I have written about You Don't Know Jack at least twice on this blog (here and here). Both times lamenting the fact that I can't play a current version of the irreverent trivia game on my living room TV with friends and strangers over the internets. This was brought painfully to mind again this week as I dipped my toe back into the world of trivia gameshows with 1 vs 100 on the Xbox 360.
More than a year after getting my 360, I finally upgraded my Xbox Live Account to Gold. Mostly I did this because there is a really good deal where you can get a chat pad, a headset, a year of live and a game (PGR4 in my case) for a good price. I did it for the chat pad (which is the most useful accessory for a gaming system ever).
So I was trying out some of the things I can do with a Gold account and I figured I'd give 1 vs 100 a go. My first expereince was in an Extended Play game. It's trivia, fairly straight-forward and quick paced. There is the odd add break, but the only thing they seem to advertise is themselves, so it wasn't too annoying. Not horrible, and it played smoothly, and I love me some trivia. So I figured I would try the Live game on Tuesday night.
I think I know what I'm going to be doing with my Tuesday evenings for the next while.
1 vs 100 is not perfect, but it does have something unique, especially when played live. It has a sense of being a part of a larger show. The trivia is rapid pace, there is a real host, real prizes (Microsoft Points, XBLA games, and a few other give aways), and a chance to show off to other real people (if you manage to land in the Mob or as the 1). It's quite fun, but it sadly still falls into the '90s and '00s suspense-style gameshow.
Trivia gameshows tend to fall into three categories: challenging, witty/irreverent, and suspenseful. You can guess my favourite. The first tends to attach those who are smart, like to see smart people show off, or generally like the challenge involved in the questions. Jeopardy has lasted for so long because of a solid niche audience that loves to see the smart rewarded for knowing that little bit more than their opponents (hence the popularity of Ken Jennings).
I've always found the third kind of trivia game to be rather low-brow. It substitutes challenge with cliff-hanger expectation and mass appeal questions. Now there is nothing wrong about pop-culture in a trivia game, but when the majority of players can be out-guessed by a 5th grader, then you have a problem. Fancy cutting and dramatic music try to keep the audience glued to the rather banal trivia, and drag what could be a very rapid-fire game into an hour long slog. Popularized by Who Wants to be a Millionaire, we were soon deluged by a glut of anxiety-ridden contestants on a raft of mass-consumable trivia. I'm very tired of these, and am glad to see them dissapear into third-string time slots.
Which brings me back to Jack, my favourite example of the Witty/Irreverent category (followed closely by Win Ben Stein's Money). Except for a short-lived foray into TV, YDKJ has always remained firmly in the realm of video games and yet they have always played best in a live environment. Many good times were had when mutiple people could be gathered around the keyboard, and my personal favourite installment of the game was also delivered live (sort of) to your screen every week over the net.
This begs the question: why isn't this on the Xbox right now? The technology exists to produce a high-quality game and play it live over distance. 1 vs 100 sets a precident for delivering weekly content. Jellyvision has always expressed a desire (with the right backing) to bring Jack to the masses. They are in fact long overdue. Almost a year and a half ago they brought an end to the YDKJ online experence (still playable) with an announcement that Big Things were coming for the series. This came shortly after they announced that Jellyvision was heading back into games after a long hiatus with some new leadership. So far these things have yet to materialize a Jack game.
But I hope they are working on something. I hope it's live, funny, and delivered weekly to my TV-connected console for me to play. I hope it gets here soon. Until then I'll be getting my trivia fix from 1 vs 100.
Showing posts with label You Don't Know Jack. Show all posts
Showing posts with label You Don't Know Jack. Show all posts
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Monday, September 22, 2008
The End is Here
I know I'm a couple weeks late to ride the LHC jokes. This post isn't about that. Really.
(Although, if you ever need to be sure, you can always check...)
No, I'm talking about the end of the online You Don't Know Jack webisodes. One of my favourite weekly time-killers is ending.
Check out the very last episode (100).
The reason is that Jellyvision is getting back in the game. They are gearing up for some more Jack on bigger and better platforms. Not that delivering 7 question time-wasters twice a week isn't huge. They just want to make money for it again. Which I can respect.
