TCPS 6: Dragon Age 2 and RPG's

It's another podcast! This time Tony and I talk about Dragon Age 2 with as little spoilers as possible, and some of our favorite RPG's. Now I'm going to go back to watching Tangled and playing Assassin's Creed Brotherhood.

The Ides Of March: Games that should have gotten reviews, but didn't

*Presses Start*

So, I have to get off my 3DS long enough to tell you about some games that came out in March that should have gotten full fledged reviews but most of my time was spent between real life and Dragon Age 2.

Speaking of Dragon Age 2, I promise a review, but I'm actually replaying this game to catch up on some of the things I missed (like characters) so that'll come soon enough. Promise.

Now to the games:

Rift: The World Of Warcraft "killer" that released earlier this month has gotten pretty amazing reviews so far. I haven't reviewed it because of my disdain for (Most) MMORPGs, but reader reviews so far are saying that it's good, but it's not going to stop WOW anytime soon. Aion anyone?

Pokemon: The racist version of the game dropped this month and so far people are saying that it's pretty good. I should actually pick up, but once you pick one up, you've picked them all up.

People are saying that it's incredibly different, but I've yet to know a difference.

Homefront: The THQ answer to call of duty that really left me wanting to play call of duty. The solo campaign was really terrible. The Multiplayer was OK, but I'm more a solo guy myself.

Okamiden: Yes. 10x times yes. It's not on the same plain as the original, but it's holds it's own well enough to suppress the urge for an sequel.

Dissidia 012: Harder to start from scratch, but overall, a satisfying prequel. All the new characters are interesting.

Crysis 2: Definitely deserving of a full review. So many cool things in the game, it's pretty good so far. The Multiplayer is solid and the Single Campaign is great. And yes, my PS3 can run Crysis.

I know March isn't over yet, but most of the major ones are already out, and there's some games that should have gotten a solid review, but because I am only one man, I can only tackle what I can. Expect another blog real soon guys.

Continue?

TCPS 5: Video Challenge 2 - Mega Man X

It's time for another Video Challenge. We take on Mega Man X with special guest Owen. It later becomes apparent that Mega Man has placed on curse on us. Watch.

Ferelden Blues: A look back at Dragon Age and the Journey to Dragon Age 2

*Presses Start*

Let me start off by saying that I love RPGs. I love them all, and a ton of them rank up there as one of my favorite game experiences of all time. It's just not the normal Final Fantasy, Either. 3 of my top RPGs of all time aren't even Final Fantasies at all (Chrono Trigger, Star Ocean: The Second Story and Persona 4). That's not to say that I dislike them. There's very few that I can say I really just don't like, and even then, that's not to say that they're terrible games, that's just saying that there was something in that game that I couldn't get into (I'm looking at you, Final Fantasy XII) and caused me to be slightly disappointed. That's also a huge gamble in RPGs today. You have to be emotionally invested in your character and in your team. If not, you're risking having your pride and joy in the bargain bin. A little company called BioWare understood and complied with amazing force.

Back in 2009, BioWare released a game that sucked up over 100 hours worth of game play from me. Dragon Age origins told the story of a man who fought the darkspawn. The back story and the character was entirely up to you. This was one of the first games that I played that let you build up your character from scratch (Save for Fallout) and unleash havoc on the world that BioWare created. For me, I was living the high life until my castle was ambushed and killed my family, leaving me to become a Grey Warden and eventually save the world from the Blight. YES. The way that they told the tale for this game was amazingly well done and enough for me to drop everything that I was doing to finish this game. A year later, While my Dragon Age lust was still hot, they announced Dragon Age II, coming the following year. Now, usually I'm alright with sequels as long as the first one is done correctly (See Bulletstorm review) But what I'm not a fan of is announcing a sequel of a game that is still relatively new. I can understand striking while the iron is hot, but that may have been a bit TOO quick. Bioware was quick to piss people off, and the next announcement wasn't going to be any better.

Bioware announced that they were going to make DA2 more "streamlined", "faster" and "less tactical". For a fan of the first game and how tactical it was, I was kinda upset. I didn't want streamlined. DA:O was for the hardcore gamers who wanted to take control of everything, and that's where I wanted it to stay. Then they announced that the character that you took control of in the second one couldn't be ported to the second one. Why? Because they were giving you a person to start off with, instead of making him your own. That's right. Wanted to be a elf blood mage? Out of the question. You had to be a human. That was the most upsetting thing that I've read. I was a human to start off, but I loved the Elf's back story that was created. If I wanted to replay the game and start off completely new, I couldn't do it. As if all that wasn't a big back stab to the fans, BioWare also made a completely new battle system. You wanted to press X and let your character duke it out while you kicked back? Not anymore. Everything was now in real time, taking away the tactical portion of the game.

Pissed off isn't a way to put it. Fans were fucking LIVID.

It seemed like BioWare had turn their back on their fans. I have to admit, I wasn't 100% sure that BioWare still had it anymore. They cut out what seemed to be major portions of their game for a faster and quicker experience for everyone. Like the selfish fanboy I was, I didn't want the game for everyone. I wanted it for me. Of course, as time goes by, I settled down. I decided that the very best I could do was give it a shot and hope for the best. The trailer looked cool, so at very least I could scoop it up and say "Hey BioWare, I have faith that you'll do me proud". Did they disappoint?

