Presidential Flash Games

If you check out the politics tag on Will and Beyond, you'll see that I have Obama fever.  How can I work that into a post here on Table Salt Games?  How about some Obama flash games.  Kongregate links are given whenever possible.  Be forewarned that none of these are as good as you'd find on Flashy Friday.

The Good:

Campaign: General Election: Fun strategy game where you have to win over all of the regions of the US using your candidate and staff.  Staffmembers include the Spinmeister, Fundraiser, and the Operative.  Slinging mud and launching negative campaign ads are two examples of fun attacks you have.

The Mediocre:

Polimon: Politics + Pokemon = Polimon.  Walk around the country activating states while you run into random battles with evangelists, political conservatives, etc.

Super Obama World: A Super Mario World knockoff.  Instead of mushrooms making you grow big, slices of pie (huh?) make you wear sunglasses.  Don't collect coins, but rather American flags.  Levels such as "The Real America" and "I Can See Russia from my House!".  Unfortunately, I got to the end of one of the levels, and nothing happened...

Race for the White House: Very easy.  At some point in the beginning I ran past McCain and never saw him again.  Collect money, avoid campaign road blocks, and don't kill birds unless you want to lose the green vote.

The Bad:

Hilary vs. Obama: Do like clicking a lot?  As long as you don't expect anything other than clicking, this could be the game for you!

Obama vs. Joe the Plumber: Punch with M, block with B.  Yeah, that's it.  As tired as I was of hearing about Joe the Plumber, this still isn't very satisfying.

American Chess 2008: Are all of these games just bad attempts at fighting games, 'Obama vs. [insert opponent's name here]'?

Barack Obama Race for the White House: Not a fighting game, but still.  Looking for a bad Puzzle Bobble knockoff?  Here you go.

And on a completely unrelated note, here's a inexplicably fun Monopoly knock-off.

Godspeed.

Flashy Friday: 99 Bricks

This game came out a while ago on Kongregate but since I've been talking about Tetris recently, I figured I should put this game up as the Flashy Friday game as it's an interesting variant on Tetris.


Instead of focusing on making lines, 99 bricks is focused on making towers. The bricks you have are identical to tetraminoes but, gravity will affect the pieces. So as you build your tower you'll begin to realize that it is swaying, and suddenly leaving a thin column on the right of left sides for a line piece isn't a good strategy.

This game is very addictive and the challenges on Kongregate are just mean. Building a tower with a height of 600 is crazy hard as is, and using all 99 bricks in one tower is also insane. It's not impossible though; my friend Angela did manage to achieve both of those goals. And she STILL holds it over my head as one of her gaming achievements over me.

*sigh*

Click here to play 99 bricks right now.

Amazing Tetris Videos

Most of the easter eggs I put in my posts are in my Top 52 segment. I didn't put any in the Tetris DS (#25) post because there are just too many great Tetris videos out there. So instead I'm just going to compile them here for you all to enjoy.

Note: If know of any other awesome Tetris videos, please tell me and I'll update this post with the video.

The Original Human TETRIS Performance by Guillaume Reymond


Human Tetris (2:05 is hilarious)


Stupid Tetris


Mega64: Tetris


Tetris Ninjas


Tetris: The Movie


Little Big Planet Tetris Completed Version


Tetris Japanese Player (my favorite, if you get bored watch from 4:00 on: your mind will get blown)


Tetris is awesome.

Top 52: Tetris DS (#25)

I love Tetris. I knew Tetris had to be on my list and the DS version is the best one out yet. In fact, Tetris DS is the highest rated DS game on my Top 52. Read on to find out why.


Title: Tetris DS
Console: Nintendo DS
Release Date: 03/20/06
Genre: Puzzle
My Ranking: #25
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Tetris is more than a game. Tetris has become so popular that it has become a cultural phenomenon. One man has been jailed for not turning off his game of Tetris on a flight in England. Tetris has been studied for it's effects on the brain. Some people even have suffered from the Tetris effect, where they either see delusions of blocks falling in their eyes, of look at everyday objects and cannot help but picturing how they form together to make lines.

I've never had delusions of Tetris blocks, but I still organize items into lines in my mind, mostly because of Tetris DS. I've played Tetris for the NES and of course for the Game Boy, but I believe that Tetris DS is the best iteration of the series.



The first thing you'll notice in Tetris DS is that there are classic NES characters running around on the top screen. When you complete lines, Mario will advance in Super Mario Bros., or maybe you'll see Link stabbing Octoroks, or possibly even the Balloon Fight guys flying around hitting balloons. The NES animations are a nice touch to the Tetris game, as both Tetris and the NES characters are nostalgic.

