Phoenix Wright Ruins Another Wedding

LOS ANGELES — Veteran defense attorney Phoenix Wright has ruined yet another wedding by yelling “OBJECTION!” after the judge said to “speak now or forever hold your peace,” according to those familiar with the situation.

“It is so deeply annoying to watch Phoenix grill every bride and groom about their love lives while they’re standing on the altar. Why are people even inviting him anymore?! Does he sneak in?” said Wright’s rival, prosecutor Miles Edgeworth. “He is a terrific defense attorney, but I don’t think he realizes that he can turn it off. He doesn’t need to be defending those who have not asked for his defense — his friends currently in the middle of their own wedding. Look, I can’t say I’m too different, but everything with this guy is theatrical. In the courtroom and out.”

Despite complaints from friends and family, Wright has defended his decision to “get to the bottom” of every relationship.

“When you get married, you become a union in the eyes of the law. Well the law is where I come in,” Wright recently explained to a crowd of angry wedding guests. “It’s only natural for living creatures to fight to protect their own marriages. But what makes us human is that we fight for others. But who do you fight for? How hard must you fight…? That’s why I need to know exactly what you, Cheryl, meant in your texts to your friend Dan when you said ‘heyyyyyy’ with six ‘y’s.’ What are you hiding?”

At press time, those close to Wright revealed that Dahlia Hawthorne “cheated on him just a whole bunch back in the day.”

Aspiring Video Game Writer Didn’t Expect Job Application to Involve So Much Writing

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Prospective game writer Evan Richards quit halfway through a job application to an independent game studio this morning, complaining it had “a bunch of typing.”

“I figured I could just tell them my idea to mix Spider-Man with Doom, but they wanted me to type a whole paragraph about why I want to write games, and if that’s not enough, they asked for two writing samples.” said Richards, typing ‘game writer job’ into Google again. “What am I, Hemingway?”

Richards also complained that, in addition to being too long, the application asked “really dumb questions” with no bearing on writing video games.

“They wanted me to list three of my favorite games and what I liked about the writing. What kind of question is that?” said Richards, who hasn’t liked the writing in a video game since the first Assassin’s Creed. “I have a whole essay about how The Last of Us 2 sucked, but there’s nowhere to paste it.”

Friends and family were unsurprised to learn Richards didn’t finish the application.

“This is like that time he was going to be an airline pilot,” said longtime friend Sofia Mills. “He sent an email to Delta, and when they didn’t answer after two weeks, he said ‘planes are dumb anyway’ and switched to wanting to be a park ranger. I don’t think he’s ever been camping.”

At press time, Richards had decided writing games was for suckers, and began to pursue a career reviewing video games for his blog.

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IGN Content Team Announces Mandatory Crunch To Release ‘Cyberpunk 2077’ Guide On Time

SAN FRANCISCO — In an effort to keep pace with the expectations their millions of devoted readers, the gaming news website IGN announced yesterday that they would be enforcing mandatory 60-hour workweeks for their content team in order to release their hotly-anticipated walkthrough guide for Cyberpunk 2077 on time.

“Obviously, none of us here at IGN are happy about this, and we don’t believe that crunch should be necessary to deliver a high-quality gaming walkthrough to our readers,” said IGN Editor-in-Chief Tina Amani. “However, we’ve exhausted all of our other options. This game is simply so immense, with so many sprawling dialogue trees, quest lines, and different ways to customize your character. It’s going to take 110% from all of our employees to make sure we deliver a guide that’s as high quality as Cyberpunk 2077 itself.”

Fans were excited for the walkthrough’s imminent release, but many were torn and concerned about the work conditions necessary to complete it.

“Of course I’m excited to get my hands on [the IGN Cyberpunk 2077 walkthrough], it looks absolutely massive,” said Ricardo Munoz, a longtime IGN reader and CD Projekt Red fan. “I can’t wait to get lost scrolling through the headers, sub-headers, and embedded links that the guide has to offer. At the same time, though, I wouldn’t mind if they just released a guide for the first few chapters and then pushed updates every couple of weeks. It’s not like I’m going to read the whole thing in one night, you know?”

At press time, IGN released a follow-up statement assuring readers that the content team would be compensated for their extra effort with 10% of the ad traffic revenue generated by the walkthrough.

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Surprise Nintendo Direct Announces That You Can Play ‘Breath of the Wild’ Again Any Time You Want

KYOTO — Startling and delighting fans who had been starved for exciting announcements from the company, Nintendo announced in a surprise Nintendo Direct presentation today that you are entirely free to play through The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild again any time you want.

“Get excited Zelda fans: the most revolutionary adventure game of all time has already been at your fingertips for almost four years now!” began the presentation, with swooping motion graphics and gameplay clips identical to the ones that accompanied Breath of the Wild’s various preview trailers dating back as far as E3 2014. “If you love Breath of the Wild and are still eagerly waiting for its sequel, then you’ll love replaying Breath of the Wild!

Fans online rejoiced at the news that their favorite game was now, and always has been, available on the Nintendo Switch.

