Remember all the uproar back in March when Mass Effect 3 released and people didn’t like the ending? Of course you do. We covered it extensively (here, here, here, and here). Just as it seemed the topic was dying down, Bioware is releasing the free “Extended Cut” DLC today. The DLC is said to provide “deeper insight to Commander Shepard’s journey based on player choices during the war against the Reapers.” It’s also expected to give players “a sense of what the future holds as a result of the decisions made throughout the series. And it shows greater detail in the successes or failures based on how players achieved their endings.” The file itself is fairly large for DLC, 1.85GB. It makes sense then that Bioware is suggesting you reload a save file from before the attack on the Cerberus to play through the DLC. Apparently the changes start that far back at least, not just in the finale on Earth. The real question now is, regardless of what changes are made, can Bioware possibly satisfy everyone who complained? Personally, considering I’m halfway through the second act of the game with my second Shepard (been going really slow and gave up on Insanity towards the end of the first act), do I just finish with him, or reload that pre-Cerberus save with Betch Shepard and just see what’s changed? Either way, count on someone from Big Shiny Robot! to review the changes as soon as possible.

That’s not the only DLC coming for a major RPG franchise this week though. “Dawnguard” for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim will be launching on XBox 360 today as well. PS3 players are going to have to wait a bit; no date has been announced but Bethesda has confirmed it is coming.

On to lighter subject matter, Dreamworks has acquired the rights and is set to begin production next year on a Need for Speed movie. Release is planned for 2014. Scott Waugh (Act of Valor) is directing. What should you expect, besides fast cars? Probably not much. According to the press sheet, the film will be “rooted in tradition of the great car culture films of the 70s while being extremely faithful to the spirit of the video game franchise.” Haven’t they already made a whole series of these movies with Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, and The Rock?

Capcom’s newest RPG IP, Dragon’s Dogma, released last month to generally favorable reviews. The general indication from critics is the game has a few flaws, but is quite good overall. This is actually one I expected to review well, but not necessarily sell many copies. Capcom seems to think it’s selling well enough though, as they have now confirmed that it’s getting a sequel. Obviously no details on that are available yet, but at least we know it’s coming. Honestly, this was probably going to get lost in queue of games I’ll play eventually, but the feedback has been high enough I think I might make it a priority.

Wouldn’t you know it? I’ve been slowly working on the 3rd Quarter Preorder Breakdown over the last few days and had just finished the entry on Far Cry 3 when I got the news that it’s no longer releasing in third quarter. I guess it’s better to knownow than to have already published it. The new release date is now November 30th, nearly three months later than its previous September 4th.

As they did back in January, Grand Theft Auto III and Vice City have appeared once again on the ESRB listings for upcoming games. Nothing was announced at the beginning of the year when they appeared briefly then disappeared again. No official announcement has been made this time either, but it definitely looks like they could be releasing as downloadable games. It’s curious that San Andreas isn’t appearing as well. If they’re HD remakes, which is doubtful, you’d expect the trilogy as a collection. If it’s just PS2 versions coming on PS3, I can see why they’d skip the massive scope of CJ’s California. Or they’re holding that one to release closer to GTA V which is set to take place in the same region. Regardless, even if it’s a mistake at teh ESRB, it’s probably past time for Rockstar to comment.

Top tier voice actors can be a serious “make or break” point for many gamers. There was a time when such a thing didn’t even exist, and we did well with our voiceless characters. But as voice acting has spread across the gamescape, we’ve seen how great it is when they’re good (Mass Effect series) and how terrible it is when they’re bad (most JRPG ports). Which is why the announcement of Camilla Luddington (Californication, True Blood) as the voice of Lara Croft in the upcoming Tomb Raider is such good news. Luddington is a British-born actress with “emotional depth and the youthful tone needed for Lara Croft,” according to Darrell Gallagher of Crystal Dynamics. The game releases in March 2013, but you can see Camilla at San Diego Comic-Con where she’ll be joining panels with other members of the team to discuss the new direction of the franchise.

The Journey Collector’s Edition mentioned in a recent VGQH has finally been confirmed by thatgamecompany. As previously reported, it will included flOw, Flower, and Journey on one disc. Three mini games, built within 24 hours during an internal Game Jam, will also be included. The “mini-games [Gravediggers, Duke War!! and Nostril Shot] showcase thatgamecompany’s lighter side with madcap competitive multiplayer action.” Expected release date is August 28th, with MSRP at $29.99. Full contents of the pack are:

• 30-minute behind-the-scenes documentary about making Journey
• Creator Commentary play-throughs of flOw, Flower, and Journey
• Three exclusive mini-games
• Concept art and screenshot galleries
• All three original soundtracks
• PS3 dynamic themes and wallpapers
• PSN avatars including 8 new, exclusive Journey avatars
• Game trailers and developer diary videos
• Reversible cover art

The latest update for PlayStation 3’s firmware is rolling out worldwide. Version 4.20 doesn’t seem to add a whole lot, so it’s safe to assume it’s mostly anti-hacking stuff. Apparently there will now be an option for deleting save data in batches instead of one at a time. Also, the power save functionality will now default to one hour of idle time before shutting off your system. You can still change this manually, they’re just changing the default. This update will also provide more audio options if you’re using a headset, hopefully eliminating the side tone feedback problems that were introduced with the 4.10 update. As always, you’ll need to update before getting online with your system. PS Plus members should have theirs updated automatically.