With all of the current consoles having up to 4 controllers, and internet conectivities, and ways to download additional content, I can only imagine the sorts of fun that Jellyvision can deliver. In fact, that's what I'd like to do now.
Making Jack Social (again)
YDKJ has always been at its best when played with friends. Sure, you could play by yourself, but you often got mocked for it. By the game. This is a big part of the Jack fun that has been missing from the webisodes. The trivia is great to have, but being stuck alone with Cookie is limiting. The jokes and the wackiness just got better when you crammed three (or more) people around the keyboard to pound out answers. Now with upto 4 wireless controllers, you can have all that fun without having to invade anyone's personal space.
Taking Jack Online (again)
There is also the posibility to revive online play. YDKJ has now gone through three distinct online phases. The first was delivery of full episodes on a weekly basis. You installed a client (which had all the graphics, and a bunch of the generic audio) and streamed the episode you wanted to play. This provided the fun of the full (multi-player) game with a fresh batch of content each week. I'd love to see Jellyvision revive this.
The second phase was online multi-player play. YDKJ5 had an online play mode. Unfortunately it was fairly broken due to distribution and technology limits. Jellyvision put a lot of work into making the buzz-in system fair despite distance and lag. Each side timed locally, and then synced online to determine first buzz. It worked most of the time, but was confusing. You'd buzz in and think that you were first, then a couple of seconds later get bumped by another player. If you could even find other players to play against. Hopefully re-launching on major consoles will make it easier to find other people to play against when you have no firends at home.
The third phase was the one that just ended. It was a nice stop-gap. The content was short, punctual, and formulaic. Acutally, I missed some of the randomness and variety of the full games. I look forward to seeing many of the classic question types and characters return.
(Although, if you ever need to be sure, you can always check...)
No, I'm talking about the end of the online You Don't Know Jack webisodes. One of my favourite weekly time-killers is ending.
Check out the very last episode (100).
The reason is that Jellyvision is getting back in the game. They are gearing up for some more Jack on bigger and better platforms. Not that delivering 7 question time-wasters twice a week isn't huge. They just want to make money for it again. Which I can respect.
With all of the current consoles having up to 4 controllers, and internet conectivities, and ways to download additional content, I can only imagine the sorts of fun that Jellyvision can deliver. In fact, that's what I'd like to do now.
Making Jack Social (again)
YDKJ has always been at its best when played with friends. Sure, you could play by yourself, but you often got mocked for it. By the game. This is a big part of the Jack fun that has been missing from the webisodes. The trivia is great to have, but being stuck alone with Cookie is limiting. The jokes and the wackiness just got better when you crammed three (or more) people around the keyboard to pound out answers. Now with upto 4 wireless controllers, you can have all that fun without having to invade anyone's personal space.
Taking Jack Online (again)
There is also the posibility to revive online play. YDKJ has now gone through three distinct online phases. The first was delivery of full episodes on a weekly basis. You installed a client (which had all the graphics, and a bunch of the generic audio) and streamed the episode you wanted to play. This provided the fun of the full (multi-player) game with a fresh batch of content each week. I'd love to see Jellyvision revive this.
The second phase was online multi-player play. YDKJ5 had an online play mode. Unfortunately it was fairly broken due to distribution and technology limits. Jellyvision put a lot of work into making the buzz-in system fair despite distance and lag. Each side timed locally, and then synced online to determine first buzz. It worked most of the time, but was confusing. You'd buzz in and think that you were first, then a couple of seconds later get bumped by another player. If you could even find other players to play against. Hopefully re-launching on major consoles will make it easier to find other people to play against when you have no firends at home.
The third phase was the one that just ended. It was a nice stop-gap. The content was short, punctual, and formulaic. Acutally, I missed some of the randomness and variety of the full games. I look forward to seeing many of the classic question types and characters return.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Monday Report [July 21-27]
Flash Games
You Don't Know Jack, Episodes 82 & 83
Wii
Wii Fit
LEGO Indiana Jones
A whole lot (I lost count)
Morgan and I finished the game, 100%, in co-op. A full review is pending. There is about 20-30 hours of playable content there, and we did all of it. There are a few quibbles, but it was a fun romp, and easy to play. I'd recommend it to people who are fans of the recent LEGO games, or of Indiana Jones, or who have a non-gamer that they want to play some games with.
