You know, I think I talked about most of this stuff already, but it’s too damn awesome not to be remembered for this year.  Let’s begin! 

Back Dynamite:  Okay, so technically the movie was released in 2009, but how many of us saw it in the theater? The awesomeness of this film became truly widespread when it was released onto DVD back in February. The internet was abuzz at the uniqueness of this film, and after at least six different viewings this year I can see why. The brilliance of this film isn’t in it’s clever writing, quotable one-liners, or how it never really takes itself seriously; no the magic comes in how every time you watch it you pick up on something new and funny. It has become my “go to” movie whenever I have company over, and I’m always thanked when the film is done. As of last week, this film was one of the few Netflix streaming videos that won’t allow you to have a Netflix party with. The reason? Everybody would be doing it as this movie is even more awesome in a  shared viewing. I don’t believe Netflix has the bandwidth available for the nightly Black Dynamite parties that would no doubt be going on.  Until then, I say you go just go and buy this film.  It will sit nicely next to The Blues Brothers, Animal House, and Caddyshack.

The Walking Dead: You know, the sad thing about a zombie movie is after two hours the feature ends and we are left wondering what happens next. But what if we could watch what happens to our survivors for a long period of time? At least that was the concept behind the popular comic series developed by Robert Kirkman. For a comic, The Walking Dead is unique as it focuses far more on character development and less on the zombie hoard.  The zombies, in fact, act much like a dangerous natural element that the characters have to deal with and less of a plot element. The other cool thing about The Walking Dead is how real it is. People resort doing doing some pretty nasty things to one another in their quest to stay alive just one more day. Main characters come and go and we should expect that in a world where the dead rule the Earth. This past Fall, AMC released a six-part mini-season based on the comic. I was both excited and a bit anxious as to what we might see onscreen as Hollywood has a tendency to mess things up or dumb things down for their audience. But this was AMC, and the first episode stuck true to the comic storyline. And with over five million viewers, it was the highest-rated premier on AMC and became the most watched cable series for its demographic. The storyline would eventually split from the comic, but the overall tone and emphasis of character development over action stayed the same. AMC has picked up this classic for another 13 episodes, and I personally can’t wait to see what happens next. 

No Ordinary Family:  2010 had some great TV shows: Madmen, Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead, but this little show on ABC has become a guilty pleasure for me. The show is essentially a live-action version of one of my favoriute films, The Incredibles. The Powells are an ordinary, dysfunctional family who gain super powers after their plane crashes in Brazil. The father (Micheal Chiklis) has super strength, can leap several blocks, and is seemingly invulnerable. The mom (Julie Benz aka Rita from Dexter) is super fast, and as a scientist by trade she is more than curious about how they got their powers. Their kids (Kay Panabaker and Jimmy Bennett) have lesser powers as the girl can read minds while the son has become a Reed Richards super genius. There is a bit of Heroes-like mythology going on in the back-story, but the real strength of the show is the characters and how they interact with one another and grow from their new found abilities.  Whomever is writing the reboot of the Fantastic Four should pay attention to this show, as Disney and ABC “get it.” It’s campy and fun, and even the bit characters play their roles to the tee. Even the unlikely pair of Chiklis and Benz seem to pull off a believable couple together. Bottom line, the show is just plain fun, and I hope I get to see more of it in 2011.

Kinect: I’m one of those people Microsoft was targeting when they thought up Kinect. I don’t own a Wii, but I am interested in what it can do. But with all the shovel-ware and stories about it collecting dust, I could never get myself to drop the cash to jump into the experience. Kinect seemed like a more logical transition for me, and upon purchasing one last Fall I can finally understand what motion gaming is really all about. Folks can argue that there really isn’t a lot out there right now, especially for the hardcore gamers. I can admit that may be true, but I am also convinced that Kinect is here to stay and that the future looks bright for the peripheral. I say this for many reasons, but mainly because the tech just seems to work and there is something magical about gaming with no controllers. It has revitalized the gaming experience for my entire family, and for me that is well worth the money I paid for it. Here’s hoping that the new titles that come out for the system are as tantalizing and cool as Dance Central and Kinect Sports.

