Let’s shut Robot Panic down with greatest science.

I have rebuilt an arcade machine.

Come. Come with me! I will show you wonderful things.

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Hi there! It’s been a while, hasn’t it? True, we’ve let Robot Panic sit relatively silent for a long time now; not out of laziness (at least, not completely), but because we’ve got other plans that we’re not quite ready to unveil yet. So I figured, since the site is just sitting here, why not post the occasional bit of content for the few people who either have us in their RSS feeds or bother checking the site to leave comments on the podcast? I’m not saying this is going to be a regular thing, but perhaps I’ll drop by from time to time as we wait for the new site to launch.

I want to talk a bit about games. We’ve not been a dedicated “gaming” podcast for nearly a year now, and I’d also like to talk about that. I know us moving away from gaming was a disappointment to some of our listeners, and I’m sorry for that. As we explained many times both on the show and here on Robot Panic, we just got tired of limiting ourselves to one field of discussion every week. It’s true that while we lived together all those years ago, one of the things that helped the three of us bond was our mutual love of video games. But would we really still be putting up with one another fourteen years later if all we had in common was gaming? Christ, I doubt it.

But that’s not the only reason we backed off of a gaming-centric podcast. Yes, there’s the issue of our family lives and the fact that raising children and pleasing our fickle brides chews up much of the time that would otherwise be dedicated to gaping at a television with a controller in our hands. But honestly, a major factor – for me, at least – in broadening our podcast format was the fact that the podcast was making me enjoy games less and less. You see, the way we did Team Fremont Live/Drunken Gamers Radio was not sustainable for a group of guys with jobs, families, and lives in general. We liked talking about the most current crop of games, lest we should come off as dated. After all, gaming enthusiasts rarely remember which games were released last week, let alone six months ago, and we prided ourselves on keeping things as current as possible each and every week. For some strange reason, listeners seemed to like our reviews and some even came to rely on us for purchasing decisions. Bizarre, but that’s how it was.

Because of this, we burned through games faster than we could ever possibly finish them, and this became increasingly frustrating for me. It wasn’t just the cost associated with buying the games, it was because more and more I had stacks of games that had only been given enough attention to inform my opinions for the podcast. And before I could go back and actually complete these games, we were on to the next week and the next batch of releases. To put it another way, it was like I was buying one or two new books per week and only reading about a third of them. What a waste! (more…)

By Tiny 777

My little guy is all grows up, he’s all growns up (sniff). Please enjoy this unbiased kick ass review of what looks to be a really cool game. And hey his spelling is a lot better too! -Ryker_XL

Bulletstorm is a first person shooter created by Epic Games (creators of Gears of War) and People Can Fly.  The game hit stores on February 22, 2011(Xbox 360, PS3, and PC), which resulted in Gears of War 3 being pushed back to winter 2011.  While most people felt let down that Bulletstorm was being released earlier than Gears of War, the awesome thing is that the multiplayer beta to Gears of War 3 is included.  This gives all the Gears fans the chance to get a glance at the upcoming multiplayer of Gears. This is included in the purchase of the “Epic Edition” of Bulletstorm (The Epic Edition is every copy of the game, no specialized pricing is on the Epic Edition).

Before this game came out, people were giving it crap for pushing Gears 3 back but when I looked at it, it looked to be a hell of a lot of fun. I asked my Mom if I could buy the game when it’s released and somehow she said yes. I was stoked for the release of the game but was too busy to go out and buy the game with baseball in the way of my Best Buy hunting for this game. My Mom was nice enough to buy it for me and give it to me when I returned from practice. When I came home she said, “It was the last one, we had to ask for help to find it.”  I was surprised and glad that I got the game. Once I got my hands on the case I ripped it open and put the disk in. It was time to play Bulletstorm.
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Alright, we’ve established on multiple occasions that the PC Engine and its American counterpart the TurboGrafx-16 (including its multiple add-ons and redesigns like the Turbo Duo, the CoreGrafx, etc.) were the greatest consoles ever released. Right?

