It all started when Serious Lunch made the allegation that Conan O’Brien’s new backdrop was inspired by Super Mario Bros. It was then picked up by Gizmodo (where I saw it) and eventually, within hours, made it’s way to The Tonight Show.

This. Is. Awesome.

Was it done on purpose or is Conan’s backdrop one massive coincidence? You be the judge.

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Did the gameplay in Fallout 3 justify the ending?

I try to keep away from video game reviews for the same reason I try to keep away of movie and TV reviews: they spoil things. However, with Twitter, message boards, and friends comments sometimes it’s hard to avoid some sort of knowledge of what’s to come. A few weeks after Fallout 3 was released I started to see gripes about the ending to the game. I chose not to pry further into it, but I knew a lot of people were upset with the outcome of the game. I chose to leave it at that and continue to enjoy the game I was playing.

Earlier today I finished Fallout 3 and I can see where the gripes come from. Without spoiling anything, I’ll say that considering the extremely expansive and fairly open-ended gameplay, Fallout 3’s ending is very abrupt and fairly straightforward. This, however, isn’t what I believe people were so upset with. I believe the gripes come with the result of the ending. Being a role playing type of game, the ending carries a choice between two options, neither of which are exactly beneficial to the player.

I actually don’t have a problem with the ending. While it’s not a happy ending, the ending is justified by the rest of the game. The game presents plenty of choices for the player throughout the course of the game and all throughout there is never a perfect option. So why should we expect that with the ending? THe game justifies the ending — there isn’t anything to complain about.

After all, it isn’t anywhere near the level of horribleness the ending to the original Devil May Cry had. Devil May Cry, while extremely difficult, was a very fun game where you play as a character killing all sorts of evil creatures with a combination of guns and swords. The ending put the player in control of a biplane — yes a biplane — and flying out of a collapsing cave.

This Devil May Cry ending was unfortunately repeated with the otherwise flawless Resident Evil 4. After finding and protecting the presidents daughter from parasite infected zombie-like Spaniards, you’re tasked with riding a jet ski — yes a jet ski — through a cave out into the sunset.

These endings where horrible and completely unjustified by the game they belong to. While Fallout 3’s ending might be displeasing to the player, it’s fitting to the game and, in comparison, not to bad.

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Installing

Considering this is a completely new operating system for the XBox 360, I figured the download would take a while and was planning to wait a few days after the update dropped on Wednesday. To my surprise, the updated downloaded and installed in less than five minutes. Once installed, you’re treated to a wild, but strange, introduction video.

Setup

After the video, I was asked to choose which account to login to. Once logged in, I began the avatar creation process. When I first heard about NXE avatars I figured it was a pretty cheesy Mii rip-off. It seemed to cheapen the 360 experience a bit. They also seemed pointless. All that said, I did have fun creating my avatar and trying to get it to look like me. I’d show you how it turned out, but short of taking a picture of my tv (which is lame) I can’t get the image off — the XBox.com site won’t display them yet.

Dashboard

I don’t even know if it’s called the dashboard anymore, but that’s what I’ll call it for lack of a better term. Despite looking completely cluttered and slightly unorganized, finding what you’re looking for is fairly simple. The graphics make the old “blade” system look rather archaic (although that is more or less what you get when you hit the XBox button on the controller) and look awesome in HD. There is now a quick button to the Marketplace to make purchasing Rock Band songs even easier. Also easier to find is the newsfeed that was added in the last console update, if you’re into that sort of thing.

Games

If there is a game currently in the drive, the first panel on the Games blade (are they still called blades?) is dedicated to that game. In my case, there is a pretty cool image of a member of the Brotherhood of Steel letting me know Fallout 3 is currently ready to go. Subsequent panels feature recently played games and a much better way to look through a games achievements.

One of the NXE features that I didn’t find out about until recently is the ability to install games to the hard drive. It took about 10 minutes to install Fallout 3 to the hard drive and while I didn’t really notice any in-game load differences, the initial launch seemed more snappy. Though playing a game without hearing the crazy-loud disc drive was a huge bonus.

