Discussion Part I - Here We Go

On Monday, I originally had a post that I was going to make but halfway through, I decided that I would like the discussion to go in a different direction. The post was going to be about Japanese gravure idol and game fanatic Anno Haruna (Congrats to Keyweez for being able to identify her correctly in regular clothing).

I've seen her mentioned on other gaming blogs before and recently I've taken an interest to do some research about her. I was going to post some pictures and then some videos of her playing games. That is when I became confused on how to proceed. I could post pictures of her which I knew would get people interested. She is a bikini model so the pictures are not too hard to find. But what would be the point of that? Some people would read my blog post because there was a picture of half naked chick at the top of my post and then a few would respond by saying "She's Hot!" or "I'd Do Her." A couple more would concur and then blah blah blah, as a species, we would stay stagnant.

Women have a tough time. I'm not trying to make them all out to be damsels in distress, but it's a male dominated world. And in video games, it was even more so. At SXSW, I had the opportunity to sit in at the Girls in Gaming Panel and afterwards was able to have a discussion with some of the panelists about when girls/women will truely ever be accepted and what would have to happen.

Ultimately to be accepted, we have to stop pointing fingers. By this, I mean that the occurance becomes common place and people aren't standing around in awe pointing their fingers at something going "Oh Look At That." Sure when something rare happens, we natually react in that way. We can't control the frequency of when something happens, but we can control how we react.

For example, when I first met one of my now closest female friends, she was working in video game retail. In meeting her, my first question to her was, "You play games?" as if her working in a gamestore wasn't enough proof. And then after her response, I replied with "So then what's your favorite game?" At the time I didn't realize anything was wrong with the way I handled myself and maybe some of you reading this won't either. I think problems are there because I couldn't just take it that she played games. There was that searching for legitamicy. If she answer, Tetris or Mario Bros. she's not a real gamer. But if she answers ICO, I'm totally in love with her.

Therein lies one of the biggest hurdles to overcome. The differences between Men and Women and the intricacies of attraction and friendship is something I will never be able to full understand, let alone explain. But more importantly, I think that just recognizing that it exists will help to aleviate further complications.

To Be Continued...
David

031 - Top 5 Intense Games

So if you guys didn't notice, there is a new Top 5 up. Recorded last week with show 105. Brad, Nick, and myself talk about our top 5 games we consider to be intense or tense. We never really worked that out completely.

031 - Top 5 Intense Games [download]

Also avaliable on iTunes, Please leave reviews.

Thanks,
David

This Week (Month) on the Feed

So I was an ass last night. I told chat what game they should vote for on the next Revival Podcast and it worked. Jade Empire is the game that won the poll. Yay. Here is the thing. I do think Jade Empire is a great game for this, as Bioware is currently working on 3 projects, and because Jade Empire was their first foray into a real time, action combat battle system. It's also about 15-20 hours long.

We had 2 months to finish Splinter Cell, and the only other person who beat the game besides myself was Nick, who was playing the game the morning of the show. Well... I don't want excuses this time. They're just video games. So to show good faith for my gerymandering, I will play through all three poll choices this month. That's right:





And fuck it... I'll throw in these:



and


(this might be on my PSP tho).


David will be playing:



and



and Parasite Eve and Jade Empire...


Brad

Parenting and Gaming.

I believe that everyone has basically decided that children are very impressionable. Every thing you do around them might actually form their future views, opinions, personality and actions. So, to make up for our mistakes on raising our own children, we tend to blame things on video games, or say they waste a kids life, or perhaps that they actually negatively mold our children.
Now what about any other form of entertainment? Such as books, television, music or sports? All such things can be used as tools for teaching your kid and/or bonding with them. Reading a book to your kid before bed, watching spongebob with them, putting them in music lessons, watching their sporting events. All these things can be shared between the parents and children and form positive results. All of these things are also very possible of holding perhaps violent images or actions, disturbing ideas and what not. I mean, in one of the most beloved "children's" books of all time, Harry Potter, people DIE!!!! Yet this is acceptable, we share the experience with our kids and can explain to them death and life.
Video games are another matter entirely. It seems that the majority of parents ignore the benefits that video games can hold. If used correctly, video games can hold as much "positive energy" that we associate sports, books or movies with. The only difference I think is the lack of understanding on the part of the parents. While movies are simply sit down and watch, books sit down and read, and music sit down and listen, It is a little more complicated to hook up two controllers and play side by side with your child. It is funny though, video games can be used to read (RPG), Music (Rock Band), Watched (Game with pretty graphics) or even as a fitness tool (Wii fit, DDR). Oddly enough though, the parents choose to ignore all this and force other extracurriculars into the small heads of their children. It's easy to say that the kid should be trying new things, but it is also easy to say that the parents should be willing to explore the joys of their own. A child who finds excitement in a game does not want to be torn away to go play some sport with his dad, he wants his dad to sit down and enjoy the game with him. Read? No mom, come do voice acting for the characters in Final Fantasy. What? I don't want to learn how to play the guitar, I would rather you play the guitar and I play the drums on Rockband. Sure none of these are real sports, real books or real music. This is after all a video game. But a child does not always want to go out to play, or play an instrument. Most parents fail to realize this. They want their kid to ignore games completely, and in wanting that, they do so themselves. By ignoring something their kids potentially love, it is very easy for a child to feel... not necessarily unloved themselves, but misguided in their own actions and decisions. A kid should not feel guilty for wanting to play Crash Bandicoot, but some parents will look at that game with disdain. The kid will feel that as well.


