Video gaming: L4D2, Borderlands and Recessions.

So yeah, L4D2 happened. It’s awesome. If I need to say more, you clearly do not read this site enough.

Borderlands is a loot-whoring masterpiece. I cannot put it more clearly. This game ripped my arm open, found the same vein that I had blown out with years of Diablo 2 playing, revitalized it, and pumped it full of a new, equally delicious blend of addictiveness. Also, monsters with vagoos for mouths. Awesome.

Let’s speak about how our current state of economic fuckery has helped, if not the gaming industry as a whole, my experience with it. People started swapping more used games, and indeed selling them outright for cheap. As such, I acquired Batman, Borderlands, and a few other titles for far less than I would have, and in that lovely time in which they’re fresh and new and the hype machine hasn’t forgotten about them. This also gave me time to catch up on my backlog of JRPGs, because I hate myself.

Movies: Zombies, yo!

So Zombieland was also awesome. If Woody Harrelson going mental on a zombie with a pair of hedge clippers doesn’t give you a thrill deep inside, you are dead inside, sir. And Woody Harrelson is going to go mental on you with some sort of garden tool.

Like Fido and other, Britishier movies before it, Zombieland takes a classic genre (the teen road trip self-discovery movie) and fills it full of zombie goodness like the cream filling injected into a twinkie (the artificially-flavored pastry, not the pornographic image). It shows us that somewhere out there, someone in Hollywood gets us. We don’t want 90 minutes of splosions, or people in furry suits murdering space marines (Ok, admittedly both of those sound wicked awesome on paper, but bear with me), we want the same nonsense we’ve wanted for the last decade, but full of flesh-eating mutants.

Make it so!

Books

Ok, so Jim Butcher has been writing well before 2009, but I’m going to talk about him now, so deal.

In addition to having a totally metal name, Butcher writes hard-boiled detective fiction in which the detective is a wizard, and kills supernatural evil with fire. Also guns, but usually fire.

Imagine Harry Potter, grown up, bitter, living paycheck to paycheck (oh, and he also accidently ‘splodes anything electronic he comes within 10 feet of). Instead of the grand plotting and investigating, he spends 20 minutes kicking the bajeezus out of Snape, then Hadoukens the big bad guy. With fire.

It’s delightful.

He’s also written a fantasy series about how the one person without magical talent in the world essentially becomes a medievel Batman. Only with more face-murdering. These things deserve perusal. Of the highest order.

Overall (this pretty much means websites)

Beyond that, I have a few favoritest things to throw down.

www.Cracked.com: It may not be the best internet writing. It may not be the cleanest. It is my favorite morning outlet for poop jokes and screaming obscenity this year.

www.Hulu.com: I gave up cable just over a year ago. Occasionally when I jones for bad TV and watch instantly doesn’t slake my thirst, this comes to the rescue. It also enough bad anime to choke a horse that eats other horses on a routine basis (and as such does not choke often).

The Robot Panic Community on XBLA. From the friendly seething emnity DJ and I have for one another, to Moe’s constant jump from apathy to frenzied rage, to Tiggermango and Apoch’s cheerful acceptance of my jerkassness, to Skreesha’s continuing polite laughter, to BNerdy and the like who give me things they know I will never appreciate, and to everyone else who dies a little inside as I’m inflicted upon them in a L4D2 room, I love you guys. Part of the reason I don’t pay attention to the console hype and competition is it simply does not matter to me anymore. The community I hang out with is on XBLA. When that moves, so shall I. You all have made my L4D2 games hilarious, Borderlands fun(ner), and bad movies hysterical.

And as I said last year. My avatar violates your avatar in the night. In every way imaginable.

Toodles!

I think all of us can point to cinematic moments that will stay with us forever.  From Luke’s triumphant run on the Death Star to Superman and Lois Lane’s romantic flight over Metropolis, these moments use the latest in technology to help us believe in the fantastic.  Today, Director James Cameron uses the latest in digital technology to bring the fantasy world of Avatar to life.  The end result is perhaps one of the visually stunning things I have ever experienced on screen. 

James Cameron is no stranger to cutting edge visual effects.  In the 90s he used computer graphics to bring the menacing T1000 to life. The results were so amazing that everybody was asking, “how did he do that?”  And nearly every science fiction movie afterward has incorporated CGI to some varying degree (some more effectively than others).  Today, Cameron’s latest film is a triumph of 3D viewing and stereoscopic filmmaking with cameras that were specially designed for the film.  By now we’ve all seen the new 3D movies.  Usually they are relegated to animated films that can easily disguise any limitation that the production may have. They provide depth and the occasional sight gag, but that’s about it.  The difference in Avatar is the 3D is so good, so engrossing, that you actually feel like you are part of the action.  It’s so good in fact that about an hour into the film you actually forget you’re watching a 3D movie; you’re too involved in what’s going on. 

