Pixelated Radio 61: A Tale of Charlie Murdering Two Brothers

This week's episode starts off with a little eye-poking, the short-lived return of The Perfect Gentleman, and my new role as all-knowing man on OkCupid! Sadly, Rich was not able to join us once again because he is on vacation; that is, not on a vacation out of town with his family, but a vacation from our oh so annoying asses. That last sentence may or may not be true, but, either way, the show is poorer without him. Me so funny.

So, after we get through the usual bullshit about our personal lives, we get to the meat of the show: them things y'all call video games. This episode's, "What We've Been Playing," is quite hefty and followed, as always, with some movie, TV, and book discussion. When all that other crap is over, we move on to a few bits of news--like Microsoft bending over and just taking complaint after complaint with a big ol' smile. Anyway, I do hope you enjoy the show and, won't you do us a kindness and be our favorite neighbor by rating us on iTunes? (Please do.) And if you're feeling extra generous, donate a little money or subscribe to show your support for the site and show(s), it's not free to host the site, the show; to make and record videos, and everything in between. Thanks regardless.

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Turbo: the game based on the movie about racing that is not a racing game

You know that Turbo movie about the snail who gets all super fast and eventually races in the Indy 500? Well, they made a game about that movie because, you know, that's what the all-encompassing they does. And do you know what kind of game it is? You don't? Want to guess? Don't worry, I'll wait...

Ok, you have taken some time and have your guess all hot and ready to serve, right? Great! A racing game, you say? You are absolutely, one-hundred percent wrong! "But why would anyone take a movie all about racing and not make a racing game about it?!" I wish I knew, but I cannot answer that question; however,  I can tell you what the Turbo game--titled, Turbo: Super Stunt Squad--is: a skateboarding game!

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The Pixelated Sausage Podcast #036: Americans are Stupid and Guncraft is Guncrappy

This episode is the longest one yet and absolutely ridiculous; I talk about Olympus Has Fallen, Guncraft (read my review), OkCupid, the Nexus 7 and a bunch of other crap for no good reason. If you make it through this entire episode, I'll give you a cookie...or a sketch; yeah, I'll sketch you a cookie. Anyway, if you're feeling extra generous, donate a little money or subscribe to show your support for the site and show(s), it's not free to host the site, the show; to make and record videos, and everything in between. Thanks regardless.

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Check out Grand Theft Auto Online in action

You are reading this right now but you know you don't want to, you want to watch the video. Well, what the hell are you still reading this for? GO WATCH THE DAMN VIDEO ALREADY!

Guncraft review: more like Guncrap

Guncraft is a bit of a mess. It's not at all original--though, probably the best unoriginal mashing of Call of Duty and Minecraft--and bugs out on a regular basis--every server will disappear without warning, with no idea when they will return--and most matches suffer from lag at some point. On top of all that, the game just isn't particularly fun and, once you get past all the issues, that's all that matters.

Take Minecraft, add guns and competitive multiplayer and you have Guncraft. As stated previously, it's not an original idea, but Guncraft takes much more advantages from its Minecraft inspiration than other similar games--like Ace of Spades--with a lot of customizable options--such as map building and even weapon building. But there's a problem: there are no tutorials or guides of any sense. Want to build a gun? Go right ahead, but the game won't give you any tips; all you get is a warning that you'll be banned if you don't follow a list of rules before submitting designs for approval. It's nice that the options are there, but without any guidance, all the weight is placed upon your shoulders to get invested in it.

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The Pixelated Sausage Podcast #035: The Music of Liam Campbell

This here episode goes out to my brother because this here day is his birthday. He's a great musician and I think y'all should give him a listen. If you like what you hear, links to his music and all that jazz can be found below. Anyway, if you're feeling extra generous, donate a little money or subscribe to show your support for the site and show(s), it's not free to host the site, the show; to make and record videos, and everything in between. Thanks regardless.

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The Pixelated Sausage Podcast #034: What's the Point of the Xbox One Anymore?

This here episode is a shorty and mostly about the latest switcheroo pulled by Microsoft--a.k.a., the Xbox One no longer requiring Kinect. I also take the time to thank and threaten boothdom for his generousity. Anyway, if you're feeling extra generous, donate a little money or subscribe to show your support for the site and show(s), it's not free to host the site, the show; to make and record videos, and everything in between. Thanks regardless.

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Charlie Murder review: it's a lot of fun murdering with Charlie

Charlie Murder is a beat 'em up in the same vein as River City Ransom and, more recently, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game, mixed with RPG elements, from Ska Studios--the studio behind such games as I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES 1NIT!!!1 and both Dishwasher games. It's important to know the studio behind Charlie Murder and their past games because their stamp is all over Charlie Murder and if you didn't like any of Ska Studios's past games--specifically because of the art and music--you probably won't be interested in Charlie Murder. All that said, Charlie Murder is a very fun game and, in many ways, the best game Ska Studios had ever made.

You start off the game in hell, fighting demon after demon as one of five characters who all have distinct powers but play quite similar to one another on a base level. There's a reason you're in hell, but that doesn't come up until later in the game and, what really surprised me most about Charlie Murder, was just how good the story was; I can't remember a single thing about any of Ska Studios' past games's stories, but Charlie Murder has a very well-implemented story about friendship, betrayal, and revenge, told through short, occasional flashbacks. The story is never shoved in your face and it's easy to gloss over, but if you pay attention, you'll be rewarded with a story that isn't just a bunch of nonsense thrown together out of a feeling of necessity. I also liked that Charlie, the character, is not painted as the good guy even though he's one of the characters you can play as and, you know, in the game's title.

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The Pixelated Sausage Podcast #033: Charlie Can Murder Me Any Day of the Week

This here episode is pretty much all about Charlie Murder, a great little brawler coming out later this week as part of XBLA's Summer of Arcade; though, I somehow couldn't stop myself from talking about Dragon's Crown again (and Ibb and Obb too). Anyway, if you're feeling extra generous, donate a little money or subscribe to show your support for the site and show(s), it's not free to host the site, the show; to make and record videos, and everything in between. Thanks regardless.

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Ibb and Obb review: great with friends, not so great without

Ibb and Obb is an interesting and clever puzzle-platformer; it also sucks if you want to play it by yourself. Ibb and Obb was designed with cooperative play in mind and, while you can play the entire game solo, doing so will leave you bald after you rip out every strand of hair due to frustration--it's not too difficult controlling both characters at the start, but the difficulty ramps up real fast and, unless you're a masochist or have magical fingers, I don't recommend trying to play Ibb and Obb solo for more than just the first few levels.

So, yeah, Ibb and Obb may suck at single-player, but it is great at co-op and demands both players work together in a way that makes solving puzzles rewarding for both people involved. Both characters are always on screen--guess their names--and can maneuver between two parts of the world where gravity is reversed. Puzzles start off simple--one player jumps on the other and then both jump so one player can reach high places--and then get complicated soon after--you'll find yourself dropping from great heights, propelling each other through portals, interacting with the environment and performing acts of precision that may just leave you saying, "I can't believe we just did that." There's a great feeling that comes with figuring out a puzzle and executing the solution--Ibb and Obb reminds me a lot of Portal 2's co-op, which is a good thing because Portal 2's co-op was great--but the requirement of precision is also somewhat problematic; playing with strangers is hit or miss in terms of cooperation.

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