The Baruch Anime Asylum Convention (BAACon, not to be confused with bacon... *yummy bacon*) is an annual convention hosted by the anime club at Baruch College. This year is the third time they hosted their annual BAACon, so how did they do? Check out my review after the jump.

After 12 years in development, Blizzard has finally released its long anticipated game, Diablo 3. The game had a hellish start, and I'm not talking about its gameplay.

As with all online games, the first day of release is expected to have server issues as gamers flood in to play the newest game. Diablo 3, of course, is no exception. Gamers were marred with various server errors, preventing them from playing the game they've waited so long for. When the server goes down for a region, no one can play the game. And I literally mean no one. Even those who wish to play single player are unable to play if the server goes down. The issue is that Diablo 3 is an online-only game. You must remain connected to the internet to play the game. If you lose connection at any point, you get booted out of your game. And this is exactly what happened to thousands, if not millions, of people on its launch day.

HOUSTON, TX — May 15, 2012 — In celebration of Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month, Anime Network invites fans to enter this summer's hit series Book of Bantorra promotional giveway. The first 13 episodes of this hit series are now airing on Video on Demand and Xfinity's Top Picks.

Successful entrants will watch the first six episodes of Book of Bantorra now through June 30 and visit The Book of Bantorra Contest Page to answer a few simple questions.

Book of Bantorra is among four anime titles featured in May's Xfinity Top Picks section celebrating Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month, Anime Network. Along with Angel Beats!, Elfen Lied and Infinite Stratos, Book of Bantorra was selected because they represent the unique use of colorful illustration, pop music and storytelling indicative of the Japanese art form that has grown in worldwide popularity.

About Book of Bantorra
When a person dies, the soul departs from its body and is crystallized into a book. Written in that book are all the memories of that soul's life. For anyone who touches that book, the dead person's past can be relived…. It is in the Library of Bantorra, run by an elite organization known as the Armed Librarians, that all excavated books are stored. Under the direction of Acting Chief Librarian Hamutz Meseta, all Armed Librarians possess an extraordinary combination of encyclopedic knowledge and fighting skill. For this reason, the Armed Librarians are the most difficult profession to enter in the world. But will they be good enough to stop the fanatics of the Shindeki Church from exacting vengeance on the entire world? Only time will tell, but that book hasn't been written yet.

ABOUT ANIME NETWORK
Celebrating its 10th year, Anime Network is a leading broadcast and digital distributor of Japanese animation and Asian cinema in North America. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Anime Networkwas founded in 2002 and launched as one of the first VOD networks on most major cable providers.Anime Network's mission is to bring the best in anime programming to every household in North America. In addition to our VOD network, consumers can access our Online Streaming Service on our official website. This dynamic website, featuring an ever growing anime community, includes a subscription service that mirrors the VOD network and allows viewers to catch up on episodes they may have missed on broadcast.

SAN FRANCISCO & LONDON - May 15, 2012 - SEGA® of America Inc. and SEGA® Europe Ltd. today announced the launch of Sonic the Hedgehog 4™ Episode II. This new entry in the Sonic 4 storyline has the iconic blue hedgehog taking on two legendary rivals with the help of one of his oldest friends, Miles “Tails” Prower. Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode II is available today on the PlayStation®Network and Steam for $14.99. The game will be available tomorrow on Xbox LIVE® Arcade for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft for 1200 points. On May 17, it will be available for iPhone and iPad on the iTunes App Store for $6.99.

“ Sonic 4 Episode II is very special because we’ve integrated community feedback into the game,” said Haruki Satomi, Senior Vice President of Digital Business at SEGA of America. “We have some of the most loyal and dedicated fans and I hope they enjoy this next chapter in the Sonic 4 saga.”

Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode II also offers players who have purchased Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I the exclusive chance to experience Episode Metal, a special unlockable story available to anyone who owns both titles on the same platform. Lead one of our hero’s greatest foes, Metal Sonic, across four reworked Acts from Episode I to learn more about how he survived the events at the end of Sonic CD™.

