Jake and Mike Videogame Show

A few years ago EA was looked at the same way that a lot of us view Activision these days. A giant heartless corporation. A company that just shills out the same trash over and over. Development that doesn’t seem like its aimed to really show true quality in anything but a small handful of AAA titles.

Back in 2007, though, EA and its heads put themselves at the mercy of the public and pleaded for a second chance. They begged for the permission to re-invent themselves as something other then just another giant Activision, and improve the quality, mindset and development of their approach on the video game community.

Now here we are three years later and EA is definitely a completely different company than they were back when they asked for our approval. Is that for the better or the worse though, because it appears from where I’m standing, that they have made one hell of a turn around in my eyes.

Back in the day EA seemed content with putting their name on anything and everything. They had turned into a sequel assembly line that seemed over saturated with sports game after sports game. A parade of garbage based on licensed movies and childrens shows. A few long lasting series had been run into the ground, no longer holding the clout they used to.

Fast forward to the EA od 2009/2010 and you’d never know they were even the same people. They have a strong line up of new IP’s and well received sequels. They’ve distanced themselves from the type of garbage licensed things they put out in the past, instead focusing more on a few small and well known licenses.

Most importantly, they’ve dropped the assembly line style development style and surrounded themselves with quality game makers like Bioware, Criterion, Dice, and Visceral. Those three devs alone could speak miles about the types of games EA is putting out, but also give you a good example of how the companies take on DLC has made one of the biggest changes.

2 years ago when Mass Effect and Bad Company came out, EA was the a giant culprit of some of the worst DLC practices in the industry, but now they have created standards and practices that create games like Rock Band 2 and Burnout Paradise that have some of the most exceptional DLC in the industry.

I’m not really sure where I was going with this, but it’s just nice to see a huge video game giant like EA ask everyone if they can have a second chance to make themselves the type of company that doesn’t always seem like theyre up to something, or bleeding you dry. To be less like Activision, and be more like Valve, and if you ask me, they have succeeded and alot of the video game world could learn alot from the moves and changed EA has held themselves to over the last 3 years.

-(MS)Mike out.

I have seen the first batch of Aliens vs. Predator reviews start to roll in and they have made me think about the way games are being reviewed these days. I’m sure most people who are “in the know” with gaming are aware of the 7-10 point review scale that most gaming publications and websites have been using for years.  Lately though,  I have noticed a few small anomalies with review scores. Dark Void, which Mike and I both thought was a decent game that had some issues with bugs and length, was given a fairly low score in most of its reviews (a 59 overall from Metacritic) however the game wasn’t complete trash. Based on the 7-10 review scale we have become accustomed to, this score means that the game is garbage, but it wasn’t! It just wasn’t anything fantastic and a 59/100 is actually a fair score for this game to get if we dont take into account what we know about the normal review scale. Which takes me to AVP.

As of me writing this, AVP is sitting with a 71 on Metacritic, so that means that this game is not that great right? Maybe not, if you read Gamestops 5.5/10 review for AVP it doesn’t sound like a terrible game, it simply sounds average, with some flaws. In the past that was a solid 7.5 from Gamespot but now it seems like reviewers MAY be (trust me I say may because this seems like a new trend that might not last) using the entire 1-10 review scale to score games. Scary isn’t it? So a game that used to get a 7.5 now gets a 5.5 and a game that used to get an 8.5 maybe falls in the 7 range. It is hard to tell if I am just alone in enjoying my time with Dark Void and AVP or if things are changing and the 7-10 review scale is going the way of the Buffalo. What ever the case may be I don’t think it will effect the 7-10 scale for “triple A” titles but I am interested in seeing where this takes us as far as games journalism goes.

