Yahtzee Croshaw's Blog, page 7
May 13, 2011
Show & Hell
ZPs: Portal 2 and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, bizarrely
XPs: Innovation and sequels
But wait! Get ready to spooge yourself stupid because Gabriel and I have recorded another podcast. And this time, we even came up with a format for it. So, may I formally introduce the first official Show & Tell Podcast.
Basically, Gabriel and I both assembled two or three objects without the other knowing, and attempt to discuss them on topic for as long as we reasonably can. In this introductory episode, Gabe questions the role of print in gaming news and totally spergs out over Doctor Who, while my Melbourne adventures somehow segue to the subject of Osama Bin Laden and I bemoan how my neuroses have ruined my danish pastry experiences.
The Show & Tell Podcast 1 by yahtzee19
Well, while you're listening to that I'll also get out of the way the news that Yahtzee's Trivia Night continues to be on alternate Mondays. This Monday, as a matter of fact, May 16th. There's an LA Noire theme for the prizes and the general promise of a somewhat good time with very little browbeating.
XPs: Innovation and sequels
But wait! Get ready to spooge yourself stupid because Gabriel and I have recorded another podcast. And this time, we even came up with a format for it. So, may I formally introduce the first official Show & Tell Podcast.
Basically, Gabriel and I both assembled two or three objects without the other knowing, and attempt to discuss them on topic for as long as we reasonably can. In this introductory episode, Gabe questions the role of print in gaming news and totally spergs out over Doctor Who, while my Melbourne adventures somehow segue to the subject of Osama Bin Laden and I bemoan how my neuroses have ruined my danish pastry experiences.
The Show & Tell Podcast 1 by yahtzee19
Well, while you're listening to that I'll also get out of the way the news that Yahtzee's Trivia Night continues to be on alternate Mondays. This Monday, as a matter of fact, May 16th. There's an LA Noire theme for the prizes and the general promise of a somewhat good time with very little browbeating.
April 29, 2011
Links Awakening
Alright, gonna be a bit of a linkstorm today. I do have a tendency to not update this blog for weeks, so in case anyone actually still reads it you should know that the best way to get the most up to the minute updates on my shit is to follow my twitter (@yahtzeecroshaw) or just check The Escapist regularly. But whatevs, here's the usual business, the ZPs and XPs since the last update:
ZPs: Yakuza 4, Crysis 2, the 3DS
XPs: 100 percenters, locations, invisibility
For those who liked that podcast between me and Gabriel in the most recent previous update, I should think we will be doing more, but in the meantime there's plenty of podcasty action featuring me to keep you going, because not only did I do one with Mikey Neumann for the Escapist, but I also guested recently once again on the Australian Gamer podcast while I was visiting Yug in Melbourne. Blimey, that's a lot of me talking.
In Mana Bar news, you'll all (ALL) be pleased to know that since you demanded it (or rather, a poll on Facebook indicated that you wouldn't mind), Yahtzee's no-holds-barred video game Trivia Night is moving to alternate Mondays, since the Tuesdays were having to be nudged around a lot for events and suchlike. The first quiz of the new regime will be this coming Monday, the 2nd. Bring a team of 2 to 6 people from 6 o'clock and a good time will be had be all.
Hm. That didn't seem like nearly enough links for a linkstorm. So let's recommend another Let's Play. Lately I've particularly been enjoying Let's Play Assassin's Creed by user Geop, who combines an entertaining commentary of the gameplay with interesting and extremely well-researched history lessons giving a little background to the events of the game. It's still on the SA forum so you might have trouble if you're not a member, but the game's nearly finished now so it should be on the LP archive soon.
ZPs: Yakuza 4, Crysis 2, the 3DS
XPs: 100 percenters, locations, invisibility
For those who liked that podcast between me and Gabriel in the most recent previous update, I should think we will be doing more, but in the meantime there's plenty of podcasty action featuring me to keep you going, because not only did I do one with Mikey Neumann for the Escapist, but I also guested recently once again on the Australian Gamer podcast while I was visiting Yug in Melbourne. Blimey, that's a lot of me talking.
In Mana Bar news, you'll all (ALL) be pleased to know that since you demanded it (or rather, a poll on Facebook indicated that you wouldn't mind), Yahtzee's no-holds-barred video game Trivia Night is moving to alternate Mondays, since the Tuesdays were having to be nudged around a lot for events and suchlike. The first quiz of the new regime will be this coming Monday, the 2nd. Bring a team of 2 to 6 people from 6 o'clock and a good time will be had be all.
