PK Gaming Podcast: Episode 2 Part 1

Good evening everyone! This is the first part of Episode 2 of the PK Gaming Podcast. We decided to split up this episode (though we recorded it in one night) for ease of downloading what you might find interesting.

This episode stars me, Kaise, and Paleo talking yet again about gaming. You'll find that Paleo received a new headset and can be clearly heard and the audio static is greatly reduced. Yet I sound pretty quiet! Seems like I need to invest in better equipment, so please bear with the fact that my audio level is lower than the rest. We'll work on that for the next podcast.

Expect part two of the podcast on Wednesday (and it's significantly longer) with part three arriving on friday. We dive into more great gaming goodness in those.

Also, don't forget to write in with questions or comments and we'd love to address them on future shows! Send questions or comments about the podcast (or the site) to PKGamingPodcast@gmail.com.

Finally, Last week's episode featured some great music. Each time we post a new podcast, we'll explain what music we borrowed from in the previous podcast so that you all can know what that great song you heard was. Podcast 001 feature the theme to Grandia as well as the TV theme for Samurai Pizza Cats (though that was a bit obvious).

In this part of Episode 2 we talk about;

What We Got For The Holidays

New Year's Resolutions (Gaming and In General)

Download the episode here!

PK Gaming Podcast Episode 002 Part 1

(Click on the Orange "Download" Button to Begin Download)

(Next PK Podcast)

(Previous PK Podcast)

(P.S. I know how convoluted this download method is. We're working on a new solution.)

Paleo's Top 10 Games of 2010

2010 was a very excellent year and a great start for the new decade. It's going to be a very tough act to follow in the coming years. I wasn't able to play all of the great games that came out, but I do have a list of the games that I played (which were released in 2010):

Alien Swarm
Bayonetta
Bit.Trip Runner
Bob Came in Pieces
Cave Story
Dive: The Medes Islands Secret
Donkey Kong Country Returns
Endless Ocean: Blue World
Galcon Fusion
Kirby's Epic Yarn
Magic the Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers
Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem
Metroid: Other M
Monster Hunter Tri
No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle
Picross 3D
Plain Sight
Poker Night at the Inventory
Revenge of the Titans
Rock Band 3
Shatter
Simplz: Zoo
Super Mario Galaxy 2

I played many more games which didn't release in 2010 (like Bowser's Inside Story), but these are the ones I have to choose from for my top 10, so please don't cry out 'bias!' when you don't see Halo: Reach, Starcraft II or Red Dead Redemption, because well... I didn't play those. Who am I kidding, you'll probably cry 'bias!' anyway.

So... without further delay, here are my top 10 games of 2010! Starting with...

#10 Cave Story

I almost feel like I'm cheating by adding this one in my list because I actually played the freeware version the last month of 2009, and fell in love with it. But since the WiiWare version came out in 2010, I might as well include it, since I could actually beat this version. Surprisingly, it wasn't the Metroidvania gameplay that made me fall in love with this game, it was the characters and story. Strange, right? I mean, the gameplay is pretty awesome, but I think the fact that this game was the idea and dedication of one man who loved to make games made the characters really stand out for me.

#9 Bit.Trip Runner

This was actually gifted to me by Dr. Fink as part of secret santa in Negative World, lucky draw, huh? I wanted to get this game when it came out because I had 600 points left in the Wii Shop Channel and if Runner followed the pricepoint of the previous Bit.Trip games, it would have come out at 600, but nope. So... I bought the first one, Beat, and just waited to get Runner, and what do you know, I get it for Christmas! I'm a big fan of both platformers and rhythm games, so you know this is a great combination for me. The levels get really challenging and it's very satisfying to finally complete a level after multiple tries. No checkpoints in this game, when you mess up, you have to go all the way back to the beginning of the level. Thankfully, most of the levels are fairly short and give you a bit of reinforcement to keep trying if you continuously fail. All of these elements without even mentioning the music (which is excellent chip-tune stuff from Anamanaguchi) makes it deserve a spot on my list.

#8 No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle

I don't actually own No More Heroes 2 (a friend let me borrow and play it), so you might question why it's on my list... well, this sequel improved so much on the original that it deserves a place. The clunky jobs that were in the first game are replaced by 8-bit minigames that are actually fun. The boss fights are just as over the top and ridiculous as ever, and the music... the music is just amazing.The confusing ending and shorter than expected playtime prevents it from getting higher on this list though.