You Don't Know Jack, Episodes 82 & 83
7 minutes, each
More Jack. It's an addiction by now. Or at least a bad habit.Wii
Wii Fit
Less time than I should have
It's starting to worry me that only a couple of weeks in and I'm starting to lose the will to workout. Or even to do the daily body test. Must keep it up. I need to find a better time to work it into my schedule.LEGO Indiana Jones
A whole lot (I lost count)
Morgan and I finished the game, 100%, in co-op. A full review is pending. There is about 20-30 hours of playable content there, and we did all of it. There are a few quibbles, but it was a fun romp, and easy to play. I'd recommend it to people who are fans of the recent LEGO games, or of Indiana Jones, or who have a non-gamer that they want to play some games with.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Monday Report [July 14-20]
Wii
Wii Fit
LEGO Indiana Jones
Flash
You Don't Know Jack, Episodes 80 & 81
Board Games
Zombies!!!
At the core, this is a simple game. You can learn it in 5 minutes, and set it up in about the same amount of time. The randomness of the city, and the sheer joy of being able to blast your way through a building full of zombies to get that health you need are what make this game shine. Sometimes the dice work for you, sometimes they don't. Either way, you can tell some neat survival (or horrible death) stories from the events that happen. Oh, and there are 7 expansions which cover the gamut of zombie tropes. This will be a game to just pull out an play with friends: simple, quick, and a lot of fun (who doesn't like killing zombies?).
Wii Fit
3.5 hours
Wii fit is interesting. It has mini-games, but I don't think it qualifies as a game itself. In the same way that Brain Age isn't really a game. It's a trainer program. You use it the same way that you used to use Typing Tutor. Only to help improve and track your body. Mostly it's great. There is just one glaring deficiency: no guided workouts. I'll explain more when I do a full review. I still have some things to unlock. One thing to note is Wii Fit Time Dilation: 30 minutes of workout in Wii Fit can actually be upwards of 45 minutes in real time.LEGO Indiana Jones
7.5 hours
Wanted to get a LEGO game, and since I don't own a X360 yet, I had to get it for the Wii. Morgan prefers Indiana Jones over Star Wars, so we went with that. Because I want to play it with her. Ad we did. The game is LEGO fun, LEGO irreverent, and bloody annoying in some places. A lot of the world is "realistic", where realistic means not made of virtual plastic. This is good for helping you figure out what to smash (everything made of LEGO), and really good at helping you fall off of platforms. More review as we get further. So far it's fun, but slightly annoying. Two movies down, one to go. Then a whole load of extra things to unlock and find.Flash
You Don't Know Jack, Episodes 80 & 81
7 minutes, each
More Jack. Basically I like my trivia.Board Games
Zombies!!!
2 hours (2 games, 4 players)
Yes, those exclamation points are necessary. It's a board game about, you guessed it, Zombies. Basic premise includes fighting your way through a horde of zombies while trying to make it to the Helipad and escape. This is not a co-operative game. You can also win by offing (and collecting) 25 zombies. Every turn reveals a little more of the city, which is built tile-by-tile, Carcassonne-style. Then you move, kill, and try to survive. Then you move some zombies. Most of the action cards are weapons to help you or events you can use to hinder your fellow players.At the core, this is a simple game. You can learn it in 5 minutes, and set it up in about the same amount of time. The randomness of the city, and the sheer joy of being able to blast your way through a building full of zombies to get that health you need are what make this game shine. Sometimes the dice work for you, sometimes they don't. Either way, you can tell some neat survival (or horrible death) stories from the events that happen. Oh, and there are 7 expansions which cover the gamut of zombie tropes. This will be a game to just pull out an play with friends: simple, quick, and a lot of fun (who doesn't like killing zombies?).
