Ever dream about playing through Super Mario Bros. levels as Simon Belmont, the dude from Contra, Mega Man, Link, or Samus Aran? Well now you can in Super Mario Crossover! This adorable Flash game takes levels from SMB and lets you play through them as heroes and heroines from other classic titles. Each character has his or her signatures moves and music. It’s cute. It’s fun. It’s familiar and new at the same time. Give it a shot and let me know what you think!
Tony Hawk games, Nintendo “Revolution” talk, Star Wars: Battlefront 2, and an epic lightsaber fight — there’s plenty for you to enjoy in this episode of Reset. It’s fun looking back at the Wii; I don’t know anyone that thought it would be the success it turned out to be, including my two distinguished panelists. The lightsaber fight with Ruby still cracks me up. Check it out!
Part 1 — Activision’s Tony Hawk titles have been thrilling gamers for years. The action-sports excitement continues with the upcoming Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland for consoles and Tony Hawk’s American Sk8land for Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance. Ruby checks out both games and finds out what new features the pair brings to the skate park. And yes, this was filmed at the event where Raymond got in trouble for stealing beer.
Part 2 — Nintendo is trying something truly unique and different with the controller for its upcoming system, the Revolution. Eschewing the conventional gamepad, the Revolution will feature a wireless controller with motion sensors. It sounds wacky, but it might be the defining factor that will make Nintendo stand out from its competitors. Two industry experts — freelancers Christian Nutt and Chris Kohler — drop by Yahoo! Studios to reveal details on the controller and discuss the impact it will have on gaming.
Part 3 — Rebels and Gungans and Ewoks! Wow! Ruby engages in some Jedi training and checks out LucasArts’ exhilarating action game Star Wars: Battlefront 2. Our little Padawan gets the skinny on the game’s new features while interviewing in a Princess Leia steel bikini (just kidding…or so you think). In addition to the interview, Ruby and Raymond get up to some mischief at the event and take on Boba Fett.
For the most part, we all know what kind of games we’ll like and won’t like. Every now and then, a surprise comes our way. One of the best ways to receive a gaming surprise is through friends. A great friend of mine recently dropped by for lunch on his way back up to San Francisco. We’ve gone through a lot together, but there’s one game that always reminds me of him: Culdcept. I admit that I would have totally ignored this game if he didn’t put it on my radar. Thanks to him, I’ve gotten dozens of hours of entertainment from a game I wouldn’t have tried on my own.
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, Tim Tebow going so early in the draft, the Yankees’ first triple play in more than 40 years, or whether the world is passing Nokia/RIM by, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
For the most part, we all know what kind of games we’ll like and won’t like. Every now and then, a surprise comes our way. One of the best ways to receive a gaming surprise is through friends. A great friend of mine recently dropped by for lunch on his way back up to San Francisco. We’ve gone through a lot together, but there’s one game that always reminds me of him: Culdcept
Do you have any gaming surprises like that? Are there any games you like or love thanks to recommendations by friends? Surely there must be a game you would have dismissed but didn’t, thanks to a pal telling you about it. I want to hear your friends-turn-you-onto-game stories today!
Jet lag is still kicking my ass (to be fair, I’m not putting up much of a fight), but I’m finally ready to get back to some real gaming! I’m totally jumping back into Final Fantasy XIII
As always, let me know what you’re playing this weekend!
RPadholic tokz_21 sent me this interesting article on digital downloads being taxed. The article focused primarily on movies and music, but it could easily apply to games as well. I don’t know what the deals are in the states you live in, but in California downloadable goods aren’t taxed. On one hand, I save some money. On the other hand, I do feel like I’m cheating (just a little bit).
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, Madden’s new cover boy, Tim Urban finally getting the boot from American Idol, or flip phones in 2010, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
RPadholic tokz_21 sent me this interesting article on digital downloads being taxed. The article focused primarily on movies and music, but it could easily apply to games as well. I don’t know what the deals are in the states you live in, but in California downloadable goods aren’t taxed. On one hand, I save some money. On the other hand, I do feel like I’m cheating (just a little bit).