#7 Bayonetta

Like No More Heroes 2, I don't actually own Bayonetta, I rented it. I haven't played many hack-n-slash/beat-em-up type action games, but something about Bayonetta called out to me. I pushed myself to complete the game during the time I rented it, and it was a really fun and challenging ride. I don't know whether it was the sexy main character, the epic boss battles or the very satisfying combo system, but I had a ton of fun with Bayonetta even though it was just a rental.

#6 Monster Hunter Tri

I have to be honest with you readers, I really thought I wasn't going to get into this game after playing it for the first few hours. I actually pushed myself to play more so I could get a good feel for the game, but then I put it down for  while. Then one day, I decided to try the online mode... wow, what a difference. Monster Hunter Tri is definitely one of the best online games available on the Wii right now. No friend codes to be found and it's very easy to just play with a few strangers. The multi-player seems to be where a lot of the action in the game is and the single-player seems like a huge bonus by comparison once you get the hang of things (as I talk about in my Diary of the Rookie series). I still haven't completed the single-player or the multi-player quests in the game, but I can definitely see myself playing for even longer than the 70 hours I've logged in so far.

#5 Kirby's Epic Yarn

Well, what can I say about this? The game is so incredibly adorable and every level surprised me with the way Good Feel made a game that is "too easy" and still very fun. The thing that stands out the most, of course, is the presentation of it all. I always thought fabric and yarn would be a boring concept, but this game proved me wrong. It's very colorful and pleasing to look at and see how Kirby interacts with the levels. The piano-driven music may make you sleepy at times, (the really good songs aren't until the end), and reviewers have complained about it being to easy (even calling it the worst game of 2010, shut up Entertainment Weekly, you don't know vidya games like we do at PK Gaming), but for me it's my #5 game of the year for 2010.

#4 Rock Band 3

This is the only multi-platform game on my list that's available on all three home consoles, so just about anyone can jump into this. I do address a lot of complaints in the later part of my review, but that doesn't stop this game from being in my list. The addition of the keyboard is the obvious turn-on for a lot of people, and the fact that you can actually learn how to play songs with it. There's also a ton of replay value to be had here. I've already logged in about 80 hours into the game trying to complete the goals and I'm nowhere near halfway done, and even then, there's the weekly DLC that Harmonix has provided ever since the first Rock Band. If there was the 'perfect' music game out there, this would be it, which is why it deserves my #4 spot.

All the 'blue world' logos I found had IGN watermarks on them.

#3 Endless Ocean: Blue World

You know I had to include this, being the aspiring marine biologist that I am. It might be surprising to some people that there is some actual gameplay in this. There a ton of objectives to do in the game, so you're never really finished after you complete the story. The main game took me about 10 hours to complete, but then afterwards, I logged in over 100 hours just trying to complete the extra goals that the game gives you. The variety of the different dive sites is very well done. I've gone back to some places and found some interesting things that I didn't even know was there. If you didn't buy the first Endless Ocean, and were curious to see how it played, go ahead and get this one, it's still only $29.99 (probably even cheaper elsewhere), and for a budget title, there is a lot to do here, which is why it's so high on my list, not just because I'm a freak for liking dolphins and sea life so much. What's that? You say you weren't thinking anything like that? Oh... well... forget I said it then.

#2 Donkey Kong Country Returns

Ho boy, this... THIS took everyone by surprise. We all knew Retro Studios was working on something, but Donkey Kong Country? Who knew? Going from first-person shooter/adventure games to a platformer was a quite a leap, but Retro proved that they can do it.  Unlike Kirby's Epic Yarn, which was designed to amaze you with it's visuals, DKCR's levels were designed to KILL YOU, and still amaze with visuals. I don't think I've died that many times in a Nintendo platformer before. Man, I felt like I was back in the mid-90's when I started playing this game, since Donkey Kong Country was the first SNES game I had. I know it might be a lot of the nostalgia factor that's pushing this game so high up on my list, but I can't help it, it's really just that good, and it's a shame that it wasn't getting nominated for overall game of the year at the major gaming websites. Still... DKCR isn't quite my game of the year... that goes to...

#1 Super Mario Galaxy 2

Did you guess right? Like with DKCR, it is a shame that this wasn't nominated quite as much for Game of the Year (though a tip of my hat goes to Destructoid for them having it as theirs). Everyone thought that Galaxy 2 would be just another collection of levels that were very similar to the first game, but that was a dead-wrong assumption. The new levels felt very fresh and with the addition of new power-ups and Yoshi, it made the concept feel new again. The return of the world-map (akin to Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World) made things flow a lot smoother, and the orchestrated music was just as amazing as ever, with brand new tracks and remixes of classic mario songs. I'm not going to say whether I think Galaxy 2 is better than Galaxy 1, but for the record... if Nintendo made a Galaxy 3, either on the Wii or on the successor, I would not complain one bit if they can strike gold 3 times. This game is the prime example what Nintendo is known for: excellent level design, memorable music, and fun but challenging gameplay. 

