Sunday, March 25, 2012

Third Rate Game Play: Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)

Game: Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)

System: Xbox 360

Developer: Sonic Team 

Publisher: Sega

Player: Tony

Experience: Played the game briefly beforehand



Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Game On: Let's Play 3.08 - Mega Man X

Game: Mega Man X (via Mega Man X Collection)
System: Super Nintendo (and GameCube)
Developer: Capcom (Capcom Production Studio 1)
Publisher: Capcom
Player: Chris


Thursday, March 15, 2012

Third Rate Game Play: The Legend of Zelda: OoT 2D/3D [Part 2]



Game: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 2D/3D
System: Nintendo 64 / Nintendo 3DS
Developer: Nintendo EAD / GREZZO
Publisher: Nintendo
Player: Tony / Alex
Experience: Tony has beaten it multiple times. Alex has not.



[Check after the jump for the article.]

Monday, March 12, 2012

State of 3RM: March Edition

Hello, everyone!  Spring has nearly sprung (though for us, it felt like Winter roared and then got punted into the stratosphere), so I feel it is time to give a little update on our lil' ol' blog thingie.

First off, we're going to PAX East this year!  Of course, we are not going to be heading there unprepared.  We have things in store for the convention and its attendees, and we will have videos and the like of the show in the weeks following it.  We did not attend 2011's PAX East due to financial concerns, but we DID attend the first year, complete with over an hour of footage to commemorate it.  We hope to get at least double that, but regardless of what happens, we're bound to have a lot of fun (and by proxy, you should, too)!

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Game On: Let's Play 3.07 - Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon

Game: Mystical Ninja Starring Geomon
System: Nintendo 64
Developer: Konami Computer Entertainment Osaka
Publisher: Konami
Player: Alex




[While we do enjoy creating in-depth articles regarding the games in question, due to our efforts to complete the Game On: Let's Play lineup and focus on more current Third Rate Game Play setups, we will now produce shorter articles for the remaining episodes of Game On: Let's Play.  Check after the jump.]

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Third Rate Game Play: Bullet Witch

Game: Bullet Witch
System: Xbox 360
Developer: Cavia, Inc.
Publisher: Atari
Player: Tony
Experience: Blind


[For the article, follow the jump.]

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

eShop Sales-Ratings: February 2012

The Nintendo eShop is Nintendo's online shop through the 3DS where people can download games from old Nintendo hardware, DSiWare games, and new download software specific for the 3DS. Because Nintendo does not disclose sales numbers, and developers are most likely barred from revealing them, we do not know how games are doing on the service.

But we might have at least a small hint.

After playing a game on the 3DS for over a hour, players are capable of rating these games via the eShop, and the totals are shown on each game page, showing up to five stars based on what the population thinks. At the very least, we now have minimum sales figures for the games, but with a very large disclaimer: these numbers represent the users who have done the following:

1) Purchased the game
2) Played the game for over an hour on the 3DS, and
3) Chose to rate the game on the eShop.

People who play the games on their DSi systems cannot rate games, nor can people who have not played the games for less than one hour. Since rating cannot be done outside of the eShop, some might have forgotten to or chosen not to rate said games. Also note that a rating does not necessarily correspond with a sale in the month in which it appears, only emphasizing the number of additional people who completed the above steps.

With that disclaimer in mind, check after the jump to see how everything did.


Sunday, March 4, 2012

3RM Plays PlayStation Vita

Almost a full year after we received the Nintendo 3DS, our newest next-generation handheld has arrived: the PlayStation Vita.  Announced in January 2011, the PS Vita, previously the NGP, was meant to be both an evolution of the PlayStation Portable while also bringing itself closer to the growing mobile audience of smart phones and tablets.

The PS Vita launched in Japan this past December, but a few months later, Americans got their hands on the Vita for the first time.  A special bundle was released a week early to pre-orders, consisting of the 3G/Wi-fi model PS Vita, a special carrying case, a 4GB Memory Card, a microfiber cloth, and a copy of BigBig's Little Deviants.

It was on February 22nd, 2011, that the PlayStation Vita became available to all, and just over a week later, we here at Third Rate Minion would like to show you a walkthrough of multiple programs which span its OS, including free downloadable games available in the PlayStation Store since the Vita launch.  Check the videos after the break and enjoy (or follow to our Youtube Playlist)!  For our written impressions, check below as well.