INCOMING TRANSMISSION

...Kelvin 6, do you read?

Waiting for Response...

> I'm here, Newton 13. Do you have a Status Update?

Oh, thank the lord, I was afraid it worked.

Waiting for Response...

> What do you mean, Newton 13, the alternate dimensions that aren't really purgatory portal?

Yes sir! I thought it worked, I was sure of it!

Waiting for Response...

> Clarify, Newton! What led you to believe this?

Games, Gold, and Glory seems different than it has been!

Waiting for Response...

> What in the World? I see what you mean. It looks totally different! It's as if... no... this can't be true! That's impossible!

Kelvin, are you all right? Kelvin? KEEEEEEEEEELVIN?!?

To be continued...

Nelson Tethers; Puzzle Agent... THE REVIEW!

Here's a riddle for you. What do you get when you cross a ton of brain perplexing puzzles, a pack of mischievous garden gnomes, a new heap of characters to love, and the joy of a Telltale game? Why, you get Nelson Tethers; Puzzle Agent o'course!

That's right! Telltale Games is expanding it's titles. With the announcement of Tales of Monkey Island we all got excited about a new Telltale game. (Well, I did anyway. And Monkey Island no less.) But they have never made a totally original game, excluding Telltale Texas Hold'em as I think we all believe that doesn't count. But when I heard Graham Annable and Telltale Games were teaming up to make a new, totally one-of-a-kind, game featuring Annable's "Hidden People," I knew we were on the road for amazing. But enough with the boring talk. I know what you've all been waiting for. My opinion! So without further delay, let's begin.

I have to split Puzzle Agents into three different scoring categories; graphics, characters, and puzzles. I have included graphics in this list because even though they're not really that important to me, I just love Graham Annable's style, and how this game looks. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, and I believe that this one really shows what I love about this games looks, I'll let you take a look.

The text-boxes, the characters, the pure sketchiness of it... I just adore it. The characters are all drawn so simply, but with a hidden complexity and emotion. For you who don't know Graham Annable, you must visit his YouTube channel. (My personal favourite is "Sasquatch." I have always been a sucker for a games that don't go for the "real world" look, but also don't just look like crap. Nelson Tethers hits the nail square on the head. So I proudly give this games graphics a... (drum roll) 9.5/10!

Next, the characters. Right off the bat you meet Nelson Tethers, an agent for the Puzzle department of the FBI. And then you meet the astronaut. Why? Because every good game deserves an astronaut, that's why!

I like to feel for the characters, another reason why I love Telltale Games and Pixar movies. I like to be connected with them, share their emotions, be a little freaked out when the man on the phone says we're going to...

Then we meet the other characters. With Bjorn and Bo, and Glori and Sheriff Bahg, it won't take long for these people to start screwing with your mind. Who's guilty, who's crazy, who knows anything... Just when you think this mystery can't get any, well, mysterious, enter the Hidden People.

Yes, the Hidden People. The true secret of Scoggins. Another character you can't help but connect with. Are they evil or are the good? The world may never know. But one thing is for certain... They can be so gosh-darned adorable. So in the world of Scoggins, the characters earn themselves a nice 8/10.

And lastly, the reason you should buy the game, the puzzles. Before you can even move in the game, you are hit with a puzzle. Nelson, startled by the previously mentioned astronaut, tears apart his crossword. But did the astronaut write something on it? Piece it together to find out. This puzzle is fairly easy, as are the next few following ones, as the beginning of any game should be. But they quickly grow harder. Every puzzle has four parts.

The challenge...

The actual puzzle...

The verdict...

And the evaluation...

Now at the beginning, you may laugh at the notion of hints, as the puzzles start out very easy, but soon you may find yourself needing them. The puzzles are brilliant and many of them will keep you guessing. The only problem I had with them were that they were either really easy, or pretty hard, making my evaluations either "Top Agent" or "Borderline." For this reason, and this reason only, I give the puzzles a 8/10.