Part 1 of Dragon Age 2 coming really really soon. Until then,

Continue?

TCPS 4: Video Game Endings

Tony discusses Bulletstorm that then leads into the talk of good and (mostly) bad Video Game endings. Rants abound, and Megan plays a Very special song at the end of the podcast.

Podcast update!

Not only did we just post two new podcasts today, (one audio, one video), and a new blog post, you can now find the "To Continue Press Start" podcast in the iTunes store! Side note: I'm still working on getting into the Zune Marketplace for those who don't have iTunes. Stay tuned for updates of our different "Let's Play" series, also!

Podcast episodes here: Click

TCPS 3: The Zelda Tribute

Hey! Hey! Listen! The Legend of Zelda turned 25 and we did a podcast to celebrate! Getting past the rants (as usually happens) we talk about the different game play styles, the worst Zelda game we've played, and how much of a Nerd/Dork Megan is about Zelda. Listen! :)

TCPS Video-Cast Challenge 1: Castlevania

The first of the video game "Classics" challenge. Watch Megan attempt to play Castlevania for the first time while Antonio watches. Then watch as Antonio (supposedly) does it the right way. Plus an added bonus in between that might scare you.... It's Here!

Bulletstorm, The Matrix, And Game Endings

*presses start*

First off, I'm sorry for lack of updates. Things have been crazy on this side as of late, so I'm going to update twice this week to compensate.

I've pulled my foot out of people's ass in MVC3 long enough to put in Bulletstorm and finish through the campaign. Bulletstorm is a straight macho charged game resembling a FPS version of Epic's pride and joy, Gears of War. It was crude. It was charged. I've never heard so many creative references to a penis before. It was a bit on the easy side. The most important thing? It was a blast to play. There's a certain rush that you get (not to mention bonus points) when you drag your enemy (a la Scorpion) to your face, attach explosives to his neck, and kick him back to his co-horts and watching them all explode. (For the record, that one was entitled GangBang. Get it?)

Too bad the ending blew. Hard.

(Spoiler alert ahead but if you haven't seen The Matrix Trilogy, I'm sure you're on the wrong site.)

I remember being so excited about watching Matrix Reloaded. I'm sure I'm one of the many that genuinely enjoyed the movie while I was in the theater. "Oh man, the fights were pretty cool, Holy shit they got out of the ship. Neo's in a coma. Who is that....Oh man, it's Bane/Smith! What's gonna happen no...."

*Spits out Popcorn*

"What the fuck is this shit?"

Now, before I get tons of "WTF, some of the best games have this, you have no idea what you're talking about" mail, let me clarify. Sometimes, and under very rare circumstances would something end on a to be continued and it work. Especially with gaming. I could name of a couple off hand, but since some of them are on the newer arc, I'll refrain, but some of the older trilogies that come to mind are Halo, Prince of Persia (confusing as it was at the time), and Phoenix Wright just to name a few. Ending a game on a Cliffhanger that was a pretty epic thrill ride is one thing, but I can't help but feel like sometimes the developers use that as a cop-out nine times out to ten. It feels like a cheap sitcom saying "Tune into next week for the exciting conclusion to this $60 dollar game!" And just like The Matrix Reloaded, it promises big things and like it's anti-climatic conclusion, it often fails to deliver. I didn't pay $60+ Whatever DLC to have a friggin incomplete game. If a RPG did that, I'm pretty sure I'd develop a well written letter telling the company to fuck themselves.

I can understand cliffhangers, but when the game just ends with no amazing finish to it, it just feels rushed, incomplete and I drop the controller because now I have to wait however long the developers decide to stop milking their "Highly successful hit game" and actually finish my game. People are STILL waiting on a half life 3 and that's supposedly been in the making for years. You know, they decided that they didn't want to finish at that moment so they release half done. Movies can get away with it, but it's usually not for the best (See Matrix Reloaded) and with Television, it's almost expected and accepted. Games is a bit testy just because when we purchase a game, we expect a story. A beginning, a conflict, and it's dramatic, fun filled conclusion. Conclusion, being the keyword.

In Prince of Persia (The Sands Of Time series), The story telling was so epic, It could afford the cliffhanger ending at the end of Warrior Within. .The huge difference was that there was a conflict that felt resolved. Destroying the The Dahaka (or the hot chicka, can't remember her name) felt like a huge accomplishment. (Spoiler note, I found it really cool that no matter what ending you got, You cannot change your fate still rang true.) Half Life 2's ending on the other hand... depending on how you look at it, was a slap in the face for people who waited for 7 years for this game and have such a blah ending. Tack that on for people who played it when it first came out in 1998 and you have people who have been following this series for 13 years and is STILL waiting for a conclusion to a video game. You can't climax forever, Gamindustri. After a while, we all just stop caring and move on to something that's more filling. It's not me, Bulletstorm. It's you.

Oh, and the Matrix Revolutions can blow my balls.

Continue?