“Wow, ever since I finished it in 2017, I completely forgot that Breath of the Wild exists,” admitted lifelong Nintendo fan Jessica Harmon. “My nature as a Nintendo fan is to always be complaining about something else I don’t have access to, but I really needed to be reminded that I already own the best game ever made and I can boot it up again at any time. Thanks, Nintendo!”

At press time, Nintendo confirmed that, yes, they are still charging full price for the DLC.

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COVID-19 Gears Up for Another Double-XP Weekend

ATLANTA — Scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have confirmed that the COVID-19 virus is gearing up for yet another Double-XP Weekend, this time Thanksgiving-themed.

“The first few times COVID-19 experienced a Double-XP Weekend, it made good use of it. This is a very frightening time for anyone on the ladder,” explained CDC scientist Maria Keyes. “COVID-19 isn’t just racking up gold to buy some new skin. COVID is going through the ranks. It’s getting all the upgrades. It’s unlocking the weapons that it did not previously have access to. It is gaining access to maps and players it previously was gated from entering.”

Despite warnings, however, many players across the United States have ignored COVID-19’s advance.

“Yeah, maybe that matters if you’re MLG or whatever, but we’re just a casual family doing our thing! It’s very sad to hear about in the news, but it just doesn’t really apply to us, considering our level of play,” said Wisconsin resident Stephen Strickland. “We’re just going to stick to our little custom lobby, and have our family Thanksgiving. Strict cap of 7 people. Plus boyfriends and girlfriends and such, so maybe closer to 10. And then, of course, if anyone brings a friend, we’ll cap the lobby at an even 20.”

As of press time, enough people nationwide had joined the [COVD] clan that the novel coronavirus became eligible for a Triple-XP Weekend.

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Guide: How to Trick Your Boyfriend Into Thinking He’s Letting You Win

Ever wanted to annihilate your boyfriend in video games without annihilating his fragile male ego? Well with these six simple tips, you’ll be racking up the wins in no time.

6. Say, “Tee-hee, what just happened?” every time you perform a flawless Hyakuretsukyaku 

After finishing your boyfriend off with a perfectly timed Lightning Kick, the blow can be softened by giggling, brushing your hair back, and acting like you haven’t memorized the inputs for every single signature attack in Street Fighter. If your boyfriend insists that you must’ve accidentally done Chun-Li’s “leg thing” and pats you on the head, then you’re on the right track. 

5. Insist on using the “good” Joy Con

Your boyfriend may think that one of your Joy Cons is “acting weird” has “worse bluetooth.” This is not true, but he will happily blame his devastating string of losses on the Joy Con instead of his shattered masculinity. If your boyfriend is one of those people who thinks that Gamecube controllers possess some sort of magical competitive powers, even better.

4. Be patient, and let him condescendingly explain to you how you beat him twenty-three times in a row

After any particularly brutal loss, your boyfriend will be desperate to break down what happened. Do not roll your eyes when he says “RNG” — instead, try asking him what “RNG” means. He will get this wrong, but just nod and smile. Then touch him on the arm and say “wow, you know so much about this game.” 

3. Pretend you don’t know what video games are

At a certain point, your boyfriend will start to get suspicious that you actually know how to play video games — this can be quickly put to rest by asking him what those flashing lights on the television are. 

2. Ask him how his arms got all big and veiny like that

This has nothing to do with tricking him, but it should at least distract him from the acute pain of finishing 4th in Mario Kart. You may also want to comment on how heavy his Pro Controller looks, or how muscular his fingers must be after pressing all those buttons. 

1. Let him win exactly one round and then immediately break up with him

It was time, anyway.

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Cyberpunk 2077 Still Won’t Let Fans Customize How Many Hours Their Devs Work a Week

WARSAW — Fans of CD Projekt Red’s upcoming Cyberpunk 2077 are upset at the level of character customization, citing that they are still not able to choose how many hours of work Cyberpunk developers work a week.

“I guess you can say we grossly misunderstood what people wanted out of customization. We thought fans would want to pick and choose the color of each individual pubic hair on their character with an RGB slider. Kind of the opposite of the ‘make devs work fewer hours’ thing apparently everybody’s into,” said Cyberpunk 2077 director Adam Badowski. “But don’t worry. If Cyberpunk 2077 ever comes out, we’ll get our devs working around the clock to rush out a DLC that gets fans the level of customization they deserve.”

Despite the outcry from fans, news of the complaints have not yet reached Cyberpunk 2077 developers.

“Hey I’m sorry, but I really don’t have time for an interview right now,” said one developer when asked to comment. “I just have a ton of work and we really need to get this game done before the launch date in April. Wait, what did you just say? It’s NOVEMBER?!

As a compromise, CD Projekt Red announced that they would be adding a new slider to the game allowing players to choose what symptoms of depression the overworked developers experience.

