Listen live below, get this special on iTunes, Zune, or download the mp3 directly here

Listen live below, get us on iTunes, Zune, or download the mp3 directly here

Perry and Mike create Porn titles based on Video Games and images related to the podcast

Perry Piekarski: Womb raider.
Mike Murakami: Tony Cock: Ride
Perry Piekarski: ninja hymen
Mike Murakami: Deus Sex
Perry Piekarski: Ssex (snowboarding)
Mike Murakami: Muffenstein 3D (i wouldn’t watch this one, sounds like it is from the 70’s or 80’s)
Perry Piekarski: POON (doom)
Mike Murakami: Tom Clancy’s Gang Bang Six: Vegas
Perry Piekarski: Mega man sex
Mike Murakami: EverQueef II: The Sonace Odyssey
Perry Piekarski: Blazblueballs
Mike Murakami: F.U.C.K. 2: Project Orgy
Perry Piekarski: The legend of zelda: a link to the ass
Mike Murakami: Major Latina Biggbutts 2K9 :/
Mike Murakami: Devil May Cum 3: Dick Awakening / Sister Hump: Home Cumming / Squirtmen: I End in Your Eye
Mike Murakami: The Elder Sex IV: Objectionable
Mike Murakami: Super Sperm Facial IV
Mike Murakami: Dick Sucking Cunt 2: Titties Dong Quest

^Sadly, after all that, I still had more prepared. Perry fell asleep while I was still going
AssRaiser 2
Buttsex Shut Up and Jam!
Cruelvania: Dominatrix seX
The Legend of the Mystical Nipple
Boogerman: A Pick and Flick Adventure

Possible contest: Name all the games that these fake porn’s make reference to!

Listen live below, get us on iTunes, Zune, or download the mp3 directly here

Show Notes | Topics | Related Links

Binge Gamer loves Adult Swim Games

Gears of Whores and Other Fun Game-Related Porn Names

NEWS:

-Civilization V Announced, Due This Fall

-There Is No God: BloodRayne Gets a Third Film

-Street Fighter IV on iPhone. For Serious.

-Stardock Launches ImpulseTV

-Ubisoft Launches Batshit Insane DRM

-WoW Player Assaults Family, Headbangs Against Wall

-Austrailian Youth Worker sez… Games Turning Kids Into Knife Wielders

-Austrailian Attorney General sez…

-Bobby Kotick Laments, Says Activision Should Have Bought Harmonix

-Oh, Kotick Also Doesn’t Play Games

-Wanna Chat Across Games on PSN? It’ll Cost Ya!

-Sonic Team Not Touching Sonic the Hedgehog 4

-Tekken Movie Images Look Silly, Awful

-OnLive WORKS! (at DICE)

-OnLive On iPad?

Listen live below, get us on iTunes, Zune, or download the mp3 directly here

Show Notes | Topics | Related Links

Blockbuster Video sucks

Bioshock 2, Richard reviews

GameX is no more

NEWS:

-Neversoft Lays Off Much of Their Staff as Activision Rips Guitar Hero Away From Them

-Radical Entertainment Also Cuts 90+

-Final Fantasy XIII In 3D?!

-NBA Celebrity Game… Sponsored by Final Fantasy?!

-Final Fantasy XIII Will Have Special Edition Xbox 360 Deal

-Splinter Cell also gets an exclusive 360

-More Call of Duty Around Christmas

-Alan Wake Release Date Annoucned

-Perfect Dark, Game Room Coming in March

-Dead Rising 2 Comes on August 31st

-Molyneux Promises To Piss Off Fanbase With Fable III Announcements

-Fable III Coming This Fall

-NES, Five Games For A Paltry $13,105

-Sonic the Hedgehog Fans Petition SEGA For Classic Sonic

The good news is, PERRY IS BACK! The original PS3 owning 360 fanboy wakes up to join us for the cast. We cover a bit of comics, a bit of movies, and then it’s all gaming, sit back and enjoy!

Listen live below, get us on iTunes, Zune, or download the mp3 directly here

Show Notes | Topics | Related Links

Super God Damn Early E3 Predictions/Hopes

MegaCon coming soon!

