Random Goofy: Randal's Monday

Welcome back to another helping of Random Goofy. Hey you come up with the titles then. Well we just managed our way through Camel Spiders and that deserves a computer game break. How about a graphic adventure game chock full of dark humor, pop culture references, nods to video games of past and present and maybe some point and click? Too bad, we're doing that anyway. You act as if you had a choice. MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Ahem. Our game revolves around a snarky slacker who is quick with the quips, enjoys dark humor and obscure pop culture references that only a handful will get. This is Randal's Monday.

Oh boy..

Fresh from Nexus Game Studios as a first title, Randal is a sociopathic, kleptomaniac with delusions of godhood and a need to inflict pain on those around him... okay fine, he swipes things and is a jerk. PC enough? Sheesh. His best buddy Matt finally is asking his girl Sally to marry him with a ring that he got from a guy for a Dorito. The ring emits an aura of power, untold fortunes and darkness as well. Matt proceeds out to the dumpster to projectile vomit to the likes Linda Blair's Regan couldn't have managed. Matt drops his wallet with ring inside and Randal pockets it. A dull Monday of drinking and everyone goes their way.

The next day, (Monday) Randal finds in the newspaper that Matt is dead? The Hell? Rushes over to his broseph to see the what what is goin' on. Dealing with back rent due, best friend brutally murdered and fiancee Sally now distraught, Randal may have to actually care. A cursed ring may have a sentient mind and demented sense of humor throwing used kitty litter on your day.

Gonna go back in tIIiIime..bap bap baya!!!

With a vibe of the 90s slacker meets Groundhog's Day, the Mondays get weirder and weirder warping the space-time continuum about that not all changes are for the better. Frickin' Koalas everywhere. Nerds cosplaying and science fiction horribly mutilated. The Saga bad touched! In the point and click decision making style of the Lucasarts Full Throttle and Monkey Island sequels, you really have to use your brain to solve this diabolical puzzle.

Okay best parts are always for last so let's get started. 1) the game option of old school double click mouse for this PC game or new single click of current puzzle solving. 2)Old school 2-D with enough nods to Lucasarts you see more than a couple Polecats in prison. 3) Lastly, Randal is voiced by none other than...Jeff Anderson of Clerks, Jay and Silent Bob Strikes Back and Clerks II. Yup the man that brought us the quintessential slacker that put off work, screwed around and violated minds, souls and bodies is voicing our...um hero? Call him protagonist for cataloguing purposes.

You did something to my ass, didn't you bum?

With references dating as far back as The Day the Earth Stood Still, Pulp Fiction, Clerks, the Holy Saga (Star Wars Original Trilogy for those not in the know, yo.), Back to the Future and just in general geek minutia that it will warm many hearts, tickle funny bones and gross out the norms as always. Also keep ears on the up and up for Jason Mewes' voice. Trust me you will find him.

Standard 2-D art rendered graphics, great visuals and the concept of point and click meaning you have to navigate around rooms, outdoors, subways and even gasp, interact with people without being able to taser them in the balls. I know. That part was a let down. The hints option is just a box labeled kill kitty. That's right kids, every time you cheat a innocent kitty dies!!!

With its impeccable voice cast, simple but pleasant soundtrack and gaggle of bizarre characters you should have some fun trying to figure this curse out.

To paraphrase Jay, "Lord Vader needs Spanx."

Free To Play Week

Howdy all and welcome to the week. Well given the level of nostalgia I have had for the last couple of weeks has been Movies and TV and once again I have been neglecting video gaming. So to make up for this oversight I have decided to tackle some of these freebie games and see if even half of them are worth what they are cracked up to be.

Get the feeling we are cannon fodder, Rob?

Ranging from point and click to MMORPG, these games can be promos, beta tests and introductions bringing a wide range of gaming and for all ages overall. Most of these games tend to offer a pay as you play or even a monthly charge to a credit or debit card. Puzzles, strategy and fps and survival games in genre of action, adventure, horror and science fiction bring different levels of enjoyment and provide some much needed fun.

To what end of each game is to find out how much money can be dropped past the basic campaign or initial quests is still remains to be seen at this time but we will research each title and different classes of game. Well I think it will pass on the Goat Simulator. Oh yes it exists and frankly it looks more mind numbing than a documentary on Pokemon Vs Dragon Ball Z.

