Gaming History You Should Know – The History of UNDERGRADS May 17, 2020
Posted by Maniac in Gaming History You Should Know, Uncategorized.add a comment
It’s Sunday! Welcome back to Gaming History You Should Know, where we highlight some of the best independently produced gaming-related documentaries across the web. Today, I’m going to take you back to 2001, and talk about one of MTV’s most overlooked animated show, Undergrads.
Undergrads was an animated television series created by Pete Williams that focused around four college friends, Gimpy, Rocco, Nitz and Cal. The plan was for each season of the show to revolve around a year of college, so the first season focused on their Freshman year. I know what you’re thinking, what does this show have to do with gaming? A lot actually. We never actually see the characters go to class, the show revolves around what they do outside of work and studies. That involves a LOT of gaming, and several episodes focused on the characters playing different games ranging from the board game RISK to the PC game Quake III Arena. As far as I can remember, this was the first non-gaming focused television show that casually acknowledged that computer games existed, got gaming language correct, and wasn’t afraid to namedrop real games.
Sadly, Undergrads only lasted one season, and had a story that ended on a cliffhanger. Due to contract issues between MTV and Pete Williams, Pete was unable to continue the show on his own. However, nearly two decades after the show’s cancellation a light eventually appeared at the end of the tunnel.
Pete Williams intends to make an Undergrads movie and held a successful Kickstarter to start pre-production! But what makes this show so special, and if you’re unfamiliar with the show, why should you care as much as I do? Enter YouTube Channel RebelTaxi, which creates some incredible documentaries on animated shows and video games. Recently, he produced an incredible documentary about the history of Undergrads, up to this point. Give it a watch!
I’m really happy this movie will finally get released. The first season of Undergrads WAS my Freshman year of college. I do not say that lightly, pretty much every beat in the show happened to me at some point over the course of that year. I must credit Pete Williams for his sincerity for that, and with his decision to use correct gaming lingo.
So, after being silent for so long, what is the current status of Undergrads? I’ve got really good news for you. The creator of the show held a successful Kickstarter about a year ago, and pre-production of a film sequel has started. Here’s some test footage that has recently been posted.
Welcome back Nitz, Gimpy, Rocco and Cal. We missed you.
TurboGrafx-16 Mini Has a New US Release Date May 15, 2020
Posted by Maniac in Game News.add a comment
Nintendo knocked it out of the park when they released the hugely successful NES and SNES mini consoles. Since then, other manufacturers including Sony and Sega have tried to replicate Nintendo’s success and have had mixed results. Now, Konami is coming out with their own mini-console of the 16-Bit generation, the TurboGrafx-16 Mini Console.
This was a console based on the NEC PC-Engine, and shipped with Turbo-enabled controllers in the US. It was also the first US console to ship a CD-expansion, and several games, including the first ever home console port of Splatterhouse, took advantage of it.
This is a great list of games including incredible versions of games like Ninja Gaiden and Snatcher. Just wish Snatcher could’ve received a US translation from the release here. The ship date is currently May 22nd, 2020. It is exclusively available on Amazon.
How To Transfer Pokemon From Pokemon Go to Nintendo Switch May 14, 2020
Posted by Maniac in How To, Site Videos.add a comment
Got a new How-To video for you Pokémon Trainers out there. As far as I know, as of the time this article is being posted, we aren’t able to import Pokémon caught in Pokémon Go into Pokémon Home. However, there is another way you can get some of your Pokémon Go crew into your Nintendo Switch, so keep reading.
You’ll need three things:
- Nintendo Switch
- Pokémon Let’s Go Pikachu or Pokémon Let’s Go Eevee
- BlueTooth-enabled Smartphone with Pokémon Go installed.
Make your way to Fuscia City and watch this video.
Pokémon Let’s Go Pikachu and Pokémon Let’s Go Eevee is out now exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.
Paper Mario The Origami King Announced May 14, 2020
Posted by Maniac in Game News.add a comment
Paper Mario is back! Nintendo has just announced the next game in the series with this trailer. How good are you at Origami?
Paper Mario The Origami King is coming July 17th, 2020 exclusively to the Nintendo Switch.
War Stories – Alan Wake May 14, 2020
Posted by Maniac in Game News.add a comment
The guys over at Ars Technica have an ongoing webseries called War Stories, where they chronicle some of the most difficult game development stories over the past few decades. Today, on the tenth anniversary of its release, the guys at Remedy have sat down with Ars to talk about one of their most beloved games, Alan Wake.
Alan Wake is out now for the PC and Xbox 360. It is backwards compatible with the Xbox One.
Unreal Engine 5 Revealed Running on PS5 May 14, 2020
Posted by Maniac in Game News.add a comment
When I was at E3 2004 I was lucky enough to witness a demo at the Nvidia booth that showed the very first footage of what would become Unreal Engine 3. That technology would later go on to power Gears of War and Unreal Tournament 3 and set the gold standard for what was possible with the Xbox 360. A generation later, Unreal Engine 4 has powered a wide array of Xbox One and PS4 titles.
Now, Epic Games, creators of Unreal, have revealed Unreal Engine 5 and for the demo video we are about to witness say it is running on the PlayStation 5. Enjoy the video in glorious 4K.
Unreal Engine 5 will be powering the next generation of games.
Major Halo 2: Anniversary Update for Halo: The Master Chief Collection Released May 13, 2020
Posted by Maniac in Game News.add a comment
If you’re playing Halo: The Master Chief Collection on Xbox One, you’ll notice a 25GB patch just dropped that coincides with the PC release of Halo 2: Anniversary. This is because 343 Industries is sharing the improvements they’ve made to the PC releases of the game with the Xbox One version.
This is an enormous update, so my advice is to download it now before you plan to have a major gameplay session with it. You’ll have to download it anyway if you plan to use the game’s multiplayer.
Three more games have yet to be released on the PC, and the next in line is Halo 3. No word on when we can expect the next update on the Xbox One.
Halo: The Master Chief Collection is out now for PC and Xbox One.
The Last of Us Part II – Inside The Story May 13, 2020
Posted by Maniac in Game News.add a comment
Sony has revealed that the hype has FINALLY started for The Last of Us Part II and a series of new videos about the game will be coming over the next few weeks. Today, we got the first of those videos. Inside the Story talks about the game’s…story.
Crank up your resolutions for this one, this video was shot in glorious 4K.
The Last of Us Part II is coming June 19th, 2020 exclusively for the PS4.
GameXcess.net - Gaming News, Videos and Editorials! 