Speaking of Sony, they’ve set one of their most successful franchises, Resistance, into idle mode. According to Daniel Brooke (producer, SCEE), “The Resistance franchise has been exciting to work on but as for the future we have no definitive plans.” It was announced earlier this year that Insomniac was finished working on the series, but it was assumed another studio would be taking over the IP, much like Microsoft’s Halo. Now it appears the franchise will simply stagnate, at least for now. No current plans doesn’t mean they won’t come back to that well eventually.

It looks like that covers all the major stuff for this week’s early edition. Now I have to get to revising the 3rd Quarter article to replace Far Cry 3, possibly using the Journey collection??? But then what do I do with the theme…? Keep an eye open for that post later this week, and come back Friday for more Quick Hits.

It’s Monday, you’re still recovering from your weekend in Vegas, or your weekend doing yard work, or the Sunday spent drinking alone while your dogs fight over the final piece of chicken from yesterday’s BBQ. Whatever the case may be, you’re most likely stuck in a meeting discussing something you’re not particularly interested in anyway. And here we offer your saving grace, App Monday. Whether the App shown will make your life a touch easier, help you send a MEME that only 3 people understand, or simply waste time, we’ll bring you something to make the time pass just a little better.

Today we bring you Split! By Touchy Mobile. This action/strategy game is a pretty large offering of content, and a lot of fun, for a minimal cost. Running a scant $.99 on the Apple App Store, the game is enthralling and to call it a time waster isn’t giving the strategic side justice.

You and your partner in crime have just masterminded an escape from your prison cells. The next step is to actually leave the prison, utilizing divide-and-conquer tactics, one of you must distract a guard while the other shoots him. Guards of course will begin shooting the second they see either of you, and if you’re not behind cover you’ll die. If either member of your team dies you start the level over.

For having such a seemingly basic premise the game has a good increase in difficulty as you progress. The mazes become more complex, and the cover becomes more advantageous to the guards, and harder for you to bypass. I found myself stuck in a frustrating world of thumping techno wondering if I would ever escape the prison, or if I’d simply be doomed to replay the same 4 levels til the end of my days.

Visually the game is crisp and polished, but doesn’t set any visual mile stones, the sound track as well only has 2 or 3 techno pieces, that help drive the intensity of the level, but really, with minimal story needed the soundtrack doesn’t play into the game much more than that. The controls are easier to utilize than they are to explain. You touch the character you’d like to move and then drag a path across the screen to guide him, aiming primarily for cover or anywhere that can help you avoid the enemies bullets.

Split! Is the perfect game for small doses of tactical combat and problem solvings, the meetings and the hangover will pass more easily knowing this is in your arsenal for the tough Monday afternoons.

The Cyborg R.A.T. 7 gaming mouse is a sleek, sexy and definitely cool piece of gaming equipment. After picking up the mouse to enhance my League of Legends matches (“Captain Teemo on Duty!”), I quickly realized that I had to share my thoughts with everyone here on BSR.

First off, I have been using the R.A.T. 7 for the past week, and this is definitely the most comfortable mouse I’ve ever used. I’m using it not only as a gaming mouse but also on my work PC (which I usually use for about 9 hours a day). You know you’ve grown attached to a mouse when you bring it to and from work every day!

For gaming so far, I’ve used the R.A.T. 7 to play League of Legends and Diablo III, but I’ve also been using it with Adobe Photoshop. The precise control and sensitivity (adjustable, of course) are perfect for meticulous edits and alterations in both Photoshop and Illustrator. I’m also guessing it would be excellent to use with a wide variety of other editing programs (especially since you can assign some of your favorite hot keys to all the available buttons!).

The R.A.T. 7 also has a crazy number of adjustable bits to make the mouse comfortable for each user and to give the desired mobility that makes for a competitive edge in gaming. As someone with really tiny hands I have a hard time finding a true gaming mouse that’s not too unwieldy or a pain to use. At its factory shipped settings, this R.A.T. 7 is great, but after adjusting the flexible left thumb panel, I found the mouse was even better than when I un-boxed it.

Honestly, there’s a lot that’s awesome  about this mouse! The  cord is strong and durable, the mouse itself is surprisingly lighter than I thought it would be, it’s built like a tank, and, overall, the R.A.T. 7 looks really bad-ass! A few people have tossed around the notion that it looks like a Transformer, which really speaks to how effective the high-tech design of this device is.

Check out the specs and then head over to Cyborg’s website to learn more. I am absolutely thrilled with it, and it’s also gotten pretty amazing reviews over at IGN (Best of 2010) and PC Gamer (98 / Editor’s Choice / 5 Stars).

R.A.T. 7 Specs (per their website):

• Interchangeable Pinkie grips and Palm rests3 palm rests

– One featuring the same soft-touch finish as found on the body of the R.A.T.

– One with a rubber inlay for enhanced grip.

– One that is 4mm thicker to increase the height of the R.A.T.

3 pinkie grips

– One featuring the same soft-touch finish as found on the body of the R.A.T.

– One with a rubber inlay for enhanced grip.

– One that offers a ‘wing shaped’ design, allowing you to rest your pinkie finger during play for increased grip.

• Perfect your grip – How do you hunt? Whether you ‘palm’ the mouse or ‘claw’ it, the R.A.T. can quickly and easily adapt by adjusting in length to suit your hand size and grip style. In addition, the Thumb Panel of the R.A.T. 7 moves forwards, backwards, and pivots outwards, giving you perfect positioning for effortless gaming.