Monday, July 07, 2008
Monday Report [July 1-6]
PC Games
Beyond Good & Evil (GameTap)
Flash Games
You Don't Know Jack, Episodes 75, 76, and 77
Beyond Good & Evil (GameTap)
2.5 Hours
Played the first section needed for the Game Club. I forgot how relaxed this game is, or at least starts. There are action-y sections, and the hovercraft races for those adrenaline moments. Mostly it's just exploring interesting locations, and taking pictures of the wildlife. This goes well for me because I like to take my time and methodically explore everywhere I can. The map works well for this, showing you where you haven't been by shading it slightly. The controls for the fighting are pretty simple, and let you (mostly) just button mash for some butt-kicking action. I'll post some more thoughts tomorrow.Flash Games
You Don't Know Jack, Episodes 75, 76, and 77
7 minutes each
Had to play a bit of catch-up. Did pretty well on all three.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Monday Report [June 23-30]
Wii
Super Mario Galaxy
Flash Games
You Don't Know Jack, Episode 74
7 Minutes
No one has quite managed to keep to the rigors of an episodic game release schedule like Jellyvision. They are just so regular.
SEEK (ver.0)
Meat Space Games
Carcassonne
about 30 minutes (4 players)
Went to a friend's grandparent's cabin this weekend. Took a whole bunch of games. Wound up only playing a couple. This was one. Played with the Inns & Cathedrals and River I expansions. I like the river expansion(s) because I find they lead to a more spread out and even map. I like playing with at least the Inns & Cathedrals because it adds a little complexity to the game without being overbearing. We played this one kinda drunk. I managed to come from behind with farms.
The Good, the Bad, and the Munchkin
about 60 minutes (4 players)
It was a long weekend (for us anyway, because of Canada Day landing on the Tuesday), so I'm including Monday at the lake as part of this update. We played a great game. All of us we at level 9 by the end, with the winner having come from behind. We also were down to a single door card left. This is a rare treat, getting to see most of the deck get played.
Shadowrun
*Updated, and expanded on July 1, after returning to civilization*
Super Mario Galaxy
2 Hours
4 more stars. I only have to beat Luigi's Purple Coins. I've tried a couple times now and it keeps kicking my ass. That is a seriously evil level.Flash Games
You Don't Know Jack, Episode 74
7 Minutes
No one has quite managed to keep to the rigors of an episodic game release schedule like Jellyvision. They are just so regular.
SEEK (ver.0)
5 minutes
This is another game concept, lab, toy thing from EYEMAZE. If that name doesn't ring any bells, then how about GROW? Yeah, you've probably heard of those games. If not, go play them now! SEEK (ver.0) is another attempt with alternate game styles. This time it's a match-hunting puzzle game. Using some familiar graphics and sounds, it manages to be both very easy to understand and very challenging. Even the time limit is handled well, and adds to the difficulty, as the letter itself moves across the screen to fall and crush one of your hearts.Meat Space Games
Carcassonne
about 30 minutes (4 players)
Went to a friend's grandparent's cabin this weekend. Took a whole bunch of games. Wound up only playing a couple. This was one. Played with the Inns & Cathedrals and River I expansions. I like the river expansion(s) because I find they lead to a more spread out and even map. I like playing with at least the Inns & Cathedrals because it adds a little complexity to the game without being overbearing. We played this one kinda drunk. I managed to come from behind with farms.
The Good, the Bad, and the Munchkin
about 60 minutes (4 players)
It was a long weekend (for us anyway, because of Canada Day landing on the Tuesday), so I'm including Monday at the lake as part of this update. We played a great game. All of us we at level 9 by the end, with the winner having come from behind. We also were down to a single door card left. This is a rare treat, getting to see most of the deck get played.
Shadowrun
Most of the Weekend
We didn't actually get to play this. Our particular group of friends has been talking about Role-playing together for, well, a long time. We keep getting hung up on the actual starting. We're not sure which system to get, we never actually get one, and we don't know who should GM (none of us has). So my friend Chris finally picked up a source book. I've been picked as GM, which I don't mind. I spent most of the weekend frantically reading through the rules trying to understand character creation, and the basic gameplay elements. Characters are mostly done, and because we are using the free Shadowrun Missions we have the first campaign all set. Mostly. I'm going to pick up my own copy of the source book sometime this week. Hopefully I keep focus.*Updated, and expanded on July 1, after returning to civilization*
Monday, June 23, 2008
Monday Report [June 16 - 22]
Monday, June 16, 2008
Monday Report [June 9-15]
Wii
Super Mario Galaxy
4 hours, total
4 stars on Monday. 2 more on Tuesday. 2 more on Friday. I like it better when the purple coin levels are ones of exploration rather than arbitrary challenges. A few of them have just been 100 coins, scattered about the galaxy. The challenge is to find and get to them all. This pushes to you explore more than you may have before, and use all the tricks the game as taught you up to this point. They are also far less frustrating that some of the arbitrary challenges that you have to face in other levels (usually). The Battlerock's Purple Coins was particularly annoying: collect all the coins while this platform moves you through the level. Do it perfect, or fail.
