The Robot Gamer

Under The Radar (Games) Podcast!

noreply@blogger.com (matthewtaylor) — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 01:29:00 +0000

Under The Radar (Games) is a weekly podcast that covers overlooked games in three steps. We start by discussing our expectations before playing. After a ten minute play through, we return with a fresh first impression. If we think the title is worth a deeper look, we follow up with a long haul review in the following episode. A thoughtful discussion with a guest about games and the industry is included in each show. Hosted by Blake Leftwich and Matthew Taylor. New episodes released every Thursday. Contact us at mailtheradar[at]gmail.com or follow us at twitter.com/tweettheradar. Music by PAUSE artists (www.iimusic.net). Additional music by James Tillman.

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Video Game Journal 1.14.09

noreply@blogger.com (matthewtaylor) — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 00:56:00 +0000

The holidays are over, the leftovers are long gone, and things are generally back to normal. One thing that isn't normal is the amount of video games waiting for me to complete them. The holiday season brought with it tons (and tons) of triple-A goodness. It's been overwhelming (in the best way possible), but I've slowly been progressing through several games. Let me tell you about them...

Prince of Persia (Xbox360/PS3):I'm starting on a bit of a sad note. Let me start by saying that I have NOT finished Prince of Persia, and refuse to cast (permanent) judgment. However, at the moment I'm far from a fan of the game. The controls thus far have been frustrating, the writing is painful ("Thank you for helping me reach here," really?) and the dialogue is nothing short of _horrible_ (why must every triple-A video game character be a badass Han-Solo-only-less-clever type). On a positive note, the graphics are wonderful and have kept me playing, and I'm hoping that better gameplay is around the corner (any moment now...)

We Love Katamari (PS2):

Although "We Love Katamari" was released in '05, I haven't gotten around to playing this sequel to "Katamari Damacy" until now. I loved the first Katamari game and was excited about playing the sequel, "We Love Katamari". My last Katamari experience was "Beautiful Katamari" which, although it was sharp, crisp and colorful on the next-gen Xbox360, showed almost no variety in its level design and gameplay. I can whole-heartedly declare that "We Love Katamari" is as good if not better than the original "Katamari Damacy", and far better than the last game in the series, "Beautiful Katamari". The game features wonderful level design and environments from snowy landscapes to beautiful garden levels. The soundtrack (like the first game's) is fantastic and among the best video game soundtracks have to offer. Overall, "We Love Katamari" is a joy to play.

Gears of War 2 (XBox360):

This sequel to the best-selling Xbox360 game "Gears of War" improves on almost every aspect of the original while maintaining the super-satisfying controls and game mechanics that made the first game such a home run. While the overall story has been improved through the use of 41 in-game collectibles that tell the stories of heartbreak and anguish in war, the dialog has not been improved; nothing takes you out of a game quite like picking up an opponent for use as a shield and hearing, "You're mine now, bi***." (I mean, seriously. Who the hell thought that was clever enough to use?).

Guitar Hero 4: World Tour (Xbox360/PS3):

Guitar Hero 4 is an improvement on every aspect of previous Guitar Hero games, but that's what we've come to expect. The drums feel great and are well built. I can't imagine breaking this kick pedal (though I did break the one packaged with RB1) and I enjoy playing open notes on the bass guitar. On the other hand, the setlist is garbage showing no variety and flooding the shows with at least 75% classic rock (I don't necessarily hate classic rock, but I like to discover some new music when I play a music game, I don't really want to hear "On The Road Again" again.)

Rock Band 2 (Xbox360/PS3):
There is no doubt in my mind that RB2 beats both Guitar Hero's built in setlist and download content. I'm also happy with my current setup of Guitar Hero hardware and Rock Band software. Though, if you're not looking to spend your life savings on video games, you might be better served by just picking up the RB2 Band Bundle and using both RB hardware and software.