Tetris DS had everything that I think Tetris should have. Tetris DS has the hold feature, where you can store on piece on the side and swap it out for another. Tetris DS also has the "easy spin" feature, where the Tetrominoes don't automatically stick to the pieces upon touching them, allowing you to spin pieces to place them properly. Tetris DS also has six playing modes, most of which are good, and the game also has online play.



Tetris DS has the marathon mode where you can just play forever, and I've maxed out the lines completed counter at 999 multiple times. Within marathon mode though, they also have versus CPU and the CPU character on the highest level is pretty hard so that stays enjoyable. Seriously, if you make one mistake against a level 5 CPU, you lose. I like that. Tetris should appeal to the insane.

Tetris DS also had mission mode, where you have to complete different tasks in an allotted time. Tasks include easy tasks like "clear four lines at once" or ones that require a bit preparation like "clear 2 lines with [insert tetromino here]." All of this action happens with NES Link in the background and the timer is ten heart containers slowly draining if you don't complete the task.

One other mode I'll highlight is one that Lima really enjoyed. This mode was called Touch and required you to use the stylus. To start, tons of tetrominoes would be placed randomly together, forming a large tower. At the top of the tower would be a bunch of caged balloons. The goal is to use the stylus to turn the blocks, form lines that would disappear and then have the balloons reach the floor. I don't know why Lima enjoyed this mode so much, but at least it was creative, I think.


For all of Nintendo's problems with Wi-Fi, their online play for Tetris DS was awesome. I still find games very quickly and all of the games are really intense. When you complete a line, you send grey blocks to your opponent from the bottom up. However, the blocks you send are lined up perfectly, so if it's open, you'll give your opponent a free Tetris that he'll send back to you, and then you'll send back it back to him, and so forth. It's addictive and you need to be stupid fast.

I still play Tetris DS and I still play it online. Whenever I'm having a bad day, I still put this game on and watch lines (and my problems) disappear. I've always been a Tetris lover, and there's no question that Tetris DS is the best I've seen in classic Tetris iterations. Multiple modes, quirky but fitting NES graphics, and reliable and competitive online play. Tetris DS is one DS game I'll be playing for years to come.
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My Top 52:
#52 --- Star Fox 64 (N64)
#51 --- Kirby's Adventure (NES)
#50 --- Roller Coaster Tycoon (PC)
#49 --- Grand Theft Auto III (PS2)
#48 --- Metroid Prime (GC)
#47 --- Halo 3 (Xbox 360)
#46 --- Bomberman 64 (N64)
#45 --- Guitar Hero II (PS2)
#44 --- Super Street Fighter II (GEN)
#43 --- Pokemon Puzzle League (N64)
#42 --- Soul Calibur II (GC)
#41 --- Gears of War (Xbox 360)*
#40 --- Elite Beat Agents (DS)
#39 --- Call of Duty 4 (PS3)
#38 --- Super Metroid (SNES)
#37 --- The Orange Box (PS3)*
#36 --- Metal Gear Solid (PS)
#35 --- Doom (PC)
#34 --- Super Mario Kart (SNES)
#33 --- Mischief Makers (N64)
#32 --- Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii)
#31 --- Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (SNES)
#30 --- Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Justice for All (DS)
#29 --- Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (GC)
#28 --- F-Zero (SNES)
#27 --- Katamari Damacy (PS2)*
#26 --- Mario Kart 64 (N64)
#25 --- Tetris DS (DS)*

*- Denotes highest ranked game for that console

Scrabulous, is that you?

Know that feeling of running into an old friend on the street, and having him call out your name You see the face, but you don't recognize it immediately.  Then it hits you, friend!  But wait, some things have changed.  As you see one thing different him, you start to notice others...

This fits well with my relationship with Scrabulous.  You may remember that my first post here was mourning the loss of my good friend.  I moved on, made other friends, and now I find that Scrabulous has risen from the dead.  Zombie Scrabulous?  Enough with these ridiculous analogies, on to some content.

Apparently, about 3 months ago, Lexulous.com was born, and used the old Scrabulous data.  It was until 2009 when it was reborn on Facebook, and we got a message from Rajat and Jayant that they had returned.  I was amazed; all of my old games were still saved, and active.

