You know, they say there are no stupid questions. I don't know who "they" are or how they got the authority to say that, but they're wrong. There are stupid questions and things you probably shouldn't say, lest you want to prove you're a moron to other people.

For a gamer, that wrong thing to ask or say amounts to "Wouldn't it be better to do something productive rather than play video games?"



My knee-jerk reaction would be to say this to such a person:

"Allow me to find out what your pastimes are and diminish each one as pointless. Do you like sports? How is watching it on television productive? What does it produce? In fact, how does your favorite team become a possessive to you? How is it 'your' team when you're not even on it? Hm? I don't see you in the NFL replays."

Watching sports on TV is a passive activity, you've produced nothing by watching it, save for perhaps gaining some intellectual and emotional satisfaction from viewing it. Maybe you're into the statistics, seeing the strategies play out. In other words, you might be getting out of sports what I get out of Zelda or Skyrim when I play them.

But neither produce anything outwardly, so by their own logic watching sports is just as pointless as playing a video game - but they wouldn't admit that to themselves.

"Oh, but going to a sporting event can be social," they'd say. "And sharing your knowledge on forums can be beneficial and enhance other people''s appreciation and understanding of sports. That's productive!"

To which I'd say that that's really no different from video games. Arcades were a social environment, knowledge of games can be shared with other people to enhance their understanding and enjoyment of video games. We've watched entire communities constructing wikis for Dark Souls, Call of Duty, Skyrim and every game under the sun from scratch, which if anything is more of a labor of love than something you get paid for. Discussion on forums might turn people on to different games they might not have otherwise tried.



If I post on these forums, write a blog or vlog or whatever, I'm being productive, aren't I? I'm doing something that may benefit another person. I might meet new people and make friends and I quite honestly have. I've written guides, been a guest on a podcast every now and again and I'm about to start being a regular host for another.

And that's before we even touch on the online communities for multiplayer games, be it Street Fighter or Gears of War or DC Universe Online. I've made friends, hell, I've known people who met their husbands or wives through an MMO and went on to have a happy marriage. Can we just drop the zoned-out zombie image of gaming, please? Its a social thing.

All pastimes are valid pastimes, whether they produce something or not - they would not be pastimes if people could not derive some kind of enjoyment from them. Playing video games is part of what keeps my mind nice, balanced and refreshed so I can go on doing other things that are productive. If some guys didn't start writing about hobbits or Jedi one day; if some guy didn't figure out something else to do with his UHF channel the world would be just a shade less interesting. Science fiction, fantasy and video games might be lost on some people, but that doesn't mean any of them are devoid of value.



I can find plenty of things other people like that I couldn't be driven to care about, but that doesn't mean those things lack value to everyone. Who am I to question what pastimes make other people tick? Some people dance, some people do woodworking, collect baseball cards or go hiking - do these things get deemed unproductive? Not all of it makes something, but it does help people find some contentment. Its just lame to disrespect something because it doesn't move you personally.

So I'll play my video games and you just do whatever it is you do, okay?

I put up with this kind of talk from my parents and people their age because they're baby boomers. I expect it, they're never going to give us the benefit of validation so long as they're still in charge and I accept that. The generation before them was that way, too. But from anyone my age or even slightly younger... that kind of talk just makes me think less of you. Old people are old, but those that don't want to look like old fools would do well to be a bit less judgmental.

Day 1

Today was the day I was supposed to be executed. Just as I laid my head on the chopping block and got ready for the Big Sleep, a dragon showed up and tore up the town of Helgen. Not the stay of execution I was hoping for, but I won't look a gift dragon in the mouth. I got to kill some Imperials and escape into Skyrim.



Some fellow told me to head to Riverwood for information on joining the Stormcloaks, but then I met this shopkeeper that wanted me to retrieve his golden claw. Seeing as I was broke and needed some money and the gear from the Imperials wssn't cutting it, I took the job.

