Let’s face the facts, ever since Sonic & Knuckles on the Genesis, the Sonic series has sucked hard. Sorry, as much as you’d like to think Sonic Adventure was a good game, you’d be wrong. Dead wrong. Sonic Adventure was a nice try, but it still sucked. After the 100th time of falling off a course into the white abyss as Sonic lets out a pitiful “NOOOOO!” because the camera couldn’t keep up with the action, I had enough. The phrase “by Sonic Team” ranks up there with “by Uwe Boll”. The only true fan base of Sonic are those too ignorant to know better, or those trying to hold on to some shred of hope.

It’s no surprise the recent release of a Sonic 4 teaser has brought a certain optimism to the failing franchise. A return to 2-D and the classic platforming is a sight for sore eyes. But then I remember how time and time again Sega has failed us. Like a battered spouse we keep coming back even when we know the pain won’t stop.

Through the darkness, there may be a light. See Sonic 4 is not just being developed by Sonic Team. Sega is getting help from a little known company named Dimps.

Dimps is an Osaka-based development studio with an additional office in Tokyo, Japan. Employing a staff of 218 people, it is known for developing such games as the Dragon Ball Z: Budokai trilogy for the PlayStation 2, and the Sonic the Hedgehog games specific to the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS under the guise of Sonic Team.

If you’ve played any of the Sonic Advance series or the two Sonic Rush games on the DS, you’ve played a Sonic game developed by Dimps. We officially have Dimps, not Sonic Team, to thank for the handful of good Sonic games developed in the past few years. Not to mention they also co-developed Street Fighter IV, so their resume of work is impressive. I do stress the term “co-developed” as Sonic Team still has their grubby little hands in the creation of Sonic 4 (meaning they could find a way to royally screw it up).

O.K., so maybe I spoke too soon. Sonic 4 may suck. I can’t be sure. But knowing Dimps has a major role in the creative process could mean the end of the nightmare and the dawning of a new age for the Sonic franchise.

We’ll known for sure when the game is released later this year.

- Brian

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

In the January Free Play we were giving away a complete copy of Treasure’s underrated classic, Wario World for the Nintendo Gamecube. And the winner of the January Free Play is……

ltbarton

Congrats and enjoy my good sir!

Ah the month of February. For us here at Substance TV, the month of February is indeed about love. Oh but not the love between two people, but the love of between a person’s head and the pavement. What better way to celebrate this kind of love then by giving away a game that celebrates the bond of fist and face. So this month we are giving away Urban Reign for the PS2. This game is all about mayhem of the fist and foot variety. This was the first game we reviewed in episode one of Substance TV, and even all these years later, it still stands the test of time. In fact, like a fine wine, the passage of time has made it even better.

Urban Reign is also a game that provides many “Bein’ the Man” moments. You know, those times where somehow you pulled off that awesome gaming feat and amaze even yourself. For reference, check out the video of us doing just that. So for the February Free Play, we want you to tell us about your “Bein’ the Man” moment. Was it when you beat the last boss on Contra III on hard with just your machine gun and one life? Did you beat M. Bison in Street Fighter II with a double perfect? Whatever it is, tell us about your “Bein’ the Man” moment. My “Bein’ the Man” moment was in F-Zero GX for the Nintendo Gamecube, but instead of describing it to you, I’ll do one better and show you some footage.

As with every Free Play, you can enter by posting a comment here or on the YouTube video (which will be up soon). But this month, you can also gain an extra entry by submitting a video response to the YouTube video. Either tell us about your “Being’ the Man” moment on video, or better yet, show us some actual footage of you doing some amazing video game feats. If nothing else, show us a few pictures of your moment. This gives you a total of three possible entries into the contest!

Deadline for entries is February 28th at 11:59 P.M. so get to crackin’.

Thanks again to everyone who has participated and good luck to all.

– Brian

It’s fair to say Blaster Master Overdrive lived up to the hype, since it was released merely two days after it was announced. The verdict? Well, Overdrive turns out to be a failed experiment and feels very much like an unfinished game. Here is list of fundamental issues I had with the game:

1. The tank’s main gun overheats. (The gun has it’s own bar that drains with every shot, but refills). This means you have to wait for the gun to cool down before you can use it. What now?

2. The tank jumps half as high as the original NES game. Not nearly high enough.

3. The BLAAHHHH looking enemy explosions.

4. Walking outside of the tank in the sidescrolling areas feels like you should be using a walker.

5. You no longer can throw grenades, instead you have a rocket launcher that fires a shot every 2 seconds.

6. THE FLIPPIN’ TANK’S GUN OVERHEATS!

But, the enemy’s are in full color instead of monochromatic. Hmm… I guess that’s game’s biggest plus. As a no name freebie Flash game, it may work, but as a Blaster Master game, it fails. So please, spend your hard earned money on anything but this.

- Erik

From out of nowhere, Sunsoft announced yesterday the release of a new Blaster Master game titled: Blaster Master Overdrive. Announced on 2-6-10 for a release on 2-8-10 via WiiWare for 1000 Wii points (talk about no hype). This isn’t even listed on the ESRB website. Sunsoft likes to surprise us I guess. From first impressions, this COULD BE and amazing game. It looks and sounds reminiscent of the old style and many game mechanics look intact. But is Sunsoft rusty after all these dormant years? Will find out Monday when the game is released. We will be purchasing the game tomorrow and will post impressions as soon as possible to let you know if it’s worth your Wiibucks.

