This week on the Barrel Roll Show, Wes joins Jonah and Jesse for some Uncharted 3 multiplayer chat. Jonah and Wes also talk about Diablo 2 and how it holds up.

But before that we get into that, we discuss the games we’ve been playing over the last week. Jesse gave Ace Combat: Assault Horizon a shot to find it a bit of a mixed bag. He also played through Aliens Infestation which it turns out is a pretty good video game.

Wes has once again been sucked into Borderlands and the Zombie Island of Dr. Ned DLC. Perusing the games on his Steam list that he’s never gotten around to trying also prompted him to boot up Freedom Force vs. The Third Reich.

Meanwhile Jonah is flabbergasted by how much fun he has been having with Scribblenauts Remix, even after finishing the game’s 50 levels.

All this plus the new releases for the week and the gaming news on Barrel Roll #138, “Jonah’s Ironic Rugby Challenge”.

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On the one-hundred and thirty-third episode of the Barrel Roll show, Jonah is incredibly distracted by a teething baby. There may also have been some discussion of video games, or it was all a dream. Possibly, the guys were actually dead the entire time and in purgatory.

After the news and new games coming out this week, Wes returns to give us his Borderlands progress. He also redid our intro song using Cambox and does a comparison with Vidrhythym. Adam Milecki is back to tell us about Rock of Ages, Section 8: Prejudice and his initial impressions of Bastion. Jesse finished Deus Ex: Human Revolution, played the crap out of some Star Fox 64 3D and also gives us the rundown of SkyDrift. Meanwhile, Jonah was sucked into Disgaea 4 and may never be heard from again.

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On this one-hundred and thirty-first episode of Barrel Roll, Jonah is joined by returning guest host Wesley Johnson for a most excellent adventure. It seems even though they both graduated high school in the late 90′s, they have to gather up famous figures from history to turn in one final report so they can graduate, start their band, and save the future through bodacious music.

The show starts with the regular news and new game releases, then moves on to our “games what we played last week” segment. There the guys haven’t had time for much new stuff, but have been enjoying Borderlands as well as the SNES classic Earthbound. Jonah has also given the Onlive service a try for the first time and gives his thoughts on that.

After the main show, be sure to stick around! Jesse has just returned from PAX 2011 and is here to give his thoughts on some of the stuff he played there. All that plus more on Barrel Roll #131, “Wes & Jonah’s Excellent Adventure”.

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Math is fun when it’s fun. Especially in space. And Grover is there, apparently.

On the one-hundred and twenty-third podshow, we are joined by our long lost co-host, Wesley Johnson. He returns from times and places unknown where he was no doubt on a most excellent adventure. He brings tales of Galaga Legions DX and the mechanical wizardry of Trenched. He also speaks of mysteries and hobos in Condemned.

Jesse has delved deeper in the strange mecha-filled lands of Danball Senki, and is joined by Jonah and Adam in talks of the ancient games from Game Boy’s past. Namely, Super Mario Land (AKA: Why Mario is boring now) and Kirby’s Dream Land (did you know extra mode adds in challenge?).

Together, the guys discuss recent Supreme Court decisions on violent video games, games that are coming to Europe but not North America, and why Jesse thinks James Pond is one of the worst games ever made.

All this and more on Barrel Roll! #123 – “Astro-Grover”.

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"Looking for treasure... just like the Goonies."

In any given RPG, the wooden sword and cardboard shield you start with aren’t going to be the ones you keep forever. Usually you get rid of them by the time you hit your first town. But when you buy that new set of gear and equip it, only to find your character has only changed in numbers and not in appearance, it is a bit of a letdown.

If you are talking about old school sprite based games, I will concede that it was more trouble than it was probably worth to put visible loot into a game. Re-drawing that many sprites would be time consuming and prohibitively costly. Where 3D character models are involved, there aren’t a lot of excuses left when you are dealing with stat driven games and RPG mechanics.

There is nothing quite as addictive to me as a progressive, well thought out loot system that is reflected on your character.

I am not going to deny the merits of a well developed “static” character in this article. That is an entirely different subject. What I’m talking about are games where character growth is driven by a good system of fighting monsters, getting gold, and gathering random loot drops. Recently, three very different games have made me realize what a sucker I am for loot.

