What happens when you mix funk with a dash of techno, two parts video game, a pinch of chiptune, half a cup of 80’s, and a dollop of PXtone? You get the poppy crisp infectious tones of George & Johnathan. Don’t let their simple moniker fool you, these chaps know how to make some fine music. Their newest album, “Beautiful Lifestyle”, hit the digital airwaves this month and let me tell you, it’s delicious loving for my ear holes.

The entire album feels like a soundtrack from a forgotten video game. The track “Whale” is an example of how the duo perfectly matches the name of a song to the overall vibe and feel of the sounds contained therein. It’s very chill and feels like the ending credits to a classic arcade game. Take a listen.

I could gush on about these two, but their music speaks for itself. “Beautiful Lifestyle” is available for as little as $5 (a steal for 12 epic tracks). Make sure to check out their other two albums “The Best Music” and “The Best Christmas” for more sugary sweet sonatas. You can preview all of their albums and more at:

http://georgeandjonathan.com/

BTW: A big thanks to Coldguy for exposing me to these wonderful chaps!

As a child of the 80’s, Hi-C Ecto Cooler was my life blood. I consumed so much I’m not sure how my skin didn’t turn radioactive green. Though the product’s named change throughout the years, Minute Maid continued to produce it. Then in 2007, all hope was lost when it and any incarnations of the flavor were discontinued.

Since that fateful day, we Ecto-Cooler faithful have prayed for the day our fabled drink would return! Now our prayers have been answered…well sorta. The fine folks at the Chicago division of Ghostbusters have cracked the Cooler code and unlocked the secrets of its’ formula. Alright so it’s not technically the real thing, but it’s about as close as you can get. That and it’s not expired by about 20 years! Now you too can enjoy the sweet sugary goodness of years gone by. So go out and make a batch yourself or I’ll slime you!

And remember, if someone asks if you are a god, you say, “yes!”

Ghostbuster’s Ecto-Cooler Recipe

If you notice anything out of place, send me an e-mail or message so I can fix it ASAP.

These days there’s a million and one ways to play Tetris. Even with all these advancements, we’ve always played as the passive controller of these blocks from the outside looking in. Now what if you could switch the viewpoint? Instead of seeing the blocks from the outside in, see how the blocks see the world from the inside out. Well now you can. In first person Tetris, you take on the viewpoint of the Tetris block as it spins and the outside world turns in tandem.

I can so clearly see the plight of these poor blocks and it makes me understand them a little better. So will you take a little time and see what life is like from the view of a Tetri?

www.firstpersontetris.com

BTW: Thanks to ltbarton for the link

- Brian

Now you are probably wondering what this is all about. Well it’s more like who, not what. Cam’s Eye View, hence the reasoning for the picture, is a video game blog about video games by a guy named, you guessed it, Cam. At the moment, he has over 100 reviews covering everything from old to new. He’s got a wide and varied taste covering all sorts of consoles with good perspectives on the games, and he even brings up some interesting points along the way. Best of all, he’s just an average guy writing honest reviews about video games. He’s in the process of re-writing his reviews to add more details and make them even better. Check him out!

Cam’s Eye View

Note: I was looking for an appropriate picture for this article, so I searched for the words “camera eye” and this was on the first page. She looks like a tool. Why would anyone wear that?

For those you who are night owls, you might have seen some screwy stuff going on with the site this past week or so. I’ve been redesigning the site these past few weeks and can say I’m finally done. We wanted the website to reflect the new look of the show.

Here’s the short and long on what’s changed:

Of course you’ll notice the new site layout and graphics. All the navigation to the other pages is at the very top. You’ll also notice a slide bar up top. This will always have the latest updates for news on Substance TV. You can scroll through, and if it’s about the show, you’ll see it. The auto scrolling sidebar to the right constantly cycles through the newest posts. It also displays on every page so you can easily access the latest posts no matter where you are on the site. Below that is the newest episode of Substance TV (episode 10 at the moment) for your constant viewing pleasure. The title labeled “Partners” is just that. Sites that we are proud to be affiliated with will be prominently displayed. As you scroll down, you’ll find the login panel. At the very bottom of the site are some added features. Past the goofy pic of us under the “About Us” heading, you’ll see Twitter updates to the right. Now you can keep up with our Twitter updates while your on the site. To the left of that is our new Flickr photo stream displaying our latest uploads and pics. Best of all, our forums are fully functional and ready to go. You can type from left to right and the dialog box doesn’t go off the page so check them out.

