Flipside Sounds Top 35 Albums of 2011
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Showing posts with label video games. Show all posts
Showing posts with label video games. Show all posts
Demos of the Year
Sometimes I'll download and play the demo of a game and then never get around to actually playing the game. Here is my list of the the best demos that I played of games that I didn't for 2009.
Shadow Complex only $10
Last week Xbox's Major Nelson announced December's Xbox Live releases as well as what's going to be on sale in the coming month. Among the announcements he said that during the week of December 21st this year's side scrolling shooter "Shadow Complex" would be on sale for only 800 Microsoft point (That's $10 in real money).Finally! I don't know why, but I never a end up buying downloadable games onto my Xbox. It probably has to do with the pain of converting money to Microsoft points and then not being able to just buy enough point for what I want to purchase. Regardless, I will be buying Shadow Complex because for $10 it is a steal.
Game Self: Dragon Age: Origins
The next part of my continuing look at how I look in video games. This time we're looking at Dragon Age: Origins (I've now clocked 20+) and my main character. I took a different approach to this one and I decided to go with something completely different so I'm playing through the adventure as dwarven warrior who wields a sword in one hand and a dagger in the other. I went all out with the dwarven thing, didn't try to make him resemble myself at all (hence the giant beard and face tattoo). It's awkward for me to play a game as someone not resembling me and it's even more dwarf. EVERYONE is taller than you and a ton of in game characters tease me for my stature and race. Sucks, but it's definitely an interesting way to play a game.
Game Self: Saint's Row 2
A good portion of modern video games allow players to customize their virtual self's looks, clothes, and movement and I, as a gamer, have always been fascinated with what people make themselves look like in these games. I love to see what my friends make their characters look like in all the different games. I tend to make my characters look similar to my real life self but I'll usually make a few changes based on the setting of the game and action that I'm doing in the game. For example here is my character from last years Saint's Row 2. I tried to make my character look like what I would look like...if I was a gang leader.
Impressions: Lego Rock Band
Last night I got the chance to play a little bit of "Lego Rock Band" aka the worst idea for a game ever! The game plays just exactly like regular "Rock Band" except that everything is made of Legos. What?!?! The game isn't worthless though. It is the only rhythm/music game to feature Europe's 1986 classic The Final Countdown. And it is AWESOME.
Strange Games of 00's Vol. 4
Part 4 of my "Games I shouldn't have liked...but did" list of the last ten years.
2006: Cabela's Alaskan Adventure (Xbox 360)
I've only been hunting once in my life, and to be frank I was terrible at it. I'm an impatient person with no real experience shooting fire arms. Thank God for video games. My friend Chris and I rented this game based only on the title, our thought was what could be better than an Alaskan adventure? The answer, a lot of things. This game was terrible. The graphics where terrible, the premise didn't actually interest us, and the game was, for the most part, broken. BUT! There was one thing about it we really liked. The game pretty much played itself. All we had to do was find an animal and point our gun in it's general direction and then the bullet would find its way to the animal regardless of the how well we aimed. The bullet would curve if it had to do. It would go through trees if it had to. No matter what though it would hit our prey. So we played it for like 3 days then got bored and took it back.
2007: PictoChat (DS)
PictoChat came out installed on all DS's when they came out in 2004 but I never found it's full potential until a car trip in early 2007. PictoChat is pretty much just a chat room for DS's within close range and users can type messages or draw little pictures. During a painful drive to Austin for some play festival my friend, and co-star, Zach and I sat in the back seat of the van and drew pictures back and forth for 2 1/2 hours. Sometimes the pictures where just random little doodles, but other times they where hilarious comments on what was happening in the car. The drive would have been brutal had we not had PictoChat. I've since only used it a few other times, but nothing will beat that time.
2006: Cabela's Alaskan Adventure (Xbox 360)I've only been hunting once in my life, and to be frank I was terrible at it. I'm an impatient person with no real experience shooting fire arms. Thank God for video games. My friend Chris and I rented this game based only on the title, our thought was what could be better than an Alaskan adventure? The answer, a lot of things. This game was terrible. The graphics where terrible, the premise didn't actually interest us, and the game was, for the most part, broken. BUT! There was one thing about it we really liked. The game pretty much played itself. All we had to do was find an animal and point our gun in it's general direction and then the bullet would find its way to the animal regardless of the how well we aimed. The bullet would curve if it had to do. It would go through trees if it had to. No matter what though it would hit our prey. So we played it for like 3 days then got bored and took it back.
