The Land of ESH

Episode CLVIII: Official Cause Of Accident: Pussy!

A brand-new episode awaits, as if it was told in a dream…

This week the Bastards gripe about the Halloween happenings in Salem, but calm down when they chat about the recent Flobots/Astronautalis/H.W. & Emoh Betta show at T.T. the Bear’s. The movie Cloud Atlas is explained in the best way possible, with mixed ratings from all the group members. King Baby Duck and Blueonic get their Happy Wars on, KBD tries his hardest to showcase the strengths and faults of the Nike+ Kinect Training demo, and Teg gets jolly about A Game of Dwarves and XCOM: Enemy Unknown.

Don’t go into a candy coma just yet! It’s Episode 158: Official Cause Of Accident: Pussy!

Episode CLV: Damn Those Funky Chiptune Monkeys!

A musician of the simian kind joins the Bastards in an all-new episode.

This week the B3 crew welcomes James from BR1GHT PR1MATE, as he talks about the band’s origins, his views on the chiptune/nerdcore scene, and his work outside the duo (including a plug about the new game LiquidSketch). King Baby Duck and Teg look at the new Joseph Gordon-Levitt/Bruce Willis sci-fi flick Looper, and do everything they can to not spoil anything about it! Finally the demos for Double Dragon Neon and Marvel’s Avengers: Battle For Earth are reviewed, and Teg gives his initial thoughts on Borderlands 2.

Hide your bananas! It’s Episode 155: Damn Those Funky Chiptune Monkeys!

Episode CL: The Real B Word

How do the Bastards celebrate their 150th show? Simple: by inviting one of their favorite badass drummers to join in on the shenanigans!

This week the B3 crew welcome their very special guest Laura Petracca of Hunter Valentine. Hear all about the goings-on with their upcoming album Collide and Conquer, as well as the shocking and not-so-shocking truths behind their participation in The Real L Word. The Bostonians then invite Laura into the Bastard circle as they all share their thoughts on the new movie The Bourne Legacy, and you won’t believe the pen name she picks.

This calls for one epic drum solo! It’s Episode 150: The Real B Word!

Episode CXLIX: Three Hands?! I’ll Just Use My Mouth!

After getting some fresh New Hampshire air, the Bastards return for another zany episode filled with double-entendres (no thanks to Teg!).

This week the B3 crew figure out if Total Recall should’ve been remade in the first place, as the first one was fine in their opinions. King Baby Duck goes hands-on with the demos for Transformers: Fall of Cybertron and The Expendables 2, dives deep into the darkness of Deadlight, and Blueonic tries his hardest to share his take on Wreckateer. Teg gives a shout-out to the game Endless Space, and KBD tells listeners why Spec Ops: The Line will make you want to skip out on any other war game from here on out (but in a good way).

This is not Rekall, it’s Episode 149: Three Hands?! I’ll Just Use My Mouth!

Episode CXLVIII: Gaming Resistance Is Futile!!!

It’s another super-sized Podcast episode. All gaming, some tangents! Plus the Issues Guy joins in on the fun!

This week the B3 Crew and Issues Guy share their most favorite and least-favorite games of 2012 so far. Other discussions include how Call of Duty should better itself in the near-future, what Nintendo needs to do to get gamers to buy the WiiU, and predictions on what the next big game will be for the second half of the year are thrown around.

It’s long, it’s crazy, but it will fill your belly with laughter! It’s Episode 148: Gaming Resistance Is Futile!!!

PAX East 2012 Special Podcast Report: "Novus Aeterno"

Teg chats with the Taitale Studios’s CEO Lead Game Developer of one of the most anticipated MMO games coming out this year.

Recorded at PAX East Teg gets the lowdown from Nick Talmers Nieuwoudt about Novus Aeterno, the first true MMO real-time strategy game. Hear how the game mechanics work, how the units you create impact the game, and how AI priorities works will work when you are offline. Plus find out how Taitale brings fans into the development stages to help create the game.

Get the lowdown here in the PAX East 2012 Special Podcast Report: Novus Aeterno!

