For many of us here at Destructoid, our love of video games is followed very closely by our love for Christian Bale. Today is his 35th birthday, so let us send some warm birthday wishes his way!

While Bale has only lent his talents to one video game thus far, 2005's Batman Begins, we can still daydream about amazing collaborations between him and the game world, right? What are some titles or franchises that would make a perfect fit for Bale?

What's encouraging to me is that he's open to doing voice acting, proven by his starring role as Howl in Miyazaki's Howl's Moving Castle. I'd love for him to voice the lead in a JRPG, given the emotional depth and complex storylines those games have to offer, it would be the best fit for his abilities.

Also worth mentioning was the rumors and announcements possibly connecting Bale to a Metal Gear Solid film adaptation, in the role of Snake. Does anyone have updates on that particular project?

Without further ado, here are the nominees for Superflossy's First VGA Developer Fashion Awards!

Runners-up:

Will Wright


First off, Will, your skin looks absolutely FAB, what's your secret? Is it $200 bottles of La Mer skin moisturizer? Do tell! Anyway, you deserve some type of an award for effort, because you totally look like you tried. I like the whole dress-up-dark-jeans-with-a-blazer look, but come on, leather? The last time I saw anyone in a leather blazer was on a rerun of Saturday Night Fever on TBS.


Alex Evans, of Media Molecule


Alex, I'm totes confused, what look are you going for here? Unemployed hipster at first job interview? Model for Salvation Army's Bargain Bin? Perhaps if you had gone with a flat front chino, you could have pulled together the English professor look, since it's those pinstripe pants are just throwing everything off, honey! But maybe I'm just not giving you enough credit, I totally get how maybe this is a way to pay homage to Little Big Planet because it's all about customization, but you're just not in the fashion big leagues to convey that concept sartorially.


Tim Schafer


Nevermind the fact that poor Tim here looks like he just rolled out of an all-nighter at the office and forgot that he was going to an awards show instead of a quick trip to 7-Eleven for slurpees, or that stonewashed jeans are like, not even in production anymore because they are soooo 90s, or that it looks like he hasn't washed his hair in 2 weeks, but HOLY SHIT does that man know how to accessorize!!! Take note boys and girls, having Rob Halford by your side makes you look amazing no matter what schlubby outfit you are wearing.


And the winner is...


Hideo Kojima


Kojima-san keeps it interesting with a tailored black velvet blazer over a crisp white shirt buttoned to the top. Added to the dark denim with tasteful indigo wash and you've got the perfect VGA ensemble. Simple, yet refined. Not too dressy, but definitely classy all the way. Congratulations Kojima-san!


To those developers who didn't win or weren't nominated, please remember that if you ever need a stylist or image consultant, don't hesitate to contact me. Just because most people in your industry dress like total fugs, doesn't mean you have to!

NY NARP was soooooo fun! Had a blast hanging out with each and every one of you! Here are some more pics from last night, er this morning?











Just a few closing thoughts:
- MechaMonkey, what were you doing to poor Powerglove?
- Tino, didn't know you were such a pimp! Sleeping in between two ladies FTW.
- Zen, thanks so much for hosting and hopefully we didn't mess up your place too much!?
- Casualweaponry and I were talking about heading down to Chinatown Fair arcade sometime in the near future, maybe we can all get dim sum beforehand and make an afternoon out of it? What do you guys think? Mini-Narp?
- Powerglove, Nintendoll, and Samit, can't wait to see you guys at PAX!! East Coast reprezent!

For writing the most hilarious and awesome Snake + Bale fan fiction, Rio will be receiving the limited edition Metal Gear Solid collaboration t-shirt from Uniqlo! Congrats Rio!

Below is Rio's winning entry:


When Snake Met Bale - A Tale of True Love

It was a wet and rainy evening that fateful night, and poor Snake's box was getting soggy. He’s on a stealth mission to free Eric Bana, also known as Austrailia Bale, from the grasps of the evil Roseanne Barr. She was very upset that she wasn't getting any action from Dan anymore and so Eric Bana was kidnapped to take his place.

When Solid Snake heard this news he knew he needed to help, because what sexier man is there than Eric Bana? It was this question that he asked himself, when all of a sudden he felt someone sit on top of his box.

"What the?!" He tried not to make a ruckus, but pulled out his gun and jumped out of the box. A startled Christian Bale stared back at him. "Hey aren't you..?" he started to ask as he put the gun back in its holster.

"Yeah. Christian Bale, and you are?" the confused Bale asked.

"Snake. Solid Snake." he said, dusting himself off after his escape from the box.

"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't realize anyone was living in the box when I sat down" Bale said.

"... I wasn't living in it... I was hiding" Snake snapped back.

He gathered up his box and started to walk back down the alley.

"Hey wait!" Bale said as he jogged a bit to catch up to him. "I'm looking for someone. Do you think you could help me?"

"Do I look like a public service helper? Who are you looking for?" Snake asked rolling his eyes.

"Eric Bana. He's been kidnapped by Roseanne and I'm trying to get him back!"

"Well do tell... Is he your boyfriend or something? That's who I'm after." Snake said with a laugh.

"No! Well.. maybe a little, but it's not like that!" Bale said as he tried to keep himself from blushing.

