61 Frames Per Second

December 2008 - Posts

• Happy Holidays, Happy New Year, Good Gaming

  Posted by John Constantine

  Hello, internet! 61 Frames Per Second, like a surly, single thirty-five year-old begrudgingly going to their parents for the holidays, is going out of town to celebrate the yule’s high tide. We’ll be back on January 2nd to finish up our reflections on 2008 and to start talking about 2009. The coming year is chock full of games that look absolutely incredible: Street Fighter IV, MadWorld, Fragile, Resident Evil 5, Bayonetta, Dark Void, and let’s not forget Bionic Commando (be still my madly beating heart.) Happy Christmas! Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Dec 24 2008, 09:30 AM with 1 comment(s)

• Some Games Nadia Played In 2008 Instead of Working: Mother--Awwww...

  Posted by Nadia Oxford

  Mackey stole my big idea to declare Mother 3 one of my favourite games of the year--if not my very favourite of the year--despite it being a two-year-old Game Boy Advance title. I was going to be a rebel. I was going to spit out of the side of my mouth and tell you I don’t give a rat’s ass about your opinion on my taste in games, see? Oh well, it’s good to know that I’m not the only one who thinks Mother 3 deserves recognition amongst this year‘s shiny big-budget games. Mackey and I need to stop putting things off, get married and name our twins Lucas and Claus regardless of whether or not they’re male. All right, time to stop saying stupid things for the sake of being funny. I’m going to be serious and stupid, now. Mother 3 is the kind of game that reinforces my love for the pastime. When I finished it, I said, “God damn I am so glad I experienced that. I’m happy I’m a gamer.” Mackey and I already have about twenty thousand Mother 3 essays between us that covers everything from the game’s emotion-driven story to the rhythm based battle system that involves you in every fight; no more turbo-mashing the “A” button while simultaneously trying to please your girlfriend with the other hand. Mild spoilers follow the jump. Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Dec 23 2008, 10:17 PM with 2 comment(s) Filed under: earthbound, mother 3, game boy advance, nadia oxford, top 10, game stories

• PSOne on PSN: Somehow, it’s Suikoden

  Posted by Joe Keiser

  Just in time for me to tell you about it before our holiday break, Sony has updated the PlayStation Network Store with another PSOne game. I’m not telling you this because this marks the second week in a row we’ve gotten a new PSOne on PSN game, although that probably at least ties the service’s previous record streak. No, you have to know this because the game is Suikoden, the excellent 1996 RPG that set the stage for its even more excellent sequel. So that’s the best part. The second best part is it’s selling for the PSN standard $5.99. That sound you hear is hundreds of Ebay sellers having simultaneous aneurysms. Between this and last week’s Castlevania Chronicles, it almost seems like Sony and Konami have figured out how to use this service properly. Both these titles are uncommon and in demand from franchise fans. Neither game has aged particularly badly, if you keep in mind that Chronicles was a port of a port and already felt pretty old school upon its original launch. And finally, they’re both from extent franchises that each could use a bit of a boost right now. Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Dec 23 2008, 07:47 PM with 2 comment(s) Filed under: konami, playstation network, psone, song, Suikoden, joe keiser, castlevania chronicles, Suikoden ii

• Some Games Nadia Played in 2008 Instead of Working: Mega Man 9

  Posted by Nadia Oxford

  When I have to call up numbers for any reason, I rely on “funny” math. 1+1 = cow and whatnot. I don’t like math and math doesn’t like me. There’s a reason why I’m scrabbling as a writer and not pursuing my dream career as an epidemiologist (no, I’m serious). This is my roundabout say of saying I miscounted the days and my “Ten Games Nadia Played, etc,” list isn’t going to hit double digits. It will be forever young and I’m comfortable with that. One reason I might be so bad with numbers is because I spent a significant amount of my childhood playing Mega Man games instead of doing something useful. When you’re a Mega Man fan, what use is there for numbers above eight? Of course, when it comes time to count the sheer number of sequels and offshoots Mega Man has appeared in, you’re kind of boned. I thought I’d just do like the rabbits from Watership Down and refer to large numbers as “Hrar”--but then rumours of Mega Man 9 showed up and around and I knew the title deserved my attempt to count above eight. The first substantial details about Mega Man 9 came through the June 2008 edition of Nintendo Power. It was pretty heartening to read jaw-dropping revelations about a highly anticipated title through a print magazine; that sort of thing just doesn’t happen so much anymore. Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Dec 23 2008, 05:55 PM with 1 comment(s) Filed under: top ten, nes, mega man, 8-bit, mega man 9, retro, nostalgia, nadia oxford