Ninjatown (NDS):

Though not quite an independent-level game, Ninjatown is far from a triple-A budget game. While some might judge the game by its Flash game-like art style (the good part is that it's colorful and has a cute, though sometimes patronizing, story/dialogue). The gameplay is a variation on tower defense wherein you find yourself building "Ninja Huts" where two Ninjas will stay until an enemy walks by, in which case they spring into action and proceed to attack the passerby. The game is fun, simple (though never dumbed-down) and a great time waster (which I consider a plus in a handheld videogame.)

-matthew taylor

Peripheral Vision

noreply@blogger.com (matthewtaylor) — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 01:18:00 +0000

Yesterday, I stopped by my local gaming outlet to purchase the “Socom Confrontation w/ PS3 Headset” bundle. I mainly decided to buy because I wanted the official Sony PS3 Bluetooth headset, and since I could get Socom for only 10 dollars more than the headset alone, I went with the bundle. I must admit that Socom has proven to be a little disappointing, but that's another topic.

Keeping in mind that the headset alone will run you a cool 50 big ones, it's tough to say if it's worth it. It's got plenty of good things going for it, but it also has some downsides as well. Take a look:

Good Things:

● It's pretty. The headset has a nice black matte finish, and the overall design complements the PS3 very well.
● The ear-piece feels great and fits perfectly in my ear. Keep in mind that the comfort of any ear-piece will vary from person to person.
● Adjustable ear-clip.
● Easy pairing with the PS3 system. Simply plug the headset into the PS3 system with the supplied USB cable and BAM!, it's paired.

Bad Things:

● The volume buttons are not only very small, but are also not nearly as clicky as I would have liked.
● Power button nonsense. Because the power button is also used for wireless pairing and all kinds of stuff, powering down is more complicated than it should be. An example of this is having to hold down for 3 seconds to turn on, and five seconds to turn off. This is my biggest complaint. I've only had the headset for a couple days and I have fought with this countless times.

So, that's about it. The good definitely outweighs the bad. If you're a fan of Socom, then I would definitely recommend this bundle. However, if you're just interested in a Bluetooth headset, it might be a good idea to seek a 3rd party.

-matthew taylor

Venture: A Game Odyssey

noreply@blogger.com (matthewtaylor) — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 04:23:00 +0000

Our impressions of a game we've never played before.

I know absolutely nothing about football, to the extent that before playing a game entitled “10 Yard Fight”, I had no idea it was about the sport. Now, I have nothing against football. However, I do have something against most sports games (one exception being “Ice Hockey” for the NES, and a couple of others.) So when I found out that “10 Yard Fight” was a sports game, I was skeptical.

The few sports games I like combine very simple gameplay with even simpler controls, so I was interested to see if “10 Yard Fight” could get the classic sports formula right. And for the most part, it does. It has a nice, clean, top-down perspective that scrolls along with the play.

The controls are simplistic, using only 1 button to pass on the offense while the same button tackles on defense. After playing a few games, I have come to the conclusion that it achieves exactly what I want from a classic video game rendition of football: it's simple, sometimes even to an extent of stripping down an otherwise complicated sport.

I was expecting a good port of a 1984 arcade game that I admittedly haven’t played since I was too young to understand it. But I do remember shaking off tackles, which I was greatly looking forward to; albeit with concern that the directional pad of the NES pad would pale in comparison to the coin-op’s joystick.

I discovered I was right on the NES pad issue, wiggling the pad is much tougher than a stick and sometimes the players didn’t quite move in my intended direction. This game was clearly designed around a joystick, but besides the interface, the game seems pretty close to the original.

I appreciate the simplicity of early sports games. You do not select plays, you just pick the point from where your receiver runs up the field and choose to either pass or run. Interceptions occur from time to time if opposing team members are in the path of the throw.

The defense picks a player to control before the ball is hiked then tries to cover the receiver or go for a sack. Defensive players can also perform a leaping tackle, but if you miss it takes a second to recover. Other than kicking field goals, which is a timing challenge, this description covers the entire game.

