Mela Firefly joins Kate and David to discuss The Sensorites. We discuss the final complete storyline in season one and the first with non-Dalek, non-human looking aliens.

]]> http://www.geekenstein.com/lonely-gods-episode-6-the-sensorites/feed/ 0 Doctor Who,First Doctor,Ood,Sensorites,William Hartnell Mela Firefly joins Kate and David to discuss The Sensorites. We discuss the final complete storyline in season one and the first with non-Dalek, non-human looking aliens. Mela Firefly joins Kate and David to discuss The Sensorites. We discuss the final complete storyline in season one and the first with non-Dalek, non-human looking aliens. Geekenstein no 1:06:59 http://www.geekenstein.com/hands-on-with-a-moga-controller/ http://www.geekenstein.com/hands-on-with-a-moga-controller/#comments Fri, 24 May 2013 21:47:14 +0000 David Rhinehart http://www.geekenstein.com/?p=10632

Until I actually got my hands on one, I always thought that the controllers for mobile phones were one of the dumbest ideas. Why would I want a controller for my phone? The whole point of the touch based platform was to make smaller games that were controlled in more simplistic manners for the literally mobile platform. If I wanted a controller, I would just stay at home or use a different mobile platform. It was a bit narrow minded of me.

We are at a point where mobile platforms rival the last generation of consoles, and in some ways, compare to the current. I was dismissing an entire playstyle because, at the time, it didn’t suit my lifestyle. Simply put, a MOGA controller works. It works well. It turns my phone into a game device with comparable experiences to the console that I already carry with me at all times. Yes, I love my 3DS, but I don’t always have it on me.

While the MOGA does require me to carry something else, the MOGA pocket controller is nothing like carrying around another device. It’s small, lightweight and fits well with my phone.The MOGA pro controller requires more effort, but as I said before, the real draw is the fact that I already have my phone on me and if I drain its battery, charging it is far more simple than charging a mobile game device. I’ve borrowed countless android chargers, but never a 3DS one unless I was at someone’s house.

Just as Alex did with the Gunnar glasses, I was fully expecting to talk with the MOGA people and end up making fun of a controller for my cellphone, but instead I was taken aback by their quality and utility. I despise games with virtual sticks, but now I don’t have to worry about that. Instead I have actual joysticks to play these games with. Instead of being frustrated with developers not taking advantage of the platform, they can now take advantage of the power these devices have without being a slave to the touch screen.

A MOGA controller isn’t for everyone, but they are good quality controllers that simply work on the platform. I find it hard to say much more than that, but the fact that I can even recommend them at all, especially considering my previous opinion, says quite a bit. If you want more from you mobile game experience and don’t want to shell out for Sony or Nintendo’s offerings, I definitely recommend that you check out a MOGA controller.

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We’re back with another installment of Broke and Bored, Geekenstein’s original video series that has David and myself drunkenly scouring the Internet for the best free-to-play titles available. We’re broke, bored, drunk, and coming at you exclusively on Geekenstein every Friday!

In this episode we tackle Warframe, a game about raging wars from within frames… or something like that.

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This wasn’t the first time we’ve seen Super Time Force and it won’t be the last, but every time Capy Games rolls out their latest project we have to check it out. This time the tweaks have added a rewind feature to the game that changes the play experience for the better. Capy’s track record has been nothing but excellent and Super Time Force looks to only make it better.

Epic is the combination of two stories, a magical race of leafmen that have to defend their kingdom against the encroaching rot and a daughter who is trying to connect with her estranged father after her mother dies. Thanks to forest magic, they become one in the same. Mary Katherine or MK as she prefers, voiced by Amanda Seyfried, is frustrated by her father Professor Bomba, voiced by Jason Sudeikis, obsession with the seemingly imaginary race in the forest until the queen gives MK a flower pod to protect and shrinks her down so she can work with the leafmen.

It’s a decent enough concept that we’ve seen before and it’s handled well. What really helps is the excellent voice cast they’ve assembled. It was strange to see Colin Farrell, who plays the leader of the leafmen Ronin, in a fun family movie, especially after his recent string of films. Josh Hutcherson does a fine job as MK’s love interest and the goofball leafman who has to get his act together in the face of danger. I found Beyonce, who played the queen of the forest, to do a fine job, but was a bit baffled as to why such a big name was cast in such a small part.

