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lol?

An archive strip, not on the subject of Acclaim's advertising stunts, but really the company itself. I wonder how do they really feel about it?

Funny all by itself

Doug

Penny-Arcade

-I'm anonymous. That proves I'm not a troll

... are best left unrealised

All right, feeling less lazy now. Cryo lego man is here. The penny-arcade custom stickers are here.

Meanwhile, I think I have worked out a nice business plan:

1. Make (lame) X-Box case mod.
2. Make self-congratulatory webpage (don't forget to have a sucker friend pose in the photos).
3. Put X-Box on E-Bay.
4. Post to /.
5. Profit???

Methinks my business plan has been stolen already...

Now all it needs is a 800 lb. grizzly bear controller and it'll be perfect.

And I doubt any game will ever get an AO rating. On cable tv, AO = porno.

Gotta love the PA Strip...

I've been waiting for a long time to sing the praises of MechAssault on Xbox Live. MA is a great fucking game! But it's much more than that. MA on Live will go down in history as a innovator.

The game play mechanics of MA could'nt be easier. The controls were simple and the rules were obvious: Blow up your enemy mech before they blew you up. But the game play was DEEP! It took me months before I could compete with the top players, even longer before I started winning games in my Timberwolf.

It was only during these late-night matches that I realized that we MechAssault players were part of something new.

Here we were, me in Los Angeles, some other guy in Chicago, some dudes from Brooklyn and Miami, maybe even a Brit or two, all of us relazing on our sofa, our feet on the table, a big fat TV in front of us, our home stereo connected playing and talking with and against each other. It was just too much fun. There was nothing like and we all knew it. We are all on the vanguard of console gaming and loving every second of it.

The fact is that Xbox live is the greatest innovation to gaming in a long time. 1 sign-in, 1 online name, friends list, voice-chat, online rankings and tournaments and cheap too!

Soon after, we were treated to more firsts. New mechs, new maps, new game-types were added to our game as if by magic.

I've retired my Timberwolf for now. I'm off playing Links2004 & Crimson Skies (another great game) against new and old friends across the globe.

Playing off-line is now unthinkable to me. How boring. Thats the impact of Xbox Live and MechAssault.

BTW. MA is now $20. Another $5 for new content is nothing.

And if you've never had the pleasure of blowing up a Ragnarok and its neighboring skyscraper in River City with your twin Gauss rifles, I highly reccomend it. Its too much fun.

Here are some great Penny Arcade strips on MechAssault.

Discontent

Royaltay

Location, Location, Location

The Real Gabriel

It Really Is Terrible

Here's one for you MS haters:
Also Known As Blackmail

Oh, BTW, MechAssault still has the best looking explosions I've ever seen in a game.

I've been waiting for a long time to sing the praises of MechAssault on Xbox Live. MA is a great fucking game! But it's much more than that. MA on Live will go down in history as a innovator.

The game play mechanics of MA could'nt be easier. The controls were simple and the rules were obvious: Blow up your enemy mech before they blew you up. But the game play was DEEP! It took me months before I could compete with the top players, even longer before I started winning games in my Timberwolf.

It was only during these late-night matches that I realized that we MechAssault players were part of something new.

Here we were, me in Los Angeles, some other guy in Chicago, some dudes from Brooklyn and Miami, maybe even a Brit or two, all of us relazing on our sofa, our feet on the table, a big fat TV in front of us, our home stereo connected playing and talking with and against each other. It was just too much fun. There was nothing like and we all knew it. We are all on the vanguard of console gaming and loving every second of it.

The fact is that Xbox live is the greatest innovation to gaming in a long time. 1 sign-in, 1 online name, friends list, voice-chat, online rankings and tournaments and cheap too!

Soon after, we were treated to more firsts. New mechs, new maps, new game-types were added to our game as if by magic.

I've retired my Timberwolf for now. I'm off playing Links2004 & Crimson Skies (another great game) against new and old friends across the globe.

Playing off-line is now unthinkable to me. How boring. Thats the impact of Xbox Live and MechAssault.

BTW. MA is now $20. Another $5 for new content is nothing.

