The IGN START channel has been in swing for almost two months now. One of the shows that debuted was The Next Game Boss, hosted by Daemon Hatfield and Naomi Kyle. It is a competition show that introduced six indie gaming developers battling for indie gaming supremacy with the winner receiving a myriad of prizes. It was one of my favorite programs and I wanted to share it all with you. I am a huge indie game supporter and if you are (or not) this show offers great perspective on the process involved even though it is slightly expedited. I have posted the entire season and I hope you enjoy it. If you do like it subscribe to START and reach out to the great folks over at IGN.
I hope you have enjoyed the show and as always you can follow us on Twitter @GamersAbstract and like us on Facebook for more content.
The Humble Bundle is back again with the Humble Bundle 4. Five new games are now available for download, with another two for those who pay at least the average amount. It’s currently $5.03, and even though that amount will change as more donations are made, it usually stays around the five dollar mark.
As always, the Humble Bundle is pay what you want, DRM free, cross platform, and helps charity. The games you’ll be getting, with descriptions thanks to the HumbleBundle site, are:
1. Jamestown – Jamestown is a beautiful, new shmup that brings neo-classical flavor to the grand tradition of scrolling arcade shooters. Up to four players blast and bullet dodge through a hostile Martian frontier, armed with the very best in steampunk weaponry. A “stay-alive” co-op system will have you screaming at your buddies during the epic, retro-style, screen-filling boss battles, while unlocking sick new ships and weapons.
2. Bit.Trip Runner – Bit.Trip Runner radiates charm and challenge with retro-styled, music-platformer gameplay. Players take control of Captain Video as he runs through more than 30 levels. Each stage features a unique music track perfectly synced to Captain Video’s hops and slides, resulting in a fresh and intuitive platforming experience.
3. Super Meat Boy – Super Meat Boy is what you get when you mold a little man out of ground meat, and put him in a world full of tricky gaps, slides, and hazards. Plan to perish many times in the course of saving Bandage Girl from Dr. Fetus, but prepare to bask in the glory of pulling off impossible platforming feats, unlocking secret characters, and triumphing over 300+ levels.
4. Shank – Shank is a highly stylized, action-packed, 2D brawler, featuring satisfying fight combos and familiar platforming challenges. Players assume the role of Shank, a former mob-hitman, on an epic quest for revenge. In the solo game, Shank traverses levels filled with henchmen, culminating in awesome boss fights. There’s also a full co-op story, which tells the tale of Shank‘s life prior to the events of the solo campaign.
5. NightSky HD – NightSky is an atmospheric, 2D physics puzzle platformer. The player uses acceleration, gravity, and motion to navigate a glowing sphere through over 130 unique and picturesque levels.
As for the bonus games for meeting or beating the average payment:
6. Gratuitous Space Battles – In the sci-fi strategy game Gratuitous Space Battles, players outfit a complete fleet — from bulkhead-to-munitions — to clash mightily with opponents from across the galaxy. With layer upon layer of customization, master strategists will always be able to find a way to blast the competition into smithereens.
7. Cave Story+ – Cave Story is the critically acclaimed opus by indie game developer Pixel, originally created as a tribute to games like Metroid and Castlevania. Cave Story is a 2D platformer in the “metroidvania” tradition, with a classic, world-saving hero and an emphasis on exploration and discovery. The indie studio Nicalis worked with Pixel to update graphics and add new game modes, reflected in this edition of Cave Story.
This Bundle, like all the rest, is only available for two weeks, so make sure you hustle on over and grab your copy. Mac, PC, and Linux versions of every game are available, as well as a Steam key for any of you Valve gamers out there. Get awesome games, at a great price, and help charity. Seriously, stop reading this and get on that.
Anyone that really knows me knows that one day I would love to visit Japan and possibly even live there if the opportunity presented itself. This latest video featuring CheapyD and Scott Popular made me drool with envy. The store they toured “Super Potato” is a retro gaming store in Japan and would make someone like myself instantaneously broke. They had such an incredible selection of video games and other video game related merchandise that was beyond appealing to me. I have been infatuated with Japan for quite some time and it is something that I have a hard time explaining to others and sometimes myself. When I see videos like the one above it just sends goose bumps down my spine in a good way. There is so much to digest in Japan beyond just gaming and it is something that I can hopefully fulfill in my lifetime. I want to give props to CheapyD and Scott Popular for this video and I look forward to seeing what other special gems Japan has to offer via your video series. As always you can follow TGA on Twitter @GamersAbstract and like us on Facebook for more content.
It has been a long and bloody road for our champion. Dispatching opponents with sheer precision and spilling their silicon innards in its wake. The Xbox 360 controller is our Video Game Controller Death Match Champion folks and it thanks you for your participation and support. This obviously marks the end of this event, but we are going back to the drawing board and are already in the works for another TGA exclusive event (also working on the GOTY awards). So once again thank you to everyone who participated in this event; we hope you enjoyed it as much as we enjoyed putting it on. I have posted the final tournament bracket showcasing our Champions road to ultimate victory. As always you can follow us on Twitter @GamersAbstract and like us on Facebook for more content.
The final battles of Round 2 have concluded and we are on to the Semi Finals. The two match ups are between the Super Nintendo and the original Playstation and the Xbox 360 and the Sega Dreamcast. These battles will be brutal, but the outcomes are entirely up to you. Remember to vote for your favorite controller in each battle and do it soon because the voting ends Friday December 9th at Midnight EST. Voting is easy and can be done in seconds via our Facebook page. Stay tuned for the results of these battles and the announcement of our Championship Battle. Also don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @GamersAbstract because we also post fun stuff on there as well.