• Xbox 360 Parties: The New Tupperware Parties

  Posted by Cole Stryker

  I am endlessly amused by the industry's attempts to court moms. It's been semi-successful over the last few years, with Wii advertising the DS and Wii Fit in womens magazines and such. Most times it just feels so awkward and contrived. It looks like Microsoft is now trying to get a piece of the pie. USA Today reports that Microsoft is paying women to invite friends over for gaming night: Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Dec 23 2008, 05:00 PM with 1 comment(s) Filed under: nintendo ds, xbox 360, wii fit, cole stryker, women, girl gamers, scene it?, moms

• Games We Will Finally Get to Play: Sakura Wars

  Posted by John Constantine

  I’m not too proud to admit it. Like the rest of 61FPS’ glorious staff of roustabouts, I am more than willing to reveal to you my most terrible and embarrassing secrets. For example, as a teenager, I was an absolute whore for anime. You name it, I’d watch it or read it. In 1997, anime and manga still seemed edgy and outside of the mainstream to me, to the point that I thought most anything even remotely associated with the broader cultural medium was cool as hell. This is how you end up with Sailor Moon wallscrolls on your wall and Tenchi Muyo dolls on your shelf. Yeah. Thankfully, for both me and my sex life, this obsession is something I’ve grown out of. Mostly. A lot of my posts on this blog seem to indicate that old habits die hard. Every now and again, something will pop up and get the old juices flowing, and it’s almost always something I was interested in as a teenager that is finally getting localized for the West. The nerdy freak inside me is stirring, because it looks like a Sakura Wars game is finally, after some thirteen years, coming out in the United States. Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Dec 23 2008, 05:00 PM with 1 comment(s) Filed under: john constantine, psp, sega, games we will never get to play, disgaea, Sakura wars, nis, sakura taisen

• Finally, Ender's Game Video Game in the Works

  Posted by Cole Stryker

  Did you feel that breeze? That's the collective gasp from the world's nerd legions when Orson Scott Card announced that he is currently working on several different video games that take place within the Ender's Game universe. And the best news is, the guy seems to grasp how games are differnent than books: My hope and plan is that the Ender's Game computer and console games will not be mere tellings of the story, but rather true games with a high degree of replayability. In other words, you don't play the game once, so you can act out the story (as with, say, the Harry Potter movie-based games), and then discard it. The Ender's Game games will immerse you in the experience of different aspects of the life of these kids who train together in order to fight the war. I can see a Battle School online game as well as a Battle Room game, various Formic War games, even the Mind Game (or Fantasy Game) that Ender plays relentlessly on his computer. Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Dec 23 2008, 04:00 PM with 1 comment(s) Filed under: cole stryker, Ender’s game, science fiction, orson scott card

• Doing the Mario Over Christmas Break

  Posted by Bob Mackey

  From everyone here at 61FPS, I'd like to wish each and every one of you a merry Christmas. The other writers would probably like to wish you a merry Christmas too, but I'm going to go ahead and do it for them, because that's just the kind of guy I am: a massive jerk.  Unfortunately, we're not going to be back until 2009, but there's no need to despair; sure, you could go read other blogs in the meantime, but that would be insane.  Instead, I suggest you do what I'm going to waste the next week-or-so doing: watching embarrassing programs from my childhood through the power of modern technology. That's right; if you have an XBox 360 and a Netflix subscription (as well as a high-speed internet connection and a total lack of shame) you have the ability to see how you may have thrown away your most formative years on this terrible planet. Currently, Netflix offers three different TV shows from the not-too-distant past that most of us watched non-ironically as children--irony having only been invented in 1997.  Allow my brief reviews to help you find what's right for you; or, grab your favorite Frito-Lay snack and enjoy all of the video game-related programming from that wonderful decade known as the 1980s.  Just make sure your heart doesn't stop beating from all the inactivity. Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Dec 23 2008, 04:00 PM with 7 comment(s) Filed under: nintendo, the legend of zelda, cartoon, bob mackey, super mario, captain n, 1980s

