It’s time for another edition of the Binge GameCast. This week we discuss our game assignments, reminisce about fighting games, ponder the latest game sales and start a new segment called the Question of The Week. This week’s question is who are some of your favorite game villians? Let us know via Twitter @BingeGameCast or e-mail bingegamecast@gmail.com and we’ll discuss your answers on the next show. Also keep an eye on the main site’s Facebook page this weekend for some joinable game time.
On the latest edition of the Binge Game Cast, Kupka and Batch discuss their Game Homework (henceforth known as Game Assignments), if Season Passes are worth your cash, Sports Games and more. We are also thinking about starting a Twitch Account. Would you guys watch? How about a game night in the near future, plenty of games to choose from. Let us know!
Kupka & Batch are back with another episode of the Binge Game Cast. This week we catch up with what we’re playing, discuss the rerelease of Resident Evil, and revisit some of our favorite Horror Games. And here is the list we discussed at the very end of the show.
Welcome to the inaugural episode of the Binge Game Cast where we talk everything game related. Join Kupka and Batch (Mike Batchelor aka Hunter Zolomin from Multiverse 5 and We Got NXT) as they discuss PC Gaming, Console Gaming, Board Gaming, Card Gaming and whatever else they decide to classify as a game. In this episode we talk about our “Gamer Cred”, the value of our entertainment hour/dollar and a whole bunch of other game related items. Enjoy.
For anyone interested feel free to add us to your friends list, here are our GamerTags:
Borderlands 2, Parks and Rec, The Wire, Patriots Football and
Jim Lawlapalooza Reflections (From the Outside)
Have I mentioned that Steam is, literally, the greatest thing ever done for video games? Well it is, and one of the amazing byproducts of my revitalized love of PC gaming is revisiting games that I initially may have rushed through. Case-in-point: Borderlands 2. I don’t know how, but my first play-through of this game left me wanting a lot more. I think that was probably due to the fact that, because my brothers aren’t into the games I am I was playing solely by myself. What a mistake, as multiplayer Borderlands 2 is like a completely different game. It’s incredible how high the replay value becomes once you have three other people participating in the mayhem. Again, if you’re on steam, hit me up and let’s play.
I’m happy to report I’ve officially jumped on the Parks and Rec bandwagon. I added the Swanson Pyramid of Greatness to this article because it is literally the moment in this show where I finally got it. The comedy here is solid, layered and full of good characters. I’m now on season 3 and the inclusion of Rob Lowe and Adam Scott is really enjoyable, particularly Rob Lowe, whose comedic chops are on full display here. Once again, glad I stuck it out for this one as it’s becoming a staple in the house.
For those of you keeping track at home, I’m rounding out season 2 of The Wire in prep for our upcoming commentaries. I said it on the BingeCast earlier and I’ll say it here again; give season 2 a break. David Simon went in a totally new direction and gave viewers something radically different than anything done on TV before or since, but that’s far from a bad thing. Frank Sobotka is a great character and provides a strong connection to the normal working class in Baltimore, something very important to the overall journey of the series. I’m actually looking forward to the season 2 commentaries more than season 1, call me crazy.
I can’t believe football is finally here. I’m so ready for this season I can’t stand it, and at 1:00pm this Sunday my ass will be planted firmly in front of a gigantic TV, hopefully with a nice brew and some great company. I’m over the moon for my boys’ roster this year, and the (surprise) announcement that Gronk is good to go for game 1. While Gronk seems to be the lynchpin for the offense in the eyes of many analysts, I try to remember that last year, with a core of rookie receivers and a decimated defense, the Pats still made it all the way to the AFC Championship Game. The consistency of this team is, at this moment, unrivaled across the league, and I’m ecstatic because of that. I’m also glad that Jimmy Garoppolo is getting the backup job this year behind Brady, as I’ve never been too impressed with Ryan Mallett’s production whatsoever. Garoppolo already looks like he understands the mechanics and timing of a football game better than Mallett ever did. I’m not saying the kid is the next Aaron Rodgers, but he looks solid and willing to learn, two traits that made Tommy Touchdown the champ he is today. I’m calling it now, AT LEAST 14-2 this season.