Day 2

Just got back with the claw. Saw some funny glowing writing on a wall and now there's a word on the tip of my tongue and I don't know what it is. Also picked up a funny stone, but I don't know what its for.

Heading out to Whiterun in the morning, Re-deading the undead can take a lot out of a fledgling Breton mage such as myself.

Day 3

I do a little work in Whiterun and I'm suddenly promoted to thane and have my own servant. All that for just happening to have that stone on me. Talk about low standards. But hey, I've gone from death row to having my own housecarl to carry all my excess stuff.

To be honest, this Lydia chick doesn't seem too enthusiastic about the job.

Just after getting acquainted with Lydia, a dragon was said to be spotted nearby. I go outside and sure enough there's the dragon tearing up a tower. Not being one for melee and not quite acclimated to my magic yet, I fell back on my bow to take it down.



After defeating the dragon that word I was stuck on just lept out of me.

FOOS!

After the Whiterun guards messed themselves, they started calling me the "dragonborn." Then "Dovakin" thundered in the sky for some reason. The Jarl of Whiterun said it was the Greybeards calling me and I must go see them.

Okay. I had to sell off some of this dragon bone stuff first, it was weighing me down. The storekeeper, Acadia made some fuss about me stealing antlers, the guards came in and I told them it was a misunderstanding, I'm a thane, etc. Everything seemed cool after that.

Jeez, I just saved the town from a dragon, you'd think everyone would be grateful.

I had enough to afford a horse, so I bought one and set out for High Hrothgar.

Day 5

Small detour. Some Nord needed a necromancer liberated from his family's tomb. Couldn't blame him, so I helped him out, but as we got out we were jumped by some bandits. After we killed them, I found a note naming me as a target and the one that hired them was none other than Acadia...

Totally killing her when I get back to Whiterun. I can make my own potions.

Day 7

7,000 steps.... they expect me to learn Thu'ums after all those stairs.

No, my legs were fine. My ass was sore from riding the horse up that far.

Day 9

After learning my first Thu'ums, I set out to explore for a bit, found a fort and proceeded to check things out. Ice mages jumped me and my horse went on the offensive. They killed him.

That horse cost 1,000 gold!

I killed them all, inside and outside of the fort. Still didn't make up the money I lost on my horse.

Day 13

Horse #2 is dead. Bandits this time.

Day 17

Horse #3 is down. Tried a shortcut down the mountainside from Azura's shrine. Gravity wasn't kind to him, but at least he broke my fall.



Day 20

There went horse #4. Dragon went after him first and before I could get back to him it was too late.

Oh, I got a funky mace for torturing some poor old man. Its not really my thing. Torturing is, but not the mace.

Day 23

I joined up with the Companions after killing Acadia. They seem like a cool bunch. Aela the Huntress is smoking hot, too. Think I might swing by Riften and get an Amulet of Mara and see if she's interested..

Day 28

I'm a werewolf! Aela is a werewolf, too! I mauled that Battle-Born fellow pretty good. Pity he survived it. He always has to remind me he is the patron of the Battle-Born family each time I walk by, like I give a damn.

Day 35

We just freed Kodlak from his curse of being a werewolf, if you can call it a curse. He's in Savengarde now or so they say. I took the opportunity to pop the question to Aela. She said yes!.



Day 36

So I married an openly bisexual werewolf. Problem?

She might turn into a hairy, bloodthirsty beast from time to time, but so do I!

Day 45

With Aela and Lydia keeping things in order at home, I've been trying to find new Thu'ums and keep Horse #5 from dying.

Oh, I became the Archmage of Winterhold, too. I still haven't really gotten back to being a good mage and learning spells, but this robe and funky mask make me look like Dr. Doom and I never need Magicka potions when I wear them. I'll have this Destruction magic maxed out in no time!

Maybe I'll set that orc bard on fire...

Day 46

Horse #5 is gone. Spectral archer got it. He said he was sorry and didn't mean to do it - like THAT makes up for it.

