NDK 2011 - AMV Winners

Did you go the AMV awards at NDK 2011 this year? No, you did not make it? Good thing you have us then. May I give you the winners of NDK 2011 AMV Contest ... which can be found on the Anime Page.

NDK 2011 Preliminary Review and Pictures

Another NDK has come and gone for us here at the Gameslave.  We are hard at work, ripping our recordings to computers, cleaning up pictures and writing articles about this year's anime convention.  I'm posting just a quick article about my own feelings and experience at this year's NDK as we work on finishing our main articles.

Hoping to find parking we left for the hotel earlier on Friday than we have in past years and still ended up having to park in the overflow parking.  At least they gave deals if you parked over the whole weekend, but man it was still packed.  We ended up having to park ourselves in the hotel lobby for awhile to wait for our room to finish up so we took pictures and took in the beginning Friday madness.  I know that NDK hasn't hit the max level of attendance yet, even with the attendance cap in place, but man was it crazy packed!  It seems that every year it's harder to navigate through the crowds of people.  It's mostly due to some attendees not understanding the meaning of traffic flow and pulling off the main areas to stop and take pictures or chat. 

Panels were extremely popular.  I say this in the fact that I, ZeldaQueen, have been attending since 2000 and remember just being able to walk in on some panels without having to line up and wait to get in.  Now there are so many attendees interested in panels that some will line up an hour or two before it starts to get in, and this is not just for the popular panels such as the AMVs or the Costume Contest.  While the waiting can't be helped due to limited seating in the panel rooms, it's encouraging to see so many people interested in the panels.  These looks behind the industry or discussions of it is what makes me interested in returning every year and we hope to keep covering more and more panels in the conventions to come. 

The number of guests was also great this year.  There were two guests from Japan and about 14 domestic guests.  It's great to see that NDK is one of those conventions that guests want to and like to come.  Some guests were new to NDK and the Denver area and some were coming back for another round.  Their enthusiasm and general appreciation for the attendees was heartwarming.  These were guests who enjoyed what they did and enjoyed sharing it everyone in their panels and just wandering the halls.  Though NDK is reinforcing the whole "you might be from Colorado" bit by introducing many of the guests to Casa Bonita.  Have no idea what this is other than a crazy Colorado tradition it seems, check out the place here.  I apologize on behalf of all Coloradans who think that this is still an appropriate place to take visiting guests.  We have much better food and entertainment than that I swear!

Artist's Alley seemed bigger this year.  Maybe it was the same number of booths, but the configuration was different so it made it seem as if a few more artists were there compared to last year.  Apparently the artists also reported having a better year than some years past, which is also good to hear.  There are some really amazing people there and they need the attendees support to keep creating excellent art!  Trust me I speak from experience.  A friend of mine from art school has been having her own booth in Artist's Alley for a few years now.  She does original artwork, comics and commissions.  It's great to see original art and not just fan art so I'm always glad to see that she was there for another year!  Her original online comic is called Devil's Cake and I recommend everyone to follow that link to give it a read!

I missed another late night show however as I ended up getting a bit worn down due to sleep depravation and not following my own rule of eating properly.  Had my meals, but had them a little too late.  I will do better next year and recommend everyone do the same.  Eat your meals and eat them at proper times and make sure you drink plenty of water.  These will make your convention experience better!

We have also posted our keeper images from this year's NDK.  You can check out the photos under our Photos Tab on the right hand side of the page, or by following this handy link here.  Keep tuned to our page for more information and news from NDK 2011, and until then Game On!

NDK 2011 Preliminary Review and Pictures

Another NDK has come and gone for us here at the Gameslave.  We are hard at working ripping our recordings to computers, cleaning up pictures, and writing articles about this year's anime convention.  I'm posting just a quick article about my own feelings and experience at this year's NDK as we work on finishing our main articles.  Follow this link here to our Anime page for more of my initial thoughts.

Convention Attendee Reminder

With NDK coming up I felt it importent to remind attendee's of the following:

Image © RK MilhollandJust because it is a weekend of panels, anime, and games from sun up to sun down does not give you an excuse not to bathe.  Please also remember to sleep, eat, and drink water.  No one likes having to go around the EMT's because your dumb ass passed out.  Thank you and enjoy the convention.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution Review

The Future is Now

It is the year 2027 and technology has started to advance to the point where it is merging with humanity. The line between man and machine has started to blur, and it is in this world that Deus Ex has placed us. You are Adam Jensen, head of security for Serif Industries.  Serif is one of the leaders in human augmentation.  It is your job to protect your place of business from corporate sabotage and possible terrorism from Purist, a group of people that find augmentation a sin against the human body.  They are not necessarily a terrorist group, but there are extremists within any movement.  You are first introduced to the world by talking with Dr. Megan Reed (I think she is your girlfriend).  While walking around with her you see many of Sarif’s experiments, and eventually talk with the owner David Sarif.  That is when things go to hell and an environmental alarm goes off.  As the head of security you head on down to take care of things to find some guys that look like a black ops team.  They have invaded just as Megan is getting ready to make leave for a conference in DC for a breakthrough announcement.  You are even doing a good job holding your own against these soldiers, until an augmented infiltrator throws you through several inches of safety glass almost killing you.  You are kinda saved by Megan, but at this point you pass out due to blood loss and fade to black.

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The Slayers - Evolution R Review

The latest installment in The Slayers series.  Check out my review here.

The Slayers - Evolution R

The Slayers series has become a classic of the fantasy anime genre with its balance of slapstick humor, exciting action sequences and battles, and intricate plots.  The latest installment of the series is called Evolution R, and picks up were Revolution left off.  Lina and her companions are searching for a jar that contains the soul of Rezo, the Red Priest.  Along the way they are harrassed by the assassin, so-and-so, and two monsters.

Overall, this series feels very much like Next with a similar balance of comedy, action, and drama.  Certainly, this is a worthy heir to The Slayers dynasty and I heartily recommend it.  For those who have not previous watched any Slayers series, I would recommend at least watching Revolution.  However, all of The Slayers is available on Netflix streaming, so you might as well watch the whole thing. 

Isaac Asimov marvels at a Pocket PC

Look at those sideburns!

I don't have much else to add to this, but I thought it was worth sharing.