Here is my plan for my kid.
Starting at age 6... I will give him a new console for his birthday EVERY year.
When he turns six, I will give him my atari.
Seven? My game boy color.
Eight? Nintendo.
Nine? Sega Genisis.
And so on and so forth. My kid will maybe even get sick of games. He might not even like him. But that will be his decision. I in no way will keep video games from him and act as if they are some deviant from a normal life. I will share every aspect of an active life with my son (Or daughter god forbid). Whether or not I want to be involved with it, I will. I plan on being a GOOD parent. Not one that is scared of new technology, or is used to playing outside as a kid.
I hate playing soccer, but dammit I will play it with my son if he wants to.
I will beat his ass in halo as well.


-Travis

Moving Forward w/ the Revival Club Podcast

Last night marked the second episode of our "Revival Club Podcast" in which we discussed our in depth impressions of Splinter Cell Double Agent. It was a fun show to record and I am really looking forward to the future of this project. During the show, we put up a poll to help us decide which game we would play next because we had reached a bit of a stand still. At the end of the show, we had officially decided on the next two episodes which will be recorded in April & May respectively. So here you have it:

Episode 3: Jade Empire - I have a strong love for Bioware and a tremendous respect for their game design philosophy. I have owned Jade Empire since day 1 and have always wanted to finish it. The game mixes role playing and character interaction of KoToR with a new ancient Chinese setting to give players control one of several martial arts masters. The story, setting, and combat was also gripping so I look forward to finally playing through this from beginning to end. Should be a good show.


Episode 4: Parasite Eve I & II - I don't too much experience with Parasite Eve but I have wanted to give it a try for years. Back when Squaresoft was still awesome, they produced a game that mixed elements of survival horror, one of my favorite game genres, with various action-RPG characteristics. It had an interesting looking character in a unique universe. This game was actually going to be the subject of Episode 3 but we decided to push it back in order to complete both the original and its sequel. We did this because the sequel is drastically different from the original. Expect this one to be a bit longer than usual but it should make for some really interesting discussion.

I think the show might become a really fun addition to our podcast portfolio! I encourage everyone to track these games down, play through them and post your impressions and feedback in the forum!

-Nick

Women I Gave My Heart To

I've gotten complaints that all the women I pick for this feature aren't real. They're video game characters or anime characters. Well how about this.

Do you know who this person is? I was originally going to post information about her, but now I've decided to really take more time to talk about this subject.

I don't currently have time to post right now as I'm about to go to work, but hold me to it. It has to do with the future of video games and how we as a gaming community should exist.

David

Another Inside Joke, Kinda

Continuing with my 2 week Rhythm Heaven promotion. Here is another video.

Prerequisites: Rhythm Tengoku Gold and Hatsune Miku

Take care,
David

Phoenix Download Podcast Episode 2 Tonight!

Hey guys, just wanted to let everyone know that the second episode of our Phoenix Download (AKA - Revival Club) Podcast will be recorded tonight at approximately 7:45 PM. We will be discussing our experiences playing through "Splinter Cell: Double Agent", the last Splinter Cell game produced by Ubisoft. It was an interesting game and should make for a worthy addition to our lineup for this year. Tune in at JTV for the live recording or subscribe to our show via iTunes by clicking the button on the right menu! We will have the show up for iPod listeners within 24 hours of the shows recording!

Nick

I Swear This is Game Related

Next Week the DSi will be released. Along with it, Rhythm Heaven. This is a live performance of my favorite song from the game.

Get Excited,
David

New Podcast Up

105 - How Much Is A Hats-worth? [download]

Impressions:
Madworld, Bit.Trip-Beat, Henry Hatsworth

Discussion:
Bioshock 2

Community Segment
4PlayerMinute

Thanks,
David

It's Time For Dinner

The Dinner Time for this week. Brad and I sit down real quick during lunch and talk over some things that have gone on during the week.

021 - DinnerTime with Brad [download]

Also, since a bunch of you guys were asking, I've placed the show on iTunes as well.

Thanks,
David

The Mother of All Inside Jokes

DO NOT WATCH THIS VIDEO YET!!! (Read First)


For the upcoming release, I said I was going to promote Rhythm Heaven. So I apologize. If you did not play Rhythm Tengoku Gold, you have no way of understanding this video.

Having played and beaten this level, and also knowing what Lucky Star is, this is one of the funniest things I've seen.

For those of you who don't have the prerequisite, You can...

A.) Buy Rhythm Heaven/Tengoku Gold play it and then watch this video.

B.) Watch the video anyways and be devoid of all happiness.


Thanks and enjoy,
David

So for those of you who get it. You're awesome. I love you.

Fez - New Trailer

*pssst*

"Look up David"

I Don't Feel Anything Anymore?

Over the last year or so, I'm become very desensitized to the games industry. I seemed to be interested in posting about girls or anime. The guys I do the show with took concern because they wondered if I was getting out of games all together. Losing interest in what the show was all about would be disastrous. Obviously I couldn't do a show about something I cared little about.

Let me assure you. I've never lost my interest in games. There has just been a decline in games that I'm interested in. The titles that truly garner my attention are fewer and father between. A lot of this has to do with Nintendo. They resorted in even more going back to capitalize on past successes. They've always been a company to sell you something you bought already and with the Wii and DS success, it's more of the same. It feels like Nintendo is getting lazier and sloppier. The new play games are the least amount of work they could get away with. Animal Crossing last year was basically a clone. This year is shaping up to be a real bummer as well.

I will never give up and I'm not one to write anyone off forever. But I am kind of at a loss at what to feel and what to work towards. There are a few games that I find different and new. When I think about them, I'm enveloped in the fire that few can understand. They are just so hard to come by that it is easier just to pretend not to care.

