Hart & Usagi Podcast #25: Dropping Da Mic

The unwarranted attack on video games continues and this time it comes in a small amount from an unlikely source. Also some fun announcements like new versions of Divekick and cheap Virtual Console games. Join us for all of this and much more as we “drop da mic” on episode 25 of the Hart & Usagi Podcast!

TOPIC/NEWS:
* DMC
* Wanpaku Graffiti
* Sony vs. Jerry Lambert
* Divekick
* Tomm Hulett
* 30¢ Wii U VC games
* Resident Evil: Revelations
* Is Nintendo Trapped by Its Legacy?
* Leland Yee: Gamers Have ‘No Credibility’ in Violent Video Game Debate, Should ‘Just Quiet Down’
* House bill proposes fines on retail games without ESRB ratings
* CT senator says games influenced Sandy Hook shooter
* The Consequences of Unchecked Violence (GS Twitter discussion)
* “Access to guns” quote from 2001 study
* Homeland Security Head Warns of ‘Cyber 911’ if Congress Doesn’t Pass Cybersecurity Legislation
* THQ bid winners, prices and runners-up

Listen/Download (1:38:36) | RSS feed

Odds and Ends and Darksiders

I spent over an hour yesterday on Darksiders only to really complete around 25 minutes of the game. A few confusing puzzles involving hitting crystals which moved walls up or down didn’t help any. I had to look up in the FAQ I have alway on tap in an app tab on how to pass it.

Right after there was another head scratcher which, upon solving, gives a row of four grapple points from which to cross a wide gap.

It wasn’t bad from then on. Even the boss where you had to use portals to exit them with a boost to get on top to defeat it wasn’t difficult. I figured it out right away. I didn’t have a problem again until the next major fight with a difficult rush of enemies. During this fight I failed a couple of times, I was switching between using the Scythe and Crossblade to the Tremor Gauntlet and Abyssal Chain (think Scorpion’s Spear) or Mercy (handgun). Once passed I saved. Hopefully I’ll do better continuing on.

I also gave Expert difficulty in Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix a go. I failed to pass M. Bison. I’m surprised I got that far. For all fights before I eventually learned the CPU’s tendencies and used them to my advantage. I only took this challenge on when I was viewing ScrewAttack’s recorded live play of Street Fighter II Turbo for the Super Nintendo on the hardest difficulty. Craig succeeded. I didn’t.

—

* ESA spent over $1 million supporting #SOPA & #PIPA. All I can think of regarding this: Awwww. Too bad they didn’t lose more!

* Ring Ka King is a wrestling promotion in India run by the American promotion TNA. I viewed a few of their first episodes and heard the announcers calling several different moves as a Crossbody. I could keep a running list at this point. These guys make Michael Cole look good in that at least Cole just says it was a “great move” when he doesn’t know what it’s called.

Moves called incorrectly were:
– 450 Splash by Zema Ion
– Springboard Moonsault by Sonjay Dutt
– Frog Splash by Chavo Guerrero Jr.

* The opening of this live Korean version of Street Fighter is hilarious when showing what the characters look like.

2011 Award Nominees

MOST RECENT UPDATE ON SOPA/PIPA
The Protect IP Act (PIPA) scheduled vote on January 24, 2012 has been postponed. The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) has been sidelined until February. These bills are NOT dead. Also, an international version called ACTA is close to passage. Keep on fighting! Thank you.

This list of games below is every single game I played in 2011 regardless of finished or not. All are eligible for my 2011 awards. I’m not sure what the exact awards themselves will be at this time. All shall be revealed when the winners are.

I’m a bit late to the awards of 2011 party, but I hope you’ll be interested in them nonetheless.

GENESIS
Super Street Fighter II
Streets of Rage 2
Gunstar Heroes
Mortal Kombat

PSN
Revenge of the Wounded Dragons
Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix
Magic Sword via Final Fight: Double Impact
Tetris
Streets of Rage 2
Alien Crush
Peggle
Mortal Kombat via Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection
Mortal Kombat II via Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 via Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection
X-Men
Super Stardust HD

PS2
Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu
Yakuza
GoldenEye: Rogue Agent
Street Fighter III 3rd Strike via Street Fighter Anniversary Collection
Medal of Honor: European Assault

PS3
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time via Prince of Persia Trilogy
Street Fighter IV
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Streets of Rage via Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection
Sonic Spinball via Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection
Shinobi via Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection
Grand Theft Auto IV
BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger
Assassin’s Creed
NBA Jam
Half-Life 2: Episode One via The Orange Box
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas
Army of Two
Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2
Demon’s Souls
Borderlands

