Episode 33: Nintendo

It's time to get down and dirty and discuss what we think Nintendo is doing right and what they are doing wrong. Thanks to Jake (Kagedama) for the topic idea!

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Wii U and 3DS to Have Paid DLC

Nintendo CEO, Satoru Iwata, has stated that they are currently "currently preparing a paid item transaction system for both 3DS and Wii U" and it will be available for developers by the end of the year.


Nintendo is interesting in prolonging the life of games by releasing additional stages and features for paid download. They are not interested in low quality DLC such as unlocking keys and stat boosts as they believe it would likely damage their long-term relationship with their customers.


-Alex Brown

Is this the Future for Video Game Graphics?

Could this be the future for video games? I sure hope so! This video nearly had me drooling on myself. You have to see it to believe it. Take a look!


-Ashley

Giant 3DS Price Cut and Free Games

Nintendo has announced that the 3DS will be getting major price cuts this August, only half a year from its original release.

$249.99 to $169.99 in the US on August 12.
25,000 yen to 15,000 yen in Japan on August 11.
AU$349.95 to AU$250 in Australia on August 12.
No European pricing has been mentioned.

Those who already purchased a 3DS will have the opportunity to receive 20 free games through the Nintendo 3DS Ambassadors Program.

The List of games include:

Super Mario Bros. NES
Donkey Kong Jr. NES
Balloon Fight  NES
Ice Climber NES
The Legend of Zelda NES
+5 more NES games

Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3 Game Boy Advance
Mario Kart: Super Circuit Game Boy Advance
Metroid Fusion Game Boy Advance
WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$ Game Boy Advance
Mario vs. Donkey Kong Game Boy Advance
+5 more GBA games

The NES games are slated for paid download in the future but Ambassadors will receive them early with free updates in the future. The GBA games will be exclusive to Ambassadors as Nintendo has said they have no plans to release those games in the future.

To become automatically enrolled in the Nintendo 3DS Ambassadors program, current 3DS owners must connect to the internet and log onto the 3DS eShop at least once before the price cut.


-Alex Brown

Episode 32: Morgan Freeman and Comic Book Movies

Morgan Freeman! Comic book movies! Games! Kibosh!

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Help Decide Female Shepard's New Look for Mass Effect 3

Bioware is planning on changing Female Shepard's default look for Mass Effect 3 and they are letting you, the fans, help decide what that look will be.

Bioware posted six images of possible Female Shepard designs on facebook and asked fans to "Like" the one that they want to see in the game.

Shepard #5 (seen above) is currently in the lead.

Head over to Facebook to see the images and cast your vote!

-Alex Brown

Halo: Anniversary Sneak Peak

HD Resident Evil 4 & Code Veronica Get Release Dates

Capcom announced during the Resident Evil Panel at Comic-Con 2011 that Resident Evil 4 HD would be released on September 20 and Resident Evil: Code Veronica would be released on September 27, both for Xbox Live and Playstation Network. No Pricing was given.

-Alex Brown

Star Wars Xbox 360 Bundle

Microsoft revealed a new Star Wars Xbox 360 bundle that will be released this fall.

The bundle will include:

• R2D2 320GB Xbox 360 Console
• C3P0 Transforming Dpad Controller
• White Kinect Sensor
• Star Wars Kinect
• Kinect Adventures

Preorders for the bundle are priced at $449.

Source: Joystiq

-Alex Brown

Episode 31: Chillin With Dan

Join Alex and Ashley as we Chill with Dan and discuss our opinions on the Catherine Demo.

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Recommendations

Dan - Final Fantasy XIII (PS3, Xbox 360)

Ashley -  If you are interested in The Elder Scrolls, wait for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, release date 11,11,11 (PC, PS3, Xbox 360) 

Alex - The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (Gamecube)

GoldenEye 007 Reloaded Trailer revealed

The once Wii exclusive is now being ported with better graphics to the other consoles. Sounds good to me!