2007: PictoChat (DS)
PictoChat came out installed on all DS's when they came out in 2004 but I never found it's full potential until a car trip in early 2007. PictoChat is pretty much just a chat room for DS's within close range and users can type messages or draw little pictures. During a painful drive to Austin for some play festival my friend, and co-star, Zach and I sat in the back seat of the van and drew pictures back and forth for 2 1/2 hours. Sometimes the pictures where just random little doodles, but other times they where hilarious comments on what was happening in the car. The drive would have been brutal had we not had PictoChat. I've since only used it a few other times, but nothing will beat that time.
Review: Small Worlds
In 15 short minutes David Shute's Small Worlds gave me a sense of exploration that I haven't felt in over 10 years. Small Worlds is a simple flash game where players are tasked with nothing but exploring and discovering a beautiful world. There are no bad guys, no challenges, just exploration.
All of the worlds you travel to are beautiful pieces of art that are slowly uncovered as you hop around the world, the more you discover the more you want to play. The game also features a fantastic score, and even better than that is free. Small Worlds is more of an experience than a game, an experience that you shouldn't pass up.
All of the worlds you travel to are beautiful pieces of art that are slowly uncovered as you hop around the world, the more you discover the more you want to play. The game also features a fantastic score, and even better than that is free. Small Worlds is more of an experience than a game, an experience that you shouldn't pass up.
Dragon Age: Orgins = Time Suck
I'm 11 hours into Bioware's latest medieval rpg and I don't think I ever want to stop playing. One of the best games I've ever played. Currently I'm playing through the game as a dwarven warrior who was born in the slums, but I'm already planning my character for my next play-through, but it looks like it'll be awhile before I finish my character. The game is deep, has great characters, deep story, and some very dark stuff. The game looks like Fable II and plays like Baulder's Gate II. You couldn't ask for a better combination.
Strange Games of 00's Vol. 3
Part 3 of my "Games I shouldn't have liked...but did" list of the last ten years .
2004: Backyard Wrestling 2: There Goes the Neighborhood (Xbox)
Never once in my life have I had any urge to watch the backyard wrestling movies that you sometimes see ads for late at night, but for some reason in 2004 I rented "Backyard Wrestling 2: There Goes the Neighborhood." I guess it was some kind of fluke but it was for the better. The game, which pits white trash warriors against each other in a homemade back yard wrestling ring, was actually one of the only enjoyable wrestling games I've ever played. I have no real interest in watching professional wrestling on TV, but for some reason I've always wanted to enjoy a wrestling game. Backyard Wrestling was the only time I've had fun and been good at a wrestling game. I guess it didn't hurt that you could break flourecent light bulbs on people's heads and play as Andrew W.K.
2005: Dynasty Warriors 5 (Ps2)
Feel free to disagree but I think that all six Rocky movies are pretty much the same. Sure some of the characters and settings change...but at the end of the day it's just Stallone getting all sweaty and fighting someone. That's not to say the movies are bad, in fact I like them. I have the same relationship with the Dynasty Warriors franchise. They're all pretty much the same game, but that hasn't stopped me from playing them. The basic gist is you are an old time Chinese army commander and you fight a ton of bad guys...over and over again. Dynasty Warriors 5 was no different, it was basically the same game I'd been playing for the but I still played the crap out of it.
2004: Backyard Wrestling 2: There Goes the Neighborhood (Xbox)Never once in my life have I had any urge to watch the backyard wrestling movies that you sometimes see ads for late at night, but for some reason in 2004 I rented "Backyard Wrestling 2: There Goes the Neighborhood." I guess it was some kind of fluke but it was for the better. The game, which pits white trash warriors against each other in a homemade back yard wrestling ring, was actually one of the only enjoyable wrestling games I've ever played. I have no real interest in watching professional wrestling on TV, but for some reason I've always wanted to enjoy a wrestling game. Backyard Wrestling was the only time I've had fun and been good at a wrestling game. I guess it didn't hurt that you could break flourecent light bulbs on people's heads and play as Andrew W.K.
2005: Dynasty Warriors 5 (Ps2)
Feel free to disagree but I think that all six Rocky movies are pretty much the same. Sure some of the characters and settings change...but at the end of the day it's just Stallone getting all sweaty and fighting someone. That's not to say the movies are bad, in fact I like them. I have the same relationship with the Dynasty Warriors franchise. They're all pretty much the same game, but that hasn't stopped me from playing them. The basic gist is you are an old time Chinese army commander and you fight a ton of bad guys...over and over again. Dynasty Warriors 5 was no different, it was basically the same game I'd been playing for the but I still played the crap out of it.
