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Skyrim Patch 1.2- New Problems

Zack aka "Mook" Augustadt — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 19:34:40 +0000

Nerd Alert! This is some serious gamer stuff, so if you’re the casual type, you need not be concerned! Booted up Skyrim lately? You may have noticed that in order to play online, you will be instructed to download the new update, which is normal for every game, especially one’s as big and buggy as Bethesda’s epics. While the patch 1.02 fixes things like Texture problems prevalent in the Xbox 360 version, it created a whole new mess of problems. In addition to reported Dragons flying backwards and not landing, a much more serious game-breaking bug has been unleashed upon the inhabitants of Skyrim. Resistances and Buffs, a system used in nearly every RPG, are completely broken.
What this means is that any item, creature, or potion that gives the player a defense against certain ailments (such as fire, poison, or disease) are completely null. Creatures made of fire, can be hurt by fire. Werewolves, who cannot contract diseases, can now contract diseases. Defense against damage is useless, and every special weapon now only does its Base damage, which makes the game frustrating and harder at the same time. Hopefully a patch 1.3 is in the works to fix what patch 1.2 did, as it seems to have broken more than it has fixed. If you have yet to update, we at B-Sides recommend you stay offline while in Skyrim, because once this patch is installed, the only version to go back to is 1.0, which will render all saves useless since patch 1.1 was released day one, and everyones save files are therein version 1.1. We will keep posted on this and let you all know when there is a fix.
Here are the official patch notes from Bethesda:
-Improved occasional performance issues resulting from long term play (PlayStation 3)
-Fixed issue where textures would not properly upgrade when installed to drive (Xbox 360)
-Fixed crash on startup when audio is set to sample rate other than 44100Hz (PC)
-Fixed issue where projectiles did not properly fade away
-Fixed occasional issue where a guest would arrive to the player’s wedding dead
-Dragon corpses now clean up properly
-Fixed rare issue where dragons would not attack
-Fixed rare NPC sleeping animation bug
-Fixed rare issue with dead corpses being cleared up prematurely
-Skeleton Key will now work properly if player has no lockpicks in their inventory
-Fixed rare issue with renaming enchanted weapons and armor
-Fixed rare issue with dragons not properly giving souls after death
-ESC button can now be used to exit menus (PC)
-Fixed occasional mouse sensitivity issues (PC)
-General functionality fixes related to remapping buttons and controls (PC)
After releasing the 1.2 update, we will continue to monitor forums, blogs, etc. for issues you are reporting, and we will keep you updated on further updates to improve your gameplay experience.
Thanks for playing Skyrim. – Bethesda

Game Review – Saints Row: The Third

Zack aka "Mook" Augustadt — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 19:07:40 +0000

Have you ever wanted to skydive out of a tank, dressed as a hot dog, while simultaneously being shot at by sex addicts, furries, and gimps? Yes? Then boy have we found the game for you. Saints row: The Third is an insane dive into an adult world of debauchery, violence, and laughs. Amping it up from crazy to absolutely bat-sh*t insane, Saints Row 3 was a fantastic adventure that never felt similar throughout the entire campaign.
Picking up after the 2nd game, the Stilwater Third Street Saints have become international pop icons. They have a massive media empire, an energy drink, clothing shops named after them, the works. So what is the best way to make money? Steal it of course! In a move to train TV’s Nyte Blade how to play the role of Johnny Gat in the upcoming Gangsta’s in Space movie (still with me?) the Saints rob a bank in Steelport. But this is no ordinary bank. It is in fact owned by the Syndicate, Steelport’s crime circle, composed of three gangs. Other gangs on the Saints turf? Well, that spells problems for everyone.
When I say this game is insane, I mean absolutely insane. You can partake in the missions, the regular style, “I’m a gangster” missions, with a bit of hectic action thrown in, or you can get down to the bread and butter of the game, which is the activities. Things like Tank Mayhem, Heli Assault, or Professor Genki’s Super Ethical Reality Climax are what really differentiate this game from other sand box’s like GTA. This is also how you earn your majority of money, as you not only get money for completing the activity, you also get control over a small percentage of Steelport, which contributes to your “Hourly” income, which is accessed from your phone just like the past Saints games.
The real surprise to this game, is how deep of an experience it can be. The money you earn is not only used to upgrade cars, buy weapons and ammo, and clothing anymore. Now you can upgrade your character, getting perks like giving every car you drive nitrous, or having unlimited ammo for The Reaper Drone. The number of upgrades is staggering, and by the end of the game your Saint will be a walking God, with unlimited ammo, unlimited health, unbreakable cars, and weapons that can level a city block. The feeling of reward is such a constant in this game, that it is very hard to put it down. The campaign overall took me about 30 hours to complete, with a completion rate of %95, with tons of Hitman contracts, Car Hijackings, and challenges to do still. Easy to say this game is not short on content.
Another bonus is that the full game in its entirety can be played in online Co-Op. Every mission, activity, and challenge is open for you and a friend to complete, and it is a blast to do so. No one person’s game will look the same. You may be a space Ninja, with an energy hammer and farts in a jar, while your partner is a zombie cheerleader with a flamethrower and a Four foot-long Purple Dildo. The action never stops, the laughs are plentiful, and voice acting is hilarious. Hulk Hogan, Burt Reynolds (as himself) and former porn star Sasha Grey are key players in the game, and do a fantastic job. Can you guess who has a pet Tiger?
Saints Row The Third is no kid’s game, and that is exactly what we at B-sides were hoping for. Whether your dropping through the sky shooting men in hot dog suits, or destroying a group of Ninjas in a tank with a satellite guided Reaper Drone missle, one thing Saints Row: The Third never gets is boring. If your looking for a Grand Theft Auto that isn’t so serious, and goes insanely over the top, then Saints Row is for you. We here at B-sides give Saints 3 a 9 out of 10.
9/10

