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
Posted by Maniac in Mind of Maniac, Site Videos.add a comment
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.
Nerdy Yule Logs December 23, 2020
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Merry Christmas Eve Eve everyone! Continuing with today’s theme of having a happy non-traditional Holiday Season, we decided to continue sharing another of our merry traditions here on the site. Today, we’re going to be sharing some of our favorite Yule Logs from across the internet.
What is a Yule Log? The tradition of the Yule Log goes back even further than Christmas itself, and denotes a holiday that celebrated the return of the sun during the height of the dark winter season. People would cut down a tree and sit around it as it burned. In the more modern days of television, as not much fresh content was available at the time (production companies and television networks would take Christmas off) someone had the brilliant idea to broadcast a live video feed of a log burning in a fireplace. Since not everyone has a fireplace in their home, it was a quaint novelty for homeowners to have it running in the background as they celebrated the holiday with their friends and family.
Since the wide adoption of HDTV, I’ve noticed a huge resurgence in Yule Logs. The improved picture makes the fireplace seem almost real, and wider aspect ratio gave the opportunity for people to be more creative with their set dressing. Now, even the nerdiest people in the world are creating Yule Logs, and we’re going to show you some of our favorites from across the web. We will include the technical specs on each one when applicable.
First up we’re going to feature our own official Nerdy Yule Log. Filmed in 1080p it runs for about a twenty minutes and features a fireplace with a bunch of presents any nerd would hope for at the time. Perhaps we should do a new one in the future.
Next up I want to highlight something that Nintendo produced last year that I absolutely loved. A person playing Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening on the Nintendo Switch Lite in a log cabin. It was filmed in 1080p and runs 30 minutes. Technically it’s not a Yule log, but we’ll allow it.
Next I want to talk about one of the more destructive Yule Logs. This next one, produced by the Angry Video Game Nerd, features him burning some of the awful games he’s reviewed over the years. It is in 1080p, includes classic 8-bit chip tune music and runs for an hour.
What do you say we feature an animated Yule Log next? In 2018, the world had recaught Spider-Man fever after the tremendous success of the PS4 game, and the film Venom was able to capitalize on it. To celebrate the film’s home video release, Sony produced this animated Venom Yule Log and put it online. In it, we watch a cute animated Venom enjoy the holiday in front of his fireplace. This Yule Log is entirely animated and goes for ten hours.
Next one may not be gaming related but anyone who was a gamer in the 90s will undoubtably remember the show Mystery Science Theater 3000. A man is trapped up in space and is forced to watch some of the worst movies ever made with only some robots to keep him company. In this official Yule Log produced by the show creators, they watch a Yule log burn and relive some of the best content from over the show’s history. It is an hour long.
Finally, who wouldn’t want to have Christmas on the TARDIS? Of course I’m talking about a Doctor Who Yule Log! This video, produced officially by the BBC, is of a Yule Log burning in the TARDIS and runs for two hours. Since there hasn’t been a Christmas Special in the past few years, I’m assuming the Doctor has been spending the past few Christmases celebrating at home with friends.
No matter what you celebrate, Happy Holidays!
Square Enix Releases Holiday Music Playlist on Spotify December 23, 2020
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Square Enix has left us a nice present this Holiday Season. I’m someone who prefers non-traditional Christmas music for ambiance as I celebrate the holiday (Paul and Storm, Jonathan Coulton), so I was very happy to discover Square Enix has released a playlist with some of their best Holiday-Themed music and you can stream it right now for free on Spotify. You might recognize the music offered comes from the Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts and Bravely Default games.
You can listen to their playlist and even stream it on your Spotify compatible smart device of choice right here.
Cyberpunk 2077 1.05 Patch Notes December 21, 2020
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Cyberpunk 2077’s developers have finally released the game’s 1.05 patch on Google Stadia, meaning this patch is now up on every one of the game’s platforms. Let’s take a look at what was included with it.
Quests
- Jackie will no longer disappear in The Pickup or The Heist.
- Fixed an issue preventing players from landing the helicopter in Love like Fire.
- Fixed an issue with Takemura not calling in Play it Safe.
- It’s no longer possible to trigger the same dialogue twice in Big in Japan.
- Fixed an issue with Delamain appearing upside down at the end of Don’t Lose Your Mind.
- Saul now correctly reaches the van in Riders on the Storm.
- Fast travelling before the encounter with Tyger Claws no longer breaks progression in I Fought the Law.
- Fixed an issue blocking progress in Ghost Town if an autosave made upon Raffen Shiv’s arrival was loaded.
- Fixed an issue with not receiving new calls or messages if Happy Together failed as a result of combat.
- Elizabeth Peralez stops being excessively insistent with her calls after her job offer is refused.
- The scene with Misty and Jackie now starts properly after leaving Viktor’s clinic.
- Wakako’s dialogues no longer get blocked after finishing Search and Destroy.
- Walking away from Stefan in Sweet Dreams shouldn’t prevent other characters from calling you anymore.