I made my first move, and was filled with joy.  A few plays later, I noticed something strange.  The Z is worth 12 points???  As any serious Scrabble player can tell you, the Z is only worth 10 points.    Maybe this was just in the new game I started.  No, they went back and updated all of the tiles on the old games too.  Did they update the scores?  Maybe, but there's no way to really tell.  Here's a list of the updated tiles, with their Scrabble values in parentheses:¹

B:4 (3)

C:4 (3)

F:5 (4)

H:5 (4)

K:6 (5)

M:4 (3)

P:4 (3)

Q: 12 (10)

T: 2 (1)

V: 5 (4)

W: 5 (4)

Y: 5 (4)

Z: 12 (10)

Sure, there's a different name², and a slightly different scoring system, but will I still play the game?  Of course.  I can't turn my back on a game I love, even if it's a slightly deformed version of it.

Has anyone else noticed any other changes?  Also, challenge me to a game.

[1]: This is going off memory, so something might be wrong.  But don't tell me if it is, I don't want to feel ashamed.

[2]: Today we debated whether or not it's a good name.  I think it's fine (derived from lexicon, but still keeping the some resemblance to Scrabulous), but other people thought it sounded like ass (their words, not mine).  Your thoughts?

Godspeed.

Cairo's Game Valley

As most of my readers know, I've been in Cairo for 2 weeks. I leave for New York tomorrow, so writing on this blog will be a bit less sporatic soon.

Egypt isn't really a video gaming place but, my roommate did show me a video game store in Cairo called Game Valley. Click on their games tab and you'll notice that they don't show their Wii games, which they had in their store when I visited. Part of the reason why they probably don't show them is because their merchandise is clearly pirated.


First off, all of the Wii games were 80 L.E., which in American money, would work out to be about $14.50. You could argue that since the cost of living is less in Cairo, games would cost less. However, if the extremely low price wasn't a giveaway, then one of their "Wii" games is clearly pirated. They were selling a single Wii disc that had the "Wii" games of Star Fox Adventures, Beyond Good and Evil, and the Zelda promotional disc that had four Zelda games on it. I say these were Wii games because they had the Wii logo plastered on them for the box art. However, anyone who plays games knows that these games came out for the Gamecube, NOT the Wii.

Regardless, if the Wii was region-free, I was going to buy a whole bunch of games and sell them back in the States and make a pretty penny. However, all of these games were the PAL versions, so they wouldn't work on a United States Wii system unforunately.


Oddly enough, this store also had no Xbox360 games whatsoever. They had a crapton of PS2 games and Game Boy Advance games, but the Xbox360 was nowhere to be seen. They also had PS3 games but they were selling them at 675 L.E. a pop, which works out to be about $120 per game. Who could afford games at that insane price? And why was is so inflated compared to the Wii? I know Blu-ray is a more expensive disc but an over $80 difference? Makes no sense to me.

I can't wait to get back to the States though. The new Prince of Persia and Resistance 2 are calling me. That, and I miss my family and my girlfriend. They are kinda important too.

Top 52: Mario Kart 64 (#26)

Having 4-players at once is pretty standard now but, the N64 was the first popular console to have four controller slots. Part of the reason why Mario Kart 64 was so successful was because it was the first really awesome game to be played with more than two people, and therefore really good to play at parties.


Title: Mario Kart 64
Console: Nintendo 64
Release Date: 02/10/97
Genre: Racing
My Ranking: #26
-------------------------------------

Following up on their success from Super Mario Kart for the SNES, Nintendo brought the Mario Kart series to 3D on the Nintendo 64. Sporting sixteen strange courses, a litany of items, and 4-player support, Mario Kart 64 become the ultimate muliplayer fantasy racing game. Why are Mario characters racing in Go-Karts through Bowser's castle and Moo Moo farm? No one knows really, but what I do know is that this game is insanely fun to play, even now.

Everyone knows how Mario Kart works. You do laps on a track and you can pick up items and shoot them at people. However, what makes Mario Kart 64 so great is that the game feels balanced. The person in last place gets better items than the person in first and therefore has an easier chance to catch-up. Sure, this may cause a rubber-band effect from time to time (meaning the person in last quickly bounces to first, and so on) but, in my experience with the game, the better driver/player wins the majority of the time.


Since Mario Kart 64 is balanced, the game works excellently for hardcore players like myself. It's a ton of fun to race against someone who is really good, while each of you are cutting corners and constantly getting boosts from power slides. However, even for non-hardcore players, Mario Kart 64 is an amazing game.

Since newer players tend to fall to the back of the pack, they get all of the cool items, like stars, golden mushrooms and blue shells. Since these items help propel them to the front without intense skill, newer players don't feel left out of the experience. It's especially rewarding to new players when they pick up a blue shell, use it, and hit the first-place player. The hardcore player who was in first will say something like "Oh @#$%," or something to that effect, and the new player will laugh and feel pride at effecting the outcome.



