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Nov032014

#17 Greatest Video Game of All Time

We are battling our way through the teens of the greatest video games of all time–according to us, of course! This has been a lengthy project brought to you by the video game brain trust. As an overview, it’s a group of five of us who put a list of our favorite 25 video games of all time. I know, pretty fun, huh? If you missed these, check them out: #25, #24, #23, #22, #21, #20 #19, and #18. Let us know what you think in the comments!

Kai – Mario Kart series– For those who haven’t heard of Mario Kart, it’s a casual racing game with 8 iterations. You race in a fantasy location as one of the Nintendo characters, picking up items and shooting them at fellow racers to get ahead. It’s one of my favorite split-screen multiplayer games, easy to learn but competitive. Each race is short, making it easy to let new people rotate in and play, so it also makes a fun party game.

Po – Toejam & Earl 2: Panic on Funkotron- The ultimate co-op chill sesh. Couple this with gunstar heroes and you’ve got the most balanced co-op gaming session on your hands.

Andrew – Mass Effect (Series) – [SPOILER ALERT FOR MASS EFFECT] “I’m Commander Shepard and this is my favorite entry on this list”. The game is legend. From the start of the series you have the Normandy, which is an absolute beast ship that you have to upgrade in order to make it through some suicide missions and save some of your friends lives. You have the beautiful intertwining plotlines that BioWare is fantastic at. The visuals are fantastic. Legion is fantastic. Thane is fantastic. Seth Green is fantastic. Mass Effect 3 came out the week of my birthday and my 360 had just broken so I just had to auto-buy a new one. Had to be done (like when the new Zelda and/or Metroid games come out, must auto-buy a Wii U) I romance Liara 100/100 times throughout all 3 games and am devastated every time Legion gives his life. You’ll see some BioWare games higher up on the list, Mass Effect is lower because – 1) some of the games are better 2) Mass Effect 3 had a bad ending. The lack of companion explanations killed it a lot. The fact that it was overall bad killed it a lot. 1^st ending, 2^nd ending…didn’t really matter, they were overall bad.

Fit – Call of Duty (1 and 2)– Call of Dutyyyyyyy! This is a long-time favorite. And I say 1 and 2 because I like the World War II Call of Duty, not this present day nonsense. My list is all about the memories that games bring me and Call of Duty is FULL of them. I really mean that. From pulling all nighters with my brother and friends, to pistol battles, to sniper wars, this game has provided hundreds of hours of fun and bonding time. It is such a fantastic game to play with others and have amazing fun. We would always all play in the same room and either go at each other or team up and try to beat the other team. It was always a blast. The game is a lot of fun–I was always a Kar98k gun kind of girl–a faster version of a sniper rifle. I would be patient with my prey, be silent in my positioning, and take them down! I’m a big believer in defense, so that’s what I always did in Capture the Flag games.

This game gets a respectable place on my list due to its replayable-ness and being a great social game. I can’t count how many good memories I’ve had with this game.

Hungry – The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (PS3) – Oh man. Impending RANT. This was a pure gut instinct, change my list last moment kind of decision. There were a few games that were originally listed in a worse position that will now be higher because of my general frustration with the PS3 release, so this is very subjective. Another Elder Scrolls game, which I will not name yet, will appear VERY high on my list. Having experienced years and years of Elder Scrolls, my expectations for Skyrim were through the roof. The trailers were skin tingling and bone chilling. One of my favorite series ever plus dragons? It’s like a dream for me.

Unfortunately, Bethesda and Sony decided to not play nice and the fans suffered. It started well… we were there for the midnight launch, got the game and played immediately. I bought the game November 11th, 2011 and by mid December, 2011 I had piled up 284 hours of gameplay. The two main quests were completed and nearly every side quest that didn’t have a bug that wasn’t patched had been finished. I had every home, explored every cave, had almost every skill at 100 (except Illusion and Alteration), was at a very high level, had all the shouts, etc. The game was 99% done. I really actually enjoyed it a lot aside from the few minor glitches.

And then THE EXPANSIONS DID NOT COME OUT FOR PLAYSTATION. If they never made them, Skyrim would be VERY high on this list as well. Unfortunately, I downloaded all of them when they were released for PS3 at the same time and it actually corrupted my main file to the point I couldn’t even play it after deleting the DLCs and Sony couldn’t help me fix the problem. Well, to this day, I haven’t really played Skyrim since December 2011, they haven’t fixed my problem, and I might eventually start a new file on the PC, when I get time. It was just so disappointing and the game had so much potential for me. If that whole fiasco with Sony and Bethesda only never happened and the DLC came out on time without bugs… I can only imagine how high Skyrim would be on this list. But that’s just me. Those first 284 hours were magic though, pure magic strong enough to save this game’s place on this list and I am sure I don’t need to tell you why! FUS RO DAH!

