We're a geek culture podcast and blog covering video games, music, food and more. We are the kinds of people who evangelize whatever we are into - it could be anything - but it's usually pretty geeky.
posted by Chris on March 28, 2007 9:02 AM in Games
I have no idea who came up with the brilliant (sarcasm) idea to tag Mario and Sonic onto some cheesy Olympics title, but they should get a pat on the back. Make it a really hard pat, so it bruises. SEGA and Nintendo have announced that Mario and Sonic are teaming up for a game called Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games. What's that you say? Sounds incredibly lame? YEAH! I THOUGHT THAT TOO! We must be psychically connected, you and I. The premise is that Mario and Sonic are going to be competing in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. The game is going to come out for the Wii and the DS and should hit sometime at the end of this year.
I can see the appeal in pitting Mario vs. Sonic in a game. But using it to promote the Olympics? That's just odd. This game will probably be given to some unknown second party publisher who will do a horrible job on it, making Mario and Sonic look like their long lost third-world cousins or something. Remember Mario is Missing?
posted by Mike on March 27, 2007 11:40 PM in Music
In the current trend of France re-assuming their proper place as the founders of renaissance (i.e. offering tax breaks to game developers and making their x-files public), French blog outfit Blogotheque has quietly been producing a live music podcast that's gaining underground credibility by the nanosecond.
The 41st episode in their Take Away Shows series features the blazing-hot Arcade Fire (thus luring all the audiophiles like me into their giant bear trap). The approach of these usually two-song, short films is to shoot the artists out in an urban environment of some sort and achieve a level of intimacy with the performer often lacking in the average music video. For example, Arcade Fire were seen packed in an elevator in Paris singing "Neon Bible" and the producers traveled to New York to record My Brightest Diamond's Shara Worden larking "Disappear" from the middle of a serene forest setting.
Like a fast food value menu for music hounds, Take Away Shows' Videography reads like a who's who of indie acts. Podcasts featuring Divine Comedy, Tapes N' Tapes, Okkervil River, Mojave 3 and Cold War Kids are currently offered up as free chow for your Video iPod. What the hell are you waiting for? Check this page out here. (Some of it is in French, so don't come complaining to me if you accidentally click a link for Viagra instead of subscribing to the feed.)
posted by SecksCab on March 27, 2007 8:04 PM in Rant
SexCab takes you into the wild, wild world of compilation albums, and how to know which ones are a gem. The poor man's Caspian, SexCab throws a block of awesome at your solar plexus with a mighty pelvic thrust. It's like a trip to the Goodwill of music!
Aww, how we've all grown up. Being featured in Time Magazine is quite the step for hometown heroes Penny Arcade. Even if it is a piece written to explain webcomics to your grandma. In this week's Time (April 2nd issue) Lev Grossman does a fairly good job explaining how Penny Arcade started and how it has grown, even featuring a full strip. He also talks about PvP, Achewood (my favorite webcomic, in case you are interested) and Diesel Sweeties, ending on a very acerbic note from Gabe about DS being syndicated to newspapers:
"I don't know why you'd want to rush to get to that cemetery," says Krahulik. "I guess everybody wants their dad to like them, right? They feel like they need that approval. I think we represent the exact opposite of that"
While I applaud R Stevens for his tenacity and the groundbreaking he is doing for those in the webcomics field who actually want to go to dead tree format, I can see Gabe's point. The tides are changing and holding on to the past and tradition may not be the best route. Check out the full article wherever you get those things called "magazines". Also of note: check out the scan up there. Didn't know Gabe drew for PvP! Thanks, Time! Don't you have editors?
Check out some of our interviews with the subjects of this article:
posted by Chris on March 26, 2007 6:49 PM in Podcast
It's-a me! Or rather, it's-a us, The Geek, Frodo and White Mage! This week we talk about why we don't like going to the theater and why Reign Over Me may draw us back (hint: it has something to do with video games!). Then we talk about poor Caspian's red ring of death, a brand-new Stargate spinoff, the Super Mario Brothers Super Show, kicking a t-rex in the face, Avatar, Katamari for the Wii, and our Top 5 list. Download it now or subscribe! You won't be sorry. Hit the jump for show notes.
Originally released in 1997 on the original Playstation, Castlevania Symphony of the Night is widely regarded as a classic. Merging the platforming and storyline of Castlevania with the non-linear goodness of the Metroid series, SotN set the standard for all Castlevania titles to come. Recently released for the Xbox 360 with HD graphics, achievements and leaderboards, is it worth your money a second time around? Hit the jump for the full review.
posted by Chris on March 26, 2007 2:43 PM in Games
I'm a big fan of NES hackers these days. It's cool to see people of our generation taking stuff that seemed so mystical back in the day (like why your NES would do weird glitchy things sometimes) and using it for purely artistic purposes. Take this video of a "bent" NES system, hooked up to sync to music. Pretty rad. I wanna know how to do this!
Oh man. You guys have to check out this Worth1000 Photoshop contest. The task was to create real-world Pokémon and some are freaking brilliant. Like all Worth1000 Photoshop contests, however, some are turds. My favorite non-turd is ol' Cubone over there. Second favorite? The creepy Golbat.