- Brian

As promised, episode 11 is out! As previously mentioned, we cover Shinobi III for the Sega Genesis. We also take a look at Klonoa 2 for the Playstation 2. You know how I mentioned we had a big game up for review, well I wasn’t lying. Substance TV has the exclusive first video review of the brand new shmup from our boys at Cave, Mushihimesama Futari Ver. 1.5.

We’ve made a few additions and improvements to the show to make it more enjoyable and viewer friendly. Give us your feedback on the show. We always strive to make it better and better each episode, and your comments and criticisms help in that.

BTW: Right click the icon below to download the Windows Media version instead of streaming it. Doing so will allow you to watch the episode in the highest quality running at 60 frames per second.

DOWNLOAD:

As an exclusive bonus of being the totally awesome people you are by faithfully visiting this site, we’re giving you the release date of episode 11 of Substance TV. In production since late October, the final game I was patiently waiting for came in last month, giving me the chance to finish the episode. As a cherry on top of the aforementioned bonus, we’ll reveal one of the games up for review. For those who recognize the ninja like figure in white as the infamous Joe Musashi, you already may know.

One of the games up for review is…. Shinobi III for the Sega Genesis.

I won’t go into any detail as I’m saving that for the show, but just to put things into perspective, Shinobi III is not the most amazing game in this episode. Episode 11 will have the exclusive first and only video review of a brand new next gen game. Needless to say you’ll want to tune as this is a game you need to know about.

Speaking of tuning in, when should you? Good question. Episode 11 of Substance TV will premiere on Sunday, January 31st, 2010 on both YouTube and this website. For those who watch it here at www.substance-tv.com, you’ll be able to watch the full high quality version, with perfect audio clarity, and all while running at 60 frames per second. Oh yea, we don’t screw around when it comes to quality.

So for now, it’s back to work. See you next Sunday!

- Brian

I’ve been a little hush hush about a big secret in my life, but now that my wife has gone public on Facebook, it’s time to spill the beans. My wife and I are going to have another baby! We’ve been a quiet on the subject for a few months now, but we thought it was time to start telling friends and family, and I consider all of you friends.

This is also a major reason why episode 11 has been delayed longer then I’d like. After we found out awhile back, I knew things were going to be a whirlwind, and indeed they were. I wanted to focus my entire attention on being not only a father to my son Avery, who is now almost 20 months, but the new baby to be. That means less time to work on the show, and more time devoted to family. Things are going very well, and from time to time I’m able to do some work on the show. Nevertheless, progress on episode 11 is coming along nicely.

Anyway, thanks for all the support from our fans and friends. We’re lucky to have folks like you around. I’ll keep you updated on all the pertinent baby information as it comes.

BTW: Tommorrow we will be announcing not only the release date of Substance TV episode 11, but I’ll tip my hand and let you know one of the three games we will be reviewing. Check back tomorrow to find out!

P.S. PatrickBoivin has some amazing stop motion videos and has been a favorite video creator of mine for some time now. Check out his YouTube page for more goodness.

For some time now I’ve heard the comments from fans about the missing audio from episode 4. Over the past months I’ve tried all I could to get the original audio back, with little to no help from YouTube. I’ve been searching through the old archives and finally found a version with sound and decided to bite the bullet and just re-upload the episode. So enjoy and thanks again everyone. Episode 11 is going smoothly so look forward to that coming soon!

The month of December is over and the winner of Y’s Ark of Napishtim and the strategy guide is:

SPac316!

Congratulations my man! Hopefully the smooth gooey goodness of Y’s will keep you warm these cold and frigid Winter months.

Now for the January Free Play, we’re giving away a game near and dear to our hearts: Wario World for the Nintendo Gamecube. In a departure from his beloved Wario Ware Inc., Wario beats, slams, and pile drives his enemies in a quest to get his hands on that glimmering gold. Not only is the game play flat out fun, the soundtrack is also amazing. Composed by Norio Hanzawa and Minako Hamano, it fits hand in hand with the on screen mayhem.

On the subject of great soundtracks, for this month’s contest, we want to know what your favorite video game soundtrack is and why. Or if you’ve got more than one favorite, just pick one. One of my personal favorite video game soundtracks is Galaxy Force II. I can remember playing the game in the arcades for the first time. I strapped myself into the full size sit down machine and clunked in two quarters. As the game started, I was greeted by this song.

(Make sure to click the HD button for the high quality stereo mix and slap some decent headphones on while you’re at it!)

Composed by Koichi Namiki, this is a classic soundtrack from start to finish. The driving multi-layered almost jazz like synth melodies with that sweet underlying thumping bass made it pop and shine. To be honest, sometimes I boot the game up not for the game play, but for the music. Those melodies will be stuck in my brain forever. And would you believe it, those same funk bass lines present in this soundtrack were early licks and runs I mastered when learning the bass guitar years ago. To this day it’s been a musical influence on my personal style.

So that’s it, tell us your personal favorite video soundtrack, and you’re entered in the contest. The deadline for entry is January 31st at 11:59 P.M. CST. We’re even playing around with the idea of posting the winning soundtrack on the site to download for free (more details on that as they come). I’ll be posting the video up on YouTube soon to give you and extra chance to enter, but since you fine folks visited our website, you get first crack at it.

