This weeks gaming podcast includes community feedback, game flashbacks to FX Fighter for the PC and gaming history about Hideo Kojima. The gaming news of the week includes, but is not limited to:
This week’s question of the week is pretty simple: What’s “the best” video game to movie that you’ve seen?
I miss old SSI games and all the beauty and wonder they brought me as a child. Perhaps it’s more of the feeling of playing old MS-DOS games and that no worries feeling of playing games all summer long when your parents are out working; no cares in the world but that of the evil dragons and goblins of an RPG world. Secret of the Silver Blades arrived in May of 1990, developed and published by Strategic Simulations Inc (SSI), a company we covered in our gaming history back in TD Gaming Podcast Episode 9.
Secret of the Silver Blades is actually the third in a four-part game series which was eventually packaged in the Gold Box editing of the SSI games. It was a continuation of the game Curse of the Azure Bonds and the first in the series: Pool of Radiance. The cool part of the series was the leveling system where each would let you level to a certain limit just like most modules in D&D games, this game let you get to level seven which means a Mage could use the cool Delayed Blast Fireball spell which was one of my favorite magic spells in D&D (yeah, I’m a dork.)
The graphics were a whopping 16-colors, with slight graphical improvements over the other two prior games. This game didn’t have an overworld map like the others, going full first person for the length of the game. Another great enhancement was the ability to use the arrow keys to navigate menu’s without the need for “hot keys” like older SSI titles, given the game is very much menu-based for combat, equipment and inventory management it was very handy to have the use of those nice little arrow keys.
You create your party and start adventuring in a game engine very similar to all the games before it, so introduction to game mechanics was minimal, you could advance your characters further in level and, most importantly, import characters from previous games. The D&D world is really a character-driven game environment and you grow fond of your characters and understand the best ways to battle with them, importing is key and still, today, is a big part in well done RPG expansions (Guild Wars is a great example). Unfortunately, many games fall short of character import and it kind of blows away some of the magic of an RPG.
One of the frustrating issues with Secret of the Silver blade is the limitation on levels for the Cleric, because they can’t level up past 7 they can’t get the good ressurection spell, only allowed to use Raise Dead which lowers your characters constitution by 1 (much like the traditional D&D rules). However, given its a video game and not a paper-dice based game, the raise dead penalty is annoying, so it was easier to save often and re-load when you died to try again and avoid the penalty. I do recall their being some scrolls or something to get back your constitution penalty… but it’s been awhile I might be making that up.
Anyway, a well done series, classic RPG and helped build a foundation for games like Morrow Wind and Oblivion in my opinion.
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It’s 2016, and the first podcast of the new year is now live. Be warned, there are Star Wars spoilers like Han Solo dying and the entire plot being a rehash of A New Hope, so don’t listen if you don’t want to have your The Force Awakens experience ruined.
This week’s podcast covers the following news:
Question of the Week: “Which game do you really want to play in 2016.”
The gang discusses the PC Gaming Show coming June 9, Tesla ending Steam support in its vehicles, Ghost of Tsushima being PlayStation’s biggest single-player PC launch to date (second only to Helldivers 2), Hellblade 2 developer Ninja Theory’s next game reportedly already greenlit by Xbox (and “no plans whatsoever” to close studio), Grand Theft Auto 6 publisher “highly confident” of an Autumn 2025 release window and the Resident Evil 1 Remake is in production and will release in 2026 according to a leaker.
The news includes:
Let us know what you think.
The best movie based on a video game would have to be “Resident Evil”, just a bit more than “Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within.”
A lesser known game based on a video game is “Cloak & Dagger”, which was pretty meta in that the film was about a kid who loved the game so much that he had an imaginary spy friend (Dabney Coleman!)
There was a French film called “Karate Champ” about a young 13 year old who loves the game so much he pretends to be the character from the game. The squicky part is that he has an affair with a woman in her 30’s.
“Tomb Raider” got okay reviews. “TRON” doesn’t count because it’s a movie that video games were BASED from.
The best movie based on a video game would have to be “Resident Evil”, just a bit more than “Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within.”
A lesser known game based on a video game is “Cloak & Dagger”, which was pretty meta in that the film was about a kid who loved the game so much that he had an imaginary spy friend (Dabney Coleman!)
There was a French film called “Karate Champ” about a young 13 year old who loves the game so much he pretends to be the character from the game. The squicky part is that he has an affair with a woman in her 30’s.
“Tomb Raider” got okay reviews. “TRON” doesn’t count because it’s a movie that video games were BASED from.
@Sony Thinking of Charging for PSN:
That’s why I hate depending on a service. Now here’s what will happen: people will complain, but only a few will drop. So Sony racks in the dough.
@Web Access To WoW Auction House:
Hmm, do I feel a trend here? This is the second service in the same podcast that increases costs.
Rant about subscriptions:
I hate it when the terms of subscriptions change after the user subscribed. It’s like changing a contract after signing it.
Now I know that a lot of banks have a contractual point going like “we reserve the right to change the terms bla bla bla”, but game makers? Since when game makers decided to use the same policies as banks?
@question of the week:
Mortal Kombat. Although Resident Evil was also good, I saw MK first, and that had more impact on me.
@Sony Thinking of Charging for PSN:
That’s why I hate depending on a service. Now here’s what will happen: people will complain, but only a few will drop. So Sony racks in the dough.
@Web Access To WoW Auction House:
Hmm, do I feel a trend here? This is the second service in the same podcast that increases costs.
Rant about subscriptions:
I hate it when the terms of subscriptions change after the user subscribed. It’s like changing a contract after signing it.
Now I know that a lot of banks have a contractual point going like “we reserve the right to change the terms bla bla bla”, but game makers? Since when game makers decided to use the same policies as banks?
@question of the week:
Mortal Kombat. Although Resident Evil was also good, I saw MK first, and that had more impact on me.
I believe the best game turned into a movie would have to be Final Fantasy: Advent Children. The movie is very EPIC. When Square Enix 1st started developing advent children the software wasn’t available to do the task @ the desired standard so as a software company they developed there own. Also the rendering in there PS2 game FF X look better than nearly any shorts I have seen on 360/PS3 games. One of the aspects of game development which is of most interest to me is the Art. I love it when the developers pay close attention to detail. For example HALO 3 is amazing, some of the landscape designs aren’t necessary but are amazing & you really appreciate the effort when you spend the time to notice. My love & appreciation for art is probably due to my old man being such a great artist.
I believe the best game turned into a movie would have to be Final Fantasy: Advent Children. The movie is very EPIC. When Square Enix 1st started developing advent children the software wasn’t available to do the task @ the desired standard so as a software company they developed there own. Also the rendering in there PS2 game FF X look better than nearly any shorts I have seen on 360/PS3 games. One of the aspects of game development which is of most interest to me is the Art. I love it when the developers pay close attention to detail. For example HALO 3 is amazing, some of the landscape designs aren’t necessary but are amazing & you really appreciate the effort when you spend the time to notice. My love & appreciation for art is probably due to my old man being such a great artist.
Any 1 watch D3ATH NOTE or the last Samurai Champloo, not games but epic shows =] (if you do watch Sponge bob death note on you tube just for laughs XD)
Any 1 watch D3ATH NOTE or the last Samurai Champloo, not games but epic shows =] (if you do watch Sponge bob death note on you tube just for laughs XD)
Incidentally, the company EA bought for social gaming is Playfish. They spent $300M on them.
Incidentally, the company EA bought for social gaming is Playfish. They spent $300M on them.
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