The Final Score*:

Graphics: 9.5/10

Characters: 8/10

Puzzles: 8/10

Overall**: 9/10

Buy- ✓

Borrow-

Ignore-

*The Final Score is based of the ratings chosen at the beginning of the review

** The Overall score is not an average of the three previous scores. It brings into effect the average of these scores, plus other features of the game not mentioned.

Games, Gold, and Glory is not affiliated with Telltale Games, Graham Annable, nor Pixar Studios in any way, shape, or form.

Sam and Max: The Devil's Playhouse: The Stole Max's Brain!: Review - Ribs' Take

Sam and Max have had their Highs and Lows throughout the years. With instant classics, such as 'Chariots of The Dogs' in Season Two, or 'Abe Lincoln Must Die' during the initial season that Telltale developed. However, not one episode have been able to achieve complete perfection. However, things have changed. To reflect this, I'm going to do something I will most likely never do again; Give you a score at the begining of a review. But it's the best way to convey my emotions. Without further ado;

20/20 Piñatas

What's that, narrarator? A death stare in regards to a perfect score? No game can ever be perfect, you say? I never said the game was perfect. The game is the best the game can be, and I'm 100% sure of it.

Sam stumbles upon the not-breathing corpse of his best friend, and turns rabid in a quest for his friend. He takes off his Jacket, and instantly becomes 'Tough As Nails, Won't Take No For An Answer, No I Asked for a Coke Pepsi Would Not Be Fine' Sam, or as fans have dubbed him, Noir Sam. Interrogation is a key part of this episode, and Sam does it with style; the noir narraration he does is top notch. On the way, he runs into various funny characters, as we're used to, which is one reason why this episode is so great overall.

Firstly, we have a Foreign Tourist, played by Marius Fietzik, who was one of the masterminds behind the genius 'I Wonder What Happens in Tales of Monkey Island' series. It's a small part, but for the few minutes he's on screen, I was bursting out in laughter repeatedly. This character was unnescesary as a whole, but still was an excellent addition making this more of an excellent game.

And then there's Sal. I call him 'Puddy', as his voice actor plays the bit sounding like Patrick Warburton, who guest starred as Puddy on Seinfeld. This character is a security guard who is loyal, and any more information then that would be giving out too much information in regards to the plot. All I can say, is he has three particular moments that come to mind as making me burst into laughter. Sal also fits into the ever-expanding criteria of Sam and Max characters who are an obscure type of creature for no particular reason, which I always find funny.

Of course, the Noir bit can only last so long, but for how long it lasts, you'll be smiling throughout the whole thing. The episode makes a turn to a completely different scenario around halfway through, where even Sam has no idea what to do. This bit gives us a slivir more info about some of our newer characters introduced this episode or making surprise reappearances.

The episode all ends in a clever homage to a classic science fiction television series, which is hilarious and really rounds out the episode. The puzzle design, top notch as always, had me guessing for every single puzzle at least once. Only one puzzle really kept me stuck, but I eventually figured it out. Sound design, as always, is top-notch, with Jared Emerson Johnson's fitting music to each locale, and great Voice Acting from Andrew Chaikan, Nikki Rapp, and many others.

Unless you are incredibly daft, I adored this episode. The subtle background jokes, the storyline progression, the bit parts by voice actors, everything in this episode is pure gold. With our twist ending, I can't wait until next month and the penultimate episode of The Devil's Playhouse. Looking forward to 'Beyond The Alley of The Dolls', all our questions seem to have a very good chance of being answered. Until then, rest, and enjoy this, the single greatest episode of Sam and Max yet.

Games, Gold, and Glory is not affiliated with Telltale Games in any way, shape, or form. For more information regarding Sam and Max: The Devil's Playhouse and related products, visit http://www.telltalegames.com/samandmax/thedevilsplayhouse.

The Good, The Bad, and The Rockstar!

Alrighty, partners, here we go with another review for a sequel over six years in the making, called Red Dead Redemption.