Teg’s PAX East Wars: Episode III – Revenge Of The Dance!

Ok, I know I am late with this one, but by the time I got home and over the past few days I have been tired and work did not slow down also. So I finally am going to take some time to document the final day where I was fully made into a zombie. You wake up after an event like this and as much as you like it, your body tells you that this cannot keep going on. Especially after dancing the night away at the curse party, I realized on Monday that I did not have the strength to shift my car into reverse. Let’s jump into what the final day had to offer.

Waking up was especially hard after the party at Curse. I knew I would hate myself, but in the end it was worth that night. It was going to be another question if it was worth doing PAX for the final day. Only time could tell, and it was a question I was willing to go find out. I showed up to PAX around 9 am to pick Blueonic and KBD up, since I had been driving into PAX every day and they had a room. First item for those who were not following the coverage of PAX was the round table at 10 am. Everyone in the media area was amazing with helping set up this discussion, and providing us with a table and internet access that was not wireless. This was the ESH sit-down and summation of the first two days of PAX, and you should be able to catch it on the B3 UStream channel if you want to see and hear the details. The summation of this conversation would be that PAX was amazing, but would be better if we got support and a showing of Activision, EA, and other major publishers that day-by-day seem to care less about the people that support them. I would love to see EA pay for a convention like this if only to make themselves not look like all they want is money. My ranting aside, great conversations were had.

After our cast was done, it was back off to the floor for what few interviews that we could come up with and a final sweep of the floor. Most of this day was booked by 2K Games and seeing what they had to bring to the stage. Our first round was playing Borderlands 2, Spec Ops: The Line, and a preview of XCOM: Enemy Unknown.

So Duck, Blueonic, and I sat down at the Borderlands 2 booth first to see what Gearbox was up to. We were originally going to split the sessions, but that would soon change. I loved playing the original Borderlands, so I was going to watch Blue play it first and then take over. As I watched I realized how long it had been since he had played, and I was ending up telling him what to pick, what to do, and yelling at him to put points in his talent tree. I think at this point he realized what a fan I was and handed the controller over to me, the back seat driver so I could set everything up and play.

We had picked the Siren as I loved the running and SMGs of the original game, and I could not wait to see how the class played. Quickly I saw that the talents were completely different and I confirmed in the interview that everything on that end was changed. After placing many points in the special powers and the survival skills based on it as I did not know how well my partner would play, I ran off to kill stuff. We were faced with a crab like creature who had crystals protecting critical strike area’s on his legs. As we killed these and moved forward I learned that my partner had also not been at my level of play so the new special power of locking up an enemy in a distortion bubble came out working extremely well. I was able with the new power to either stun a target and take it down, or stun a target to fight later on.

The basic concepts from the game are still there so getting into the new one was really easy and seemed like an upgraded version of the first. I quickly marked quests on the map and kept moving forward hoping that I would make it to a boss battle. I succeeded in my rush and was rewarded with a 50-foot crab to kill while my partner was trying to figure out where he was. Okay, I must confess that I had played the original Borderlands recently, so I was accustomed to what I was going to face; and I did die once, but I was able to revive myself unlike my partner. I ended up killing the boss and getting some extra time to run around the level exploring before time was called and we ended the session.

The interview also revealed that many interesting additions to this game including a new damage type and an expansion to the artifact system that will make every class even more unique then before. I was also happy to hear that each class is good with all weapons instead of making someone focus on just shotguns or SMGs. Catch the rest of the audio interview to get the full effect, any way I am already planning on spending a lot of my already little free time playing this game. Gearbox has always been an amazing group of people. I would love to get my hands on Borderlands 2 when it comes out, and I will probably come back to do a full review of the time I did get to play.