Day 60

On the way to a Thieves Guild mission, I passed by Azura's Shrine. First, some nutjob cultist rushes me and Horse #6 us with his pet wolf. We take care of him and just as I investigate this book about Boethiah I find on him yet another dragon falls right beside us.

The world is after my horses, I swear to the Nine!

So I take down the dragon and the horse is still alive. I hop on and we get back on track.

Oh wait, is that a frost troll?



Dismount. Arrrowed.

You know what? I just left the horse there after that.

Good thing too, because when I got to where I was supposed to meet Mercer Fray, he said he had "taken care of" Karliah's horse. I'm not letting him within fifty feet of mine.

Day 61

Yeah, totally a good thing I didn't bring the horse, given Mercer tried to kill me and all. When I get done with his ass, I'm joining the Dark Brotherhood, I hear they give away horses that don't die.

Day 69

I met Nocturnal. She's kind of a bitch, but easy on the eyes. I suppose t could do a lot worse for who I'd choose to serve in the afterlife. I'll go with her. Plus this Nightengale getup is really awesome.

Day 73

I've been pondering whose side I'm going to take in the war.

On one hand, Nords are racist and on the other hand I hate elves.

Stormcloaks it is.

Day 79

Oh, Sheogorath, you cheeky bastard. You remind me so much of... me in some other life. I don't know whether to pluck out your eyes and replace them with cheese balls or summon Haskill for no reason other than to do it.

I don't know where that came from. Somewhere. Everywhere. Underwear. It felt good to say it, though.



Day 85

"Aren't you worried about the dragons?" I asked Ulundil, stable owner of Windhelm.

"If I am to be killed by a dragon, so be it. It's not going to change how I live." he replied.

Famous last words. A blood dragon then promptly swooped down and ate him.

But hey, free horses. That's what's important!

Day 95

Shadowmere is mine. Sithis be praised! For all the blood I've shed I now have a horse that can't die!



Day 98

At some point I'm going to have to get back to Delphine about those dragons and averting the apocalypse and all that.

Nah, I'm just going to kill all the other horses in Skyrim now.

There is one day in the year that I am rather happy is only one day in the year.

That day is Black Friday. For people looking for bargains its the best day of the year. For those of us just attending because of our job, it is the most intense and stressful day of the year.

And here I am about to descend into the mouth of such madness. While I can't really talk about where I work, it does indeed deal in games and chances are I will be placed anywhere regarding those games on the sales floor given my proclivity for not shutting the hell up about video games.



Other people in this line of work dread the launch of a new Madden, Pokemon or Call of Duty game. Those I don't mind so much as I can say I know enough about each of them to make distinctions between the games in their installments. Black Friday is the day I will get asked about games that:

- I don't know anything about
- No gaming site would bother to review
- Have not had a published copy in years

Last time, I was asked about the Nancy Drew Wii game. I didn't even know Nancy Drew had video games, I thought she still just had books. The Hardy Boys - aside from their WWE counterparts - have yet to move in on gaming to my knowledge. Turns out Nancy has DS games and a Wii game, We had none of them. Great!

Then there's the latest Cabela's Deer Hunting game. I'm going to be expected to know how fun these games are. They have deer in them, possibly other kinds of wildlife They sell plastic orange guns with them. This is all I know and all I really care to know. I the only deer I see in games are in Skyrim, perhaps I can tell you about that time I saw a deer...



That is totally my desktop wallpaper now, by the way.

I will be asked about fashion games for girls. My default response is "Style Savvy" and I only know anything about it because of Tony Ponce's bravery in reviewing it. The fact that NIntendo made it and its not total crap makes it a reassuring sell. For boys, the answer for fun educational games will still be Scribblenauts.

And the question - aside from deer hunting sims - that I will be riddled with the most is people asking about the difference between the consoles.

360 - Best online experience. Most robust online community. Works with Kinect.
PS3 - Best graphics. Has Blu Ray player. Free online play.
Wii - Cheapest. Best family-friendly games. Does little with the internet.