• Donkey Kong Country: A Christmas Miracle

  Posted by Cole Stryker

  There's something special about spotting that familiar rectangular shape under the tree, which I've had the good fortune of looking forward to at every Christmas. Growing up, I usually got two games each year. One on my birthday and one on Christmas. Of course, I had a rich friend across the street (didn't we all?) with two of every system and all the games I ever wanted to borrow. But for a moment each Christmas morning I would pore over the instruction booklet, jump around the room waiting for a game to install, or breathlessly set up a new console. For my last post before the holidays, I'll relay a particularly heartwarming Christmas memory. It was the mid-nineties, and Rare had mailed me a promotional VHS tape. Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Dec 23 2008, 03:00 PM with 1 comment(s) Filed under: rare, cole stryker, donkey kong country, christmas

• X-Blades and the Cultural Uncanny Valley

  Posted by John Constantine

  Years of schooling in composition left me with absolutely no sense of proper grammar, structure, and only a passing familiarity with proper spelling, but I did come away with a good sense of how not to seem like a jackass in an opening. The golden rules: don’t open with a question and don’t start with a definition. These rules can be broken only when absolutely necessary. Like now for instance! How many of you have heard of X-Blades? For clarity’s sake, X-Blades is a third-person action game in the Devil May Cry mold and it looks like a parody of Japanese videogames that you might see on The Simpsons. It stars a young woman sporting knives, blonde hair, and enormous eyes/breasts. She wears some string and tiny scraps of cloth over her privates and kills monsters in a fantasy land where it is apparently always dusk. Her name’s Ayumi. Of course it is! It's a videogame so overfull on cliché that it can’t possibly be real. But it is, and it actually seems fairly inoffensive, a potentially good way to drop a few hours between games that you actually give a damn about. Thing is, though, every time I’ve seen screens or footage of X-Blades something has just seemed off. I know that isn’t the most journalistic statement in the world but there’s no other way to put it. It’s just wrong, off-putting, something rotten inside of its seemingly pure trope-soup. Take a look, see what I mean. Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Dec 23 2008, 02:00 PM with 3 comment(s) Filed under: john constantine, uncanny valley, psp, Playstation, ted woolsey, gaijin entertainment, x-blades, Shadow madness, the simpsons, coded arms, crave

• Whatcha Playing: Holiday Blessings…and Curses

  Posted by Joe Keiser

  A few days before we each make the traditional pilgrimage to our ancestral homes, my gaming friends and I take an evening to party and exchange an assortment of strange and geeky presents. It’s always a good time, but even more so because we all leave with bags full of eclectic goodies we wouldn’t have sought out ourselves. I left the event cradling many wonderful things in my arms, including a Penny Arcade print, an Aperture Science poster pack, and a quaffable bottle of golden rum. Of course, there were also some games in there. My friends know that I revel in the best and the worst of the medium, and so apparently colluded to give me a selection from each end of this vast spectrum. From the side cast in beauty and light I received Valkyria Chronicles, the critically acclaimed retail failure from Sega’s talented Overworks team. I really feel for these guys; the last time they got to flex their creative muscles they made Skies of Arcadia, my favorite non-taxi oriented Dreamcast game. Then the Dreamcast died, so they got to remake that cult classic—exclusively for the third place GameCube. And now, with Valkyria Chronicles, they’ve gotten to make another gorgeous, innovative, and apparently beloved game—exclusively for the third place PS3. For the holidays, the Sega home office should gift these guys an Xbox 360 development kit and a blank check. From the malignant, reprehensible side of the medium came Jumper: Griffin’s Story. Now, I was not given the current-gen version of the game, the one that trades your pain for achievement points. No, I got the Wii version, a completely different and even worse (at least, I think it’s even worse—the majority of the internet was too scared to find out for itself) game that takes your pound of flesh and gives you nothing in return. Keep in mind that this was the flagship product from Brash, the licensed game publisher that imploded when (among other reasons) it couldn’t even live up to the low bar of its chosen niche. This game should pair nicely with that bottle of rum. Now thanks to the aforementioned pilgrimage I won’t be able to actually play these games over the holiday hiatus—though when I do get to them you will be the first to know. After the jump is the holiday travel pack that will sustain me in the last days of 2008. Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Dec 23 2008, 01:00 PM with 1 comment(s) Filed under: whatcha playing, castelvania, joe keiser, holidays, dragon quest iv: chapters of the chosen, dungeon maker, jumper