Somehow then, Mario Kart 64 is a game for hardcore gamers and casual gamers. It even works for non-gamers as well since they understand the basic premise: get to the finish line. And since the game is so colorful and there is tons of action happening with items, everyone will even enjoy the game on a purely visual level.

The game does have some faults though. The special shortcuts on Koopa Troopa Beach, Wario Stadium, and Rainbow Road cut so much of the track that if you do make them and someone else doesn't for a lap, there is no chance at the other player recovering. The track design wasn't as top notch as it could have been. Also, one glaring problem is that versus mode doesn't have music for the tracks, which makes the game feel a bit empty at times.



Still, Mario Kart 64 is the best racing game to play with a lot of people. The game moves relatively fast and you'll have a lot of people talking/swearing during gameplay. Course for course, F-Zero has better design (and better music) but Mario Kart 64 will give you one of the best multiplayer experiences in video gaming.
-------------------------------------
My Top 52:
#52 --- Star Fox 64 (N64)
#51 --- Kirby's Adventure (NES)
#50 --- Roller Coaster Tycoon (PC)
#49 --- Grand Theft Auto III (PS2)
#48 --- Metroid Prime (GC)
#47 --- Halo 3 (Xbox 360)
#46 --- Bomberman 64 (N64)
#45 --- Guitar Hero II (PS2)
#44 --- Super Street Fighter II (GEN)
#43 --- Pokemon Puzzle League (N64)
#42 --- Soul Calibur II (GC)
#41 --- Gears of War (Xbox 360)*
#40 --- Elite Beat Agents (DS)
#39 --- Call of Duty 4 (PS3)
#38 --- Super Metroid (SNES)
#37 --- The Orange Box (PS3)*
#36 --- Metal Gear Solid (PS)
#35 --- Doom (PC)
#34 --- Super Mario Kart (SNES)
#33 --- Mischief Makers (N64)
#32 --- Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii)
#31 --- Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (SNES)
#30 --- Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Justice for All (DS)
#29 --- Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (GC)
#28 --- F-Zero (SNES)
#27 --- Katamari Damacy (PS2)*
#26 --- Mario Kart 64 (N64)

*- Denotes highest ranked game for that console

Flashy Friday: Interactive Buddy

Did you ever get the urge to punch/explode/set fire to somebody? If so, Interactive Buddy is for you. Interactive buddy is not really a game; it's more of an interactive program.


Your "buddy" is the round grey dude shown above. By clicking different abilities from the menu, you are able to click anywhere on the screen and use that ability. For example, to start off, I would suggest clicking on grenades from the item menu and spray those across the screen. Your buddy will be confused for a moment and then BOOM; he's bounced around the screen in a fiery blaze. It's cute, really.

The more damage you do to your buddy, the more money you get to buy more things to hurt him with. To get money quickly, use grenades first and then buy missiles for $100. Use the missiles and money will rack up very quickly. From there, enjoy buying new skins for your buddy, more modes and of course, more weapons.

Click here to play Interactive Buddy right now.

Top 52: Katamari Damacy (#27)

Katamari Damacy is by far the best game on the Playstation 2. If you have this system, you absolutely MUST own this game. Read on to find out why.


Title: Katamari Damacy
Console: Playstation 2
Release Date: 09/22/04
Genre: Puzzle Action?
My Ranking: #27
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With so many games that have come and gone it is rare to find a game that is as unique as Katamari Damacy. In Katamari Damacy, you control a little green prince who pushes a ball called a katamari. This ball is able to pick up anything that is smaller than itself and upon picking that object up it gets progressively bigger in size. Basically, you playing a a game that revovles around the snowball effect.



Why are you rolling up objects on planet Earth? Well, the American version of Katamari omits this knowledge but the Japanese version gives an awesome backstory. The King of all Cosmos apprently got REALLY drunk one night and destroyed all of the stars in the universe. In order to cover up his mistake, he sent his son, the Prince of all Cosmos, to Earth to roll up objects with his katamari. Upon recieveing those objects, the King of all Cosmos shoots the ball into space and turns it into a star. Yes, our stars are made of thumbtacks, cats, legos, and volcanos.

Aside from the water, EVERYTHING in Katamari Damacy can be picked up with your ball. A dog early on may be able to push you around but once you gain enough objects you'll be able to pick up him. A level may start out inside of a house but, if you are fast enough and pick up enough stuff, you'll be able to then roll up the entire house. The camera slowly pans out further and further as you pick up more objects and before you know it, you're picking up entire islands, clouds, and even rainbows.



