Coffee Talk #52: Holding Out for a (Super) Hero (Videogame)

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, Biz Markie teaming up with The Shack, this excellent Dhalsim song, or your upcoming holiday feasts, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

As a bunch of you were discussing the Iron Man 2 trailer, the subject of super hero dream games came up. In the spirit of Coffee Talk #6, I thought it would be an excellent idea to talk about the spandex game of your dreams. So let’s do it!

As for me, there are two games DC Comics games that I’d love to see. The one that’s more likely is a Green Lantern title. With the success of the Nintendo Wii and motion controls from Microsoft and Sony coming in 2010, there’s a decent chance that the Green Lantern game of my dreams will be made. It would star Hal Jordan (and hopefully Guy Gardner) and use motion controls to create various power-ring constructs. It could be something unique and imaginative if handled by the right developer.

The second super-hero game I want will never happen. It’s just too late. I want a buddy-action game, similar to Army of Two, starring Blue Beetle and Booster Gold. The JLI era of Justice League was one of my favorite comic-book runs of all time. It was unique and hilarious, but still contained enough action to keep traditionalists happy. My Blue and Gold game would be full of fast-paced action and high-tech gadgets, but the dialogue would be key. The game would be full of witty quips, immature insults, and tons of “bwahahahaha” laughter that Beetle and Booster were famous for back in the day.

As a special shout out to my friend at Marvel — make a frickin’ Quasar game already!!!

Anyway, let me know about the super-hero videogame of your dreams. Kindly list the character and describe your game. Quantum bands for life!!!

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

Elin NordegrenI’ll be flying to New York for the holidays on Thursday, so this will be my last weekend with my home consoles in 2009. I recently completed my fifth run in Dragon Age: Origins (city elf rogue named Keebler, *snicker*) and I’m contemplating giving it another go. Still, I feel like I should play something else. Downloading Final Fantasy VIII is awfully tempting, but I think I’ll save that for my PSP in New York. What other games of mine need more attention?

Batman: Arkham Asylum and Uncharted 2 are two titles that I started, played for a few hours, acknowledged as great, and never picked up again. I know I’ll get back to both eventually, but this weekend seems as good a time as any. I’ve been meaning to play more Magna Carta, which is an under-the-radar game RPG fans should look at. I’m also tempted to dust off Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 to honor the world’s most famous adulterer. Too bad there isn’t a DLC minigame that requires you to drive around while hopped up on pain killers trying to avoid your hot Swedish wife.

Coffee Talk #50: Favorite Games of 2009 #1 Dragon Age: Origins

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 miracle of Manning, whether Operation Chokehold will do some damage to AT&T today, or destroying all Snuggies, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

As I mentioned last week, I’ll be counting down my five favorite games of 2009 in this week’s Coffee Talk columns and I’d love for you to join me! Let me know what your favorite games of the year were in the comments section. Remember, this isn’t about what games you thought were “best”. I want to know what you had the most fun with in 2009.

Dragon Age Origins 3

What did you think I was going to pick? Halo 3: ODST?!? Ha! For those of you that have have been reading my articles for a while, there should have been no doubt that I was going to pick Dragon Age: Origins. I adore BioWare. RPGs are my favorite genre. Fantasy is my favorite setting. I played the hell out of both Baldur’s Gate games. Of course I was going to go nuts for this game! (And if you’re new to the site, just nod and smile. This all makes sense.)

While the graphics in Dragon Age: Origins aren’t the best, pretty much every other aspect of the game is perfect for me. I love the versatile gameplay — tanking as a warrior, backstabbing as a rogue, and dishing out spells as a mage were all fun experiences that are quite different from one another. The story and writing are brilliant, especially after playing the game multiple times (five completions so far) and noticing how expertly different characters were woven into the game’s tapestry. The music is top notch. With different dialogue branches, multiple outcomes, various companion characters, and variations in gameplay, I wouldn’t be surprised if my play-throughs hit double digits.

Although I’ve logged more hours into Civilization: Revolution for iPhone, I had the most fun — by far — with Dragon Age: Origins in 2009. I swear BioWare made the game just for me.

New Super Street Fighter IV Stages Revealed

Super Street Fighter IVa

Capcom community ace and the scourge of North American fighting-game tournaments Seth Killian showed off some new screens of Super Street Fighter IV’s new stages. Here’s some of what Seth had to say on Capcom Unity:

In the new Metro City background, you can spot Hugo, as well as a gigantic, shirtless Mike Haggar statue, constructed by your Metro City mayor, Mike Haggar (Mayors are always doing this kind of thing).

The new African stage is one of my visual favorites, not only because of all the crisp lighting, but for the background action as well, where you fight during an eclipse and can knock over hippos and be taunted by meercats.

The Korean stage is a riot of colors, with young and old turning out to check out the fight, and includes my favorite new spazzy background character of all time!

I’m totally amped for this game. Sexy Korean girls rule!!! Hit the break for more screens!

Continue reading “New Super Street Fighter IV Stages Revealed”

Square Enix Accepting Applications for FFXIV Beta Test

FFXIV

While Final Fantasy XIII is hitting Japan like a tsunami, Square Enix has announced that it is accepting applications for Final Fantasy XIV. If you want an early glimpse at this MMO, head on over to the official site and sign up.

Any of you going to give this game a shot?