And if you've never had the pleasure of blowing up a Ragnarok and its neighboring skyscraper in River City with your twin Gauss rifles, I highly reccomend it. Its too much fun.

Here are some great Penny Arcade strips on MechAssault.

Discontent

Royaltay

Location, Location, Location

The Real Gabriel

It Really Is Terrible

Here's one for you MS haters:
Also Known As Blackmail

Oh, BTW, MechAssault still has the best looking explosions I've ever seen in a game.

I've been waiting for a long time to sing the praises of MechAssault on Xbox Live. MA is a great fucking game! But it's much more than that. MA on Live will go down in history as a innovator.

The game play mechanics of MA could'nt be easier. The controls were simple and the rules were obvious: Blow up your enemy mech before they blew you up. But the game play was DEEP! It took me months before I could compete with the top players, even longer before I started winning games in my Timberwolf.

It was only during these late-night matches that I realized that we MechAssault players were part of something new.

Here we were, me in Los Angeles, some other guy in Chicago, some dudes from Brooklyn and Miami, maybe even a Brit or two, all of us relazing on our sofa, our feet on the table, a big fat TV in front of us, our home stereo connected playing and talking with and against each other. It was just too much fun. There was nothing like and we all knew it. We are all on the vanguard of console gaming and loving every second of it.

The fact is that Xbox live is the greatest innovation to gaming in a long time. 1 sign-in, 1 online name, friends list, voice-chat, online rankings and tournaments and cheap too!

Soon after, we were treated to more firsts. New mechs, new maps, new game-types were added to our game as if by magic.

I've retired my Timberwolf for now. I'm off playing Links2004 & Crimson Skies (another great game) against new and old friends across the globe.

Playing off-line is now unthinkable to me. How boring. Thats the impact of Xbox Live and MechAssault.

BTW. MA is now $20. Another $5 for new content is nothing.

And if you've never had the pleasure of blowing up a Ragnarok and its neighboring skyscraper in River City with your twin Gauss rifles, I highly reccomend it. Its too much fun.

Here are some great Penny Arcade strips on MechAssault.

Discontent

Royaltay

Location, Location, Location

The Real Gabriel

It Really Is Terrible

Here's one for you MS haters:
Also Known As Blackmail

Oh, BTW, MechAssault still has the best looking explosions I've ever seen in a game.

I've been waiting for a long time to sing the praises of MechAssault on Xbox Live. MA is a great fucking game! But it's much more than that. MA on Live will go down in history as a innovator.

The game play mechanics of MA could'nt be easier. The controls were simple and the rules were obvious: Blow up your enemy mech before they blew you up. But the game play was DEEP! It took me months before I could compete with the top players, even longer before I started winning games in my Timberwolf.

It was only during these late-night matches that I realized that we MechAssault players were part of something new.

Here we were, me in Los Angeles, some other guy in Chicago, some dudes from Brooklyn and Miami, maybe even a Brit or two, all of us relazing on our sofa, our feet on the table, a big fat TV in front of us, our home stereo connected playing and talking with and against each other. It was just too much fun. There was nothing like and we all knew it. We are all on the vanguard of console gaming and loving every second of it.

The fact is that Xbox live is the greatest innovation to gaming in a long time. 1 sign-in, 1 online name, friends list, voice-chat, online rankings and tournaments and cheap too!

Soon after, we were treated to more firsts. New mechs, new maps, new game-types were added to our game as if by magic.

I've retired my Timberwolf for now. I'm off playing Links2004 & Crimson Skies (another great game) against new and old friends across the globe.

Playing off-line is now unthinkable to me. How boring. Thats the impact of Xbox Live and MechAssault.

BTW. MA is now $20. Another $5 for new content is nothing.

And if you've never had the pleasure of blowing up a Ragnarok and its neighboring skyscraper in River City with your twin Gauss rifles, I highly reccomend it. Its too much fun.

Here are some great Penny Arcade strips on MechAssault.

Discontent

Royaltay

Location, Location, Location

The Real Gabriel

It Really Is Terrible

Here's one for you MS haters:
Also Known As Blackmail

Oh, BTW, MechAssault still has the best looking explosions I've ever seen in a game.

