05/26/2014

It’s Chili Dog Time

by Matthew Edward Hawkins

Happy Memorial Day everyone! Hopefully the weather is nice where you are, suitable for hanging with friends by the BBQ. But in case it is not, or you simply are doing your own thing, one that involves being in front of the computer (for those wondering, I’m taking a break from work, though my holiday plays are later this night, first a diner then later an improv comedy club, to celebrate Dave & Raina’s birthdays), here’s yet another assortment of totally random, yet totally good for you, game vids!

- For starters, and not sure how well publicized this is, but there’s now an official (I think?) GameCenter CX channel on YouTube. It’s only about a week old, but there’s already a healthy amount of videos online, ranging from excerpts to full on episodes. They appear to be a mix of the SomethingAwful fan subs and a few officially sanctioned clip from Kotaku.

Also, the order is totally mixed up; not sure what’s going on here. Anyhow, while I wait for the Mega Man 3 episode to appear, here he is trying to clear Super Mario Bros 2 with the help of a child prodigy, plus a trip to an arcade located at some hot springs:

- So while looking for footage of the Game Boy Advance of Sega Rally (been on a GBA kick as of late), I stumbled across a video that compares all the different versions of the same game, including the arcade original plus the various other ports. There’s actually a bunch, mostly centered on Sega titles; instead of passing along the aforementioned Sega Rally clip, here’s one on Virtua Racing instead, since I think it’s more interesting:

- Though back to Sega Rally for just a sec, I really have no idea what the story is behind this band:

- Back to the subject of Game Boys, and via Polygon; the last time I did this I mentioned how it’s becoming increasingly difficult for me to give a rat’s ass about the Oculus Rift. But this simulation, in which you’re just basically sitting in your living room, playing Tetris on a Game Boy, is admittedly awesome:

- I’ve also been on a PSone kick as of late, and have been building up my import library. And since I’ve also been getting back into Japanese wrestling, it makes sense for me to pick up a copy of Zen Nippon Joshi Pro Wrestling. I swear to God, if that one copy of eBay for sale disappears before the get the chance to nab it, I’ll… at least know that someone is still checking out this site!

- Sticking with the subject of puroresu, and back to Sega actually; did you know that there was once a real deal wrastler who pretended to be Wolf Hawkfied from Virtua Fighter? And would you believe me if I said that he was actually pretty good? Sadly, I can only one find one match online, and Sega never did get anyone to pretend to be Jeffry McWild, but it’s better than nothing:

- So Pac-Man recently turned 34 years old! And to celebrate, let’s take a look how the news at the time viewed video game’s very first bona fide superstar. If anything else, it harkens back to a time in which the mainstream news had yet to make up their minds that games were the root of all evil in this world:

- And lastly, was out drinking the other night with some pals, and when you’re intoxicated is when jokes are particularly funny. Perhaps funnier than they actually are. Well, I received this image via Hilary during the height of my drunkenness and seriously couldn’t stop cracking up. Almost fell onto subway tracks while waiting for a train home. Well, here’s where it’s from, via Chris:

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A heads up: my full account of Comics vs Games 3D is now live, over at the Attract Mode blog. It only just hit me that simply posting the link in the highlights section might not be enough, a bigger fuss might be justified! Anyhow, a taste…

… BTW, there’s still a bit to cover, as it pertains to my trip up north as a whole, but I hope to get to all that very soon. But first I need to cover what happened last year first; it was around then in which I began to slack as it pertains to this blog (though 2013 was CRAZY top to bottom, so I don’t feel too bad about it).

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And… I’m back! In the US of A, at least for the time being.

Again, really can’t divulge details online, but let’s just say that the story behind me successfully step foot on Canadian soil this time around is beyond absurd. Am seriously thinking of restarting my auto-bio comic series, thanks to all the newfound material.

Also… Comics vs Games 3D was a roaring success! And I’ll go into details… over at the Attract Mode blog. About the show at least; for a rundown of my latest trip to Toronto as a whole, that’ll happen eventually. Promise!