Thanks again and best of luck to you!

There’s a lot of awesome new coming out of this years CES. At the moment, I could care less about any of that because Capcom just announced Final Fight Double Impact; An Xbox LIVE arcade DLC of not only Final Fight (yes), but also Magic Sword (yes and yes). Details are sparse, but Capcom has confirmed new HD graphics in the vein of Super Street Fighter HD. Thankfully there will also be an option to play with the original visuals. The standard leaderboards will be present, alongside the most important aspect these games desperatley need:

ONLINE CO-OP!

Even sweeter it’s drop in drop out. Just like to old arcade. Capcom stated the game will be released sometime in March of this year. I myself cannot wait to download this goodness. Both Erik and I are huge fans of both games making this a no brainier.

Now, if Capcom could just do some IP maneuvering like they did with Marvel vs. Capcom 2 and re-release Alien vs. Predator.

Link to video footage

Have you ever imagined fighting all the bosses from Mega Man 2 with all the weapons from the original Mega Man? Madness you say, well then you’ve come to the right place. Our crazy neighbors to the East made a freeware PC game called Rockman 2 de Ippatsu Neta. Of course you could download the game. Only problem being it’s all in Japanese. But who cares, it’s Mega Man right? You don’t need no stinkin’ English patch.

Well evidently someone was drinking their daily recommendation of awesomesauce and decided to translate this little gem into English. Even more awesome, they retitled the game “Rockman2 Boss Battle Extravaganza Thing”. A work of art I tell ya. I haven’t played it yet myself, but I plan on downloading it and trying out this twisted experiment.

ENJOY!

If anyone else had played it, what did you think?

BTW: Thanks to Duece from the Neo Geo forums for this tasty tidbit.

Sorry the site has been without updates the past few days. I caught a lovely bug this weekend and have since been sick like a dog. I’ve not been feeling all that up to posting on the site, but today I’m feeling much better. Thought I would post an update and let everyone know I’m doing alright. I’ll be posting the December Free Play winner in the next few days. As far as episode 11 goes, my voice is getting much better and I should be able to finish the voice over soon. Thanks again for all your support guys (and gals)!

Pursuing around my Twitter feeds, I noticed the announcement from DICE that Battlefield 1943 will be only 600 points (a measly $7.50) on December 31st only.

Hey followers, please help us spread the word, this Dec 31st on XBLA BF1943 is only 600 MS Point!

I can’t tell you the number of hours I’ve put into this game. Well I guess I could, but I’m too lazy to check and partially scared of how much actual time I’ve spent on this game. This is an amazing game and worth the original $15 price point, so it’s certainly worth half of that. I bought this game not only for the 360 at full price, but for the PS3 as well so I could play with Erik and other friends on PSN making it the first game I own on more than one next gen console.

For those of you who own a 360, and you don’t have this game already, get to it. You won’t regret it. I know Modern Warfare 2 is all the rage now, and I love that game to pieces, but this is still worth the purchase.

- Brian

2010 will be a great year for gaming. I can’t remember a time when I was looking forward to so many great games. Since the new year is just around the corner, I felt it appropriate to cover some the best upcoming titles in January.

First up is Bayonetta on January 5th. Created by former Clover Studios employees, known today as Platinum Games, Bayonetta is a crazy 3rd person action game. You play the role of a witch with four guns (2 in hands, 2 strapped to feet) and you fight against some pretty impressive looking monsters. The gameplay is very similar to Devil May Cry with the slowdown feature of Viewtiful Joe. The game will be released on the PS3 and Xbox 360 and demos for both systems are available now on their respective online services.

Then, we come to January 26th. On this blessed date, we will see the release of No More Heroes 2 for Wii, Mass Effect 2 for Xbox 360, and my personal favorite, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom for the Wii. It seems I just can’t get enough of that insane vs. gameplay. Now Capcom is promising the game will be online enabled, which is a rarity for Wii games.

The other possible late January early February Wii release I’m keeping my eye on is Data East Arcade Classics. The collection will be only $20 and feature (deep breath) BurgerTime, Peter Pepper’s Ice Cream Factory (the rare sequel to Burger Time), Bad Dudes vs. Dragon Ninja, Burnin’ Rubber, Caveman Ninja, Crude Buster, Express Raider, Heavy Barrel, Lock ‘n’ Chase, Magical Drop III, Secret Agent, Side Pocket, Street Hoop, Super Real Darwin and Wizard Fire. WHEW!! I’m sorry about the unconfimed release date, but every site I checked gave me a different date. Majesco’s (the game’s publisher) website says February 2010 and Amazon.com says Feb. 9th, so be looking out for it.

Oh, and lastly, Sega is having a temporary price reduction on their best-selling Virtual Console games. The following games will be available for 500 instead of their normal 800 points through Jan. 6th, 2010: 

Sonic the Hedgehog 1-3
Gunstar Heroes
Toe Jam and Earl
Puyo Puyo 2
Shining Force
Golden Axe
Altered Beast
Streets of Rage 2.

This is just the beginning of 2010 and OMG I need a lot more money.

Till next time everyone,

- Erik

After hearing months ago about the Castlevania’s epic return to a 2D non-Metroidesque action game, I couldn’t help but be excited. I would hear sparse rumors about a release date, but nothing confirmed. I was more than surprised to wake up this morning to find Castlevania is upon us with no hype or fanfare before its release. OMG!

