Podcast 109 Uploaded

The newest show has been uploaded to our servers and iTunes.

109 - The Gyrating Show [download]

Thank Nick for the quick turn around,

David

9:00, my song

The evening is winding down. After all the high energy cuteness, I thought you guys might like something light to relax to.

David

8:00, MIKI FTW!

So Miki (Brown) is my favorite from IDOLM@STER. Here is why.

Haruka is a close second.
David

7:00 PM, I Can't Decide

It's the evening and I can't decide which performance I like better.

It's the same song, but Haruka and Miki are both so perfect, I didn't know which to post.

So I posted both. Hooray for indecisiveness.

Haruka?


Miki?



Both lovely,
David

6:00, Catch You Catch Me?

Thanks Skyliner for sending this in. She heard that I was starting to watch Card Captor Sakura so she sent in a fan video for the opening theme. 

Watch for the Hearts.
David

5:00, Here We Go!

The work day is over!!! Here we go for Fun!

Translated for your understanding.

David

4:00, Cast Your Magic!

For those of you have have about an hour left before you are out of work, you could watch this video 26.5 times and your hour would be up, just to let you know.

We don't see much of Iori. I usually like it when the twins sing this song, but this one is translated for those who always wanted to know what was being said. 

David

3:00, Almost There!

Those of you who are at work, you're almost there. Just a couple more hours left.
Think of it as if you were waiting for your Present during Christmas.

Double Gun!

David

2:00, Blonde Miki sings Positive

While I would have prefered Short Brown hair, it's hard to not watch this video anyways. Please watch in HQ is possible. 

This one is subbed, too.

David

1:00, Still Hungry From Lunch?

Some of you may still be craving a little something from after lunch, I think I have the perfect thing.

Here is some Do-Dai, nicely edited to incorporate all the girls. Please enjoy each singers voice. 

See you in an hour,

David

Lunch Time Idolm@ster

You should be enjoying or about to enjoy some lunch right about now, How about a side of Idol?
Or maybe it would be better suited as dessert?

Either way, Here is one of my favorite IDOLM@STER songs, Shiny Smile

David

It Came To My Attention...

Nick and I got in a discussion that compared to Kotaku and Joystiq, we really don't update our blog with too much. He checks our blog with an RSS feed with his new little iPhone and only sees an update a day while the "bigger" blogs have a couple each hour. I've found a way to combat this.

Starting noon, I'll post a new idolmaster video to watch every hour!!!

Take that Kotaku! Enjoy Nick!

David

They really need to stop calling their stuff "Junk".

I'm in.


Brad

Good Luck My Friend

This one goes out to a good friend of mine, Moderator Corvus. I cut the feed at 3:45 AM and he had just written his name down on the four page paper due in the morning.

Instead of working on the assignment, he chose to sit around and talk to me and JamRadar on Skype while I was playing Rune Factory for the Wii. How he will pull this off is beyond me. But I eagerly await the conclusion to these events. 

Good job on waiting until the last minute, Chatch.

Love,

David

Infamous... Better than Prototype?

Infamous is looking better and better everytime I see it. I was excited about Prototype (still am) but this looks a bit more polished. Anyways, check out this footage and share your opinions or observations!



-Nick

Uncharted 2 has multiplayer... *farts*

Nick is going to give me shit for this one. I hate being Negative Nancy about largely anticipated games, but this multiplayer announcement is just reassuring me that this franchise is going in the direction I was afraid of.

How did I feel about the first game? Uncharted was almost something great. I loved the characters and the acting, the visuals and animation, and especially the Tomb Raider trappings. Unfortunately, the game couldn't be the great adventure game it should have been since it was too busy trying to be the PS3's Gears of War. But the game was 80% Gears and 20% Tomb Raider. The proportions were off--it should have been the other way around.

The combat was adequate (albeit not as good as Gears), but there was way too much of it. The game might have looked like "Dude Raider" at a first glance, but honestly, the things that made Tomb Raider so great were scarce or absent all together. I love Tomb Raider for the physicality of its platforming, its environmental exploration, and its plentiful puzzle solving. Uncharted was almost an evolution of what made Tomb Raider great, but instead was just another shooter. There were around 2 to 3 puzzles in Uncharted and the answers were in a book Drake was carrying around. I was satisfied with the game in the end, but I was hoping the sequel would have more of what I loved, and less of what I didn't.

Well... with the announcement of online multiplayer (not to mention the change of setting), one might safely assume this franchise is probably becoming a pure shooter. Sure there is some light platforming during the shoot-outs, but I seriously doubt the main game will have less of a focus on combat than the first game. And why does it take so long to kill someone? Bah!

I'm still excited, though a little disappointed. Who knows? Maybe I'm wrong. I hope so.


Brad

Podcast 109 Recording Tonight

I'm watching Transsiberian right now and it's getting VERY hard to watch. OMG stop cutting her leg!!! *passes out*

Dammit. I gotta play something new before the show tonight. Hrmmm.

Anyway. You know the drill.

News Thread
Viewer Questions Thread

Brad

Also tonight, Top 5 Video Game Vehicles
David

Reminder

Uh, if anyone is into Jpop and things Japanese, this is just a reminder that I do a blog about that sort of stuff.

http://rockliao.wordpress.com/

Thanks,
David

A Story About A Girl

This past Saturday, I went to the arcades to stretch my legs a little. I broke out my dancing shoes and hit the DDR machines. I never thought that this kind of thing could happen to me, especially at an arcade, but I met the girl of my dreams there.