Netflix

A huge addition to the NXE, and one of the reasons I left Blockbuster, is the ability to stream movies from Netflix. This comes in the form of a 3MB download that, once run, gives you an activation code to enter on Netflix’s website. Once activated, about 30 seconds, my instant queue was brought up. There is no way to add titles to the queue, though you can remove titles and rate them. Quality is pretty good and looks a little worse than a typical HDTV broadcast (I tested with an episode of the Office). The function of the Netflix portion of the NXE is great and goes a long way in making the 360 an actual entertainment hub, especially for us Mac users.

Network

The 360 is notorious for having trouble handling extended networks using Apple routers — using multiple routers to extend a wi-fi signal. In my house, I do just that. My 360 is on the complete opposite end of the house from the initial router and, despite an AirPort Express relaying the signal only 20 feet away, the 360 has trouble with the network. Now, I have absolutely no proof or way to test this, but it seems that with the update I have better signal strength. Again, there’s no way to know if this is a placebo effect or not, but it does seem quicker, especially when downloading things from the Marketplace.

Final Thoughts

Note: One thing I want to test but haven’t yet had time to do so is the DVD playback. The 360’s playback has always been mediocre at best, especially when displaying text. I’m hoping that the NXE update addresses this issue, but I’m not going to hold my breath.

All in all I’m pretty impressed with the New XBox Experience. Looking at the pre-release features it looked like the NXE could be a lot of eye candy and very little substance, but instead the update is a welcome change. While the avatars do seem a bit cheesy, they aren’t too bad. Unfortunately I can see the money hounds on the horizon as paid avatar updates and themes will come — there’s already a spot for it on the avatar editing screen. It’s a nice update and if you have a 360, be sure to download the update on Wednesday.

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Lord Pantsville, Esq. on stage.

At the time DeVron was just another member of the undead roaming the earth, wondering what was to come next. A talented bassest, DeVron decided to audition for Smash’s band. It was a move that would change his unlife forever. DeVron joined flamboyant vocalist McGillicuttie and bikini-clad drummer Foible XL^2 as the chosen three in Smash’s newly formed Lord Pantsville, Esq.

The band rose to astronomical popularity worldwide in unfathomable time. Lord Pantsville, Esq was playing extended sets to sold out crowds in towns as close as Seattle and as far away as DeVron’s own hometown of Stockholm. The band had so many fans their manager told them they were no longer capable of gaining any more, the height of popularity had officially been achieved. This was the beginning of the end for Lord Pantsville, Esq.

Foible XL^2 was told to put on a shirt one too many times and decided to lay down her sticks once and for all. McGuillicuttie moved back to San Francisco to see what opportunities were waiting for him there. Smash went off to live in the mountains and is rumored to have started a militant cult. DeVron wandered back to Stockholm to return to the world of the undead. Lord Pantsville, Esq. was officially disbanded. There are currently rumors that the epic group may reunite for one endless set in Moscow sometime later this year, but at the time of publication no date has been booked.

DeVron, the worlds best undead bassist.

This, however, is not where the story ends. After returning to Stockholm, DeVron decided to return to the underground undead scene and played pickup gigs at a local zombie club. The club DeVron frequented was also very popular with American tourists — thanks to Lord Pantsville, Esq., there has been an increase in interest in the Stockholm zombie scene. One such tourist, Sandy Starfleet, sang in the club one night and again changed DeVron’s unlife. DeVron could see his new goal, create a band of his own and return to the stages of the world. He gave the hipster product of hippie parents the lead spot in his new band and decided to let her name it. Thus, DeVron and Sandy Starfleet formed Requiem for a Dweeb.

Sandy Starfleet

A little known fact is that DeVron originally wanted to call the band DeVron Comes Alive. Sandy thought this was particularly funny considering DeVron is, in fact, an undead zombie not capable of actually being alive. Sandy started to call DeVron a dweeb and then settled on the band’s actual name.