The story comes from a 114 page manuscript that Cameron wrote back in 1994.  Cameron admits he was inspired by every science fiction book he read as a kid and so many themes feel very familiar to us.  The year 2154, and the RDA corporation is mining Pandora, a lush, Earth-like moon for a rare mineral known as Unobtanium.  The local inhabitants called the Na’vi oppose the mining and destruction of their forest home.  To help ensure the mining continues, Parker Selfridge, (Giovanni Ribisi) employs former marines as mercenaries to provide security for the operation. 

Enter Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a paraplegic marine who is seeking a second chance in the Avatar program.  You see, humans cannot breathe Pandora’s atmosphere, and in an attempt to educate the natives and win their favor, scientists have genetically engineered human/Na’vi hybrid bodies called Avatars, which are controlled by genetically matched human operators. Jake’s twin brother was supposed to pilot the Avatar but was murdered.  And since Jake shared the same genetic code, he is the perfect replacement.   Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver), head of the Avatar Program, considers Jake an inadequate replacement for his brother, relegating him to a bodyguard role.

While Jake is escorting Augustine and biologist Norm Spellman (Joel David Moore) in their Avatar forms, the group is attacked by a large predator, and Jake becomes separated and lost. Attempting to survive the night in Pandora’s dangerous jungles, he is rescued by Neytiri (Zoë Saldaña), a female Na’vi. Neytiri brings Jake back to Hometree, which is inhabited by Neytiri’s clan, the Omaticaya. Mo’at, (C. C. H. Pounder), the Na’vi shaman and Neytiri’s mother have a vision about Jake and she instructs her to teach him their ways.  What follows is a futuristic version of Dances with Wolves as Jake becomes attached the people he has sworn to relocate. 
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The Shield Season 7 DVD Set – The last season of my favorite cop drama, and possibly one of my all time favorite television series. If you have yet to give The Shield a shot, you are missing out on something special. The last season especially does not skip a beat, and features a very shocking, yet fitting conclusion.

PSN/Microsoft/WII Points Cards – Previous years have seen many high caliber PSN/XBLA/Wii Ware releases. 2009 is arguably one of the best years in download releases with studs like Shadow Complex, Trine and Final Fantasy IV: The After Years to name a few of many. Additionally, it has been a killer year for game add-on content with Neversoft and Harmonix still strongly supporting their respective music games, and titles like Call of Duty: World at War, Gears of War 2, FallOut 3, Little Big Planet, Killzone 2 and many more being consistently fed new DLC throughout the year to increae the lifespan and replay value of their titles. I do not know about you, but I have at least bought well into the double digits of PSN/MS cards this year alone. If you keep a keen eye to online retailers, you can find many of those going at huge bargains for big savings on that oh-so-easy-to-impulse buy DLC.

I Love You, Man – It was a close battle between this and The Hangover for my favorite comedy this year. But after seeing both a second time several months after the fact, I Love You Man surprisingly holds up better. The jokes still hit home for me, with the highlight being the vomit gag, which is easily one of the best shock laughs in all of film.

Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker – At Wrestlemania XXIV this year, I witnessed hands down, the best wrestling match of all time. This is somewhat strange since it featured none of the over the top gimmicks or stipulations from the wrestling world like ladders, thumbtacks, cages or other props. Strangest of all, this bout was between two wrestlers that many consider are both well past their prime and rapidly approaching retirement. Just like Brett Favre has proven skeptics in Minnesota this year, athletes can be like abottle of fine wine and improve with age as Undertaker and Shawn Michaels put on a five star mat classic for the ages. If you ever watched wrestling at one point in the past then by all means rent/Netflix Wrestlemania XXIV just f this match, I guarantee you will not regret it.

10 Year Anniversary of the Dreamcast – Sega’s dream may be long gone, but at least it was honored and remembered this year with class. Across the web, many videogame press outlets had a ten year anniversary nod towards the Dreamcast, and even a few new indie games were released for it this year. Someday, somewhere, Shenmue III will see the light of day.

Taken – Note to self, do not kidnap Liam Neeson’s daughter.

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SHOWNOTES

It’s the 2009 Daryl Awards! DGR picks their top 3 games of the year and awards the best the coveted Daryl Award! We also read your letters and pick the Listeners Choice Award!

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DGR: 12.27.2009

Engagement Ring
Sure I know the diamond industry is artificial supply and other price fixing garbage, but when I proposed to me pre-wife, her ongoing mushing over this ring have made the whole mess worth it. Also, I’m gettin’ married, bitches! My girl is cooler than all’y’all’s girls. In the most non-whipped tool way possible, gettin’ my ass married is at the top of the list stuff. Oreganoh fo lyfe!

