a television show has gotten to the point of being silly. There’s no fun in it. Nobody wins anything, except maybe the satisfaction of being the first person outside of the creators of the show/film to know what’s going to happen next. I think our growing impatience with either waiting for a film’s release, or waiting for a tv show to end its season is ultimately ruining the initial impact of going into a film or show with as little information about it as possible.

More after the jump.

(more…)

After hosting a number of great design related lectures through the month of April, Philadelphia’s chapter of the AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts), is hosting an Adobe CS5 Workshop next month.

The three hour seminar will dish out all the newest tips and tricks that come with Adobe’s new Creative Suite 5. They’ll go over the newest tools, features, etc, and there will be a raffle for a chance to win your own copy of CS5.

Why you’d attend a class on CS5 without actually owning it is beyond me, but hey, you can give me your copy when you win it. Remember, gifts to Geekadelphia are tax deductible.*

The seminar is on Monday, June 14th, running 9am til noon. There’s also an afternoon session from 1pm til 4pm. It’s only $55 for non-members, $30 for members of the AIGA.

For more information on the event and the AIGA, visit their official website. Go get your learn on.

American Institute of Graphic Arts
www.aigaphilly.org

* No they are not.

Gamer, crafter, photographer, YouTube superstar, and Geekadelphia megacrush FullMetalPiglet (known off of YouTube as Nikki), has combined her love of crafts and online video to create a wonderful tutorial on how to crochet your own Sackboy.

Along with the tutorial on how to make the actual doll, she’ll teach you how to dress it up proper. She talks about creating her King Leonidas Sackboy, as well as an Ico (what!) Sackboy. Check those videos out as well.

Nikki also has a video that teaches you how to make your own Totoro. Check that out here.

Enjoy, and happy crafting.

Ico Sackboy [ Link ]
300 Sackboy [ Link ]
Sackboy Tutorial [ Link ]
Totoro Tutorial [ Link ]

UPDATE: Received an email this morning, the Flashmob event has been CANCELED. Sorry kids.

I received a tip in the Geekadelphia inbox that this Saturday, May 15th, there’s a cosplay flashmob scheduled to hit the King of Prussia Mall.

At exactly 1pm, all cosplayers will “converge on the food court area” and at “1:10 pm all cosplayers [will] ‘freeze’ and remain motionless for one full minute. Then go about [their] daily routine.”

After the influx of awful “flashmobs” here in Philadelphia (read Philebrity’s excellent coverage of the events), it’s nice to see people returning to what flashmobs are supposed to be. Fun.

I’m hoping to see some photos or video from the event. Any of you readers out there cosplayers or LARPers, with plans to attend? Let us know so we can feature your pictures or clips.

King of Prussia Mall
www.kingofprussiamall.com

Screenshots via Joystiq

Well folks, Bungie went and outdid themselves.

Aside from a handful of server hiccups, which inevitably happen with large scale game trials, playing the Halo: Reach beta was pure bliss for this FPS oriented gamer.

It was as though Bungie knew all the reasons I put down Halo 3 for Modern Warfare 2 and rectified them in order to bring me back. I’d go into a detailed list of reasons, but a lot of other sites (Loot Ninja, Game Informer) have already done a fantastic job of comparing and contrasting the two. I’ll just cover a few things that stood out to me.

1. Sprinting – One of the things that’s driven me mad over the years of playing Halo, was the lack of running. Sure, Master Chief is relatively agile and moves quickly, but there’s no real option to run. Well, now you can sprint… and you can FLY with a JETPACK. Sprinting and flying are just two of the four special powers you can choose from each time you respawn, which adds a great deal of variety to the game.

2. Credits System – They’ve also created a credits system which allows you to unlock armor, armor that modifies your combat abilities. I have yet to see such changes as I only unlocked some beginner’s gear but hey, it says you can. I’m excited to see how this new system of upgrading develops.

3. New Weapons – If you’re taking the time to read these impressions, you’ve likely played Halo. If you’ve never stuck someone with a sticky grenade, you’ve likely been stuck yourself.  Now imagine wielding a giant launcher that can send multiple heat seeking sticky grenades to your opponents face. Simply amazing.

This a first impression, not a review, as there’s still so much of this game left to be experienced. It’s fun, it’s delicious, and I cannot get enough. The only bad thing I have to say is that the beta ends on May 19th, meaning there will be a long and painful wait between that day and Reach’s release.

Oh well, get it while you can. Have any of you, dear readers, tried the beta yet? What were your thoughts? Discuss in the comments.

Update #2: Promotion is over! Enjoy your free razors, kids.

Update: They’ve refilled our widget with 500 more! Go get one!

Recently, Gillette reached out to us about hosting a giveaway for their newest razor, the Gillette Fusion ProGlide. I think this is because approximately 80% of the site’s writers are the manliest of manly men, and we often bench-press our rocketcars after a long day of lumberjacking. Or maybe it has something to do with our traffic.

