Geeksquisite Question of the Day #37: 8/15/09

This question came to me when thinking THE FUTURE!!!

Question #37: So What's your dream geek job

If you'd like to submit a question just send an e-mail to geeksquisite@gmail.com with the subject line Question of the Day.

Feel free to leave your answers in the comment section, thank you.

MAG release date announced

in case you don't believe me

I know what your thinking, didn't we already talk about the anticipated MAG release date period? Well that was true before the depression began, and good games started being delayed so the publishers could make more money among other reasons. Well now we get the new release date.

January 26th 2010

several months later than the original release date, and personally it was pointless to delay it. But look forward to MAG, because its shaping up to be the most chaotic game in the PS3 exclusive library. If you have the humor to ask why, let me rephrase this (again) for you.

256 PLAYER GAMES!

That is all XD

Geeksquisite Question of the Day #36: 8/14/09

This question came to me when thinking about upcoming events such as New York Anime Festival and PAX.

Question #36: What is your best convention memory?

If you'd like to submit a question just send an e-mail to geeksquisite@gmail.com with the subject line Question of the Day.

Feel free to leave your answers in the comment section, thank you.

Multiplayer in Brütal Legend: More Than Just an Afterthought?

Double Fine Productions has recently shown off the kind of multiplayer we're going to be seeing in their upcoming metal masterpiece, Brütal Legend. The crazy part is, it seems more than just some tacked-on deathmatch and CTF, in fact, it looks like nothing I've seen before!

The online game is played from the same third person perspective as the single player. You can play as a few different factions and depending on which one you choose, that will also determine your character, and which type of creatures you can summon.

Of course you can attack directly, as well... going up and swinging your weapon at the enemy is just one of the strategies you can use against your foe. However, the summoning is probobly the biggest part of the whole thing. You can summon a bunch of different units, and each type has a different play style to them. Of course, you can't simply summon them at any time you like. First you need to gain more fans, which acts as the game's resource. Some units are slow-paced but do a lot of damage, some de-buff your enemy's units, and some are powerhouses. There's all sorts of variety here, and it makes for a very tactical experience... surprisingly tactical, in fact.

The Unit names in Brütal Legend are also one on it's strong points, let me list a few of them for you here. Thunderhog, battle nun, warfather, screamwagon, ratgut, frightwig, and saving the best for last the HATE CAGE. Yes, that's right, the hate cage. Not only are the names great, but all of the units have an excellent design to them as well, complementing the visuals and keeping with the style of METAL!

The online mode looks surprisingly like an RTS, but it seems like it won't require the micromanagement you find in most RTS games. Is this the way a console RTS should be done? Nobody can really tell at this point, but it looks like the good folks at Double Fine have put a lot of hard work into this mode, and at least for me, it's pretty surprising. Tim Schafer has recently said, however, that the game was originally planned to be multiplayer-only, so I suppose since they were working on this the longest, it's not any surprise that it'd come out looking so good.

Brütal Legend is penned to be released Rocktober(yaknow, October) 13th, later this year, so look forward to fighting the epic war of heavy metal against your foes and slaying their demons over your puny internet connection! Ahahhahahaaaa!

The Behemoth Shows Off Their New Game

The Behemoth, creators of Castle Crashers and Alien Hominid, have recently uploaded this development blog video you see at the top of this post to Youtube for their currently untitled new game. It seems for now, the working title is Game #3, which makes sense since it's the company's third game.

In the video, they show off the character and mode select screens as well as one game mode, currently titled Soul Mode... although they mention this won't be the name of the mode in the final game. It plays somewhat like a backwards version of tag, but it's a little more than that.

Each player has one soul, and if you jump on top of a player, their soul pops out of them. This gives you a chance to collect their soul and hang onto it for as long as possible, running away from everybody. The more souls you have, the faster you accumulate points, however, you'll run slower so you'll have to be pretty skilled to stay away from your attackers.