Is it wrong that I could recognize these in a lineup and name them?
Admittedly, I am not a big sports game fan. While I love a good round of Wii Tennis, or some Mario Golf, I am not the dude who waits in line for the next Madden title every single year. The mark of a great sports game for me is one that actually makes me want to play it. Prostroke Golf for the PSP features a fairly realistic golf experience, complete with a course editor and live commentary. It's from a small developer, which shows in its graphical capabilities, long load times and lack of polish, but I believe that it can offer true golf fans something new on the go. As long as you actually own a PSP.
While this same kind of list has been making the rounds this week, I SWEAR I've had the idea in my mind for a while. Honest!
Everyone has played those games that just rock your world. It rocks your socks clean off but they're so FREAKING HARD. This is the official Weekly Geek Top 5 Difficult and Awesome Games list. Because there are some games that are just so completely mindblowingly difficult, but we still play them. Because we hate ourselves. Hit the jump for our list, and post a comment with your own list!
posted by Chris on March 23, 2007 7:55 AM in Podcast
Caspian and Frodo present to you the best music of 2007 so far with a very special music podcast! They cover the biggest indie albums so far this year - Modest Mouse's We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank, Arcade Fire's Neon Bible, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah's Some Loud Thunder
and The Shins' Wincing the Night Away. They also discuss the Deerhoof Milkman Ballet, The Knife, John Vanderslice and a super excellent compilation of 8-Bit covers of Kraftwerk music called 8 Bit Operators. Also stay tuned for their 2007 music preview, as they talk about Bjork's new album, a possible new Portishead album, the Sasquatch festival and a brand new Elliott Smith double-disk.
Also mentioned is how Rolling Stone is stupid and you should listen to us for music reviews. If you like our video game podcast, you'll love the music podcast. Download it now or subscribe to the podcast on iTunes!
You read that right, I'm giving away the worst prize ever. A broken Nintendo WiFi Dongle.
Heh, dongle.
So here's the skinny: We had a Nintendo WiFi Dongle, it broke, we replaced it with a new one, and then I felt like popping the old one open to see what was inside. As it turns out, there were electronics on the inside.
Looking closer at it, I can tell exactly where the problem is. There's a little connector that came loose and isn't connected any more. I'm sure it's completely fixable with a little soldering or something.
But I have neither the resources nor the motivation to fix this myself. So what to do with it? Why, unload it on one of you, of course!
That's right, you can win your very own broken Nintendo WiFi Dongle. Use it with your broken DS or Wii, I guess. Or fix it, I don't care. I just don't want it any more.
In order to win this broken thing, just send me an email and do something to convince me to spend the money on a postage stamp, put this thing in an envelope, and drop it in the mail. Maybe I'll find some other crap lying around my apartment and put it in the envolope too. I'll pick an arbitrary date sometime in the future to end the contest.
Talk about having your cake and eating it too. Now we know what they do for kicks in Minnesota. Fresh off the slow, pulsing Drums and Guns released on the 20th, Low unveiled their video for the first single on the album: "Breaker." What a perfect offset to their minimal style- lead singer Alan Sparhawk devours all but one slice of a humongous chocolate cake aided only by his two hands and just as many glasses of milk. It's easy to imagine this video to be a symbol for the overindulgence of our military presence in the world. Or, maybe Alan just wanted to prove to his old frat buddies that he could still eat a cake in under 4 minutes and the only clean clothes he had in the closet were those World War 2 reenactment duds.
Hit the jump to find out where you can see Low on tour this Spring. Maybe the concert will turn into a hot dog eating contest or something.
posted by Chris on March 22, 2007 11:35 AM in Games
Kotaku has an excellent article up now about the new Adam Sandler / Don Cheadle movie Reign Over Me. The film called for a scene with Adam Sandler, a 9/11 victim who is trying to hide from his problems, where he is playing some sort of generic game with aliens. The article goes over the process of the director pushing for an actual game to be in the movie. That game? Shadow of the Colossus. Turns out the game was a great metaphor for what the character was going through in his life, and is actually portrayed and (gasp!) NAMED in the movie!
This is a huge step for games in the media. For the most part whenever a game is shown on movies or tv, it's some kid frantically mashing away at an upside-down gamepad, with cheesy laser sound effects blaring. With such a big release showing games for the finely crafted masterpieces they can actually be, it's a great first step in educating people about what games are really like, past all the Death Hookers 2000 action we see on the tee vee.
My wife has been bugging me to see this movie with her when its released, and before seeing this article I had no want to. Now I must! Great article, Kotaku. Cheers!
Generally, music is my thing- I get passionate about the artists I love, and when they disappoint me, I’m the first one to call them out. My other big hobby is gaming. I wouldn’t go so far as to say I’m an avid gamer, but it’s my primary way to unwind from a long work day. The three systems I own are pretty prized to me, but yesterday my most expensive console investment failed me for the second time. And just like I would with the tunes, I’m calling in my “Fool me once…” adage.
