The Rumble Pack Posts

2007 was the year of games that you start playing casually and end playing like a cocaine addict. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was no exception.

I spent a good part of the summer addicted to the beta of the online component, in spite of the fact that I would have to do it all over again when the game came out proper. Surprisingly the part of the game I thought I would play the least of is the part I could not put down.

The single player story gripped my attention for three days the way the multiplayer had when I first downloaded the beta. The campaign did all the things you’ve read in reviews elsewhere–it was immersing, intense, vividly realistic at times and didn’t lose momentum from start to finish. What was most impressive about the game is it was the first shooter in a while where I’ve felt for the characters in your squad. Something about the representation of soldiers felt more real in this game than in any game prior.

Rumor has it that if you listen to our spooktacular Halloween episode the ghost of Ooey Booey will kill you with bad special effects. Muah ha ha haaaa!

 Justin, Tom, Nick and Kaz meet in the digital world to bring you their thoughts on video games this week. Nick and Tom talk about the fun they’ve had with Zack and Wiki. Kaz talks about why everyone was right about Lair. While Justin gives his opinion on more handheld titles and some “interesting” arcade games. In the second segment Nick, Tom and Kaz go to town on Guitar Hero III, which leads, inexorably, to a Rock Band versus Guitar Hero discussion. Then the gang contemplates Nintendo’s Wii getting marketplace penetration in China (marketing speak guaranteed to get you an M rating, Wii? Penetration?). Then the news rundown rounds out a spooky episode. Boo! Headshot!

The full cast makes a triumphant, somewhat distorted, return! Tom, Nick, Justin and Kaz belt out what they have had stuck in their trays this week. Including but not limited to: Warhawk, more Resistance, Final Fantasy Tactics, Breath of Fire II (for the last time?), Brain Age 2, Guitar Hero III Demo and Looney Tunes: Duck Amok. Justin and Nick ponder the fate of Street Fighter IV and its implications while Kaz and Tom fret for the latest guitar offering. Septembers rip roaring NPDs make an appearance and no one can explain the Wii’s sales. The shows ends with a rundown of all the obscure game news we could find and a tired crew. Round 1, FIGHT!

All four casters unite again for a brief period of time. The opening segment finds Nick, Tom and Kaz discussing more “Breath of Fire II moments in translation brilliance”. Once that’s over with they discuss Nick’s purchase of a PS3, and all the demos that they could get their hands on. Kaz finds Metroid Prime 3 not to his liking and Tom got tricked into playing the Conan demo on the PS3. Justin phones in from China for a relatively distorted conversation, he weighs in on the WiiWare and some of the Smash updates. The news finds Nick having and nerdgasm over the confirmed inclusion of his favorite character in his favorite game, and the discussion of the shocking Bioware and Pandemic sellout. Showing the huge difference in third party mentality in the US versus Japan. Order up a Donkey Burger for this one!

At first I thought the title of the game was a utilitarian way of describing the game as a rudimentary dual stick shooter that was made for the working man.

After playing it, however, the title appears to be creator Jonathan Mak’s way of telling everyone he does drugs every damn day.

He describes this “game” as an album of games that examines “the expressive power of abstract shooters.” Which isn’t helping his case; were you to play his game and have him standing behind you as you groove to the abstract guitar noises and tell you about the expressive powers the game had…you would most certainly know he was on heroin.

This week features the whole cast for the first time in a while, well, for the first 15 minutes at least. Justin phones in from China to relay how he’s been faring in gaming and otherwise. After that Nick, Tom and Kaz go on to discuss all the gaming they have been doing, including Nick’s personal struggle with torturous old school RPGs and the like, Tom’s portable fun times and Kaz’s foray into actually using a Wii. All that and we discuss Halo 3 as a group now that we’ve finally played some local matches. After the break: we go in depth on what G4 TV really seems like to us, what they do right and what they do wrong (mostly wrong). After that rant we dive straight into the news at break neck speed, it’s a race to the finish this week!

Note: I experienced all Half Life 2 and Orange Box titles via a gaming PC and Steam. Opinions may vary based on the quality of the version being played.

The first reason that I would list for wanting to purchase The Orange Box is the last component I ended up playing. I went after Portal almost immediately, in spite of the game being an afterthought in the package. Then I transitioned to Team Fortress 2 having played a lot of the beta on my steam preorder. Finally I got around to cracking into Episode 2.

As a testament to its fantastic quality I beat the game in two sittings. For my own record I refer to these parts by two different names: Part 1, “The really good part” and Part 2, “The effing mind-blowing portion”. No amount of telling myself to stand up and walk away from the monitor could tear me away. Especially once I had gotten into the really effing mind-blowing portions.

Warning: Some people may consider seeing screens of a puzzle game spoilers, I do not think this simple puzzle ruins anything, but if you are spoiler sensitive then you might want to play Portal before you read this review.

How do you get that box onto the switch in the center of the room? With Portals of course!

Take a deep breath.

No really, expand those sissy-lungs of yours and suck in all the glory.

Now breath it ALLLLLLLLL OUT.

If what exits your mouth resembles the logo you see above…

Run for your life.

Cause I’m coming after you.

No, not really.

It’s not your fault that you birthed something so shoddy. In fact, I’m pretty convinced that there was a whole team of talented translators working around the clock on this gem after it was released in Japan. They probably worked day and night, night and day, struggling with the intricacies, nuances, and differences between English and Japanese to bring us top-notch translations that leave nothing to the imagination.