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It all comes down to this. The Big One. The one you have all been waiting for. It's The Weekly Geek's big Top 5 Games of 2007 podcast featuring (almost) the full staff, including Chris, Grant, Amy, Qais, Mack and Mike. Each person brought their own list of their five favorite titles of this year, and while there was some overlap, each list personifies who we are as gamers. Want to know what games we think are the best of the best in 2007?
We're completely in love with the Xbox 360's Live Arcade here at The Weekly Geek, its system of delivering a weekly dose of (usually) fantastic new titles combined with the seamless integration of Live make it the ultimate social arcade-style gaming experience. Remember the feeling of hanging out at an arcade with friends? You see a game you all want to play and you walk over and play it for a little bit, and then move on to the next one? The vast variety and ability to share games with your friends was a feeling unmatched by home systems until now. We have polled every staff member and asked them what their top 5 XBLA games are, and the results were a surprising mix. Proof that the Live Arcade has a little bit of something awesome for everyone. Hit the jump for The Weekly Geek's list of Top 5 XBLA Games and then post your own Top 5 in the comments.
You're out on a cruise or a transatlantic flight, on or over the ocean - it doesn't matter. But disaster strikes, people start screaming, and you're marooned at sea. After days of unintentionally gargling salt water and fighting off sharks, you make sweet, sweet landfall. And there in your pocket, you had almost forgotten about it: your top 5 albums are on your new iPod Shuffle. It's rigged to magically run on coconut juice, so you start listening to the only music you'll have to comfort you until exhaustion or a wild boar claims your life.
No this is not a bad episode of Survivor, it's one of the great queries of human kind. Hit the jump for the Weekly Geek's Top 5 Desert Island Albums. And feel free to post yours in the comments.
We geeks sure do love our tee-vee. When we aren't using the boxes to play our favorite electronic distractions, we are watching riveting series. We are obsessive in our television watching, renting season after season of our favorite shows from Netflix and watching hours in one sitting. Television is arguably better than movies these days, and to prove that here is The Weekly Geek's list of the Top 5 TV shows of all time. Cue up your queue and get crackin'. Full lists after the jump.
We all have our guilty pleasures. Whether you like to listen to Britney Spears or love watching Pokémon movies, we all have interests that may possibly get us beat up if said interests were revealed on the playground. One of the mainstream complaints about Nintendo, for example, is that the games are too "kiddy". From the "Celda" flame wars when Wind Waker was announced to a general aversion to Kirby games, irrational loathing for colorful, fun titles is completely absurd. There are some truly excellent titles out there if you get past the marketing, and here is a couple lists compiled by us Geeks especially for you. If you avoided any of these games because you thought your friends would call you gay or something, now is the time to suck it up and enjoy some incredibly good titles.
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!
continue reading "Top 5 List: Top 5 Difficult and Awesome Games"
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!
You know what to do. Hit the jump and all that.
The Weekly Geek is back in full force, with Frodo and The Geek bringing you a follow up to this week's top 5 list. Also discussed is Ghostbusters news, lawsuits and the horror that is Rachael Ray's new olive oil line. They also touch on the hot topic of this week, the Mooninites debacle. Frodo suggests that the police go fuck themselves, and sodomy is mentioned a number of times. Hotel Dusk, Gears of War, DDR... yes video games are talked about as well. Subscribed to the podcast yet? No? Well, now's your chance! Here are some show notes.
Super Mario All Stars. A great title for the SNES that took the original 4 Mario games and added enhanced graphics and better music, all while keeping the essentials that made these games classic. It was a makeover, one that Tyra Banks is still trying to emulate to this day. We've seen some great ones over the years, most recently with titles like Mega Man Powered Up, taking Mega Man 1 and turning it into a 3d hydrocephalitic chibi funtime romp. Without changing the basics of what makes these games great, makeovers rekindle what we loved about them in the first place. Here is a list of games we think could really use the All-Star treatment.
