posted by Mike on September 28, 2006 12:01 AM in Music
The Weekly Geek's Top Ten Video Game Soundtracks are As Follows:
Caspian
1. Legend of Zelda - Link to the Past
2. Final Fantasy VI
3. Grant Theft Auto - Vice City
4. Mega Man X
5. Final Fantasy XI
6. Elder Scrolls IV - Oblivion
7. Metroid
8. Street Fighter II
9. Yoshi's Island
10. Castlevania
White Mage
1. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles
2. Wild Arms
3. Final Fantasy VIII
4. Final Fantasy X
5. Final Fantasy Tactics
6. Kingdom Hearts
7. Final Fantasy X-2
8. Final Fantasy VII
9. Kingdom Hearts 2
10. Final Fantasy XI
The Geek
1. Final Fantasy VI
2. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles
3. Katamari Damacy
4. Kingdom Hearts
5. Final Fantasy Tactics
6. Mega Man 2
7. Metroid Prime
8. Super Mario World
9. Shadow of the Colossus
10. Xbox Custom Soundtrack Feature
Frodo
1. Mega Man 2
2. Katamari Damacy
3. Final Fantasy VI
4. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles
5. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
6. Super Mario World
7. Metroid Prime
8. Super Mario Bros. 3
9. Final Fantasy XI
10. Animal Crossing
Honorable Mentions:
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Actraiser
Super Mario Kart
Secret of Mana
Check it out! Frodo and Caspian explain their favorite game soundtrack picks after the jump.
posted by Amy on September 26, 2006 12:04 PM in Books
Matthew Lesko, in his question mark suit, is a television commercial staple. He’s good at grabbing your attention and making you wonder if his book really could help. After seeing his latest commercial, I decided to find out.
Free Money to Pay Your Bills is well organized and, although a couple of the programs show up more than once as they fit under multiple categories, there are hundreds of programs listed. The book gives a heading, such as “Emergency Rent Money”, and then presents the contact information of all the organizations that offer that type of program.
Even though I do not qualify for most of the programs listed, I did find a couple. If you are a low income family or individual, take care of an elderly parent, have children or are pregnant, have a disability, or are a veteran, this book has plenty of programs that may help pay your bills. If you do not fall under any of these categories you might find one or two. Check the book out from your local library or peruse it in your local book store. What can it hurt to look?
posted by Chris on September 25, 2006 7:49 PM in Podcast
The Geek and Frodo kick it old school with new.... news. I need a thesaurus. They also discuss the horribleness that is Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, the beauty that is Okami and the misery that is MTV. Also mentioned is the Bat Shit Crazy that is Sony PR. The best video game and geek culture podcast ever? Maybe!
Have you ever wanted to see your work published online? Have you ever wanted to share your opinions about video games with more than just your hamster and little sister? Have you ever wanted to help out with the most awesome website and podcast ever?
Well now you can!
Here at The Weekly Geek, we are starting a new Freelance Review system. What it boils down to is this: You submit a game review to me, I check it out and edit any of your horrible little spelling and grammer errors, and then I post it on The Weekly Geek website for all the world to see.
We have a few guidelines for you to follow for submission. First, we'd like you to follow our basic video game review format. The way we review games is 4 main categories:
Overview, which gives a basic rundown of the game, the plot, the goals, and what you're supposed to do.
Shininess, which looks at how "shiny" the game is. Basically, the asthetics of the game. This covers graphics, music, animation, etc.
Funness, which is how fun the game is to play. This covers gameplay, replay value, controls, etc.
And finally, Worthiness, which is used to determine what the game is worth to a gamer. No silly "7 out of 10!" crap. That doesn't mean anything to anyone. We generally use this category to talk about if the game is worth buying, renting, trying out at a friend's house, avoiding altogether, etc. It's like the other bookend that the Overview started.
Check out a good sample review from our very own Frodo to get a general idea of how it works.
I will run some basic proofreading on your review and make sure it's decent enough for the site. No "omg this game is teh sux" here. I also may change a word or two to make it flow better or whatever. I will not change the content of your review.
It's also pretty much first come, first serve. If you're the first to submit a review for a game and it passes inspection, your review will be the one that goes up. If you didn't get it first but think your review is WAY better, then do a new review for a different game and make it just as good as your other one! Also, if it's a game that one of our site staff was planning to review, then we get first dibs.
So if you'd like to write an awesome review for the site, just shoot it over in an email to me and I'll check it out! Oh, and make sure you give me the name you'd like the review posted under. It can be your real name or a pseudonym.
To start us off, we've got a review of Dead Rising for the Xbox 360 from DoubleHawk. Click the jump to check it out!
