Monthly Archives October 2012

Disney Buys Lucasfilm insert joke you’ve heard a million times here

Posted on October 31, 2012 by Nick Bergeron

Unless you were hiding under a rock yesterday, and if you are the type of person who reads a site called Dorkadia, you probably heard that George Lucas sold out. It’s not like he wasn’t a sellout as soon as he graduated from film school, but this time he did it to the tune of 4 billion shekels paid to him by the House that Mickey built. As of whenever they sign the final paperwork, Disney is going to own Lucasfilm and all of its properties. That means movies, TV shows, action figures, video games . . . the whole lot. Continue reading

Five Modern Hardcore Single Player Games

Posted on October 30, 2012 by Jon Spengler

It’s no secret that I believe that games were more “hardcore” in the past. Not all of them were, a lot of them were just poorly made. But many (like Half-Life) had a brave, undeniable faith in the player. These older games were filled with challenges that were uncompromising and downright hard, but we were trusted to conquer them and te victories we did get were all the sweeter if we stuck with it!

The predominant modern single player game is catering to a different audience: the players wants to be walked through spectacular set pieces strung together by convenient and frequent save points. But take heart! There are still games for those that like their single player games ruthless. Here are my top five suggestions for modern single player titles that keep the hardcore player-centric philosophy alive.

The Rat Race

Posted on October 29, 2012 by Reuben Poling

U MAD, BRO?

When I’m not tearing through various speculative fiction bricks, screaming at millionaires in funny clothes running in a circle, or (occasionally) attempting to be a productive member of society, my digital poison of choice is World of Warcraft. It has been, on & off, since release; at this point, it mostly has to do with the fact that my friends and I can’t agree on a singular other thing we can all do together. But Pandas & Pokemons has been pretty fun so far, much as Charles discussed. Continue reading

Your First D&D Experience

Posted on October 26, 2012 by Hannah Craig

About a year ago, I was recruited into an excellent Dungeons and Dragons game. It had recently lost a player after the game had been running for a bit over a year. I was excited – the DM sketched out a possible character idea for me and we were playing in one of Wizards of the Coast’s cooler settings; Dark Sun. Continue reading

My introduction to Assassin’s Creed

Posted on October 25, 2012 by Charles Spurr

These last couple months have been packed with a number of great game releases. There hasn’t been enough time to play everything yet and there’s another title on the way; Assassin’s Creed 3. It occurred to me that I should probably try to play the previous titles before diving into the third. So I found a couple deals on them and put down XCOM for a bit to get myself caught up before the big release next week.

So far I’ve gotten through the first and second games in the series and I’ve just gotten started on Brotherhood. Since you could easily find a plot summary on Wikipedia, I’m not going to bother with that. Instead, I think it more useful to talk about my impressions and what I like and dislike about them in more general terms. What can I say? I’m a narcissist that writes video game reviews in my spare time. Seriously though, I have really enjoyed delving into the lives of Desmond Miles’ ancestors and bringing a little freedom and chaos to the world.

Book of Air : “The King of Omashu” & “Imprisoned”

Posted on October 24, 2012 by Nick Bergeron

Book of Air Episode 5: “The King of Omashu”
Best Line: “Wrong Choice”

Nothing in life is simple. That’s the basic theme of this episode of Avatar. When you try to rush at your problems head on, you’re probably going to end up with a headache. Instead, use your head from something other than bashing on walls or holding two beer cans at once. Thinking your way through a problem will get you better results every single time. That is a fantastic lesson to teach kids and every baseball manager I’ve ever watched lose on television. Continue reading

Black Mesa: Renewing the Half-Life Vows

Posted on October 23, 2012 by Jon Spengler

Half-Life is one of video games my top-tier games. The tier reserved for games who not only define what I want in gaming but push the boundaries on what this amazing hobby can do. When I heard that a team of Half-Life devotees had remade the original game using modern tools I was as skeptical as I was excited. While the trailers looked good, I couldn’t help but think that the remake named Black Mesa was going to be a disappointment. Who has the hubris to recreate such a classic? Does Black Mesa live up to the original? Continue reading

The Collected Works of Joe Abercrombie

Posted on October 22, 2012 by Reuben Poling

She seems nice, don’t you think?

The idea of “post-George R.R. Martin” fantasy is a little weird to contemplate; after all, that’s straight-up contemporary! A Song of Ice & Fire is still in progress; Game of Thrones is on TV and winning Emmys; people are still working on the monolith that is A Dance With Dragons. But when you step back and look at it, there are people who were teenagers when the first book came out that are now, sixteen years later, employed adults with kids. And some of those people, who devoured page after page of Starks & Lannisters and Targaryens in high school, are now authors in their own right, on the shelves some distance or another from the still-working Mr. Martin. Continue reading

Book of Air Episodes 3 and 4

Posted on October 17, 2012 by Nick Bergeron

Genocide, dude. Genocide.

Book of Air Episode 3: “The Southern Air Temple”

Best Line: “I’m just a simple guy with simple needs”

Genocide. There’s really nothing else to talk about when you hit this episode of the show (except all of the other things to talk about). The third episode of a children’s TV show on Nickelodeon dives into the light hearted topic of genocide. Continue reading

Tabletop and Gaming Podcasts

Posted on October 16, 2012 by Jon Spengler

As the production and publishing of podcasts has grown easier over time, even the nichest of niche genres have an impressive selection, even podcasts that cater to role-playing and video game fans. I adore podcasts, but the nerdly podcast scene is notoriously unpredictable when it comes to quality. I know I’m picky, but they often lack the professionalism, content, or regularity that I need to become invested. Here, in this small but tenacious article, are my recommendations for role-playing and vidya game podcasts.