Hm. That didn't seem like nearly enough links for a linkstorm. So let's recommend another Let's Play. Lately I've particularly been enjoying Let's Play Assassin's Creed by user Geop, who combines an entertaining commentary of the gameplay with interesting and extremely well-researched history lessons giving a little background to the events of the game. It's still on the SA forum so you might have trouble if you're not a member, but the game's nearly finished now so it should be on the LP archive soon.
April 12, 2011
Casting a pod
In case you weren't at trivia night yesterday and missed this, my next trivia night will only be one week away, on Tuesday the 19th, because there's been so much shuffling around lately and we're trying to get back to the regular two week schedule. So it's next week, and the one after that will be back to being two weeks apart.
Now. I've got a lovely surprise for you today. See, I used to quite enjoy recording podcasts with Yug and Matt but now they hardly do that ever, and I've been hankering to do a bit more unscripted stuff, so for those extremely valid reasons I recorded a test podcast with my friend Gabriel, with whom I frequently converse at the Mana Bar.
Now, full disclosure, this didn't exactly turn out to be the sparkling product I'd been hoping for, it does take a while to get going and when we do the subject does tend to stray constantly towards slightly blue areas. We didn't really have a list of topics or anything and I think if I pursued this then we'd definitely need a more defined structure to keep us in check in future. Also, there's a bit of an audio quality issue in that the podcast recorder was on the charger so there's a bit of an electric buzz in the background.
But for whatever it's worth, here's the experimental Yahtzee-Gabriel podcast. Topics include Gabe's recent trip to Japan, my new 3DS, which millionaire we'd most like to fight and the difficulties one encounters when attempting to bum guard dogs.
Yahtzee & Gabriel wreck a big train by yahtzee19
Now. I've got a lovely surprise for you today. See, I used to quite enjoy recording podcasts with Yug and Matt but now they hardly do that ever, and I've been hankering to do a bit more unscripted stuff, so for those extremely valid reasons I recorded a test podcast with my friend Gabriel, with whom I frequently converse at the Mana Bar.
Now, full disclosure, this didn't exactly turn out to be the sparkling product I'd been hoping for, it does take a while to get going and when we do the subject does tend to stray constantly towards slightly blue areas. We didn't really have a list of topics or anything and I think if I pursued this then we'd definitely need a more defined structure to keep us in check in future. Also, there's a bit of an audio quality issue in that the podcast recorder was on the charger so there's a bit of an electric buzz in the background.
But for whatever it's worth, here's the experimental Yahtzee-Gabriel podcast. Topics include Gabe's recent trip to Japan, my new 3DS, which millionaire we'd most like to fight and the difficulties one encounters when attempting to bum guard dogs.
Yahtzee & Gabriel wreck a big train by yahtzee19
April 9, 2011
Dukeahontas
Yes, I can confirm that trivia night at the Mana Bar is this week, the 12th, from 6:30. I've got a poster for it now so there's no backsies.
There's Duke Nukem Forever-related prizes and the usual serving of fun to be had. Also, in an unprecedented move, because of the week delay we will be having the next trivia night one week after this one, not two, so there'll be less of a wait this time for the event that keeps your interest in the world alive.
Anyway, ZP was Pokemon White. XP was about Dragon Age 2 romances. And this week I also did a Q&A thing on Reddit because they told me to and I folded like a coward on an ironing board.
There's Duke Nukem Forever-related prizes and the usual serving of fun to be had. Also, in an unprecedented move, because of the week delay we will be having the next trivia night one week after this one, not two, so there'll be less of a wait this time for the event that keeps your interest in the world alive.
Anyway, ZP was Pokemon White. XP was about Dragon Age 2 romances. And this week I also did a Q&A thing on Reddit because they told me to and I folded like a coward on an ironing board.
April 2, 2011
Keeping house
ZPs thus far: Two Worlds 2, Bulletstorm, Killzone 3, Kirby's Epic Yarn and Dragon Age 2 (phew)
XPs: Hybrids, Let's Plays, regenerating health, the BAFTAs and death.
I've also started doing a co-operative column with other Escapist contributors called Extra Consideration (I guess the Escapist like running with a theme). It started off between me and the two video creators who make a living from ripping me off, James from Extra Credits and Moviebob, but recent instalments have included Shamus Young and Graham Stark. It's like a League of Extraordinary Gentlemen tag team event for massive nerds.
