Ryan Block » video games http://ryanblock.com Editor and technology critic in the midst of founding a new web startup: gdgt. Mon, 24 Oct 2011 16:37:15 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Qore is go! http://ryanblock.com/2008/06/qore-is-go/ http://ryanblock.com/2008/06/qore-is-go/#comments Fri, 06 Jun 2008 17:04:50 +0000 Ryan Block http://www.ryanblock.com/?p=861 Veronica’s big, long awaited, heretofore secret project Qore launched for download last night — we grabbed it this morning to see how the final version looks. Very hot. And I’m not just saying that, because, well, you know. Also, I’m declaring myself the first (ok, maybe second) to have unearthed the Qore easter egg: press L2 from the home screen and you get taken to a mini-game called Death Orb. More from Joystiq and PS3 Fanboy, and Veronica; Death Orb shot after the break.

]]> http://ryanblock.com/2008/06/qore-is-go/feed/ 6 Giant Bomb goes off this summer http://ryanblock.com/2008/03/giant-bomb-goes-off-this-summer/ http://ryanblock.com/2008/03/giant-bomb-goes-off-this-summer/#comments Fri, 07 Mar 2008 20:55:33 +0000 Ryan Block http://www.ryanblock.com/2008/03/giant-bomb-goes-off-this-summer/ Giant Bomb logoGlad to see Gerstmann and some of his fellow Game Spotters got together to start up a new game property, called Giant Bomb. Not that there is any shortage of amazing sites in the space or anything, but it’s pretty clearly the statement of independence disenfranchised Game Spot readers have been looking for in the wake of that editorial scandal.

]]> http://ryanblock.com/2008/03/giant-bomb-goes-off-this-summer/feed/ 0 Veronica plays meta-Rock Band with Jonathan Coulton http://ryanblock.com/2008/02/veronica-plays-meta-rock-band-with-jonathan-coulton/ http://ryanblock.com/2008/02/veronica-plays-meta-rock-band-with-jonathan-coulton/#comments Sun, 24 Feb 2008 22:43:33 +0000 Ryan Block http://www.ryanblock.com/2008/02/veronica-plays-meta-rock-band-with-jonathan-coulton/
Still Alive was unironically one of my favorite songs from 2007, so you can only imagine how mind-poppingly awesome I find the real-life on-stage combination of it, one of my favorite games (Rock Band), Veronica, and Jonathan Coulton, as they belt it out along with Leo Laporte and Merlin Mann. Even better was how Veronica saved the band from failing out, what, three times?

P.S. -Extra bonus: Veronica, Jonathan, Merlin, and myself will all be on TWiT this week with Leo, so watch out for it.

[Video by Joystiq]

]]> http://ryanblock.com/2008/02/veronica-plays-meta-rock-band-with-jonathan-coulton/feed/ 1 Favorite or best Japanese DS / GBA games for gaijin? http://ryanblock.com/2007/09/favorite-or-best-japanese-ds-gba-games-for-gaijin/ http://ryanblock.com/2007/09/favorite-or-best-japanese-ds-gba-games-for-gaijin/#comments Sun, 30 Sep 2007 03:42:36 +0000 Ryan Block http://www.ryanblock.com/2007/09/favorite-or-best-japanese-ds-gba-games-for-gaijin/ Rhythm Tengoku
Those who’ve been monitoring my Flickr stream know I’ve been in Japan for about two weeks now. Well, I’m still here for a few more days and have decided there’s just no other choice than to finally give in and get a DS Lite. Yeah, I know, I’m way late to the game, which is why I’d be so grateful if you’d sound off on your favorite Japanese DS and GBA games that an English-only speaking gaijin like myself can pick up here in Tokyo (instead of importing them later!). So far I’m just looking at Rhythm Tengoku (thanks Chris!) and Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan! (maybe I’ll just snag Elite Beat Agents in the US), but let me know if you’ve got any further suggestions. Thanks!

DS Lite + JP games
Update: Japanese DS acquired — with some help due to Ito-san, thanks to Yodobashi Camera’s inability to take American credit cards. Tonight’s haul produced:

  • “Jet black” (aka “Onyx”) DS Lite
  • Hori DS Lite screen protector film (which failed miserably, collecting a few too many immovable dust particles in the 10 seconds between opening the box and applying the film)
  • Phoenix Wright (the original — on sale!)
  • bitGenerations Boundish and Dotstream
  • Rhythm Tengoku

Next up: Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan! (1, possibly 2), and Kuru Kururin… still open to suggestions! Big ups to the Joystiq crew for their suggestions.

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