Microsoft’s Xbox360 is generally considered to be the hottest hardware on the market right now and rightly so: Its Xbox Live application is amazing, it has a touted selection of disc and arcade titles, and its outselling rivals Nintendo and Sony by a long shot. But there’s a nagging (and growing) epidemic that may threaten the 360’s reputation and bog them down from blowing away the competition. The ominously-named “Ring of Death” could be the Achilles’ heel for our friends in Redmond.
posted by Chris on March 21, 2007 9:12 AM in Games
I yanked my debit card out of my bacon wallet instantly when I saw this awesome new Mario Kart racetrack set, memories of the old track-based race car sets racing (get a thesaurus, man) through my mind. Remember the smell when you ran one for a bit too long? That kind of burney electronics smell? Yeah, buddy! But the man-child in me can wait, as I have really no use for this. Although, it would make a great present! Hint, hint.
Our BFFs over at GayGamer have posted their very first podcast
They talk about Games Radar, He Who Shall Not Be Named and Take Two and God of War II. They also mention the winner of their big DS Lite and Final Fantasy VI giveaway. It's a great way to spend 20 minutes. Check it out!
posted by Chris on March 19, 2007 8:27 AM in Games
Comin' down the pipelines this week is a steaming batch of gaming goodness. Any of you guys gonna grab some junk? Or is it all about God of War II this week? Here are some notable releases.
TMNT (everything) - Heroes on the half shell return for some Prince of Persia inspired platformy goodness.
Armored Core 4 (Xbox 360, PS3) - The sequel to Armored Core 3.
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (PS3) - Finally PS3 owners can experience the same great RPG PC and 360 users have been playing for a year.
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (XBLA) - Arguably the best game in the Castlevania series hits the Live Arcade for 800 points
Virtua Tennis 3 (Xbox 360, PS3) - It suuuuure is some tennis.
Cooking Mama: Cook Off (Wii) - Play some fun cooking minigames on your Wii. Just don't say Bam or E.V.O.O. and we're cool.
Excitebike (Wii VC) - Classic NES overheating motorcycles on the VC.
SPLATTERHOUSE (Wii VC) - One of the best TurboGrafx titles on the Virtual Console this week.
Beyond Oasis (Wii VC) - Genesis RPG or something. About a prince named "Ali". I guess.
Oblivion: Shivering Isles Expansion (Xbox 360) - Get 250 more gamerpoints and about 30 more hours of gameplay out of your Oblivion experience. The most expensive Live download to date!
Tetris Evolution (Xbox 360) - HD backgrounds, many different play modes and Live multiplayer. Can't get much better than that.
posted by Chris on March 19, 2007 6:53 AM in Podcast
Frodo and The Geek are back this week to bring you all things Spartan. We're obsessed with God of War II, and 300 isn't too bad either. In this podcast episode, we talk about how movie critics are out of touch, why we won't own a PLAYSTATION 3 for a while, some crazy RPG about Chopin (the composer!), Katamari and the electric car. Best episode ever? You be the judge! Download it now or subscribe to the podcast. You know you want to.
posted by Chris on March 16, 2007 2:34 PM in Games
A brand new HD trailer for the next in the Ratchet and Clank series was released today, and boy does it look amazing. Too bad I probably won't own a PLAYSTATION 3 until like, 2010.
Overview:Xbox Live Arcade has really been coming into its own in the past month or so, with great releases such as Alien Hominid HD, TMNT and Worms. If you are unfamiliar or otherwise uninitiated, Worms is a turn-based strategy combat game in the same vein as Scorched Earth. Players take control of a team of Worms each with a certain number of hit points on a 2d landscape. Then you take turns whittling away your opponent's hit points with an array of wacky weapons that each serve a different purpose. You can shoot worms in the face with a shotgun, or you can fire punch them into the abyss. The possibilities are endless, and the Xbox Live version is a fun distraction.
Shininess: As far as shiny goes, Worms for XBLA is just like any other Worms game. Nothing too amazing, the graphics amount to not much more than a Flash game, but the animations tend to be funny and charming. The music is non-existant (just a loop of some dramatic sounding stuff.) so prep your music library.
Funness: Worms is by far one of the most fun strategy games out there. Unfortunately, the pace feels incredibly slow at times, while you wait for the other players to take their turn. It's even worse in the short single player mode, where you aren't even waiting for an actual human, it's just a computer who feels like wasting your time while he thinks. Each worm in the single player challenges tends to take 10-20 seconds to even think about their next turn, which is pretty mind-numbing. It's actually tolerable in multiplayer, because watching other people play is all part of building future strategies.
The single player game features 20 challenges of varying difficulty. It didn't take long to get through and helped me hone some of my strategies, but for the most part I could have done without them, or with different modes. The multiplayer is where it's at, it's the whole reason you get the game. It's insane amounts of fun to play with others, seeing them mess up a perfect ninja rope swing, or accidentally blow themselves up with a sheep. The Live worms community seems to be a bit more cordial than most, as well. Full English sentences abound! Just watch out for the ranked matches, as players can tend to get a bit more hardcore. I even played with someone who seemed like they thought they were playing a Halo match. Not fun.
