Substance TV – Video game reviews with substance

If you will recall, in an earlier blog I posted about my anguish. An anguish I felt for I had no Metal Gear Solid 4. And if you also will recall, I recently came into a perfect situation which gave me the fortune of owning a PS3 and this game.

Early on the morning of Sunday Janurary 25th, a monumentus event occurred. At around three in the morning, I finished the fourth and final chapter in the Metal Gear Solid series. Hard to believe, but it’s nearly been eight months since the game was released, and now I finally have gotten to the end of a very long road. Eight months of near agony dodging any FAQ, article, review, and even going so far as to plug my ears during conversations about the game.

Even after all the hype has subsided and the talked has died down, this game still lives up to my wildest expectations. In short, Kojima tied up all those lose ends in one nice little package. Nothing felt unresolved, or cheaply resolved. I finished the game with a great sense of satisfaction and glee. All the pieces have come together, and I no longer have to censor myself or others. Also the gameplay is Metal Gear Solid refined even more. As much as I could go on and on, you already know this. All these details have been covered many times, and much more eloquently then anything I could type. Needless to say, it’s as good as they say.

Best of all, my friend Erik and I were able to hash out all the details and talk like giddy schools girls about all the juicy morsels of secrets and plot twists. Though I won’t spoil the plot details for you fine folks, I will say one things: RAIDEN IS THE MO FO IN THIS GAME! Yea, nuff said.

Ahhh, sweet relief.

Episode six of Pinekast is up and running. This episode is all about Capcom fighters, with a special guest star. Oh, and a little game called Street Fighter IV. WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! So, um, yea, go listen.

BTW: Tenno, go buy Street Fighter IV!

Pinekast 6

The arcade scene in my city of Wichita Kansas has been, well, dead for quite sometime. The last great arcade was Aladdin’s Castle at Towne East. I was there the day it was shut down. I’ll spare you the long drawn out childhood gaming story short of saying it was a tragic day. Since then, there has not been a place for an old arcade dog like me to play. Sure there’s the local pool hall or bowling alley, but they are either inundated with DDR and racing games, or if they do have anything good, it’s in disrepair, broken, or missing buttons.

But there may be hope.

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Yea, I hate when people talk like that, but it’s about all that came to me for a title. Partially because I’m a bit brain dead, and most because I’ve been playing a new DS game like a mad man. Well it’s not really a game. More like an application so to speak. But it’s far from boring. What goodness do I speak of? Korg DS-10 for the Nintendo DS of course!

I knew this game came out in Japan sometime back, but it was never slated for a Stateside release. Thanks to the boys at XSEED, publisher of the recently released Retro Game Challenge, we Westerners get a crack at it. And man is it good crackin’.

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I’m very thankful for all the fans of Substance TV. You fine folks make this whole ride much more enjoyable. But of all my fans, I have a new favorite. One who rises above the rest. That would be none other then gameidiot.

Who’s this gameidiot you ask? Well he’s an interesting character. Simply put, he’s my father-in-law. Yep, you heard me, my wife’s dad is a fan and member of Substance TV.

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Many of you have seen the great interactive Street Fighter video on Youtube (if not, here’s the link: Youtube Street Fighter). As many of you may or may not know, I’m a stop motion junkie. Was as a kid and still am to this day. So this kind of stuff is near and dear to my heart.

The fella that does these videos goes by the name PatrickBoivin, which I can only assume is his real name. This time around he’s done something pretty cool with Batman figures. It’s almost cool enough to erase the memories of the 36 people I saw dressed as the Joker from the Dark Knight last Halloween.

Almost.

While I could go into length about what this is, just click on. It’s pretty slick and brings together stop motion, Youtube, and interactivity in a very slick package. Think of it as a choose your own adventure book but with Batman figures and break dancing.

******BBoy Joker******

My Spanish may be incorrect. Not really sure. What I am sure of is the pure unadulterated awesomeness of the boys over at Pineconeattack. This go around, the crew is missing some of the usual suspects. Though Jango and Tenno do their best to fill the void left by the other members absence. It gives them a good chance to discuss the finer points of PC gaming. They even talk about the new R-Type Dimensions on the 360! Check it out.

Pinekast episode 4