It’s been a bit of work, but as with everything we do, I think it will be worth it. Most importantly, give us your feedback on the new look and layout. We want to make sure it doesn’t suck. Enjoy!

When you get older, birthdays tend to come and go without much notice, but I’ve forgotten one important birthday this year. No, not my Aunt Themla’s. She’s an icy cold corpse of a woman who’s beauty and wits faded away long before we threw her into that mental institution. I’m talking about this website. One year ago on April 2nd, this site was born.

And I want to thank everyone who has been a part of this whole thing. The site started as a simple, and quite crappy, static frontpage. Now it’s, well, a little less crappy. All I wanted is a place to host high quality versions of my videos, but now I’ve got a readership as well, who for some reason beyond my understanding, enjoying reading my ramblings as well as watching the show. I’d also like to thanks sites like Superior Version, Pineconeattack, Screwattack, and RetroWare TV for plugging the site and giving us views.

So happy late birthday www.substance-tv.com. Don’t get wasted on cheap bandwith and easy servers. You’ve still got work to do.

So I’ve been a little absent from the site as of late, but it’s all for a good reason. Now I’ve teased you all with some sort of announcement in my last update. And, as promised, I’ll let you in on my little secret.

From the creators of Press Start and Substance TV comes your bi-weekly dose of gaming goodness that you won’t get anywhere else, it’s Pixel Pill! We’re kinda like video game fiber. Though I’m not sure if I want to see anyone taking a pixelated video game dump.

That’s right, I’ve teamed up with Nick and Gerard from Press Start Comic to create a new podcast about all things gaming that not many people talk about. We had some much fun BS’ing over Live that we decided that we should just record it and maybe people will listen to it. Plus the need for quality podcasts is much needed. Our friends over at Pineconeattack are one of the few podcasts I listen to on a regular basis, so we hope to bring more goodness to the table.

We’ll be recording the first show tomorrow night (Friday) and have it up to download soon after. We’ll cover some gaming news that interests us, introduce ourselves and then jump right into our first topic, The Games of Cave. If you’re a fan of Bullet Hell SHMUPS, this is the show for you. We’ll be talking about our favorite games from Cave, and then talk about their newest game set to release on the 360 in Japan, Death Smiles.

Below is the new fancy smacy logo. Keep it tuned here for the link to our first show!

Well the boys at Pineconeattack are back in action…..yo! This week I’ve been patiently waiting for Pinekast 9, and it has finally hit the nets as they say. This episode the cover a few interesting topics including the Resident Evil series. Follow the link below for more goodness.

*WARNING – THERE BE RESIDENT EVIL 5 STORYLINE SPOILERS AHEAD YEE MATEYS!*

Pinekast 9

THEY SET US UP THE BOMB!

The servers for Pineconeattack got a nasty virus, from what I hear the server had been interfacing with some old virus ridden Apple II’s. But as their song remix so poetically and perfectly phrased, “WISE FROM YOUR GWAVE!”, they came back to life. I’m not sure how much work was involved in said recovery, but as a Wordpress user myself, it would not be any fun.

I have to say my work week was empty without a Pinekast podcast to get me through the day. STREET FIGHTER IV WOOOOOO! Glad to see them back in business.

Pineconeattack is back baby!

Out with the old and in with the new. So from now on, visit: Substance TV forums. The link to the new forums will also be in the top bar as well.

End of line.

BTW: Episode 9 is in production. Look out for details in the weeks to come.

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

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

The goal for Substance TV has always been to provide thoughtful and educated reviews of the best in video games (in other words, not sucking hardcore). Though when creating the first episode I never figured we’d have a website. But because of the support of fans like yourself, a website was the natural next step. With my limited knowledge of website programming and coding (Wordpress FTW), a few bucks, and a crazed mind, the legend began. Over time I’ve tried to improve things and added what I could.

