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Video Game Hangover Posts

VGH #137: Be like Pete

VGH #137: Be like Pete

Titanfall is a first-person shooter multiplayer video game developed by Respawn Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts as an exclusive for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. The game was officially announced as Respawn’s debut game at Microsoft‘s E3 2013 press conference, and was released on March 11, 2014.

In Titanfall, players fight on a war-torn planet in six-on-six online multiplayer-only matches as mech-style Titans and their pilots. The game’s action is fast-paced: as pilots, players can run along walls and link jumps together parkour-style, use a variety of futuristic military weapons, and employ special abilities such as cloaking; as Titans, players are equipped with more destructive armaments and special protective shields. Several gameplay elements were designed to increase the game’s accessibility to less experienced shooter players, such as a locking pistol, the supplementing of each team with weak AI bots for easier kills, and temporary power-ups. The game uses Microsoft’s cloud computing services to offload non-player activity to servers and optimize the home computer for graphical performance.

The game won over 60 awards at its E3 2013 reveal, including a record-breaking six E3 Critics Awards, and Best of Show from several media outlets. It also won official awards at Gamescom and the Tokyo Game Show. Many reviewers predicted Titanfall to be the next step for the first-person shooter genre, and IGN‘s Ryan McCaffrey declared the game “Microsoft’s killer app”. Upon release, the game received positive reviews from critics, many of whom praised the game for its balanced game design.

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VGH #136: Tom Cruise Will Remember This

VGH #136: Tom Cruise Will Remember This

Matt returns with a shocking announcement about Telltale’s The Walking Dead: Season 2: Episode 2. Randy decides the new Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy feels familiar, but that’s OK. Meanwhile, D.J. stunt casts the recently announced Last of Us movie. And we all can’t wait to rent PlayStation games over the Internet!

There’s also a little chat about puzzle games and blacksmithing.

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VGH #133: Fo’ Free

VGH #133: Fo' Free

We’re all just waiting for our titan to fall—that is, Paul and D.J. spend some time with the elusive Titanfall beta on PC, and What They Think May Surprise You! Randy and D.J. have experience highs and lows in The Last of Us: Left Behind DLC and Steel Diver: Sub Wars—some emotional, and others because they’re in a submarine. Finally, D.J. explores the sultry side of Bravely Default and doesn’t know what to make of Yasumi Matsuno’s Unsung Story Kickstarter.

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Community Game Night: Uncharted 3

Game Night

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Get your half-tuck ready: we want to play Uncharted 3 with you!

Join the Video Game Hangover crew for our second Community Game Night of the year.

WHAT: Uncharted 3 on PS3
WHEN: Saturday, March 1 @ 9:30pm ET
HOW: Express your interest in the comments section below and share your PSN name.

Be sure to add us and others to your Friends list to help get the game started in a timely fashion.

Randy: randy_wrecked
Matt: SweetSweetTrash
D.J.: metaly
Paul: Dasflikko

Did we mention that the multiplayer component of Uncharted 3 is free-to-play through level 15? Check the FAQ on Naughty Dog’s site for some more details.

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VGH #131: Not So Kudos

VGH #131: Not So Kudos

We discuss the potential negative effects of game sales and consumerism on while D.J. bites his tongue completely off. Randy inspects Lara Croft’s HD-er makeover in Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition and Paul plays the latest Final Fantasy XIII. (That would be Lightning Returns. Also, D.J. insists he’s still enjoying Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, and Video Game Community Theater makes its long-awaited return.

If you listen to this episode right now, it’s half price!

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VGH #130: Bork the Timeline

VGH #130: Bork the Timeline

This week, we finally bring the hammer down on Conan O’Brien and his fraudulent video game reviews. (Someone has to!) Randy’s so desperate for PS4 games that he digs into the free offerings Contrast and Don’t Starve, with mixed results. Paul returns to fix the timeline in Radiant Historia, and D.J.’s playing the same games from the last six months of shows, but maybe there’s an end in sight.

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VGH #129: Brave It or Default It

VGH #129: Brave It or Default It

We know you’re not the type of gamer who would ever skip a game’s cutscenes and just watch the ending on YouTube but, as suggested by one of our awesome listeners, we’re discussing those lamentable practices on this week’s show. We’ve also got more hype for the upcoming Bravely Default and thoughts on the new Ratchet and Clank: Into the Nexus and Catlateral Damage.

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D.J.’s top games of 2013

D.J.'s top games in 2013

For me, 2013 was a year full of surprises, whether that meant discovering quirky games that hadn’t been on my radar, or realizing that the way I approached and enjoyed games had changed. It was a year when I tried to escape the constant stream of flashy new releases in favor of richer, less transient experiences. It was a year where I finally decided I had lost patience (for the most part) for overhyped, triple-A blockbusters that are too often just a different coat of paint on last year’s model. It was a year about learning how to play in new ways, learning how to die, and learning how to sew pants! These are my most unforgettable games from that year.

Honorable Mentions (in no particular order)

BIT.TRIP Presents… Runner2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien

Emerging out of the original BIT.TRIP Runner on the Wii, Runner2 is firmly on my list of best sequels of all time. The solid running/jumping/kicking gameplay is back and expanded to make each stage (and, in turn, the intertwined soundtrack) a complete delight. While the original tended to be pretty unforgiving, Runner2 provides plenty of ways to tailor the game to your level, whether it’s a straightforward easy/hard setting, taking a more difficult route, or just opting to squeeze in fewer bonus-inducing dances—but why would you want to do that?

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Randy’s Top 10 Games of 2013

If there’s a common thread that runs through my favorite games of 2013, it’s that the traditional “console gaming” experience just didn’t cut it for me in 2013: a full half of my list is made up of portable games and two of the others are, at this time, available only on a PC. There’s only one console exclusive, no next-gen games, and not a single Xbox or Wii U game to be found. Based on this, I’m left to conclude that my favorite releases of 2014 will only be playable on a Texas Instruments graphing calculator or, God forbid, the OUYA.

Without further ado, here’s my list:

10GH10. Gone Home
My heart swells every time I think back upon my time with Gone Home: with zero on-screen characters, developers The Fullbright Company somehow managed to create an exploration-based game about music, family, youth, and perhaps most surprisingly, love. It all worked, too, in a way that these themes almost never work in video games. I was moved by how real the Greenbriar family felt to me as I wandered around their home; in a lot of ways, they reminded me of my family. Gone Home is, to me, an accomplishment simply because of how rare and intimate that kind of experience still is in gaming.

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Mini Hangover: Bugs vs. Tanks! / Attack of the Friday Monsters!

Mini Hangover: Bugs vs. Tanks! / Attack of the Friday Monsters!

It’s just D.J. and his microphone again, so it must be time to talk about the Guild games on 3DS! Get impressions on Keiji Inafune’s historical arthropod warfare simulator, Bugs vs. Tanks!, and Kaz Ayabe’s nostalgic kaiju summer vacation extravaganza, Attack of the Friday Monsters! Also… is that you, Snake? SNAAAAAKE!

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VGH #125: Blips and Bloops 2: Soundtrack to Your Death

VGH #125: Blips and Bloops 2: Soundtrack to Your Death

Turn up the volume and get ready for an hour of 2013’s best game music! We play and discuss some of our favorite tracks this year. Also, SteamWorld Dig.

We’re taking your calls for our 2013 finale episode! Leave us a message at audioboo.fm/vghangover or by phone by calling* 1-682-999-VGH1 (1-682-999-8441).

*Long distance charges may apply.

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