Worthiness: The features and weapons array is a bit lacking compared to PC and previous console versions of Worms, but for 800 points I think it's worth it. Worms is also the first Live Arcade game I have completed all the achievements for, as they tended to be fairly easy to get. If you don't have any Xbox Live friends (sad!) or you don't have any real-life friends (even sadder!) then don't download this. As a matter of fact, if you meet both those criteria, don't download anything. Just throw your Xbox through the nearest window. If you DO have friends, check out the demo and see if the pace is for you. Like I said, it's slower than most games this generation, but once you get into it there's really nothing better than a game of Worms.
posted by Chris on March 16, 2007 9:13 AM in Games
Finally. Promised last month and delayed and delayed, Castlevania Symphony of the Night is headed for the Xbox Live Arcade this Wednesday. For a mere 800 points, you too can experience what is widely regarded as one of the best games in the series, blending whip-cracking action with Metroid-style exploration. It's also the very first console game to grace the Live Arcade. Special! For you fancy TV owners, it's even got brand spanking new widescreen and HD support. Check out those gorgeous hand-drawn sprites in high def. That is, if you can pull yourself away from God of War II.
Personally, I haven't played this game yet (could never find it at used game stores) but I love the GBA and DS iterations of the series and I plan on dropping a cool 800 points this Wednesday. Anyone else?
Overview: HOW CAN THIS BE? HIS POWER LEVEL IS OVER NINE THOUSAAAAAAAAAAAAND! Yep, the primal growling is back once again in the latest DBZ game to hit the stands. It's pretty simple on the face. Over the top fighting with craptons of characters in the Dragonball Z universe. But like the previous Tenkaichi game, it goes a bit further beyond your standard 3D fighter and expands your battle arena into giant sweeping landscapes. Plus, since it's on the Wii, you've got some unique controls to get a handle on. DBZ is a guilty pleasure of mine. You have to go into it knowing that it's hokey, campy, and basically the Japanese version of He-Man. I never tried the previous Tenkaichi game because the lack of traditional fighterness turned me off. But I've been interested in DBZBT2 ever since I heard about the Wii controls making you actually do the proper hand moves to fire of a Kamehameha. So how does the game stack up? Read on and find out. I'm not gonna tell you here in the opening part, duh!
posted by Chris on March 15, 2007 9:31 AM in Games
Today Nintendo issued what may be the longest, most information-packed press release I've ever seen about one of their most anticipated games this year: Pokémon Pearl and Diamond for the DS. Release date: April 22. Standard two versions. Total Pokémon: 480. GBA import: yes. Voice chat: enabled. That's right, Nintendo is also going to release a DS headset and have voice chat for Pokémon. Excitement!
In the release they basically talk about how the friend codes are a "feature" and how they prevent children from talking to people they don't know. To me, it's just a pain in the ass but I understand Nintendo's needs to calm the mighty waters of the sea of parental mis-information and lack of proper child-rearing. Honestly, I'd like to see a study that compares Xbox Live's gamertag system vs. Nintendo's friend codes just to see which one is more secure for kids.
The coolest feature in the game? The global trade board. You can post Pokémon you want to trade on the board and view other people's up for trade. It's like Craig's List for Pokémon! All of these new features make this seem like the must-have Pokémon game out of all of the series, and the upcoming integration with the Wii version of Pokémon will end up sucking many of my sweet hours of free time. Anyone else as excited as I am?
posted by Chris on March 14, 2007 3:49 PM in Games
Ars Technica reports today that a new study performed by Peter Fischer and colleagues at Ludwig-Maximilians University and the Allianz Center for Technology in Germany correlates video game driving with risky real-world driving. Ars does a great job in disseminating the study, talking about how the games played focused on risky driving on public roads, and not racers such as Gran Tourismo. Studies like these tend to be firmly gripped by the mainstream media, helping them on their crazed quest to demonize games. Look at the source, contemplate, and then formulate your opinion!
Speaking on my own behalf, I can say that immediately after playing racing games if I get into a car I tend to be slightly more risky than usual. Then I come to my senses and realize I am not actually playing a video game, and I return to my normal society-functioning self. Heck, sometimes after playing Tony Hawk or even Katamari I feel like driving up a rail, or rolling other cars into my ball of doom.
What do you guys think? Do driving games innately breed riskier drivers?
posted by Chris on March 14, 2007 9:29 AM in Games
Now Windows Vista gamers can experience being called a vast array of epithets and homophobic slurs along with us Xbox gamers! Halo 2 is being released on May 8th, and with it the Windows Live service, almost completely mirroring the Xbox 360 Live service. Halo 2 for Windows Live will even feature achievements... something you don't get playing Halo 2 on the Xbox. Luckily you can use your same Gamertag and subscription for both the Silver and Gold memberships. Almost makes you want to buy Vista, doesn't it?
