Some Other Castle » lego

Some Other Podcast, Episode 17: Defense Mechanisms

Leah — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 05:07:30 +0000

You know how everyone does something different when they get scared, or stressed, or angry? Yeah, so do we…. and it happens a lot in this episode. Aside from discussion on our latest terrible movie venture (commentary track to come!), this week’s podcast contains chat on returns to old habits, mergers and acquisitions, and a whoooooooole lot of Sony-related screw-ups. Tune in for what may be the only episode ever where Leah doesn’t drink! (Don’t worry, it’s still hilarious. For different reasons, though.)

Return of the Link:

PSP Go “taking advantage of early adopter premium…” yep, Sony actually admitted it

Fewer than 1 in 3 PS3 systems are connecting to Home

Sony working on a patent that will allow PS2 emulation via the Cell Chip (updated post-’cast)

Hulu blocked from PS3 browser, presumably because someone is being a dick

100 million used games traded annually in the US

Fight Night may release button controls as DLC

Harold Ryan of Bungie says Halo Reach could possibly use Natal

WoW working on a way to allow faction-switching

Mass Effect 2 will not allow the option for a New Game +

Mythic and Bioware merge

Zenimax (Bethesda’s parent company) buys id Software

Break music is “Space Party Anthem” by Starscream.

I know you love listener mail as much as I do! I can SMELL it! Send us more at podcast@someothercastle.com! plzkthx?

Confessions of a Backlogged Gamer, Week 21: Deja Vu All Over Again

Leah — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 22:52:57 +0000

I know I didn’t talk about it too often, but if you paid really close attention, you may have noticed that I spent some time playing a game called Persona 3 some weeks back. I won’t be surprised if you missed the references; I was very subtle, after all. Anyway, after taking a bit of a hiatus to clear my gaming palette, I decided to go back and finish the additional FES content, which was added in a re-release of the game several months after its original debut to give players a chance to see what exactly happened after the events of the main story drew to a close. I’m only two hours or so into this offshoot, dubbed “The Answer,” but so far? Not really digging it all that much.

I think it’s important to note that none of your pre-FES content (that is, your save) has any bearing on The Answer. This is a completely different game, with different progression and a fully separate slot on your memory card (or, as in my case, on your virtual memory card deep within the bowels of the shiny black mammoth that is your PS3). This bothers me a little. No, that’s not right. It actually bothers me a lot, and I think that’s the main reason I’m not terribly invested in it so far. I suppose I may change my mind as the story goes along, but right now, I’m a little frustrated that all the time I spent developing these characters has been dumped rather unceremoniously in the trash, and I’m stuck re-discovering and re-fusing the same fucking Personas that I created eighty hours of gameplay ago. It feels like a gigantic step backward, and I don’t think I’m okay with that. If they were going to add extra content, I really feel that there should have been some sort of concession to the effort you put in beforehand; it wouldn’t necessarily have to be a direct level conversion, but…. something? Anything? No? Okay, I guess….. I’m planning on toughing it out and sticking with the game through the rest of the content, which is said to take thirty-ish hours, so hopefully my opinion of it will improve. We’ll see.

Prior to starting up Persona again, I finished Lego Batman, both the hero missions and the villain missions. Last week, I hadn’t started the villain section yet, but I think that I actually enjoyed it more than the levels featuring the dynamic duo. This is mostly due to the variety; yeah, you get the same type of variety from the different types of suits that Batman and Robin can acquire in the levels, but I just prefer the use of actual different characters with different abilities with which you’re provided from the very beginning. I don’t have to backtrack to pick up a suit from three screens ago, because one of the two villains I’m toting has what I need to get out of here. Also, I’m easily distracted by bright colors and shiny objects, so new characters every level kept me more engaged than staring at the same two sprites for hours. Overall, Lego Batman was a good time, and probably the strongest of the Lego games that I’ve played (although I am admittedly kind of excited about Lego Harry Potter…. don’t tell anyone, though).

When I wasn’t gallavanting with the Caped Crusader, I was taking orders from a deranged unicorn. Yeah, Peggle. More Peggle! I actually finished, in several marathon sessions, all of the content from both the original Peggle as well as Peggle Nights. Now, let us never speak of it again.

Crimson Gem Saga was my last gaming venture this week; after very briefly starting it, I hadn’t put much time in, but this week I actually had the time to sink a few hours into it, and I’m really enjoying myself so far. The game is extremely straightforward, in the “go here, get this, do this” style of RPG, and I am perfectly okay with that, because it’s entertaining along the way. The dialogue is surprisingly good, the art is well-done, and the combat is easy enough to pick up right away while promising to have the option to become more intricate deeper into the game. I just picked up my third party member, a mage who likes to die a lot (as mages often do), so I’m working my way towards having what I assume will be a full party. As a side note, I was well-warned on the prevalence of digi-boobs in this game, and I have found this to be very true. Someone spent waaaaaay too much time and effort animating those things. Seriously, sweetie, if you’re gonna be a thief, you probably need a better bra.

