On this Vlog I got a package I have been waiting for quite a long time to open. I helped fund the 2014 season of FSL Tonight with Tom Merritt and Justin Robert Young meaning my rewards arrived in the mail!
Let’s Play Thinking With Time Machine
Editors Note: Gameplay does get choppy at times but with it being a mod I decided to allow it since the content was still good.
On this Let’s Play, Samuel takes a look at the Portal 2 Mod Thinking With Time Machine despite the fact he keeps calling it Machines. Co-op with only one person is ahead..but how does it work?
God Is Great Episode 37: Jacob Part 4
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On this episode of God Is Great the crew looks at Genesis 33 and 34 to find out Esau isn’t angry afterall, Jacob begins his journey home while making a home of his own during it, what a pegan city does to his only daughter, and how her brothers get justified revenge.
To find previous episodes go to tscn.tv/gig
More in Depth articles at : deliverancelive.com/gig
To subscribe to this podcast put this link in your favorite podcatcher:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/tscngig
Theme song by Danny Lewis
Artwork by Kevin Draper
Send feedback to samcastfeedback@gmail.com or comment on the post below
Let’s Play Minecraft 4: The Great Escape
On this Let’s Play the boys make their way out from underground by doing it the only way they can..by digging out. Penny Arcade gets a mention, the island that won’t let them leave, Samuel always being prepared for any situation, starting undo fires, remembering Steve Irwin, another goal for Samuel comes up, boating becomes required, favorite Zelda games, deep thoughts with Shane, spiders hate the dark and the mobs make an onslaught to survive!
Mario Kart 8 Review
So I got a chance to experience Mario Kart 8 and I decided to write up a little review of the game. With all the hype built up about this game I had really high expectations, but were they met? We’re about to find out.
First I’m going to talk about the things I really liked about the game. The anti-gravity was amazing and it added a lot to the tracks as a whole because there was more freedom of movement and the visuals of driving sideways and upside down just made the game so much more entertaining. The second thing I liked was the massive amount of unlockable kart options. There were so many Karts, Bikes, ATVs, Wheels, and Gliders to choose from to build your perfect kart and it made it so exciting to get as many coins as I could to unlock these kart pieces. The third thing was just how beautiful the tracks were. The visuals were amazing and even the tracks that were previously used in Mario Kart looked so much better. The fourth thing I liked was the new items which really added to the game, but most of all there was finally a way to block the blue shell which was so much fun to do.
Now for the cons. First of all I hated the character selection. A lot of Koopalings and Babies but no King Boo, no Dry Bones, and instead we got Baby Rosalina, all the Koopalings, and a metal Peach. I’m just happy they left the Mii character, but still it was sad seeing the list of characters. Also to add to it the fact that all you have to do is win a bunch of random courses to unlock the characters. It made it far too easy to unlock the characters. By the time I finished all the 100cc races I had every character. Honestly I don’t have good things to say about the playable characters. Second of all the game just felt so easy. Not only did I unlock so many things right away but I got three stars almost every time I completed a grand prix. Also the delay from falling off the map was way too short. The dangerous Rainbow Road became a tame little kitten because even if you did fall it didn’t matter much because you could quickly recover. Also it felt almost unneeded to do well in the game because there was little reward, but really not much effort was needed.
Overall the game is fun because it has the traditional Mario Kart elements that are always fun to play. The game graphics are beautiful and the anti-grav was a wonderful addition to the game; however, the character selection was pitiful and the game was easy and quick to unlock stuff so overall the gameplay is there, but the extras are not so if you enjoy all the Mario Kart games it’s not disappointing but if you like the unlockable stuff and the characters you will not be happy but overall for me Gameplay trumps unlockable so I still highly recommend the game.
Final Score: 8 out of 10
Whose Line Returns for an 11th Season
For fans of improv the show Whose Line is it Anyways provides an amazing experience with several comedians performing random improv games where everything is made up and the points do not matter. In fact I’ll give the show 1000 points.
The show aired for eight seasons with Drew Carey as the host but ended in 2007 and was recently reborn, but with a new host Aisha Tyler because Carey is busy hosting the Price is Right. The show has currently aired two seasons with Tyler and is slated for a third with will premiere July 16th.
Overall I’ve seen the new Whose Line and it has a lot of the same elements that made the show great; however, I find that this version uses some of the same games over and over again like Helping Hands. The games are great and funny but the new version of the show seems to lack variety in comparison to what it once was.
I think Tyler makes a nice new host but just like Drew Carey fails to compare to Bob Barker on the Price is Right Tyler does not add to the show the same way Drew Carey did. She does a great job but really Drew Carey’s way of being funny works perfectly with Whose Line. Simply put some hosts are perfect for roles and Barker is to Price is Right as Carey is to Whose Line, but that being said I think it would be hard to find a better replacement than Tyler so I’m not disappointed.
Overall Whose Line is still a must see comic show and I can’t wait for the new season to premiere.
Jacob Carpenter is the writer for TSCN.TV and also a blogger under the name JSnakeC on IGN
TSCN Specials: Movie Draft Update 7-19-2014
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On this Movie Draft Update four new movies come out and the race for second place becomes ever clearer.
To find previous episodes go to: tscn.tv/specials
To subscribe to this podcast put this link in your favorite podcatcher:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/tscnspecials
Send feedback to: samcastfeedback@gmail.com or leave a comment below!