That sums up our #17 greatest video games of all time! We hope you enjoyed reading as much as we enjoyed writing. Be sure to be on the look out for #16. We are sneaking closer to our top 10! Have a wonderful Monday and as always, stay hungry and fit!

BONUS KITTY PIC

Oct132014

#18 Greatest Video Game of All Time

Here comes #18, slowly winding down our Top 25 Greatest Video Games of All Time! This is something we try to do every week or at least every other week. If you aren’t familiar with our video game trust, check them out here. Also if you missed any of the other posts in this series, feel free to check out each one: #25, #24, #23, #22, #21, #20, and #19! Alright, enough of me talking, let’s get into the games!

Kai- Day of Defeat – One of the most successful mods for Half-life, Day of Defeat was a World War II team-style multiplayer FPS. It came out before Call of Duty (which was also a World War II shooter at the time), but was similarly inspired by Saving Private Ryan. It didn’t have any single-player, but was a lot of fun (especially compared to the less forgiving Counter Strike). I spent many days playing with my family and friends, and it definitely got me hooked on multiplayer FPS games. A great illustration of the power of mods in PC Gaming and still a title worth playing every now and then.

Po – Mario Kart 64 – The classic racer. 4-player local multiplayer at its best. It’s potential as a drinking game is a dangerous reality.

Andrew- Jet Force Gemini (N64) – Juno, Vela, and Lupus…kinda seems like an odd ball entrant here (even to me) …it would just one of the really first games that I appreciated the upgrades and the passage of time in (both the in-game abilities and the aesthetic aspects). It’s not exactly a sandbox game but it kinda has a lot of fun sandbox gamey weapons in it. Loved it because me and Hungry could play co-op together (non-split screen…he would play the robot character that hovered next to you). In all honestly, I’ve never even beaten this game and after writing this, I may have to re-visit it. This game is regarded as one of the most original N64 titles, it was by Rare (which was almost always a plus), but often takes flak because in order to beat the game you have to save every Tribal from every planet (I’m one short…I’ve been one short for a very long time despite re-playing the level).

Fit – Sid Meier’s Pirates! – Being a long-time fan of Sid Meier’s games and also pirates in general, diving into this game was a no-brainer. Pirates! is based on a very old game, but has freshened itself up with gameplay that just keeps you coming. You start out as a lowly pirate with a small crew and a quest for revenge against the man who kidnapped your family. You pick out your difficulty, time period, starting nationality, and your best skill (swordfighting, romance, navigating, etc.). Then, the game is really up to you. You can ally with different nations or go totally rogue and totally pirate. You can be honorable, noble and win the Governor’s daughter’s heart, or you can sink every ship you come across.

Of course, there’s more substance to it than that. There are quests that you come across in rumors in the towns about your long-lost family. There are treasure maps, pirates like Blackbeard to take down, and so forth. I’ve come back to this game so many times I’ve lost count. My favorite way to play is getting a good-sized, but fast ship and stealing what I can. There are, of course, negatives to the game such as that it gets repetitive and land combat is somewhat elementary, but the positives far outweigh the negatives. If the smell of the sea draws you in and you’re looking for easy-going, fun game, Sid Meier’s Pirates! is the one for you.

Hungry – Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic (PC-2003) – I will be the first one to put this on my list, but not the last. (I bet you this will crack a FEW Top 5s…) Nevertheless, this amazing Bioware RPG was an epic contribution not only to the Star Wars Universe, but also to the amount of choices that a player could make. This led the way for other series like it (two might appear higher on my list) and allowed players to use amazing force powers with customization options that were unparalleled in other Star Wars games. I definitely preferred being Darth Revan rather than “Jedi Exile” although KOTOR II would surely fall in my top 50 list. It’s one of those games every person has to play at some point, Star Wars fan or not. Part of me wants to put the game higher because it was just that good, really almost a perfect 40/40 for myself, but there was just something that didn’t connect the game for me. It could have been the open-ended nature of the ending, but that’s personal. So many good memories associated with this game. I wish it was twice the length, or three times. This was my worst written entry yet because there is just too much to say about this franchise. Yep, a loss of words.

That takes care of that for our #18 Greatest Video Game of All Time. I wonder what #17 will hold in store. These are always full of surprises for us and our audience. Keep doing what you love and, as always, stay hungry and fit!