-Ashley

Sony Invests $20 Million for PSN Exclusives

Director of Marketing for the Playstation Network, Brandon Stander posted to the Playstation Blog that Sony will be investing $20 Million for PSN Exlusives.

"We continually strive to make PlayStation Network the most innovative console game and entertainment service and that’s why we’re thrilled to announce a three-year, $20 million dollar investment plan to develop PSN exclusive games. Our line of PSN exclusives has had great success with titles such as Joe Danger, Critter Crunch, Flower and the PixelJunk series, and we’re excited to add new and different game experiences to this portfolio of games that can’t be found on any other game console. This investment includes support across both our own network of first-party studios as well as for the Pub Fund, which was first introduced at GDC in 2009."


Three of these games include Eufloria, Okabu, and Papo & Yo which had been shown off at E3 2011.


-Alex Brown

Mass Effect 3 New Character Reaction

James Vega has been announced as Mass Effect 3's newest character. Apparently the character is meant to reflect a player who is new to the ME3 universe, but capable in combat. So far the public reaction seems to be negative but appearance is all us fans have to go on. Hopefully his personality and voice actor will be a great addition to the Mass Effect Universe.

-Ashley

Last Story Trademark Issued to Nintendo of America

Nintendo of America have been issued the trademark for The Last Story after filing for the trademark in January 2010.

This does not mean that the game will be released in America and Nintendo of America has previously said that they have no plans to do so.

Source: IGN

PS3 Blu-ray HDMI Only

Sony spoke up about the rumors of the new PS3 models having only HDMI output and no component output.

Sony Senior Manager of PR, Al De Leon said, "The new CECH-3000 series PS3 requires HDMI only for BD movie output in HD, in compliance with AACS standards. PS3 continues to support component output for HD gaming and streaming content."

New licensing mandates all Blu-ray players eliminate analog HD output to stop illegal duplication.

Source: IGN

-Alex Brown

Activision tries to get ModernWarfare3.com

The domain ModernWarfare3.com has been used by apparent Battlefield 3 fanboys to put down the Call of Duty franchise. If you currently go to www.modernwarfare3.com it seems to have been shut down. But if you click on the cached copy you will be redirected to the official Battlefield 3 website. Earlier this website was posting insults to the franchise. Here is an example:

"Modern Warfare is crap. On November 8, 2011, the most over-hyped first-person action series of all-time returns with the copy and paste sequel to the lackluster Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Check out the E3 2011 gameplay demo featuring the Black Tuesday level for a look at the epic fail of the campaign. Pre-Order Call of Duty MW3 Today for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC to secure exclusive bonuses only available online for Modern Warfare 3 fanboys who don't know that Battlefield 3 is the better game." 


The domain is not owned by either Activision or EA. Activision is currently filing a complaint asking for the domain name. You have to be a pretty big fanboy to go to these kinds of lengths.
-Ashley

Neil Burger's Uncharted Movie Starting From Scratch

CRAVE Online posted an interview with Neil Burger, the new director of the Uncharted movie. Burger mentions that he has not seen the former director's screen play and plans to start over.

"Mainly we're beginning from scratch and going back to the videogame. Because there's a lot of cool stuff, actually, from the videogame, if you know it..."

He also says that he is aware of fan's desire to see Nathan Fillion play the part of Nathan Drake and that he knows the difference between Uncharted and similar films like Indiana Jones.

You can see the full interview at CRAVE Online.


-Alex Brown

Xbox 720 Will Have Graphics on Par With Avatar

AMD, the graphics hardware supplier for the Xbox 360 claims that the next Xbox console will launch with graphics capabilities on par with James Cameron's film Avatar. 

Director of ISV relationships at AMD, Neal Robison, also said that the AI and physics capabilities of the next Xbox console will allow for every AI in a game to have their own reactions and be their own individual characters.

Source: examiner.com and August issue of Official Xbox Magazine

-Alex Brown

Goldeneye 007 Reloaded Coming to PS3 & Xbox 360

Screenshots posted on Videogamer seem to imply that the Activision title Goldeneye 007 Reloaded will be a high definition port for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 of the 2010 Wii game, Goldeneye 007.


