https://youtu.be/SqJ8faIr178

On this GOT S1 Ep3 Lord Snow recap Joe and Phil talk about Ned Stark’s arrival to Kings Landing and how that all goes when he meets the small council, Bran coping with change. Danny having a little surprise and a lot more. This show is a long one we go on almost 3 hours but with GOT we could go on forever!

http://youtu.be/e2OFqfF0dRQ

Game Of Thrones Season 4 Oathkeeper Episode Recap

Game Of Thrones Season 4 Episode 1 “Two Swords” Post Episode Recap

Role-playing games are pretty standard these days. We all know the concept, you collect items hack and slash to build up points to upgrade your weapons, to win more battles to …rinse-repeat.

Weapons is where the game takes focus. You are that guy working at the weapons shop upgrading the heroes weapons.

The gameplay is really nothing special. I’m not somebody that enjoys rhythm games to begin with but the simplicity is addicting. I did pass the off the 3DS to to someone I know that does enjoy these type of games and her criticism was that it can be very repetitive and not interesting on its own if it was not for the excellent concept for this game. That “concept” is what truly shines in Weapon Shop De Omasse and creates something really interesting.

The concept although very uniqe just entertains the thought of wishing I was playing a different kind of game. Perhaps some sort of simulation strategy game where I was the owner of a item shop that I’d have to go out, find the items and avoid conflicts etc. Now that would interest me more. But I feel if you enjoy the nature of rhythm oriented games this is a perfect title to pick up play for a while and continue along the interesting storyline. The issues I have with it are completely personal.

Truly I’ve never encountered a game exactly like this in concept that you are not exactly the hero but helping the heroes out. I’ve been told that there is a Final Fantasy game that that is similar to this but this concept (for me) was completely unique. I hope more genres of games attempt something like this because it could really takes a tired concepts of games and add new interesting wrinkles.

Weapon shop is a very fun in-depth world with a unique story and concept wrapped around a very simple game. Rhythm games might be for some people but it wasn’t necessarily something I personally enjoyed that does not mean that the game was not a huge success at everything it was trying to achieve. I was not the best audience for a game like this. But good is good and I need to give credit where credit is due. So if you’re into rhythm games and into RPG’s at $7.99 this is a must play and something you will enjoy while giggling and smiling the whole way through.

Weapon Shop De Omasse
Level 5
8 out of 10

Nintendo games historically have been prime for people to hack. Homebrew versions Zelda and Mario and many Nintendo franchises have always been the mainstay across the Internet. The Wii also enjoyed an exciting second life with an amazing Homebrew channel. Not to mention I’ve recently been enjoying Project M a Mod for Super Smash Brawl to make it more like Melee and 64. But now Nintendo’s decided to take on the reins of messing with their old titles themselves or allowing someone else (Indieszero) to do it.

NES Remix can be a little hard to explain. If you’re familiar with the Wario Ware Games it has a similarity in presentation, but at its core it takes some classic NES titles and tweaks them and combining them in interesting ways.

The game offers individual game modes for most of NES title available. The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario Brothers, Excitebike and many more are there for your enjoyment with unique challenge that range for easy to insane. You unlock more games by competing in these challenges.

Some examples of challenges are: complete a Super Mario level without while running full speed or in Zelda you need to find all the passageway in set amount of time. As you beat each level you get awarded stars and sometimes stamps. Stars and other factors get points and the more points unlock more level more levels and more games etc.

Also included are 50 remix levels which give a very interesting challenges and also combined some games. Like playing Donkey Kong as Link with the inability to jump or pick up a hammer. Some of these challenges are just not fun. In fact some of them are really difficult and could create extreme rage filled moments of delight or horror depending on what you are in to.

The game is not without some problems. The controls on the U-Pad are okay and of course off TV play is always great, but they do to take some adjusting when playing a few of the games. It’s just being completely used to playing the games on NES controller.

Some of the challenges can be very very difficult to get 3 stars and if you’re prone to rage this might not be the best title for you to play. Another fault in the game is no true multiplayer option of any kind. It’s fun to pass the controller back and forth but no two player option no online or even in game arcade like name input leader-board or anything like that. And with some of the games like Mario Brothers and Balloon fight which had two player options in the original tittle the lack of 2 player option is noticeable.

There is also a Bonus mode. After you get to a certain point mark or stars and unlock all the games Bonus mode starts being unlocked. Bonus mode gives you a few more remix type levels and a few other NES games that are thrown in there one of which being NES Baseball. A game I played way too much as a kid and have amazing skill at. In fact, I challenge anybody in the world right now to a game!

Anyways I feel like some of the titles chosen were the best possible NES games. Who the hell wanted to play Clu Clu Land ever again. I know I didn’t. Games like Punch Out, Metroid and Kid Icarus were very much missing. I hope to see some (Free) DLC for this in the future or a sequel. Everyone is also saying this but this opens up another great franchise for Nintendo if they continue down this road and make more remix type games with Snes, Nintendo 64 and GameCube titles. Not to mention the Gameboy and the DS library would be great to see for the 3DS. I think this has to happen.

