Episode 18: Redemption

ThePack

– October 30, 2007Posted in: Main, Podcasts

Rumor has it that if you listen to our spooktacular Halloween episode the ghost of Ooey Booey will kill you with bad special effects. Muah ha ha haaaa!

Justin, Tom, Nick and Kaz meet in the digital world to bring you their thoughts on video games this week. Nick and Tom talk about the fun they’ve had with Zack and Wiki. Kaz talks about why everyone was right about Lair. While Justin gives his opinion on more handheld titles and some “interesting” arcade games. In the second segment Nick, Tom and Kaz go to town on Guitar Hero III, which leads, inexorably, to a Rock Band versus Guitar Hero discussion. Then the gang contemplates Nintendo’s Wii getting marketplace penetration in China (marketing speak guaranteed to get you an M rating, Wii? Penetration?). Then the news rundown rounds out a spooky episode. Boo! Headshot!

Episode 18: Redemption [ 1:30:49 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (484)

Episode 17: Guitar Zero III?

ThePack

– October 23, 2007Posted in: Main, Podcasts

The full cast makes a triumphant, somewhat distorted, return! Tom, Nick, Justin and Kaz belt out what they have had stuck in their trays this week. Including but not limited to: Warhawk, more Resistance, Final Fantasy Tactics, Breath of Fire II (for the last time?), Brain Age 2, Guitar Hero III Demo and Looney Tunes: Duck Amok. Justin and Nick ponder the fate of Street Fighter IV and its implications while Kaz and Tom fret for the latest guitar offering. Septembers rip roaring NPDs make an appearance and no one can explain the Wii’s sales. The shows ends with a rundown of all the obscure game news we could find and a tired crew. Round 1, FIGHT!

Episode 17: Guitar Zero III? [ 1:30:02 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (499)

Episode 16: Super Sonic Brawl!

ThePack

– October 16, 2007Posted in: Main, Podcasts

All four casters unite again for a brief period of time. The opening segment finds Nick, Tom and Kaz discussing more “Breath of Fire II moments in translation brilliance”. Once that’s over with they discuss Nick’s purchase of a PS3, and all the demos that they could get their hands on. Kaz finds Metroid Prime 3 not to his liking and Tom got tricked into playing the Conan demo on the PS3. Justin phones in from China for a relatively distorted conversation, he weighs in on the WiiWare and some of the Smash updates. The news finds Nick having and nerdgasm over the confirmed inclusion of his favorite character in his favorite game, and the discussion of the shocking Bioware and Pandemic sellout. Showing the huge difference in third party mentality in the US versus Japan. Order up a Donkey Burger for this one!

Episode 16: Super Sonic Brawl! [ 1:08:05 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (462)

Everyday Shooter Review

Kaz

– October 11, 2007Posted in: Kaz, Main, Review

At first I thought the title of the game was a utilitarian way of describing the game as a rudimentary dual stick shooter that was made for the working man.

After playing it, however, the title appears to be creator Jonathan Mak’s way of telling everyone he does drugs every damn day.

He describes this “game” as an album of games that examines “the expressive power of abstract shooters.” Which isn’t helping his case; were you to play his game and have him standing behind you as you groove to the abstract guitar noises and tell you about the expressive powers the game had…you would most certainly know he was on heroin.

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Episode 15: Halo + Beers = Good

ThePack

– October 9, 2007Posted in: Main, Podcasts

This week features the whole cast for the first time in a while, well, for the first 15 minutes at least. Justin phones in from China to relay how he’s been faring in gaming and otherwise. After that Nick, Tom and Kaz go on to discuss all the gaming they have been doing, including Nick’s personal struggle with torturous old school RPGs and the like, Tom’s portable fun times and Kaz’s foray into actually using a Wii. All that and we discuss Halo 3 as a group now that we’ve finally played some local matches. After the break: we go in depth on what G4 TV really seems like to us, what they do right and what they do wrong (mostly wrong). After that rant we dive straight into the news at break neck speed, it’s a race to the finish this week!