Artwork by Kevin Draper
God Is Great Episode 36: Jacob Part 3
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
On this episode of God Is Great the crew covers Genesis 32 with some more doubts about Jacob as a human being, and a struggle between God and Jacob that leads to one of the significant name changes that would be the cause of naming for a whole nation.
To find previous episodes go to tscn.tv/gig
More in Depth articles at : deliverancelive.com/gig
To subscribe to this podcast put this link in your favorite podcatcher:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/tscngig
Theme song by Danny Lewis
Artwork by Kevin Draper
Send feedback to samcastfeedback@gmail.com or comment on the post below
The Golden Sun Rises
Fans of the under rated Golden Sun series were overjoyed to find out that the original Golden Sun game was released for the Wii U virtual console for about $8. As a fan of the series this was a nice incentive for me to buy my first and only Wii U eshop purchase to date.
As fans know the original game had a sequel and it’s been revealed that Golden Sun: The Lost Age will be released in Japan on July 28th. This means that at some point possibly in August fans in the west can download this game and have a complete set of the GBA Golden Sun series. For those who are interesting in a complete set I also recommend the third and most recent game in the series Golden Sun Dark Dawn for the DS.
Overall this gives easy access to the entire Golden Sun series and I highly recommend this game for any RGP fan. Also a lot of fans have pointed out the absence of a Golden Sun trophy in the upcoming Super Smash Brothers game. This possibly hints at a playable Golden Sun character in the new game. While originally this seemed very unlikely with the inclusion of characters like Robin, Lucina, Little Mac, and Greninja it’s clear that nothing is predictable about this cast of characters so there is still hope for Golden Sun fans. Personally speaking if someone like Isaac appears in the roster with all the characters so far I will be overjoyed and wouldn’t have any suggestions to make.
Jacob Carpenter is the writer for TSCN.TV and also a blogger under the name JSnakeC on IGN
Why Chrom is not playable in Smash
So Sakurai explained more details as to why Chrom is not a playable character in the new Super Smash Brothers game.
“We’ve just announced two new characters who will be joining the fray in the upcoming Super Smash Bros. for 3DS and Wii U. One is Robin, the avatar from Fire Emblem: Awakening, and the other is Lucina, a swordswoman who plays an important role in the same title. I’ll skip over the details.”
“What? Not Chrom!?” I suspect a lot of you will ask. Of course, Chrom is quite popular, being the protagonist of FE:A and all. However, I chose Robin and Lucina, and I will elaborate on my reasoning.”
“Robin appears in the game as a Tactician and functions much like a Mystic Knight (note: FF terminology, but equivalent to magic swordsman). I thought to utilize his all-around nature by assigning swordplay to his Smash attacks and magic tomes to his special attacks–that is, allow him to use magic.”
“His neutral special is thunder magic that grows stronger the larger you charge it. He uses fire magic for his side special, and wind magic for recovery as his up special. Although Robin doesn’t use dark magic in FE:A, I decided to assign it as his down special. It isn’t the first time I’ve given moves to a character that they don’t use in their respective game in order to capture certain aspects of the original title.”
“I also implemented the system used in FE:A, in which tomes break after overuse. Likewise, I included a similar system for the Levin Sword, which breaks after a certain number of uses. However, both the tomes and the Levin Sword will quickly regenerate after a set period of time.”
“Lucina uses the same techniques as Marth, a fighter with whom I’m sure most of you are already familiar. I even went so far as to make their strength, speed, and special attacks almost identical.
However, what sets Lucina apart is the fact that the strength of her attacks is uniform along the blade. Marth’s playstyle emulates the elegant swordplay of a fencer by dealing more damage when he strikes with the tip of his blade, but the damage Lucina deals is evened out. Thus, I think that Lucina will be much easier than Marth for novice players to play with.”
“I played all the way through FE:A and really wanted to include a character from that rich cast in Smash Bros. Naturally, I considered adding Chrom to the roster, but the decision wasn’t easy by any means.”
“At the end of the day, Chrom would just end up being another plain-old sword-wielder like Marth and Ike. Compared with other characters, he lacks any unique characteristics.
Conversely, when the idea of including Robin came to mind, conceiving the character was so easy that I immediately saw how it would work. From standards to specials, grabs to throws, all aspects of his moveset just fell into place. Not only did he possess characteristics unlike other fighters, but he also captured the essence of the Fire Emblem series. It was perfect!”
“In the end, if a game isn’t fun, then there’s no point. Of course, it would be really easy to make a game by churning out a ton of similar characters, but that’s not how I produce games.”
“Initially, I had considered including Lucina as one of Marth’s alternate costumes. After all, she has a close relationship with him in FE:A. In such cases, even if two characters’ names and voices differ, as long as they function the same way, I assign them as alternate costumes. The Wii Fit Trainers, Villagers, and Robin are examples of this setup.”
“However, even though Lucina shares her physical stats and techniques with Marth, the characteristics of their attacks differ. When two such similar characters function in an even slightly different manner, I give them a separate spot on the roster since that will affect battle records and whatnot. In that sense, you could say she was very lucky to join the fray!”
So not only was Chrom excluded because he risked being too similar to the other Fire Emblem characters but Lucina was almost a skin for Marth for the same reason. In my opinion Chrom should have been a skin for Marth since they are very similar but I can’t complain after all we have four Fire Emblem characters in this game and Robin’s Final Smash does include Chrom in a way that makes a nice tribute to the dual attack feature introduced in Fire Emblem Awakening.
Jacob Carpenter is the writer for TSCN.TV and also a blogger under the name JSnakeC on IGN