Xbox 360
I don't actually own one of these. However, I have good friends that do. I was lucky enough this week to get to putz around on theirs, check out and play some favourite arcade games, and even have my choice of full games. Here's what I played:
Frogger 2 (demo)
Whole demo (15 minutes, including distractions)
Guh. I played this mostly because their son (not quite 2) was interested. We gave him the controller for a little while. He's starting to put stick-waggling and button-pressing together with what's going on screen. Mostly he just drowned Frogger. Mostly I wanted to, too. This game is insipid and annoying. It has all the repetitive fun you remember tarted up with a storyline (involving a crash-landed alien), garish graphics, and the most annoying synthesized sound effects you will ever hear. The sound played every time Frogger hops forward will make you want to tear you speakers from the wall. Just don't buy it.
Aces of the Galaxy (demo)
Solo, Easy, 2 Demo Levels
Not a bad little shooter. I managed to survive the two levels the demo allows (on easy) and get a semi-respectable rating. It certainly has shiny graphics, lots of projectiles, and a fair number of abilities and weapons. The timeshift ability is rather interesting and can be used to effectively get you out of a tight spot. It also has a rather banal and poorly written story; I'm not sure why they even bother sometimes. It's not like most of the players care. Oh, and when did Inverted Y-axis not become standard. I had to turn it on before I could play, but maybe I'm just old school. It's not really my kind of game (I suck at aiming at things), but it might be interesting for a while.
Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode One (demo)
Whole demo
Is it bad that I love that title? Yes, it's pretentious. I'm pretty sure that's the point; the whole damn game is that way. This is actually the second time I've played the demo. I downloaded the PC version the same week it came out. I played it again mostly so I could show my wife, and check out how the combat worked on the controller. It is slightly less broken than on the PC, but not enough to count. There are simply too many button-presses/mouse-clicks to get from a ready attack to actually hitting an enemy. It's frustrating and distracting. The rest of the game is filled with awesome: attention to every minuscule detail, Penny Arcade Humour (which some love, and some can't stand -- I could do without the Fruit F***er), and circumlocution. Bring a dictionary.
Carcassonne
2 Rounds (won 1, lost 1)
I'm a fan of the board game, and will readily get it out to play. It fact, I consider it a great gateway game for those whose passing acquaintance with board games encompass Monopoly, Sorry, and Life. The Live Arcade version of the game has a couple advantages the board game does not: you don't have to manually score anything, and you can play by yourself. However, I still prefer the physical edition. I find that keeping track of complex strategies, including farms and hostile takeovers, is harder to do with the graphic distraction the video version provides. You also can't play 6 players, and they have yet to release some of the more interesting expansions. It's a great adaption of the game, and good for scratching that board game itch, but still not as good as the real thing. Oh, this is also not my first (or, likely, last) time playing the Live Arcade version.
N+
About 5 minutes
This was my second time with the game, the first being about an hour of co-op with my friend the night he bought it. I'm fairly convinced that the game creators secretly hate me. This game is the epitome of hardcore, and I would only recommend it to the most masochistic of players. I simply don't have the patients, control, or coordination to do well at it. I got frustrated with it after a few minutes and moved on.
Mass Effect
1.5 Hours
I've wanted to play this since I first heard about it. I still do, only problem is that I don't own an Xbox 360 (or a PC it won't cripple). Despite the fact that I probably won't get much chance to play it, or truly enjoy it, until I get my own copy I decided to start it anyway. I went through the character creation and played the first mission. There are a few things I'd like to say: Wow, that game looks beautiful! Where the hell is the tutorial? Why do all of the aliens look humanoid? (their females even have boobs!) I continue to suck at aiming and shooting. Inverted Y-axis used to be default, I swear! I really need to get a 360, don't I *sigh*?