The first was Torchlight, which I originally saw when wandering the show floor of PAX last year. What drew me in at a glance was its aesthetics. Runic Games picked a very unique, cartoonish style for their world that I find very appealing.

I happily pre-ordered the game through Steam, then sunk a ton of hours into it upon its release. Torchlight is what has commonly become known as a “Diablo Clone”; a game where you fights hordes of enemies, gain levels and new abilities, and most importantly, collect randomly dropped loot. Combat takes place by clicking on your enemies and (most effectively) using keyboard shortcuts to use your special abilities to get yourself out of jams, buff your stats, etc.

The loot is progressively better as you delve deeper into the mines and fight tougher monsters. Being a class based game, much of what you find won’t apply to the character you are currently using. The good news is, you can store it in a special treasure chest for your other characters back in town or give them to your pet, who can go back to town and sell all your stuff while you keep fighting. This is a huge contributing factor as to why Torchlight is my favorite game in this genre.

Torchlight is an easy recommendation to make. For a mere $20, it provides hours of loot hunting goodness. If you keep your eyes pealed, it often goes on sale in both the Steam and Direct2Drive stores.

The second game that made me realize my loot addiction was Borderlands. 2k Games was stoking the fires of the hype machine for this game long before it’s release, but something about it just didn’t hook me; until I played it for myself, that is.

When I booted up Borderlands, my first thought was that it was trying a little hard to be “wacky”. The bus driver’s thick accent and abrasive personality while he regails you with stories of the vault and the aggressively goofy, nearly Jar Jar-esque first encounter with Claptrap turned me off.

I had heard good things and really wanted to give it a fare shake. I’m glad I did. Once I settled in to the world of Pandora, I found myself addicted. Once again, the game had a heavy focus on a loot mechanic. This time, instead of swords and armor, you find guns. Lots of guns.

The fun thing about the loot in Borderlands is the strange combination of stats the guns can have. I have found a shotgun that fires all the bullets in one big ball in a perfectly straight line, essentially making it act like a rocket launcher. I have found a 2-shot pistol that, despite a super-fast reload time, regenerated bullets faster than I could shoot them.

The loot system drew me in enough to not only end up loving the game (enough that it was #10 on my top games of last year), but I actually ended up enjoying the goofy aesthetic that went along with it.

The third game on my list works in an entirely different way, but is still all about the loot. Monster Hunter Tri doesn’t just hand you loot, you have to work for it.

I once told my wife that if they ever made an MMO that played like Fable 2, I would be hooked for life. I have to amend that and replace Fable 2 with Monster Hunter Tri.

The Monster Hunter series doesn’t have a level up mechanic. If you want to be stronger, then you need loot. But you aren’t just handed loot from killing the game’s impressively giant monsters. You kill monsters, skin them for parts, gather resources, then build and upgrade your own weapons and armor.

Even with as much as I enjoy random loot drops, there is something even more gratifying about doing a boss run to get that last piece of the puzzle you are missing to build that sweet new giant hammer or finish a full set of matching armor to get it’s additional bonuses.

There may not be a lot of story or any character development to speak of, but Monster Hunter Tri keeps me playing with my friends for one thing alone: the love of loot.

On a very special fifty-third episode of “Barrel Roll! A Video Game Podcast”, we gather around the campfire while being serenaded by our own Wesley “Ukulele Master” Johnson.

This week, there are a lot of things discussed when talking about what we’ve been playing. Of note is Jesse’s completion of No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle on the Wii, Wes’s acquisition of a Wii and his playing of various Zelda related titles as well as Muramasa, and Jonah’s noticeable lack of Wii playing.

No, he was off playing Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes on his DS and flOw on the Playstation 3 like a sucker. There is also some talk of Borderlands, Star Trek Online, and more. We also see the return of Friday Old Games discussion with Jesse giving us the rundown of BlaZeon: The Bio-Cyborg Challenge, a game none of us had ever heard of.

In the news, we discuss how people are stealing Dave’s ideas in the form of Rock of the Dead. There is also much discussion of the multiple ports of Final Fantasy (the original) and lots of Nippon Ichi talk, including discussion of Prinny 2 and their recent legal woes with Warner Brothers.

We also bring back the “movie time” segment for a discussion of The Sky Crawlers, the anime based on the novels that the game Jesse has been playing is a spin-off of.