Also loaded into the hopper is Shadowrun and Uno, both featuring cross-platform play. A year or so ago I talked to a friend who works for Microsoft and discussed the rift between the Xbox division and the Games for Windows division. At that time they seemed almost in competition with each other. This Windows/Xbox Live integration is an excellent step in bringing the two together, and maybe even wooing a few people back to PC gaming, and PC casual gamers (with games like Uno) to the soon-to-be-affordable Xbox 360.
posted by Chris on March 13, 2007 3:46 PM in Music
A couple of weeks ago, KEXP had the ever-curious band Deerhoof on to play a live set. In addition to their catchy, addictive fare from their newly released (and excellently titled) album Friend Opportunity, they mentioned a school on a small island off the coast of Maine putting together a ballet based on their album Milkman. Deerhoof was blown away by the performance and said a DVD release was imminent. As a fan of all things strange, artistic and bizarre, I had to pick it up.
I was familiar with Deerhoof's work: a blend of discordant guitar riffs, marching drums and quiet female Japanese vocals. I had never listened to the full album Milkman, but the ballet was a great introduction to it. The sheer devotion and love of this album shows in the effort put forth. I mean, it's a freaking ballet. Caspian, Madame L. and I sat down one Friday night and prepared ourselves. We were rewarded with a little over an hour of perfect performance art. Hit the jump for my full review and links to preview and purchase this DVD. It's a must-have for your collection.
Air has always been fantastic at making seamless art- a soundtrack for our waking life, and a concert for our sleeping one. Of course, this has always made them a target for scoring films (Sofia Coppola seems particularly obsessed with them, employing their help on both Virgin Suicides and Lost in Translation). But when it comes to their album work, they have a tendency to get lost in the (no pun intended) airiness of their sound. All this changed when Talkie Walkie hit the shelves in 2005. They used their usual amount of insane production, but they focused their concerns on the ultimate end product of the songs. This led to tracks like “Surfing on a Rocket” and “Cherry Blossom Girl” becoming as close to radio hits as they could manage.
If Talkie Walkie was their finest pop iteration, consider Pocket Symphony somewhere between that and their film music. The record begins particularly well- second track, the piano-drenched “Once Upon a Time,” could be their most gorgeous pitch-shifted vocal performance to date. After that, Jarvis Cocker makes a strong guest vocal appearance on the Japanese Koto experiment “One Hell of a Party.” Other exceptional tracks include the smooth guitar turnarounds in “Left Bank” and the sunlit interlude “Mer Du Jupon.”
posted by Chris on March 13, 2007 9:28 AM in Games
There's nothing like that first hit. It sucks you in, leaves you wanting more. I'm talking about sweet, sweet candy, man. You can't keep me away from it, so don't even try! Crazy ramblings aside, I actually used to be pretty addicted to candy in high school. Every weekend I'd take my measly earnings from shoveling third party cartoon adaptation games into drooling children's gaping maws to the Sweet Factory and stock up on those delicious grapefruit belts. I can still taste them, sour and delicious and perfectly teeth-rotting. Today I am paying for those sugar-induced mania episodes in actual cash doled out for new teeth, but I can still get my fix by playing Viva Pinata. If you missed this Xbox 360 gem, you can now check out a demo for free on the Xbox Live Marketplace. Gold members get first grabs, then after a week it's open to everyone.
I recommend checking it out if you haven't yet. The demo promises a good deal of gameplay (clocking in at around a gig, it better), and the actual game retails for about fifty bucks. It's the game that sold Xbox 360 to me, and it is like the best parts of Pokémon mixed with the best parts of a Sim* game. Also there is candy. Sweet delicious candy.
posted by Chris on March 12, 2007 12:26 PM in Games
As far as internet BFFs go, GayGamer and The Weekly Geek are the bestest best can get. We take turns playing Super Mario Bros together, we ride bikes, one time we even built a tunnel fort out of cardboard boxes. That's why I am proud to pass on the word that our buds are giving away a DS Lite and a copy of Final Fantasy VI Advance!
Slow, stark, yet magnetic. Minnesota group Low have abandoned the methods they used to make 2005's pop attempt The Great Destroyer. Instead, they opted for their tried and true crawling pace for the upcoming Drums and Guns, except in lieu of the sparse guitars that thinly coated their previous works, Low (along with co-producer Dave Fridmann) chose to represent their trademark minimalism with synths and drum machines.
Many times you can count the instrument layers on Drums and Guns with one hand. The lyrics follow suit too, where a half-paragraph or sentence can comprise an entire song idea. For any normal band, this behavior could be dangerously pretentious, but for Low it’s beautiful- they're sucking the life out of their arrangements and breathing it back into the audience.
More a series of dirges than anything else, Drums and Guns plays with humanity's natural fixation on death and brings about as much confusion as it does understanding. Singer Alan Sparhawk pours on the drama from the first line of “Pretty People” warning that all the soldiers "are all gonna die." Background vocalist Mimi Parker makes these songs as gloriously haunting as they are- especially on “Sandinista,” about the Marxist Revolutionaries in Nicaragua.
posted by Chris on March 12, 2007 9:23 AM in Games
This Wednesday sees the release of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for the Xbox Live Arcade. The original 1989 classic arcade brawler can be yours for only 400 Microsoft points (a steal!). It's also got voice support, online co-op for up to 4 players and leaderboards. Excellent. Here's to hoping the servers are better than previous Xbox Live Arcade titles and won't lag out or drop me while I'm trying to serve up some pizza-powered justice on the Foot.
