I was going to do a title like "TRPGs for Video Gamers", except that title is confusing and redundant, as I'm not defining what TRPGs are, and the term "gamer" was coined when RPGs and hobby board games started expanding the group of people that would be defined as "people who play games as a hobby" out of realm of miniatures wargames into a boatload of other stuff. Anyway, I've been putting a...
Rather then just daily flooding my blog with posts about my Let's Play, I'm posting an embed of the YouTube Playlist I'm putting the videos on. Any comments on the videos can be done here. Future installments will be on this playlist at about one per day. Please let me know what you think of the Let's Play, and anything that you think I can do to improve! Note: Currently I've uploaded through e...
I've decided to try my hand at doing a Let's Play again, with a Let's Play of Halo 4. Parts 1 & 2 went up earlier this week. Part 1: and Part 2: There will be an audio difference between Parts 1 & 2, as I was, well, using my webcam mike for Part 1 instead of my condenser mike. Also, there will be a little detachment from the audio and the gameplay as I'm recording my audio on a different device...
This week we come to the conclusion of the Best of the Rest for 1988-1989, with the last 10 titles on the list. Opening Music: 'Super Buck II' by Estradasphere - http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00577/ Closing Music: 'Of Whips and Strings' by Super Guitar Bros. - http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR02480/ Notes: Yeah, I kind of messed up with my spreadsheet, causing me to put a game on the list twice, leadi...
In this episode of the Nintendo Power Retrospectives, we continue our way through the Best of the Rest, with two movie licensed games, two puzzle platformers, and two shoot-em-ups. Opening Music: 'Super Buck II' by Estradasphere Closing Music: 'Mounted-Machine Gun Funk' by Beatdrop
This week I'm finally getting back to reviewing a more current video game - Vanquish, a joint by Shinji Mikami and developed by Platinum Games. That's a good pedigree for Gameplay, but how is it for story? Excerpt from the William Tell Overture Performed by Kevin MacCloud http://www.incompitech.com Released under Creative Commons license. Notes: I'd originally intended to attach this video to t...
This week in the Nintendo Power Retrospectives, I start with the "Best of the Rest" of Nintendo Power's first year, reviewing the first 11 titles (out of 33) that made the Top 30 but weren't featured in Nintendo Power proper. There will be 2 more parts after this one. Titles reviewed this Episode: Ring King Section Z Mario Bros. Side Pocket Ghosts & Goblins Spy Hunter Rush 'n Attack Pinball Zan...
This week I've come to the end of Nintendo Power's first year, and boy is this issue weak on games to review, with only four titles. On the bright side, one of those is a classic from Capcom. We also have the results of the first annual Nintendo Power Awards. Opening Music: 'Jazz Plumber Trio' - Remixed by DJPretzel - http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00055/ Closing Remix: 'Air Shooter' - Remixed by...
This week we come to the second to last issue of Nintendo Power's first year, featuring another classic title in Ninja Gaiden, and two classicly bad titles in The Adventures of Bayou Billy and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, along with an underrated gem. Opening Music: ' Jazz Plumber Trio ' - Remixed by DJPretzel Closing Music: ' Eyes Behind The Mask ' - Performed by VikingGuitar. Spoony's Review...
This week I continue with the Nintendo Power Retrospectives with part 10, covering issue #4 of Nintendo Power - including looks at Zelda II: the Adventure of Link, and a while bunch of NES Football games. Oh, and Metal Gear?! Links Referenced The Angry Video Game Nerd's review of Friday the 13th . The Angry Video Game Nerd's review of Doctor Jekyll & Mister Hyde . Opening Music: ' Jazz Plumber...
The Retrospective rolls on with Nintendo Power #3 - featuring the first port from a PC that I've reviewed thus far. Main Title: 'Jazz Plumber Trio' - Remixed by DJPretzel - http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00055/ Closing Credits: 'Trollbash' - Remixed by Subliminal Labs - http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00044/ Spoony's review of Ultima III can be found here: http://spoonyexperiment.com/2010/07/20/ultima...