Download This? – Rock of Ages

Zack aka "Mook" Augustadt — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 19:41:57 +0000

This is a new weekly article about the little games under the radar, that are available on multiple platforms and we call it: Download This? In these articles we will cover the more indie developed games available over the PSN, Xbox LIVE, and Steam that are only available for download. If your looking for games that offer something truly different, then check these out.

For our first game, we show you Rock of Ages, a quirky, quick-paced, Boulder racing game. Sound different? That’s because this charming little title is one of the strangest ideas, made into a face paced strategy game, where time is of the essence as your barrel downhill towards your opponent’s gates. The clever premise tells the story of Sisyphus, the man forever damned to push a boulder uphill, just to have it knocked back down again. One day, Sisyphus gets fed up with repeatedly having to do this meaningless task, gets the bright idea to push his boulder to the top and ride it down to smash through the gates of Hades and finally escape. After a battle with Kronos, it’s off through the gates where Sisyphus travels through time and faces several different historical figures. And their Boulders.
Although it sounds absurd, this game requires quick thinking and strategic placement to maneuver your boulder through a course to smash down your opponents door, while placing encampments to throw your enemies boulder off course. The game is played in several waves. There is a fortification wave, which allows both you and your opponent to lay down traps and other barricades such as cow soldiers, catapults, towers, and elephants, which slow down your momentum, causing less damage to your opponents door, and damaging your boulder. This wave only lasts about 30 seconds or so, and many times I found myself not being able to do what I wanted, as my opponent had already began to roll a new boulder. Your next course of action is to roll your boulder through the enemies traps, to try and ultimately smash their door down and roll into the next period of time.
The cut-scenes are ala Monty Python; little paper cut outs hilariously animated. The charm in this game is endless, and we salute the developers for going so far out there to create this bizarre gem. Rock of Ages has the honor of being the first title that we say:

DOWNLOAD THIS!!!

Game Review: Shadows of the Damned

Alex Cocilova — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 17:51:58 +0000

For those that are easily offended or faint of heart, it would probably be best to cease ready this review now. This game is crude, vulgar, violent and a ton of fun. It is everything you may come to expect from a Suda51 game, whose resume entails killer7 and No More Heroes among other works. The game doesn’t hold back and receives a hard M rating. You’ve been warned.

The genre of Shadows of the Damned could be described as action-horror. However there is a great deal of comedy involved; Some of it being blatant, raunchy dick jokes that even your 80-year-old grandmother would get and at other times it is subtly tongue-in-cheek humor. Even awkward at times.

You are a Mexican demon hunter named Garcia Hotspur (The name is approved by the badass committee) who is has to fight through the depths of Hell to get back your true love, who killed herself in the beginning of the game. Even a dark scene full of suicide can snag a chuckle when she is credited as a main character just after the act. A dark lord steals her soul, graphically, and Hotspur follows him to Hell with only his trusty companion Johnson, a reformed demon.