Sep222014

#19 Greatest Video Game of All Time

Finally! We have broken the twenties, and now climb down to reveal the teens of the Greatest Video Game of All Countdown! Welcome to #19! If you don’t remember our video game brain trust, please click here to freshen up. Ladies and gents, this is going to be a fun one! Please click respectively if you haven’t read our previous game reveals: #25, #24, #23, #22, #21, and #20. I hope you enjoy reading as much as we enjoyed revealing the #19 Greatest Video Game of All Time!

Kai — Team Fortress 2 — One of my favorite multiplayer games, Team Fortress 2 is a fun role-based shooter. There are 9 classes: Scout, Soldier, Pyro, Demoman, Heavy, Engineer, Medic, Sniper, and Spy, each with very different play styles and goals. There tons of different maps and map types, from Capture the Flag to King of the Hill to Robot Destruction.

There’s no story, no real characters, just great game mechanics and lots of fun. There’s also a whole set of customization pieces that you can unlock, which brings in revenue for the developers at Valve (since the game is free). There’s very little frustration and the community is much better than any other I’ve participated in. Overall, it’s a great FPS to blow off steam after work or on a boring afternoon.

Po – The Legend of Zelda: The Windwaker —Beautiful. In & out. Beautiful.

Andrew — Starcraft – What would you ask of me? Starcraft is really the game that made RTS’s (and Blizzard) so popular (we could argue Warcraft II – I mean it did have turtle submarines in it) but SC was just so polished for the time. Fenix, Tassadar, Artanis all day Executor. I preferred Protoss (obviously) and was very fond of a strong defense while I rushed a carrier army (airforce?) in order to crush my foes. Mutalisks and Lurkers were super fun too on the Zerg side, and Jim Raynor was a war hero time and time again. (Confession: I haven’t played SC2 yet, I plan on waiting for it all to come out before I run through it).

Also, I was super into level building and had more than a few which were just overly indulgent in favor of me destroying stuff.

Fit — Mario Kart — For this one, I’m simply naming the series. What a fantastic, family-fun-filled game that has the replay value that is invaluable. I believe I first started playing on Nintendo 64–many many hours of it. Then on Gamecube, the fun continued. I loved the different modes, racing, battle, and so forth. I loved the variety of all the different maps. I have tons of fond memories sitting beside friends and family, trying to blow up their balloons or staying on the Rainbow Road track. It was always a bout of fun with Mario Kart–rarely did it ever end up in frustration. It’s a classic that will always be a classic you can play over and over. Great for groups! (Great, now I have the Rainbow Road track song stuck in my head)

Hungry – Starcraft – PC (1998) — Starcraft most definitely earns its place on this list if only for the insane amount of hours I contributed to the campaign and Battle.net for nearly half a decade. It’s also one of the only games that I ever played at any competitive level and most certainly one of the only games that I was ever ranked within the top 100 in the world at some point. The story was better than it needed to be for the way it appealed to the masses; I know loads of people who never even opened the campaign mode. This game was also crucial in Blizzard’s growth and I appreciate many things that have contributed to the success of a cornerstone in the video gaming industry.

Gameplay could be fast or slow-paced depending on the mode and difficulty, the characters had some personality and development, the graphics and soundtrack were well-developed for the time, and it was a game that could be played by yourself or with your friends. The Battle.net was also relatively well-organized and the ranking systems definitely helped players become more enthused and competitive. But what is the crowning reason the game finds its way on the list: Fenix’s and Raynor’s cutscenes. Raynor was the man and Fenix is one of my favorite video game characters of ALL TIME. I fear not death.

We were waiting until someone had the same game at the same point in their list! Awesome! Remember that none of us see each other’s video game reveal until the time it is posted, so it’s just as much of a surprise for us as it is for you. I hope this starts you off on a nostalgic yet fun note for your Monday and for your week! And as always, stay hungry and fit!

BONUS PUPPY PIC

Sep152014

Madden 15 Review: “Madden is Madden”

Madden 15

Played on PS4

“Madden is Madden”

This is a guest post from our good friend, Nerdy Neanderthal, a nerdy fitness dude. Expect more posts from him ranging from workouts to beer discussions to nerd surges!

Pros:

It’s more Madden
Defensive mini game
Improved play calling

Cons:

It’s more Madden
Near constant updates
Pushing the Ultimate Team
Microtransactions

Madden 15 hardly reinvents the wheel, but it does it give it some nice new tires and shiny rims. Madden 15 is good, but ultimately it’s mostly the same game as last year; so most people already know if they are getting this game. For those on the fence, the chances to quicker play calling, the addition of a defensive “mini game” and the increase of real world integration, might sway you.

