For James: Earthbound Bash-Nov.29th-Dec.1st

arlier this year, Ben Bizzle, a good friend of both myself and the rest of Press Pause Radio expressed a goal he had in mind to help benefit a dear friend of his who showed him selfless kindness in their past and it’s my pleasure to write for you all in this post that he’s succeeded. James Hensiek, Ben’s friend and co-worker had once given him a pristine and complete copy of Earthbound, and never asked for anything in return other than the sight of Ben’s excitable appreciation; year later however, has unfortunately been diagnosed with rectal cancer, and it’s taken a toll on him alongside of his friends and family. Ben just couldn’t stand by without doing something to help him—one faithful car drive gave him an idea that would return James kindness full circle.

With the assistance of Reed Young of Starmen.net/Fangamer.com and months of preparation, the guys were able to secure Shigesato Itoi’s support by signing the very same copy he had received from James. This autographed copy with value that stretches on all angles of novelty to a heartwarming story of altruism and friendship will auctioned it off to a lucky collector who can also do their part to help out a good cause—all proceeds from the auction will go to James and his family.

To celebrate their accomplishments thus far and push the potential of the auction as far as it goes, Reed and the gang have organized an event called Earthbound Bash. Featuring appearances from Marcus Lindblom, the original localization director of Earthbound to Anthony Carboni of Rev3 Games and self-proclaimed Earthbound nut, these guys plan to party like it’s 1995 in eight days. Keep an eye on the site from the dates of Friday, November 29^th to Sunday December 1^st for 6 hours of streaming that starts at Noon Pacific/3PM Eastern.  During that time, you’ll be able to bid towards the famous signed cart, and other Eartbound themed swag through out the event, stop Gyigas!

 

QCF: Sonic Lost World

ega has struggled to not only adapt their star hedgehog into the modern generation of gaming, a title that can properly reclaim the fame the blue dude held in the gaming community; these days, the spiky-haired dude with attitude is lucky to be relevant outside of the younger demographic or die-hard fans. A number of things have always held him back like lack of proper game physics, stage design, or mechanics to deliver that trademark speed or some overtly gimmicky mechanic that tarnishes everything.

Despite Lost World fitting that infamous aforementioned profile on first impression, it defies expectations by successfully delivering that authentic Sonic experience; one that actually transitions the blue blur into a 3D environment that’s more playable than any of the previous efforts within the last decade.

Granted, while a certain galactic inspired approach in Sonic Team’s latest avant-garde for the hedgehog plays a large role in making Lost World genuinely fun to play for a Sonic title, it’s still littered with flaws that hold it back from being a must-play, let alone the best.

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Bullet Heaven Mini, Episode 4 - Quarth

ini. Mobile. Shmups. In this episode of Bullet Heaven Mini, we take a quick look at Konami's Quarth on the original Game Boy!

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QCF: The Guided Fate Paradox

IS has been publishing RPGs in North America for quite a while now. Whether it's their super-deep, wicked complex strategy games, turn-based RPGs or even a side-scroller or two, their efforts are decently enjoyable with only a few outright duds to speak of throughout its vast sub-genred library. Well, they're back yet again with their latest title, The Guided Fate Paradox. But this time, NIS brings another as-yet explored RPG genre subtype along with it; The Rogue-like RPG.

The Guided Fate Paradox follows the exploits of Renya, a downtrodden, luckless teenage high school student who, straight out of the gates, monologues his lament for having never won a thing in his life. In the midst of this down-and-out self-reflection, he is taken aside and talked into playing a random-draw lottery for a potentially fabulous prize. After far too much resistance, Renya wins the grand prize; he is to become God--of course.

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QCF: Castlevania Lords of Shadow: Mirror of Fate HD

he Castlevania reboot from Mercury Steam and Kojima productions is a noteworthy one amongst it’s peers that have attempted to modernize with a new beginning. In some degree, no matter how drastic the change to the conventions or tropes with the source material that’s being reworked, there’s always some form of semblance to the roots of the property; Lords of Shadow barely identifies with remotely recognizable to the Castlevania label.

It wasn’t until players were greeted to a cliffhanger ending comprised of several spontaneous details tof a drastic change to story direction. Gabriel’s predicament and radically changed outlook displayed no inkling of clarification to what sort of events took place prior leading to the revelations portrayed within these last scenes—just a bait and switch for the upcoming sequels that would deliver the answers we were seeking. Before we would see the true sequel to Lords of Shadow however, Mercury Steam in true Japanese fashion, would give us the midquel that is Mirror of Fate to bridge the two main games on the 3DS—unfortunately, it didn’t do so hot.

The theme of Lords of Shadow has always been about second chances however, and with Mirror of Fate being rereleased on Xbox Live and PlayStation Network with an HD facelift and improvements directly responding to the criticisms of its portable cousin; the redemption pays off, but comes off a bit winded in the process.

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PPR @ Hal-Con - Ralston Arcade

e all love fighting games here at PPR. Whether we're trouncing around in the giant robots of Tech Romancer, wailing on opponents with a hefty stick in Soul Calibur or Shinku-Hadokening our way to victory in Street Fighter, one thing stands perfectly clear; at PPR, Fight is Might.

In Halifax, there are also other groups with very much the same philosiphy, and they have grown considerably in the last few years. At the core of it all is Ralston Arcade. Ralston Arcade is one of Atlantic Canada's premier fighting game streaming organizations, spanning four provinces and covering numerous tournaments, complete with live streaming.

At the head of this group is Micheal Daniels, and Press Pause Radio had a chance to catch up with him for a Q&A on Ralston's origins and future. 

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PPR @ Hal-Con - Cosplay Day 3

he final day of Hal-Con started out pretty rough as they decided that wouldn't be selling tickets, despite being told the contrary the previous day. But while there were nowhere near as many people as Day-2, there were still tons of cosplayers. So lets get into the final days goodness!  

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PPR 80

ven though we are approaching the launch of new hardware to kick us off into a new generation of video games, there’s still going to be a lot of familiar franchises getting new entries with the same old gameplay in the years to follow whether we like it or not. IS that a good thing though, isn’t the idea of annual sequel to your favorite video game like the best thing ever? We talk about how it could be a good thing and spoilers; why it mostly isn’t.

The Wolf among Us, Sonic Lost World, Batman Arkham Origins, Next-generation talk, The Guided Fate Paradox, Corbin Bernsen, Quidditch, and so many other topics fly out of lips this week so enjoy it folks as we prep for the next episode—Next Generation launch impressions.

Rate and subscribe to us iTunes today, follow us on our new Twitch page, mail us at our new email Mailbag@presspauseradio.com, and be sure to stop by at our Forums and register as well!

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