Red Dead Redemption:  I might piss off some Grand Theft Auto fans out there, but Red Dead Redemption is a better game.  In fact I do believe that it is RockStar’s BEST game yet and one that I can’t seem to stop playing. Maybe it’s the newness of the Old West that got me hooked. Or perhaps it was the amazing storyline and characters. Or maybe it was the surprise ending that got the internet abuzz with discussions. Whatever the reason, Red Dead Redemption is in my top ten list of favorite games ever played and the new DLC keeps me coming back to the environment for more fun partners.  Not to mention that the DGR night we had in the game, holding the fort from sleazebags on our server was quite frankly one of the best times I have had on Xbox Live ever.  Thanks guys (and Token). 

Inception: Christopher Nolan has proven that he’s the King of the Mountain when it comes to directing movies. Not only did he make us rethink how we view one of the most iconic super heroes of all time, but he can take us to places we never dreamed of before. Such is the case of Inception, a movie that is as close to perfect storytelling as I can remember. We follow Leonardo DiCaprio and his team into the world of the dream and are left wondering if what we experienced was ever real at all. When asked if he could explain what he actually meant by the end of his film he stoically explained, “If I did that it would ruin the entire reason why I filmed Inception. The movie is supposed to leave you questioning. If you feel that way, it did its job. The man is a stud, and I can’t wait for how he ends his Dark Knight trilogy and the upcoming Superman project.

Lost Finale: Never has a show left me feeling so satisfied and with so many unanswered questions at the same time. For six seasons we watched the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 unravel the mysteries of the strange island they were stranded on. The storytelling and acting were top notch, and the show spawned several podcasts as viewers tried to decipher the clues left behind in each episode. Whether you enjoyed the final episode or not, Lost and its canon have secured their place in our society and lore. Just the other day my colleagues warned us not to open the hatch when dealing with a sticky project. It is a show that I will miss, and one that I will also enjoy revisiting on BluRay. 

Mass Effect 2: This is my pick for the Daryl Awards this year. Why, you ask? No, not just because I can bone alien creatures (ohhh yeah) but because the character development in this game is so strong, I actually miss them when I am not playing. Bioware has simply mastered the dialogue tree and you can’t help but feel a connection to the characters in the game. That, and it’s the only game I can remember that built on my decisions from the previous game. Countless references to seemingly unimportant characters and my encounters with them solidify that the world of Mass Effect is uniquely mine; there are no two universes that are exactly alike. They fixed the combat system so things flow much smoother and no more tedious armor and weapon upgrade guessing games, just lock, load, and kick ass. Downloadable content for the title has been nothing less than stellar and the last installment (Lair of the Shadow Broker) dramatically changed the universe I play in. I have to wonder how the addition of that single piece of content will affect Mass Effect 3. That, my friends, is sheer brilliance in game design. 

Good BAD Movies:  As Hollywood searches for some creative ways to express itself without rehashing old ideas (thanks but no thanks Yogi Bear) certain directors have seemingly created their own genre by making really bad movies that are just plain FUN to watch. The story-lines (if any) are paper thin, the acting is laughable, and the effects are ridiculous, but for some strange reason they work. Maybe because these movies know they are bad and never try to be anything other than what they are. This summer, we saw what may be the goriest and most awesome killer fish movie of all time, Pirhana 3D.  A movie that took the 3D realm to new heights with 3D boobage (and mind you there was not one boob onscreen that I didn’t care to see, they were all excellent). It was campy and fun and one of the best times I have had at the movies this year. Later in the fall, I gathered my fellow DGR faithful for a Netflix showing of Bitch Slap, a movie that truly must be experienced in a group setting. The movie was awesomely terrible and one that I plan to enjoy with a group of friends over and and over again. Let’s hope that we see this trend continue as directors take their craft just a bit less serious. It may not make a good movie, but if we are entertained I certainly don’t care.     

