Episode 077 - The Days of Yore
Phones hate video games and want to destroy the whole industry. Meanwhile, video games seem headed toward a one console future.... or are they?
Games Discussed: Dustforce, I Am Alive, Beyond Good & Evil, and some other things I don't remember.
Episode 076 - I am not wearing hockey pants
On this most sacred of weekends we talk about comic book hero video games. Why are most of them so bad unless they're about Batman? We also talk about some recent news in preparation for E3 next month. AND XENOBLADE.
Games Discussed: Xenoblade, Yakuza 3, Arkham Asylum, Arkham City, Playstation All Stars: Battle Royale, Pikmin 3, Future Mario, Superman 64, Hulk: Ultimate Destruction, The Incredible Hulk, Spider-Man 2, Crappy Spider-Man games, and possibly more!
Let us know how we're doing. Send us an e-mail at radio@nintendorks.com to join the LEGION OF HEROES.
You can get your episode now on iTunes (search for Nintendorks Radio in the iTunes store) or right here.
Episode 074 - Borderlands Billy
Kid Icarus Uprising came out... but we don't talk about it much! Instead we explore a world of video games as art, as recognized by the Smithsonian Institute of Art Making. We also discuss Jak 2, Skyrim, Final Fantasy XIII, Epic Mickey 2, and the Nintendo Network.
Games Discussed: Skyrim, Final Fantasy XIII, Jak & Daxter, Jak 2, Kid Icarus Uprising, Epic Mickey 2, Bayou Billy
Send your love to radio@nintendorks.com. I don't know how to make fancy html forms, but you're smart enough to e-mail manually right? Right?
Did you like Pokemon Black and Pokemon White? Good news, everyone. We're getting Pokemon Black Version Two and Pokemon White Version Two this fall. Oddly, they are for the original DS, not the fancy new 3DS that could actually use a real Pokemon game. Still, Black/White is supposedly the best Pokemon game ever made so at least Nintendo knows where to focus their sequel efforts.
But Version Two? I guess they've run out of colors. Even the immediate follow up to red and blue was "yellow." But I guess calling a game "Gray" isn't very appealing.
Pokemon Black/White Version Two in stores this fall for the Nintendo DS. You can play it on the 3DS too I guess!
-Buena Vista failed at reviving the Turok: Dinosaur Hunter franchise. Mostly because it was set in outer space and was kind of weird. Let's bring back Turok back to the original source material. He's in the Grand Canyon fighting raptors while tourists look on in awe.
-After saying how much I hated Jak and Daxter, I bought the HD re-release and now I like it. Is past Travis a moron? Is future Travis a moron? All signs point to one of us being a moron. I hope it was past Travis because future Travis has to manage a 401k.
-My wife likes to watch me play some video games. They have to have a slow and involved pace, a mystery to solve, not be overly japanese, and can't be first person. In short, I beat L.A. Noire and now I don't play video games.
-I often think about amazing schemes to bring Nintendorks back to a heavily updated glory. Then I go to sleep, forget my amazing ideas, and begin the process anew. It's exactly like the movie Clean Slate. Someday I will realize that regular and quality updates over a period time is all it takes, not a crazy scheme, but then it would just be "The Travis Hour, with Boris Stoke."
-Every year I see an RPG coming out and want to buy it. Then I remember how many RPGs I haven't beaten. So now I'm trying to finish 140 RPGs. I'll probably still buy the new game anyway. Next year it will be 141.
-My cat agrees that I'm probably at my most creative in the morning. Unfortunately, this is also when I'm most tired. This must be why I have really vivid dreams at work.
-I don't believe people when they say "I don't have time for video games, I'm old." When a new Zelda comes out they somehow find time to invest over 40 hours into it. The truth is that they're old enough to question where they invest their time. They have time for video games, they just don't have time for crap.
-I live on Death Mountain. It is just as terrifying as it sounds.
Resident Evil: Revelations was released for the 3DS yesterday and I bought it. After playing over 30,000 hours of it I feel prepared enough to record some initial impressions.
