Donkey Kong's return to console glory in 1994 is definitely a gem!
Back in 1994, Rareware breathed new life into Nintendo’s arcade game antagonist Donkey Kong with revolutionary pre-rendered graphics and created Donkey Kong Country for the SNES. Despite the pretty looks, it is a solid side-scrolling platformer with great controls, organic level design and a superb soundtrack.
Bayonetta needs someone to play with, again.
In the first ten minutes of the game, you are riding on top of a big fighter jet battling angels while a giant snake-like angel is flying around. The fight moves to a train against a grotesque angel with a whip arm, and then the demon you summoned goes berserk and sends your best friend to Inferno. This is just the start of a game full of great production values and stellar gameplay. It easily ranks as one of the best third person action games I’ve played since the original.
Advancing the Advanced Generation
Seeing these games announced was one of the most surreal moments in gaming news. Not because there was a new Pokémon game- (those will never end), but because the series is so strong that even the black sheep of the franchise received a remake. Remaking the original games made sense, as did remaking fan favorites Gold and Silver, especially since the first two generations had vastly inferior mechanics to the then current games.
High five.
Welcome back to Nerds Without Pants! It’s been almost a full month since the Pantsless Ones got together to record, and after the heavy topic of episode 65 they decide to keep things light. So that means two hours of meandering talk about video games, comics, blasphemy, and indie pro wrestling, among other things. Enjoy!
Earthworm Jim 3D is the third and final game in the series, and also the first to feature 3D gameplay, which gives the title a sort of double meaning. Bringing the series' trademark wackiness and irreverence to the third dimension, the game stars Jim's super-ego as he takes a trip through the crazy worlds of his own twisted mind. Although it lacks the polish of a Nintendo-published platformer, it still contains a decent amount of variety and somewhat interesting design.
Hey, just because we don't wear pants doesn't mean we don't have deep thoughts.
Well hello again. It’s time for part two of Nerds Without Pants episode 65: the show so nice we named it twice. This is a continuation of our lengthy discussion with Liana Kerzer, and this entire episode is about mental health and how video games can tie into that and even help. This ends up being a very personal episode of Nerds Without Pants, and you are about to see a different side of Angelo, Patrick, and Julian. So enjoy, and we hope that this topic begins some open discussion. Keep in mind that there are spoilers for the Gears of War and God of War series throughout.
Great, what am I supposed to use, harsh language?
Duke Nukem 64 must have put up decent sales numbers or something, as here we have what was a brand-new Duke Nukem title created exclusively for the Nintendo 64. Changing perspective from first-person to third-person, Zero Hour more closely follows the gameplay conventions of the PlayStation games than its Nintendo 64 predecessor. Although I prefer first-person to third-person, this game is still a solid adventure that spans many time periods, though its multiplayer mode switches to first-person for its frantic action.
First Erika Szabo and now Liana. I need to move to Canada!
Welcome to an unintentionally bonus edition of Nerds Without Pants! Angelo hosts this episode, featuring special guest Liana Kerzer. Liana is a TV and internet personality who also writes about video games for Metaleater. The reason for Liana’s visit was to talk about mental health in relation to video games, but we had such a great time talking to her that the episode went beyond 3 hours. So we’ve decided to split the Consumption Junction and topic portions of the show into two. Please enjoy a lengthy Consumption Junction this week, and come back for our regular time next week as we discuss mental health and the healing power of video games.
Keep it positive, San Diego.
Boy, 2014 was a rough year to be in this gaming thing, hasn’t it? Disappointing games, crushing release date delays, and more scandal than you can shake a stick at have all detracted from why we are all here. In the current stormy waters it can become easy to lose sight of why video games are so great, as well as the fact that every person behind one of these online avatars is an honest to goodness person that also happens to love this hobby. PixlBit is here as an island of calm and hope in a sea of turmoil, and we can think of no better way to remember why we still love games than by putting together a massive feature that involves our passionate staff and our incredibly talented bloggers. We are gamers. We are writers. And this is why we game.
A fresh -- but unpolished -- take on the procedural crafting genre.
It's a vast world of Minecraft/Terraria clones out there -- a very vast world. But Crea, currently an early access title, hopes to differentiate itself with a "Talent" system -- RPG-like leveling where you spend points you've earned to level up your abilities. Unfortunately, technical difficulties and poor controls negate an otherwise original take on an increasingly crowded genre.
