Did You Know Gaming? — Pokemon

Buying Gift Cards for the Discounts

Grocery stores chains like Giant Eagle and Kroger like to give discounts on fuel when you buy gift cards. If they have gift cards for places I’m already going to anyway, I use them as much as possible. I even buy GameStop gift cards that I take to GameStop to buy gift cards for other places, earning points twice. Gift cards have their own problems but save money when you can by buying them for yourself.

The real reason for this post was to show off this wall of Fuelperks discounts I just got. Half of that gift card balance was spent before I even left the Giant Eagle parking lot.

Source: the receipt from my Giant Eagle visit just now, scanned with my printer

Keiichi Matsuda – Hyper-Reality

Oh no, is this how augmented reality will end up? Graphic designer Keiichi Matsuda imagines Medellin, Colombia with a glitchy layer of graphics, apps, and ads covering it from top to bottom. These things are fine on my phone because they go away when I put my phone away. With augmented reality, there’s no escape.

Source: Hyper-Reality via TwistedSifter

Chopin’s Twist Guide

Most Tetris games made since 2001 let you twist blocks into gaps that seem impossible. Some of these setups can be used to help correct mistakes, and others are just for fun. Even if you only learn the T-Spins, you’ll be able to send garbage faster than just back-to-back Tetrises all day. If you want to play around with twists, try King of Stackers, a turn-based Tetris battle sim where you can use every trick in the book to make the most of your seven pieces per turn.

Source: Chopin's Twist Guide – YouTube

John Hathway – Magic Rocket Station (another)

Time for another dual-monitor desktop wallpaper with a lot going on. pixiv artist John Hathway puts on some Susumu Hirasawa music and draws Mahocho, a vertical city of magic users that use flying brooms, rockets, and jetpacks to get around. The scale is so big you need a fisheye lens to see it all.

Oh, speaking of witches and brooms, this Wednesday on my weekly Instagib stream I’ll be playing the super rare Magical Chase, emulated of course.

This was actually my wallpaper back in August but I saved this post until Halloween time. Is that bad?

Source: 「MagicRocketStation(another)」/「JH科学 コミケ3日目マ24a」のイラスト [pixiv] via Udon’s Pixiv Almanac; also Bullet Heaven

Maldita Castilla

Locomalito makes hard traditional 2D games that can be beaten in one sitting, and he releases them for free out of his love of arcade culture. Check out Maldita Castilla, his love letter to dark Nintendo Hard platform games like Ghosts ‘n Goblins and Castlevania. Most of the monsters come from Spanish myths we don’t normally see in video games. Find the hidden Moura’s Tear item in each stage and try not to lose your soul. The developer also made Hydorah, a brutally difficult horizontal scrolling shooter with powerups.

For God and Castile!

Source: Maldita Castilla – Locomalito and YouTube

Yumi's Odd Odyssey/Sayonara Umihara Kawase

The best grappling hook in video games has finally made it to the West! In the hands of an expert, the title character can climb all over everything and fling herself across the screen while stressing the elastic fishing line to its breaking point. Beginners can stick to the main route, but everyone else gives it the finger and looks for shortcuts, backpacks, and hidden exits. This series is very speedrun-friendly and has always let you record replays of your fastest stage times.

It you’re looking for a nice, challenging 2D platformer, pick it up on the North American 3DS eShop for $30. That sounds like a lot, but it’s the lowest price I’ve ever seen a game in this series and you won’t be disappointed. Most of the players on the English version’s leaderboard hang out in this NeoGAF thread which I’d love to post in but NeoGAF has a weeks-long moderation queue for new members. UPDATE: I have now posted there.

Source: Sayonara Umihara Kawase Promotional Video English Subs – YouTube which is a fansub of the Japanese trailer

Ode to the 2-Hit Combo

I played Ultra Street Fighter IV last night hitting with lots of Final Turn Punches and I remembered this classic from August 2004. Jchensor, Maj, MrWizard, and zEvil compiled 20+ minutes of footage that ranges from the earliest fighting game combos to Playstation 2 games and their highly impractical setups. Jchensor also posted his commentary for every scene.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRWLKT0RH0s, originally found via the old version of ComboVid.com

Mindless Self Indulgence – Never Wanted To Dance

A couple days ago, I stopped by Gotcha Gachapon’s awesome new arcade. It has DJMax Technika 3, Jubeat, Dance Maniax 2nd Mix, DDR Supernova 2, and other Japanese music games that Columbus arcades have never had before…but it’s in basically a storage unit in a bad part of town. Yeah, it’s pretty much this music video. It’s Mindless Self Indulgence, so the lyrics are NSFW.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UR0UkTiKxmc and https://mindlessselfindulgence.bandcamp.com/track/never-wanted-to-dance via Spotify via some OLd THPS videos and other friends

Thank You Scientist

Spotify’s Discover Weekly playlist is the gift that keeps on giving, and yesterday it introduced me to Thank You Scientist. This seven course dinner of a crossover prog rock band uses strings, saxophones, and brass to fill out their sound.

Source: Thank You Scientist via Spotify

Desk – Street Fighter 5 Zangief Combo and Parry Video

I’ve been having a lot of fun playing Zangief in Street Fighter V. His Iron Muscle can shrug off most attacks, and the big guy can combo into throws from a dozen different moves. Have I really never posted a Desk video?

Source: Desk (biffotasty) via RSS feed