• Custom Weight System – Like it light or heavy? Maybe you change the weight to suit your game? No matter, the R.A.T. has you covered. Five 6-gram weights can be added or subtracted in an instant, giving you the perfect weight for a perfect feel. When not in use, the weights can be safely stored in the supplied Weight Storage Container.

• Precision Aim Mode – Hit your target the first time every time. Use the ST Programming Software to set your desired Precision Aim speed (mouse sensitivity), then hold down the Precision Aim button to slow down mouse movement to a level that works for you. A deadly weapon that will hit your enemy where it hurts.

• 6400 DPI – Featuring a new generation ‘twin eye’ laser sensor that reads each axis separately for pinpoint accuracy, the R.A.T. 7 tracks up to a stunning 6 meters per second. Pro gamers who favor low sensitivity with high movement speed preferences will always experience correct tracking and precision.

• 4 Custom DPI Settings – Use the Rocker Switch to toggle between your custom DPI settings.

• 6 Programmable Buttons – Combine your Programmable Buttons with 2 regular left and right mouse buttons and give yourself a total of 8 buttons available to punish your competition. Assign your choice of key gaming actions to Programmable Buttons to create your own custom profiles.

• 3 Cyborg Modes – Toggle between three individual R.A.T. modes at the touch of a button. Change sensitivity or Programmable Button actions in an instant and gain immediate access to a mind-boggling 18 commands!

• Powerful ST Programming Software – Change your DPI, set Precision Aim cursor sensitivity, create custom profiles for each game, and assign commands to your Programmable Buttons and Modes. Easy, quick and the power you need right on your desktop.

• Lightweight Metal Chassis – Strong yet nimble, the solid metal frame forms the core of the R.A.T. 7 for enhanced rigidity.

I’ve been licking my chops for more pinball. Over the past couple months any time I wanted more pinball action I would go for achievements and I’ve gotten pretty high on some older tables. I’m even in the top 400 overall on 3 tables. So when I heard 4 new tables were coming out I checked my email about every day waiting for news on when it would come out, and I can tell you as of this article it is out and ready for you to get. This pack is called Avengers Chronicles and these four tables pit the Avengers in four different scenarios many know from the movies and the comics. I played each table once through just to wet my whistle and then went straight into the one I liked the most at first.

World War Hulk.

That’s right, the World War Hulk series is a part of this grouping. I played with this table for around 4 hours and the thing that makes this one so good is you feel like a maniac because there are so many ramps to shoot and they are easy to aim at. Within ten minutes I was getting combo after combo after combo. 5 ramps in a row, 6, 7, 8, etc. Within about an hour I had already gotten 100 Million points on this one. After my total play time my best score was 184 Million. The reason being is there are 3 very doable multiballs and completing each mission nets you 25M a piece. There’s also a nice random award shot which can usually net you an extra ball. The missions I recommend are Hulk vs. Wolverine, and Hulk vs. Dr. Strange. I haven’t actually read this particular series but I’ve heard a lot of good about it, and if you have read the series you’ll likely get a lot of what’s going on.

Fear Itself

This is an interesting table, it has a wacky under orbit which is what originally drew me to the table. This table is based on a 2011 comic series of the same name and it focuses a lot on Thor and Captain America. Thor and the different “Worthy” play a prominent role in this table. The main missions are based around each of these different “Worthy” which have interesting missions for you. I’ve been stuck playing Nerkkod’s because I love multiballs and I want to get it down. The missions are easy to start so there’s a lot to do right off the bat. The highest score I’ve gotten on this one is around 30 Million, but I figure I’ll probably put a lot of practice into since I haven’t played too much of it to this point.

I should mention at this point that the last time these guys came out with a 4 pack Marvel Table I ranked them based on my first impressions but as I played the tables and got better I found myself liking some I thought I wouldn’t and so there’s some longevity in some of these tables that you might not see at first.

Infinity Gauntlet

The very first comic book I ever bought was actually a part of the Infinity Gauntlet series. Adam Warlock fighting Thanos, that was my introduction to comics. Since then I’ve made sure to find other old Infinity Gauntlet stuff and I now own a bunch of those old comics. So finding out there was a new Infinity Gauntlet table I was stocked. This one does what Ghost Rider did in the last pack, is that when you attempt a mission you get the gem for it and are able to keep going. Some other tables have done this and what I love about it is that it means you can often get to the hardest battle on the table even while being rusty or not as good. The table Sorcerers Lair was the first one I scored over 100 Million on, and it had that same sort of idea where you could get to the final mission by just attempting the other missions.

Avengers

Finally we have Avengers, based on the movie more so then the comics. This one has a very interesting idea where you have balls themed after each of the characters each with their own power, so for instance The Captain America ball gives you a longer ball save where as Hawkeye’s ball gives you more chances at getting the kickback arrows.

Being that this table is based on the movie the main six characters are Cap, Thor, Iron Man, Hawkeye, Black Widow and The Hulk. From my friends who are playing this seems to be their favorite table. I haven’t figured out this table all that well yet but it’s mostly because I’ve been sinking more hours into the other tables.

Great pack here. The only weird thing is that the xbox achievements are lessened, there’s only one per table, but after sending an email I found it’s because of the xbox’s restrictions on number of achievements. You can find these and other tables by downloading the Pinball FX2 on the Xbox Live Arcade. These can also be found on the PSNetwork.

