Author Archive for Mark Hill

14
Jul
09

Can I Crash At Your Place?

By Mark Hill Leave a Comment
Categories: Editorials and Games


A full seasonal rotation after the “Summer of Arcade,” I finally got the chance to spend some quality time with one of last summer’s best, Castle Crashers.

My girlfriend, Tyler, and myself played it until almost two in the morn’, and had a good time doing it. I’m not sure how far we got into the game, but it was impressive how the crashing of castles never got old, even after a few straight hours of playing. They kept it fresh with new levels, moves, and powerups constantly, so it stayed exciting.

Hopefully we can start a little earlier tomorrow night and finish the job.

12
Jul
09

UCB Tonight In LA

By Mark Hill 1 Comment
Categories: Editorials and Television
Tags:


My girlfriend, Tyler, and myself are going to see the improv group Upright Citizens Brigade in LA tonight. You may remember them from the three season long sketch comedy show on Comedy Central in the late 90’s. I vaguely remember a few sketches from the show, but I remember it was really funny. Should be fun.

10
Jul
09

Just What I Wanted It To Be

By Mark Hill 4 Comments
Categories: Editorials and Games


If you were unlike Russ and actually managed to get into a game of Battlefield 1943 today, I hope you found it a fun as I did. I got a little hands-on time, but mostly I just watched Tyler play a few rounds of the demo. The experience was short but positive, even though it came out of a completely non-HD telly.

I can’t wait to get my own apartment, a TV, the internet, and hooked-up Xbox to play it myself.

09
Jul
09

Somebody Get Webster On The Phone

By Mark Hill Leave a Comment
Categories: Editorials and Games
Tags: ,


The other day I took my first trip in a long time to a Continental U.S. GameStop (which are significantly nerdier than Hawaii ones), and picked up a copy of Rock Band: Unplugged for the PSP. I haven’t had any time with it yet, but my girlfriend and Tyler seem to like it, which is a good sign.

But what bugged me about the purchase was that it was the last copy in the store, which had been opened and played for demo purposes, I assume, but they still charged me the full price as if it were still sealed in its wrapper. I shouldn’t have to pay full price for a game that has been used already. Even stores like Best Buy will sell you “floor model” items at a discounted price because they know the true meaning of “new.”

I’m not asking for a %50 price slash, but come on, the game has already been opened, would a few bucks off kill you?

07
Jul
09

Allow Me To Unpolitely Disagree, Jerks

By Mark Hill Leave a Comment
Categories: Editorials, Games and Reviews


I’ve been playing Puzzle Quest: Galactrix on the DSi for the last few days, and I think it’s pretty good. Maybe not as good as that 5 Hour Energy enema I just took, but still pretty good.

It’s much more difficult to get into than the original Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords, as evidenced by pentagonal pieces that slide in many ways and represent many different things, but I applaud the devs’ attempt to raise the casual gem-matching genre up to a more hardcore(ish) level.

It has a big, spacey story, almost like a watered-down Mass Effect. That is, if Commander Shepered like to kill the Geth by pushing around a bunch of tiny crystals and Seth Green was an annoying little alien (just like real life!). The gameplay, as sparse as it is, is solid, and even the annoying “Leapgate hackings” are only kinda annoying. All in all, I don’t think it deserved all the negative press it recieved (actually, it was only Justin McElroy and Tyler that said they didn’t like, but still, they are jerks).

02
Jul
09

Back in the Real World

By Mark Hill 1 Comment
Categories: Editorials, Games and News
Tags:

Hey everybody, I’m back. It’s been a long few days of packing, travel, unpacking, more travel, and a little bit of sleep here and there. My girlfriend and I now in California, and have spent the last couple days apartment shopping in LA, which is the traffic capitol of the world.

I’ve had a few brief moments to play some games, most specifically Final Fantasy Crisis Core for the PSP which I bought for the flight over. I’m a few hours in to what is essentially my first major dip into JRPG’s, even though this one is much more of the action variety. I like it so far, but many of the gameplay elements haven’t exactly clicked yet, and half the time I don’t really know what I’m doing. I do know that all the dudes look like girls, though.

Alright, back to work.

28
Jun
09

Boxing Day

By Mark Hill Leave a Comment
Categories: Editorials


This is it. In about an hour, all my Xstations and PlayBoxes will be sealed in a cardboard tomb, denying me the ability to start-and-not-finish any new games, as well as denying my girlfriend the chance to beat the shit out of me at any more Puzzle Fighter HD, for at least a few weeks.

I will have all of my portables in tow, like my iPod Touch, DSi, and PSP, and it will be nice to get some quality on-the-go handjobbing in. My flight is day after tomorrow, and I predict it will be six hours of Peggle, Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time, and the Simpsons comic I just bought. I’m actually really looking forward to it.

25
Jun
09

It’s-a-me! In An RPG!

By Mark Hill Leave a Comment
Categories: Editorials and News
Tags: ,


Sometimes you have to look outside of your comfort zone to find something great, and the other day that’s exactly what I found when I started playing Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time on the DS.

This would normally be a game that I would never play for many reasons, but mainly because it’s a turn-based RPG, and I also generally don’t like Mario games unless it’s a main canon installment or a kart racer. Three hours into MAL:PIT has me rethinking all of that, though, as I’m having a great time with it. It helps that it takes place in the Mario Universe, which I already know all about and feel comfortable in, there are action elements to the battles, and there are NO FREAKING RANDOM BATTLES THANK YOU GOD!