Episode 15: Halo + Beers = Good [ 1:18:26 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (499)

The Orange Box: Half Life 2: Episode 2 Review

Kaz

– October 9, 2007Posted in: Kaz, Main, Review

Note: I experienced all Half Life 2 and Orange Box titles via a gaming PC and Steam. Opinions may vary based on the quality of the version being played.

The first reason that I would list for wanting to purchase The Orange Box is the last component I ended up playing. I went after Portal almost immediately, in spite of the game being an afterthought in the package. Then I transitioned to Team Fortress 2 having played a lot of the beta on my steam preorder. Finally I got around to cracking into Episode 2.

As a testament to its fantastic quality I beat the game in two sittings. For my own record I refer to these parts by two different names: Part 1, “The really good part” and Part 2, “The effing mind-blowing portion”. No amount of telling myself to stand up and walk away from the monitor could tear me away. Especially once I had gotten into the really effing mind-blowing portions.

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The Orange Box: Portal Review

Kaz

– October 9, 2007Posted in: Kaz, Main, Review

Warning: Some people may consider seeing screens of a puzzle game spoilers, I do not think this simple puzzle ruins anything, but if you are spoiler sensitive then you might want to play Portal before you read this review.

How do you get that box onto the switch in the center of the room? With Portals of course!

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Take a deep Breath…

Nicolo

– October 7, 2007Posted in: Blogs, Main, Nicolo

Take a deep breath.

No really, expand those sissy-lungs of yours and suck in all the glory.

Now breath it ALLLLLLLLL OUT.

If what exits your mouth resembles the logo you see above…

Run for your life.

Cause I’m coming after you.

No, not really.

It’s not your fault that you birthed something so shoddy. In fact, I’m pretty convinced that there was a whole team of talented translators working around the clock on this gem after it was released in Japan. They probably worked day and night, night and day, struggling with the intricacies, nuances, and differences between English and Japanese to bring us top-notch translations that leave nothing to the imagination.

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Episode 14: How Import-ant

ThePack

– October 1, 2007Posted in: Main, Podcasts

Tom’s still fiddling around with aging PS2 software and Nick is plowing his way through Breath of Fire II and Prime 3. Meanwhile, Kaz played as much Halo 3 multi-player as he could before having to relinquish his 360 to Microsoft’s service department. The final word on Halo 3: “it’s…good?” The crew discusses the legit import scene and how it relates to you. Finally they discuss all the interesting news including, but not limited to, the new 360 chips, the Dualshock shocker and something for the Uwe watch. No shirt, no shoes, all service!

Episode 14: How Import-ant [ 49:04 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (502)

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass Review

Justin

– October 1, 2007Posted in: Justin, Main, Review

When Twilight Princess arrived on the Wii last fall, it absolutely knocked my socks off. Perhaps it wasn’t the game to prove the system’s potential, but the dungeons were still expertly crafted and there were enough surprises throughout Link’s quest to justify the hype preceding its release. A year later, the handheld equivalent has arrives in the form of The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass. Though the some of the new control elements feel gimmicky and the dungeon designs leave something to be desired, Phantom Hourglass still manages to be the best handheld Zelda game since Link’s Awakening.

As you’ve most likely read elsewhere (or noticed in any of the screenshots), this is the direct sequel to the Gamecube classic Wind Waker. The characters, the story (*Spoilers* Gannon’s dead), and especially the presentation have all made the transition to the DS remarkably well. Despite hardware limitations, Link, Tetra, and newcomer Captain Linebeck are incredibly expressive and retain that beautiful “Celda” style that was so controversial years ago. Though developers in the past have used compressed FMVs to tell their stories, this cartoony take on Zelda demonstrates that such shortcuts aren’t always necessary despite the hardware limitations. Other than Metroid Prime Hunters, there isn’t another game on the Nintendo DS that’s anywhere near as stunning. The audio doesn’t make quite the same first impression, but the compositional quality is still topnotch as usual and the voice clips are only occasionally bothersome (“LISTEN!”). Nintendo should be applauded for putting so much oomph into a handheld game.

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Archive for October, 2007