It's good! Guys, this game is really fun! It looks good, it plays well, it has good intentions, and best of all, it's already better than Resident Evil 5. This title is a perfect blend of RE's more recent action based endeavors with the classic slow paced gameplay of the older titles. The first time I found a locked door marked with an emblem of an anchor I felt like I had finally come home from Iraq or some more apt analogy. You see, I've been wandering around on a boat looking for a key with an anchor on it. There's actual exploration and backtracking in this game and it's great.
Worth pointing out before I run off to my real job that I'm financially obliged to pay more attention to.... this game is delivered in an episodic fashion. If you've played the non-Nintendo release, Alan Wake, then you know what I'm getting at. Progression through the game's story is delivered in these bursts of gameplay lasting about 20 minutes or so. The start of a new episode starts off with a recap of the story so far and some semi random quote from Dante's Inferno: The Game: The Poem. While I appreciated the episodic delivery in Alan Wake because of how it made the game feel like the Night Springs tv show the game continued to reference, here it is incredibly functional. This is a handheld game with the same robust depth and story of a console based RE title, yet it knows how to pace you through the adventure as it realizes that most people don't have the opportunity to play a handheld title for several hours on end.
Ok, so this technically isn't a review, but I don't care. Buy this game.
Kathleen Connell, a 100 year old Scottish woman that loves tea and not dying, said Nintendo has "helped to keep my brain as active as possible in my old age.” Trevor Mogg of the website Digital Trends writes that researchers at the University of California claim "to have found a connection between activities that stimulate the brain and levels of a kind of protein that is believed to cause Alzheimer’s, a disease marked by dementia and memory loss." For Ms. Connell, however, she doesn't need no stinkin' science to convince her that the DS has helped her memory, having earned a mental age score of 64 on "Brain Trainer." “I can’t speak highly enough of this Nintendo,” the old bean enthused.
The Nintendo 3DS has now sold more than four million units, according to various news outlets. This news, combined with the results of the Iowa Caucus, has left pundits scrambling to figure out how this will impact the GOP race. Rick Santorum did well due to a last minute surge, but the candidate faces allegations of inappropriate conduct. "There were several instances in which Santorum appeared to have taken campaign contributions in direct exchange for legislative assistance," explained Melanie Sloan of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington to ABC News. Meanwhile, Michelle Bachman has decided to drop out of the race, while John McCain has thrown his support to front-runner Mitt Romney. "I hope that we will get an overwhelming vote that will catapult this candidate to the White House," McCain said of Romney. Mittens, however, knows there is a long fight ahead. "Landslides are terrific," Romney said, adding, "I just didn't see that in last night's figures." Romney also faces attacks from fellow Republicans, such as Newt Gingrich, who sniped that "in the end, Governor Romney has a very limited appeal in a conservative party."
Nintendo has not responded to requests for comment.
It has been making the rounds all over the web. Siliconera posted a timeline of the Legend of Zelda series. The site posted a graphic showing the chronological progression of the Zelda games, based off of an official encyclopedia published in Japan. The author of the article, Ishaan, wondered if their theory made sense.
The answer is no, it doesn't make sense. Or maybe it does, who knows? In any event, Nintendorks has taken it upon itself to proffer our own version of the Legend of Zelda timeline. See below the jump for the full visual interpretation. Mr. Face say read more »
There's a hole in the wall where the men can see it all.
Beginning in March, visitors to Musée du Louvre, that place where Arthur, Odile and Franz raced through to beat the world's record, will be able to use a Nintendo DS as a tour guide. Patrons of the arts will be able to use the DS to find themselves on a map, listen to audio information, and plot their course through the building. Nintendo has donated 5,000 of its portable consoles for use in the museum.
You can get your episode now on iTunes (search for Nintendorks Radio in the iTunes store) or right here.
Episode 071 - Thanksgiving Spooktacular
We discuss what we're thankful for this thanksgiving. Namely, The Legend of Zelda and the fact Nintendo keeps making Zelda games.
Games Discussed: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Super Mario 3D Land, Arkham City
Suggest a topic of conversation, ask a question, send a threat to radio@nintendorks.com.