New Zelda Looks Uninteresting,
David

Here is what Brad is thinking.

1. PROFESSOR MOTHER FUCKING LAYTON 2 FINALLY CONFIRMED FOR NORTH AMERICA!!! EVERY PUZZLE HAS AN ANSWER!! AND EVERY GAME HAS A RELEASE BITCHES!!!!
(except Yakuza 3)


2. I'm also officially getting a DSI. Why? Because Nintendo made it so with their recent announcement of "DSI enhanced cards" and "DSI only cards". I have no choice now. AND IT'S THE SAME FUCKING HARDWARE. FUCKING BITCHES! AND 170??? BAH!


3. There has been a Top 5 list I have never been comfortable finalizing. I had never been satisfied narrowing the list down due to me having played so many games, and so much of my love for a lot of those soundtracks driven by nostalgia. But I am now 100% convinced now that the original soundtrack for the first Suikoden is on my list of Top 5 Video Game Sountracks ever. Easily. Want to hear it? You can download the whole game for 5.99 onto your PSP or PS1.


4. The recent series of videos released by Volition for Red Faction 3 showcasing the different weapons make me cringe. I feel embarrassed for the developers. I feel embarrassed for the game. And I'm worried these videos will give people the wrong impression about the game. I would post them... but I'm too embarrassed. The game will still be awesome people! Future Online Night game of choice confirmed.


5. Read some more in depth details on the Final Fantasy 13 battle system here. Sounds fast paced and fresh. I honestly cannot wait, but I'm more curious as to how the skills/abilities/magic system and growth works in the game and how it affects the battles. While other RPG franchises make small adjustments to or iterations on proven battle systems throughout a series, it's Square's drive to innovate or at least be different from game to game with their battle and skill systems that makes playing new Final Fantasy games so refreshing.



Brad

If Life Were A 2D Platformer....

So I have seen lists such as this before... if I remember correctly, But now it's my turn.

1. Simple objects such as rocks or trees could completely hinder you from saving your grandmother from falling into a well.
2. If there is any black formation on the ground, it is best not to step in it.
3. The only way to get to the grocery store could only be done by jumping on to magical floating platforms.... Or tree limbs.
4. While being shot at, there are only two ways to dodge the bullet. Jumping ridiculously high, or going into a fetal position.
5. Any body other than local townsfolk are considered threats, and should be killed immediately so you can pick up the money they will most likely drop.
6. Said money is of course used to buy whichever drug threw you into this game world, most likely skooma.
7. Animals and other creatures are made out of lava.
8. If you ever get in a fight, try to avoid getting hit, this will most likely throw you back approximately 2-20 feet. Beware black formations on the ground behind you.
9. Never underestimate the value of god, he can bring you back to life you know!
10. You are jesus. Except you actually return from the dead.
11. You will have no friends in a 2D platformer, at least, none that will hold a steady conversation with you.
12. If you ever disagree with someone, they will just repeat the same nonsense until you agree with them... actually that sounds like real life.
13. All towns and cities sell weapons which require no license.
14. No one would look at you funny if you were carry a sword and/or gun and/or shield and/or elemental bazooka of UTHRA THE GREAT!!!!! They would just not sell you items for as cheap.
15. Whenever confronted with an important decision, the correct answer most likely lies due east.
16. You would never have to visit your parents again, doing so would just have them offer to sleep in your bed and rest.... Not get a real job.
17. Beggers wouldn't be as ugly.... and they would almost always have both legs still attached.
18. Until you are able to double jump, most of the world you live in is off limits... Good luck with that.
19. Air is as solid as a rock until you try to jump off of it a second time.
20. Whenever some one is rude to you, it would be OK to tea bag them.
21. Politics are the least of everyones concern in towns, they are more interested in telling you their life story.
22. You never have to actually say a word to anyone, they understand your problems immediately.
23. You can never learn to run, unless you are Pocohantes... Then you just have to save a deer from complete annihilation.
24. There is normally only one person who knows the name of the town you are in, make sure you find him.
25. Woman would know their place, you would only see them either buying food or making food.
26. No one works but you.
27. When trying to defeat an extra evil person, chances are he is going to have two different attack against you. Pussy attacks such as shooting you like a normal person, and then RIDICULOUS ATTACKS like... jumping on top of you.
28. Jumping on top of people is rude. You and bosses are the only ones allowed to do it, so you shouldn't show off.
29. When someone asks you for help, well dammit you are going to help them. If you don't, your life becomes meaningless.
30. You are forced to listen to idiots tell you backstories of your life which you could care less about. There is a reason you don't know... that is because you don't care.



Ok, so that wasn't so much a 2D platformer, but whatever.
Hope y'all enjoy that.
This does tie into something.
Talk to y'all later!
-Travis

Music From Rhythm Tengoku Gold Vol.3

Here is the full version of The Possible - Koi no RUNG RUNG Paradise

It's a girl group I've never heard of, if you have any information,

Feel free to email me,
David

Brad Yells: At Nintendo Edition

*watches trailer*

STOP

MAKING

THE

SAME

ZELDA

GAME

OVER

AND

OVER

YOU

ARE

RUINING

MEMORIES

AND

KILLING

NOSTALGIA

NITENKOEI

Debut Trailer- Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks

So here is the debut trailer of "Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks" for the Nintendo DS. I don't have much to say about the gameplay other than: "it looks like Zelda... Sweet". There doesn't seem to be anything really fresh here but that I am still eager to play it. This should act as a nice distraction until the next Wii Zelda is announced.