And of course Yahtzee's Trivia Night is this week at the Mana Bar, on the Tuesday from around 6:30 on. We've started doing a new thing where we give away the same prize for first, second and third, because the same buggers kept winning every week and I wanted everyone to have some kind of chance to go away with a neat thing. So come along and form a team (we'll provide one if you have no friends), there's an unusual percentage of Pokemon questions this week for no real reason.
(there's supposed to be a poster here but Yug hasn't made me one yet)
And I also wanted to give some update on an electronic edition of Mogworld. It's definitely on the cards but the question of when it comes about is one that only the publishers Dark Horse can answer, so your efforts would be better spent nagging them than me. They're working on the delivery method. In the meantime, the physical edition hasn't gone anywhere and is still just as available from all good online retailers, and carries a satisfying weight in your hands that an E-Reader lacks.
Now, one of the XP's listed above was talking up the Let's Play thing, which is a circle of internet hobbyists with too much disposable income to spend on recording materials who play games and make videos of them. I have a lot of interest in the practise, so I thought I'd start using this blog to give individual recommendations of good Let's Plays.
So for today's update let me draw attention to the adventures of helloitsdan and lithuanian dad, who never fail to amuse. Mercenaries 2 is probably their magnum opus to date, hosted on their own site unaffiliated with the LP archive, in which the slightly effete Dan attempts to play mother to the slightly reckless Dad and at one point discover the potential of tugboats as assassination methods. The pair are currently up to their elbows in Lost Planet 2 but you'll need Something Awful forums access to investigate that one, you scrub.
XPs: Hybrids, Let's Plays, regenerating health, the BAFTAs and death.
I've also started doing a co-operative column with other Escapist contributors called Extra Consideration (I guess the Escapist like running with a theme). It started off between me and the two video creators who make a living from ripping me off, James from Extra Credits and Moviebob, but recent instalments have included Shamus Young and Graham Stark. It's like a League of Extraordinary Gentlemen tag team event for massive nerds.
And of course Yahtzee's Trivia Night is this week at the Mana Bar, on the Tuesday from around 6:30 on. We've started doing a new thing where we give away the same prize for first, second and third, because the same buggers kept winning every week and I wanted everyone to have some kind of chance to go away with a neat thing. So come along and form a team (we'll provide one if you have no friends), there's an unusual percentage of Pokemon questions this week for no real reason.
(there's supposed to be a poster here but Yug hasn't made me one yet)
And I also wanted to give some update on an electronic edition of Mogworld. It's definitely on the cards but the question of when it comes about is one that only the publishers Dark Horse can answer, so your efforts would be better spent nagging them than me. They're working on the delivery method. In the meantime, the physical edition hasn't gone anywhere and is still just as available from all good online retailers, and carries a satisfying weight in your hands that an E-Reader lacks.
Now, one of the XP's listed above was talking up the Let's Play thing, which is a circle of internet hobbyists with too much disposable income to spend on recording materials who play games and make videos of them. I have a lot of interest in the practise, so I thought I'd start using this blog to give individual recommendations of good Let's Plays.
So for today's update let me draw attention to the adventures of helloitsdan and lithuanian dad, who never fail to amuse. Mercenaries 2 is probably their magnum opus to date, hosted on their own site unaffiliated with the LP archive, in which the slightly effete Dan attempts to play mother to the slightly reckless Dad and at one point discover the potential of tugboats as assassination methods. The pair are currently up to their elbows in Lost Planet 2 but you'll need Something Awful forums access to investigate that one, you scrub.
February 27, 2011
Mortal Blow
So Mortal Kombat (the new one, the reboot that has the same name as the original in another example of that most infuriating practice) has apparently been refused classification in Australia. As everyone should be aware by now, Australia still lacks an R18 certificate for games and anything that would require it is refused classification and effectively banned. In the past I have frequently expressed my disappointment at this extremely backward and counter-intuitive practice.
But as of now, I am officially done. I give up. You win, Australian censorship. This is the last thing I will ever write about the R18 issue.
Because it has become abundantly clear to me that discussing it, making official complaints and reasonably explaining the entirely logical reasons why the R18 is necessary and its absence makes Australia a worldwide laughing stock, is completely pointless. I and people like me have explained and campaigned until we're blue in the tits. A recent poll showed that the vast majority of the population are in favour of the R18 and the government flat-out recommended that it be introduced.
The reason why we still don't have it is because the final decision rests with the Attorney Generals, who have very clearly demonstrated that their decision is rooted in ignorant personal bias rather than the desires of the majority. In which case, what is the point of being reasonable to people who take pride in their stubborn, pig-ignorant wilful deafness?
