Yahoo Answers is a massive, sometimes embarrassing snapshot of the human psyche, where anyone can ask any question to an anonymous peanut gallery of non-experts. So for no reason whatsoever, I decided to see what the site’s users were saying about video games. After digging through hundreds of queries — many of them about video game violence and addiction — I amassed a solid list of topics that really matter. Here are some of the most maddening, mystifying and terrifying questions about video games, as posted on Yahoo Answers.
Thursday, December 16, 2010 9:32AM - By Jared Newman
Another day, another gritty interpretation of Super Mario Bros. But “The Brothers Mario,” an epic trailer by CountryClubPictures, does it right with guns, gangsters and gutter slang. The video is laced with little in-jokes that reference the Super Mario Bros. Super Show, Bad Boys and more. Not sure it would hold up as a game or a movie, but neither is going to happen anyway. [via Press the Buttons]
Thursday, December 2, 2010 2:02PM - By Jared Newman
Here at GamerCrave, I’m all about respecting people’s dietary decisions. But one thing I can’t stand for is imitation gaming. So a wag of the finger goes to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, whose free Flash game Super Tofu Boy lacks the texture and flavor of Super Meat Boy, the game it’s parodying.
Monday, November 22, 2010 8:09PM - By Jared Newman
Some people argue that Angry Birds is addicting, that it sucks away time as you sling fowl to achieve that perfect store. Really, though, I think the appeal lies in the squawking. The rage is really quite cathartic, as you’ll see in this video. [via GoNintendo]
Thursday, October 7, 2010 8:36AM - By Jared Newman
My experience with Jersey Shore is limited to one episode and the requisite dose of Internet buzz, but CollegeHumor’s Jersey Shore RPG pretty much sums it up. The combination of muscle-bound dudes with ridiculous hairdos and completely arbitrary battles is perfect fodder for the early 1990s JRPG treatment. In this episode, the guys get in a fight, Snooki goes crazy and everyone ends up chilling in the hot tub. But I still haven’t decided whether the use of text instead of overly dramatic voice acting is for better or worse. [CollegeHumor via Joystiq]
Snakes, dysentery, silly names on tombstones. Such was the life of any family who tried to traverse the Oregon Trail in the classic educational game. Now, you can experience all the drama in the trailer for “Oregon Trail,” a movie that, much like the indie God of War trailer, will most likely not be made. I like that the production company is “Half Day Today! Films,” and there are plenty of other nods to the game and to the culture of playing video games in school. Just the bullets! [via Mashable]
Kratos just put every Subway Sandwich Artist on notice, or at least this kid did, creating an epic peanut butter and jelly sandwich in God of War style. The camera man nailed the angles, and the Kratos wannabe does an admirable job of imitating the God of War’s mannerisms, even if he lacks the buffness. Am I the only one who gets nervous when he takes the knife to the jelly jar? Good show. [via The Escapist]
Mortal Kombat’s fatalities are already kind of cartoonish and over-the-top, but even more so when recreated with paper and stop-motion animation. The highlight reel was created by Eric Power and is part of a longer video that reflects on the original Mortal Kombat for Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo. I’d love to see some other Mortal Kombat games get paper fatalities, because the first game’s finishing moves were pretty tame in retrospect. But that probably makes them easier to recreate as well. Actually, why not a full-on paper Mortal Kombat? It worked for Mario. [Ericpowerup via Kotaku]