First off, I love the Wiiware and virtual console service. Downloading new games and ones from years past is a good thing. However, the one thing that (use Peter Griffin voice) “grinds my gears” is that Nintendo does not give out release dates for games released weekly. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one surprised that Castlevania came out.

Enjoy this great title today for 10 measly greenbacks. You’ll be glad you did. Consider this article the fanfare the title deserved.

- Erik

The blessed time is now upon us. This Christmas, my family bestowed to me the final key to complete the current-gen trinity. Opening the container the relic had been stored in, I thrust my hand to grasp what my heart had yearned for. Bathed in a white sheen of heavenly radiance, I beheld a beauty like no other. I deciphered the ancient text to reveal the mysteries within, and how to harnass the power of this device. As I interfaced the monolith with electrical power and established audio and visual connection, my journey into the abyss began.

So yea, I’m pretty excited about the whole deal. Now I can finally play some of the more amazing games I have yet to play. Now I bid you all farewell as I start my fantastic journey (a.k.a. play some Wii goodness).

- Brian

I couldn’t have said it better myself. So I won’t. As always, you rock GoodieBag.

I saw these a few months ago on a fellow employee’s desk and my nerd jealously kicked in. Seems these are a one of a kind custom painted pieces. They all look faithful to the original cast (expect for Scotty who looks more like a drunk Brad Garrett). Past that, they spelled Scotty with a “k”. Seriously WTF? Here another question, where in the blue blazes is Bones?! Even with all the oddities, they are still pretty cool. And you’ll see this action packed story only on Substance TV. Yes indeed, turn to Substance TV for all the hottest nesting doll news and scandals!

- Brian

Remember the first time you saw Jurassic Park, Star Wars, Back to the Future or Raiders of the Lost Ark? You probably did not see some of them in the theatres, but always wanted too. Avatar is one of those movies.

Avatar just released on Friday, December 18th is extremely impressive. As a fan of classic science fiction, I know James Cameron has the gift of giving us movies that he himself would want to see. The Terminator movies are a great example of how Cameron pushes the boundries of filmmaking to new levels.  Avatar is no different. The story is cut and dry and very easy to understand. The characters are easy to relate to and yes, there are a LOT of special effects. So many, in fact, that it was hard to tell what was real and what was a CG image. That’s a good thing. Furthermore, the movie is presented in RealD 3D, which adds a new dimension to the art of storytelling. You might find yourself swatting fireflies that float in front of your face.

The music of Avatar is also top notch. I have been a fan of James Horner’s music since I was a child. The soundtrack is a mix between Willow, Apocalypto and Aliens. Quite a score, indeed.

So everyone, I beg, no plead with you to see this masterpiece today you will not regret it. Recommend.

- Erik

Like many other fans of James Cameron’s exemplary work, both Erik and I anxiously wait to see Avatar. But the real question remains, does Cameron still have the magic after being dormant for more than a decade? We’ll find out Friday December 18th at midnight when it premieres in the States. A few hours ago, the movie premiered in the UK (lucky Brits who get the sun earlier than us). Early reports from various news sources already hail the movie as an epic triumph.

The best endorsement yet comes from the one and only Steven Spielberg. Yes, we forgive him for Indiana Jones and The Crystal Skull. We blame it on Lucas. Anyway, Spielberg watched the film last Friday on Fox’s studio lot in Los Angeles and loved it. “He flipped for it,” says a person close to the acclaimed director. This one endorsement goes a long way to ease some of my worry. The only way I’ll know for sure is to see the film myself when it opens. Sadly I already have prior obligations on Friday (a Christmas party with the Mrs. and some friends). Thankfully Erik already has his ticket to the midnight showing in 3-D. At least I can find solace one of us will see it day of.

C’mon James, don’t let us down my friend.

- Brian

Cave is one of my favorite video game companies period. If you haven’t the faintest idea who this Cave company is, check out this Wikipedia article.

Their most recent arcade port Mushihime-sama Futari version 1.5, recently released on the Xbox 360, marks their first region free release on home consoles giving the average joe a chance to play it without modding or importing a Japanese system. Depending on the level of uptake outside of Japan, sales of the game will affect their future decision to localize other shooters such as Espgaluda 2.

On the heels of this release comes news of future releases. Cave general manager Makato Asada has plans to bring future games to a wider audience (meaning us here in the old U S of A and beyond).

According to Asada’s last blog post, Cave is working on five new titles. Though he doesn’t specify much, he does give a few hints:

1. A completely new arcade game (“completely” implies it’s not a sequel to any previous game)
2. An original Xbox 360 game
3. Xbox 360 arcade port(s)
4. Development on “new hardware”

At the Cave festival on 12/27, he’ll reveal more. Here’s hoping for ports of previously Japan exclusive games such as Do-Don-Pachi Dai-Fukkatsu and DeathSmiles. And don’t even get me started on games like Progear. Oh please let it be true.

I’ve always been a fan of the Valkyrie Profile series. So it would only make sense that developer Tri-Ace would be amazing at making other games right? Wrong. If you’ve played Infinite Undiscovery for the Xbox 360, you’ll know what I’m talking about. It’s not terrible by any means, but it’s not great. Regardless, I am interested to hear they are developing another RPG for the 360 called End of Eternity (Resonace of Fate). Published by Sega, the game uses a tri-attack-battle system. Few details have been released over at The Magic Box, but what I see looks interesting.