Robot Panic:  I remember when I got the email from Hilden, “Hey Ryker thanks for submitting all this cool shit. Here’s access to the blog and keep up the good work.” Those that read my stuff know that I haven’t always been a good writer, in fact we might be able to make a pretty good argument that I’m the opposite. But at least I have the opportunity to contribute to a community that shares my interests and is pretty bad ass. I’ve also been blessed to help the guys do their live shows and that is a real treat.  I am always impressed with their passion in delivering a great show every week, and just how genuine they all are.  Last Summer we all got together at Moe’s for the 5th anniversary show and bonfire (sorry about your neighbor’s house Moe). It was one of the best times I have had all year; hanging with the good friends I have made here and enjoying a night together.  For the real magic in all of this isn’t in the articles I write, or the awesome shows the guys do, but it’s in the community that we all share. So thanks to all my friends here, your are truly amazing.  Here’s hoping for a great 2011!

ESPN 30:30 Box Set - ESPN has been running this incredibly awesome series of thirty sports documentaries this year to celebrate 30 years on the air. ESPN reached out to some of Hollywood’s top directors to create these films that celebrate some of the most talked about and under-appreciated moments in sports. The first box set just went on sale last week, and it collects the first fifteen films of the series. This collection covers such memorable spectacles as the OJ Simpson car chase on June 17, 1994, the rise and fall of the USFL, the Wayne Gretzky trade to LA and the tragic death of Len Bias.

No more Lost - I had a very strong love/hate relationship with Lost. For every good episode that saw a major plot development or great moments, it was usually followed with an episode that killed off one of your favorite characters or added yet another unneeded question to keep the WTF balance in check for the series. With Lost finally ending after six seasons in 2010, I am grateful that I will no longer have to anticipate any more episodes of this bizarre program that sent me on a whirlwind of emotions like no other show before it. I promise to never waste another moment on this show again…unless ABC will somehow manage to re-release the entire series in chronological order.

The Book of Basketball - This was actually released in 2009, but the paperback edition just hit shelves a couple weeks ago and it includes all kinds of bonus content! I finally finished the hardcover edition of this book a few months ago, and even only being a casual hoops fan I found it to be an extremely informative and entertaining read. Bill Simmons knows his hoops, and his humorous writing style features all sorts of imperative footnotes that makes catching up on basketball history fun for everyone!

Season Two of The Tester & WCG Ultimate Gamer - As much as it pains me to lay this out there, I love both of these shows. Say what you will about reality television and the usual hi jinx that it contains, but I was entertained by second seasons of The Tester and WCG Ultimate Gamer this year. Both shows are eight episodes and features video game themed challenges where the goal is to win to become either the next PlayStation game tester (yes, really), or for a one year roster spot on WCG USA. There are a few characters and moments on each show that are pretty groan inducing I will admit, but that is par for the course with almost any reality show. If you can manage to stomach that, than you will be in for a fun ride that brought back memories of old video game contest shows like Video Power and Nick Arcade.

Heavy Rain, Alan Wake & Red Dead Redemption - If you happen to remember my article half a year ago here ranking the top 10 games for the first half of the year, you may recall that it was a particularly strong first half of the year for games. Rest assured, now with 2010 nearly in the bag, I can say without a doubt that 2010 is the first year where the first half year of releases easily outclassed the second half. It outweighed it so much so that my top three from the first half of the year are my top three for my overall game of the year. And I hold all three of these games on a high pedestal with not much ground separating them in my rankings. Pardon the cheap plug, but to hear my final top 10 rankings, please subscribe to my podcast where we will be having our game of the year episode within a few weeks.