All this and much more on the latest “Barrel Roll”.

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Middle Song – “N.M.H. – The Outer Rim Remix” by The Outer Rim

Outro Music – “Fortuna (Star Fox)” by The OneUps

"Archive Footage"

2009 was a busy year for me. I had just started a new job, I launched WingDamage with my bro and suckered a few friends into writing for us. A ton of amazing games came out. Here I present to you my personal favorites. This is my top ten, and it doesn’t quite line up with the majority of other people’s that I have found online. That’s just fine with me.

Some releases, while I liked what I played, I just didn’t have enough time to get a good enough impressions to rank them one way or the other. That said, I give you my top ten games of the year.

#10 Borderlands (PC, Xbox 360, PS3)

While I do enjoy the occasional FPS, it is not always my genre of choice. A good co-op mode is usually required to really get me interested. Borderlands does a great job of mixing fun FPS gameplay with RPG elements and looting to create a very addictive experience. Better yet, it’s meant to be played with up to three of your friends.

#9 Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story (DS)

Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story is a great way to kill time on your DS. The plot is super goofy and the dialogue is hilarious. Timing is everything for both the attacks and for your defense. This keeps the battles fresh throughout the entire experience. It is any easy recommendation for all ages. Best of all, it’s an RPG that actually works well in short bursts.

#8 inFamous (PS3) [Full Review]

Most open world games have a bad habit of making me lose interest after a few hours. inFamous does several things very well. The free roaming works really well and is always fun. There is just enough of an assist to your climbing that it never feels like they are taking the controls away from you, but you also don’t get frustrated from being a pixel off from any given jump. That combined with the ever increasing lightning powers and a fun, though simple, good/evil mechanic really sucked me in to the game’s world.

#7 DJ Hero (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PS2) [Full Review]

When I first saw footage of DJ Hero, I had no idea what was going on. The concepts involved in scratching and mixing songs live are way above my level of musical understanding. Much to my surprise, they were able to boil it all down into a game that is fun and engaging with a soundtrack that has made its way into my regular rotation. The price is a sticking point for some people. but since the game hasn’t had the huge commercial success of it’s guitar based counterparts, I recommend picking this one up at a sale near you.

#6 Torchlight (PC)

The combination of a fun art style that mixes fantasy and steampunk with addictive hack-and-slash gameplay was all it took to get me hooked on Torchlight. People who have been waiting for something in the Diablo style that makes some improvements on the genre need look no further. Inventory management has been streamlined. Your pet’s ability to run back to town and sell all your unneeded junk keeps you in the action. The fact that they opened Torchlight up to the modding community almost immediately also speaks to the games longevity. Not only do you get a great self-contained experience, but thanks to other fans, you get one that is ever expanding.

#5 Punch-Out!! (Wii) [Full Review]

If you were to look at a list of my top games of all time, the original Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! would rank very high. I am very happy to say that Punch-Out!! on the Wii lived up to all of my expectations. Long time fans will have no problem blasting through the first part of the game, which plays almost exactly like the original. Fortunately, that is only the beginning. In Title Defense Mode, they have taken our favorite old school characters and completely switched up their move sets, while still staying faithful to the characters and the gameplay, making for a hugely challenging, arcade style experience.

#4 Machinarium (PC) [Full Review]

Some games have so much personality that you know you will remember and return to them years down the road. Machinarium is one of those games for me. The art style has such an interesting, sketchy, storybook feel to it and the characters really come to life. There is no dialogue in the game, yet through animations alone you get a full sense of the story. While some point and click adventure games will reach a point where you click around the screen in frustration, Machinarium did a great job of cluing you in to what you needed to do. If you ever get stuck, the games built-in hint system works amazingly well, telling you what needs to be done without giving everything away. For a small game that you can finish in around five hours, Machinarium‘s charm will stick with your long after you finish it.

#3 New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii) [Full Review]

Somehow Nintendo was able to craft a game that is amazingly fun to play both in single player and with up to four players. The most impressive part about that is they are the same levels. New Super Mario Bros. Wii is the kind of game that you can bring out with your friends and family of any skill level and have a great time just goofing around in. The mechanics that require you to be cooperative, while at the same time allow you to be competative, go a long way towards the longevity of the title. If you have a Wii, you should have this game.