PS1
Duke Nukem: Time to Kill
Mortal Kombat 3
Quake II

NES
Rush’n Attack
Contra

PSP
Twisted Metal: Head On
Kamen Rider Climax Heroes OOO
Baseball Stars 2 via SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1
Gradius via Gradius Collection
Gradius II via Gradius Collection
Gradius III via Gradius Collection
Tekken 6
Golden Axe via Sega Genesis Collection
Gradius Gaiden via Gradius Collection

DS
Kamen Rider Dragon Knight
Ultimate Mortal Kombat

WII
Kamen Rider Dragon Knight

GBA
Power Rangers Dino Thunder
Final Fight One
Kirby: Nightmare In Dream Land

SNES
Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers
Robocop Versus The Terminator
Run Saber
Street Racer
Knights of the Round
Mortal Kombat II
Mortal Kombat
Art of Fighting 2
Final Fight 2

GBC
Shadowgate Classic

Pushing The Win Button: Internet Blackout On January 18

FYI: The vote on PIPA takes place on January 24. SOPA isn’t dead, but just sidelined for now.

(1/12) Ars Technica: MPAA attacks Ars for “challenging efforts to curb content theft”

(1/12) Shack News: Firefall dev shutting down beta in protest of SOPA

(1/13) Wired: Rep. Smith Waters Down SOPA, DNS Redirects Out

(1/13) Joystiq: Bungie opposes SOPA, mostly because it ‘sucks’

(1/13) Joystiq: GOG.com joins SOPA opposition

(1/14) TechDirt: White House Comes Out Against The Approach In SOPA/PIPA In Response To Online Petition

(1/14) The Hill: Controversial online piracy bill shelved until ‘consensus’ is found

(1/16) Wikimedia Foundation: English Wikipedia anti-SOPA blackout

WHAT YOU CAN DO
1) Let your representatives in Congress know that you are against PIPA and all similar bills. Do so HERE.

2) Sign the petition on DemandProgress.org to oppose Protect-IP Act HERE.

3) Sign the petition on Act.ly to support a website blackout day of major sites like Google, eBay, Amazon, Yahoo, Facebook, and Twitter in protest of these bills. Do so HERE.

4) Further petition popular websites you visit to go dark on January 18th. Do so HERE.

5) Get the word out in anyway you can. Link to this blog post, for example.

Batman Forever and Big Riddle

MINOR ANNOYANCE, BUT IMPORTANT REMINDER
The Protect IP Act (PIPA) is scheduled for its next hearing on January 24, 2012. Although opposition is building, support is crumbling, and Congress is feeling the pressure, it could still pass even with Sen. Wyden’s filibuster. The future of innovation, free speech, and our economy are on the line. Please urge major websites to strike against SOPA/PIPA on January 18th at sopastrike.com. Thank you!

After the horrid experience of Indiana Jones’ “Greatest” Adventures. I went onto play a game widely known for it being awful. This “gem” in question is Batman Forever as suggested by 6h05tly.

I lived a lot longer in this game than I did in IJGA. In fact, the enemies weren’t the problem most of the time. The hard part was know what to do or where to go. I would try to get as far as I could, but once I was stuck for too long I’d reset and enter the stage level code (←↑←←ABY). Some good news: I was able to figure out my way through the final three stages and take on several end bosses with hilarious names like Holo Riddler and, my favorite, Big Riddle to finish game number two of the new year.

Speaking of finishing games for 2012, I was able to knock out another one today. Yesterday I watched this video of gameplay from Crest of Wolf on the PC Engine. North American TG-16 gamers know it as Riot Zone. I fired up the Virtual Console version and one credit cleared the game giving me a quick third completion.

The next game I’ll be playing is Darksiders as suggested by stripesonfire.

Protect-IP Act Is Coming For Your Internet!

REMINDER
Voting on the bill(s) will take place on Tuesday, January 24, 2012.

(1/1) PublicKnowledge.org: PIPA’s January 24th Vote and How a Filibuster Works

(1/2) TorrentFreak: Website Blocking Law Implemented By New Spanish Government

(1/3) ReviewTechUSA: DON’T FORGET PROTECT IP

(1/3) Destructoid: Hate SOPA? Tell the ESA and its members!