As if the premise wasn't good enough, the cel-shaded graphics add even more to the gameplay. Katamari Damacy looks and feels like Japanese mangas on crack. The world is vibrant with bright colors and the sheer cuteness of the people as they wiggle when you pick them up in your ball will make you smile. I don't understand why people are necessary in a katamari to make a star, but the King of all Cosmos never seems to mind.

The music and sounds are also top notch. Sure, some of it is whacky J-Pop, but the Japanese jazz pieces will absolutely blow your mind. All of the songs fit perfectly with the cutesy birght environment and they are all insanely catchy. Upon hearing the main theme, there is no doubt that it will stick in your head for days. Also, nothing beats rolling over a cow and here it go moo. That's just awesome.


Katamari Damacy does have competitive multiplayer, but I never really enjoyed it. I wished they would have had some sort of cooperative mode where you each get a ball to control, but the game can be enjoyed with multiple people in single player mode. Your friends will scream out where they think you're supposed to go and there is so much stuff happening on the screen at once that you'll even enjoy sitting back and watching the madness ensue.

By no means is Katamari Damacy easy either. There is a timer for each level and if you do not get your ball big enough in the alloted time, the King will be very angry with you. You'll fail some levels if you haven't played it before, but by the end of the game you should be good enough to complete the final stage where you roll up just about everything in the world. In addition, in order to unlock all of the comets, you'll need to get your ball big enough in an even shorter time, and some of the comet times will keep you playing for hours.



Katamari was really a complete and unique game. Whenever we bring this to PLAY events, people always want to play it or watch someone else run through the levels. So if you are a PS2 owner, do yourself a favor and pick this game up as anyone can enjoy this game. It made be one of the best game purchases you have ever made.
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My Top 52:
#52 --- Star Fox 64 (N64)
#51 --- Kirby's Adventure (NES)
#50 --- Roller Coaster Tycoon (PC)
#49 --- Grand Theft Auto III (PS2)
#48 --- Metroid Prime (GC)
#47 --- Halo 3 (Xbox 360)
#46 --- Bomberman 64 (N64)
#45 --- Guitar Hero II (PS2)
#44 --- Super Street Fighter II (GEN)
#43 --- Pokemon Puzzle League (N64)
#42 --- Soul Calibur II (GC)
#41 --- Gears of War (Xbox 360)*
#40 --- Elite Beat Agents (DS)
#39 --- Call of Duty 4 (PS3)
#38 --- Super Metroid (SNES)
#37 --- The Orange Box (PS3)*
#36 --- Metal Gear Solid (PS)
#35 --- Doom (PC)
#34 --- Super Mario Kart (SNES)
#33 --- Mischief Makers (N64)
#32 --- Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii)
#31 --- Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (SNES)
#30 --- Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Justice for All (DS)
#29 --- Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (GC)
#28 --- F-Zero (SNES)
#27 --- Katamari Damacy (PS2)*

*- Denotes highest ranked game for that console

A Football E-mail Conversation

The only unfortunate thing about being in Cairo is that I am missing a good chunk of the NFL playoffs. My roommate's family is awesome enough to have AFN, the military network, so if I wanted to, I could watch all of the games. However, Cairo is seven hours ahead of New York, so those 8 E.T. games start at 3AM here. Ouch.

For those people who have been watching the playoffs though, you must be sratching your heads at the improbable outcomes. Eagles beat the Vikings at Minnesota; the Cardinals pulled out a victory over the Falcons, and the Chargers (the supposed BEST team in the AFC according to ESPN even when they started out 3-5) beat Peyton Manning and the Colts. Seriously, this season makes no sense.


However, despite not being able to watch the games, my brother has been giving me e-mail updates... well more like rants. He also missed the Chargers game, since he had to go to a wedding. Here's how the conversation went down. My brother is hilarious when it comes to football.
---------------

My Brother: Monday night:

"So, it turns out that all of our first round playoff picks were wrong, with the exception of the Ravens game! Eagles beat Vikings; Ravens beat Dolphins; Cardinals beat Falcons; and Chargers beat Colts.

So, next weekend, Giants play Eagles (ouch . . .); Panthers play Cardinals; Titans play Ravens; and Steelers play Chargers. Our conference & super bowl picks mostly remain (absent the Colts), but our wacky worst case scenario picks are all fucked. We could conceivably have an Eagles-Chargers super bowl for crying out loud."

My Response: Monday Morning:

"I've been keeping track of the scores here in Cairo. I think my brain exploded when I woke up to find out that the Cardinals and Chargers both won in the same day. I expected ONE upset though, not three with the Eagles also beating the Vikings.

