Category: Videogames

Coffee Talk #553: Share Your Christmas Loot

I hope all of you are enjoying a wonderful holiday with your friends and family. As for me, I made it to Hawaii…after being stuck in LAX for eight hours. It was a tiring trip, but I’m happy to be here visiting family. Things are a bit hectic with catching up on rest, hospital visits, and all that, but I should be able to relax soon. I’m pretty tired. Since I’ll be having a very unconventional holiday, I was hoping to hear about your…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, Steve Nash exposing the fraudulent NY Knicks, Christmas pork, or being stuck at the airport for eight hours, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

I hope all of you are enjoying a wonderful holiday with your friends and family. As for me, I made it to Hawaii…after being stuck in LAX for eight hours. It was a tiring trip, but I’m happy to be here visiting family. Things are a bit hectic with catching up on rest, hospital visits, and all that, but I should be able to relax soon. I’m pretty tired. Since I’ll be having a very unconventional holiday, I was hoping to hear about some of the sweet Christmas loot you guys and gals enjoyed. Kindly share some of your favorite and most meaningful gifts in the comments section! Also, pictures of snow would be nice too.

If you happen to have any Amazon gift cards or are looking to unload some cash, please check out Amazon’s year-end deals on the lower-left corner.

Coffee Talk #552: Worst Game of 2012

Thankfully, I didn’t play many bad games in 2012. That’s one of the few benefits of being forgotten by PR people. That said, there was one game that I found tremendously disappointing. You see, I love George RR Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire books and I love the HBO show, Game of Thrones, that’s based on them. The former is one of the most entertaining series of fantasy novels I’ve read and the latter is one of the best television shows ever made. With all of that in mind, the Game of Thrones videogame was…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, X-Factor USA being won by a WGWG (white guy with guitar), if Steve Nash is truly a difference-maker for the Los Angeles Lakers, or Flipboard for Android tablets finally not sucking, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Thankfully, I didn’t play many bad games in 2012. That’s one of the few benefits of being forgotten by PR people. That said, there was one game that I found tremendously disappointing. You see, I love George RR Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire books and I love the HBO show, Game of Thrones, that’s based on them. The former is one of the most entertaining series of fantasy novels I’ve read and the latter is one of the best television shows ever made. With all of that in mind, the Game of Thrones videogame was a terrible letdown.

The game wasn’t on the level of Superman 64 or anything. It was less-than-mediocre rather than wretched. Aside from an interesting story, practically every aspect of the game was bad. The combat was boring and repetitive, the graphics were woefully outdated, the sound design was basic, and it just felt like a sluggish experience. Take away the story, familiar settings, familiar happenings, and familiar characters and you’d have a budget fantasy RPG that isn’t very good. From a pure gaming standpoint, it simply doesn’t stand on its own. Rumor has it that the game caused several fans of the books and TV show to “take the black.”

Now it’s your turn! What was your biggest gaming disappointment of the year?

What Are You Playing Over Christmas Break?

I hope that all of you have a wonderful holiday with your family and friends. Of course I expect you to be gaming during your time off. What are you planning to play? As for me, my brother has a PlayStation 3 and I’ve been instructed to pack a DualShock 3 to Hawaii. I’m also sorta kinda hoping that Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition for OSX gets approved by Apple next week (not likely). Really though, my Christmas break will be about family, swimming in warm ocean water, and soaking up some sun!

How about you? What’s on your holiday break playlist?

Four Free iOS Games For the Holidays

Are you looking to buy yourself a Christmas (the commercial holiday, not the religious one) present, but are short on cash? If so, then you’ll be happy to learn that there are four iOS games that are free for a limited time. The first chapter of Walking Dead: The Game is sure to scare you, as well as vex you with some tough decisions. Avengers Initiative is a fun brawler that stars Captain American and The Incredible Hulk. ARC Squadron is a space shooter that boasts some really impressive graphics. Last, but probably the most appropriate for this time of the year, is Santa Rockstar, which is a Rock Band-style game featuring Kris Kringle.

Check out the iTunes descriptions to see how long these games will be free for (or just download them now). If you happen to pick up any of these freebies, please let me know what you think of them in the comments section.

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing Screens

I’m not really into vampires (blame Twilight…and Twilight fans), so I was surprised by how jazzed I was after seeing screens for The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing. This upcoming action-RPG for Windows PC and Xbox Live Arcade has Dracula’s nemesis hunting baddies with a sword, a pistol, and magic. Fans of games like Baldur’s Gate Dark Alliance, Marvel Ultimate Alliance, and Bastion will definitely want to give this one a look. As a mark for action-RPGs of this style, I’m excited to get my hands sink my teeth into this one. It looks like a fun romp of slaughtering minions, collecting treasure, powering up, and fighting bosses — the classic action-RPG formula.