Now I know that all of you are asking, why are writing a review about a game that's just Grand Theft Auto in the Wild West? Well, the answer is that it's so much more than GTA IV. To me, it's like a mixture of those old spaghetti Westerns, and my favorite thing in the world, causing as much pandemonium, as I can muster with a revolver.

But, I must tell you about my three favorite things about the game. What are they, you ask? Well I will tell you, and rate this game on my usual scale, judging Story, Controls, and Graphics.

Alright, so here goes the story. You play as John Marston, an ex-convict, who is tied up with a government deal to get his family back. The story takes place at the end of the generic Wild West time period, approx. 1911, and focuses primarily on the changing government trying to bring some civilization to the west. It also focuses on the Spanish Civil War, and a few other historical events at the time. You, as John Marston, must hunt down outlaws to rescue you and your family from the government, and through this you are journeying to different locations around the West, and even going into Mexico at a time of war!

I honestly loved the story, and I think it's an awesome contribution to the Rockstar Collection, and if you are still reading this, Pilgrim, we are going into the control scheme.

The controls for the game are pretty tight, and it won't take long to get used to them at all. The one thing that is really annoying is if you beat a mission or die during a mission and you have a weapon selected it will stay that weapon until you go and change it in the menu.

Let me give you an example of what I mean. As I was riding I noticed this woman calling for help and about ten minutes before, I had lassoed me a Black Stallion. Well, five guards came out and started shooting me, so I pulled the trigger button, roped one thug, and died. With this said, it's kind of mandatory to make sure you have a good gun selected.

Horse riding was an amazing addition, obviously. You've got to ride a horse, or how else are you going to navigate through the Ol' West? On an automobile? Well, There is one in the game, but only the- You know what? I don't care! I rode a horse and you all will learn how to ride one too.

I find horse riding one of the easiest, but trickiest things to master. You have to constantly tap the X or A buttons on the Xbox version (X and Square on PS3) to gain speed, and then you have to hold the A (or X) button again to maintain it. Easy, right? Well, yes, and no, because sometimes if you hold the A button, it doesn't maintain a constant speed and you have to re-tap the A button to gain that speed back up. So usually it's just better to, you know, Tap-wait-re-tap, or at least that's what I found to be the most effective way. Now, with most of the controls covered, let me chime in about the graphics.

I honestly think Rockstar has pushed the envelope, everything in Red Dead Redemption looks beautiful, and I mean beautiful. Here, take a look... SCREENSHOT! See? Beautiful right? And, well, here's another one for good measure, because I love the look of the Old West. SCREENSHOT!. The only problems I have with the graphics is the same thing with anything else that is beautiful graphic wise, the frame rate drop. With this game, it's not so often, but it does happen, and sometimes no textures show up for 15-20 seconds. With that said, this game is truly beautiful and wonderful experience.

Rockstar is truly a company that knows how to put a game together, story wise and graphically. I thoroughly enjoyed this game, and I suggest everyone should try to play it. This game not only captures the spirit of the Old West, but also the beauty of it. This about cuts it for my review!

I'll be back in the next few weeks, after Ribs posts some more awesome reviews.

Games, Gold, and Glory is not affiliated with Rockstar Games in any way, shape, or form. For more information regarding Red Dead Redemption and related products, visit

http://www.rockstargames.com/reddeadredemption

Legend of Rock Gaming

What is this? Do my eyes deceive me? Could this be? Did Tom actually score an interview with a gaming legend? Wow... And to think Ribs just wanted to burn Tom's stuff... I present to you readers, in all it's it's glory, an interview with Alan Alcorn, inventor of one of the greatest games known to our kind (and by our kind I mean gamers.) Well here we are ladies and gentlemen; Tom's interview, now if you'll excuse me...I have to go get my stapler back from Ribs

~IcedHope

Tom: What inspired you to make Pong?

Alan: Money, and the excitement of starting a company. Pong was a lucky accident.

