Tales of Disappointment
My love-hate relationship with the “Tales of” video game series goes back almost a decade now. Don’t get me wrong — there’s a lot more love than hate. But sometimes those emotions are two sides of the same coin, after all.
I was introduced to the series through a ROM of the Super Nintendo’s Tales of Phantasia back in high school. At the time, I was impressed by the idea of a fighting-game-like battle system in an RPG — it seemed like a nice change of pace from turn-based, menu-heavy systems.
That game was decent, but I wasn’t really a huge fan until the summer of 2004, when Tales of Symphonia hit the GameCube and redefined my view of the series and RPGs forever. Continue reading “Tales of Disappointment”
Shaun’s wish list for Kingdom Hearts 3
The Kingdom Hearts series certainly likes to space out its main entries. We are now five years and counting since the release of Kingdom Hearts 2, with only the prequels and side stories to bridge the gap. It is a legitimate concern now that if the world does end in 2012, John Cusack and his family will never see the proper third chapter in this series.
In fact, the word in the hood (also known as rumors my little sister tracks down) is that Tetsuya Nomura and his posse haven’t even started work on Kingdom Hearts 3 yet. Still, we all know it’s going to happen eventually, and after playing Birth by Sleep (and lamenting how monotone Aqua and Terra’s voice actors are), I’ve chronicled some of the changes I would like to see. Continue reading “Shaun’s wish list for Kingdom Hearts 3”
Movin’ on up
Following last week’s huge news post, there’s even more on the horizon this week for At the Buzzer. The show is expanding as we speak, with more website hits and episode downloads than ever before. That’s thanks to you folks, who hopefully enjoy the podcasts and the blogs and all that jazz. With that growth in mind, we’re bringing you paid domains, easier-to-remember ways to reach us and a continued emphasis on consistent content. First up, the new stuff. If there’s one thing you should take away from all this, it’s “atthebuzzershow.” For example: Website: atthebuzzershow.com E-mail: mail@atthebuzzershow.com Twitter: @thebuzzershow Facebook: facebook.com/atthebuzzershow The Facebook page is … Continue reading Movin’ on up
At the Buzzer (09/08/11)
In this week’s episode, the guys detail exciting changes for the show, stop trying to find excuses for lazy people, and read through their first legitimate e-mail in Buzz In. Also, Chris manages to win an entire segment, Dave fears for his foot’s safety, and Shaun repeatedly offers money to listeners. Headlines: 8-year-old boy becomes designated driver USDA condemns ‘food deserts’ for causing obesity Woman runs over boyfriend after video game dispute Credits: Music: “Police Station” by Red Hot Chili Peppers “Champion” by KJACK music beds “Main Theme (Valkyria Chronicles)” by Hitoshi Sakimoto “With Mila’s Divine Protection” by Noriyuki Iwadare … Continue reading At the Buzzer (09/08/11)
ASU season preview
As all (OK, few) of you know, I’m a gigantic ASU fan. It’s written on my info page if you want to check it out.
So the 2011 football season comes this year with more expectations and excitement than any season I can remember in the last decade. The Sun Devils returned 15 starters and are a team filled with veteran players who have experience in big games.
Last season, 4 of their 6 losses were by 4 points or less, and they took national runner-up Oregon to the brink before turning the ball over 3 times in the fourth quarter. They hope to use that momentum and experience in close games to get over the hump this year and win the inaugural Pacific 12 conference title.
I write this a week after their first game, as it’s usually a much better gauge of where a team is after they’ve actually seen the field. Following last season’s thrilling double-OT victory over UA, and then this season’s opening win against UC-Davis, things are looking good in Sun Devil country. Throw in a complete re-branding of the logo, new jerseys, and the nation’s most feared player in Vontaze Burfict, and this ASU fan is giddy with the prospects of this season. Let’s break down this schedule and make some predictions, which I fully plan on having thrown back in my face when I’m wrong. Continue reading “ASU season preview”
Review: RHCP’s “I’m With You”
The Red Hot Chili Peppers have been around for a while. Hell, the band was started before I was born.