All have Netflix. Next question.

But I have to be prepared to tell the difference between DS and 3DS this year. I will be asked by grandmothers if 3DS games can be played on the DS.



Why would you even think that?

Then there's the parents more concerned about the language used in a game than the violence and sexual content within. Decapitations and thongs are OK, but it can't say "fuck." If its a story mom wants for her child in a shooter, I'm still more inclined to direct them to the remake of Halo than a CoD game. You know, since it lasts longer than five hours.

But I can't answer all these questions as I am right now, you know, as it would likely get me fired. I have to be polite and professional while the door opens for more people and I'm forced to breathe in cold air, wear out my voice and have (ideally) a two-,minute interaction with each person tops. This year I have a bag of Werther's Original and some cough drops to make sure I am still able to speak by the end of my second shift that day. I will be that exhausted physically by that point.

Yes, no Skyrim or Skyward Sword for me when I'm getting home tonight. Its Bedrim and Faceward Flop.

I can only be glad I will not be working a register and I will be grateful when it is all over.



Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go back to my happy place before this all begins.

Often when I turn up for a midnight sale its seldom for the intended game. The games I really want tend to clash with what the mainstream gamer wants so something like Catherine or Shadows of the Damned never gets that midnight sale. Well, that and Nintendo games come out on Sundays

I guess this makes me a bit of a combobreaker. Last year for at the Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood launch, I just showed up to grab a copy of Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom. Several weeks ago, I wasn't there for Gears of War 3, it was all about getting Kirby Mass Attack (since it oddly didn't come out on a Sunday).



Monday night of last week was the Modern Warfare 3 launch, but I wasn't there because for modern warfare - I was there because war had changed and I have to rescue Migma from evil scientists. Yeah, I was more keen on getting MGS HD Collection and Cave Story 3D. They weren't even high on the priority to-play list, really, I guess you could say I was just there for the show.

Weeks before there was the Dark Souls/NBA2k12/Rage launch. I was actually there for Dark Souls, so that's a switch. That brought out an interesting crowd and there were people there old enough to remember Doom or had played Demon's Souls.

I gotta say, though, I liked all the launches save for MW3's because it brought out people that tend to see gaming in a larger scope than one shooter and, as such, you're able to have conversations with them. You'd think with the popularity of COD and Battlefield that there would be epic tales of things that happened in the players' clans, but most of the people there for the game weren't even too keen on talking about it.



This was a big line, too, half as long as the shopping complex, at least.

I found the subdued attitude strange for a game they absolutely had to have that night and it was sort of a bummer some of them didn't even know what Metal Gear Solid was. Cave Story I can forgive them on, but Metal Gear? Really? Granted I could have just come out for my games in the morning, but I was there for the spectacle and it really wasn't one at all. In fact, it seemed like people were there because other people were there because Modern Warfare was popular.

Just a lot of boring people in a line with a really bad DJ trying to entertain them. And by "DJ" I mean some twit that just fiddled with the bass constantly and not much else.

Contrast this to The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim launch last Friday. The line was half as long, but that's a pretty damn impressive turnout for Elder Scrolls considering its rather brief history on consoles.

I was actually there for Skyrim this time, too. I mean, what else came out on 11/11/11?

The first guys in line were totally there for the game but already arguing about which was the best pokemon, some college kids playing Pokemon Black/White and talking about the time they got beat by a level 100 Metapod using Psybeam. We had some guy with his plywood Master Sword (wrong game, but it is a sword - that's what's important) and a dude in a centurion helmet and then there was this guy, that turned his hooded jacket into a makeshift Nord helmet:



The wonders of cardboard, a sharpie and tape, folks. This was the guy I was standing behind, but he was fun to talk to. He'd played all the Elder Scrolls games and I really only started with Morrowind myself. We talked Morrowind, Oblivion, our unique experiences with those; we talked other RPGs, Dark Souls, Metal Gear, Zelda and all kinds of stuff.

