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zwolanerd

“I guess I just like liking things”

July 3, 2014 We Did It!

Congratulations, everyone! Thanks to our tireless efforts, they’re finally bringing Q*bert back!

These are raised hexagons, not cubes. The first part of "Q*bert" has "cube" right in it, dudes. Come on!

These are raised hexagons, not cubes. The first part of “Q*bert” has “cube” right in it, dudes. Come on!

According to Polygon, the new game will include both the classic pyramid hopping and a new version with “modern graphics and gameplay.” New villains have been added, including Uppercut, a “sentient boxing glove.” Players will be able to play as Q*bert, but also

  • Q*zard
  • Q*bertha
  • Q*bot
  • Q*zilla
  • Q*tee
  • Q*knight
  • Q*nicorn

Alas, no Q*mongus, which is a pretty large (pun intended!) oversight.

The game is launching July 8 on Windows, Linux, and Mac through Steam and will cost $4.99. You’ll also see it on Android, iOS, Kindle Fire, and Nook. I’m guessing since the Q*bert license is owned by Sony we’re not going to see it on Microsoft devices, which really stinks. This would be perfect for Xbox Live Arcade.

So I’ve got mixed feelings here: always happy for more Q*bert, but none of these ways to play it are ideal for me. I’ll most likely end up getting it on PC via Steam, but I don’t play much on PC, so it won’t get as much playtime as it might otherwise.

Now if only this leads to more toys and figures…

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July 2, 2014 Lyn Plays Eldevin

Price: Free to play, memberships and itemshop available.
Client: Browser Based
Play it at: www.huntedcow.com

This week’s video is not the best quality, I’d suggest not watching it full screen. I couldn’t get the settings right, and eventually had to go to bed so this was it.

The people of Hunted Cow told me there would be no download to play this game, which was a little bit of a fib as it often is with browser games. Eldevin is their MMO offering from a list of games, and it’s pretty decent. The quest texts are a little wordy and long winded (I like my quest text all in one window, I’m a diva like that).

I didn’t get much into the story, but apparently a King got kidnapped or something and then you went to save him but got stuck in a void for 10 years, which is such a headache. Now that you’re out of the void, you’re off to do a ton of things for people who could have easily done them for themselves. There are, from what I gather, two possible character paths. You can be a soldier or a magical person (I think).

I’m still always surprised when a browser game is great to look at, and this one is great to look at. They seem to have found a good balance between loading times and eye candy. The website claims that while there are paid options available, these are for people who just want to support the studio and you can play the whole thing for no money. I have not played the whole thing, so cannot confirm.

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July 1, 2014 Tuesday 8: The 100 Worst Games Of All Time

I’m not big into doing “WORST STUFF EVER” around here, but I saw this list over at GamesRadar and thought I’d see how many of these supposed terrible games I have played. I’m writing the article as I go through the list so as not to prejudice myself, so I don’t even know how many I’ll get to.

Check the list yourself and see how many you’ve got in your history.

100. Rise of the Robots – I barely remember this game, but I do remember why I played it: it looked super cool.

92. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2013) – This is the most disappointing one on the list for me. The game looked totally bodacious, but there were so many bugs and it was really unfun. Play TMNT: Out of the Shadows instead.

71. Fantastic Four – I played this one for review purposes and it wasn’t great, but I didn’t hate it. I remember a level with the Silver Surfer going through a tunnel? That level sucked.

68. Bible Adventures – Some kid I barely knew had this on his NES. It was weird and not good.

35. Pac-Man Atari 2600 – I understand why this one gets a lot of hate, but I still can’t hate it myself. The sounds on it are some of my favorite from the 2600 era.

33. b – This was a free advertising game on the Xbox 360, and it was so terrible not even the promise of eventual gamerpoints and achievements were enough to make me want to keep playing.

26. Street Fighter: The Movie – I enjoyed the previous games and saw the movie, so I felt I needed to play the game.  So, so bad.

2. E.T. – I recently purchased a copy of this for my 2600, but haven’t played it yet. I remember playing it for about 5 minutes back in the day, though. Nonsensical and difficult.

I don’t know how I’ve avoided so many lousy games, but I guess I’m thankful I have. I’ve played some terrible games, I guess they just weren’t terrible enough to be included on the list.

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June 30, 2014 Operation All The Zeldas! Majora’s Mask

MajorasMaskSo I have failed you. This will be the first one of these games I review without having completed the game. Part of that is because I moved, some of it was the Mario Kart 8 review that will be on this site sooner or later. Majora’s Mask is a huge game, and with a pretty odd time travel mechanic, it’s a lot of work to see everything. Majora’s Mask is the direct sequel to Ocarina of Time, and has young Link on a journey to find Navi when he is attacked by the Skull Kid. The skull kid has a plan to destroy the world with the moon, and Link must stop him by calling for the help of three guardian spirits. The catch is that Link only has three days to do so, but he is able to restart the three day cycle and retain some of the progress. 

