Well it's already a known fact that Valve make awesome games, i've pumped so many hours in Team Fortress 2 and Portal's release provided me with a few sleepless nights of straight science.
So this post is just a collection of the Valve Promotional Clips and some of the lovely fan inspired pieces that followed. Because frankly Portal 2 was that damn good.
Mortal Kombat Legacy YouTube Playlist: HERE Official Website: HERE
In the 90s there were only two Fighting Games that dominated the Arcades, Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat. Both have seen countless film and television adaptations and pretty much all of them have been horrendous to say the least. Some of the Better adaptations have come from online submissions from Fans like Street Fighter the Later Years, Street Fighter Legacy and finally for Mortal Kombat was given a great one through Machinima with Mortal Kombat Legacy.
Originally this started as a video pitch to Warner Bros movie studios to reboot the Mortal Kombat franchise in a more gritty realistic tone. Warner Bros wasn't so hot on the idea but did advocate the job to Machinima. Thanks to the immense popularity the series has received online there is talks of a Second Season already in the works which will introduce series favourite Lui Chang and even talks of a DVD and Blu-Ray release.
The Adventures of Ledo and Ix Official Site: HERE PATV Page: HERE
Ledo and Ix is a cute little web-series about two Heroes on a Quest, They don't what they're quest for, Fame, Glory, Power, Money, Princesses? No one seems to know, all we know is that they have only each other to rely on.
Created by Emily Carmichael and the rest of the Team from Kid Can Drive this 8 Part series is delightful. Ledo is a strong and closed off Person more focused on the Quest at hand. She is Brave and an Expert with Swords. Ix is a carefree spirit that would rather have Fun then do this tedious quest, He is vibrant yet cautious and is armed with a Bo-Staff. The typical odd couple scenario but they're close friends never the less and they seem to genuinely care for each other.
This is a guy I would want to be best friends with, Jon knows how to have fun and has a freaking pet parrot named Jacques. Whilst Jon may seem like a pretty normal guy that plays videos games and posts videos about them there is more to it then that. Some videos he posts are serious and well thought out video game lists, others are sharp and intelligent reviews of games and others are just crazy rants about poor games in particular.
And some are just him screwing around and causing all kinds of chaos by drinking way too much then hitting record on his camera. You can clearly see Jon has a great time making videos and that energy translates to his online audience which is why he already has 20,000+ Subscribers in just 6 months.
Everyone loves a Top 10 list, they make you see what people hold dear and important, They don't always have to be the outright best in the field when making these lists and that's what's the best thing about the ScrewAttack Top 10s. Sometimes its a matter of counting down the most innovative creation, the most emotionally gripping and sometimes it necessary to countdown which video game character has the sweetest beard.
Hosted by Shuttering Craig with occasional help from Handsome Tom this long running web countdown has been running on and off for nearly 5 years now and even though they have a partnership with Gametrailers to share web content the ScrewAttack are usually kept in high regard compared to other video game countdown shows. It's probably got something to do with Craig's soothing voice.
Razorfist Reviews/Rants Website: HERE YouTube Channel: HERE
The Internet is built on hate and that is the main fuel driving the Rageaholic, pure unbridled fury on the mediocrity the seems to be draping the entire video game industry like a shadow with by the book First Person Shooters and boring stat building fetch quests. Shortcuts and bad game design litter the mainstream gaming market and Razorfist is the voice of the people.
Whether they know it or not the consumer deserves better, Video Game companies seem to just work off a basic formula of games. They don't care about innovation they just want a safe investment that'll guarantee to make them money. No one is willing to take risks in the gaming industry, so we have people like Razorfist who loudly rebel and reject their offerings.
Hiimdaisy Persona 4 Comics Fan Dubbed Hiimdaisy LiveJournal: HERE YouTube Channel: HERE
If you didn't know by now the Midnight Channel is something I kind of borrowed from the Awesome Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 video game on the PS2. It's a Japanese RPG about these kids finding a new World through Televisions and trying to solve a murder mystery in the sleepy town of Inoba.