Two horrors awaited Ensign Ricky.  A Borg attack and assigned under Captain Crusher.

Blog#330!!! PC Games of 1997: Blade Runner

Welcome back my collective of nerd to Day 3 of PC Games of 1997.  Journey with me to Westwood Studios, creators of such games as: Battle Tech: The Crescent Hawk’s Inception, Mars Saga, Dungeons & Dragons: Warriors of the Eternal Sun, Young Merlin and Monopoly

As these titles captured the imagination they still lacked graphics punch up or an amazing voice cast all the while still dealing with popular themes.   This time they decided to tap into one of Ridley Scott’s films but not retell the story but have the game operate as more of an additional story during same time.   So get ready to do some interrogation, calibrate the Voight-Kampff machine and get ready to make wild gestures.  This is Blade Runner.

I wish to register a complaint about your Norwegian Blue.

Clovis: “I was angry with my spoiler. I told my wrath, my wraith did end. I was angry with my foe. I told my wraith, my wrath did grow.”

Our game opens with a typical cut scene showing our would be villains tormenting a pet shop owner claiming all his animals are pure pedigrees of the highest quality and the suspects felt that butchering these creatures would teach him a good lesson in being truthful.  Enter our hero/protagonist Ray McCoy (Mark Benninghoffen of The Larry Sanders Show, Chicago Hope, Always Say Goodbey and Money Talks) Rookie Blade Runner assigned to the case due to all other Runners are tending more difficult cases.  Ray is happy to be doing something other than paperwork for a change, his Lieutenant Guzza (Jeff Garlin of Hero, Robocop 3, Curb Your Enthusiasm and The Goldbergs) a blobby and lazy man whose shirt and tie looks like a casualty in a catering food fight gives him the heads up that he is facing Nexus 6 Replicants (bioengineered droids who resemble humans) the usual watch your ass rookie speech and shoos him away.  Ray has never faced a Nexus 6 and is nervous as hell.

My God I can see gravy stains in his neck folds!

If you were hoping for some Deckard action team-up buddy cop drama…well you are out of luck kids.  Sadly our Rick Deckard is referred in passing or and there are a few gags of the same crime scenes duplicated from the film but no glorious team-up.  On the upside several members of the original cast came in to reprise their roles. 

And now a few points to be made about the game play.   This is a point and click adventure game so think the Monkey Island standings.  From solving puzzles, clues and getting people come clean with the info.  We even have a few interrogations with the Voight-Kampff device to gauge emotional reactions that Replicants cannot fully duplicate.  The gathering of evidence is using your eyes and the mouse for an interactive system known as the Knowledge Integration Assistant for easy access and allowing you to go over the Crime Scene photos to look for further clues that may have been missed or hidden away from you.

The overall look of this game fits the same crowd and dystrophic environment of Los Angeles 2019 down to the Tyrell building from the movie to the look of Chinatown and the 3D models is based in an amount of pixels with width, height and depth rather than a scanned copy of background, green or blue screen and rougher pixelation.

Alright subway rat, spread 'em!

1997 PC Games

Well I was dusting off my shelves and felt we would tackle some video games as it has been some time since I have done any games.  Yes shame on me.  I must be whipped, purged and flogged no doubt.   We could also just go over some classic and fun games of 1997 which gave us the first of many different graphics and complex story lines.

From RPG(Role Playing Game), FPS(First Person Shooter), RTS ( Real-Time Strategy), TBS (Turn- Based Strategy) and of course Point and Click bringing us conflicting emotions of amazement and annoyance.  So time consuming were these games that we didn't even realize how late into the night it could be or almost miss classes for it but by God we were entertained.

Hmm this cannon has some recoil.

Fallout: Nostalgia and Post Apocalyptic

First off this game is approximately 15 years old at this time what with being produced in 1997 by Interplay.  A post-apocalyptic role playing game that is turn based similar to a table top RPG by Steve Jackson Games called GURPS. 

The world as we know it was destroyed due to atomic fallout during the year 2077.  Most technology is derived by this timeline hails from the conception of the 1950’s.  You will also find that most of the science-fiction tech from movies and pulp comics and magazines are an influence as well.