The mode looks pretty interesting and it has an original spin on something that's pretty much been done already. They showed off a team-based version of this mode in the video, although I imagine a free-for-all mode would be pretty easy to do as well.

Of course the art style is great, I love myself some 2D goodness, as many of you may already know, and the game seems to top even Castle Crashers' graphics! One of the cool stylistic things they mentioned is that you can change the shape of your character's head, which sounds small and insignificant, and well... it is, but it adds a bit of variety to the graphics, and is pretty cool, I think.

They mention that this is only one of the many modes in the game, and that they'll be showing off more at PAX in Seattle, and then more later on at TGS. It's nice for developers to tell us when they'll be showing more stuff. I'm already pretty excited about Game #3, and I'll be looking forward to seeing more of it in the months to come.

Geeksquisite Question of the Day #35: 8/13/09

This question came to me when thinking to myself I should have asked this question already. I think we can all see where the future of gaming is heading but the when, how, and who is still being figured out.

Question #35: What are your thoughts on the future of "Cloud Gaming" (i.e. Onlive)?

If you'd like to submit a question just send an e-mail to geeksquisite@gmail.com with the subject line Question of the Day.

Feel free to leave your answers in the comment section, thank you.

GRIN Studios Closes Down

GRIN studios has officially closed it's doors today, and it's not a huge surprise after the sales figures for their recent games such as Bionic Commando, Termintor: Salvation, and Wanted: Weapons of Fate.

The official message was posted here, on their website, this is what they had to say:

It is with a heavy heart we announce today that GRIN has been forced to close its doors. This as too many publishers have been delaying their payments, causing an unbearable cashflow situation.

After twelve years of hard work, employing hundreds of wonderfully talented men and women, it is over. It has been a great adventure and the GRIN family has experienced what few have.

Looking back at twelve years of games, titles such as Ballistics, Bandits, GRAW 1 & 2, Bionic Commando Rearmed, Wanted: Weapons of Fate, Terminator: Salvation, Bionic Commando and our unreleased masterpiece that we weren’t allowed to finish; it has been a great ride.

GRIN studios may have not had the best track record for games as of late, but I remember playing some great games made by them in the past, such as GRAW, and Bionic Commando: Rearmed... and it will definitely be sad to see them go. Good luck to all of the former employees, here's hoping you find work at another, more well-funded game company.

Xbox Live is limited by Halo 2?!

the friends list question

Many Xbox Live users have occasionally wondered whether the maximum for their friends list will ever grow from 100 users to...well, more. I happen to be one of the people finding it harder to empty my friends list for someone else to send me a request due to a MAJORITY of my current friends being unremovable.

It wouldn't be hard to increase the maximum for the friends list on Xbox Live, but some writers at 1UP indicate of insiders that such an upgrade alone would cease Xbox Live support to Halo 2. That is odd, but if it were true, would people be okay with online multiplayer being cut from Halo 2?

Personally, it's not necessary. I do suffer from running out of room on my friends list, but I occassionally go back to Halo 2. The fact that it holds back Microsoft from increasing the friends list limit is a question of priority. Do people want an even more extensive ballooning of their friend's list, and Halo 2 becoming a single player experience at your home?

I don't.

G-phoria 2009 Winners

Hey guys The awards actually took place about a week ago but I've been really busy and just haven't had the time to post. So here is the start of a bit of a back catalog of things to do.

Here are the results of the 2009 G phoria  awards. My personal picks are in Bold and the Winner is simply labeled as such. Let me know what you think of their picks. As you might notice I only picked 7 of 20 of the winners just showing how much my taste differs from the typical G4 audience I assume. Note a lot of my losses come from Fallout 3 which seems to have people hypnotized into thinking it's actually good but I digress. Here are your winners...