Since 1983, RHCP has had a weird mix of consistency and disarray in their lineup — Anthony Kiedis and Flea have been there from day one and Chad Smith joined the group more than 20 years ago, but the early days involved a lot of drug use and rotating people. For their new album, “I’m With You,” the Chili Peppers are introducing new guitarist Josh Klinghoffer, who replaces longtime member John Frusciante.
That change, coupled with the band’s continued evolution and musical development, results in a different sound for RHCP’s 10th album. But different doesn’t necessarily mean bad — in fact, there’s a lot to like about “I’m With You.” Continue reading “Review: RHCP’s “I’m With You””
Blog: The best of Final Fantasy
At the end of last year, Square Enix released Final Fantasy: Dissidia Duodecim (or something…I’m gonna be honest, I don’t care enough to figure out the real title), a game in which the main characters from all the Final Fantasy games duke it out with the central antagonists. The game is decently fun and rich with the series’ history, but the plot manages to be even dumber than its premise would lead you to believe, and the script reads like a 7-year-old’s fan fiction. An illiterate 7-year-old.
Anyway, when you load up the game and pass the unnecessarily long tutorial, you are tasked with choosing which hero’s quest to first embark on. The good news is that I had already planned to select which Final Fantasy character to use first based on which installment in the series was my favorite. The bad news is that I had no idea which one that is (I am terrible at making any sort of exclusive choices). In order to work through this dilemma that I’m sure you are now deeply invested in, I decided to utilize a very in-depth process to arrive at my selection. Sit back; I know you’re excited.
Classic Simpsons
“The Simpsons” has been going strong for what feels like about 100 years. They’ve had their hits and misses, but as a whole, they’ve delivered the goods a vast majority of the time. For the few and far between clunkers they’ve had (notably: The clip shows, and when Sideshow Bob [as much as I love the character] hypnotizes Bart [and yes I’m aware that I used a bracket inside a parentheses, just wait until I have a point within a point within a point, your head might explode]), they’ve had classics.
There’s one episode that stands out above them all, and that’s Cape Feare.
This episode aired in season 5, right as the Simpsons were hitting their golden age. Most people my age were small children when this episode aired all the way back in 1993. (The Simpsons have been on a long time.) The plot had been set up by episodes in the previous four seasons, setting up Sideshow Bob’s homicidal hatred of Bart. For a quick recap: Bart not only foiled Bob’s attempted takeover of “The Krusty the Klown Show” by uncovering Bob framing Krusty, but also dissected Bob’s attempt to murder Selma for her money (When did Selma get rich? Oh well, suspend your disbelief for fictional TV shows, right?). This leads to Sideshow Bob devoting his life to plotting and executing his revenge against Bart, with hilarious consequences.
There are a lot of great reasons to love this episode, but here are a few, in no particular order: Continue reading “Classic Simpsons”
At the Buzzer (08/28/11)
In this week’s episode, there are dangerous cats, whiny preteen wanna be stars, a Buzz Off between ridiculously tasty food off the grill, and a new segment called Buzzerbeater that isn’t really that new. Also, Chris creates the first kitten serial killer, Dave tells us if Molly survived the hurricane, and Shaun tries and fails to agree with everything. Headlines: Knowing spoilers doesn’t always ruin the story Man trips over cat and stabs himself Rebecca Black forced into home schooling Credits: Music: “Stockholm Syndrome” by Muse “Champion” by KJACK music beds “Main Theme (Valkyria Chronicles)” by Hitoshi Sakimoto “With Mila’s … Continue reading At the Buzzer (08/28/11)
ATB Updates
Hey gang. Wanted to put a little news up so that some of the behind-the-scenes stuff around got some play. First of all, as you’ve probably already noticed, the three of us started doing weekly blogs. Chris posts on Monday, Dave on Wednesday and Shaun on Friday, and each entry will appear at noon on those days. The blogs are pretty much about anything that we’re not going to have time to cover on the show, so sports, games, pop culture or stories about stupid people are fair game. Next, there’s a couple new pages on the website. “Blogs,” unsurprisingly, puts all of those new entries … Continue reading ATB Updates