The game will be released in January 2010 in Japan with an eventual North American release. Here’s hoping they learn from their mistakes and make an amazing game.

Source: Magicbox

So now the November Free Play is over, and the winner of a complete copy of Shinobi for the Playstation 2 is….

rossosnaruto!

Congratulations, enjoy this awesome game full of ninjas, blood, and much killing. It’s just doesn’t get any better than that. Thanks again to everyone who entered. Both Erik and I were seriously impressed with the entries this month. We figured the obvious games would be chosen for revivals, but you guys pick some niche titles that desperately need some lovin’.

Now it’s on to the December Free Play. As we’ve alluded to, the month of December will be filled with sweet goodness for the fans of Substance TV. So for this month’s Free Play, we’re going to be doing a little something special. We are giving away a game we featured in episode 9. An amazing and rare RPG called Y’s: The Ark of Napishtim for the Playstation 2. But not only are we giving away the game, we are also giving away the hard to find strategy guide! You’ll need it as it covers a lot of the hidden items and extra bonuses you won’t normally find in the game.

To enter, we want to know your favorite Christmas video game memory. Maybe it was the year you got a Nintendo Sixty-FOOOOOOOOOOUR!!!!!! Or was it the year you got that brand new Power Glove? Whatever it is, we want to know. For me, it was the year I got my very own Nintendo Entertainment System. I always played it at my cousin’s house, but I never had one. I can still remember opening that big power set box Christmas Eve. It was all just too wonderful!

You can either post a comment here or by visiting the YouTube video (which will soon be up). As always, entering at more than one place gives you a better chance. The deadline to enter is December 31st at 11:59:59 P.M. so best of luck to all of you. I’m off to do some more work on episode 11, and hopefully my new game will be in today!

For the last decade, Sunsoft has been all but dormant releasing only a handful of new titles. It’s been over twenty years since the release of such classics as Blaster Master on the NES. Those glory days may very well be upon us again as Sunsoft just announced a reboot of their console gaming brand in the USA.

Sunsoft has teamed up with GAIJINWORKS, headed up by former Working Designs President Victor Ireland, to aid in the publishing and release of Sunsoft titles.

First and foremost, this means a release of Blaster Master on the Virtual Console. Past that there is talk of other VC releases and new content as well. Though no specific titles have been announced, I’m glad to see Sunsoft back and kicking.

P.S. Just promise me no Warner Bros. licensed games.

This was a fact I was not aware of until just recently. I never really thought about it, but after seeing this compelling evidence, it’s hard to deny it. Maybe it’s an East Coast vs. West Coast thing. Maybe a culture clash. Possibly the fact that L.A. doesn’t have as many dead bodies floating in the water. Who knows. Watch and see for yourself.

Thanks to Goodie Bag for the video

Big thanks to Nightmare26 for breaking the news to me. You guys rock!

In the November Free Play I stated I would love to see a sequel to Power Stone. So much so that a few months ago I posted a bogus story on April Fool’s day proclaiming the development of Power Stone 3 (link time). That was simply a lie aimed at getting your hopes up only to be dashed by reality. But it seems the brass at Capcom have kinda sorta maybe heard our cries for sweet POWASTONGA! Go Nintendo has quoted Capcom Community Manager Seth Killian as saying:

“We’re working on a way for you to be able to do just such a thing (voice your opinion), and hope to have the new Unity feature available soon-ish. The bad news is that you’ll have to compete with the Powerstone 3 and RE: Outbreak psychos for attention! Seriously though, I know that having such a clear outlet is important, and we’re working on even more direct ways for you to let your voice be heard internally here at Capcom.”

So while it’s not a confirmation, it does confirm the fan demand for a sequel has come to their attention. That could mean absolutely nothing, but I’m hoping Capcom gets off their butts and puts another Power Stone out. I know I’ll be sending a few e-mails to select individuals over at Capcom and I suggest you do the same so one day we can all hear the glorious words, “Welcome to the Power Stone world!”.

Hey all. First, I know this is a bit late. O.K., not a bit late, really, really, really, holy crap late. So without further ado, let’s get this started. The winner of the October Free Play, which was a brand new copy of Donkey Kong Jungle Beat on the Gamecube and the Wii, is none other than……*DRUM ROLL*

Samurai Sam!

Congrats sir! We’ll be in contact to get your address and send you the lovin’ of Donkey Kong Jungle Beat.

Now onto the November Free Play. This month we are giving away a copy of Shinobi for the PS2. It’s a departure from the 2D confines of the original, but it is surprisingly one of the better games in the series and on the PS2. If you’ll remember, we covered Shinobi in episode 2 of Substance TV. While I could go on, check out the episode for the full review. Needless to say, it’s amazing.

Since this is coming later then normal, the contest will be extended just a bit into December. We’ll extend the eligibility to 12:01 A.M. on December 7th. That will give you a little over two weeks to enter. And since most of the entries come in in the first week or so anyway, I think it should be enough time. When we start the December contest, it will end at the normal end of the month.

Since Shinobi on the PS2 is a revival of the series, we want you to tell us what video game franchise you’d like to see a revival or rebirth of. Personally, I’d like to see a new Power Stone on next gen consoles with online play. C’mon Capcom, DO IT!