Best Action Game

1. Dead Space
2. Infamous (Winner)
3. Madworld
4. Prototype
5. Red Faction: Guerrilla

Best Downloadable Content

1. Burnout Paradise: Big Surf Island
2. Fable II: See The Future
3. Fallout 3: Broken Steel (Winner)
4. GTA: The Lost and the Damned
5. Little Big Planet

Best Downloadable Game

1. Bionic Commando: Rearmed
2. Braid
3. Castle Crashers (Winner)
4. Flower
5. Peggle

Best Graphics

1. Fight Night Round 4
2. Killzone 2 (Winner)
3. Resident Evil 5
4. Resistance 2
5. Street Fighter IV

Best Handheld Game

1. Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
2. GTA: Cinatown Wars (Winner)
3. Patapon 2
4. Rock Band Unplugged
5. Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood

Best New Character

1. Cole Mcgrath - Infamous
2. Crimson Viper - Street Fighter IV
3. Galen Marek (Starkiller) - The Force Unleashed
4. Sackboy - Little Big Planet (Winner)
5. Your Dog - Fable II

Best Online Multiplayer

1. Killzone 2
2. Left 4 Dead (Winner)
3. Resident Evil 5
4. Street Fighter IV
5. World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Litch King

Best Party Game

1. Boom Blox Bash Party
2. Guitar Hero: World Tour
3. Raving Rabbids TV Party
4. Rock Band 2 (Winner)
5. Street Fighter IV

Best Racing Game

1. Burnout Paradise: Big Surf Island (Winner)
2. Excitebots: Trick Racing
3. Fuel
4. Motorstorm: Pacific Rift
5. Pure

Best Role-Playing Game

1. Fable II
2. Fallout 3 (Winner)
3. Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood
4. Star Ocean: The Last Hope
5. Tales of Vesperia

Best Shooter

1. Call of Duty: Word At War
2. Gears of War 2 (Winner)
3. Killzone 2
4. Left 4 Dead
5. resistance 2

Best Soundtrack

1. 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand
2. Fallout 3 (Winner)
3. Halo Wars
4. Infamous
5. Little Big Planet

Best Sports Game

1. Fight Night Round 4 (Winner)
2. Madden NFL 09
3. MLB: The Show 09
4. NBA Live 09
5. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10

Best Strategy Game

1. Demigod
2. Halo Wars (Winner)
3. Patapon 2
4. Valkyria Chronicles
5. Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War II

Best Voice Acting

1. Fallout 3 (Winner)
2. Gears of War 2
3. Ghostbusters: The Video Game
4. Left 4 Dead
5. Madworld

Deserves an Uwe Boll Movie

1. Castlevania: Judgment
2. Golden Axe: Beast Rider
3. Legendary (Winner)
4. Onechanbara: Bikini Zombie Slayers
5. X-Blades

Favorite System

1. Nintendo DS
2. Nintendo WII
3. PC
4. Playstation 3
5. Playstation Portable (PSP)
6. Xbox 360 (Winner)

Game of the Year

1. Fable II
2. Fallout 3 (Winner)
3. Gears of War 2
4. Infamous
5. Killzone 2
6. Street Fighter IV

Most Original Game

1. Braid
2. Little Big Planet (Winner)
3. Madworld
4. Plants Vs. Zombies
5. Valkyria Chronicles

Longest Lasting Game

1. Fallout 3 (Winner)
2. Left 4 Dead
3. Little Big Planet
4. Street Fighter IV
5. World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Litch King

Bioshock 2 at Jones Beach (THE MOVIE)

Hey Everybody IT'S FINALLY HERE!!! Yep the video we've been working on a lot longer then we thought. Sorry this took so long but we put a lot of hard work into it. I hope you enjoy. Be sure to leave comment and Rate Us, Thank You All.

Find all our coverage here:

Viral Marketing on Long Island

Geeksquisite Bioshock Trip Pics

Geeksquisite on Kotaku

Bioshock at the Beach

What Follows is TJ, Tony, Aaron, Randy, and Stephanie (Cameo) as they go on a journey to find out what was going down at Jones Beach at 5:58 AM August 8th.

