As someone with tremendous respect for game developers, I really enjoyed Indie Game: The Movie. It was fascinating and I loved learning more about game creators. That said, there were some parts that were so pretentious that they were squirm-inducing. With that in mind, I enjoyed Mega64’s parody, Indie Game: The Action Movie. Check it out below and let me know what you think (please)!
HBO Go Now Available for Xbox 360
Microsoft has rolled out a bunch of new apps for Xbox 360, including one for the outstanding HBO Go service. Available to HBO subcribers, HBO Go allows viewers to stream a ton of movies, television shows, and sports events. In the past, the network has allowed HBO Go users to catch early episodes of its original programming. In short, this service completely owns.
I use HBO Go on my iPad all the time. In fact, it’s probably my favorite app for streaming video, beating out Netflix, Crackle, and all those other pretenders. It offers a large library of excellent movies. It offers every episode of some of the best HBO original shows (Game of Thrones, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Entourage, etc.). It also offers loads of great HBO Boxing fights. As an HBO mark, I’m thrilled that the service is now available for Xbox 360.
How about you guys and dolls? Are you psyched that HBO Go can be experienced on Xbox 360?
Coffee Talk #464: Aziz Ansari, Kickstarter, Creativity, and You
Publishing content is getting awesomely cool. I’m sure that all of you have heard about the millions of dollars Double Fine and InXile Entertainment have raised to develop their games. Recently, Aziz Ansari has followed the steps of Louis CK and Jim Gaffigan by releasing a direct-to-Internet…
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 Situation’s prescription-drug problem, T-T-T-Tebow and the Jets, or wishing RPadholic Thundercracker a belated happy birthday, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
Publishing content is getting awesomely cool. I’m sure that all of you have heard about the millions of dollars Double Fine and InXile Entertainment have raised to develop their games. Recently, Aziz Ansari has followed the steps of Louis CK and Jim Gaffigan by releasing a direct-to-Internet comedy special for $5. I love that creatives are using modern methods to find new ways to release content. This has been tried in the past (remember Public Enemy and Sellaband.com?), but new Internet services have made it more feasible.
Giving content creators more freedom is fantastic. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying that publishers are evil. In many cases, publishers can help creators succeed by reigning them in and marketing them well. However, in some cases, publishers can get in the way and stifle creativity. I love that services like Kickstarter and the ease of selling video content on the Internet are giving creators more freedom and consumers new ways to enjoy their favorite artists. As someone that generally has problems with authority, I love that it takes power away from “The Man” (bonus!). This is, quite possibly, the start of a massive change in how content is created and consumed; it’s exciting and new (like Love Boat).
Are you as excited by modern methods of self-publishing as I am? Do you think that services like Kickstarter will lead to more self-published games and developer empowerment? Are you digging the crazy possibilities that can be had by giving creatives more freedom? Or do not care how your content as published, so long as you can get it? Kindly discuss in the comments section and let me know!
What Are You Playing This Weekend?
It looks like it’s going to be another Final Fantasy weekend. I’m at the very end of both FF games I’m playing. In Final Fantasy Tactics for iPad, I’m at the point just before the last round of battles. Naturally, I’m spending my time leveling up characters, poaching for rare items, and enjoying the awesome “secret” characters (Balthier, Cloud, and Luso). Similarly, I’m at the end of Final Fantasy XIII-2, but I have no desire to end my adventure just yet. Instead, I’m wandering the lands for items to upgrade my monsters. The Pokemon-like aspect of the game is so much fun for me! Gotta catch (and upgrade) ’em all!!!
How about you? What’s on your weekend playlist?
Final Fantasy XIII-2 DLC Brings Mass Effect Armor, FFVI
An upcoming batch of DLC for Final Fantasy XIII-2 adds all sorts of crossover elements, ranging from Final Fantasy VI villains to Mass Effect armor. On the FFVI side, villains Typhon and Ultros will be available to tackle in the coliseum. On the BioWare side, protagonists Noel and Serah will be able to don Mass Effect Commander Shepard’s N7 armor.
Fans of the classic FFVI will love the inclusion of classic baddies, while fans of modern sci-fi RPGs will dig the Mass Effect crossover. I’m surprised and pleased that Square Enix is working with different publishers to broaden Final Fantasy XIII-2’s appeal. Last year I told you about Noel’s Assassin’s Creed outfit. Now both leads are getting cool space armor from another popular videogame franchise! In the immortal words of Dr. Peter Venkman, “Dogs and cats, living together! Mass hysteria!!!” While I love that BioWare is invading a Square Enix game, I don’t think I can part with Serah’s bikini costume.