Johnson basically acts as your entire inventory. He is shaped as a torch by default, but transforms into a myriad of weapons in an instant. From a pistol (that at one point is referred to as the Big Boner ಠ_ಠ) to a shotgun and finally machine gun. They all use different ammunition and are abundant throughout hell since they are demon teeth, skulls and bones. Johnson also consumes Red Gems to upgrade the weapons for some serious and fun firepower. At some points you may feel a little overpowered, but that usually just means you are about to be swarmed.

Rated "M" for a reason!

The upgrades can be put into things such as weapon damage, reload speed, ammo capacity, strength of the Light Shot and health/endurance. The damage system works like any generic game, you have a lifebar that is filled with red. As you are damaged it drains ever so slightly. However, to recover health you don’t grab potions, food or hearts. You got for the hard liquor. Find or buy sake, tequila or absinthe to restore different amounts of health. Stock up, chances are you will need a frat party’s worth of liquor.

Shadows of the Damned has some great quirky gameplay mechanics. The most notable is the use of light and dark. The darkness is like the sun for demons, they thrive in it, but stay in it too long and it becomes harmful, which explains why hell isn’t entirely covered in it. If you get stuck in an area of darkness (and I’m talking about a thick, unnatural darkness, not just the absence of light) your soul and eventually health will slowly drain until you return to the light. In these areas demons are invincible, and you will have to use a “Light Shot” (a secondary use for every weapon) to bring them back to a more destructible state. The game uses this mechanic very well to create some exciting and tense moments, as you must run through it to progress the game. It’s the equivalent to a water level where you are constantly on the verge of drowning.

Bring light to darkness...then kill it!

The game has simple puzzles that could mostly be described as collect an item, use the item to progress kind of gameplay. Many times it comes down to speed, timing and accuracy to complete the most difficult parts of the game. Even then the challenge on normal difficulty isn’t that demanding. The difficulty of the boss fights vary throughout the game, not necessarily getting tougher as the game goes on. I remember some of the first bosses being the toughest, while mid-way through I was breezing through them.

Overall the game is a fun action-thriller shooter with a spooky aspect. If you don’t mind the constant crude innuendo, swearing, slight sexuality and overall bizarre theme of the game, chances are you will probably love it. The B-Sides crew gives this trip to hell an 8.5/10. It is currently available for the XBox360 and PS3.

Humble Bundle Bonanza!

Alex Cocilova — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 00:17:25 +0000

What’s better than getting amazing indie games for whatever you feel like paying for it? Try feeling good while doing it! The third Humble Bundle has been on sale for a little over a week now, but there are still 4 more days to get your hands on it.

Just a few of the many great games in the bundle!

Not sure what the heck a Humble Bundle is? It’s a group of (great) indie games packaged into a sweet little DRM free bundle that they are willing to sell it to anyone who offers absolutely anything. The best part is that money can be split a bunch of ways for either the developers or charity. An easy to use sliding bar will let you split your $5 to $10 or more (don’t be greedy, the bundle is worth well over $60!) between the charities Child’s Play, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, or the developers of the Humble Bundle games.

The core games of the Humble Bundle #3 are Crayon’s Physics Deluxe, VVVVVV, Cogs, Hammerfight as well as And Yet it Moves. All games range between $5 to $20 alone and many have received some amazing critical remarks. Don’t worry if you’ve never heard of them, that’s part of the charm of investing in some indie gems. But wait, there’s more! (Get used to me saying that…)

If you pay more than the average donation (currently $5.47), you will also receive the contents of Humble Bundle #2! That includes Braid, Cortex Command, Machninarium, Osmosis and Revenge of the Titans. This bundle was a heavy hitter when it came out and nobody thought Humble Bundle #3 could top it…so they just threw #2 in there. Braid alone is worth $20 for the way it obliterated my mind when I played it. But wait, there’s more!

The title screen for addiction!

With the purchase of the Humble Bundle, everyone can play the amazing sandbox game, Minecraft, free until August 14! Once you begin playing Minecraft, consider it bought, because there is no way you will be able to live without it once you build your first pick. This comes just in time for it’s official release at Minecon in November. Once again, wait, there’s more!