Sorry Joystiq, I hate to be a picture stealer but what can I say, you take great photos!

-Nick

-Nick

CryEngine3 on Consoles Makes Me Hard

GDC is an exciting time for game developers and gamers alike. Over the next few days, we wait as developers to gather and discuss their plans to use new technologies and methods to make the games of the future. We obviously expect some game announcements and other news relevant to the consumer. So far, a new Zelda has been announced and Ueda disappointed me again but something I have been waiting for has finally happened. Crytek has finally developed an iteration of their incredible cryengine that can be scaled to run on both the Xbox 360 and PS3. Allow me to introduce "Cryengine 3":


Graphics Whores Unite! The thought of this technology running on a home console and not on a PC is blowing my mind. Far Cry 2 looked phenomenal but Crytek is still the king of ultra realism in game graphics. So this begs the question, is Crysis being developed for consoles? What better way to introduce this engine to consoles than using it to bring one of the best looking shooters ever to the PS3 and 360? I am patiently awaiting an announcement.

-Nick

I'm officially get a DSi.

I've been back and forth and now back again.

I will be buying a DSi because the Bit Generation games will be released for DSi Ware.
Aquario
Decode
Picopict
Somnium
Hacolife
Nalaku

I will also be keeping my original DS and my DS Lite. I will use my DS Lite as my Japanese Dictionary from now on as I had bought dictionary software for it. I never used it because I always had to find the DS cart and then pop it in, all to just look up one word. Never again. I have a dedicated Japanese Dictionary now!

Hooray!
David

Quick thoughts on the new Zelda announcement.

So I was expecting a Wii Zelda announcement, but the announcement of The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks for the Nintendo DS will have to do. Actually, I'm probably more pumped for another 2d Zelda game. This one is isometric right? RIGHT?

Phantom Hourglass was pretty good. The controls were great, and some of the dungeons and enemies were certainly clever, but I felt the game was missing something. I never got the true feeling of exploration or adventure because the boat travel was limited and tedious; and this is kind of why I'm worried about the new game.

It appears Link will be traveling via train in this game. This sounds even more limiting than boat in Phantom Hourglass. It also sounds like this sessions will be ripe with unwelcome rail shooter(tapper) sequences. No thanks.

And honestly? I'm kind of done with Toon Link. Sure his facial expressions are cute, but I want the series to evolve. I want some real emotion in there. Current Link just seems so empty and soulless.

And where is my Zelda RPG? Hook up with Square like you did back in the day with Mario Nintendo. I want something new!

Btw.. pic jacked from Joystiq.

Brad


Updated late-for-work-shower-thoughts:

This is Toon Link right? He only exists in a Windwaker world right? That means it's still a giant ocean. Unless of course the "train" is just a means for Link to get a a different time or location. Meaning maybe this isn't Link's main method of travel but instead sort of like the mirror in Link to the Past. This also means that Link could go back in time to when the world wasn't flooded with water and even have some other method of getting around! Like walking! Old school confirmed!

Community Blog (dafishies) - 'GTA Chinatown Wars' Review

Here is another review from our rapidly growing Reviews Section over in the forums. Keep it up guys.


Dafishies

Well I am a man of very few words....but when it comes down to something that I truly believe in, these few words grow into...well.... a lot. That's pretty much how I can feel about Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown wars. Starting off its pretty good, but then if your truly devoted or interested in continuing, its well worth the trouble.

If your looking for a game like the PSP version of Vice City, then this will definitely not be your cup of noodles, but if you've ever played a GTA game, and your not so strict on graphics or viewing point this is a great selection. Personally I've only played Grand Theft Auto games at my cousin's house and my friends house. I didn't even realize there was a story untill i played a little bit of Liberty City. Since this is my first "actual" Grand Theft Auto experience, it was a good one. Especially since it was on the DS, a system where if you find a mature game, you've won the lottery.

Starting off first and foremost, if your gonna play a GTA game, you gotta ask the most basic question of all, how is the gameplay? Well to answer that, I would say its pretty much inherited everything from the past GTA games and built upon it. With extra features, and bonus's that'll drive you crazy, the gameplay is phenomenal. Same as always your "free mode" is based upon driving anywhere in the city (which is the same size as Liberty City in Grand Theft Auto 4, minus one city b/c of plot reasons) and cause mischief, mayhem, or you know, help out the fire department for a change.

Now, I've heard people talking and saying they are getting turned down from this game just because the viewing angle is Top down. Well, I've played the old Gameboy versions of GTA and I've not hated them just because of their "top downness" the game is actually a lot easier because of it. Since you can see over building for places to hide and such. This doesn't ruin the game experience, it just lends itself to your own personal gain. Plus the fact that everything is rendered in 3D, with no sprites or 2D pictures. When you see a car flip, it actually flips, no sprite animation cheapness or trickery. The car actually flips. So if your the type of person who hates top down games then maybe this isn't for you.

Another powerful addition to the game is replayable missions. Every single mission you've beaten in the game is saved, and replayable from any safehouse you own. I know that I've personally gone back and beated several missions 3 or 4 times just because they were awesome, and because everytime you replay a mission you get a bronze, silver, or gold medal. All the missions are different with maybe 1 or 2 similar ones, but overall they are pretty decent and story driven, and some of the later ones are pretty badass. You will do things that you never thought was possible to do on the DS. The only thing I didn't like is that since this was rated M for Mature, They decided to Swear........all the time. I was constantly sighing and getting a little tired of the F words, and everything else they say. I know that its a "Mature" game, but really did that guy just have to say the F word in that sentence?