This particular DLC will be released in Japan at the end of March. The release dates in other territories has not been announced. Check out some nifty screens and artwork below.
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Nvidia GeForce GTX 680 Video Interview
Nvidia director of GeForce gaming Jason Paul joins talks about the GeForce GTX 680 in this video interview. Not only is Nvidia’s latest graphics card its most powerful gaming card to date, it’s also the most efficient. In addition to killer performance, the GTX 680 consumes less power and runs quieter than its forerunners. Paul talks about the GTX 680’s numerous features, including FXAA, adaptive vsync, GPU boost, and quad-display support.
For a full review of the Nvidia GeForce GTX 680, I highly recommend checking out this excellent AnandTech article. The chart below comes from the site’s review.
Any of you planning to upgrade to the Nvidia GeForce GTX 680?
Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Coming to America This Summer
Square Enix has announced that Theatrhythm Final Fantasy for Nintendo 3DS will be available in America this summer. This adorable music/rhythm game features characters and settings from numerous Final Fantasy games. I’ve been high on this game since seeing videos of it last year. According to the press release, the game contains “more than 70 musical scores” from 25 years worth of Final Fantasy titles. I’m so psyched for this 3DS game and would love to hear what you think of it. Check out the screens and artwork below.
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Backing Stoic Studio’s The Banner Saga
Kickstarter-funded games are the rage in 2012. Developers love circumventing publishers and gamers love feeling like they’re directly involved with the games they buy. The Banner Saga is a recent Kickstarter project that caught my eye. It combines a few of my favorite things. It’s being made by Stoic Studio, which was formed by several ex-BioWare talents. It has a beautiful animated art style and gameplay similar to Final Fantasy Tactics (still my all-time favorite). Former BioWare peeps, sweet art, and FFT gameplay?!? Sign me up!!!
I’m definitely going to contribute to this project. I just need to figure out how much I can afford. If you have a sec, check out the trailer and let me know what you think of The Banner Saga.
This Week’s Videogame Releases
This week marks the return of Kid Icarus! Originally released in 1986, the franchise hasn’t seen a sequel since 1991. All that changes with Kid Icarus Uprising. Speaking of sequels, Ninja Gaiden 3 hits shelves this week; this is the first modern Ninja Gaiden game made without the controversial Tomonobu Itagaki. In less interesting sequel news, Armored Core V will (maybe) satisfy gamers looking for giant-robot action. Capping things off is a pair of survival-horror games. Silent Hill HD Collection remasters some of the games that made the genre so popular. Finally, Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City adds some team-based flavor to this longrunning series.
Any of you picking up new games this week?
Coffee Talk #463: Do You Miss Arcades?
News of the Chinatown Fair arcade on 8 Mott Street reopening made my heart soar. I love that place — so many awesome memories there. While I definitely love console and mobile gaming, I miss the days of arcades. Growing up, they seemed like wondrous — almost mystical — places where…
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, St. Patrick’s Day boxing at MSG being sponsored by Corona, Andy Pettitte coming back to the Yankees, or wishing RPadholic Big Blak a belated happy birthday, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
News of the Chinatown Fair arcade on 8 Mott Street reopening made my heart soar. I love that place — so many awesome memories there. While I definitely love console and mobile gaming, I miss the days of arcades. Growing up, they seemed like wondrous — almost mystical — places where friends and I could go hang out while being dazzled by digital creations. I loved when my Mom would go to the market near the arcade. She could take her sweet time shopping while I played arcade games, watched people play arcade games, and talked to other kids about arcade games. My favorite games of all time are mostly console games, but I miss the social element of arcades, as well as the difficult-to-define sense of magic they had for me.
Modern arcades like GameWorks or Dave & Buster’s are neat, but they’re not the same. Part of it is that they have no personality. If you’ve seen one Dave & Buster’s then you’ve pretty much seen them all. The arcade chains don’t have the character or charm of their old-school counterparts. Part of it is that the market changed. Back in the day, arcades trumped anything I could experience on my Atari 2600. These days, consoles trump pretty much everything you’ll see at GameWorks.
While I indulge in this lovely bit of nostalgia, I wanted to see if any of you miss arcades. Did you play a lot of arcade games growing up? What were some of your favorites? Describe the best arcade you’ve ever been to. For those of you that have kids, have you explained that people used to have to travel to play videogames? How did that go over? Dang. Now I feel like filming at California Extreme….