What Are You Playing This Weekend?

If all goes as planned, I’ll be picking up my copy of WWE 13 from my friend at THQ tomorrow. I’m really excited to play this game. For a while, I was really worried about the series. I mean, how do you top the award-winning writing in Smackdown vs. Raw 2010 and 2011?!? One of the few ways to top those epic tales is to take actual storylines — with actual WWE television footage! — from the “Attude Era” and use them in an interactive way. They also got some guy named Paul Heyman to help out with the storylines. In addition to being one of the sharpest and most innovative thinkers in the pro-wrestling business, he’s almost as good a writer as those guys from SmackDown vs Raw 2010 and 2011! Almost.

How about you? What’s on your weekend playlist?

Coffee Talk #532: Disney vs. LucasArts vs. Marvel

When Disney announced that it had snatched up Lucasfilm, most people speculated on the ramifications the acquisition would have on the world of movies. Astute gamers knew that developer/publisher LucasArts was part of the deal too. With a staggering roster of iconic characters to choose from and an established videogame arm, Disney has the potential for some crazy videogame crossovers. What kind of games would you like to see from Disney, now that it has LucasArts?…more

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Verve’s Ethiopia Duromina, the new-look Lakers’ impotent Princeton offense, or whether Taylor Swift is hot/not, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

When Disney announced that it had snatched up Lucasfilm, most people speculated on the ramifications the acquisition would have on the world of movies. Astute gamers knew that developer/publisher LucasArts was part of the deal too. With a staggering roster of iconic characters to choose from and an established videogame arm, Disney has the potential for some crazy videogame crossovers. What kind of games would you like to see from Disney, now that it has LucasArts?

Yesterday, RPadholic bsukenyan mentioned a Marvel vs. Jedi vs. Sith game. Can you imagine a Smash Bros.-type romp with Wolverine, Buzz Lightyear, Boba Fett, and Aladdin duking it out? Do you see an adventure game with (the amazing) Spider-Man helping (and annoying) Indiana Jones? How about the Disney princesses getting a lesson in sass from a coked-up Princess Leia? There’s a ridiculous amount of possibilities!

Let’s forget for a second that the early buzz is that Disney is planning to focus on mobile and social games over console games. What kind of titles would you like to see from Disney? What killer crossover possibilities are brewing in your mind? Leave a comment and let me know (please!).

Sexy Videogame Halloween Costumes

As I was “researching” the important matter of sexy videogame Halloween costumes, I came across Yandy.com. This online store has a wide variety of costumes based on iconic videogame characters. Some of them are really cute, while others are so provocative that they’re borderline uncomfortable. Sexy Princess Peach is an obvious target for sexing up, but there’s something slightly wrong about making alluring costumes based on adorable videogame characters like Pikachu and Yoshi.

Due to copyright restrictions (no, these are not officially licensed products), some of these costumes have great names. The one based on Link, for example, is simply called “Green Adventurer.” Ha!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the selection of sexy videogame Halloween costumes I’ve curated for you. I spent hours on Yandy.com doing all this research for your viewing pleasure! When you get a chance, please let me know which costume is your favorite.

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Preview / Interview

Please check out the video interview above with Josef Fares, game director of Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, and read my preview-ish thoughts below. This downloadable game is set to hit PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC in Spring 2012 courtesy of Starbreeze and 505 Games. I checked it out a few weeks ago and was really enamored with its art style and gameplay. The controls are simple, but used in a unique and compelling fashion. In some ways, it reminded me of a cross between Ico and Heavy Rain, but with a refreshing originality that was all its own. Continue reading “Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Preview / Interview”

Coffee Talk #530: Your Daily Driver Videogames

Today I’d like to talk about games you play every day. Sometimes there are videogames we all go back to, either due to a sense of habit or familiarity. There’s nothing surprising about these games (anymore), but there’s something comfortable about these daily drivers. For some people, these games have become a habit along the lines of eating, bathing, and brushing your teeth.

As for me, for most of the last three years, Civilization Revolution for iPad has been my daily driver. The gameplay is always fun for me, even though I know that every game I play will end with Queen Elizabeth conquering the world. Sure, there have been stretches when Civ was ignored in favor of games like Final Fantasy: Dimensions, but…more

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, the San Francisco Giants’ World Series victory, your favorite park, or James Harden going to the Houston Rockets, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Today I’d like to talk about games you play every day. Sometimes there are videogames we all go back to, either due to a sense of habit or familiarity. There’s nothing surprising about these games (anymore), but there’s something comfortable about these daily drivers. For some people, these games have become a habit along the lines of eating, bathing, and brushing your teeth.