• My Top 10 of 2008 in No Particular Order: Mother 3

  Posted by Bob Mackey

  It's the end of another year, and that can only mean one thing: it's list season. Inevitably, you're going to see top ten lists by the thousands; and, as an official member of the enthusiast press, I'm afraid I can't violate my directive. But, to make things a little more interesting, I've decided to assemble my 10 favorite games of this year in non-hierarchical form because--let's face facts--it's hard to pick a favorite. And unlike other top 10 lists, this one will be doled out to you in piecemeal for--oh wait, we've reach the end of the list! Thanks for playing. I know, I know; Mother 3 didn't come out in 2008--its Japanese release date was April of 2006.  But none of that matters when you're a love-starved Earthbound fan looking for his next fix--and besides, who's writing this list, you or me?  Sorry for getting a bit emotional there, but I can't help it; Mother 3 is a game worth getting emotional about.  Finally getting a sequel to something you've loved for over thirteen years is a pretty monumental event, especially when said sequel doesn't pee all over what made its predecessor good in the first place.  Mother 3 may be tad different than Earthbound, but in keeping with the tradition of the series, it's completely unlike any game out there--despite being built on a very old, Dragon Quest-y foundation.  And thanks to the heroic efforts of Tomato and his translation team, Mother 3 might just be my favorite game of the year.  I now regret never ranking my list entries. Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Dec 23 2008, 12:00 PM with 1 comment(s) Filed under: earthbound, mother 3, mother 2, bob mackey, mother, top 10, top 10 of 2008

• Unwrapped: Dragon Quest IV

  Posted by Nadia Oxford

  Ahhh, Christmas. This is a nice time of year for a freelance writer. I’m going to ingest fermented liquids that take the edge off my passion for writing, and editors don’t feel like wading through my crazy letter soup to ball together the few sensible words that congealed in the broth. So I’m told “That’s enough, get outta here. Merry Christmas.” And I start blubbering about my little son Tim dying slowly of acidosis and rickets. Then I settle down and finally, finally get caught up on the games I was too busy writing about to actually sit and play. First task: Finish Chrono Trigger DS and set aside the five thousand hours that’s required to sweep through the “bonus” dungeons. I’ve not experienced them fully, but I’ve been made to understand that the quotation marks are richly deserved. I can’t wait to find out why. I hear it has something to do with a fetch quest! Boy oh boy! Second: break out and play Dragon Quest IV. Hell yes, Akira Toriyama double-feature. I’m an unapologetic fan girl and will remain thus until I drop my love for human-devouring dinosaurs bristling with spikes and unscientific add-ons. STATUS, 22/12/2008: I still think dinosaurs are rad. Associated love for Akira Toriyama: Stable. The original Dragon Quest III/Dragon Warrior III for the NES left an indelible impression on me; ask me sometime about the story I wrote that featured an original plot but lifted monsters straight from the game. On second thought, don’t. Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Dec 22 2008, 09:03 PM with no comments Filed under: nintendo ds, square-enix, 8-bit, retro, nostalgia, nadia oxford, christmas, dragon quest III, dragon warrior iv, dragon warrior III, dragon quest iv: chapters of the chosen

• Celebrities Discuss Their Favourite Games

  Posted by Nadia Oxford

  When I'm not leaping like a circus bear here on 61 FPS for everyone's amusement, I can often be found digging up dirt on the lives of celebrities. For a pittance, I write snark about ladies and gentlemen who could bottle their farts and sell it for twice the money I’ll likely earn in my lifetime--and I’m even counting my upcoming stint as a rocket pack monkey trainer. It’s the media’s responsibility--nay, pleasure--to remind the world that celebrities make mistakes, just like the rest of us. They must wipe their bottoms, just like the rest of us. And they like video games just like your mom and dad…if your dad hasn’t touched a game since Pac-Man and your mom still thinks Moon Patrol is the height of hardcore action. Hooray for irrelevant glamour at the Spike Video Game Awards. Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Dec 22 2008, 07:41 PM with 3 comment(s) Filed under: celebrities, super mario bros, 50 cent, nostalgia, nadia oxford, moon patrol, ms pac-man

