What're ya playin'?, Stranger?

I own the physical NES cartridge as well but still never bothered.

Also, we will be playing X-Men Arcade hopefully.

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdAmkx8eAos[/YOUTUBE]

That's the one.

I own the physical copy of Battletoads for the NES you fucking troll. You knew exactly what I meant and so did Leo.

Now you have to get a hacked cartridge, just to show him.

Beat 'Em Up Month sounds like fun. I'd ask about joining in, but I'll probably be at work whenever you guys are recording. Also, I don't have Skype. Also also, I'd probably make an ass of myself.

I've been fusing weapons in Kid Icarus Uprising, trying to get a really good one for online play. Right now I'm farming hearts by playing on higher intensity levels, now that I have a good enough weapon to clear chapter 1 on level 9.

can't go wrong with a club or claw for online

I'm working on fusing a club with good melee power and a good speed modifier. I have a long way to go, though.

Update on the Battletoads front: I'm at about the point where I can get half-way through the game (I'm in level 7 and I've been told it's 15 levels long). I can beat the Snake-Pit most of the time, but I keep dying right before (what I think is) the end of Volkmire's Inferno.

On a related note, if someone tells you Video games aren't art, show them this:

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3vbfsAFAgU[/YOUTUBE]

Fucking poetry in pixels man!

The care and attention that goes into designing levels like that is phenominal.

I dug a little



out of the closet and fired it up.

The graphics and voice acting are horribly dated and I am sorely missing joystick support but the game is just as fun and engaging as I remember it.

And Steve Blum is in it! I don't remember that at all!

That game and Threads of Fate were my favorites on the PSX.

That Battletoads stage is pretty rad. I've never made it past the speeder bike stage so I've never really seen it. Rare, you're too good for Avatars and Kinect.

I'm not really playing through anything different than what I've already mentioned. Gotta get back to Skyward Sword but that took a backseat to Beat 'Em Up month. Might play some of that throughout the month as well. But mostly beat 'em ups.

Pokemon Conquest
Pokemon Emerald.
Sonic Battle
The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword
Kirby Return to Dreamland
Super Smash Brothers Brawl
Kid Icarus Uprising
Cave Story



Kinda want to get back to One Piece Unlimited Adventure...

Been playing Theatrhythm, Wind Waker, and Mahvel.

Theathythm is amazing. I'd recommend it to anyone who likes the music in Final Fantasy games and also likes rhythm games like Elite Beat Agents and Rock Band.

Wind Waker is amazing. Not much to say here other than I just started it up again. I beat the first dungeon yesterday.

Mahvel is fun. I recently started talking to one of my friends from high school and I found out he's a Marvel vs. Capcom 3 nut like me. Watches streams and the like. Thing is, he's actually pretty damn good because he's spent a lot of time ranking up on Xbox Live. He kicks my ass with anybody but his main team is Hsien-Ko/Taskmaster/Deadpool. It's nice to finally have somebody I know who offers a challenge.

Beat Brave Fencer Musashi for the first time.

Great game. Some hiccups here and there, mostly due to its age, but like I said before, it's every bit as fun and engaging as I remember it.

Feels good to have finally beaten it.

Today, my friend and his girlfriend came over and we played a bunch of random games that they picked out. Started with Mario Party 4, the last good Mario Party. Then we played through Scott Pilgrim vs. The World completely. Can't go wrong with that one. Then we played some Super Mario Bros. 3. Last time they were over, we left off at the beginning of world five. We're only half way through six now lol. Then for whatever reason, he wanted to play Teen Titans for the Gamecube so we played that. It's a very monotonous 3D beat 'em up. The camera angles can be a bit annoying and the CPU controlled characters are stupid but you can swap between any of the Titans on the fly and all five are on the screen at all times. That's pretty neat.

I've been playing a bit of Lollipop Chainsaw and the X-Men arcade game. Lollipop Chainsaw is a fun, cheesy zombie beat 'em up. There are 6 levels, but they're fairly long. You'll find yourself replaying them for the extras, too. It's no Game of the Year, but it's good dumb fun. I've also been playing some online matches in Kid Icarus Uprising, but I'm still not very good. I might put it away for a while and try Theatrythm.

I played that Teen Titans game. It's not terrible, but nothing special. To me, the part I didn't like was when we fond out they were in a video game. <sarcasm> omg, oh no, what a twist, so original...</sarcasm> I just felt really talked down to at that point.

And of course, I am STILL on Battletoads. I have no gotten to level 11 (once). It's now getting to the point where I'm not sure if I can beat levels consistently, as level 9 and 10 take me a few tries to get down.

Oh god, where do I start?

PC:
•Arma 2: Day Z Mod :: Amazing. Absolutely hilarious. Just make sure to either play with others you know OR just kill everyone you meet. That's how everyone is literally playing. Everyone is a bandit if you don't know them.