In an effort to make the website better, I ask one simple question: What else do you want to see on this website? More content, better forums, extra contests, or pictures of ferrets wrestling in grape jam? Whatever it is, we want to know! We want to continually improve upon what we’ve built. So, either post a comment here or shoot me an e-mail at:

brian@substance-tv.com

BTW: Street Fighter IV is gonna rock my pants off!

O.K., so this past week has been a little devoid of posts on the old website. Had some family in town and from what I understand, they like to spend time with you. And being the good guy I am, I spent some time with them. Anyway, over this past week our friends over at www.pineconeattack.com have not only come out with episode 2 of their podcast “Pinekast”, but now episode 3. I meant to post episode 2 up earlier, but I’m a bum. A big bummy bum.

Jango, Tenno, Ancient Flounder, and Decepticreep talk about what games they’ve been playing lately and shooting the breeze about all sorts of stuff from the new Street Fighter IV, Steel Battalion, Metal Gear Solid 3 online, Lost Planet, and one of them even bags on Astro Boy (you know who you are and SHAME I SAY!). Though they do mention Substance TV episode 7 so all is forgiven. And now Jangofatt has been exposed to the radiant glow that is Strider 2. Welcome to the light friend.:)

It feels like I’m there with them, but then I realize I’m not and it makes my heart sad. Listen and hope the sound of their voices warms the black crusty void of your soul.

Pinekast episode 2 and 3

Eirk, or as he’s known on them there internets “Cavetreasure”, has been a big part of Substance TV from the start. Even before it was created, he’s the guy who got me back into gaming after years of being out of it. The idea of Substance TV was sparked from our Friday nights of gaming. And now that the show has actually become a reality, Erik has been the backbone of many aspects of the show. From the graphics, intro, outro, and everything in between, I couldn’t do it without him.

But he’s no one trick pony. As was covered in an earlier post, Erik created a show called “Old Games, New Sound”. Like the title says, Erik takes old games and puts new sound effects and music to them. The results are fantastic. As you can imagine, it’s quite a bit of work.

It seems I’m not the only one to notice this as Screwattack has featured him on their weekly Sunday Submission for his work on Castlevania III. Again, this is a great honor and just all around full of awesomeness. I hope to see him continue this series down the road. For those that have already seen it, well, watch it again. For those that haven’t, behold the beauty that is Castlevania III.

P.S. You rock Erik!

Screwattack feature

Sunday morning I’m awaken by my alarm. I turn it off and after I get up and around, I go check my e-mail. Once I log onto my Gmail account, I am greeted by quite a sight. Over 40 e-mails over the course of the night. Now as much as I’d love to say I get that many e-mails that aren’t spam or penis enlargement ads, I can’t. This was an unusual thing indeed.

The e-mails were subscription notices from YouTube, and if you’ll recall from last time I experienced this, it was from a feature on a website. So I go to the first likely suspect. Good old ScrewAttack. And what do you know, Substance TV episode 7 is featured! I gotta say, that made my day. I even got a chance to call Erik up and tell him the good news.

So yet again, I heart Craig. Well, in a strictly non-sexual way. I mean he’s a good looking guy and all, I just don’t see us together in that way. Maybe if things were different and…….oh yea, sorry, got a little off track.

It’s good to see ScrewAttack still featuring content by average joes. Because of the g1 Sunday Submission, shows like 2-bit Gaming, Still Gaming, and many others have been thrust into the limelight and given some much deserved attention. I’ve been exposed to a lot of great videos, podcasts, and just plain awesomeness thanks to ScrewAttack’s Submission Sunday. I also enjoyed reading everyone’s feedback and comments. I’m grateful you folks enjoy our little show. It means a lot to know that people out there appreciate the work you do and honestly enjoy it. To all the old and new fans of the show, thank you so much. It’s been said a million times by a million people, but without you, we wouldn’t be where we are. Sure, we’d still do the show, it’s what we love to do. But to have fans that come back every episode is an honor.