This week we continue with Nintendo Power #2, and a few games that are somewhat controversial - or at least some views on a few games that would be considered controversial - particularly Castlevania II. Main Title: 'Jazz Plumber Trio' - Remixed by DJPretzel - http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00055/ Closing Credits: 'The Accursed Seal' - Remixed by Sixto Sounds - http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01904/ S...
This week, it's time to get started with Nintendo Power #1, with reviews of 7 games! Main Title: 'Jazz Plumber Trio' - Remixed by DJPretzel - http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00055/ Closing Credits: 'Feeding Frenzy' - Remixed by goat - http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01595/ Notes: I mentioned this in the video, but I think it bears repeating - what would have really been great for Virtual Console would...
This week I'm recapping the last issue of Nintendo Fun Club News. From here on, we enter the realm of Nintendo Power. It's just a shame that Fun Club News goes out with a whimper. Game Reviewed: Wizards & Warriors Addendum: In this video, when talking about LJN, I bring up the "rainbow of crap" reputation that the label has - at this time LJN wasn't a label yet (ala Konami and Ultra). It wouldn...
This week the Nintendo Power Recaps reach issue #6 of the Nintendo Fun Club News. But, really, I was very surprised to find only one game featured in this issue of the magazine - hence the fudging and reviewing NES Golf. Hopefully I won't have to do this in the future. (*knocks on wood*)
This week, due to an error on my part from the last installment, I'm covering two issues of Nintendo Fun Club News - Issues #4 & #5 Games Reviewed: RC Pro-Am Ice Hockey The Goonies II Also, in this episode I think I've finally improved somewhat in terms of my transitions, so that the video flows better, instead of just having jarring cut into jarring cut into jarring cut. Let me know what you t...
Time for part 2, featuring Benkei. I had to edit a chunk out of the middle, due to not realizing that the recording wasn't actually paused when I stepped up to deal with some schtuff. I would say that this won't happen again, except that I'll probably run into this situation at least once in the future.
It's been a while since I last tried to do a Let's Play, so I'm going to give it another go, with a let's play for Genji: Days of the Blade. So, the way I'm doing this is I've recorded gameplay for the first 2 and a half levels using AverMedia's set-top box, and I'm recording commentary after the fact - so I can't be too responsive to gameplay requests, I'm afraid.
I'm continuing with the Nintendo Power Retrospective with Fun Club News Issue #3, covering Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!, Rad Racer, Kid Icarus, and Metroid. No game audio this time - for some reason the audio didn't get captured. I'll have to look into that to figure out why. Also, boy did the Fun Club News have a lot of ads.
This week I'm taking a look at Nintendo Fun Club News issue 2, with thoughts on Legend of Zelda, Pro Wrestling, Slalom and Volleyball. I managed to include some game audio this time, focusing on the opening music. This is partly as a nod to Chrontendo, a really good web series that you should be watching, and partly because we've got Legend of Zelda, with its opening music. While Legend of Zeld...
This week I start with the retro video gaming, as I make my way through Nintendo Power, one issue (or so) at a time, starting with the first issue of the Nintendo Fun Club News, and a little background about how Nintendo Power came to be. Wil Wheaton's Blog Entry about the tournament Other little notes: I forgot to discuss the music in Super Mario Bros that was an absolute oversight on my part....
It's time for another book review this time, or rather a review of a book that inspired a computer game - Red Storm Rising, by Tom Clancy (feat. Larry Bond) EDIT: Something I didn't mention in the review - the Red Storm Rising Computer game was the first computer game to be published by Red Storm Studios, who would later go on to create the Rainbow Six series, among other Clancy tie-in games, u...
This week I'm taking a look at Arthur C. Clarke's classic SF novel, Rendezvous With Rama (which in turn inspired the game for the Apple II & Commodore 64, among other systems). Gamers Against Bigotry's IndieGoGo Campaign can be found at http://www.indiegogo.com/GAB648 Their web page is http://gamersagainstbigotry.org/ The campaign ends on August 1st, 2012 - so donate now! Now, I haven't played...
One month late, I have my bottom 5 games from E3 2012, that I was Unsold on. The IndieGoGo project mentioned in the video can be found here . Currently their plans for overflow awards are including a prize drawing - but they're looking for suggestions for new rewards - and recommendations for web designers. Oh, and I mis-spelled Jennifer Hepler's name as Helper, in my script. I sincerely apolog...