#2 Street Fighter IV (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)

Another franchise that successfully managed to return to its roots and come back with a fantastic experience; Street Fighter IV delivered for both casual and hardcore fans. The character designs were taken one step further towards looking like a cartoon, which lends itself well to the way over the top fighting action of the franchise. The combination of new and classic moves really helped keep every character feeling fresh and unique. Gone are the days of pallet swapped characters. They even managed to make Dan a viable character. The addition of new move types even helped balance the game for newcomers just learning how to throw down on the mean streets of the World Tournament.

#1 Dragon Age: Origins (PC, PS3, Xbox 360)

I originally was not following Dragon Age: Origins because I thought it looked a little too much like the film versions of Lord of the Rings. Boy was I wrong. This game has earned it’s place as my Game of the Year. Bioware brought their classic gameplay ideas from their old PC days and mixed them with the versatility of modern gameplay mechanics, a good story, and fun characters to bring an RPG masterpiece back to the PC. All complaints I have heard about the game seem to involve the console editions, so I highly recommend the PC version if you can run it. The way you move around in battles and control the action flows perfectly. I was also impressed with how the good/bad meter of other Bioware games was replaced with a party member specific meter of how well that character liked you. Your actions and conversation effect both those in your party and the world around you. With six distinct origin stories and the upcoming two years worth of DLC on an already expansive game universe, Dragon Age: Origins is a title I will be playing for a good long while.

Reflecting back on 2009, we found that it was a really great year for gaming. Not only did we see the return of beloved franchises and a resurgence in classic gameplay styles, but some games we originally hadn’t been following or maybe just didn’t hear much about ended up being amazing.

So take a look at our biggest surprises of 2009 and let us know in the comments what yours were.

Red Faction: Guerrilla (Xbox 360, PS3) [Full Review]

The Red Faction series was on the verge of irrelevance. The first two games were fun but I don’t think anyone really expected a third game in the series. Guerrilla released with little fanfare but those that did play it were greeted with some of the most awesomely destructive weapons in gaming. The main game was a blast but the multiplayer destruction contests, where you compete to blow up as much stuff as possible, are where we spent the majority of our time.

Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers (Wii)
[Full Review]

People expect certain things from the Final Fantasy name. Crystal Bearers turned most peoples’ expectations on their head. A semi-open world, action/adventure title where you never level up? A hero whose hair obeys the laws of gravity? A mission in the main story that forces you to chase a bunch of monks around a monastery “Benny Hill style” as you yank their hoods off to find somebody in disguise? Crystal Bearers delivers all these things in a package only those with an open mind will appreciate.

Batman: Arkham Asylum (Xbox 360, PS3, PC) [Full Review]

Every Batman game that had come before had sucked harder than the Dyson DC24 with ball technology. It was an unwritten rule that Batman video games were supposed to suck. So when Arkham came out not only did it break the unwritten rule about not sucking, it had the gall to be exquisitely amazing. Combining the atmosphere of a Bioshock with the Metroidvania style and coating all of it with the best stealth this side of Sam Fisher, Batman shattered everyone’s expectations.

inFamous (PS3) [Full Review]

Given the developers pedigree, I should have expected great things but this one crept up on just about everyone. The idea of an electric super hero sounded a little cheesy and Prototype (which was releasing around the same time, looked like it was going to be amazing. Not only did inFamous blow Prototype out of the water with tighter controls, superior graphics, and electricity grenades, it managed to worm its way into the discussions for game of the year.

Borderlands (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)

This is one of those games that after hearing the premise, I had no interest in. An FPS that uses a Diablo style loot system? The promises of hundreds of unique, randomly generated guns? I was very skeptical that anyone could make a coherent gaming experience out of that idea. The shooter/RPG hybrid genre has picked up speed, but still has a ways to go. I was very happy to see after just a couple hours spent with Borderlands that the leveling and loot systems worked so well with the FPS elements. Both added to the other in fun and interesting ways. Borderlands manages to be a high energy experience that is even better when played with friends.

Lego Rock Band (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii)

The pairing of two titans can often result in this. So when Lego Rock Band was announced the resulting scoffs reverberated around the internet. But what seemed like a desperate money grab actually ended up being a fun and entertaining music game. Besides it has freaking Ghostbusters.