Arkedo Studios wows Richard

NEWS:

-SEGA Announces Sonic the Hedgehog 4

-Erik Estavillo Drops All His Lawsuits

-Rumor Has It That Nintendo Will Announce New Hardware at GDC

-ESRB Gives Hilariously Inappropriate Rating Summary for Dead or Alive: Paradise

-THQ Announces Darksiders, Red Faction and Saints Row Sequels

-New Fallout: New Vegas Trailer Reveals Fall 2010 Release Date

-The Sims Turns Ten

-EA Sports lets fan choose who will be cursed!

-Sony Once Again Hints at Charging for PSN

-More Rumors: Sony Considering a PSPGo Relaunch?

-Sony Announces Premiere Date for The Tester

-Home…. The Magazine!

-Game Room Won’t Allow Teen or Mature Rated Games

-What… The… Fuck?!

Listen live below, get us on iTunes, Zune, or download the mp3 directly here

Show Notes | Topics | Related Links

The new chick ’round here

NEWS:

-Apple Announces iPad, Also Known as “iPod Big”.

-Nintendo Operating Profit Drops 23%…

-…bet Nintendo Regrets Passing on Project Natal (Allegedly)

-Canceled Fallout Extreme Details Show Why Fallout Extreme Was Canceled

-Grand Theft Auto Suspect Busted Playing… Wait For It… Grand Theft Auto

-Boy Stabs Father in Throat Over FIFA 10

-Child Commits Suicide. Naturally, Video Games Are to Blame

-Classic Xbox LIVE Arcade Games Won’t Work in Game Room… Unless you Rebuy Them

-2K Sports Offering One MILLION DOLLARS for First MLB2K10 Perfect Game

-Electronic Arts Paying Out The Ass For Dante’s Inferno Super Bowl Ad

-Zipper Says They’d “Love to See Someone Try” to Put MAG on Xbox 360

-Gamers to Valve: Counter-Strike 2 Plz?

-God of War III Comes March 16th, Includes Peter Weller

-Activision Co-Founder gets award.

-Watch Moral Kombat for Free… ’til the end of February.

-CliffyB tweets! FACE MELTING!

Elemental Gearbolt stands as one of the most overlooked and underrated games released on the PlayStation. It is a light gun shooter, a genre which has all but died out over the last few years. It was also published in the U.S. by Working Designs.

That’s not a knock against Working Designs (rest its soul). Personally, I’ve liked almost every single game they’ve released here (especially the Lunar games. Damn, I love those games). However, there are some who look at their releases with scorn. For one, Working Designs would always tweak gameplay elements in the titles they ported. Instead of just a straight port, as most companies usually do, Working Designs would change the programming to make the games harder for the U.S. market.

This is a matter of opinion, but I always liked the changes they made. Especially on this game and in Silhouette Mirage, which may get its own Greatest Games bit in the near future.

Also, Working Designs would usually change some of the dialogue for games to add humor where there wasn’t any in the Japanese release. Purists would cry for blood when this happened, but again, I thought this helped the games in many places. The humor is not included in Elemental Gearbolt, which has a deadly-serious storyline.

Working Designs games were also usually more expensive than normal games due to deluxe packaging and the special features they would throw into their games. Elemental Gearbolt comes in a double jewel case, not because the game comes on two discs, but because the full-color instruction book is so fat that it doesn’t fit in a single jewel case. The booklet features tons of original artwork, several blurbs detailing the history of the game world, and interviews with the production team. It’s quite a package.

Besides the Working Designs factor, Elemental Gearbolt stood out for its high-fantasy setting, which I think is the only light gun shooter that uses such a setting. Also, the fantasy world is extremely detailed and has many elements that are left unexplained in the game, which creates a very mysterious and intriguing atmosphere.

The music is also very different from the usual techno or hard rock soundtracks found in this genre of games. Orchestral suites accompany the gameplay, which further enhances the overall art design and atmosphere of the game.

The game also has a deep and convoluted storyline, further complicated by the mind-bogglingly detailed background story of the world and its people, which can be found in the instruction booklet. I won’t go into what the story is about, because honestly I’m not really sure. There are so many characters and strings of narrative happening at once that to try to even encapsulate it into a summary would take an entire post. All you really need to know is you play as one of two Elementals who can use magic, and that’s what you use to shoot the fuck out of everything around you.