We need to start using the words "tubular" and "radical" more often now, as well. In completely non-ironic fashions. I want to start integrating them into my vocabulary at work and at home. "Honey, this pot roast was totally tubular" or "If you could pay the credit card bill on time that would be radical." Eh? Ehhhh?!
I've got fond memories of this in the arcade, anyone want to join me in a nostalgia-fest?
posted by Chris on March 12, 2007 6:03 AM in Podcast
This week, Frodo, The Geek and White Mage meet up in Frodo's secret underground lair to discuss 300, the Game Developer's conference and the sweet nuggets it dispensed, and E3. That's right, E3!
Caspian: Denton, Texas' favorite 70s-Throwback rockers Midlake came to Seattle for the first time in their history Wednesday night. Myself and Frodo were taking it all in- a concert that would ultimately prove much more valuable than the $8 ticket price. Lead-off acts Josh Ottom and Ester Drang were somewhat enjoyable. Ottom had a cute laptop/drummer-accompanied pop sound, while Ester Drang's noise layering was on some songs brilliant, and on others very uninspired. But when headliners Midlake came on stage at 11:30, the show really took flight.
Frodo: It seemed strange to me to only have to fork out $8 to see a band that made it into both our best of 2006 album list, but being able to see Midlake in the cozy Croc was pretty special. The venue is teensy and intimate, perfect for a band like Midlake who themselves have a very intimate sound. They are the very definition of baroque rock, a kind of cosplay/story based rock that speaks of 19th century farm and pioneer life, layered with the musical stylings of Fleetwood Mac and 1960's nature show soundtracks.
Caspian: So they played all but one song off of their last record The Trials of Van Occupanther and the one new song they unveiled ("Children of the Ground") seemed like a natural, yet more aggressive take on that sort of Radiohead meets Van Morisson sound they're so great at blending. One of the more interesting moments in the set came when singer Tim Smith was announcing an older track ("Ballon Maker") and the crowd cheered. He seemed a bit taken aback that people heard their old LPs and admitted: "These songs weren't hits. We didn't make it to Seattle on that record." Still, the band seemed most comfortable with the live adaptations of the more popular tracks from Occupanther like "Roscoe" and "Head Home."
Frodo: Even with the massive amount of production Midlake must go through in post to put the vinyl/scratchy/70s/am radio sheen on their songs, it comes through live, which I think was the biggest success of the evening. Not only did the live versions of tracks sound as good as their album counterparts, they were almost meatier, fuller. Despite some small mistakes (like their video player going out during the second song), I could see Midlake making it big. Bigger at least. The low ticket price was not a testament to quality - it was a steal for the entertainment value gained that evening.
For more information on Midlake, visit their website.
Seriously, what the hell is this crap? The best I can figure is that they're trying some sort of meta surreal performance art humor thing. It's not even a goddamned animated show. It's just two guys doing random stupid bits that have no basis on anything at all. I've seen two episodes and I've yet to see them even attempt making any sort of joke. It makes Family Guy look like The Office.
I made more amusing home videos at my stoner-friend's house back in high school with a cheap video camera. All we did was jump on a trampoline, dig a moat in the backyard and give Lego men viking funerals, and chop shaken-up soda cans in half with a broadsword. Hell, the little Super 8 stop motion films I made with another friend were better than this show.
It's like everyone at Adult Swim is in a competition to see who can put in the least amount of effort and still pass it off as a show to fool the programming department to put in on the air.
Perhaps it's the universe righting itself. A kind of cosmic yin and yang thing. There can be no Light without Darkness, there an be no Good without Evil, and there can be no Awesome without Crap. That's what this show (and I use the term extremely loosely) is, the Crap to balance out the pure Awesome that is Venture Brothers. I guess it's a small price to pay.
posted by Chris on March 9, 2007 11:38 AM in Games
If you thought E3 wasn't going to happen this year, you thought wrong. The re-branded media and business event is going down July 11-13 2007 in Santa Monica, and guess who's been invited? Yours truly.
It will be interesting to see how the event has changed from previous years. I attended 2004 and 2005's E3 and it was equal parts exciting and exhausting. The invite seems to allude that all of that has changed, however. It seems almost apologetic for previous years.
Hosted by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), this invitation-only event will provide you with the opportunity to engage in one-on-one meetings with leading game company executives in an intimate setting, as well as network, socialize, and test pilot major company offerings in an environment designed to ensure that you can get your business done efficiently and effectively.
Getting my business done efficiently and effectively... does that mean no parties? Hah! I kid. There will most definitely be parties, just this time around there won't be Circuit City and GameStop managers there to crap up the place! LOOK OUT E3 2007 HERE I COME.
posted by Grant on March 7, 2007 12:36 PM in Games
Hey there all my little geekamaniacs. You may have seen the amazing news posted just the other day about how You Don't Know Jack is back!