This makes the game a bit tricky to approach. There aren’t many games in the Zelda series that I feel require a guide for the initial play-through, but Majora’s Mask might need a guide just to keep you from being overwhelmed. The three day cycle is an interesting design choice to play with the linear nature of the Zelda games, at the same time, there’s even more to do. There’s racing mini-games, mini-games that require a visit each day, a fairy collection in each dungeon, and a host of events that require lining up the right day and time to resolve them. There’s even a notebook feature to help you to track who you’ve helped as you go. There’s even a scene where Link fends off an alien invasion of a ranch.
The mask concept itself really changes Zelda’s formula. In addition to getting new gadgets in each dungeon, you’re also getting Masks that transform Link altogether. You get to play in the shoes of Dekus, Gorons, and Zoras, each with their own instruments. Each of the masks gives Link an entirely different set of skills, some novel and others integral to exploration. This is another odd risk, but it allows for more experimentation in the approach to the world than only Link and Epona.
This pokes the edges of the open world concept, as well as playing with linear narratives. This might be Nintendo at its most creative, and there’s a lot of risk to playing with a well worn format. It works in some ways, as this manages to be just as memorable as its predecessor. On the other hand, the time format makes getting through this game maddening in some places. Also, even though the game opens up to playing with time, you’re still being bound to a specific order of the dungeons. Small quibbles with a pretty enjoyable game. Now I’m heading back to finish the game. Next month we have another portable entry in the series.

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June 27, 2014 Hollywood’s 100 Favorite Films

 

Only #97?? Bah!

Only #97?? Bah!

The Hollywood Reporter sent out a ballot to a bunch of “Hollywood types” to see what people in the industry would pick as the Best Movies Ever. It’s different than critics or the general public picking the list, and it’s interesting to see what they chose. I’m bolding the ones I’ve seen from the list:

100. The Seven Samurai
99. Bonnie and Clyde
98. Reservoir Dogs
97. Airplane!
96. Pan’s Labyrinth
95. Doctor Zhivago
94. The Deer Hunter
93. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
92. Up
91. Rocky
90. Memento
89. Braveheart
88. Slumdog Millionaire
87. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
86. Beauty and the Beast
85. Seven
84. Inception
83. Die Hard
82. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings
81. Amadeus
80. On The Waterfront
79. Wall-E
78. 12 Angry Men
77. Ghostbusters
76. Brokeback Mountain
75. The Bridge on the River Kwai
74. Blazing Saddles
73. All the Presidents Men
72. Young Frankenstein
71. Almost Famous
70. Vertigo
69. Gladiator
68. Monty Python and the Holy Grail
67. Avatar
66. The Lion King
65. Raging Bull
64. Mary Poppins
63. Groundhog Day
62. North by Northwest
61. West Side Story
60. Amelie
59. Thelma and Louise
58. Sunset Blvd.
57. The Dark Knight
56. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
55. Taxi Driver
54. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
53. Good Will Hunting
52. All About Eve
51. The Big Lebowski
50. Jurassic Park
49. Rear Window
48. The Usual Suspects
47. Some Like It Hot
46. Saving Private Ryan
45. Titanic
44. The Matrix
43. Toy Story
42. Alien
41. Psycho
40. Fight Club
39. The Shining
38. When Harry Met Sally
37. Dr. Strangelove
36. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
35. A Clockwork Orange
34. American Beauty
33. Fargo
32. The Empire Strikes Back
31. The Princess Bride
30. One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest
29. Blade Runner
28. The Graduate
27. The Breakfast Club
26. Singin’ in the Rain
25. The Sound of Music
24. Jaws
23. Lawrence of Arabia
22. The Silence of the Lambs
21. Chinatown
20. It’s A Wonderful Life
19. Goodfellas
18. Annie Hall
17. Apocalypse Now
16. To Kill A Mockingbird
15. Gone With The Wind
14. Forrest Gump
13. Raiders of the Lost Ark
12. Back to the Future
11. Star Wars
10. Schindler’s List
9. 2001: A Space Odyssey
8. E.T. The Extra Terrestrial
7. The Godfather: Part II
6. Casablanca
5. Pulp Fiction
4. The Shawshank Redemption
3. Citizen Kane
2. The Wizard of Oz
1. The Godfather

I’ve seen 87 of them, and most of the ones I’ve missed are pre-1980s, which isn’t much of a surprise.

How many of them have you seen?

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