Last comic book reference for a long time. Promise!
It’s a random episode of Nerds Without Pants! Command? (Hopefully you selected “listen”). Angelo isn’t here this time, what with him going on Space Mountains and Splash Mountains and all sorts of Disney Mountains, so Patrick and Julian hold down the fort with some fun Consumption Junction topics. Enjoy!
This episode is a super rare limited edition that will be worth big bucks some day. Trust us!
They said we’d never make it! They said we’d fail after a couple episodes! They said we wouldn’t survive, and yet here we stand, defiant! Okay, maybe nobody ever said that, but I sure as shootin’ didn’t expect to be posting the 50th episode of Nerds Without Pants! We do things in style with the biggest assembly of pantsless nerds yet. Fan favorites Erika Szabo and John Gholson join us to celebrate this huge milestone.
Tales from Old Russia, and Beyond.
Upon landing in the baron, vast and alien infested land of Old Russia, I realized that though I had an objective before me, there was a lot more in store for me than a linear story mission. I walked over a cliff, and a batch of enemies spawned. Using familiar shooting controls, I was able to dispense of them rather quickly. Not too soon after, I turned around only to see another adventurer, who happened to be a friend of mine. Destiny began to click with me at this point, as I realized just how seamless the matchmaking process was. I called my friend over, and we created a fireteam - or a party - and continued to explore the land. As we did, we witnessed another group, fighting off their own group of enemies. One of them fell in battle, and I asked my friend, “Should we go and help them out?” These are the kinds of scenarios that make Destiny one of the more interesting games coming out this year. However, this aspect is only one of many different reasons why I was hooked during the E3 weekend Alpha.
Duck and cover!
Not about to let Disney's Donald Duck hog all the fame and fortune, Daffy Duck starred in his own Nintendo 64 platformer as well. Unfortunately, this is another case where I'm not very familiar with the source material, having seen the show maybe a few times when I was younger and don't remember a lick of it. However, the game is plenty decent enough to stand on its own, or maybe it's just my love of platformers talking.
One of the less mediocre games to come from Data East.
A few months back, Monkey Paws Games began a 6-week campaign to bring several import games to the US. Among them was Wolf Fang, released this past February on PSN. Originally released by Data East in 1991 as the arcade sequel to Vapor Trail (Kugah in Japan), Wolf Fang is a game that heavily borrows from the many shoot ‘em ups that came before it. If you’ve ever played a shooter that involved Vulcan spread shots, miniature helper drones, and anime-inspired character designs, then this game will be very familiar territory for you. On their own, the gameplay elements could be written off as merely generic. But together they form a surprisingly respectable game.
“Sacred geometry.”
Every so often, I am lucky enough to play a game so delightful, so perfectly engineered for its platform, and so inspiring that I have to take a step back, stunned. While other arts such as literature and painting seem long in the tooth these days, clutching to cynicism and nihilism like a terminal patient clinging to the sheets in his bed, great games seem imbued with a sort of impossible optimism and generosity towards the human condition. Monument Valley, a game about redemption through sacred geometry, is one of those games.
Platinum’s gun-toting witch is getting a Wii U exclusive sequel in 2014, but what was her first game like?
Devil May Cry on the PS2 spawned a mini-industry of brawlers that require button mashing and quick time events. Most of them also have main protagonists that are bald with deep scowls and anger management issues. Bayonetta is a one-liner-spouting, angel-killing witch with an outfit made out of her own hair and a dark sense of humor. Out of the countless third person brawlers, Bayonetta is a joy to play… but only the 360 version.
Only YOU can prevent mediocrity.
The only thing worse than knowing about an import game you’ll never get to play is receiving the inferior sequel that you do get to play. Such is the case with The Firemen 2: Pete & Danny. Originally released in Japan in 1995 on the PlayStation, the game was recently re-released as an import download on PSN, courtesy of MonkeyPaw Games. In a nutshell, the game is more or less an overhead shoot ‘em up that focuses on fighting fires instead blowing up aliens. It’s a novel idea to be sure, but one that wasn’t executed nearly as well as it was in the previous game on the Super Famicom (aka: Super Nintendo).
Haven’t I been here before, over and over again?
Just imagine that you’re one of the most unlucky people in the world for a moment, and you’re walking along and a cute girl asks if you want to have a free try with a small lottery machine. Now let’s say you win for the first time in your life, and that prize just happens to be a transformation into God. That’s how the story goes for Renya, and unfortunately, it’s the last bit of luck you see throughout the rest of the game.