So, last year, with E3, I did two videos, one describing the games I was Sold on, and the ones I was Unsold on. So, it's time for the Sold! list, and this time, I'm actually taking the time to rank these titles. And if you don't want to watch the video, here's the full list. I do realize that Rock Band Blitz was announced before E3, as was Sleeping Dogs , but what I saw at E3 clinched both of t...
While E3 has officially concluded, I still have one more video of press conference reactions to share. I've got my thoughts on Nintendo's WiiU and 3DS Press Conferences. Seriously though - I understand wanting to give the Nintendo 3DS additional time in their own press conference, and put the focus on the Wii U. However, wouldn't it have been better to give people advance notice that the second...
I'm continuing with my E3 press Conference vlogs with the rest of day one. I apologize for the poor picture quality - I recorded it last night, so I couldn't make sure the lighting was as good as I'd like. I'll try to fix the lighting problems with tomorrow's video. Tomorrow's video should cover Nintendo's two press briefings.
It's time for the first of what will be many Vlogs, where I give my thoughts on some of the E3 press briefings, starting with Konami & Microsoft. I'll probably end up putting my vlogs for EA & Ubisoft, and Sony & Nintendo up tomorrow, due to having class this evening. Anyway, my picks for game of the Microsoft press confrence is definitely Halo 4, and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 for the Kona...
After a one week break for school-work, I'm back for the attack. This week I've got a brief rant about the whole Mega-Man in Street Fighter X Tekken (which is starting to turn into Capcom Vs. Namco) before giving my thoughts on a recent twitter debate that Gabe of Penny Arcade started about Used Games, and whether they should be permitted to continue to exist. Just to re-iterate a point I menti...
This week I'm giving my thoughts, a week late, on the Spike VGAs Sorry about the poor video quality - I don't have a closer light source for my camera, and it was overcast outside, so, consequently, the room was much darker than it normally is, which in turn lead to the focus problems. I blame my camera and the Gods themselves conspiring to spare me from having to revisit the VGAs. Next week sh...
This week, I'm giving my thoughts on the International Red Cross' comments on depictions of war crimes in video games, as well as putting my two bits in on how bad SOPA would be for internet critics like myself. If you want to know more about what you can do to stop SOPA, go to AmericanCensorship.org. Oh, and a bit of a pre-emptive clarification here - I describe Diamanda Hagan, another interne...
Alright - I'm re-adding my blog post containing my video review, without adding it to the forums - and using the YouTube version - so hopefully it won't be considered spamming the forums this time. So - this is a video review that I recorded of the Japanese Pro Wrestling event "Wrestle Kingdom I" from 2007. I think I did a good job on this review - but I could stand to get further improvement....
This week I'm getting a little more topical and discussing the lawsuit Harlan Ellison is filing to stop the release of the film "In Time" Want my video quality to improve? Donate! http://www.indiegogo.com/New-Equipment-for-Web-Series
To tie in with my earlier review of The Bourne Conspiracy , this week I have a book review of The Bourne Identity.
This week I have another book review, covering one of the nominees for this year's Hugo Awards, but, sadly, not this year's winner - The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, by N. K. Jensen. I also do a break down of the various facets of the fantasy genre.
As I put up a video game review last week (it's under my reviews tab, because I put it out as an actual review), this week I've got another book review, for the Hugo Award nominated novel, Blackout, by Connie Willis.
PC Gamer ran a few news stories recently about Diablo 3 (regarding the persistent internet connection and so forth), and I wanted to take a moment to give my thoughts.
This week I have another book review, and it's even a topical one. This week, I take a look at Ian McDonald's 2011 Hugo Award Nominated (and John W. Campbell Memorial Award Winning) science fiction novel, The Dervish House .
I'm taking a break from Analog Computing this week to instead take a look at the first issue of Computer Gaming World, for November-December of 1981. We start off with an ad from SSI, hyping their port of their Civil War Strategy game “Battle of Shiloh” and the World War II game “Battle of the Bulge: Tigers in the Snow.” It's kind of interesting. Nowadays we're used to strategy games which will...