Pinball FX2/Marvel Pinball - Hats off to Zen Studios for their consistency at pumping out nonstop awesome video game pinball tables! Almost every time I sit down to play games, I tend to warm up with a couple of runs on a pinball game made by Zen Studios. Whether it was them supporting Pinball FX and Zen Pinball with frequent DLC tables throughout most of 2010, and then proceeding to blow us away with Pinball FX 2 and its amazing evolution of table design and leaderboard upgrades. They did not stop at Pinball FX 2, because just a couple months after that fine release, they pump out Marvel Pinball, with four more addicting tables themed after some of the best superheroes in the Marvel Universe…and Blade. I dare you to download a table or two and not get hooked to the amount of sheer fun each table provides and the addictive nature of score chasing everyone on your friends list.

Miz as WWE Champ - This just would not be a “stuff of the year” list from me without a couple wrestling mentions. Mike “The Miz” Mizannin had quite an interesting journey to becoming the current WWE champion. From debuting in the entertainment world ten years ago on The Real World, to riding the MTV reality circuit for a few years until finally debuting in WWE in 2004 on its Tough Enough competition. Being one of the few Miz fans from his early beginnings in WWE when no one thought he would last a year in the company, I nearly lost it when he finally proved all the doubters wrong and  won the WWE championship.

The Nexus John Cena Beatdown - Just one more wrestling moment to add to this list. If you used to be a wrestling fan, odds are you watched during the WCW/WWF Monday Night Wars when each company was raising the bar each and every Monday to get you to flip the channel. With no real competition, WWE has become complacent with its storytelling and features less and less must see moments each year. In 2010 they managed to capture some of that old fire with the debut of the Nexus stable. Here they made an impact with an 8-on-1 beatdown on John Cena and literally tore apart the ring and beat up the entire ringside staff in a moment completely unprecedented. The Nexus has since become one of the most interesting stables of wrestlers in quite a few years.

As many of you know, I have been on a journey to redefine myself. This journey started a year and a half ago when I visited my doctor and weighed in nearly 300 pounds. While I liked the XL in my gamertag, going to XXL just wasn’t something I was looking forward to. That, and let’s face it, being heavy can be a real drag and a blow to your overall self-esteem. So with the help of a wellness program, I have been slowly dropping the pounds.

One activity that really helped me drop a lot of it (and fast, mind you) was Zumba. Zumba is a Latin dance aerobics program that is sweeping the world. Currently there are over 108 countries that do Zumba and there really isn’t any magic to the program; it’s just a heck of a lot of fun. My wife had been bugging me for a long time to give it a try, so on a whim I walked into my first class last May. I was the only guy (of course) and I did a decent job in keeping up with the gals as they danced and sweat their fannies off. The hour was over quicker than I expected and in those final moments I learned something about Zumba and why it was so popular. Instead of getting crap about being the only guy in class, I was cheered and received a ton of support. It was a great boost to my ego and so I started coming to class regularly. Each time, I met amazing and supportive people and I noticed my waistline shrinking. This wasn’t just some fun excuse to go to the gym, the program really works.

I travel for a living, and as such I have the opportunity to take classes from instructors all over the country. Each time, I have experienced the same thing: uplifting and supportive people who are seriously interested in helping me achieve my goals. To my surprise, this September my regular instructor suggested that I think about getting licensed to teach. I laughed at first, but soon realized how such a milestone would be beneficial to me. So with encouragement from my friends, I was licensed to teach in early December and should have my own class this Spring.

So when I learned Kinect had a Zumba Fitness title as part of its launch blitz, I was more than a bit curious. I grabbed a cheap copy off eBay and put it in my 360 to see what it was about. The thing I think we need to keep in mind with this title is it’s not technically a game. Oh sure, it works on a gaming system and there are achievements and such, but don’t expect that you and your buds are just gonna do a couple of Latin dance moves and be done. This is a full workout and you should be prepared for one. Dress comfortably and wear decent shoes (I tried one session in my socks and that’s not good on your knees, my friends).
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Howdy pardners!  I must admit that when I first heard about one of my favorite games was going to add zombies to it, I shook my head. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some zombies, but the latest influx of zombies has become a bit tiresome.  It’s as if to say that writers have become lazy and that by adding zombies to a game it will magically become better. I think we have all discovered that this isn’t necessarily true, and zombies in the Old West?  C’mon man…  But then again, this is Rockstar, masters at the art of creating interesting sandboxes that I want to play in. And any reason to go back to the Old West world they created for Red Dead Redemption, I was in. What I found is that Rockstar had not only successfully added zombies to a game, but they created a surreal Halloweentown environment that is sure to please fans of that genre.

