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Video Game Hangover Posts

Weekend Hangover: ‘green herb’ edition

Weekend Hangover: ‘green herb’ edition

Published April 20, 2012

I couldn’t think of anything particularly relevant to discuss in today’s Weekend Hangover post, so I just randomly decided to honor Resident Evil’s infamous green herb and its mysterious healing properties. The kind botanical friend first appeared in the original Resident Evil and the series has never managed to shake it since. It’s made a token appearance in every creeper-filled Capcom joint ever since. Any dope will know that you’re bound to take some hits, so it’s critical to take breaks between shot-gunning sessions and apply the herb as needed. If you don’t keep an eye on your health, you could very easily end up cashed. Anyway, don’t forget to share VGH with your buds!

But enough about green herbs. What games are you playing this weekend? Here’s what we’ll be zoning out to:

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Four games under 20 dollars

Four games under 20 dollars

Published April 20, 2012

Today is 4/20, so I thought it would be fitting to present you with a list of 4 games that can be had for under $20. This idea came to me naturually and I totally didn’t borrow it from anywhere else. I’ve intentionally stuck to disc-based console games that have dropped in price over time, as downloadable titles are typically less than $20 in the first place. All four of these are excellent games that I had a wonderful time with, each for different reasons, and they all offer a pretty decent chunk of content at a low price.

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Contest: Win Fez!

Contest: Win Fez!

Published April 20, 2012

We here at VGH aren’t exactly known for our patience. The people behind indie darling Fez were kind enough to send over a code for the game, but Randy and I both had ants in our pants and had already gone ahead and bought the game. Our impatience is your gain! We’re giving away our copy of Fez to one of you lucky folks. Head to the giveaway widget below and get yourself entered to win! We’ll be announcing a winner Tuesday morning, so get to it!

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VGH #50: The Enhanced Edition

Published April 19, 2012

VGH #50: The Enhanced Edition

 

Our 50th episode! How freakin’ crazy is that?

Can a game be good without a strong narrative? Inspired by the effusive reviews that The Witcher 2 has been receiving, we’re dedicating this week’s discussion to the importance of story in video games.

In the Hangover, we’ve been playing Fez, Bit.Trip Saga, Driver: San Francisco, and more.

We wrap up the show with Last Call and talk of Record Store Day, the day before Record Store Day, and advice for indie game developers on how to graciously accept praise for their creations.

Be sure to get your voice heard on our monumental 51st episode! Leave us a message at http://audioboo.fm/vghangover or just call us at 682-999-VGH1. What’s your most memorable video game hangover? What should we talk about on the show? Give us a call and chime in.

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Weekend Hangover: ‘Fez is out!’ edition

Weekend Hangover: ‘Fez is out!’ edition

Published April 13, 2012

Fez is finally out! For a game that’s been in development for around five years and has won a number of awards, it’s kind of a big deal that you can actually download it and play it today. It certainly doesn’t hurt that it appears to be getting really good reviews.

So what are you playing this weekend? Have you picked up Fez? Planning to play something else? Tell us!

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VGH #49: Slinging the Purple Fire

Published April 12, 2012

VGH #49: Slinging the Purple Fire

Grappling hooks for everyone! On this week’s show, we’re talking about our favorite (and regrettably underutilized) gameplay mechanics. Red Faction, Crackdown, Super Mario Galaxy, Just Cause, Mother 3, and more are mentioned during our conversation.

In the Hangover this week, we’re revisiting Bioshock, playing with our balls in Hustle Kings, and trying to learn all of the moves in Skullgirls.

We’ve also got talk of poop, divorce, bad-assery, QTE’s and fighting games. You’ve been warned.

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Play More Games: Cartoon Girls and Funny Hats

Published April 10, 2012

Fez

Fez is out this week! For reals! First announced all the way back in July of 2007 (the PS3 and Wii weren’t even a year old), you’ve probably heard of it since then if you follow the indie scene, or at least seen screenshots of its distinctive pixel graphics. I got to play it for a while at PAX last August, and it felt like a solid platformer. The Escher-like core mechanic—rotating the 2D world 90 degrees at a time to reveal new paths—took some time to get used to, but it was a nice twist (excuse me) on the genre.