The only thing that matters in the equation of purchasing the newest version of a yearly franchise is: “are the changes good?” For me, the changes to Madden 15 definitively make it worth it. The worst part of Madden used to be slogging through defense until you got on offense. NOT ANY MORE! An almost “minigame” has been added this year. Hit r2 for a speed boost, move the offensive player in certain directions or try to get passed them with square or x. I now look forward to playing defensive.

The changes to the “coach’s suggestions” for plays has been revamped nicely as well. The computer gives you a couple of quick options and adjusts to your play style the more you play. On my franchise, I am an aggressive defensive play-caller and after the first game, the coach’s suggestion was almost always giving me some kind of man blitz, which I loved.

Madden deep down is just the same game every year. This engine was made for Madden 13. The connected franchise has been practically identical for years; player, coach, owner. The Madden ultimate team is a different way to build a team but filled with micro transactions. Most times I sign into the game, I have to download something, not a game breaker but it definitely gets in the way, wish it was done in the background.

Madden is Madden. The additions this year have been good but hardly game changing.

As a person who loves football, video games, and RPG elements, Madden scratches a niche-itch. So if you want to play Madden, the $60 dollar price tag is nothing because there is something for every kind of football video game fan. If you interest isn’t piqued every August as this game gets close, this year is no different.

Nerdy Neanderthal gives the game a: 7/10

Good, not Great

Fantasy Style Draft of All the Players in the League.

Sep082014

The Sims 4 Review

It’s finally here! Sims 4! A game series I’ve been playing for a very long time. I had expected it to come out in December, but it came out just a week ago! I got the Pre-Order so I was able to play it at 9pm, Monday, September 1st! I was incredibly excited, though somewhat wary of some of the features they took out. I tried to enter the game with a giddy, but open mind. Here is my Sims 4 review:

First things first, loading times have been reduced dramatically. It was so nice, it was a quick “Reticulating Spines” (of course) loading page and then no other loading times (pretty much)! Sometimes, I would have to wait for five to ten minutes just to start playing! In the world of I-need-it-now, the lack of loading times is excellent! I get to Create-a-Sim and it’s very different. No longer are there the aspirations that we are used to, nor the way we have shaped our Sims in the past. It’s very new. Instead of using sliders to create your Sim, you simply drag and pull at your Sims body. Want a longer nose? Grab it and pull! Want to give your Sim a beer belly? Pull it out! Although it’s new, it’s a pretty cool way to create your Sim. There’s all sorts of great clothing options, hairstyles, make-up, tattoos, and more. It’s a great way for new players to dive in.

There’s also a different trait system. Back in Sims 3, you would construct your Sims’ personality and then it would suggest different aspirations such as become an astronaut, become master of evil, collect 15 perfect fish, etc. This one gives you about 8 or so choices of broad categories such as “Love,” “Fortune,” “Nature,” and so on and so forth. And within that category you pick, you choose a more specific option. For example, if I picked “Love,” it would either be to find a soulmate or be a “serial” dater. And then after that, you can pick 3 personality traits such as Athletic, Lazy, Bookworm, and so forth.

After creating a single female with a thing for money and socialization, I was ready to jump in! I moved her into a pre-built house (as I always do–I was never one to build houses unlike some of my friends) and got started. It was very different from the previous Sims. The build mode is completely different. There were slight things that made a big change, such as instead of turning with the mouse to rotate objects, you now use the right mouse button and such like that. After eventually learning all the tools and how to put what furniture I wanted in, I started to play.

Image source

The gameplay, at first, is different from the former games. It’s actually “harder” than the other ones. With Sims 3 and previous games, it was easy for me to advance my Sim and do whatever I wanted. In this game, they’ve brought elements of the first Sims back and made it more difficult to achieve things. I like this! It gives me more of a challenge which I enjoy. The big new thing about this game is that Sims now have moods that significantly affect the game. Before other things like relationships, jobs, and aspirations would create the “wants” for your Sims–and they still do to some degree. However, now, the mood of your Sim has a huge impact on what their “wants” are. I’ve found them to be slightly repetitive, but not too much that it makes it boring. The different moods (from Energized to Flirty to Bored to Inspired) affect how you do certain activities and how you perform at work and school. It’s fun that it makes an impact on the game. Yet another element to keep challenging you.

I’ve gone through one generation so far, had a kid, got married, and so forth. I’m really enjoying the game. Overall, this Sims game has the steepest learning curve. It’s not huge, but substantial compared to the previous game. It’s definitely more challenging and the Sims’ lives go by that faster because of the harder difficulty as you’re trying to advance their career or whatnot. I like that. Sometimes in previous games, I would get bored because it would be so easy to do well. Not anymore! They’ve taken out things like ghosts and toddlers, and at first I was upset, but it really hasn’t been that big of a deal so far.I’m probably most displeased with the lack of traditional career options. There used to be a core career selection such as Medical, Science, Athletics, Military, and so forth. They’ve taken these out (wrongly, in my opinion) to add in Comedian, Space Cowboy, and other random careers. Probably my biggest nitpick of the game so far.

