Bursting into action, Captain America takes on the unstoppably adorable forces of Red Skull and his giant teddy bear army in the latest episode of the Barrel Roll show!

Wes returns to tell the tale of Captain America Super Soldier. But before we can get into that it must be told that Jesse and Jonah are also back (as per usual) to bring us the latest in the same games they’ve been playing the last several weeks. This includes Disgaea 4 and Xenoblade Chronicles, but has expanded into Jesse returning to, and finishing Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies. His Dragon Quest inspired mood was brought on, not only by the recent info about part ten, but also on the fact that his import copy of Dragon Quest Collection has arrived.

In an attempt to keep things “funky fresh”, Jonah has invested some time into Jetpack Joyride and Swords & Soldiers HD as well. When he wasn’t busy pummeling Nazis, Wes also delved into Icarus and Quarrel. Two great tastes that taste great together.

All that plus the news, new games this week, and the winner of our Bastion soundtrack giveaway is picked on Barrel Roll! #135, “Captain America’s Epic Yarn”.

Middle Song: Eye Trickle Scuba Wagon by Shnabubula – Buy the Album

Download

RSS

iTunes (Subscribe and Rate the show!)

Walking around the multitudinous booths and the general insanity of PAX, I spied a bizarre little game starring an afro puffed robot.  As a fan of robots and Dr. J style afros, I knew I had to check it out. On a side note, I think my spell check is racist. It refuses to recognize afro as a word. But if we can somehow find a way to get past culturally insensitive spell checking software, there is a game to talk about.

(more…)

Although I’ve been a fan of teh Penny Arcadez for years, I’ve never made it to their annual gaming convention. As if that wasn’t enough, this was to be my first convention as a member of the gaming press. I had a Media Badge and everything. I had all sorts of interviews set up with PR reps and developers. What if they didn’t like me? Or worse, what if they didn’t like my suit?

(more…)

Metal Slug XX proudly hearkens back to its arcade roots. The game was designed to get you to “insert coin”, and if you want to see the end you either have to have the reflexes of a cat ninja or hit continue 83 times like me.

Can a game that unapologetically kills you for every misstep be fun?

(more…)

“Friday Old Games” is a series of articles in which we review a game from the older generations of consoles, share why we picked it, and whether or not it holds up with time.

The first thing that sets Paperboy apart from other games of it’s day is the story. Paperboy isn’t out to save a princess and he isn’t trying to save the world. He is just a guy trying to do his job.

Paperboy’s only goal is to deliver to his fellow townsfolk their newspaper. Sure he might knock over a few headstones, or break a window or two, but he is just a kid trying to earn a little money. I like to imagine that Paperboy is saving up to take his dream girl out for a night on the town.

(more…)

Video games based off popular Marvel and DC Super Heroes have always been kind of a Russian roulette of aweful. You never quite know if the game you are about to check out is a decent title, or if you are about to be lured into a van and molested by another Superman 64. Fortunately, with Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 the chamber appears to be empty.

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 follows, or at least tries to follow, both the “Secret War” and “Civil War” story lines. I say “tries” because about halfway into “Civil War”, Vicarious Visions decided that the original story was insufficient and needed to be changed.

(more…)

Over a decade ago, Revelations: Persona was released for the original Playstation and, although it was never a huge success, it achieved a large cult following. Gamers who tried it were enthralled by the unique setting, characters, and story. The game quickly became a sought after collector’s item. E-bay prices quickly soared up into triple digits.

Atlus apparently got tired of seeing other people making hundreds of dollars selling their game on E-bay and made the wise choice of remaking it. Read on to see if this cult classic stands the test of time.

(more…)

"You're Welcome"

When I first heard that there was going to be a channel devoted entirely to video games I was ecstatic. There could be previews, reviews, debates, cartoons, the possibilities seemed endless.

I stuck up for G4 when they hired moderately attractive people that knew nothing about games. I defended G4 when they took over Tech TV. I held out hope that G4 would turn the corner and somehow manage to tap into the amazing passion and energy of the gaming culture.

G4 has failed. (more…)

"Are you ready for some Football?!"

I don’t think this one could replace Madden at the top of the charts but I think a combination of super heroes and sports could be awesome. Picture the Avengers playing the X-Men in a football game. On Defense, Wolverine is lined up as a defensive lineman, with Cyclops playing free safety. Colossus is a linebacker, and the other X-Men fill out the rest of the defense. Offense has Captain America as the Quarterback, Luke Cage at Fullback, Ms. Marvel at Wide Receiver, Thor is an Offensive Lineman, and other Avengers fill out the rest of the offense.

(more…)

"An electrifying experience!"

As the Three Amigos eloquently put it in their classic, The Three Amigos, being infamous is even better than being famous. You know, cause your in-famous. This holds especially true for Sony’s PS3 exclusive inFamous. It is good to be inFamous.

As I have outlined earlier, Sony is in desperate need for some sweet exclusive games and Sucker Punch has delivered a knockout blow with inFamous (forgive the pun). I would go so far as to say that this game vaults Sucker Punch right up there among Naughty Dog and Insomniac as one of the premier PS3 exclusive developers.

(more…)