The next stand that we went to was for Spec Ops: The Line. I took more of a back seat on this because I hogged the Borderlands 2 play, and I was quickly realizing that I was dehydrated from all the time running around. This was also a game that it seemed Duck was looking forward to as much as I was looking forward to Borderlands 2. I sat back and watched amazing visuals of a city taken over by a sandstorm and destroyed by conflict. I can tell you from watching the game that the artists should get a commendation for all their work setting a great tone for what looked like an interesting FPS. I watched combat happen over dunes, in planes, and through a skyscraper. This was all single player content that I was watching, but it easily made me interested in what happened and what type of world the character was located in. Duck currently has an article up on this so I will not take this game away from him, go take a look as he had the most hands on and interview setup.

Next up would be a game known as XCOM. If you have played it, you might love it or be completely frustrated with the original. This game started off its life with an amazingly hard difficulty and was a love it or hate it title. So what is this new game like then? Well if you loved cheap deaths then I am told you will be disappointed because this game is based on decision and not luck like the earlier games. It is a turn based strategy game where you control members of a squad, and set up their weapons and training. In fact you can build the base that your troops will live in after every mission.

XCOM has a nice little tactical setup where if you get a team member killed then he will not come back at the end of the mission. I love to see games that have consequences for messing up, as to many games now seem to hold a players hand. The way this game was designed is so you can build a custom squad that you will care about and be able to follow through all the missions. Since nobody wanted to answer questions about the multi-player I decided to ask if there was a random component to this game to extend multiple play through. It turns out that there are so many levels that were made; it should take you a very long time to start seeing repeats. This game sounds interesting; making many more comments on it would require a sit down play session that was not being offered at the time. All we can do for now is research and wait to see what is offered.

After the 2K Games lineup was done, we had some time before the Fire Fall interview and play through. We decided to walk around and see what we might have missed. We came across a nice little indie game known as Drunken Robot Pornography. In its current state it is a shooter about picking up power ups and defeating a boss for each month of the year. This game plays like a boss battle endurance match with a score system to see if you can top your friends at it. We were told that there is also a boss-building section to this game where you can make a custom boss for your friends to try and complete. I always try and support the indie companies because they inspire amazing new idea’s to the community, so go out and buy some indie games. You never know what you will find.

Ok, I have been harping on the Red 5 interview for Firefall, and the time has finally come. We had a special computer in a little hidden area in their booth. This was an interesting interview with Red 5’s James Macauley, because it was less of a play and ask questions session. We were able to do the interview while playing the game, so it was more of a walkthrough with questions while we played. So what is this game that I got to play and was making such a big deal about?

Well it is a 3rd/1st person shooter (you can decide what you like) with an RPG component. This is not a tacked-on part like most games, you get levels and stats along with a PVE aspect. This is really like if Borderlands were to be combined with Team Fortress. You can run around with friends gathering resources and building weapons and gear along with a fully built in team competitive mode for PVP. I would like to stress also that this is not an MMOFPS in the fact that you will not be spending hours getting to a max level in order to compete with people. I would say that it takes the approach that guild wars did, give people the option to decide what they want to do when they start.

So you get your normal TF2 base classes of dreadnaught, recon, medic, engineer, and soldier to choose from. Each one of these classes has its own play style and special powers, and you can change between the classes as you play so there is no need to create a new profile. I have not had a chance yet to try the PVP aspect, but in the PVE I have placed a tiny “Thumper” and I have defended it from waves of bug-like creatures. I am told that the starting town that you are in can be controlled by assaulting enemy force and a community event to retake the location will happen, so dynamic events around the world will be common place.

The map shows a grey area around the starting location that if you go outside your link to data (radar on map) will not work, and in future patches you will be able to build relays to stop this effect. From the little time I had to play this game I see lots of potential in it, and I look forward to playing more. (Take a listen to my walkthrough interview with Red 5 whenever you get the chance.) I plan on a LAN party for my favorite PAX games this weekend after I move to my new house, and Firefall will be the first game I will play when I get the chance.

It was time to head home and go back to my normal life, and as much as I did not want to I was more tired during this weekend then I have been after a long week of work. My PAX experience has renewed my love of games and the culture that follows them even more, and makes me want to put more effort into the development of my own personal project. I have many full reviews to make, and with a list of games still in beta it makes time short to write them. If you have not seen a game reviewed here that I have shown interest in, then it is because I am looking for the time to get the most out of the review.