Right?

Good. Glad you’re on board.

“But John,” you ask, “If these consoles were so good [which they were], why didn’t they ever receive a successor?” Well, my simple-minded friends, that would be a good question…if it wasn’t so absurdly stupid. You see, the PC Engine family of consoles did indeed receive a successor; at least in Japan. The heir to the NEC/Hudson console dynasty came in the form of the PC-FX, a machine that looked like a mini PC tower and consisted of a small library of games that were heavily inspired by anime and, in a few cases, hentai. In fact, this latter trait is one that is unfortunately most often associated with the console. Inevitably, when one brings up the PC-FX, it is immediately met with a response that goes something like, “The PC-FX? Isn’t that the console that had all those dating sims and nudie games?”

Okay, so there were a few of those. Maybe more than a few. Maybe if you had a stack of PC-FX games sitting in front of you and you randomly grabbed one, chances are the objective of that game would be to get a girl to take off her clothes and blow you. But here’s a tip: if you’re talking to a PC-FX aficionado, don’t lead with that subject. They tend to get a bit indignant.

Now that we’ve discussed the white elephant in the room, let’s get down to business. The PC-FX is an incredibly unique system with games unlike nearly any other console I’ve owned. The design of the unit is super-cool and I love having it around simply for it’s “neat-o!” factor.

But that’s just me and my opinion. Here are some facts:

1) The PC-FX was a 32-bit system released in late 1994, only in Japan.
2) It used only CD-ROMs, ditching the Hu-Cards from the PC Engine.
3) It had a six-button controller that looked like the PC Engine controller mated with that of the Saturn.
4) Instead of buying it as a full console, you could by a PC-FX card for your PC. Cool, eh?
5) The console was designed to be the ultimate 2D platform, resulting in it being severely underpowered when compared to the PlayStation and Saturn.
6) Just over sixty titles were released for the PC-FX

Those are the basic facts about the console itself. We should probably get down to talking about the games. (more…)

When talking with people of a mature age, the consensus of fighting games is that they are too hard and intimidating to play with in multiplayer, or at all. I disagree. Fighting games in multiplayer are like playing a game of chess by tapping a xylophone. The chess game of outwitting your opponent is up to you. I will teach you how to operate the xylophone. Please set aside a hour for study time. This is a strategy guide for learning how to get a couple wins in Marvel vs. Capcom 3.

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I cannot recall what prompted me to, but I remember going to the store one day craving a new game for my Dreamcast and I ended up taking a chance on a full-priced, new copy of Marvel vs. Capcom 2. At that time, I was kind of out of the whole fighting game scene – not that I was a hardcore fighting game fan to begin with – but the sheer chaos and fun that resulted from the insanity of the 3-on-3 tag fighting in MVC2 was most likely the catalyst that got me back into enjoying fighting games again.

MVC2 stayed in my regular rotation for so long that it resulted in my Dreamcast being hooked up to my television for way longer than it should have. I remember in my first apartment, my roommate and I would have nightly tournaments with our neighbors and we would play that game into the wee hours of the morning. For the longest time, I anxiously anticipated a sequel. This being Capcom in the middle of their Dreamcast run where it seemed like they published half of the Dreamcast library, I thought it seemed like a sure thing. I just did not expect it to take eleven years.

Eleven years have come and gone, though, and last week I finally got the sequel to one of my all-time favorite fighting games. Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is everything I wanted it to be as it brings back the fast and furious 3-on-3 tag fighting we grew up with. Where should I start? How about the roster? Instead of the monstrous 50+ roster we got with the previous game, MVC3 features 36 characters, which is still quite a bit when compared to most other fighters on the market. On paper it looks like Capcom just sliced 20 spots, when in reality a whole lot more cuts were made because of the surprise amount of new characters debuting.

