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The Making of Grim Fandango Remastered

Grim Fandango Remastered dropped a few days ago and according to the reviews i've been reading, if you loved the original you will love this. This morning I found a comprehensive article about resurrecting this classic on Polygon. If you are interested in reading the story of how Double Fine and Sony were able to bring Grim Fandango back, it is well worth the read. Spoiler alert, it involved several old tape machines.

http://www.polygon.com/2015/1/27/7921837/grim-fandango-remastered-interview-double-fine-disney-lucasfilm-sony

Double Fine also has three documentaries part one is linked above, you can watch the remaining two on the Grim Fandago website.

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Timogorgon Member wrote on 01/28/2015 at 06:40pm

This is one game I completely missed when it came around the first time. I've had several people tell me it's one of the best adventure games out there as well as just a great game period. Has anyone from the CG community played this before? Does it live up to its reputation?

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 01/29/2015 at 05:42am

I'm like you, Tim, while I was aware of Grim Fandango at the time, I did not play it. I remember the game being on the CD of video game demos from PC Magazine, but I never played it. I did recently notice in my Playstation news feed, that the game is available.

Tungsten wrote on 01/29/2015 at 10:55am

I picked it up back in the day. It's your typical Lucas arts adventure game, reminiscent of a lot of the Telltale games now. I remember thinking that the opening act was the best and then it went downhill, but what did I know, I was like 12.

vdogmr25 wrote on 01/29/2015 at 03:58pm

I can't wait to play this. Never got the chance to.

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Brutal Doom v20 Looks Incredible, Coming Soon

Doom 4 was teased last year at Quakecon and since then there has been a ton of silence from iD on when it will be coming. We've been waiting for the next chapter of Doom for quite some time and if your tired of waiting, the upcoming update to Brutal Doom might hold you over. Adding the pump action shotgun as well as enhanced blood effects, Brutal Doom looks great. The mod creator has been testing it with Free Doom(an Open Source recreation of the Doom assets) so getting it running should be easy.

http://www.moddb.com/mods/brutal-doom

Star Mazer Mixes Up Some Interesting Elements

Back this on Kickstarter!

Star Mazer is a game new to Kickstarter that mixes up elements from Gradius, Space Ace & Maniac Mansion to create a really interesting looking game. They are looking to raise $160k and have a bit over $60k of that so if you are interested in seeing this happen, now wouldn't be a bad time to Kickstart it.

Games like this live and die on the story and tone and Star Mazer seems to have that in spades. The game will launch when it's done and the developers plan to have it out on PC, Mac and Linux as well as other platforms, funding depending.

"Starr Mazer is more than a collection of Point-and-Click segments, Shoot 'em up (SHMUP) segments and cut-scenes. The world is... Read All

80s Reruns Double Feature: Super Mario Bros. 2... twice?

Before leaving Mario behind for a while, I wanted to take a look into one of the most confusing situations involving a game's trip from Japan to the US, or rather two games.

After the major success of Super Mario Bros., Nintendo released Super Mario Bros. 2 in Japan. The game was meant as a continuation of the first more than a typical sequel, so that it would be challenging for people who had already mastered the first game. The graphics were basically identical, but it introduced a couple of new mechanics and seriously hard levels. However, Nintendo of America decided they didn't want to release it stateside, since it looked too similar and would be too hard for... Read All

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 01/23/2015 at 08:30pm

I'm aware of the history of SMB2, but I don't know if I've ever even tried "The Lost Levels." From what you describe, I'm sure I would absolutely hate it. The reason is because Mario games often get me too frustrated. Honestly, though, SMB2 (American version) didn't really do that to me. I really loved that game. I think the Princess was also my favorite. Her ability to float made things a bit easier.

The history of the game reminds me of the Final Fantasy (SNES) history and how the Japanese and American versions differed. It's cool, though, that in both game series, both versions of the games were later made available.

Timogorgon Member wrote on 01/24/2015 at 06:52pm

Another fun article, I look forward to more!

Did you play through both games completely? I guess these games are short enough that you could bust through them in an afternoon (especially if you're using warp zones!)

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 01/24/2015 at 10:05pm

I did, without using warp zones. I did them in the span of about two days

jdodson Admin wrote on 01/25/2015 at 01:03am

That's great. I've said before Super Mario Brothers 2 is my most beloved Mario game. That said, Super Mario World may very well be the best as it's so freakin' polished. I've played the lost levels on the SNES Mario All Stars Kart and I never really played more than one or two levels. Like you say, kid me wasn't into the grueling difficulty as it wasn't that much fun then.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 01/25/2015 at 06:14am

When you play it with emulator save points, it becomes like Super Meat Boy. You have unlimited tries to pull off nigh-impossible feats.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 01/26/2015 at 04:17pm

I have really great memories of SMB2. But I had a friend who's parents were friends with my parents, so when the families got together, all the kids would go into the tv room and play this the entire time. It was simple enough for my younger siblings to enjoy, and great enough to keep all of our attention for an evening.

jdodson Admin wrote on 01/26/2015 at 04:33pm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birdo

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/archive/8/8a/20121127223938!Super_Mario_Bros_2_-_Birdo--article_image.jpg

I don't mind where they are going with that but it would be stated differently in 2015.