Sims-4-Aspirations

Overall, I am liking the game, so Sims 4 gets a thumbs up from Hungry and Fit. I still have a lot to play and a lot to experience, but I believe that this new game is on the right track. As always, stay hungry and fit!

Question of the Day: Have you played the Sims 4 yet? What do you think?

Sep012014

#20 Greatest Video Game of All Time

Happy Labor Day, all! And lucky for you, as you’re kicking up your feet and relaxing, we have our #20 Greatest Video Game of All Time! Yes, we’ve now officially marked off ten of our most favorite games ever! Remember to check out who’s writing these zany reviews–click here for our video game trust. Also, if you haven’t seen our other reviews yet, here are #25, #24, #23, #22, and #21. I hope you enjoy our #20 picks!

Kai — Deus Ex Series – I played the original Deus Ex when it came out. It’s a dark, gritty FPS with RPG elements, similar in some ways to System Shock 2. The best part of it is the massive, overarching story with tons of lore and in-game touches. It has true flexibility when achieving mission goals, similar to the newest version.

I played a little bit of the 2nd version, but thought it was much worse than the original, as it lacked the interesting gameplay and story elements. The third one was fun, although the story was slightly less compelling (much less subtle) and the boss fights were really poorly done. It captured the overall feel of the first game, just with a little less subtlety.

Po — Super Smash Bros Melee – Tremendous 4-player insanity with a cast of characters that will have you struggling to decide on just one. Better than the original in every way, and simply the perfect battle speed with tight controls.

Andrew — Civilization Revolution – Need I say more? Honestly, I haven’t even made my way to Civ 5 yet and I might skip it once Beyond Earth or whatever its called comes out…but I love me some Civilization. I’m normally the strongest military power in the game but I get there by playing defense, researching, and getting culture as high as I can as early as I can. Scientific progress but not a boring scientific victory. Normally I get Culture or Money victory, but it really depends…Only gripe with these games is that I feel the diplomacy panes are never that good. The AI isn’t there and it really just hurts it…plus you can buy them off to avoid you for X turns? Not that I have to since, you know, defense. (very often I won’t build or even capture other cities…no need to waste steps – although this sometimes causes my lead to be cut down and me losing 1 turn before I was gonna win – I was shocked!)

Fit — Oblivion – Stop! You’ve violated the law! Oblivion, one of the great Elder Scrolls games. You may be surprised to see it so high on my list, but it just wasn’t the same as others. It was a blast going through the story, shaping the character you wanted, exploring all the nooks and crannies Bethesda developers would deposit in the world. I loved how the way you played the first little dungeon shaped what class you could be, kind of like a personality test–but in action! I also love, in all Elder Scrolls games, that you can put points where you want them, wield what you want, and just do whatever the heck you want. Bethesda always wows me in that they can put so much into a game that players truly appreciate. For example, all those little quests, characters, treasures not found to many, and great dialog. Oblivion didn’t have the same feel as the others, but it was still a blast playing in the Imperial City. The world was absolutely beautiful and I did get lost in the game many times. Many, many hours went into this game. The Arena was a blast, too! ALSO, Boromir and Captain Picard were voices in this game. ‘Nuff said.

Hungry — Super Mario Bros 3 (NES) – We had this game before I was even aware of it, but as soon as I could start playing, I did. Super Mario Bros was not majestic enough and the second was a bit too difficult for a three-year old (but the digging was fun), and the Super Nintendo had not yet come out (Super Mario World… YOSHI), so this game was the perfect source of Mario enjoyment for a young child. Thus, I had years and years of replaying Super Mario 3… and it was marvelous. Games like this and The Legend of Zelda are the reason that I have been playing for over two decades, and the vast majority of my life.

What makes this game so great is that I can still play it, although it’s considerably shorter. It used to be a full day adventure and now it can take an hour but the magic is still there and with all the remastered versions, the graphics and sound have kept up with the times. Being able to play with someone else adds to the enjoyment and all of the (somewhat) unique bosses and special abilities that Mario can pick up (TANOOKI and FROG) make this an advanced game for its time. Most lists have it in the Top 10 of the Greatest Games of All Time because of what it did for the video game industry. But it made my list because of what it did for me!