I was really happy when the Cardinals beat the Falcons though. That win meant the Giants were guaranteed to play either the Cards or the Eagles, both of which will be an easy game. Now if the Cards somehow beat the Panthers, the NFC championship game will be LOL for the Giants.

The NFL playoffs is confusing. Single elimination blows."

My Brother's Response: Tuesday Morning:

"Yeah seriously on the brain explosion. I feel like this will be the weekend that the world rights itself again though. I think the Eagles game will be tougher than we think though, as the two teams know each other well. That said, an underreported aspect of the Eagles game was that Westbrook only had about 35 yards on the ground; his total yardage was overflated due to the ridiculous 72 yards he gained on a screen pass . . . A FUCKING SCREEN PASS. I mean look, if the Vikes aren't going to bother to contain a basic screen pass, the game's just not fair.

For the Ravens, I hope you got a chance to see some of the highlights. One in particular was a VICIOUS Bart Scott hit on Pennington a split-second after he released the ball in fear--Pennington was positively propelled backwards, as if he had been hit by a giant flat wall over his entire body rather than being tackled by another person. Reminded me of sci-fi movies where a guy gets hit by a concussion blast and his whole body flies straight backwards. Pennington crumpled to the floor like a broken man. And throws that led to those record 4 interceptions were epic. They were definitely the "bombs" we imagined, only they were bombed vertically instead of horizontally, and into double coverage at that.

Missed the Cards and Chargers' games for the most part. Ryan fell apart for the Falcons, and the Cards--for the first time all season--both ran the ball and stopped the run. The Chargers game was apparently the greatest game of the entire weekend, and I was at the fucking wedding for all of it. I got back to the hotel room in time to see Rivers being interviewed, and to hear the announcers do a recap--insane lead changes, great back and forth, and overtime--an overtime where the Colts defense just imploded in a way I haven't seen in a long time. Just retarded penalties (a crippling face mask, a holding call, a pass interference call, etc.) that let the Chargers march up the field.

And I'm not even talking about Darren Sproles. If you could have told me that the Colts would contain LDT (fuckin' nickname), knock him out of the game, and still lose, I would have laughed at you. And if you would have told me that Darren My-Name-Makes-Me-Sound-A-Little-Bit-Like-I-Should-Have-Been-A-Character-On-The-Jetsons Sproles would have 328 combined yards and would be the difference-maker, I would have left the room and sought help for you.

This last bit worries me. Could mean that the mighty Kurt Warner could have a 450-yard passing game this weekend. Could mean that David Tyree makes a catch with his jockstrap this time. Could mean that Vince Young makes a miraculous return in Tennessee as a middle linebacker, and has 7 sacks. In the immortal words of Kevin Garnett after the Celtics won the NBA championship last year, "ANYTHING IS POSSIBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"."
-----------------

Yeah, we're like this all time. Especially when it somes to sports.

I actually review a type of damn dice.

For starters, yes, I am actually reviewing a type of die. Be in awe of my mighty geekitude! Though in light of certain discoveries, I feel no shame. I do wonder what the hell they were playing though.

Now there are times when my will is strong and I can be a very frugal and responsible man. However there are also times when I crumple like a pair of Kleenex underoos because of something shiny. This is one of those times.

I present*, the D-Total. Yep, a 24 sided die that does the job of at least 17 normal dice. Probably more if you play Hackmaster, one of the few games that actually calls for a D10,000,000. Now why did I buy this? Because it was cool and it was there.

This little baby was brought out at the 2008 GenCon by its developers, Lou Zocchi and Dr. A. F. Simkin. Zocchi is the same gentleman who brought us the 100 sided die, or Zocchihedron. Makes me pissed I missed the con last year and as a result I’m making arrangements to go to this year’s convention. So I’ve been hounding the Gamestation site since September waiting for this to go on sell. The moment it did I grabbed one and last time I checked there are only 3 left. So on with the review.

The die is big. Really big. Bigger than a ping pong ball. And it’s made of a lightweight but strong, bright white plastic. The lettering is a sharp black and is easily readable, and it appears to be etched into the plastic which means it probably won’t smudge anytime soon. The die has a total of 24 sides and it’s easy to read your results. Now the info on each side appears a bit complex at first, but after finding an explanation online it all made sense. Each side contains 4 shapes and a bunch of numbers. Each shape represents a common type of die and the shape corresponds to the shapes on that type of die.