Perhaps the best casting was of the main antagonist and the comic relief characters. Christoph Waltz has been excellent in everything he is cast in and he makes a great villain in Epic as Mandrake, leader of the boggans and the bringer of the rot. Aziz Ansari and Chris O’Dowd (of The I.T. Crowd and Bridesmaids) play Mub and Grub, a slug and snail respectively who are responsible for the care of the pod until it blooms. I was worried when I first heard their voices, I’m all for the comedic characters, but I feared they would just be typecasted into their popular characters. Thankfully they managed to make Mub and Grub characters in their own right while still bringing the comedy we have come to expect from Ansari and O’Dowd.

I did enjoy Epic and there is enjoyment to be had, easily the weakest point of the film is MK and Bomba. You would think that two decades filled with films like The Dark Crystal, Princess Mononoke and Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind would have proven that there is an audience for these epic tales that are still geared towards children. The human element, at least here, only served to weaken the story. Instead of being focused 100% on the threat of the boggans, we have to care about getting MK back to normal size so she can reunite with her father whom she now knows is not insane. It left the movie feeling too similar to other stranger in a strange place stories.

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Epic is a return to the children’s epic stories that I have missed. All we’ve received lately is either remakes or adaptations of existing properties. While the father/daughter dynamic did work, I felt that it hindered what could have been a much better story. Regardless, Epic is the perfect film to take the family to. It’s a lighthearted adventure through an interesting world with a few laughs on the way. Isn’t that exactly what you want out of a kid’s movie? If you’re looking for something that everyone can fully enjoy, you’ll probably have to look elsewhere.

In Theaters: May 24, 2013
Runtime: 102 min
Rating: PG mild action, some scary images and brief rude language. 
Director: Chris Wedge
Cast: Colin Farrell, Josh Hutcherson, Beyoncé Knowles, Amanda Seyfried and Christoph Waltz
Genre: Adventure, Family
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Official Site: http://www.epicthemovie.com/

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As a huge fan of point and click adventure games, getting to talk to Dave Gilbert of Wadjet Eye about Gemini Rue and the resurgence of adventure games in general was one of my highlights of PAX. If you love adventure games as well, you should definitely be following the excellent games Wadjet Eye has and continues to release.

Knowing well that the plot of a beat’em up is not the focus, The Game Bakers have instead focused on what actually matters, the combat. You can pick from two fighters to start, Parker and Gina, and you can unlock Dolph and Sammo with collected controllers, earned from receiving gold medals in King of the Tower or beating challenges in Combo Crew Mode. Those controllers are also how you unlock more combos for you fighters.

Combo Crew (iOS[Reviewed], Android)
Developer: The Game Bakers
Publisher: The Game Bakers
Released: May 23, 2013
MSRP: $1.99

While it is usually a concern for fighting games, each of the fighters do have their own distinctive feel while still playing roughly the same, though that comes more from the fact that your inputs will remain the same regardless. The different moves each character have can change the way you approach situations, giving you adequate reason to switch. The touch based controls are simplified enough to work well, yet at times they are almost too simple.

Every level in Combo Crew is roughly the same, even if the visuals change. You are in a room the size of the screen, you tap enemies to target them, swipe them to attack, swipe and hold to charge and swipe with two fingers to unleash a combo. Keeping with the current trends, if an enemy goes to attack you, an exclamation point will appear above their head and you can tap the screen to counter. You can have four combos equipped at once, activating each by doing the two finger swipe from one side of the screen.

For the most part, the controls in Combo Crew work excellently. While being restricted to four combos can be a hindrance at times, after every level you can go into the menus and switch them out and at a certain point it is more about assuring that you have a combo with a juggle, a stun, a launch and a guard break, which combos you choose are up to you. There is no breaking from a combo once you start, so it’s all about managing the time between attacks.

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Unfortunately, especially if you are trying to complete a challenge, targeting enemies can be a bit of a pain. I had moments where my two finger swipe would target a different enemy instead of just launching the attack. Frustrating, but not enough so to keep me from coming back. For the levels in King of the Tower, which is the loose campaign, the enemy variety is fine, but if you keep going back to Combo Crew Mode, which is a gauntlet, the variety can be a bit lacking.

At the moment, Combo Crew seems to be an excellent game. The Game Bakers have promised more content down the line, which can alleviate some of the issues. What will make or break the game is adoption. Combo Crew Mode is fun enough, but when you get knocked out your friends can play the level to revive you, but if your friends aren’t playing one of the biggest features is eliminated. That being said, I had such a good time playing playing Combo Crew that I can see this taking off.

We swear this won’t be a habit, but after a hopefully entertaining but very disorganized first segment, we dive into a second segment that is all Star Trek Into Darkness spoiler discussion.

Hosts

David Rhinehart – @Zanthis

Kate Reilly – @OneEyedGoon

Marco Villalpando – @BoxingMarco

Willy Fresh – @WillyFresh992

Break Music by Matt Kondoff

Capcom and Dontnod’s Remember Me looks to be a fascinating new IP at the tail end of this console generation and here is why you should be excited for it.