There are #20 picks. Do you agree with them? Disagree? What would be yours?! We love writing about this and hope you enjoy it too. Get ready for some great articles about food and fitness coming your way this week! As always, stay hungry and fit!

*Question of the Day: What are some of your favorite video games?

Aug182014

#21 Greatest Video Game of All Time

Finally, #21 is here! We apologize for the hiatus, we’ve been busy with the move and settling in. However, we are now back on track! If you have no idea what I’m talking about, look at this post here. Please meet our Video Game Brain Trust before you continue on. We put this together as a somewhat weekly display of what our favorite video games are. What we love about it is the variety between all of us and what we prefer. If you missed it, please see #25, #24, #23, and #22! Let’s get started..

#21 Best Video Games of All Time

Kai — Gunpoint – A much more recent game than those I’ve listed so far, Gunpoint is a stealth puzzle game with great atmosphere. You play a private detective in a noire style adventure. Although short, the story is really interesting and ties in great with the gameplay. It doesn’t feel like you’re figuring out puzzles, it feels like you’re trying to move the plot forward. The difficulty curve is very good, challenging but not overwhelming, unveiling various mechanics and techniques as time goes on. My only real complaint is that the game is short and not very replayable, but definitely worth the price ($10). If you’re looking for a game to while away a rainy day, I’d recommend Gunpoint.

Image source

Po — Super Mario 64 (N64) – Brought 3-D gaming to the mainstream. I’ll never forget the first time I walked through a door and entered a new room — it blew my mind.

Andrew — Ninja Crusaders (NES) – Really nothing much to say here other than that I spent countless hours playing this with my brother. YOU COULD TURN INTO A DRAGON. Top 5 NES Game.

Alana (Fit) — Yoda Stories – For me, this is an absolute classic. It’s a LucasArts game not many know about, but it holds a very special place in my heart. Released in the 90s, this game has no ultimate goal. It’s simply a collection of various levels you have to play through. So when you start the game, you could be doing one of the various Hoth levels, Endor levels, Death Star levels, Tatooine levels, and so forth. There were tons of different “levels” aka scenarios, each one with different surroundings and plots. Sometimes you’d meet Boba Fett, sometimes Vader, sometimes the Wampa. I remember my cousins, brother and I would always crowd around the computer playing and laughing at the subtly funny LucasArts writing characters said.

You usually played as Luke Skywalker, out to save the day or escape or something of that nature. You also could gain other weapons like a lightsaber and find hidden things behind boxes. It’s really a puzzle game in order to find the objective. This game was basically just the arrow keys and that’s all it really needed. It was a blast to play any of the levels over and over. I think I will play it again today.

Chris — Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PS2) – Vice City is close behind on my list of favorite GTA games. While I typically enjoy some of the earlier entries in a franchise, the expansiveness and ability to do so many ridiculous things makes San Andreas my favorite. I might have enjoyed the story in Vice City a little bit more, the game based on Los Angeles takes the cake over the game based in Miami. However, San Andreas really is one of those games that I put on that highest level of near perfection.

Simply, the graphics, soundtrack, and controls were all top-notch at the time. The story was what you would expect from a GTA and as I mentioned before, they expanded on what the player could do a million fold. One example is the ability to get in a plane, jump out, and go skydiving. Every vehicle was an option and if you had the money, you could customize your really fast cars however you wanted.

But this is a favorite list and not a list of the best games, so what really makes San Andreas stand so tall. Completion. This game truly had an RPG feel to it and I put in hundred of hours in order to get to a 99.9% completion rating. I never got to 100% but it always offered enough mini-games and side quests to keep my attention and that replay value in a game like this is untouchable.

That wraps up our picks for #21 Greatest Video Game of All Time. Stay tuned for next week’s #20 and read up on the previous ones if you haven’t already! We are having a blast doing this. I hope you’re having fun as well looking at what we have to bring to the table. And as always, stay hungry and fit!

*Question of the Day: Have you played any of these games? Do you like them?

Jun102014

#23 Greatest Video Game of All Time

Down from #25, we are up to #23 in our Top #25 Video Games of All Time! I’m excited to reveal the variety in our video game brain trust for this week’s picks. Check out #24 if you haven’t already and brace yourself for #23! Comment below if you have something to say!

Kai – System Shock 2 – A deeply unsettling, atmospheric FPS sci-fi horror game with RPG elements. The story of the corrupted starship Von Braun is fantastically told through diary entries and FPS encounters. Great voice acting makes the world of System Shock 2 really come alive, including one of the best villians in-game history: SHODAN. The game brings all these elements together to deliver a powerful, scary experience, and paved the way for impactful storytelling in games like Half-life and Bioshock.