The idea of the Midnight Channel is that if you stare into a turned off Television set at the stroke of Midnight on a rainy night your soul mate supposedly appears on the screen.
Webcomic artist Hiimdaisy posts long and thorough webcomics about video games she's played and enjoyed. She's done previous comics on Metal Gear Solid 1, 2 & 3, Legend of Zelda and Phoenix Wright Attorney at Law. These webcomics are greatly acclaimed in the gaming community online and have received millions of views due to the comics being featured on various gaming sites like Joystiq and Destructoid.
College Humour - Street Fighter the Later Years Website: HERE
A Blast from the Internet Past. Street Fighter the Later Years was one of College Humor's break through projects that catapulted the site into the notoriety for creating larger than life sketch series and productions. This 9 Part web-series debuted in 2006 and was the first major web-series undertaken by the site at the time.
I have fond memories of watching and desperately waiting for the next instalment to be released so I could get back into the troubling life struggle of the Street Fighter characters 10 years after their last World Fighting Tournament. This was a great series, full of nostalgia and nods to the great Street Fighter games and characters. It was in fact the first webseries I had ever watch and truly followed, I was hooked from day 1.
Even though there were long waits in-between episodes it didn't matter to me, I'd re-watch episodes and show all my friends at the time about this amazing series.
Thousand Pounds Fight Team - Street Fighter Ultras Series Facebook: HERE YouTube Channel: HERE
Alright I'm a huge Street Fighter fan, I'll readily admit that I've been 'Haduken'ing since I was 5, That's 17 years of simulated violence teachings and wisdom. I practically learnt everything I know about defending myself from Fighting Games and Bruce Lee movies.
Of course I've learnt at any stage in a fight the colour gets washed out, I'll unwillingly mutter a catchphrase and unleash a World of Unthinkable pain onto my opponent with a meticulously practised sequence of strikes...
Also known as a Ultra Combo.
The Thousand Pounds fight team have gone to a lot of trouble to choreograph suitable real life Street Fighter IV Ultra combos for fans of the series. Whilst a relatively new and growing film production their Ultra Combo series has turned the heads of the gaming community and has been accepted with high acclaim.
Whilst there are only 3 Ultra combo videos released, each one was expertly produced and executed. A lot of care was taken into reproducing authentic real life Street Fighter combo experience so I hope you all enjoy it..
Angry Video Game Nerd Website: HERE ScrewAttack: HERE YouTube Channel: HERE
James Rolfe aka The Angry Video Game Nerd is a retro gaming critic, yeah that's a pretty random job indeed but James has been making a name for himself online since 2004 when he posted a review of the NES game Castlevania II: Simon's Quest. James had been making many videos reviewing games for many years beforehand growing up in the 90s but that Castlevania review was the first one where he obtained some internet notoriety.
Each classic game review usually pairs James with a notoriously bad video game, usually games movie tie games (Which every gamer knows suck 9 times out of 10) or outrageous gimmicks and gaming peripherals like the infamous Nintendo Power Glove. What follows is Hames torturing himself and suffering slowly as he grits and his teeth and plays through these awful, awful games. Cussing profusely and screaming in agony over how dumb, unfair and poorly designed these games are. These games are just that bad and why anyone in their right mind would expose themselves to it voluntarily is just insane.
Anamanaguchi Website: HERE MySpace Music: HERE 8 Bit Peoples Profile: HERE
Anamanaguchi is my favourite internet band in the sense that their music would appeal only to the video gaming community that love classic video game music. You wouldn't hear their unique style of Digital Electric Rock on the radio or any real mainstream source of music mainly due to the unorthodox way they make their music.
Anamanaguchi are chiptune artists which means they create music using chip tune samples from video game and computer consoles from the 1980s. Simple game sounds from that era blended with more traditional sounds and instruments creates this high energy fast paced punk music. Getting the samples from a Hacked NES system and Gameboy they then combine the composed chiptracks from the consoles with A Guitar, Bass and Drums to create digital masterpieces like their popular track "Airbrushed" which featured on the Rock Band Game.