Activision is set to officially announce the game at Comic-Con in San Diego.

-Alex Brown

Catherine Demo Playthrough

Ashley and Alex sat down and played through the Catherine Demo for PS3 and Xbox 360. Check it out.

Episode 30: Half-Life 2 Spoilercast

We are about to spoil Half-Life 2. If you haven't played it yet, go do so now. It is an amazing game.

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6 Reasons You Should Play Half-Life 2 if you haven't already

I recently replayed Half-Life 2 and played Episode 1 and 2 for the first time. I enjoyed my moments with this game so much that I came to the conclusion that everyone needs to play this game! Here are the reasons why!

1. The Price:

This game came out in 2004 and the price has come way down. You can download it off Steam for $6.99 or you can buy it in the Orange Box for xbox 360 for $19.99 ( The PS3 version is priced higher and doesn't run as well so I recommend 360 unless you only have a ps3) Not only does this include Half-Life 2, but you also get Half-Life 2 Episodes 1 and 2, Team Fortress, and Portal.

The Orange Box!!!

2. Has Aged Well
This game holds up really well for such an old game.  The graphics aren't as spectacular today as they were in '04 but they still are quite good. The gameplay is somewhat dated in the fact that to melee you have to equip your melee weapon (same with grenades) but I never found that to be much of a problem. In fact the gameplay, in retrospect, was probably ahead of its time.

Pretty good for a 7 year-old game!

3. The Characters
Half-Life 2 has fantastic characters. I felt a fondness and a connection to all the characters I was introduced to in the game. Most games (FPS seem to be especially guilty) don't have that level of care put into their characters. Alyx Vance is everyone's favorite for good reason. She keeps you company on occasion (more so in Episodes 1 and 2) and I love having her around. She is also one of the more interesting female video game characters of recent years.

Dr. Kleiner, Eli Vance, and Alyx Vance

4. The Story
The story of Half-Life 2 is structured well and is enjoyable throughout. The setting is a dystopian Earth where the Combine (an oppressive multidimensional biomechanical force) have taken over. You play as Gordan Freeman and join an underground resistance that was formed by former colleagues at Black Mesa. The story and gameplay mesh into one entity as you are introduced to the game. Playing the first Half Life is not required (although you can get that cheap off steam as well!) but I recommend maybe reading a synopsis of the first game online somewhere. One thing that I really appreciate about the Half-Life series is the level of mysteriousness. I often speculate about who G-man is and why he's so damned interested in Gordan Freeman!

Keep an eye out for G-man. He seems to always be watching. Kinda creepy!

5. Length vs Enjoyment
I have often noticed that first person shooter campaigns are often short. I have also noticed that I am usually ready for them to be over once they do end. As much as I enjoy a first person shooter, often I find that the gameplay gets repetitive and the story just isn't that interesting. This is not the case with Half-Life 2. The campaign is easily 13-15 hours long and that doesn't include the other episodes. Episode 1 takes about 4 hours while Episode 2 takes 5-7 hours. Now, length is only a good thing when you are enjoying the experience the entire time, right? Well I can honestly say that I never felt the game was repetitive at all. This is largely due to the various puzzles and vehicles in the game. Also the objectives are sometimes different or the game lets you gain control of an amazing weapon/ability. I won't say specifics for the sake of not spoiling anything! Now, fifteen hours is a really long first person shooter and the fact that it is enjoyable the entire time is just one more reason why you need to play this game!

Driving an airboat!

6. Very Immersive
Okay so I'm going to reference the characters and story once again, but not as a main reason for the immersion. These factors just add up to a world that is entirely believable and make you feel a part of it. As you are making your way to your next objective, the way isn't necessarily laid out for you with a blinking neon sign. While the game is mostly linear there is room for exploration and you can often find extra supplies if you look around. There is even a singing vortigaunt you can discover in a cave (you also get an achievement for finding him!) Another aspect that helps immerse the player is the fact that all the puzzles are extremely logical and mostly intuitive.  All these things create a world that feels very real and the experience is spectacular.

