Memories of Maniac – The Time I Skipped a School Dance to Attend a LAN Party January 12, 2021
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Maniac tells a story about the only fun times he had growing up and how they had nothing to do with school.
Quake is out now for PC.
Bowser’s Fury Trailer January 12, 2021
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Bowser’s Fury is an all-new expansion coming to Super Mario 3D World for the Nintendo Switch, and earlier today we got our first look at the new gameplay coming to the expansion. Check it out below:
He big.
Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury is coming February 2021 to Nintendo Switch.
Pokemon Go Gucci x North Face Trainer Outfit Code January 11, 2021
Posted by Maniac in Game News.add a comment
Occasionally, Pokémon Go offered free avatar customization options, either to tie into a promotion or as a thank you for keeping the game successful. Last week, for some reason that escapes logic, North Face thought it was a good idea to make Pokemon Go users seek out one of only 100 exclusive PokéStops in the entire world to obtain some exclusive avatar options.
This would (for nearly every human being on the planet) require travel, and likely over long distances. That is not a good idea right now. My guess is someone (thankfully) finally wised up because they’re now offering it as a download code. You can simply log into the Pokémon Go website here and enter the code below:
GXSD5CJ556NHG
Pokémon Go is out now for Android and iOS smart devices.
Gaming History You Should Know – History of Tamagotchi January 10, 2021
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Happy Sunday everyone, time for another Gaming History You Should Know, where we highlight some of the best independently produced gaming history videos from across the web. Today, we’re going back to the 90s to tell a story about a well known gaming property that influenced an entire industry.
Most kids of the 90s remember Tamagotchi. Released by Bandai, it was a simple LCD game that allowed you to create and care for a virtual pet. You could feed it, clean up after it, and play simple games with it. The graphics weren’t the best, even for the time, but the hardware was inexpensive and designed around the concept of portability and interactivity.
YouTube Channel Billiam, who I’ve seen produce some incredible videos about older electronic devices from the late 90s and early 00s, made this great video about the Tamagotchi you all need to check out. Maybe after watching it you’ll see the appeal of the gameplay, or if you’re like me you’ll find the technology behind it quaint. Check it out below:
I know that the video showed a very simple game that might even look primitive in the standards of today’s smart devices. However, let’s be honest, your smart device may be powerful, fast, and have a pretty screen, but it requires constant recharges over the course of a week. By choosing to use simple hardware, Bandai gave the Tamagotchi long battery life, a simple but clean interface, and a potential for device interconnectivity using IR or NFC.
Since its release, virtual pet games have mostly moved to smartphones and tablets. However, it’s hardware design lives on and we’ve seen companies ranging from Sony, Sega and even The Pokémon Company try to copy it.
Monster Hunter Rise Digital Event January 8, 2021
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Nintendo released this highly anticipated digital event earlier today for Monster Hunter Rise. It includes a new trailer, previews and a few surprises. I don’t know why this was slower to launch on the US Nintendo channel than it was in the UK, but it seems to be up and running now so check it out.
Monster Hunter Rise is coming to the Nintendo Switch. You can download a free demo right now off the Nintendo eShop.
Super Meat Boy Forever Review January 6, 2021
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What better way to start the New Year than with some meat?
Super Meat Boy Forever is a sequel to the independent classic Super Meat Boy. I first became aware of the original game when I watched the documentary Indie Game: The Movie, which detailed its development and release (alongside other games like FEZ). While I didn’t have the chance to play the original game back in the day I was charmed by its art style and gameplay, and upon hearing a sequel was being released my interest was peaked.
Ed Note: A review code for Super Meat Boy Forever was given to us by its publisher.
The Story
Meat Boy and his partner Bandage Girl have had their child kidnapped by the nefarious Dr Fetus (who isn’t a real doctor). Now it’s up to the player to guide them around an unbearably unsafe world in their quest to retrieve the little Nugget. Its simple, but effective and reminds me of the stories of classic 8-bit titles like Double Dragon.
Gameplay
The game’s level design is a throwback to classic 2D platformers of the NES and SNES era. Each level’s art style almost looks hand drawn, while interweaving dangerous spikes, pits and saws with the level’s art style.
Danger is everywhere. Your character is always moving forward, but you can control when your character jumps, ducks, dashes and attacks. There are a few tutorial levels at the beginning of the game which explain the mechanics, and you’ll need to learn them fast. This game is HARD. I went into it assuming it would be hard, but even I was absolutely humbled within the first set of levels. Your player character runs very, very fast, and the difference between a successful and unsuccessful jump could be down to one minor pixel. Thankfully, there doesn’t appear to be a limited life meter, but in-level checkpoints can be spaced out pretty far.
