Not even the oracular banana bunch can provide this much consumer information!
Heeding a request for consumer advice, Lusipurr provides an in-depth analysis of the Nintendo Wii U, SiliconNooB highlights Ubisoft’s policy of prevarication, and Bup talks about his favourite Indie game.
LusipurrGetting better every week with the new format. I’m VERY proud of this one.
DiceAdmiralCelebrating One Year Of Info Blasts!
or
Info Blast is Gaming For Charity!
or
Record Length Info Blast!
This week’s panel
Silicon Noob
Lusipurr
Also featuring:
Bup
Podcast Feature
Lusi’s Consumer Advice
Wii U
I, for one, am totally convinced. I would totally buy one. Except that I already have.
Fall Playthrough
Vagrant Story
Begins Late October (25th?)
NEWS
AC:Unity downgraded on PS4
I bet that lots of studios do this but just aren’t dumb enough to say so.
Kickstarter donations down year over year
Captain Toad coming out Dec 5th for Wii U. MSRP $40
Geometry Wars 3
Sounds like a ripoff of Boxes With Guns.
Amiibo launches alongside Smash for Wii U
There’s not actually a ‘Nintendo’ in Smash for Wii U, so it’d just be Smash f Wii U.
Capcom Sequel strategy (2 Mil. copies)
Like Ubi above, I bet lots of companies have similar strategies but just aren’t dumb enough to share.
Bup Reads Wikipedia for 60s
Best Indie Game
Imitanis Literature Corner
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
“If there’s one thing I can’t stand it’s ideas. They’re so hard to digest.” Great.
“Where a single misstep meant only ‘Goodbye'” Awesome
“The Senses Taker” :)
Imitanis Gaming Moment
Before I get to my gaming moment, I’m going to be annoying for charity for a moment.
Over the last 3 years I’ve raised nearly $1000 for Childrens’ Hospitals through the charity Extra-Life. For those not aware, Extra-Life is a 24 hour gaming marathon to raise funds for Childrens’ Miracle Network, which funds Kids’ hospitals. I’m participating again this year and would really appreciate any help that Lusi-Readers or Info Blast fans might be able to provide. Donations go 100% to the charity (no overhead) and are tax deductible. Please donate if you can! Any little bit is appreciated!
Donate Here!
The marathon is Oct 25th at 8 AM and I will be around to play on Steam if anyone would like to play multiplayer games.
Steam Profile
Okay, onto the past gaming. This week I played 4 new board games: Cash n’ Guns (2nd edition), Doodle Quest, Casa Grande, and La Boca. Since I’m not an official staff member I don’t have to follow the 1 thing rule and will discuss all four. I’m gonna hit them in the above order: light games then games with Spanish titles.
Cash N’ Guns is a game about gangsters dividing up loot after a heist. 8 cards will be dealt out featuring cash, art, or diamonds with various face values. The players have foam guns and 8 ‘bullet’ cards. 3 of these cards say “Bang” and the rest say click. Players will choose a card and after a count of 3 will point their foam gun at another player. There is a moment of discussion and the Don can force someone pointing at them to point at someone else. Another count of 3 triggers a ‘back down’ option. If you find that there are too many guns pointed at you for your taste then you can back down. You’ll get none of the loot, but also can’t be shot. Any remaining players reveal their bullet. If it says bang then you’ve shot the person that you’re pointing at and they can claim no loot. All guns fire simultaneously so two players can very easily shoot each other such that neither gets any loot. If you get shot 3 times then you are out of the game. Any players still standing take turns claiming loot. Surviving players count up their loot at the end of the game and the player with the most value wins. I like this game a lot. The foam guns are a great component and lots of fun to point at other players. My one quibble is that it’s not the best game to play with or around children as you really don’t want to teach impressionable youth to point guns at people. There are sometimes children around my gaming group, so we’ll have to be careful puling this one out. If you like bluffing and foam guns, this is for you. If you don’t or have omnipresent children then you’ll want to pass on this one.
