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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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!)

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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.

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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!

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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?

Jul102014

Underwater Audio Waterproof iPod Review

$165. What can that get you nowadays? A few trips for two to Chili’s. An outdated Biology textbook for college classes. Enough groceries to last the week. Well that last one sounds pretty worthwhile, but all in all, we spend money on items that don’t last very long or leave worthwhile impressions. It could cost $30 to go to the movies without even getting any drinks or snacks. We often regret a lot of these temporary purchases. Why don’t we invest in something that lasts?

I’ve swam competitively for quite some time and have spent upwards of six hours in the pool a day. Unlike other sports that I have played above the water, swimming offers us very little to look at or listen to and it is so easy to get BORED. Triathlon and endurance sports have become more popular and there has been a growth in the swimming industry as a result. Working with triathletes, competitive swimmers, and newcomers of all levels always turns me to the same recommendation. Practice. Time in the water… time in the pool, time in the open water.

One question. What can make that time in the water more enjoyable? Swimming is not easy. Even if you find your groove, it is physically exhausting. You don’t want it to be mentally exhausting as well. Well, here is the solution for swimming as by yourself in the pool. MUSIC! Sure, you can put speakers in the pool but I don’t think everyone else will appreciate that so you to create your own little world in that lane of yours. This leaves us with one option… using an underwater MP3 player. Are there multiple choices? Of course, but I recently had the pleasure of trying out a new one and here is what I have to say about it!

The Product: Waterproof iPod Bundle

The Price: $165 for the whole bundle

The Provider: Underwater Audio

The Pros:

It’s an iPod shuffle. Very easy to use. Very familiar in our society. iTunes is free and most of us already have it.
That iPod shuffle has a clip. That clip will hook onto your suit, no matter what gender as long as the material is thin enough. (Not a 7mm wetsuit.)
The earbuds have multiple earplugs and options for people with different shaped ears. The cords are long enough to wrap them around your suit or goggle straps so they stay in place.
It’s competitively priced and you will get your money’s worth if you swim often.
Shipping is fast and it is well packaged with all the necessary charging devices.
The music is not so loud that other swimmers can hear your music.

The Cons:

You need to be careful about just getting the headphones and actual iPod wet, not the USB charging cables.
You need to take the time to clip the device in and set up the headphones so they don’t fall off when moving quickly.
The music is not so loud that other swimmers can hear your music! I know it’s in both categories but sometimes if there are just a few of you in the pool, it doesn’t hurt to share!

The Bottom Line:

This is a product well worth purchasing if you train in the pool. Whether you are an olympic swimmer or a triathlete, this makes 12,000 yards go by a lot faster. The length of the earphones is great for competitive swimmers since you don’t have these awkward cords being ripped out by your arms when they move throughout the water into the path of your pull. You can’t just throw it on but if you take two minutes to put it on right you don’t have to worry about the iPod unclipping or earphones popping out on your flip turns. (I did not try any starts with these on… obviously?) It obviously works well in open water as well, although I’m not so keen on the idea of using music in open water… personal preference.

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So go over to www.underwateraudio.com and check out this product! Trust me, it makes swimming laps a lot more enjoyable at a reasonable price. And as always, stay hungry and fit!

Jul082014

#22 Greatest Video Game of All Time

After a slight hiatus, we are back on our series of the Top 25 Greatest Video Games of All Time! Don’t forget to check out our video game brain trust as well as #25, #24, and #23! This week we are rolling into #22. We all come from different backgrounds and video game tastes which makes this list so interesting! See below for our picks for #22.

Kai Powell – Soul Calibur – One of the few fighting games I really played, but boy did I play it. Junior year of high school, I’d basically play everyday at lunch with a random group in the back of our biology teacher’s classroom. It was really approachable, but also clearly had tiers of skill, with the best players almost always beating the worse players. It had a group of memorable and distinct characters (I played as Lizardman) and straightforward, comprehensible mechanics. Soul Calibur was the perfect lunch time distraction.

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Scott (Po) – Super Metroid – The premiere mix of horror and gameplay. I’ve yet to play a game that mixed mood, puzzle, and overall playability so well since.