I have many keys to games that I think deserve screenshots and a more in-depth look than I can give them in this journal. Expect many reviews to pop up in the near future (if work allows me time) about many of my PAX games that I have mentioned. I hope the developers will hang in there for a little longer as I sort my life out and try to make reviews at the same time. I still want to make a video review site in the very near future, so I will probably even double review many of the games I have played now. For those who have looked at these epic walls of text I hope they have added an understanding of the coming games and PAX in general. Now get out there and play some games!

PAX East 2012 Special Podcast Report: "Firefall"

The Bastards are given a walkthrough of the first bits of the upcoming free-to-play title Firefall from Red 5.

Teg chats with James Macauley, the vice-president of development at Red 5 and executive producer of Firefall, who gives the crew a rundown on what to expect in this massive title. Hear how it will be one of the most competitive free-to-play games on PC, how often new content will be added (as well as how far along they’ve planned Firefall for currently), and find out what happens after “The Melding.”

It’s yet another PAX East 2012 Special Podcast Report: “Firefall”!

PAX East 2012 Special Podcast Report!

The Bastards take you onto the floor at PAX East with some of the biggest and newest stars of the gaming development world!

Recorded throughout the three days at PAX East King Baby Duck, Blueonic, and Teg ask the hard-hitting questions about many of the upcoming games arriving later this year on consoles and computers:

• Reneé Lasswell of Night Owl Games goes into detail about Dungeon Overlord‘s upcoming expansion pack and special app for those who love the game but are constantly on the go
• Matt “Chainsaw” Chaney of Twisted Pixel Games gives us insight about the PC and tablet/smartphone port of Ms. ‘Splosion Man, and also plugs his first professional foray into music (starts at 9:55)
• Sean Murray of Hello Games dives into detail about what’s new in the daredevil’s life in Joe Danger: The Movie (starts at 13:16)
• Illfonic chats about Nexuiz, and how it stands out from the rest of the FPS arena combat world (starts at 18:14)

It’s all here in a special mini-on-location edition of B3! PAX East 2012 Special Podcast Report!

Teg’s PAX East Grief-a-thon: Day Two – I Can Dance If I Want To!

I get home on day one of PAX East knowing that it will not be easy to get up and do the walk around never sit down thing again today. Well the morning came and I had to roll off the side of the bed and try to stop myself from hitting the floor. I guess that was enough to start out on day two of the convention.

This time I did not do a solo run through the building like yesterday. I ran around and tagged in on some interviews, and also set up a few on the spot voice interviews myself. The first order of today was an interview with Twisted Pixel about all the games that they are producing.  They were talking about a contest to eat creatures in The Maw to win a Kinect, porting Ms. ‘Splosion Man, and a CD that Matt “Chainsaw” Chaney is making.

Next we took a stroll over to Hello Games’ Joe Danger: The Movie.  Do not let the title fool you, this is a game about a retired stunt man who finally hits it big. You get to do all types of random driving with action and fighting of different bosses. I do not want to say that this is a racing game more than an arcade type action game that you can play with your friends.  It is an interesting look if you want something light to play in a party.

I decided to walk over and do an interview with the Nexuiz and let them give a walkthrough of what the game is about so that everyone can get more of a first hand feel for it. I can not stress again to support your indie companies, and this game is worth taking a look at. Yes this is more shameless plugging for my former classmate and friend, so please show some support and try the Steam beta if you want by signing on to Alienware.

Yes, this was me taking everyone to revisit booths that I have been to before because I needed to show the group the MMORTS that was Novus Aeterno. When I talked to them on day one I was looking at gameplay, so today was more of a story day. I learned that the kid who created this started of as a 16 year-old who lived in South Africa, and has his life threatened by a group of locals. Because of this, the kid left for Greece to start a new life, and while there got into the local gaming competition for RTS games. He was doing so well that he soon was tired and started creation of his own persistent RTS that he turned into and MMORTS. This kid is now 21, running Taitale Studios and is close to releasing his game. Who is this amazing kid you may ask? His name is Nick Talmers and if that story did not make you see how passionate that he is to go through everything he did to finally come to making this game then I do not know what will. We had an interview with him, and I got to ask him about what he was making and why you should try this game. Trust me, it is interesting so head over to their official website.

