This week in Joystick Division

Here's your weekly dose or my gaming posts from the past week, including my God of War: Ghost of Sparta review. Rather than spending just a couple days with the game, I actually got to spend just shy of a month with the title before the review embargo lifted, so I got the chance to really dig in to all that the game had to offer rather than rush through in order to churn out a review. That was a nice change of pace.
Oct. 24-30
God of War: Ghost of Sparta review
GTA: San Andreas goes on sale
Student project mistaken for legitimate Uncharted 3 artwork
Doritos promotion brings 3-D to Madden 11
BlazBlue T-shirt design contest winners
Boy saves family using DS as flashlight
John Lennon's "Imagine" joins Rock Band 3 DLC
Five cities deserving of the Fallout treatment
Social gaming category added to BAFTA awards
PlayStation Rewards launches
GTA IV Complete Collection available now
Check out France's comprehensive gaming museum exhibit
Super Mario All-Stars coming to the Wii
Five of gaming's scariest moments
Sly Cooper Collection gets a release date

Last Minute Halloween Costumes III

There’s only a couple days until Halloween and you are without a costume idea. Never fear. Staticechoes is here to once again save the day with some last minute costume ideas that range from brilliant to “why would you even think of that?”


Where’s Waldo?
Similar to my “invisible man” costume from last year, this one allows you to stay home for the day doing absolutely nothing. When anyone asks why they didn’t see you on Halloween, you simply argue, “I was dressed as Where’s Waldo.” When they respond with “I didn’t see you,” you reply “That’s because my costume was really, really good, you dummy.” (Thanks to EDel for the inspiration on this one.)

Be sure to hit the jump for more ideas.

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Reminder: The Walking Dead debuts Halloween night

Hey, knuckleheads. This is just your friendly reminder that The Walking Dead is set to premiere this week on AMC. For fans of zombie awesomeness, tune in Halloween night at 10 p.m. You should probably check your local listings, though, as these things tend to be in flux depending on where you live.

I can think of no better way to cap off your Halloween than to curl up on the couch with a show based on an award-winning comic and directed by the man responsible for The Shawshank Redemption.

As an added bonus, be sure to jump past the break to check out the wicked fan-made intro credits using panels from the comics.

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Monday mini-movies: Halloween 2010 edition

I love a good scare, and Halloween is all about pulling pranks and creating memories your friends and family will never forgive you for, no matter how many times you say you’re sorry.

Let’s all celebrate the season with this short compilation of people going insane once someone shows up with a mask on. It’s amazing what a well-timed “boo” can do for rational thought.

Hear those screams? It’s like Halloween’s own sweet carols dancing through the night.

This week in Joystick Division

I heard a rumor you guys like gaming news. Well, it just so happens I have a fresh batch right here for you.

Oct. 17-23
Pumpkin carvings inspired by games
DS to revolutionize grocery shopping
Back to the Future Blu-ray and game
Some Facebook apps sharing your info
Kinetct launches with 19 titles
Netflix disc-free on Wii
People play Wii bowling for charity
Medal of Honor gets free DLC
UFC and THQ sign deal through 2018
Two more Dreamcast games for download
Super Mario decorates trams
God of War collection headed to PSN
Mother 4 being made by fans
BlazBlue Pro gunning for world record
Games to get you in the Halloween spirit

UFC 121: Lesnar vs. Velasquez- Ryan calls it

UFC 121 hits this Saturday and I have a feeling this card is going to go down as one of the best the year has had to offer.

It’s not so much about the big names, as 121 certainly features several, but about the series of matches that have been lined up for this event.

This week’s bouts feature some big strikers and, more importantly, a group of guys who have little trouble actually pushing a fight.

There’s sure to be a little dancing going on but, otherwise, I’m expecting a night of fireworks and knockouts. Most of these guys don’t like to wait around, so hopefully we’re in for some big, big action.

Click past the link to see this week’s predictions.

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Rejected T-shirt ideas: prOn

Every now and then, I like to think up T-shirt designs that will almost certainly never end up on an actual T-shirt. Clearly, since there's no way to make money off something specifically designed to never be used, I'm in this for the art.

And with that, I give you my latest creation. While it's not hard to imagine a Japanese teen donning this bad boy on the streets of Tokyo, blissfully unaware of what it says or what it's referencing, I doubt you will ever find anything like this at the local GAP.

Hell, I'm not sure even Hot Topic would pick this logo up, and they'll put just about anything on a shirt.

But, again, this is for the art. I've crammed about three poor attempts at humor into this single, simple image, so enjoy it.

Monday mini-movies: Real Transformer edition

I jumped on the youtubes hoping to find some really cool costume ideas, not for myself so much as my love to see just how far folks’ imaginations will run.

While I came across loads of hilarious ideas, creative outfits and intricate designs, this functioning Transformers Bumblebee getup pretty much stole the show.

I knew they were real…I knew it.

This week in Joystick Division

No reviews this week, but oodles of random bits of gaming news. Dig in!

