Welcome to another new episode with the Geek at Arms crew! In this episode Mike kicks off Geek Out by sharing all the new anime’s he’s been catching up on. From Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood to Your Lie in April and many more. Plus, he gives a review of the book African Samurai: The True Story of Yasuke, a Legendary Black Warrior in Feudal Japan. Next, Bryan describes how much he’s enjoyed the new action rpg from Obsidian The Outer Worlds and James joins in as well. Next, James talks about recent adventures with his family at the Texas State Fair and the Fort Worth Alliance Air Show. Finally, the guys discuss the next film in the Animated Film Club series, the 2001 Studio Ghibli classic from legendary writer/director Hayao Miyazaki Spirited Away.
Although it released late in August, this episode was recorded on July 28, 2019, prior to the shootings that took place in El Paso and Dayton a few days later, which have prompted more conversation on the topic of violence in video games. We want to make it clear that we do not necessarily believe that video games are a root cause of the violence we currently see in our society. However, we do feel it is important to stress that the violence portrayed in some games should absolutely not be viewed as an effective or acceptable method of enacting change. We stand with the victims of these tragedies and affirm the ongoing value of all human life, celebrating our diversity and shared human experience.
Coming back with another Super-Sized episode, Geek at Arms returns! Bryan, Mike, and James start off with an impromptu To The Future discussing the recent trailer for Picard and a teaser for the upcoming Lord of The Rings show from Amazon. James starts Geek Out with his thoughts on the final season of the Revolutionary War spy drama Turn: Washington’s Spies and how it led him to dig deeper in the subject by reading Washington’s Spies: The Story of America’s First Spy Ring by Alexander Rose. Next Bryan answers a listener question about the Oculus Rift and shares how much he loved Spider-Man: Far From Home. He also describes how things went with his first Primetime Adventures session, Shadows in the Toybox! Mike tells us about his recent vacation and the abundant amount of reading he did on it: from Civil War battleship history to biographies of JRR Tolkien to medieval fencing treatises by Ken Mondschein! Finally, the guys have a long discussion on ethical situations and moral dilemmas found in video games like Mass Effect, Star Wars: Knights of The Old Republic, and more.
Errata:
Bryan’s Middle Earth lore failed him. Beleriand was destroyed at the beginning of the Second Age, a result of the War of Wrath. The fall of Númenor was accompanied by the bending of the seas and removal of Aman and Tol Eressëa from Arda.
Bryan joins James in person to talk about his new Oculus Rift. We also discuss swordplay, the value of DLC, and all of the roleplaying games we wish we could find an opportunity to play. Regrettably, Mike couldn’t join us for this episode, but we’re sure he’ll be back with us next time.
One small correction: James mentioned a Hero Clix game based on Mage: The Ascension. He was thinking of Mage Knight: Resurrection.