"Well then come with me, son. We'll find him." Snake turned to leave again when a person caught his eye.

Just then, M. Night Shyamalan walked by, turned to them in the alley and said, "What's Happenin'?!" The two just stared at each other and eventually he walked off... Weird.

They continued to walk down to the facility where it had been rumored that Eric Bana was being held. Snake peeped into the window. "Hey! I see him in there. It looks like she's trying to film a new episode of her show or something."

"But I thought that show was like... over 10 years ago." Bale shrugged then continued to go ahead and take a look.

Snake took out his lock picking tools and started to work on the door. After about a minute’s worth of work the door it popped out a tad. “C’mon let’s go.” He said.

They snuck inside the facility and hugged against the walls until they got to the area where Eric Bana was tied to a chair. They stopped and watched for a few minutes until Roseanne decided to leave the room. As soon as she was gone they ran up to him and Bale gave him a huge hug.

“I didn’t think anyone would find me! I’m so glad you guys came!” Eric Bana said.

“I would never leave you alone!” Christian Bale replied.

“Ok, enough of this love fest let’s get out of here.” Snake said snarling.

They turned to run out of the building, and just as they did they heard a voice that sounded like nails on a chalkboard say, “WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?!” Roseanne was back and she was more angry than usual.

“Damn…” Snake said as he fished in his pockets for something to distract her with. “Take this!” he screamed as he pulled out a donut and threw it over her head.

“Ooh donut!” Roseanne said as she went running back to the other room to retrieve the donut.

“Ok hurry let’s go!” Snake yelled as he ushered them to run outside.

They ran down a few blocks before they finally stopped to catch their breath. “Ok… I think she’s gone…” Bale said.

“Ok, good…” Snake said as he stared directly at Bale, right into his beautiful eyes.

“What’s… up, Snake?” He said with a puzzled look on his face. Right about that time Snake kissed him full on the mouth and just smiled and turned away.

“Wow. What was that for?” Bale asked with his mouth agape.

“You should know by now…” Snake said with a grin.

“Wait… what?” Bale asked.

“What’s going on?!” Eric Bana asked.

Snake ripped off his face to reveal that he was actually Christian Bale. “Get it now?” He asked.

“No… what the hell’s going on?” Bale said as he started to back up.

“Nothing gets past you, does it?” Eric Bana said slyly.

“What…?” Bale said with a very scared look on his face.

Eric Bana started to pull his face off as well to reveal that he too was Christian Bale.

“Noooooooooooooooooooo!” Bale screamed.

Then he woke up and sadly all this was just fantasy. Though… you never know, with a twist ending like this it could have been real all along! But then again Bale making out with Bale works too, and no one would be sad at that!

Attention Destructoid! Here is your chance to win a limited edition Metal Gear Solid collaboration t-shirt from Uniqlo. This is one of only three designs sold at the NYC Uniqlo store. I bought it at the Hideo Kojima signing yesterday for the sole purpose of giving it away to one of you lucky bastards.

The shirt is a size SMALL. So it will probably only fit you ladies, skinny dudes or midgets. It measures 17.5 inches across the chest. It is LIGHT BLUE.

CONTEST RULES:

1) Write a short piece of Metal Gear Solid fan fiction at least 500 words in length.
Feel free to involve characters from other series, and even movies, tv, real life, etc.
TIP #1: There is a greater chance of winning if it's slash fiction, because that's just how I roll.
TIP #2: If you involve either Bale or monkeys, I will probably like it more.

2) Entries should be submitted to me by midnight on Friday, June 20th.
Send by personal message or commenting in this post. I will read the entries over the weekend, pick my fav and announce a winner on Monday June 23rd!

Since moving to New York four years ago after college, I've always had a love-hate relationship with the city. I've griped about things ranging from the overpriced bars to the hipster quotient to the lack of an Arby's. I've thought about moving to San Francisco, Hong Kong, London, you name it. My allegiance to NYC only surfaced when I was out of town, calling myself a New Yorker out of pure smugness or hankering for a decent slice of pie. Yeah, I'm a hypocrite douche bag, I know. But all of this changed last night as I played GTA 4 for the first time. I apologize for everything I ever said against you, New York. Fuck me for ever hating you, I love you and I live in the most awesome city in the entire world.

When I took out the map, saw the subway lines, and found my neighborhood, I had this incredible swell of geekiness that made me yell "I live in Liberty City!" one too many times and kick my feet in the air like a little girl. Once I started driving around doing missions and eventually just exploring the city, every little detail would make me giddy. From the Citigroup building in Long Island City to the replica screens on the Metrocard vending machines, seeing these things in my daily life inside a videogame just made me so happy.

But then, everything became really psychotically awesome as I did things in the game that I've daydreamed of doing in real life. Subway taking too long? Oh, I'll just hijack a cab and drive it up to the train tracks! Hot dog guy sold me a dog with a soggy bun? Hey, I'll just knife him in the throat and then get my money back, wheeee!

GTA 4, for me as a New Yorker, is transcendent. It's affected me beyond merely the videogame plane and made me wholeheartedly appreciate my city in all of its grimy metaphorical glory. I'd like to thank everyone at Rockstar for helping me realize the awesomeness that surrounds me every single day.