Flash Game: Canabalt
Need a quick distraction from studying? Try Canabalt. It's a simple flash game where you run through a city as it invaded by robot-aliens. It sounds complicated, but isn't. It's a quick, easy, one button game that is fun for at least 3 minutes.
Strange Games of 00's Vol. 2
Part 2 of my "Games I shouldn't have liked...but did of the last ten years" list.
2002: Car Battler Joe (GBA)
Terrible graphics, stupid title, and a dumb story usually make for an awful game, but that isn't the case with "Car Battler Joe." You play Joe, a 16 year old boy looking for adventure, as he begins his career as a car battler. You save up money to buy new parts for your battle dune buggy. The game has you run errands and battle other car battlers to earn money. The thing that drew me to this game was the customization of the cars. You bought and equipped new weapons, engines, and armor and that's the kind of stuff I love. I really don't recall any story or any of the characters, just customized the crap out of my car and battling people.
2003: Downhill Domination (Ps2)
Before "Downhill Domination" I had no idea that the whole world of downhill mountain biking existed. "Downhill Domination" is an extreme sports racing game that sends you barreling down mountains atop a mountain bike. I don't know how I stumbled upon this game but when it wound up in my hands I couldn't put it down. How could a premise that I had no interest in be so freaking fun? The game shows speed better than almost any game I've ever played, half the time you are playing you almost feel like you can't even do anything but keep pedaling and hope for the best. If you play your cards right while your are riding you can find water bottles, rocks, and stick to hurl at your competitors. The only problem with the game? None of my friends ever wanted to play with me.
2002: Car Battler Joe (GBA)Terrible graphics, stupid title, and a dumb story usually make for an awful game, but that isn't the case with "Car Battler Joe." You play Joe, a 16 year old boy looking for adventure, as he begins his career as a car battler. You save up money to buy new parts for your battle dune buggy. The game has you run errands and battle other car battlers to earn money. The thing that drew me to this game was the customization of the cars. You bought and equipped new weapons, engines, and armor and that's the kind of stuff I love. I really don't recall any story or any of the characters, just customized the crap out of my car and battling people.
2003: Downhill Domination (Ps2)
Before "Downhill Domination" I had no idea that the whole world of downhill mountain biking existed. "Downhill Domination" is an extreme sports racing game that sends you barreling down mountains atop a mountain bike. I don't know how I stumbled upon this game but when it wound up in my hands I couldn't put it down. How could a premise that I had no interest in be so freaking fun? The game shows speed better than almost any game I've ever played, half the time you are playing you almost feel like you can't even do anything but keep pedaling and hope for the best. If you play your cards right while your are riding you can find water bottles, rocks, and stick to hurl at your competitors. The only problem with the game? None of my friends ever wanted to play with me.
Strange Games of 00's Vol. 1
As this strangely named decade (OO's?) comes to an end people are starting to look back at all the greatness that has happened within it. Me? I'd rather think about all the video games that I shouldn't have liked...but did. Here are the first two games that I had almost inexplicable love for.
2000: The Grinch (Dreamcast)
Around the age of 12 Christmas starts to loose some of it's magic as was the case during my 12th Christmas. You've either been told the truth about the holiday or you've used your pre-pubescent detective skills to figure it all out and it just isn't the same anymore. That is unless you pop in Konami's 2000 hit "The Grinch" into your Dreamcast. The game itself was pretty terrible. If I remember correctly you where collecting various Christmas items (candy canes, gifts, and ornaments to name a few) that where strewn throughout the magical land of Whoville. I think it was the setting that really made me love playing this game. If actually sort of felt like being in one of Dr. Seuss's worlds. The colors where bright, the graphics looked good for the time and the sound and music where incredible. The game stretched out some of the magic of Christmas just a little bit longer.
2001: The Bouncer (Ps2)
Maaan oh maaan is "The Bouncer" bad. Sometimes how much fun you have playing a video games is based more on who you are playing with rather than the actual quality of what you are playing. The best example of this is Square's "The Bouncer." Back in 01 my bestfriend Ross had a Playstation 2, which at the time was THE coolest thing you could have. So I was regularly over at his house playing the crap out of it with him and for some reason we always wanted to play "The Bouncer." The game puts in the shoes of, you guessed it, a bouncer who has to fight his way through hordes of generic bad dudes in an attempt to save the world from some kind of generic evil bad guy. It was nothing more the mediocre but we had such a good time playing it that we'll never really forget it.
