Indiana Jones, Youtube, C.O.D Humvee & Lizard Eggs

This week the Nerds invited Dev-i-Boy on again. He'll be joining us for the next while.

First up is a discussion about Indiana Jones 5. Can Indy swing himself back into relevance for a new generation? Not if COVID-19 has anything to say about it. Indiana Jones 5 has been pushed back again due to the pandemic. The Nerds are hoping Actual Cannibal Shia LaBeouf doesn't make another appearance as Indy's son, but we'd be ok with him appearing as a cannibal tribesman. This of course leads into a discussion on Disney's other properties, including the notorious Pirates of the Caribbean and Jungle Cruise. This looks like a rough year for Disney.

Dev-i-Boy has heard that Russians are behind everyone's favourite YouTube channel, Five Minute Crafts. In a story reminiscent of bad Cold War fiction, Russian propaganda is slipped into innocuous seeming YouTube videos. Now we just need a team of teenagers to sneak into the secret Russian video studio lab and uncover their plot.

Activision has pulled off a major win in court against the maker of the Humvee. Modern warfare needs modern weapons, and the US courts have ruled in favour of realism over licensing fees.

Finally, DJ and Dev-i-Boy can't handle the knowledge. An Australian lizard joins the tiny group of reptiles that both lay eggs and give live birth. This revelation is too much for them to handle though, so we move on to the games of the week.

Professor and DJ play Generation Zero, a game about Swedish battle mechs and robot dogs that want to kill you. It's buggy, but generally a good experience. Dev-i played LoZ: Wind Waker again but breaks into a new dimension in VR Chat. Of course, he picked an anime girl avatar. Of course.

On to the usual shoutouts and remembrances, and DJ refuses to wrap up the show by performing Waterloo. Maybe next week.

Stay safe, and we'll see you all next week.

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Half-Life, Dragon's Lair & A NEW PLAYER HAS ENTERED THE GAME !!!

This week the Nerds welcome Dev-i-boy to the group. Dev-i-boy is also known as Brad, a Brisbane game developer, who we interviewed around a year ago. Check that one out too, it's a good one and it'll be in the show notes below.

Professor and Dev-i-boy are gushing over Half Life: Alyx, despite a massive lack of Valve Index availability in Australia. Why, Valve, why?. HL:Alyx also doubles as an online lecture platform, a Cover your Cough training simulator and apparently, a generally good game.

DJ wants to see the Dragons Lair movie. Ryan Reynolds has been cast in a live action remake of a classic animated Laserdisc game from 1983. Don Bluth is on board, so it should be something interesting to watch.

Once again, the Nerds take on the topic of dinosaur chickens. Professor rants about the software design skills of Dennis Nedry and Dev-i-boy thinks there's no point in bringing back dinosaur chickens. But imagine the drumsticks on those chooks.

As usual, we cover the games of the week and remember some famous figures who passed away this week.

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DRM, Spring Anime & COVID-19

Crack and share. Until it is done. At least, if there's anything to crack. For the second time Bethesda have managed to release a game with a built-in crack for the Denuvo DRM. What's the story behind it? Incompetence, a rogue agent, or are Bethesda secretly the DRM free heroes we don't deserve? Doom Eternal is the latest casualty of Bethesda's DRM mistakes, and Professor wants to know why.

DJ has a list of the newest anime to watch this spring, or autumn if you live in the south. Southern Hemisphere Best Hemisphere. Get the latest ridiculously long anime names here!

Just when you thought it was safe to go outside after the fires, COVID-19 swept in. Where did it come from? A lab has dissected the DNA behind this threat and all signs point to COVID-19 not being a Chinese bioweapon. Keep the conspiracies coming, science knows what's what.

This week, both nerds played a Doom related game. Professor plays an official series game, but DJ plays a parody.

As usual, the Nerds discuss the latest shoutouts and events of interest. RIP Al Worden, Albert Uderzo and Kenny Rogers.

We'll be back next week for another episode. We're not going anywhere, and by the looks of things, neither are you.

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High Stakes, Hollywood & Forbidden Library

It's that time of week again, so check out our newest episode.

To start this week, we have a bit of levity. NASA have programmed one of their robots to hit itself with a shovel. It's all for a good cause, they want to get their InSight lander's mole digging again. The probe became stuck and using the shovel as a hammer is just the latest attempt to get it going again.

DJ wants to tell us about Hollywood's response to COVID-19, including delays to the filming of Amazon's Lord of the Rings series. Now New Zealand has closed their borders and the Hobbits will not be going to Isengard.

