QCF: The Legend of Korra

hen it comes to licensed properties, it’s safe to say that video game adaptions have come a long way since the dark ages of the LJN published trash all those years ago.

I mean, there’s Telltale’s work on the Walking Dead and Game of Thrones, Warner Bros’ Shadows of Mordor and Batman Arkham Knight, and lest we not forget; Ubisoft’s swan dive to publish the unexpectedly amazing South Park: The Stick of Truth…I could go on. The point I’m making here is that license games are steadily scrubbing away the nasty stigma that’s plagued them for so long, and it’s really nice.

However, there’s are still the occasional exceptions to the recent trend, ones that falls victim to all those familiar offenses that irrevocably render their once promising future as a video game into nothing more than a hot bag of shit that even a purist fan of the property couldn’t love.

In a painful twist of fate though, the software in question that’s guilty of all these cardinal sins may also just be one of the most unexpected disappointments to have surfaced in 2014 to begin with. Renowned for their exemplary work within the Action genre, Platinum Games were handed the reins to Nickelodeon’s Legend of Korra; and in spite of all of the resources, talent, and enmities the famed Japanese team had at their disposal—the finished product they’ve released may easily just be the worst title the studio has ever developed.

Click to read more ...

QCF: Sunset Overdrive

t’s no secret that I take a particularly guilty joy out of the dichotomy that defines the éclat of video games—it’s a pretty silly identity crisis that I can’t but find amusing. On one hand, I want to the art and impact that video games create to continually expand into legitimate expression of art that can stand on par with some of the greatest literature and film ever produced by mankind, and yet on the other, I still want games to indulge into some of the stupidest shit imaginable.

Sure, that sounds unreasonably flippant, since making headway in one of directions would congruently set back the other, but I’d like to think that we can live in a world where gaming can cater to both of these worlds respectively—Insomniac’s Xbox One exclusive, Sunset Overdrive, is living proof of that.

Yeah, we live in a world where things like Deadpool and Tumblr have saturated our culture with facetious satire and fourth-wall humor to an obnoxiously pandering degree, but the latest effort from the same people behind Ratchet & Clank and Resistance, is one of the most refreshing games to have released in 2014. A world and action woven by the over-the-top chaos and fiction of this modern open-world odyssey of caffeine and attention-deficit youth has all the makings that truly define the special kind of enchantment that only a video game could offer.

Click to read more ...

QCF: The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth

t’s strange just how infrequent this particular passing trend has fluctuated within the last two decades of modern pop-culture—the fad I’m talking about here is the vulgar, off-color, wildly gross and trashy gore-porn art style that’s swept the new age of cartoons and animation. Whether it was John K’s Ren and Stimpy or MTV’s The Head, the 90’s pioneered an interest into all things crass and disgusting, and even though the direction has been hit or miss as the years have gone by, one particular video game visionary has taken this niche and ran with it.

Off the heels of Super Meat Boy, revered indie darling Edmund McMillen unleased his liberal adaption of one of the most infamous passing’s from ancient biblical scripture, and much to the same vein, it was grueling spin on the rogue-like formula. While it possessed a degree of his trademark charm and style, The Binding of Isaac was ultimately, a rough mess that was held back from too many issues that kept it from going the same kind of distance that its platforming counterpart did.

Three years later though, and it would appear that Headup Games has given its controversial property a second wind, and whether or not this may potentially be your second field trip to the unholy depths of Isaac’s basement—The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth does everything a rerelease should do. In fact, it’s easily the most definitive means of experiencing the strange madness it has to that this top-down dungeon crawler has to offer.

Click to read more ...

Bullet Heaven HD, Episode 114 - Blast Wind

Man, Technosoft, right? They're just awesome when it comes to their shooting games, especially with the Thunder Force series. But on the Saturn, Technosoft had a little more up its sleeve with titles such as Blast Wind. How does this hard-to-find vertical blaster fare? Watch to find out! 

Click to read more ...

PPR Presents Play Play: The Combatribes

What happens when you take Mad Max, The Warriors, and insensitive content, and then smash it against a wall constructed from every Japanese sensibility and pop culture trope you could imagine from the 90’s? You get The Combatribes, and man, even after going through all of that, there’s still no way to prepare you for what you’re about to see in this latest Play Play from PPR.

Join Georgie, Ser, and the surly Gil as we take on Roller-Disco Hockey Clown, and a bunch of other nonsensical shit in what could only be described as Neo New, Modern New, Cyborg New, New York—it’s kind of nice to travel back to the days where video games were super stupid; join us won’t you!

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!

PPR 91

lack Friday be damned, Press Pause Radio comes back with a force before we prepare for the Golden Zonkies, and it’s a bit of a doozy. It’s one thing when life imitates art but the surrealist freedom and wacky liberties of video games allow us to escape all the nonsense and frustration that life has to offer; which is why it’s super poopy when video games are broken by design, to the extent to where they’re almost unplayable.

Sure the occasional bug or glitch can be fun little exploit that’s great for a distraction but the last couple weeks of releases have shown us just how dark this rat race to production has been for some of the year’s most  anticipated titles.

Join us as we talk about Super Smash Bros, Assassin’s Creed Unity and Rogue, Master Chief Collection, Christian Mingle: the Movie, Black Friday, Legend of Korra, Sonic Boom, Fake viral marketing, The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth, Destiny, a potential second coming of the video game crash, tomato trucks, and more!

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!

Click to read more ...

Bullet Heaven HD, Episode 113 - Soukyugurentai

any a time, a game can become legendary because of how hard it is to find or how much it costs. Only rarely does a game become a legend based on its gameplay alone, but Soukyugurentai seems to do so. But how does it do it? Watch to find out...  

Click to read more ...

Bullet Heaven HD, Episode 112 - Atari Protoshmups

n the Series 6 premier, we're taking a look at TEN Atari 2600 "Protoshmup"s! Strap in, scale up and "Get Ready" for a look to the very genesis of home console shooting games!

Click to read more ...