But the other reason I'm not going to talk about it again is because it isn't my problem. It'd only be my problem if it in any way stopped games with adult themes being created, and it doesn't. If a game gets RC'ed I will just import it. This almost always works out cheaper anyway because of the insanely high markups games receive in this country.
The people who should have a problem, besides anyone concerned with Australia being perceived as a backward nation, is the parents. Don't misunderstand the issue, breeders: preventing an R18 certificate from being introduced is not preventing adult games from entering the country and corrupting your precious sexcrement. Rather, it encourages importing and pirating, resulting in the game entering the country unregulated and freely available to children of all ages. It also results in the Aliens Vs Predator scenario in which games that deserve R18 certs are given MA15 for the sake of a quiet life, despite being unequivocally adult games.
Yes, this is the same point that has been made time and time again and which will almost certainly be ignored by policy makers just as it always has been, but let me close my involvement in this issue with the main thrust of the argument as emphatic and capitalised as possible. R18 IS NEEDED TO REGULATE THE SALE OF ADULT GAMES AND PREVENT CHILDREN FROM PLAYING THEM. THE ADULT GAMES THAT ARE ALREADY HERE. NOT HAVING R18 DOES NOT PREVENT ADULT GAMES FROM ENTERING THE COUNTRY. OPPOSING R18 IS LIKE OPPOSING VAMPIRE HUNTING IN VAMPIRE LAND ON THE ASSUMPTION THAT IT WILL ENCOURAGE VAMPIRES TO INVADE VAMPIRE LAND EVEN THOUGH VAMPIRE LAND IS ALREADY FULL OF VAMPIRES.
ZPs: Dead Space 2, DC Universe, Mindjack
XPs: American box art, Dead Space 2 and levelling backwards.
Trivia night: tomorrow! (Tuesday 29th). It's got Bulletstorm prizes and the usual evening of larks. Come along from 6:30 as usual.
But as of now, I am officially done. I give up. You win, Australian censorship. This is the last thing I will ever write about the R18 issue.
Because it has become abundantly clear to me that discussing it, making official complaints and reasonably explaining the entirely logical reasons why the R18 is necessary and its absence makes Australia a worldwide laughing stock, is completely pointless. I and people like me have explained and campaigned until we're blue in the tits. A recent poll showed that the vast majority of the population are in favour of the R18 and the government flat-out recommended that it be introduced.
The reason why we still don't have it is because the final decision rests with the Attorney Generals, who have very clearly demonstrated that their decision is rooted in ignorant personal bias rather than the desires of the majority. In which case, what is the point of being reasonable to people who take pride in their stubborn, pig-ignorant wilful deafness?
But the other reason I'm not going to talk about it again is because it isn't my problem. It'd only be my problem if it in any way stopped games with adult themes being created, and it doesn't. If a game gets RC'ed I will just import it. This almost always works out cheaper anyway because of the insanely high markups games receive in this country.
The people who should have a problem, besides anyone concerned with Australia being perceived as a backward nation, is the parents. Don't misunderstand the issue, breeders: preventing an R18 certificate from being introduced is not preventing adult games from entering the country and corrupting your precious sexcrement. Rather, it encourages importing and pirating, resulting in the game entering the country unregulated and freely available to children of all ages. It also results in the Aliens Vs Predator scenario in which games that deserve R18 certs are given MA15 for the sake of a quiet life, despite being unequivocally adult games.
Yes, this is the same point that has been made time and time again and which will almost certainly be ignored by policy makers just as it always has been, but let me close my involvement in this issue with the main thrust of the argument as emphatic and capitalised as possible. R18 IS NEEDED TO REGULATE THE SALE OF ADULT GAMES AND PREVENT CHILDREN FROM PLAYING THEM. THE ADULT GAMES THAT ARE ALREADY HERE. NOT HAVING R18 DOES NOT PREVENT ADULT GAMES FROM ENTERING THE COUNTRY. OPPOSING R18 IS LIKE OPPOSING VAMPIRE HUNTING IN VAMPIRE LAND ON THE ASSUMPTION THAT IT WILL ENCOURAGE VAMPIRES TO INVADE VAMPIRE LAND EVEN THOUGH VAMPIRE LAND IS ALREADY FULL OF VAMPIRES.
ZPs: Dead Space 2, DC Universe, Mindjack
XPs: American box art, Dead Space 2 and levelling backwards.
