Brad's Laundry List - "I've earned my RPG Week" Edition

People are always begging me to play something scary. My usual reaction is that of rage and and violent frustration. To be honest, I have played through plenty of these games and have given a ton more a fair chance. This is not a genre I particularly enjoy, so cut me some slack. These are the horror games I have played in their entirety live on the feed. Check the archives for the footage.

Brad:
Resident Evil Remake - 100%
Silent Hill 2 - 100%
Silent Hill 3 - 100%
Silent Hill 4 - 100%
Fatal Frame 1 - 100%
Fatal Frame 2 - 100%
The House - 100%
Half Life 2 (Ravenholm) - 100%

With Nick:
Condemned 1 - 100%
Condemned 2 - 100%
Fatal Frame 3 - 90%
Call of Cthulhu - 30%

Started:
Siren
Kuon
Silent Hill 1
Clock Tower 3
Doom 3


Oh and this is for all the chatters whining about RPG Week:




Just saying...

Brad

This Week on the Feed....

Don't take it personally guys, but I will be playing lots and lots of RPGs this week. This is the genre that cemented my love for video game, and I wouldn't be doing what I am now if it were not for these kinds of game. Now I know it could sound boring, but check out the lineup and let me know what you think.


That's right folks. I'm going back! I finally got the expansions to Oblivion and now is the time.

BEWARE BEARS! FOR I AM THE ENFORCER OF THE "LONG HIBERNATION!"


I have never played much of this game before, but the sequel could be end up being really good. I need to finally get through this game. Good luck to the ugly villagers of my small british hometown in this game because... YOU CAN'T TAME ME!!!


Ok, this one I feel a little guilty about. I just picked this one up, so give me a break. Just be happy the combat is more exciting the long boring Lost Odyssey battles.


This is new this week, and yes... this is an RPG. I will prove it to you later this week.


See you on the feed,

Brad


PS Thanks to the talented PanchoJoshi for the awesome bear gifs.

A Trip To Nick's House

Mike and I made a stop by Nick's house yesterday to pick up some documentation for some projects we're working on. Luckily Mike had his iPhone, so we snapped a picture of something interesting we saw in Nick's garage.

That's right...It's a Bourne Conspiracy Standee with an American Flag draped over it. Truly, an amazing sight.

For America,
David

Dinner Time with Travis

Travis was back in town this week so I got to sit down with him and record a Dinnerless Podcast.

004 - 09.05.2008 [download]

Taste, it is good..
David

Tomb Raider Underworld Story Trailer

OMG I am excited for this game. I know there are a lot of games coming out in the fall so it would be easy for most people to overlook another Tomb Raider but this game looks like it may be the sequel I have been waiting for since Anniversary. If you have some extra cash in November, I would definitely give this one a look.



-Nick

OMG!!! Headphones!!

Well, I've sucked at Trauma Center. I never finished the DS version. I never finished the Wii version. I wanted to but didn't pick up the sequel on the DS. But man this picture has me wanting to play the game again. The DS version was considered by many to be extremely hard and I don't think that most game players, casual or hardcore, beat it.

So I know that this picture got a mention on several sites. But it was given away to people who helped Atlus out by filling out a survey about Trauma Center. You know, the usual stuff on how to improve the game and whether they'd like to see it on another console.

Angie has always been a complex character that I liked. In the beginning the was a coldish character that was always lecturing you about mistakes you made or scolding you about your faults. But eventually you (Derek Stiles), cleaned up your act and became a great doctor. One of my favorite moments in the series was the first time you saw Angie Thompson show weakness. Instead of being this always tough character, a patient's life was on the line. She was unsure of what to do. There was this horrible disease that was tearing through the patients heart and that was the first time you used the healing touch, an ability where you move so fast time basically stops. It's quite a memorable moment from the game and that's why I thought I'd mention this importance of this photo. Great character development and story. That's why the photo means so much. Plus she's wearing headphones. I love girls wearing headphones.

Enjoy,
David

THE GIANT POST OF AWESOME!!!

Thanks to everyone who helped create the greatness in this post. I love you guys. Keep the forums alive!






























Brad

Games as Art? I Think So. (Part 1)

The question of whether or not games constitute art has been around since gaming made the leap from being simplistic, 2 dimensional shooters to being complex, colorful, and often story driven adventures. Perhaps it has been around longer. However, this question is relevant now more than ever because of how incredibly creative gaming has become and how developers are constantly striving to push the envelope to create a triple A title. While games of old may or may not be considered art, games of today most certainly can. So many games coming out today go above and beyond the art direction of some of today's biggest films. There are some exceptions of course, films like Pans Labyrinth, The Dark Knight, and 300 really do go the extra mile to create a look and feel that match the creativity in big budget games like Final Fantasy and Mass Effect. Join me as I take a look back at gaming in the past decade in an attempt to answer this question.