Amidst the crowd of tired unhealthy looking game players, there shone a single magnificent star. She lit up the dark room with her smile and I couldn't help but stare as she brushed the hair away from her face. She wore long blue jeans that neatly ended as her white sneakers with blue stripes started. She had on a large beige jacket with a furry collar enveloping her neck. Underneath the jacket a v-neck medium dark purple with a design that had all sorts of colors mixed messily together. The shirt ran just barely down to her jeans so that if she were to put her arms in the air to stretch, the pale petite flesh known as her mid-section would have been exposed.

Luckily nothing like that happened as you can tell by me being here and being able to write this post instead being confined in the hospital suffering from a heart attack.

Anyone who approached her quickly realized they had made a mistake. She was on a completely different level than anyone there. But of course, I had it in my mind that I was different. Here I was, in my sweat pants and t-shirt, covered in sweat, walking towards her thinking of how to handle the situation. My palms were sweating. Thoughts racing. Here was the moment of truth...

Someone stood up.

He was finished playing his game. He was ready to go. He took the data card out and said his goodbyes to all his friends. He walked out the door. Along with him, went the girl.

I can only assume that they weren't together. He didn't seem like the kind of guy a girl like her would be interested in. He was far too overbearing and eccentric. She was shy but sociable. They weren't really suited for each other. I don't believe that this was the end of it. I have a feeling that I'll run into her again someday. Actually, I know I will. This world isn't big enough that our paths wouldn't cross again.

So I wonder to myself how she will be dressed next time. Glasses? A Choker? Or maybe a Ponytail? The possibilities run endlessly in my mind. But for now, I can only go by her name that was whispered as she was leaving.

Asuka.....

You have my heart.
David

Community Blog (Xalgar) - RPG Discussion

Are RPGs a dying genre?

Xalgar

"Slowly and slowly, I've been noticing that RPG's are constantly reusing the same storylines over and over and western RPG's are lacking in the innovation department. The kids at my school don't even know what Elder Scrolls, Square Soft, or even "Tales of" games are, and I constantly here the story "I bought Fallout 3, but it's ****ing boring, there's so much talking and ****! I just want to shoot stuff like in Halo" I seriously wanted to spit in this idiot's face.

I do know however that RPG's are mainly played by older audiences who are not into raging at incompetent team mates and instead, appreciate the peace of a good story and the thrill of watching your character get stronger and have more abilities. But with my generation which is mainly into FPS's, will RPG's eventually receive the same fate as adventure games? Or am I wrong and this is just where I live that these kids are so close minded to their game selections?"



jasix

"Not really no, you have to look at the bigger picture not just where you live, RPG is huge in Japan, they go nuts for it. Xbox360 sales was terrible in Japan until Blue Dragon came along and Lost Odysee. Also Fallout 3 isn't really your standard RPG and the need to shoot something is only natural with that game. RPGs are still going strong and will remain i believe, the only problem with them at the moment is the lack of them in EU/US for next gen consoles. The Xbox360 has quite a few but they aren't anything special PS3 has a few and some great looking ones lined up like White Knight Chronicles and Hopefully Demon Soul will come out of Japan too if not the game has English option already so importing won't hurt, its a hack n slash RPG Demon Soul but it looks awesome!"



Mordiford

"Games like first person shooters are much easier to get into, to pick up and play. In the same way that the people you referenced in your original post were being closed minded, so are you. RPG's are usually a pretty big commitment, I myself sometimes have a hard time due to their formidable length. In that sense it is likely that the number of RPG's released will drop in the west, but not by much. In Japan RPG's are still quite successful so there really isn't an issue on that end.

Even in the long-run though, there will still be a large number of hardcore RPG fans that will keep the genre alive in both Japan and the West. There will likely still be quite a few strong franchises in the coming years.

Also, as per your note on rehashing the same storyline, if you break down most storylines in games you will find major similarities, this occurs with characters as well. However this is not exclusive to the RPG genre, you may just notice it more because those games are so story driven that it's easier to draw a comparison. Really though, similarities in characters and story are apparent in almost all genres."



ceby

"Xalgar I don't know if you remember this but RPG were considered dead back in the 90's and their revival was basically because of Diablo, a hack/slash RPG. I think RPG like any genre come and go in cycles.

I mean sure you don't see as many adventure games out their but their still are some. The Sam and Max adventures for the PC quickly come to mind.

If you just keep the faith and keep buying RPG's they wont' be going anywhere."



streetninja

"RPG's will never go away entirely. There used to be a whole bunch of old JRPG's but over the last 10 or so years we've seen the genera change and blend with others. We've seen RPG's mix with FPS's, RTS's and several other kinds of genera to make great new experiences."



maskedarcstrike

"I can see your point that it seems like not many traditional RPG's come out these days but I believe japanese developers only have themselves to blame for that for losing originality.

J-developers have followed the same formula for the past 20 years without really stepping outside the boundary that much and when they have with games like Vagrant Story they never want to try again because the game didn't sell well.

Hell look at Atlus I think the only reason the shin megami tensei has done so well the past 6-7 years was because of it's original setting.

After 13 years I'm sick of Tetsuya Nomura's spiky haired character designs if you've seen characters in one game of a series you've seen em all. Star Ocean, Tales of, Final Fantasy.