The Shear size of the game speaks for itself. I would say there are over 20 different vehicles, 15-20 weapons, and has drivable motorcycles and boats. If your underestimating the power of the DS, then your severely mistaken. I was astonished when I first started. I did not belive they would be able to pull off this game, but as soon as I stole that first car, I was definately hooked.


~Scores~

Gameplay - 9/10

Story - 7.5/10

Sound - 8/10

Graphics - 7/10

~Overall~ 8/10


-Dafishies


Leave comments and opinions in the original forum post.

Music From Rhythm Tengoku Gold Vol.2

Part 2, here's another song that I like. Gameplay involved this Chinese guy and dumplings.

You're curious about this game, aren't you?
David

4PP Video Blog - Check Your Bread

That was close,
David

Brad's Laundry List - What should I play now?

I'm at weird place now. I really don't know what I want to be playing. The Revival Club Podcast has also given me reasons to play through some older games and finish those up. I've also been completely replaying through Devil May Cry 3; and I do love that game. But the thing I love about playing games every night on the feed is that I get finish games I would probably have never started in the first place.

I want to play some more recent, but nothing is catching my eye. And many of the game that do interest me right now are on handhelds and/or are RPGs. Is Saints Row 2 ever going to get a price drop? Should I rent House of the Dead: Overkill? Leave comments in the comments sections with some ideas of more recent games (2008-2009) that you would like to see on the feed and I will make a poll.

Anyways, here is where I stand since my last laundry list.

Completed:
Splinter Cell: Double Agent
Parasite Eve
MadWorld
Resident Evil 5
Peggle XBLA (Adventure mode)
Tomb Raider: Beneath the Ashes
Tomb Raider: Lara's Shadow

Working On:
Devil May Cry 3 (75%)
Henry Hatsworth (20%)
Parasite Eve 2 (15%?)
Crimson Skies (10%)
Red Dead Revolver (0%)

Post a comment with some game ideas,


Brad

Music From Rhythm Tengoku Gold Vol.1

Here's one of my favorite songs from Rhythm Tengoku Gold.
You may be wondering, what is the game play to this?

Hmm, care to find out?
David

Yeah, So I'm Predictable

I introduce to you guys, Mika. This is some concept art from the upcoming game LUX-Pain. Yeah, sure. I'm a sucker for Concept Art, Japanese Girl in a Uniform, Blue Hair. But who isn't.

The art is what initially drew me into this game but now that I've found out it's an adventure game as well, I'm even more intrigued. The story revolves around something about a high school and some weird disease. It should be shipping today. Let me know if any of you guys heard anything about it.

Peace,
David

Resident Evil 5 Forum Q & A Part 1

So last weeks podcast didn't leave us much time to answer RE5 Q&A from our forum. Since everyone worked so hard to send us their questions, I figured I would go back and answer some of them myself. Having played through the game entirely via Co-Op, I will give you my own personal insight into your questions and use it as a tool to get me thinking as I begin to write my full length review. With that said, lets get started:

1.) Drew from Massachusetts asks:

Do you feel that that the new live action inventory system is a better fit for RE5's play style?

I will answer this from a size perspective and functionality perspective. First of all, with the size of the inventory box being much smaller this time around (smaller than the cache box from RE4), picking and choosing items, weapons, and ammo might seem like more of a chore at first glance. In actuality, Capcom has streamlined this process by making all weapons fit into one slot as opposed to multiple slots. In previous games, the bigger the weapon, the more inventory space it took up. Luckily, that is a thing of the past, making inventory management much more accessible.

Secondly, the fact that you play this game through via co-op means that you essentially have twice the inventory space available and are able to switch and exchange items and ammo on the fly. This means that no matter who picks up an item, both players should have complete access to it. Because of this, I found this new inventory system to be a great fit to the games play style and much less of a pain as compared to RE4's "tetris" cache case.

I will post a few more questions and responses in the next few days so keep your eyes peeled.

-Nick

Resident Evil 5 Review

Hey guys,

So recently I started writing reviews. I got recruited by HookedGamers.com to review and blog there in addition to doing my thing here. We've always wanted to do reviews here on 4PP but honestly there's only a couple of us and we aren't equipped to set up something on our blog until we get a webmaster.

So here's my review for Resident Evil 5 (PS3)

It's my first "official" review so my editor had to step in and help me with some of the wording.

Thanks,
David

You Have About Two Weeks

Do you like music? Do you like games? I love both. Naturally when the music and rhythm genre came out, it easily became my favorite genre. It took the two things I loved and let me enjoy both at the same time.

I'd think that this would be a more popular type of game. The learning curve can be a lot less steep than an FPS or RTS. You don't have all the crazy button combinations like in a sports game. But there is still enough difficulty to keep going back to. Also I think it's pretty evident from the guitar games that have come out that there is something there, I wish players would embrace something a little less familiar.

Here is Rhythm Heaven. It is being released on April 5th alongside the DSi. I have played both games originally released just in Japan. For the next two weeks, I'll probably be talking about this game trying to promote new players to try it.

Questions? Ask.
David

New Podcast Up

We had some problems getting the show up this week. Here it is.

104 - Resident Evil 5 Discussion [download]


Impressions:
LIPS
MadWorld
Pikmin Wii
Bionic Commando
Peggle
Tomb Raider DLC


Thanks,
David

Now also available on iTunes.

Podcast 105 recording tonight! (or tomorrow)

Tonight at 10:45pm central time we will be talking about games and crap live on the feed. What will we talk about? Well, I've been playing some stuff, so probably that. Nick I'm sure wants to talk about Turok and other dinosaur related business. We will also be recording the Top 5 we missed last week.