New levels can unlock new sections in the game, and there are plenty of unlockable avatars you can earn as you continue your progression. Given the precision accuracy the game demands, you can be sure you’ll be replaying certain sections so many times by the time you finally complete a level you’ll be able to replay it in your sleep.
Conclusion
I know I devoted an entire paragraph of this review to highlighting just how difficult the game is, but I know that many of you out there would consider overcoming that difficulty a badge of honor. If you are a fan of difficult platformers or have fond memories of the original Super Meat Boy and just want to play another game in that universe, you should totally pick up this game.
Super Meat Boy Forever is out now for PC and Nintendo Switch. Review is based on Nintendo Switch version which was played in tablet mode.
Memories of Maniac – Time Travel Memories January 4, 2021
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We’re getting a little personal here today as Maniac tells a story about one of his favorite concepts in fiction, Time Travel. Whether you’re a fan of classic games like Chrono Trigger or newer ones like Quantum Break.
But how does Time Travel work, and did these games get it right? Well, Maniac has done plenty of research on the subject in the past twenty-five years and he’s going to talk about it.
Quantum Break is out now for Xbox One and PC. Chrono Trigger is out now for SNES, PS1, Wii, PC and Smart Devices.
Gaming History You Should Know – History of Workboy, GameBoy’s Unreleased PDA Peripheral January 3, 2021
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Happy New Year everyone, welcome back to Gaming History You Should Know, where we highlight some of the best independently produced gaming history content from across the web. Today, we’re going to be talking about some gaming history that has been long since forgotten, mostly for the fact it was never released.
While most people use their smartphones and tablets to manage their day to day notes and communication, smartphones as we know them did not exist before 2007 when the iPhone was first released. However, pocket sized electronic devices capable of note taking and rudimentary wireless data exchange were available since the early 90s, we called them PDAs.
PDAs, short for Personal Digital Assistant, were tiny computers capable of storing electronic notes, as well as include some basic programs including an address book, calendar and calculator. Since PDAs were powered by simple batteries, you would need to regularly back it up to your PC or Mac so not to lose data. The most famous PDA was the Palm Pilot, but Apple had their own PDA called the Newton.
Being small, portable computers capable of storing data and running programs, PDAs were not cheap. They may run off store bought batteries but their hardware still required a low power CPU, static RAM (for storage), and a monochrome LCD screen. This alone would put a PDA price at around $150-300 USD. However, a better option was on the horizon. At the start of the 90s, a handheld gaming device was taking over the world. Called the Game Boy, it was priced at around $80USD and featured a monochrome screen, several interface buttons, a CPU, a sound chip, a serial port, and the ability to run an enormous library of games through expandable ROM cartridges (called Game Paks), the Game Boy was every kid’s essential device for a family road trip.
A company called Fabtek was interested in answering an important question, “Could we add the capabilities of a PDA to the hardware of a Game Boy and deliver a product that could be cost competitive in a time PDAs were seeing incredible use by the enterprise market?” Enter, the WorkBoy. Unfortunately, despite being previewed in an issue of Nintendo Power, it was never released.
Did You Know Gaming, one of the biggest channels in the history of YouTube, produced this thirty minute webisode about the history of this unreleased peripheral. Check it out:
Sorry about the lack of consistent content over the holiday season, you can be sure that regular uploads will resume this week. We’ve got an upcoming written game review, an essay, and at least one new video on the way!
Happy New Year 2021 – Mystery Gift Celebrate Pikachu December 31, 2020
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The Pokémon Company has sent Pikachu into space and to celebrate the new year 2021, they’re giving away an exclusive Pikachu that knows the move Celebrate for all Sword and Shield players worldwide.
No code is needed to get the Pikachu. If you want it, just go to the Mystery Gift menu and select the option to obtain a gift from the internet.
Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield are out now exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.
Marvel’s Avengers – Interview with Hawkeye’s Voice Actress December 28, 2020
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The first new playable character for Marvel’s Avengers was released earlier this month. Kate Bishop, better known as Hawkeye, now has her own playable campaign. To celebrate the update, Marvel posted an interview with Kate’s voice actress, Ashly Burch. We get to learn what inspired her about the character and what we can expect from the game’s new content. Enjoy.
Marvel’s Avengers is out now for PC, Stadia, Xbox One and PS4.
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