Lambdas indicate supplies. Could this be an intuitive puzzle?

I hope you found these reasons helpful if you haven't played the game yet, and if you have I hope that you enjoyed the game as much as I did. Maybe you should go replay it!

-Ashley

Episode 29: The Legend of Zelda

The Legend of Zelda series is a legend unto itself.

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Limbo Coming to PC and PS3

Good news for potential Limbo fans. Limbo is coming to the Playstation Network and Steam.


Playdead CEO Dino Patti posted to his Twitter today: "LIMBO is coming for PSN and Steam... Soon: www.limbogame.org"
Sony confirmed saying that Limbo would be released on the PSN in July.


Limbo was previously only available on the Xbox Live Arcade.


-Alex Brown

Win Prizes for Super Stardust Anniversary

Housemarque, the developers of Super Stardust HD, are celebrating the games 4th anniversary with a competition. The competition starts on July 1 and ends on July 29. To play all you have to do is play Super Stardust HD on the Coventina planet level and try to obtain the highest score. 


The top five players with the highest Coventina monthly score will win a 3D crystal of the Super Stardust HD ship and a limited edition Super Stardust HD poster signed by the game's creator. 


Five other players with their scores in the top 2000 will be chosen at random to win a Super Stardust HD Hoodie.

-Alex Brown

Episode ZB

ZOMBIES!!!! Run for your lives! Or at least walk somewhat briskly.

Also, visit the Operation Rainfall Blog to learn how you can help bring Xenoblade, The Last Story, and Pandora's Tower to America.

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Recommendations

Alex - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D 

Ashley - The Orange Box (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)

Dan -  Noble Map Pack (For Halo: Reach via XBLA) Also visit www.Bungie.net for a free blue-flaming helmet. 

Episode 27: Remakes, Retro Favs & Pizza

If we start the show on a tangent, is it still a tangent, or is the rest of the show the tangent? Just something to think about as you listen to this weeks episode about remakes, retro favorites and pizza.

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Visit us on Twitter

Alex

Ashley

Dan

Episode 26: Next Gen Redux

Since we now know what at least one of the next gen consoles will be, the Wii U, we look at what we think Microsoft and Sony will do for their next consoles.

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Recommendations


Dan - Dragon Age (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)

Ashley - Sly Cooper Collection (PS3)

Alex - inFAMOUS (PS3)

I'm Going on a Diet - A Game Diet

There are times in the life of young man when going to school and going to work become high priorities. This is the position I find myself currently. School has been knocking on my door for too long and is now resorting to more desperate measures (the scene from The Shining with the ax comes to mind). And as I have somewhat prematurely announced my resignation from my current job, I am in need of a new employment. Add in the search for a new place of residence and I could really use some cash. This means some luxuries must be cut out and unfortunately that luxury is games.

I have set a timeline for myself. Today I purchased The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D for the 3DS (my 3DS is in desperate need of love). This will be the last game I buy until September 9 when Resistance 3 is released. But do not cry for me. I will not be alone. I have compiled a list of all of the games that I currently own for the three main consoles that I have either started and never finished or never played at all. Take a look.

Xbox 360

Alan Wake (Never Finished)

Beyond Good & Evil (Never Finished)

Crackdown (Never Finished)

Hydrophobia (Never Finished)

Mirror's Edge (Never Finished)

'Splosion Man (Never Finished)

Super Meat Boy (Never Finished)

Enslaved: Journey to the West (Never Started)

Timeshift (Never Started)

PS3

3D Dot Game Heroes (Never Finished)

Dead Nation (Never Finished, Playing Now)

InFAMOUS (Never Finished)

LittlebigPlanet (Never Finished)

Prince of Persia (Never Finished)

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (Never Started)

Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destructions (Never Started)

Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time (Never Started)

Wii

The Conduit (Never Finished)

Elebits (Never Finished)

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Never Finished)

Red Steel 2 (Never Finished)

Secret Files: Tunguska (Never Finished)

Conduit 2 (Never Started)

As you can see I am not short of games to play, and hopefully I will be able cross a few of these off this list. So from now until September 9 I will not buy any game whatsoever. This includes new, used, retail, download, old games on Ebay, etc. I will buy nothing. There is but one exception. Since I have a free month of Playstation Plus due to Sony's "Welcome Back" program, if I see a good deal on the PSN I will not let it go to waste, but I will not use Playstation Plus for more than those 30 free days. 