So enough of the sappiness, it’s back to work on episode 8.

www.screwattack.com

Another episode means another lineup of games. Now for the faithful and diligent viewers who watched all the way till the end of episode 7, you got a little bite sized Metal Gear treat wrapped in gooey gaming innuendo. Three small clues about each game were given. Some of you figured it out, while others were left scratching their heads. The three clues given by our friend Ocelot were:

“A flying kid who shoots lazer beams”
“A winged girl with a crystal spear”
“A boy who battles evil with the help of a bird”

As cryptic as some of those clues were, a few of you guessed correct. Want to see if you were right? Then click on!

Here is the list of games up for review in episode 8 of Substance TV.

Title: Astro Boy
Developer: Treasure
Platform: Gameboy Advance

Title: Odin Sphere
Developer: Vanillaware
Platform: Playstation 2

Title: Astal
Developer: Sega
Platform: Sega Saturn

So there you are folks. Things are underway and we’re hoping for a release very soon. And remember, Eye. Have. You.

It’s no secret that I do loves me the boys at www.pineconeattack.com. Why’s that you ask? Well, they play a mean game of Left 4 Dead co-op and versus (that is when the other team isn’t using t4h haxors!), they heart pinball, they have some great articles about anything and everything, but most importantly, they were one of the first websites that gave Substance TV some lovin’.

Now the boys have gone into the land of podcasting with their show “PineKast”. Even in the first podcast, they cover some interesting topics from Street Fighter 4 and one of the member’s obsession with multiple consoles. So enjoy!

EDIT: Now the show is up on iTunes and ready for your listening pleasure.

www.pineconeattack.com

So I’m taking a quick break from work today, checking my e-mails and such. And I happen to see an e-mail from John Delia. Who’s this John character you ask? Well, he’s the host of Retroware TV among other things. He sent me an e-mail to let me know Substance TV episode 7 had been featured on their front page.

What’s Retroware TV you ask? You and all your questions. In their own words:

Retroware TV is a classic video game review, and information website that is comprised of the Retroware TV online show as well as various independent artists such as Video Game Take-Out, The Gaming Historian, The Happy Video Game Nerd, From Pixels To Plastic, Destroy The Humanoid and Retrobeats. The site also contains other shows such as Video Game Knowledge, Sold Separately, Game Quickie, and Retro News Today that are done by the various hosts of the shows mentioned earlier. The websites goal is to provide viewers with knowledge, insight, and exporsure to the games of yesteryear.

Pretty much they heart games of the past. Even better, they heart Substance TV. In turn, I heart Retroware TV. I tell ya, relationships are so complicated these days. I’ve been watching Retroware TV for awhile now and enjoyed the variety of shows they have. So it’s nice to be recognized by not only folks who enjoy games, but peers who make shows themselves. Plus, any show and/or website with “TV” at the end is pretty much full of win no matter what.

A big thanks to all the staff over at Retroware TV. Go check them out at:

www.retrowaretv.com

Ah, good old Zangief. Never really played as him much in my glorious days of Street Fighter II. Something about the lack of fireballs and the tight red speedo that just didn’t do it for me. Seems as though life after Street Fighter has not been so kind for our beloved Russian wrestler.

I saw this website the other day (thanks to a link by EVIL NICK over at www.neo-geo.com), and thought it was just plain funny. See Zangief as he takes on even more fierce opponents then ever before like the terrible speed dating, or the venomous copywriter, and even the dreaded first love.

http://www.zangiefchronicles.com/

Well, you’ve all been good little girls and boys. I’ve been checking my list, and I thought and thought of a gift worthy of my fans. What could I get them that I know they love. I was so afraid of getting something the wrong size, or color, or smell. And as I pondered, it came to me, why not give a gift I already know they’ll love. So I give you the gift of Substance. Substance TV 7 that is. Below are the links to this blessed goodness.