2000: The Grinch (Dreamcast)Around the age of 12 Christmas starts to loose some of it's magic as was the case during my 12th Christmas. You've either been told the truth about the holiday or you've used your pre-pubescent detective skills to figure it all out and it just isn't the same anymore. That is unless you pop in Konami's 2000 hit "The Grinch" into your Dreamcast. The game itself was pretty terrible. If I remember correctly you where collecting various Christmas items (candy canes, gifts, and ornaments to name a few) that where strewn throughout the magical land of Whoville. I think it was the setting that really made me love playing this game. If actually sort of felt like being in one of Dr. Seuss's worlds. The colors where bright, the graphics looked good for the time and the sound and music where incredible. The game stretched out some of the magic of Christmas just a little bit longer.
2001: The Bouncer (Ps2)
Maaan oh maaan is "The Bouncer" bad. Sometimes how much fun you have playing a video games is based more on who you are playing with rather than the actual quality of what you are playing. The best example of this is Square's "The Bouncer." Back in 01 my bestfriend Ross had a Playstation 2, which at the time was THE coolest thing you could have. So I was regularly over at his house playing the crap out of it with him and for some reason we always wanted to play "The Bouncer." The game puts in the shoes of, you guessed it, a bouncer who has to fight his way through hordes of generic bad dudes in an attempt to save the world from some kind of generic evil bad guy. It was nothing more the mediocre but we had such a good time playing it that we'll never really forget it.
Professor Layton a legend?
I was just on Amazon's Nintendo DS page looking around to see if there was any new games and part of there advertising was an option to pick your favorite legendary Nintendo character and it would show you all of their games.
I just can't help but feel like one of these characters doesn't belong, and you probably know which one as he's only been in TWO games. Not only that but lets be honest NO ONE knows who is. (The answer is Professor Layton)
I just can't help but feel like one of these characters doesn't belong, and you probably know which one as he's only been in TWO games. Not only that but lets be honest NO ONE knows who is. (The answer is Professor Layton)
Love/Hate: Playing Modern Warfare 2 Online
Love: Playing Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer. I sunk more time into Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare's multiplayer mode than I'd like to really think about. The game was balanced, fun, and rewarding. So rewarding in fact that it'd be easy to play for hours without even realizing it. Modern Warfare 2 has all of that and more, much much more. The new game has more weapon options, better levels, more modes of play, and tons of stuff to unlock and customize. I've already sunk around 15 hours into the online play and I have no urge to stop.
Hate: Playing with people on Xbox Live. I've been playing Modern Warfare 2 on Xbox 360, which means my only option online is Xbox Live. Unfortunately the Live community isn't the most pleasant to play with. Every time I enter a game I feel like at least a third of my fellow players are going to be jerks, and usually I'm correct. Never before in my life have I seen a group of people so full of themselves and over involved with their own personal success. People are constantly complaining, cursing, and yelling at and about other players. And there is usually no shortage of racial slurs being thrown around. It's a shame such a fun experience can be ruined by a few bad people
Hate: Playing with people on Xbox Live. I've been playing Modern Warfare 2 on Xbox 360, which means my only option online is Xbox Live. Unfortunately the Live community isn't the most pleasant to play with. Every time I enter a game I feel like at least a third of my fellow players are going to be jerks, and usually I'm correct. Never before in my life have I seen a group of people so full of themselves and over involved with their own personal success. People are constantly complaining, cursing, and yelling at and about other players. And there is usually no shortage of racial slurs being thrown around. It's a shame such a fun experience can be ruined by a few bad people
Game Review: Brütal Legend
When I think of Heavy Metal I don't think of any specific song or band, but instead my mind is taken to a mystical and magical land filled with demons, dragons, warriors and vikings. Tim Schafer's Brütal Legend creates that world and lets gamers explore it with a little help from Jack Black.
The game has you controlling legendary heavy metal roadie Eddie Riggs, voiced by Black, as he travels a fantasy world of heavy metal and teams up with a small group of rebels in an attempt to end the tyrannical rule of a demon warlord. In doing so the game has you chopping up enemies with your enchanted battle axe, whaling on the guitar to summon lightning and fire, commanding armies of headbangers and speeding through the terrain in your custom hot rod.
