Before Tetris exploded in popularity on the Game Boy, Sega made their own arcade version of the legendary block stacker. From what I gather, a port of this title for the Sega Genesis was in the works before being canned. I’ve also heard that Sega’s arcade version was well-regarded during its time. Finally, it’s arrived as part of the Sega Genesis Mini. Was it worth the wait?
From my life-long fascination with Tetris, to my love of the quilting-themed tile-placement game Patchwork, I seem to have a thing for arranging blocks into neat formations. NMBR 9 is yet another game that challenges players to arrange and stack blocks in order to gain the most points. Using interesting shapes and a unique scoring mechanic, does its take on a well-worn concept add something new to this gameplay mechanic?
Microsoft fell from prominence in a big way during this past generation. Sitting on top of the world with the Xbox 360, their hubris tanked the Xbox One before it even hit store shelves. Players were repulsed by the higher price point, the inferior hardware specs, forced Kinect integration, and always-on DRM. I wanted to love my Xbox One like I loved my 360, but it simply didn’t deliver like I would have hoped.
Despite my disappointment, I’m willing to give Microsoft another chance if they do these four things.
A more detailed thank you post to come, but we need to catch up on sleep. Just wanted to say in the immediate term that we appreciate your support so much, from everyone who helped organize this event, to those who played games with me, to everyone that tuned in and enjoyed the show, to everyone who made a generous donation towards the Children’s Miracle Network of Hospitals. You’re the best.
As we catch up on rest, please note that it’s not too late to donate! Every bit makes a positive difference on the lives of children in pediatric care. Thank you for your support and I’ll see you again soon!
Support the Children’s Miracle Network of Hospitals by Donating Through Extra Life
This is it! Starting at 9am EST, we’re playing games for 25 hours straight in support of Extra Life! We’ve got a star-studded cast joining me for the show, including:
We’ll be playing a ton of games too, including:
You can watch all of the action right here on the blog with the Twitch player above. While you’re at it, we’d really appreciate it if you could make a donation to Extra Life. 100% of the proceeds go towards the Children’s Miracle Network of Hospitals, which includes 170 hospitals in North America that take care of over 10,000 kids every day. Every bit helps and your support is truly appreciated!
Support the Children’s Miracle Network of Hospitals by Donating Through Extra Life
What a great end to our Tetris 99 fundraiser for Extra Life! Together, we raised $185 for Extra Life. Incredible! Along the way, I shared some stories from the Halloween party I attended the night before, discussed why Canadians don’t refer to themselves as Americans even though Canada is in North America, and identify places in video games we’d love to visit in real life!
View the full post to see highlights and shoutouts! Also, looking forward to seeing you in the morning for our Extra Life 25-hour marathon!
Video has grown to become a primary method of creating and consuming video game content. It makes perfect sense, as gaming in itself is a video-based medium. Though In Third Person has had a YouTube channel for a very long time, I squandered it with crappy webcam videos and rips of Street Fighter match vids for many years.
Many mistakes were made, but it wasn’t until this year where I was truly in a position to make the video content I wanted at an acceptable level of production quality. That said, some of the earliest videos I made with my shoestring equipment budget are still some of my faves! Here’s a few choice cuts!
I care very little about Halloween. Always did the bare minimum for dressing up as a kid and bailed on the costumes as soon as I could. Never cared for the children’s stories or grown-up horror movies. If it weren’t for me being married to someone whose favourite holiday is Halloween, I would probably excise the entire thing out of my life.
Well, almost all of it.
The candy can stay. Now that I have a house, handing out candy to the kids that come by in their costumes is a highlight. But more importantly, it’s an excuse to eat candy and junk food! Not that I needed an excuse, but there’s a lot more around this time of year and someone has to eat it. Here’s a list with a few of my faves!
At its core, Tetris hasn’t changed. This is still a game where you stack blocks that will disappear when you create a full row. Eventually, the blocks will get to the top and you’ll lose.
Under the hood, Alexey Pajitnov’s iconic puzzle game has actually received a number of mechanical tweaks that change the game quite a bit. So much so, that one can draw a hard line between “classic” Tetris and “modern” Tetris. If you grew up on the old games and are trying out one of the newer ones for the first time, it’s easy to not see the differences. For new players going backwards, they’re in for a rude awakening when things they took for granted aren’t there anymore.
I’m not an expert when it comes to the inner workings of Tetris, but I thought it would be neat to talk through a handful of the mechanical changes that impact how the game is played.
From Monopoly: Millennial Edition to Game of Life: Quarter Life Crisis, Hasbro has been updating its classic board games with parody versions meant to appeal to young adults in modern times. One game in the series that I couldn’t pass up was Mystery Date: Catfished. Putting an online dating spin to the legacy title, will you swipe right on your future soulmate?
In Third Person 