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Opinion: These Good Good McEl-Boys Have Infected My Word Brain and It Suuuuuuucks

Helloooooo, and welcome to My Article, My Article, and Me, an op-ed column for the mod-ren era. I’m your Hard Drive columnist, Author McEl-Boy, and — hey, just real quick, folks — I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’ve been binge-listening to a lot of My Brother, My Brother, and Me lately and ever since then, these good good McEl-Boys have gotten all up inside of my word brain and replaced the way I enunciate words with their parlance and now I’m completely trapped like this and it — no joke — it fuckin’ suuuuuuuuuucks.

Seriously, I’m not joking. Let’s just send jokes out of the room for a second. Go on, get outta here, jokes. And don’t get me wrong, mon frère — when I first woke up like this yesterday, I thought it would be great for my career! I love the McElroy family of podcasts, and I figured my metamorphosis into a pseudo-McElroy meant I could finally become a beloved internet personality like Justin, Travis and Griffin and finally make my meemaw and pap-pap proud. But ever since I started mimicking those good good boys, all of my friends have suddenly packed their bags and moved away. Everyone I know has abandoned me. I am an empty shell of a man. Hot dang!

By far the worst part of this is that I’ve written into MBMBaM several times already trying to ask for the brothers’ help to undo the curse their diction has placed on my psyche. I can’t stop talking like them if I tried, and even when I try to write down what I’m feeling, I slip into their delightfully silly trademark banter-y style. I feel like Frasier in the middle of one of his classic escapades and Garfield on a Monday morning all rolled into one. Hey, what if Garfield and Frasier traded places? I bet it would sound something…like this!

Oh no, it’s happening again! The transformation has begun! Quick, get away before I start free-associating for the next 50 minutes! This has been a cry for help, kiss your dad squuuuuuuuare on the lips!

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Next Kingdom Hearts Game to Feature all the Racist Cats from ‘The Aristocats’

TOKYO — In honor of the classic Disney film’s 50th anniversary, publisher Square-Enix announced in a press release today that the next installment of the Kingdom Hearts franchise will include all of the racist cats from The Aristocats.

Kingdom Hearts has always been about celebrating the magic of Disney, and that includes the racist cats from The Aristocats, even that Chinese one with the buck teeth and chopsticks,” explained Dec Hubbard, vice-president of marketing at Square Enix of America. “The cool thing about working in game development is that everybody just absolutely loves everything we do. Or at least, that’s what my staff tells me — I don’t allow myself to look at the internet.”

Sensing opportunity, other video game developers have been quick to cash-in on the emerging market for old, racist cartoons. 

“For Epic Mickey 3, we’re taking inspiration from the Kingdom Hearts team and really trying to go back to our roots,” said Robert Weaver, vice-president of marketing at Disney Interactive Studios. “Mickey in Arabia, Mickey in the Deep South, Mickey in the jungle — all the big ones, all the hits. I showed all of those old Mickey cartoons to my niece the other day and she said they were ‘absolutely unbelievable’. That’s exactly the kind of reaction I want to inspire in our players.

Other industry insiders have been more critical, arguing that the Kingdom Hearts news represents a step backwards for politics in games. 

“We don’t want racist caricatures of cats,” argued Zach Anderson, podcaster and editor for online publication The Objective Gamer. “We want racist caricatures of people. That’s what video games are really about.”

Square Enix is set to announce further additions to the Kingdom Hearts franchise, including a remaster of the original game starring Goofy, Donald Duck and Mickey from an alternate universe where the Nazis won the war.

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Video Game Enemies Circulate Anonymous Spreadsheet to Share Max HP and Equipment Info

GRUGG’S CASTLE — In an effort to increase transparency about fair hiring practices and compensation, a group of video game enemies employed as guards at the Demon King Grugg’s castle have reportedly begun circulating an anonymous spreadsheet to disclose their max HP and equipment info, sources within the castle have confirmed.

“I can’t believe it. I’ve been guarding this stupid castle for ages and this new guy who patrols the outer wall already has 200 HP, a flaming sword, and three elixirs in his inventory,” remarked a longtime member of Grugg’s Gruesome Gang in an internal employee message board thread. “I’m a level 53 fire troll, I deserve better than this. I’m going to schedule a meeting with my manager next chance I get to negotiate some new armor and weapons for myself. So thankful to my castle family for helping me to know my worth and get what I deserve.”

A miniboss who stands guard at the halfway point of the castle declined to offer details on the ongoing internal matter, but says the Demon King strives to compensate all of his underlings fairly.

“His Awfulness King Grugg offers the standard required loadout of items and equipment to all new members of his Gruesome Gang,” said the miniboss, a giant electrified skull sitting at the middle of a roulette wheel. “Beyond that, everyone has the same opportunity to gain experience day to day if they’re willing to put in the important work of slaughtering heroes. Believe me, I started in the mailroom. I know it can be hard to climb the corporate ladder, but complaining doesn’t get anybody anywhere.”

At press time, tensions among the castle personnel had erupted after a leak of information showing that King Grugg has three different battle transformations, infinite bombs, and a staggering 9999 HP.

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