Scott (Po) – Donkey Kong Country 2 – Endlessly lovable and replayable. The perfect platformer.

Andrew – Mario Kart(SNES/N64 + forward) – (Diddy Kong Racing was excluded for this one) I am normally one of those people who harps on playing campaign and avoiding multiplayer(don’t get me wrong I play multiplayer I just love campaign first and often) but this is a pure party game. Nothing better than the thrill of firing that spikey shell and watching it pound into the first place lead (or firing three perfectly aimed green shells to dispatch 3 opponents[or getting lightning and running all over your opponents{I could probably do this for forever}]). Racing was fun but Battle Mode was the ultimate test, everyone enters with 3 balloons and only one person gets to leave. Plenty of fun times were had but most people complained because sometimes if you got hit with 2 shells you would lose 2 balloons and sometimes you would lose 1 but that’s what happens when you race in the high stakes world of the Mushroom Kingdom.

Alana – SimTower – Where do you start with SimTower? A “Sim” game where you are in charge of building up a tower with commercial and residential blocks to get as many stars as you can. You get to start with floor 1 and build your way upwards and downwards. It’s a game that I’ve played and watched my brother play thousands of times. The replay value of this is off the charts. You can completely customize your “Tower” in whichever way you’d like. However, this will affect your rating, how much money you get, and how popular you become. You have to manage the economy, wait times, cockroaches, and more. Santa Clause will even stop by in the fourth quarter of the year! You could follow certain families in the building as well as restaurants or offices. The excitement of seeing your product grow is palpable as the months continue and the economy kicks off. There’s the need of juggling stress of the people in the tower. I always remember the elevator problems and needing to build more and more to keep the tenants happy. The only sad part is that I can’t get the sound to play anymore because it’s that old. I still don’t think I ever got that 5-star rating.

Chris – Major League Baseball Featuring Ken Griffey Jr. (N64) – The third of four Ken Griffey Jr baseball installments for the Super Nintendo and Nintendo 64, this game is my favorite sports game of all time. Although Madden 2004, NBA Live 2001, and RedCard 20-03 round out my final 4 for team sports games (Mario Tennis for individual sports games) I will spoil a part of my list and let you know that no more sports games will appear. I am so story-based that the insane number of hours logged on these and untouchable replay value are simply not enough to get a spot on the list.

Griffey, however, has a special place in my heart. He was and is my favorite baseball player of all time. This game allows you to hit a home run with him at any time after entering a short sequence of buttons. He even calls out the shot. Honestly, I didn’t play much against human opponents, but my brother and I tallied thousands of hours in the franchise mode. What made it so fun was the fantasy draft and the user’s ability to create an all-star team with ease.

I would reset the draft until I got the first pick, draft Griffey, take some more favorites the next few rounds and create the best team possible. Then, I would draft closers that have high ratings in later rounds and trade them for other players that have high ratings, like Barry Bonds. (He would always go top 5.) After accumulating a dream team, it was time to PLAY BALL! Oh, and no team of time was complete without Heathcliff Slocumb.

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That sums up #23 for our video game trust. Do you agree or disagree with our various views? Let us know in the comments below! And as always…stay hungry and fit!

Jun062014

Transitor Review

This is a guest post from our good friend, Nerdy Neanderthal, a nerdy fitness dude. Expect more posts from him ranging from workouts to beer discussions to nerd surges!

Pros:

Excellent, deep combat
Stunning visuals and music
Price ($20)

Cons:

Drags in the middle slightly
Too much information at times
Little sense of exploration

Image source

Transistor is a beautiful dystopian RPG; reminiscent of the Great Gatsby if it were written by Ernest Cline. You play as Red, a lounge singer, whose voice has been stolen by the “Camerata” a group of nefarious people trying to restore order to the city of Cloudbank. The seamless blending of turn based and action combat lends itself perfectly to a world graced by beautiful music, both score and soundtrack, and a story that is revealed slowly and carefully. This game is an absolute must play for any rpg fan, and I would recommend it to almost anyone who just enjoys good games regardless of genre.

Can-I-get-a-bike-like-that

Artistically, this game is stunning. Bright vibrant colors are spliced with the rust of a falling city. The touches of color from yellow on a motorcycle to the red on the Process (the bad machines) show the great discourse of this world. The writing does nothing but enthrall. While the story shies away from the save-the-blank-to-save-the-world troupe of most RPGs that does not mean you will not be invested in the story. The player is giving little snippets here and there from the voice-over sword to writings in computer consoles that slowly unravel the complex and shades of grey story. The music is the perfect accent piece to bring up the emotional tones of the game. The developers used sound perfectly from a near perfect musical score to the needle drops of Red’s song. The main theme, “We All Become” will be stuck in my head for days.