The game starts off near the end.  Our good friend John Marston is home with his wife and son when Uncle shows up acting strange. He chases them around the home and bites John’s wife and son. In a matter of minutes the two turn into strange creatures and start going after Marston. So what’s a cowboy supposed to do? Well hog tie them up and go searching for a cure, that’s what. You don your steed and make for the nearest town, only to find it’s been overrun with flesh eating monsters as well. This is gonna be a long day, I reckon. 

I must admit that my skepticism about the DLC was almost immediately erased. For Rockstar hasn’t just added in extra missions and such for you to accomplish, but they have essentially changed the entire sandbox. The sky has a eerie orange tint to it and the landscape is riddled with undead creatures. Even the birds that fly overhead have been replaced with bats. This alone would be cool, but gameplay and strategy have changed dramatically as well. Ammo in the game becomes a huge concern as the shops you would normally go and purchase these items are all closed (victims of the zombie plague, I suppose). So looting each undead nasty is essential as you might find a bullet or two to help you out. The scarcity of ammunition adds to the tension of each encounter, and in a good way. You’ll need to be a good shot when fighting the zombie hoard, as only a shot to the head will kill these creatures. Multiple shots to the body will only piss them off and slow them down a tad.  Safe-houses are no longer just available for you to purchase, they have to be liberated. Each town you encounter has been overrun by zombies and must be defended.  If you help the few remaining survivors fend off the attack, you get a place to stay; at least for a little while as return attacks can and do happen. 
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It wasn’t too long ago that I was walking through a Best Buy store and I saw this amazing game for the PS2. It had a plastic guitar and kids were jamming to classic riffs. Crowds gathered and people waited through several songs just to have a turn playing this game, which was called Guitar Hero. Of course, that game went on to spawn several sequels, all with additional features that made the experience a richer and deeper one. But there was something magical about that first Guitar Hero – the first time you actualy felt like you were jamming like a rock star. Harmonix, the makers of that genre-defining title are at it again, and this time instead of giving you a plastic guitar and a smokey club to play in, you’re under the lights of a fancy disco, showing off your moves with the latest in gaming technology. Their game is Dance Central and like the first Guitar Hero, it comes packed with a ton of magic that makes you feel like a superstar. 

You can’t start talking about Dance Central without first talking about Kinect. Despite what you might think about Microsoft’s salvo into the world of casual gaming, with strong initial sales reports one can say that this new tech is here to stay. Microsoft’s ad campaign was strong as well, with multiple packed demonstration stations at the mall. The curiosity got the best of me, and I decide that it was time for me to join the casual gaming revolution and grab a Kinect. So, with a stack of Best Buy Reward Zone coupons in hand, I grabbed a Kinect unit (and my Blu-ray copy of Kick Ass) on Black Friday. I was hoping to grab a free copy of Dance Central from Old Navy at midnight, but realized that I don’t wear Old Navy. So instead, I went to Mr. Craig and his List and contacted one of the many brave souls who had gotten this game for free and had no idea what it was. I paid only $30 and I got to sleep in…not too shabby. 
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I’m a big fan of the underdog game system. After all, I’m a Turbo Duo devotee. I love buying or acquiring oddball, obscure consoles that never really had a shot at making it in the market, and over the years, I’ve gotten my hands on a few strange little devices. Over the next few weeks, I’m going to feature a few of these systems, most of which are handhelds. Some you probably know about, others you may not. But all of them will have one thing in common: they were abysmal failures in the gaming market.

We’re going to begin with the Tapwave Zodiac. “The who’s-it what-now?”, you ask? Exactly. This little device barely made a scratch in the dent that the N-Gage made on the gaming industry, it was that unpopular. But you know what? This thing was – or at least it could have been – fantastic.

