Games That Give Faith
Parker Scott Mortensen:
Summer is always an inevitably listless time for me. The consequence of three months of unrestricted free time is that there are always a few weeks where I feel directionless in nearly every area of life, and that includes gaming. My desire to sit glued to the TV wanes during these months before the holiday release schedule - not only does it seem a shame to lock myself inside during this time, but nothing I play seems to hit the spot. It’s a very “meh” period.
But it always happens, and when it does, I find myself broadening my gaming horizons, becoming a little more open to experiences I wouldn’t otherwise have time for, and that has given me some really great games I think are worth sharing. If you’ve ever found yourself in a bit of gaming rut, I’ve got a handful of reinvigorating examples to share. More >>
Pluscast: Scott Pilgrim vs. NG+
Today marks the dawn of a new era. Today is the day that we all get to celebrate the joy that is the Pluscast. Being the gaming culture junkies that we are, Chris and I headed to the movies last night for an opening night showing of Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World. Instead of waiting for weeks to podcast about it, we had a few drinks and decided to talk about it immediately.
Of course, you'll have to listen to the podcast to see how we felt about the film ...
NGR: 42 – Flash Game Freedom
In Episode 42 of New Game Radio, we discuss the legitimacy of flash games such as the ones found on AdultSwim.com or NewGrounds. Then we start playing flash games while trying to talk about them and, well, it pretty much all goes down hill. Then it just goes to a really weird place. Don't believe me? Listen for yourself. I dare you!
On second thought, this episode might reveal us all as the terrible failures at adulthood we truly are . . . No! Don't listen! I change my mind! Oh hell.
What Is E3?
It has come to my attention over the past few years that there are a lot of gamers who don’t quite understand what the Electronic Entertainment Expo is all about. Most people seem to be under the impression that the show is primarily for the gamers, shared through the eyes of gaming media. In one way, this isn’t exactly an inaccurate view, but in every other way it’s completely wrong. More >>
NGR: 41 – East vs. West
First episode of the New New Game Radio. Sort of. Normally we'd start by catching up on the games we've all been playing, but in lieu of E3 we decided to swap that out for a brief discussion of what at the expo rocked our socks off and what bored our socks into argyle patterns.
Speaking of swappage, we forgot to pick Mike up on our way to the office, so we replaced him with some transient we found on the side of the road named Seth. I'm pretty sure it was just what our discussion on eastern and western video game narrative techniques needed. Or perhaps a recipe for disaster. You decide!
Maybe Borges Was Right: Lost Odyssey and Non-Linear Text
It has been very difficult to actually finish up this article in the wake of E3 and all of the fun new developments this week. In fact, I almost just typed “the 3DS is so cool” in to Wordpress and left it at that. (Seriously, though, the 3DS is so cool.)
NGR: Episode 40 – Six Degrees of Separation
Witness the triumphant return of New Game Radio! Or . . . would that be hear the triumphant return? Well, I suppose you are seeing this post. So yeah. I'mma roll with it. Speaking of rolling with it, we get the ball rolling in Episode 40 with a long recap of the various games we've been playing since Episode 39. After that we briefly discuss what influences our game-playing decisions, like how a book, television show, movie, another game, or even a life event can compel us to play certain games.
Also, just a heads up, we're scaling New Game Radio back somewhat. All of us agree that the gaming podcast marketplace is absolutely flooded with weekly, 2-hour gaming podcasts. I mean, some of us barely manage to listen to all the ones we subscribe to before the next wave comes out. So in order to make your lives a little less cluttered and to spare us the chore of editing week after week (it becomes sort of a grind) we're making New Game Radio biweekly. That means two a month. The podcast will be 1.5 hours long, with the first 30 minutes allotted for gaming recaps and the remaining out reserved for our topic. We're hoping that by having more time to prepare for a podcast, the topic discussions will be much richer and interesting.
Let us know what you think!
An Interview with the Creators of Breath of Death VII
In case you’ve been living under a rock, the latest installment of the Breath of Death RPG series is out for Xbox Live Indie Games. It’s entitled, appropriately enough, Breath of Death VII. I’m sure you’ve all played the previous six games, so you already know what you’re getting yourselves in to with this one.
Alright, some of the information in that last paragraph is a lie. There are no previous installments, and the game is more accurately entitled Breath of Death VII: The Beginning. However, Breath of Death VII is available for Xbox Live (it’s under the Indie Games tab), and it is an excellent RPG. Perhaps best of all in these tight times, the game only costs a dollar (or, more accurately, 80 Microsoft Points).
‘Tis the Season
More accurately, 'tis the day. Today is the day that games journalists pretend they do meaningful and relevant work the other 364 days of the year and come up with wild stories and announcements that serve to do little more than make most of us mad about awesome things that are just a big joke. Of course, that last sentence is not keeping with the spirit of the "holiday," and I will rightfully shut my mouth and get on with the good stuff. (Seriously though. Game Informer, you are no longer relevant.)
Anything You Can Do…
I was planning on dedicating my article this month to the army of “God of War clones” being released lately and video game imitation in general. Lucky for me, internet pseudo-celebrity, Bob “MovieBob” Chipman already wrote the article for me. So… guess my job here is done. Come back next time and all that. More >>
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