Spoiler Mode: Minecraft Story Mode

*Minor spoilers ahead for Minecraft Story Mode Episode 1

I started up Minecraft: Story Mode not really knowing what to expect.  I love every Telltale game I've played.  From The Walking Dead, to The Wolf Among Us, all the way to Game of Thrones.  Their Storytelling is top notch in my book.  And Minecraft is one of my favorite time sinks of the past few years.  But mixing them together seemed strange from the start.  I'm happy to say that Telltale has crafted something really nice here (crafted... see what I did there).

You start out as Jessie (voiced by Patton Oswald), ready to compete in a crafting competition at Minecon.  The whole thing feels like a cheesy 80s movie all the way down to a Rocky like montage scene.  Eventually, Jessie gets wrapped up in a revenge scheme gone bad, and the world is threatened by a giant Wraith that is swallowing the whole Minecraft world one block at a time.

Along the way Jessie is helped by his friends Olivia, Alex, Lukas, and Petra, and his pet pig Reuben, who is a star all his own.  I enjoyed the little piglet so much I even traded my only weapon to a greedy butcher about to make Reuben into a Reuben sandwich just to keep him around.

Now I will say this is very much a Telltale game, just set in the Minecraft universe.  There isn't much crafting or building, and when there is, it consists of mostly quick time button presses.  But that is just fine with me.  When I play Telltale games, I'm really just in it for the story and dialogue choices and both are well represented here.

I know this isn't a "It Came from the Backlog" game, but I'll post a new review after each episode of Story Mode comes out.  I realized I bit off more than I could chew with one backlog game every week so they may be interluded with other game reviews like this one or opinion pieces.  This Wednesday post is still shifting and evolving so just bare with me while I figure it all out!

-Rory

Episode 17 Horror Month Conclusion and Platinum Spirit

The finale of Horror Month is upon us.  I know you're all sad, but all good things must come to an end.  In the comments, let us know what you thought of the episodes.  Do you want us to do this again next year?  Did we leave anything out that we should cover next time?

Episode 17 Horror Month: Armageddon

So, it turns out getting the platinum trophy in Lego Marvel Superheroes took a lot less time than I thought.  

There it is, in all of it's glory.  It was a really great feeling knowing that I had completed everything possible in a game and live-tweeting was a lot more fun than I expected.  I think I might make this a recurring series.  I'm still deciding what game will be next.  I'm leaning toward The Order 1886, but we'll see.  Let me know if you have any suggestions in the comments.  Until next time!

-Big O

It's Just a Toy

I want to start off this article with a story.  As I have mentioned in the past, I am a pretty big collector of the Nintendo Amiibo figures.  As some of you probably know, some of these figures can be obscenely rare.  When a website gets restocked, you may have a matter of minutes to get your hands on it.  Anyway, I was asleep and got woken up by my phone.  It turned out to be a wrong number, I’m sure we’ve all had that happen before.  I look at my phone and it’s an hour before my alarm is set to go off.  So now I’m lying in my bed and start to browse the web.  I check Amiiboucg on Instagram, they’re pretty good at reporting what stores and websites are being restocked with which Amiibos.  My eyes shot open as I saw that Gamestop had restocked the Classic Color 8-bit Mario Amiibo (very rare) and it had just been updated a few minutes ago.  I head over to the website, throw down my order, and now it is proudly sitting on my shelf.  After I was done placing the order, I stopped to think about all of the things that had to occur in order for that to play out the way it did.  First, that person had to call my number out of any other random assortment of numbers by accident when they did.  Next, I had to check my phone and see that update when I did.  I actually sent the person who called me probably the most confusing text they’ve ever received in their life, thanking them for waking me up when they did.  They sent me back a smiley face and probably proceeded to block my number.  Just goes to show that sometimes even an annoying situation can prove beneficial.  

The world of video games is constantly evolving.  This includes not only the games themselves but how we experience them.  One of the more recent developments has been the addition of toy peripherals to expand the action in the game itself.  The trend became popular with the introduction of Skylanders and has grown.  Now there seems to be a new game utilizing this mechanic every year.  From Disney Infinity, Nintendo Amiibo, to the newest addition Lego Dimensions, there seems to be something for everyone and honestly, I couldn’t be happier.  Let’s face it, these games give kids… and adults (me included) a whole new way to play and create stories. 