Wish me luck. The hunger may be strong, but I am stronger.

-Alex Brown

Episode 25: Special E3 Episode

This is it everyone! We have reached one quarter of a hundred episodes and it just so happens that it has landed right on top of E3 2011. Of course, this means that our 25th Episode Special is all about E3.

We go over all the major press conferences: Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo; plus the Ubisoft and EA conferences and give our opinions.

Everything from Modern Warfare 3 to the new Nintendo console --  the Wii U. And don't forget The Sims Social. (Make sure to watch this. It is amazing.)

We'd like to thank everyone who has listened to us and hope that you guys have had as much fun with the Kibosh Podcast as we have. Here is to 25 more!

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Our Favorite Game Announcements of E3

Alex: Overstrike, Halo 4, and Tomb Raider

Ashley: Overstrike, Tomb Raider, and Sly 4

Dan: Battlefield 3 and Tomb Raider.

The Alien Lord's Top Epic Game Trailers

(This blog was originally posted by Chris McCormick, our resident Alien Lord, on his personal blog. It is a list of some of his favorite Video Game Trailers. He thought you might find them interesting, so I am posting it here as well. Enjoy! - Alex Brown)

Taking a small break from my novel, I thought I'd shove at you a ton of Youtube videos. While the temptation remains to throw tons of seemingly random and unrelated videos at you, I am resisting in order to provide a blog that is more enjoyable to read since everyone of you is capable of finding your own random videos. Most are video game trailers, and to be fair, have provided inspiration for my novel. However, beyond providing me with a giddy feeling, the most common thread between these videos is I believe them to be epic.


What makes them epic? A dictionary definition would serve great here: heroic; majestic; impressively great. While not all of them are heroic or majestic, I do find them all impressively great. Though to add to that definition, I want to add that these trailers give me chills or have made me extremely excited.


My Top Epic Trailers

Dragon Age 2


Why Epic
Dragon Age 2 played great and the plot contained many epic elements. The trailer here with Kate Mulgrew (Flemeth in the game or better known as the incredible Captain Janeway) voiceover, doesn't reveal much about the story except that your character, Hawke, portrayed here as the dude kicking the horned guy's ass is a bamf.

So what makes it epic to me? The character is wailing on the guy but the feel gives you this majestic feeling. Your character is going to embrace his destiny. The fight sequences are evenly balanced between power, speed and abilities on both ends. Equally epic is the character's weapon, a sword staff. This gave me the idea to change in my novel the character's weapon to it.

Best moment: The crown rolling to the feet of Hawke and his initial stance before the sword drag.

Resistance 3



Why Epic
This isn't epic in the way things are portrayed. Far from it in fact. A ragged group of survivors riding a train that is very reminiscent of a Depression era U.S. accentuated by the music. For those who have played the games, they already aware of facts portrayed in the trailer. Those who aren't aware are brought in more by the sights of the bodies and destroyed buildings. When the music cuts and the Chimera attack the train in the tunnel, thats when the true tone comes out.

The pure epicness of the trailer comes through with the overall tone: desparate group of survivors; defeated America; and The St. Louis Arch in ruins. Very well made live action that climaxes and leaves the viewer hanging as to the fate of those on the train. The music choice of the blues song envokes the right mood of what is portrayed.

Best Moment:The sights of the American country side in ruin and changed, up until the Chimera attack. Viewers new to the franchise wonder what caused the devastion, getting only bits and pieces with the bodies and an occasional glimpse of a Chimera.