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Andrew – Mega Man 4/series(NES + forward) – Same thing, should be higher. Series needs to be refreshed. It didn’t matter whether gameplay was the same, whether it was Mega Man or Mega Man X, you had a new map and different colored enemies and that was pretty much all you needed. The music was always fantastic. You had upgrades! Mega Man 4 had one of the best intros of all time. For anything. Period. Heartbreaking. Emotional. Legendary. The TV show was phenomenal (it’s a tie in so it counts). Mega Man X was probably the last good game in the series , Mega Man 64(Legends) was pretty disappointing all around but this game could play just like Metroid Prime if it was given another chance. Hell, make it a rail shooter…just give it another shot. Give a new generation of gamers the chance.

Alana (Fit) – Battlefield 1942 – I’m not talking about the whole series here, I’m talking just the original Battlefield 1942. For way longer than we should have, my brother and I just played the demo. The only level in this demo was Wake Island, north of the Marshall Islands. I loved this game and I find it astonishing now that we never got bored of playing that one level over and over and over and over. Multiplayer, of course, so that it would never be the same. You could play as the Japanese or the Americans on this specific level. We played tons of Call of Duty, but what made this stand out was that you could use vehicles! And oh what fun that was.

We eventually bought the game and got the rest of the levels as well as the ability to play as Germans, English, etc. We would have jeep wars, where we would race each other in jeeps, which always resulted in a fiery crash of doom. Learning how to fly airplanes was certainly interesting as well as I would usually run into the building before I could get my tail in the air. All of the different classes you could play really made it special to me. I would always play as a medic and make it my duty to heal anyone out there. It highlighted teamwork, which I absolutely loved. We always played the scenarios where you would try to capture as much flags (aka land) as possible so that you would win with the highest points. The variety of ways to play really made this a fun one for me and I would still play it today. And you bet you would find my in the front seat of a jeep, nearing a cliff’s edge. This first-person shooter was truly a blast to play. I tend to stick to the original.

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Chris (Hungry) – Marvel vs Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes (2000, Arcade) – Yes, I also had it for PS2, Dreamcast, and later for the iPhone but nothing lives up to the arcade console. This game will most likely be the only game in the fighting genre on this list although some Mortal Kombat installments were extremely enjoyable. I was also a big fan of Gundam Battle Assault and other games that provided the opportunity to use your favorite characters from various other sources, but I’ll get back on track. This game makes my list because not only was it one of the best fighting games of all time, it also led to hours of great times at various arcades throughout the Jersey Shore. It’s huge cast of characters from two of my favorite entities of all time presented so many combinations for arcade and versus mode. The one down side is the story, because I love a good story. That is what makes some of the newer Mortal Kombats so good… a little extra on the story. (Marvel Super Heroes crushed this category by using Thanos’ Infinity Gauntlet arc as the basis of the game.) This was a classic save the world by beating the final boss… (SPOILER) Abyss. His background and three forms make for a solid enemy, add the fact that he’s unplayable and it makes him even better. Maybe not quite as good as Onslaught in the first game, but still solid.

As for my team, it was relatively standard with some variations when I was having a hard time defeating an opponent. First, either Cable or War Machine. Cable had some cheap projectile attacks that kept your opponents at distance. War Machine had some amazing special attacks that hit often and added to your combo a lot. Second, either Ryu or Akuma. They would typically be my close combat character for dealing with some of the bigger and slower enemies like Hulk and Blackheart. They were usually my best bet in any pinch due to my playing style. Finally, Captain America. No alternate there. Obviously I played with every character at some point but these were my competitive ones. The Captain was always one of my favorites and as much as Wolverine if my favorite character, I just couldn’t get much done with him. Captain and myself worked perfectly together, using the shield as an extension of ourselves and creating distractions to bring in aid attacks and rush the enemy. Final Justice will always be my favorite special in the game. With that team, I had a blast and set a ton of high scores in arcades throughout NJ only to have my brother take some of those records back. I will play this game anywhere, anytime. It’s replay value is unmatched. Who was your go to team? Could it take down Cable, Akuma, and Captain America?

So that sums up #22 for our video game trust. Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for next week! And as always…stay hungry and fit!

Jul052014

An Easy Way to Switch-Up Your Workouts

I’ve found something exciting. Or rather, they found me. It’s a new app, released January of this year. An app that even Apple featured in one of my new favorite commercials (see below). What does this app do? Let’s first visit the topic it relates to: workout routines. We all have our routines, whether they focus on lifting, endurance, body weight, etc. I know, at least personally, that sometimes I’m not into my typical workout, that I get somewhat bored with it. This app is here to shake that boredom up.

