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Vice Weekly Starting Shortly

Mel Francis — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 01:18:51 +0000

5 Things You Can Do When Not Gaming

The Don — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 19:10:28 +0000

Have you found the length of games this gen to be too short or few and far between? Do you find that you have too much spare time in between games after beating them on the hardest difficulty level while getting all the trophies/achievements?(had to mention both to appease the fanboys)

I’ll take it a step further even – What if you currently have no gaming console and have nothing to play because you just sold your PS3/360/Wii? I have fallen victim to this as of late even though we have a Wii somewhere around here, but I won’t even play it.

What do you do when you are faced with these obstacles? Well, The Don has a list of things you can do when NOT gaming.

Go Outside – I don’t necessarily mean go out and socialize, but more-so to just be outside and get some fresh air and stop gaming so much. This doesn’t cover driving with the windows down, but to be outside rather.

Go Outside – Remember what I said about going outside and not covering the part where you are in a car or however you get around? Well, this is the part about going out and not being in your house a whole lot, because that sucks.

Clean Your Your 54″ HDTV – If you’re The Don, then you do things big and you ball out on the gaming scene with a picture that’s literally in your face. Of course that’s only for when I have a gaming console – Jokes on me. (add in words like owned or facepalm for the more internet savvy people)

List The Things You Can Do While Not Gaming – I am such an active person that i managed to do this list before I go in to work. You can do this too if you think you have what it takes – In the Jobs@Gaming Vice portion of the website.

Watch Blu-Ray Movies On Your Blu-Ray Player – “But-but-but Don, you sold your PS3!!!” – Yeah, but I still have a Blu-Ray player. If you don’t own one of these, then you should pick one up immediately, especially if you don’t have a PS3 by now.

So remember folks, “G.G.C.L.W.” and don’t forget it! And be sure to check out our Vice Weekly Live Podcast tonight, I’ll be on a little late and will promise not to pass out during the show this time!

Vice Weekly Taping Thursday 3/18 @ 9PM

Mel Francis — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 03:28:54 +0000

Sorry for the late notice folks, but we’ll be taping the show tomorrow night at 9PM EST.

Also by popular demand, if you come to the chat at 8PM – we’ll be doing a preshow before we start recording.

See you all then!!

GDC 2010- Early Fable III screens

Gary Francis — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:47:21 +0000

Peter Molyneux’s popular action adventure franchise has reached its third installment and while I missed out on the what I’ve heard was amazing Fable II, I’m looking forward to hopping into the third game, so I hope Lionhead studios won’t over-promise and under-deliver as they did with the original Fable.

Vice Weekly Live Starts Momentarily

Mel Francis — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 01:49:20 +0000

Hey folks, Vice Weekly live is set to begin, so file in have fun.

Live Broadcasting by Ustream

New Super Street Fighter 4 Videos from GDC

Gary Francis — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:27:16 +0000

These new Super Street Fighter 4 videos showcase Juri, Hakan, Cody and the Street Fighter III trio. Enjoy.

Hakan is a very unique character to say the least, but in no way does that seem to be a bad thing, while seemingly jokey at first, you can see his attacks do as much damage as any serious grappler, while his strange sliding techniques allow him quite a bit of mobility.

Taken from Shoryuken.com

Click here to view the embedded video.

Vice Weekly Taping Thursday 3/11 @ 9PM

Mel Francis — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:23:54 +0000

Vice weekly is back this week at its usually time of 9PM on Thursday night.

Be sure to tune in some more to beat up Don for selling his ps3.

Heavy Rain: Its Genre And DLC

Tony C — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:16:04 +0000

Heavy Rain is the only game to capture my attention so far in 2010. I spent countless hours playing shooter after action adventure in 2009 and I don’t think I can stomach another minute of them. What I want is something that will draw me in on an emotional level, other games have done a good job of this, but there will always be a disconnect when you begin shooting “bad guys.”

A lot has been made of just what pigeonhole we can put these games by Quantic Dream in. With Heavy Rain coming under criticism for being a procession of quick-time-event scenes, leading Director David Cage to defend this aspect of the game and state there are other elements not yet shown and in late 2009 Cage stated Heavy Rain is not really a videogame at all.

We play games in our everyday lives without even realising it. In much the same way that we may wonder how it is that catch is a “game,” Heavy Rain will challenge our perception of what a videogame is. If Heavy Rain follows in a similar style to Indigo Prophecy then there is a genre I feel comfortable placing it in.

The genre is that of the Adventure. In these games you assume the role of the protagonist, you solve puzzles and you follow a story. This is how Indigo Prophecy works. Like Tomb Raider bringing the Platformer genre into 3D, Quantic Dream does the same for the Adventure genre.

Having finished the game, I think Quantic Dream delivered on what I’d hoped for. An experience unlike anything I’d played before (even Indigo Prophecy.) By the end of the game, my characters had clearly changed, their motivations and attitudes in much the same way you’d expect from a good film or novel. It is an experience not to be missed, but one easily misunderstood as this weeks Vice Weekly proves.

First up is Madison Paige in The Taxidermist. I think this will act as a continuation to Madison’s story as it played out for me because my ending hinted at a new challenger to Madison. What will be interesting about the DLC is if it begins based on your decisions in the full game. So whereas this Chronicle will be fitting to how my game played out, it may not be so for others, in which case it may play as though it took place before the events of the full game.