PSPgo
Fuck you smartphones, this thing is what’s in my pocket ever since I got it. 28Gigs of music, PS2 games, and television all up on me thanks to Amazon M2 christmas deals. I’ve dropped this thing like, seven times and thank the jesus it doesn’t break. Well I dunno about you early adaptors, but I can’t recommend this thing enough. What a great lifestyle device. Good times, good times.

Mushihimesama Futari
Cave making this region free is a huge deal. The game is evil, crazy, and screeching on the ears, but what you gonna do when you’re up against some of the hardest bullet patterns conceived? Buy more copies so Espgaluda 2 goes region free as well.

Raiden Comeback
Between Raiden Fighters Aces and Raiden IV, STGs had a lot of good things going for them; all for $62 total. Raiden Fighters series was a great thing to port with leaderboards, as those scoring systems are some of the strangest I’ve played. Raiden IV is more like a Raiden III-DX, but a formula worth upgrading. I’m not worried about $2 DLC. I’d like to think purchasing that was less money going to Gamestop and more going to Moss and UFO.

Watchmen
We hope you enjoyed the last serious attempt at a R movie made from a comic. I don’t buy the printed version of anything after watching it, but this film is probably the first and last exception I’ll make to the rule. You did good David Hayter…you did good.

DJ Hero
Anytime I tried Rock Band or Guitar Hero alone, I got bored. Quickly. This turntable hero business tailors itself better to a 1-player style. I love mashups and original mixes to explore while practicing faux scratching is an experience I wouldn’t put down till the very end.

Wireless N Gaming
With the release of N wireless gaming adaptors, I can finally get good online play without hauling my box to a SDTV upstairs cramped in a small room. I can play online at my theater with less of the lagtastic bullshit from my end. I wish this was the standard and all G and B were flat-out outlawed. That’d be a good day. Now if only we can get the frikkin’ ISPs to cooperate…

Gameyard
Dunno where this place came from, but it appears every Thursday in Garden City, Michigan, the fighting game scene meets up to play Street Fighter 4 and Tekken 6 for $6 a day. Six large HD screens side by side, 20 players all bringing their own arcade sticks, money matches, shit talking, deep information exchanges, no input lag, and I can’t make a dent in any of these players. Holy shit I actually gotta practice. Terrific! If you’re ever chillin’ in the Murda Mitten state, this is where the party is.

Left 4 Dead 2
A few steps forward on single player, a few steps back on multiplayer. Scavenge is cool, Hard Rain is sweet, new infected are neat, but goddammit I don’t wanna wait 9 months to get the new game up to the optimized speed of the first game. Currently, framerate drops like a rock in all modes when shit goes down, lag issues are ongoing in multiplayer, collision detection sucks more and not something to have when you gotta make a Charger work. Also, why the hell can’t I pick what infected I wanna use? Team Fortress devs are probably crying right now. It sucks widespread community won’t go back to old game, but oh well, new coat of paint, still a slick game.

Saw VI
Good god did a lot of movies suck this year. Nobody knows why effort is still being put into this series, but it’s there and still a great time. Die insurance adjusters, die! Weee!

Finally, the first documented example of real progress in green technology.  Powered by grapes and gravity, this is the greenest car you’ll find this side of the sun.  Just don’t buy a house on a hill.  You can learn more about this remarkable visionary’s love of the road and the fermented arts here.

Celebrate it’s smooth lines, aggressive stance, and big, fat barrels.  May he be blessed this holiday season.

Science.

Like most of us, I spend a lot of time on the couch enjoying all forms of digital entertainment. Occasionally I am intrigued by something new that the network weasels they to pawn off on us as “good television.” Normally, I keep what I find to myself, but some recent channel surfing has enlightened me (and I use that term loosely) to a few shows that deserve some discussion.

Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura – TruTV

Those of us who call Minnesota home are more than familiar with the former Governor of our fine state. I will humbly admit that I enjoyed his antics when he was Jesse “The Body” Ventura and his war with Hulk Hogan is worthy of an epic poem. But when Jesse hit the airwaves on a local radio station, we all soon began to realize that Mr. Ventura had taken too many blows to the head. To Jesse, everything was a conspiracy and he would often just start talking about aliens in the White House or some other fantastical thing. Of course, he became the Governor of this fine state which was very funny…well, at least in the beginning it was.

Somehow this title of Governor gives some sense of truth and credibility to the holder and thus TruTV gave Jesse a shot to investigate – or let’s be honest…pretend to investigate – the many urban myths and conspiracy theories that exist today. Of course TruTV is the perfect spot to air such a show, just look at their stellar line up: “The Smoking Gun Presents,” “Operation Repo,” “Inside American Jail” and “Rehab: Party at the Hard Rock Hotel.” Fine entertainment if you ask me.