See that guy on the beach doing his step ups and push-ups? (Pretty sure that’s Santa Monica, by the way). That app is the Johnson & Johnson 7-Minute Workout app created by Chris Jordan. It’s an app that allows you to create more than 1,000 (yeah, ONE THOUSAND) variations for your workout. 36 exercises and 12 additional workouts too. As you may be able to tell, I’m pretty excited about this. I always like to shake up my workouts because if I get bored in my routine, it simply will not be a good workout. I will get distracted or not push myself. Then this app comes along.

So many options!

This is perfect for people who aren’t sure of what they want to do for their workout, want to shake it up, or need to do a home workout. Oh yeah, one of the highlights of this app is that it can be done anywhere. No need for a gym membership for this one. It’s useful for all levels of people regarding fitness. The customization is great for people who know exactly what they want. And for beginners or people not used to creating their own routines, each exercise is shown by video while you are doing it as well as audio instructions and tips. I find it incredibly helpful. And finally, another feature I appreciate, is an eye-appealing timer-like function. You’ll see a circle of red dots around the instructional video that counts down your time for that exercise. Perfect for counting down the seconds of when you can end your plank.

This app is all about working out “smart” and it is science-based. This means no “bro-science,” no fads, and no nonsense. It means you’ll be working out according to proper form, function, and efficiency. It means working out safely while improving your fitness in the way YOU want to. It gives coaching tips that helps you maintain that fitness into your lifestyle. I really appreciate that. I detest fitness fads and unsafe instruction. I’m all about playing it smart and safe to build up into a powerful fitness level.

You can download the app on your iPhone or Android. And the best part–IT’S FREE! No need to pay money to get the “premium” version or any monthly subscription. This is a free app that will guide you to wonderful workouts. I know that I will be using it each week to shake things up and test myself. I’m going to have lots of fun playing around with customization and seeing what kind of tough workout routines I can create. Let me know if you have any questions about the app. Download the Johnson & Johnson 7-Minute Workout app to stay hungry and fit!

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Fitfluential. All opinions are 100% ours (we actually love this app).

Jun232014

Fitness Meets Virtual Reality

Today we bring you something truly awesome. Something future-like that we’ve always dreamed of. Something bordering on virtual reality. Something that heightens fitness to another level. Enter Immersive Fitness from Les Mills.

Tell me that doesn’t pump you up and you’d be lying to me. Our journey to fitness shouldn’t be a drudgery, it should be fun. It should be empowering. You should look forward to your workouts. This is what Les Mills is trying to encourage.

We know you can’t throw yourself into different worlds without some help. With Immersive Fitness, there’s a huge screen in the fitness studio, immersing you into the scene or action. The instructors cue the exercise moves for the class to go along perfectly with the music, graphics, and excitement to truly get you into it. So as the video fights monsters, you’re doing a synchronized kickboxing routine. As you’re trying to flee pursuers, you’re pumping hard on the bike or sprinting. It’s exciting! It’s not run-of-the-mill stuff, it’s Les Mills. Combination of creative design, exercise design, and technology.

As you know, Hungry and I work at a gym. We take and teach our fair number of group classes. I’ve never even come close to taking a class like Immersive Fitness. Yeah, it’s fun to work on fitness in a group, but imagine kicking virtual reality butt at the same time! That’s what I’m talking about! You can see in the above and below pictures that instead of just focusing on how much your legs are burning, you can zip down a virtual race path or settle into a peaceful pose in front of a beach.

I’m hoping this will come to a studio or gym near us as soon as possible! I would love try it out, it’s something that perfectly suits my interests. To stay up to date with this new program, follow @thepr0ject on Instagram and their site. And seriously, watch that video again! I love it! With this sneak peek into the Immersive Fitness program, I know that many people will be excited. Cheers for making fitness into an adventure! And for even more bonus points? Les Mills was founded in New Zealand! As always…stay hungry and fit!

Let us know if you have any questions about this program and we can be sure to answer them or steer you in the right direction!

The next level of fitness is here. IMMERSIVE FITNESS™ surrounds participants with cinema quality video content projected onto screens of a purpose-built studio. Exercise moves synchronize perfectly with music and graphics, creating a truly immersive fitness experience. Learn more!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Les Mills. The opinions and text are all mine.

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

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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.

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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

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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.

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

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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…

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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.

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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.

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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!