Bioshock 2 at Jones Beach from Thomas Waters on Vimeo.

Geeksquisite Question of the Day #34: 8/12/09

This question came to me when I couldn't come up with any questions.

Question #34: Myspace or Facebook?

If you'd like to submit a question just send an e-mail to geeksquisite@gmail.com with the subject line Question of the Day.

Feel free to leave your answers in the comment section, thank you.

Netflix....only on Xbox 360

Microsoft locks down

Well, this is a surprise. I have heard Netflix was going to move onto PS3 in the foreseeable future and maybe for the Wii at a later time. Seriously, many expected it to happen, and for it not to happen must have been Microsoft "preserving" one of the first gems of the NXE updates.

I actually never expected Nintendo Wii to get Netflix, since I am in the opinion that the Wii is more of a toy than anything else. Ironic as it may sound, the Wii isn't a powerhouse like the other two consoles. But I was extremely sure the PS3 would gain this service, even at a loss. Yeah, Netflix streaming would hurt the Blu Ray factor of the PS3 if you could just get "most" of your media via Netflix. But people like me consider their consoles their sole DVD players, and why buy DVD's when you can just stream?

I just recently tried the new Netflix features, and I like them. It's cool to have Netflix parties with some of your long distance friends. No doubt this news is good for Microsoft, in terms of console sales and Xbox Live Gold Memberships.

The Dating♥Sim Review

Oh hey! This is Geeksquisite author Steph with The Dating♥Sim Review! Aren't you excited? I've got a good old fashioned dating simulation here for you perverts. The Casual Romance Club was created by your friend as a way to meet girls and maybe find true love. You meet every day after school at the Starry Sky restaurant with up to 12 different girls. Each of their personality is based on their zodiac sign. You have one month to make one of these lovely ladies your girlfriend.

You use the club's notebook as a way to keep track of the girls so you can know how to get the one you want. It includes their profile, likes, dislikes, horoscopes, a photo album, etc. You start out with a little small talk called a private chat. After your chat with a girl you'll be asked if you want to go out with them, schedule a date or 'appointment', or call it a day. You have the chance to talk to 3 girls a day and you can only go on a date on the weekends. Going out is basically just hanging out or walking home together.



I played through this game once and I ran out of time, so I did not get a girl or any hentai scenes. Since you only have a month you really need to get your butt into gear and go after a girl right away. Nanase/Amy is the easiest girl to go after. Some of the harder to get girls you may need a walkthrough for. I was personally more interested in Nanase/Amy's younger sister Mutsumi/Sidney.

Houkago Renai Club is the original Japanese title for the game when it was released in 1997. It was released again in 2003 under the title Casual Romance Club and is one of the few Japanese games to be produced bilingually to avoid being licensed and translated overseas. There is also a 2 episode OVA that was released in 1999 called Houkago Renai Club: Koi no Etude.




Story: 1/10
Can you really rate something that isn't there? This game has no story. Nothing is explained about your character or any of the girls. The only goal is to get one of the girls to have sex with you and become your girlfriend.

Graphics: 5/10
The art is hit or miss. It's just an average anime style: big eyed cute girls with unusual hair color who all look 12, but are really 18. Sometimes the art is very beautiful and other times it looks unfinished.

Sound: 3/10
This music can best be described as just background music. It reminds me of The Sims. This game includes the option to switch between English and Japanese names and voices. The game is not fully voiced, but the 'Engrish' is hysterical. (Think Cooking Mama!)

Gameplay: 6/10
You can expect this to be like any other dating sim rather than a visual novel. You have plenty of choices of girls and what to do with them. The game is also set up weird. There is one main window and then 2-3 separate windows. You have a content box where you talk to the girls and 2 other windows that do absolutely nothing. They include a city guide and a map which is strange because you can't go anywhere else besides the restaurant. You can move these boxes wherever you want or close them.