NES Remix is a cool compilation that pushes old-school Nintendo titles to new hights and lets you get really frustrated by them all over again. I love what Nintendo is doing with this title and hope to see a lot of other unique E shop titles on the Wii U as they have done with the 3DS.

If you are a pure fan of old school NES titles and you want to really challenge yourself and play these games like never had before this is the game to download. WARNING you may have a few rage quits along the way and have an urge to toss the gamepad across the like a frisbee.

I think Nintendo is thinking creatively and outside the box with Remix. The game really gives old school players that have been going at these games since they first got that little gray box and new players a unique look. The later parts of this game get very difficult and no matter how many times you played these games in the past it offers fresh new perspective and challenge.

NES Remix

$15 Nintendo E-shop
9 of 10

-Project M

-Game of Thrones Game coming!

-Wii U stuff

-This Google/Youtube BS

-My review of the Live Sound of Music

-Crazy people

And lot more as well as many rants and Issues!

Check out this weeks show Episode 29: Frozen Poo Spills On Youtube

Shooters really are not my thing. Well since the Contra Series. The biggest reason why I don’t enjoy the genre is because of simple lack of skill. I’m not someone that likes to do things outside my comfort zone when I constantly fail. Yeah I’m a bit of a coward and only like to do things that I show a natural ability at. Years of playing Sports, RPG’s, Platforms, Fighting, and side scrolling shooters have allowed me to enhance the natural skills I have for these kind of games. That all being said when being lucky enough to have an opportunity to review Spec Ops: The Line, recently released for the Mac on Steam, I was a bit intimidated. My fear was that this would just be another standard shooter with a story I would not connect to, no depth and I would be bumbling around like I usually do these type of games. Although I still fell into some of the same traps that I often fall into I found the storyline and the character elements to be very unique and a refreshing ride.

The game is a standard Shooter type game, as its name gives away, set in the city of Dubai. The city had been ravaged from a sandstorm. With the city cut off from the rest of the world for six months the U.S. Army decides to send in a group of soldiers to figure out what’s going on. It is your goal to help with the evacuation and deal with all the people who couldn’t escape. As your character enters the game we start to connect all the dots on how the society in Dubai dealt with the natural disaster.

The games ending is different depending on decisions you make along the way. Without spoiling anything there is no happy ending. The overall theme of the game is the desolation and the horrors of war. It isn’t just a shoot everybody and everything continues to be happy-go-lucky sort of thing. There is a real sense of weight to all the actions. Your character is not a good guy. He goes into some situations and makes very questionable decisions. It is this sense of morality that keeps the player thinking when most shooter games like this are all about blowing things up and getting to the next check point.The storyline was intense and something you have to experience yourself to truly grasp.

Now to the difficult part for myself. What I didn’t enjoy about the game was the action of actually playing. The game works just fine and is not broken in any way. I just do not enjoy playing any type of game on a computer with a mouse and keyboard. I would personally like to check out this game on the Consoles or pick up a USB controller so I could get out of my head a bit. I just do not have the hours logged in to Computer gaming to feel comfortable without being fully aware of my control scheme. That’s even with my 2 year WOW problem.

Spec Ops: The Line is a solid fun working third person shooter game with a lot of duck and covers fighting as you get in most of the games of this ilk. We also get lots of different weapons and it seems like your NPC friends are not the biggest dumb asses in the world. That is pretty different in games like this.

Overall the gameplay is standard with nothing special. I mean there are some elements of the game that seem kind of counterproductive to the story and just for “shooter” reasons. Like all the random enemies you face off when you’ve heard about most of society being wiped out or moved away because the sandstorm. But that will only mess with your mind if you’re an over thinking role-playing game type person like me. That did not take away from the fun aspects of play. If you enjoy shooter games you will enjoy the gameplay and will feel very comfortable jumping right in playing. There’s just nothing special here to match the intensity and uniqueness of the storyline. I guess with just such a special story it made me want more of that intensity in the gameplay.

The story was very unique but it’s somewhat short taking around 15 hrs to complete. I did play through the end of the game twice and in both endings I saw leave you with a cold feeling of all the horrors of the situation. Spec Ops: The Line is something that stuck with me after playing and carried into watching some movies and television shows of the next few days.

From beginning to end Spec Ops: The Line emotionally grabbed my attention. While the gameplay is not my cup of tea it definitely works and is not broken. The storyline is just so progressive and emotional that I wish there was more weight to the gameplay. The music and voice acting is all very high quality. Some of the music does get a bit repetitive in the action scenes but nothing too bad.

Spec Ops: The Line for the Mac on Steam is definitely worth picking up especially is your are a fan of shooters or war stories. Also Star Trek fans out there this is for you. The themes in this game felt very similar to the Deep Space 9 episode The Siege of AR69. We see the real outcomes and the real truths of the of how combat can leave one with a bad taste in your mouth. I look forward to more stories from this team of writers and game developers 2k put together in the future. There is a market for true storytelling in an overdone genre.

8 out of 10
Play this game!