People talking, who would have thought? And one kid there, compared to the gaggles of them there for MW3 days prior.

There was no DJ and Gamestop did come up short on its promise of pizza and dragons, but it was a good time all the same. People pulled up the screaming Skyrim girl video from Youtube, someone pumped up the main theme and as the door unlocked one of my friends - who bought the 360 collectors edition - started cheering "huzzah" over and over.

Someone declared "Cheese, cheese for everyone!" as well, I think. Well, someone's girlfriend did buy a plastic jug of cheese balls from Target, after all.



This is what I come out for. That and I wanted to get to building a character right away, so after my friend got his collectors edition we got in the car, made a quick stop at a drive thru for cheese fries to satisfy our inner Sheagoraths and I rushed him home.

On the way he frantically looked through my guide looking for info on companions. He really wanted a dog for some reason. I just wanted to get home to make my sneaky, lockpicking Archer-Mage - a Breton now known as Irene Grogdrowner AKA "Dovakin." She has a mind for mead, murder and arson. After some time with the mage's college, she'll be persuing life as a member of the Dark Brotherhood and Thieves guild. All hail our Dread Mother!

Its just nice to have a nice, big nerdy game come out and see everyone so excited for it. It was a big contrast to MW3 and much more something I wanted to play right away, even if I had to wait out in to cold to do so.

Monday night its Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 and Shinobi for me at the Assassin's Creed: Revelations launch. Not really a combobreaker this time as there are plenty there for MAHVEL, BABY. I just hope my thumbs don't go numb for Super Mario 3D Land like they did for Cave Story as I waited in line. Its a bit cold for midnight sales this year and I do hope its the last one with games I want at it.

It had been another lonely afternoon in Lower Jeuno. A young Tarutaru named Foobar stared longingly at his invite flag in the chocobo rental stable and sighed. Still no invites, not any real ones, anyway.

"No one wants me," he thought to himself, sulking as he loitered in the stable. "I'm alone."

And he was alone. Many members of his very first linkshell (a guild) had retired and dissolved the group, returning to more normal lives and away from the rigors of adventuring. Almost a year of being with his friends and now they were gone.



Foobar had braved his way from Sarutabaruta and all the required adventurer stops between there and Jeuno to prepare himself for the trials of Crawler's Nest. All this to gain the Warrior skills he needed to further his career as a Dragoon, but now his moral support was gone. He had even left his pet wyvern, Muffin, in the care of the moogles so he could train, but it left him all the more lonely.

Foobar was a mighty warrior a with great, big axe. The axe was huge to him, at least, even if it was a tiny hand axe to a Galka.

Every now and then, someone would solicit his aid from a distance and then realize they didn't have to take too many steps to see how small Foobar was. He had faced goblins, living bombs, blood-sucking bats, the undead and killer crabs, but right now his biggest enemy was urban legends and being called an "ankle biter."

"You can't tank, your HP is too low," they would say or tell him or "You don't have enough strength to use that axe."

Another had the audacity to tell him, "Tarutarus are best left to casting magic."

It really made Foobar mad to hear that, he knew a spell or two, but he had yet to find a class of magic that had every kept him interested enough to hear the professors in Windust drone on and on about it. White Magic was useful to him in some cases, but it wasn't enough by itself.

Foobar was more interested in the ways of melee combat. He had tanked and shown his prowess with the axe before - why did no one want him now? Even when he tried to pull a group together on his own, none were patient enough to stick with the small warrior and left. You could always count on red mages or bards to let their profession go to their heads, as they were the most impatient and would ditch at the first sign of a more promising party.

A chocobo looked over at Foobar and gave a sympathetic "kweh." Foobar sighed and smiled, got up from the corner he was sitting in and approached the stable vendor to rent the chocobo for 200 gil. Some crisp, night air and a swift ride would help him feel alive again. At the very least, he would have a companion for the remainder of the evening.