As for me, for most of the last three years, Civilization Revolution for iPad has been my daily driver. The gameplay is always fun for me, even though I know that every game I play will end with Queen Elizabeth conquering the world. Sure, there have been stretches when Civ was ignored in favor of games like Final Fantasy: Dimensions, but I knew I would eventually go back to it and I imagine that will be the case for the next few years. The game just makes me happy and all of us should do something every day that makes us happy. Since it’s probably a bad idea to eat bone-in ribeye steaks every day (and I can’t afford to), I’ll stick with Civ.

Now it’s your turn! Do you have any daily-driver games? If so, please let me know what they are. If not, why isn’t there a game you keep coming back to on a daily basis?

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

It looks like a PlayStation 3 weekend at RPad.TV headquarters. I’m still loving The Unfinished Swan, but reading some of the reviews has made me angry. I will let go of that anger by getting lost in this beautiful game once again. I’m also making a trip to a friend’s house to play some PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale. Earlier in the week I went to a party for the game. It was super-fun to play and watch. This one should be a hit at nerd gatherings. Also, I’m currently really bad at the game. Hopefully I can get enough practice in before it’s released so as not to embarrass myself online.

How about you? What’s on your weekend playlist?

Coffee Talk #528: User Upgradability and You

Starting with the MacBook Air, Apple has been making it harder and harder for its customers to upgrade their laptops. Things like RAM soldered onto the motherboard and non-standard NAND flash modules make it more difficult for tinkerers to tinker. That trend moved onto the MacBook Pro 15 with Retina Display earlier in the year, as well as the recently released MacBook Pro 13 with Retina Display. Are you unhappy with this trend? Or does it not bother you at all?

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, early Windows 8 reviews, Jessica Biel’s pink wedding dress, or Pablo Sandoval crushing it in the World Series, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Starting with the MacBook Air, Apple has been making it harder and harder for its customers to upgrade their laptops. Things like RAM soldered onto the motherboard and non-standard NAND flash modules make it more difficult for tinkerers to tinker. That trend moved onto the MacBook Pro 15 with Retina Display earlier in the year, as well as the recently released MacBook Pro 13 with Retina Display. Are you unhappy with this trend? Or does it not bother you at all?

Some Apple fans feel that the move is justified. They believe that it’s a reasonable price to pay for Apple’s superbly engineered laptops. Others believe it sucks. Apple charges a premium for RAM and hard drive upgrades. In older MacBooks, you had cheaper options from several third-party vendors. With these newer MacBooks, upgrades are much more difficult.

My current machine is a late 2011 MacBook Pro 15. I swapped out the optical drive and replaced it with a Samsung 830 SSD. This setup allows me to use the SSD as my primary drive and the already installed hard drive as my video editing scratch disc. I swapped out the 4GB of included RAM for 16GB from Ram Experts; this upgrade was a fraction of what Apple would have charged. Setting up a new MacBook Pro with Retina Display in this fashion would be impossible for most users (myself included) due to the upgradability limitations. As a tinkering nerd, I don’t like this trend.

How about you? Do you not care to upgrade your laptop once you have it? Or are you bothered by this trend of laptops that are impossible or extremely difficult to upgrade?

Today’s Poll: Most Exciting New Apple Product

Apple has declared war on Christmas by announcing a slew of new products set to ship this holiday season. While most tech nerds knew the iPad Mini was coming and many surmised that the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display was in the works, there were a few surprises. New models in the iMac and Mac Mini lines were also unveiled. While most Apple fans were thrilled by these new products, those that bought the “new” iPad earlier in 2012 were a bit annoyed that Apple unveiled a fourth-generation iPad too; the company typically refreshes its iOS products once a year, so this was a bit soon.

Out of all the products Apple announced today, I want to know which one excites you the most. Please vote in today’s poll and expand on your answer in the comments section.

[poll id=”168″]

 

 

Today’s Poll: Hybrids vs. Laplets

Tablet computers that dock into keyboard enclosures so that they can be used like laptop computers are going to be huge in the next year (from a product-release standpoint, anyway). A large number of PC manufacturers have upcoming Windows 8 products that fit into this category (whether people actually want them is another matter). Check out the HP Envy X2 pictured above, for example. Tech nerds have been arguing over what to call these computers. Many are using the term hybrid (hybrid computer), while others prefer laplet (laptop + tablet).

What do you think these things should be called? Kindly vote in today’s poll and explain your answer in the comments section.

[poll id=”167″]

Ecko Unlimited Batman Arkham City Threads Available Now!

Ecko Unlimited has unveiled its limited edition Batman Arkham City threads. The crown jewel of the collection is the full-zip Batman hoodie pictured above. In addition to Batman clothes, the line includes t-shirts that feature Joker, Penguin, Catwoman, and Harley Quinn. The t-shirts list for $19.50, while the hoodie runs for $149.50. The shirts are available on Amazon if you’d like to support this site. The thing to do, of course, is to wear the Batman hoodie and randomly spout, “I’m Batman!” in the style of How It Should Have Ended.

Any of you going to pick any Ecko Unlimited Batman threads?