I remember when Pac-Man was the most important video game character in the world. In reality, I was always a bit more of a fan of Ms. Pac-Man, the game, because it had more levels and an actual storyline. No doubt though Pac-Man was the man. He had his own cartoon, pinball games, toys and several titles of video games that used the Pac-Man family. My personal favorite was Super Pac-Man with the magic power pellet that turned you into a giant Super Pac-Man the covered most of the screen and destroyed everything in your path.

As I mentioned there was a TV show that I was a fan of at the time. It was the standard 80’s format television cartoon that pit the villains (the ghosts) versus the good guys (Pac-Man and his family). A similar setup as G.I. Joe, WWF and many others.

Sorry for the sidebar but this is relevant because I guess there is a new animated show about Pac-Man for kids that I have never seen or heard of before. And this game Pac-Man and The Ghostly Adventures is based on the show. This was unknown to me when picking up this title. I imagined this being some standard mini game collection with a lot of Pac-Man oriented party games. What I found was a platforming game thats gameplay is surprisingly deep for a licensed title. There are clever and interesting ways to maneuver your way through Pac-Man’s world. The game at times can feel a little bit easy and maybe a bit rushed but it’s a fun title at a good price point of $40.

Pac-Man and The Ghostly Adventures is a platforming game in a 3-D environment in the same vein as Mario 64. Pac-Man wanders around each level interacting with many of the characters from the television show and jumping from platform to platform eating ghosts and pretty much anything else he can find. By doing this he finds a myriad of power-ups along the way. These power-ups are really fun. One example is an ice ability that allows you to freeze ghosts or other elements like water fountains to kill things within the world and complete the levels. There is also a main hub where you can unlock mini video games that feel very arcade like. While in the hub you can also walk around and talk to a bunch of the characters I assume from the show.

The game is a fun action platform game with one of my favorite video game mascots in history but it does have some problems. Jumping is a huge problem being very unforgiving. It almost feels like a Nintendo 64 game sometimes. This game feels a bit rushed like it needed some more time in testing. Perhaps it was rushed to capitalize on the success of cartoon and needing be on a time schedule. But I think they could’ve had something really special here if they had spent a little bit more time polishing and tweaking to make the “platforming” as fun as eating stuff.

Pac-Man and The Ghostly Adventures is a decent game that for $40 price point and is worth picking up at some point. Especially after the rush of Nintendo Wii U games come out there will most certainly be a price cut. The game can surprise you with how fun it can be at times but the jumping can be very frustrating and the boss fights don’t offer a lot of depth. I don’t see myself ever going back to replay this title but it does have some charm on the first run though. Perhaps I’ll check out the cartoon and if they spend a little bit more time perfecting what they got here they may have a decent grounds for a sequel.

Pac-Man in the ghostly adventures

6 out of 10

Nintendo Japan and Europe finally made it official this week something has been talked about a lot over the last couple months that the production is over for the Nintendo Wii. It’s an end to a console that made a big difference when it first we was released in 2006. It seems that Nintendo USA is the only hold out.

Before being released it was called “Revolution.” Personally I think they should of kept the name because it does properly describes the impact of the Wii. When the first game play videos were shown I really did not know what to expect. Nintendo did though. In 2005 there was all sorts of hype coming out from them about how this would revolutionize gaming and bring people of all ages to play together. They easily succeeded.

The Wii is easy to look down on now partly because of this past generation being one of the longest and it bringing out the Wii’s weakness. A lot of the best games of the generation were not able to be ported over to the Wii system and if they were it was a more cartoony versions or features were taken out. But when the Wii was first released it had quite a big pull in the industry

And not just with gamers. It was one of those systems that broke barriers down and converted people that hadn’t played video games in many years. It also became the buzz toy for a while. Some people would just piuck up a Wii and not even know what they were getting.

The Wii with its motion controls influence the other two companies ,as is usual, Nintendo innovates when others replicate.

The Wii was a great system. Online wasn’t perfect, the graphics were not HD but the games that work on the system were extremely fun and help usher in an era of new gamers. So as Nintendo Japan and Europe close the door on the Wii and looks to the Wii U let us hope that when the game started hitting the shelves the U can get some of that success and sell the brand again. Now Nintendo USA wake up

It seems that a lot of people are complaining that the Wii U doesn’t have any games. Mention to anybody that you have the system and they make a comment similar to, “How does it feel to not be playing any games?” or “How does it feel to be on this gaming generations equivalent of the Titanic?”

Being a card-carrying member of the Nintendo fan club I can’t even deny that the launch window thing was a silly idea and the game lineup so far has been pretty sad. One of the games that I hoped that came out right at launch was Platinum Games The Wonderful 101. This was the perfect type of title that should of launched with the system. A game built from the ground up to show off what the U-pad can do and to explore the power and capability of the system.

For a point of reference The Wonderful 101 was created by Hideki Kamiya, the same guy who made Okami and Platinum Games is responsible for Bayonetta, MadWorld and Infinite Space to name a few. The Wonderful 101 is a completely different kind of game then anything they have done in the past. The Player controls up to 100 superheroes at the same time using attacks, abilities and changing all of your heroes into many different shapes/weapons. (Using an ability called Morphing) This can cause massive damage or unique effects depending on the enemies you’re facing.