The Legend of Neil Effin Funny Website: HERE atom Channel: HERE
The Legend of Zelda games produced by Nintendo are among the most beloved video games series of all-time. In fact The Zelda series is celebrated it's 25th Anniversary since the release of the First game of the series, The Legend of Zelda on the Nintendo Entertainment System. The Legend of Neil pays homage to the original game which is where this parody web-series is set.
Picked up by Comedy Central Partner atom.com, the Series has spanned 3 seasons which ran from 2007 to 2010. Created, Written, Directed and Starring Sandeep Parikh (Who also plays Zaboo from the Guild) and also starring Felicia Day (The Guild, Dr Horrible Sing-a-Long Blog) the series is immensely popular online, it has been nominated for various Streamy awards over the 3 years the series has been active.
Arin "Egoraptor" Hanson Website: HERE Newgrounds Profile: HERE YouTube Channel: HERE ------- Awesome Series YouTube Channel: HERE
Chances are you've probably stumbled across some of Egoraptor's work on the internet, in fact I've already referenced him twice in previous entries on the blog. Ego has been making Flash movies since 2002, However his first big hit online was the audio track he released of "DBZ in a nutshell" back in 2001. Eventually it was made into a flash movie which is what inspired Ego to go in animation and voice acting.
Egoraptor is now a brilliantly talented and very influential flash animator and voice actor on the internet. He is most famous for his AWESOME series of flash animated cartoons which parodies various mainstream video games using Ego's unique art style and over the top voice overs. He also made the popular Girl Chan in Paradise series which is a parody anime series and is far too ridiculous to write up an accurate report on what goes on in it.
Freddie Wong Website: HERE YouTube Channel: HERE 2nd How to YouTube Channel: HERE
Freddie Wong is a some kind of film making wizard, making overly stylised gun play videos and masterfully edited works of art. His video archive is a portfolio of a gifted up and coming special effects guru, it's hard to imagine what he would be capable if he was given a sizable budget and full reign over a Hollywood Blockbuster. Currently he runs and owns his own video production company called Overcrank Media which operates out of Los Angelos.
His videos online have garnered him a great amount of recognition and respect as he's had various celebrity and YouTube personalities collaborations. From the largest explosion to the smallest muzzle flash. Each of his videos is expertly crafted.
This is one of those occasions where words alone can't describe the awesomeness of Freddie Wong, so be sure to check out his video archive in his YouTube Channel.
Bytejacker Website: HERE YouTube Channel: HERE Revision 3 Channel: HERE
The video game industry is still a rapidly growing and expanding medium that manages to generate billions of dollars, even during the GFC the game industry managed to stay afloat. However the mainstream gaming market has become saturated with the same old formula for most Top tier games. Generic shooters about super soldiers in space or just reliving WWII or imagining what WWIII will be like. Gritty and Realistic Criminal sandbox games that act more like real life simulators. And of course long over bearing fantasy RPG filled with long quests filled with Dragons or some post-apocalypse wasteland.... Or a game about Zombies.
There isn't a whole lot different happening in Mainstream Gaming.
However the independent gaming scene has yet to bend to the will of trying to copy what is successful. There is still a lot of innovation going on in the indie game scene. New and exciting Games are freely available online or on the Playstation Network or XBox Live Arcade or even Steam where indie game makers don't have to be changed to meet big name company "standards" or requirements to what they want in a game. Where original ideas are welcomed rather then trying to replicate what the top selling game of that genre is.
Wacky Game Jokez, 4 Kidz! Newgrounds Profile: HERE YouTube Channel: HERE
Max Gilardi is the brains behind HotDiggityDemon animations, he creates, animates and voices animated shorts on the internet for sites like Newgrounds, Youtube and the Escapist.
One of his most popular animated webseries is Wacky Game Jokez, 4 Kidz. It's about a Street Thug named Mickey the Dick how is captured by an evil corporation named VGV (Video Game Videos) and is forced to write, film and direct a video game broadcast on the internet. Yes that sounds absurd and ridiculous but the series works because of the high quality of the animation and interesting characters involved.