So, at this point, Partners in Time is a great beginner’s RPG that has me thirsty for something a little more hardcore. Something a little more…Final, maybe?

23
Jun
09

Why So Violent, Nintendo?

By Mark Hill 2 Comments
Categories: Editorials, Games and Television
Tags:


What’s the deal with Nintendo’s advertising? It seems like every commercial I see for a Nintendo game has to do with intense competition and major trash-talking.

First, there is the one for Force Unleashed where the two nerds are calling each other out with Star Wars-related names while flailing their arms toward the TV. Then there is the DSi commercial where the two closets are playing with pictures of each other’s faces and hurling half-assed ugly jokes around. Finally, I just saw one for Punch Out!!! Wii where a defeated dad says that he’s going to make his son cry and wipe the floor with his tears. Yeah, Nintendo, child abuse is a great way to move units.

It’s weird to me that the advertising for such a family-centric console is all about beating each other down over working together. Few people know that the there is an extended version of the Animal Crossing commercial where the shells girl sleeps with the other girl’s boyfriend, and they get in a fight at the beach. It’s pretty sexy.

22
Jun
09

Me Play Joke

By Mark Hill 1 Comment
Categories: Editorials, Games and News
Tags:


GTA: Chinatown Wars is going to be on PSP?! That’s so rad! Now I can start a new game on PSP just as soon as I finish my old one on DS, which should be right around…never.

21
Jun
09

Totally Worth Ten Bucks

By Mark Hill 2 Comments
Categories: Apple and Editorials
Tags:


You know what they best feature of the new iPhone software 3.0 is? It’s how you can change the speeds of what you are listening to by speeding them up to run twice as fast, or slowing them down to half-time. A very minor, but very cool little Easter egg.

Finally, when you listen to our podcast, you speed up Russ and Tyler’s sections without missing anything that I might say, and then you can enjoy my section slowly, like a nice bottle of wine. Plus, it makes my voice even deeper and sexier than it already is, which I didn’t think was possible.

19
Jun
09

This Had Better Not Become A Regular Thing

By Mark Hill 1 Comment
Categories: Apple, Editorials and Games
Tags:


I just payed ten bucks for the new 3.0 iPod Touch software, and I feel mildly ripped-off. I mean, it’s cool that there is now copy and paste, landscape keyboard, peer to peer games, and a few other things, but ten bucks? Really? For that stuff?

Why is it that every other week when I fire up iTunes, they are more than happy to force an update down my intertubes, but now they charge me a Hamilton for a few lines of code? Give me a break.

Here’s the first thing I am going to copy and paste:

Continue reading ‘This Had Better Not Become A Regular Thing’

17
Jun
09

Puzzle Quest on the iPhone? Where The Hell Have I Been?!

By Mark Hill 3 Comments
Categories: Editorials and Games
Tags: ,


I have no idea how I didn’t know this existed until the other day, but one of my top three favorite DS games of all time, Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords, is available for the iPhone.

This is a game that I couldn’t put down for a long time after I started playing it, and I know Russ got hooked on the XBLA version awhile back, and putting it on the iPhone seems like a perfect fit. The only bad thing is that the full game is broken up into three parts, and only the first two are available now in a $7.99 pack. I don’t like the idea of having to buy segments of a whole game.

There is a free trial version which I recommend you check out. I played it, and the controls feel a little clunky, but it still felt like the old Challenge of the Warlords that I know and love. I am going to wait until the third part comes out and buy them all in a (hopefully) discounted pack.

16
Jun
09

Live It Up While Live Is Down

By Mark Hill Leave a Comment
Categories: Editorials, Games and News
Tags:


Remember boys and girls, Xbox Live is down for scheduled maintenance all day today, so all of your Xbox gaming and/or solicitation of young boys will have to be done strictly offline (sorry, Tyler).

So how will you be spending your day? Offline games? PS3? Wii? I spent my first few hours sans-Live finishing Gears of War 2, which was EPIC. Whatever you end up doing, have fun. Just make sure he’s at least 16, Tyler!

15
Jun
09

Old Man Payne

By Mark Hill 7 Comments
Categories: Editorials and Games
Tags:


I don’t know about you guys, but I’m really not into the new-look Max Payne. I played through the first two Payne-ful (get it?) outings, and even though I don’t remember many of the specifics from way back in 2003, I really liked them and consider myself a fan of the series (haven’t seen the movie though, so that’s probably why).

One of the things that I liked about it was the kind of dude that Max was: a hard-times ex-cop with a murdered family and a head full of regrets, like The Crow without all the facepaint. He wasn’t some buffed-out supercop that could get away with anything unscathed, and her sure as hell wasn’t a Space Marine with a rocket launcher. This new “gruff old guy” style makes him look too tough and gives him an “I don’t give a shit” attitude that really turns me off. I just don’t want another Marcus Fenix.

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Mark Hill:

mark’s last three twitters:

  • Jess and I just landed in Utah. One non-alcohic beer, please! 2 days ago
  • Big time change of plans. Today I'm headed to Kansas for a week, then to New York for a week, then back to CA. This will be fun, 2 days ago
  • Just had a great Castle Crashers sesh with Jess and @TylerMiller. (Mark) 3 days ago
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  • Pulled up behind a truck today with a trifecta of shitty band stickers: Korn, SlipKnot and Insane Clown Posse... Wow. 2 days ago
  • Twitter! Stop being an asshole! 2 days ago

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