On a very special forty-eight episode of “Barrel Roll! A Video Game Podcast”, Jesse, Dave and Jonah discuss their top ten picks for game of the year.

It was a good discussion of our likes and dislikes and why we picked what we picked. We even give out a few honorable mentions that didn’t quite make the list at the end of the show.

I don’t want to give it away here, so hit up after the break to download the episode and hear for yourself.

(more…)

"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.

(more…)

"WingDamage writer by day, Little Mac by night."

The first full year of WingDamage is officially over. Though we all played a lot of games, we’re also enthusiasts with full-time jobs outside of the site. While there’s just not enough time in the day to play every game that comes out, we do our best. Below is a list of my personal picks of the games I felt where a cut above the rest. Expect to see the picks of our other writers soon after. And don’t worry, you’ll probably agree with their picks more than mine anyway.

(more…)

Three years after the launch of the Nintendo Wii, I think most of us are able to admit that motion controls are not a fad that will disappear overnight. Nintendo has had incredible success with their system and now Microsoft and Sony both have motion-based peripherals on the horizon for 2010.

But motion-based gameplay is tricky business. Much like the strange features of the DS (two screens, microphone, touch screen, etc.), it has taken time for developers to learn how to develop different kinds of games that make use of these strange and exciting new input devices.

(more…)

His head has hit the canvas too many times. His jaw makes a little clicking sound whenever he tries to eat.  His teeth feel like they are floating around in his skull. Everything tastes like blood, as if his taste buds can’t forget the last fight.

1-99 takes a lot out of any man.

Glass Joe has been beaten. Been knocked down. Knocked out.  But the man keeps on fighting. 99 times he has had to watch as another man raised his fist in triumph. 99 times he has entered that ring and lost.

What kind of courage does it take to get beat that many times and still have the guts to enter that ring?

(more…)

This may come off as grumpy old man complaining that “Back in my day, we only had Combat on Atari, and we liked it!”, but it is something that has been on my mind a lot lately. I’m warning you now this is a full on opinion piece.

Do we, as gamers, complain too much? Do we take into consideration everything that goes into making the games we play in the first place? And do we, or should we, care?

(more…)

You might have noticed an extra button in the top navigation last Friday. This new “Videos” link will take you straight to our newly created WingDamage YouTube channel. This will contain both videos we made specifically to embed in posts as well as additional videos like the one you see above. Watch as I show you what a fool you will look like if you play Punch-Out!! with the balance board control scheme!

So feel free to subscribe to our channel. You never know what crazy gaming videos we might post!

“2 Player Reviews” is a series of articles in which two members of the Wing Damage staff separately review a game, so as to give our readers multiple perspectives on the subject matter.

Player 1 – Jesse “Main Finger” Gregory

Punch-Out!! has always been a very simple game. The camera sits right behind your character, Little Mac, as you face off against somebody who probably shouldn’t be in the same weight class. You have four attacks that consist of high and low punches with your left and right arms. You can dodge left, right and down, as well as block. There is also a “Star Punch” that can be performed causing extra damage, provided you have a star handy.

Can a game with so few actions compete with the complex beasts of modern gaming? Can a Punch-Out!! remake capture all the things that made its predecessors great while at the same time improving upon the series? Can a Wii game have both great graphics and fun, responsive motion controls? The answer to all these questions is a resounding yes.

(more…)

"Strong Bad VS Little Mac"

On a very special fifteenth episode of Barrel Roll! – A Video Game Podcast, we are joined by our friend Dan Diemer, graphic artist extraordinaire. That is, until he got sick and had to leave (feel better, Dan).

What have we been playing this week? Thanks for asking, the internet. Jonah finished episodes one and two of Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People. Jesse continues to work his way through Sir Togsef, but also played every character class in the new Monster Hunter Freedom Unite demo on the PSP. Brittany continues to play World of Warcraft in the Blueberry Muffin Tops JPAG guild. She also gave Personal Trainer: Cooking to the test, being someone who has taken real life culinary arts classes. Dan and his wife have been taking on the mind bending XBLA hit Braid, as well as a few iPod games.

(more…)