I'm sure each of those things could be expanded, but that would require its own post, and a bit more play time that I've given the game.
Flash Games
You Don't Know Jack - Episodes 70 & 71
7 minutes each
Not much to say, just more YDKJ fun. Episode 71 contains a Chocolate Rain meme-tastic question.
Through the Machine
5 minutes
Mouse-movement-avoidance game. Nice features include multiple lives, simple clean graphics, and all the movement is tied to the soundtrack. Play with the speakers on. Of course, you'll only play for a few minutes before you grow annoyed and bored.
Lost Pig
45 minutes
An adorable, and not-too-hard, text adventure. Told from the point of view of Grunk, a hapless orc who has lost his boss's pig. Can he find it? Can he get back to the farm? It's worth a few minutes of your time just because of all the wonderfully creative descriptions. If you get stuck, Jay is Games provides a walkthrough (follow the Review and Comments link at the bottom). Try to get all 7 points.
Super Mario Galaxy
4 hours, total
4 stars on Monday. 2 more on Tuesday. 2 more on Friday. I like it better when the purple coin levels are ones of exploration rather than arbitrary challenges. A few of them have just been 100 coins, scattered about the galaxy. The challenge is to find and get to them all. This pushes to you explore more than you may have before, and use all the tricks the game as taught you up to this point. They are also far less frustrating that some of the arbitrary challenges that you have to face in other levels (usually). The Battlerock's Purple Coins was particularly annoying: collect all the coins while this platform moves you through the level. Do it perfect, or fail.
Xbox 360
I don't actually own one of these. However, I have good friends that do. I was lucky enough this week to get to putz around on theirs, check out and play some favourite arcade games, and even have my choice of full games. Here's what I played:
Frogger 2 (demo)
Whole demo (15 minutes, including distractions)
Guh. I played this mostly because their son (not quite 2) was interested. We gave him the controller for a little while. He's starting to put stick-waggling and button-pressing together with what's going on screen. Mostly he just drowned Frogger. Mostly I wanted to, too. This game is insipid and annoying. It has all the repetitive fun you remember tarted up with a storyline (involving a crash-landed alien), garish graphics, and the most annoying synthesized sound effects you will ever hear. The sound played every time Frogger hops forward will make you want to tear you speakers from the wall. Just don't buy it.
Aces of the Galaxy (demo)
Solo, Easy, 2 Demo Levels
Not a bad little shooter. I managed to survive the two levels the demo allows (on easy) and get a semi-respectable rating. It certainly has shiny graphics, lots of projectiles, and a fair number of abilities and weapons. The timeshift ability is rather interesting and can be used to effectively get you out of a tight spot. It also has a rather banal and poorly written story; I'm not sure why they even bother sometimes. It's not like most of the players care. Oh, and when did Inverted Y-axis not become standard. I had to turn it on before I could play, but maybe I'm just old school. It's not really my kind of game (I suck at aiming at things), but it might be interesting for a while.
Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode One (demo)
Whole demo
Is it bad that I love that title? Yes, it's pretentious. I'm pretty sure that's the point; the whole damn game is that way. This is actually the second time I've played the demo. I downloaded the PC version the same week it came out. I played it again mostly so I could show my wife, and check out how the combat worked on the controller. It is slightly less broken than on the PC, but not enough to count. There are simply too many button-presses/mouse-clicks to get from a ready attack to actually hitting an enemy. It's frustrating and distracting. The rest of the game is filled with awesome: attention to every minuscule detail, Penny Arcade Humour (which some love, and some can't stand -- I could do without the Fruit F***er), and circumlocution. Bring a dictionary.
Carcassonne
2 Rounds (won 1, lost 1)
I'm a fan of the board game, and will readily get it out to play. It fact, I consider it a great gateway game for those whose passing acquaintance with board games encompass Monopoly, Sorry, and Life. The Live Arcade version of the game has a couple advantages the board game does not: you don't have to manually score anything, and you can play by yourself. However, I still prefer the physical edition. I find that keeping track of complex strategies, including farms and hostile takeovers, is harder to do with the graphic distraction the video version provides. You also can't play 6 players, and they have yet to release some of the more interesting expansions. It's a great adaption of the game, and good for scratching that board game itch, but still not as good as the real thing. Oh, this is also not my first (or, likely, last) time playing the Live Arcade version.
