Been dabbling a bit in The Simpsons Game, which was my free Rock Band repair retribution -- very decent. Gameplay is a bit bland, at times frustrating (the camera can be wonky), but it's surprisingly hilarious. And I'm not even a big fan of the show.

Really digging Rez HD -- got to the boss of the third stage twice last night and died both times, but got further the second time around. Damned lack of continues... but the levels are short and enveloping, so I'm cool with it. Probably grab PixelJunk Monsters this weekend. And should probably open up No More Heroes...

Otherwise, playing Kawasaki Jet Ski (Wii) for review and played a tiny bit of PSP/PS2 preview builds of MLB 08: The Show, but will probably wait for the PS3 version to really give it a go. I was a 2K7 guy last year, but The Show looks really nice (visually) and isn't shipping in May (next-gen) this year, which is helpful. Oh, playing a bit of Rock Band too -- grabbed the OXM issue with the three bonus tracks.

Can you not start on any level you have completed, like on the original?

But yeah, it's such a sweet game that it was a joy to go through again. Especially as it meant being able to power up.

Yeah, you can (luckily) -- I just wasn't able to finish the third level the two times I tried the other night. Probably give it another go tonight.

Dropped $20 on the PSN last night: grabbed PixelJunk Monsters, PAIN, and Tori-Emaki. I'd held out on PAIN for a while, but it's the kind of simple pleasure that I could typically see myself getting hooked on. Sadly, I was already a bit bored with it after 30 minutes last night, but there are two other modes to check out still. Tori-Emaki isn't much of a game... it's an interactive screensaver that uses the PlayStation Eye (only $2). Love the art design, but I doubt I'll even load it up again. Ah well.

As for PixelJunk Monsters -- definitely enjoyed what I played last night and plan to dig in tonight after the 'Bowl and writing.

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REZ IZ GUD. THE END.

Does that say Podcast Pickle? I like podcasts and pickles.

Yeah, found it on a random search. I don't care much for either, but that's one amazing shit-eating grin.

BTW -- not sure if you listen to the 1UP Sports Anomaly podcast, but I have a pair of interviews in the next episode (Wednesday, I think).

yeah. never played the rez before. wow what a great ten bucks. totally makes me wanna get high and play, though i don't have a personal stash and haven't done the green stuff since early summer.

man, xbox 360. only a month of having it and it just keeps getting better. especially looking forward to the NES Bionic Commando remake on xbla.

<-----------Video Game Podcast Whore. I even to the god awful Retroforce GO! podcast.

Awesome. Well, if you listen to the next Sports Anomaly, I'll be the toolbox tossing questions at Ryan Howard and an MLB 08 producer.

just played brawl 8 hours straight with 2 friends, unlocked sonic a bit ago, this game is for real guys

Further evidence that I need to get my act together and buy a Wii.

Anybody on here play sports games? I'm interested in picking up a quality but not super complicated football game for the 360 or wii. I am a stanger in this genre, so I'm open to all advice. Doesn't have to be the current year either, I'd be fine with pulling a more solid title out of the bargin bin because its a year old.

Just received the first issue (March) of PlayStation: The Official Magazine I wrote for. The big 2008 PS3 Game Planner is my text (major kudos to the editors that made it look all snazzy). Seeing your stuff in print is way rad, man.

Have some stuff in next month's issue too, but I'm glowing about this right now.

Congratulations man. You've always been the unoffcial leader of this thread/somb sub group so it's great to see you get some nice prestige. I'll have to at least check it out next time I'm at borders on something.

Nice job, Andy.

just finished unlocking every stage and character, 35 characters and 41 stages. played online last night (LOL) but it was lagfest since we live in the U.S i assume.

will have a dual layer disc on thursday so i should be able to play sub space emissary then.

Goddamn it, I'm gonna need some time to get acquainted with the game before I challenge you. Warming up with Melee isn't going to do any good.

fuck i broke down and bought the DL dvds and got the full game running.

im 3 hours into sub space emissary, heres what i found

1) they made ness a total badass
2) mother 3 spoilers like a motherfucker, god dammit sakurai!!
3)3 hours in = 30%, the 1 player mode is actually a real game this time around
4)the game feels like kirby super star part 2, thats a good thing

Andyroo! Great job, dude! I definitely want to see this! Any scans of it at all?


If you are willing to go back a bit and shy off of a 360 game, NFL 2K5 is probably the single best football game ever made and one of the best sports titles ever. It's simplistic, yet can be very in-depth and complicated if you choose to make it that way. You can get a used copy for Xbox piss cheap (my roommate a few months back bought three copies in case one gets dinged up...that way he has a backup...and it cost him a total of like $7). Anyway, yeah, it SHOOOOULD be able to play on a 360. You might want to check it out, though.

okay, i beat brawl, it's like a 7-8 hour game, and surprisingly fun.

sure wish i could read japanese.

Lance, stick with segas brand of football over EAs madden. the NFL series, when does EA's licensing monopoly end anyway

although i say this half of undying loyalty to sega, my limited sports game expertise has always seen NFL >>> madden

That guy you were interviewing was PLAYING IT SAFE! Nice interview!

Been playing Sins Of A Solar Empire this past week.




At first blush, I thought the game was a bit lacking and slow paced. The more time I put in to it the more impressed I became with the subtle design.

Brilliant GUI. Very solid (and highly customizable) control. The ease with which one can zoom out to a galactic overview and then back down to the smallest details on a ship is amazing. Very fluid and smooth.