10-Yard Fight is super slow, slow enough to turn most players off completely. The game moves at a snail’s pace. However, if you have an affinity for classic games or never cared for modern sports games like Madden, it’s good for an hour or so of Rah Rah Sis Boom Bah!

-matthew taylor

-blake leftwich

The Perfect Game

noreply@blogger.com (matthewtaylor) — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 18:18:00 +0000

Mortal Kombat 2, despite its technical flaws and glitches is a perfect game, and this isn't coming from someone who couldn't stop shoving quarters into the arcade cabinet when the game first came out. In fact, I had never even touched the game until earlier this year when I purchased my PS3 for Metal Gear Solid 4 (which, if I may say, isn't too shabby either).

I had heard Blake talk about his love for Mortal Kombat 2 before, but I never really thought to ask about it, I had always imagined all Mortal Kombat games being about complicated combos and cheesy fatalities. But considering the game was a mere 5 Dollars on the Playstation Network, I gave it a shot. Now, I won't say that you will love it from the get-go, even I was torn over whether or not I liked the game, but I stuck with it and with Blake's help I had all of Liu Kang's moves down in about a week (playing the game for about 30min to 1 hour a day), and from there I was hooked.

There are a lot of reasons why I'm so fond of MK2, mainly the fact that it has the best speed and controls of any fighting game I have ever played. Now that I think about it, its really hard to name just one or two things that make me love it. So, in a semi-disappointing conclusion, you really just have to play it. There are a lot of different platforms from which to try it, I'd recommend the PS3 if possible, its a perfect arcade port with online play, plus the game works really well on the PS3 controller and its only 5 bucks on the Playstation Network. I've played a couple of other ports, but I'm sure Blake has played more, so I'll leave it up to him to recommend some other versions in the event that you haven't bought a PS3.

Unlike Matt, I come from a time when gamers still huddled around arcade cabinets in smoky pool halls hoping for a peek at a new Fatality. MK2 is a big part of my life; a game I consider more of a religion than simply an obsession. I saw the game release in my local arcade and watched in shock as a Mysterious monk named Kung Lao split a screaming victim in two with the brim of his razor sharp hat, spattering blood and exposing bones and sinew. This took everything the first MK had to offer and amplified it 10,000 times. As I inevitably became addicted, I once spent $70 dollars (a whole paycheck) on the game learning every single move, fatality and babality through word of mouth and game mags while defeating opponents with crowds of ohhing-and-awwing onlookers and being slaughtered by players too proud to speak when spoken to. MK2 was a big deal when it came out.

The two-player experience is a perfect blend of strategy, timing and skill with controls that are complex enough for a fighter, but easily memorized after a few games. The 9 playable characters share the same move set excluding special moves. Beyond that are some of the advanced techniques like crossover kicks, corner trapping and of course, combos... Not 15 hit combos but 2 to 4 hit combos that are balanced, extremely gratifying and require quick reflexes and positioning rather than simple memorization. The speed and timing of each character and these special moves is tweaked to perfection and MK2 is one of the last fighters to effectively use blocking as a major part of the gameplay. In fact, a battle between two experienced players is more like a game of chess and often consists of predicting your opponent's next attack and countering with the best possible move or combo.

Do you remember the last time you played every character in a fighter? When you think you've squeezed out every ounce of joy and exploited every nuance of a particular character, you will find a new favorite and start all over again and because all kombatants have the basic moves in common, picking up a new fighter is easy.

Of course, what makes the series famous is its buckets of blood and fatalities any horror fan would

appreciate. The developers added Babalities and Friendships in response to the "outrage" caused by the first game. These friendships are a sight to behold and are sure to leave you happily dumbfounded if you're new to the concept. Also, the game is plagued with a few glitches that add to the charm such as the conveyer belt on the Armory Stage and eternal Deep Freezing that resets the Fatality timer. The characters are motion captured, digitized actors so the visual style is a little outdated and campy by today's standards but this simply adds to a game that never took itself too seriously.