Coffee Talk #48: Favorite Games of 2009 #3 SmackDown vs. Raw 2010

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 Seattle Mariners making out like bandits in the big MLB trade, Boeing finally getting the 787 Dreamliner off the ground, or Freddie Roach calling out Roger Mayweather, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

As I mentioned last week, I’ll be counting down my five favorite games of 2009 in this week’s Coffee Talk columns and I’d love for you to join me! Let me know what your favorite games of the year were in the comments section. Remember, this isn’t about what games you thought were “best”. I want to know what you had the most fun with in 2009.

Smackdown vs Raw 2010 c

#3 WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2010 — I love videogames and I love WWE, so it’s no surprise that I love THQ’s WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2010 series. This year’s game was very special to me since it contained my first pieces of writing on that side of the business. The award-winning scripts of the Shawn Michaels and Mickie James storylines aside, it’s just a great game. In addition to the variety of matches and careers it offers, 2010 ups the ante on the creative side. WWE fans have been able to create wrestlers and moves in the past, but this year storylines can be created and content can be shared online. It’s cool stuff.

Sure, I joke about the game being nominated for the best videogame writing in the history of man, but I love playing it. Getting to beat up Randy Orton with dozens of WWE Superstars — whether they’re real or imagined or downloaded — never gets old.

Coffee Talk #47: Favorite Games of 2009 #4 Street Fighter IV

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, Dennis Miller not getting over with the WWE crowd in Texas, the Google Nexus One, or the various MLB trade moves made yesterday, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

As I mentioned last week, I’ll be counting down my five favorite games of 2009 in this week’s Coffee Talk columns and I’d love for you to join me! Let me know what your favorite games of the year were in the comments section. Remember, this isn’t about what games you thought were “best”. I want to know what you had the most fun with in 2009.

Street Fighter IV

#4 Street Fighter IV — I lost a ton of quarters playing various versions of Street Fighter in high school and college. Like many players, I abandoned the series for modern games like Soul Calibur, Dead or Alive, and Tekken. Street Fighter IV was a triumphant return to glory for the series. The game mechanics had that classic SF feel, while the visuals were modern and fresh. The game is deep, but accessible to players of various skill levels. I remember playing the game with friends that are no longer gamers, but remember how to spam fireballs with Ken and Ryu.

SFIV is just a brilliant combination of old and new. That only downer is that the game also reminds me of my most frustrating moments as a gamer in 2009 — trying to beat Seth when my Xbox 360 would randomly generate hundreds of vertical bars! He’s a cheap bastard as it is. Trying to beat him when you can’t see the damn screen?!? Not so easy.

Dragon Age: Origins Coming to Mac on December 21

Dragon Age Shale

Electronic Arts has announced that TransGaming has partnered with EA and BioWare to bring Dragon Age: Origins to the Mac platform on December 21. The press release stated, “The critically acclaimed, dark fantasy epic will be available to Mac Players as a digital download where they can choose between the Standard or Digital Deluxe version.”

The deluxe version includes “a collection of wallpapers, in-game bonus items, the game’s soundtrack and the Warden’s Keep additional content.” Both versions have The Stone Prisoner (Shale rules!!!) content and the blood dragon armor. Really though, this eliminates one possible excuse for not playing this outstanding game. As for you guys and gals that are exclusively on Linux….

Coffee Talk #46: Favorite Games of 2009 #5 Pokemon Platinum

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, WWE giving Sheamus and Drew McIntyre championships, last Saturday’s fantastic day of boxing, or Accenture dropping Tiger Woods, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

As I mentioned last week, I’ll be counting down my five favorite games of 2009 in this week’s Coffee Talk columns and I’d love for you to join me! Let me know what your favorite games of the year were in the comments section. Remember, this isn’t about what games you thought were “best”. I want to know what you had the most fun with in 2009.

Pokemon Platinum 2

#5 Pokemon Platinum — Yes, I’m a Pokemon addict that has put more than 600 hours into Pokemon Pearl. As someone that loves breeding Pokemon for competitive battling, several of the additions in Pokemon Platinum were “must haves” for me. From move tutors that let you create more diverse combatants to challenging fight modes that test your mettle as a trainer, Pokemon Platinum has it all!

Of course Pokemon Platinum is rooted in the fantastic RPG gameplay that millions and millions of players have enjoyed for years. Weavile, I choose you!!!

Spike TV Videogame Awards (VGA) Winners List

Spike TV VGA

In case you missed it, here are the winners of the 2009 Spike TV VGAs. Check out the list and let me know what you think! Anyone get snubbed? Any of the winners undeserving? Or is the list mostly right?

  • Game of the Year: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
  • Studio of the Year: Rocksteady Studios
  • Best Independent Game: Flower
  • Best Xbox 360 Game: Left 4 Dead 2
  • Best PS3 Game: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
  • Best Wii Game: New Super Mario Bros. Wii
  • Best PC Game: Dragon Age: Origins
  • Best Handheld Game: Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
  • Best Shooter: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
  • Best Fighting Game: Street Fighter IV
  • Best Action Adventure Game: Assassin’s Creed II
  • Best RPG: Dragon Age: Origins
  • Best Multiplayer Game: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Hit the jump for the rest of the winners!

Continue reading “Spike TV Videogame Awards (VGA) Winners List”