5. Exploring 2084

There is a reason so many people still love the first Mass Effect. Exploration of a foreign space is exciting. Even though Remember Me takes place on Earth, the streets of Neo-Paris, while steeped in classic structure, feel like a different world. You can see the progression from where we are, to where this world says we go. This isn’t a wonderful place, even though there are the sections of the city that you picture when you think of the future, the police state MEMORIZE has built has left parts of the city in shambles.

While exploring slums may not be the highlight of most games, if there is a strong narrative presence associated with it, it can be incredibly rewarding. Half the fun of most video games are exploring their fantastical worlds. Even games based in reality are exciting because of exotic or unfamiliar spaces. Not only do you get to see the futuristic setting of Remember Me, but you get to explore inside people’s memories, which is fascinating and terrifying at the same time.

4. Smooth Traversal Gameplay

For lack of a better term, what I am talking about is the exploration style made famous by the Uncharted games. While some might say that this almost paint by numbers climbing and traversal method simplifies the platforming from the previous generation, I think it works to great effect. Simplifying traversal lends to a wider audience and the ability to craft traversal scenarios. Sure, you may not be able to explore every square inch of the world, but I’ll take that trade-off for the more story event based pacing.

This isn’t the case of your favorite franchise being changed to this format, Remember Me is a brand new IP that can format itself how it pleases. This isn’t a game trying to be Uncharted, it’s a game taking systems that are proven and using them to its advantage. Exploring the city as Nilin will be packed with plenty of intense moments that only this style of gameplay can provide.

3. Combo Lab

Remember Me’s Combo Lab lets players customize their combos and test their various combinations. While other games allow you to try and learn new combos, not many let you create your own and have specialized classes for combos. These classes, called Pressens, can result in combos that give you back some health, do more damage, recharge your special abilities or double the Pressen before it.

The special moves, called S-Pressens, have even more varied results. It’s a way to spice up the style of combat Batman: Arkham Asylum and Assassin’s Creed did such a good job introducing. As well as that systems works on its own, it’s good to see other games trying to put their own spin on it. It’s what elevates mechanics and prevents them from stagnating. For games like this where combat is a pretty big focus, good mechanics are key.

2. Remixing

Nilin is different in the world of Remember Me. While other people can view other’s memories, Nilin has the ability to ‘Remix’ them, which changes them and the minds of the people as well. In the demo from E3 2012 we saw Nilin change the memories of someone so a fight with their girlfriend resulted in that person murdering her and while she wasn’t actually dead, the man was so distraught with grief that he killed himself because of this false memory.

While that specific example is pretty dark, it is a fascinating concept that should be incredibly interesting to play. As they were presented, these remixing moments should be a fascinating puzzle break from combat and exploration. The concept of rewriting memories could create some interesting scenarios and if what we’ve seen is any indication, the team at Dontnod is crafting a very interesting game.

1. Plot

While another amnesia plot seems a bit trite, Remember Me somehow has managed to spin it into something interesting. Crafting an entire world around memories is a fascinating way to take the oppressive regime and the amnesia plot in an entirely new direction. Just exploring the concept of memories is fascinating enough. We craft our entire purpose on our memories and a story where those are not forgotten, but stolen isn’t something we’ve seen often.

Neo-Paris in 2084 is a dark, depressing place filled with the husks of people who have experienced so many memories that aren’t theirs that they have lost all meaning of self and devolved in the shambling remains of people. Nilin has not only been robbed of her own life, but she possesses the ability to permanently change those of others. This is a world that just begs to be explored. I hope that Remember Me can craft these concepts into an excellent game when it comes out on June 4 2013.

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There were two games at PAX East that you couldn’t help but be drawn to through visual style alone. Contrast was one of them and had the added plus of excellent sound design to please your eyes and ears all at once. Compulsion Studios have crafted a fascinating game set in noir/art deco blend of Paris and has you playing as the main character Dawn’s imaginary friend Didi. Dawn has a particularly rough childhood and uses Didi as a way to escape it.

Didi has the ability to turn herself into a shadow, flattening against walls and enabling her to navigate to otherwise unreachable locations. She also collects light cores that can power machinery, turning on new light sources and changing the shadows in the environment. The demo we were given gave several instances of this and worked in a way unlike anything I have played before.

Contrast is a dark game, but seen through the whimsical eyes of a child. I had the chance to sit down with Compulsion’s Guillaume Provost and discuss the ideas behind it, his time in France that inspired the setting, getting song licenses and much more.