I love you all and good night.

ps alright so we are not in love but we like each other, like more than friends right? Look I’m sorry I said I loved you, I know you are not ready to hear that because you just got out of a long relationship and are not looking for anything serious right now. I just… I don’t know… I care about you alright? That’s all I wanted to say.

jake

I was sort of disappointed when I first played the Aliens vs. Predator demo, and just to clarify I mean the new AVP that is coming out in a few days. I wasn’t feeling the game at first, it felt dated. Then I got to play some more of it with Mike and I am starting to really enjoy it. It does feel sort of dated but in a good way, it reminds me of Quake 2.

If you were lucky enough to get to play Quake 2 in its hay-day you may know what I am talking about. The feeling that every kill doesn’t really matter that much, the feeling that you and your friends are just having fun, the feeling of laughing when you get killed and then saying “I’m coming after you next!” This game feels like that too me. I don’t know if maybe it feels like that because I miss that kind of game experience or if it’s because it is deliberately made like an old school PC FPS but I do know that I like it and I am getting pretty excited for AVP.

AVP has some really cool stuff going on in the demo, being a marine is frightening at times, hearing your radar start to go crazy as multiple aliens come at you from the ceiling is awesome. Being a predator and finding your plasma cannon for the first time is incredible, and yes, just like an old school shooter there are weapons on the ground for marines and predators (even health packs). Then there is the Alien moments where you hide in the shadows or on a wall watching a predator and marine fighting, just waiting for the perfect time to run in and eat the survivor. From what I have played so far this game has a lot going for it and feels pretty balanced for a game with three very different classes. I am counting the days until it gets released.

Okay well i’m not literally counting the days or anything but I am getting excited for it. Look, don’t get all high and mighty like you are really counting the days or something. No one counts days. Lets just leave it at that. Oh so now you really count days?!? Well good for you, count all the fucking days, see if I care!!

PS I’m sorry about saying fuck earlier. I don’t know what I was thinking. I’m just going through a lot right now and I lost my cool. So again I’m sorry. Do you for give me? You do? Well that means a lot coming from you.

jake

Batman: Arkham Asylum, Gunstar Heroes, Mega Man X, Bayonetta, Devil May Cry, The Legend of Zelda. Under any other circumstance, You would probably assume I was listing off some of my favorite games of all time, and you might have been right. In this case though, I’m telling you some offenders of a dirty little secret that just won’t die.

No game is complete without boss battles. Whether it’s the final confrontation with the main villain you’ve been chasing the whole time, or a run in with that pesky minion that just won’t stop showing up at the last second to ruin your hard work. Over the years, whether it is a game released 20 years ago or a game that came out just last week (Bayonetta, I’m lookin at you!) it seems that developers cannot shake the need to make you face the same foe three, four and sometimes more times throughout the entire span of the game.

Now sometimes, this is done to further a plot line, or convince you to feel an emotional response when the same villain shows up several times to thwart your hard work time and again. Oddly enough, RPG’s commit this crime the most, but in the RIGHT way, and other games could learn a lot from the way they do it. Rather than throwing the same thing at you over and over and making it become derivative, they allow you to feel the same way about a returning enemy or villain and use it more or less as a template but with completely new talents and abilities (not EVERY rpg does this, some are just as guilty of the “same guy new color” problem I talk about here, so no need to mention that here). What I’m talking about is when a game feels the need to throw a boss you fought in the first 4th of the game at you in the final half but with a a few copies along side to mix things up. Perhaps take an enemy you’ve been fighting the whole time comes back as a boss but just a bit bigger and with more life, or if you’re Devil May Cry, a giant flaming spider feels the need to continually come back for more just one more time.

Now don’t get me wrong, this simple problem rarely ruins a game and Batman: Arkham Asylum is a great example of this. The game was considered by many one of the best games of the year, even though it was one of the larger executors of this type of boss battle scheme, but not ruining a game doesn’t mean that it didn’t dilute some of the fun that could be had.Heck, the last boss and the first boss are almost identical, not somthing that ruined the game, but a missed opportunity in many ways.