Next we walked over to the tablet/phone game Ghostbusters: Paranormal Blast . This is an interesting augmented reality game where you use your GPS to go to a location and fight ghosts. This is an interesting idea and a great start for an ARG, I hope this studio takes it a step further with Google glasses so you are not limited to the screen on your tablet/phone.

We then went over to Mark of the Ninja from Klei Entertainment to stealth kill some stuff. I was not doing an interview here so I took some time to get acquainted with this game and do some killing. This is a nice little 2D stealth game about killing dudes and rescuing captured ninjas. This is one of the few games that does quicktime events right, as they feel like a seamless part of the attacking system and not just buttons to press to move the game forward. They are not huge combinations to press, just a button and a direction that determines if you kill someone silently or loudly. You can use the shadows and cover so you are not spotted and shot at by the enemy. Check out the review and interview for more information later this week.

In-between some of these events we swung by Ghost Recon Online and made a date for an interview with them. Well this would be our next stop to see how this game is, but let me quickly say that as of now Blueonic owes me a shirt as I capped the last point for our team and got us a shirt. So Ghost Recon Online is a first-person shooter that will have a free-to-play model. Like most companies now, they realized that people want weapon unlocks that cater to a play style and not pay-to-win. This is great as this game has the graphics to stand up to the Call of Duty and Battlefield games and is also free. You will earn unlocks for your weapons the more you use specific ones, so specializing in what you want to play is rewarded. This game seems to hold true to the Ghost Recon model as combat is small groups of people in tactical fighting.

Our next look was a few games that Square Enix could show us from their hotel room setup. Most of the big games like Sleeping Dogs had long waits even for media so we will be trying to get a look at them today. We did get to see Quantum Conundrum first, a nice little puzzle platform game. From the demo we got to see a game where you can manipulate four different types of dimensions with special properties that helped you through an area. You could do things like going to a Fluffy dimension where things are lighter, a dimension where things are heavier, one where time moves slower, and one that reverses the direction of gravity. In the game you are a kid who is stuck in a crazy professor’s home and looking for a way out. You will get to see his creations and go through challenges that he has set up. There will be a time mode so you can compete against friends also. If you need a fix after beating Portal, this might be where you want to look.

The other game that we got to see at Square was Heroes of Ruin. This game was a nice RPG made for the 3DS where you can run through randomly-created dungeons and levels with friends leveling up and collecting loot. It has the typical Diablo-style format with four classes to choose from and the ability for you to customize your skill tree to make yourself unique to the group that you are playing with. Heroes of Ruin also takes the Borderlands style of play that allows people to join your game and the creatures scale up to provide you with more of a challenge. The 3D in this game was really worked on and shines in this game, one of the best 3D games that I have seen to date. It’s great if you want an RPG experience while you and a few friends are on the run and want to take a break. Quests will give you experience and the game adjusts to your group so there is no need to worry about falling behind your friends if you can not play as much as them.

Ok, so this is the part that the title of this article was created for.  t the end of the night we made the decision to head over to the Curse party and see what was going on.  My main draw was that it had the title of Planetside 2 on it, but I did not end up seeing anything about this game other then the T-shirt I was given in my Curse bag. I am not going to complain because free stuff is always amazing. I did get to have a quick word with Pico from Curse’s weekly roundup and she could not have been more amazing and friendly. This was an open bar party, but the bar soon had a line that made it not worth the wait for the drinks.  When the music started, I decided to throw away any pride that I had and just have fun. I know there are going to be some pictures that will make me shake my head now, but when it comes down to it I have a great time dancing. Duck and I did start a game themed dancing circle as he ran in dancing, I joined and did the Hadouken move as he fake falled. This started a slew of video game related dancing that ended in pure madness.

When all was done I slowly walked my way back to my car to rest and start off with the final day. I know walking would really hurt on day three.