And so they roamed and explored each corner of the Rolanberry Fields that they could reach. They watched the vicious malaboros from a distance; they found some old, abandoned shack and snatched a berry or two along the way to eat. Foobar even fed the chocobo some gyshal greens and it inspired the bird to do some digging.

A bone chip here, a log there, a beehive chip...

It was all junk save for the beehive chip, but the chocobo was proud and Foobar smiled approvingly all the same.

As it grew later Foobar grew tired and his armor heavy. He decided it was time to return to the stables and to his rented bed in the residential area of Jeuno. No luck tonight, but at least he had some company and a nice ride.

And then as they neared the stables the call came from the night air, in /tell, from a Hume.

"We need a tank," he told Foobar, who was taken by surprise, but then sulked once more..

"You're better off finding someone else," Foobar told him. "No one wants a Tarutaru tank."

"But there is no one else available! You're the only one who can do it. I've tried by best to tank, but I'm a Dragoon!" the Hume said.

Foobar looked at the chocobo and it warked enthusiastically. A dragoon! He couldn't very well leave a fellow dragoon in need.

"OK, I'll come over, where are you located?" Foobar replied.

"Crawler's Nest. Bring a bow, we don't have a puller, either," he said.



And after a quick return to the stable and a purchase of a bow and some arrows Foobar returned to the stable and the chocobo.proudly carried him to Crawler's Nest, where he was greeted by his solicitor, Belgaryan, a Dragoon of Bastok and an Elvaan White Mage named Pharoah, hailing from the Kingdom of San'doria.

Foobar bowed and introduced himself then nodded to the chocobo - it warked happily and dashed back to the city, its duty complete. And together they entered the maw of Crawler's Nest to meet the rest with the rest of the party...

-------------------

That was probably the biggest turning point in my time playing Final Fantasy XI. Meeting Belgaryan and his friends changed my experience forever. That night there was the usual [fun], [excitement] and [death] that you'd expect from a party in Crawler's Nest, but it extended far beyond one simple night of partying.

I proudly pulled and tanked for the group, enduring the poison and sticky thread crawlers spewed at me (until Pharaoh learned Erase, anyway) and even when we all died a couple times everyone remained in high spirits and had a good time. This was rather uncharacteristic compared to other parties I had joined where people would bitch, moan and point fingers when they died.

They even stayed with me to see that I got to level 37 - a rather red-letter moment in the career of any player for the time as it marked the end of leveling a support job. I liked these people so much, however, I didn't just want to thank them and leave at the end like any other party, so I asked to join the linkshell and was accepted.

Once again, I had friends in the game.

Belgaryan was the guy that always stuck it out to the end and always made time for others in our linkshells. He was a man very much of my mindset in that he was more about people having a good time than winning or getting the best gear first. For us, it was about seeing the group get stronger and better.

And it was through him that I also met people like Elana, Tek, Phreya, Aniero and Sayl along with many others. Through the various iterations of our linkshell we mostly stuck together be it Order of Valor, Valor Redefined or Cognoscenti. We tried the endgame LS thing and while I would say it didn't go well, that was only because we were more about group morale and fair play than greedy people getting stuff, which didn't really do a great job of appeasing the greedy people.

When I got my iPhone 4 this week, I looked at my old phone and all the contacts within, many of them were FFXI friends and I feel I owe them all a friendly text this week, if not a phone call to stay in touch. Even though I quit the game almost two years ago, these people still matter to me.

When Aniero started Limit Break Radio, he asked me to be a part of it and this week his podcasts were among the first to be downloaded off of iTunes. I was given the opportunity to admin the LBR forum and occasionally guest host. In the image below, you can see Foobar to the far right in Scholar duds, having finally embraced a mage class that I enjoyed.



When I heard about the Japan earthquake earlier this year, I was worried sick about Phreya, but thankfully she came back to the states a week before. I had set up an Facebook account and everything just to reach her to see if she was all right. I was really worried, just as when other members of my LS got hit by Katrina years before.