I've been waiting for a long time to sing the praises of MechAssault on Xbox Live. MA is a great fucking game! But it's much more than that. MA on Live will go down in history as a innovator.

The game play mechanics of MA could'nt be easier. The controls were simple and the rules were obvious: Blow up your enemy mech before they blew you up. But the game play was DEEP! It took me months before I could compete with the top players, even longer before I started winning games in my Timberwolf.

It was only during these late-night matches that I realized that we MechAssault players were part of something new.

Here we were, me in Los Angeles, some other guy in Chicago, some dudes from Brooklyn and Miami, maybe even a Brit or two, all of us relazing on our sofa, our feet on the table, a big fat TV in front of us, our home stereo connected playing and talking with and against each other. It was just too much fun. There was nothing like and we all knew it. We are all on the vanguard of console gaming and loving every second of it.

The fact is that Xbox live is the greatest innovation to gaming in a long time. 1 sign-in, 1 online name, friends list, voice-chat, online rankings and tournaments and cheap too!

Soon after, we were treated to more firsts. New mechs, new maps, new game-types were added to our game as if by magic.

I've retired my Timberwolf for now. I'm off playing Links2004 & Crimson Skies (another great game) against new and old friends across the globe.

Playing off-line is now unthinkable to me. How boring. Thats the impact of Xbox Live and MechAssault.

BTW. MA is now $20. Another $5 for new content is nothing.

And if you've never had the pleasure of blowing up a Ragnarok and its neighboring skyscraper in River City with your twin Gauss rifles, I highly reccomend it. Its too much fun.

Here are some great Penny Arcade strips on MechAssault.

Discontent

Royaltay

Location, Location, Location

The Real Gabriel

It Really Is Terrible

Here's one for you MS haters:
Also Known As Blackmail

Oh, BTW, MechAssault still has the best looking explosions I've ever seen in a game.

I've been waiting for a long time to sing the praises of MechAssault on Xbox Live. MA is a great fucking game! But it's much more than that. MA on Live will go down in history as a innovator.

The game play mechanics of MA could'nt be easier. The controls were simple and the rules were obvious: Blow up your enemy mech before they blew you up. But the game play was DEEP! It took me months before I could compete with the top players, even longer before I started winning games in my Timberwolf.

It was only during these late-night matches that I realized that we MechAssault players were part of something new.

Here we were, me in Los Angeles, some other guy in Chicago, some dudes from Brooklyn and Miami, maybe even a Brit or two, all of us relazing on our sofa, our feet on the table, a big fat TV in front of us, our home stereo connected playing and talking with and against each other. It was just too much fun. There was nothing like and we all knew it. We are all on the vanguard of console gaming and loving every second of it.

The fact is that Xbox live is the greatest innovation to gaming in a long time. 1 sign-in, 1 online name, friends list, voice-chat, online rankings and tournaments and cheap too!

Soon after, we were treated to more firsts. New mechs, new maps, new game-types were added to our game as if by magic.

I've retired my Timberwolf for now. I'm off playing Links2004 & Crimson Skies (another great game) against new and old friends across the globe.

Playing off-line is now unthinkable to me. How boring. Thats the impact of Xbox Live and MechAssault.

BTW. MA is now $20. Another $5 for new content is nothing.

And if you've never had the pleasure of blowing up a Ragnarok and its neighboring skyscraper in River City with your twin Gauss rifles, I highly reccomend it. Its too much fun.

Here are some great Penny Arcade strips on MechAssault.

Discontent

Royaltay

Location, Location, Location

The Real Gabriel

It Really Is Terrible

Here's one for you MS haters:
Also Known As Blackmail

Oh, BTW, MechAssault still has the best looking explosions I've ever seen in a game.

Who would win in a fight between the Cardboard Tube Samurai and the
Shirt Ninja?? ;)

It's not just gamers. People who like Star Wars are prone to decapitate people with books!

He's the Cardboard Tube Samurai, Ninjas are his enemies.

...that this is their newest comic.

I love PA - its great in a kinda crap way. The Sunday Times reviewed it a few weeks back as an example of the better comics available online and had a small "may contain some indoor language" warning alongside the reprint and the web address.

So I checked out the strip and I'm SURE it was THIS ONE.