For instance, when you look at a classic 6 sided die, it looks like a square. So on the D-Total, the square shape indicates the result for a d6. The same goes for a D4, D8, and D12. The other numbers/pips/roman numerals on the die represent other types of dices and from all of that you can come up with other die types. Want a D20? Just roll the die and if the result is a 21 to 24, reroll, for a D10, half that result, and so on. This sounds complex and it can be, but if you’ve gamed for any length of time you’ve figured out all sorts of short cuts like these that allow you to use one type of die for some other that you happen to be missing at the moment.

Cons:
This isn’t a solid die. The sucker’s hollow and it rolls a bit light as a result. It bounces too much and the roll has a hollow sound to it on a hard table, on paper, not really noticeable. Now I’ve rolled those giant 2 inch, solid dice before and I’ll admit they are too heavy and they make a hell of a lot of noise as they hit the table, but still a bit more weight on the D-Total would have been nice. Also the way they manufactured this die leaves a noticeable seam on it. This sucker was formed in 2 parts and then sealed with some sort of sonic device. On mine the seal is nice and strong, but there is a noticeable crack open where the seam meets on one side. It probably wont be a problem in the long run and this the first run of these they’ve made so there are bound to be a few bugs, but it does kinda hurt it aesthetically. I’m also afraid to try to fix it, because I might screw up the balance or break it in the process. It's also a bit pricy. At $26.99 it does cost more than a full set of normal dice. However that's still cheaper than a set of Zocchi dice, which are worth it as far as quality stands. But nothing says durable like metal.

Pros:
Its 17 bloody dice in 1. As a GM or gamer on the go it’s nice to only need one die and with this one you’ll be ready for any game you might happen across. And if you add it to your normal roster of dice, you’ll never be sort a die. Missing a D8 and don’t want to slow things down by digging around for one? Just grab the thing and roll. Also, because of its lightweight nature, it’s great for throwing. As a GM, sometimes you just want to pop a player upside the head with a die. But most of the time you risk injury as they are too small and will hurt too much, or they’re too heavy and you risk manslaughter. There is always the foam option, but then those suckers are a bit big and ungainly and you risk them seeing it coming.

Overall, I like it, and I'd recommend it. I can see myself using it a lot in my games and it’ll make my life as a GM a bit easier. Plus it looks cool and is bound to impress. I don’t like how it feels or sounds when it rolls and the seam along the edge is a bit of a turnoff. But on the other hand this is the first run of these dice they’ve done so far and I’m willing to bet that next time they will do better. Plus Zocchi is known for making some pretty fine quality dice and I’d own more if they weren’t so damned expensive. I’m still debating buying a copy of the glow-in-the-dark ones he sells.

Now let me leave you with a little bit of Zocchi at work. Enjoy ^_^






*That pic of the D-Total was borrowed from another review at Mataka.org. I wrote this at work and I forgot to bring the bloody thing with me. :p

Flashy Friday: Vector Runner

I was surprised at myself for not showing this game earlier since I absolutely love this flash game. Vector runner is a racing game that uses vector graphics, which gives the game a unique feel. Be warned, this game is addictive.


The impossible achievement on Kongregate for this game is insane. You need to get 30,000 points without taking a single hit. Good luck trying to get that one. It took me hours of staring at the computer screen to get that badge.

Click here to play Vector Runner right now.

RPGs in 2008

It has not been the best of years for table-top gaming. 2008 saw the death of D&D creator Gary Gygax. It also saw the release of the 4th edition of that same game, as well as a rather pitiful scattering of decent releases. It’s a bit difficult to really analyze how the year’s been for most of the gaming community because you tend to focus more on those systems you play. As a result I don’t really know how RIFTs did this year, release-wise. However I did keep an eye on some of the big ones.

As I mentioned, this year saw the death of gaming great Gary Gygax. Now if you’ve ever played any sort of RPG, on the table or on your Nintendo/Playstation/Etc, then you’ve been influenced by this man’s work. He and Dave Arneson co-created Dungeons and Dragons from what was basically a modified version of H.G. Well’s “Little Wars”, a war game played in a sandbox or on a table using toy soldiers. The two then began to sue each other over royalties and other issues and eventually they went their separate ways, leaving the company after it fell into the hands of Lorraine Williams’ family, thanks to the trouble with Blume, and from there into the clutches of Hasbro. Gary continued to be involved in gaming and wrote many more books on the topic after he left TSR. With his death this last year, it was announced that the new 4th edition of D&D would be dedicated to him. A lame gesture as Gary was not happy with the direction they took the 3rd edition in and would have been pissed regarding what they did in 4th. There are a lot of bad jokes out there about his death, mostly pun quality D&D references, but then as a group, it’s not uncommon for gamers to dick around, waste time, and tell god awful jokes while at the table. So it’s probably ok.

