I have been playing the Medal of Honor Beta on the 360. If you didn’t know, it’s being developed by DICE, the same em-effers that brought you Battlefield. So, unsurprisingly, it feels like Battlefield except the button layout is exactly like Call of Duty. So, if you had been following the game at all and found yourself asking, “Wait, Call of Duty and Battlefield had a baby?”, then the answer is “Yes”.

And it’s retarded.

Not really. I just wanted to say that. It’s a Beta, people. It’s kinda broken. However, I can say that if you like Call of Dudes or Battledudes, you will find something to like in the Medal of Honor reboot.

Other than that, Carter and I have both been playing Limbo off and on. It’s a very cool game that deserves your attention, especially if you like games like Braid or (god I’m old) Out Of This World (or Another World). Atmosphere and puzzle solving, that’s what it’s all about.

Good times, good times.

I just got back from a two day jog up to a very cold part of the country to which I have never been; the Pacific Northwest. The Child’s Play charity dinner/auction was last night, and I was there.

For those who don’t know, Child’s Play is a charity started by Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik, the guys who make Penny Arcade. I plan on writing more about it, but here are the images that cats crave. Yes, Wil Wheaton was there.

Some jerk and the man behind the art.

Some jerk, the man behind the words and the Wheat-man himself.

A scrumptious event. Full of bright colors and loud noises.

Take my pen knife, my good man!

A very early Native American penis joke.

My buddy George, who inspired this insurance strip.

I found this during some StumbleUpon-ery. I like how Paul and I are on completely opposite ends of this flowchart.

Click for the full image

First thing’s first - You see those games over on the right hand side of the site? If you click on one, then buy it, a percentage of the sale goes to keeping The Crooked Gremlins afloat. In a sea of cash. Money.

In case you couldn’t figure it out, we’ve been playing this game quite a bit recently. So it’s on our minds, and what’s on our minds tends to wind up in the comic.

The moral questions posed by Wednesday’s strip are nowhere to be found here, mostly because this is a joke about the multiplayer portion of the game – something I have described as digital paintball with cooler rules.

This is a nod to a really cool game-changing mechanism that rewards teamwork and sacrifice in a unique way. See, the person who utilizes the riot shield is very likely to have the worst kill-to-death ratio, and if that kind of thing is important to everyone, then no one will want to actually be the Shield Guy. And that’s too bad, because the Shield Guy is awesome.

I’m interested to see how this character class will function as the online gameplay evolves. Will people learn to set up traps for the Shield Guy and his protectees? Will we start seeing “Flying V” formations of Shield Guys in the Ground War gametypes, where there are more bodies to be had? I’m curious, and it’ll be fun to watch.

In the meantime, it’s really fun to have a guy on your team who is willing to give up a good score to help the team achieve victory. It is the very essence of team work, and it’s far too under-rewarded. I don’t know if the Shield Guy gets Assist points for everyone killed because of him, but he really should.

Our very own Blue Froman (yes, of the Pittsburgh Fromans) represents the Shield Guy union in our nightly matchmaking. He is feared and revered, as well he should be.

I promised some pictures of my costume, and here they are.

This was just some random girl I ran into.

I'm not doing what you think I'm doing. Also, not my purse.

I was at a Halloween party last night, and someone came as The Goblin King from Labyrinth. How he got to be so awesome, I will never know.

The Real Life Bowie Bulge

It reminded me of one of our more popular comics, involving one Ziggy Stardust and his huge fucking bulge.