So in a sense it has a kind of a Voltron meets Pikmin feel to it. The basic story of the game is the heroes you control are protecting the world from an alien invasion and throughout the game you unlock other superheroes to switch in your team and learn how to do different morphing abilities.

The story of 101 is a silly but strangely deep tale and there are some interesting aspects and twists to it along the way. The game is very funny and had me smiling and laughing throughout playing. It’s the type of game I couldn’t wait to unlock more aspects of the story and actually sat through all the cut scenes without trying to skip them. In fact I would actually watch a cartoon based on The Wonderful 101 if it was ever made.

The game looks very beautiful being very colorful and offers a great example of the capability graphically of the Wii U when developers are not lazy and know what they are doing. The player has a great deal of control on how they view their superhero team. Personally, I like to zoom in as much as possible so I can get a really good look on all the characters. When you zoom in you see how much detail goes into each of the superheroes and enemies. Just a great deal of time and love went into the making of this game. Coupled with Pikmin 3 the power of the Wii U is perfectly shown off in these titles. This game has more of a cartoon city feel to Pikmin’s nature look, but both are excellent at balancing all the action that is going on screen with the many moving interactive parts.

The Wonderful 101 moves at an epic pace and never actually slows down. The game just keeps pushing and pushing being extremely intense the whole time. The game may be a bit confusing for a pickup and player type and they may not understand exactly what’s going on. I could see how one could become frustrated with the game. There is a steep learning curve to master 101.

As I mentioned a few times the game does have a little bit of similarity to the way that Pikmin plays but at its core it’s a lot different. It’s more of an action game apposed to Pikmins focusing on more puzzles. The most important part is the games combat feels very satisfying and really good to beat the crap out of anyone/thing that stands in your way.

Using the morphs can be difficult at first but once you get whats going on it’s really easy. You can either draw the particular shape on the pad with a stylus or you can find the proper way of using your right analog stick to create whichever weapon you want. Now don’t worry too much about how well you draw the shapes the game is very forgiving in that aspect. The more heroes you gather the larger the weapon you draw will be. But the player does not have to morph all the team. While some of heroes are used to create a giant shape others can do individual tasks. There is a lot of multitasking in this game and if you can figure it out and get all the gears going at once it can be a thing of beauty. But as I mention this can be overwhelming for people just picking up and playing the game that are not familiar with games like this since well… Lemings. You have to think about this from the standpoint of 100 characters not thinking about it from one.

Is also has a fair share of puzzle solving not just action. The puzzles are implemented by using the different morph abilities or special abilities to get your way through the challenge. Some examples are needing to build a bridge or pile all 100 heroes in a booth to be transported somewhere else.

Every world thats gets unlocked offers some sort of unique challenge. There is one world where the game play shifts and turns into a more of a rail shooter type mini game. There is also another aspect when you go inside a building and you can no longer see on the television and you can only play the game on the pad. This expansion of normal play just shows off what a great gaming company can do with the Wii-U when they try. If Platinum, Ubisoft, Sega and more can make great games then all the smack about difficulty working within the medium just seem like straight laziness. Platinum has made a beautiful game using all aspects of the system and is 2nd (Pikmin 3) of the many games that will come out within the next calendar year to show off all what the pad and system can do. I hope more people get an opportunity to play this game when more Wii U’s sell.

Also it’s worth mentioning that each world has a giant boss and the fights are incredibly fun. This all culminates in one of my favorite final battles with a boss ever!

The Wonderful 101 story is about 15 hours not the longest game in the world but it does allow you to go back and redo the levels for higher scores, to unlock different characters, different abilities and find secret paths to finish the levels. The game also has a challenge mode which you or up to five players can take on some challenges and kick some butt. I have not tried it yet as I have been occupied in the story mode but this seems like a great addition to add to the replay value of the game

This is a game that I truly wanted as a launch title for the Wii U. Platinum Games has done an excellent job with the hardware and crafted a game that is not only fun but unique to the aspects of the Wii U. In an age where everyone quick to jump off and on bandwagons like The red car in “Who framed Roger Rabbit” it seems that my patience for sticking by the Big N has finally starting to pay off. The Wonderful 101 is the first in line of many games that will be coming out soon that will be bringing a surge to the Wii U. Maybe not to the commercial success that some of their haters claim is the only important thing. But for anyone that stuck around or new adopters get ready for some of the best games that come out this generation. Platinum thank you for The Wonderful 101 and can’t wait for Bayonetta 2!

The Wonderful 101
9.5 out of 10
A MUST play for Wii U Owners!

It may seem late to be reviewing a game from last year but it’s for free with Xbox Live Gold. Having purchased Gold this month to play GTA V with my friends online I decided to download Magic 2013. I was a big fan of Magic years ago playing the live card game. How does this game size up to the feel of playing the original card game.

When taking a board or card game and porting it over to a video game the first thing I need to overcome is the controls. How one maneuvers their way through the game is of the utmost importance. This was my biggest obstacle in picking up and playing Magic 2013. It isn’t that I do not know how to play Magic or I forget some of the terms (which either is easy enough to pick up with the game’s excellent tutorial system) it’s that I didn’t quite understand what buttons do what. There is a timing and pausing that goes into completing moves. The biggest issue I was having is with casting instantaneous spells to do during my opponents turn. For whatever reason took me a long time to figure out the timing. I also had difficulty learning how to properly zoom in and look at the other people’s cards and keep up with that was going on. It just took a while to think about the game of Magic as a whole rather than worrying about about my environment and moves.