That sick kids are exposed to this kind of filth with their free games is most refreshing!! And on a Sunnday too!!! Wholesome!

http://penny-arcade.com/images/2003/20031124l.gif

Right?

After all, we wouldn't want Tycho and Gabe to find out you got the kid a GBA SP for the holidays...

Here's a link for child's play that won't dissipear when PA posts a new article in a few hours.

Next time a school, or anything is rampaged by a cardboard tube toating ninja, we'll know who to blame!!!

Penny Arcade is a fantastic comic!!!

now this is nice and all, but i hardly think their latest strip is going to endear them to the "games are bad mmmmkay" crowd.

funny strip, though.

Penny Arcade shares your thoughts on GameSpy's client.

AT&T has tried to screw the american public since it's inception

In answer to your question (what's next?), here's what they're working on now:
Click for the funny

I don't know much about the game myself; but, if you don't already, you should read some of the recent Penny-Arcade news. The first news archive page should have some stuff too. Gabe and Tycho seem impressed.

and here's a link that will still work when they put up friday's comic in 7-10 hours.

the penny arcade crew knows what's up!

more like drugs.

whats a good CEO/addict reference without a penny arcade link? it looks like daryl and mark are on the same batch of smack too.

(Thanks be to Tycho for the link.)

At least you were original... oh, wait--nevermind. You were just another imitator. Please, world, I beg of you: bite styles wantonly and give credit never! That's the only way for culture to survive!

Yeah I looked up those Steelcase desks and indeed they are freaking huge, they'd be good. I've been "researching" desk solutions because I just moved and had to leave my ideal desk there...

It's just an Ikea desk, but with the way it was arranged I had my chair parralel to it (instead of sitting on front of it) with my feet propped up in the corner, my keyboard on my lap, my mouse right there by my right hand and when I faced the desk and moved counterclockwise I could see my crap, my mousing area, my screen, my computer, my feet, the door to the office (crucial for me to be facing the door, I'm paranoid) and my TV. I had a little nearby shelf where I had books, a mug of coffee, a lamp and a clock, I could just kick back with my feet on the desk and do good work in a great position, and with a single glance I could embrace everything I'd ever need.

Now I moved and for reasons I won't get into (*cough*wife*cough*) the desk has gone bye-bye and I have to use what will be the kitchen table atm... Let's just say I learnt a lot about space optimization on the fly because I had no other choice. Try to fit a ton of computer equipment, TV, clock, phones, etc. on a 4'x2' desk and let's not forget the fuckton of cables... I used to think the rear of my old desk was a jungle but since this was done in utter chaos and no preoccupation with order, multiplugs simply stacked on top of each other, a certain comic takes a very relevant resonance...

The plus side is that it does have a very "cockpit" feel to it... I'm like a movie geek in here with all those screens, keyboard on my lap and mouse (thank Christ for wireless technology!) on the windowsill by the desk.

If I really think about it, the ultimate desk would be a little bit more than just a plank, mainly it would have enough (over twenty) power outlets in the back, inside a little trough that runs all the length of it so I could plug everything in and have it all nicely arranged and hidden, quality wood, a little shelving area above it where you can arrange shelves the way you like (height, number, size), drawers would be nice, but still, I repeat, a lot, a *LOT* of surface area.

A lot.

Well, depending on how poorly Microsoft implements their database!

And then there are PC users like this who discover that, perhaps, iTunes might actually be the best Windows app ever. Scroll down to see Gabe's rant about it.

iTunes, I think, and apps like it, are the future, today. Databases, queries, lookups, distributed, shared, libraries, compact, convenient, and easy to use.

Yes, not *all* people will be comfortable ceding control of their files and file system to their programs... but it's just one more step in a long line, ever since the invention of inodes, sectors, heads, tracks, and hierarchical file tables.

Well, depending on how poorly Microsoft implements their database!

And then there are PC users like this who discover that, perhaps, iTunes might actually be the best Windows app ever. Scroll down to see Gabe's rant about it.

iTunes, I think, and apps like it, are the future, today. Databases, queries, lookups, distributed, shared, libraries, compact, convenient, and easy to use.