Doodle Quest is what I’d call a spacial awareness game. Players will go through a series of 6 quests trying to earn the most points. A quest consists of looking at a picture and attempting to draw on a transparency such that when it is overlayed with the picture it meets the rules. The instructions might be ‘draw a line from A to B and don’t touch the sides, or ‘draw 12 triangles in this space to represent shark teeth’. The game is actually pretty difficult and in our group even the best player didn’t get full points on most of the challenges. This was also very amusing and, unlike the above game, can be played with children. The recommended age is 6+. If you like drawing lines and shapes freehand, this is for you.
Casa Grande is a city building game that utilizes the physicality of board games very well. Players will take turns placing their blocks on the board. If, at the end of their turn, they have blocks that match one of their platforms’ patterns, then they can place that platform onto those blocks, moving the entire structure up a level. You’ll end up with a structure several storeys high with many different colors and criss-crossing structures. I wish I’d taken a picture of our finished game board, but you should be able to get a pretty good idea if you follow that link to BGG and check out the gallery. I like the physicality of this game a lot, and building things is almost always a winner in theme. I’m not sure, however, if I’m sure I’d play this very often. I think I need to play it a second time in order to get a better hand on what strategies work. Check out the pics, if it looks interesting then it’s likely your thing, but I’m not sure if I can recommend it with only one play.
La Boca is also a building game, though very different. The game features a variety of brightly colored wooden blocks. Two players will form a team and attempt to build a structure from these blocks as fast as possible. What makes this a game and not a trivial exercise is that each player works from an opposite side of the board and must replicate what their side of a card shows. Each side shows something different and the players must maneuver blocks to recreate their image without stomping on their partners’ block placement. Most rounds play in less than a minute and every player will play with every other player twice. Points are awarded based on speed and the fastest player overall wins. This game gets a very high recommendation from me. If you’re easily frustrated or don’t play nice with others, then this may not be your game, but otherwise this is a must-play game. The theme is pointless, but the mechanisms, components, and gameplay are all so great as to override that entirely.
If you stuck through my board games then I’ll now discuss Smash fn 3DS. I played this quite a bit this week, though mostly unlocking all of the characters and running through all-star mode. As I get a better feel for the mobile version of the series I feel like it works pretty well except when the level gets too busy, then it can be hard to figure out what’s going on. Online had a few hiccups and not nearly enough options (stock anyone?) for play with random players, but was otherwise pretty enjoyable. Smash Run is also not my favorite mode for similar reasons, you play a platform game for 5 minutes then a timed smash game for 2.
Final Note: ANNIVERSARY!
Tomorrow is the one year anniversary of the Info Blast! My techniques have been fine tuned over the last 52 weeks and I think I’ve made several improvements.
The very first Info Blast ever, Oct 14th 2013
I’d love to hear what everyone has thought of the write-up over the last year and what you’d like to see of it in the future. If you’d like to show your appreciation for the Info Blast then let me know in the comments and/or donate to my Extra-Life campaign above! (Do-nate and/or donate :) )
Donators
Cumulative total record holder: Imitanis
Single Donation record holder: Imitanis
Donators eligible for drawing:
Greg H.
John V.
Matthew D.
John M.
Brett W.
Aram Z.
Peter V.
Billy B.
Les E.
Martin B.
Jeremy V.
Simon H.
Lusipurr@DiceAdmiral:
Info Blast Anniversary! Woah!
I, for one, am totally convinced. I would totally buy one. Except that I already have.
My advice is so good that it is working BACKWARD THROUGH TIME.
Fall Playthrough
AUTUMN.
And close: the Vagrant Story playthough Feature goes live on 26 October. Look forward to that! (Buy it on PSN!)
There’s not actually a ‘Nintendo’ in Smash for Wii U, so it’d just be Smash f Wii U.
Good observation. And in some ways, that’s even better. F (wii) You!
Before I get to my gaming moment, I’m going to be annoying for charity for a moment.
Everyone should give some money to DiceAdmiral’s thingy (I’ll be doing so on payday)!
Since I’m not an official staff member
Not YET, you mean.
My one quibble is that it’s not the best game to play with or around children as you really don’t want to teach impressionable youth to point guns at people.
Didn’t you play cowboys and indians or cops and robbers when you were a kid? We sure did. And so far, none of my childhood friends have gone on to shoot anyone, or themselves–even though we all had pellet and BB guns, paintball guns, the lot!
