NHL 09 - Hell Yes
Jul 28, 2008 Console Games, NHL, PC Games
NHL 09 might just be the first game I buy for my Xbox 360 (using it more for media stuff and demos so far). The EA Sports Hockey League component of the game, a sort of Diablo II-esque ladder system for teams of hockey players (basically an in-game version of yourself complete with name) that EA wants to become the next Madden Nation type event. Gamespot has a serious interview with David Littman, one of the games producers (and a former pro hockey player, although he only had 3 NHL games, 2 with the Sabres). Puck Daddy Greg Wyshynski has part 1 of a slightly more irreverent interview here. Yes, Wysh, I spelled your name out. No copy/paste, here.
Tags: buffalo, Console Games, games, Hockey, NHL, pc games, pc gaming, sabres, Xbox360
Educational Games That Don’t Suck
Jun 11, 2008 Console Games, PC Games
As you may know, aside from being a hockey (and general sports) nut, I’m also a colossal nerd. I’m also a Daddy, and my son has naturally taken to some of my favorite hobbies, like computer games. This article from InventorSpot gives a few examples of games that can help educate without losing the fun factor. Mentioned are school classics (Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?
Tags: age of empires, carmen sandiego, Console Games, edutainment, inventorspot, oregon trail, PC, pc games, pc gaming, sim city
Old Game Tuesday - Oni
Apr 15, 2008 Console Games, PC Games
Programming Note: I’m looking to make this a regular feature, as I am constantly revisiting older games, and many of those are games that maybe were overlooked for some reason. We’ve also been cleaning quite a bit so I’ve rediscovered a bunch of lost favorites. If anyone has any suggestions (or wants to guest review an ‘older’ game) let me know.
I bought Oni a bit after it was released, although I had been interested in it right off the bat. I think I got it in a two pack with Rune. Anyway, Oni is a third-person action game that focuses on melee combat. There are weapons which can help in a pinch, but the real draw was the martial-arts combat. The design is obviously anime-inspired, what with the purple-haired heroine named Konoko. The game is set in a near-future timeline where a world government is in place, and you are a new agent for the ‘Technological Crimes Task Force’, or TCTF. You progress through missions taking on organized crime and investigating your origins.
What I like about Oni is the melee combat. It’s a pretty simple system of punches and kicks, with some short combos for extra oomph. It’s good enough to produce in me what I call the Lightsaber effect - where I want to use that combat mode exclusively, even though there are perhaps better weapon choices for a given situation. There is a definite visceral thrill to successfully sneaking up on a guard and executing a back-breaker compared to just shooting them from cover.
The game does suffer from some of the same issues as many older games in the genre, namely that many of the levels (while nicely laid out and expansive) are mostly filled with crates. The voice-overs are cheesy (and some overlong, looking at you Shinatama) but the cheesiness fits with the anime style. There’s no multiplayer, though it was tried and dropped. I’ve seen fan sites out there where Oni fans are trying to resurrect it, though. For the most part, the game was a victim of Bungie getting bought by Microsoft, as the development and release of Oni happened right in the middle of that. Sort of got lost in the shuffle.
If you can still find it, Oni is a fun experience that is one of the few games of that era I wanted to experience again. Late Edit: also available for PlayStation 2 and Mac. Almost forgot to mention that.
Tags: bungie, mac, mac games, microsoft, ogt, oni, pc games, pc gaming
Child’s Play Update
Dec 11, 2007 Console Games, Life, PC Games
The boys are nearing their goal, having crossed the $600,000 threshold!. Here’s the previous post if you are not sure what’s going on.
Tags: charity, child's play, comics, penny arcade, Webcomics
Shadowrun And Battletech Return Home
Dec 10, 2007 Console Games, PC Games
FASA, WizKids and 42 Entertainment founder Jordan Weisman has announced, via the website of his newest venture-backed startup Smith & Tinker, that he has licensed the ‘electronic entertainment’ rights to his MechWarrior, Shadowrun and Crimson Skies properties back from Microsoft.
Little is known as to Weisman’s plans as of yet, just that his recent job postings lean toward Web 2.0 and online game expertise. MechWarrior MMO? YES PLEASE!!
Tags: battletech, Console Games, Console Games, console gaming, crimson skies, fasa, games, gaming, mechwarrior, PC, pc games, pc gaming, shadowrun, smith & tinker
Final Fantasy Turns 20
Dec 10, 2007 Console Games
One of my favorite game series, Final Fantasy, just turned 20. 1up has several features on it this week, but I’m pressed for time so hit up this /. article for all the links.
Tags: Console Games, Console Games, console gaming, enix, final fantasy, games, gaming, square, square enix
Child’s Play
Nov 30, 2007 Console Games, Life, PC Games
Gamers unite! It’s time to donate to Child’s Play, the charity started by the creators of the popular webcomic Penny Arcade. What exactly IS Child’s Play? Here are Gabe and Tycho in their own words:
Child’s Play works the same as last year. With the help of hospital staff, we’ve set up gift wish lists full of video games, toys, and movies. You can go to each hospital’s list and buy a toy, and that toy will be sent to the hospital. Some of these kids are in pretty bad shape. Imagine being stuck alone in a hospital over the holidays, getting something from a fellow gamer would really raise their spirits. Some of the stuff the hospital will give away for kids to keep, while other gifts (like consoles) will be kept by the hospital for patients to use throughout the year.
They have numerous letters from parents and children whose encounters with the various children’s hospitals was made a bit more tolerable by having some games to play, new books to read or new movies to watch. I’ve seen studies and reports that show kids have better surgical outcomes when they play Gameboy before surgery. There are fundraising events across the US and Canada and hospitals that need help as far away as Egypt and Australia.
If anyone wants to combine forces for a larger donation, let me know either in the comments or via the forum PM system.
Tags: charity, child, child's play, children, gabe, hospital, penny arcade, tycho
As If Marching Bands Weren’t Geeky Enough
Nov 14, 2007 Console Games, NCAA Football, PC Games, Wacky
The Cal Marching Band recently performed an opus to video games as their halftime show. Gizmodo has the video here. Complete with a Pokemon fight between the mascots.
Tags: cal, Console Games, games, PC
Bionic Commando!?!
Oct 20, 2007 Console Games
I MUST HAVE! Bionic Commando on the NES was the first game I ever bought and paid for with my own money, as well as the first one my friends and I finished in it’s entirety. The bionic arm made the gameplay very unique for the time. For the Xbox360 so far, I’d LOVE to see how they could pull this off with the Wii, though.
Tags: bionic commando, Console Games, games, Xbox360
Jack Thompson is a colossal tool
Apr 20, 2007 Console Games, PC Games
Jack Thompson blames Bill Gates for the shootings at Virginia Tech. The nutjob shows his ignorance as he attributes Counterstrike to His Gatesness, despite the fact the only MS involvement is the fact that they make the OS it runs on. He mentions Halo along with CS as ‘killing simulators’. It should be noted that no games were found in the search of Cho’s dormroom.
Here’s an article at Ars that gives you a little background, if this is your first time hearing about Thompson.
Tags: Console Games, games, PC, rant