N+
About 5 minutes
This was my second time with the game, the first being about an hour of co-op with my friend the night he bought it. I'm fairly convinced that the game creators secretly hate me. This game is the epitome of hardcore, and I would only recommend it to the most masochistic of players. I simply don't have the patients, control, or coordination to do well at it. I got frustrated with it after a few minutes and moved on.
Mass Effect
1.5 Hours
I've wanted to play this since I first heard about it. I still do, only problem is that I don't own an Xbox 360 (or a PC it won't cripple). Despite the fact that I probably won't get much chance to play it, or truly enjoy it, until I get my own copy I decided to start it anyway. I went through the character creation and played the first mission. There are a few things I'd like to say: Wow, that game looks beautiful! Where the hell is the tutorial? Why do all of the aliens look humanoid? (their females even have boobs!) I continue to suck at aiming and shooting. Inverted Y-axis used to be default, I swear! I really need to get a 360, don't I *sigh*?
I'm sure each of those things could be expanded, but that would require its own post, and a bit more play time that I've given the game.
Flash Games
You Don't Know Jack - Episodes 70 & 71
7 minutes each
Not much to say, just more YDKJ fun. Episode 71 contains a Chocolate Rain meme-tastic question.
Through the Machine
5 minutes
Mouse-movement-avoidance game. Nice features include multiple lives, simple clean graphics, and all the movement is tied to the soundtrack. Play with the speakers on. Of course, you'll only play for a few minutes before you grow annoyed and bored.
Lost Pig
45 minutes
An adorable, and not-too-hard, text adventure. Told from the point of view of Grunk, a hapless orc who has lost his boss's pig. Can he find it? Can he get back to the farm? It's worth a few minutes of your time just because of all the wonderfully creative descriptions. If you get stuck, Jay is Games provides a walkthrough (follow the Review and Comments link at the bottom). Try to get all 7 points.
Monday, June 09, 2008
Monday Report [June 2-8]
This is the first of what will (hopefully) be a weekly feature. It is an accounting and impressions of all the games I played over the previous week. Mostly I'd like to be able to track what I've played, and hopefully I'll be able to include a few good Flash and Freeware games that flit across my screen.
Regulars
You Don't Know Jack, Episodes 68 & 69
Not going to say much about these, probably ever. YDKJ is irreverent, on occasion vulgar, often obscure, and usually hilarious. If you like trivia, then I recommend playing them. They have over a year of weekly episodes, and daily DisOrDats to play. Recently the schedule has been changed, ending the long run of DisOrDats in favour of two weekly 7-question episodes (Monday and Friday). Put it in you RSS reader, and take a 5 minute break when they show up.
Wii
Super Mario Galaxy
I've been slowly bashing my way through SMG since I got it, the week after it came out. I doubt I could add anything about the game that hasn't been said in numerous reviews. I don't really have the determination to play more than a couple of hours at a time, then those play sessions get spread over weeks and months. At any rate, I finished up all the standard stars, prankster comet stars, and bonus stars (including challenge galaxies) this weekend. Saturday saw me get everything but the last 3 bonus stars I was missing. Sunday I got those, played the challenge galaxies, and then wanted to get on with the purple coin challenges. Only I couldn't. So I finally took on the final boss galaxy/center of the universe. I was glad to have my brother on co-star for Sunday's excursions, as it made everything a lot easier. 15 stars to go, and I can put this one to bed I think.
Missing
There are a few Flash games missing from this initial post. Mostly because I thought of doing it on Sunday, after playing my way though the SMG final boss. What I'm going to do as soon as I post this is start a new post and use Blogger in Draft to set it to post next Monday morning. Then I just have to keep it up to date as I play things this week. Here's hoping.
Regulars
You Don't Know Jack, Episodes 68 & 69
Not going to say much about these, probably ever. YDKJ is irreverent, on occasion vulgar, often obscure, and usually hilarious. If you like trivia, then I recommend playing them. They have over a year of weekly episodes, and daily DisOrDats to play. Recently the schedule has been changed, ending the long run of DisOrDats in favour of two weekly 7-question episodes (Monday and Friday). Put it in you RSS reader, and take a 5 minute break when they show up.