Anyways, here is how you can help:

Add your viewer questions you would like to see us read on the show over in the viewer questions thread in our forum.

If there are any news topics you would to see us discuss on the show tonight, post the news and your source over in our news topic thread.


Thanks

Brad

It's DinnerTime!

Actually there was no food involved with the making of this podcast, but Brad and I talked while driving to ScreenBurn last week.

020 - On The Way To ScreenBurn

Thanks,
David

In Turok's Defense

Telling a good story is something that Video Games have not done too well. There are the occasional gems that treat players to very rewarding and fleshed out story lines but then again, some games set out to tell a simple story that may not be necessarily deep but entertaining none the less. For the past year, I have sat by on the podcast as Brad barrages me with seemingly endless Turok and Bourne jokes. I played these games. I enjoyed them for what they were. I'm not ashamed and i'm definitely not alone. However, whenever the topic of story comes up on our show, these games come up as the butt of Brad's joke. This article is written in their defense because while they may not be the deepest story lines, they are not throw away and they have earned a place on my shelf for several reasons.

The gap between games and cinema is narrowing slowly but surely. Developers are trying harder to tell stories that are full of mystery, intrigue, humor, and character development in a way that compliments the game play in the best way possible. Obviously, finding a happy medium between game play and storytelling is a challenge. Certain genres like RPG's and survival horror lend themselves very well to storytelling and actually depend rather heavily on it to sell units. Other genres such as shooters, platfomers, and puzzle games make it a bit more challenging for a number of reasons.

The game play in RPG and horror titles is a much slower pace and is often a much more drawn out experience. In a 20 - 50 hour game, players need something else besides game play to keep them coming back for more. Fitting an interesting narrative into the fray gives players purpose in the universe. You can't deny that one of the greatest aspects of a games like Final Fantasy VII, Chrono Trigger, and Resident Evil were their story. Despite their fantastic game play and game design, the characters and conflicts within their story made them truly memorable.

I enjoyed Turok because while it was still a bloody shooter at it's core, it presented players with an interesting character with an intriguing past. Sure, none of the characters had any real depth, but the conflict between Turok and his rogue mentor was enough to keep me moving forward. Also, I have always been a sucker for a good cutscene and I think the rendered cut-scenes and ATB sequences were well done and made the game interesting to watch. Without those sequences, this game would have simply been a lame dino hunting sim. So in Turok's defense, the game was about as good as a weekend, blockbuster action movie and as far as I am concerned, there is nothing wrong with that. That genre has a place in the movie industry so why can't it exist in the gaming world? While I did enjoy Turok (& Bourne) it also made me think a lot about what the genre was missing as well.

Devils Advocate: First of all, the demographic that shooters target don't seem to really care about story or motivation. I don't mean to lump anyone into this category but from personal experience, many people simply pick up a shooter because they like to cause chaos and destruction. As long as those elements are present in the game, they are happy. Many developers seem that they would rather throw in a decent enough story as a backdrop and then focus primarily on game play. Why is it though, that a game designed around the concept of war and survival doesn't feel the need to motivate or justify murder? I'm still waiting for a shooter that provides me with an emotional drive to fight a war. I want to be bombarded with horrendous imagery that makes me WANT to pick up a gun and fight for something. The closest I have come to that feeling was in Call of Duty 4 but the game still lacked a real connection with the characters. Infinity Ward was definitely on the right track but I doubt we will ever see a shooter with the same quality narrative of a game like Mass Effect or Final Fantasy.

Hopefully, someone will prove me wrong.

This one is for the fans without PSPs.

Look. Final Fantasy 7 is one of my favorite games ever. I completely acknowledge that a lot of that might be nostalgia, but the game did really do some new and amazing things for the genre. The scope of the game for one was quite stunning. Also the Materia system is still one of the best skill/ability growth systems I've ever used in an RPG.

But the truth is, the game got so much initial hype because of Square's insane skill at creating some of the most beautiful CG FMV cutscenes ever. To this day, when they have their "A game" on, they still deliver with it too. Either way, I have a place soft spot for the universe created with Final Fantasy 7. So when I heard that Square was making a prequel that would follow the story of Zack Fair prior the events of Final Fantasy 7, I was more than thrilled.

Well, I hated the game. I forced myself through the end only by sheer determination to see the end. I hated the sluggish, shallow, and easy combat (I didn't do any of the side missions and had little trouble), but the real tragedy was how the Crisis Core development team butchered my nostalgia for the game world it was based on. This game reeks of the worst parts of Kingdom Hearts. The new characters were cheesy and uninteresting, and the dialogue was so bad I wanted to pull my fucking hair out. Every fucking line in the game was some shit about dreams and dreaming. I fucking hated it. And why the fuck does everyone have wings? WINGS? What the FUCK???

But I had my motivation. All Final Fantasy 7 players knew what had to happen at the end of the game. We didn't know the details of Zack's story, but we knew his fate. Squaresoft does CG FMV better than anyone else out their, and I wanted to see this memorable moment in a modern form. Well the game delivered on that. And the purpose of this post is to show you the excellent ending to tickle your nostalgia bone so you don't have to play this pretty crappy game.

Again, you may really like what you are about to see. It contains spoilers, but honestly, if you are still reading this, you are probably a fan of Final Fantasy 7, and you probably know what is going to happen already. Just know that this ending if not representative of the full game. Enjoy this, and skip the game.





Brad

MyPodcast is back up.

The website we use to upload the show to iTunes is back up and working. So the new shows should be available on iTunes now.

The problems from MyPodcast has us looking to set up our own RSS feed for the podcast to avoid future problems and also delete the advertising and 2 hour time limit.