Well an anonymous inside source over at Jellyvision (creators of YDKJ, duh) has slipped me a tip about some of the inner workings of the Jack crew. Now, I'm not sure how long this will stay up on the site before Jellyvision's legal department contacts us and forces me to take it down, but I'm gonna let you all in on the sweet juicy tidbits right now.
I swear on any sort of holy or unholy text you would like that this is a direct quote from an actual YDKJ staffer known only as The Mysterious Mr. F.
…well, one of the writers left a bunch of food out in the kitchen the other day. We had to throw away two bags of bread! Oh, and the broken toilet paper holder is now fixed in the downstairs bathroom. And did somebody mention…new pens? Yeah, we got some new pens.
Holy crap guys. Big things are going down. Big things.
posted by Chris on March 7, 2007 11:06 AM in Games
Imagine a virtual world where you can design your own avatar, decorate your own personal living space and invite your own virtual friends over to play. It's easy to imagine because it's called Second Life. Oh, it's also called Playstation Home, Sony's hail mary play announced today at GDC.
Essentially it's a new kind of user interface. You can create your avatar (like the Wii's Mii system but far more detailed) and decorate an actual living space. You can view streaming media on televisions in your home, listen to music on music players in your home, even invite friends over to play games. There is also a lobby area where you can meet up with people and socialize.
It's a unique proposition on Sony's part, vastly different from what the Wii or the Xbox 360 is currently offering. It taps into our current frothing demand for social networking and customization, and basically makes it the killer app for the PLAYSTATION 3. Knowing Sony, however, it will take 4 different "keys" to even enter your virtual "apartment", each key being offered to you at some strange amount like $1.45. Check out some video of the service over at Kotaku. My question: is this worth buying a PS3 for, noble Weekly Geek readers?
We here at The Weekly Geek don't hide our nerdery. We are all unabashed Star Trek fans (you can't a-bash us!) and we aren't ashamed. We've watched every episode from every series, seen every movie, and all had childhood crushes on various characters (Riker, I'm looking at you). Compiled from a list of all of the episodes from every Trek series, here is The Weekly Geek's Top 5 Star Trek Episodes of All Time. Fire up your Netflix queue if you haven't seen these!
An iconic game in the SNES RPG era, Final Fantasy VI (then known as Final Fantasy 3) made many people gamers. It was the transition point. Here we had a game that actually took itself seriously. Fantastic, sweeping plot. Beautifully composed musical score. Interesting characters. Gorgeous, hand-drawn monsters and landscapes. Secrets galore. Final Fantasy VI really had it all. The last of the Final Fantasy titles to get the Gameboy Advance treatment, and in actuality most likely the last great Gameboy Advance game, how does Final Fantasy VI Advance stand up to the original? We have a couple added features including a new localization and bonus dungeons, but does it feel the same? Does it still have that magic that we all felt 15 (!) years ago?
After posting a comment on a Joystiq article about how cool it would be to have You Don't Know Jack on the Wii, I was contacted by a Jellyvision intern who informed me that YDKJ is back! That's right, pretty much the best game of the CD-ROM golden age has brought back it's very own web version (still in beta, apparently). They inform me that the site is updated every weekday, and currently has 5 "Dis or Dat" questions every week. Also, today is the launch of the weekly 7-question game.
I love seeing this game come back. The Geek and I still talk about it to this day. What would be super uber rad would be to actually see them become successful again and create versions for the Wii and Xbox Live Arcade. The possibilities for episodic content are really expanded these days and I'd drop a cool 800 msft points on an XBLA version in less than a heartbeat.
One of the most difficult games ever unleashed upon civilization has been released to the Wii Virtual Console store this Monday - Super Ghouls n' Ghosts. For a mere 800 Wii points you too can experience the pain and misery (read: challenging fun) I experienced as a child. Super G+G was one of my favorite SNES games just because it was so damned impossible. From what I can remember it had great sound and graphics and incredibly frustrating play controls. Add in Elevator Action for the NES and Sword of Vermillion for the Genesis and you have a fairly lax Wii VC lineup this week. Anyone picking any of these up? Or are you saving your bucks for Worms on Xbox Live Arcade on Wednesday?
posted by Chris on March 4, 2007 7:26 PM in Podcast
Going a bit off the beaten path this week, The Geek and Frodo discuss other facets of the geek sphere, including how to make the perfect grilled cheese, the majesty that is Google's cafeteria, secret fast food menu items, consolidating those pesky club cards and pizza vending machines. Ok, so we talk about video games, too.
SexCab takes you into the wild, wild world of compilation albums, and how to know which ones are a gem. The poor man's Caspian, SexCab throws a block of awesome at your solar plexus with a mighty pelvic thrust. It's like a trip to the Goodwill of music! 
Originally released in 1997 on the original Playstation, Castlevania Symphony of the Night is widely regarded as a classic. Merging the platforming and storyline of Castlevania with the non-linear goodness of the Metroid series, SotN set the standard for all Castlevania titles to come. Recently released for the Xbox 360 with HD graphics, achievements and leaderboards, is it worth your money a second time around? Hit the jump for the full review. 
