Category: Videogames

Coffee Talk #80: Lime Sorbet Games

Here’s a situation for you. Let’s say you’ve just played 40 or more hours of an intense role-playing game like Dragon Age: Origins or Mass Effect 2. Or maybe you’ve spent dozens of hours playing a great multiplayer shooter. You don’t want to jump right into the next great time suck. You need something to cleanse your palette. You need the lime sorbet equivalent of gaming. What do you play?

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, natural sword enhancement, your application for the LA Clipper’s coaching job, or the greatness of Claudio Castagnoli, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Here’s a situation for you. Let’s say you’ve just played 40 or more hours of an intense role-playing game like Dragon Age: Origins or Mass Effect 2. Or maybe you’ve spent dozens of hours playing a thrilling multiplayer shooter. You don’t want to jump right into the next great time suck. You need something to cleanse your palette. You need the lime sorbet equivalent of gaming. What do you play?

I was chatting about this with a respected colleague recently. After going through a heavy game experience, he likes to break things up with some mindless fun. He chose Jurassic: The Hunted as his lime sorbet game. I always go back to Civilization: Revolution for iPhone between intense games (though it’s something I do daily).

Today I wanted to see if you have a lime sorbet game. Is there something you play to clear your mind for your next great gaming experience? Is there a particular genre or style of game you use to cleanse your palette? Maybe a particular title? Leave a comment and let me know (please)!

Game Crazy Being Cut to 250 Stores

Game Crazy, a videogame specialty store found alongside some Hollywood Video shops, is being reduced to 250 locations as part of its parent company’s bankruptcy reorganization. Since GameStop and EB Games merged, Game Crazy was pretty much the only specialty retailer competing with the unstoppable GameStop juggernaut (albeit only in select cities). Lacking competition, GameStop can continue to gouge customers on trade-ins and used-game sales (at least at the brick-and-mortar level).

My friend Justin always spoke highly of Game Crazy and raved about some of its deals. I never had access to one in San Francisco and haven’t bothered to hit one up since I moved to Los Angeles. Do any of you have Game Crazy stores near you? Is your shop closing? Will you miss it?

Source

PadCast: Ring of Honor World Champion Austin Aries!

Last Friday I went to a Ring of Honor show in Los Angeles and caught up with world champion Austin Aries, fresh off his victory over Jushin “Thunder” Liger. Whether you call him the RoH champion, A-Double, the vascular vegetarian, or MV3, there’s no denying that Aries is one of the most talented wrestlers in the world. It was an honor chatting about videogames, karaoke, being vegetarian, being pro-choice, naked Shawn Michaels, women with meat in their mouth, and the writing in WWE SmackDown vs. Raw with Aries. It was also fun goofing off with a friend (ha!). Check out this very special RPad.tv PadCast with the master of the brainbuster and the owner of the most devastating 450 splash in the universe!

Coffee Talk #79: 2D Gaming in 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, Stephon Marbury’s adventures in China, your Super Bowl XLIV prediction, or Austin Aries being the second-best wrestler in Ring of Honor, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Sega’s announcement that Sonic the Hedgehog will be returning for a brand new 2D adventure has me excited. 2D Sonic games were a huge part of my childhood and stayed with me in my teens and college years. They were just so well done, offering clever gameplay and an unmatched sensation of speed. Plus, Sonic was just cool! (Well…he was until Urkel started voicing him in the cartoon. That was his downfall. Trust me.) Ah, the days when 2D was king…. (I’m going to fetch Daniel Stern for a Wonder Years-type voice over.)

It actually took me a while to get used to 3D games. For the most part, I hated the first generation of 3D platformers and fighting games. They didn’t have the precision controls and deep gameplay that 2D games offered. So much effort put towards the graphics that other aspects of these games fell short. Obviously 3D games have gotten past those growing pains and are today’s norm. But where does that leave new 2D titles?

Do gamers care for new 2D games? Do they sell because of novelty and nostalgia? Is that enough? Did Shadow Complex open the door for fresh 2D gaming experiences? Or was that an anamoly? I’d love to hear your thoughts on 2D gaming in 2010, so please shout it out in the comments section!

Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Brings Back Classic 2D Gaming

Sega of America has revealed that Sonic the Hedgehog 4 will bring the iconic blue speedster back to his 2D roots in a downloadable game for PlayStation  Network, Wii, and Xbox Live. Associate brand manager Ken Balough dropped some details on GameSpot:

This game is truly a labor of love. A lot of us grew up on the Sega Genesis console; in fact, I remember vividly the first day I got mine with Revenge of Shinobi and Moonwalker. Ever since Sonic & Knuckles, Sonic the Hedgehog 4 has been a game classic Sega fans have always wanted to see. It was the right people, at the right time, getting together and finally making this game we’ve all wanted to see.

While the game is a brand-new adventure, it will definitely pick up after Sonic & Knuckles. However, what you are looking at is the beginning of a new story arc.

I’m totally down for some 2D Sonic action. How about you?

Source

3D Dot Game Heroes Pokes Fun at Viagra, Cialis, Levitra, Etc.

This excellent clip of 3D Dot Game Heroes for PlayStation 3 pokes fun at all those Viagra, Cialis, and Levitra advertisements littering the airwaves. Instead of a penis-mightier pill (that’s “the pen is mightier” Mr. Connery), Atlus wants you to go to the blacksmith for some natural sword enhancement. Ha!

Madden NFL 10 Picks Saints Over Colts 35-31 + A Super Bowl Poll

EA Sports did its annual Madden NFL Super Bowl simulation and had the New Orleans Saints beating the Indianapolis Colts 35 to 31. Here’s a snippet from the official press release:

The first three quarters display the offensive fireworks that both teams have become known for, with the Colts leading 24-21. A nail biting fourth quarter begins with a big play, courtesy of the Saints’ special teams, when Reggie Bush returns a punt for a 42-yard touchdown. However, with minutes left in the game the duo of Joseph Addai and Peyton Manning put the Colts back on top with a go-ahead touchdown pass. With the game hanging in the balance, Drew Brees hits David Thomas for an 11-yard touchdown and the game winning score. Drew Brees takes home MVP honors as the Saints earn their first Super Bowl Championship title in the franchise’s 46 year history.

What do you think of Madden NFL 10’s prediction? While I’m at it, what’s your Super Bowl XLIV prediction? It’s poll time!

[poll id=”23″]

ESRB Says Dead or Alive Paradise Has Jiggling Breasts

The ESRB’s description of Dead or Alive: Paradise for Sony PlayStation Portable is full of win for using the phrases “jiggle their breasts”,  “creepy voyeurism”, and “misguided notions of what women really want”. Check it out:

This is a video game in which users watch grown women dressed in G-string bikinis jiggle their breasts while on a two-week vacation. Women’s breasts and butts will sway while playing volleyball, while hopping across cushions, while pole dancing, while posing on the ground, by the pool, on the beach, in front of the camera. There are other activities: Users can gamble inside a casino to win credits for shopping; they can purchase bathing suits, sunglasses, hats, clothing at an island shop; they can “gift” these items to eight other women in hopes of winning their friendship, in hopes of playing more volleyball. And as relationships blossom from the gift-giving and volleyball, users may get closer to the women, having earned their trust and confidence: users will then be prompted to zoom-in on their friends’ nearly-naked bodies, snap dozens of photos, and view them in the hotel later that night. Parents and consumers should know that the game contains a fair amount of “cheesy,” and at times, creepy voyeurism–especially when users have complete rotate-pan-zoom control; but the game also contains bizarre, misguided notions of what women really want (if given two weeks, paid vacation, island resort)–Paradise cannot mean straddling felled tree trunks in dental-floss thongs.

The author of this description sounds a little bit angry, but as an immature male his/her words make me want to buy the game. *snicker*

Source via Siliconera

Next Legend of Zelda Game to be Motion Plus Exclusive

While a lot of you are down on Nintendo for going all mainstream, some of you have been holding out hope for the next Zelda, Mario, and Metroid games. With all of that in mind, I can’t wait to hear your reactions to producer Eiji Aonuma saying that the next Legend of Zelda title will be Wii Motion Plus Exclusive. Andriasang translated a recent Famitsu article and posted:

Aonuma told Famitsu that it will be Wii Motion Plus exclusive. This was actually an area that was under debate at the outset of development. “After actually making it compatible,” said Aonuma, “it just feels so natural. Link’s sword and the controller that you’re holding become one.”

What do you think of the news? Are you more or less interested in the game now that you know it won’t use a traditional control scheme?

Source