There has been some buzz online concerning these games.  Many people feel that the market is getting oversaturated and this is just becoming too expensive of a hobby to have.  While the people who makes these claims have a few good points, I can’t help but disagree.  I will agree that these games can become expensive over time.  For example, the starter pack for Lego Dimensions will cost anywhere around $100.  After that each level pack which comes with about 3 Lego figures and additional levels for the Lego Dimensions game are roughly $30.  On top of that there are figure packs which come with 2 figures, they will run you about $15 each.  Considering there are many level and figure packs to choose from, they can add up pretty fast.  I just did the math real fast and if you were to buy every Lego Dimensions pack that were available right now, it would run you around $400.  I know I just felt a few of you gasp and clench your wallet.  However, the point that many people leave out when presenting these facts is that you don’t need to buy all of these packs to have a rich and fulfilling experience with these games.  The reason that these companies offer so many options is so you can make the story that is the most meaningful to you.  If you want to make a story where Marty McFly and Chell from Portal team up to fight The Wicked Witch of the West, you can.  In Disney Infinity, you can have Elsa from Frozen, Iron Man, and Chewbacca work together to fight nightmares inside the head of Riley from Inside Out.  Yes, there are collectors out there who will feel the need to get every playset and figure, but that is not the norm. 

When I was younger, I was a huge collector of Star Wars figures.  I created these huge epic battles in my imagination.  When The Phantom Menace came out, the figures came with a plastic card.  This card would make the figures say lines from the movies.  This was an addition that made the characters come that much closer to being alive.  In my mind, that is what Skylanders, Disney Infinity, Amiibos, and Lego Dimensions represent.  The next step in making toys come to life.  Is the market becoming oversaturated?  That’s for time to tell.  For now, I’m going to preorder Doctor Who Lego Dimensions expansion and enjoy the ride.  

-Big O

Episode 16 and Platinum Spirit Update

Our third episode of Horror Month is posted and in the bag.  Speaking on a personal note, I feel this is one of the better episodes we've ever done.  In this one we talk about horror video games, movies based of horror video games, Uwe Boll, and Panda shares a scary story from her college days.

http://www.podcastgarden.com/episode/episode-16-horror-month-downpour_61280

Also, last week I did a post about my quest to hunt for a platinum trophy.  If you haven't read it yet, feel free to go check it out.  I wanted to give an update on that.  I've been making some progress and live-twetting it as I go.  Go check out the WCNC Twitter page for more info:

https://twitter.com/WCNerdCorps

Finally, the last plug of the post.  We made a West Coast Nerd Corps Instagram account.  Check it out for behind the scenes photos of our wacky adventures:

https://instagram.com/westcoastnerdcorps/

That's all for this update, feel free to message us with any questions or comment in the section below.

-Big O

Platinum Spirit

Trophies and achievements have become a staple of the video game community.  Whether you collect them or not, gamers are at least aware of their presence.  For anyone struggling to follow along, video games now come with a list of challenges to complete.  On Microsoft/Steam they are called achievements and on Sony they are known as trophies.  Different challenges are work various amounts depending on their difficulty.  Even though these challenges effectively only award you bragging rights, they can still be really fun to complete and collect.  Caught up? Good.  Even though I played on an Xbox 360 for years, trophies have always held a soft spot in my heart.  I think it was because I started off last console generations with a Playstation 3.  Instead of number values, the trophies go by color.  Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum being the highest you can achieve in a game.  A platinum trophy means you have obtained all the other trophies on the list and effectively mastered the game.  There is a special feeling you get when you unlock a platinum trophy in a game you truly love.  Last night (early this morning) I was thinking about this and looked back to see what the last platinum trophy I achieved was:

Look at that date!  Almost six years ago!  I decided six years is too long.  I am going to earn a platinum trophy on a Playstation 4 game before January 21, 2016.  I've already decided on the game as well.  