But once getting over that I found the game itself a very excellent representation of what it feels like to play the game Magic. The online system works very well too. You can matchup in free-for-all’s, 2v2 team or the game has a another feature which is very unique called Planechase. Players roll a die and then draw a card that sits in the middle of the board that causes some universal effects to everybody to create chaos or help certain depending on the situation.

There’s also a campaign mode where you can play through a different a bunch of different stages and encounters which can be difficult challenges with opponents with unique abilities, or you face off against opponents who’s decks you can unlock when defeating them. Also whenever you win a battle whether it be online or against a computer opponent you will unlock a card for whatever deck you’re playing with.

My biggest problem with the game is you can’t start a deck from scratch even when all the decks are unlocked. You can just manage the cards in self-made decks but not decide how many lands. This is okay for pickup and play but for long term play and to have a feel of ownership over a deck this is not an optimal process. Part of what made Magic so wonderfully fun was having your own built deck. The game does even the playing field because in some cases in Magic play the people who paid the most have the best deck. It just would of be great if with the decks that you unlocked in game they would give the option to create custom decks. That option would make the game a great deal better. This is something I hope they add to future titles.

Magic 2013 is not a true representation of what is like to play Magic live but for people that can’t get their hands on decks, find people to play with or it has been so long since you played this might be a good title to pick up. It’s the perfect mild sedative to keep your hunger going until you finally get off your butt and get to the store to buy a deck of cards.

Magic 2013
7 of 10

http://youtu.be/J-34yvbTQP0

Introduction
As a child of the 80s/90s and a huge fan of the original 1989 version of the game, I was thrilled to hear that a remastered version of DuckTales would be released for download on the Wii U, Playstation 3 (as well as a retail version for Playstation 3), Steam and Xbox 360 (available 9/11/13).

I myself, being a NES diehard fan and preferring Nintendo products to all other gaming systems out there, downloaded the game to my Wii U console the second the game was released. In fact, I had an alarm programmed to go off at 5 minutes before release, so I could be the first person to download the game… actually, just kidding I didn’t really do that, but it shows how truly excited I was for the release. Though, I will admit I was a tad worried with all the remakes out there that my childhood memories would be tainted by the absolute destruction of the game, but as the title screen played the beloved theme song that has rung over and over again in my head for 20+ years, my fears about the game began to subside. So without further ado, I have put together some thoughts about the game discussing a variety of categories, starting with what was the most striking difference to me at least, the graphics.

Graphics
While the original game was one of the best NES platform games of all time (the best in my opinion, next to Mega Man, which coincidentally was from the same creator: Capcom). The 8-bit graphics were classic and, honestly, while I was playing the game in the early 90s, I thought they were kick-ass! However, when I turned on DuckTales Remastered after the download was complete, I was astounded at what I saw. I was a huge fan of the DuckTales TV show and it was as if I was playing inside of a cartoon, jam packed with dry, sarcastic jokes and crisp and gorgeous imagery. The game features several different graphic techniques, including 2D hand-drawn character sprites and 3D modeled levels. The characters and levels are colorful and extremely detailed; giving you the impression that Disney (artists Mike Peraza and Rick Evans) really made the effort to bring the game to life in ways they never could with 8-bit graphics.

Voice Acting
A new feature to the game that really made you feel as if you were completely immersed in a cartoon, were the voice-overs. Original TV series cast members lent their voices for the characters, including a 93-year old Alan Young, as Scrooge McDuck. This element was a great addition to the remastered version, which also brought about a very detailed storyline to help clarify the levels, such as explaining how Scrooge McDuck can breathe Mars. I don’t know about you, but I always thought it was strange that he didn’t need an oxygen tank!

Storyline
In comparing the original to the remastered versions, an obvious difference between the two games is the storyline. There really was no clear cut story in the original. You needed to use your imagination a bit more. While we knew the point of the game and understood the characters, we really didn’t know why we were going to the Himalayas or heading into space. The new storylines explain some of the motives and reasoning behind each level.

Some other reviewers have complained about the storyline and mostly about the cut-scenes, as being too frequent during gameplay. Though I agree to a certain extent, because there are a TON of cut-scenes and they occur within the gameplay, I believe that the cut-scenes really added to the story and, for the first-time player and nostalgic 80s child gamer gave a greater connection to the characters. By the time you reach to the final boss, you really feel like you’ve been on an adventure; one that again is reminiscent of watching an actual DuckTales episode.

Since the gameplay, which we will discuss shortly, is difficult (even on normal), you will find yourself repeating levels from the beginning quite often, so the cut-scenes do get old, quickly. For the first time through the game, though, I enjoyed every minute of every cut-scene as if I was right there with the characters. You are able to avoid the cut-scenes by hitting the (+) button on your controller and selecting (A) and while it is somewhat disruptive to the game, it does impact playability. It is more of an annoyance and it would have been great if there was an option on the main menu to skip all cut-scenes. Maybe this is something that can be upgraded through a patch, but don’t hold out for it. It is certainly not a game purchasing deal-breaker.