- Brick’s detonator should now be properly interactable for players to disarm. Or set off. Your call.
- Elevator doors should now correctly open in The Heist.
- Saul now correctly gets out of cars in Riders on the Storm.
- Fixed an issue with not receiving new calls or messages after running too far away from Frank in War Pigs.
- Jackie now correctly leaves the factory after the combat is finished in The Pickup.
- Fixed an issue with Militech reinforcements not spawning if driving through the gate too fast in Forward to Death.
- Skipping time while in the club in Violence no longer results in issues with progression.
- Fixed issues with starting Gig: Getting Warmer…
- Fixed an issue with not receiving new calls or messages after Pyramid Song has been abandoned midway.
- Fixed an issue whereby Delamain core could be already broken when player enters the Core room in Don’t Lose Your Mind.
- Fixed issues with Delamain not appearing or doing nothing outside the Afterlife in The Heist.
- Fixed an issue with objective getting stuck on “Talk to Viktor” in The Ripperdoc.
- Fixed an issue whereby it was impossible to talk to the bouncer in front of Lizzie’s in The Information.
- Added description for Don’t Lose Your Mind in the Journal.
- Fixed an issue preventing player from saving, using fast travels, and talking to other NPCs after reloading a save with an active call with Frank in War Pigs.
- Fixed an issue with Panam not calling about any other matter until I’ll Fly Away is completed.
- Fixed an issue with Dum Dum following V after The Pickup is finished.
Gameplay
- Improved the reaction times of NPCs taking cover.
- Corrected the number of shots needed to kill civilians from a distance while in combat.
Visual
- Fixed an issue with Delamain’s image displayed on top of the current caller during phone calls.
- V’s mouth doesn’t stay open after entering the space lock in Where is My Mind.
- Fixed some UI overlap issues.
- V appears more modest in the inventory preview after the half year montage 😉
- NPCs are faster to appear in the quest area during Stadium Love.
- Added some warmth to HDR.
- Fixed T-posing NPCs in Suspected Organized Crime Activity: Just Say No and Gig: Hot Merchandise.
- Fixed an issue whereby after a braindance it was possible to be stuck in 3rd person view with no head.
- Silencer icons are no longer displayed with no image in the inventory.
UI
- Fixed an issue with weapon crosshair persisting on screen.
- The inventory menu no longer closes immediately after opening it for the first time after leaving a car.
- Fixed an issue whereby upon accessing a fast travel terminal the button shown on the top right corner prompting to open the quest journal would not work.
Performance & Stability
- Multiple stability improvements, including crash fixes.
Miscellaneous
- Offscreen explosions make noise now.
PC-specific
- [AMD SMT] Optimized default core/thread utilization for 4-core and 6-core AMD Ryzen(tm) processors. 8-core, 12-core and 16-core processors remain unchanged and behaving as intended. This change was implemented in cooperation with AMD and based on tests on both sides indicating that performance improvement occurs only on CPUs with 6 cores and less.
- Fixed an issue with the way Raw Input is collected.
- Removed the use of AVX instruction set thus fixing crashes occurring at the end of the Prologue on processors not supporting AVX.
- Removed debug console to prevent functions that could lead to crashes or blocked quests. This doesn’t mean we don’t want to support the modding community. Stay tuned for more info on that.
- Ray traced reflections should no longer seem too bright in comparison to the environment.
- Fixed an issue with Steam Overlay crash on game shutdown.
- Removed the memory_pool_budgets.csv file. which was not connected with the final version of the game and had no influence on it (it was a leftover file used during the development to estimate memory usage. It had no effect on how much memory was actually allocated). Perceived performance increase after editing the file may have been related to restarting the game.
Console-specific
- Improved image sharpness with Chromatic Aberration and Film Grain on.
- Settings should no longer reset to default after several game session restarts.
- Fixed visual issues occurring during the transition between The Heist and Love Like Fire.
- Corrected the look of several vehicles.
- [Xbox] Entering combat while Synaptic Accelerator is active no longer ends in player health bar not being displayed.
- [Xbox] Game no longer becomes unresponsive when signing out from a profile when the controller disconnection message is visible.
- Telemetry consent request will appear once more due to an earlier issue with settings reset.
- Fixed an issue whereby it was possible to fall down the elevator shaft in Megabuilding H8 in Automatic Love.
Cyberpunk 2077 is out now for PC, Stadia, Xbox One and PS4. It is natively compatible with the Xbox Series X/S and backwards compatible with the PS5.
Ubisoft Holiday Giveaway Dec 19-20 2020 December 19, 2020
Posted by Maniac in Game News.add a comment
This weekend only, Ubisoft is bundling together all the extra content they had given away for the Holidays, including two PC games. You’ll need a Ubisoft account to redeem the content but that is free to obtain.
If you’re interested in adding some free stuff to your Ubi Account, you can check out this website.
Nintendo Direct – Super Nintendo World December 18, 2020
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Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. Miyamoto.
Is it dusty in here?
Super Nintendo World opens at Universal Studios Japan February 2021.
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