DeVron and Sandy Starfleet spent the next few days recruiting the final two members of Requiem for a Dweeb. The first was Lead Pipe Palin, a little known son of the Vice Presidential nominee, Sarah, who had been living out of a van prior to joining the band. The final member, Annyong, was the basis for a character on Arrested Development. Though, according to her (yes, her), Ron Howard didn’t really do her character justice.

DeVron and company have been playing to sold out shows across Stockholm and are preparing to tour the rest of eastern Europe. They even played a recent benefit show to promote equal rights for the undead everywhere.

Requiem for a Dweeb’s future isn’t certain. DeVron is hoping to return to the glory he once had while Sandy Starfleet is hoping to make a crap-ton of money and cash out before DeVron eats her. Will they rise to legendary heights and follow in the steps of Lord Pantsville, Esq. or will Requiem for a Dweeb fail out of one too many mystery sets and fade into musical obscurity? Only time will tell.

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Warning: The content that follows will contain significant name dropping, product linking, and plenty of nerds. You have been warned.

Keynote

This year’s keynote speaker was Ken Levine, the guy who created and wrote BioShock. I was throughly looking forward to this because, having played BioShock, I thought it’d be pretty cool to hear about how this incredible game came be. Perhaps even how some of his high-philosophy story-line came about. When it came to it, Levine actually never mentioned BioShock by name and talked about his life to this point. He talked about finding his first group of real friends thanks to Dungeons and Dragons, a brief career in Hollywood, and finally coming to the realization that someone actually creates the video games he plays. The speech was sort of a rally cry for nerds everywhere. It was a good way to start the show.

Mike and Jerry

Mike Holkins and Jerry Krahulik are the brains behind Penny Arcade. Their alter-egos, Jonathan Gabriel and Tycho Brahe, are the main subject matter for the webcomic. They are, if you will, big time. At least until they start talking. They held two question and answer sessions where they answered everything honestly and hilariously. What I really liked about the two of them, other then the fact that they are as funny as their personas are in the comic, is that they are just as awe struck by everything as we are. They love video games and the comic is a result of that. Their “fame” is secondary and to them, fleeting. It could end at any moment as far as they’re concerned. Jerry said it’s a lot like running from lions, trying to hold off the end of the run as long as possible. They really seem down to earth, genuinely humble people. They set up an impromptu autograph session on the second to last day of the expo that Mike and I stumbled into. Instead of ending at 5pm, like the handwritten sign said, they waited until everyone in line got a chance to approach the table, something they clearly did not have to do. Through seeing them on stage, it’s clear to see they enjoy what they do and are grateful (and a little surprised) at the result.

Me and Felicia Day

The Guild

It’s no coincidence that I’m now segueing into talking about The Guild. Prior to attending PAX I was really looking forward to the screening of The Guild on the first night of the show. So excited that Mike and I entered the line almost two hours early to be sure we got a seat, which we did, in the second row. The Guild, which I’ve talked about before, is a web tv show about a guild of WoW players who decide to meet. The show was created by and stars Felicia Day and Sandeep Parikh, who were both at the expo. I got to meet both of them at The Guild booth and, like Mike and Jerry, are very approachable and humble. Felicia Day, who also stared in the very funny and hugely popular Dr. Horrible’s Sing-a-Long Blog, even embarrassed herself in the question and answer after the screening due to a slight slip of the tongue. It was pretty funny.

Wil Wheton

Admittedly I’m not geeky enough to know much about Wil Wheaton. I mean, I know that he was on StarTrek: TNG as a kid and he’s pretty funny on Twitter, but other than that I got nothing for you. He was the keynote speaker at PAX last year. This year, he was given his own panel. When asked how one man, even Wil Wheton, could have a “panel” he laughed and then said it’s because he’s awesome. Wil falls into the same category as all the rest I’ve talked about so far: humble, funny, and very happy with where they are in life. After Rickrolling us in dramatic fashion, Wil read some things he’s written and personally enjoys. He’s funny and pointed at the same time which is not an easy thing. I might have upped by nerd-cred by being there, but I am glad I sat in for the Wil Wheton Panel.