First announce during E3 2011, and earlier today given in a tweet during the airing of Nintendo DIrect. Nintendo of America announced that they were teaming up with Mr. Sakurai and Namco Bandai to bring the Smash Bros franchise to the new WiiU, and the Nintendo 3DS. My guess is the title will be holiday 2013 at the earliest, but who knows we may get it earlier… maybe…..

I think I editorialized enough in this week’s early edition, so let’s jump straight into the news.

Apparently WWE fans are finally getting bored of legacy versions of The Rock, Steve Austin, and Mick Foley as preorder bonuses. For WWE ’13 they’re bringing back another Attitude-era “star.” Actually, Mike Tyson was never one of the brand’s superstars, but his role as “ring enforcer” at Wrestlemania XIV led to Steve Austin’s first title reign (defeating Shawn Michaels) and the true onset of the Attitude-era. Which is why, despite the boxer’s checkered past, the late ’90s “ring enforcer” version of one of the hardest hitting boxers to ever live is the preorder bonus for this year’s game. The Attitude era is a strong focus for WWE ’13, making the hall of famer an appropriate add-on. Errr, well as appropriate as playing a convicted rapist in a video game gets anyway. Preorder now to get Tyson, the game releases October 30th.

This year’s Summer of Arcade for XBLA has been announced. It kicks off next month and will bring five games, though admittedly I’m only really familiar with the first one. As a bonus, purchasing at least three of the games will net you a 400 MSP rebate. Any guesses on the likelihood one these games will be adding DLC to the tune of 400 MSP soon after the promotion ends?

• Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD – July 18th – 1200 MSP
• Wreckateer – July 25th – 800 MSP
• Deadlight – August 1st – 1200 MSP
• Hybrid – August 8th – 1200 MSP
• Dust: An Elysian Tail – August 15th – 1200 MSP

If that’s not exciting enough for XBox users, there’s also a way to earn more points based on your Achievements. If you call yourself an Achievement Hunter (and everyone else calls you an Achievment Whore), this deal is tailor-made for you. Starting in Fall, the XBox Live Rewards program will give a little back for all those Achievement points. If you’re unfamiliar with Rewards, it’s a way to earn Microsoft points by answering questionnaires, renewing your Live membership, etc. It’s unclear how this reward expansion will work, but indications are that you’ll be earning MSP credit based gamerscore boosting. Which should result in a nice sales boost to all those legacy games with cakewalk 1000s. (*cough*LEGO*cough*) Watch for more details as we learn them. [For what it’s worth, my prediction is that you’ll only be rewarded for scoring a set amount within a specified period of the game’s release to encourage new, not used, sales of new, full price titles.]

The Dreamcast’s Sonic Adventure 2, possibly the last good Sonic game ever made, has long been rumored to be coming to XBLA and PSN. Recently, the game was spotted on the Marketplace with a release date of October 3rd but was promptly taken down. These slips pop up every now and then and I’ve never seen one be 100% wrong, though the dates do tend to shift. Oddly, one of the images included showed PlayStation button prompts, a strong indicator that it will be hitting both services. I’ll update as soon as I can get official confirmation, but I doubt we’ll see it any time soon. Digital only releases don’t get talked about much until actual dates are locked.

Amaterasu is coming home. The Japanese Sun God first took the white wolf form in video games back in 2006 on the PS2. A couple years later it was ported to Wii with motion controls for brush strokes. Okami HD is now set for a PSN release with Move compatibility sometime this Fall. Pricing looks to be $15-20, though a release like this just screams PS+ discount.

Saints’ Row: The Third has had a veritable boon of DLC, and many fans have been eager for the game’s standalone expansion, Enter the Dominatrix. When THQ’s president, Jason Rubin, saw what Volition had in the works he “blown away by the ideas and desire to expand the fiction of the franchise.” Rubin discussed the possibilities of the game with Volition if they were “given more time, more resources, and a broader scope for the project.” Becuase of the great possibilities, this will no longer be an “expansion” but will instead be incorporated into “The Next Great Sequel in the Saints Row Franchise.” Looks like one of those good news / bad news stories. The expansion you’ve been wanting has been cancelled, but they’ve confirmed a full sequel instead. Even better, it’s confirmed for 2013, though it will likely be sometime after April.

Prior to the game’s announcement at E3, it was heavily rumored that Beyond: Two Souls would feature two well-known Hollywood stars. Yet only one has been featured in all of the media so far, Ellen Page (X-Men 3, Juno, Inception). Quantic Dream has not confirmed who, or even if, the second star will be, but rumors indicate it’s another star with Marvel connections, Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man series, Fantastic Mr. Fox, John Carter). If this is true I’d love to see more information about his role, though Quantic Dream can be even more secretive than J.J. Abrams so I wouldn’t expect much. The game is expected for fourth quarter this year, and that may be the first time we actually see Dafoe in-game, if this is even true.

Reggie Fils-Aime made a couple of big announcements on Nintendo Direct last night, 3DS XL coming soon and details for Pokemon Black and White 2. Click the links for details from Zombietron.