Tom: In my opinion, there are four games that outlive the ages; Pacman, Tetris, Space Invaders and Pong. How do you feel about the other three?

Alan: Your's sounds good to me.

Tom: What are your favorite classic games?

Alan: I like the Bally pinball "Fireball".

Tom: And your favorite "modern game?"

Alan: I like World of Warcraft.

Tom: There was a time when all video games fit under the genre "video game," but now there are so many sub-genres, it is difficult to keep your head from spinning. With FPS, MMORPG, TD, and billions of other initialisms, what is your favourite of these genres?

Alcorn: Actually I am an electrical engineer and not a big fan of video games. I enjoy the process of creating something new.

Tom: Many games have been re-created, or have new versions, such as Tetris, Space Invaders, and Brick Breaker, but Pong has withstood the test of time relatively untouched. How do you feel about this?

Alcorn: Pong is so simple that it doesn't need embellishment. I am honored that it is still alive in the popular culture of the world.

Tom: What is your proudest moment as a game designer?

Alan: Seeing the success of the consumer Pong.

Tom: Can we expect anything from the amazing Alan Alcorn anytime soon?

Alan: I am enjoying life. Who knows?

Tom: Thank you so much for your time. I had never expected to get an interview with someone so great. Thank you again.

... And there you have it folks. Fresh from the creator of one of the best games of all time, PacMa... No? Space Inva.... What? Really? Tetri...? C'mon! I always forget! Lines please! ... Pong? You sure? Okay.... That's right! The creator of Pong, Alexey Pajitnov! What?! You've gotta be kidding me! Holy [The rest of this end note has been removed due to inappropriate language. We apologize for any inconvenience. This footnote has been terminated.]

Games, Gold, and Glory is not affiliated with PacMan, Pong, Space Invaders, nor Tetris.

Sam and Max: The Devil's Playhouse: The Tomb of Sammun-Mak: Review - Ribs' Take

Why, has it been a month already? Here we are, two fifths of our way into Sam and Max's third season at Telltale, and we're learning some answers regarding some of the new mysteries unveiled in the season's opener, The Penal Zone. When we last left our heroes, they discovered a terrible monument of what we assumed to be a grim future to come. That, however, is most definately not the case, as we are thrust backwards through time to find out just how some of the people and places got the way we know and love them.

If you missed my review of the first episode, the game plays like a traditional point and click adventure game. You move Sam, and attempt to use things together to solve a variety of puzzles to solve your current case of the month. Interface is simple, and Telltale has mastered the adventure genre now that it's released it's 30th game in under five years. Max has none of his powers from the first episode, but he has three new ones that all get their share of solving puzzles.

So, we get to the highlight of Telltale's work: the story, and the overall design of the episode. The story is nonlinear, much like the first episode. You hop around from middle to begining to back to the middle, and then the end, of course. We meet some old faces, such as one of the villains, seen above, the despicable Kringle! Telltale's hints for the episode mentioned some faces you wouldn't expect, and I'm not kidding, those who liked Season Two's cast will be happy and shocked at some of the people appearing once again.

Sam and Max's history is full of various twists and turns, as we discover how they got to that boiler room. They embark on a challenge to trek the Tomb of Sammun-Mak, in an attempt to recover the Devil's Toybox. They embark on the Disorient Express to find the toybox, but little do they know that there are going to be five more people on the train who also seem to be attempting to gain possession of the mystical box!

Now, I have two more things to say about the episode: First, the chapter, overall, is much more dificult then The Penal Zone. I found myself stuck on multiple occasions on multiple puzzles, clicking everything in a desperate attempt to solve it. This wasn't as much of a problem in the first episode, as the future vision proved a helpful tool in giving hints. However, we don't get that psychic ability, and we are stuck to figure it out. I, personally, enjoyed the use of Max's new powers in this episode, although I still hope we get the Rhinoplasty for more than five minutes. Overall, the difficulty makes the game much longer overall, which to most people is a plus.