Brütal Legend is a blast to play, mostly because of the hilarious story and the brilliantly casted characters. Most of the main characters you encounter are voiced by metal legends like Ozzy Osborne and Lemmy Killmister or talented Hollywood actors like Black and Tim Curry. The characters and event that unfold are so perfect that you'll have trouble putting down your controller after playing though a couple of missions.
The game starts out as a gore filled hack and slash but eventually transforms into a real time strategy where you are controlling a big army while fighting along side it. The transformation feels strange at first, but over the course of the game it clicks and starts to be really fun. The transformation makes it so that the game never gets to repetitive.
If you have ever loved heavy metal than you must play Brütal Legend. It's as simple as that. Double Fine studio has created a love letter to heavy metal fans in the form of Brütal Legend. If metal isn't your thing then I'd have a hard time telling you to buy the game, but for those of us who've shouted at the devil Brütal Legend needs to be played.
Swedish Rapper Pato Pooh goes 8-bit
Here in America our rappers love to make music about throwing money at women, popping expensive champagne, and showing every one the spinning rims that they put on they're SUV, but apparently in Sweden things are a lot different. I found this video on gaming blog Kotaku and had to share it. There is some profanity in the song, but nothing too terrible.
Old News: Yakuza 3 coming to U.S.
You ever get behind something, like a book or a movie, without having seen or read it? Defending it and wanting what's best for it? I'm like that with Sega's Yakuza series.The 3, soon to be 4, games put the player in control of former Yakuza member Kazuma Kiryu as her returns from 10 years in jail. The games have been acclaimed for their realistic depiction of the Japanese crime world as well as for their pacing, story, and fighting system.
But alas this means nothing to me because I havent played any of them. I keep intending too, and I even bought the first one a few months ago but I still haven't popped it into my Playstation. Why? Well, I've been busy and the idea of starting a big series like this is kind of daunting. I'm going to have to put in a lot of man hours to finish the first two.
The other problem is, or rather was, that this summer Sega announced that the third installment of the series wasn't going to be released here in America. Why waste my time on the first two if I'm never even going to get to play the rest?
Today as I was cruising the Internet I discovered that on Sept. 19 Sega announced that Yakuza 3 is currently being localized and is going to release both in Europe and here in the United States. I couldn't be happier. I am however disapointed that it took me 2 weeks to find out about this, apparently concentrating on school has its drawbacks.
Source: 1up
Review: Halo ODST's Fire Fight mode
Last week the newest game in the Halo franchise was released for the Xbox 360 and so far gamers are having mixed feelings about the game. Halo: ODST, which was originally just going to be a small downloadble side story, takes players and puts them in the shoes of regular solider instead of the franchise’s main hero Master Chief. The game also includes a new mode called Firefight. I haven’t had to opportunity to play through the main story but I did spend a lot of time playing Firefight.It is fairly obvious after playing Firefight that the developers of ODST looked to last year’s Gears of War 2 when designing Firefight mode, as it is almost identical to the Horde mode that was included in Gears. Players team up in a certain area and fight off wave after wave of computer-controlled enemies. To succeed the players must work as a team and find the best places to defend and what weapons to use.
Firefight is simple enough to be able to jump right into, but with every wave ads more and more complexity. It is the perfect way to kill half an hour with your roommate/brother/a perfect stranger on the Internet.
Sega does what Nintendon't
Yesterday marked the ten year anniversary of the release of Sega's Dreamcast system. I bought and loved a Dreamcast a few years after it was released and even though I don't have it anymore I will never forget the system.
My parents bought me a Sega Genesis when I was a did and it changed my life. It was my first experience with video games and from that point I was in love, and because my parents bought me a Sega I would become a Sega fan for life.
When I got my Dreamcast I really wanted it to be the best console I ever played. It had some of my all time favorite videogames. Sonic Adventure, Shenmue, and Powerstone are games that I would still play today if I had them.
Unfortunately the console wasn't as succesful as Sega, and myself, had hoped. The system died and Sega announced that they would no longer be making consoles and only create software. The announcment was sad. And I was sad.
My parents bought me a Sega Genesis when I was a did and it changed my life. It was my first experience with video games and from that point I was in love, and because my parents bought me a Sega I would become a Sega fan for life.
When I got my Dreamcast I really wanted it to be the best console I ever played. It had some of my all time favorite videogames. Sonic Adventure, Shenmue, and Powerstone are games that I would still play today if I had them.
Unfortunately the console wasn't as succesful as Sega, and myself, had hoped. The system died and Sega announced that they would no longer be making consoles and only create software. The announcment was sad. And I was sad.