Most retailer slip-ups that accidentally expose games from little known foreign markets. Which is why I was a little suprised to see my source for most games, GameFly, accidentally expose the Journey Compilation from thatgamecompany. The listing has since been taken down, but thatgamecompany has been proactive about the leak, confirming via Twitter that “Yes, the #JourneyPS3 Collector’s Edition is a thing, and it includes #flOwPS3 and #FlowerPS3, but we can’t say anything more.” No official date until they can talk more about it, but August is the expected time frame. I’ve had every intention of playing Journey, but Sony’s reluctance to add my new zip code to their database has ground my PSN purchases to a halt. It was finally fixed recently, but I’ve been too busy to catch up. Now I think I’ll skip the purchase and wait for the disc on my GameQ.

Kim Swift, co-creator of Portal, finally has a confirmed release date for Quantum Conundrum, a three dimensional puzle platformer. I’ve been eyeing this one for a while – the dimension switching to solve puzzles concpet seems right up my alley. This one is coming to XBLA and PSN on July 11th. Price was not announced. I’ll predict $15, but $10 would be nice.

That’s it for this week. Two more issues of VGQH left this month. In a way it seems like June just flew by, but then it also seems like E3 was so long ago, when it’s really just been a couple of weeks. It’s unfortunate that there really hasn’t been much in the way of portable gaming news. The summer travel season is really getting into full swing. The heavy convention season is kicking in as well. It would be nice to see some announcements for games we’ll be playing on cross country flights and road trips.

And if you’re in the Salt Lake area, don’t forget to come out to Brewvies Sunday for Geek Show Movie Night. As part of Geek Show’s ongoing Gay Pride festivities they’re showing two of the most unintentionally homoerotic films they could find, The 300 and Top Gun.

Tonight near the end of Nintendo Direct, Reggie was good enough to share information on the New Pokemon games. Announced a few months ago, this is the first time that a direct Pokemon sequel has been released. Reggie also announced that Nintendo 3DS owners will receive 2 very exclusive features. The first feature 3DS owners will receive is an augmented reality game that allows gamers to capture rare pokemon in their living room. It looks, well….pretty lame, and yet I know I’ll be hunting through my home via augmented reality to catch Pokemon I missed during my playthrough. The second feature is something I’ve been screaming for since Nintendo got rid of the Pokedex app on smart phones. Pokedex 3D Pro which will give you a full run down of all the Pokemon in game including evolution, combat, and strengths and weakness. And for you augmented reality fans you can still take pictures of your Pokemon in the real world. Extra features…not that great, game play footage worth it. Here it is for your eye holes.

Tonight on their Nintendo Direct feed, Reggie Fils-Aime announced the upcoming release of the Nintendo 3DS XL. Much like the release of the DSi XL, it will have 90% more screen than the existing 3DS, a redesigned form factor, and launch at $199.99. I don’t think I’m upset, it’s not going to change the hardware. It simply gives gamers a bigger option to play on. It will have been roughly one and a half years since it’s predecessor launched, so the timing is totally fine. I don’t see myself upgrading to the larger system at all. The new system will launch on August 19, 2012 alongside New Super Mario Bros. 2, the bundle will also include a 4 gig Micro SD card. So there you have it folks, an updated handheld, who’s buying one? Photos of the new color below.

By day three folks had grown more comfortable, Artists Alley tables were getting sparse as people were running out of stock, and the volunteers were better informed and less overwhelmed. Things went pretty smoothly apart from the whole running-out-of-programs thing, but people got creative and took pictures of the programming schedules on their phones. No biggie.

Before going into specific panel responses, I’d like to thank all the people who helped put Denver Comic Con together, everyone from the most famous media personalities, to the local teachers and authors, from the huge comic names to the local illustrators in the artist alley, from the highest tier of administrators to the volunteers doing it for the love. Over twenty thousand people attended the first Denver Comic Con, and I can safely speak for every one of them when I say: Thank you, every one of you. We’re so glad to finally have our own comic and geek culture convention. Thank you.

Now for some panels!

How to Break In to Sci-fi, Fantasy, and Horror
Again, I was drawn to a panel about writing, but this one was more specifically tailored toward aspiring writers rather than a discussion of the state of a given genre. Guests included: panelist and moderator Mario Acevedo, President of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Mystery Writers of America; Carrie Vaughan, “Kitty Norville” series; Betsy Dornbusche, editor at ElectricSpec; Peter Wacks, “Howl,” “Second Paradigm”; and Jason Heller, “Taft 2012,” and non-fiction editor at Clarkesworld. (Keep an eye out for in-depth panel report coming soon.)

Each panelist started by talking about their own respective entrances into the world of professional writing, and as usual none of them were quite the same. One thing stood out in every story though, each writer could trace their desire to write back to early childhood. Some of them stuck with it throughout their lives, some had to come back around to it, but each spoke about writing stories or poems at ages younger than ten. If you’re a writer, it would seem, it’s in you all along.

The topics covered included networking, query letters, agents, publishing, and of course what it takes mentally and in terms of disciple to be a successful writer. The conversation was definitely tailored toward those writers who have already begun (or about to start) submitting pieces for publication, and people who have already established themselves as aspiring writers, in their own minds if nothing else. It was a great, entertaining panel bursting with great information for up and coming writers.

At one point, Vaughn said with a chuckle, “I’m sorry but I’m going to ruin books and movies for all of you. You can no longer be a passive consumer of media. If you hate a book or a movie, figure out why. If you love a book or movie try to figure out why. Analyze everything and try to figure out how to do it right.”

Near the end, Wacks reinforced the message that united the whole conversation and said, “The days of the Fortress of Solitude are gone, they days of the Lone Writer. You need to reach out and communicate in whatever way works for you.” This was a fantastic panel overall, and I learned a lot. I hope the DCC continues to emphasize education- and career-oriented panels alongside the classic entertaining, nerdy ones.