The premium choice should be the PS3 version. It's arcade perfect, it costs $5 and has free online play which is only occasionally laggy. I have played this game more than any other title on my PS3. Next I would choose Midways Arcade Treasures 2 for the PS2, It includes MK 1, 2 and 3 and lots of other great games like Xybots and Timber for under $20. The SNES and Genesis versions were nothing to sneeze at either. The SNES one sounds, looks and plays very close to the real thing and includes all the gore. The Genesis version is a little faster at the expense of a few missing frames of animation, sound and music. In the case of this game, avoid the portable versions and you're set.

That said, the coin-op is my first choice. Nothing beats the feel of a joystick in your hand and a flesh-and-blood opponent at your side.

The best strategy for a newcomer is to select a character with easy but effective moves like Liu Kang or Mileena and practice the basics like Foot Sweeps, Uppercuts and Blocks until they feel comfortable. Next, try mastering the special moves and a few fatalities. Finally, take on the advanced techniques like crossover kicks and combos. By this time you'll be having a blast. Trust me, give it a shot. I am still addicted after 15 years, this is why it's the perfect game.

-matthew taylor

-blake leftwich

Interview: Frontier Developments (LostWinds)

noreply@blogger.com (matthewtaylor) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 14:10:00 +0000

When WiiWare launched, critics and gamers alike united around one game, LostWinds. I recently sat down with the team behind the game to reflect on LostWinds, and see what's next for Frontier.

1. I can tell that LostWinds is hand crafted for the Wii. Which came first; the idea for LostWinds or the choice to develop a game for WiiWare?

The story of how LostWinds came about is a little unusual: at Frontier we have long encouraged debate and discussion on games design / ideas, and have an internal forum dedicated to sharing ideas and opinions under the name of Game of the Week. The scope ranges from one-line game ideas like 'we should do a game about monkeys with detachable limbs' to fully-fledged design documents being posted. This causes a great deal of debate, criticism and argument, with many improvements, problems being raised and solved - we have likened the process to dangling a leg of lamb into a piranha-filled stream: the water boils for a while, but then whatever is left must be pretty tough.

The idea for LostWinds dates from the time that the Wii was first announced, when we were brainstorming design ideas that made good use of the Wii controls – it is one of many strong ideas we have built up over time, and it gathered a number of very enthusiastic internal advocates.

The actual original idea for the game came from when Steve Burgess was watching the trees and leaves from the window on a windy day. He remembers thinking about how many ways the wind shapes and manipulates different things within the world, and if only there was some way to become the wind in a game. He then applied this train of thought to the Wii controller.

The game gathered a number of very enthusiastic champions internally who worked on the concept, setting art direction, generating gameplay ideas, and inventing the mythos surrounding the gameworld.

Timing is often everything. Out of the blue, in late 2007, Nintendo invited us to a mysterious meeting in London: as it turned out, to explain their plans for WiiWare. We were delighted that their ideals for WiiWare were almost exactly fulfilled by LostWinds; allowing developers like us to create something innovative specifically for the Wii and, most importantly, its controller. We went well-prepared, and took a copy of the LostWinds concept document to the meeting. Since some people were available after finishing another game (“Thrillville Off the Rails”published by LucasArts), we decided to go for it, as the chance to be a launch title for WiiWare was too good to pass up. So we said “sounds great, and *this* is what we’d like to do”.

Also we were very keen to get some experience with digital distribution channels for games – which must surely be even more important in the future as they are with music now, for example. There are significant costs and risks associated with manufacturing DVDs and shipping them to shops, so LostWinds could be a very interesting first step for us into this world.

2. Did controls for any existing Wii games have an impact on the way you wanted LostWinds to be controlled?

Not at all – the whole idea came from thinking about how to best use the Wii’s controller; the whole point of the game is to allow the player to use the Wii control system in a coherent, intuitive, satisfying way.