Now to play devil’s advocate, I can’t say that I could make a better game than a lot of these very talented studios or even that being creative and coming up with unique experiences is something that is easily attainable. I understand the type of work that goes into these games and the sort of entertainment these people are selling us. I’m just saying that I think developers should pride themselves on the unique content they’re able to bring to the table with their video games and not fall into the trap of just reusing something from the beginning of there game and throwing it at you a few more times.

-(MS)Mike out.

It’s hardly a secret that Jake and I are none-too-fond of the DSi store, then again, I hardly think that we’re alone in thinking this.

The weirdest thing is, it shouldn’t be this way at all. That thing has every reason to be good, and I’ve put together a List of a few things i think they could do that would flip it from bad to good really easily.

1)  Cheap and fun games the easy way: Enlist the internet.

The internet is chalk full of flash games. Some are good and some are bad, but some of the good ones can get so deep, engrossing and original, that it is insane that they’re free. Nintendo could get themselves in a real good situation by getting some of the games people play the shit out of on kongregate or armor games and make downloadable DSi versions for $2-5 that people can play on the go

2) DSi Virtual Console: It seems so obvious…doesn’t it?

This is an easy one. One of the bigger things I’ve enjoyed about the Wii is alot of the virtual console games they’ve thrown on there. The pricing structure isn’t always perfect and almost all those games can be found as roms, BUT how easily they work, the functionality of how you play them, and the fact that you have a real controller all make for a surprisingly enjoyable experience using games that already exist and are already popular. I know for a fact, that people are asking for a GB and GBA virtual console, so why doesn’t Nintendo just deliver???

3) Clocks, calculators and Calenders: A little good will goes a long way.

The whole thing with these is freakin mind baffling. If you can give away the web browser for free then there is NO excuse for that crap to cost a you dime.

The idea of putting these things out there for people to buy drives me crazy. Half because it’s horseshit, and half because the things must take like 5 minutes to make and if they were given away for free every once in a while, they’d suddenly have something that was pointless but free, which people love. Those retarded calculators and junk would probably be kinda awesome if they didn’t cost anything and if nothing else, people would go on to download them and prolly look through the stuff that DOES cost money while they’re there.

4) Make the classic Nintendo move: Make the shit out of a first party game that drives interest in your service

This is what Nintendo does, it’s their classic money maker. They take their incredibly well known 1st party properties and milk them for life. Not only do they milk them, they milk them without them getting stilted or boring. There is a reason why Mario and link are still around and no one gives a shit about Crash bandicoot or Lara Croft anymore. There is a reason that the Gamecube stayed a float for about a year and a half longer than it should have. They did what they do best and they held themselves up, when third party companies wouldn’t.

Nintendo needs to make the hell out of a few DSi titles and really show everyone whats up. Stirring things up and getting some interest made for the development of some DSi titles would be perfect and if you want something done, you should do it yourself.

So there ya go, 4 easy steps Nintendo can and SHOULD take to make that poor excuse for an online download service a little more worth the money you gotta pay when you get a DSi instead of a DS lite.

-(MS)Mike out

Take a look at this vlog. You are gonna be so freaking impressed, you will want to buy me things!

-jake

PS podcast should come out this Saturday

I have nothing to say about this video. -jake

So I guess, I was wrong when I assumed most of you had seen these hacked Mario World to Music video’s 1000x before because I’ve already received like 6 messages from people saying they’d never seen anything like it, so here is the best one i’ve ever seen. It isnt 4 parts working together like the last one, but its easily the most impressive I’ve seen. Anyone who likes these kinds of things has undoubtedly seen this one before and for good reason. It’s simply the best.

Enjoy!

-(MS)Mike out.

I think I set a record for saying “like” more times than anyone wanted to hear.

-(MS)Mike out.

I’ve found myself in a strange crossroads as far as the endless war on DLC is concerned as of late. Anyone who has ever read this website or listened the podcast, know that Jake and I can endlessly clamor on and on about the endless annoyances, exceptions, and subtlety that combine themselves and become our complicated opinions on downloadable digital content.

