This week: The Secret of Monkey Island, the Otakon Report, a trip down memory lane with Super Mario Galaxy, Battlefield 1943, SMT: Devil Survivor, Prototype, and The Beatles Rock Band track list discussion.
Archive for July, 2009
Battlefield 1943 Review
(originally published at Smile Politely, 7/16)
If Halo 3 or Call of Duty 4 is any indication, there is no such thing as a casual fan of first-person shooters. If you don’t know every map and every weapon, you’ll quickly find yourself buried in grenades. I learned a long time ago that if you don’t invest enough time on the battle ground du jour, there’s little hope of catching up. That’s why Battlefield 1943 on the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 is such a refreshing departure from the norm. With only three maps and three classes, skeptics may wonder if they’re getting a good deal, but the lean package is actually one of 1943‘s greatest assets.
Of course, if you’re an Xbox 360 owner, the much-publicized server problems may be the greater deterrent. For whatever reason, Electronic Arts was overwhelmed by the demand from gamers following 1943‘s launch last week. Even as of this Tuesday morning, the “Quick Match” option is still anything but. This isn’t the first time that an online-only shooter has been bogged down by network problems; the PS3′s SOCOM: Confrontation was almost unplayable when it was released last year. However, EA seems to have a much better handle on the situation, and the upside is that there is already a large community of gamers ready to hit the beaches running.
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Episode 98: Knowing Is Half the Battle
This week: More ghosts to bust, talk of game related goodies (see above), Battlefield 1943‘s Coral Sea map, Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor, Monster Hunter Freedom Unite online, and the G.I. Joe naming challenge.
A Call to Arms
Howdy, Rumble Pack fans! We interrupt your irregularly scheduled programming to encourage everyone to pick up Battlefield 1943. Preferably for the Xbox 360, as that is the version that Justin, Kaz, and Nick play. Apparently, our mission statement says something about “a celebration of the social aspects of gaming,” and we’d like to live up to that pretentiousness. So gather up some Microsoft funbucks and look out for announcements about upcoming matches both here and on the show. We would really like to get some epic, 12 versus 12 matches underway within the month. Be sure to post your Gamertags on the message board.
Also, we’d better not see you camping on the aircraft carrier for respawning planes.
Episode 97: Reduce, Reuse
This week: BlazBlue, Blueberry Garden, Bit.Trip Core, Battlefield 1943, and Suda 51′s Flower, Sun and Rain.
Oh, Otakon.
It hit me last night, as I was watching the fireworks light up the 4th of July sky, that another summer has almost reached its halfway point without me even realizing it. They seem to go by faster every year, but this year’s seems especially fast. Maybe it’s because this summer is the first in my life that hasn’t included some type of multi-week summer break. Maybe it’s because the end of this summer marks the end of my unmarried life. Or maybe it’s because in less than two weeks, I’ll be revisiting Baltimore for quite possibly my favorite weekend of the entire year: Otakon.
What started out as a summer diversion for myself and 3 of my 16 year old friends back in highschool has turned into nothing less than an annual tradition for my closest hometown pals. Every summer since 2001 we’ve descended onto Baltimore for an extended weekend of goofing off, trading stories, watching crazy movies and playing video games. While it may seem that I’m skirting around the idea that Otakon is the “convention of an OTAKU generation”, the anime lures that drew me in as a teenager have most definitely taken a back seat to the quality time I get to spend with my friends. Highlights usually include:
- Making fun of cosplayers
- Watching awfully-dubbed and usually ridiculous Asian cinema
- Playing a host of video games with over-competitive fanboys
- Being amazed at how badly people can smell
- Buying all sorts of imported goodies from the gigantic dealer’s room
Overall, it’s always an amazing time.
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Episode 96: Know Your Segment
This week, Tony, Nicolo, Justin, and Kaz get down and dirty with MtG: Duels of the Planeswalkers, Zooloretto, and MadWorld. We talk about expectations and how the segmented market can affect a game’s sales. Also, stay tuned for impressions of Garou: Mark of the Wolves, BoxLife, Ghostbusters, Punch-Out!!, and Tiger Woods 10 (with motion plus!).