The last japanese RPG I really loved was Dragon Quest VIII, the british voice acting and charming script really made the characters come alive and make you grow attached to them. Even though the game followed the standard J-RPG formula to the T it had so much charm and soul it's hard not to love that game.

Earthbound followed the same formula IMO but just had a different setting.

50% of the game in an RPG is telling a story and how can you enjoy the game if you don't give a crap about the characters?"



yanki

"What I learned in Japanese class is that Japan likes to believe in the "if it's not broke, why fix it" statement. Okay, maybe that is simplifying it too much, but it struck me as a rather interesting comment on the "kata" (the way) to do things. If you take a look at a lot of things that come out of Japan, not just rpgs, there is a formula to how they work. Shonen and Shojo manga are very similar no matter what story you are reading and JRPG's are noted even more now for having unoriginal storylines. The Persona and Shin Megami Tensei series I find to be the more breakaway from that rehashing of similar plots. I just finished Persona 3 and am currently playing Persona 4 and I'm saddened I have to take a break due to finals! If you want a JRPG that isn't so by-the-book, I would give Persona and SMT a try, especially if you can find a copy. The new Devil Summoner is coming out and the first one is actually quite easy to find compared to SMT:Nocturne and Digital Devil Saga.

But even if most JRPGs are similar, I still love them. To answer your thought, I do not see this genre dying out in 5-10 years. In Japan, they are indeed huge. I went there like two months after FFX-2 was released and I saw ads and merchandise just about everywhere for the game. Famitsu poll on top 10 games of all time largely consisted of FF games, though the poll is quite old, I doubt if a new one were done it would contain less RPG games. The Dragon Quest series, though not really popular in the US, are phenomenally huge in Japan. I have no idea how true this is, but I heard that schools will actually take a holiday when a new DQ is released in Japan. The only 360 games I hear doing well in Japan, are indeed JRPG's."




Keep up the quality discussion guys and gals.

Brad

New Podcast Up

After a few format problems, we've finally gotten show 108 up for this week. We talk about our impressions and then have a discussion about who's buying the Wii and how it will effect everyone else.

108 - The Wii Sales Discussion [download]

Also available on iTunes.

Thanks,
David

The Absorptionist Tome of Rapture

Book of Inquisition

And a feeling came,
And I knew pain.
Forgetful delights forgot the light
That we once knew.
The seams we believed in
Grew and grew.
Together our pain is in vain.
Alone, we are truly in delight.
Creating Destruction and Pain.



You may find the writings of pure acknowledgment via this link.
http://files.filefront.com/13649256


-Travis

Game Announcement: Aliens Vs. Predator

I'll admit, I was a little bummed to hear that Gearbox Software was putting their "Alien: Colonial Marines" on a temporary hiatus to finish Borderlands. The Alien series has always been one of my most beloved science fiction stories. I watched all the movies dozens of times and read many of the books but it was not until this "current generation" of gaming hardware came out that I started to really crave an Aliens game. The dark, oppressing atmosphere of the movies combined with H.R. Giger's alien designs would translate well into a flashy next generation game.

I was rather impressed by the screenshots and the few details that were made public about Colonial Marines but it seems that I might now have something just as interesting to tide me over until Gearbox can finish their game. Today, the first screen shots and details regarding Rebellion's next "Alien vs. Predator" game, set to release on the PS3, (the only confirmed platform... but i'm sure it will be multiplatform) were revealed. For those who are unfamiliar with the series, Rebellion developed both the original Aliens vs. Predator for the Atari Jaguar in 1994:


and the follow up on the PC in 1999:


By today's standards, the screenshots above are nothing special, so feast your eyes on the first screen shot of the new game:

Color me excited. So far, the only confirmed details include:
- The game is set 30 years after events of the "Aliens" movie
- It takes place on a planet where Colonial Marines are attempting to eliminate a Xenomorph infestation. Predators eventually show up for some hunting... fun ensues.
- The game will contain 3 single player campaigns; one for each race.
- There will be some sort of multiplayer component included.

The game is set to release in 2010.

P.S.- Due to the inescapable time constraints of my schedule, you can expect one major article from me per week during the school year. You can expect the following post to make its appearance on Saturday or Sunday of this weekend, thanks for all the support:
Sequel Sound-off: Bioshock 2

-Nick

I feel A tingly sensation!!!!!!

HELLO!!!!
















As you puny, insignificant beings of less quality may be aware, this is the brute becoming of a normal passenger. I AM HERE!!!
Or shall be momentarily. As my power grows into something fathomable, my patience grows thin. The day of my reckoning begins tomorrow, when the sun begins the descent into the hell below. At this time, I shall strike fear into the hearts of your beloved. At this time, the forever luminescent ideals of your past will explode in rage and tortured charisma! There is no hope for this future we share! LET ME DESTROY YOU MINDLESS DRONES OF A MAGNIFICENTLY ATROCIOUS CHAT ROOM!!!! THE WORLD IS MINE TOMORROW!
BE PREPARED!!!!

Hell Has Frozen Over....

I don't post about the news too often. I've never thought of us as a news site. I don't see us to be the ones breaking the news getting it out there to you first before anyone else. 

Commentary on the other hand is something different. Our opinions I feel are unique and sometimes, worth listening to. 