The Zodiac was a Palm-based, gaming-focused PDA that used SD cards as its storage medium. It also functioned as an MP3 player, an e-Reader, a media viewer, and an electronic organizer complete with calendar, memo pad, and date book. And, surprisingly, it did all of these things pretty darn well.

Mostly…

Unfortunately, while the Zodiac and it’s upgraded Zodiac2 were designed with games in mind, the game libraries left a lot to be desired, which is a shame as it was an impressive machine. The Zodiac had an analog stick, four face buttons, two shoulder buttons, and a touch screen. And this was all back in 2003, a year before the DS nearly two years before the PSP. And, unlike the PSP, this thing was sturdy as hell with a metal casing and attached leather screen protector.
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I have come to find out that there are those who do MMOs (Massively Multiplayer Online games) and those who do not.  Years ago, I watched several of my friends lose their lives to Everquest, so I tried to avoid it at all costs.  Yet when NCSoft launched its superhero MMO City of Heroes (COH), the comic geek in me just had to jump in.  I played that game for a little over two years straight.  It was one of those games that my wife actually played with me and we ran a large, successful Super Group for our duration of stay in that game. 

You may be wondering, “so Ryker why did you quit?”  There are several reasons. The game became stale and old, money got tight, and – oh yeah – some d-bag almost completely destroyed the Super Group I had worked so hard to create.  The only person to stay with the game was my son, Tiny.  He continued to go back to COH whenever he could.  He learned a lot about social networking and leadership as he made several attempts on his own of creating both successful and failed Super Groups.  Recently, Tiny’s Mom bought a second home in Florida and so off he went to live down there.  It’s been a challenge, but last week my son gave me a copy of the latest expansion for COH, Going Rogue, and he begged me to come back and play with him and his new friends.  So I went to the closet, got out my cape, and went back to the game that I once loved so much.  

The game experience remains essentially the same.  You create a custom character, enter a large city, and go fight crime.  Unlike Champions Online, there isn’t a ton of action in the combat itself.  Yes, positioning is important, especially if you use ranged attacks, but you’re not running around your combatants much during an actual battle.  Instead, the game is far more strategic as you utilize specific roles and sequences of attacks and heals to make your experience a victorious one.  You complete quests, level up and gain new powers and abilities.  Like many MMOs, it becomes a grind when random battles and questing to gain levels becomes more important than any storylines.  I think a lot of MMOs struggle with this and the Going Rogue expansion is NCSoft’s attempt at getting people to come back for a unique storyline and new adventures. 

The story in Going Rogue is pretty unique and offers both new and old players a reason to come back.  (more…)

Okay, so you’re thinking, “Why is he talking about that old thing?” And I’ll tell you, I put off buying this for a long time, and now that it’s a “Greatest Hit” it seems more than worth the price of admission. So I finally caved, and I’m happy to report that I don’t regret that move.

One reason I waited so long is the well-publicized redactions this game has, relative to it’s “home” console cousins. There is no career mode, almost no car tweaking, and no infrastructure online play. Add the fact that all tracks are open at the start and you might wonder if the game is even worth trying. I did. But in this case, I can make the argument that they burned the village in order to save it. By which I mean assuming they filled that little UMD to the rim with data, I wouldn’t take anything out of the game to make room for the missing elements. In Gran Turismo PSP you have driving game that, in races, feels just like its grown up counterparts. The physics, the graphics, and the overall feel comes from the same DNA. And it shows.

If they would have had to sacrifice some gameplay quality to fit in a career mode, I’d call the game a failure. Furthermore, in some ways, not having a career mode gives the game greater longevity, in that there’s no game to finish here. Sure, you could make it your goal to collect every car available, but you’re gonna get bored long before that happens. In career mode on the home versions, you could always win little race series and build your car collection faster. But here you have to earn every single dollar you’re going to spend buying cars, and it takes lots of time to earn the cash to buy those pricey race cars. (more…)

The Minnesota State Fair is one of those annual events that I look forward to each year for many reasons. You’ve heard us talk about the “Great Minnesota Get-Together” before, so I’ll spare you all the reasons why I think it’s an event not to be missed. Instead, I’d like to talk about one of my favorite new events at the fair, Pinball on-a-Stick.