•Legend of Grimrock: I'm a sucker for classic style WRPGs. The game lets you use custom portraits (but you need photoshop or anything that can make .tga's) and I decided to make myself and my usual posse of three best friends as characters in the game. It's fun, but only if you enjoy turn based dungeon crawlers that love to beat the crap out of you.

•Shoot Many Robots: I wanna say 2D Borderlands, but I'd rank it more like Metal Slug XX2... Metal Slug XXX sexy~

ahem

It's fun, you level up and can purchase new weapons that add other new effects to existing weapons or just hilarious joke weapons, like the Gnoming Launcher. Four player online and local(?) co-op make this game worth it for any group. I dunno how beefy a comp you need, but it doesn't work on one of my friend's computers, and his is pretty mid range as of late. Might be incompatible drivers...

•Phantasy Star Online 2 (JP ver.): So Diablo and Devil May Cry had a baby and sent it into Space with every cheesy teenage boy anime/zentai to grow up with: That is Phantasy Star Online 2. It's a lot of fun, but it has a little bit of a grind that can be tough to break, but once you figure out how multiparty areas work, it's a ton of fun. The US/EU release is gonna be early next year, you guys should be on the look out for that game. It's gonna be Free to Play with premiums for people who pay for it. The oddest one is you have to pay to trade to other players, AND both players have to pay. They might change that in the regional release, because most english players think that is stupid as heck. Dunno how the JP players feel about it... they are an odd bunch period.

3DS:

Mario Kart 7 and Kid Icarus Uprising every random once and a while with Ricky, Matt, and Josh. Sometimes Jess, too.

•Heroes of Ruin: So, I got this game on a whim when trading in my 360 for mega credit (friend gave me a heads up, I only wanted one game on the system [Anarchy Reigns), so I could live without.

I dunno if I'd actually pay 40 bucks for this game, it's kind of simple BUT fun. I'm enjoying myself so far, the online is pretty flawless, and the voice chat is really clear as long as talk clearly and don't talk low. Also has a neat feature where if you link your Square account online to your game, you get weekly and daily challenges for special cash (Valor) that is used to buy super rare items in game.

It's pretty much mini Diablo 2. If you got some extra credit or can find this cheaper, I'd pick it up. It's got its flaws, but enjoyable no less.

•Mario Tennis Open: The other game I bought on a whim. It's literally Mario Tennis 64 with smoother gameplay and some awesome online gameplay...

and that's almost it. It's pretty bare bones. I think I'm spoiled honestly, but I guess I was expecting more special modes. I get what I paid for though, Mario friggin Tennis, so I dunno what I expected... It's great though. Grab it if you love Mario Tennis anything, but if you like or lukewarm about the series, I'd wait for some price drops.

DS

•Pokemon Conquest: Fun, pretty much fits what Don had to say about it. It gets my recommendation, read Don's review to pretty much get the jest of what I would have to say about it.

•Pokemon White: Finishing up my run through so I have a complete save file for White 2. I was foolish and got rid of my original cart, craved playing it for a while, then broke down and got it. About to start the last gym and move onto the Elite Four.

Was this on sale? This game sounds awesome but I'm not sure if I want to pay $10 for it knowing that it was just on sale.

It's actually Kyle's review.

It was on sale, the four pack was like 7.49. It was 75% off.

Also, you know that I think both you and Kyle are the same person because I'm an idiot

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

Apparently I think you and Ricky are the same person too (reference to my comment on Captain Commando).

Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion XL (360)


It has really solid game play, even though its a Smash Bros clone. I liked the story mode better than I liked Brawl's and it doesn't have tripping. Too bad the voice acting, overall presentation, and other small tidbits stop it from being a good game.


Lego Batman (360)

I played through it, it wasn't nearly as fun as Lego Indiana Jones. It works, it has everything a Lego game is supposed to, just didn't capture the same experience. You have two mini figs at a time, and the only levels to truly do something inspired with it was the Joker/Harley stages. Though the Batman and Robin stages do require you to swap between them because of their suits, but its less creative with it.


Next is either Mini Ninjas or Sonic Generations.

Checking out Symphony of the Night. 's pretty rad, though rather difficult. I'm enjoying it enough so far, though.

I've also been playing a bit more Pushmo this week.

Oh right, I nearly forgot, mostly because I returned it...

But Rhythm Thief for the 3DS is alright. Stylish as hell, great music, the gameplay is fairly responsive (besides the motion control parts which are few, but still don't need to be there).