Excitebots Trick Racing (Wii) [Full Review]

When it was revealed that Monster Games was working on a new Wii title, everybody’s first thought was Excite Truck 2. When we found out how secretive they were being (even dimming their monitors when the water delivery came), people started to suspect a new F-Zero. I think the last thing anybody expected was a racing game in which you control a bunch of robotic animals as they try to make sandwiches, catch fish, and score soccer goals while fighting for first place. Surprisingly, Excitebots Trick Racing is exactly that.

Dragon Age: Origins (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)

While Bioware’s science fiction games have had my full attention since KOTOR, their fantasy stuff has never really appealed to me. On the surface, Dragon Age: Origins looked very generic to me. From the drab, Lord of the Rings inspired fantasy world, to the character designs. Going in, my hype level was zero. What I found was that it was a highly addictive experience that combines interesting characters and a story with plenty of hook with an interesting strategic battle system.

Tales of Monkey Island (PC, Wii) [Full Review of Episode 1]

Some games of yesteryear are thought to be dead and gone. Even if they did somehow bring them back, would they still be relevant, or would a new developer ruin your beloved franchise? Long time adventure game fans were blown away when they heard that LucasArts had teamed up with Telltale Games to bring back Monkey Island. Telltale had proved they had the chops to successfully revive a franchise when Sam and Max went episodic. It was a match made in heaven and the results were as fantastic as we had hoped.

The Metroid: Other M Trailer at E3 (Wii)

With the Metroid Prime series coming to an end in 2007, we no longer knew what to expect for the Metroid franchise or when to expect it. With virtually no foreshadowing, the Metroid: Other M trailer dropped at E3 revealing the game was being developed by Team Ninja. If anybody predicted that developer would ever work on a Metroid game, they probably worked for Nintendo, Team Ninja, or are a psychic. The trailer managed to seemingly show lots of gameplay while at the same time leaving us all clueless as to what kind of game it really is. The only sure thing is that it is a game I must play.

"No Photoshopping Required"

On a very special forty-forth episode of “Barrel Roll! A Video Game Podcast”, the announcement that Mega Man 10 will be coming out this March is discussed, much to the joy of one Jesse “writes for the Mega Man Network” Gregory.

In our “What We’ve Been Playing” segment, Wes has been spending more time on his iPhone with Chronicles of Inotia 2 and the PC version of the epic space opera, Mass Effect. Jonah has been playing some co-op on Borderlands and finished Batman: Arkham Asylum. Jesse, when not busy freaking out about Mega Man 10, was finishing Mega Man Legends and trying out the new Zelda: Spirit Tracks.

In “Friday Old Games” we discuss whether or not Goldeneye on the N64 really holds up. Then there is the news. The Mega Man 10 related news. And Mystery Science Theater 3000 on Hulu! Oh sure, it’s not game related, but it’s Jonah’s favorite TV show of all time.

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Show Notes:

Outro Music – “Fortuna (Star Fox)” by The OneUps

Mega Man Remix Album by ilp0

Mega Man 10 (WiiWare) revealed in Nintendo Power
http://www.themmnetwork.com/2009/12/09/mega-man-10/
http://nintendopower.com/images/NP250_DLmega.jpg
http://www.themmnetwork.com/2009/12/11/meet-a-robot-master-commando-man/
Rumor: http://www.fanboyreview.net/2009/11/21/are-we-getting-mega-man-10/

"And don't mind the tumbleweeds"

Hey everybody.

You may have noticed that this week we have been uncharacteristically light on the updates. The long weekend threw off our schedule pretty badly. We now know that long weekends lead to not wanting to be productive on the site.

You may have also noticed that Jesse has made some changes to the site, most notably the new featured articles bar at the top of the page. This will be a great resource for us to highlight those articles we are really proud of, reviews of the hottest new joints, giveaways, etc.

Don’t worry, though. Next week we will be back on track. That means the good old Barrel Roll Tuesday, new reviews and articles, and a Friday Old Games for your enjoyment.

This weekend, I know I’ll be playing some mad Borderlands on the PC. If you’d like to help me fill out the party, email jonah [at] wingdamage [dot] com, or message me on Steam, where I am known as thespambot. I also plan on playing through some Batman: Arkham Asylum, which has been really fun so far.

What will you be playing this weekend? Post about it in the comments!