• Holy Diver Video Walkthrough Blowout

  Posted by Cole Stryker

  So, I was making my way through my metal mp3 folder (I hate metal, I just feel I owe it some consideration and I've been listening exclusively to Portishead's new album for like, months) and came across Dio's Holy Diver, a landmark metal album from 1983. I have my mp3 player rigged to load a wikipedia page for the album, so I was reading up on the band, surprised to find that there was actually a crappy Japan-only Famicom Castlevania clone called, yep, Holy Diver, starring Ronnie James Dio. I was surprised that I had never heard of this, so I checked out Youtube and found dozens of fan-made walkthrough videos. These people are a new breed of super-nerd, let me tell you: And it's not just this guy! More insane videos, after the jump, seriously worth your time if you like poking fun at mouth breathers who make the Simpsons Comic Book Guy look like a GQ cover boy. Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Dec 22 2008, 05:30 PM with 1 comment(s) Filed under: cole stryker, youtube, heavy metal, dio, walkthroughs

• The Year in Press Releases

  Posted by Cole Stryker

  The inimitable GameSetWatch has released the Top 50 Press Releases of 2008. I've written a few of these in my day, and coming from someone with a PR background, they are almost never fun to write. Polishing a turd isn't rewarding, and the need for this form of communication is continually diminishing, so you gotta give it to the intrepid folks who still make a living writing these things. I can't understand why executives still feel it necessary to churn out this garbage. Gamers, perhaps more than most audiences, are resistant to bullshit. Journalists are smart enough, and hopefully unbiased enough to parse the public releases they get. Why the fawning quotes and buzzwords while media clamors for real communication with publishers and dev studios. The gaming industry has the luxury of an audience with an insatiable appetite for news. This luxury is regularly squandered by clueless PR hacks.  A few of my favorites, after the jump: Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Dec 22 2008, 05:00 PM with no comments Filed under: cole stryker, lists, gamesetwatch, press releases, public relations

• Revenge Finally Taken on that Duck Hunt Dog

  Posted by Cole Stryker

  Ever wanted to take revenge on your canine companion for his annoying and incessant schadenfreude? Well, maybe you can empathize with College Humor's Dave Futernick... a man who has reached the end of his rope and decides to take out his rage on his unsympathetic friend. Wikipedia provides a little context: Throughout the game, the player is accompanied by a nameless dog that laughs at the player if no duck is hit, and congratulates the player if a duck is hit. Since then, the nameless dog has passed into video gaming folklore. According to urban legend, the dog can be shot, but this is not possible in the console version of the game. The feat of shooting the dog is possible in a bonus round of the game's arcade version, Vs. Duck Hunt. The dog can be shot only in the bonus round, and only after the final duck has flown from the screen or been hit. This is quite difficult, as the window of opportunity timewise is quite narrow. However, if the player succeeds, the shot turns the dog's face black with powder. The dog's carefree expression then immediately turns to one of rage. After briefly exiting the screen, the dog returns to the foreground, hobbling on crutches, and chides the player by saying, "Ouch, shoot the ducks, not me!" Who knew? Related Links: Bleep Bloop: Actually Funny Gamer Comedy 61FPS Hits Bleep Boop, Gets High on Rock Band Fumes Yahtzee's New Web Show is Pretty "Meh" + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Dec 22 2008, 04:00 PM with 2 comment(s) Filed under: comedy, cole stryker, duck hunt, college humor, dog

• Sonic the Hedgehog Fans Really Exist

  Posted by Bob Mackey

  Sonic the Hedgehog is a joke. That is his only function. Whenever I'm writing an article/blog post/grocery list, some burn on Sonic the Hedgehog will inevitably appear on the page. I can't help it; the series is such an easy target that jokes about about cross-species love and stretchy-armed werehogs are starting to come into being of their own accord. But even though Sonic may be have the least dignity of any video game character next to Duke Nukem, he still has his fans.  Fans that feel so strongly of their love that they're willing to show you the results of their devotion while wearing a t-shirt made 16 years ago.  I will show you such a fan.  Thank god YouTube allows us into the bedrooms of sick individuals, where previously only social workers were allowed to tread. I still have to wonder just where these people come from. Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Dec 22 2008, 02:00 PM with 2 comment(s) Filed under: fan project, sonic the hedgehog, fandom, bob mackey