The game features a variety of brightly colored wooden blocks. Two players will form a team and attempt to build a structure from these blocks as fast as possible. What makes this a game and not a trivial exercise is that each player works from an opposite side of the board and must replicate what their side of a card shows. Each side shows something different and the players must maneuver blocks to recreate their image without stomping on their partners’ block placement.
We should play this game with the staff. WE DO WHAT MY PICTURE SAYS, the rest of you can suck it!
Smash Run is also not my favorite mode for similar reasons, you play a platform game for 5 minutes then a timed smash game for 2
Blech.
The very first Info Blast ever, Oct 14th 2013
Wow, it’s been a year since we moved from production number to podcast number? Time flies!
We like the Info Blast a lot, and hope we can look forward to many more years of Info Blasting blasting that info out there. Blast it all out. Blash away, info. Blast off! Tsubabababa~~~~~
FerchuI will listen to the all podcast soon but I had to make some remarks.
This guy that sent you the letter with criticism, I don’t think is wrong to do constructive criticism but I doubt that the guy was a reader or a listener since I dare to say there isn’t possible for someone that keeps coming back to this site and listen the podcast to do such (in my view) worthless negative points .
I don’t know if the guy is a troll or not, but he talks so much about the ¨so called corrupt journalism¨ in a way like it was not important, that sounds a lot like someone against the hashtag gamergate perhaps would say.
Lusipurr.com writers keep up the great work, and for you andrew wilson if you are there reading or maybe not, I just have to say that next time you send a letter, fill your letter with words that contain some kind of value.
@DiceAdmiral: Congratulations for the one year anniversary of the Info Blast! It is nice to see before I listen the podcast to see the content in great detail, it is a great feature :D .
I have to say that I prefer dogs that don’t fit in a purse :P
Lusipurr@Ferchu: I’d like to think that we even have time for listeners like Mr. Wilson, provided they maintain a bare civility in their correspondence!
WolfeI actually got the same impression as Fenchu. Sounded like an anti-GG sort trying to indirectly force a narrative tone to his liking. Kotaku, Andrew Wilson, is the next exit on your right. Feel free to take it.
DiceAdmiral“Not YET, you mean.”
I think doing the Info Blast is a semi-official capacity is about as far as I’ll go, but we’ll see. It could happen. It would be pretty fun to be the last reader standing though after you’ve hired everyone else.
“Didn’t you play cowboys and Indians or cops and robbers when you were a kid? We sure did. And so far, none of my childhood friends have gone on to shoot anyone, or themselves–even though we all had pellet and BB guns, paintball guns, the lot!”
Yeah, I did. This doesn’t quite apply for 2 reasons. 1. toy guns typically don’t look quite so much like real gun as these foam ones do as far as size and shape. 2: They’re not my kids and if their parents won’t play the game around them then, unfortunately, we won’t be playing the game.
“Congratulations for the one year anniversary of the Info Blast! It is nice to see before I listen the podcast to see the content in great detail, it is a great feature :D .
I have to say that I prefer dogs that don’t fit in a purse :P”
Thank you for the kind words! Corgis don’t fit in purses. They typically weigh around 20 lbs and are closer in size to a rolled up camping pad. Corgis are, however, the perfect size for backpacks!
http://i.imgur.com/yIucvYg.jpg
Lusipurr@DiceAdmiral: They must be WELL realistic foam guns. The toy guns I had as a kid were more or less real-looking, except for a little orange plastic cap on the end!
DiceAdmiralThey’re real looking enough for a 4 year old to see his parents using them and think it’s okay. Again, not my children, not my decision. I intend to have conversations with my kids (when I get around to creating them) about what is and is not okay in regards to firearms.
Here’s what they look like:
http://boardgamegeek.com/image/2060092/cah-n-guns-second-edition
Lusipurr@DA: Yeah, the toy guns we all had as kids looked WAY more realistic than those little foam flats. Ours were essentially plastic copies of real gun models, but with orange plastic caps on the ends.
MelPeople still email websites with complaints? Are they the kind of people that send mail to General Mills that they don’t like the recent change to their cereal? Who are these people?
Come here and comment instead!