Trivia night: tomorrow! (Tuesday 29th). It's got Bulletstorm prizes and the usual evening of larks. Come along from 6:30 as usual.
February 5, 2011
Thrrrrrrrrp
ZPs un-linked to thus far: Fable 3, Minecraft and A Shadow's Tale. I'd normally link to the XP columns too, but today I think I'll let you track them down yourselves as a fun little exercise.
Last trivia night went off without a hitch, so hopefully it'd be safe to assume this Tuesday's (the 8th) will go off similarly. So here's the poster. Yes, we actually were able to get someone to sponsor this one.
Last trivia night went off without a hitch, so hopefully it'd be safe to assume this Tuesday's (the 8th) will go off similarly. So here's the poster. Yes, we actually were able to get someone to sponsor this one.
January 21, 2011
Quiz-ats Haderach
Alright, this time trivia quiz is DEFINITELY coming back to the Mana Bar this Tuesday, the 25th, the night before Australia Day. Definitely positively no barley cross fingers. So now it has to happen because I've said so. It's going to be the same quiz we never got around to two weeks ago so still themed around the games of 2010. Kick off from 6:30, hope to see you there. THIS time.
ZP: Fable 3. XP: World of Warcraft. That is all.
ZP: Fable 3. XP: World of Warcraft. That is all.
January 15, 2011
Floody Hell
Okay, so trivia night fairly obviously wasn't on last Tuesday because someone upended a giant bucket of water onto Brisbane and everyone had to take time out to wring out their socks. To all those of you concerned about my wellbeing, rest assured I was largely unaffected. My street was in an at-risk area but the water didn't rise high enough. Plus I was on the second floor. So we didn't even have our power cut off and if I hadn't left the house and seen all the sandbags everywhere I probably wouldn't even have noticed. About the only times I was directly affected was when I had to have instant noodles for dinner, and when I had an open grill at a cafe I like and it came with very little salad.
The substantially larger number of you who expressed concern for the wellbeing of the Mana Bar (you unfeeling fucks), it wasn't even in the slightest risk, it's at the top of a hill. We even remained open during the flood's peak, not that many people showed up, but what did we expect. So waste none of your concern on me or my business ventures, there are a lot of people in this city who need your concern more. You can donate to the flood relief fund here. Help Brisbane out now and we'll do backsies if your city ever, I dunno, falls into the centre of the Earth or something. Maybe we'll drop some cold drinks down the sinkhole.
So trivia night (the same trivia night we never got around to doing) will be put off a fortnight, to Tuesday the 25th. We like to keep it to a fortnightly schedule, and Tuesday 18th has already been set aside for the Uwe Boll Movie Marathon, which should be a lot of fun. We'll all sit around and make snarky comments in order to feel superior for once in our petty lives. Do come along from 5.
XP this week was a bonus helping of 2010 retrospective. ZP was World of Warcraft, of all things. That was what I did at Christmas instead of buying people presents.
The substantially larger number of you who expressed concern for the wellbeing of the Mana Bar (you unfeeling fucks), it wasn't even in the slightest risk, it's at the top of a hill. We even remained open during the flood's peak, not that many people showed up, but what did we expect. So waste none of your concern on me or my business ventures, there are a lot of people in this city who need your concern more. You can donate to the flood relief fund here. Help Brisbane out now and we'll do backsies if your city ever, I dunno, falls into the centre of the Earth or something. Maybe we'll drop some cold drinks down the sinkhole.
So trivia night (the same trivia night we never got around to doing) will be put off a fortnight, to Tuesday the 25th. We like to keep it to a fortnightly schedule, and Tuesday 18th has already been set aside for the Uwe Boll Movie Marathon, which should be a lot of fun. We'll all sit around and make snarky comments in order to feel superior for once in our petty lives. Do come along from 5.
XP this week was a bonus helping of 2010 retrospective. ZP was World of Warcraft, of all things. That was what I did at Christmas instead of buying people presents.
January 8, 2011
Quizzle Stick
Yes, Yahtzee's Trivia Night returns to the Mana Bar on Tuesday the 11th of January, smeared with lipstick and freshly hung over from new year, and that's why it's going to be a special quiz about the games (and some of the events) of 2010. This will be one of the rare occasions when you have a chance to swot up on the subject matter. As always show up at 6:30 for team registration and we kick the fuck off at 7.
ZPs of late: The top and bottom 5 of 2010. Blimey, was that all? Have I actually updated with timeliness for once? Oh, wait, there was that clip show we did over Christmas, too. Blast. And there's an Epic Mickey XP column as well.
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