• My Top 10 of 2008 in No Particular Order: Rock Band 2

  Posted by Bob Mackey

  It's the end of another year, and that can only mean one thing: it's list season. Inevitably, you're going to see top ten lists by the thousands; and, as an official member of the enthusiast press, I'm afraid I can't violate my directive. But, to make things a little more interesting, I've decided to assemble my 10 favorite games of this year in non-hierarchical form because--let's face facts--it's hard to pick a favorite. And unlike other top 10 lists, this one will be doled out to you in piecemeal for only one more excruciating day! Please enjoy. I used to refer to games like Guitar Hero as the video game equivalent of going on a car ride with your dad. And for the most part, this was true; when your most hated of music genres is overplayed classic rock, the proposition of picking up a plastic axe and thrashing away to the soundtrack of the worst radio stations on earth was not exactly an enticing one.  So, being the curmudgeon that I was (and am), I ignored the modern music game based on my prejudices alone--and the fact that I never wanted to hear Lynard Skynard or Journey again for the rest of my life.  Little did I know that the fine folks at Harmonix were hard at work on a music game that could appeal to people beyond the demographic of classic rock jockeys. But after doing some research of my own, and getting astoundingly drunk, I was finally able to realize the wonders of Rock Band 2.  And now I can never go back. Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Dec 22 2008, 12:00 PM with 1 comment(s) Filed under: music, rock band, harmonix, bob mackey, rock band 2, music games

• Nostalgia and Game Association

  Posted by Nadia Oxford

  I've been wondering recently if there's some substance behind game nostalgia besides fodder for Internet fights about how nothing will ever beat the original Legend of Zelda, evar. What I mean is, do you ever think about where you were when you played a certain game? Does visiting certain locations or experiencing the change of seasons remind you of the same? Do you count game nostalgia amongst valued memories like favourite vacation spots or the glorious spill that came with learning how to ride a two-wheeled bike for the first time? Pour example: Final Fantasy VI remains one of my favourite games. I first experienced it in the cold, rainy month of November, going into the crisp days of December and Christmas vacation (I was a little slower at RPGs back then). Even today, a rush of cold air can bring me back to my fifteen-year-old self, excited to get home and resume my long quest to reunite Celes with her friends and nurse the vague hope that I might knock Kefka from Chez Crazy. Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Dec 19 2008, 11:51 PM with 5 comment(s) Filed under: bioshock, final fantasy vi, retro, nostalgia, nadia oxford

• Canada Plays PSP

  Posted by Nadia Oxford

  Unlike the rest of the world, apparently. Ssssssnap! Sony's pretty good at making me hate their PSP commercials through sheer overexposure. While waiting in the theatre for Revenge of the Sith to start—shut up—the venue played commercial after commercial to give the bouncing audience something to focus on besides throwing popcorn and fencing with rolled-up Tribute magazines. Sony had obviously bought out Mama Multiplex's Advertising Hour because every third commercial was that PSP advertisement that made you want to slay Franz Fernandez. Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Dec 19 2008, 11:07 PM with 5 comment(s) Filed under: nintendo ds, psp, sony, advertising, media, nadia oxford, commercial, canada plays psp, usa plays psp

• WTFriday: PuLiRuLa

  Posted by Cole Stryker

  Bob said I could take over this week's WTFriday when I showed him this oddity, so away we go. PuLiRuLa is a basic side-scrolling beat-em-up and it's completely insane. Free jazz soundtrack, weird sexual imagery, and a mix of surreal photos and quirky animation. This was released to arcades in 1991, and was ported to several consoles in Japan later. The surreal game defies all logic, and if it weren't for Youtube proof I'd swear I dreamt it. It's safe to say that whoever conceived the graphical style deserves the "Terry Gilliam of Japan" award. Highlights include a giant pair of legs, a sumo wrestler's bare butt and a 30ft wriggling tongue.  Scarring videos after the jump: Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Dec 19 2008, 05:30 PM with 2 comment(s) Filed under: cole stryker, wtfriday, beat-em-ups, 2008, pulirula

• Screen Test: Duke Nukem Forever

  Posted by Cole Stryker

  Sigh. I know, guys. I know. We have absolutely no reason to believe that these screens are anything other than an elaborate cosmic joke, crafted by some demigod for his own amusement. We humans grasp at futile hopes, we ascribe spiritual value to mere trinkets in a vain search for meaning in a cold, terrifying world. We pen novels, canonizing the playthings of our collective childhoods, failing to bring a shred of order to the screaming chaos that defines our existence. High-res tits... after the jump! Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Dec 19 2008, 04:30 PM with 1 comment(s) Filed under: screen test, cole stryker, duke nukem