I like all the different tactical and strategic approaches one can take as well. All out annihilation of the enemy, diplomatic maneuvering, economic power, subterfuge and cultural victory are equally valid methods of winning.

As far as football games, the most fun I've had is playing NCAA 07 on the PS2. The 08 version, especially for PS360, has some issues with interceptions and stuff, so I just stuck with 07 (on the PS2 it was basically the same game). I've found the NCAA game to be much better at sucking you in to the game than the sterile NFL game. Recruiting is fun and not too time consuming. The only thing that's difficult about it for me is that the game takes about an hour to play and there's no in-game save feature (I'm relatively new to console gaming, and the fact that most games don't have this blows me away), and with work/family, it's tough finding a solid hour or two of my time to actually play. But I suspect most of you guys don't have that issue.

Gah, been super busy this week. Thanks for the various props on the PTOM article and the podcast, guys.

Spent the last couple days burning through Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol Encore for work. Have a couple of feature articles to work on this weekend, but nothing I really have to play (besides a bit more Twisted Metal: Head-On: Extra Twisted Edition), so I might pick up Devil May Cry 4 for Xbox 360. Anyone been playing it?

whoever asked to play call of duty 4 with me today sorry i was finishing the campaign, we'll play whenever now though.

my old copy of gc smash had gone missing so i just got another copy from goozex yesterday. i will be prepared for the new one.

Spore released on PC, Mac, DS, and mobile Sept. 8, 2008.

EA and the NFL extended their exclusive rights agreement for another 3 years, meaning the earliest we'd be likely to see a real competitor to the Madden franchise is 2013. Viva la Competition!

Very enjoyable. The puzzles are surprisingly tricky, although they will be familiar to anyone who has read puzzle books in the past (matchsticks, liquid pouring, optical illusions, animals across river, etc.). Very polished game with voice acting, anime cutscenes and good character design. Pretty standard adventure structure supporting the puzzles. Another big win for casual gaming. This series deserves to be a big here as it is in Japan.

This probably means a few more years of 2K's All Pro Football. You can play as OJ Simpson. Bleh.

THis GH/RB-inspired game that features mashups sounds bizarre:

http://kotaku.com/353705/thq-mixes-genres-with-band-mashups

The game includes 30 chart-topping songs from the past four decades, each recorded in five different musical styles: rock, funk/hip-hop, country, marching band and Latin. You choose your favorite style and battle your way through the single-player campaign or against a friend, with the musical style of any song you are playing switching in mid-tune to reflect who is winning the match. The game also promises an original music combat experience, with over 70 weapons including a sniper violin and of course - the flamethrower guitar. I am marking this down as a tentative "must buy" on my list for the concept alone, pending the final track list. Musical combat is only as good as the songs you are fighting with. Look for Band Mashups to hit stores this April.

Finally freed up sufficient space to download this and it's a pure joy to listen to. Cheers Sausage.

Do tracks show up twice in iTunes for others, or is it just me?

my 360 just broke anyone wanna lend me theres for a month

serious question

what the hell am i gonna do this week/spring break

wtf? I believe you got your 360 after I got mine, and yours broke already? My condolences. Play your DS. Get Professor Layton, or Advance Wars Days of Ruin...Smash Bros too.

thinking about starting either fire emblem wii or days of ruin

a good strategy will ruin my life.

nothing is more fun on this earth

Played an hour or so, and I feel soooo retarded. Some puzzles take me forever to figure out, but yeah the presentation is awesome. Didn't know my little DS could pull off video clips, and voice work.

Been working on this for review.

Otherwise, it's all Burnout Paradise for me. Gave up on Devil May Cry 4 -- was just bored by it. Got back into Rock Band a bit today thanks to Derek's party last night. We had a full SOMB band going for a song or two until some talentless douchebag jumped in and ruined Rock Band for the rest of the evening.

Go Advance Wars. I'm a big Fire Emblem fan, but I hated Radiant Dawn. The game is brutally hard, and not in a fun way. The character strengths and battle system are set up so that most characters can't take two hits, and many can't take one hit. So you spend all your time plotting out tactics to minimize the chances your characters get attacked, because if they do, they die, and you restart the level. The game then becomes a puzzle game, rather than a strategy game.

isn't normal the japanese hard in that game?

i hate it when they pull that shit, i'd just play on easy w/e

Smash, Okami, Bully, and Worms all next month for the Wii. However, judging from the massive amount my roommate and I have played Smash Melee in the past week, I think I'll only be buying one of those in March. I really should try to beat No More Heroes before Smash comes out or I never will.

BTW, No More Heroes is loads of fun.

about to burn it right now.


played through and beat DBZ BT3 last night, lol

Hopefully the American version, as the dialog is half the fun. First line in the game: "Fuckface!"

Oh my god, fuckface is my favorite curse word.

Really looking forward to Smash and Bully. I've got to finish Zedla and RE4 before I can justify getting either of these. Damn lack of free time.

Ooh, RE4 is on my buy-list. Played on Game Cube but never finished, as I saved myself into an unbeatable situation.

I haven't played a "horor" game since taking a spin on Silent Hill a few years ago and RE4 gave me the straight up willies, and I'm only about an hour into it. I found myself sneaking all over the place being way to careful and taking forever to get from A to B. Finally I just had to punch myself in the nuts and remmeber it's only a friggin game. Great atmosphere.

I'm sort of the same way. I've been playing it for probably over 6 months now, and I'm only about half way through because I really can't play it for more than 20 minutes at a time. I also have to play it standing up, but that's partyly because of the wii control scheme.