Obviously nobody wants to pay more money, but I wanted to see if you think digital downloads should be taxed. Be honest! Should downloads be treated like other goods you buy? Or should the state be hands-off? Do you feel like you’re depriving your state of funds by purchasing digitally or through online retailers that don’t charge tax? Leave a comment and let me know (please)!
Blizzard has swung its mighty banhammer to the tune of 320,000 banned accounts. The offenders were apparently up to no good in Diablo II and Warcraft III. It’s also interesting to note that a lot of the bans are a result of the community policing itself. Here’s a quote from Blizzard’s forum post:
Many account closures come as the direct result of tips emailed to our hacks team by legitimate Battle.net users. If you come across a hack, find a site responsible for distributing hacks, or have a replay of a newly available hack, please report this to our hacks team at hacks@blizzard.com or through our Hacks Report Form at http://us.blizzard.com/support/article.xml?locale=en_US&tag=hacksform
It’s great that the community helps sort itself out…but I have to wonder if some players are viewed are narcs.
The National Labor Committee (NLC) posted an interesting report on a Chinese factory that makes several Microsoft products — including Xbox 360 controllers and remotes. As you can imagine, the factory’s conditions were deemed horrid. Children as young as 16 allegedly work shifts exceeding 15 hours in an extremely small space without air conditioning. The workers allegedly sleep 14 to a room and can only take sponge baths.
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, Sergio Martinez achieving boxing greatness at 35, the disgusting tale of Edwin Valero, or the first round of the NBA playoffs, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
The National Labor Committee (NLC) posted an interesting report on a Chinese factory that makes several Microsoft products — including Xbox 360 controllers and remotes. As you can imagine, the factory’s conditions were deemed horrid. Children as young as 16 allegedly work shifts exceeding 15 hours in an extremely small space without air conditioning. The workers allegedly sleep 14 to a room and can only take sponge baths.
Microsoft corporate vice president Brian Tobey claimed that Microsoft inspects the factory regularly. He recently stated on the company’s corporate blog that, “We take the allegations raised this week quite seriously. Another comprehensive on-site audit of the facility will be conducted next week, with a specific goal of investigating the allegations raised in the NLC report. In addition, we will have monitors on site pending the results of the inspection.”
There are loads of products we buy and use that are manufactured under harsh conditions like the ones pointed out by the NLC. My question for you today is this: If you were aware that a gaming product you want was built in a factory that exploited teenagers and had inhumane working conditions, would you still buy it?
This was a particularly fun episode of Reset to put together. The first clip features two of my closest friends in the business, the second clip has Zoe and me playing around in Vegas, and the last one is about Ultimate Spider-Man! Check yourself before your wreck yourself (I have no idea where that came from).
Part 1 — Here’s a roundtable discussion from a Konami event. While it wasn’t a drunken adventure like the Midway table of truth, there’s some good stuff here. Journalists Robert Workman, Christian Nutt, and Chris Kohler speak out on Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence, Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3: Mutant Nightmare.
Part 2 — Zoe and I played in a Las Vegas poker tournament that promoted the game Stacked. She got to hang with poker pros Daniel Negreanu and Evelyn Ng (sexy!), while I hung out with poker…personality Bill Filmaff.
Part 3 — The last clip of this episode is all about Ultimate Spider-Man! I love the comic and enjoyed the game. Let’s take a look back at it before it was released.
Superheros, new consoles, and Konami — this episode of Reset has a lot going on! The second clip is particularly amusing when viewed through the retroscope; predicting PlayStation 3 factoids before launch is always good fun. Anyway, check it out!
Part 1 — I love X-Men Legends. Action-RPGs are some of my favorite games and I’m a comic-book nerd, so the game is perfect for me. Naturally, I was excited to check out X-Men Legends II at an Activision event.
Part 2 — Good friends EGM Mark and 1Up Jane return to talk about the PlayStation 3! It’s great hearing thoughts and predictions made before the systems launch, knowing how it eventually played out. See who was right and who was wrong in this Yahoo! Studios clip.
Part 3 — Kat Hunter gets the skinny on a slew of Konami games at a San Francisco press event. From Castlevania to Karaoke Revolution to Crime Life, there’s something for everyone in this clip.
I’d like to say that I’m going to jump right back into Final Fantasy XIII
How about you guys and dolls? What are you playing this weekend?