I do have to gripe a little about some characters that got axed; just keep in mind Capcom is already promising DLC characters down the line. With that said, why in the holy hell is Ken not here? It is almost tradition for every Capcom fighter to have both Ken & Ryu, but here we have Ryu & Akuma, and that’s just not the same. Plus, no Servebot? His Hyper-Combo was one of the defining highlights of MVC2. I am also a huge Iceman fan and find his exclusion among the roster to be a big one.
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I know I am nearly a year late to the party, but that is how long it took me to knock Yakuza 3 out of my backlog. Actually, I breezed through the first four chapters of the game when I bought it last summer, and it promptly got whisked away into the backlog when the first half of 2010 was hammered hard with an unbelievable amount of tip-top games. The first couple months of 2011 I have dedicated to making some headway into my backlog, and the last couple weeks I have belonged to Yakuza 3. And with the release of Yakuza 4 just a month away, what ideal timing would it be for me to freshen everyone up on the series’ PS3 debut.

Once again, you control Kazuma who is now trying to put his dark past behind him. How does he go about changing his ways? By running an orphanage in Okinawa of course! Having Kazuma living a peaceful life in an orphanage would not make a great game, so naturally the land it is built on happens to be in the way of a pesky resort deal that is trying to rear its ugly head. It would not be a Yakuza; game either if this resort had ties to the Prime Minister and a bunch of Kazuma’s old Yakuza running buddies. Thus we have Kazuma’s impetus to getting dragged back to kicking some Yakuza tail!

Even if you have not played the first two Yakuza games, Yakuza 3 is still a good hopping on point because it features recap videos for both of the prior installments in the series to catch you up on all the events that have led up to third game in the franchise. The narrative is by far the strongest part of this game. It tells a great story even when I thought it started off kind of ridiculous with Sega making sure you get to know each and every single one of orphans that Kazuma is in charge of.

I kid you not, of the nineteen hours it took me to finish Yakuza 3, about five or six of them were spent doing mandatory quests for the orphans. This was my only real gripe with the story. I get setting up how good Kazuma has it and how happy he is with his life, but there was just way too much time spent in the orphanage. Eventually though, Sega reeled me in and got me to care about those orphans and to make sure no evil resort would be built over their orphanage!
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A while back, I wrote a pretty lengthy article on the new super hero MMO, Champions Online. Despite fantastic graphics and excellent storytelling, this new MMO from Cryptic had a hard time maintaining a solid customer base. I’m not sure if it was the lack of necessary grinding, or if people simply preferred City of Heroes, but server populations shrunk shortly after launch. 

So what’s an MMO to do? Throw in the towel like APB? Not these heroes! Cryptic has launched a free-to-play version of Champions Online. The game is essentially the same; the same zones, enemies, and missions. The limitations come in limited character archetypes and less overall powers. You can still experience the world in a pay mode and have access to unlimited powersets and costumes. They even re-upped the lifetime subscription model and it’s on sale for $239.  (That’s only a good idea if you plan to play for over 15 months). 

So like The Defender, I am calling all DGR heroes who might be interested in kicking butt together to sign up.  It would be great to create a super group and bust bad guy heads together. Who’s with me?

Ryker XL, aka “Tarantula”

http://www.champions-online.com/account_creation

From the minds of the Alderac Entertainment Group (AEG) comes Thunderstone, a member of the card game/board game hybird genre that’s been gathering steam for the past couple of years. Moe and I talked a good deal about this game on the latest episode of Drunken Gamers Radio and you can feel free to check out our thoughts on the game there. However, I wanted to make sure that you all could read some more details on the game as well as check out some of the video that explains this very fun game in a visual way.