It was announced recently that there is going to be a LEGO ROCK BAND. Why? I have no clue. This is just another Rock Band. This will add long to the Beatles Experience that is already slated. I don't necessarily want to say that this has always been on of my fears, but back when Guitar Hero announced Aerosmith, I could see something like this happening. Just because you get a big named band on the label does not mean it is an improvement on the game. Instead of focusing on make the game better and finding new ways to keep it fresh, the focus is on who's name is on the cover, my opinion: Not the way to go.

I think the market is becoming over saturated. These tie ins and band promotions are just a sign that they're running out of ideas. The game sells and will make money, but both EA and Activision are notorious about pumping titles out yearly and eventually creating franchises that are shells of their former selves. Namely Need For Speed and Tony Hawk.

This was always one of the problems with a game being accepted by the masses. The majority is fickle, fleeting. They lose interest very quickly. They want to be with the trends and when it's done they move on to the next big thing. Music games have been a huge part of my gaming career. I started with Parappa and Bust-A-Groove in high school and have been loving it ever since. But I won't be sad when Rock Band and Guitar Hero die out. The best of the American Guitar series was the first one after all and the spirit was long gone after that one became popular. Plus there is always Guitar Freaks.

Anyone tired of this shit, yet?
David

Holy Shit 10 Million

Last night's broadcast went by pretty normally. We played games and talked to some chatters. Despite the fact that we hit 10 million views, it was a pretty pedestrian showing on our part. Sorry about that.

First of all, Thank You. We've grown so quickly and to the point that sometimes, it's hard to keep up with everything going on. So many of you contribute so much every night, it's difficult to think of a way to show our appreciation. I really that the community is bursting at the seams. The website, the forums, JTV, we're outgrowing all of them. If you look at it, the even the name 4PlayerPodcast kinda doesn't even fit.

I'm a pretty ambitious person. I hate not being able to deliver certain things to people but I hate even more passing on opportunities. There are a lot of things I've promised people and even more that I will probably promise. One of my biggest weaknesses is staying focused. My attention skips around attracted by the next shiny thing that comes along. It doesn't mean that I don't still want to do the things on my list, it just means that I need to get better at finishing a task before I move on.

I'm currently looking through the forums, especially the Improvements/Suggestions portion. A lot of them are obvious and we'll get on them right away. Others are less feasible but we will still try our best.

Tomorrow night we will have a broadcast, just like we do every night. But we will also be trying out Skype. Brad and I will be playing something while taking calls, working out the kinks for future implementation. Nick will be making a appearance after work as will Juan.

Travis will make a return on Friday, for who knows what, but knowing Him, I'm sure it will be something interesting.

Stay tuned as we will make more announcements tomorrow as to what else is going on this weekend.

See you tomorrow night,
David

PS - I hope that all of our mods will be able to call in for a small segment, as you guys are always a big help to us and we'd love to hear from you.

Tekken 6 and pretty CG.

This was the video I was trying to get downloaded from the XBL/PSN marketplaces last night, but apparently they took it down.

Does this video excite me? No. I could care less about the story. But I guess this exists to get more casual players interested in the game. Really there is no amount of cg or gameplay footage they could show me (at least they way they present it) that would interest me in the least. I know what Tekken 6 is. There are no secrets here like in other games. There is no unknown. In fact, the game has been out for a year and a half in arcades. So what could they do?

Namco should host an event where some of the best people in the world are invited to play the game. They should take footage from some of the closest, and perhaps flashiest, matches and send out high quality videos of them to all the blogs and sites. It's ballsy sure, but it actually shows Tekken as what it is, a deep fighting game.

Brad

Some Chris Sawyer Anyone?

Hello nostalgia my old friend.
Well in this case, this wouldn't be the only reason this game is amazing.























Anyone remember this simple gem of a game? The best interpretation of a sim game that I have ever seen? ... Holy god, whoever was playing this screen shot had a lot of money.
Anyways, This is Roller Coaster Tycoon.
1999 by Hasbro, this game was a many things for me. My first Sim game, my first PC game, my first act of spending countless hours at the computer. This game did it all for me.
Why you might ask?
Because its fucking good. Thats all you need to know.














-Travis




P.S.
This game is the first game that I know of, outside of Sid Meiers games, that was as in depth as you could possibly get. From setting prices to every attraction, setting the type of music played at various rides, which type of advertisements you would like to run for your park, or even how you wanted to build your roller coaster...
Ok, I will say that last part again for I know we take it for granted.
How you wanted to build your roller coaster.
This may seem like a small little attraction, but it is by far so much more.
This truly gave you the option to create whatever you wanted, to the most intense roller coaster you could ever dream of, to the hellish crash coaster you send poor, mindless civilians on.
You were, and still are, able to create whatever your mind wanted to create with these coasters.
Oh, and it is a sim game.
In all honesty, that doesn't seem great.
This game made it great.
I have already spent countless hours deciding the layout of my park, the theme, the prices.
This game has stolen my life yet again.