Just announced earlier today, the hit game Atom Zombie Smasher and Steel Storm wanted in on the action and attached themselves onto the epic bundle.

So far over a quarter of a million bundles have been sold raising over $1.5 million. Check out their site for a great breakdown of how many bundles were sold for each platform (Windows, Mac or Linux) and the average of their purchases.

So just to recap, pay $6 (or more if you are charitable) and receive 12 amazing indie games, access to Minecraft until August 14, and help inspired developers and charities. Don’t forget that they are all DRM free as well, free to download and use however you wish whenever you wish. This is truly a win/win for everyone involved. Don’t miss out on these hits!

Get some Indie Humble Bundle Goodness!

Game Review – Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet

Zack aka "Mook" Augustadt — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 17:00:09 +0000

Xbox LIVE’s Summer of Arcade is now in full swing, giving gamers around the world two great titles already; Bastion, and From Dust. The trend continues this week with the release of Fuel Cell’s game Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet. In this Metroid-vania esque game (a game where exploration and retracing your footsteps are key) gamers navigate a small UFO in lush and beautiful environments. A dark and dangerous force has overtaken the planet, and it is up to the sole survivor of this alien race to rid the planet of this dark force that is infecting everything around you. This is one of the game’s only weak point, as we never do learn who the aliens are, what the planet is called, why this force has taken over, and why this alien is the last of his kind. All in all this isn’t important to the overall experience to ITSP, but would have been fun to learn about what we are fighting for.
The art direction in this game is fantastic, and every section felt and looked different than the one before it. The variety of gadgets results in many creative puzzles. For example, a path in front of you might be blocked by a pile of rocks. In order for you to proceed, you scan the rocks with your ship’s scanner, and it tells you what gadget you need to get through. For the rocks, you would use the Claw Arm, grab a rock, and let physics do its thing. There are 10 or so gadgets to mess around, and kill enemies with and each feels ultimately different than the other. Fans of Castlevania and Metroid will quickly fall in love with the exploration aspect of the game. Gadgets that the player will not have will be needed to explore areas even early on in the game, so you must retrace your steps if you want to find everything.
For the short amount of time that ITSP lasts (typical gamers should be able to beat it in about 4-5 hours time) it most definitely leaves a lasting impression. From the environments, to the colors, to the crazy bosses, I loved every minute of Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet. For those who can’t get enough of ITSP, there is a Multiplayer mode called “Lantern Run” which can be played locally or online with up to 4 players. This mode randomly generates caves for players to take a lantern as far as they can from a tentacled monster that is chasing you the entire time. It adds some more replay-ability, and is most definitely fun, but is not quite deep enough to keep me interested. Overall, ITSP is a very original and creative game, which should be added to every gamer’s XBLA collection. The game is a tad on the short side, but is well worth the experience and 1200 Microsoft Point asking price. We at B-sides can’t wait to see what Fuel Cell Games does next. We give Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet a 9/10

X Games 17: Enduro X In Pictures

B-Sides Staff — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 08:24:49 +0000

For the very first Enduro-X competition, the race lived up to the hype and more at X Games 17. Riders were challenged while the audience was entertained by the drama unfolding with every turn, fall, jump and more. Here are some pics which highlight what’s sure to grow into an even wilder event next year.

X Games Seventeen, Quick Rundown

Konstantin Samoilov — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 07:53:55 +0000

So it’s all done with. After four grueling days in the sun (and about 15 minutes in the rain, startlingly), the world’s premier action sports competition has concluded with a score of dramatic results and battles. The biggest story came Saturday night from the talents of Shaun White, as he captured his first Skateboarding Vert gold medal on his very last run and absolutely ruptured the air of the Nokia Theatre with cheer and ovation – a moment that may have been the most unforgettable in the history of the event aside from Tony Hawk’s landing of the 900 trick 12 years ago. The image of White pumping his hands may go down as one of sports’ most memorable of the year. In other key storylines, Travis Pastrana crashed on a 720 attempt in the Moto X Best Trick on Thursday, breaking several bones in his leg and returned in a heroic fashion on Sunday for the Rally Car final, accelerating and braking with his hands but just missing out on the podium. In Skateboard Street, 16-year-old Nyjah Huston captured his first Gold medal with a best run of 91.66, and crowd favorite Ryan Sheckler earned a bronze.