You can enter two ways: by posting a comment on this post, or by posting a comment on the YouTube video (link). As with the last contest, if you enter at both places, you double your chances of winning. So get to it folks. Thanks again to everyone who has entered. Both Erik and I enjoyed reading your stories and thoughts on video games.

BTW: Substance TV 11 is coming along. I had a root canal this month and my mouth, and consequently voice, have been out of commission. Don’t worry, things are still coming along, but at a different pace. We don’t want to sacrifice a quality voice over for a quicker turn around. Look for it here in the next few weeks!

I’ve been doing some work to not only get the forums working right, by adding more forums and sub forums to cover the wide gambit of all things nerd and or geek. If you have any suggestions you want added to the forums, post up under suggestions. We’re also looking for a few good men, or women, to be moderators over the proceedings. If you’re interested, send me an e-mail to:

brian (at) substance-tv.com

So check them out and tell us what you think.

Check out the forums!

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?

You know we’re hip and have Twitter (if you don’t check out how hip we are here: Substance TV on Twitter). Now we’ve become even more hip, cool, and all around yuppie because Substance TV is now on Facebook!

This won’t be just some glorified page for us to post inane banter, you’re already reading enough inane banter on this site as I type. We are going to use it as a place to get to know our fellow gamers and fans. Plus we’ll be uploading pictures of our adventures and all sorts of stuff going on in our lives. You can check out pics of Erik and I’s gaming night a few months back. So join up and add us as your friends. All we want to do is share the love of Substance TV with you in a greater way. But like a normal healthy love, not a clingy stalking love. That’s just plain creepy.

Substance TV on Facebook

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!

After months and months of work, episode 10 of Substance TV is finally out! Up for review this month is Donkey Kong Jungle Beat (Gamecube & Wii), Castlevania Dracula X (SNES), Astra Superstars (Sega Saturn). It’s been awhile since the last episode, but we think you’ll think, or at least we hope you think, it was all worth the wait.

Both Erik and I want to thank all of you who have supported us this far. We’ve been up countless hours getting this all ready. Though at about 5 A.M. on Saturday morning, Premiere was screwing up, so I wasn’t even sure if it would come out. I was this close to saying screw it, but I hunkered down and kept at it. Luckily it started behaving and allowed me to export the show later that afternoon.

If you dig the show, and I would guess as much if you’re here on the website, then spread the good word that is Substance TV. Host a dinner party with friends, hold a Substance TV bingo party, or even invite friends and family for a Substance TV ice cream social. However you celebrate, we condone and wholeheartedly support you.

Now that we have all the new graphics and such done, we can focus back on getting the show out every month. Well, ummmm, that’s about it, so enjoy!

Download (HQ MP4 added!)

The September Free Play is over, and we have a winner. The winner is none other then anupsanju. Congrats on winning a sealed copy of Astro Boy: The Omega Factor. We’ll get that shipped out to you ASAP.

Now it’s onto the October Free Play. This month we’ve changed things up a bit. First, we’re only giving away games we’ve featured on Substance TV as we only want to give away the best. Second, not only can you enter here on the site and on YouTube, we thought it only fair that our fans and supporters over at RetroWare TV get a shot at entering the contest. So now you can post a response to the October Free Play thread and be entered into the contest as well. Plus, you can have up to three entires. This means you can enter here, YouTube, and over at RetroWare TV. Of course you can enter just here, or just here and YouTube, but the more places you enter, the better chance you have to win. All three websites are free to sign up giving everyone an equal and fair chance.

This month we’ve got quite a prize package. Since I’ve leaked this news elsewhere, I’ll let you know we’re doing an exhastive comparison of Donkey Kong Jungle Beat for the Gamecube, and Donkey Kong Jungle Beat for the Wii. So, we’re not only giving you a brand new copy of Donkey Kong Jungle Beat for the Gamecube, with game and Kongas, we’re also giving away a brand new sealed copy of Donkey Kong Jungle Beat for the Wii. Although I won’t tell you which one is better, this will give you the chance to find out for yourself for free.

The rules are simple, we want you to tell us your favorite version of any video game. Did you like the Gamecube, PS2, Wii, or PC version of Resident Evil 4 best? Did you like the Dreamcast, Saturn, Gameboy Advance, Playstation 1, PSP, or PS2 version of Street Fighter Alpha 3 best? Whatever game it is, tell us which version was the best, and most importantly why. Were the graphic better, was the gameplay more solid, was the loading quicker, or was the music better? Whatever it was, we want to know.

You have until October 31st at 11:59 (CST) to enter the contest. Best of luck and thanks to everyone who participated. We’re glad to help out the community and happy to see so many folks involved. Alright then, get to it.

So quick rundown, Cave is this super sweet and sexy company who creates the most amazing shoot em ups (shmups). In fact we reviewed a shmup of theirs, ESP Galuda, in our third episode of Substance TV. The Xbox 360 has been the lucky recipient of Cave’s newest shmups. As great as this all is, shmup fanatics in the States get the shaft and are either stuck with the hefty price tag of buying an import 360 or just sitting there in sorrow and misery.

But, for some reason, the shmup gods have smiled upon us and are releasing the newest Cave shmup, Mushihimesama Futari Ver 1.5, region free. Meaning now we can import a copy and play it on our U.S. 360s with no problem. Cave will use the sales from this game as a barometer to gauge whether or not they will release future games region free, and maybe, just maybe releasing games stateside. So I ask, no, I beg and plead with you, pre-order this game and give it the support it deserves. Cave makes some of the best games out there, and myself and countless others would love to see more of these sweet juicy gems come our way.