Although it should be said that our experience in doing Thrillville: Off the Rails for the Wii in 2007 was invaluable in terms of our basic experience developing for the Wii as well as the many different control systems we’d used for the different types of gameplay in that game.

3. What were some of the hurdles during the development of LostWinds (If any)?

Probably rather boringly there weren’t any, really – if anything it was the opposite:

Normally in development there are ideas that look good on ‘paper’ but when you come to implement them in a game they are not as fun as you thought they would be, or you have an even better idea along the way, and so they end up on the ‘cutting room floor’, to borrow an expression from the movies.

One of the most striking things about the LostWinds development was the lack of such ‘wastage’ – the game transferred from concept to screen almost exactly. This is probably a big compliment to the large amount of effort that had gone into the early concept development of the game within Frontier before we started production.

4. What would you like a player of LostWinds to experience from playing your game?

Good question!

We essentially developed LostWinds for ourselves, and to satisfy our feeling of a pent up need for the Wii owners amongst us who wanted something more than another party game, something fresh that delivers deep, involving, Wii-specific gameplay in a beautiful skin.

We wanted to make the use of the different powers in the game to be very natural, tactile and playful, and the whole of Mistralis, the game-world, has been constructed to reward players who explore.

For us, a lot of subtle but very important appeal comes from the fact that the player controls two characters, and the dynamic between them. [For those readers who don’t know, Toku is a young boy who is relatively vulnerable and whom you basically just move left or right with the Nunchuck, and he stays vulnerable throughout the game (although he does get to use a couple of cool items of ‘kit’ to help his flying along the way), but what he provides is a physical presence in the world. The other player character, Enril the Wind Spirit, is controlled by the Wii-mote and does get much more powerful as the game progresses.] There is a nice symbiosis to their relationship because Enril has almost god-like powers in many ways, yet lacks the physical presence in the world that Toku provides. So the two work very well and naturally together as the player wields the power of the wind to protect, guide and do battle on behalf of Toku.

Its been very gratifying to get the very large number of messages from people who have taken the trouble to write to us saying how much they liked LostWinds, and a common thread is a feeling of excitement, discovery and exploration that has been missing for a while in their gaming lives, it takes them back to the feelings they first had when falling in love with gaming. We regard that as a huge compliment.

The short, simple (and obvious) answer is ‘to enjoy themselves’, in any way that the game enables.

5. Metanet, the developer behind the indie-hit N+ has been pretty vocal about Microsoft and the Xbox Live Arcade. How satisfied have you been working with Nintendo's WiiWare (development, distribution, etc.)?

To say we were running towards a deadline to be in with a shot of being a launch title, the whole thing has been remarkably smooth and we’ve got no issues at all. I can only commend the people at Nintendo who worked very hard to get the WiiWare system up and running; they’ve been great to work with.

6. When the Wii was first released there was much talk about downloadable game demos. Does Frontier have any say about offering demos of their games or has Nintendo ever mentioned demos to Frontier?

Nintendo were clear at the start that there would be no WiiWare demos. It's their system, so until they change their position that’s the way it is and we are happy to respect that.

7. What made you want to be a game developer?

Back in the days of “Elite”, I started writing games as a hobby – I had a huge fascination for 3D graphics and what could be achieved by the simple computers of the time. The initial motivation to do this commercially was to be able to fund the hobby, but pretty soon it became apparent that it could be a career – and my University work became the hobby!

8. I think it's safe to say Lostwinds was a success. So what's next for Frontier?

Thank you! We’re working on several things, but the only one we can talk about is The Outsider, an action-thriller game for PS3, Xbox360 and PC that gives the player unprecedented control over how the game’s story unfolds based on what they do and how they do it in the game.

We certainly have plans to support the Wii in the future, too!

9. Great, thanks for taking the time to speak with me.

It’s an absolute pleasure, thanks for the opportunity to ‘talk’ to your readers!

