The Rumble Pack Posts

Welcome to the third dimension! This week, Justin shares his 3DS joy with the rest of the crew. Tune in for Pilotwings Resort, Nintendogs + Cats, Steel Diver, Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition, AR Games, and assorted other bits. But for those of you not ready to embrace the future and/or past, Justin spins a delightful Monster Tale, Kaz and Tom lament over the disappointing Dragon Age II, Dr. Tony gets bit by the Pokébug and Nick is jealous of Tom’s Sword and Sworcery EP. Plus, wrestling slabs of meat, bankrupting Blockbuster, board games for rookies, Mario Party stigmatas and the best Mother’s Day ever.

Relevant Links:

Sword and Sworcery EP Trailer

Fighting Fantasy Series

Board Game Geek

Ante up, Rumble Nation! This week, the guys are here to start collecting your chips in Full House Poker. For those of you who aren’t ready to go all in, listen to hear about Kaz’s visit to the Big Apple in Crysis 2, Justin’s stylus brush strokes in Okamiden and Nick’s Mango Sentinel love in Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Tom also drops in just in time for a couple epic voicemails. Plus, our favorite gaming memories, 562 Pocket Monsters and counting, a PixelJunk Shooter 2 shout-out, Torchlight on the Xbox 360, Dragon Age II apathy, the Mortal Kombat B-team and more!

Relevant Links:

Pokémon Global Uplink Delayed

Nintendo’s Hideki Konno on the 3DS Online Store

Who: Everyone

What: Pokémon + Poker = “Pokermon” (GET IT?)

Where: Xbox Live, Skype

When: Thursday, March 24th at 9:00 p.m. EST

Why: Because Justin’s all too eager to cough up Bulbasaurs and chips.

Doing two games at once might be hectic, but they’re both passive enough that it shouldn’t be overwhelming. If you’re not a Pokénut, good for you! We’ll have plenty of folks on hand dedicated to just robbing Justin blind.

**The first 20 trainers will get free Zoruas fresh from Ditto’s “womb”

RSVP here

By the way, our GamerTags are:

OrangeLazarus14 (Justin)
Nikoro (Nick)
Kazinova (Kaz)
Ferretom (Tom)
ted2000aed (Tony)

For Skypers, send a howdy to Sasquatch261 (Justin) and we’ll hook you up!

It’s the post-convention special almost five days in the making. The Rumble Pack’s back from PAX, and the guys have plenty of interviews, impressions and horror stories to share with you. Games covered include Pilotwings Resort, Nintendogs + Cats, Battlefield 3, Warp, L.A. Noir, Portal 2, Kid Icarus Uprising, Fez, Trenched, Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet, SOCOM 4, Fallen Frontier, Snapshot, Outland, Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes, Child of Eden and many, many more. We also have several interviews, starting with acclaimed funnyman Tim Shafer. (Special thanks to Michel Gagné and Joe Olson of Fuelcell Games, too.) Plus, a poké-trade one year in the making, a Justin clone, Mr. T fist bumps and lots of happy bro-time.

Editor’s note: there are more interviews that didn’t make the episode. Those interviews will be released in their entirety down the road on the website.

The Pack still has Pokéfever and the only cure is Pokémon Black and White. The core mechanics haven”t changed in about 13 years, but the guys are still hooked by the sequel’s original roster, increased animation, streamlined interface and online…something. Meanwhile, Kaz refuses to take part and instead plays through the CliffsNotes version of Dragon Age: Origins to prep for the sequel. The guys also go through PAX East hopes and play voicemails covering Rock Band 3 DLC, guilty pleasure fighters and the White Ranger. Plus, Beyond Good and Evil memories, One Must Fall and Garbodor.

Relevant Links:

“Brett Favre”

Our PAX East Hub

The entire Pack is on its way to Boston for the second annual Penny-Arcade Expo East. We’ll be uploading images and audio notes from the show to this article so check back in over the course of the weekend to see what the guys are up to!

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Thursday

Hello hotel! How many jacks are there on the back of your TVs? We’re trying to get some NBA Jam going here and now there’s a search party on its way to get a digital converter and get our boomshakalaka on.

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If you want to play Pokémon with the big boys, sign up for our official Facebook group!

Let’s get down to business. Pokémon Black and White launch on Sunday (or Saturday if you’re in New York), and we as a Rumble Nation need to coordinate our attack strategies. There are over 163 new monsters to catch — one of which is almost literally a pile of garbage with googly eyes — and we’re going to need each other. I’m not just talking about the standard version-exclusive Pokémon. Obviously, we can hunt those down pretty quickly with a little help from the online trading station and one reliable buddy. But there’s so much more to this than that.

I’m talking about feeding each other legendaries that we wouldn’t be able to access otherwise. I’m talking about putting our poor Dittos to work to mass produce a herd of valuable starters. I’m eventually even talking about Rumble Pack tournaments that may or may not have an attached prize. (I need to look through my drawers of crap to find something Poké-flavored.) This series was originally envisioned as a very social experience, and we intend to get the most out of it.

And yes, I’m well aware that I take my Pokémon a little too seriously. I’m indeed the guy who forced himself to write a 60 page senior thesis over a weekend because I had been too busy rounding up Ludicolos in the weeks prior. But I’m confident that we’re in this together. Oh, and you’ve got about one week until PAX, so do have your critters in order as soon as possible.

P.S. I swear that I’m not crazy! I’m taking this the game only about 40% as seriously as this post would suggest.

My closest ally or my worst enemy?

We’ve got a real Barn-burner for you this week! (Apologies.) This week, famed ex-1up editor and current Scroll editor Ray Barnholt visits to talk about his online magazine — don’t call it a “midzine” — and his work on the upcoming Retro Game Challenge 2 translation. After the interview, Tom decides to Eat Lead for $10, Justin gets his Pokémon ready for Pokégeddon, Kaz endorses Bulletstorm, and Nick is forever silenced by his new money hat. (Congrats, buddy!) And to all of the fans sending in voicemails, keep ’em coming! Plus, Hypercubes, nut crunchers, talking dogs, Magicka: Vietnam, Trajectile memories and Garbodor.

Relevant Links:

The Official Rumble Pack Pokémon Exchange

Scroll

Buy Game Center CX 2

Smell Like a Monster

Magicka: Vietnam Trailer

You’re on the show, Rumble Nation! This week, the entire gang is here to talk games with the ferocity of a dog with a pudding cup. (Yeah…) Tony clings to Tactics Ogre, Kaz messes with Carl Sagan in the second episode of Back to the Future, Tom spreads some love for Hard Corps Uprising, Justin paints the town everything in de Blob 2 and Nick continues taking names in Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Plus, Wishbone’s “Grapes of Wrath,” super villain steam rooms, Carl Weathers: Puzzle Agent, Bucket With Hole 3DS and some wonderful voice mail.

Relevant Links:

Bobb’e J. Thompson in “Shutterbugs”

The Luigi Shuffle

Jim Rome Soundboard

“Hausu”

“Game Over” by Levar Allen (Our Ending Theme)