A wooly mix of Dune, Foundation, Catholicism somehow, and a uniquely British voice, the universe that underpins Warhammer 40k is something I can't really pretend to be a neutral observer on. My arc in the space is the same as a cautionary after-school special; I tried some at a party in 1993 and I have had a fever for the flavor ever since. Licensed excursions into the setting have a dodgy reputation; there's a lot of big ideas here and a unique voice that requires sort of a deft hand to execute. Games like Gladius, Mechanicus, and surprisingly the mobile game Tacticus all prove it can be done - basically, if it ends with -us it seems like we're in the clear. Shockingly, I never played the original Space Marine; I was nervous. I get this way sometimes about things I like. Space Marine 2, though? This is legit. I can understand why you might not want to take my word for it. But there's an inverse here, too - if it passes my test? Frankly, the game goes so fucking hard, so dense with real lore and crazy words, I don't know if it will mint new fans or repel them! That's how true it is.

I’m playing so much great stuff right now and new games I'm interested in keep coming out. After hearing about how great Space Marine 2 is from Jerry last night I am currently downloading it but I’m going to have a hard time fitting it in. I wanted to share where the bulk of my gaming hours have been going recently. 

Gabe unburdened himself yesterday, revealing all - and he apparently likes Star Wars Outlaws a lot now that you can save your game. Among other features, you have a "weird little guy" you can use to interact with the environment, and one of those interactions is robbing motherfuckers. People seem basically fine with it! I guess the thing we have to remember is that all these people were born, grew up, and now live inside Star Wars. There's so much weird shit going on at any given second - they got these toothy desert holes, they got bats that live inside worms that live inside rocks that float in space. Maybe gettin' a little crawled on every now and then doesn't register at all.

I continue to have a great time doing commissions  and so I am opening up another four slots for the month of September. If you would like to get your favorite character drawn by me now is your chance! I’m happy to draw your original character from a tabletop game like D&D or a character you created for an MMO. I’m also down to draw your favorite character from comics or video games. Originally I was just doing original characters but last month someone made an awesome request that made me realize I should expand my offerings. The request was for a 90’s era Cyclops and here's a “work in progress” peek at what ended up being one of my favorite commissions from last month. 

I just wanted to make a quick post about Star Wars Outlaws because there is so much bullshit about it out there. After playing basically all day yesterday I can say that this is a great Star Wars game. Beyond that this is just plain great Star Wars. 

Gabe has been experiencing the Hostile Gospel of on the job training in counterterrorism, and I've been trying to draft on his accumulated wisdom. In the manner of a pearl, there is a nettling grit that forms the center of it - and that is "getting your fucking ass kicked over and over." Inside all its Bond-tier gadgetry is a lethal, mean as hell shooter. So, it's difficult, but it also means that any round might be your round.

I had an absolutely amazing time at PAX West this year. Now that the show is over though, I have entered recovery mode where I replenish my batteries by being alone and playing video games. Before I get back to Star Wars Outlaws though I want to share some of my favorite things from this year's show.

Here is the strip that we drew for the Make-A-Strip panel, which (aside from being a twenty year PAX tradition) has become in recent years a platform to raise money for Child's Play.

It looks like I was wrong about the time for the Pin Trading community event today. It's actually at 3pm in the community room over in the Summit building. I'll have some pins to trade and I'm happy to sign stuff. Jerry says he will try and stop by as well so you might be able to catch both of us. After that I have a little break and then I'll be getting into costume and joining my friends on stage for tonight's Aquisitions Inc. live game!

-Gabe out

There's a bug on PS5 during the premium access period for Star Wars Outlaws where any time on an earlier version is essentially unrecoverable - the new version fixes it, but it can't fix the saves. Full-on progress locks tend to be pretty rare in released software, but the fact that it's connected to a higher cost version of the product makes it feel particularly bad.

I'm not on Twitter anymore because it's a hive of scum and villainy so I'll be posting here on PA about PAX. The boys and I checked out a bunch of games today in the tabletop area and I wanted to share two of our favorites. 

I love walking around PAX during setup and watching everything come together. Even after 20 years it still amazes me how fast it all happens. While doing my rounds this year I found these incredible photo cubes with pictures from the first PAX in 2004. There's even one of Jerry and I with the original Omeganauts. I looked like such a baby I had to snap a pic in front of it just to illustrate the ravages of time. Check this out!

We actually liked the trailer for The (new) Crow! Like Fox Mulder, I long to believe. If something is bad I'm happy to comport myself with reality, but I'm always ready to be surprised by a creative person. I've seen all kinds of shit - even the benighted Direct To Video era we reference in the strip showed human beings were capable of surprises even with the most meager tools. Not in this case, apparently! Not always. But I think we've all found a cool stick and become a sorcerer for a time; magic is where you find it. Or make it.

I don’t attend every PAX these days because traveling and crowds are difficult for me. I probably should not have invented a massive gaming convention then but you know what they say about hindsight. I am very excited to be at West this week though and help celebrate 20 years of PAX! If you’d like to see me at the show, here is a breakdown of my schedule over the weekend.

I can't stress this enough - Gabriel is a feral, protohuman wretch who routinely gnaws on human bones. I've tried to disabuse him of this behavior, suggesting that it's ghoulish not only figuratively but literally, but he says that all this bone stuff is just "his thing." That said, regardless of his unique diet or hulking, bestial frame, his allegiance cannot be bought - though many have tried. I on the other hand am utterly for sale. Consider me his inverse: I'm ready to engage in the sort of thing you meticulously scrub from your browser history. Liking a trailer for you is so mundane it doesn't even appear on the price sheet.

If you like weirdo story crap - and I do - Soulslike games might be the foremost genre. Twisty-ass stories you need to almost literally wrest from their hideous talons, even genre entries not made by The Progenitor tend to inherit a certain kind of ethos, ambient storytelling, and horror roots. I'll tell you straight up: I think I might not be buying these games anymore. Most of the fun I get out of them is . I like to make fun of myself or whatever for having had the temerity of getting old without the noble grace to die, but even at the shining zenith of my powers I wasn't gonna be accomplishing these feats. Ninja Gaiden, I could do - I made it my personality for a time. Those were fast! The New Difficult is a very peculiar, spiky kind of slow. All I want is the lore, and I can't get it! It's like I'm in a life or death fight with a book.