It may seem kind of silly but this has honestly been one of my favorite games on the Playstation 4 as of now (Also it's on sale on PSN this week if you're interested).  It's a fun adventure and I get to play with all of my favorite Marvel super heroes.  I want to show my appreciation to this game by completing everything in it.  Stay tuned and I'll report updates as I go.

-Big O

Episode 15 Horror Month: Bloodlust

We're in the second week of Horror Month and I want to thank everyone for their overwhelming support.  This weeks episode discusses classic monsters and how they have changed over time.  Also we discuss some famous legends and ghost stories from our area.  Is that school down the street from you really haunted?  You'll just have to tune in to find out.

Episode 15 Horror Month: Bloodlust

-Big O

IT CAME FROM THE BACKLOG: Mark of the Ninja

IT CAME FROM THE BACKLOG: Mark of the Ninja

10/7/2015

Game of the Week: Mark of the Ninja

Date downloaded: 12/20/2012

            Just like the titular ninja in today’s game, this week snuck past me before I knew it. It didn’t help matters that I purchased Destiny the other day, which took up a ton of my time. Combine that with work and those pesky necessities called eating and sleeping, I ended up not having much time for Mark of the Ninja. But I made a promise to myself and all you fine people that I would grab my shuriken and katana and take to the roofs in the dead of night, so that’s exactly what I did.

            Mark of the Ninja starts out simply enough. You are awoken to your dojo under siege by an unknown armed military force. Your ninja brethren are falling left and right. It appears you may be the next to join the fallen, until a female ninja shows up to help you escape. The game takes it easy on you for the first ten minutes but it turns on you very fast. The enemies are hyper aware of all the sounds you make. Sneaking through an area without being detected at all felt practically impossible.

            Judging by the achievement list, I believe I made it about halfway though. The two hour deadline I gave myself was surpassed by an hour and a half, although I must admit that a chunk of that was being stuck on a particularly challenging room. Let’s just say, lasers and armed guards are not a ninja’s friend. Making things harder is the fact that it only takes about 2 shots to drop you, so being seen is almost always game over.

            After playing so much Playstation 4 lately, the game doesn’t look great to my eyes. The cell shaded art style helps make it seem less dated, but I felt like I could see all the rough edges. I know my eyes just need to get readjusted to the 360, and they will as I work my way down the list. But the time has come to eliminate this game from the backlog. The plan is to finish Mark of the Ninja’s story this week. But even if I don’t, I feel confident that I experienced what this game has to offer. So goodbye Ninja, get the hell off my backlog.
 
Backlog Games

Xbox 360:

Alice: Madness Returns                                          

Beyond Good and Evil HD

Borderlands 2

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons

Charlie Murder

Deadlight

DmC Devil May Cry

Dungeon Defenders

Dust: An Elysian Tail

El Shaddai

Eternal Sonata

GTA San Andreas HD 

Halo: Reach

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

Lara Croft: Guardians of Light

Mark of the Ninja

Mass Effect 3: DLC

Monaco

Portal: Still Alive

Rock of Ages

Runner 2

Shadow Complex

Shank 2

Playstation 4:

Apotheon

Broken Age

Costume Quest 2

Don’t Starve

Ether One

Far Cry 4

Fez

Grim Fandango

Grow Home

Home

Infamous: First Light

Journey

Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris

Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeros

Never Alone

Oddworld: Abe’s ODDysee

Rayman Legends

Rogue Legacy

Secret Ponchos

Skulls of the Shogun

Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition

Stealth Inc 2: A Game of Clones

Styx: Master of Shadows

Super Ultra Time Force

The Swapper

Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition

Transistor

Uncharted 1,2,3 (Nathan Drake Collection)

Valiant Hearts: The Great War 

            Next week's game will be Alice: Madness Returns for Xbox 360. I'm trying to get my hands on a video capture card, so hopefully soon I will have more pictures and of a better quality. I will normally have stories about things that happen in the game, but nothing crazy or funny happened with Mark of the Ninja so this post is shorter than it normally will be. Until next week everybody, hopefully we don't get too hurt falling down this rabbit hole.

-Rory