Halo 3

Why Epic
Honestly, finding the most epic Halo 3 trailer was a bit of a challenge for me. For those who ever went to the believe site I'd list that as a perfect emotion and visual experience. However, it no longer exists. Much like the Resistance 3 trailer, this one gives a feeling of hopelessness. Master Chief without his helmet for a bit and then getting back in the action.

Why is it epic? Again the hopelessness. The background chatter of coms being frantic. The plasma mortar smashing into the bubble shield. Just having the Master Chief in the trailer makes this epic to me.

Best Moment: The switch from the boy to the helmet. It catches the viewer off guard but you instantly recognizes it as the Chief's but wonder where is the rest. The change of the background with the helmet the same position again leaves the viewer confused. Coming together once you see the hand reaching for it and attached to rest of the armor you know he is still there.



Mass Effect 3

Why Epic
A person new to the series and not knowing anything about the game would be piqued by the voiceover of the British soldier. Showing him holed up in a tower with the sniper rifle while the voice over continues, bandaged and hurt makes the viewer wonder what is going on. The view of the scope doesn't answer any questions until the floodlight shines on him, and the camera pulls out to show the entire British River Thames area engulfed in battle with the giant ships.

The pure epicness of the trailer is how the fight goes from a small incident to the entire London Skyline as a warzone. A shiver runs up my spine as you see the fight before everyone and pulls out to see the familiar silhouette of Shepherd.


Best Moment:Zooming from the soldier in Big Ben to the London Skyline to show the full scale of the Reaper invasion. The voiceover line of how if Shepherd doesn't hurry, there won't be an Earth left to save. It lets the viewer know that the stakes are high in this game and as a player you can't fail.


Halo ODST Live3
Why Epic
Starting at the funeral with the focus on the teenage boy growing up and following in what I assume is his father's steps. The harshness of the training with the jumping cutting to the in pod view of the same person. The fight as the pod crashes into the ground is one of luck and life and death. The music in the background provides a haunting reminder of what is at stake.

What makes this trailer epic is the music. Yes the training and battle are impressive but the haunting music never leaving the viewer's side is a reminder of dangers of loss inherent in any war. I have loved the ODSTs since their first appearance in Halo 2. This particular trailer is absolute proof of why they could have a Halo movie or show and it would be a great visual and emotional experience.


Best Moment:The pod falling and fight. You can sense the3 soldier's fear and trepidation as it descends up until the hatch blows off. The battle complete with wounded soldiers and explosions makes the viewer aware of the dangers and often fruitlessness of the fights in the Halo universe. Just being able to see ODST in a live action setting is cool enough for me too.



The Old Republic: Hope
Why Epic
Set on Alderaan, the trailer focus on a soldier's fight against the Sith Empire's army after the defeat. Things look good until lightsaber wielding sith come out and start taking down the troopers. A jedi comes and takes on Darth Malgus. Combining strength of the trooper and the force, together they when the battle. Complete this with some nice voice overs, the viewer gets a feeling of hope.

Unlike the trailers that thrive on little hope or the feeling of hopelessness, this particular trailer's feeling of epic comes from the idea that hope can start small and grow. I love the focus of the trailer on a soldier, as compared to a jedi which often make the best soldier appear useless. The trooper in this appears just as capable as any jedi and just as tough.


Best Moment:The trooper's imminent execution. That hope seems lost until the jedi arrives and pulls him from the clutches of oblivion. Together, they pull what could be a loss to a victory. The voiceover reminds everyone watching that sacrifices may be heavy but those lost did not die in vain.

Some Honorable mentions

While not as epic as the others to me, I want to make a shout out to these games for being cool.
Gears of War


Force Unleashed 1


A lot of these games influence my novel in ways. Some are simple like character design and armor and some are more complex like decision making and events in the novel. I do recommend that everyone play these games or at least check out the trailer.

- Chris McCormick

Episode 24: Making E3 SwE3t

E3 is just around the corner, but some things are just too good to be true.