Line Up Room - Thousands of Geeks in One Place

People

It seemed that the kindness that seemingly emanated from Mike, Jerry, Felicia, Sandeep, and Wil was not limited to them. In fact, just about everyone was extremely friendly. A good deal of time at PAX is spent waiting in line surrounded by hundreds of other people (thousands in the Line Up Room). Despite being crammed in with other people, there is always someone willing to converse, play a game, or joke around. It definitely made waiting in all those lines much more pleasant.

Games

So PAX is a gaming conference, it’s fitting that I talk about games at some point. So I guess now will do. I’m a casual gammer. I play a few games a year. I read Destructoid and follow upcoming stuff, but I usually don’t go overboard with it. That said, there were a few titles that really excited me at PAX.

The first was Afro Samurai. This game, based on an anime on Adult Swim, features Samuel L Jackson as the Afro Samurai. It’s a cell-shadded game that looks really cool and plays like a typical button-mashing action game. Yes, I played this one. It was pretty fun. It’s clearly going to get a mature rating because, well, Samuel L Jackson is in it.

I attended the Ubisoft Demo that featured play throughs of both FarCry 2 and Prince of Persia. Both of these games look great. Prince of Persia has an art style that’s very unique and hard to describe. The game looks like a lot of fun, although I’ve not liked Prince of Persia games in the past, but we’ll see. FarCry 2 has a graphics and AI engine that is unrivaled. Fire spreads naturally, water ripples, you can see the heat of exhaust. It’s incredible. The game also looks hellishly difficult. The game developer, playing a production build of the game, kept dying. That game is going to be hard. What makes FarCry 2 stand out from other beautiful FPS games is it’s map editor. Usually a trivial feature, Ubisoft has raised the bar here. It’s really hard to describe. You just have to see it.

The final game I’m looking forward to is Fallout 3, which should be out sometime next month. This game is a mix FPS and third-person (and top-view if you want) that follows a survivor in the post-apocalyptic United States. It’s quest based and open ended. Weapons can be created from virtually anything found in the environment, which will have some very interesting results. This game looks to share a lot of similarities with FarCry 2 and BioShock. That’s a good thing.

Closing

It’s hard to summarize my PAX experience. It seems to trite to say it was great, or a lot of fun, even though it was both of those things. PAX is something that is hard to describe to someone who doesn’t play games but at the same time very easily relatable — as discovered by the people who shared our airport shuttle bus. PAX is the following:

If the Penny Arcade Expo has a star, it’s not Gabe or Tycho. It’s not special guests like MC Frontalot or Wil Wheaton. It’s not even veritable champions of nerdery like PAX ‘08 Omegathon winner Joey Gecko. No, it’s geeky culture itself. And when we gather to celebrate our own, wackiness invariably ensues.

That was GeekDadZ via Wil Wheaton’s recent post attempting to summarize PAX. PAX is about geeks. It’s for geeks. It is geeks. Maybe that’s why it’s hard to summarize. One thing is for sure, Mike and I will be back.

While I wrap up this marathon post, I’m going to add a gallery of pictures that we took at PAX featuring some of the crazy cosplayers. Check it out.

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I first started playing the Grand Theft Auto series back in 2001 when the original, bird’s eye PC game was released for free online to drum up interest for GTA3. It worked. After hours of playing GTA against each other, my neighbors and I jumped right into the vast new 3D world of Liberty City in GTA3. Stealing cars, beating up hookers, impressing gangs, it was all a ton of fun. But after all the missions, races, and car theft orders were done, the GTA world opened up with all of the “cheats” built into the game. GTA3 is one of the few games that does cheats right. With the right combination of codes, a full size passenger bus could actually fly through the air. Maybe it’s the whole “God-Mode” complex, but GTA3 was a boat load of fun.