Sonic 4 Episode II and Episode Metal will also be coming to Android Device systems this June, and Windows Mobile Phones in July. For more information about the game, visitwww.sonicthehedgehog4.com.

About SEGA ^® of America, Inc.

SEGA ^® of America, Inc. is the American arm of Tokyo, Japan-based SEGA ^® Corporation, a worldwide leader in interactive entertainment both inside and outside the home. The company develops, publishes and distributes interactive entertainment software products for a variety of hardware platforms including PC, wireless devices, and those manufactured by Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony Computer Entertainment. SEGA ^®’s global website is located at www.sega.com.

About SEGA ^® Europe Ltd.

SEGA ^® Europe Ltd. is the European Distribution arm of Tokyo, Japan-based SEGA ^® Corporation, and a worldwide leader in interactive entertainment both inside and outside the home. The company develops and distributes interactive entertainment software products for a variety of hardware platforms including PC, wireless devices, and those manufactured by Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. SEGA ^®’s global website is located at www.sega.com.

Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE, and the Xbox logos are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. "PlayStation" is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

And here it is, the second and final part of my Art of Writing segment.

There was an idea called the Avengers Initiative. The idea was to bring together a group of remarkable people so they could become something more. See if they could work together when we needed them to fight the battles we never could.

After the theft of the Tesseract, an energy source of unbelievable power, by Loki (Tom Hiddleston) of Asgard, S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) brings together a team made up of Earth’s mightiest heroes. This team is made up of the smartmouth billionaire with power armor of the highest tech, Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.); the once human popsicle super-soldier veteran that helped lead us to victory during World War II, Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans); the on-the-run brilliant scientist that transformed into a hulking green monster after being exposed to gamma radiation, Bruce Banner/the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo); the Asgardian god of thunder that shares the name of the Norse deity, Thor (Chris Hemsworth); the beautiful and deadly spy of S.H.I.E.L.D., Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson); and the master marksman with some fancy trick arrows, Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner).

Can this cult of personality put aside their issues with one another long enough to stop Loki from summoning his army of alien forces and taking over the world? The Avengers have assembled.

There is a movie. A movie that comes about once in a lifetime. A movie that no one thought possible. A movie that would require numerous factors in order to achieve and perform. A movie that not only has built up so much hype that it is nigh impossible to live up to, but actually does.

The Avengers IS that movie.

The Avengers is a movie that has been in the making since the release of Iron Man back in 2008. It was Marvel’s hope that they could create a series of superhero movies based off their properties in order to tie them all together for this one movie where the heroes all team up and save the day while kicking a lot of ass while doing so. This idea spanned across five movies: The already mentioned Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, and Captain America: The First Avenger. Some were great, some were good, and one was bad (Iron Man 2). With each passing year and movie release, fans have been teased with this crossover and expectations were high – as well as low hopes. How does The Avengers hold up?

The official website for the Code Geass: Akito the Exile anime project announced that the first OVA in a series of three will be released in theaters on August 4, 2012. The series also started streaming a new 53 second promotional video via BIGLOBE's Anime One portal. you can find the PV below.

It seems like Shin Megami Tensei fans will have to wait a bit for Persona 4: The Golden. This Vita version of the original PS2 game was announced last year, and is being released in Japan next month, but Atlus has announced that the North American version will not hit store shelves until Fall 2012. This is kind of disappointing, but I have faith that Atlus is bringing an amazing localization to the table. In addition to the dozens of hours of content from the original game, Persona 4: The Golden will feature a brand new character, and new story bits, making it one hefty package, so I'm sure it will be worth the wait. A strange bit of news, however, is about the trademark information for the game. Apparently, the Xbox 360 and its Kinect peripheral are listed in the trademark information for Persona 4: The Golden. I doubt this means anything, since it's a handheld port, but you never know. Check back for more news!