Enjoy it my little tikes, but don’t eat up too much. You’ll rot your teeth.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Download

So, after many months of searching, I have found a suitable option for recording the video needed for Substance TV episode 7. Though it’s not perfect, it’ll do the job for now. I’ve got Christmas break coming up, so in the middle of family, friends, and a myriad of other people, I’ll be working on getting things wrapped up, and maybe, just maybe, have a present wrapped under the tree for you folks.

Well, time is a wastin’.

With the 2008 presidential election behind us, one would think their duty as an American citizen was completed and they could go one with life as it was, but those people would be sorely wrong. Now a much more important vote is upon you. Not for president, but for Screw Attack’s “Gaming’s 1337″ nomination.

As your host of Substance TV, I ask for your vote in this upcoming nomination. If elected, I will lower taxes for The Mushroom Kingdom and expand housing projects in the Green Hill Zone. I will continue to negotiate with foreign leaders such as Bowser, King Dedede, and Donkey Kong to ensure a lasting peace. I vow to increase our military force by ten fold with the help of General Bill Rizer in our fight against the forces of Red Falcon. I will help small community leaders such as Mike Haggar of Metro City fight crime and clean up gangs like the Mad Gear.

All this and more will I do if I am voted as best video game reviewer.

So, how do you help you ask? Simple, just follow the link below and nominate me as best video game reviewer and/or any of the other applicable fields. It’s important to note you can only vote once per day. Though I appreciate those who would vote for me 50 times a day, and I truly do, your votes would then not be counted which would be sad for all of us.

So go on and vote. It’s your civic duty!

VOTE NOW!
http://www.screwattack.com/Nominations

P.S. Yes, I’m still working on Substance TV 7 for those of you wondering. Look out for it soon!

Yes, you’re not seeing things, that entire image of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is made entirely out of beads. For years now, enthusiasts have been making pixel perfect replicas of their favorite video game characters out of beads. Of course this has gone unnoticed by folks like myself until now. From standards like Mario, Megaman, Sonic, and much more, to more interesting and even custom works of art, this truly is a labor of gaming love. Some pieces takes mere minutes, while others take months.

So how might you procure these beads and how is it done? Well I’m glad you asked. Check out the Bead Sprites Forum to see an array of bead works, tips, and advice on how to get started.

Bead Sprite Forums

Although you might have to get your hands dirty and visit your local craft store, it’s well worth it.

So I wake up this morning, have some breakfast, spend some time with the fam, and then check my e-mail. Nothing out of the ordinary. When I get to my e-mail, it’s flooded with tons of messages, around 73 to be exact. Most, if not all, were subscription notices from Youtube. This was highly unusual as most of the time I get maybe one or two subscriptions a week. Curiously I check my Youtube page to see what all the hub bub is about.

I look at my last episode of Substance TV, and after a bit of searching, I look under the ’statistics and data’ drop down menu. I see a link from www.screwattack.com linking to the video. I figured maybe somebody had clicked on the link from the message boards and got the topic bumped up and it somehow caught fire. I click on the link to see what this was all about, and to my surprise, I’m featured on the site! Yea, it’s crazy.

I had submitted the fifth episode for the Sunday submissions. I thought nothing of it. Figured it would be worth a shot in the dark, but instead, they choose it. So now I’ve got a lot more people seeing my stuff. Of course, I’d still do it no matter how many people see it, but it’s nice to recognized by a pretty major site such as Screwattack.

Big thanks to Stuttering Craig and all the members at Screwattack who have come over to check out the site and my videos. It’s good to see such hard work be seen by a lot more people then would have without their help. Check them out at: www.screwattack.com

As some of you know, my good friend over at Past To Present has been a big supporter of Substance TV since the beginning, offering downloads of videos and helping get the word out about the show before I even thought of getting a website. Well now his site has gone through a major upgrade and a name change. Past to Present Online is now Superior Version (www.superiorversion.com).

Now for those not familiar with the site, it’s a favorite of mine for many reasons. For one, they have all sorts of information from beta versions of games, screen caps and videos of unreleased games, and a whole lot of other stuff that has never been seen by us mere mortals. Past that, they’ve got great content on old and new games alike.

Do yourself a favor and check this site out.