Play Asia pre-order link

[source: Kotaku]

Oh, and of course ninja theft from Pineconeattack.

As you may have heard, Hideo Kojima’s Policenauts received a English fan translation in April of this year. Although I am a part of RetroWare TV, it in no way colors my judgement towards their newest video series covering this coveted and highly regarded game. This three part series covers many aspects of the game’s creation, storyline, and much more. Part one has just been released exclusively on RetroWare TV’s website. As an avid fan of Kojima’s work, I am excited to see this game not only being translated, but also the proper attention and coverage it deserves. Even in part one, you can see a lot of care and detail went into this retrospective. I would highly recommend you check it out.

I personally have not had the chance to play the game, but rest assured, as soon as I’m able to, I’ll be right in the middle of it all. For now, this will wet my appetite until I can fully savor the awesomesauce that is Policenauts.

Policenauts: A Video Game Odyssey

The first Free Play was a big hit. Now it’s time for round two. For September’s Free Play, we’re gonna make it even easier to enter. Not only will you be able to enter by posting comments on the website, but also on our Youtube page.

Since Free Play is all about giving games away, we want you to tell us your worst video game give away or trade. Did you sell your copy of Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker for $3 at a Pawn Shop? Lend your copy of Ikaruga to your cousin never to see it again? Trade your friend a copy of Symphony of the Night for his brand new copy of Wii Music? Whatever it is, tell us your story. Like I said, post a comment here or on our Youtube video, which will be uploaded in the next few days, and you’ll be set.

Of course this is all for nothing if there’s no game involved. This month we’re giving away a game we reviewed in Substance TV episode 8. Not just any game. We’re giving away a brand new, sealed copy of Astro Boy: The Omega Factor for the Gameboy Advance. Since the episode, copies of this game have been harder and harder to find, but fear not, this could be your chance.

Deadline is 12:00 A.M. October 1st so get to it and best of luck!

Although updates on the site have been sporadic, there’s been a lot going on behind the scenes in preparation for the upcoming tenth episode of Substance TV. But this isn’t just another episode, this is the rebirth of Substance TV as you know it.

I’ve received a lot of questions surrounding this change. It’s been in the making these past few months, and Erik and I are proud to announce Substance TV episode ten will be released October 10th, 2009. As I’ve stated before, there will be some major changes. I’ve been a bit silent on the exact details, and although I can’t tell you everything, I will announce a few things:

- Substance TV will now be in widescreen! Now any game presented originally in widescreen will be shown as such. Any game natively 4:3 will remain that aspect ratio. There will be no goofy stretching or zooming. We want to preserve the original picture settings as much as possible.

- The entire show is getting a new overhaul. And I mean a overhaul. New logo, graphics, color scheme, website, intro, game titles, outro, credits, animations, and so much more. Pretty much a rebirth of the series. Both Erik and I want this series to really shine and be as good as it can be.

This of course begs the question, why? Why redo everything? The main reason we decided to reboot was because Erik and I never got to collaborate on the show from the get go. From episode one until four, it was just me doing everything. Once episode five came around, my good friend Erik came along and did a new intro and took on some extra work. It really helped because doing it all alone was becoming a real time hog. From then on, he continued to help and do more until he just became part of the show. Now I couldn’t imagine doing Substance TV without his hard work and dedication. It’s a nice balance.

The problem was, we were pretty much patching and adding on to what I started. And while it worked, it wasn’t as good as it could have been had we both started from episode one. We had always talked about doing some sort of reboot, but we weren’t sure how or when. After episode nine, it kind of just clicked that episode ten would be the perfect rebirth.

Add to that, we’re always looking to do better. We don’t want to become stagnant and rest on our laurels. We want the show to look professional and be as amazing as we can possibly make it. Hopefully that is what episode ten will be.

That’s it for now. Stay tuned in the coming weeks as changes and details will be made clear. For now, it’s back to work.

P.S. For those that haven’t seen, here’s the teaser for episode 10:

The first ever Free Play was a big success thanks to you fine folks. We had 17 comments! Hey, it’s about a good 16 more then we get on most of our other articles, so I dig. After putting all the names in a top secret machine, a winner was selected. And the winner of the very first Free Play ever, taking hope a brand new sealed copy of Viewtiful Jow 2 for the Nintendo Gamecube iiiiisssssss…….

Seanobi!

Congrats sir and we’ll be in touch (not a dirty touch). Thanks to all who participated. If you didn’t win, don’t fret, September’s Free Play is starting this weekend. So you’ll have another chance. September’s Free Play will be a game featured on Substance TV. So check back this weekend to see what goodness we have in store for you.

The old V Watch says it time I got back to work on episode 10. Talk to you soon!

http://twitter.com/SubstanceTV

Indie games on Xbox Live, for the most part, suck a big left one. Most of them feel like an unfinished Flash game created by an autistic boy on meds. A few are decent, but not even worth the couple bucks. But then there are those very few indie games that rise above crap, past mediocrity, and ascend to the highest levels of greatness man can achieve.