For starters, here’s that video review from the www.boardtodeath.tv website that Moe and I were referencing on the podcast this week. Check it out for a nice overview of the game as well as a look at the visual set up of the cards:

What I find interesting about this style of game is how much it takes what I always hated about the CCG craze of the late 1990′s (the immense cost) and makes a very compelling game out of a simply 300 card base set. Other games, such as the fantastic Dominion, have done this as well and I think it’s a nice compromise between the static board game and CCG. While I miss the excitement of getting that rare kick ass card and the way a CCG could spin the gameworld on it’s head with a new expansion, I don’t miss the hundreds of dollars sucked out of my wallet.

Another thing we didn’t mention on the podcast was just how fantastic the artwork is on these cards. While it makes no real difference in how the game plays, I would be lying if said such things didn’t matter to me. The honest truth is that the artwork on the cards really helps set the vibe of the world of any game and if it sucks, I’m far less likely to take the game seriously. Lame, I know, but true.

It should also be mentioned that Thunderstone has two expansions that are out currently, which Moe and I didn’t have a chance to play. The first is called Wrath of the Elements and introduces some new gameplay elements, namely a bad ass Guardian Lord. This particular card makes it’s way OUT of the dungeon (past Level 1 and to a newly introduced Level 0) where it sits and destroys cards out of your hands until defeated. The next expansion is named Doomgate Legion and features a new den of cultists that, along with the monsters normally found in the dungeon, attacks the heroes. However, the Heroes are aided by the newly introduced Mercenaries that are now part of the Village. Lastly, in February, the latest big box expansion is set to hit, named Dragonspire. This stand alone expansion which seems to be set to introduce a bunch of new concepts, including a Dungeon Board and all new characters.

One more reason why Thunderstone and it’s card game brethren are doing it right is that each expansion can be played alone or with the core set. No set of cards is wasted and that makes each particular set its own “story” that can be connected to the full game if you want. I like this idea as it makes the game a much more interesting game. Do you only want to fight the cultists from the second expansion? Fine, simply use those cards. Do you like certain monster sets and not others? They can be mixed into the game and others left out with little penalty to the game. This gives Thunderstone the potential to not only be a completely new experience each time you play but a one that can be tailored to your likes and dislikes without breaking the game.

Find more information on Thunderstone at AEG’s website here. Or simply go and buy yourself a copy by clicking this link: Thunderstone (AEG) Board Game.

iPad: Once again, I’ll be honest and say that if it has the Steve Jobs stamp of approval on it, chances are damn good that I’ll own it. This device, however, was even a bit of a stretch for me in terms of justifying a purchase. My initial reaction to it, like so many others, was one of “I have this already. It’s my iPhone”. However, over the months since it’s April 2010 launch, I’ve found it vying for the spot as the single most used piece of tech in my household, second only to the television. For being something that I don’t “really” need, the iPad has managed to ingrain itself into the very fabric of my daily routine. It’s first thing I take out when I get to work, it’s the first thing my daughter asks for when I get home and it’s very often the last thing I see while reading a book in bed or watching a late-night television show with my wife. Say what you will about it, the iPad has managed to exceed my expectations by doing the impossible: carving out a niche in my already over-filled tech life.

Twitter: I was a fan of Twitter in 2009 (and put it on my best-of list then too, I believe) but this simple program has continued to show it’s usefulness in 2010. Part of what makes it so fantastic is it’s simple core structure; 140 character messages, nothing more. With this simple premise, however, Twitter has become my major news source, a vehicle for communicating with podcast listeners and keeping tabs on people I find interesting or inspirational. Hell, it’s even becoming a great vehicle for promoting your movie in the hands of Kevin Smith. Twitter shows that a simple, cleanly executed idea can become so much more when in hands of a creative and active user base. Let’s also mention that the fantastic mobile twitter app, Tweetie, was acquired by Twitter and their subsequent iPad and Mac offerings have become my favorite way to access the service.