Secondly, I didn't find myself laughing during the episode. I found myself understanding jokes, but not bursting into laughter as the first chapter did. To put it in Shakespeare-ian terms, the first episode was a comedy. This was much more of a history, however, as we discovered various obscure items about the history of Sam and Max. If anything, this episode is some of the necessary filler material we got with episodes such as Night of the Raving Dead.

Overall, The Tomb of Sammun-Mak is a fun episode of The Devil's Playhouse. What it lacked in humour it made up for in puzzle design, despite how mind-boggling hard I found a few of the puzzles. In addition, the episode leaves a great set up for the next episode, and it makes me, and what I assume will be many others, wondering where the family histories of Sam and Max fit into The Narrarator's mystical tale.

17 Piñatas / 20

(P.S. - To those inquiring minds, it appears the grain has been turned down slightly, or maybe I've gotten used to it.)

Games, Gold, and Glory is not affiliated with Telltale Games in any way, shape, or form. For more information regarding Sam and Max: The Devil's Playhouse and related products, visit http://www.telltalegames.com/samandmax/thedevilsplayhouse.

THE PENAAAALLL ZONE!

Alright, gents, we sit right back and we will tell you, about something so extraordinary, and so beyond the mind's comprehension that your mind will either break and or turn to mush. 'What?', you may ask, 'Will cause our brains to turn to mush?". I shall tell you friends, it's a familiar tale of two friends who...erm...actually, I'm not really sure what they do. But, I'm pretty sure it's amazing, 'What is this?' you ask? Well, I shall tell you. It's SAM & MAX: THE DEVIL'S PLAYHOUSE!

Ooh, Did that sound creepy enough? No? Well...dang. Anyway, on to the review of the first episode of The Devil's Playhouse, THE PENAL ZONE... ON THE PS3!

Alright, let's get this thing started.

A lot of the story and things have been revealed by Mr. Ribs, so for this review I'm basiccaly going to sum it up shortly on the story and then give you my thoughts on the PS3 version of the game. Tee hee!

The Detective Duo are back, and this time, they are being attacked by a big, giant monkey head! We learn that they are being held captive and must defeat General Skunka'pe.

Alright this is going to be tough, and I hate being tough on something I love so much especially Sam&Max, but I have to be honest.

Let me start out by saying, I love the first episode. The story was funny, the timing of the comedy was right, but, there was one thing that bothered me, and, well, I'm not going to lie, but it was the controls they bugged me to death. From what some of the staff was saying, it was meant for the console controls, I honestly just do not see it. I love the controls in the PC version, but I'm just not fond of them here. My main gripe about them isn't the movement, but the way you have to select what you interact with, that was what bugged me the most! Let's say you are interacting with an object; okay, then you have to take the left thumbstick, and select the object manually, and then press the square button. Now, am I saying that because the controls are wonky it's a bad game? Oh no, far from it.

The graphics look shiny and smoother, and the characters have more reactions in the face and that, for the most part, adds to the humor of the game. Also, the texturing in this game is brilliant. You can see the pattern in Sam's suit, and the character modeling was just so much more detailed, and I'm glad they took their time with this game because it really shows the love that the developers have for Sam & Max, which is awesome!

Overall, there isn't much different from the PS3 version and the PC version other than the controls, and the cardboard item box was substituted by a simplistic inventory system other than that on the PS3 version. Sam & Max's first episode for the PS3 is a good effort, and a wise business choice by Telltale, and, hopefully, the success of Sam & Max for the PS3 may bring some of the other Telltale titles to the PS3. I see this as making a great effort, to breathe new life into the adventure game genre for the Home Consoles, and, dear friends, it was a blast, and I shall be back.

Till we talk again,

Adios!

Games, Gold, and Glory is not affiliated with Telltale Games in any way, shape, or form. For more information regarding Sam and Max: The Devil's Playhouse and related products, visit http://www.telltalegames.com/samandmax/thedevilsplayhouse. Sam and Max: The Devil's Playhouse is available on the Playstation Network for $34.95, €19.99, or £17.99, depending on your region."

