That's such a bummer that you were denied a press pass again this year. I think you do a better job covering the show that many professionals. It's good to have someone looking at the niche titles and covering stuff other than the AAA titles. They're a bunch of poopheads. Don't stop reviewing games because of them, you do a good job and you and the Gamer Dad website are where I send my non-gaming friends with kids for info on games.
Cary is Sad Reviews
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 On 02/27/2014 at 07:46 PM by Cary Woodham See More From This User » |
Here is another blog with links to games I’ve been reviewing lately. Please read as many as you can and maybe even post a comment or two. I’d appreciate it. But first, I’d like to talk about a few things that have made me a little sad lately.
First of all, it was around this time last year that 1up.com was shut down. I had been participating on that site for nearly eight years, so I was pretty bummed when it was gone. I made a lot of great friends and memories through that site. I tried a few other sites after that before settling on PixlBit. Most others that I tried, like IGN, were too cold and unfeeling and I couldn’t really tell if anyone was actually reading my stuff, and it was hard to find other interesting blogs to read as well. Luckily, PixlBit really ‘gets it’ as to what made 1up.com so special. I’m glad they were around for me to go to.
Strangely enough, 1up.com is still around. I guess the folks who ran it haven’t shut down the servers yet. I still post my blogs there because, I’ve already written them, so what the heck. In a way, I wish they’d go ahead and shut it down to give it some closure. It just seems kind of a waste to keep it up there. They could have volunteers help keep the site going all this time if they knew it would still be up a year later. I’m sure there would be folks out there willing to do that. But hey, what do I know about how to run a web site? I just provide content for one (two actually if you count my day job), so what do I know?
The other reason why I’ve been a little sad lately is because for the second year in a row, I’ve been denied a press pass to E3. Not enough hits on the GamerDad site again, they say. But you have to have an ungodly amount of hits in order to be approved, like over 10,000 a month. Just to put that into perspective, during the day I work at the largest wholesale gift shop supplier in the country. We sell to mostly hospital gift shops, so next time you’re in one of those, check it out and most everything you see in there, we probably sold to them. Anyway, during the busiest month of the year, our company’s web site BARELY made it over 10,000 hits. So how do they expect video game sites to do the same?
I know that anybody can poop out a gaming web site nowadays, and that’s why the E3 folks need to be selective. But I think they should rely on more than just web site hits for press approval. Like experience for instance. I’ve been reviewing games for nearly 20 years and have gone to almost every E3 since 1996. And the folks at E3 KNOW that. They don’t need to be THAT selective. E3 is NOT overcrowded (trust me, PAX is worse). I think they’re doing the industry a disservice since people like me cover more than just the popular titles, like most video game sites do. I have a plan B for getting into E3 this year, but it doesn’t look like it’s going to come to fruition either (although I just got some good news about that, so maybe not). I may try for a press pass next year, just for the whole ‘three strikes and you’re out’ kind of thing. But after that, I say F*** E3. Pardon the language and bad attitude, but that’s just how I feel about it right now.
I used to be all positive when talking with people who want to get into the video game writing biz. But now all I have to say is ‘don’t do it.’ The only reason why I’m still doing it is because I’m a stubborn butt who doesn’t like to quit on things. Plus I’ve worked so hard to get where I am know that if I gave up now, it would be like giving up on life. I am thankful for all the great memories and opportunities I have had while reviewing games for newspapers and web sites, though, so it’s not all bad. Well, enough of my pity party, on to the game reviews!
Of all the reviews on this list, I hope you all get to read this one most of all. I put a little more effort into it, and I liked how it turned out. I like Twisted Pixel’s games, and I think it’s cool they’re based in Austin, TX. LocoCycle was originally an Xbox One launch title, and now it’s on 360, too. So now there are NO games on the Xbox One I’d want to play right now! The game is like a cross between Spy Hunter and OutRun. You play as a self-aware robot motorcycle named I.R.I.S., who is what you’d get if Kitt from Knight Rider and GlaDOS from Portal had a baby. And a Spanish-speaking mechanic named Pablo got his pants leg stuck in her back tire so he’s dragged, literally, along for the ride. I.R.I.S. can’t understand his cries for help, though, because her language program is malfunctioning. You’d think Pablo would be a piece of mangled meat by the first mile, but this is just a silly video game so whatever. I don’t know if the makers of this game got any flak about not being politically correct with Pablo and all, but I didn’t find any of the jokes mean-spirited or racist myself. In fact, Pablo ended up being my favorite character in the game because he’s so cool.