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JP LeBreton & John Romero Talk about And Play Doom

Spacebase creator JP LeBreton and John Romero play through Doom “Knee Deep in the Dead,” in its entirety. It's fun to watch John play through the game and talk about it as he was so instrumental in creating it.

Now can we get a Myamoto playing through the original Legend of Zelda video series?

Children of Morta Is A Beautiful Pixel Art Roguelike

Back this on Kickstarter!

"Children of Morta is a story-driven hack ‘n slash game incorporating the elements of the roguelike genre, where you will go on an adventure with the guardian family of Bergsons.

The family have lived on the outskirts of Mount Morta, guarding it for many generations. As a tragic event in Morta corrupts the roots of life deep in the mountain, all the creatures turn into furious, mindless monsters. Now the land’s only hope is for the Bergsons to find the seeds of life and use them to cleanse the corruption.

The game has a unique art style blending the old-school 2D pixel art aesthetics with a few modern lighting and rendering techniques, bringing to life a world of... Read All

Cheerful Ghost Roundtable: S3 E1 - The Newest Season Ever

We are back with the Cheerful Ghost Roundtable Season 3. We talk a bit about what we've been playing over the holidays like Shadows of Mordor, Destiny, Risk of Rain, Pokemon & Super Mario Brothers.

During the Roundtable I mentioned beta testing Half-life 3 for Valve and as I was talking script drew something that reflected what I was playing.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-pWGPLx7kKj0/VMBhnWwMWwI/AAAAAAAAATw/H3R7igzOGI8/w395-h526-no/hl3.jpg

We also dig into what we are looking forward to with gaming in 2015 and more!

Fallout VS Skyrim - Which Main Character Would Win?

New video from YouTuber Andrewfilms that pits the main character of Skyrim VS Fallout 3. Interesting matchup and fun to watch. I kind of think the Fallout 3 character would win, but FusRohDah is pretty powerful.

WHO WON? YOU DECIDE!

The Stealthy Game That I Did Not Play Stealthily.

http://game-insider.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/deus-ex-human-revolution-wallpaper.jpg

This is a game that I will be talking about for a long time. I was not familiar with the series, and only ended up playing it because a friend badgered me to play it for several years, and I have to say, I am extremely glad I did.

I'd like to start by saying that I am absolutely terrible at stealthy games, and (shame) I did have to play it on the easiest difficulty setting for it to be enjoyable for me. However, it was extremely enjoyable and it is a game that I will be playing and recommending to people for a long time.

The game starts out fairly quickly with about ten minutes of instruction for people who have never played. Right off the bat, you see how much this... Read All

Travis Admin wrote on 01/18/2015 at 03:37am

I honestly can't remember which ending I chose. It's been a while. But this was a masterpiece. I loved every minute. Trying to buff up only your stealth skills makes boss fights a pain, so I ended up choosing a balanced half-mayhem, half-stealth approach. I love that it's possible to choose a ton of different ways to complete missions, kill or not kill enemies, and so on.

Zach_Foster Post Author wrote on 01/18/2015 at 04:24am

I completely agree. Perhaps not the most visually appealing game of its time, but the thought and work that went into making this game so versatile was absolute genius. I really enjoyed the Praxis Point system, and it really makes your brain work knowing that you can't max everything out no matter how hard you try. I think it just adds to the idea that even though the game is a FPS, it requires a huge amount of strategy.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 01/19/2015 at 10:43pm

No shame in playing a game on Easy! Games are meant to be fun. Some people derive fun from progressing through a story, some people through mastering complex gameplay, and even some people from watching others play. As long as you had a good time (which it sounds like you totally did), all is good!

Travis Admin wrote on 01/20/2015 at 10:11pm

That's always been my view on difficulty level. And it's even different for me from game to game. Super Meat Boy is fun because it's frustrating, but that's not true of all games.

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Heed The Magic Mollusk And Illuminate The Dark World!

Back this on Kickstarter!

Moonman is a really great looking new Terraria-esque procedurally-generated adventure game that looks too good not to share. They are on Kickstarter right now looking to raise 35K and if you want to get in on it, you should!

"In a strange, nocturnal world a moonman is summoned by an ancient mollusc. It sends him to the seven farthest corners of the land to search for fallen moon fragments -- that will power a great star-machine.

Explore a strange and vibrant world, harvest resources from the environment, craft and trade items, and have odd encounters. Each new game generates a unique world to explore.

You play as a happy green moonman whose quest is to search for... Read All