Once more with feeling, it’s the new episode of Geek at Arms! Bryan starts off Geek Out with his recent study of Unreal Engine and how much he’s enjoyed the latest release from Magic: the Gathering: Arena—Amonkhet Remastered. Next, Mike shares how much his family has enjoyed the Netflix series The Umbrella Academy. He also geeks out heavily over his latest requisition from Starfleet: Star Trek facemasks! James shares his own face protection geekery with a a pair of medieval themed neck gaiters he loves, and how much he and his wife have enjoyed both Star Trek: Discovery and the new animated series Lower Decks. After he gushes for a bit about a new pair of medieval swordfighting manuals he recently obtained, the guys head to their main topic. In the final film of the “Superhero Movies that aren’t a part of the Big 2” Film Club, they take a look at the 2008 online musical sensation Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog!
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.
