You might not remember this, but at one point in time* it was possible to play Wii and DS games online – you know, over the internet! Well, that’s all over now, but to send the online services off in style, we were able to gather a few members of the PixlBit family and have an intense session playing Mario Kart Wii. This helped remind us how much fun Mario Kart can be online, and how much of a hassle the Wii Friend Code system was. We were able to capture some footage of the races from Chris’s perspective and provide them to you as a video relic of our evening and proof that the Wii was once online capable.
It's been quite a journey for the game Spate, from initial conception, to successful Kickstarter campaign, to final release on Steam. Dragged into reality by Eric Provan of Ayyo Games, the game is a dreamy, artistic experience. Ayyo Games might have struggled to make this game, but they didn't do it alone: they were accompanied by classical composer and game scorer Mike Raznick, who approached them during the Kickstarter campaign. The result is a stark audio experience unlike most games. Enamored with both the game and the soundtrack, we caught up with Mike Raznick to talk about how he created the score, his influences, and what he thinks of video game music.
Well, look who decided to show up! Angelo is back, and he’s here just in time for an awesome edition of Nerds Without Pants brought to you by…you! Yep, this episode was orchestrated by the awesome PixlBit community, and it’s kind of special.
To help you cope with the encroaching demise of online Wii gaming, your PixlBit family is here to help you send the service off to its eternal existence before it all ends on May 20th. What better game to do this with than one of the few that had a significant online community: Mario Kart Wii. Join us on Thursday, May 15th starting at 9:00 p.m. EDT to play Mario Kart races until we puke blue shells. If all goes according to plan, we’ll also record the event so you can see how it played out from at least one other person’s perspective. To get in on the fun, just post your Mario Kart code in the comments and we’ll add it to a big list for everyone to tediously enter into their Wiis.
It's time for another three parter here at Backloggers Anonymous! Angelo is joined by Jaime and Julian to talk about a pretty big game that two thirds of the cast have never played: Final Fantasy X. Now, after a three hour FF episode of Nerds Without Pants you might think that Julian doesn't have much more to say about fantasies that are final, but you would be wrong. Seriously, we can't get this guy to shut up!
We're a man down this time, so listen to Julian and Patrick talk about a bunch of stuff that nerds who do not wear pants would talk about. What are those things? Good question?
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. ARE YOU READY TO PODCAAAAAAST? Well, good, because Patrick and Julian are joined by JD and fan favorite John Gholson to talk about some rasslin'. It might not be everyone's cup of tea, but if you aren't a wrestling fan this episode of Nerds Without Pants just might help you understand why some of us are.
Sometimes it's necessary in life to shake things up. The fact is, the PixlBit writers seem to have it too good, so Chessa and I (but mostly Chessa) concocted a little event for our own amusement. Rather than allow our writers to continue to cover the things they love, we've decided to force upon them the junk games that have been sitting around PixlBit HQ for ages.
You know who deserves respect? Anybody who finishes this game. Seriously. While we generally came away from Alundra with really positive feedback, some of those puzzles were either frustratingly difficult to the point of seeming almost unfair, or just trite and boring. Untangling word puzzles to talk to dead saints in a particular order isn't really anybody's idea of a good time, neither are some of those pillar-pushing puzzles. But hey, if you pulled it off and wanted to hear what we thought (or even if you gave up), click on the play button and find out.
Hello again! After that jam-packed 3 hour long Final Fantasy episode, it's time for the Pantsless Ones to get back to talking about games. As is NWP tradtion, we get sidetracked. A lot.
We all know that death and taxes are inevitable, but we might want to add PixlTalk taking at least a few months to produce a new episode to that list. In any event, it's given us plenty of time to build up some energy for a lively discussion with returned staff member, Nate Hascup!
Here it is! The moment that (some) of you have been waiting for! This is the big Nerds Without Pants love letter to Final Fantasy. Special guest Erika Szabo joins us once again to talk about a series that is near and dear to the hearts of everyone on the show. A word of warning: NWP busted out its super awesome Limit Break ability, and this show is a hefty 3 hour journey.
This time on Backloggers, I'm joined by two new guests, Chris and Jamie, to discuss our second retro game, the Playstation classic Alundra. On the block for discussion are some of the other games in the "Stalker" franchise (it's not what you think!) Working Designs legacy and our relative histories with their titles, and our familiarity with similar games, like the Zelda franchise.
If you plan to venture through the lands of Dark Souls II, you’d best be prepared with the reflexes of a tiger and the survival skills of a Cub Scout troop leader. The adventure won’t be easy, but it can be made bearable with a few tips and tricks from the grandmaster himself (which is me, if you didn’t know). Throughout this gratuitously grandiose guide, I’ll be giving a few tips based on the environment and exploration, combat, items and item management, and online portions of the game, so grab a nice blanket and get comfortable, because this is going to be one hell of a ride!
Yaaaar! Welcome to another adventure on the high seas of the internet, ya landlubbers! This week, the crew of the S.S. NWP take a stab at the dreaded topic of piracy. No, not that piracy, the kind where people steal games and other media because they can.
A wild bonus Nerds Without Pants appears! Command?
Here it is at last, folks: the conclusion of the Backlogger's journey into Asura's Wrath! Julian and Angelo are once again joined by internet gamer sensation and all around pleasant person Erika Szabo. There's lots to talk about, so let's jump right in.
Well, we're a man down this week, but instead of leaving you lovely listeners hanging, Julian and Angelo have a special edition of Nerds Without Pants just for you. Yes, you! Come back next week for a bonus episode of NWP, followed by your regularly scheduled Panstless Ones. It's three weeks of rambling!
Howdy folks! Julian here again. It's close to Valentine's Day, or Single Awareness Day as I like to call it. Last year, Patrick came up with a very smart, high-brow topic, but this year I decided to be super uninspired and talk about romance in vidya games. Join us, will you?
Chris Iozzi here, while Jason was at work I snuck into PBJ Headquarters and did a little podcast of my own! Don't tell him, he's kinda funny about people touching his stuff.
Hey there, folks. Julian here. So, I've been going through a lot of personal stuff for the past, oh, year or so, and it's starting to come to a head. What that means for you is we don't have a topic this week because I was too frazzled to come up with one. However, my pain may become your pleasure, because somehow we managed to have a two hour show with a ton of different little discussions that turned out pretty well.
Welcome back to Backloggers! We're waist deep in Asura's wrath in this episode. Before listening you should have played up to the end of episode 9. Come join Julian, Angelo, and special guest Erika Szabo as we talk all about Asura.
Voting is a funny thing. It’s hard to argue with addition, but there are plenty of instances where some of the staff thought a title or two got overlooked. Even though our GOTY 2013 article used some inarguable mathematics to come to the PixlBit staff’s consensus opinion, some of us thought there were games that should have gotten a few more votes. To highlight some of the games that each of us took a particular shine to in 2013, we present our staff’s personal picks that didn’t make the cut.
Happy New Year! I suppose that's a little late of a thing to say, but it's been a while, hasn't it? PB & Jason returns today with a bonus-length episode to make up for time lost. This week's PB & Jason covers Pokémon, Super Mario 3D World, the newer video game consoles, and asrealasitgets's blog post. When will the next PB & Jason be? No one knows for sure... Tune in! Leave a comment! Send an email! Suggest more ways to end sentences with exclamation points! Listen! Click through!
Video games had an exceptional year in 2013, with tiny indie teams getting attention for their creativity, and the usual budget behemoths stealing national headlines for their record-breaking sales. Two new consoles also hit the scene right at the end with a few titles that did their best to break into our top five.