This is a big week for current-gen remasters of last-gen games, with Bioshock and Dead Rising re-releasing on PS4 and Xbox One, so let’s start with a look at five of the best, most feature-rich remasters to hit current-gen consoles. We then move on to ReCore and Pac-Man Championship Edition 2, argue loudly about PS4 Pro and iPhone 7, and hear about the games that you went from loving to hating (or vice versa).
Question of the Week
What’s a classic game that should get a crazy-ass Pac-Man Championship Edition-style treatment?
Theme song by Matthew Joseph Payne. Break song is RYO-Z & PES (RIP SLYME) + tofubeats |!! New design new price PS4® LINEUP by Ryo-Z and Pes of Rip Slyme, and Tofubeats. Haunting and beautiful New Releases Theme by David B. Cooper.
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If ya haven’t checked out the Laser Time YouTube channel, here’s something swell you might’ve missed!
As one of the few people around these parts that plays almost all xbox games, I have to say Recore is amazing. Ton of fun, different style of game, and some quality RPG elements. I’ve got a couple hours into it and can’t wait to dive in more this weekend. The cons against this game I do not understand and don’t get where reviewers were coming from. I think part of the problem is reviewers having to marathon games when that isn’t the best way (or most common way) to play games. Game is absolutely worth checking out if you like Zelda, Metroid style games.
QOTW: Idk, duck hunt? Would be cool to have a wacky and outrageous updated version of that game.
Literally every opinion I’ve heard/read about the game says that it’s a fun action platformer but it’s got a LOT of bad bugs and on the Xbox it has horrible loading times of up to 90 seconds. Maybe that will be fixed in a future patch but as of now it doesn’t even sound worth the $40.
I haven’t encountered any bad bugs personally, certainly nothing game breaking. Load times are what they are but that doesn’t prevent me from playing games I have fun playing. Historically games like GTA, Elder Scrolls, and several others have long load times. I won’t not purchase a game because of it.
It’s a fun game with great gameplay, certainly worth the 40 bucks.
Every Bethesda game ever made has horrible loading times and bugs as well. It’s really odd that Recore is getting hammered so heavily for those issues when so many people let it slide on AAA games. I’ve been enjoying the hell out of it and it’s a shame that people are going to be turned off for those reasons.
QotW: Punch out where you have to fight fight all the boxers at the same time in a crazy MLG puzzle like PacMan Ch Ed. It sounds fun in my head.
Punch Out with all the boxers in a single body that you run around, fighting each one however you want, like Orochi in Okami.
Definitely would like to see a Punch Out like Rudd Fucker’s suggestion.
Would like to see a Puyo Puyo or Tetris Attack, considering I keep playing them for no good reason, and I really suck at those games.
If Irem were still around or optioning off its properties, I would like to see a Gussun Oyoyo aka Risky Challenge get a modern treatment. It is basically a Lemmings with Tetris hybrid where you guide some idiot treasure hunter out of a dangerous cave. Failing over and over is hilarious, but the game is now two decades gone. With the resurgence of platformers games and stuff, it’s a shame we never saw this part of the genre return.
Vidjagame Apocalypse is my favorite of the Lasertime network of shows.
This was perhaps the worst of its 181 episodes, to my ear.
You guys have GOT to figure out (or just remember) how to keep a conversation from devolving into two or three of you just shrieking over each other. This sounded like fucking chaos much of the time, as each of you internally seemed to make the decision, “He interrupted me, so I’ll just get louder in order to finish the point I was making…” and created an utter cacophony.
I bailed out during the screaming match over the iPhone headphone jack. The workday has enough stress to needlessly compound it with a warren of guys engaging in Call of Duty: Conversational Warfare in my ears at sudden and random intervals.
No silly grandiose “I’m giving up on this show” nonsense. Just a statement of frustration with an episode. Cheers, and I’ll see you fellows again next week.
Having listened to all 181 eps, I can’t say this one stood out to me in any way; I didn’t experience “fucking chaos”, “utter cacophony”, nor did I hear anything that sounded like people “just shrieking”. Rather than there being any problem with the podcast itself, it sounds more like you were going through a tough time at work, and listening to a podcast wasn’t helping.