This week I have my first video book review, of David Eddings' "The Diamond Throne" - one of those books that you might have read in High School or Middle School. If you don't want to admit it, that's okay.
Unfortunately, the copy of King Kong I rented didn't work as well as I liked, so I had to find an alternate thing to review...
This was a rather involved review to do, and interspersing the gameplay footage with footage of me didn't quite turn out as well as I liked. I'm not sure quite what went wrong there - but I'll try to improve in later installments.
Now that the Brown vs. EMA Mess is over, I'm going to take a moment to give my thoughts on the whole thing, and respond to Sen. Lee's comments earlier today.
I particularly haven't given myself a proper introduction yet, and as I'm doing video content now, I might as well do so.
It's now time to, at last, put E3 2011 behind us. However, before we do, I've got a few titles to get off my chest - those titles which soured my opinion on them and, in once case, made me throw up in my mouth.
E3 2011 has come and gone, but the Count is nothing if not fashionably late, as he gives the five games he was sold on at the show (that he wasn't sold on before).
I've gotten my video recaps together for Sony & Nintendo's press conferences, and I'm putting them in one post to easier management. Enjoy! Sony Nintendo Enjoy!
Slowly but surely, I'm getting Video Blogs for all the E3 2011 Press Conferences Up.
Yesterday I put up a video for Microsoft's press briefing. Now it's EA's turn.
Well, I've recorded a video giving my thoughts on Microsoft's press conference. Additional videos for the other press conferences should be up through the rest of the week.
Cover for Nintendo Power #51 We have another recap of an issue in Nintendo Power, just in time for a significant, coinciding event in the modern video game industry. The issue is Nintendo Power #51, for August of 1993. Our cover game for this issue is Street Fighter II Turbo , which introduces the ability to have same character matches in the game, as well as the ability to play as the bosses,...
I'm continuing on with my walk of Analog Computing Magazine with issue #3 for May/June 1981. Our cover story is programming languages, and we have an ad at the beginning of this issue for Mosaic Electronics spring catalog, and their 32K RAM expansion board. Cygnus Micro systems is also advertising their new disk loader, word processor, and electronic Ledger. Also, COMPUTE! Magazine has a couple...
This article was originally posted on my blog . Just in time for the 25 Anniversary of the US launch of the Nintendo Entertainment system, my Where I Read for Nintendo Power has reached issue 50, for July of 1993. It shouldn’t be a surprise to say that this issue’s cover game is a notable one – Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening for the Game Boy – the first portable outing for the series. Our le...
This article was originally posted on my blog . We move on with the issues of Analog Computing with its sophomore issue, for March and April of 1981. As you can see from the cover, we’ve got coverage of some printers for the Atari 8-bit systems. EDITORIAL Last issue’s Editorial column was a statement of principles, while this issue’s column is a request for feedback from readers asking what the...
After a far too long delay, I’m finally carrying on with my Nintendo Power Recaps with issue #49 for June of 1993. Our cover story for this issue is the crossover that nobody was really anticipating – Battletoads and Double Dragon . It perhaps bears noting that it is the Battletoads which are hogging the spotlight here (no pun intended) while one of the Lee brothers is in the far background. Th...
This was originally a blog post on my personal blog . With its next episode, one of the Internet’s best retro game podcasts, Retronauts , is coming to an end. This leaves a bit of a void, as I can’t think of a lot of truly great retro game podcasts out there. Destructoid’s Retro Game Podcast, which was okay, but not great, has ended. IGN’s retro game podcast is similarly over. However, I can st...
Having run out of issues of EGM for now, it's time for something completely different. Specifically, we're shifting focus from gaming consoles to computer gaming, with Analog Computing Magazine. For those unfamiliar with this magazine, it focused on computing on the Atari 400 and 800. Why am I picking this magazine? Well, because the first computer I ever used was an Atari 800, so Atari compute...
We're moving on with the Nintendo Power Recaps with issue #48 for May of 1993. Our cover story for this issue is the beat-em-up adaptation of the Batman Returns film. Our letter themed topic for this issue is suggestions for contests. The prizes that are printed seem pretty reasonable. We have one writer who suggests a Wrestlemania themed contest, with the winner getting a trip to Wrestlemania...