I wanted to take a minute to acknowledge this past weekend’s Jim Lawlapalooza. First of all, thank you gents for the call during the show, it was great to be there in spirit. Second of all, and to all my fellow BingeFans/Staff, how fucking FUN did that look/sound? I’m there next year, by hook or by crook, no doubt. Here’s hoping the boys come out to New York so we can go get drunk outside the New York Public Library and quote Ghostbusters lines. Check back later this week for our daily blogs and a new Strain commentary (which kicked major ass this week!). Binge on!
PLOT: Things in the DC Universe have changed after Superman is tricked into destroying the one thing he loves the most. Now unwilling to let crime go unpunished, the heroes of our world must choose if they are with Superman or against him. But not every country will submit to his new world order and neither will Superman’s greatest threat—Batman!
REVIEW: In any of my previous reading experiences, comic books based on video games have rarely been any good. At least they were not must read books in any way. For the unaware, Injustice: Gods Among Us is a somewhat recent fighting game featuring the DC Universe as created by those behind the newest Mortal Kombat game. The story line in the video game was one of the best DC plots I’d ever seen created in a fighting game, and even further, a comic book character inspired video game. Despite all of this great word for the video game, I expected something completely different in a graphic novel. Because of those previous reading experiences, I was not nearly excited at all. It wasn’t going to be good, but the reviews say otherwise. I finally got both volumes, one of which came out a year ago and the other just last month. What unravels in Injustice: Gods Among Us is amongst some of the greatest DC Comics events I’ve read, and actually makes so much more sense.
The first volume kicks off just like the video game, with an epic beginning to a tale of extremes. I want to keep this as clear of spoilers as possible, but if you haven’t played the game by now that’s not my fault. So I want to explain how the book starts, to give you an idea of the size and brilliance of this story. What happens when Superman loses someone he loves by his own hand? The entire event is caused by The Joker tricking Superman into killing his beloved Lois Lane. Superman cannot handle that Batman and other heroes believe that locking him away again will solve anything, and decides to take justice into his own hands. After losing the only thing he cared about more than the entire planet itself, he no longer feels the responsibility he once had in keeping people alive. When Superman confronts his lover’s killer, he plunges his fist through The Joker and removes his heart which results in his death. I mean seriously, what kind of epic DC drama is that?
So as soon as I finished the first volume, I went straight for the second expecting even more awesomeness. The first book just absolutely stuns in every department of the comic book rating system that no one has probably ever invented. It was funny and it was sad. It was serious and it was shameless. It was action-packed and it was suspenseful. It was absolutely intense. It was written by gods among us. So Tom Taylor continues into the second volume and I read it expecting good but maybe diminishing quality. I was dead wrong. The ending of the second book pretty much blew my mind, and I cannot believe the author is completely nailing the best DC event I have ever read. This series is freaking perfect in every way, and all I can do is recommend it on the highest level for any reader. Everyone should read this book as it does so much more than so many of these past DC events ever have. For one, it actually makes sense and it’s not all over the place. Typically stories featuring this many characters in an all out showdown are hard to keep straight and focus on the main story. This one has no struggles at all, and keeps you invested in every character’s story that’s somehow human no matter the subject. I wish I could give this eleven out of ten, six stars, and fifteen thumbs up. Buy these books.
It’s been a long time since I walked around Cedar Point. I used to go every year, me and my buddies from high-school, just catching rides, trolling the arcade for chicks, renting jet-skis, and being your regular every day douche. It was a little different this time around, towing three kids every where I went with my wife and my mom. We fit in a few adult rides here and there but it was mostly about the little monsters. They rocked Camp Snoopy, kicked some ass at Planet Snoopy, rattled my brain on the bumper cars, and asked me to win them a prize every six feet. Daddy didn’t disappoint, and it only cost me approximately $60 for a basketball, a mini-basketball, a squid hat, a stuffed TMNT Donatello, a Lalaloopsy doll, and some ridiculous stuffed monkey.
The highlight for me was watching some of the shit we didn’t have time to wait in line for. The Slingshot sounded crazy, and after watching first hand, this thing is beyond anything I ever expect to do in my life. Not to mention it costs an extra $25, per person, to get strapped in and shot in the air 350 feet. Before we left I was all about it. “Let’s do it!” I said. Then I watched this video of dude after dude passing out on the ride.
I’m out.