Well, those are my Games of the Year for 2010. What do you think of my list? What were yours?

Review: Donkey Kong Country Returns

Full disclosure, I have never played Donkey Kong Country 1, 2, or 3. But it didn't matter worth a damn because I still had more fun with Donkey Kong Country Returns than I've had in a long long time with any game.

At the core, the gameplay is the reason to own the title. Everything feels so natural as you play an ape jumping around collecting bananas and other goodies. Running, climbing, and rolling your way through the stages will be a challenge but ever time you see that finish screen, you'll feel nothing but satisfaction. I played the game with the nunchuk and wiimote combo and that felt very natural. You move with the joystick, jump with A, and hold on to things for climbing with B. It's all simple in a good way and then there's the motion controls which don't add a ton, but they certainly make for some fun. It feels satisfying to smack the wiimote and nunchuk in the same slapping-the-ground manner that Donkey hits for his move. You also can stop and blow air on things to either move platforms or dandelions to discover secrets, as well as more. I've heard a lot of complaints about how this stops the pacing of the game but lets be honest, it's all in how you want to play. I tended to seek out secrets during my first play-through but there's nothing stopping you from just running around however you like. You can always go back and find the secrets later.



I guess I'm already touching on the next section I wanna talk about, the content. This game contains eight worlds, each with their own boss, and a couple of extras thrown in there. Each standard level has the traditional KONG letters and each level also contains various puzzle pieces. Some of them are very very tricky to find but you can buy a Squawk item which will help you seek out your missing secrets. There is so much to find and do in each level and then you multiply that by how many levels... wow is the answer here. It's definitely on par with New Super Mario Bros. Wii as far as amount of levels but there's probably more to actually discover within Donkey Kong Country Returns. As you collect things and up your percentage, you unlock music and art in the galleries as well. Lots to do for completionists here. Besides the letters and puzzle pieces, there's time-trials to attempt medals for and even MORE to unlock and earn. Also, I wont go into much spoilery detail but hidden throughout the backgrounds of levels are allusions to other games as little easter eggs to spot. They should delight if you find them. While many of the levels are fantastic, some of the best are the 'Silhouette Levels'. I wish there had been more, at least one per world, but I guess their lack of quantity just allowed for me to love the ones that're there even more.

This game, like life, obeys a five second rule. The five second rule in this case though is that, if you don't hate the game after five seconds, you will in fact become addicted for weeks until it's completion. That. Is. Fact.

Like with Retro Studios' most recent outings with Metroid, Donkey Kong Country Returns looks fantastic in the graphics department. The levels are colorful and crisp. They do away with the old style from the SNES games, obviously though as that's obsolete. The game may be 2D but the 3D assets look great and their 2D textures help sell their look. The mossy areas you can grab on to for instance look absolutely wonderful. They look realistically lush. The character models for Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong look great also. The game features cutscenes before the boss battles and in the beginning of the game as well. You will be surprised at how good an elephant's ass looks.

I don't have that much to say about the music besides that it's rather enjoyable. Even without playing the original Rare series, I know that the music is classic in those titles. Donkey Kong Country Returns does a great job with the sound effects and music but for me anyway, nothing ever reached the heights of Bramble Blast for instance. In the levels that feature any kind of 'magma', you can definitely feel a hint of "Magmoor Caverns" from the Metroid Prime series. It's greatly appreciated and obvious why they did.

I'm not quite sure why I never played the original SNES titles, I certainly don't miss the Kremlings. I also don't know see an urge to go back and play those titles after this. From what I've heard, Retro Studios has made the DKC formula and made it even better. Maybe that's ignorant, and I'm sure I'll get around to them eventually, but Donkey Kong Country Returns has quenched my platforming thirst and made me hungry as hell for some banana bread.



The Verdict:

This game is amazing. Retro Studios is amazing.
Buy it at all costs if you like fun.

What I liked:
Level Design is impeccable and the gameplay is top-notch. Lots of levels too, and reasons to go back to previously beaten levels. Lots of replayability. Rambi is a blast to play with and I don't feel the need for more animals.

What I didn't like:
Once in a while, the game gets almost TOO-hard. The motion-controls work MOST of the time, but when they don't, it's rather annoying.