Does anyone have any suggestions or advice on how to set it up?

Thanks,
David

Community Blog (totalcaligula) - Far Cry 2 Review

We have a new reviews subsection in the video games part of the forum now. We already have several reviews submitted by the community, and I hope that the everyone keeps producing quality content like this. Here is one of those reviews from now.

totalcaligula

"Far Cry 2 was amazing, but it wasn’t for me.

A few months ago by now, I picked up a copy of Far Cry 2 and began to play. Then a few hours later I stopped as I had run out of malaria pills. In the few hours that I first played it I was blown away by many things. Far Cry 2 is without doubt a groundbreaking game. The level of detail is amazing, quite simply one of the nicest looking gaming environments I have ever seen. The gunplay elements are as well, top-notch. The voice acting and the characters are decent enough and the ‘buddy’ system excitedly me greatly. But sadly, at the end of my gaming session I was unable to enjoy any of these amazing qualities as they were drowned within a sea of shoddy game play features and mechanics. It saddens me that a game can do so much, so well and yet not allow me to fully enjoy them.

I am all for expansive game worlds. And believe me when I say that this world is enormous. 50km2 according to the gamebox and I am inclined to believe that statement. But to me the whole point of having a world of that size is to enjoy traveling through it. I however did not. Being an “open world” game I am almost expected, as a gamer to travel to every corner of the map in a quest to see everything the game has to offer; however I could think of nothing I would rather do less. Here is why. If you have played the vehicle sequences in Half-Life 2 then you have played the same type of vehicular control as is in this game. You have played the same unchangeable view from the characters eyes within the vehicle and the same shoddy car handling and physics. I know that this is all supposed to further the immersion factor within the game but I just don’t think it works well.

I found myself dreading accepting missions because I knew that it would mean having to travel all the way to the other side of the map, and there is none a more frustrating activity than this. This is made frustrating not by just the sheer distance that needs to be traversed to start the mission, but by the fact that you are stopped at least once a minute by either a patrolling jeep or an enemy checkpoint. In each of these situations you are forced to kill all the attacking enemies, unfortunately not having the option to realistically escape from these maniac drivers. After you have shot up said bad guys, you will likely have to repair your vehicle by getting out of your car, going to the bonnet and holding a button until your character decides he has tightened the same screw enough. This has the effect of bringing your car to apparently factory perfect condition again. Now some of you may say that sounds cool, and to be honest, the first time it happened I thought that way too. But when this happens every minute or so it starts to get mighty annoying.

Can I also say, despite the map being huge you will only ever use about 20% of it in your adventure. Namely the settlements and the roads connecting them. And try as you might to go off-road, the terrain is too uneven and the vehicles too uncouth to stray off the path.

The step away from the current trend of “lose health then go suck your thumb in a corner until you feel better” is a welcome change. Instead you have a limited amount of syrettes, which restore your health when used. If your health drops too low you enter a bleed out situation in which you have to stabilise your injuries before using a syrette, which is shown with a random animation of your character removing a bullet with a knife or suchlike. If you lose all your health then that is when the buddy system kicks in. On missions you can have one of your buddies ready to save you should you need it. This takes the form of your buddy arriving to take you to safety whenever you succumb to your wounds. You then proceed to win the battle with the help of your buddy (who by the way, once dies is gone for good).

In contrast to the finely done health and buddy system, there is the dreaded malaria aspect of the game. Early in the game you contract malaria and are forced to keep this under control for the rest of the game. When you have a malaria attack your vision is obscured and your movements impaired. To combat this effect and to prevent your character from collapsing you are forced to take a malaria pill every 30-40 minutes of real time. My gripe is that the people who supply you with these malaria pills will send on an annoying and long mission to the other side of the map. Your reward, if you’re lucky maybe 2 pills. Having to worry about my malaria pill situation and enjoying the game was too much for me and as such when I ran out of pills I stopped playing.

It saddens me to find so much wrong with a game, but this is the type of game that you will either love or hate. If you can get past the annoyances that are apparent, this will be one of the greatest games you have played your entire life."


Keep up the good work.

Brad

Best Ending

Well here's one of my favorite endings. So awesome, it had to be put into three parts. Fantastic characters, even more fantastic music.

Part I - (Some chatch named Locke as Blake)


Part II - (It's too bad Nick will know who any of these characters are)


Part III - The credits and the GBA version I heard does a bad job of it. Beat the game to watch the rest.