The game gets hard, fast. Once you get past the first chapter, the game starts to work up its difficulty fast. To the point where I kind of gave up and stopped caring. If I was younger, I'd love this game and just truck it through like Space Channel 5. Unfortunately, age has made me less patient with these sorts of thing. I guess another con on this game would be the non-rhythm game parts are a ton of tapping puzzles (MASH YOUR SCREEN IN TO FIND HIDDEN ITEMS HERP).

Overall, the game isn't horrible. Just hard to justify even at 30 USD. I'd wait for it to hit like 20 or so, but by that time, there will be no copies left. This game is super low print run.

Been playing:
Pushmo - I finally forked over some buckeroos and got this. Pretty addicting game. I must say that I've fallen for that trap where after you beat a puzzle you move on to the next puzzle without quitting. Just ask Matt, I was like "One more puzzle and then I'm going to sleep." Without even realizing I did two more puzzles. I have to force myself to flip the 3ds closed or press b right before it automatically goes to the next one. I got stuck on a couple but then I just sit on it for a while and come back and then usually I'm able to solve it pretty easily. It's definitely better not to get so hung up on one thing but I don't want to move on to another puzzle. Just need to take a break and come back with a clear mind.

Mahvel 3- Had a grind session the other day for about 5-6 hours with my training buddy. I got my ass beat 2-50 but I definitely feel like I'm getting better at the game ever so gradually. Currently I play top tiers, Nova/Spencer, but I'm missing an anchor character. I've usually just go back to playing Hawkeye but there's things I don't like about him that don't fit with my team dynamic.

Dark Cloud 2 - I randomly felt like playing Dark Cloud 2. I never beat it because it can be a littly grindy and hard so I thought I'd maybe pick up where I left off to save me the trouble of playing through all of it again. To my dismay, I must have deleted the save file some time ago cause I had nothing and I had to start all the way over. I'm about 12 hours back into it and I'm in Chapter 3. Game is still hard but there's something about random dungeons that I like in video games like Spelunky and I GUESS Diablo... Which leads to the next game I've been playing.

The Binding of Isaac - This game is pretty damn hard sometimes. It can be really unforgiving if your luck isn't in the cards plus there's some really beginner's traps. Yet, I just keep coming back for more. I think I just really like that feeling of playing the same game multiple times but still find new things I've never seen before. Like, trying out a new powerup for the first time to see what it does. The aesthetic is kinda unique the poop, blood, death, and risque enemies. I'm not too big of a fan of the biblical references or Edmund McMullen's style that screams amateur Flash artist. Not saying they should change Binding of Isaac because I don't like it. That would make people upset and take away some of that uniqueness I was talking about. I'd just like to see a similar game or even a total rip off but with a different and more appealing look.

Games recently added to my backlog that I should be playing:
DayZ
Magicka (lol)
Trine 2
Bastion

Games I'm contemplating getting but haven't got because of the list above or it's not out yet:
Castle Crashers
Metal Gear Solid HD Collection
Persona 4 Arena
Kingdom Hearts 3D
PlayStation All Stars Battle Royale

I fucking did it.

Appropriately, I beat Battletoads, a beat 'em up game I started at the start of beat 'em up month, at the end of beat 'em up month. It took pretty much a month of playing almost daily but today I got to see the anti-climactic end.

Don't know what I'm planning to move onto. I have a bunch of games I bought in the last month that I haven't touched that I'm thinking of going onto (Mario & Luigi SuperStar Saga, Spider-man the Movie, DJ Hero 2, Crash Bandicoot) and some games I feel like replaying (Chrono Trigger mostly). For now... I think I'm just going to enjoy the feeling of finally beating Battletoads.

'grats, my friend. You're more hardcore than I.

Nice! Gotta respect the commitment.

I was thinking of playing some Crash Bandicoot, myself.

Good going. That's one hell of a tough game.

As for what I'm playing, I decided to dust off the PS2 Kingdom Hearts games. I never actually finished the first one, and I haven't played the other two at all.

Good going. That's one hell of a tough game.

As for what I'm playing, I decided to dust of the PS2 Kingdom Hearts games. I never actually finished the first one, and I haven't played the other two at all.

Kingdom Hearts 2 is one of my favorite games of all-time so good choice.

I want to get caught up for Kingdom Hearts 3D. It's so weird that I've barely played any of the games even though the series is amazingly popular.

I've never played a Final Fantasy game and that's arguably one of the most popular video game franchises of all time so it's not so weird.

Good going. That's one hell of a tough game.

As for what I'm playing, I decided to dust of the PS2 Kingdom Hearts games. I never actually finished the first one, and I haven't played the other two at all.

Kingdom Hearts 2 is one of my favorite games of all-time so good choice.

