I thought I’d post another update to our 2P START! city on MyMiniCity. It’s gone from a simple field to a budding metropolis and here’s my push to build it up once more. By visiting the city (clicking the links once per day), you contribute to the growth of the city, so get to work!
In this special edition of 2P START! Live!, Tim and Ray discuss the highlights of GDC ‘08. Also, Trivia for You is back after a week off and the dreaded Black Doom Award makes an appearance as well. Let this tide you over until our next comic on Wednesday!
Read the rest of this entry »
Ep. 18: GDC08 Special [24:31m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Ep. 18: GDC08 Special [24:31m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
I was excited to hear Microsoft announce this week that user-created XNA games would get a chance to be played over Xbox Live. The small studios and talented individual programmers are sure to have some unique ideas for games and now Xbox 360 owners will get a chance to see some of them through this ‘YouTube for videogames’. With the announcement, 7 games were made immediately available to demo for a limited time. I decided to give each a shot and report back my findings. Unfortunately, it was a bit of a mixed bag, but I do see some potential with a few of these titles. Keep reading for my mini-reviews, ranked from worst to first. Read the rest of this entry »
Ever wonder how the original Super Mario Bros. might look on an Atari? Or how Mario Galaxy would look on a Super Nintendo? Me neither, but it’s still pretty interesting to see these videos depicting how the games might look if they were downgraded. I don’t think either one is quite believable graphically, but it’s close enough. Now how about a video of Mario Sunshine on the GameBoy?
Ray and I got to talking about the new Gears of War 2 trailer and realized two things. First, they used the chainsaw almost exactly how Ray said they should use it in our latest podcast (strange coincidence). Second, I told him it would be awesome to put the Mad World song to the new trailer, half jokingly, half seriously. He was up to the task and put this video together and I think it’s great. His point is that the song is emotional, not the game. I think he’s right.
I thought I’d bring to everyone’s attention that there’s a great little flash game out there that uses a song Ray wrote for his album Jessica and the Silver Eclipse. The game is called RhythmBlaster and Ray’s song The Curtail of the Covert isn’t just background music (Ray’s is the first level by the way), the song actually helps create the level. The game seems like a basic shooter, but its unique feature is that the waves of enemies appear to the rhythm of the music that’s playing. So please, if you try out the game, have the sound on, it’s a pretty cool experience. Also, there’s a newer version of the game that eliminates the lag issue and has many more levels in it, but it doesn’t use Ray’s song. Check it out if you enjoyed the first version.
Tim and Ray discuss the finer points of gamer stereotypes and delve into a new category of gamer, the mid-core gamer. Sadly, Trivia for You is missing, but all the other regular segments make an appearance, so check it out! (Sorry for the delay folks, we’ll try to be on-time next week!)
Read the rest of this entry »
Ep. 17: Mid-Core Gaming [26:25m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download Ep. 17: Mid-Core Gaming [26:25m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
The above image is the confirmed final box art for Mario Kart Wii (it comes packed with the Wii Wheel, hence the large box). We can assume the actual case for the disc has the same artwork on it. I can’t say I’m entirely sold on the image. The logo is acceptable even though the ‘Mario Kart’ has some sharp lines that contrast a bit with the Wii logo. The blue circle is a nice touch as it matches the back of the Wii Wheel itself (and reminds me of the Wii Shop Channel’s blue loading ring). I think the huge Wii Wheel in the background is overkill though. If someone was curious about why the box was so big, they’d see the logo in the corner explaining that it comes with a Wii Wheel. Plugging the peripheral so prominently on the cover seems like a waste of space (and this box has plenty of space). And that brings me to what is most wrong with the box, Mario & Luigi. Read the rest of this entry »