Overview:
This isn't your typical Pokemon game. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon is the first game in the series where you can actually play as a Pokemon, instead of some kid who just rules the Pokemon world with an iron fist. Mystery Dungeon has two versions, just like the rest of the games in the series, the Red version being for the Gameboy Advance and the Blue version being for the DS, which allows for dual pack gameplay using both of the DS's slots. Gameplay is at times basic and complicated, navigating through dungeons with your Pokemon Rescue Team. Think turn based Diablo. Being a huge Pokemon fan, I dove right in hoping for an immersive and detailed game with a lot of fanservice. Did I get it? Click the jump to find out. (You know you want to click the jump because you just loooooooove Pokemon)
Every Monday from 6-10pm I raid the 40-player dungeon Molten Core with Silvermoon Raiding Alliance 3. On Thursdays from 6-10pm we fight Onyxia, a giant dragon, and then fight some more in Molten Core. Raiding has added a whole new aspect to the game for me. When my main goal was getting my Paladin, Bekka, to level 60, I avoided grouping as much as possible because I hated relying on others in order to progress. Then, I discovered the only way I would be able to get the Lawbringer armor set was to join a raiding guild or alliance. Luckily, I heard that SRA3 was recruiting. I did a Google search to find out who they were, asked The Geek if he would mind me spending eight hours a week ignoring him, and applied. It has been a very educational and entertaining experience. In the four months since I joined, I have already received five pieces of my armor and three other items.
posted by Chris on September 22, 2006 9:05 AM in Games
In a juvenile turn of events, the creators of the awesome wireless flying V Guitar Hero controller we talked about on the podcast last week, The Ant Commandos, are counter-suing Red Octane and Activision, claiming that both companies copied the design of their guitar controllers from a company called Topway Electrical Appliance, Co. specifically the colored fret buttons. This comes after Red Octane and Activision sued The Ant Commandos for copying the packaging design of their proprietary Guitar Hero controller, trademark infringement, and general hooliganism.
Red Octane used to be a third party DDR pad manufacturer, so it's very odd to see them get on top, and then get down on the little guys for doing the same thing they did just a few years ago. Granted, the trademark infringement stuff is a bit iffy, but in my opinion the Wireless Flying V guitar that "TAC" sells is far superior to the built-in Red Octane controller. What does this mean for you, the consumer? You get to laugh at companies being worse than little kids on the playground. It's fun. Hit the jump for the full press release.
posted by Mike on September 21, 2006 12:01 AM in Music
People are making you do things. I’m making you go buy Twin Cinema. No seriously, these guys are great. The New Pornographers are a Vancouver based band with enough pop appeal to draw your little sister, and enough lyrical depth for you to justify listening to the same band as your younger sibling.
Most of the time, primary songwriter A.C. Newman comes off as flippant in his delivery, but his overriding genius in melody and musical prose soon nullifies any suspicions that he doesn’t mean every word he says. Guest singer Neko Case, who’s brilliant in her own right, tames down her normally transcendent voice to be an excellent team player for the New Pornos. Even the songs where she sings the lead vocal (see Bones of an Idol and These are the Fables) she plays the perfect Female Pinocchio- a puppet with all the brightness and life of a real girl. When she’s singing back-up, her harmonies lie down and richly texture the soundscapes.
Songs like Sing Me Spanish Techno, Use It (video below), and the title track on their latest album, Twin Cinema will instantly lure you in and keep you hooked on the more subtle tunes.
Go discover them today. Twin Cinema is one of the most enduringly great listens of 2005 (i.e. I’m still listening to it now, if that means anything). If you already know about this band, re-discover them. It's not turning back the clock too far, trust me.
posted by Chris on September 20, 2006 12:59 PM in Rant
Nintendo has recently rolled out a new marketing campaign focused on getting non-gamer types hyped up about the Wii. Nintendo has asked various non-gaming bloggers to be ambassadors for their new console. These "Wii Ambassador Parties" are like modern Tupperware parties and seem like a good idea. With the Wii's emphasis on multiplayer and casual content, getting people who wouldn't normally play a video game to play a video game seems like marketing dollars well-spent. From a marketer's standpoint, however, these parties suck and this has been proven with the first Wii Ambassador write up over at Club Mom.
Tracey C. was recently invited by Nintendo to be a Wii Ambassador and welcomed a group of Nintendo reps into her home, who then provided her with 4 tvs, 4 Wii consoles and plenty of food and drink to have a swinging party. According to Tracy's write up they dazzled her and the 35 invited people with freebies. Everyone had a grand old time. Tracy then wrote about the party on her blog. This is what Nintendo was going for, right? Tracy even mentions in her blog:
...Nintendo won me over. And I think I can say the same for the 35 other people that we're here. I'll betcha half of them have already pre-ordered their Wii Systems (which won't be available to the public until Nov. 19th). Which is I'm sure what this party set out to do.