Overall: 4/10
This is just a dating sim and nothing more. If you really love dating sims give it a try. If you have any suggestions for games leave a comment!

Aaron’s Reviews: Fallout 3 Mothership Zeta DLC

Hey everybody Aaron here, reviewing yet another non-retro game. Next week I promise to do my monthly retro review, I’ll even give you a hint…it’s a Sega Genesis title involving a bat and acrobatics…and a circus…and, It’s Aero the Acrobat. I played only a level or two, but I’ve been busy, a lot of irons in the fire with graphic design and my own projects. This is what also put of this review for Mothership Zeta off for about five days, but here it is…so let’s get started with Fallout 3’s final DLC, Mothership Zeta.

Mothership Zeta is supposedly the last expansion for the Fallout series bringing the total cost, if you’ve shelled out for all of them, somewhere near the price of a new game. I’ve heard tell of another possible expansion in the future, but that just seems to be the musings of fans and friends. That being said, if this is the final expansion, then what a one to go out on.

*Just a warning, ahead thar be SPOILERS*

The mission starts with a radio signal that may be familiar to some players, those that have discovered the unmarked alien crash site. Somehow it has amplified to the point where it can be heard across D.C. Upon your arrival at the crash site you are suddenly pulled into a swirling tunnel of light which completely paralyzes you and eventually black out. The next few scenes are spent fazing in and out of consciousness, fuzzy scenes of aliens looking over your helpless body, and…yes even the horror of probing. They followed the classic textbook abduction story all the way here. When you are finally given back control you find yourself in a cell, stripped of your items. A fellow inmate informs you of your situation, and comes up with a plan for escape. Once out of the cell, the fun begins as you explore the ship and make the aliens wish they never picked you up in the first place. Shortly out of the cell you meet a little girl who’s been onboard the ship since just before the war, and she offers to help you get around the ship. Eventually with her help you make it to a place called the “Engineering Core”, sort of a mission hub for part of the game.

It appears the aliens have turned off the teleporter to the upper decks, and the only way to get up is outside the ship. The little girl leads you to section of frozen abductees, one of the being an astronaut and suggests thawing him for his assistance so you can progress through the ship. While this also defrosts three other abductees from various different times, it appears the defrosting process has killed the astronaut. So the little girl tells you to take his gear, and tells you that in order to go outside without being attacked by aliens you have to destroy the generators in three sections from the core. On your trip to each wing you can take one of the defrostees to help you. One is a medic from the battle at anchorage, one is a cowboy from the old west, and another is a samurai warrior from Japan…who doesn’t speak any English. (hence he doesn’t accompany you to a section, he is filled in for by your former cellmate, who was a slaver in the wasteland.)


After you destroy these generators you can leave the airlock, and walk in space outside the ship. After you get to the upper level, you activate a teleporter that beams up your friends from the lower deck. It is here where the truly stunning visual of the game shows itself, and the player can see an eerily beautiful vista of the post apocalyptic earth from space. As you progress further you find and disable the ships death ray…after playing with it of course. Leaves a nice sized poc-mark on the earth in god knows what country. Further along you discover another staple of alien abduction stories, weird cross breeds of aliens and humans called “Abominations”. These creatures are strong melee attackers, but are fairly susceptible to the alien weaponry and thanks to the mayhem you caused on your way up they’ve escaped their pens and are killing humans and aliens alike. Finally you make it to the top of the ship, and take out the aliens in command which is seemingly easy and anti-climactic. This is until a second mothership appears to take you out for all the trouble you caused, even if it means losing one of their ships. You and your crew of abductees use your captured ship to battle for survival against the hostile alien ship while also defending the bridge from aliens coming from all over the ship your on attempting to take back control. In the end, you destroy the mothership and save the earth from…whatever the aliens intended to do.

After talking with your comrades a beacon is launched to the surface of the D.C. crash site where you can get back to earth, as well as return to the ship in the future. Those abductees that stay on the ship collect weapons and tools for you each time you return.