It’s no surprise to those of us who grew up in the arcades and behind the flippers of a million wooden cabinets, that things are not what they used to be. What once was a forest of local arcades sucking the quarters out of millions of teen-agers pockets has been slowly destroyed tree by tree. Even the amusement-park simulators that were all the rage in the late 90′s and early 2000 have gone the way of the dodo as once-thought stalwarts like GameWorks close their doors.

So it is that in every county or state fair I manage to attend, one of the first things I do is look for an arcade. Like an Indiana Jones with a nose for electronics, I hunt the fairgrounds for the familiar tent with the million power cables running to a giant junction box. It’s the surest sign of late 80′s coin op machines in the wild. Last year, my hunt bore some delicious fruit as the dreaded Butterfly Garden (which had threatened to kill the arcade space the past few years) gave a precious slice of it’s fairground real estate to not just an arcade, but a room dedicated to classic pinball games.

It’s called Pinball on-a-Stick and it’s the brainchild of Brian Millard, a resident of Farmington, MN. Brian is a collector of classic pinball machines and has filled a section of the arcade with a solid set of machines from his own personal collection. With the aid of friend Ryan Marincovich and a volunteer team of pinball collectors and enthusiasts from the area, a room right next to the Grandstand becomes one of the best spots for pinball for a week and a half.

From some of the classic machines such as Adam’s Family, Black Knight and Whirlwind to some of the best modern Stern machines, Pinball on-a-Stick really satisfies the old school pinball fan. Not only is the selection great but the machines are in top notch condition and play like a dream. Prices are reasonable at .50 a play and the spirit of the old school arcades is there in spades. Fairgoers young and old stop by and drop a few quarters into these classic machines. Each time I’ve walked into the room, there seems to be a machine or five in action. It’s a great time.

You can find more information on Pinball on-a-Stick over at their website, which can be found here: Pinball on-a-Stick.com.

More pictures after the break.
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Those who have followed my writings know of my love for Diablo-esq beat-em-ups.  (In fact I have been itching for some Sacred 2 action if anyone cares to join in on the fun).  That’s why when Hothead games released DeathSpank a few weeks ago, a Diablo-like game with Monkey Island humor, downloading that bad boy was a no-brainer for me.  The DGR crews hinted at a fantastic review of this game a few weeks ago, but were side-tracked by some tomfoolery known as an anniversary show or something.  Anyhow, after successfully completing this adventure, I felt the game deserved some discussion, so I’m offering up my thoughts for you to enjoy. 

DeathSpank is the brainchild of game designer Ron Gilbert.  Best known for his witty action/adventure series Monkey Island, Gilbert had been working on DeathSpank since 2004.  The game centers around an egotistical hero known simply as “DeathSpank”, a character originally found in Gilbert’s Grumpy Gamer comics.  It was foretold that DeathSpank would be a hero to the downtrodden and that he was to possess an artifact of unimaginable power known simply as “The Artifact”.  However, this artifact has been stolen by the very evil, and also very egotistical, Lord Von Prong.  Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to recapture the artifact from Lord Von Prong, making the universe safe from evil again.  Ok, so there’s way more to the story than just this, but you get the basic picture.  

During his quest, DeathSpank acquires loot (weapons, armor, cool stuff like that) from enemies he kills, thus making him stronger and more powerful.  Aside from the thirty-three main quests in the game, you have the option of performing seventy-nine additional side missions from characters you meet along the way.  These quests don’t take too long, and most of them can be accomplished along side the main storyline.  All in all, the entire game took around 6-8 hours to complete and cost 1200 Microsoft points ($15 on PS3) to play.  The big question of course, is DeathSpank worth the $15?  Read more and decide for yourself. 
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