Tracy focuses on the amount of free stuff that Nintendo gave her and her partygoers instead of focusing on why someone should give the Wii a chance. She goes on and on about Nintendo's hospitality and how they bought her free mexican food and booze, and gave the kids free DS Lite systems and games, she only mentions liking the Wii a couple times, and never in any qualitative manner.
"It was pretty impressive, I must say. And I'm one mom who is not easily impressed with these kinds of things. "
What does that mean for the average consumer? Not much.
The fact that 35 people at her party supposedly are going to preorder the Wii, and she was "impressed" sways no one. That's only 35 people that Nintendo sold with this party, at how much expense? If anything Tracy's write up was a ringing endorsement for the size of Nintendo's expense account. Here is how to do these parties right: TELL THE BLOGGER TO TALK ABOUT THE WII. Or at least get good writers. A good writer will keep all the "perks" of the event in the background, focusing on the subject at hand. Here we see a regular ol' mom talking about a fun party she had. She doesn't know better. Regular people don't know better. You spend all this time and money dazzling them with free stuff (like media usually gets, I might add) and they will focus on the free stuff. That's it.
I am not sure if the actual solution is to get gamers to host these parties or to just coach the bloggers a bit on some basic internet marketing, but as far as I am concerned their first Wii party was a failure. Not for Tracy (who I am sure had a freaking blast) but for the marketing strategy Nintendo is trying to accomplish here.
I never got a chance to check out Nintendo and Game Freak's crazy drilling puzzler rumble pack craziness when it first came out, but after perusing my local Target's discounted video game rack I stumbled upon Drill Dozer for a mere $7. Welcome to The Weekly Geek's first of many Budget Game Review. We all dig a good deal here, and there are some true gems budget priced. I'll try to find the good stuff and pass the savings on to you.
Drill Dozer is a Gameboy Advance game from the creators of Pokemon, Game Freak. It's the first game they have done outside of the Pokemon franchise, so I really didn't know what to expect. A minute or so after popping it into my GBA I was hooked. Drill Dozer is an addictive, fun, energetic puzzling platformer with plenty of unlockables and find-ems to keep you busy. Yes, I said "find-ems". Hit the jump for the full review and where you can find it on the cheap.
posted by Amy on September 19, 2006 11:43 AM in Books
Sybel is the daughter of a powerful, hermit wizard. She grows up learning how to call and take care of legendary animals. When her father dies, Sybel is left with only the menagerie for company. One day, a man shows up at her door with a baby boy in his arms. He tells her the child is her cousin and she is the only one who can keep him safe. She reluctantly takes the child and raises him as her own. Sybel’s life is never again the same. She soon learns to love, to hate, and to forgive.
For the last decade The Forgotten Beasts of Eld has been one of those books that I kept meaning to read but never did. I rarely read a book with expectations, but I guess I was expecting more from this book since Patricia A. McKillip wrote one of my favorite fantasy trilogies, The Riddle-Master. The Forgotten Beasts of Eld is a nice story but it lacks a sense of depth. It comes across more as the telling of a legend or story than a novel. It would be a good book to have read to you but the solo reader might find it lacking. I did enjoy the book once I adjusted my expectations.
For those of us who play World of Warcraft, or are familiar with the Warcraft universe, I did find one interesting tidbit. The Forgotten Beasts of Eld mentions “the black marshes of Fyrbolg” on the very first page. In Warcraft the Furbolgs are a race of bear-like humanoids. I did a Google search and did not find any correlation between Fyrbolg and Furbolg but I did discover the Fir Bolg, an ancient race in Irish mythology. I feel it’s too much of a coincidence for Fyrbolg or Fir Bolg not to be the namesake of Furbolg, but I wonder which one it is. Isn’t knowledge fun?
posted by Chris on September 17, 2006 6:29 PM in Podcast
This week's extra long podcast features Frodo, The Geek, White Mage, Rikki Simons from Invader Zim, Tycho from Penny Arcade and Eliza Gauger from Kotaku.com. They all discuss the big Wii release news, destroying the planet, the Canadian Game Awards Frodo attended, and then you get to hear the voice of Gir say naughty things. DON'T MISS IT.