A few years later, when Vice City was released, it was like everything that was great about GTA3 was made bigger and better, and given a sweet 80’s glaze. Now I could rule Miami in a leisure suit and do it all while listening to Journey! How can you get any better than that?

There had been a lot of hype leading up to Tuesday’s launch of GTA4, and for the most part I managed to stay away from it. It’s been years since I played Vice City and thought that the GTA series was no longer for me. That was, of course, until I read the 360 achievement list. After reading through the list, and seeing all the different mini games my interest was peeked. I then read online somewhere that there was well over 100 hours of gameplay in GTA4. I then found that Rockstar has not given up on adding “cheats” like just about every game developer has. And then it hit me. I really enjoy the GTA series.

Needless to say, I purchased GTA4 and spent a few hours driving around the city this evening. Just like the prior games, it’s pretty easy to get lost in GTA4. The city is massive, the cars are many, and the game is just plain fun. I’ll be playing it for awhile.

And now you know.

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Those who loved Metal Gear Solid can’t forget Snake’s CODEC communication system and his interesting conversations with the General, Otacon, and of course, Mei Ling. Nintendo didn’t forget either and included this in Smash Bros. When you’re playing as Snake on the Shadow Moses stage, mash down on the d-pad (using a Gamecube or Classic Controller) as fast as possible. If you do it right you’ll hear the familiar sound and the CODEC conversation screen will appear. Snake will engage in a conversation with one of the three characters (with the actual voice-actors from the game!) based on who Snake’s opponent is — there is a different conversation for EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER and even one for Sheik and Zero Suit Samus. Some of the conversations are informative, some include Mei Ling’s famous Chinese Proverbs, and some are downright hilarious.

You’ll want to pull this off with a friend as getting the CODEC to come up can take a few attempts and will leave you exposed, but it’s worth the effort. My favorite conversations were while playing Donkey Kong and Zero Suit Samus. Smash Bros. Brawl is a great game, but this “Easter Egg” is a very cool bonus. Props to Nintendo for getting this right.

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(Via Engadget.)

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From The Onion

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The first two years of my college career were light on video game playing. I owned a Gamecube, which I had bought to play Resident Evil. The Gamecube brought some enjoyment in the form of zombie killing and Tie Flighter shooting, though, there wasn’t much else that got me going. I pre-ordered Zelda: Wind Waker but really didn’t know why. I never went through with the purchase. The Gamecube wasn’t satisfying and when Square announced that Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles was best played with four GameBoy Advances attached, I had all but given up. The Gamecube was sold to EB Games for an insane amount of credit (the day will forever be remembered by all those involved) and never thought of again.

The new Playstation 2 was broken in with over 110 hours of Final Fantasy X play. This, of course, was nowhere near enough time to complete all the side quests and acquire all of the ultimate weapons. It was, however, enough time to make the final battle a walk in the park and to renew my love affair with the video game industry. I suffered through the insane difficultly of Devil May Cry only to be disappointed by the horrible airplane ending. I got frustrated with my teammates in SOCOM and found the best way to complete the missions was by shooting them and doing everything alone. I beat pimps and Yakuza to a groovin’ 80’s soundtrack in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. I enjoyed the comical J-Pop Final Fantasy X-2 and dominated the competition in both NCAA Football and Baseball. I returned to my zombie killing ways all while protecting the president’s idiot daughter in Resident Evil 4, put over 100 hours into Final Fantasy XII and, most recently, shredded frets like there was no tomorrow in Guitar Hero II.

The Playstation 2 has brought me countless hours of entertainment and fun over the last four years but it’s time to lay it to rest. With a heavy heart I will be trading in my Playstation 2 and all 11 games I own for it. While I can’t expect a repeat of the epic Gamecube trade in, the credit earned will go to fund an XBox 360. While I won’t be able to play another Final Fantasy game and a little bit of me will die inside when my money goes to Microsoft, I look forward to new titles to draw my attention and bring me years of entertainment value.

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