Recently we were talking about how Borderlands and Dragon Age: Origins have both done a pretty good job of offering up what WE both consider “worth while” DLC for their respective new releases. Yet, as we discussed our interest in both of the games offerings, it occurred to us quite rapidly that things we were saying were very biased and hypocritical. But not the bad kind.

Wait…there is a GOOD kind of bias and hypocrisy?!

As we talked about how games and their increasing connection to the Internet and an ever-updating format after release, we realized that gamers were going to have to change along with the hobby we all love so much. The more companies play around with how far they’re allowed to go with these digital additions and storefronts, the more us as Gamers are going to have to compile a system of Yes’s and No’s that tell us what we think is and isn’t okay when it comes to things we’ll buy and things we’ll accept. So without any of us knowing it, the process has already been going on for the last year or two and we’ve all sort have been figuring out what were down to buy and what offends us as a consumer, but the further this system is refined, the more complicated the process will become.

Yes, I know this is complicated, lemme give you an example.

Exhibit A: I love Borderlands. Borderlands is coming out with DLC for the game that is going to be released under 2 months from its original release date. I am excited to buy said DLC because I like borderlands, I like Gearbox, and I feel i got my money’s worth out of the initial purchase of Borderlands.

Exhibit B: I didn’t like Street Fighter 4. Street Fighter 4 is coming out with a new “version” in the next few months, roughly a year after the original title. I am annoyed with the idea of this game coming out because I didn’t like Street Fighter 4, I’m annoyed with Capcom lately, and I have been opposed to alot of the DLC choices Capcom has made in the last year or two.

In any other point in time this might be considering being unfairly biased, or showing an unwanted amount of favoritism, but I think that now aday, its an important piece of decision making that you should have at these times, or else you’re gonna be running around wasting money and annoying yourself and your values.

So there you have it, I still think fanboys are annoying, but I feel like the direction gaming has moved has made a level of bias and hypocrisy almost required to survive this never ending war for your money that our hobby has become.

-(MS)Mike out.

Courtesy of Jim, of jimandthem.com fame, I can now give you 6 minutes of wonderful things you can now tweet/facebook/text your friends to get wonderful reactions, or just chuckle to yourself.

Classic, totally classic.

-(MS)Mike out.

-(MS)Mike out.

-(MS)Mike out.

Heroes has had its ups and its down, but I’ve stuck by it because I’ve been pretty into the show since the beginning and I didn’t wanna ditch it just because of a few stilted plotlines. Season 2 and 3 suffered a bit from the writers strike forcing a rather long winded series of changes to be made that are only now really getting resolved and getting the show back to where it’s as good as it was in the beginning. But what is really gonna make season 4 go down as awesome for me so far is a surprisingly brief, but completely awesome nod to Chrono Trigger in last night’s episode.

They even spelled “Crono” right. Someone on the Heroes writing staff definitely knows their SNES rpg’s.

-(MS)Mike out.

A few weeks ago I wrote a post about how the exclusive Joke content in Arkham Asylum actually became the deciding factor in which version of the game sold best and that Sony needed to take this new found decision to remove their heads from their asses and start offering up things that make a Multi-platform title look better on their console and also to make their television commercials less creepy and strange and more accessible, useful and entertaining.

Well, here we are a few weeks later and, I’m a bit surprised to see that Sony actually seems to be continuing this trend. To be honest, when I wrote those words a few weeks ago, I really didn’t believe that many more decisions similar to the Batman thing would be popping up again, especially this soon. I kinda thought it was a well timed fluke that Sony wouldn’t capitalize on.

It’s a good thing for Sony that I was incorrect.