Frodo:
5: Mega Man 2 - Arguably the best game of the series, Mega Man 2 really needs the Powered Up treatment. Enhanced music, a level editor, expanded gameplay... I am drooling just thinking about it. Just put it on something a bit more accessable than the PSP, mmkay?
4: Maniac Mansion - I am aware that this LucasArts masterpiece has been re-done by people on the interwebs already, but I would love to see an enhanced version for a major console. A Wii version with beautiful hand-drawn characters and voice acting would basically make me weep with joy.
3: Secret of Mana - This game is already pretty gorgeous, one of the most visually and audably stunning titles on the SNES, but imagine it on a current system with Squeenix's Mana lineup. Lush environments, fully orchestrated soundtrack, cutscenes and online co-op would make this classic even classic-er. Classic-er?
2: Starcraft - Even by today's standards, Starcraft is a good looking PC real time strategy game. Imagine it using Blizzard's Warcraft III engine and you have a title that would make them tons of cash for many more years to come. Heck, the country of Korea alone would make this venture cost-effective.
1: The Legend of Zelda - We've seen the NES Zelda ported to the Gamecube on a collector's disk, to the GBA with the collector's series and now to the Virtual Console on the Wii, but it has always been untouched. I would love to see a Mario All-Stars treatment for Zelda. Imagine Zelda 1 and 2 with Link to the Past or Minish Cap quality graphics and remixed music. I'd wet myself, die, and then wet my corpse. We got a remake of the first Metroid a couple of years ago, why not your biggest cash cow, Nintendo? I'd drop a cool 1000 Wii points on that title in a heartbeat.
The Geek:
5: Uniracers - Take this awesomely fun SNES classic, crank up the visuals to 11, and give it some great Wii controls and you'll have a hit.
4: The THQ/AKI WWF/WCW games from the N64 - I still consider these games to be the pinnacle of 'rasslin games, at least from a gameplay standpoint. The controls were so easy to pick up and the animation of the wrestlers was so smooth. I would love to see something pretty much exactly like these games, except with a graphical and audio overhaul, making sure they leave the good animation intact.
3: Toe Jam and Earl - I love this Genesis classic. A great way to while away an afternoon. I would love to see it with some much more sharp and detailed graphics. Though I can't decide if I'd want it to be really, really detailed sprites or full on cel-shaded 3D. Either would work. Oh, and while we're at it, let's hire George Clinton and his crew to funk up the soundtrack something fierce.
2: Starfox 64 - One of my very favoritest games, Starfox got absolutely no respect on the GameCube with the horrible Starfox Assault game. The arwing levels were perfect, but everything else sucked hardcore. Give me Starfox 64 with really, really shiny new graphics and I will be in hog heaven.
1: Final Fantasy VII - Rumored, speculated, rumored some more, an updated FF7 has been the holy grail for Final Fantasy fanboys. Advent Children gave us a taste of what it could be like. FF7 was amazing when it came out, but even just compared to the next in the series, the visuals are just embarassing any more. Giant cubes for hands? Come on! And imagine, if you will, that entire soundtrack performed by a full, real live orchestra. Beauty.
Honorable Mention: Goldeneye - I really considered putting this on the list, but it's pretty much already been made thanks to the amazing Source engine and the rabid modding community out there.
What do you think would be a good game to give a makeover to? Post your suggestions in the comments!
We here at The Weekly Geek are a might frustrated at Nintendo's paltry Virtual Console offerings, and even though we know that they will never read this and take our advice, this week's Top Five List is a rundown of the Virtual Console games we want to see, or someone's gonna pay.
Frodo's Top Five:
5. Tricky Kick: This was an excellent Turbografx puzzle game, where you go through levels as different characters such as a fox or a schoolgirl, and you have to kick boxes toward a goal. It's seriously more fun than it sounds.
4. Goldeneye: This one is obvious. Pretty much the best FPS on any console period, Goldeneye defined the genre and revolutionized multiplayer gaming. Unfortunately this will never be released because of Nintendo and Rare's current anti-partnership. I'd love to see this online-enabled. Guess I just have to play Goldeneye Source.