P.S.S
The game starts off with the simple choose a scenario. Each scenario is basically the same, just varying in difficulty. The normal layout being: Meet X amount of guests with X amount of satisfaction by this date.
Simple.
Not really.
To have guests come to your park requires you to craft a park layout which is appealing to the guests. Simple things as having an information booth near the entrance or near the back can vary how satisfied people are with your park... which decides how many people hear about your park... which decides how many people come to your park. While the possibilities are endless on how you can create your park, to achieve the goals that are required of you does take some strategy. Such as having one of the more exciting coasters near the front of the park to "thrill" your guests as they walk through the entrance. Deciding whether or not to take out a loan to create your "masterpiece" coaster with which you will advertise and bring more people to your park. Understanding the value of a dollar. Whether or not your entrance should be expensive and your rides free, or vice versa. These things and many more can decide how well you do at creating your own park.
Now customer satisfaction.
Guests puke, they get hungry, they get bored, they get angry, they vandalize. Oh, and they can die.
All of these are unwanted things, some of them are unavoidable.
The goal being, as the master of your domain, you will want to cut these reaction to the smallest amount possible. This will raise satisfaction and assure you a victory.
Some of these can be fixed by hiring employees, these being guards, handymen, mechanics and entertainers.
Others require you to have a well thought out park that is not only appealing to the eye, but gives the guest many things to do without having to think to hard.
Trust me, they refuse to think too hard.


P.S.S.S
If you decide they are not thinking hard enough... then the fun begins.
It is very possible to create a torture land.
Imagine this.... French fries are free... everyone buys them.
Drinks... are 50 dollars a pop.
So after riding a roller coaster, to settle their stomach they decide to get a drink. Too bad ass hold, you spent all your money entering the park.
Here are some fries.
Oh you are angry?
Well i created this pit of death which you can never climb out of. Or if that isn't to your liking, here is this roller coaster that has an exit located above water... no walkway.
You can't swim? Oh thats too bad.
Well here is this roller coaster that flys off into a cliff.
Now choose bitch!!!!



This is my life.
-Travis

Podcast 108 Recording Tonight

Yay! New show tonight and we have a lot to talk about! Right? Well, not really. But that will give us more time to answer viewer questions properly. So head on over to the Podcast 108 Viewer Questions Thread and leave an excellent question for us to read on the show.

Also leave any news topic and link you would like to hear us discuss (or maybe discuss) on tonights episode. Seriously, did anything happen? Podcast 108 News Thread.

We are also recording a new Top 5 tonight. Are you ready to hear more of our favorite games of all time? Well I hope so, because we are doing our 21-25 on our list of all time favorite games. We will recap our first 20 on the show as well.

We've uploaded TF Show# 21 - Top 5 Games (20-16) [download]

Be there or be a nerd.

Brad

New Dinner Time Uploaded

There was a DinnerTime recorded Saturday. Brad and Nick joined my along with Special Guest Chris David from HookedGamers.

DT - 023 - FireBowl With The Guys [download]

Thanks,
David

MadBrad - A shitty start for Platinum Games?

How many fucking Wii consoles are out there? Eleventy Billion? Why does it matter that Nintendo is dominating the console war if the games that matter don't sell.

Madworld, which came out fairly early in the month, sold a pathetic 66k in March.

Nintendo HAS created a different market. Yes, the industry did grow, but those people that are the new consumers in this market are not buying anything but casual games. Who does this help?? Big publishers who can churn shit out to make the money to fund the projects they actually want to be making? Nintendo, EA, Activision??? The smaller companies who, god forbid, only have teams who want to make real games--what are they supposed to do? Give up? Make Mini Ninjas?

So guess what? Third party games, that are not Guitar games, DO NOT SELL for shit on Nintendo systems. Sure there are some exceptions, but guess what else also sold like shit last month? Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars--a game from possibly the biggest hardcore franchise in the industry, a game that received stellar reviews (sits around 94% on GameRankings), a game that only had a Teen rating, did not make the top 10 games sold in March--it didn't even break 90k. A fucking Grand Theft Auto game!

There is no PS2 this generation. There is no PS1 this generation. Meaning? There is no "sure thing" that developers can put their games out on. From the smallest dev teams to the biggest publishers, during the last two console generations, companies had a console that they KNEW had the audience they needed to sell their game.

I have no doubt that Madworld WOULD have sold way more on PS3 or 360. Why? It has a lower install base and a higher game price. So why? Because we are the people who would have bought the game. So do you all own Wiis? Did you all buy the game? Who owns a Wii and chose not to buy the game? Would you have bought the game if it were on PS3 or 360?

This isn't Nintendo's fault. I think we just need to come to the realization that this hobby of ours that we all love so much--the industry that spawns it has never belonged to us. You know why PS2 was a success? Because Madden was on PS2. Because GTA was on PS2. Because the PS2 was affordable. Not because PS2 had Shadow of the Colossus or Okami. The mainstream, non enthusiast consumers have always determined the fate of the industry. Well... their interests have changed it seems.

Who needs a cool new action game when we could just play Guitar Hero? Who needs a $400 console, when we can play Guitar Hero on a $200 one? Oh look... we won't have to save up money and buy it ourselves because Mom wants Wii Fit.

66,000. For shame. What does Platinum Games do now? Hopefully Bayonetta will do a bit better.


Brad

You Are So Beautiful......To Me

The newly released DSi has no GBA slot. Boo! It was a big deal for me in making my decision to purchase one. Yesterday, the greatest idea came to me. I still have my GAME BOY MICRO!!!

So here's to the Game Boy Micro the small and sleek portable that will still allow me to play my GBA games on the go without having to lug around another DS or a GBA SP. It's so tiny I can just clip it to my belt. Hooray!