*End of SPOILERS…Plot-wise*

The weapons in the game are great, especially if your character is proficient in energy weapons. Four weapons are introduced here, all using a different type of ammo from the alien blaster and fire lance. The weapons are the “Shock Baton” a melee weapon, “the Atomizer” which is like and energy pistol, “the disintegrator” is an energy rifle, and “the Drone Cannon” is a high powered heavy weapon. The content also boasts a lot of humorous contents and interesting sights. All the available audio logs are of different abductees being forced to make a record of themselves. Again some classic alien abduction archetypes appear here such as the log of a hillbilly, or the aliens interrogating a cow. Some of the odd sights include rows and rows of robotic horse toy as well as a pristine corvega car from the prewar days, and even an old style space rocket drop pod. (Presumably where the astronaut came from).

This really was a great DLC, truly a fun and enjoyable expansion , and has changed the make-up of my most recommended list of DLC’s for this game that you must have. This DLC would take the number two spot, just below Broken Steel for obvious reasons. The one downside of this DLC is that if you didn’t get the alien blaster from the site before you downloaded this expansion or are starting a new character you will not be able to get the blaster as the aliens pick you up as soon as you get close to the cockpit. When you return to earth the crashed ship and gun are gone as they were apparently recovered by your captors. This is no problem for those that have Broken Steel, as you can pick up a second alien blaster in the crawlers armory. But for those who have only Mothership Zeta this could pose a problem. So If you can get two DLC’s make sure one of them is Mothership Zeta, it is fun, over the top, and has an entirely different atmosphere than most of the game.

This has been Aaron,
See you next week with my Review of Aero the Acrobat…hopefully.

Geeksquisite Question of the Day #33: 8/11/09

This question came to me when thinking the Megalodon. Yeah I know "where did that come from" well me and Travis were watching some videos on youtube and started talking about how insane would be if they existed now in modern times.

Question #33: What Extinct creature would you like to see living and breathing today?

If you'd like to submit a question just send an e-mail to geeksquisite@gmail.com with the subject line Question of the Day.

Feel free to leave your answers in the comment section, thank you.

Geeksquisite Question of the Day #32: 8/10/09

This question came to me when thinking about piracy and wondering about the pros and cons of it. If it really makes as big of a difference as people claim stuff like that.

Question #32: What are your thoughts on pirated music?

If you'd like to submit a question just send an e-mail to geeksquisite@gmail.com with the subject line Question of the Day.

Feel free to leave your answers in the comment section, thank you.

Tech Review: Microsoft Office 2010 (Mostly Word)

So I finally got my Technical Preview copy of Microsoft Office 2010 Technical Preview. It runs so much better than the previous version. The first thing that will pop out to you is the new loading screen (installation stayed the same). Also it loads a lot faster.

After you load it up you can automatically tell that the colors on it are different and so are some of the buttons. The format is also easier to use, so you can create anything from one of those long essays for school or invitations for a party. You can add effects like Shading, Reflection and a 3D look. Also with SmartArt, you can add cool diagrams to your work. Also a new feature is called Backstage view which is a menu that you can set permissions, share, print and more. Printing is easier to do now that you can do it all from one window instead of many.

I think Microsoft has done a great job with the new Microsoft office, though there are a few things that need to be fixed (like some of the buttons don't look good). I cannot wait for it to come out so I can get my copy.

You can watch the video here: http://www.microsoft.com/video/en/us/details/6fc5abb1-d943-44ec-9b53-934e9b1cca0e

Geeksquisite Question of the Day #31: 8/9/09

This question came to me when thinking about the new movie coming "District 9".

Question #31: What is your favorite movie containing ALIENS?

If you'd like to submit a question just send an e-mail to geeksquisite@gmail.com with the subject line Question of the Day.

Feel free to leave your answers in the comment section, thank you.