3. Chrono Trigger: One of the best RPGs of all time, Chrono Trigger is a natural for the VC. We got a crappy version on the Playstation a couple of years ago, I'd like a good clean copy of this rare title to play whenever I want to, without having to sit through loading times.
2. Starfox 2: Nintendo has hinted that they may release a VC title that has a niche internet following, and I think this one is it. Starfox 2 was fully complete when Nintendo pulled out for whatever reason, so it's in the realm of possibility they'd try to get some money out of their investment.
1. Super Mario World/Mario All Stars SNES all in one cart: This was the ultimate cart, packed with so much Mario it boggles the mind. Not only did it include Super Mario World, but Super Mario All Stars, all in that teensy gray plastic box. This one most definitely won't be released, since Nintendo likes money, but a geek can dream.
Caspian's List:
5. Mutant League Football - Genesis: There's a normal sports game (i.e. Madden, NFL 2kWhatever, etc.) and then there's a game where you step out of bounds and into a black hole, you avoid being tackled only to fall into a lava pit, or you get penalized for "booger flicking." Greatest football game of all time? I THINK SO!!!
4. Super Empire Strikes Back - SNES: Until KOTOR 1 & 2, this Star Wars series was the most accurate, I think, in making you feel you were a Jedi. I very much liked the back and forth switches between movie characters and between vehicle and walking scenarios.
3. Secret of Evermore - SNES: I'm an admitted huge SNES gamer. That's what got me deep into gaming, and with the exception of Zelda and Final Fantasy, I think this RPG really captured my imagination (and a lot of my time). It'd be nice to relive some of the moments, and have it available for the new gamer generation to experience.
2. Super Mario Bros. 3 - NES: Okay- so they've released the original Super Mario Bros. That's awesome! But... the one I really miss and would really appreciate from Nintendo is Mario 3. Frog and Raccoon Mario would really bring me back to a time when my smiles knew no bounds.
1. Golden Eye - N64: It's shameful to say, but this is the only FPS console game I've ever been good at. (I mean, I could tear it up on Area 51 in the arcades, but that doesn't really count) Oh, to have a multiplayer victim walk into a masterfully placed remote mine again. That would take the cake! And please Nintendo... ONLINE multiplayer would be fantastic with this. Would it kill ya to throw that in?
The Geek's List:
5. Renegade - NES: One of those little fighty brawly games on the NES that I always just loved for some reason. Kind of like a precursor to Final Fight and such games. It's a classic I never owned myself, but I would gladly shell out the 5 bucks for it on the VC.
4. Earthbound - SNES: This is one of those games that everybody loves but I just haven't ever gotten to really sit down and play it. Over the many years it's been out, I've tried several times to play it, either at a friend's house or just borrowing their game, but something always keeps distracting me. I think if I actually owned it and it was on my Wii, I could finally play this bad mamma jamma.
3. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Tournament Figher - SNES: I had to toss this one in the list because I remember just really loving this game back in the day, as it were. It was a pretty solid fighter with good 16 bit sprites and lots of characters to choose from.
2. Shining Force I & II - Genesis: I put these two together because I didn't wanna take up two spaces with them and it's my damn list so nyah. I loved, loved, loved the first two Shining force games and I've been half-heartedly trying to score them on eBay ever since I picked up my very own Genesis from there a few years back. They are a wonderful tactical RPG and probably why I loved Final Fantasy Tactics so much. The story is fun, though I can't remember if I ever fully beat either of them.
1. Super Mario RPG - SNES: One of the best RPGs of all time, Super Mario RPG is an amazing game. Taking the mythos of the Mario universe and expanding on it enough to create a full RPG storyline with towns and items and abilities and such was nothing short of brilliant. On top of that, the game was pretty and played very solid. This is another one I had to borrow from someone else but I never got through. I think the furthest I got was up to the point of going into that other world, but I could be imagining that. I have a mighty need to own and beat this game, even if it's only on the VC.