Tek still texts me and asks when I'm starting FFXIV. Dunno when its happening for me, but that FFXIV 2.0 stuff actually does sound rather exciting lately. Aniero does an FFXIV podcast with the guys that also did Pet Food Alpha, so I've been keeping tabs on the game.

But I wouldn't know or care about those people were it not for a Dragoon telling me "You can do eet!"

So thank you, Belgaryan! You made all the difference. And to the rest of those in those linkshells, thanks for making my time in FFXi as great as it was.

Annnd I'm back at work. Did a little Sen's Fortress in Dark Souls last night and got killed by a dart trap after avenging myself by incinerating a mimic.

I hate mimics. I hate hate hate hate hate hate hate HATE them! It's a Kefka kind of hate. I hate them more than the monster-in-a-box because they are the box! A box of lies that seldom has treasure and often death.

I saved my Chaos fireballs just for him.



After that I saved Quincy Sharp from Zsasz in Arkham Asylum. At least you can predict Zsasz. Well, aside from his debut as a criminal mastermind in Shadow of the Bat all those years ago. I guess he's gotten a bit dim since then, but then, so is anyone but The Joker in the hands of Paul Dini.

Even Ra's, Hush and Bane can become bit players in Dini's hands, but he always writes Batman like its the Animated Series which is the fan service angle they're going for here.



But then it has years of stuff from the comic thrown in, stuff like The Killing Joke which didn't happen in the cartoons. I get the merger, but knowing the cartoon throwbacks are the main hook here, it leaves some fans out of the loop, I'd suspect.

The S&M art direction just don't mesh well with it, though. It's like they let a Top Cow artist loose on Gotham City here. May as well have the Witchblade chick in this game and give all the women balloon-sized breasts, too.

It's just an odd juxtaposition of things I would get, but at least Joel Schumacher didn't direct it or design costumes.

I know it sounds like I'm complaining, I'm entertained enough - especially with the combat and Metroidesque toolset - it's just anyone but Dini and this lead artist I would have preferred. 

Plus if they go and do another non-game movie it's just weird to see Harley ditch the leather bustier and go back to the red and black tights.

These Batman games are like an Elseworlds comic that thinks its continuity and kind of is but really isn't. The only thing it would need to drive it over a cliff is Grant Morrison writing it and if you had a hard time keeping up with Metal Gear Solid or Kingdom Hearts, well, let's just say Morrison could teach Nomura and Kojima a thing or two about the mindfuck.  Reading his stuff is probably why I find those games palpable at all.

But if you want a taste of Morrison at the best he can be while reeled in and contained, get the graphic novel, JLA: Rock of Ages or JLA: Earth 2.

Better yet, if you want it even more simple rent or stream Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths. 

Dini just likes his version of things so much he'll fly in the face of continuity to do it in the middle of a Morrison comic book story arch, which is something I don't like about him.. Denny or Grant could have Joker all post-Killing Joke/The Dark Knight  with knives, scars and cracking  jokes about beating Robin with a crowbar, but Dini is all chattering teeth and Joker Gas with Joker pre and post-Killing Joke.



I love Dini's cartoon Joker but his comic book one is a bit dated and wildly inconsistent with other writers.  His Joker is the only one that wouldn't try to kill the rest of Batman's gallery of rogues, though, and in that respect he works for the game.

Other Jokers would at least kill one guy off. 

Blah blah, comics are serious business. Why so serious?

Because you're the best.

I'm the best at serious.

I just realized I talked about Joker and Kefka in the same post. They kind of are the same guy in a way.  I have to wonder if they met, who would kill who first.

Eh, but why steal all the fun? Just remember they both achieved godhood once - Joker had a little stint where he was a New God in Superman/Batman - so we'll consider them evenly matched.



So nerd time! 

Kefka or Joker?

Also, mimic or monster-in-a-box?