LusipurrWhatever one may think of Mr. Wilson, he is certainly entitled to his views. AND, they’ve provided an opportunity for us to deliver the sort of featurette that we haven’t had since shortly after the first few MAPs were recorded–back when we had a run of console-themed episodes.
MelI should also note that I was meant to be on this episode but last minute interruptions made sure that wasn’t the case. Thankfully, and if only to assuage some people’s specific fears, I can confirm that SN and Lusi did a fine job this week regardless.
The increased editing doesn’t go unappreciated, and more people should say so.
LusipurrThe increased editing doesn’t go unappreciated, and more people should say so.
SOMEONE noticed!
I don’t normally comment on how long it takes me to do our audio editing (I consider that it is just part of my job, like writing a post is part of an editorialist’s job), but the new editing has massively increased the time needed: trebled or quadrupled, I’d say, on estimate.
In time, perhaps, this will come down a bit. Personally, I think it is worth it. The whole thing has a more ‘professional’ feel thanks to the audio backing and feature segments.
MelP.P.S, in the future event that I am not on the podcast I’ll follow DA’s example and post a gaming moment (as I encourage everyone else to do).
This week I played more Smash on 3DS (it’s addicting despite itself) and Diablo 3. I considered getting The Evil Within but it’s probably best I wait for a discount. Not very well-moneyed at the moment here in Mel-town. Too damn many games.
SiliconNooBHuh?!!! Those foam guns don’t look remotely realistic! The toy guns that I had as a child looked way more realistic. Hell, even the NES zapper looks more imposing!
EthosConsumer advice was awesome!
Although the Wii U can take Wii discs and play them, I’m not sure if not mentioning that was a joke I didn’t get.
I’m also glad you addressed my wind problem!
Also I recommend Game & Wario as a great Wii U game. Better if you have friends over often.
GymeI feel that Super Mario 3D World is so good that it is almost worth buying a Wii U just to play it. The Pikmin and Wind Waker remakes are pretty good too, although I feel they added a bit more content to Pikmin than they did to Wind Waker.
Size has never really mattered to me when it came to dogs. I’m just a dog lover, something that my four dogs(2 German Shepherds, a Yorkie, and a Shih Tzu mix) would attest to, if they could speak of course.
Lastly, I’ve been playing the Ace Attorney Trilogy compilation on my 3DS. The updated graphics look pretty good and I like the game allows you to speed through text on your first playthrough now. The only thing I don’t understand is why it won’t be released outside of Japan until December as the Japanese version gives players the option to play it in English.
LusipurrThe Pikmin and Wind Waker remakes are pretty good too, although I feel they added a bit more content to Pikmin than they did to Wind Waker.
Really? I saw NO DIFFERENCES WHATSOEVER. Odd.
The only thing I don’t understand is why it won’t be released outside of Japan until December as the Japanese version gives players the option to play it in English.
Lusipurr(Also everyone should post their gaming moments. I think we might read good ones on the podcast of a week.)
GymeReally? I saw NO DIFFERENCES WHATSOEVER. Odd.
Well, they did allow you to swap costumes for Olimar and I think they added a new color of Pikmin, but that was the extent from what I remember.
What will be interesting is if Capcom removes the all the Japanese for the Western release of the Ace Attorney Trilogy. Sometimes I think these Japanese companies remove the option to play in moon speak because they don’t want to give us any opportunity to potentially learn their wacky language. I mean, if we all could read Japanese, they wouldn’t be able to dictate when us lowly westerners could play their games.
DiceAdmiralI think the delay and language removal is based around a similar idea to region locking. Japanese companies don’t want their local customers to be able to import the game for a cheaper price. I’m not sure why Nintendo games would need this done though as Wii U and 3DS are both region locked IIRC.
Ethos@Gyme – Yes, SM3DW is wonderful. The camera in multiplayer being the biggest issue. Smaller issues are the super creative levels spoiling it for some of the other levels.
@SN – I agree! I want Waluigi or Tingle if I’m ever going to get an Amiibo
Also, I am also very glad that Captain Toad costs as much as I thought it should. Good move.
DiceAdmiralCan someone explain Captain Toad to me? I never encountered that part of 3D World (I didn’t play it for very long).
Lusipurr@DiceAdmiral: You are a silly man. Go play 3D world.