Despite the complex and confusing narrative, the combination of music, atmosphere, and story creates an incredibly engrossing experience. However, none of this really means anything if the gameplay suffers. Luckily, it doesn’t.

Gameplay is pretty standard for the light gun genre. You’re on rails and you shoot at anything on the screen that moves. You can play by yourself or with a friend. There are three different shots that you can switch between at any time. As mentioned previously, you use magic. Your standard shot is fire-based and is akin to using a regular pistol; the water shot fires three quick bursts, like a semi-auto machine gun; and lighting acts as a burst, like a shotgun.

Reloading is done away with. Instead, you can’t just wail on the trigger. Your shots need to recharge, which takes a matter of milliseconds, but if you do try to fire without that small rest your gun will jam. This actually helps the game as it forces you to make your shots more precise. The game works on a combo system, so those precise shots are really essential. Your combo resets if you miss an enemy.

Elemental Gearbolt also introduces RPG elements. After each level, you gain experience based on your combo. You can then use that experience to either increase your score or your level. Each level increase improves the power of your weapons and increases your life bar. I’m sure most players will go for the level increases, but if you’re a high-score nut then you’ve got the choice.

There are six stages to blow through, and tons of replay if you’re trying to max out your level or find all the extras that Working Designs put into the game, such as the hidden chalices in each stage.

It’s tough to say who should really play this game. Hardcore light gun shooter fans may be turned off by the less arcadey atmosphere of this game. However, this is probably the most refined game of its genre and it has a huge wealth of depth and replay.

Also, if you’re an anime fan, cutscenes are fully-animated and directed by legendary director Rintaro (Galaxy Express 999, Metropolis).

Elemental Gearbolt is pretty easy to find and can be had used on ebay from between $25-50. Pretty cheap considering the price of other Working Designs titles from the era. You can play with the analog controller, but you really need to get either a Namco GunCon or a Konami Justifier to really enjoy this one.

Listen live below, get us on iTunes, Zune, or download the mp3 directly here

Show Notes | Topics | Related Links

Star Trek Online and Dead PCs

NEWS:

-Gamers Unite to Help Haiti. Buy soap from “Dancing Panda Soap to also help Haiti and support a “local” business.

-Crispy Gamer is down. Our thoughts and best wishes go out to the whole staff! (Keep an eye on Games for Lunch by Kyle Orland, Binge Gamer approved!)

-Rare sez… Perfect Dark on Xbox LIVE “Just the Beginning”

-Rumor Has It That Half-Life 2: Episode Three Won’t Come in 2010

-Bobby Kotick is Wrong, Says Spider-Man Games Sucked

-Apparently, Even After All This Time, Gran Turismo 5 is Still Not Done

-PlayStation Home is Evil, Woman Sexually Assaulted In It

-Gouri Daisuke, Voice Actor for Many Game Characters, Delayed Until Q4 2010

-Res Evil 5 Gold Edition and “the wand”

-”Young People” Spend Precisely 7 Hours, 38 Minutes a Day Watching TV, Playing Video Games and Using Computers

-OnLive thoughts so far

-Postal 2 Gets a Multiplayer Patch. This is Bigger News Than You Realize.

-Borderlands raising level cap

-Michael Pachter

-Thoughts on Darksiders

(Side note: Mike is a tard, the Xbox Live Arcade unplugged disc bought from a pawn shop works fine, you just have to go through NXE to get to it. Google it!)

Listen live below, get us on iTunes, Zune, or download the mp3 directly here

Show Notes | Topics | Related Links

WalMart tips and tricks!