Whatever the case, today I received an impressive press kit from Gillette, complete with a free razor, face scrub, shaving gel, and a really nice 10GB flash drive, loaded with images, facts, and videos about the new razor. Thanks, Gillette!

Now, you’ll noticed a shiny new widget to the right, above our featured posts. Gillette is giving away 100 free razors to our lucky readers. Just click the button to claim your free razor. You’ll watch a video with The Marine, and to claim your prize, you’ll fill out a little Q&A.

Note, that the offer for these free razors expires on May 17th, and there are only 100 of them. So click away, tell your friends, enjoy the free razor, and do let us know if you’d like more giveaways like this.

In their quest to bring upon the inevitable robot uprising, next Wednesday, May 12th, from 6pm to 8:30pm, the folks from the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education are working with Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction (those are some long names) to host a Bugbots workshop.

What are Bugbots? According to Art in the Age, “they’re little kits that gather solar energy and release it in bursts to power two small motors, similar to the ones your cell phone needs to vibrate, which in turn causes them to scoot around randomly. Much like bugs.”

In the workshop, you’ll learn how to construct your own. To RSVP for the workshop, contact nicole[at]artintheage.com. To learn more about the event, visit Art in the Age’s official website.

And thank you, Art in the Age, for teaching us common folk how to build robots, and getting the machines one step closer to world domination.

Bugbots Workshop @ Art in the Age
http://ow.ly/1GteF

Welcome to our new Microsoft Student Insider feature series, Cracking Open the Design Toolbox. Each week (hopefully) we’ll follow my blunders progress through Microsoft’s new Silverlight powered, interactive and socially connected tutorial – that doubles as an achievement driven game – design.toolbox. Not to mention we’ll also provide you tips and tricks on how to access the Expression Studio and how to get started creating some super cool apps, projects and more!

Before even thinking about diving into the design.toolbox, you’re going to need to do two things. First, you’ll need to go here and create a Windows Live ID (if you don’t already have one). This is how you’ll access the design.toolbox, create your profile and avatar and get schooled in design. Second, you’ll need to download and install the Silverlight plug-in on whatever browser you’ll be accessing design.toolbox. As everything in the design.toolbox is running on Silverlight, this is pretty much crucial. Now that the essentials are over with, join us behind the cut as we get into the fun stuff! (more…)

Yes yes, I’m aware that Pecha Kucha 5 was like, nearly a month ago. In fact, I posted Sara Selepouchin’s Pecha Kucha video on April 20th. Sorry kids, but these HD videos are pretty large, and I can only upload one every week.

At last though, much to Dustin’s chagrin, I have his I Am Comics, And So Can You talk from last month’s Pecha Kucha, available online. Have a look into our favorite illustrator’s world, and learn about his comic making process. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll fall in love.

Nicely done, Dustin.

Dustin Johnson
artofdustinjohnson.blogspot.com

Giveaway Over: Congrats to the Winner!

Last month, Philadelphia’s own Cadence Watch Company launched the Wrist Rocket, a new oversized digital watch that is absolutely fantastic looking.

The watch boasts a large, digital screen that shows off the time in big, bold numbers on a dot matrix display. The wristband is made of a high quality rubber that maintains its shape, curved towards the base of the watch so it fits comfortably around your wrist. You can tell that a lot of attention went into the little things, the small details, with this piece. From the little rubber nub that keeps the wristband from slipping back open, to the aesthetic, superficial touches, like the attractive etchings along the band.

According to Cadence, watches like this regularly retail for over around $200. Their model however, sells for only $55 through Cadence’s online store. After checking it out, I can honestly say its worth every penny. In an era where people can access the time / date on their cellphone, MP3 player, or iPad, you have to wonder who actually wears watches anymore. The answer? People who want look stylish. Cadence clearly knows this, and creates watches (like the Wrist Rocket) that are both practical and fashionable.

And that bright red rocket pictured up there isn’t just something on the showroom floor. It came with the watch. Cut out of red acrylic, Cadence “commissioned NextFab Studio, [the] high-tech workshop and prototyping center” in University City. Turns out Cadence was NextFab’s first contract customer. Way to support local business, Cadence! Bravo!

Now for the fun part. I’m giving this beautiful watch away, to one of you, dear readers. Just leave a comment, anything really, and we’ll select a winner at random next Wednesday, May 12th. Please, only one entry per person.

Please note, that this won’t come with the bright red rocket stand. Just the watch and the box it came in. As ridiculous as this sounds, my rabbit got a hold of the watch stand, and subsequently chomped it til it broke. Sorry kids.

Good luck, and thanks to Cadence for sending me this wonderful product.

Cadence Watch Company
www.cadencewatch.com