What stuck out the most in my mind, though, is how one of the PAX presenters mentioned that part of the game’s ambition is to be something you can sit back and take your time with, which the player character’s leisurely movement encourages‐he’s definitely no Mario. That’s really cool, I thought, instantly imagining myself lazily rotating Fez‘s world around as I searched for the key to the next area. Will that fly with gamers accustomed to slurping up the newest releases and plowing through them so they can trade them in towards whatever’s out the next week? I’m a little skeptical, but considering how long the game has been in development, hopefully people can come to terms. I’d hate for everyone to rush through it too quickly.

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Weekend Hangover: ‘Not at PAX East’ editionBorderlands 2 at Pax East 2012

Weekend Hangover: ‘Not at PAX East’ edition

Published April 6, 2012

Borderlands 2 at Pax East 2012

PAX East kicks off today!!! …and we’re not there. It’s pretty darn exciting anyway though. Are you at PAX? What are you looking forward to seeing there? If not, what are you looking forward to reading/hearing about from the show? Borderlands 2 is sounding pretty fantastic to me so far (bonus points for the fact that Gearbox is located a mere hour from my house).

Drop us a comment and let us know what you’re looking forward to from PAX, what your game-playing plans for the weekend are, or just tell us anything else that’s on your mind!

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Wheels of Destruction review: Burnt rubber

Wheels of Destruction review: Burnt rubber

Published April 3, 2012

Have you ever found yourself playing Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars and thinking, “this is fun, but what would really be great is if you took out all this soccer stuff and replaced it with guns and rockets”? No? Yeah, neither have I, but at first blush, that was the vibe I was getting from Wheels of Destruction: World Tour before actually getting my hands on it. Upon playing it, I found Wheels of Destruction felt a bit more like a vehicular game of Unreal Tournament accompanied by a control scheme I’d summarily label as “wonky”.

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VGH #47: Vegetable-Based Objectives

Published March 29, 2012

VGH #47: Vegetable-Based Objectives

Oh, Mass Effect 3…where did it all go wrong? Inspired by Bioware’s recent debacle, we’re seizing the opportunity this week to discuss video game endings: the ones that got it right and the ones that missed the mark. Also: Mulchers, hand cramps, vagina monsters, generic white men, and the importance of carrying enough arrows.

In the Hangover: Paul is having fun losing with Dark Souls, D.J. addresses some concerns with the Starhawk beta, and Randy la-la-la-la-loves Gears of War 3.

For our Last Call this week, we shine a light on our killer new theme music from Shane Reaction: Zombieland.

The end is nigh!

Warning: Episode contains spoilers for Super Mario Bros. 2.

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Play More Games: Eggplants vs. Zombies

Published March 20, 2012

Kid Icarus: Uprising

This might go without saying at this point, but if you stop by your local games retailer this week to check out the new releases, expect to see familiar franchises from wall to wall. I know that the games industry loves to stick to their tried and true series—this generation more than ever—but even I’m a little surprised at the extent to which they’ve done it this week.

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VGH #45: Zoo Hunter

Published March 15, 2012

VGH #45: Zoo Hunter

Every gamer has a story about the one that got away. Red Dead, GTA, Fable, Dead Space…

On this week’s show, we’re talking about the games that we’ve played but somehow never finished. Sometimes life gets in the way, sometimes we have to force ourselves to finish a game that just isn’t fun…and sometimes Randy just can’t get past a certain boss battle and won’t stop talking about it.

In the Hangover: Matt buys a Vita, D.J. prepares himself for Mass Effect 3 by getting his Shepard in order, and Randy gets closer to God with El Shaddai: The Ascension of the Metatron. D.J. also got his hands on the yet-to-be-released fighting game Skullgirls, and Randy and Matt keep their Journey talk 100% spoiler-free.

In Last Call: Quantic Dream follows up on Heavy Rain with something very moving, Stromkern emerges from hiding with some killer new music, and EA’s Origin service seems to be getting its act together.

Lastly, we pay tribute to some of our favorite fake radio ads from the Grand Theft Auto series in this week’s Video Game Community Theatre segments.

The Video Game Hangover podcast: it moistens your mouth and it’s mildly offensive to French people.

Mais non! Pas du tous!

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Contest: Win Nexuiz (XBLA)!

Contest: Win Nexuiz (XBLA)!

Published March 9, 2012

THQ was nice enough to send over three codes for the Xbox Live Arcade version of Nexuiz for us to give away to our wonderful listeners and readers. For those not familiar with it, Nexuiz is a fast-paced, online competitive first-person shooter from IllFonic. I had great time with it when I checked it out for review last month. It’s available on XBLA now and is heading to PC and PSN soon.

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