Secret Santas

Star Trek Online talk

Pawn Shops rule for games

iPhone games are not real games

Qualitybeats84 (find him on Rejected Gamer, Twitter, and many other gaming places on the net) and Erik Estavillo team up for Balls and Anal the musical

AllGames rules for video game music

Listen live below, get us on iTunes, Zune, or download the mp3 directly here

Show Notes | Topics | Related Links

Cliff notes for the Interview (we jump all over the place):

*Erik, meet Binge Gamer
*Subpoenas the celebrities (Bill Gates, Winona Ryder, etc)
*Is a lawyer pulling the strings of Erik?
*Why sue instead of just putting the controller down?
*Erik’s mental illnesses
*The World of Warcraft Activision/Blizzard debacle
*The Sony/Playstation 3 case
*Erik, serious about these cases or not? What motivates him?
*”gaming world” versus the “real world”
*License agreements and clicking “I Agree” without reading
*The Microsoft/Xbox 360 case
*The Nintendo/Wii Homebrew Channel debacle
*Medications
*Gaming blog possibly hiring Erik?
*Counter suing the disabled
*Jack Thompson
*Morals and ethics
*Back to the celeb subpoenas
*Credibility

Random News Blips:

Coming soon: Star Trek Online

Also coming soon: Green Day Rock Band

Thoughts on the interview with Erik

Sonic/Sega’s All Star Racing including Banjo Kazooie

New Transformers game not related to the movie

Video Games Live will be on PBS! WATCH IT!

Greatest gaming eBay auction ever

Listen live below, get us on iTunes, or download the mp3 directly here

Show Notes | Topics | Related Links

Lagers of Excellence Awards Announcement

NEWS:

-Tony Hawk: Ride Expected to Sell 13,000 Copies

-Mass Effect 2 Has a Glorious VO Cast

-Speaking of VO, Alien vs. Predator Will Have Lance Motherfucking Henricksen

-Behold! The Associated Press’ Top Ten Games of 2009 > Behold! TIME Magazine’s Top Ten Games of 2009

-Spike VGA Awards to Go Without a Host

-Konami Bringing Konami Classics to Retail Shelves

-Mega Man 10 Confirmed

-Record of Agarest War is a 10GB PSP Game

-America’s Army Cost Taxpayers Only $33 Million Over 10 Years

-Remember to look out for DUDE BRO 2, it’s straight up dawg time!

Make sure to tune in next week when we will be talking with Erik Estavillo. If you have any questions you’d like to ask him, email or leave a comment with your question and we will make effort to ask!

Seriously, people, we need more Dragon Quest tattoos. But don’t worry, that other giant JRPG will be coming next month.

It never fails though, no matter how many games and franchises I go to, one image always seems to pop up in my searches. So I figured I’d feature it here.

It has absolutely nothing to do with games, and it can barely be called a tattoo, but I needed to show it. I feel so sorry for the poor sap that has to live with that for the rest of his life, and even sorrier for the girl in the pic.  It’s hilarious, but also rather sad, since he was obviously doing this to commemorate her.

If I were that dude, I would have stabbed the tattoo artist in the eye with his own pen. It probably should have been done on general principle.

The lesson is:  if you’re getting a tattoo, make sure the fucker can draw before he puts ink to skin.

Now that that’s out of my system, onto the Featured section.

And here we are.

This month, we are going to take a look at one man’s labor of love. The story, in pictures, of the creation of one of the best Metroid hatchling tattoos I’ve ever seen. The raw emotion in these photos should be evidence enough that this ordeal is Featured-worthy material.

Or that it’s harder than you think to find at least 20 high quality game-themed tattoos. Either way, it’s pretty cool to see the whole process.

To see the entire epic struggle of man versus tiny, piercing needle check out Vissago’s Flickr pages.  Also, if you’re in need of Network Security Consulting, the man can hook you up.

Really, what more can I add that this photo doesn’t already say?

Slowly and painfully, making his way there.

Breaks over, time to take this shit (That’s funny on so many levels).

It all paid off. A really detailed design, now for some color…

The finished product.  There were no pictures showing the coloring process, but I’m sure you can imagine the myriad of funny faces in your own head.

Really excellent work.  Thanks for being a wuss, Vissago, so we could all laugh, and then marvel at the awesomeness of your tattoo.