Check out the screens and video below. When you have a moment, please let me know if you’re interested in The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing.

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Coffee Talk #549: Best of 2012 Recap

Just in case you missed it, here are my — and more importantly, your fellow RPadholics’ — picks for the “Best of 2012.”

Best TV Show of the Year
Best Comic Book of the Year
Best Gadget of the Year
Best Movie of the Year
Best Game of the Year

Now get ready to enter the bitter barn, as the rest of this week’s Coffee Talk columns will be about…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, getting review units of phones more than a month after the product has been released, Nonito Donaire’s 4-0 2012, or boxing’s return to network television, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Just in case you missed it, here are my — and more importantly, your fellow RPadholics’ — picks for the “Best of 2012.”

Best TV Show of the Year
Best Comic Book of the Year
Best Gadget of the Year
Best Movie of the Year
Best Game of the Year

Now get ready to enter the bitter barn, as the rest of this week’s Coffee Talk columns will be about games, movies, TV shows, etc. that you didn’t like in 2012. Hopefully things will get nasty as you talk about your “Worst of 2012” experiences!

Coffee Talk #548: Best Game of 2012

There were a lot of great console games I enjoyed in 2012. The PlayStation 3 had two of my favorites in Journey and The Unfinished Swan. As far as traditional console games go, I quite enjoyed Final Fantasy XIII-2. On the PC side, I had some fun with Diablo III. To my surprise, my favorite game of the year wasn’t for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, or a handheld console. It was for the iPad. I’m talking about…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, wishing McKayla Maroney a belated happy birthday, the hapless Los Angeles Lakers, or Josh Hamilton signing with the Los Angeles Angeles of Anaheim (such a stupid team name), Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

There were a lot of great console games I enjoyed in 2012. The PlayStation 3 had two of my favorites in Journey and The Unfinished Swan. As far as traditional console games go, I quite enjoyed Final Fantasy XIII-2. On the PC side, I had some fun with Diablo III. To my surprise, my favorite game of the year wasn’t for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, or a handheld console. It was for the iPad. I’m talking about Final Fantasy Dimensions.

I loved almost everything about Final Fantasy Dimensions. In many ways, it’s the spiritual successor to Final Fantasy V. It’s an old-school JRPG that’s centered around the awesome FF job system, which I’m a total mark for. The graphics aren’t impressive, but they’re certainly nostalgic. The soundtrack is highly enjoyable. The writing is fun. Between the job system and “fusion abilities,” the gameplay is very deep. As a fan of old-school JRPGs, Dimensions has it all.

The only thing I didn’t like about the game is that the random battles could be a bit much, but that didn’t stop me from spending more than 70 hours playing the game. It was a delightful experience that reminded me of everything I love about classic JRPGs.

Now it’s your turn! What was your favorite game of the year?

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

To my frustration, my energy levels are still inconsistent. There are a lot of things I want to do and games that I want to play, but I still get tired after a few hours of…well, anything really. Simple things, like walking to the grocery, leave me pretty sapped. I’m going to muster some energy to play some WWE 13 this weekend. I meant to start the story mode last weekend, but I was still out of it (even without Vicodin!). I’ve played a few standalone matches to try out new wrestlers, but I’m looking forward to revisiting the WWE Attitude Era. If I’m still in bed, there are a number of games on my Nexus 7 that I haven’t tried.

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

Conan O’Brien Reviews Hitman Absolution

In case you haven’t seen it, here’s Conan O’Brien’s excellent review of Hitman Absolution. It’s another fantastic installment of the “Clueless Gamer” series…and far more entertaining than the vast majority of videogame reviews out there. Give it a watch and let me know what you think (please!). Continue reading “Conan O’Brien Reviews Hitman Absolution”

Journey Nominated For Grammy Award

Congratulations to composer Austin Wintory for having the soundtrack for Journey nominated for a Grammy Award. The soundtrack is up for the Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media award. The nomination is being touted as “the first videogame score in history to be nominated for a Grammy Award.” While the competition is fierce (John Williams, Hans Zimmer, Trent Reznor, and Howard Shore also have works nominated), being nominated is an outstanding accomplishment. It’s awesome that videogame music composers are being recognized alongside some of the biggest names in movie soundtracks.