Small margin of victory for such a monstrous contender
Battles 6, 7 and 8 have come to a close and brings about the conclusion of Round 1 of our Video Game Controller Deathmatch. The Xbox 360 edged out the PS3 by only 2 votes while the Dreamcast and Wii skunked their respective opponents. Round 2 will be starting tomorrow so stay tuned for the first battle and in the meantime check out the updated tournament bracket below to check out the matchups. As always you can follow us on Twitter @GamersAbstract and like us on Facebook for more content.
The Legend of Zelda has always been a series that has never had voice dialogue. Some folks on the internet speculate that it is tradition to not have it, that it would ruin the game, or sometimes even a combination of the two form one’s argument. Others will say that Link is a stoic hero or the strong silent type and that he need not speak because his actions speak volumes of their own (so cliché, but applicable). Granted up until Ocarina of Time voice dialogue wouldn’t have been an option anyways because of hardware/software limitations, but I have a theory as to why Link doesn’t speak and I’d like to share it with you.
"Huut, huut, waaah, wwahah, HYAAH" Using Google Translate that means "Hi I am Link, would you like a cup of tea?"
It has been over a decade since Link has entered 3D space and for over ten years you have been rewarded for somersaulting into shit. I’m about 10 hours into Skyward Sword and have probably rolled into more shit for a rupee than Wilt Chamberlain has banged chicks (THAT’S A LOT OF ROLLING FOLKS). Link can be the strong silent type that we all think he is; I just think the poor guy has some serious brain damage. His cerebral functions have been ravaged for years and the only discernible sounds we get out of him are Neanderthalic grunts and “HYAAHS”. Besides rolling into various things, the dude has been tucking and rolling off of 20 foot ledges for just as long. Why? Why does the game design force us to maim our valiant hero? Who knows, but our beloved Link is more or less a functional retard, but I still love him and boy can he wield a mean sword.
So strong, so silent, the ladies go crazy for him, one in particular, HIZAHH!!!
Tradition, Personality, or brain damage are all plausible options for the silent treatment from one of gaming’s most notable heroes, but will we truly ever know? I’m guessing not, but dialogue aside Link will continue to persevere through any obstacle that is thrown at him, unless it’s a spelling bee, then he is fucked.
The most "animated" version of Link, stil not a peep
As always you can follow us on Twitter @GamersAbstract and like us on Facebook for more content.
The folks over at Humble Bundle have been in business for a year and half, and in that time they have amassed more than 8 million dollars towards charity and for the developers highlighted by these bundles (not to mention a nice tip for the Humble Bundle team.) Honestly, people are just throwing their money at these guys.
The idea behind the Humble Bundle is simple: pay what you want, support charity, get awesome games. Average payment for this bundle now sits at $3.78 (though this will change as more gamers contribute.) And for that measly amount of pocket change, you’ll be getting six excellent indie games. If you want to pay less, pay less, though you’ll miss out on a couple games if you don’t meet average. And if you’re feeling particularly generous, you can always give more.
The best part is that you choose where your money will be going. You can evenly split it between the indie developers, charity (Child’s Play and the Electronic Frontier Foundation), and the Humble Bundle Team, or give all/none to any of them. Feeling like the Humble Bundle guys are doing a great job? Give them more of your payment. Feel like those greedy sick kids have enough gaming equipment? Give them nothing. And then find a therapist.
This Humble Bundle comes with Uplink, Darwinia, DEFCON, and Multiwinia. And if you match or beat the current average payment, you’ll also get Aquaria and Crayon Physics Deluxe as a bonus. In the past, these bundles have come packaged with gaming hits like Braid, World of Goo, and Penumbra, so make sure you check it out. But don’t wait around! The Humble Bundles are only available for two weeks at a time, so make sure you head over and get your outrageously good deal before time’s up.
Sorry for the delay on the Video Game Controller Deathmatch front. Now that all this Black Friday nonsense has concluded (sans Cyber Monday, kind of different) I can get back to this display of plastic and silicon carnage. Battle 5 originally tied and then we had a rematch to decide a victor and the people have spoken; Xbox is your WINNER!!! I think we might have had a few turncoats from the original battle to the rematch, but no matter it is time to move forward. To make up for the delay I am posting the last 3 first round Battles to get caught up (Battle 6,7 and 8). Battle 6 is between Xbox 360 and PS3, Battle 7 is between the Nintendo Wii and the Playstation Move and lastly Battle 8 (our weirdest match up) is between the Sega Dreamcast and Atari 2600. Voting will go live today and end tomorrow night (November 28th) at midnight. Remember there are three ways to vote. You can vote on here, on Twitter and our most popular voting poll Facebook. After the voting is over I will post an updated bracket to showcase the round 2 battles. So let the blood flow into the proverbial internet streets and lets get it ON!!! As always you can follow us on Twitter @GamersAbstract and like us on Facebook for more content and cool shit.
Battle 5 between PS2 and Xbox ended in a tie (first one yet). So we are going to have a rematch to decide a winner. Voting will be done in the same manner, so cast your votes again and we can only hope that the results do not repeat themselves (if they do some coin flipping will be in order, potential YouTube video). So go vote on Battle 5 again and the voting will end today at midnight. As always you can follow us on Twitter @GamersAbstract and like us on Facebook for more content.
The Gamer's Abstract 