Video Games Archive

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Charles Barkley Survives The Cyberpocalypse

By
Andy Yen
– Posted on February 11, 2008Posted in: Internet Phenomena, Sports, Video Games

I can’t believe they’ve done this.

I supposed I’m a little late to the party on this one, but it’s too awesome/jaw-dropping to not at least pay lip service to this ridiculous game. Apparently some potty guys calling themselves Tales of Games Studios have created a post-apocalyptic 16-Bit RPG starring none other than D-Wade’s favorite buddy, Charles Barkley. It’s not a joke, it’s a real, complete game. The game is a full-featured action-RPG in the vein of Final Fantasy, Secret of Mana, Crystalis, etc. In fact if you are enough of a nerd you can probably spot the similarities right off the bat in that trailer up above.

If that’s not enough to tickle your panties, then check out the game’s synopsis:

The Great B-Ball Purge of 2041, a day so painful to some that it is referred to only as the “B-Ballnacht”. Thousands upon thousands of the world’s greatest ballers were massacred in a swath of violence and sports bigotry as the game was outlawed worldwide. The reason: the Chaos Dunk, a jam so powerful its mere existence threatens the balance of chaos and order. Among the few ballers and fans that survived the basketball genocide was Charles Barkley, the man capable of performing the “Verboten Jam”…

If that doesn’t sound like it’s worth your time then I don’t know what is. From what I’ve seen this is quite possibly the best post-cyberpocalyptic game ever made.

Tales of Game’s Studios Presents: Barkley Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden [gamingworldforums.com]

(includes link to download)

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Audiosurf Releases Friday On Steam

By
Andy Yen
– Posted on February 11, 2008Posted in: Music, Video Games

When I heard Audiosurf would be coming out in February, I just kinda assumed it was going to be the end of the month because that’s usually how these things work.

Au contraire, mon frère.

I just got word that Audiosurf releases on Steam this Friday for only $9.95 ($8.95 if you pre order it before then). A demo will also be released if you’re undecided on getting it. If you missed the boat on this game, read my recent Indie Game Spotlight on it.

To sweeten the deal even more, the game comes with the soundtrack to Valve’s Orange Box, including the lovable Portal credits song, “Still Alive.” On top of this, the game also has achievements as one of the first titles to take advantage of Valve’s new Steamworks package.

Support great indie developers and affordable digital distribution!

Excuse me while i fire up Steam to preorder it.

Audiosurf on Steam [steampowered.com]

Audio-surf.com

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Indie Game Spotlight: Audiosurf

By
Andy Yen
– Posted on February 6, 2008Posted in: Indie game spotlight

With the rise in popularity of games such as Guitar Hero, Rock Band, and Singstar, the amalgamation of music and interactivity has reached the mainstream masses in recent years. As more and more people are exposed to music games, the complaint of “I don’t like the song list they have.” invariably surfaces sooner or later. Since it’s virtually impossible to cater to each and every person’s musical tastes, developers have done their best to have a little something for everyone. But what if you could use any song you have as the basis for such a game? Not just as a soundtrack, but as a crucial foundation to how the game is played. That’s exactly the basis for independent developer, Invisible Handlebar’s upcoming release, Audiosurf.

Read the rest of this entry »

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As If The Writing On The Wall Weren’t Any Clearer

By
Andy Yen
– Posted on January 18, 2008Posted in: Music, Video Games

NPD just released their year-end figures for 2007 video game sales:

1. Halo 3 (Xbox 360) – 4,820,000
2. Wii Play with Remote (Wii) – 4,120,000
3. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Xbox 360) – 3,040,000
4. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (PS2) – 2,720,000
5. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) – 2,520,000
6. Pokemon Diamond (DS) – 2,480,000
7. Madden NFL 08 (PS2) – 1,900,000
8. Guitar Hero II (PS2) – 1,890,000
9. Assassin’s Creed (Xbox 360) – 1,870,000
10. Mario Party 8 (Wii) – 1,820,000

Now, let’s compare these figures to Soundscan’s 2007 year-end figures for music cd sales:

1. “Noel”/Josh Groban: 3,699,000
2. “Soundtrack”/ High School Musical 2: 2,957,000
3. “Long Road Out of Eden”/Eagles: 2,608,000
4. “As I Am”/Alicia Keys: 2,543,000
5. “Daughtry”/Daughtry: 2,497,000
6. “Soundtrack”/Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley: 2,489,000
7. “Minutes To Midnight”/Linkin Park: 2,099,000
8. “Dutchess”/Fergie: 2,064,000
9. “Taylor Swift”/Taylor Swift: 1,951,000
10.”Graduation”/Kanye West: 1,892,000

I wonder which industry is doing better.

I’m going to point out a couple of obvious things. The average price of one of those video games is about $50. The average price of one of those CDs is about $10.

A scant few years ago this sort of thing would be UNHEARD of. Music is universal. You can play music CDs on pretty much any modern device anywhere (car, stereo, computer, alarm clock, etc.). To play any one of those video games you need to make an initial investment anywhere from $130-$400. AND you need to be at home or near a TV you can hook it up to.

The music CD is dead, people. We need a better way to buy our music and we need it now.

Oh, and video game industry? Don’t make the same mistake the record labels did. You’ll be facing the same problem very soon when it’s technically feasible for big budget games to be as easily consumed as music is currently.