Chris, our resident Alien Lord Joins us in the studio.

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portal 2 music

Valve has just posted a bunch of the music for portal 2 for free download. Awesome right, well that is not all they have also put up a few of those songs in ringtone format for iPhone or Andriod devices.
here is the link. http://www.thinkwithportals.com/music.php  Enjoy.

What I thought of L.A. Noire

L.A. Noire is not like other Rockstar games. The game is focused around interrogations and investigating crime scenes. It is also spattered with action scenes such as shootouts and chase scenes. I really enjoyed the game overall but there were several aspects that I wish they’d have either tweaked or just left out completely. 

Pros:

This game does something no game has done before, make facial expressions important to actual gameplay. I don’t think I’m going to be able to play another game without comparing the facial animation to L.A. Noire. It is amazing how many subtle things go on when a person is speaking. The muscle movements and various expressions that are unique to the person in question are all represented in the character models and the voice acting is fantastic as well. I am a little wary of this technology because I don’t want to end up seeing the same actors in all the games I play but in this case I enjoyed it. I saw several actors I recognized from Madmen, Bones and Fringe.

This image dedicated to Scott Chambers

Another part of the game I enjoyed was investigating the crime scenes or poking around in suspects apartments. This all felt very much like an adventure game, and if you listen to the podcast you will know I love the genre. Special investigative music plays as you try to find all the clues in an area. When you pass something that can be looked at, a certain musical cue plays. Once you have found all the clues the music stops. I thought this was very helpful and nonintrusive to the feel of the game.

I found a clue!

The story is very intriguing, although the ending felt completely random to me.  The character development was very interesting for Cole Phelps and he is very likeable even though he isn’t as perfect as I thought he was going to be. It is too bad that the ending felt so disjointed with the rest of the game.

Cons:

The first thing I felt aggravated by was the fact that if you accidentally get an interview question response wrong you can’t restart it, unless you restart the entire mission. I understand that they wanted to make the game challenging to read all of the witness’s and suspect’s facial expressions, but I am not sure how I feel about being able to fail a dialog sequence.

That leads me into my second concern. Even though you cannot restart dialog scenes, the cases are not hard to solve. In fact, as long as you find the clues, the game basically solves itself. There wasn’t a lot of thinking required on my behalf. I just found all the clues and tried to perform all the dialogue correctly and the story concluded.  This was pretty disappointing to me because I was hoping I would actually have to do some of the crime solving myself.

Beautiful city that I don't want to drive around in

The game takes place in a big open world that seems historically accurate and very beautiful. But traversing this world suffers from some of the same problems I had with the GTA series. I don’t want to obey traffic laws or have to worry about bumping into other cars. I couldn’t really even look at the world because I was focused on my driving. This annoyance is amplified by the fact that you are a very GOOD LAPD police detective and accidentally killing anyone can result in a game over. Ultimately I felt this open world was completely superfluous. All the most interesting scenes took place in exactly that… a scene.  There is nothing to do in this 40s version of LA but respond to dispatch calls which serve as the game’s side quests. These are tedious and almost ALL feel the same. I have not played all of them but I did play over half. There was only one that stood out to me and it involved trailing a perp. This was very disappointing to me because in the last Rockstar game that I played, Red Dead Redemption, I enjoyed all of the sidequests and the quirky stories they told. These just feel like a waste of time, the only motivation to complete them all being a trophy or achievement.

Overall Opinion:

I think this is a great game and I respect that it tries to break the mold for games of this kind. I highly recommend that everyone at least try out this game. There are a few problems with this game but I think that is to be expected in most new IPs. The good acting and interesting gameplay make up for the few flaws it has. 

-Ashley

Episode 23: On A Side Note

Going off the rails is not always a bad thing.