Next, it's time to enter THE FORBIDDEN LIBRARY. It isn't just in Harry Potter anymore; a group have created a library dedicated to copying articles from countries without press freedom. Did we mention it's in Minecraft? Next time you get busted playing Minecraft when you should be doing homework, just say you're researching.

On this week's games section, Professor makes a declaration that will surely lead to war. Having experienced Final Fantasy 7 and Black Mesa, he declares Black Mesa the better remake. If anyone has an issue with this, we'll have to substitute fisticuffs with videogames.

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Coding, Loot Boxes & Mrs Doubtfire

Now, you may be wondering why I have called you all here today.

The reason, of course, is this week's episode of Nerds Amalgamated.

This time, the Nerds discuss the hidden genetic code in POLG. Not PUBG, POLG. And these hidden genes aren't blue. Check out the full article, it's a hell of a read.

The Australian Parliament is taking a look at regulating lootboxes. This will get the Libertarians wound up. But will the Australian government actually listen to their committee this time, or will Professor and DJ get to complain about politics again?

DJ thinks Mrs Doubtfire will lose her charm on Broadway. But anyone who can pull off an 18 second sex change has to be fun to watch.

This week's game section involves Professor gushing over Black Mesa and DJ taking a hike in Walking Simulator.

As always, stay hydrated and don't get COVID-19.

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2019 Year Review

So, we come to the end of another calendar year, wow, thank you for all the support and listening to us each week as we look at topics we feel deserve more attention. Now this episode we are doing a year in review and discuss what some of our favourites were, what we felt were some of the highlights and what was just downright funny. So strap in as we look back on a year full of robots, space travel, recycling, and the energetic joy of Katie Bouman, and that is just the start. We also go for a ride looking at the movies and tv series that have made us laugh, cry, scream, and sit in awe throughout the year. We discuss the controversy of crazy violence and insanity in movies such as Rambo – Last Blood. Yep some one has claimed it is… Nope you will need to listen in to know what is happening. Also we look at the year in games and take stock of what has happened. We laugh at some of it, get annoyed at some, and shake our heads in bewilderment at others. We recap what has been some of the most exciting and stand out moments for us this year in terms of topics. We also include some special shout outs, remembrances, birthdays, and events for the end of the year. So as the year draws to a close and the dawn of a new one creeps over the horizon we once more ask you to take care of yourselves, look out for each other, and stay hydrated.

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Magic the Gathering, Brushing & Cuphead

It is time to grab a cup of tea (Earl Grey Hot for the Trekkies), strap in and get ready for another episode from the Nerds we all look forward to each week. Also grab a slice of birthday cake and help us wish the DJ a Happy Birthday, yep our favourite funny guy is another year older. Now on with the show; that’s right, we once again have another fun packed episode in which we entertain you with some of the latest topics in Nerd pop culture news. This week we start off with news of an animated series coming from Netflix of Magic the Gathering. While details are limited at the moment it is something to look forward to. The boys have some interesting points to consider with this one, and the chief among them is based on who determines what is canon for stories. Also what is possibly the coolest car commercial at the moment?

            Next up we look at why brushing your teeth is more important than just to protect your teeth and good breathe. The implications for this are actually quite important, particularly if you want to remember where you hid your favourite comics and figurines. Once again Buck has found a research article that we should take a moment to look at that highlights some very interesting and disturbing facts. So, remember to brush, rinse and floss if you want to have the best health in the nursing home.

            Next up Professor brings us news that Tesla is now becoming a rolling game console. That’s right, Tesla cars are gaming consoles with the release of another game to play on the in car tablet style interactive screen. Unfortunately you are not able to play them while driving, um, oops, maybe that’s a good thing. We also hear about what some people have been doing with their Teslas that has been noticed by Elon, and trust us, this is not something we recommend.

            The games played this week show us that Buck truly is a grumpy old man, and that DJ is a fan of Clint Eastwood. But honestly tough, who isn’t a fan of Clit? What game is this, listen in or cheat and scroll down to the link. DJ has been playing Mortal Kombat 11 and still hasn’t exhibited any signs of PTSD, lots of other funny behaviour, but hey, that is normal. Professor has set fire to a house and read a book by the light. Then we have the shout outs, remembrances, birthdays, and events. Speaking of Birthdays, we wish to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to DJ. He is OLD folks!!! As always, stay safe, take care of each other and stay hydrated, catch you all next time.

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