I've found one more gap that I can fill in my Electronic Gaming Monthly Recaps – with issue 104 for March of 1998. Our cover story for this issue is Yoshi's Story for the N64. This issue also has the absolute dumbest ad for Klonoa ever – in that it deliberately tries to draw a connection between the main character of the game and blood-borne pathogens of the sexually transmitted variety. Yeah....
We continue on with the Nintendo Power recaps with issue #47 for April of 1993. Our cover story for this issue is Starfox, after it played second fiddle to Tiny Toon Adventures last issue. Our letters column this issue has a bunch of letters asking the question of what column they'd like to get rid of, and what they'd like to replace it with. Overall, most of the readers of the magazine would l...
I’ve finally found another issue of EGM to fill one of the holes in my back catalog, with issue #66 for January of 1995. Our cover story for this issue is Killer Instinct, and is looking positively ’90s-licious. We also get a look at the Virtual Boy on the cover. This issue’s editorial column is about the Virtual Boy, and to be short, Ed Semrad is not impressed with it, in terms of game quality...
This post was originally written on my blog , though I've made some adjustments. As I’ve mentioned in my review of The Soul of a New Machine (on my blog), I enjoy reading about the history of the computer industry. As you’ve probably gather from all my magazine recaps, I also enjoy learning about the history of the video game industry. Consequently, I enjoy books that fall in the category where...
I'm currently getting caught up on episodes of the Giant Bombcast, working backwards from the most recent episode, and I'm now on episode #26. I've reached the little discussion by Jeff and Ryan and the rest during the middle of the show about how bad people on the internet can be, and solutions for this. I tend to be to the point about a lot of things, and I'm going to be kind of to the point,...
So, I'm continuing on with the Nintendo Power Recaps with issue #46, for March of 1993. I'm also posting this issue of my recap on GiantBomb.com. Hello to you all reading it at Giant Bomb! Those looking for earlier issues in the series can check out my blog at Wordpress.com. Anyway, this issue's cover game is Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster Busts Loose . All things considered, the cover art for th...
Hardcore Gaming 101 ran an article today about the demise of Japanese retro game magazine GameSide. The Article mainly goes paragraph by paragraph through another article from GameSetWatch about the magazine's demise, giving their own thoughts every now and then. Anyway, one bit from the article really caught my attention. Chief among these new mags was Game Hihyou (Game Criticism), which launc...
So, we're on the last week of the Basic Building Blocks Quest Chain - at least in terms of getting the extra thousand XP. I'm getting the impression that some people are having some problems with it. So, to help people get through their difficulties with these quests, I present my hints. Now, the order in which these clues come may be different for you, then they would be for me. Hopefully, the...
Kotaku has reported that Capcom included DRM in the PS3 release of Final Fight: Double Impact . The DRM, which was similar to the DRM that Ubisoft had adopted for PC games, required the player have an always on internet connection while playing the game. If the PS3's internet connection is lost - either in single or multiplayer, the game quits to the dashboard. Additionally, the game could only...
I posted this on another web page, but I wanted to post this here as well. I'm interested in what you in the Giant Bomb community have to think on this topic. So, Carl Macek, the guy who helped found Streamline Pictures, and who took Super Dimensional Fortress Macross, Super Dimensional Cavalry Southern Cross, and Genesis Climber Mospeda and wrapped it all up into a big package called Robotech,...
I know I don't have anyone following me, but in case someone does decide to follow my writing, I wanted to let you know that I've been working on a series of recaps of issues of Heavy Metal Magazine at ComicVine.com, which can be found on my blog there.
So, recently I was listening to the most recent installment of the Giant Bombcast when the discussion came up on the show on what other games the Rock Band: The Beatles formula would work with. Jeff, Ryan and Brad actually did a pretty good job of running down what the criteria. However, for those who didn't listen to the episode, I'm going to give the basics: It needs a good narrative: The ban...
Just to let you all know, this is not my primary blog. My primary blog can be found here - and will be updated much more often than this (assuming I update this one anymore in the future).