Chris Hardwick

Case in point - Hardwick's upcoming Course of the Force, a 135-mile relay race from Santa Monica to San Diego, run by costumed Star Wars fans.

Our Fanboy caught up with The Nerdist in advance of his show at Stand-Up Live this Friday night.

Like_The_Grand_Canyon

With the recent announcement of a direct sequel to the franchise's 2010 title Black Ops, an overwhelming sense of stagnation permeates throughout the gaming community.

Terrorists are doing a mean thing that was ripped from the headlines. Again. Players are going to need to navigate a series of linear set pieces inspired by action movies, and then move on to multiplayer (the only feature they've cared about since the release of Modern Warfare). Sales are up, map packs are selling, and Modern Warfare 3 is still the most popular online console game.

Here's why you shouldn't race to the camp-out for Black Ops 2:

Disney Pixar

Marvel fired the first salvo of the season with The Avengers (out Friday), but as the studio output grows though June, July, and August, so will the selections of little plastic totems. Even if the movies themselves turn out to be disappointments, the sweet, sweet merchandise that accompanies them will turn a profit.

The reason is simple: Action figures work because we project a little bit of ourselves onto their ideal forms -- giving ourselves permission (at least temporarily) to be awesome.

However, you don't have to (as my dad would say) "play with dolls" to reap positive benefits. And though we can't legally condone getting a full-body latex paint job and a subsequent wrap in plastic, we've composed a list of how you can spice up your summer by living like an action figure.

Monica Guy

Summer is a slow time for gamers. Publishers put the kibosh on triple-a titles until the holidays rear their three-pronged check, credit card or money order. After prestiging in CoD, becoming a master spartan, and even whipping out the SNES for an hour or so gamers come to the same conclusion: I'll die if I go outside, but the hole in my heart for entertainment must be filled.

So here they are, three games coming out this summer all available for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360. Oh yeah, and a couple of budget games to plug the hole temporarily.

3. Dragon's Dogma

Release Date: May 22

Taking its cue from the success of the recently released title Dark Souls, legendary developer Capcom seeks to reclaim the action-horror throne. Players will enjoy the cinematic combat they've come to expect from Capcom, as well as an all new RPG-styled system of advancement. A Shadow of the Colossus

grappling ability creates a sense of scale, as the player will be tasked with climbing on multi-story abominations seeking just the right vital organ.

http://www.zeldauniverse.net

If arranging a series of repetitive bleeps and bloops into something resembling a harmony that can be listened to for hours on end isn't an artistic achievement then nothing is.

Plus, the market has spoken and critics be damned -- video game music is its own cottage industry now. Before racking up Oscars for Pixar and whipping up soundscapes for any project JJ Abrams lays his hands on, Michael Giacchino got his start as the composer behind the Medal of Honor series.

Motor-mouth Tommy Tallarico, formerly of G4TV, now tours the country with Video Games Live, and this weekend, arguably the greatest score from gaming's classic era gets the full orchestral treatment with The Legend of Zeldaâ„¢: Symphony of the Goddesses at the Orpheum Theatre.

Bob Beard

The young Fanboy. His specs can see anything - except a future with a woman.

It's a good time to be a nerd.

Tricorders, laser cannons, and commercial space flight are all becoming closer to reality. Marvel and DC are pulling out all the stops with this summer's offerings. And our own Valley is crawling with venues to get your geek on.

Nerdgasms abound. But maybe this is a problem.

Over the past few years, nerds have been elevated from a socially maligned subculture into the realm of highly desirable. 

No longer is "geek chic" about ironically wearing horn rims and a bow tie. It's an enviable cultural identity, and with the abundance of information on the Internet about any dweeb-tastic pursuit, all anyone needs to do is drop a few buzzwords to gain instant access to the dork domains.

enemygraph

If Kick Ass taught us anything, it's that great heroes are essentially panty-waist do-gooders until a flamboyant-but-deadly villain arrives on scene and forces them to elevate their game.

Sadly, most day to day existences typically lack the alien invasions, horrible lab accidents or psychotic breakdowns from which arch-enemies are born -- so what's a would-be Superman to do without a challenge?

Introducing the EnemyGraph.

Apparently, the Universe is a big fan of Top Gun.

In the past few weeks, several seemingly unrelated news items have emerged related to the high-flying 1986 blockbuster. But what does it all mean? Don your Ray-Bans, read the evidence and decide for yourself after the jump.