Pads & Panels

This post has been a long time coming, but – as you may have noticed with the site in general as of late – it has taken awhile to get anything posted. I’m not really sure how to start this other than to say it is with great regret that I report the death of one of this site’s co-founders, Dan Braun, who died Oct. 3 at the age of 35.

Dan was the second writer to take up with me when I started a video games feature for AMP Magazine, and when we shifted to Pads & Panels, he was one of four who helped found the site. Because of other obligations, he did not stay active in the site in the last year or two, but he remained a good friend to many of us. We will miss him dearly. (more…)

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Chicago Bears Lance Briggs gets charitable

By Bill Jones
Photos and Reports by Matt Peters and Thomas Braaksma

Right now, Chicago Bears Pro Bowl linebacker Lance Briggs has to have only one thing on his mind – an NFC Championship showdown with the Green Bay Packers in Chicago this Sunday. But as the Bears were still working to clinch a spot in the playoffs in December, the avid comics fans held a weekend of charitable events in Chicago to bring in comics and cash for CHA, the armed forces and underprivileged children in the city.

Matt Peters stopped by The Chicago Comic Vault Dec. 11 for Briggs’ Comic Book Day, where comics readers and football fanatics packed the building to capacity and spilled out the door waiting for the appearance of linebacker. When he finally arrived, it was to tremendous applause of the crowd, and Briggs took time to shake hands with everyone in attendance. (more…)

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All right, gaming fans, the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo is this week. Chris Park is there and will be sending in reports that we’ll post on the main site as we get them, but for all the up-to-the-minute news we can get our hands on, please keep an eye on our twitter feed, @padsandpanels, as that is where it will be posted. Enjoy the coverage! We’ll also be continuing regular coverage throughout the week.

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Valve announced a release date today for the “Survival Pack” DLC for Left 4 Dead on both Xbox 360 and PC. It is set to be released tomorrow, April 21, for the best price there is – free!

Valve’s official announcement follows…

The Left 4 Dead Survival Pack will be released via Xbox Live at roughly 2 am PST on April 21. The DLC is free to all owners of Left 4 Dead and introduces a new multiplayer game mode entitled, Survival, plus two complete campaigns for Versus Mode. The PC version of the DLC is targeted for release later in the day. For more information, please visit www.l4d.com

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Here is an important news bit we neglected to mention over the course of the week.

Xbox 360 gamers who have experienced the “E74″ error message and have been fretting over that fact that – unlike the famed “Red Ring of Death,” which leaves the power ring with three red lights – it wasn’t covered under warranty, can now rejoice. No, the Xbox isn’t magically working again, but according to a message posted in the support section of the official Xbox website, the E74 error is now covered under the three-year warranty that covers “certain” general hardware failures. Furthermore, anyone who already paid to have a console fixed for said error are entitled to a refund on the amount paid, according to the statement. The refund should be automatic with 4 to 12 weeks.

Anyone needing more information can find it HERE.

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The nominees for the 2009 Eisner Awards (one of, if not the most prestigious of awards in the comics industry) were announced earlier this week. (more…)

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‘Tis the day for April Fools. Anyone see the softcore porn on Adult Swim last night? We received this “announcement” from Twisted Pixel CEO Michael Wilford today. Though we’re 99 percent certain it’s just the type of gag we’d expect to see on April 1, we can’t help but thinking they’ve got a solid idea on their hands. The email follows…

(more…)

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