But first, it’s been over a month since I posted random game vids, and there’s lot more to share than usual! Though I’m only going to be embedding the usual number of eight…

- For starters, the trailer to Sailor Zombie – AKB48 Arcade Edition, essentially House of the Dead starring AKB48 (a Japanese idol girl group that has literally hundreds of members). You play as members who are not zombified and must fend against those ones who weren’t as lucky. But instead of lead, you’re filling them with vaccine, and therefore not killing the younger, hotter members that want your slot in the top eight (anyone familiar with AKB48 knows what the hell I’m talking about):

- Sticking with music, an oldie but goodie, courtesy of Destructoid: given that it’s been nothing but dull skies and rain here in NYC for days now, hearing Takenobu Mitsuyoshi singing about a beautiful day on the Daytona USA race track is bittersweet, yet helps to take the edge off nonetheless.

- With the recent return of Michael Jackson from the gwave, now’s the perfect time to address my favorite part of his illustrious body of work. That being the soundtrack to Sonic 3, naturally. Though, as it turns out, the very best track, that being the Ice Cap Zone, is actually thanks to The Jetzons.

- Some 8-bit J-pop anyone?

- Via Kotaku: here we have footage from a game that was simply not meant to be, by one of my fave developers at the moment. Check out Simogo’s Brisby & Donnovan.

- Via Siliconera: man, Pokemon tournaments are SERIOUS business.

- Though I’m more of a Animal Kaiser guy myself. Specifically the latest release; according to Google Translate (which is always, 100% accurate), it’s called G Animal Kaiser God God 5:

- Again, courtesy of Destructoid: this is how they advertise Candy Crush Saga in Japan. Almost makes me want to give it a shot! With the key word here being “almost”.

- It’s something so exactly spot on as to how you’d think it would be, that going through the trouble of clicking its link is almost a waste of time (especially since it’s only 7 seconds long). But anyway: some dude modded his car with an arcade coin slot as the means to start the vehicle.

- Here we have some dude smashing his fighting stick on the ground after losing a match in Street Fighter 4. While not quite as epic as an Evo Moment, it still makes me laugh:

- What happens when you fill a treehouse for overgrown kids with adults? Why you get an “epic treehouse”, one filled to the brim with a bunch of dudes playing videos. All first person shooters. Such a shame. Such a waste. Also, a nightclub. Cuz I’m guessing that watching scary movies is “gay” or something.

- Without question, one of my favorite secret corners of the internet is Video Thunder, and not just because they occasionally post the odd Atari/Intellivision commercials.

- I absolutely loathe Lets Play videos, but am a huge fan of dark British humor, so the following gets a thumbs up:

- With the recent news that Microsoft is going to start selling the Xbox One sans its version of the Kinect, many are saying that the motion sensing peripheral is officially a bomb. Whatever. So long as artists keep using it to make stuff like this installation, I’m still a fan.

- Though with that being said, the bloom is coming close to being off the rose as it pertains to the Oculus Rift. But I must admit, I dug this clip of a guy experiencing a roller coaster simulator via the Rift while actually riding one in real life:

- Most of you who are familiar with the world of game related YouTube vids are no doubt familiar with the LORE channel, which distills the backstories of all your favorite titles in about a minute. But for those who aren’t aquatinted, here’s my favorite one to date, which concerns the sh*t that goes down in Snatcher.

- Sticking with the genius that is Kojima-senpai; EV channel is a place where you’ll find various Metal Gear Solid trailers re-done via Grand Theft Auto V. It goes without saying that some things are lost in translation. But other things are gained, as evidenced in this remake of The Phantom Pain Red Band trailer and this reinterpretation of the final scene in Snake Eater.

- Speaking of GTA V, another clip as originally found on Kotaku; here we have a time-lapsed footage of someone driving around Los Santos. I just love how it looks like one of arty-farty driving film reels from France, circa the 60s/70s (well, the artist is Benoit Paillé, and he’s from the Great White North, so he could be French Canadian I suppose):

- The big K also recently reported some great news: apparently Death Cargo is still a thing. In fact, there’s a new trailer. I love games that look fake, like something made up for a movie or TV show. Except… it’s not.

- Finally, something else that’s on the Mortal Kombat tip, which Steve Flack gave me the heads up on. And I’m surprised that I had no idea such a thing existed, given that I’m such a fan of similar efforts by Midway, again concerning MK; it’s a behind the scenes look at Wrestlemania The Arcade Game:

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