The combat system is the perfect “easy to learn, hard to master” model. As you unlock powers, there are no tutorials, just experimentation and the knowledge that comes from it. You can get in there and mash but you will not want to just spam “x.” Every power in the game can be an action, an augment, or a buff; allowing great complexity for a limited move set. The action is a blend of turn-based and real-time, very similar to the VATS system from the Fallout games. You are given unlimited time to plan but each action has a cost. The game does not coddle, some of the process hit very hard so proper strategy is not only rewarding but a must. You are encouraged to experiment as bonuses are giving for linking different moves together. The player can re-spec at any save point in the game for no charge, and the stations are frequent and easy to find.

Transistor is not without flaws. There are stretches in the towards the end where you never have an exciting encounter but there is an influx of computers without the knowledge of which information is important; a little streamlining would have gone a long way.

Transistor is beautiful, fun, engaging, but lacking a little bit of direction in the third act. For any JRPG or action RPG fan, I cannot recommend this game highly enough for the price of a movie ticket and a popcorn. (you will get a lot more time out of Transistor) The music and visuals will draw you in, the combat will keep you experimenting all the way until the end.

9.5

Nearly Perfect

May212014

#24 Greatest Video Game of All Time

It is time to bring you #24 of our “Top 25 Video Games of All Time“! I’ve been looking forward to this since last week! Make sure you check out our video game brain trust before reading further. If you missed last week’s #25 games, read here to update yourself. Ready, get set, go #24!

#24 Favorite/Best Video Game

Kai – Worms Armageddon – One of the few multiplayer PC games that could be played on a single computer. An amazing party game, full of humor and customization as well as tactical depth and variety. I spent countless hours at home and at friends’ houses trying to master the art of the ninja rope or the exploding sheep. A great game that perfectly captures the idea that games are about fun and shouldn’t take themselves too seriously.

Scott (Po) – Skies of Arcadia – I’m a sucker for sky pirates and RPGs. I fell in love at first sight.

Andrew – Major League Baseball Featuring Ken Griffey, Jr. (N64) – Call, call, call me Junior. Pretty sure that reticle size never, ever made any difference at all here. Pretty sure that Scott Rolen + anyone else was an absolute trading machine and other teams would drop him pretty much right away for rinse and repeat. This is my most played sports game after Madden and I just felt like I could replay the season mode over and over again. The music, the pageantry, the dynamics were just so fun (only thing holding this game back was that overthrows didn’t happen – if they did, absolute surprise to me). Naturally Mark McGwire shouldn’t be used in game. …with all this said, I tried to play whatever 2K Baseball or whatever people play now a days and I had like 0 outs with 3 runs against me in the top of the 1st so…yeah…

Alana (Fit) – FIFA World Cup Series – What a perfect way to continue the list as the actual World Cup 2014 approaches. FIFA games are all great, but I specified World Cup so that I could play as those famous countries. For me, it’s a timeless game that I can return to over and over. Soundtracks from that game will forever populate my mind. I started playing around 2000, I believe, and Kai and I would play tons of it. I would love to go through the whole World Cup process–it didn’t matter how bad the graphics were. There’s something about that game that gives you that addiction. Even when I start to play real life soccer, I say, “Let’s play FIFA!” It’s a great game for multiplayer and solo, especially for those who love the game. FIFA will always have a special place in my heart and I will continue to play it time and time again. Definitely my most favorite sports video game series.

Chris (Hungry) – House of the Dead III (ARCADE) – There will be a few arcade games that will make my list. The reason I am choosing the arcade version rather than the console release one is the pump-action shotgun that you get to whip around like Arnold in that mall scene in Terminator II. House of the Dead III is by far my favorite arcade shooting game, although there are tons of top choices including: Revolution X, Time Crisis II, Virtua Cop, The Ocean Hunter, etc., mainly because of the memories it produced. It also was one of the few that I beat in the arcade over and over again, along with all the ones listed earlier. It was a money issue, typically, but I couldn’t hold my quarters back for this one. The continuing story throughout the series, the decent graphics, the presence of voice acting, and the ability to choose your stages made this game better than most of its competition. Plus, the fact that it was released for multiple consoles made it even more accessible for in-home gamers. It might have been released in 2002 but it is a game I will still throw quarters into over 16 years later. If I have an arcade in my home one day, this will be one of the first three machines in it.

And with that ends our #24 greatest video game of all time. Keep your eyes ready for next week’s #23! Looking forward to what everyone lists! Let us know what you think with comments below! And as always…stay hungry and fit!

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