Speaking of 4th edition D&D. It sucked. Good? Good, now as for other things going on…
...Oh fine, I’ll explain.

1st edition D&D can be said to be a bit harsh and limiting. Your character choices are based heavily on the stats you roll and the adventures were quite unforgiving. 2nd edition D&D was more structured and more varied. It was still harsh at times though. It was also a bit broken as it was put out under William’s reign over the company so there was more emphasis on putting out material than on keeping it consistent. 3rd edition had a similar problem as Hasbro had them pumping out book after book after book. 3rd ed. was a much more varied and wonder filled system. It was a lot more simplistic and the aim was to make it easier to learn. The downside to this was that they released books about everything imaginable, making the system a rules lawyer’s dream. And you again had the consistency problem considering how much material they were pumping out. Now D&D aside, the d20 system they used was great and before their buyout by Hasbro less than a year after they bought D&D from TSR, Wizards of the Coast set it up so the d20 system would be open source. Meaning if you want to use their rule system to produce a competing game, then go right ahead. Hasbro was not happy about that one, but it means that tons of small gaming companies could pop up and the system’s not half bad.

But then 4th edition was finally released this year and it looks nothing like its predecessors. The initial reactions from most of the game reviewers made me suspect that Hasbro was sending out hookers with the reviewer copies of the game. They hype was huge and 4th edition could do no wrong. It was the perfect, ultimate, super new version of D&D and if it didn’t add 3 inches onto your cock then you were a sad little troll. Needles to say, a month or two after its release many reviewers changed their tone.

4th edition is a board game that uses Hasbro brand miniatures and does its very best to imitate World of Warcraft. Everyone has magic spells now, and every character can heal himself magically a couple of times a day. It’s all about the combat, and nonweapon skills are pointless. The designers pretty much said that if you’re using a skill like Woodworking or Navigation in the game, then you’re playing it wrong. Thieves are a joke, and wizards were just ruined. Hasbro decided to throw away their core players in favor of getting some new ones. However they forgot that table-top gaming isn’t a money making industry. It’s a hobby, supported and carried by those that love it. Game designers struggle to get stuff published while working second jobs. Monopoly doesn’t even come fucking close. They are also setting up an online GM helper service on their website. The way they’re explaining it, in order to run a truly excellent game, both the GM and the players need to join this service and pay the monthly fee. Just like WoW really. Here’s hoping it fails miserably.

Similarly, one of the great up and coming game developers has fallen. Eden studios, publisher of the zombie survival RPG “All Flesh Must Be Eaten” has failed to do a damned thing all year. With AFMBE and the “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” RPG they made some big waves in the community a few years back. But last year they lost the license for Buffy and that only left them with some great games to lean on. So they stopped publishing books. 2007 was a sad year for releases and 2008 didn’t see a damned thing come out. The company isn’t at risk of going out of business as far as we know, however they appear to be having a lot of trouble starting up again. It’s a shame as the company’s a great one, and their games are usually pretty clever.

This year also saw the end of both D&D magazines, Dungeon and Dragon. While this wasn’t a great loss as following the sell of TSR, both magazines had become little more than ad space for whatever Hasbro was pushing, it’s still a bit sad. We also saw layoffs over at Hasbro this year and there are rumors of another round of layoffs over at Wizards of the Coast.

Oh, and Wizkids, producer of those little HeroClix games, was shut down by their parent company Topps. So their gone now. However there’s currently legal action towards the company or Topps pending as they owned the IP for the Battletech series. Battletech is a miniature game, video game, RPG and book series about a future where armies fight using giant robots. It’s a classic series and a decent setting. Well they stole and screwed over one of their writers and are now liable for a couple of hundred thousand dollars in fines. The author has made it public that he’s intending to sue for ownership of the IP if possible. Here’s wishing him luck.

While alot more went on this year, these are some of the events that stood out. Many companies stayed afloat and one or two vanished, and not a whole lot went on that impressed me. D&D’s big release made the mightiest splash in the wake of Gygax’s death. But then they failed to deliver.

Here’s hoping 2009’s better.

Board Gaems Make U Smrt

First off, Happy New Year, Happy Holidays and all that jazz. I hope everyone is having an awesome break from school and yadda yadda. I'm in Cairo right now so my posting will be lesser for a little while. Hopefully the other writers here will keep you entertained in my absence.
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Will sent me this link recently that talks about the positive effects of board games. Aside from learning negotiating tactics, board games bring families together and teach kids valuable social skills. The article is pretty short, so give it a look see.

Hm, I think I'll send this link out in a PLAY newsletter when we promote our weekly board game night events.

Click here to view the story.