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Backyard Games Give Way to Good Times!
Toss, throw, float, and wing your way through summer
by Table Top King; Joe Rispoli
Being based out of New Jersey I really like to take advantage of the warm summer weather as much as I can. You see, being a big video and table top gamer doesn’t have to keep me inside all the time. There are plenty of ways to quench my gaming needs while enjoying that beautiful shore weather. So grab some friends, fire up the grill, and get ready to read about a few of my favorite outdoor games we love to play in that hot summer sun.
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and they call it a mine. A mine!
by Capital M; Matt Siciliano
It’s all right there in the title. You mine. You craft. It’s the thesis for sandbox gaming, and it has finally arrived on a home console. As I’ve noted before, I’m not the “PC gamer”. Not because I don’t like to game on my desktop but because I’ve never really had a computer tailored towards gaming, so like so many other games I’ve missed out on, Minecraft was just left by the wayside, but now that it’s been released for the 360 it’s an all-new experience for me and I’ve realized that I never knew sandbox antics could be so fulfilling. This is easily one of the most refreshing things I’ve ever done on a console.
In case you didn’t know, Minecraft is best described as an open-world creation engine. You enter the randomly generated world and go about to whatever task you choose. You are able to gather resources such a wood, stone, sand, and others and craft them into tools, more sophisticated building materials, and in some cases, gadgetry. The end game… Well there is no end game. Total open sandbox play.
Impressed by the independent
by Baldo; Keith Cafferty
I find video games to be a source of great fascination for me. I have ones I love like well-worn novels and others I devour like cheap magazines, enjoyed but not remembered. Like any hobby I also have hopes and dreams about what the future of gaming may bring. To this end, I love the concept of Indie games. I say ‘concept’ because, I must confess, they almost always fall short of my gaming needs. Even so, I water them with my money in the hopes that eventually some will blossom and reward me with a future of great games made by dedicated developers living their dreams of making video games. I’ve bought humble bundles, Xbox arcade games, and indie games off steam in my pursuit of gaming, but most have left me feeling empty afterwards. Until now, I’ve considered it a win if I didn’t immediately turn off the game after playing through the tutorial. Finally, it appears that my constant gardening has paid off.
by Table Top King; Joe Rispoli
There are times in your life when you are touched by a person or an event that changes the way you think or feel about something. My story is quite a paradox of this example. Through hearing the experiences of others, and how much the guys at Penny Arcade mean to them, a place in my heart has been filled. How could two guys that make a comic strip mean so much to anyone? Let’s start with a little back story.
Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins are the co-creators of Penny Arcade. To describe what Penny Arcade is today would be a serious tangent of stories that lead into many different projects so I will start with what sparked it all. Mike, a passionate artist, and Jerry a creative writer, took their friendship to a new level by bringing it to life in a comic strip to share with the world. Gabe, Mike’s alter ego, co-stars with Tycho, Jerry’s alter ego, in a hilarious online comic strip we now know as Penny Arcade. Through this comic strip they were able to collect a fan base that could be marketed to launch so many of their other business ventures. The two that I would like to talk about are Child’s Play and PAX. Child’s Play is a “gamers give back” foundation that provides games, toys, books, etc for children in hospitals to help them get through hard times that they are facing. We here at Gaming Chronicles have been lucky enough to be able to share a part in this foundation by raising money with our Sonic Marathon we held earlier this year. I feel that it is a great foundation that helps kids in need cope with hard trials they are being tested with.
I know I’m going to regret this
by Capital M; Matt Siciliano
In sitting down to prepare for this piece I could not have actually prepared myself for what happened… We’ll get there.
Kid Icarus on the Nintendo Entertainment System is the hardest game ever made. It is unforgiving beyond all other things. It was programmed by demons in the fiery forge of some ungodly hell using the fears of our elders to shape it. Horrible stuff indeed. Kid Icarus should not be played if you have high blood pressure or are prone to angry outbursts. It shouldn’t be played if you frustrate even remotely easily. It shant be played if you’ve ever been thought of as someone who could “snap at any second” and “lose it all”. It really just shouldn’t be played. Don’t. No amount of nostalgia can save it. It’s a crime against decency.
Reclaim the mountain
by Alex McIntosh
The team at EA Canada had a monumental task three years ago; to take a series that had a smaller but loyal group of fans and convert them into modern day advocates of a new title to the arcade snowboarding series that kick-started the Playstation 2. Go forward three years and you will find that today’s SSX is a fun loving rewarding snowboarding experience.
The first thing I noticed about this title was how modern a look it had. SSX is known for its cartoon flavor, allowing for crazy tricks and ludicrous track style. Fortunately a suitable line has been struck with making the setting a little darker and realistic without losing the over-the-topness that fans have adored for years.
Gaming Chronicles: Celebrating the Gamer's Experience
Follow the link below to listen to our exclusive interview with Andrew Hackard, game maker and Munchkin Czar at Steve Jackson Games. Listen closely for a MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT concerning one of the greatest tabletop games of all time; OGRE!