 Your character is a vault dweller.  This means you have spent the better portion of your life underground in a fallout shelter that was contracted by the government.  Your task is to replace a water chip to replenish your water recycling and main plumbing or everyone you know will die of thirst.   So you will trek out into the unknown and encounter inhabitants of this wasteland that was once the world.   You are the vault’s last hope.   You and you alone will decide the fate of dozens of lives depending on you.

 As you progress throughout the game your skills will increase as you level up.  The lands have mutated into vast deserts and remains of once proud cities. You will see items, landmarks and vehicles that you will recall from your data tapes.  Your PIP boy 2000 is a device that will map your locations, describe artifacts that you pick up or examine and keep track of each task or furthering plot to each new town you happen to.

 The mass radiation has caused simple creatures of the past to grow in size and making it more deadly than before the Great War.  Rats and scorpions as your history stated are now twice if not ten times the size of their predecessors.

  Bartering and conversation will be a must in order to collect more data about the world around you.  Townsfolk are leery of strangers but in general of good spirits to newcomers.  It boils down to proving if you are the sort that can be trusted.  Because the citizens of each town are comprised of farmers, cattle ranchers and laborers so you will seem out of place so they will be naturally confused and cautious.  Main characters in each town will be voiced by many esteem actors and actresses. (CCH Pounder, Richard Dean Anderson, Clancy Brown and Keith David ) to name a few.   As always the narrator is voiced by Ron Perlman  Again, it is vital that you talk to as many people as are willing to talk to you.   Random encounters will raise an eyebrow or two depending on each thing, man, woman or monster so keep your wits about you and your weapon of choice handy.  To survive in this world means to take a life to keep yours.

Black & White: Good or Evil?

Now normally when I give a review about a game I am weighing the pros and cons of it but with Black & White it is damn near impossible to bad mouth it. Lionhead Studios released Black & White in 2001.  Published by Electronic Arts for both Windows and Mac, this game got instant raves allowing you to be either a savior or a devil. Due to its popularity, a expansion came out, followed by its sequel Black & White2.   The tutorial (unfortunately you cannot skip through that) starts as soon as you are brought into this world as a new deity. No sooner do you rescue a child from ravenous sharks; the villagers wish to worship and praise your name. You are then greeted by your collective conscience of evil and good or black and white if you will. Both will offer advice to situations as each new problem or crisis is put before you. Each task can be handled with benevolence or malice. The choice is yours. I feel you cannot properly understand a game until you have explored all the angles and opportunities that both good and evil provide so without further adieu here are the highlights to good.

Good: You are the toast of the town and the answer to all prayers. As a good deity you will find worshippers come quickly to prayer. As this is your flock you must watch and tend to them. Assign them work and life. Creating disciples is a snap. The options are builder, breeder, farmer, fisherman or woodsman. Your disciples will continue this line of work that you saw them fit to do until the day they die. This includes breeders, so if you do not want a population increase to epic level, be a bit choosy as to how many breeders you possess, because they are like rabbits.

Part of being a loving god is to take all the problems in your stride and assist them as best as you can. Aiding you in these endeavors will be a pet you can nurture with love and understanding. Providing compassion to this creature is not only kind but a must in the game. Teach it to respect the people and land to create a better harmony for all. With each problem correctly taken care of, a reward is assured and happier worshippers are bountiful. Bear in mind that you will not make them happy 100% of the time. You can only do the tasks, provide miracles to astound and bewilder them and in general and guard them from harm from evil deities. While some might view this as a thankless task, yours is a higher calling to the children you wish to strive in your land.

Evil: Corrupter of youth and destroyer of men, yours is a task behold to the pathetic mortals that dare ask for favors. Constantly underfoot and demanding, these mortals attempt to take up your precious time with requests of benevolence of which you have none. You strive to obtain powers and wreak havoc across the land leaving these frightened simpletons cowering in their little, hopeless lives awaiting to be the next sacrifice to your awesome might. When one of their neighbors goes to the altar for blood sacrifice, they should be down on their knees praising you for not ending them.

Fear is an excellent motivator and provides more worship in your name. Their children will learn to abide by your rules or be fed to the fiendish creature you command with a ruthless iron fist. You will revel in delight as your creature hurls lightning and fireballs from sheer boredom or just in general malice. Cackle from high above at the wanton destruction in your name. Oh it is good to be the god.

The story is in your hands. Do what you will and enjoy.