Eureka‘s Colin Ferguson (Sheriff Carter)

If you’ve ever seen an episode of Eureka you’d instantly recognize Colin Ferguson as Jack Carter. He was personable, charming, and very funny. Hell, after seeing this panel I might even have a little hetero-celebrity-crush on the guy. The schedule had the room booked as a Walking Dead panel, but shooting ran long and both Lauren Cohan (Maggie) and Steven Yuen (Glenn) had to cancel their DCC appearances, so Ferguson filled in.

He had a ton of stories to share about his life as an actor, what it’s like to be on the set of Eureka, and what it’s like to share a studio lot with a ton of other sci-fi shows. Someone in the audience asked how many Jeeps had been destroyed on set, Ferguson said fourteen destroyed, thirteen on purpose. He explained, “You spend 16 hours on set in one day, and eventually you need to blow off some steam. So let’s say, hypothetically, you’re driving a Jeep really really fast downhill. And hey, it’s not your Jeep. Then let’s say there’s this corner, and you want to see how fast you can take that corner. Well, funny thing about tires, when they get hot they lose traction. Who knew? Can’t put a price on knowledge, I guess. [Laughs.]”

Another audience member asked about the scariest stunt he’d ever had to do on set. Ferguson admitted that he has a fear of heights, and one time he had to climb a really tall ladder in a scene. Apparently regular ladders don’t look good on film, so he was climbing a ladder with enormous rungs that he could barely get his hands around. He laughed and said, “They have, like, one six by four foot mat, and they say, ‘You know, if you fall, just aim for the mat.’ Oh, yeah, okay. But the funny thing is, it has nothing to do with my safety, it’s purely an insurance thing. You know when you see actors in costume, and someone is standing there holding an umbrella over them? Yeah, that’s for wardrobe, it has nothing to do with the actor.”

The best on-set story by far was about the episode where Carter had to walk through the streets of Eureka nude. “We’re not the kind of show that can shut down a whole city block. So I just had to walk across town naked, and basically wearing a sock. That’s a nice day, when you open up your costume closet and it’s basically a single sock on a hanger. Oh boy. … The worst part of the nude scene though, was like: Imagine if one day you go to work, with all the people you have to see every day, and your boss says, ‘Okay, so you need to walk around naked and you get to cover basically one part of yourself.’”

He gave some advice to young actors that’s worth repeating, “The journey for a younger actor is hard. You want to please the director, and all these other people you work with, but somewhere between pleasing them and pleasing yourself is integrity. Also, just be gentle on yourself, and be kind to yourself, because it’s tough out there, and everyone else is going to be hard enough on you.”

Cartoon Voices with Billy West, Tom Kane, and Mark Ryan

This panel was an absolute treat, and I’d been looking forward to it all weekend. Unfortunately the programming guide promised an event that didn’t actually happen. The guide said that the guys would be reading various things, like Shakespeare, in their character voices, but instead they just talked about how they got started in voice over and what their careers have been like. Even though I was let down a little, being a huge voice over nerd, I could listen to voice actors talk about their careers all day.

If you don’t know who Billy West is—first of all, shame on you—he’s best known for his unmistakable work on Ren and Stimpy, Doug, and more recently, Futurama where he plays Fry, Farnsworth, and Zoidberg. Tom Kane started doing voice work at 15, and now his voice is everywhere. Kane is best known for his work as Yoda on The Clone Wars, and Professor Utonium on The Powerpuff Girls. Mark Ryan is best known as Ironhide, Jetfire, and Bumblebee in various Transformers properties. Ryan is also famous for being the only man to get the word “bollocks” into Transformers.

This panel was absolutely hilarious, and how could it not be with Billy West on the mic. If you’ve ever heard him in an interview, you know what I’m talking about. It was such a treat to watch all the actors physically slip in and out of character every time they assumed one of their character voices.

West started talking about the creation of a cartoon. “They pay us to come and do some sort of alchemy, which is the essence of any cartoon. You’ve got all these artists and guys who wrote it that created it, then you’ve got a guy who’s gotta direct it, and they are all of one mind. Usually. So in you come and you wanna be of that one mind too, so you listen to everything they have to say.”

That led to an interesting discussion of the changes the panelists have noticed in the industry, most notably the loss of a holistic creation process, and the edging out of voice talent from the creative process. They talked about how, on older projects, they would often work closely with writers to create their characters, they would do some ad-libbing in studio, and generally bring their own creative input to the projects. Kane said, “I hope we’ve not seen the end of that.” But apparently, that’s becoming rarer. More and more, the acting talent isn’t allowed to bring anything to the table. Kane continued, “I think that things have changed a bit, and I don’t know how we’re going to get back to that, … Accountants have gotten control of the business.”

West responded by saying, “It’s become the renaissance years for people with no talent. ‘What’s that, he can fart the national anthem? Sign him up!’ … On one side of the table you’ve got people that don’t know what it feels like to have an idea. They have thoughts. … Then on our side of the table you’ve got people who don’t know what it feels like to not have an idea. How does that ever come together? That’s the problem. That’s where committees come in and gangbang you while you’re just trying to bring some art to the picture.”

It was an entertaining and very informative panel. I hope they continue to bring in such talented voice talent in upcoming years.