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There are certain albums I absolutely love under normal circumstances, but if I try listening at certain times,, maybe while stuck in traffic or whatever, that same music can make me want to smash my stereo system. However, it’s never occurred to me to then go to the band’s website to tell them how annoying I found their music at that particular moment. But… diff’rent strokes I guess!
QOTW: One of Rare’s early titles, Jetpac, should get this over the top-treatment with full 1080p neon extravaganza. Game’s color scheme is already full of bright colors so the overall result with some juiced up effects should be somewhere near Jeff Minter’s trippy productions.
Shoulda had me on here. XD
Doing DmC:DE and DMC4SE back-to-back was a definite career highlight. DMC4 was typical Capcom Japan mad science through and through (as is Dead Rising 1). There’s amazing design theory buried in there somewhere, but the game demands that you give it the benefit of the doubt for much longer than most gamers are poised to allow, or else simply know the right people who can guide you through the experience (again, see Dead Rising 1, Dragon’s Dogma, RE6, Monster Hunter, and on and on).
DmC set out to deliver the essence of DMC to people with less time and/or different values, and it’s kind of amazing how much Ninja Theory DID preserve, largely thanks to the ongoing oversight of the self-described “foster mother” (lol) of the series, Hideaki Itsuno. I think the added feature set for DE was pretty great in addressing the more reasonable criticisms of the community–they even got rid of Vergil’s contentious hat–though apparently it does suffer from quite a few bugs =/
QOTW: If a company like WayForward or Yacht Club won’t take a 16-bit-era platforming mascot and make a surprisingly good game with them, then we need some kind of insane Battle of the Failed Mascots. Fast-paced, bright colors, chaotic fun. Aero the Acro-bat, Bubsy, and of course, Alfred Chicken and his precious watering cans, just to name a few.
Well the watering cans were the secret. You can understand why they were so precious.
I’m so glad to finally hear love for Bioshock 2. I’ve always thought it superior to the other two games. Better gameplay, better characters and story. Seriously, there isn’t a whole lot left to the first game after you get over the twist.
2 also addresses racism in a far better way. Grace Holloway and Porter have dignity to them while Levine seems to think that having a segment showing offensively racist circus games somehow counts as portraying racism in a profound way.
QOTW: Amped up arcade classics is such an untapped genre. It could really bridge the gap between the traditional gaming audience and smart phone gamers with more games like Pacman CE and Geometry Wars.
Just a couple of games I’d really like to see get that treatment are Bubble Bobble and RBI Baseball. You could do some crazy shit with bouncing bubbled enemies around or having to bubble giant sized bosses. With RBI Baseball, it’s a classic thats still fun to play, and man do we ever need less complex sports games. Both those games have some very remixable music as well.
Tangents is one of the things I love about Lasertime’s network of podcasts. The IPhone ear buds discussion in this episode was a perfect example of this. And, I agree with what was said.
I’m really worried guys.
Chris played the jingle and opened Game Deals. Did it ever get closed?
THEY COULD BE STUCK IN GAME DEALS FOREVER!
If anyone wants proper information on 4k televisions; This chart here tells you what is supported by the current HDMI 2.0/HDCP2.2 standard.
http://www.hdmi.org/manufacturer/hdmi_2_0/hdmi_2_0_faq.aspx#145
It basically says that any games that make use of “HDR” will NEVER be higher than 4k/30hz(30fps) until a new port standard is developed. So any debates about whether any PS4Pro/Scorpio games will run 4k/60fps are pointless because they will be limited to 30fps by the HDMI port if they use 10bit color. This is the same for PC. You will have to choose between 4k/60+fps with no HDR or lower your refresh rate to 30hz in order to add 10/12 bit color. Also, if you buy a $500 4k TV you’re more than likely buying one that does not have HDR capabilities at all. Especially if it’s a Vizio or similar budget brands. I recommend a Samsung JS8500 series. If you can still find one. I saw a 65″ going for $1700 right after buying mine this spring. That’s a steal in terms of the quality to price. Obviously, if you get a smaller one you will save a lot more money.
What is the point of remastering when games that aren’t old?
QOTW: Dragon Quest 1. Just let your imaginations run with that.