Admittedly, I am not a big sports game fan. While I love a good round of Wii Tennis, or some Mario Golf, I am not the dude who waits in line for the next Madden title every single year. The mark of a great sports game for me is one that actually makes me want to play it. Prostroke Golf for the PSP features a fairly realistic golf experience, complete with a course editor and live commentary. It's from a small developer, which shows in its graphical capabilities, long load times and lack of polish, but I believe that it can offer true golf fans something new on the go. As long as you actually own a PSP. 
Our BFFs over at GayGamer have posted their very first 
Comin' down the pipelines this week is a steaming batch of gaming goodness. Any of you guys gonna grab some junk? Or is it all about God of War II this week? Here are some notable releases.
Overview: HOW CAN THIS BE? HIS POWER LEVEL IS OVER NINE THOUSAAAAAAAAAAAAND! Yep, the primal growling is back once again in the latest DBZ game to hit the stands. It's pretty simple on the face. Over the top fighting with craptons of characters in the Dragonball Z universe. But like the previous Tenkaichi game, it goes a bit further beyond your standard 3D fighter and expands your battle arena into giant sweeping landscapes. Plus, since it's on the Wii, you've got some unique controls to get a handle on. DBZ is a guilty pleasure of mine. You have to go into it knowing that it's hokey, campy, and basically the Japanese version of He-Man. I never tried the previous Tenkaichi game because the lack of traditional fighterness turned me off. But I've been interested in DBZBT2 ever since I heard about the Wii controls making you actually do the proper hand moves to fire of a Kamehameha. So how does the game stack up? Read on and find out. I'm not gonna tell you here in the opening part, duh!
Today Nintendo issued what may be the longest, most information-packed press release I've ever seen about one of their most anticipated games this year: Pokémon Pearl and Diamond for the DS. Release date: April 22. Standard two versions. Total Pokémon: 480. GBA import: yes. Voice chat: enabled. That's right, Nintendo is also going to release a DS headset and have voice chat for Pokémon. Excitement! 
Now Windows Vista gamers can experience being called a vast array of epithets and homophobic slurs along with us Xbox gamers! Halo 2 is being released on May 8th, and with it the Windows Live service, almost completely mirroring the Xbox 360 Live service. Halo 2 for Windows Live will even feature achievements... something you don't get playing Halo 2 on the Xbox. Luckily you can use your same Gamertag and subscription for both the Silver and Gold memberships. Almost makes you want to buy Vista, doesn't it?
There's nothing like that first hit. It sucks you in, leaves you wanting more. I'm talking about sweet, sweet candy, man. You can't keep me away from it, so don't even try! Crazy ramblings aside, I actually used to be pretty addicted to candy in high school. Every weekend I'd take my measly earnings from shoveling third party cartoon adaptation games into drooling children's gaping maws to the Sweet Factory and stock up on those delicious grapefruit belts. I can still taste them, sour and delicious and perfectly teeth-rotting. Today I am paying for those sugar-induced mania episodes in actual cash doled out for new teeth, but I can still get my fix by playing Viva Pinata. If you missed this Xbox 360 gem, you can now check out a demo for free on the Xbox Live Marketplace. Gold members get first grabs, then after a week it's open to everyone. 
This Wednesday sees the release of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for the Xbox Live Arcade. The original 1989 classic arcade brawler can be yours for only 400 Microsoft points (a steal!). It's also got voice support, online co-op for up to 4 players and leaderboards. Excellent. Here's to hoping the servers are better than previous Xbox Live Arcade titles and won't lag out or drop me while I'm trying to serve up some pizza-powered justice on the Foot. 
An iconic game in the SNES RPG era, Final Fantasy VI (then known as Final Fantasy 3) made many people gamers. It was the transition point. Here we had a game that actually took itself seriously. Fantastic, sweeping plot. Beautifully composed musical score. Interesting characters. Gorgeous, hand-drawn monsters and landscapes. Secrets galore. Final Fantasy VI really had it all. The last of the Final Fantasy titles to get the Gameboy Advance treatment, and in actuality most likely the last great Gameboy Advance game, how does Final Fantasy VI Advance stand up to the original? We have a couple added features including a new localization and bonus dungeons, but does it feel the same? Does it still have that magic that we all felt 15 (!) years ago?
After posting a comment on a Joystiq article about how cool it would be to have You Don't Know Jack on the Wii, I was contacted by a Jellyvision intern who informed me that 
One of the most difficult games ever unleashed upon civilization has been released to the Wii Virtual Console store this Monday - Super Ghouls n' Ghosts. For a mere 800 Wii points you too can experience the pain and misery (read: challenging fun) I experienced as a child. Super G+G was one of my favorite SNES games just because it was so damned impossible. From what I can remember it had great sound and graphics and incredibly frustrating play controls. Add in Elevator Action for the NES and Sword of Vermillion for the Genesis and you have a fairly lax Wii VC lineup this week. Anyone picking any of these up? Or are you saving your bucks for Worms on Xbox Live Arcade on Wednesday?