posted by Chris on September 15, 2006 5:11 PM in Games
This last Thursday was the first annual Canadian Awards for Electronic Arts and Animation, the Elans, set in the luxurious River Rocks Casino in Vancouver, B.C. hosted by none other than William Shatner. Does he look a little drunk in that photo? He probably was. The awards were, in a word, awful. Set up to be like an Oscar-style red carpet event, it just fell short. Scratch that, it fell miles short. Peppered with pseudo-celebrities and self important Vancouver-based game companies, the award show proper was two and a half hours of repeating game trailers, awkward award recepients and even more awkward industry voice actors trying to be funny presenting on stage. Even a guy from G4 was there, and it wasn't even Tommy Tallarico. Yes, it was THAT D-list. But there were other, more technical reasons this show was a travesty.
posted by Grant on September 14, 2006 8:52 PM in Games
So here's the quick rundown of all the important info:
November 19
$249.99
One Wiimote and one Nunchuck (additional are $39.99 and $19.99, respectively)
Free Wii Sports game included
Region-free
Virtual Console games priced $5 NES, $8 SNES (and assumed for Genesis and TG16), and $10 N64
Free online play
Twilight Princess at launch
30 VC games available by year end, 10 more each month thereafter
Multiple "channels" including free weather and news
Holy crap, how awesome is this going to be? Seriously, tell me. I can't express it in words.
Also, let us know any questions or opinions you'd like us to discuss on next week's show
posted by Mike on September 14, 2006 1:00 AM in Music
CD Review: Idlewild vs. St. Elsewhere
In a genre that’s floundering at best, the young newcomers and the proven vets are usually easy to distinguish. The vets usually know better than to stray from consistency, while the runny-nosed youngsters come in hot and bothered only connecting with a hit on rare occasions. Maybe that’s not a fair assumption anymore.
It used to be that ‘Dre 3000 and Big Boi of Outkast were the ones pushing the envelope. Although the changes from each album were markedly different, they knew just when to play the familiarity card and keep their listeners comfortable. Both Stankonia and, more notably, Speakerboxx/The Love Below made everyone’s life better. No matter how played out, “Hey Ya”, “I Like The Way You Move”, “Ms. Jackson”, and even “So Fresh, So Clean”, resonated in some pleasure center in us all that needed mindless, catchy dance music.
posted by Amy on September 12, 2006 2:21 PM in Books
The Tortall Universe currently consists of fourteen books with at least five more planned over the next few years. Created by Tamora Pierce, it is one of the best and hardest to put down series I have ever read. First published in 1983 and still going strong, the Tortall Universe appeals to all ages. Don’t let the fact the books are considered Young Adult fiction discourage you from checking them out. The characters are very well developed and have more depth than most adult fiction I have read. The series is written so that you don’t have to read the earlier books to enjoy the later ones but I highly recommend reading them in order.
I first read the Song of the Lioness quartet the summer after my seventh grade year. Up until that point I had read very little of the fantasy genre, but the story of Alanna hooked me like no other. Alanna of Trebond is a strong, young girl with a magical healing Gift who disguises herself as her twin brother so she can study to become a Knight of Tortall. Anyone familiar with the game characters I play would recognize how these first books influenced me.
After signing up with my local library, I decided to check out the other novels of Tortall. Next in the series, the Immortals quartet tells the story of Veralidaine Sarrasri, a Wildmage who can talk to animals. Orphaned when her family is killed by raiders, Daine heads west to the kingdom of Tortall where she learns to control her magic and proves invaluable in the war against the immortals.
posted by Chris on September 10, 2006 6:39 PM in Podcast
This episode, Frodo, The Geek, White Mage and Eliza Gauger from Kotaku.com discuss Uwe Boll's pugilistic way of solving problems, Loco Roco, Korean Mothers and Steven Hawking riding on someone's back. Here are some show notes.
posted by Mike on September 7, 2006 1:00 AM in Music
Montreal's evocative Wolf Parade put out the fantastic taped effort Apologies to the Queen Mary earlier this year and their first music video is for the song Modern World.
In a digital music age where everyone can make an album on their laptop, and the vast majority of pop music singers whitewash vocal imperfections with AutoTune, this stop-motion masterpiece rings so true. It's not a conspiracy theory. Human bands are being replaced by machines to sell records.
Such a stark reminder as this makes my rallying cry (at least for this week): Long Live Analog!!!
posted by Chris on September 6, 2006 9:19 PM in Rant
"This game trains the McDonald's generation to eat bugs and gain unhealthy amounts of weight" Jack Thompson, Florida lawyer and outspoken anti-video game advocate said upon the release of Sony's new Playstation Portable game, Loco Roco.
"Much like Grand Theft Auto trained our young ones to be criminals, and Bully trained them for their own Columbine, Loco Roco teaches our kids that eating bugs is okay, and getting fat is the primary goal in life. Frankly, the insect population just can't handle it." Thompson said at a press conference on Tuesday.