If you haven’t had your fill of Metroid ink, here’s a few more (click on the thumbs for the original source):

………………………………………………………………………………
Interested in more gaming tattoos? Check out past months’ features:

Mario Ink
Zelda Ink
Halo Ink
Pac-Man Ink
Sonic Ink
Mega Man Ink

Listen live below, get us on iTunes, or download the mp3 directly here

Show Notes | Topics | Related Links

-Electronic Arts Announces Real Dude

-Erik Estavillo Sues Microsoft, Nintendo

-Erik Estavillo Sues Activision Blizzard, Subpoenas Winona Ryder and Depeche Mode

-Erik Estavillo Subpoenas Bill Gates

-Erik Estavillo Subpoenas Lady Sovereign, Krayzie Bone

-Taiwanese Man ‘Beats’ World of Warcraft

-Capcom to Bring Final Fight, Magic Sword to XBLA, PSN

-Microsoft Gets One Right, Brings Crackdown to Games on Demand

-Playstation Turns Fifteen Years Old

-Michael Jackson Worked on Sonic the Hedgehog 3’s Soundtrack

-Mark Ecko Wanted to Adapt ‘MacBeth‘ for a Video Game

-Modern Warfare Star Wars Mod is as Close to Battlefield 3 as We’ll Ever Get

If you loved Raychul as much as we did, check her out on Twitter @theRaychul, find her goings ons at her website Raychul.com, and also hear her sweet voice every Monday on the GameTopia podcast.

Binge Gamer’s own Mr Mike Masashi Murakami III (aka PacoDG) joins pimp method, Mr B4 (Matt), XR0 9 (Mike Kaczmarski), and QualityBeats84 (Jeff deMelo) in talking about the games we were playing this week with some chit chat of games we didn’t play this week. These guys love games and this is a non-stop podcast of talking about them. We also manage to talk a bit about what we are thankful for and what are plans for the day are. Enjoy!

Listen live below, get us on iTunes, or download the mp3 directly here

Show Notes | Topics | Related Links

No full show notes, but we go over a little bit more of Modern Warfare 2 (not too much, I swear), a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle game on DS, Assassins Creed II, NEW Super Mario Wii, Lego Rock Band, Mag Beta codes, and more.

Fret not fans, The Bender will be back next week, so for now, enjoy the Week in Review!

That’s my mini-review of the first game. Now, for Assassin’s Creed 2:

If you didn’t like the first, I implore you to give the second a chance. Yes, I’ll admit, the repetition is still present, but that’s only if you’re one of those people (like moi) who feel compelled to collect every single item and do every side-mission the game has to offer. Otherwise, the main game is much more varied than AC1, and there is a lot to do within the confines of the story.

This time around, Desmond is put on the back burner, only popping up in the beginning, middle and end of the game. This gives AC2 a much more immersive feeling than the first Assassin’s Creed where you’d have to listen to the inane conversations between Desmond and Dr. Vidic, which I can basically sum up like this:

Vidic: Get in the Animus, Desmond.

Desmond: What’s going on?

Vidic: Get in the Animus, Desmond!

Desmond: I don’t wanna.

Vidic: GET IN THE FUCKING ANIMUS!

Desmond: Okay.

Desmond and the overarching narrative that is going on in present time are more developed in this second installment, and I really like the way things are going, even if things do seem to be getting slightly out of hand by the end of this game. Desmond, however, is far from the real draw here; this game belongs to Ezio.

My biggest gripe with the story in the first game was that while Altair was a badass, that’s really all he had going for him. You really couldn’t connect to him. For half the game, he was just being an asshole to everyone. With Ezio, you have a character who breathes. He feels happiness, sadness, frustration, anger, you know, emotions and shit. He has more charisma than Altair could have ever hoped to muster. He even has sex a few times throughout the game. Hooray!

Ezio really drives everything forward, because let’s face it, none of the other characters are memorable. Except, of course, for Leonardo Da Vinci. He’s the man, ‘nuff said.

The game itself looks stunning. The environments are huge and detailed. While the cities in the game aren’t exact representations of their real-life counterparts, there are several historical sites that are recreated faithfully. And there’s a real joy in clinging to ledges and climbing all over these places that actually exist in the world.  Several of them, such as the Palazzo Medici and the Torre Grossa even allow for indoor exploration, which is a new edition to the game.

Before I get to the indoor environments though, I’ll take some time to talk about the controls. They haven’t really changed much from the first game, which is both a blessing and a curse. Outside, running across rooftops is just as exhilarating as it was in the first game. The only times there are problems are when you’re trying to get somewhere quickly. You’ll curse at Ezio for jumping off in some strange direction when all you wanted him to do was run up a wall and grab a ledge. Outside, though, these problems are few and far between.