Oct. 10-16
Make Mad Millions on Facebook
Get blown away by there Minecraft creations
Fan makes Flower in Little Big Planet 2 beta
Lord of the Rings Online free-to-play pays off
Pokemon giving away free Mew
Five PlayStation RPGs we'd like to see on PSN
Dreamcast's Crazy Taxi soon to be downloadable
Gran Turismo 5 delayed...again
Atari classics for your DS
Free movies with Midnight Madness on PSN
Netflix nixes the disc on PS3
Sesame Street gear for Wii and DS

UFC 120: Bisping vs. Akiyama- Ryan calls it

It’s another week, so it should come as no surprise there’s another MMA fight card ready for your viewing pleasure.

This Saturday, UFC 120 is set to take place in jolly old London town and it’s a pretty safe bet fans of fists meeting faces are in for a solid night of entertainment.

The bouts listed below are accurate. The predictions for their outcomes, however, are anyone’s guess.

No they aren’t, actually. They are “my” guesses. “Anyone” can get their own guesses.

So be sure to click after the break for MY guesses.

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Review: Let Me In and The Social Network

Two of the best films so far this year came out on the same day: The Social Network and Let Me In. While TSN continues to rake in millions, sadly, Let Me In already appears to have dropped completely off the radar, not even finishing in the top 10 in its second week in theaters.

But I’m not here to complain about injustices, even considering that Let Me In is likely the best suspense/horror film to hit the silver screen in a couple years and, you know, it’s freaking Halloween.

In all fairness, my initial reaction to both of these films was to make a loud, rude noise with my mouth. I had already seen and fallen in love with Let the Right One In, the two-year-old Swedish film Let Me In is based on. I’m a firm believer that Americans should learn to read and watch a film at the same time, so these types of remakes rub me the wrong way.

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Monday mini-movies: Super creepy edition

Halloween is just around the corner and that means it's time to start scaring the hell out of one another.

Scouring youtube for creepy videos and groaning at 99 percent of what I found, this was the first video to actually make me break out in goosebumps.

I love to be scared and, by George, this clip managed to do it in a matter of seconds. Bravo.

This week in Joystick Division

Here's this week's batch of posts from Joystick Division covering everything from super fun superhero games to the all-time greatest gamer freakouts. Enjoy!

Oct. 3-9
Five best gamer freakouts of all time
Zombie Racers coming to iPhone and iPad
Castlevania: Harmony of Despiar gets first DLC
Design a t-shirt, win BlazBlue: Continuum Shift
Get psyched for World of Warcraft: Cataclysm
Zen Pinball and Sports Champions get Halloween DLC
Five superhero games to play while waiting for DC Universe Online
Captain America Game coming next summer
Super Mario Bros. sheet music

Games to get in October

If you happen to be a millionaire with a lot of time on your hands, then October is shaping up to be perfect for you. If you live video games, that is.

I really shouldn't complain about having an abundance of titles I'm genuinely interested in hitting the store shelf. I've also probably harped more than enough on how ridiculous it is to cram all of these games into the holiday window.

Suffice it to say yet another Christmas shopping season is upon us and, once again, some of the biggest games of the year are here to beg for your shopping dollars.

There are loads of (hopefully) great titles to pick from this month, spanning just about every genre imaginable, as well as every console.

Be sure to jump after the break to discover which games I believe will be most worth your time and attention in the next 30 days.

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Monday mini-movies: Big Bang Big Boom edition

Thanks go out to Abyss for turning me on to this radical piece of art. These folks used stop animation photography, a few real-world objects and buckets upon buckets of paint to create the most outrageous living art imaginable.

This thing spans what looks to be an entire city block with the art covering just about every surface imaginable.

The planning and execution had to take months, resulting in just an eight minute video.

Bravo. You have far more patience and creativity than I will ever be able to muster...And for that, I hate you.

This week in Joystick Division

Yet another busy week in the world of video games. Over the past seven days I've written up a review for Batman: The Brave and the Bold for the Wii as well as posts on a Super Mario Bros. burlesque show, the Red Dead Redemption Zombie Nightmare DLC and more.

Check out the posts below and, of course, visit Joystick Division throughout the day for oodles of gaming updates.

Sept. 26--Oct. 2
Batman: The Brave and the Bold Wii review
Check out the latest on Explodemon
Medal of Honor PC beta begins
God of War: Ghost of Sparta demo available for PSP
Terra Militaris enters English beta
Boobs and Goombas: A Super Mario Bros. Bulesque
Seven titles become PlayStation greatest hits
Remix OK Go to win Rockband 3
Red Dead Redemption has a Zombie Nightmare
Check out the Castlevania: Lords of Shadow walk-through trailer
Nintendo confirms Wii Remote Plus
About a Blob benefits from Sony's Pub Fund
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game receives first DLC
FEAR 3 releases "Almaverse" trailer

Movies to miss in October

Like every Halloween season, I have trouble actually calling out the hordes of horror movies set to hit the silver screen leading up to the big night.

Being the one genre where sucking is usually forgivable, it’s especially difficult to knock a film where psychopaths and massive bloodletting are the primary focus, geared at tickling your terror bone rather than reaching for high entertainment.

Still, I gotta do what I gotta do.

Chain Letter
Writers have officially run out of things to try to frighten us. Back in the day, machete-wielding goalies kept the youth away from sex, drugs and rock’n’roll. Since then, babysitting, deep water and even falling asleep have been the targets for such terror.

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