First they offer up the Brutal Legend content for free, compared to a price tag that the 360 offers, commercials convincing you to lean towards the ps3 version of multiplatform games (Assassins Creed 2 and Rock Band), the God of War 3 demo coming bundled in on all the District 9 blu-rays, but I’ve also, oddly enough, found myself entertained by the commercials as of late. Rather then creepy dolls or a white room filled with birds and then the PS3 logo, they’re actually TELLING people what their system has to offer, and making you laugh while they do it. Hell, they’re marketing the games they have to buy in a decent manor as well, which they haven’t done the best job of in the past. I never saw a Motorstorm commercial on TV. I never saw a Resistance commercial on TV, and aside from Infamous, it was always just weird clipshow commercials of a few seconds flashing of random games without them telling you anything of substance. I’ve now seen several separate commercials for Uncharted 2 and a couple for Ratchet and Clank as well. All of these things are something Sony has reeaalllyyy needed to be doing this whole time and I think they’ll actually start seeing a return now that they FINALLY started telling people they have a console worth having, rather than trying to trick people into remembering how much they Liked the playstation 2 and that the 3 can be good as well.

-(MS)Mike out.

It’s odd, throughout the year when there was a decent game release maybe once a month tops, there is always a ton of news and this and that, you know, things to talk about. When holiday season rolls around though, everything that has been talked about is finally coming out, so I find that there is quite a bit of an absence of video game related things to muse about.

Luckily though as the holiday releases come and go, more and more things will be leaked or announced or teased and such, so I’ll have a shit load more things to talk about around that time, so look forward to me attempting a larger vocabulary than I use in real life, to describe my complex opinions on hotly debated digital goings on!

Until then….. Go play Uncharted 2 and Borderlands. And if you don’t wanna play either of those, feel free to buy another game, and send it to me for my birthday so that I can play it since youre such a lazy jerk!

-(MS)Mike out.

Brutal Legend came out not too long ago and I’m having a bit of a problem with the game as a whole.

So, basically the game came out within close proximity of Borderlands and Uncharted 2, which is the most obtuse and obvious reason why I’m having a hard time caring about the game to begin with. The demo didn’t do alot for me either, but even further than just the the demo itself, it really only showed off the first hour or so of the game, which is chalk full of gameplay elements that don’t really stick around as mainstays in the long run, which is a bit of a dick move.

Overall, with it’s mixed reception, hodge-podge of gameplay mechanics and a tricky marketing plan meant to hide the true genre of the game from its direct audience, I’m just all kinds of put off by the game as a whole. I’d been saying before (after playing the demo) that I feel like this game was going to be coasting mainly off of its style and unique world, and after everything has been said and done, I think that will remain true.

I plan on talking about the details a bit more in the podcast, but odds are, although I got the game sitting at home from gamefly as I write this, that I wont be playing it anytime soon, if I even end up playing it at all.

-(MS)Mike out

Anyone who isn’t already all kinds of excited for Borderlands out there? Well if so, I think all you really need is to watch this video then, and you’ll be won over.

Haha The guys at Gearbox officially rule.

-(MS)Mike out.

World of Goo turns 1 year old today and rather then having us celbrate for them, 2D boy is celebrating for us! How you may ask?

Weeeelllll…..

From now until the 19th the guys are literally giving away their game for whatever you want to pay for it in celebration of the year long existence!

Seriously, whatever you want to pay for it, and its yours! All you gotta do is go over to their website and click the buy option, and then fill in the price. You can pay the full 20 it originally retailed at, or you can end up with coal in your stocking this Christmas and pay one measly little cent. Either way, you should head over to the website and get this game, because you’d be a fool not to take advantage of an opportunity to play one of the better games I’ve played in the last year on the cheap!

Also, don’t be surprised if the website is broken right now, because people are checking this thing out in droves, just give it an hour or so and check back again later. Cheap games that don’t suck, tend to draw big digital crowd, you know?

Personally, I think the game was 100% worth the original 20$ asking price, but for even 5 or 10 bucks, this thing is a complete steal. No matter what you decide on though, I cannot stress enough that you should go get it right now, seriously….right this second. What are you waiting for? DO IT!

HAPPY  BIRTHDAY WORLD OF GOO!!!!

-(MS)Mike out.