Thanks,
David

Travis and Music

I think everyone is aware that when I play games, I like to listen to music. Music is a wonderful factor in games, including the occasional ingame music. Music can make you feel confident, make an emotion stronger for a character, maybe even make you feel as "one" with the game. Whatever the case may be, it feels pretty damn good.
I have heard a couple of people compliment me on my choice of music... and so I have taken it upon myself to share with you my current playlist on my Ipod. This list is what I am currently listening to and have been listening to while I have been snowboarding down the Rockies.
Hope y'all are interested.
Sometime Around Midnight-The Airborne Toxic Event
Innocence-The Airborne Toxic Event
I Wanna-All American Rejects
Is There A Ghost- Band of Horses
Girl-Beck
Boten Ana English Translation-Basshunter
What If We Could-Blue October
Coma-Buckethead
Soothsayer-Buckethead
Glycerine-Bush
The Curse of Curves-Cute is what we Aim For
Yellow-Coldplay
The Scientist-Coldplay
Digital Love-Daft punk
Hands Down-Dashboard Confessional
Carry this picture- Dashboard Confessional
The Ballad of Graff-Dusty Rhodes and the River Band
I want you-Get Set Go
Iris-The Goo Goo Dolls
Love Hurts-Incubus
Dig-Incubus
Oil and Water-Incubus
Paper shoes-Incubus
The Warmth-Incubus
I'm Yours-Jason Mraz
Flake-Jack Johnson
Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop-Landon Pigg
Love Today-Mika
Are You Ready to Rock-Miyavi
Kiri-MONORAL
Far Away-Nickelback
In the Middle of Summer-Panic at the Disco
Good to Sea-Pinback
Hey there Delilah-Plain White T's
Hey-Pixies
Tame-Pixies
Where is my mind?-Pixies
Rev. 22:20-Puscifer
Indigo Children-Puscifer
Blurry-PUddle of Mudd
She hates me-Puddle of Mudd
Psycho-Puddle of Mudd
Nude-Radiohead
Furious Angels-Rob Dougan
Clubbed to Death-Rob Dougan
Hoppipolla-Sigur Ros
Lazy Eye-Silversun Pickups
Vermilion, pt. 2-Slipknot
Open Your Eyes-Snow Patrol
Possum Kingdom-Toadies
Tyler-Toadies
I got a Girl-Tripping Daisy
D-Tecnolife-UVERworld
Wasteland-10 Years
One more time, One more chance- Masayoshi Yamazaki


This is my music. I hope at least one person enjoys them as much as I do... Or I hope at least one person takes the time to listen to my list!
Expect more posts soon!
-Travis
April 25... Remember that.

My Top 5 video game ending credits.

These are my favorite credits sequences of all time. I might be missing some awesome favorites, but I'm doing these from memory. I will be doing openings and endings soon as well. I've always wanted to do Top 5's on these, but because they are so visual, I'm putting them on the Blog.

HM. Devil May Cry 3 - Awesome awesome awesome. And you get to fight through the credits. Just edged out Flower in this spot.



5. Portal - We all know it. We all love it. Many are anti-hype and say they don't love it. But they do.



4. Okami - Just a beautiful credits sequence to a very beautiful game.



3. God Hand - Too awesome for words.



2. Super Mario World - God I love what they did here. After they credit all the people who worked on the game, they reintroduce all the enemies and characters in the game. Very similar to another game I almost put on here, but realized it was so awesome I needed to wait and put it on my favorite endings ever.



1. Final Fantasy 8 - Brilliant really. I wasn't in love with the story of this game or its ending, but the sequence they do during the credits is perfect. I love it.



Brad

This Week on the Feed

David played a little last week. He's not really feeling it, but I will give it a shot this week. Will Matsuno bring any intricate political drama to the party? Doubtful.



I'm done with single player, but like any good Resident Evil game, there is still plenty to do. Let's just say I want that damn tribal outfit. Should also give Mercenaries a more honest effort some time this week.



Will the stellar voice acting continue? Eh, probably. Be sure to see more of one of the best project Squaresoft ever made during their prime on the Playstation 1.



Online Night will be on Thursday's for the foreseeable future and Killzone 2 will probably be the online game of choice for the next few weeks. Hone up on your skills, but go easy on me, as this will be the first time I've played the multiplayer since the beta last year.



I'm almost done. David hasn't started. Either way, expect to see some stealth "trial and fuck" up this week.


Brad

SXSW Interactive: Bionic Commando Multiplayer Impressions

South by Southwest(SXSW)is a week long event held in Austin, Texas every March and is known mainly for its film festival and its even bigger music festival. Gaming is very new for SXSW, and because of this it is also a small part of the very big festival. But it is growing, and I'm glad I got a chance to play some cool things.

So the only big game I saw on the show floor the other day that has not yet been released was Capcom's Bionic Commando set to come out in a couple of months for 360, PS3, and PC. I played a few sessions of the game's multiplayer component and thought I'd share some of my opinions on the game's mechanics.

The first thing that stands out in Bionic Commando (and maybe the only thing) is the use of the bionic arm for environment navigation. Much like my guilty pleasure, the game Spiderman 2, the game succeeds with that same sense of uniquely free, yet controlled, aerial traversal. While Spiderman 2 had a "speed up" button to propel the high flying hero through the air quicker, Bionic Commando relies on precise timing to gain maximum speed while swinging through the air. Because carefully timed button pressing and releasing is required in combination with the aiming of the arm in mid flight, there is a very steep, albeit rewarding, learning curve to this twitch based method of traversing the game world.

And this is what made the multiplayer experience so fucking fun. The game type was set to a generic 4 player deathmatch, but the map itself was pretty awesome. The small, but very vertical, rooftop map lent to exactly what I wanted out of this game; badass swinging pursuits. Getting blown off a roof towards certain death, grabbing on to the side of the building while falling, and then swinging around the side of that building only to pop up and get the surprise flank on the dick who knocked you off is... well... really fucking cool.

My actions weren't this graceful when I first picked up the controller, but I got a hang of the mechanics in subsequent play sessions with the game. But this curve is precisely why I think this game's multiplayer will really stand out. In most shooters, the player with the "better aim" always wins; not so much in Bionic Commando. In the matches that I played, the person with the most "points" would win the round. You can get points by just killing people sure; but if you kill a dude during a swinging pursuit while you are both in the air... then you get way more points. So the person who has the most kills doesn't necessarily win in the type of match where we were playing. The reward system of "killing with style" is giving me the drive to hone my skills at the game much more than I do in most "point and shoot" multiplayer shooters on the market.

So yeah, I'm officially stoked for the game now. I have a feeling that Bionic Commando will be a surprise sleeper multiplayer hit this year. Along with Red Faction 3 of course.


Brad