The game has some pretty high production values, too, with lots of live action footage between levels. In fact, the voice of the rival motorcycle, S.P.I.K.E., was done by the guy who played the liquid metal robot in Terminator 2! And the president of Troma Films (Toxic Avenger) also makes an appearance. And the music was performed by an orchestra in Prague. The videos are really goofy, though. In one, S.P.I.K.E. the motorcycle licks an ice cream cone (yes, really). He gets the ice cream from Amy’s Ice Creams, a real life place in Austin, TX. I didn’t go there when I was in college in Austin because it was too expensive! There’s another video near the end when Pablo breaks free from I.R.I.S. and a really pretty lady comes over and helps clean his face. All I have to say is, “Lucky Pablo!” There are some problems with LocoCycle, but I’ll let you read the review to find out what they are if you’re interested.
The LEGO Movie Videogame (360)
The video game based on the LEGO movie is pretty standard stuff as far as LEGO games though. Fun, but not great, and a little buggy. But I will say the movie it’s based on is fantastic. Much better than what I thought it would be, and almost Pixar quality in some areas. Make sure to watch the movie before playing the game, though, because there is a lot of movie footage in the game that would spoil things for you.
Adventure Time: Card Wars (iPad)
There is an episode of Adventure Time where the characters play a collectible card game, and the episode just makes fun of other games like this such as Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, and Magic the Gathering. And now you can play that same game on your iOS device! It’s actually pretty good. The rules are simple enough that even I can understand them, but complex enough to challenge you later on. There are also tons of characters and missions to play against, so lots of replay value. Only problem I had with the game is that you have to buy it, but it presents itself like a free-to-play game in all the wrong ways. Read my review to find out why.
G.P. the GamerPuppet Unboxes Bravely Default: Collector’s Edition on 3DS!
I got the collector’s edition of Bravely Default so I did a silly little unboxing of it. I didn’t even realize the pack had an artbook in it. It’s like in a secret compartment or something! The game is pretty good, too. They should’ve just called it a Final Fantasy game, though, as that’s basically what it is. Probably could’ve sold more on name recognition alone. But what do I know?
For my sixth birthday, my dad took me to a monster truck show. I remember it was so loud that we had to wear earplugs, and the finale was a demolition derby between three mac trucks with trailers. And on the way home I fell asleep in the car, and when I woke up the next morning in my bed, something seemed different. When I looked down, I saw the other part of my birthday present: new Pac-Man bedsheets! I’ve reviewed a lot of monster truck games over the years, and sadly, none of them were very good. This iPad one is no exception. But if you have kids, you should take them to a monster truck show sometime. Just don’t forget your earplugs!
It’s like Taito’s arcade classic Qix, but with medieval themes. It’s pretty good, but gets hard way too fast. But then, I was never really very good at Qix. I never did get into Qix that much, but when I showed it to my brother Jeff when he was little, he LOVED it!
It’s just yet another spelling word game on tablets. I’m surprised the makers of Scrabble didn’t sue since the word tiles look so similar. It’s OK, but not as good as other word games like BookWorm.
Reader Review: Sorcery Saga (Vita)
My friend guest reviewed this dungeon crawler game. Supposedly it’s part of the same RPG series that later brought us Puyo Puyo (the characters in that are actually originally from a Saturn RPG). And the story is wacky, too, in that you are exploring dungeons to find ingredients for a curry recipe. So go read it if you’re interested.
Conclusions
And that’s all for now! Thanks for reading my reviews and posting comments, I appreciate it! Keep me in your thoughts and prayers that I might be able to go to E3 this year after all. I don’t know what you can post in the comments section here, maybe a picture or something you think would cheer me up. Next time on my blog, I’ll be your tour guide as we take a virtual tour of the Pac-Man Museum! Catch it next week! Later! --Cary
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