Interview: Anamanaguchi

noreply@blogger.com (matthewtaylor) — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 02:20:00 +0000

Among all the chiptune artists out there, my favorite has to be Anamanaguchi. i recently spoke with their frontman Peter Berkman to see whats up with the new album, the upcoming tour and of course, video games!

1. first off, you guys have a new record coming out soon, tell us a little bit about it.

The project is actually pretty secretive (laughs). We're working quite hard on it as we speak. What I CAN say is that it's called "Dawn Metropolis" and will be released over the internet.

2. whats your writing process like, where does a song start and end?

Our writing process is a little different for each song - certain songs start with an idea for the Nintendo, others an idea for the guitar. It's always the most fun when you get to mesh the two worlds though.

3. according to your myspace, you guys have some shows in South Africa coming up this august, whats that all about?

We're doing a worldwide tour this August and South Africa is our first stop! We're incredibly excited about it, because the first time we tried to head out of the country we ended up getting ourselves deported from the UK! We'll be hitting up South Africa, Seattle, New York, Los Angeles, Taiwan, Japan and the UK (for revenge!).

4. your debut, Power Supply was available for free on your label's website 8bitpeoples.com can we expect the same for the new record?

Our new record is actually not going to be released via 8bitpeoples - however, Dawn Metropolis is going to be released around the same time as a DIFFERENT 7-track EP on 8bitpeoples. Still don't know what we're gonna call it, actually (laughs).

5. taking a step away from the more serious topic, what are some of your favorite video games?

Well I just finished playing Metal Gear Solid 2 again, which is totally amazing. My favorite games probably goes a bit something like - Deus Ex, Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past, Mega Man 2, and a ton I don't have room to list (laughs). However, we all have a copy of Super Mario Strikers and are incredibly intense about it.6. lastly, after this new album comes out, whats next for Anamanaguchi?

We'll see! I'm predicting some more touring, some music videos, and then of course the inevitable selling out.

7. (laughs) awesome, thanks for taking the time to answer some of my questions.

No, thank YOU!

Stunt Cycle by Atari

noreply@blogger.com (matthewtaylor) — Sat, 10 May 2008 23:10:00 +0000

For me, having fun with a classic game is all about enjoying its simplicity, and stunt cycle is a very simple game. After plugging in the stand-alone peripheral, you have 4 game options: Stunt Cycle, Drag Race, Motocross and Enduro. Stunt Cycle mode presents you with three lines on screen (each line bleeds in to the next, allowing for a longer track), the first two allow you to adjust and perfect you speed, once you reach the third line you hit the ramp and jump the buses! now, if you're going too fast you'll fly right off screen and lose points, but if you hit it at just the right speed you'll land perfectly on the other side of the buses. Each successful land adds another bus to your jump. In Drag Race you have three lines and a timer on top of the screen, your only goal is to shoot for the fastest time, in order to do this, you must perfect the art of switching gears by letting off the throttle, this will perform a wheely/gear shift. In Motocross (my favorite out of all the games), you're presented with the standard three lines, only this time a block appears in the middle of each line, in order to cross them you have to perform a wheely, me and some friends had a blast perfecting our times. You'll have to forgive me because I can't quite remember the object of Enduro. all of the games offer two difficulty options (AM/PRO). Overall everything is very fast paced and a lot of fun.

Unfortunately, fun like this doesn't come cheap. When I asked Scott how much he paid, he reluctantly replied "sixty bucks". Blake and I quickly reassured him "that's how much most new games cost."

Dear Robot Gamer

noreply@blogger.com (matthewtaylor) — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 02:45:00 +0000

RobotReader™ Jordan Pike writes:

I just received the packaging to send back the Guitar Hero III Wii disc. The letter says the replacement is going to fix the mono sound issue but sadly it doesn't even mention the addition of a quickplay co-op mode (which the Wii version is lacking). We'll see how fast this process goes as I sent it off today.

Thanks for writing, Jordan!

Free EA Game Arrived

noreply@blogger.com (matthewtaylor) — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 20:57:00 +0000