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Individual 2007 Top Ten Lists

By
Andy Yen
– Posted on January 11, 2008Posted in: Articles, Comics, Movies, Music, TV, Video Games

Indulge me as I’m in a list making mood. After the jump I’ll list my lists. They’ll include top tens for music, comics, video games, movies, and television shows. Since I’m too burnt out now to write something for each entry, I won’t. I’ll be happy to conduct a civilized conversation in the comments or email though. Oh, and the lists will contain only things I have experienced in ’07. Stuff I didn’t get to until after the new year, but released near the end of last year (e.g. There Will Be Blood) will go on next year’s lists.
Read the rest of this entry »

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Top Ten Entertainment Experiences Of 2007

By
Andy Yen
– Posted on January 10, 2008Posted in: Articles, Comics, Movies, Music, Sports, TV, Video Games

2007 was pretty lopsided for me in terms of where my quality entertainment experiences came from. It was a phenomenal year for video games. Perhaps the best single year of new releases for the medium since 1997, if not better. Conversely, there just wasn’t much there in terms of great music. Some solid releases, sure, but nothing that remain etched in my mind as transcendent. Live shows definitely resonated better for me than the album experience did. For sports, I’ll preface my conclusion by saying that I only regularly follow the MLB, the NFL, and the NBA. Besides the lone entry on the list, there were no other truly memorable moments for me this year. Television was fairly solid, despite the writers strike putting a damper on my mood late in the year. Comics had some pretty high moments, and also some pretty “meh” ones as well. Finally, 2007 was just not my year for movies as I wasn’t motivated to seek out much other than the obvious films. While some were fairly entertaining, I just couldn’t argue for their inclusion on this list over the items picked.

Without any more ado, here’s my top ten entertainment experiences of 2007:
Read the rest of this entry »

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Review: Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune

By
Andy Yen
– Posted on December 11, 2007Posted in: Reviews, Video Games

Naughty Dog’s inaugural Playstation 3 effort, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune has been hotly anticipated as one of the pillars of Sony’s 2007 holiday lineup for the embattled system. The creators of Jak and Daxter continue their tradition of creating new franchises for new generations of Playstation hardware by putting forth one of the best titles of the year on any platform.

Uncharted combines intense cover-based combat with fluid platforming to create a gameplay experience that’s just plain fun. It also doesn’t hurt that the game boasts some of the greatest graphics in a video game this side of Crysis, along with a stellar presentation comparable to a summer blockbuster film. The game is definitely the best single-player game released on the Playstation 3 thus far and a good reason to “play b3yond.”
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Activision Blizzard

By
Andy Yen
– Posted on December 2, 2007Posted in: Video Games

This morning, a wholly unexpected press release went out announcing that Activision and Vivendi/Universal Games (including Blizzard entertainment) are set to merge, creating the largest game-publisher in the world. The new company will be boringly named “Activision Blizzard”.

So now we have Activision Blizzard, EA, Ubisoft, THQ, and 2k Games.

Hmm… this uncannily looks like Universal Music, Sony Music, BMG, EMI, and Warner…

RUH ROH SHAGGY

Read the press release [busineswire]

Read the Blizzard FAQ [blizzard.com]

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Review: Assassin’s Creed

By
Andy Yen
– Posted on December 2, 2007Posted in: Reviews, Video Games

Odi et amo. I love and I hate. No blockbuster game this holiday season has created a big of a schism between gamers as Assassin’s Creed has. Much brouhaha has been unleashed upon the internet gaming community between the two entrenched camps of people who either loved the game or hated it. Regardless of critics’ opinions of the game, the fact remains that Ubisoft Montreal’s big-budget production is one of the most anticipated games of 2007.

From the time I viewed the incredible initial trailer of the game, I had it filed away under my short list of “must purchase” game titles this year. As release date neared, though, the increasingly negative buzz that emanated from early reviews and word of mouth nearly swayed my decision. However, after tempering my expectations and finding a great deal on the game ($39.99 from Fry’s), I took the plunge anyway. I’m not regretting the purchase one bit.

While being far from perfect, Assassin’s Creed is still a genuinely entertaining video game title. The presentation, graphics, animation, and plot are some of the best seen on the medium. However, several flaws keep it from being the true “must-play” experience it was hyped up to be. Nevertheless, Ubisoft has a great first entry in what should become one of their flagship franchises.
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Indie Game Spotlight: Undertow

By
Andy Yen
– Posted on November 21, 2007Posted in: Indie game spotlight, Video Games

Welcome to the inaugural entry in a new ongoing feature series highlighting gaming’s best independent titles. If music and movies can have their “indie” titles be cutting edge and hip, why can’t games? The advent of digital distribution and micro transactions in the gaming industry has allowed more independent developers a shot at producing quality titles without a huge budget. While you may or may not have heard of the titles featured in these spotlights, rest assured that they come wholly recommended and are solid purchases for your gaming library.

Undertow is a new Xbox Live Arcade game from Chair Entertainment available for purchase today for 800 MS points ($10). The developer is best known for employing many of the driving forces behind the 2005 adventure game Advent Rising. They are also involved with Ender’s Game author, Orson Scott Card, in developing games based on the author’s Empire universe.

The game is essentially a 2d Battlefield 1942 that plays like Geometry Wars. Players use the left thumbstick to move their character and the right thumbstick to shoot in 8 directions. In addition, players can drop depth charges (read: grenades) with the left trigger and dash with the right trigger. Each team starts off with a certain amount of “tickets” with the goal being to deplete the other team’s ticket total. To accomplish this, teams vie for the control of several “bases” on the map. The more bases your team controls, the faster the opposing ticket count will decrease.

Read the rest of this entry »

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