• Top Ten: The Very Best of 61FPS in 2008

  Posted by John Constantine

  Now, just before everyone in the Western world hunkers down for some much needed holiday relaxing, it’s time for our most important list: the self-aggrandizing top ten! It’s hard for me to believe that it was only a scant seven months ago that 61 Frames Per Second went from being a glint in Hooksexup’s eye to the ever-flowing stream of commentary, madness, and love that it is today. When I first started planning the blog, my one goal was to ensure that anyone who stumbled into our colorful corner of the internet would find videogame discussion that was more thoughtful, playful, and free than what they could find elsewhere. These ten articles are the ones that I feel best realize that ambition. In 2009, Joe, Nadia, Derrick, Amber, Cole, Bob, Peter and I will continue doing every thing in our power to make you think about games. Thank you to everyone reading for helping make 2008 the best year of my life. – John Constantine Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Dec 19 2008, 04:00 PM with 2 comment(s) Filed under: john constantine, peter smith, derrick sanskrit, top ten, amber ahlborn, cole stryker, bob mackey, nadia oxford, joe keiser, best of 2008

• Best Game Writing of 2008

  Posted by Cole Stryker

  Simon Parkin at the excellent Chewing Pixels has a roundup of some of the year's best game-related writing. There's some great stuff here, enought to keep me busy for the afternoon. Included is an insightful piece about the oft-reviled Luigi's Mansion, courtesy of Edge Magazine's Time Extend column. David Wong's Cracked article about the coming video game crash is both delightful and chilling. Well, I'll just leave you to it, then. Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Dec 19 2008, 03:30 PM with 1 comment(s) Filed under: cole stryker, journalism, writing, lists, 2008, chewing pixels

• Alternate Soundtrack: Fleet Foxes Meet RPGs

  Posted by Bob Mackey

  In trying to give one of my friends a good description of the awesome self-titled Fleet Foxes album, I told him that listening to it was like "wandering through a magical forest with your very own bard."  It's not just my nerdy leanings that inspired the comparison; Fleet Foxes is a strange mix of James Taylor, Brian Wilson, and Yasunori Mitsuda.  In fact, on the multiple holiday car rides I've suffered thus far, I've been known to crank Fleet Foxes and imagine some marvelous new RPG that taps into the power of a band whose music seems tailor-made for the genre--and I don't have a single car accident on my record. To prove my point, I've taken one of the albums most RPGish songs, "Hear Them Stirring," and set it to some console RPG footage with my limited video editing skills. Hopefully, you'll see why I'm right. And while I in no way get paid to promote Fleet Foxes, it'd be swell if you went and picked up their album for the meager price of five bucks. Thanks in advance. Related Links: Alternate Soundtrack Redux: Super Street Fighter II vs. The Go! Team Alternate Soundtrack: Kirby's Adventure vs. girlsareshort Alternate Soundtrack - Donkey Kong '94 vs. Les Savy Fav Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Dec 19 2008, 03:00 PM with 2 comment(s) Filed under: alternate soundtrack, ost, chrono cross, yasunori mitsuda, bob mackey, fleet foxes

• The 61FPS Review: Prince of Persia

  Posted by John Constantine

  Guest reviewer Adam Rosenberg resides in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, where he slaves away daily as a contributing editor for UGO’s Gamesblog as his dog Loki looks on in bewilderment. In addition to the noble pursuit of video games, Adam enjoys spending time with fine film, finer food and his fine fiancée Bekah. I’m not really sure the title “Prince of Persia” is relevant anymore. After all, in Ubisoft’s latest – a reboot of the trilogy started with Sands of Time – you play a wandering scoundrel: two parts Han Solo, two parts le Parkour founder David Belle and one part Indiana Jones. You could argue that the open-world, Middle Eastern-flavored surroundings might be situated in an ancient, fantasy-world version of Persia, but it just as easily might not be. But hey, that’s brand recognition for you. Prince of Persia is a streamlined spectacle, lighter on challenge than previous series entries but also more visually appealing by several orders of magnitude, thanks to the face-lifted, cel-shaded art design. Meanwhile, the gameplay remains fundamentally unchanged; as the titular (not-)Prince, you’ll still be wall-running, column-groping and bar-swinging, all of it supplemented by increasingly frequent dalliances with magic. But to be honest, there’s not much in the way of "game" in Prince of Persia. It is essentially a massive, player-guided Quick Time Event broken up by occasional displays of QTE-fueled swordplay. Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Dec 19 2008, 02:30 PM with 1 comment(s) Filed under: prince of persia, ubisoft, 61fps review, jake gyllenhaal, sands of time, Adam Rosenberg