This week, The Geek and Frodo talk about their picks for the top games of 2006. They also discussed Goldeneye Source and jerks playing Oddjob and hiding in the vents in Facility, a stupid rumor on Nintendo forums. But mainly they talked about the best games of 2006 (in their opinion). Is your favorite on the list? Listen to the podcast and find out! If it isn't, yell at us in the comments! WE LOVE IT.
Running time: (1:04:41) We had a ton of comments and suggestions about our top five list this week, and in this podcast your geeky heroes, The Geek and Frodo, tackle last week's Top 5 list, the Top Five Games as Art. Wii secrets are discussed, along with muppet news, how to annoy retailers and survival training by a man named Bear.
Video games being regarded as "Art" seems to serve as a sort of validation for our hobby. If games are Art, then they serve some sort of higher social significance than the standard "they allow us to improve hand-eye coordination" argument we have all heard. Certainly, gaming is big business and a serious one, but can games be "Art"? What is "art", anyway? Having a bachelor's degree in art doesn't make me an expert by any means, but I was taught that art is anything anyone takes the time to call "art". A broad definition, but it works. It's not just how pretty a game looks, or if it is made to look like a painting. Art requires the person viewing to think, to maybe change their world view through the eyes of the Artist, who is regarded as a sort of seer, someone who can visualize and filter the world in ways we cannot.
We here at The Weekly Geek think that video games are the very definition of Art. Hit the jump for our Top Five Games As Art lists!
You know when you are feeling sick, depressed or otherwise down you always turn to that certain pick-me-up game. Maybe its all rainy outside and gloomy, you're vomiting buckets and you need something to pass the time and keep you from killing yourself. Comfort games are a big part of gamer's lives, and here is the top 5 comfort games from The Weekly Geek. Enjoy!
Frodo
White Mage
To me a comfort game needs to be open-ended or one you can play over and over and it never gets old.
Honorable Mention: Animal Crossing – Seeing as this game has no end, it is perfect.
The Geek
Caspian
Back on the radio we used to do these things called "Top 5 Lists" which are named thusly because 5 is better than 10, naturally. We'd go down a list of what we thought was the best of the best and we'd like to bring back the tradition with this week's list:
Frodo
The Geek
White Mage
Caspian
What's your Top 5 Innovations in Gaming? Do you think some of our lists are completely retarded? Post your opinions in the comments!
Okay you guys. I feel kind of bad about this, but in our top 5 games of the year segment last show, we all made the mistake of forgetting that Resident Evil 4 was released at the top of 2005 (January 11th, to be exact.) For me, this game was amazing and needs at least a small mention.
No, it needs to take my #1 spot.
I'm truly sorry, Shadow of the Colossus. You have to be bumped to #2.
Resident Evil 4 was that amazing. It was Resident Evil perfected. It was as scary and intense as any movie, and more beautiful and seamless than any game before it (or, indeed, many games after it this year.)
Just LOOK at it.
What were YOUR top games of 2005? Send your list to mailbag@weeklygeekshow.com!
---Frodo (frodo@weeklygeekshow.com)
This week, The Geek and Frodo discuss MANY THINGS, including more Revolution rumors, people dying from online gaming, and they reveal their top 5 games of the year. You will probably not be surprised as to what they chose.
Download the show here, or add http://www.weeklygeekshow.com/weeklygeek.rss to your favorite podcatcher, as always!
Here are some show notes:
- Really hilariously angry Halo player.
- IGN reveals Revolution might be at $99? WHO SAID IT FIRST. YEAH WE DID.
- Revolution controller conspiracy?
- 6 Months straight in an internet cafe AND another Korean dies in an internet cafe from exhaustion.
- Sega Dreamcast re-release rumors.
- Nintendo on why they aren't hyping the Revolution.
This week's music was AE - Bubbleman Soap and Water from OCRemix.org.
---Frodo (frodo@weeklygeekshow.com)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.