I'm probably like the only guy that likes KH1 over 2.

except when I took off the nostalgia goggles and went back and play it some recently there were some quirks that I just couldn't adjust to because of the later games.

you can't skip cutscenes.
the jump button was different.
you can't skip cutscenes.
you had to scroll to a different command to open or examine .
camera control wasn't mapped to the right stick and instead it was the menu commands.
you can't skip cutscenes.
the gummi ship mini game isn't as good as the one in 2 (although i still really liked making gummi ships)
you can't skip cutscenes.

Still, it started it all and it feels more like an RPG than a straight up hack and slash where you just mash buttons. Gameplay wise, I like BBS the most. Being a mage is a lot more viable when you have nothing but cooldowns. I couldn't stand 358/2 days because of I-Spy you had to do. There are missions where you had to go into a world you've been to before in previous Kingdom Hearts games and look around just to examine for "research". HOW DO I VIDEO GAME DESIGN. KH:CoM or Re:CoM aren't too bad. We don't even talk about Re:Coded.

Good going. That's one hell of a tough game.

As for what I'm playing, I decided to dust of the PS2 Kingdom Hearts games. I never actually finished the first one, and I haven't played the other two at all.

Kingdom Hearts 2 is one of my favorite games of all-time so good choice.

I'm probably like the only guy that likes KH1 over 2.

except when I took off the nostalgia goggles and went back and play it some recently there were some quirks that I just couldn't adjust to because of the later games.

you can't skip cutscenes.
the jump button was different.
you can't skip cutscenes.
you had to scroll to a different command to open or examine .
camera control wasn't mapped to the right stick and instead it was the menu commands.
you can't skip cutscenes.
the gummi ship mini game isn't as good as the one in 2 (although i still really liked making gummi ships)
you can't skip cutscenes.

Still, it started it all and it feels more like an RPG than a straight up hack and slash where you just mash buttons. Gameplay wise, I like BBS the most. Being a mage is a lot more viable when you have nothing but cooldowns. I couldn't stand 358/2 days because of I-Spy you had to do. There are missions where you had to go into a world you've been to before in previous Kingdom Hearts games and look around just to examine for "research". HOW DO I VIDEO GAME DESIGN. KH:CoM or Re:CoM aren't too bad. We don't even talk about Re:Coded.

On the topic of KH1, can you skip the cut scenes? I heard you couldn't...
I haven't played the two original games, but I played CoM and 358/2 Days. They were both pretty cool, though both had their flaws. And I have to know, is Re:Coded really THAT bad?

I forgot to mention that I took some time out on day to sit down and beat a Newgrounds game called "Help the hero". Unfortunately, at the time of this posting, it seems Newgrounds is down, so I can't link you guys too it. It's pretty fun if you have 30mins-1hour to spare.
I also played Kung Fu (which I got in the mail recently for free) and some games on the Namco museum trying to find my next "project", and they don't quite feel right. I'm really leaning towards Mario & Luigi since, after a month of beat 'em ups, I think an RPG is required for a change of pace. And Mario & Luigi is an awesome game.

I've never played Resident Evil. I actually have one of the games, but I'm just never in a "Survival horror" mood :S

Pokemon Conquest and Pokemon Emerald.

With a little Kirby on the side.

Hey Tim!

Still trucking through Symphony of the Night. I can see what all the fuss is about. It's good fun.

Also picked up Kingdom Hearts! That is also good fun.

I'm playing brawl and kirbys return to dreamland

I beat Symphony of the Night.

Hoo boy, what a game.

Beyond that I'm still enjoying the heck out of Kingdom Hearts 3D. When I'm done with that I think I'll probably check out Dawn of Sorrow.

Can anybody tell me if they think I'll need to play Aria of Sorrow first?

Started playing Mario & Luigi SuperStar Saga late last week. Yeah, that stuck. I forgot how much you have to wait to use a skill sometime even if you have the ability to use it ("I have fire hand, Luigi, RUN DAMMIT!"). Also, that you need to go through a tutorial for it once you can use that skill, and then a trial level to make sure you understand how to use said skill, and then immediately run into a part in the game where you have to use the skill right after. "You can let go of my hand now mommy..."

That aside, awesome game! Forgot how much of the soundtrack is comprised of remade classic Mario tracks.

I don't think it's necessary to play it, but I enjoyed both of them thoroughly...It helped because you knew the main characters, but beyond that, I don't think you need to...The only thing I didn't really like about DoS was the fact that for Boss doors, you need to use the Touch Screen to unlock them...And again if you die (If I remember correctly).

If you ever get the chance, I'd also recommend Portrait of Ruin...and Order of Ecclesia, if you're really on a Castlevania kick.

Anyway, I beat KH:3D a few days ago, and I'm still playing it! There's a few secrets post-game, and I'm grinding, and making Spirits because I want Trophies, apparently...Then I'm going to do New Game + (If NSMB2 isn't out already...) on Proud (Because apparently, I didn't...)