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Send your comments and questions to kiboshpodcast@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter @kiboshpodcast

Recommendations


Dan - Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (PC, Xbox 360, PS3, Mac)

Ashley - L.A. Noire (Xbox 360, PS3)

Alex - Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life (Graphic Novel)

Retraction: The Wii Menu

On May 18, 2011 between the hours of 4:00pm and 5:00pm Mountain Standard Time, we the members of the Kibosh Podcast posted Episode 22: Music to My Ears. In said episode, we made a claim that the channels on the Wii menu could not be rearranged.

On the evening of May 19, 2011 I, Alex Brown, saw this comment posted on the our Facebook page by Sir Scott Chambers of heyactiongames.com: "You silly people, you can move your stuff around on Wii."

I couldn't believe such a thing. I immediately went twenty minutes later to test this out on my Wii. Sure enough, by holding down the A and B buttons at the same time and selecting a Channel, I was able to rearrange them on my Wii Home menu. 

Devastation struck my weary head like the back side of a hand. My first instinct was to create a false update for the Wii rendering this ability unusable, but I figured with the recent PSN debacle this probably wasn't the best idea. My next plan was to call up Nintendo and personally beg them to remove the feature, however, it just so happens Nintendo is not listed in the yellow pages. My path was clear: I was going to have to issue a retraction admitting to the world that information I was claiming to be correct was in fact wrong.

So here it is.

On the Kibosh Podcast Episode 22: Music to My Ears, posted on May 18, 2011 we claimed that channels on the Wii menu could not be rearranged. This is untrue. They can.

This has been a very trying time for me. Up until this point in my life, I was positive that I was always 100% right all of the time. Now my world is shaken. I'm going to need some time.

-Alex Brown

P.S. Look forward to our next retraction explaining our falsified information regarding Dead Rising 2: Off the Record.

-Thanks to Scott Chambers for making this post possible.

Episode 22: Music to My Ears

Playstation Network is back! And it is music to our ears. You know what else is music to our ears? Actual music. Nothing creates atmosphere in a game quite like the music. This week we discuss our favorite video game music.

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Send your comments and questions to kiboshpodcast@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter @kiboshpodcast


Recommendations


Dan - Gears of War 3...when it comes out. (Xbox 360)

Alex - Portal 2 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)

Ashley - Read a Tin Tin comic . (Book)

Episode 21: On the Homefront

We've all played Homefront, and our opinions are...well, listen and you'll see.

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Send your comments and questions to kiboshpodcast@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter @kiboshpodcast

Recommendations


Dan - Gears of War 3 Beta (Xbox 360)

Alex - Halo: Combat Evolved (Xbox, Xbox Live Arcade)

Ashley - Plants vs. Zombies (PC, Xbox Live Arcade, Playstation Network, Nintendo DS, iPhone) 

Experiencing Halo: The Prologue

First introduced in 2001 with Halo: Combat Evolved, the Halo franchise has become a cultural phenomenon spanning from its home in video games to novels, books, and short films. 

2010 marked the end of an era for the Halo franchise: Bungie, the creator and original developer of the Halo series, created their final game for franchise: Halo: Reach. Along with this, 2011 marks the ten year anniversary of Halo: Combat Evolved. I decided to take this as an opportunity to look back at the Halo series by playing all of the Bungie made games in order: Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, and ending with Halo: Reach.

I will be writing an article for each of the games reflecting on how I feel each game holds up in relation to the time they were released and the time I played them. I will also be hoping to gain insight as to why the Halo franchise has become so popular.

To give you some insight into my history with Halo, my views are somewhat mixed on the series. I have played all of the current generation games: Halo 3, Halo Wars, Halo 3: ODST, and Halo: Reach, but neither Halo: Combat Evolved or Halo 2. Halo 3 brought me into both the current generation and first-person shooters. As I've played more first-person shooters, I've come to feel that the Halo series has not always evolved well and has very primitive gameplay. At the same time I recognize the importance Halo had on bringing first-person shooters to consoles and I have definitely had a lot of fun playing the games.

I am nearing the end of Halo: Combat Evolved now. I will be starting Halo 2 soon after. Watch for Experiencing Halo features in the coming weeks and enjoy the tenth anniversary of Halo.

-Alex Brown