• Holiday DLC for You and Yours

  Posted by Joe Keiser

  Harmonix has just announced that next week’s Rock Band DLC content will be holiday themed, proving once again that they really get it when it comes to the music game market. The songs are, of course, pretty decent: Barenaked Ladies – Hanukkah Blessings Billy Squier – Christmas is the Time to Say I Love You The Pretenders – Blue Christmas This is the kind of thing that DLC is built for, especially for games that have built a business model around frequent DLC updates. Such a model allows for the industry to indulge yearly in a little bit of seasonal content, the same way Hollywood spews out the same cheaply-made movie about holiday family awkwardness every first weekend of December. I’m no fan of Christmas movies, but I’m happy and eager to drape games I already like in festive colors for a few days every winter. After the jump there are a few other 2008 holiday DLC things to fool around with next to the fireplace this year. No, Guitar Hero isn’t getting anything (humbug). No, Rock Revolution isn’t getting anything either (hey, if you were Konami, would you support that game?). Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Dec 19 2008, 02:00 PM with 2 comment(s) Filed under: xbox 360, rock band, lips, ps3, dlc, joe keiser, christmas, santa hats on pretty girls, soulcalibur iv, singstar, holidays

• Chiptune Christmas!

  Posted by Derrick Sanskrit

  Christmas is almost certainly the holiday with the greatest quantity of specially-crafted pop culture to back it up. Christmas movies, tv specials, and music albums are all common in our commercially viable holiday season (seriously, have you heard Bootsy Collins' Christmas Is 4 Ever? I think you should...), and, of course, there's no keeping chiptune out of this. Last week, Cole pointed out the new 8-Bit Jesus album from Doctor Octoroc, but today we're taking a stroll down memory lane for me. Five years ago, when I was first getting into chiptune as more than just a retro novelty, the 8bitPeoples released their second-ever compilation, The 8bits of Christmas (their first ep was all covers of the Beverly Hills Cop theme). Eight different chiptune musicians, each using a different piece of game hardware, each doing their own spin on a Christmas classic. All eight are delightful, and the EP quickly became a staple of my holiday playlist. Here now, my personal favorite, goto80's take on Wham!'s contemporary classic "Last Christmas," recorded using a Commodore 64: Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Dec 19 2008, 01:00 PM with no comments Filed under: derrick sanskrit, chiptune friday, commodore 64, 8bitpeoples, christmas, goto80

• My Top 10 of 2008 in No Particular Order: Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen

  Posted by Bob Mackey

  It's the end of another year, and that can only mean one thing: it's list season. Inevitably, you're going to see top ten lists by the thousands; and, as an official member of the enthusiast press, I'm afraid I can't violate my directive. But, to make things a little more interesting, I've decided to assemble my 10 favorite games of this year in non-hierarchical form because--let's face facts--it's hard to pick a favorite. And unlike other top 10 lists, this one will be doled out to you in piecemeal over the next several excruciating days! Please enjoy. It seems that surprise has been a common factor in nearly all of my top ten of 2008 entries; with quite a few of the games that ended up as my favorites this year, I either didn't know what to expect, or I wasn't expecting much.  But the DS remake of Dragon Quest IV was a little different--after all, it was a Dragon Quest game, and those buggers are about as familiar as you can get.  Of course, I assumed the same thing of Square's Final Fantasy IV remake earlier in the summer, only to find the impressive technical improvements outweighed by a baffling new skill system and an unwarranted increase in difficulty.  Thankfully, Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen took a markedly different path; instead of warping its gentle features into the twisted form of a more modern RPG, the Enix side of Square Enix (and I can only assume the company is run this way) decided to preserve the super-fast, super-addictive game play of the original title by sprucing up the graphics a tiny bit, and generally making the already-simple NES RPG even more user friendly than it was in 1990. Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Dec 19 2008, 12:00 PM with no comments Filed under: dragon quest, bob mackey, dragon quest iv, top 10, top 10 of 2008, square enix