Good-bye 2-D platforming, hello 3-D polygons and analogue sticks.
The Nintendo 64 emerged in 1996 as one of the most powerful consoles of its time, producing 3-D visuals that not even the Playstation or Sega Saturn could produce. At a time when franchises were attempting (and often failing) to make the jump to 3-D, along came Super Mario to save the day yet again.
Lighting effects in a Mario game are still kind of weird to see.
Being the fourth entry in the series, prepending “New” to the title seems disingenuous. Despite tossing in a new power-up in the form of a flying squirrel suit, New Super Mario Bros. U is more of the same tried-and-true gameplay the series is known for. Don’t get me wrong, this is not a bad thing, but it’s hard not to feel some fatigue with the now familiar art style, level layout, and presentation. Despite this fatigue, there’s little question that New Super Mario Bros. U is the strongest title in the subseries and a fond callback to both Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World.
The Wii U is out and the love is free-flowing on this episode of PixlTalk.
After a short hiatus and some failed podcasts post-New York Comic Con, episode 80 has finally come to fruition. And not a moment too late, as the crew for this episode (Nick, Jason, and JD) all have their Deluxe Wii Us and are excited to talk about them.
Throw Mario, Mega Man, Firebrand, and Samus into a blender and...
It’s rare that I can use the word “charming” to describe a game, and rarer still when I play a game that puts a steady smile on my face. Somehow in the chase for realistic polygon models, normal mapping, and Euphoria physics engines we lost a little bit of that magic that got us into gaming in the first place. That’s where Mutant Mudds comes into the picture—a game that may play on my nostalgia for the 8- and 16-bit days of gaming, but does so with skill and style.
Joaquim hops in the hot seat this week as Chessa takes the night off.
After last week's brief discussion of New Super Mario Bros. 2, Jason has quite a bit more to add after picking up the game at retail. Nick delves into Papo & Yo and Joaquim talks Pro Evolution Soccer. What we've been playing gives way to a bit of news discussion, focused mainly around the ABC bankruptcy of OnLive and its prompt segue to a new investor. Finally, we wrap the show with a bit of Mario-related trivia in honor of the release of New Super Mario Bros. 2 and the early discussions of the episode. Tune in and enjoy!
Mario’s 16-bit debut serves as an introduction to Nintendo’s most legendary console and fleeting farewell to 2-D Mario platforming. And Yoshi.
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 90s. In this era we saw many things; we saw the true start of the (in)famous 16-bit console wars, the slow decline of arcades, the invention of CD-ROM media and the start of a tradition with mainline Mario titles. Thought it was nice the NES had three great Mario games? You are not going to see that again for a very long time. Make that nineteen years to be exact. Take a good long look over this fourth Mario Mania entry, because the 2-D Mario platforming ship is sailing and it feels like a bittersweet moment.
Is Mario worth his weight in gold?
The Mario series can do no wrong – even when they’re bad, they’re still pretty good. While good, New Super Mario Bros 2 doesn’t rank high in the extremely inventive series. It borrows nearly everything from its predecessor and omits the challenge presented in New Super Mario Bros Wii. If not for the addition of the tanooki tail and the gold fire flower, it wouldn’t have a single thing about it that’s original, interesting, or particularly memorable.
If the title wasn't a dead giveaway, Gamescom 2012 is the main focus of our conversation. But that's not all!
After a hiatus due to vacations and general life stuff, Nick, Chessa, and Jason reunite for the seventy-fourth episode of PixlTalk. We kick things off with a bit of conversation on the Zelda symphony and segue into what we're all playing. The bulk of the cast is dedicated to the various announcements at Gamescom 2012, primarily Sony's news.
Some gameplay footage featuring a few of the suits that Mario can use, as well as a look at the diverse set of stages.