Music
It is hard to not get giddy when talking about the soundtrack. Quite frankly it is one of the best soundtracks ever written for a game, but then again it always was, even with the original. The composer, Jake Kaufman, essentially took the original tracks and morphed them into full orchestral masterpieces. The game allows players to toggle between the new amped up soundtrack and the original 8-bit soundtrack, after clearing the game once. It also includes an option to hear 8-bit renditions of the newly rendered compositions.

Controls
The game controls are essentially the same as the original. The minute I started the game it was like riding a bike. The only difference was it was actually easier to maneuver the cane as a pogo stick. At first, I kept pushing down and (Y) and was annoyed at the fact that the pogo stick was not deploying well. I quickly learned that you simply needed to push (Y) or (A) to make the pogo stick work! Though, there is the option on the pause menu to toggle to the “hard pogo” which means it is down + (Y) or (A), just like the original game controls. The pogo still has its flaws as it still sometimes glitches and doesn’t deploy when you push the button, but this adds to the difficulty of the game. The cane can also be used on the ground to swing and break open certain objects. This feature is especially fun on the Transylvania board when you break the ball and chain holding the mummy ducks down. The mummy duck spins around so his bandages fall off and he is completely naked, TE HEHE!

Gameplay/Difficulty
Just like the original game, there are no checkpoints, so as soon as you run out of your lives it’s back to the main menu! If you grew up with 8-bit games, like Mega Man and DuckTales, you know how frustrating it can be to have to start from scratch every time you run out of lives. It’s a challenge, but I believe that is what makes a game fun and exciting. It also increases the games value, in my opinion, because if I’m going to spend a lot of money I don’t want it to take me a few hours to beat, I want to be frustrated, I want to throw my controller at the screen and yell profanities every 10 seconds because I keep having to start over!

A major upgrade to the game, however, was the difficulty level of the bosses. While the original levels were difficult to navigate and get through at first, once you arrived at the boss it was relatively simple to defeat them as their moves were very one-dimensional. Now, the bosses all have more than one attack element and come at you much harder with more obstacles to avoid. For example, in the African Mines, the King mole not only rolls in a ball in circles around you, but other moles bounce around in a stampede and enormous boulders crash down on you!

Another addition to the game is collecting items that are strewn around the maps before you can proceed to the boss. I like this element as it lengthens the overall time it takes to beat each level. It also provides more opportunity to search all nooks and crannies in the levels to find hidden treasures. The only part I did not think was necessary was the MAP on the pause menu. I want to explore and I don’t feel that the levels layouts are that complicated. It’s not like we’re playing Mario and have to beat Boo Castle where each door leads to another secret place that then leads you to another secret place and you can’t get back to the place you just were without circling the entire board again! So, to me the map seemed rather unnecessary.

Lastly, I just want to say how flippin’ fantastic it is to be able to go into your money vault and dive into the loot and swim around, just like the cartoon! This was always a fantasy of mine every time I watched the show on TV. In the original game this feature was not available, so it is certainly a welcomed addition and added to the replay ability of the game.

Replay ability
Replay ability-wise, once you’ve beaten the game you can go back and challenge yourself through the Hard and Extreme modes. Also, there are extra features where you can unlock character art, sketches, music etc. using the money you earned during the game. While there are only a few levels and bosses to beat, the levels are challenging and it will take some time to get through the game. As an excellent platform game player, it took me a week, sitting down for 2 hours a day of playtime, to beat it. Any novice/intermediate player should get quite a bit of time out of the game. Even if you beat the game in 4 hours you can still go back and replay again and again. It is that much fun! I honestly still sometimes play the original game on my emulator, just for a challenge.

Conclusion
Overall, this game fulfilled all of my hopes and dreams. As a huge fan of the original I was worried at first that the remastered version would destroy the memories of my youth; however, it was the complete opposite. The game revived my love for DuckTales and by adding new elements and features, and updating graphics and music composition, the game surpassed all of my expectations.

My only gripes are that it would have been cool if you could use different characters or weapons. The extras you can purchase through money made during the game had a lot of potential, but they only offered collectables that do not add any value to the gameplay. I also felt as though this game should have been limited to the Wii U system. This was a Nintendo game and given the lack of success the Wii U has had up to this point, it would have been a great ploy to get more people to buy the system. I assume that Capcom, Disney and Wayforward Games wanted more widespread availability to sell more games and Nintendo had no say in distribution, but it is just my thought that it should have been exclusive to Nintendo console (or DS as well).

The original DuckTales was a commercial success, with the NES and Game Boy versions selling approximately 1.67 million and 1.43 million copies worldwide respectively, each becoming Capcom’s highest-selling titles for their respective platforms. It is safe to say that DuckTales Remastered will be a huge success with old-school fans and new-age gamers alike. I would rate the game 9/10 and not a 10/10 due to some control glitches as well as the inability to play the game without the cut-scenes. It is difficult to find the perfect 10/10 game, but this one is right up there at the top of the list to buy for 2013!

