Week of the Geek

Posted on by Courtney

Geek Happenings This Week

Welcome to the first installment of Week of the Geek! There will likely be some format changes here and there as I learn what works and what doesn’t, so have some patience with me, and of course feel free to make suggestions. For now, here’s this week’s news!

Gaming

The obvious frontrunner in gaming news this week is the Nintendo Switch. The new console was released Friday, March 3rd, and most retailers sold out immediately. Reviews for the Switch were mostly positive, and Nintendo executives were quick to respond to the most common complaints, namely the lack of streaming media availability and the shortage of games upon release. If you do find yourself in possession of a Nintendo Switch game cartridge, be sure not to lick them, as Nintendo took an extra safety step with pets and children in mind and coated each game in a bitter-tasting finish.

Horizon Zero Dawn was also released last week, and has been met with overwhelmingly positive reviews. The game takes place in the distant future when machine-based animals dominate the landscape. The game’s protagonist, Aloy, is voiced by Ashly Burch, known by some as the voice of Tiny Tina in Borderlands 2 and to others as the namesake of the YouTube series Hey Ash Whatcha Playin?.

Cartoon Network announced Thursday that they will be following up Steven Universe’s successful mobile game, Attack the Light, with a console game, Save the Light. The game is being made with Grumpyface, the same developer that created the mobile game, with show creator Rebecca Sugar also contributing. It is slated for release this summer, and should make it’s gameplay debut this weekend at PAX East.

Steven Universe game image

Speaking of — if you like to keep up with what’s going on in the gaming world, it’s a big weekend! Follow PAX East this weekend to see new information on upcoming releases.

Television

In what is considered by many to be non-news thanks to its vagueness, HBO has released the first poster for Game of Thrones Season 7:

Game of Thrones season 7 poster

While some are frustrated by the poster’s lack of characters, locations, or really anything at all, others are pointing out that the fire and ice mingling could be a tease about some fan-favorite characters finally meeting each other. Soon after the poster was released, HBO also released a teaser trailer to announce the season premiere date we’ll all be looking forward to: July 16th.

Coming up much sooner is Netflix’s release of Marvel’s Iron Fist. Despite its predecessors (Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage) doing well, Iron Fist seems to be struggling to live up to its potential. It doesn’t seem to be receiving as much pre-release coverage as the previous Marvel offerings from Netflix, and the reviews coming in from press members who have been able to preview the series are not complimentary. The series will be released on Netflix on March 17th.

In television history this week, Buffy the Vampire Slayer turned 20, prompting actors, writers, producers, and fans of the show to pay tribute to the impact it had on pop culture.

Movies

Entertainment Weekly cover with Thor: Ragnarok characters

Entertainment Weekly released the first photos from Thor: Ragnarok, revealing several new characters, including Cate Blanchett looking quite unlike herself as Hela, the franchise’s first female villain. What most people seem to be focused on, however, is Thor’s surprising new ‘do. Click here to see the full set of photos.

If that’s not enough Marvel for you, you can also check out the new Deadpool 2 trailer that dropped this week:

In animated movie news, Disney excited a lot of fans Thursday night when they announced that Wreck-It Ralph will have a sequel, coming next March.

Other Stuff

Thanks for checking out the first issue of Week of the Geek! We certainly have more exciting things on the way — for example, I plan to have a Geek Maker highlight each week in the future. As a purveyor of geeky crafts myself, I firmly believe that crafters should support each other. If you or someone you know sells geeky crafts you’d like to see featured, comment below to let me know! Comments are also a great place to tell me what you like about the newsletter and to pass along any suggestions you might have.

If you like what you’re seeing here, look to the right where you can subscribe for email updates when each week’s newsletter goes up.

Also, to end this on a happy note, enjoy this video of Sir Patrick Stewart not-swimming with his new pit bull foster, Ginger.