Sam and Max: The Devil's Playhouse: The Penal Zone: Review - Ribs' Take

'No, Max! Not the Chrysler Building!' - Sam

They're back, and as good as ever, if that wasn't enough of a clue.

Now, I love the dog and rabbit duo. They are hilarious, from their days as a comic book, to a year of saturday morning programming, and to their saga as the star of adventure games. Due to an evil flash star who looks sort of like a professional wrestler, a diabolical english inventor with a fetish for cheese, and most recently, a no good dirty rotten pirate, our favorite dog and rabbit detective duo (we all know the heavy competition in this market) has been gone for nearly two whole years. That's 428 days and 12 hours. But, alas, they're back. With this, they're better than ever.

Enter the world of General Skun'kape. He's a power mad space gorilla bent on destroying anything between him and some magical artifacts. We know this clear and simple from the absolutely amazing opening of the game. Now, we don't think we'd want to share too much about the opening, so we'll instead focus on another aspect that also happens to be great.

Enter 'The Narrarator'. This mysterious entity pauses time to give you an overview of exactly what is going on. He even stops from time to time to show various important details from the past, present, and future. This character, voiced by 'Culture Shock Max' Andrew Chaiken, is mysterious and hilarious in his very monotonous delivery and clever dialogue. We don't find out much about this character, besides that he has a desk in a blackness and that he has a pretty 'Schindler's List' vibe with the red flower. This is one bit of the story I can't wait to see explained in future chapters.

Like the rest of the Sam and Max seasons and episodes developed by Telltale, this one is only a fraction of the story. Small details in this episode may pan out to be massive plot focuses in the coming months. But things have changed at Telltale, and now they are much more one giant story, rather then loosely connected stories that all come together at the end. I was a bit saddened to think we'd never see another episode like Ice Station Santa or Abe Lincoln Must Die! again, but after completing this episode, I can safely tell everyone reading this that the story feels much more genuine. Sam and Max get more connected with the story this way, and I really felt like this was one epic comedy opera for the ages.

But who cares about story, right? Everyone plays games like Sam and Max for the gameplay, right? No? Only .00003% of the players? Well, I guess I should explain it anyway for those new to the franchise or those who want to know about the key changes.

Using the above screenshot as a reference, let's note the top right corner's three icons. The one to the far left in the notebook, a guide to the world of Sam and Max. When any character is introduced, the game highlights key personality factors in a clever way. The game then puts them in the notebook. Using the notebook, you can view the Case, the Suspects, and Max's newfound psychic abilities, which I shall get to in a minute.You play as the six foot tall dog, Sam. You move using the WASD or arrow keys, or the click and drag system used in Tales of Monkey Island. You click around hoping to find leads on your latest case, affectionately reffered to as 'The Penal Zone'.

In the middle of the three icons lays the inventory box. If you pick up an item, it goes here. You can take items out and try to use them with things, but most things don't go together. You may also click a button to have Sam describe the item. A new feature is a third button that let's you just activate the item. For example, if it were a remote control, you would turn it on by hitting the activate button, and not using the remote control with the television. This makes puzzles a tad bit simpler to understand and solve in some spaces.

Lastly, on the far right, there is the Max button. Inside the barbaric, sociopathic maniac's brain, there lie many secrets and rather scary things. However, due to some mysterious artifacts Max found, his mind now holds a frightening new element: Psychic Powers. Some people reacted to this with a 'What? No! This ruins the franchise! I'm a generic stereotype of a purist!', however, these abilities actually provide for some inventive and witty puzzles. For the record, Max does not make things spontaneously combust and force all his minions to do his bidding, which is a definite option for an epilogue, if you're reading, Telltale. Instead, he can have vague visions of the future, read minds, teleport, and other wacky fun. Overall, I think this is definately an addition for the best.