The game subtly hints at Scott Shelby leaving the police force and becoming a private detective unceremoniously. A prequel showing us how this happened would be much appreciated. I got the impression it involved his partner’s death, if an overarching conspiracy is unveiled involving members of the police force, like Blake – this would make for an intriguing addition to the Heavy Rain universe.

Norman Jaydem’s addiction to the fictional drug triptocaine needs to be explained. Is there a dark secret that lead him to begin using it? Again, you can play Jaydem as a tough guy or straight laced and it would be interesting if the reason for his using triptocaine is based upon how you played Jaydem in the main game. Not that the main game allows you to play the characters black or white, exactly!

Finally we have Ethan Mars, my hero. The only thing I’d like to know more about is why he dreamed of dead bodies in water and why he made origami figures with no recollection. Of course much of this was a plot device to mislead the audience, red herrings, etc. But I’d like a down to earth, sensible explanation. From the game itself, Ethan had a deep routed fear of losing his other son and the character he associated as taking him away was the Origami Killer, what with him being all over the news. I’d just like it all wrapped up in a neat little package.

Whatever the DLC will entail, I can’t wait to enjoy more of this unique gaming experience. Do you agree with my classification of Heavy Rain, please leave your thoughts below.

____________

image compiled by A Broke Gamer, sources:

http://chadzilla.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341e1a8753ef01156eb12385970c-popup

http://forums.f13.net/index.php?topic=9889.0

Capcom Pumps Up the Bass in MegaMan 10

Gary Francis — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:39:42 +0000

Now while I’m still not a fan of the 8-bit graphics and would happily settle for improved graphics similar to Sonic the Hedgehog IV: Episode I or at least 16 bits, I am a fan of this wonderful MegaMan alum: Bass! I’m glad to see him around here. Though I doubt his arrival will make this title any less difficult to get through.

Mass Effect 2 Review – To ∞ and Beyond

Kevin Heger — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 17:13:34 +0000

After playing Bioware’s Mass Effect, I was instantly hooked to the series. An amazing blend of sci-fi, shooting, rpg, and most of all, story telling, made the first Mass Effect one of my most loved games. Mass Effect 2 has taken those hooks and dug them even deeper. Folks, we have here one of my favorite games of all time.

Thumbs Up: Fantastic story-telling, outstanding graphics, high level of customization, no elevator sequences.

Thumbs Down: Probing…

Eh…: Weird facial animation and some clipping issues.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I literally can’t even describe the first ten minutes of this game without spoling anything. Let’s just say your reaction will involve joy, shock, disbelief, and relief all rolled into a few minutes. You once again control Shepard in a quest to save the universe from a race of beings called Collectors, who are taking away every human living on small colonies. Under the orders of an group called Cerberus, Shepard must recruit an elite team to take on this new threat. Players will notice that a majority of the game is simply collecting new team members. You’ll collect ten (eleven with the DLC) team members along your playthrough, and the differences between each member became my first favorite part of Mass Effect 2. In the first Mass Effect, I simply picked Garrus and Wrex and played the whole game with just them. In ME2 however, I used every character at least once. With a wide variety of techniques and personalities, you’ll have a different experience for every battle.

Another amazing aspect of ME2 is how Bioware changed from the first installment. Gone are the mako driving levels (a huge relief to me), replaced by a simple cutscene showing your shuttle land in its respective area. In a resounding amount of happiness, Bioware has taken out the incredible slow and pointless elevator sections. In it’s place, however, are some pretty long loading screens, but there’s usually enough going on during the loading screen for you not to notice it. Combat has been made more engaging with quick button techniques and different ammo types to make things interesting. I actually looked forward to every battle to attempt new combinations (Pull plus Tackle being my favorite) and navigating levels have been made more enjoyable. One thing some players will be disappointed with, however, is the dumbing down of the RPG element throughout. Players will find only a couple of new weapons in the game along with only a few upgrades for weapons and armor. Though a lot of the RPG element is gone, each upgrade caters to more personal taste, and players can even customize the color of their armor (no more awkward bumblebee-like armor for me).

Now I’m going to take a moment to address the Probing portion of the game. Most players, after raised eyebrows, will immediately notice how annoying and time-consuming probing planets becomes. Though very, very necessary to purchase upgrades for you, your team, and your ship (and will literally define life or death), probing becomes a chore. I have found that the only decent time to Probe was when I only had 30 minutes to kill before class, because starting a mission becomes so engaging and enthralling that I can’t stop. When it’s probing, it’s best to just put on some tunes, grab a sandwich, and just relax.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Aside from probing, Mass Effect 2 has only minor flaws with some weird facial animation (Jacob) and some clipping, but otherwise, is damn near perfect in my opinion. I felt myself connecting with each character: from the crazy and violent Jack to the stubborn and brutish Grunt; even to the mysterious and mystic Samara. Excellent dialog, voice acting, and spectacle all make a jaw-dropping experience. I recommend all 360 and PC users to get Mass Effect 2 (and for you PS3 owners to borrow your friends system for awhile!)

Vice Verdict: MUST BUY