Thompson is best known for his media appearances berating the video game industry for releases like Grand Theft Auto and the upcoming Bully. Thompson is usually met with frothing opponents while he is seen keeping his cool, thus winning over mainstream media to his cause.
Loco Roco is a new release by Sony which puts the player in control of a small blob, who eats insects as you tilt the world around him, growing large enough to fight flying rastafarians.
"We must fight for our invertibrate cousins and boycott Loco Roco wherever it may be sold. Even Wal Mart." Thompson said, "We can't allow our children to be exposed to such blatant corpulence."
At the end of his conference, Thompson gave a warning: "The game also features a sort of gibberish soundtrack. I believe it will teach our children to speak in tongues. Keep them away from this game!" He then waved his hands in the air and said "ooooooooooooooooooooh!!!!!" all spooky-like.
posted by Chris on September 3, 2006 6:47 PM in Podcast
This week it's The Geek and Frodo talkin up a storm about September game releases, top ten lists, going back to Warcraft and Thomas Kinkaide. Also, Frodo gives an update on the Lost candy bars.
We have a ton of new content on our stuff page including a bunch of photos on Flickr. We have photos from Video Armageddon, some pictures of us in stupid hats, E3, PAX and more. We also have some desktops you can download, if you feel so inclined!
The Weekly Geek is done on a zero budget, with no funding other than ads and merch. Help support the site with a donation! Consider it like tipping your waiter. We also give gifts for larger donations.
Matthew Lesko, in his question mark suit, is a television commercial staple. He’s good at grabbing your attention and making you wonder if his book really could help. After seeing his latest commercial, I decided to find out. 
Have you ever wanted to see your work published online? Have you ever wanted to share your opinions about video games with more than just your hamster and little sister? Have you ever wanted to help out with the most awesome website and podcast ever?
Overview:
Every Monday from 6-10pm I raid the 40-player dungeon Molten Core with Silvermoon Raiding Alliance 3. On Thursdays from 6-10pm we fight Onyxia, a giant dragon, and then fight some more in Molten Core. Raiding has added a whole new aspect to the game for me. When my main goal was getting my Paladin, Bekka, to level 60, I avoided grouping as much as possible because I hated relying on others in order to progress. Then, I discovered the only way I would be able to get the Lawbringer armor set was to join a raiding guild or alliance. Luckily, I heard that SRA3 was recruiting. I did a Google search to find out who they were, asked The Geek if he would mind me spending eight hours a week ignoring him, and applied. It has been a very educational and entertaining experience. In the four months since I joined, I have already received five pieces of my armor and three other items.
In a juvenile turn of events, the creators of the awesome wireless flying V Guitar Hero controller we talked about on the 
Nintendo has recently rolled out a new marketing campaign focused on getting non-gamer types hyped up about the Wii. Nintendo has asked various non-gaming bloggers to be ambassadors for their new console. These "Wii Ambassador Parties" are like modern Tupperware parties and seem like a good idea. With the Wii's emphasis on multiplayer and casual content, getting people who wouldn't normally play a video game to play a video game seems like marketing dollars well-spent. From a marketer's standpoint, however, these parties suck and this has been proven with the first Wii Ambassador write up over at 
I never got a chance to check out Nintendo and Game Freak's crazy drilling puzzler rumble pack craziness when it first came out, but after perusing my local Target's discounted video game rack I stumbled upon Drill Dozer for a mere $7. Welcome to The Weekly Geek's first of many Budget Game Review. We all dig a good deal here, and there are some true gems budget priced. I'll try to find the good stuff and pass the savings on to you.
Sybel is the daughter of a powerful, hermit wizard. She grows up learning how to call and take care of legendary animals. When her father dies, Sybel is left with only the menagerie for company. One day, a man shows up at her door with a baby boy in his arms. He tells her the child is her cousin and she is the only one who can keep him safe. She reluctantly takes the child and raises him as her own. Sybel’s life is never again the same. She soon learns to love, to hate, and to forgive.
CD Review: Idlewild vs. St. Elsewhere
The Tortall Universe currently consists of fourteen books with at least five more planned over the next few years. Created by Tamora Pierce, it is one of the best and hardest to put down series I have ever read. First published in 1983 and still going strong, the Tortall Universe appeals to all ages. Don’t let the fact the books are considered Young Adult fiction discourage you from checking them out. The characters are very well developed and have more depth than most adult fiction I have read. The series is written so that you don’t have to read the earlier books to enjoy the later ones but I highly recommend reading them in order.
