We suffer for you!
Welcome to a new episode of the Dumpster Fire, er, I mean, Nerds Without Pants! Yes, we had some serious issues getting this episode to you, but it should be somewhat entertaining. We’ve got the best of the games that never were, epic road trips, questionable MMO addictions, and an eclectic mix of games for Chrono Crossing. Let’s jump in!
Friend of the site, Greg Meyer, had a chance to go hands on with the Switch at one of the exclusive events. In anticipation of tomorrow's release, he's put together a bunch of impressions to get you excited for what's coming next for Nintendo.
On Friday, February 17th, I had the opportunity to travel to Chicago and check out Nintendo’s upcoming new system—The Switch, as well as fifteen different titles releasing within the Switch’s first year. As a longtime fan of video games, I’d read about events like E3 and press preview events and dream about going to one of these one day. Since I’m not involved in games journalism and live in the Midwest, I never imagined I’d have a chance to attend a preview event. The only time I went to something of this level was Nintendo’s E3 Best Buy event in 2013, where I spent three hours in line so I could play one Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze level. When Nintendo emailed me an invitation to preview the Switch, I immediately snagged two tickets. When I left for the event with my friend Marcus, I expected something similar to that Best Buy preview.
In which Patrick becomes a mouthpiece for Nintendo.
With the Nintendo Switch right around the corner, the Nerds Without Pants bring you hands on impressions of the next big thing from the house of Mario! JD sits in with us, and we are joined by David Welch from Experimental Gamer. He is the man behind the Western-themed RPG Boot Hill Heroes, so go check them out!
Press X to Batman.
By now, we’re all aware of the joke: if you own an intellectual property of any import, Telltale will make a game based on it. Telltale adventure games are quickly becoming the Funko Pops of the video game world, but just like those big-headed collectibles, there is no denying their popularity. Enter Batman: The Telltale Series. Is this “just” another Telltale game? Well, yes, of course it is. That shouldn’t suggest that it isn’t worth your time, though.
Finally, a game starring a middle-aged schlub that I can identify with!
We’re in a unique situation with video games right now. While there is a perceived waning interest in big “triple-A” releases (for a variety of reasons), the industry has reached a place where smaller and more personal tales can be told. These games take a multitude of forms, and as I mentioned in my review for Virginia, a new “day in the life” genre has popped up recently. Firewatch is certainly one of those games, and it is one that came along at just the right time for me.
You may need a master's degree in literature before you play this one.
Have you ever finished a book or a movie and been left trying to puzzle out the meaning of what you just experienced? Likely it was a frustrating feeling, as if you were on the cusp of understanding what the creator of the work was trying to tell you, but you were unable to make the connection in your head. Such was my experience with a little game called Virginia, which left me feeling mentally lacking at the best of times, and needlessly aggravated at the worst of times.
2001: Bad year for the world, fantastic year for video games.
We hope you had a nice Valentine’s Day, because we have a lot of love to give you with this new episode of Nerds Without Pants. It’s the return to our standard show format, which means we’ve got Stage Select, Consumption Junction, and Chrono Crossing all set up for you. Enjoy!
2016: bad for mankind, great for video games.
The Nerds Without Pants return from their (overlong) holiday break to talk about a lot of damn games! No Stage Select or Chrono Crossing this time, because we’re about Consumption Junction and our favorite games of 2016. Let’s get to it!
I am darkness. I am the night. I am Batman!
After spending time wearing the cowl of Batman in four games since 2009, I wasn’t all that interested in Batman: Arkham VR. It had “tech demo” written all over it, and seemed like an easy cash grab for the crucial first slate of PlayStation VR. Now that I’ve played through it I can easily say that it is far beyond what I expected, and while I had thought I had already worn Batman’s cowl it was another thing entirely to put it on myself.
Over the Highway
I’ve always enjoyed the early Ridge Racer series. I fondly remember playing the original game over a friend’s house, wishing that I had a PlayStation of my own to play it on. It was very accessible and didn’t take a tremendous effort to make it past the learning curve. And not much has changed here in Ridge Racer Revolution. On the surface, it plays much like its predecessor. It even starts off with a Galaga ‘88 mini-game similar to the Galaxian one in previous game. Some regard Revolution as “Ridge Racer 1.5” due its similarities to the original, which is somewhat understandable since this game went for full price upon its initial release. Even so, Ridge Racer Revolution received a few nice tweaks that made it a decent step up from its predecessor.