I keep saying outside because where the flaws in the controls really show up are indoors. The controls just aren’t polished enough to handle the precise platforming that’s involved in these indoor environments. And while, the first few times you go indoors and get to explore historical buildings or catacombs, it’s forgivable. After a while, these indoor elements become an exercise in patience and really experimentation.

Case in point, one time while hanging on a ledge, I needed to jump to another ledge behind me. The on-screen help told me all I need to do was hold back on the joystick and press jump. Doing this, however, caused Ezio to jump off to the side, completely away from the ledge I wanted to go to.  It took me a while to figure out exactly what angle I needed to hold the joystick at for him to jump directly behind him.

The reason for all of this is the camera and the fact that the controls don’t carry over when the camera angle changes. Take a game like Devil May Cry, for instance. If you were holding left on the controller to run out of a room, and the camera angle changed when you got out in the hallway, in this new angle holding up would conceivably take you in the direction you were running coming out of the room, but because the controls carry over from the last camera angle, you don’t have to worry about changing the way your holding the joystick. This helped a lot in the faster paced sections of the game, or when you were being chased by something. It was a very intuitive feature. Something small that can be taken for granted, but that really added a lot to the excellent controls of that game.

Unfortunately, the controls don’t work like that in AC2. Whenever the camera angle changes, you have to rethink how you’re holding the controller so you don’t mess up and end up in a direction you really don’t want to go. Basically, it’s a pain in the ass. By the end of the game, I dreaded having to go into the Assassin’s Tombs (something that is completely optional by the way, but, like I said before, completist).

Also, it would have been nice if there was more exploration involved in these indoor places. It’s really just one set path, with some minor variations in how you can get around obstacles.

There’s also swimming now, which is a welcome edition. There was nothing worse than meeting your end in the first game because Altair was too much of a bitch to learn how to swim.

Water offers new hiding places from guards, as you can now dive underwater. Other than that, it doesn’t really provide much else. Also, there’s this weird thing that happens sometimes when you’re trying to get out of the water where Ezio will just flail like a retard against a ledge or the side of a boat. You have to give up for a second then try again, and usually he’ll climb right up. Definitely not becoming of a master assassin.

Despite the indoor environments, there are a lot of welcome editions to the gameplay, such as more interesting ways of killing people. The double hidden blades are really satisfying, plus there’s poison, smoke bombs, and different weapons besides swords, such as maces, hammers, and spears.

One of the niftiest new features is the economy system. Early on in the game, you become head of your own run-down little villa. You don’t really have to do anything with it, but you are allowed to invest money into it, which in turn earns you more money, since the more you fix it up, the more people come to visit and live there, and the more taxes you earn from them. It’s a nice little distraction that I’d really like to see expanded upon in the next installment of the series.

Probably my favorite new edition, though, are the puzzles involved in discovering “The Truth,” which consists of tiny film clips that flesh out the larger conspiracy linking the games and really defining what’s going on in the present.

There are twenty pieces of film to collect (I won’t tell you what it depicts, but it’s pretty interesting and surreal to say the least), and each piece comes with a puzzle that must be solved. At first its simple things like discovering similarities in works of art, or deciphering a code. As you get closer to uncovering “The Truth,” the puzzles become more complex and esoteric.

Activating these puzzles involves finding glyphs hidden on the historic monuments in the game, again, this is another optional part of the game.

Really, Assassin’s Creed 2 is all about choice. You can choose to just follow the main game, or you can dabble in side missions, or you can be a complete freak, like myself, and try to do everything.

I don’t want to deter from everything that Ubisoft has done to make this a better experience than the last game, but if you really want to get the most out of this, I would recommend sticking to the main quest and just doing a few of the side-missions. Trying to do everything really reveals all of the games flaws.

So Assassin’s Creed 2 has delivered overwhelmingly on the main quest. The side missions, though not perfect, are welcome editions, and overall it’s an involving game. I can easily lose 3 to 4 hours of my day exploring Renaissance Italy and getting lost in the immersive world.

For those who bailed on the first game, give this one a chance. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

For those who stuck with it, it’s really cool to see the game evolve, and I’m sure the finest hour of the Assassin’s Creed series is still to come.