Writing for Comics with the Pros

Pretty self-explanatory title, here. The panel was moderated by William Kuskin, Chair of the English Department at CU Boulder and instructor for the “Comics and Graphic Novels” studies class—and for any students out there, it’s a really great class. Panelists included: Jason Aaron, “Scalped,” “Wolverine,” “The Incredible Hulk”; Steven Seagle, “Like a Bird,” “X-Men,” “Sandman Mystery Theatre”; Ron Fourtier, “Green Hornet,” “Terminator,”; Matt Kindt, “Super Spy,” “3 Story,” “MIND MGMT”; and Elliot Serrano, “Army of Darkness.” (Keep an eye out for in-depth panel coverage soon.)

As is customary for these things, the panel started by sharing their stories about breaking into the comics industry. And once again, no two were alike, but there was a unifying message that all the creators brought forward, and this theme carried the momentum of the whole panel: “Do it. Just make something,” and, “If you want to be a writer, then be writing.” It’s both easy, and very hard. The panel seemed to agree with Aaron who said it best toward the end of the panel: “The hardest part of getting into comics is what you all should be doing right now. You should be doing the hardest work you’ll ever do as a writer, and it’s gonna suck for a while. You’re not gonna make much money for a while, but if you can get there, if you can get to the point where you can do this for a living, it’s awesome. It’s totally worth all the shit you’ve gotta go through to get to that point.”

A few were quick to point out and emphasize that “breaking in” to the industry, and “making a living” were two very different things. The always entertaining Steven Seagle put out a challenge for anyone out there who wants to write professionally, anyone who thinks they can make a living doing it.

The first part goes like this: For thirty days, write five days a week, at the exact same time every day for the exact same amount of time every day, which for the first part of the challenge will be fifteen minutes. “Your fingers need to be moving on a keyboard, or pushing a feather quill or pencil or whatever you’re doing—carving in tablets, whatever works for you—for the entire fifteen minutes.” No thinking about what you’re going to write, and no rewriting or editing. That means you have to do all your pre-writing and research and outlining ahead of time. “You’re going to treat it like a job, five days a week, you’re not going to miss it for any reason, you’re going to turn your phone off, you’re not going to check the internet. … And if somebody calls and says, ‘Hey let’s go to Seven-Eleven,’ you’re going to say, ‘No, I’m working.’ But you’re not going to say that, because you won’t have answered your phone.” He suggests, “If you get stuck, if you have block, then you’re going to switch and start writing something you already know, like the Wizard of Oz, from memory. Because you can’t remember the Wizard of Oz so it’ll still be writing.” If you succeed at this for a month, do another month at thirty minutes. Then another at an hour. “If you make it through three months of that, you probably can write. But if you don’t make it through the first week, where you missed a day or whatever, then maybe don’t think about writing.” He says that in twenty-eight years of giving this assignment, he’s only had two people successfully make it through the six-month block he prescribes.

From there, the conversation turned to genre, and Matt Kindt gave one of the best, simplest analogies for genre I’ve ever heard. He talks about writing mini-comics in college about things like art, and how much he hated his job, but he realized they weren’t fun for him. Then he decided to add a detective and make it this other thing, and found that he was having fun and getting excited about his stories again. “To me, genre is like this candy coating that you can put around a real story.”

The panelists gave a lot more insight into the craft and the specific minutia of writing for the comics medium. Especially in terms of collaboration and understanding graphic storytelling. But that will have to wait for the panel-specific article, keep an eye out for that.

This wraps up my day-by-day coverage, but there’s plenty more to share. Thanks for reading, I hope you’ve enjoyed it so far, and there’s definitely more to come.

[Connor Cleary is an author, video game columnist and critic, and a freelance web-slash-graphic designer. He is a reviewer at GameShark and an occasional opinion and analysis columnist at Gamasutra. His freelance design business is Four Stair Multimedia and Design. You can follow Connor @The_Blue_Key, or at fb/TheBlueKey, or check out his writing archive on tumblr, The Blue Key.]

LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes is out today. As much as I appreciate you reading my article, why aren’t you playing this already? Is it because it’s LEGO and for kids? If that’s really your excuse you obviously haven’t played the LEGO games and you need to rectify that immediately. I’m actually so backlogged right now that I’m just getting to LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean and I have to admit it’s one of my favorite entries so far. And I don’t even like the film franchise. Traveller’s Tales is just that good. But, now that you’re here, finish the post. Then buy LEGO Batman 2 (brand new only $43 on PS3) and bring some simple joy back in your life. It’s something my yoga instructor recommends every week, find the joy!

Thanks again to one of the numerous international ratings boards for outing an upcoming release before the official announcement. This time it’s the British Board of Film Classification that’s since pulled their listing for Bioshock Ultimate Rapture. This looks to be the first two games bundled with all of their respective DLC. No release date is announced, but this seems like a good way to build some extra hype for Bioshock Infinite, coming February 2013.

All of the speculation about Valve and Overkill’s collaborative effort seems to have made way more out of the situation than is actually happening. It appears the two were working together on a piece of DLC for Payday: The Heist. The “No Mercy” expansion will be an add-on for Payday that takes place in Left 4 Dead‘s Mercy Hospital. A character from Left 4 Dead will likely be making an appearance though the mission will not be considered canon in the zombie franchise. According to Valve’s Chet Faliszek there will also be a “fun little easter egg with a payoff later in Left 4 Dead.” Is that payoff coming as Payday-related DLC for Valve’s franchise, or upcoming for the thrid game?