If you have any comments or questions call or text 781 990 8509- 24/7 or email igotissuesman@gmail.com

Thanks!

http://youtu.be/KgcJirRQcKc

We also talk about one of the best local bands around, Silver Beast and are also joined via the chatroom by Dusty (Lead Bass and Vocals for Silver Beast) who introduces us to a new musical instrument.

Take a listen to The Issues Program Episode 22 : Mutant Ninja Dog and The Bictar (Or is it Bicass Gutiar?)

If you have any comments or questions call or text 781 990 8509- 24/7 or email igotissuesman@gmail.com

Thanks!

http://youtu.be/GMVhLXmE5xY

Also worth mentioning is that I didn’t get too far into City Folk and never played Wide World but was a huge fan of the original Gamecube Title. So I was prime and hungry for a great experience. Here are some initial thoughts after around a month of playtime.

New Leaf opens up in the same place as the previous games on the train heading into a new town. This time there is a different twist. You are set to be the Mayor and apparently have more of a role in the development of your town. This was a great idea and adds some more to do and many things to use to decorate outside your house and around town but also more things to pay for as well. Start collecting Bells right away!

What i’m referring to is as Mayor you can set the Town Tune, Flag, start public works projects or even change town ordinances to do things like keep the up late, or early, rich or a few other options to customize you gaming experience. It would of been cool if you had more control over your towns layout at the start or could pass multiple ordinances in town instead of just one. I feel the Mayor thing is a good start and curious and excited on how this will evolve with future titles from this franchise by giving the player more and more options for play.

Once you are all settled in town and get your house and becomes accustomed to the inhabitants you gain the option to travel to an island and interact with other that are playing live and play games or make some serious loot finding bugs. Also you can build a dream center , a public works project that lets you trade “dream” version of your town to let others check it out and explore with freedom to not mess with your stuff. You can also visit others dreams as well for the same fun.

The 3D in this game is breathtaking and this is where the games really shines from it predecessors. The game looks beautiful in 3d or 2d and is full of life, speed and vibrant colors as the days change. Playing a month or so and just seeing the summer season inspirers the thought of how the rest of the year will look when Fall and Sprig roll around.

The music and sound in New Leaf are unique , funny and entertaining and all the subtle touches like shooting stars , rainbows, and random bands at the club all add to the feeling of an alive world.

Everything in this game is pretty much what you remember and loved about Animal Crossing . You buy a house pay off debt, collect things, do errands, play and make friends. It’s all is there and feels fresh and fun with the 3DS being the perfect vehicle.

My only gripes at this point is you can only make one town per 3DS. My roommate share our 3DS and both want to have town and that is impossible we will have to buy a 2nd 3DS (We were planning on doing that for Pokemon X &Y anyway, but just had to do it early). It also seems like everything is on the “tomorrow philosophy” If you pay off a project early in the morning you need to wait till the next day for it to be built and everything in New Leaf is like this. “it will be done tomorrow.” Tomorrow tomorrow I love you tomorrow . Sorry got carried away cause every time they say tomorrow I think of the song. But that is kind of freedom one has in this title you have plenty of time to think in song.

Animal crossing New Leaf is a must buy for any fan of SIMS type games or a fan of the past games in the series. It also has enough charm to win over new people to not just the game but the 3DS as well.

Freaking Awesome!

9 out of 10

-Gadi co-hosts the show this week

-We Talk about 4th of July and My Ear Issues

-What to do if you get invited to an event you do want to go to

-How Nintendo Haters are going to eat their words

-And lots silly news, issues and more!

Check out this weeks show: The Issues Program Episode 16: The Homemade Q-Tip

We go over Gadi and Phil’s history with Trek and of course they gets taking in a lot of different directions. But we basically cover the all the Tv Shows, Films from TOS&TNG,JJ Trek and the future.

Take a listen to The Issues Program Episode 10: Star Trek Month- My Gadi and Me

We discuss Some Nintendo news

What JD is doing with his Scrubs money

About why the hell he is up so early and how Phil’s mind is not quite working yet

Some texts from you guys!

A small preview of Star Trek Month!

And more rants and fun!

Take a listen to this weeks show The Issues Program Episode 7: I’m Daffy In The Mornings

The new Nickelodeon Ninja Turtles show is able to combine a sense of seriousness in story telling that was sometimes missing in the 87 Series with the humor that was lacking in the 03 Series. But what exactly makes this program so good?

Visual Style

The animation style may put some older fans off at first. It’s in a CG style and when I saw early images I almost immediately wrote the series off. But 20 minutes into the watching the Pilot this became a non issue and I think it fits this universe well. Aside from some of their mutant foes I’ve grown to enjoy the art style a great deal and has opened me up to a whole new world of animation.

But what takes the cake visually is the Shredder who is more frightening and formidable than ever. I also love the re-imagining of Splinter with more human features. It truly makes him more a mix of human and rat than ever before.

The action of each episode is broken up with comic book style stills. This enhances the feeling of the ongoing story. The eyes of the Turtles also change depending on their mood. You will see internal emotions depicted in their expressions. This is done in a very cartoon/anime way and I love it.