Garrett Reynolds in the BMX Freestyle Street final.

All of the Moto X events were held at Staples Center. On Friday, Nate Adams bested everyone else in the Moto X Freestyle with two top runs of 45 and 46 in the final, and then earned another gold in the Moto X Speed & Style the night after, arriving second and conceding 1.53 seconds to silver medalist Mike Mason, but beating him in style by three full points. In the 10-man Moto X Enduro X final, the last event of the fest, Taddy Blazusiak mastered the 10-lap course in roughly 546.439 seconds, finishing sizably ahead of his closest competitor, Mike Brown, who crossed the line at 560.930.

Jamie Bestwick won the BMX Vert Final at Nokia Theatre on Friday night, narrowly beating Steve McCann with 92 points to the Aussie’s 90. In the BMX Freestyle Street on Sunday afternoon at the specially-constructed park, Garrett Reynolds dominated the competition by posting scores of 90 and 92 in his heat and the final, either of which were good enough to get into the middle of the podium.

Shaun White in the air at the Skateboard Vert final.

At Lot 7, a parking lot adjacent to Staples Center that’s exclusive to VIP’s and ones willing to pay $20, favorite Bob Burnquist captured the gold with stunning runs of 92.33 and 92.66. A great upset came about in the Rally Car event, where 24-year-old X Games rookie Liam Doran beat out Finnish veteran and two-time winner of the World Rally Championship, Marcus Gronholm, in the final round. In the RallyCross eight-car final, Dogan and Gronholm drove once again but conceded to winner Brian Deegan.

Nyjah Huston in his run during Skateboard Street.

It was an exciting event with new winners, competitions, and storylines, and a few moments of it all may be permanently etched in action sports history.

X Games 17 Interview: Garrett Reynolds Wins Fourth Gold In A Row

B-Sides Staff — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 06:06:07 +0000

It’s not always easy to repeat as a gold medal winner just twice but four times is remarkable. BMX rider, Garrett Reynolds, was able to fend off strong competition in the BMX Freestyle Street at X Games 17, easily performing big tricks such as a double barspin 180 and a feeble up the hubba ledge to opposite 360 out to take his fourth gold medal and remains undefeated. Dennis Enarson and Dakota Roche made podium taking silver and bronze respectively. B-Sides host, Pete Mar got a moment with Reynolds to talk about his latest gold and the laid back vibe of the event.

X Games Seventeen – Day Three Rundown

Konstantin Samoilov — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 05:22:35 +0000

Skateboard Street Men’s Final

Nyjah Huston competing in the Skatepark Men's Finals

The Street Final was an exciting contest from start to finish. This event was structured in a way that provided a continuous flow of action; it is 18 minutes long with each of the five finalists cycling through 45 second runs. Nyjah Huston took an early lead after busting out a crowd-wowing performance on his first run, and he didn’t stop there; his subsequent runs only got better and he solidified his position at the top of the podium with a score of 91.66. At only 16 years of age, he won his first X Games gold medal. Luan Oliveira just missed out on the win with a very strong run that left him just .66 behind Huston. Ryan Sheckler, considered by most to be one of the favorites, got off to a rough start with a handful of missed tricks in his early runs. However, he put together a solid run later in the competition and was able to claim the bronze medal with an 89.00, beating out Chaz Ortiz and Ryan Decenzo in the final round.

Skateboard Vert Elimination

Shaun White on standby for the Skateboard Vert Finals at X Games 17

20 athletes competed in the Vert Elimination Round, of which 10 advanced to the final. Many of the big names, such as Bucky Lasek, Bob Burnquist, and Andy Macdonald made it through to the next round. Pierre-Luc Gagnon and Shaun White rode in the last heat and dazed the crowd with huge air and impressive tricks, claiming the number one and two spots, respectively.

Lasek, Gagnon, and White all made it to the final five, and absolutely dazed the crowd with a thrilling race throughout, pushing each other to their peak of skill. White leapfrogged PLG and came out with the gold with an electrifying performance on his last run, nailing every nook and cranny that he strove for and pumping his arms in joy as he received an extraordinary 93.00.

Nate Adams Grabs His Second Gold Medal. Chris Tedesco/ESPN

To end the evening, Nate Adams took home his second gold medal as he beat out Mike Mason (silver) Ronnie Faisst (bronze) in the Moto X Speed & Style.