It's really a shame that there wasn't more support for this device, I would love to have a new faceplace for it

Could this be a rebirth for the Micro?
David

Brad Answers Viewer Questions - Part 2

Brad

DSi Troubleshooting?

This post is a question for all those DSi owners out there. When the DSi starts up, during the user interface screen, the top screen will randomly show on of the pictures you have taken. Mine was doing that originally when I first bought the system. Now for some reason, since I've gotten the SD Card and moved all the pictures there, it won't do it anymore. Even after I move some pictures back, it still won't show the pictures in the interface screen.

Is anyone else having this problem, or know what the fixes are?

Thanks,

David

Juan vs The Wasabi

We were making sushi the other day and Juan decided to take on his arch-nemesis, The Wasabi.

David

New Top 5 Podcast

The new top 5 was uploaded and to iTunes as well.

032 - Top 5 Nostalgia? Games [download]

Thanks,
David

How We Use XBLA Microphones

Thank you Juan for taking part in this demonstration.

David

Silent Hill: Shattered Expectations?

I have been rather lucky. Silent Hill, my favorite gaming IP has had a pretty steady flow of sequels and side projects over the past few years. Unlike it's big brother franchise, Resident Evil, most of these projects have been solid. None have strayed too far from the core concept and they have all stayed true to what makes Silent Hill such an appealing game. When I heard that Climax would be working on a remake of the original game on the Wii, I was instantly excited and skeptical at the same time. We all know what the Wii is know how usually happens to an IP when it is transitioned to the Wii (Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles, Dead Space Extraction). Then some details started to emerge. This game is not just a remake but is instead a re-imagining of the original game. The concept remains the same while many of the gameplay mechanics and approaches to the story have been altered to make a game that is still surprising to long time fans. I found this interview with the producers to be rather interesting:


I am a little worried about what they have done with the combat or "enemy encounters" but I will hold my judgements until I see it in action. Overall, I think that the game looks like they aren't cutting any corners in respect to the games looks by switching to the Wii. As long as Akira Yamaoka composes the music and the game is still a "semi open-world" gameplay style. then I shouldn't have too much to complain about when I pick this up later this year.

-Nick

Forum Art Highlights

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This has been long overdo. I shall put up way more in a mega post soon.

Brad

Community Blog (school) - Henry Hatsworth Review

Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure (NDS)

a review by school

When I first heard about the concept of the Nintendo DS I was perplexed. I thought, “Why would any game need two screens?” These thoughts were reaffirmed, at first, with games just using the bottom screen for a map, inventory or something that wasn't really necessary. But as the DS matured so did the games released, with each passing year using the hardware better. Now in 2009 comes Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure, which takes the duality of the DS into an interesting direction.

The main concept of Henry Hatsworth is that you play two separate games that run intertwined. The top screen being an action platformer and the bottom being a clone of Planet Puzzle League or Tetris Attack. What makes the game stand out is the combination of the two. Kill an enemy on the top screen and it falls down to the bottom screen as a block. Then, pausing time on the top screen, you can switch to the bottom screen, where the blocks continuously shift upwards. If the enemy block isn't cleared it will reappear in the top screen and attack you.

The top screen follows the typical action platformer tropes with melee, distant and special attacks. The levels continue on the same traditional path with destinations such as jungles, lava, the sky and underwater. Later on the levels become somewhat more original but are overly tedious with disappearing and solitary platforms along with pits to facilitate your demise. The enemies you encounter throughout the levels vary enough to keep things interesting. The regular enemies are more than strong enough to take you down, making for some very intense situations, especially following a mid-boss fight. The difficulty ramps up far too quickly though, taking a giant leap by the end of the third world. The enemy's attack animations get very quick while you move rather sluggishly. Also the distance between checkpoints is far too large making for undue difficulty. The bosses carry over the high difficulty but in a more classic way of memorizing patterns. There are also times when you are given what is literally a kill room of regular enemies as a boss. This works quite well though because of the puzzle element below making for a more strategic experience.

The bottom screen requires strategy to support your battles on the top. This interplay between screens feels incredibly fresh and rewarding. The bottom is where you will heal, do supplemental spell-like damage via Special Blocks and receive any items found all while being time limited. The time limit requires the puzzle to be viewed very strategically in the boss fights by having to decide which blocks to prioritize. The Item Blocks materialize in the bottom screen providing more lives or hearts. In addition, there are Special Blocks, such as lightning bolts that clear out all of the blocks of the same color but it will also inflict a lightning attack on all of the enemies on top. Healing can be done by clearing a heart block or by filling the Super Meter by various methods. The Super Meter is also used for distant attacks, special attacks and tea time. Tea time is where Henry Hatsworth has tea with his fellow Englishmen only to be interrupted by a roaring guitar riff transforming him into an invincible robot all while Union Jack is streaking in the background.

Most, if not all, of the humor comes from the satire of British culture and general absurdities like the previously mentioned robot. It continuously harps on the same thing, which can become slightly tiresome at times, especially with the Banjo-Kazooie-esque gibberish dialogue ending in words like “right-o!” or “govna”. The story revolves around Henry Hatsworth, who holds the number one spot in the Pompous Adventurers Club, and his rival, Weaselby. They both hope to obtain the Golden Suit, albeit for different reasons. Hatsworth wanting it so he can become the classiest of classy and Welselby wanting it to, you guessed it, control the world. All of the main and supporting characters are well designed with great looking artwork. Also there is a good variety of music from a more orchestral backing to the action platforming and a very funky sounding backing to the puzzling. Sadly though, the sound production was done far too hot, resulting in very heavy distortion and clipping.

Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure has a ton of charm. The humor is funny in its ridiculousness and the concept of the two worlds is novel. If they both had to belong as separate games, the results would be disastrous: one game being a derivative action platformer and the other a puzzle game that has been done before. But together the games are very intertwined, interacting with each other in interesting ways: creating a new type of gameplay from something once stale. Difficulty qualms aside, Hatsworth is a game you must, at the very least, give a chance.

From Across the Counter: A Look at Video Game Retail

I write this article at the risk of losing my job. Unfortunately, Corporate entities are a picky bunch, unable to stand for the slightest bit of employee backlash. More and more, video game retail is being considered the ugly duckling of the gaming industry. Everywhere I turn, people complain and straight-up trash game retail stores and employees because they disagree with their practices. Being an employee at one of the biggest gaming-retail chains has given me a bit of an insiders perspective and at the same time, made me feel like a little bit of an outsider in the industry that I love.

Making a trip to the game store, especially on the day of a big game release, is always a special day for any gamer, no matter what age they are. There is just something special about shopping at a store that is dedicated to gaming that the game section at Wal-Mart or Best Buy just can’t deliver. Unfortunately, as the gaming industry has boomed, changes to retail practices and the opinions of media journalists have had negative effects on how we shop for games. For whatever reason, gamers are now opposed to reserving games prior to release and are quick to turn a negative experience at one store into an opinion of the entire company. More and more gamers are flocking to the likes of Wal-Mart and buying games from people who, for the most part, have little or no knowledge about the games that they sell.


As I get more serious about delving into the world of game journalism, I find it increasingly ironic that so many of the professionals that I admire, shun the business that I currently work in. I suppose that I can feel some comfort from the fact that so many of these writers and personalities started out as Gamestop employees themselves. However, it is discouraging to hear the likes of Ryan Davis or John Davison refer to Gamestop employees as scam artists or something else along those lines. As I continue to grow in this industry, I’m sure that I will have to come to terms with the way that these journalists think because I will have a similar field of experience. With that said, I would like to take this opportunity to respond to a lot of the negative chatter that has taken the industry by storm.

Like I said earlier, I write this not only as an aspiring writer but also as an employee of a huge game-retail corporation. I have listened to hundreds of podcasts, read a number of different articles, and heard endless complaints with my own two ears about the way that these businesses are run. What I can't understand is how people are so quick to judge a company's business strategy when they don't have a full understanding of their logic behind the decisions that they make.
In an effort to keep this article from becoming a rant, I will avoid obvious discussion topics like: "The legitimacy of pre-ordering" or "the reason small stores sell opened new games." Instead I simply want to say that working in video game retail has done me a lot of good and has really played a big part in fueling my interest in this industry. If it weren't for my job, I would have probably been insanely bored throughout my college experience. To everyone who has gone out of their way to complain about something miniscule or lead an internet army on a pointless march against mega-corporations, I say this: your shopping experience is what you make of it. Period. It is easy to understand that many people may not want to take part in the policies or services that these stores provide but there is absolutely no reason that they can't simply find a new store that fits their expectations. Not wanting to shop at a particular chain is one thing, but taking your misinformed rant to cyberspace is immature and uncalled for. If you had to put up with half of the junk that I did, you might understand why some game store employees appear rude or unfriendly. I will close by saying that the store that I work at and the employees I work with do our best to make shopping at our store a fun experience and for the most part, we have been successful. In the end, it is important to remember to look at these stores as what they are, a business, and many of these trite and illogical complaints could be forgiven. It is too bad that 90% of the people who complain are completely unwilling to try and look at these issues from the perspective of someone who works across the counter.

What?!?!

Can anyone guess what Brad is doing in this picture?

Thanks,

David

Batman Continues to Impress

I know comic fans may bitch but i'm sorry, Batman: Arkham Asylum continues to blow me away with it's presentation. BANE looks amazing. Enjoy:



-Nick

Brad answers Viewer Questions: Part 1

We missed a show a couple of weeks ago, so naturally we ran long on our "impressions" segment during episode 107 the other day. Well, we never got to viewer questions, so I decided to try and answer as many as I could here on the blog. Here we go.

zekana:
has there ever been a bad guy/villian from a game that you kind of wished had won in the end? someone who you really understood and felt bad about having to deliver the final blow or stopping their plans all together? someone whose plans you may of agreed more with then the "good guys" plans.

I can't believe I forgot the obvious choice on the show. Wiegraf from Final Fantasy Tactics is a excellent character and an excellent villain. He was fighting for the what he thought was the right side (and he WAS right), and although his methods were questionable, I realize he was simply the tragic hero. Then we killed his sister. He did some horrible things and accepted evil in the end, but his intentions were just. An excellent character in an amazing game.



Fang(FangTehWolf in chat) from Austin Texas:
If you could somehow meet a videogame character, and hang-out with that character for a day which character would it be?

I'd buy Old Snake a beer. Or go to the movies with Alyx.



Rich from Long Island, New York (Cablevision in chat):
Will DLC hurt the gaming industry in the future? Now it breaks the banks of the gamers who have to pay for features that could have been added before the release, but will the potentially higher price tags deter gamers from buying games?