Story

I’m not going to spoil much about the story of Season 1. So to keep it really simple. Shredder and Splinter had a blood grudge for years and they re-encounter each other after a while to face off in a war. But juxtaposed is the return of Krang! Well, not exactly like you remembered but I love the reboot of the character and how it plays into the orgin of the Turtles and Splinter. It’s a nod to both the 03 and 87 series while being unique at the same time.

Each episode is stand alone in a way, but there is an overall story arc to the Season. So it’s better to watch episodes in chronological order if possible. At minimum, definitely start with the one hour pilot “Rise of the Turtles.” This episode is the perfect introduction into the the world.

Characters

This is where this show really shines. I find these version of the Turtles to be the most well rounded and fleshed out ever depicted on screen. This is due to the excellence of the writers and voice actors.

Leonardo, voiced by Jason Biggs, is the perfect leader. Clearly the one who studies Ninjutsu the most and definitely cocky about this to his brothers. But he’s not as perfect as Leo has been depicted in the past. He has a quirky character trait of religiously watching an in show series called Space Heroes. (Pretty much Star trek)
He quotes the show using cheesy one liners when the Ninjas are in action to the amusement and frustration of his brothers.

Raphael voiced by a Hobbit named Rudy (Sean Austin). He is as bruiting as you would expect, but not as over done as it was in the 2007 TMNT film. He also is very short tempered and in general an ass. But Raph truly loves and protects his brothers more than any of the others Turtles. He’s the toughest, but clearly he is not a leader. On a personal note, Sean Austin get out of all my favorite movies and shows!

Donatello voiced by The Great Rob Paulsen (who voices Raphael in the 87 series) is great at showing his genius and is clearly the least talented fighter. He’s not just a background token “nerdy” character this time. More than any other Turtle he has been neglected in the recent past and relegated with Mikey into the background. Here Donny is obsessed with his research and is always in his head. It’s those internalized calculations that hinders him as a Ninja. Donny also has an incredibly funny crush on April to the amusement of everyone.

Michelangelo voiced by Greg Cipes is hilarious, and also has the innocence of a child. He is not that bright but not an idiot. He also likes to name their enemies and Donny’s inventions. He doesn’t take too much serious and hits all those Mikey notes one would expect. But at times you can see a switch inside of him that he has the potential to be an even greater Ninja than any of his brothers.

The relationship between the Turtles feels real and all of the actors bring a serious energy and depth to their roles. This makes them a believable family of brothers dealing with the dangers of being mutant superheroes.

It’s all brought together by Splinter voiced by Hoon Lee, who is a true father and General. Not to mention he is more badass of a fighter and Sensei than ever before. You really feel for his story and and relate to his pain. It makes the love he has found with the his new sons all the more emotional.

Shredder is menacing without being too goofy. A real threat.

April was chosen to be depicted as a young teenager and I like that for a couple reasons. One, I understand this series is aimed at kids and to have the main human character someone their age will help relate the audience to the world.

My other reason is I hope when they introduce Casey Jones he will be like the 87 series. Basically more of an irrational animal then sexy vigilante love interest for April. Please save me from the April and Casey romance yet again.

There are also many one off characters and more reoccurring ones I did not name. There are some that I love and other not so much. I’m also not too found of decisions made with certain villains in the story, but that’s personal opinion. There’s a rich array of mutants and humans that we bump into within every episode and the good outweighs the not so good.

Love for the past

This show is a true love letter to fans of Ninja Turtle history. Some nods are wrapped inside the plot while others are just passing references. The show maintains its own universe while taking a bow to the past.

It’s not a nostalgic piece like Turtles Forever but it knows what the franchise is capable of and isn’t afraid to use all it has in its bag for full effect. The writers and producers obviously have a huge love for the source material.

In the end

A lot of people including myself were very quick to dismiss The new Nickelodeon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series as a kids show and put it the box with New Mutation that says “do not open.” I did not like the early images, trailers, and in general prefer traditional animation to CGI. I decided to watch it anyway and gave it a shot and now it’s one of my favorite shows on TV. True greatness is transcendent of medium and this series hits on so many notes.

The show is not perfect and some stand alone episodes are not quite as captivating as others. There are a few of the animations on the main adversary mutants that looks a bit silly and few story choices I may of liked to turn out differently. But those are just nitpicks. The series has already been renewed for not just a Season 2 but a Season 3 too so it’s here to stay for a while.

Older fans, If you feel strange turning on Nickelodeon borrow someones kid or get you own and watch it with them. This show is funny for TMNT fans all ages.

9.6 of 10 (For Season 1)

Watch the dam show and enjoy the ride!

On this weeks episode:

We talk about an interesting Trip to the emergency room last night

3DS news

EA Class Action Lawsuit

Retro vrs Modern

A chance for redemption for JCR?

A lot of Live Disconnections :/

Love for Fire Emblem

And lots more!

Check out this weeks episode- The Issues Program Episode 6: The Show Must Go On

And here is a special clip from the Post Show!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryWeC8Xxr8U

This is the first of many Commentary Casts we will have at The Issues Program.

Hope you all enjoy! The Issues Program: Episode 5 Super Mario Movie Commentary-Cast