Current backlog total: 99

Now playing: Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES (PS2); Crimson Gem Saga (PSP)

New games added: Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor (DS)

Games completed: Lego Batman (360); Peggle: Dual Shot (DS)

Some Other Podcast, Episode 16: Sass Squared

Leah — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 14:56:30 +0000

A tearful (well, maybe not…) reunion is in the works this episode as the ladies are reunited and the estrogen level drifts back up to normal. We’re trying out our new segment on terrible video game movies this week, so let us know what you think; this week, we discuss Super Mario Bros! There’s plenty of other chat around, though, so even if the thought of Dennis Hopper’s King Koopa portrayal makes you cringe, stay tuned for discussion on the rightful place of the GTA series, the rightful rating of the Mortal Kombat series, and the thoroughly messed-up nature of the Lego series.

The links, the links, the links are on fire!

Gaming accessories coming to the iPhone

Kotick questions Activision’s support of Sony platforms

Ubisoft says Splinter Cell Conviction is a “true 360 exclusive”

Bioware not concerned about MMO competition, believes Jedi will somehow defeat Orcs

Next Mortal Kombat game will be rated M, according to Ed Boon’s Twitter

Fat Princess delayed until summer

Tekken 6 preorder at Gamestop will get you a Cardboard Tube Samurai skin for Yoshimitsu

GTA Chinatown Wars being released on the PSP this fall

Tony Hawk Ride board peripheral will be used for “many games,” all of which will probably feature Tony Hawk

Break music this week is “beatnes3″ by The Eternal from the album called ELECTROPLANKTON. Like the album title implies it was made using only the DS game Electrplankton.

We still love listener mail! Send us messages at podcast@someothercastle.com and we’ll read and discuss them on the show! (Do it for Leah she lives for listener mail)

Confessions of a Backlogged Gamer, Week 20: Legos Don’t Bleed

Leah — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 01:01:20 +0000

I’ve delved into the Lego series of games before, with both installments of Lego Star Wars, so I guess it should have come as no surprise that Lego Batman, which I began upon completing inFamous, is actually a little screwed up. Robin’s head gets cut off! And it lands in Batman’s hands! If they weren’t Legos, the ESRB would be on a damn crusade right about now! But they are, so… you know, it’s cool. I actually get a kick out of watching everything explode into its component bits, so beating the crap out of stuff is doubly entertaining.

Aside from being subtly disturbing, Lego Batman is everything the name suggests; it’s definitely Lego, and it’s definitely Batman. This is more the Adam West Batman than, say, the Christian Bale Batman, but it’s Batman nonetheless. You have fun toys and cool gadgets that generally materialize in the form of special suits, and you run around each stage thwacking baddies until you hit the boss at the end of the level. Simple. I understand that once you complete the Hero missions, there’s a set of Villain missions as well, but I haven’t gotten to that point yet; I’m moving along at a pretty good clip, though, so I should have some impressions on that side of things by next week.

I actually started playing Lego Batman because I just wanted something different from inFamous, which I finished directly beforehand. Don’t get me wrong, I quite enjoyed inFamous, but some of the later missions were incredibly frustrating to me, probably because the game isn’t really something I’d normally expect me to be playing, and I just wanted something mindless and easy by the time I was done. Many of the latter levels broke free of the repetitiveness from which some of the ones in the beginning and middle tended to suffer, offering things such as surprisingly intricate platforming and quirky destructo-missions that often required increasing levels of patience and accuracy (so needless to say, I’m sure the neighbors got quite an earful when I played with the windows open). The ending, however, was pretty much fuckawesome, or at least I thought so. That’s aside from the last boss fight being pretty nasty; the internet as a whole may judge me for this, but I confess to having to bump the difficulty level from medium to easy for that one. If you need me, I’ll be hiding my head in shame there in the corner.

I’ve actually spent a fair amount of time this week not at home; my sister’s graduation meant that there was lots of family time involved, and during some of this, I did end up toting my DS along for the downtime. And what was in my DS? I’ll give you a hint: starts with “P,” ends with addiction. Can they hide crack in video games? I’m pretty sure that’s the only way that Peggle could suck me in this much. I’d just start with one map, and then two hours later, I totally forgot about my laundry and the movie I put on as background noise is over. What the fuck happened? DAMN YOU, UNICORN! At this rate, I’ll be out of levels soon, but I suppose there is always the Peggle Nights content after I finish up with the main set. I think I blame Elaine for this.

Current backlog total: 103

Now playing: Lego Batman (360); Peggle: Dual Shot (DS); Crimson Gem Saga (PSP)

New games added: none

Games completed: inFamous (PS3)