1996: We all know about the big names like "Super Mario Bros" and "Space Invaders" so I wont waste much time talking about them. They were big accomplishments and opened up worlds of possibilities for the industry. But in the year 1996, when Mario made his first jump from 2D to 3D in "Super Mario 64" I got my first glimpse of the artistic possibilities. The game was a beautiful take on a classic game play formula that really demonstrated the kinds of detail that could be presented on screen. In addition to great visual presentation, the game also included an amazing and memorable soundtrack that would be remembered more than a decade later.

In addition to Super Mario's 3D debut, new 3D games began to emerge and demonstrate new presentation techniques such as pre-rendered environments. One in particular would be the original Resident Evil for the playstation 1 which demonstrated great visuals (for the time) and some of the earliest (yet worst) voice acting in gaming. The game laid the ground work for one of the most cinematic and terrifying franchises in the industry to date.


1998 - 1999: As games continued to gain momentum and become bigger and bolder, we began to see more immersive games. Games that focused more and more on creating a detailed, cinematic atmosphere. Resident Evil 2 expanded on what made the first game so good and improved on it by createing amazing looking cutscenes and heart pounding, scripted, event sequences. Metal Gear Solid took this to the next level by portraying an incredibly complex narrative that rivaled about 99% of most films being released. In addition to incredible concept art and smooth looking graphics, the game featured memorable characters in incredible situations. Games like Dino Crisis borrowed from these formulas to create similar experiences and create a feeling among players that simply couldn't be done in the movies or books. These games were some of the first games I would truly consider art but definitely not the last. Check back later for Part 2 of my 3 part looks into gaming as an art form in which I will take a look at some of the games released from 2000 - 2005.

-Nick

A message to all who think combat in Japanese RPGs is just clicking through a menu...

This is Tales of Vesperia -- a JRPG for Xbox 360.


That is all,

Brad

Keeping our hype in check for the Fall

It is nice to be super excited for all the great games coming out this Fall. After all, last year had possibly one of the greatest gaming seasons ever in video game history. But with huge titles still to come like Fallout 3, Gears of War 2, Little Big Planet, Fable 2, and Left 4 Dead, it's easy to get swept away in all crazy gaming hype. I'm here to bring everyone down to a safe hype level with a bit of a reality check.

Too Human and Mercenaries 2 were both pretty big console titles for the early Fall season. They have a couple of things in common as well. One is that they both have been pushed way beyond their expected release dates. And two is they both are hovering very closely around the high 60s and low 70s on Gamerankings. Both somewhat underwhelming. Another big title on everyone's radar is Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. Though we have a couple of weeks till this one hits, it already has several reviews in and is sitting around 70% on the same review aggregate site. Looks like Infinite Undiscovery is also a bit of a stinker. I think the critical response to all of these games is sadly unimpressive. I was expecting more from each of these games in different ways.

Also, the biggest PC release of the year(or perhaps the last several) is about to hit. Spore, while garnering much higher scores than the aforementioned games, is sitting around 85% on Gamerankings. While these are good scores, Spore was supposed to be the "Second Coming" of video games. At least Will Wright made us all think so.

So looking a bit at the coming months, I think there are a few titles worth discussing.

Little Big Planet has me most worried now because of how similar to Spore the game is in concept and early preview reception. Both games tout the importance of user created content, and how this content will spread and create life for everyone playing the games. Also both games were always very well received at nearly every trade show they have been a part of since their announcements. I'm just a bit worried that people who have played Little Big Planet have gotten swept up by the newness and potential of what they saw with this game. I'm not saying that LBP will be underwhelming; I'm just saying we need to be a bit more cautiously optimistic.

Others worth mentioning:

Mirrors Edge could be the next Assassin's Creed in that it looks like nothing we have ever seen and seems fresh in 3 minute trailers and 10 minute demos. But as we all know, something new and innovative isn't always fun if you are doing that same damn thing for 12 hours strait.

Dead Space, while it certainly looks nice, is coming from an unproven EA development studio. Just be wary is all. These types of games also have the potential of being 6-8 hours long, which could be a problem for a game with no single player.

While I'm sure Rock Band and Guitar Hero will be apt games this fall, don't expect the kind of positive spirit and warm reception they received last year. Especially Rock Band.

Banjo Kazooie could be 40 dollars for a reason...

Fallout 3 and Left 4 Dead are two of the biggest games for me. But honestly, I can see both having a variety of issues. First off.... fuck it...

FALLOUT 3 AND LEFT 4 DEAD ARE GONNA BE TWO OF THE GREATEST FUCKING GAMES EVER!!!!!!! STEP ASIDE OCARINA OF TURD!!!! YOU SHOULD HAVE PULLED THE TRIGGER SOLID SNAKE!!!!! ZOMG MARIO WON'T EVEN BE ABLE TO GO BACK TO PLUMPING AFTER THE ASS BEATING THESE TWO GAMES WILL GIVE HIM!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOTTTTT HYYPPPPEEEEEEEE!!!!!!



Brad