Yes, not *all* people will be comfortable ceding control of their files and file system to their programs... but it's just one more step in a long line, ever since the invention of inodes, sectors, heads, tracks, and hierarchical file tables.

Addendum to that opinion

J

Penny Arcade

eBay it and get a walkman. =P

Here's how Tycho at Penny Arcade feels about Warren Spector: http://www.penny-arcade.com/view.php3?date=2000-07 -05&res=l

McBride is what is known in the poker world as a fish.

Which is to SCO's great misfortune because penguins literally eat fish for breakfast.

And Torvalds is the biggest, baddest penguin out there. One might even call him The Omega Penguin. The king of all penguins, indeed, of all penguin-kind. Their lord. The single template from which all other penguins were wrought.

I'm just sorry they're not selling tickets for this one.

Here ya go.

Why don't they just stick to the Gameboy? They're good at that. They've pretty much cornered the retrogame market and the cute-and-fluffy-characters market.

I'd say because not everyone agrees on the "cute-and-fluffy-characters" and sometime "kiddy" angle to be a bad thing, most of the time. Blood, gore, and/or dark environments does not always a fun game make. As Gabe of Penny Arcade says, are you afraid playing a game with bright colors or cute characters in it will make you less of a person?

As long as they keep making games that're fun to go with them, Nintendo can go with a blessing and keep making consoles to the end of time.

More like Gaybox if you ask me.

Nobody did ask you.

It's a damn console, a box of electronics that you plug into your TV. Nothing more. Get a life.

Even though it's out for the GameCube now, Ikaruga is still worth mentioning. ;)

So you don't think you need to pay for things? Good luck with that.

Aren't they the nicest people? Always thinking about the user! They'll probably add this to the fluffy-clouds-and-baby-chicks-MS-family-o'crap, as PA was nice enough to tell us about!

I'd like to throw Tycho from Penny Arcade in there, as well. Probably Gabe, too, although at least his job requires some kind of talent. But to make a full-time job out of writing and drawing three short strips a week (not even that if they're at a convention) and reporting on the video games you're playing! Maybe I'd be okay with it if they hadn't spent so much time bitching about micropayments and advertising click-throughs before they were making a living.

Personally, the more I think about it, the more I like the Neversoft guy's idea of a blog style review.

Let's face it, we don't really know much about a game review past what it says. We don't know the conditions under which the game was played. We don't know if it was a preview build that the reviewer played in a warehouse for 20 minutes somewhere or if he got to spend the 80+ hours it takes to go through some of the longer RPGs. And isn't that important?

The obvious difference between a game and a movie also comes into play. Go see a movie and you've seen it. You're in and out in 90 minutes and you've had the complete experience. But with a game, it's a much more personal experience. Either you reduce the game to its mechanics (which plays into the stereotypes that the gaming industry claims they want to get away from) and speak of it in those terms, which ISN'T THE POINT of why people play games, or, the reviewer can talk about his own experience.

When you try to boil games down to their mechanics you end up with dumb ass statements like "In the end, ESPN NFL Football is truly the best playing football game available for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox." Why is that a dumb statement? To put it in context, he parsed that sentence to allow that Madden could really be the better game.

Well, lemme ask you a question. Would you rather play the most fun game or the better game? And how is a less fun game actually better? Do we get the answers? Nope. But with blogs we could. Matter of fact, lemme quote again from the same GameSpot review. "If you're on the fence, trying out both games is really the only way to know for sure..." I have an idea, why don't you do that, write about it, and let me know. Because right now, you're just undercutting the rest of your review.

I'd trust something Gabe or Tycho recommended before I'd trust anybody at IGN or GameSpot. And I have to think that it's because they've basically blogged their way into having an opinion that I know I can trust to be consistent.

If I knew the personalities of the GameSpot crew with the same clarity that I feel I do of the PA guys, then YES I WOULD want to hear how the game made them feel. After all, the point of a game is how it makes you feel, not how technically advanced (or not) it is. Besides, I think that info can also be covered in a blog style. Am I alone here?

While Microsoft's offerings typically aren't as stable as Unix or Linux, I don't think you're giving them enough credit. Properly administered, they are doing a much better job.

As for the $ sign, well...

-Trillian

Can be found here.