(1/3) Joystiq: ESA stands behind proposed SOPA legislation, issues statement

(1/5) Destructoid: Capcom statement backs ESA support of SOPA

(1/5) Joystiq: ESA member Epic Games speaks out against SOPA

(1/5) The Young Turks: Tech Blackout to Protest SOPA

(1/6) The Young Turks: SOPA Coverage in Main Stream Media?

(1/9) ExtremeTech: Boycott SOPA: An Android app that terrifies publishers and politicians

(1/9) The Young Turks: Major media companies ask Congress for SOPA, then fail to cover the controversy

(1/10) The Young Turks: Reddit Clobbers Rep. Ryan Into Opposing SOPA Publicly

(1/12) Reddit: These 61 Senators are refusing to meet with their constituents before the critical Jan 24 vote on PIPA/SOPA.

(1/12) VICE: The Author of SOPA Is a Copyright Violator

(1/12) PC Gamer: If SOPA passes in its current form, it will be a disaster for gamers and the games media worldwide

(1/12) Joystiq: Runic Games stands against SOPA

(1/12) Destructoid: Destructoid joins PIPA/SOPA Blackout Protest on 18th

WHAT YOU CAN DO
1) Let your representatives in Congress know that you are against PIPA and all similar bills. Do so HERE.

2) Sign the petition on DemandProgress.org to oppose Protect-IP Act HERE.

3) Sign the petition on Act.ly to support a website blackout day of major sites like Google, eBay, Amazon, Yahoo, Facebook, and Twitter in protest of these bills. Do so HERE.

4) Encourage Wikipedia To Protest The Internet Blacklist Bills (PIPA and SOPA) By Going Black Next Week. Help out HERE.

5) Get the word out in anyway you can. Link to this blog post, for example.

Fight for the Internet! Reminder of SOPA & PIPA Being Voted On January 24, 2012

Learn about the Stop Online Priacy Act:
AmericanCensorship.org

(11/28) The Young Turks: Stop Online Piracy Act (Scary Facts)

Corporations supporting SOPA have given $19,204,819 to 44 “representatives” in Congress averaging to $436,473.16 each!
(12/1) Sunlight Foundation Reporting Group: Legacy media bankrolling campaigns of SOPA cosponsors

(12/7) Lee Camp: Destroying The Internet As We Know It? – M.O.C. #98

“Polis pointed out that SOPA and Smith’s amendment already excluded certain operators of sub-domains, such as GoDaddy.com, from being subject to shutdowns under SOPA.”
(12/15) Talking Points Memo: SOPA Hearing Will Never End

(12/18) James “Angry Video Game Nerd” Rolfe on Cinemassacre.com: Urgent! SOPA and Protect IP threatens internet.

(12/20) 8-Bit Mickey: What You Can Do About the SOPA

(12/20) Popular Mechanics: MythBuster Adam Savage – SOPA Could Destroy the Internet as We Know It

(12/21) TechDirt: RIAA’s Response To Infringement Via Its IP Address… Is To Note Someone Else Did It

(12/22) JeepersMedia: Be a HERO and Help STOP SOPA Now!! I’ll tell you How!

GoDaddy is an affront to common sense, decency, and free speech. BOYCOTT THEM NOW!
(12/22) Ars Technica: GoDaddy Faces boycott over SOPA support

(12/23) TechDirt: Gibson Guitar & Others On SOPA Supporters List Say They Never Supported The Bill

GoDaddy pulls support for SOPA, but even so the boycott should CONTINUE as planned.
(12/23) The Washington Post: GoDaddy pulls SOPA support

GoDaddy lies! They still support SOPA!
(12/23) TechCrunch: GoDaddy CEO: “There Has To Be Consensus About The Leadership Of The Internet Community”

(12/27) TechDirt: Graphic Artists Guild Changes Mind: Withdraws SOPA Support

(12/27) The Young Turks: Wikipedia Leaves GoDaddy Over Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)

Is Congress illegally downloading while claiming to be upstanding citizens? OF COURSE!
(12/27) The Young Turks: SOPA update: Congress downloads porn while trying to shut down the internet

(1/2) Destructoid: An open letter to the ESA

WHAT YOU CAN DO
1) Let your representatives in Congress know that you are against SOPA and all similar bills. Do so HERE.

2) Sign the petition on DemandProgress.org to oppose Protect-IP Act HERE.

3) Sign the petition on WhiteHouse.gov calling for President Obama to veto SOPA should it pass the House and Senate and reach his desk. Do so HERE.

4) Get the word out in anyway you can. Link to this blog post, for example.