One such game would be the oddly titled “I MAED A GAM3 W1TH ZOMBIES 1N IT!!!1″ by Ska Studios (the same studio who created another great game on XBLA called Dishwasher). I know it doesn’t sound like anything more then a poorly written l33t speak shovelware turd, but just hold on a second. The game starts off with a top down view of yoIt’s another one of those dual analog stick games. It controls very similar to Robotron, Smash TV, or Geometry Wars. Yea sure, there are a plethora of these games out there, but don’t let that discourage you. Zombies begin to rise from the ground and come after you. Of course your goal is to kill them before they kill you. As you kill these zombies, you can hear the soundtrack blazing behind with a satirical rock song with lyrics such as “I made this game with XNA, it only coast a dolla!” The entire game is filled with this kind of self deprecating humor.

The game is littered with powerups from flamethrowers, rockets, lazers, spread shoots, and a myriad of other weapons. And you’ll need every bit of ammo as some of the areas get pretty hairy at times. Zombies aren’t the only thing you kill. You also blow up small happy face square snake things, green chunks of Asteroid like rocks, green globs of goo that blow up into smaller pieces, and even some small diamond shaped enemies that would look right at home in Geometry Wars.

As amazing as all this is, it can all be had for 80 Microsoft points ($1.00)! Yes, you heard right, one measly buck. So if that doesn’t convince you to buy this game, then your heart is as dead and cold as a zombie.

Enough chatter, GO BUY THIS GAME!

BTW: And I do still indeed have the high score. WOOT!

First of all, sorry for the lack of posts. Although the site is still up and running, for the past week or so, I was unable to access the Wordpress portion of the site because of some odd errors. I finally figured out was was causing the problem, so all systems are a go.

You all know I love the guys over at Pineconeattack. They’ve not only been big supporters of the site, but I’ve also been given the honor to be a part of their epic podcast “Pinekast”. Best of all, I’ve gotten the chance to just talk and hang out online with the group of guys over there. I gotta say, they are a fine group of lads, well except Tenno (HA!). After awhile, I was kind of adopted into the crew. I’m not sure when it happened, it just did. That being said, I’m now a full fledged writer and contributor to the site and a member of PCA.

Don’t fret my little ones, I’ll still be posting plenty of stuff here in the site, I’m just spreading the love around. Plus it gives me a chance to write about other things that I don’t usually cover on the site because they are to new or just off the beaten path. Check out my first article covering the Lost Planet 2 demo.

Lost Planet 2 Demo Impressions

BTW: Look out for some news on the release date on of Substance TV 10. It’s closer then you think!

Many a year ago, Erik and I had a little tradition. We didn’t really have a name for it. It was just a night of gaming. Each week we would go over to my house or his and do some gaming till the wee hours of the morning. From these gaming nights came the inspiration for Substance TV.

Since he moved out of town, those days are in the past, but from time to time we’ve managed to take a trip to one or the other’s respective town of residence (I know, that was such a smancy fancy way of saying it). Interestingly enough, we’ve never recorded our gaming nights.

On the weekend of August 7th, I took the four hour drive from Wichita, KS to Springfield, MO to visit my good friend, and co-creator of Substance TV, Erik Neal. The whole weekend we played every video game from old to new. It came to our minds that we should record our killin’ for posterity’s sake. The following video is a collection of the best clips from our night of gaming. Footage is from Street Fighter Zero 3, Urban Reign, Mario Kart Double Dash, Soul Calibur IV, and Bionic Commando. Enjoy! Maybe someday, when and if Erik moves back into town, these gaming nights will be a bit more frequent.

Now as tiny and cool as that is, there’s a Neo Geo cabinet that’s even smaller still! Now this isn’t just some ROM box thrown into a system, it’s an actual one slot MVS! Add to that, it can hook up to your TV as well. So pretty much it’s a miniature consolized Neo Geo arcade machine. Here’s some of the stats on this beauty:

- It’s 17×33 cm
- Uses a PSOne 5″ LCD
- Taito Space Invaders Play TV stick
- Mini Sanwa buttons
- Neo Geo MVS mv-1b as board

It took 5 months to make. Yea, ummmmm this is not practical and completely over the top, but it’s so insanely cool I’d gladly get a Brazilian wax for the chance to touch it. Check it out!

Neo Geo Minicade article

Right now, the economy pretty much sucks a big left one. And we all know about the government’s stimulus packages and other various attempts to try and ease the pain of this recession blah blah blah. Here at Substance TV, we want to do our little part, but in a different way. Both Erik and I know video games are a luxury item. It’s not the cheapest hobby, but we’re suckers for those pretty pixels. When recession hits, the old video game budget shrinks considerably.

So starting this month, Substance TV is rolling out what we call “Free Play”. Free Play is a monthly contest. Each month we’ll pick out a game and give it away for free. Now we’re not talking about some crappy throw away title. As with our reviews, we only pick the best. The Free Play for the month of August is a new sealed copy of Viewtiful Joe 2 for the Nintendo Gamecube.

How do you enter it you ask? It’s quite simple. All you have to do is post a comment in response to this article. Tell us your favorite memory of the Viewtiful Joe series, or best level, or thing you liked best about the game, or if you haven’t played it, what you think about the series in general. Long story short, if it’s a comment pertaining to Viewtiful Joe, it’s fair game. At the end of the month, we’ll randomly select one winner (and don’t worry, we’ll handle shipping as well), and send you the game.

That’s it! So get to it and stay Viewtiful.