PPR at the Movies: Nintendo Quest Review

henever you talk to anyone about video games, and I mean anyone, no matter their walk of life, or intimacy with the pastime, there’s one name that’s bound to come up, and is easily one of the most notable consoles in gaming, even to this day—the Nintendo Entertainment System.

The reverence for Nintendo’s 8-bit game box is a palpable force among both older, and youthful generations of game enthusiasts; which is why titles from its game library are still the among most sought after games to collect out of any other console out there.

Which brings us to one man, Jay Bartlett—a young adult dude who’s attributed a great deal of his being to then influence and wonder that the NES has given him, straight out of London, Ontario.

So much so that he’s teamed up with friend and independent film maker, Rob McCallum, to set out on what they call the social experiment of a lifetime. The pair sets their sights on collecting every NES game they can within 30 days, without the use of the internet, sticking exclusively with in-person transactions on a cross-country trip through the USA, and doing so all in a documentary they call, “Nintendo Quest.”

As far as a video game documentaries go, this premise is loaded with potential, tapping into a campaign that nearly anyone who’s ever played a video game can identify with, to some extent.

Unfortunately, this is where the film fails to follow through.

We’re set up for a journey with what we originally were lead to believe to be one with an underdog that’s attempting the impossible, and what we’re taken on instead is an underwhelming pursuit that barely sticks to its own outline of rules, and a protagonist that’s really challenging to relate to.

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My thoughts on That Dragon, Cancer

 spent my weekend building up the nerve to boot up That Dragon, Cancer on my Ouya, and never have I felt so anxious about something like this, in such a long time.

The memories from my very first encounter with the title are still burned into the back of my skull, for better or worse. Knowing that I would be playing this game in a critical capacity, only made the whole thing even more challenging—I mean, how exactly to you review a game that serves as an interactive retelling of a true story about two parents, doing their best to raise their terminally ill child?

The thought of quantifying the quality of this particular title under the conventional criteria of criticism felt demeaning to the message of hardship and love that its story was trying to express.

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PPR Presents The Golden Zonkies: Class of 2015

f 2015 was anything for us, it was the year we all had difficulty with being punctual with our shit—definitely our busiest.

Still, we enjoyed it more than we’ve lead on, and a lot of that had to do with the batch of games that were released last year; we got everything from anticipated blockbusters, to surprise smash hits that we’re STILL talking about.

Which leads us to our annual special from, Press Pause Radio—The Golden Zonkies. We’ve recorded a special mega cast where we give our prestigious mark of excellence, a Golden Zonkey, to the game deserving of recognition towards that respective recognition.

Everything from games to events that saw the light of day in 2015, across fourteen different categories, and we have that very list for you here now. We’ll be plowing through a incredible catalog of choices, debating with one another from beginning to end in this epic podcast, each voicing our vote for the winner of its corresponding category.

The only stipulation in the Golden Zonkies, is that any point, a wild card can be suggested by one of the hosts if majority vote dictates that another nomination is more deserving of the award instead of the choices presently casted.

So without further ado, kick up your feet, and saddle in (because this is a long one) and enjoy the show!

Mail us at our new email Mailbag@presspauseradio.com, leave a voicemail at 469-PPR-TALK, and be sure to stop by at our Forums if you haven’t already registered and post your thoughts about the show. Finally, make sure to rate and subscribe to us on iTunes and YouTube, follow us on Twitch page and Twitter, and finally take part in our Facebook and Steam group!

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Bullet Heaven HD, Episode 143 - DARIUSBURST CS

In episode 31 of Bullet Heaven, we took a look at Darius Twin, a ho-hum console-exclusive side-scroller in the long-running Taito shooting series. With another three games under Taito's belt how does the latest entry in the series, DARIUSBURST CS, hold up? And, by the way... how does one get through over 3000 stages?!

** BECOME A PATRON! https://www.patreon.com/Serraxor **

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Late to The Party: Fallout 3

ack in 2010, everyone here at Press Pause Radio came up with the idea of recording an episode where we would discuss what we all personally felt were the best games to have come out within that past decade. As challenging as that was for us, it was really fun topic for a show, but there was always one piece of feedback that came back at us and our lists every time the that episode is ever brought up; “why didn’t any of you guys include Fallout 3 on that list?”

Well, I don’t think anyone on the show had a terribly remarkable memory playing it during initial reflection, but it turned out that none of us had really played it enough when it came to giving it a fair assessment either.

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QCF: Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon

intendo’s Pokémon property has endured over many years, taking all shapes and sizes beyond the humble role-playing game it once was, but main line of titles not withstanding—one particular spin-off series of Pokémon that really embraced traditional conventions and difficulty curve of the Japanese RPG.

Mystery, Dungeon, or as its most commonly referred to as; the dreaded rogue-like dungeon crawling bastard of a niche RPG sub-genre—something this intimidating doesn’t soundly like it would pair up with a concept like Pokémon very well.

Unsurprisingly, the reality to the success of the concept has been mixed at best over the years. The latest title to grace the series however strives towards an ambitious direction, one that actually takes advantage of the license it’s built around.

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QCF: Halo 5: Guardians

he Halo franchise is nowhere near the fever pitch that it once was, but that hasn’t stopped 343 from attempting to launch a chapter of the lore that’s worthy of the prestige that most hold the Halo dynasty of games in.

Halo 4 yielded a mixed response of sorts from the community at large, but there was a universal consensus on thing, and that was some of the bold changes that the studio took to the series in both gameplay, and narratively.

Halo 5: Guardians is no exception; I would go further as to say that 343 may have finally nailed it with this entry, and may have finally outdone what many consider to be Bungie’s (albeit underrated) Magnum Opus to the franchise that was Halo Reach.

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Bullet Heaven HD, Episode 142 - Steel Strider

n episode 95 of Bullet Heaven HD, we took a look at Gigantic Army, a side-scrolling run-n-gunner from Astro Port and Nyu-Media. Following up its great gameplay, Astro Port's direct Sequel, Steel Strider, is now available on Steam. So how does it stack up?

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