His first show dealt with HAARP, the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program, an array of antennae in the Alaskan wilderness that shoots bursts of electricity into the ionosphere. The array is said by some to have the capacity to change the weather, cause earthquakes and control the human mind. My wife recorded it out of morbid curiosity and it was what I had expected it to be…a train wreck. Mr. Ventura’s crack team of investigators get interviews with people that nobody else can, or that nobody else cares about, I forget. And Jesse himself stands outside the HAARP facility demanding they let him in, and when they of course deny him he spouts off saying, “I get angry when I don’t get what I want.” Right…

Of course I could have lived with Jesse and his cute little show; that is until in episode #2 when he went after the 911 conspiracy. I have to digress for a moment and explain to everyone that I was actually on a jet to New York that morning and several people I was to meet with that day died in the tower collapse, so I am closer to the event than most. I watched with my mouth agape as Jesse tried to convince his viewers that the government used some super-flammable paint in these buildings in order to bring them down on purpose. I’m an old guy, I’ve seen a lot, but I have never felt more insulted with what I saw on TV that night. Not only was it preposterous, but it taints the memory of so many who lost their lives that day, including many rescue workers. It was beyond bad taste. Shame on you TruTV…

Cookalong Live with Gordon Ramsay – Fox

The next piece of garbage I need to discuss actually comes from Fox…imagine that! Now I’m a huge Gordon Ramsey fan. I started watching his show on BBCA a few years ago and was excited when they announced him for “Hell’s Kitchen.” I like Gordon for a few reasons. First, he has high standards; there is a right way to do things and if you’re not doing it right you’re impedance to his own success. We could all learn a lot about excellence from Gordon. Second, he calls a spade a spade. If the food sucks, he’s not afraid to tell people “dude this tastes like ass…try again.” Finally, Gordon does celebrate success. This is important, because if all he ever did was criticize people he’s just be a prick.  But when someone gets it right, he’ll tell them “great job,” or “I’m proud of you.” Again, managers of America, pay attention!
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A special thanks to Sean Sands from Gamers with Jobs and Phil Kollar from Game Informer for spending the holiday episode with us! It’s always fantastic to have great guests! Thanks, also, to all of you sick bastards who sent in your Naughty Letters to Santa.

Christmas Music in this episode provided by:

Jennifer Grimm-A Christmas with Family and Friends.
Find the album on iTunes or visit jennifergrimm.com.

Joe Alley-Sounds of Christmas
Find the album on iTunes

From all of us at Robot Panic and Drunken Gamers Radio, we wish you all a Merry Christmas!

Email Us: mailbag@drunkengamersradio.com
Voicemail Line: 612-424-3835
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Facebook Group

SHOWNOTES

00:00-Show Intro
17:23-Pac-Man Championship Edition Review (iPhone)
26:05-Revenge of the Wounded Dragon Review (PSN)
31:55-Redneck Chistmas Jamboree
45:40-Five Things
1:36:57-Giving of the Gifts
1:48:53-The Last Shot
1:51:53-Show Close

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DGR: 12.18.2009

Cast Medium has put up their podcast awards for this year and look who made the list! Drunken Gamers Radio placed Runner-Up in the “Best Format” category with the top spot going to BitMob’s MobCast. Guess you can’t feel too bad about second place when your ass has been kicked by such great company!

Our sincerest thanks to the CastMedium staffers and all who voted for us. Our most hearty congratulations and “We’ll Kick Your Formatting ASS Next Year!” to Dan Hsu and Co. over at BitMob.com!

Also, a big hearty congratulations to the other fantastic podcasts that graced the CastMedium list. When you look at all the quality shows out there, it reminds me what a great year podcasting has had. Thanks to all of you for listening and helping to make 2009 the best year yet for Drunken Gamers Radio and Robot Panic!

Recently I received a Kindle as an early Christmas gift. Given last week’s talk of e-readers and comic books (and John’s inexplicable urge to put anything I write on this website), I thought I’d give you some impressions.

Overall: The new Kindle is about as thick as a cheap pocket calculator and roughly the size of a larger paperback. For an easy reference based on this audience, roughly the length and width of the paperback zombie survival guide. The viewable screen is about 2/3s of that, meaning you can get as much on a page as you would with a cheap paperback. A large version is available, which has more buttons and such, but that’s about all I got on it.

Cases are available, but I’ve had mine bouncing around in my manpurse with a netbook and a number of notebooks, power adapters, etc. and it’s held up just fine. The screen is slightly recessed from the outside casing, meaning that something is much more likely to come against the white plastic case or (relatively scratch resistant) metallic backing. Overall the device is pleasing to the eye and inoffensive, which is what you want from something you’re going to stare at for hours. I got a number of impressed comments while reading in line.

The USB cable with power outlet dongle is also slim and easy to store. Kindle can charge off the wall socket or your PC. I let the power adapter live on my nightstand because I never really plan on merging my Kindle and PC.
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