Harmonix Director of Communications and Brand Management, John Drake, recently mentioned new IPs for the company on the Harmonix podcast. What are these new IPs? We don’t know yet, but we know what they’re not. According to Drake, “Dance Central and Rock Band are kind of our big, established IPs. And man oh man are we working on multiple – like, more than two – new triple A IPs, right now that we can’t talk about at all. None of them are Rock Band or Dance Central titles. It’s not a previous game. It’s not Led Zeppelin Rock Band. This isn’t – I’m not talking about Rock Band 4. I’m not talking about the next Dance Central game. I’m talking about new, crazy stuff.” Harmonix are the masters of rhythm gaming, so is this another entry in that formula, or something entirely new for the company? They are also working Dance Central 3 and Rock Band Blitz.

If the reviews on Telltale’s first episode of The Walking Dead are any indication, the expectations for the next episode are high. But when will we see it, and what will it be? The developers have finally announced that it’s expected “around the end of June.” That’s not very specific, but that pretty much means today or next week. As for what you’ll be playing, the second episode joins the group three months later, when “things have gotten tenser [sic]—food is scarce, and no one in the party is a particularly good hunter.” Hopefully this will keep up the quality and be able to deliver on the promise of consequences for choices.

Not only has a special edition been announced God of War: Ascension, but there’s also special edition coming to get you caught up. The God of War Omega Edition will contain both HD collections and God of War III in a steel case with a numbered, limited edition statue. Pricing and release date haven’t been announced. The Ascension special edition is $80 on Amazon and comes with a special case, 8″ Kratos statue, digital soundtrack, dynamic theme, avatar pack, multiplayer Double XP unlock, and the Online Pass. The prequel releases March 12, 2013.

The pinball ‘bots around here went a little nuts when “The Avengers Chronicles” pack was first announced for Zen/Marvel Pinball. That anticipation is finally getting its payoff today with the release of the four new tables. But that’s not all of the great news from Zen Studios. They’ve also announced that Zen Pinball 2 is scheduled for release in mid to late July for PS3 and Vita. ZP2 will actually be a free download that will serve as a platform for all tables released under Zen Pinball, Marvel Pinball, and future releases to be purchased a la carte. That means your existing tables from a prior purchase of either game will work in the new platform, along with some minor bug fixes on some. Which basically describes how the original Zen Pinball worked on 360 anyway.

Another expansion releasing today is DC Universe Online‘s “The Last Laugh.” This expansion focuses on PvP experience and brings a new weapon along with new Light-Powered and Kryptonian Legends characters. As the title would indicate, the Joker is up to no good and has hacked Safe House computers to allow for 4 on 4 battles. Headquarters matches will take place in the Watchtower or Hall of Doom and will feature 8 on 8 match ups.

SEGA’s recent financial setbacks have resulted in a shuffling of the release schedule, most notable affecting the western release of Anarchy Reigns. The game is scheduled for July 5th in Japan, but is now being pushed to first quarter 2013 for Europe and North America. I’m going to assume SEGA knows what they’re doing, but I have to admit that I don’t see the logic. You have a game that is complete and ready for distribution, but you’re going to wait six months to sell it? I would expect that the sooner you can start to recoup your investment costs, the better. Certainly the hype doesn’t seem to be very high for the title, but is that going to change next year? My strategy would be to release it now, in the summer doldrums, instead of early next year when everyone is still trying to catch up on the backlog of holiday games, buying AAA titles used and at steep discounts. Releasing now means a price drop right in the middle of the holiday shopping season, a good tactic to sneak your way into a few homes that can’t afford the newest Call of Duty or Assassin’s Creed. Then again, SEGA’s been selling games for decades. I’ve been writing about them for a couple years. I yield to your expertise, SEGA, but I question it. And I’m not the only one. Atsushi Inaba of Platinum Games, the developer for the title, went on Twitter after the announcement to voice his own frustration, explaining that the game is done and they aren’t developing anything additional for the international versions. He’d like to see a global release, but as the developer, they get very little say in the publishing process.

Is there a window on when DLC should be released? Bethesda’s Rage released in October of last year, and a new PEGI rating has something called “The Scorchers” coming soon as a downloadable expansion. The Scorchers were a clan that was cut from the final game, but are apparently making a comeback. The late release “Dawnguard” for Skyrim seems to make sense for such a huge game, making it more of a traditional PC expansion pack than simply a downloadable add-on. But Rage? It doesn’t seem to have sold very well, and reviews were sort of all over the map. DLC generally has a two-fold purpose, 1. generate small scale sales to enhance developer/publisher value, and 2. discourage used game sales by encouraging owners to retain copies for further play. But if you wait 8+ months after release before even announcing the DLC, hasn’t the used games market already kicked in, effectively limiting the number of consumers willing to make the smaller transaction as well? Really, if you bought this game used for $15, are you going to want to pay another $15 (guessing at the price here, nothing official) for an extra four hours of content? Good job for supporting the game, Bethesda. But, like SEGA, I’m questioning your strategy in regards to timing.

Well, that’s it for the early edition. And I apologize for my profuse editorials. I usually chime in a little bit, but it seems I’m feeling extra passionate today as my opinions have been scattered throughout this relatively slow news period. As much as I love E3, I seriously don’t care for the drought in the weeks following. Check back Friday for the rest of the week’s news.