I fucking hate it.




Matt from Chicago, IL (Twistamafoo in chat):
If you could become a video game character and play in that character's game world, who/what game would you choose?

Mario in Mario Sunshine or Mario Galaxy seems like it would be a ton of fun.



Trey from Lubbock, Texas (Catpeople79 in chat):
If you had control over the next Zelda game, what changes would you make to make the series better?

Core dungeon/world structure can stay similar to how it is in other Zelda games. Just make sure there is plenty to see an discover as Link is exploring. Everything else needs a lot of work. Actually... I will make this a separate post.



Jason from Florida [Sofora in Chat]:
If you had to choose, which is more important the character development in a video game or the story development? Which has more impact on the player the characters or the story in a video game?

For me, great character development is the story. The story I want at least.



Richard from England [Yellowfishstick in chat):
What are your opinions on turn based combat systems in RPG's. With the increase in Real time battle systems in Rpg's how would a turn based Rpg game change their battle system to stand out.

Turn based is fine, just people are not doing interesting things with it. There are some that stand out in my mind as being exceptional. Final Fantasy 10-2 has maybe the best turn based battle system around. The Grandia series also has a great system. Final Fantasy 13 also looks like it could be really good. Trick with turn based is to keep things moving fast, and never have battles that take too long.



I'll answer more later.

Brad

New Podcast Up

We're back after an unexpected week long hiatus. It's an impression heavy show this week as we first go over the DSi.

Impressions:

Brad - Bully, Way of the Samurai, Saints Row 2, Y's Book I & II, Red Faction Demo.

David - Ultimate Ghost N Goblins, Grim Grimoire, Star Ocean IV, Broken Sword, 

Nick - Chronicles of Riddick, Tetris on the iPhone

Community Segment
4PlayerMinute

107 - Nick Plays Tetris On The iPhone Show [download]

Available on iTunes

Thanks,

David

Complete Final Fantasy XIII Demo Footage

So thanks to Joystiq for posting this and thanks to whoever put the footage up on youtube as well. Below you can watch the entire FFXIII Japanese Demo footage that was released alongside the blu-ray release of FFVII Advent Children. Thats right folks, the first FFXIII gameplay footage! Enjoy. 2010 can't come soon enough.





-Nick

This Week on the Stream.

Will I check in this week??


I'm not a fan of your typical open world mission based game, but I am really enjoying Bully. I might make some more progress in this game sometime later in the week.


I'm kind of enjoying the Resident Evil knockoff follow-up to Square's classic RPG horror game, Parasite Eve. I will try to finish this game in the next couple of weeks.


Expect to see some more Jade Empire on the feed this week as well. I still need to finish it, and David needs to start it. I know it's not everyone favorite game to watch... but who cares. Die in a fire.


Will I have the patience to play through another one of these game? Well, I've already started, and it looks to be the case.


David will continue his quest to find excellent voice acting.



Brad

Is It About Time?

A game I would like to see make a return is the 1080 Series. While Nintendo's release schedule has never been great, in the past they had a way where they could get by just releasing a different game or genre every so often. You would get an acceptable mix of games in a fun racer like Mario Kart, a futuristic racer in F-Zero, and the snowboard racer in 1080.

While most have preferred the SSX series, I've never been really impressed by it. I picked up SSX3 day one and was done with it after a weekend. Tricks have never been my forte. The character designs have been kinda comic book. And I never got the feeling of snowboarding.

Step in 1080 Avalanche which came out two months later in December of 2003. This was the snowboarding game I was looking for. Maybe it was the style of the characters, they had a cute asian girl instead of a sexy one. But I think it more had to do with the game mechanics.

The game focused more on racing. Sure there were trick stages, but the game and stage design revolved around trying to be the first around the finish line. You couldn't get the air that you could in SSX, but you were able to get something else, a sense of speed. When you held down the crouch button, you'd become more aerodynamic. Going down a hill, your speed would increase and bits of snow began to visibly fly by and stick to your parka. The controller rumbled and shook. You really felt that if you didn't hold everything together that you would end up crashing horribly.

It was the little things that made me keep playing the game. Cushioning your landing was crucial to maintaining your speed, so you were always paying attention to timing the button press with when you made contact with the ground. I played the game for weeks unlocking every board and hidden character, playing all the courses regular and reverse, and getting gold on all the time trial and trick stages. It's not often that I play a game for all the extras but in a game without too much storyline, there's not much else except gameplay and extras.

Which leads me to my final point. This was the first snowboarding game I spent a lot of time with. I want a new one to be made, but if it's more of the same, I could see myself getting tired of it very quickly. That's one of the reason I've seen series like SSX and Tony Hawk fade into the shadows in recent years. Developers always have to come up with something new and fresh to keep the IP interesting. Either that or they need to time the releases after a few years so that the concept can be forgotten a little.

For the 1080 series, it'll be especially hard because in Avalanche, the actual force of nature was the draw of the game. The last course in each set was literally a race against an Avalanche. It was invigorating to have the feeling of being chased down by a white wall of death. Trees would be collapsing around you with white powder splashing around your heels. It was something not done before and one of the reasons I think Nintendo has held off on bringing back the franchise.

Even if they didn't want to take the time, effort, and money to reinvent it, they could at least do a revisit.

Anyone know what I'm talking about?
David