It’s impossible to walk by the Top Thrill Dragster without stopping to watch in awe. This thing shoots out of the gate like a bullet and goes straight up in the air, twists a couple times, and dives straight back down. All in about 20 seconds. All we could do was watch as the line was hours long and our kids hated us enough already. There’s an option to get a Fast Pass Plus and ride this bitch as often as you can but it costs an extra $80. I spent that on 4 Icees. They were awful.
Our down time, when we weren’t walking around spending money, was spent in the arcade….. spending money. My boys and I quickly got obsessed with Aiens Armageddon, this giant shooter game that ended up being better than the last 4 ALIEN movies put together. My oldest and I were screaming at each other to reload while my youngest son was literally running around the machine yelling nonsense at the screen. Every bar in the world should have this game. And my house.
All-in-all, Cedar Point is the greatest. I can’t recommend it enough to anybody that hasn’t been there. We killed the park, owned Soak City, walked on the beach, soaked in the hot-tub, ate crap, and I even had time for a couple beers. What more can I ask for?
Since I’ve been home I’ve watched this video 40 times and can’t stop giggling.
A blatant ripoff of Monday Morning Moreno and Friday Night Law, I bring you: (Working on a Title) Wednesday. Clever huh? Much like the aforementioned columns I’ll try and bring some information and some entertainment to get you through your day. If I succeed great, if not, I’m probably not gonna give a shit. Then again I feel that way about pretty much everything on Wednesday, don’t you? Anyways, enough rambling, let’s get to it.
Ah, The Wednesday Before Vacation.
For me there is something special about the Wednesday before going on vacation. Sure, it starts at 5 on Friday but today, today I will have passed the halfway point and after this work day I am 48 hrs away from vacation and only a few more from high tailing it out town. Today is the day I start packing, or at least think about it, I think about what movies/albums/games/reading material I want to bring along for the flights, and I think about how much I’m not gonna miss a single goddamn minute of the office. Sure, I like the people I work with. I really do, but like most relationships you need a goddamn break or you just may kill someone. This time around I will be galavanting in D.C. before heading to N.C. where I will be for the 4th of July. If memory serves this will actually be the first time I am not in the Tri-State area for the 4th. Kinda weird I guess. It might be more interesting if I were in D.C. for it, but a possible shark attack at the beach is always the best way to spend a holiday weekend I always say.
Steam’s Annual Summer Sale
If you’re a PC Gamer welcome to Christmas in July June. If you aren’t a PC Gamer let me tell you about how to become one. First get a PC, you’re probably sitting at one so we’re off to a good start. I know I said PC but I’m using that in the generic sense because if you happen to be one of those Mac People you too can join in the fun. Next step go to http://store.steampowered.comESPECIALLY during one of their amazing sales either their Summer Sale (currently running through the end of the month) or their Winter Sale (typically around Christmas) and stock up on some games you missed, some you would love to replay or even take a gamble on something you typically wouldn’t play. Every day at Noon CST a lot of games are put up at a pretty significant discount for 48 hrs. And other lots, usually ones you vote on, are put up every 8 hrs as Flash Sales. How crazy are these deals? How about Borderlands 2 for $4.99 or Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Black List Digital Deluxe Edition for only $9.99. You can even choose from some highly rated indie games for as low as $0.99. It really doesn’t get any better than this.
Transformers 4
Why? Can someone please tell me why Michael Bay is still getting money to make these overly long dub step videos that also happen to contain robots, shitty acting, and even shittier dialogue. I for one will not be taken advantage of, again. I gave him my money for Transformers 3 in hopes that it would wash out the disgusting taste that Transformers 2 left. It didn’t. In fact I found it to be an overly patriotic piece of propaganda that happened to have robots in it. Oh, but this has Marky Mark in it. I like him. We also get the Dinobots. SERIOUSLY?! Ugh, now I actually have to take the time and think about this briefly… Yeah, still not going. I want it to be good, I really do, but I’d honestly rather take in a 3 hr marathon of some quality small screen goodness than take a chance on another piece of shit summer “blockbuster” that cares more about raking in the money than putting out a good film. I’ll wait for video for this one, and who knows maybe with good buzz I’ll even rent it legitimately.
Well that’s gonna do it for this week, if I’m feeling ambitious I’ll check in while on vacation. If not, just consider me that douche who takes a new job only to be off in a week. Until then, I leave you with this classic.