Dropbox: This may go down as the most important program I installed on my devices this year. Simply put, Dropbox is a spot on the cloud where I can put my shit, to be accessed by all my devices that need said shit. While other programs and services do something similar, it’s the way in which Dropbox does it that sets it apart. It’s clean and simple with an interface that requires little thought. It’s automated, so it never feels like an FTP program and it’s fast so that uploading things isn’t a pain in the ass waiting game. The simplicity and ease of use make it a program that entered my workflow right away and stayed as an integral part of accessing things from anywhere. It’s a service I simply can’t live without now and it’s saved my ass a number of times. It’s my favorite new discovery of 2010.

The Social Network: I’m not sure, exactly, why I found this movie so inspirational. By all accounts, Mark Zuckerberg is I guy I just couldn’t stand to be around for more than 5 minutes. However, the story of how a college kid and his buddies managed to create a computer program that would embed itself into the very culture of America is a fascinating one for me. There is something about the story of an idealistic young man that takes a risk and becomes a success with that vision that really appeals to me. Sadly, it’s probably just me wishing I had the balls to do something similar but David Fincher’s film really spoke to me. It was also shot in such a warm and beautiful way, using the old Harvard campus to great effect, that it really sucked me into the world. Add the fantastic performances by the principle actors and the eerily quiet score by Trent Reznor/Atticus Ross and it was film that set the bar for me in 2010.

Cooking/Mexican Cuisine/Rick Bayless: In November of 2009, I had a rather life changing moment when I ate at Topolobompo, a gourmet Mexican restaurant owned by chef Rick Bayless. After eating what still stands as one of the most interesting and delicious meals of my life, I walked over to a counter that held a series of cookbooks by the chef. Standing there was a member of the cooking staff on break, reading one of the cookbooks. He spotted me browsing, turned to me and pointed at the book “Rick Bayless’s Mexican Kitchen” and simply said “That one’s the best”. I took his advice and proceeded down a year that was dedicated to not only cooking traditional Mexican food but one where food was finally put into perspective in my own life.

I had cooked off and on over the years but never in a purposeful way. 2010 became the year where I dedicated myself to the idea of good food, prepared simply and in my own kitchen for my family. I wanted to capture the feelings that had been awakened during my meal at Topolobompo and by February, I had hosted my very first dinner party featuring Mexican cuisine. 2010 was the year of cooking meals for my family almost every day and with each new dish, my confidence as a cook grew stronger and stronger. I began consulting my mother on recipes she used to regularly make for us as kids, adding them back into the fabric of my life and passing those flavors onto my own children. In addition to meals for my family, I had the joy of cooking Paella with Moe on an outdoor brick oven for 30 friends, and serving Red Mole to a couple who understood it’s significance and history. Be it meals for everyday or celebratory moments of my life, 2010 was the year where I began to dedicate life to food and it’s proper place in my world. It has been one of the most joyful and satisfying endeavors I have ever undertaken.

Arcade Fire-The Suburbs: This disc captivated me during the summer of 2010 in a way that no other album did. It spun in my car, streamed off my iPod, iPad and Mac at every given opportunity. These songs had hooks and chord progressions that kept me engaged and they even managed to make the whole “concept album” idea palatable. Add to that the fact that they represent an Indie band that managed to reach the pinnacle of the venerated Top 10 list and you have something special. Now, if only everything hadn’t been ruined by their Saturday Night Live appearance which revealed just how goonie that lead singer guy is. Seriously, it’s like Lurch meets Kraftwerk.

I realize there are no videogames on this particular list and it’s not because I didn’t play them. I just feel like I’ve said all that on the podcast, so you can check that out if you’re curious as to my top 2010 games. With that, I’ll close by simply saying a big thank you to all the folks who have listened to us this year, helped celebrate our 5th year of podcasting and continued to make the show a fun thing by writing in and leaving us fantastic voice mails. 2011 represents the third year of Robot Panic’s existence and as such (if we stay true to form) it’s about time for us to start blowing shit up. I just want to thank you for being the kind of people who are mostly cool with that kind of thing and it’s nice to know we have such fun people along for the ride.