ScrewAttack - DEATHBATTLE Website: HERE YouTube Channel: HERE
ScrewAttack have produced one of the most interesting and talked about webshows as of late; 'Death Battle' hosted by Wiz & Boomstick. A series of shows where they match-up two video game characters in battles to the death. Hypothetical match-Ups that have raged on for years and years and some match-ups that have never been considered.
First they run down and assess the abilities, attributes, characteristics, weapons and stats of the participants. Then after a quick word from that week's sponsor they then virtually simulate a Fight to the Death with the said combatants. They do a tremendous amount of research and decide the winners in a logical and well thought out conclusion.
So if you've always wanted to find out who'd win in a fight to the death between Akuma vs. Shang Tsung, Rogue vs. Wonder Woman, Bobba Fett vs. Samus Aran, The Koopa Troopa vs. The Goomba or Mike Hagger vs. Zangief then today is your lucky day....
I personally can't wait to see what other match-up the boys at ScrewAttack have cooking up.
Keep up with the Death Battle Series, The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are next in line for a Battle Royale.
Felicia Day is considered the unofficial Queen of the Internet, The ravishing redhead is responsible for what is easily considered the most popular web series online, "The Guild" as well as being a Television star and of course playing the part of Penny in Joss Whedon's internet phenomenon, 'Doctor Horrible's Sing-a-long blog' mini series. (Co Starring Neil Patrick Harris and Nathan Fillon)
The Guild follows Cyd Sherman (AKA Codex) interactions with a group of fellow MMO gamers (A Guild) in and away from a unnamed Mass Multiplayer-Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG).
A Web-series following a group of socially awkward online gamers is ridiculous, but then again highly lucrative considering the intended audience probably are the very people watching most web shows these days anyway. All the people involved to seem to have a lot of fun poking fun at themselves and the geek culture and they're currently going into their 4th Season stronger than ever.
Seriously, this has to be the most profitable web series online with DVD's, Comic and T-shirt tie-ins to the series, it's amazing the kind of choke hold World of WarCraft has on the World when a related web series can generate enough profits to amassing a giant online following riding off its coattails.
Anyway, watch these Promo videos for The Guild, They're Amazing...ly nerdy.... In a Good way
Zero Punctuation Video Game Reviews Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw, a highly respected game critic on the internet. His fast-paced, scathing and cynical reviews on Modern games in his Zero Punctuation internet review series is the stuff of legend. Listening to Yahtzee go on a tirade about the blights of gaming is like listening to someone pick apart a work of art, extracting it with a pair of tweezers, holding it up to a magnifying glass and showing it to a room of primary school children and saying, "This is Wrong"
Fast, Edgey, Dry and various other adjectives that would adequately describe a Beer fuelled 4wd his overly harsh reviews truly defines his job as a Game Critic. He isn't paid to like games, he paid to critique them in a somewhat demeaning and often resentful manner. It rarely seems like Yahtzee even enjoys playing these games but I guess that either means he is really good at what he does or he really does suffer for his art.
Here are some of my favourite reviews that Yahtzee has posted
Zero Punctuation Sims 3 review
Zero Punctuation Epic Mickey Review
Zero Punctuation review of Mario and Luigi Bowser's Inside story
Check out his Zero Punctuation Video Archives over at the Escapist: HERE
His amazingly written and analytical articles about various issues within Gaming; Extra Punctuation: HERE
Also Yahzee is the co-founder / owner / MC of Australia's first Video game themed Bar called the Mana Bar, set up in Brisbane, Australia Yathzee holds Video Game Trivia every TUESDAY. So if you feel like a drink and bit of a play of Super Smash Bros then the next time you're in Brisbane head down to the Mana Bar.
If that isn't enough for a Jaded 27 year old gaming journalist to be doing with his life, Yahtzee is also a co-host on a upcoming gaming show called Game Damage
This 5 part web series is a Machinima original about the story of 3 Gamers stuck at home on a Friday Night during a Zombie Apocalypse. Zombie shows are all the rage at the moment so of course it was inevitable for there to be a Web series about one. The Walking Dead recently just wrapped up its first season and this fun little series should tide any Gamer or Zombie fanatic over until Season 2 of The Walking Dead re-emerges in 2011 at Halloween.
