Brutal Legend Companion Video

A video companion piece to my recent Brutal Legend review on The Armchair Empire - Infinite. Here's a link to the full review in case you missed it.

Walking Dead Episode 3 Commentary

The Walking Dead (from Telltale) continues to impress with Episode 3. This is the first dozen minutes or so of the episode with some commentary from yours truly. Check the full review right here on The Armchair Emprie - Infinite.

I'm starting to get the hang of this thing -- taking a video then recording commentary over it. This time out I tried messing with the sound a little. Bumping the audio level of the game when appropriate so more of the game's flavour comes through, then dumping it down when I have something, ahem, important to say.

I've gotta say, I'm enjoying it more than I probably should.

Writing is still my first choice, but in an effort to cultivate a cult of personality, I think I'll keep tooling around with these little projects.

Video Commentary: The Attempt

Over on The Armchair Empire's official YouTube channel, Mr. Nash has been providing an assortment of commentary and video for the last few months but it's only recently I've tried my hand at doing the same thing.

I've done two videos so far, one for Prototype 2 and the one above for Ghost Recon: Future Soldier. There's plenty of room for improvement on my part but it is quite fun though I don't think it will replace my written articles.

Boldly Going, etc.

The Armchair Empire has undergone a lot of changes in its nearly 12 years of operation but the biggest change is right around the corner.

And it's entirely out of necessity this time. Usually changes have been cosmetic in nature -- logo change, etc. -- but this change comes about because the old infrastructure and tools for posting AE's content are cumbersome and unwieldy  when it comes to timely posting of articles. I've been using FrontPage 2003! As you can imagine, it's showing its age in Internet terms. And there was no such thing as YouTube. Or Facebook. Or Twitter. And Myspace was the new thing that everyone was talking about. So incorporating any of those items into the site, making them features of the site, would essentially mean tearing down the entire site and trying to rebuild thousands of pages of content. It was a daunting task to consider.

We looked at our options. And almost all of them would either mean a massive time or money investment. (Or both.) Neither option was appealing because I don't have much of either one (and I'm pretty sure Jeff's in the same boat).

So, as we approach E3, there will be a cataclysm.

The classic Armchair Empire will fracture and splinters of the site will spiral off into space. The flagship Armchair Empire will still exist (as will a dozen years of content including the Top Ten: Best Cleavage) but we'll be posting everything new to The Armchair Empire Infinite (working title), which will showcase a more integrated approach with the likes of Facebook, YouTube, personal blogs, Twitter, et al to provide more interaction and an actual discussion. All the fresh links on armchairempire.com will be content from Infinite.

We have every confidence that this move will mean more timely posting of reviews, opinions, and other features from writers that have been with The Armchair Empire in one form or another for a long, long time. To these people, I'm very thankful. If it weren't for them, The Armchair Empire would have folded long ago. (Of course, I love you readers, too! You're awesome -- take the rest of the day off!)

The Weekly Checkpoint #6

Mr. Nash and I talk about a lot of things in the most recent Weekly Checkpoint (#6), including Walking Dead, Rock Band iOS, Sony All-Stars, Serious Sam 3 and so much more!

Comments, feedback, follows, etc. are always appreciated:

"Our Carelessness / Their Secret Weapon"

A very special Armchair Empire Easter weekend / PAX East update for you, dear reader, lover of the written word and cuddler of properly-used commas.

Just in case you missed them the first time around we posted some Reviews:

• Mass Effect 3 (360)
• UFC Undisputed 3 (360)
• Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D (3DS)
• FIFA 12 (360, PS3)

And of course, if you're not so hot for the written word and you go out of your way to split an infinitive whenever the opportunity arises, but sure to check The Armchair Empire's YouTube channel, featuring old and new games with plenty of commentary from Mr. Nash.

I'll be joining Mr. Nash for some upcoming commentary so stay tuned!

The Armchair Empire's YouTube Channel

Maybe it was a long time coming, but Mr. Nash has been busy!

I'd like to take a minute to let you know about The Armchair Empire's YouTube channel, which will focus on "quick impressions" of games, with commentary.

Check the embedded video below which focuses on "Titan Attacks":

More games are coming so stay tuned!