Wii
Super Mario Galaxy
I've been slowly bashing my way through SMG since I got it, the week after it came out. I doubt I could add anything about the game that hasn't been said in numerous reviews. I don't really have the determination to play more than a couple of hours at a time, then those play sessions get spread over weeks and months. At any rate, I finished up all the standard stars, prankster comet stars, and bonus stars (including challenge galaxies) this weekend. Saturday saw me get everything but the last 3 bonus stars I was missing. Sunday I got those, played the challenge galaxies, and then wanted to get on with the purple coin challenges. Only I couldn't. So I finally took on the final boss galaxy/center of the universe. I was glad to have my brother on co-star for Sunday's excursions, as it made everything a lot easier. 15 stars to go, and I can put this one to bed I think.
Missing
There are a few Flash games missing from this initial post. Mostly because I thought of doing it on Sunday, after playing my way though the SMG final boss. What I'm going to do as soon as I post this is start a new post and use Blogger in Draft to set it to post next Monday morning. Then I just have to keep it up to date as I play things this week. Here's hoping.
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Trivial
How'd it become June already? I seem to have missed a whole month. Ah, well.
Greg Tannahill over on The Dust Forms Words just posted a mini review of TV Show King, a trivia game and one of the first games to be released on Nintendo's WiiWare service. It's not complimentary. I'm not that surprised. The quick flicking about I've done on just about any trivia game for any platform in the last decade has done nothing to encourage me. I love trivia, random interesting facts, and testing my brains against others. Why must I lament the lack of a quality trivia game?
The only ones who seem to get Trivia right are the demented minds at Jellyvision. Never heard of them? How about You Don't Know Jack? These people have been creating wonderful and irreverent trivia games that are LOADS of fun to play since the early nineties. Not only that, they have been pioneering interactive media for just as long. Episodic content, they did that too. In fact they are doing it again.
Someone needs to give them a large bag of money and set them up on console development. Each platform has a mechanism that would allow them to produce a Netshow-like product for the current gaming era. Imagine playing a fun trivia game, that's pretending to be a trivia TV show, from you TV. With friend, family, and people from across the internet. Each week you'd find a new episode waiting for you.
I'm glad that Jack is back, now twice a week, with 7 question episodes. I've been getting my trivia fix for over a year now that way. But I miss the social aspect the game used to have. Trivia needs to be brought back to the TV, dragged kicking and screaming into our living rooms, and Jellyvision represents the only ones who have ever gotten it right.
If I can't get You Don't Know Jack for my Wii, can I at least get more game developers to start following the Jack Principles?
Anyway, free trivia for anyone who wants it:
Greg Tannahill over on The Dust Forms Words just posted a mini review of TV Show King, a trivia game and one of the first games to be released on Nintendo's WiiWare service. It's not complimentary. I'm not that surprised. The quick flicking about I've done on just about any trivia game for any platform in the last decade has done nothing to encourage me. I love trivia, random interesting facts, and testing my brains against others. Why must I lament the lack of a quality trivia game?
The only ones who seem to get Trivia right are the demented minds at Jellyvision. Never heard of them? How about You Don't Know Jack? These people have been creating wonderful and irreverent trivia games that are LOADS of fun to play since the early nineties. Not only that, they have been pioneering interactive media for just as long. Episodic content, they did that too. In fact they are doing it again.
Someone needs to give them a large bag of money and set them up on console development. Each platform has a mechanism that would allow them to produce a Netshow-like product for the current gaming era. Imagine playing a fun trivia game, that's pretending to be a trivia TV show, from you TV. With friend, family, and people from across the internet. Each week you'd find a new episode waiting for you.
I'm glad that Jack is back, now twice a week, with 7 question episodes. I've been getting my trivia fix for over a year now that way. But I miss the social aspect the game used to have. Trivia needs to be brought back to the TV, dragged kicking and screaming into our living rooms, and Jellyvision represents the only ones who have ever gotten it right.
If I can't get You Don't Know Jack for my Wii, can I at least get more game developers to start following the Jack Principles?
Anyway, free trivia for anyone who wants it:
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