May012014

Video Game Brain Trust

Before we start the countdown of our 25 favorite video games of all time you should be introduced to the individuals that will be participating! This group will be know as our Video Game Brain Trust and will in time provide our readers with more countdowns and other content pertaining to video games (and other nerdy stuff!). On the surface there may not appear to be a great amount of diversity in the members, but everyone is very opinionated and the lists will reflect just how different we are. So, in no particular order, here is a introduction to the Hungry & Fit Video Game Brain Trust.

Kai Powell – The oldest in the group, Kai favors playing games on his computers that he builds himself. While he currently does not own or play any consoles regularly, Kai has plenty of experience with them, especially GameCube. He also has experience in the video game industry, having worked on the Transformers game for the first live-action movie release and X-Men Legends. (We all want to thank him for the latter.) Kai has extensive experience on the PC having played many MMORPGs in depth, including WoW, ToR and ESO. His list might reflect his love for the computer but it will certainly show his decades of high level gaming. It will also reflect his great level of intelligence, patience and composure. Expect to see some games with high levels of thought process on his list.

Scott Polhemus – “Po is not one to deny his Nintendo fanboy ways. He suckled on the mustached teet of Mario, due in large part to his older brother’s playing of Super Mario World on the Super Nintendo in the early 90’s. But, that was only the beginning. Over the years, he’s played (and owned) Nintendo, Sega Genesis, Nintendo’s entire handheld family (except for the 3DS), Nintendo 64, Playstation, Dreamcast, Playstation 2, Gamecube, Xbox, Wii, Xbox 360, and PS3. Po spent a semester abroad in Tokyo and managed to play a great deal of arcade and Japanese games as well. He admits his tastes are big on RPG and action/adventure…so, basically he’s big on story and plot. He’s limited his list to Console gaming. And frankly, these aren’t the 25 best games of all-time, but they’re the 25 games that expanded his mind and made his heart roar…so, naturally, they’re very dear to him.” (This bio was provided directly by Po.)

Andrew Tucci – Andrew boasts both an extensive collection of games and an insane amount of hours played. When Andrew beats a game, he beats it multiple times, on every difficulty rating, until he unlocks every achievement possible. He has spent time on virtually every console since the release of the NES but he also has a great deal of experience in both the arcade and on the PC. His current collection of systems include Wii, Xbox 360, Xbox, PC/Mac, N64, Gamecube and more. If there is a lack of anything, it’s clearly Sony, but he most likely has more hours logged on Microsoft consoles then every other member of the brain trust combined. He is extremely opinionated and has no problem disagreeing with Metacritic and other experts. If he thinks a classic is garbage, he will let you know. If he thinks a piece of trash is pure gold, you will hear about it. His decades of experience, ability to replay games until the discs no longer work, and his strong views make Andrew a wild card in this group. I have an idea what to expect from him but he can be highly unpredictable.

Alana Powell – Like her older brother, Alana is an avid PC gamer, being so bold as to claim the superiority of the PC over consoles. While she has been exposed to more consoles lately, the frustrations of the different controllers brings her heart back to the mouse and keyboard of a PC. Alana favors games that give the player control over their character and world, so expect to see some BioWare games on her list. She also has been playing Elder Scrolls games for as long as she can remember, so those may also make an appearance. Nevertheless, Alana has been playing for years so her list will reflect PC games that are both new and old. She does not think a game needs to have been out for decades to be consider great, so newer and less known games might slip onto her list. It will be interesting to see if any console games even crack her top 25!

Chris Tucci – Soundtracks. Epic stories. Character development. All aspects that heavily influence how Chris feels about a game. Like Po, Chris favors JRPGs and action-adventure games, however, he has weaker feelings for Nintendo and that will dictate the major differences in those two lists. Chris admits his favorite systems of all time are NES and PS2 but after having owned nearly every console until the release of the newest generation, it is hard to predict what his list will exactly include. There will most likely be a mix of every console, Nintendo handhelds, 1990s arcade games, and PC games around the Millenium. Don’t be surprised to find a lot of games from a few key companies and one game that highlights an entire franchise.

Well, there you have it. A short introduction about what to expect. I am sure the members of the brain trust are most interested to find out what their fellow members release throughout the countdown. You can start to see what lists will be the most similar, but will anyone pick the same games the same week? The suspense continues to build and next week you will find out what games crack the top 25 countdown! And as always…stay hungry and fit!