Video Games

Teenage Girl Gamer Shuts Down Sexist Haters

After being accused of cheating in a videogame tournament, a 17-year-old girl proved without a doubt that she is one of the best in the world.

Korean pro-gamer “Geguri” is currently ranked as one of the top 10 Overwatch players on the planet right now. Overwatch is a team-based first-person shooter combat game that requires extraordinary hand-eye coordination and tactics. At 17 years old and a woman, Geguri is an anomaly in the male-dominated, testosterone infused world of esports.

Geguri is so good at the game, that she was the predominant reason her team UW Artisan won a major Overwatch tournament.  She was so damn good, that two of the players on the opposing team, Dizziness, “ETLA” and “Strobe,” flatly accused her of cheating after the tournament. Strobe even reportedly threatened to come to her house with a knife.

The two bet their entire pro-gaming reputation on the idea that there is no way a woman could attain the kill ratio that Geguri did during the tournament. If Geguri was proven innocent, they pledged to quit the game forever.

Geguri’s entire brief history in e-sports — where she boasts an incredible 80-percent win rate over 450 matches — was called into question, as well as the manner in which she won. Geguri has a “kill ratio” of 6.31:1 — meaning that for every one time she is killed in the game, she has killed her opponent more than six times. That is extraordinarily high. No girl could be that good.

You can watch the video above to see Geguri’s superhuman aiming ability in action during the tournament, as she mows through opponents with her favorite character “Zarya,” a muscular woman with bright pink hair and a giant gun.

After ETLA and Strobe filed the complaint against Geguri, tournament officials investigated and found zero evidence that she was cheating. She’s just really, really good. But even then, there were still dark rumblings that Geguri must be rigging the game somehow. So the gaming site Inventory allowed Geguri to perform a live demonstration of her skills on a machine they provided.

Once again, Geguri dominated the game. You can watch an hour of the live feed below. The action kicks in around 5:40.

After this incontrovertible proof of Geguri’s skills, ETLA and Strobe finally did one honorable thing: they retired from e-sports, as promised.

Would all of this controversy has ensued if Geguri was a man? Possibly, but it’s doubtful. There are (very few) men ranked higher than her right now. No one is saying they must cheat. So we tip our hats to Geguri, a 17 year old girl who shut down sexism in the most satisfying way possible, by kicking the (virtual) ass of her detractors.

Alicia Vikander Cast as Lara Croft in New Tomb Raider Movie

Hollywood has decided to take another crack at Tomb Raider, and they have cast Swedish actress Alicia Vikander in the title role. Vikander is a departure from the previous Croft, Angelina Jolie, who was older and — um — let’s say, more physically robust? But the new Tomb Raider film is based on the recent reboot of the video game franchise, which focuses on a younger, svelte, more clothed version of the British globe-trotting archaeologist.

Vikander is hot right now having co-starred in Ex Machina, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., and The Danish Girl in recent years. The previous Tomb Raider films were not particularly well-received, so it will be interesting to see if the movie — like the video games before it — can reinvent Lara Croft for a more sophisticated and diverse audience.

 

Batgirl Joins “Batman: Arkham Knight” Action Figures

Square Enix announced that Batgirl will be the next to join their hyper-detailed Play Arts Kai line of action figures from the video game Batman: Arkham Knight.

At 10 inches tall, Batman: Arkham Knight Batgirl comes with an articulated hard-plastic cape, interchangeable hands, a Batarang, a grapnel gun and a display stand.

Priced at $117, the figure is slated for release in August.

Square Enix’s Play Arts Kai Batman: Arkham Knight Batgirl
Square Enix’s Play Arts Kai Batman: Arkham Knight Batgirl
Square Enix’s Play Arts Kai Batman: Arkham Knight Batgirl
Square Enix’s Play Arts Kai Batman: Arkham Knight Batgirl
Square Enix’s Play Arts Kai Batman: Arkham Knight Batgirl
Square Enix’s Play Arts Kai Batman: Arkham Knight Batgirl
Square Enix’s Play Arts Kai Batman: Arkham Knight Batgirl
Square Enix’s Play Arts Kai Batman: Arkham Knight Batgirl

“LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens” Video Game Announced

We are big fans of the LEGO series of videogame adaptations, so we couldn’t be more excited to report that LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens has been announced and will be released on June 28, 2016.

The LEGO games have consistently mixed action, puzzle-solving with strong visual humor in a fun multiplayer, family-friendly package. This looks like a must-buy.

From the official game description:

“The Force is strong with this one… The No. 1 LEGO® videogame franchise triumphantly returns with a fun-filled, humorous journey based on the blockbuster Star Wars film. Play as Rey, Finn, Poe, BB-8, Kylo Ren, Han Solo, and the rest of your favorite characters from the movie!

In LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens, players relive the epic action from the blockbuster film Star Wars: The Force Awakens, retold through the clever and witty LEGO lens. The game will also feature exclusive playable content that bridges the story gap between Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi and Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens also introduces Multi-Builds and Blaster Battles to the LEGO videogame universe. With Multi-Builds, use available LEGO bricks to open up new paths, then break them apart and re-build them again to open up another! And another! During Blaster Battles, use your surroundings as cover to stand against the First Order. “

BB8
BB8 on Board
BB8
Chewy, Han and Leia
Millennium Falcon
MillenniumFalcon
Finn
Finn
Fishing
Kylo Ren
Kylo Ren
Kylo Ren
Poe Dameron
Poe Dameron
Rey
Stormtroopers
Stormtroopers
X-Wings

Report: More Women Own Videogame Consoles Than Men in US

While conventional wisdom has told us for years that video games are a male-dominated past-time, reality is rearing its ugly head and challenging that sexist trope.

According to a recent Pew Research Study, 42% of American women own a video game console, but only 37% of men do. So the potential market for console video games for women is actually larger for women than men, but the market has not yet adjusted to this new reality.

It will be interesting to watch in the coming years how the market will shift to take advantage of these rapidly changing demographics, and who will succeed in making those adaptions, and who will be left behind clinging to outdated notions about women, technology and gaming.

Pew Research Study

What if comic-book heroes looked like average Americans?

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Most modern comics were  developed to cater primarily to the tastes of teenage boys. Nowhere is that more apearant than if how female heroes and villains are oversexualized in the pages of even the most innocuous superhero fair.

That near constant oversexualization is also one of the main reasons that comics have historically had a difficult time attracting women. Nothing says “not for you” to women faster than a woman with breasts larger than her head and a waist smaller than her thigh.

To be fair, there are many women who enjoy the sexy, exaggerated aesthetic that is prevalent in comics. The number of women that buy those comics, cosplay as those heroes, and even get tattoos of their favorites is undeniable. And male heroes are also unrealistic — it’s just that male heroes designs are generally unrealistic in a way that caters to a male power fantasy — not in a way that is designed to be sexually attractive to women.

But if unrealistic body images from swimsuit and lingerie models can be damaging to girls’ psyches, how much more damaging might images of literally impossible bodies be?

The people at Bulimia.com deicided to show us what superheros would look like if given more realistic and average bodies.

Today, 33.7% of men and 36.5% of women in the U.S. are considered obese, and more than two-thirds are overweight. Weight gain has put millions of people at risk of heart disease, diabetes, and other preventable conditions. Meanwhile, comic books depict vastly different figures: men with massive biceps and shoulders and women with toned abs and tiny waists.

So what would they look like if they reflected more typical body shapes and sizes? We’ve Photoshopped several major comic book characters – not to touch them up, but to make the average hero look more like the average American.

We think the images Bulimia.com produced are good fodder for thought. Should superhero bodies be idealized? And if so, is that ideal sexual attractiveness and availability? Power and strength? Or something else?

As comics move into the mainstream and reach out to women, those are questions that need to be answered.

Phoenix
Phoenix
Psylocke
Psylocke
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman
Black Widow
Black Widow
Power Girl
Power Girl
Rogue
Rogue
Storm
Storm
Black Cat
Black Cat
Catwoman
Catwoman

Batgirl DLC Trailer Released

The long wait is over. For the first time in the series history, you can play as Barbara Gordon, a.k.a. Batgirl. Batgirl is the star of “Batgirl: The Matter of Family,” the first DLC for Batman: Arkham Knight.

The Joker has kidnapped Barbara’s father, Commissioner Gordon, and is threatening to kill him if he sees even a hint of Batman. So it’s up to Batgirl, with an assist from Robin, to take down the Joker’s goons and save her father. The DLC is available for $6.99 on both Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

The PC version of this game remains a hot mess and no release date for the DLC has been announced, yet.

Fake Women Have Curves

Videogames have a deservedly poor reputation when it comes to diversity. If you are a white guy, you have plenty of representation. If you are a woman or a person of color, your options dwindle dramatically. If you are a black woman, finding representation in a videogame can be nearly impossible.

That’s why Blizzard Entertainment’s new game Overwatch was such a breath of fresh air when it was announced last November. Not only did the game have a fairly even split between men and women, but gamers were given ethnic and nationality choices that rarely come up in mainstream games. Female characters included a time-traveling Brit, a reality manipulating Indian technomage, and a flying, armored Egyptian.

Original Overwatch Characters
Original Overwatch Characters

But while the game featured amazing diversity in terms of ethnicity and gender, it lacked diversity in body type — at least for the women. The male characters had a huge diversity in body types, from dwarfs and overmuscled hulking figures to lithe, ninja-like acrobats. There was even a gorilla. On the other hand, feminist gaming critic Anita Sarkeesian pointed out that all of the female characters looked like they stepped from the pages of a Victoria Secret’s catalog.

Then something strange happened. Blizzard heard that criticism and introduced a new Overwatch character: Zarya — a female bodybuilder with a massive particle cannon and the ability to create shields. In gaming parlance she is a tank — a character designed to take massive damage while protecting weaker party members. While female characters are often thieves, assassins or magic users, they are almost never “tanks.”

Until now.