In addition, graphics have significantly improved, as is obvious. Unfortunately, this reviewer could not have a good experience on anything higher then graphics setting three of nine. However, the game was still a much bigger improvement over Seasons One and Two.As always, sound is top notch thanks to one Jared Emerson Johnson, who's music is fast-paced and fit the settings one-hundred percent. Voice Acting is great, especially William Kasten and David Nowlin, who reprise their roles as Max and Sam. Each character is unique, and they made sure of that both in the modeling and the voice acting.

Other than that, the majority of my opinion would spoil the game. I love the series, and nothing short of ruthlessly murdering all the main characters except for someone like Harry Moleman would make me hate it. Buy it. Love it. If not, you're missing out on the five chapter adventure of a lifetime.

Games, Gold, and Glory is not affiliated with Telltale Games in any way, shape, or form. For more information regarding Sam and Max: The Devil's Playhouse and related products, visit http://www.telltalegames.com/samandmax/thedevilsplayhouse

Welcome to Samurai Jack 4|1

We at Games, Gold, and Glory have a stunning new announcement! We have decided to fire and remove all the writers but myself! In addition, we are going to be redesigning the site with a hot pink color scheme. Plus, we are changing the name of the site to 'Samurai Jack 4|1', as we announce our new subject: Reviewing the classic episodes of Samurai Jack, seen on Cartoon Network! For more information on this, hit me up, 'Master Samurai', by sending an email to gamesgoldandglory@yahoo.com. Until then, tata, true believers!

Final Fantasy III? VI? Eh, call it what you will Review.

Well, well...look what got released today, why, it's Final Fantasy XIII! hmmm... perhaps I should look back about 16 years, and do something special...I think I shall review FINAL FANTASY III/VI* Alright, sit down lads, and I will tell you a tale of magic, corruption and power... well, it sounded good.

Back in the year 1994, I was a mere 11, and I had one of my favorite systems infront of me. "What?" you ask and I shall tell you. It was my Super Nintendo.

Now, I remember this quite exactly. I had done all my chores for the day, and I had helped my mom clean my house, which means it was present time.

So, my dad took me to a toy store, where I found a game that caught my eye, the box read 'Final Fantasy III'.

Now, when I got home, I attacked the game box as only a child shall, and put the game into the SNES, and at this time, I was spell bound to the game. The rich story, the beautiful music, and, well, one of my favorite female characters ever, Terra.

But now, on to the story.

The story takes place in a steampunkish setting, a mix with the vicotorian era, and the beginning of industrial, with a little bit of fantasy thrown in...I know right?

Fantasy in a Final Fantasy game?

The opening credits play, and we see three magitek suits marching towards a little town called Nashe, and the music that plays is beautiful, it gets to me everytime. As the suits start marching they are met with resistance members from Nashe, and you are introduced to the combat system. Which I still think should be in Final Fantasy games, in my opinion it's the best Turn-based combat in the series. It combines turn base, and button actions, which have a soft spot in my heart.

Well to move a little farther into the story you learn that magic has been declared dead. Your character is the only one that can use it, and you find out later why. This is when you meet the villain Kefka, who I personally believe to be the best final fantasy villain ever. Yes even better than Sephiroth. With out giving too much of the story away.

You quickly learn of Kefka's plans, and your party forms, and you set off in one of the epic quests that have bestowed on Final Fantasy ever.

Final Fantasy III/VI has to be my personal favorite, and I know some you are asking " Why the hell isn't Seven your favorite?" Well, I do like seven and it's a good game. But, to me it lacks what six brought us. An epic story, character bondings, and, well, something most games haven't had in a real long time, a villain you can hate.

I know a lot of people are asking "Where can I find it?" Well, it's a rare game now, as it was on the SNES, and if you go on Amazon you're looking to fork over at least $100. I know, thats steep, right? But do not fear, fellow FF lovers, you can find the GBA version for about 30 and it's essentialy the same game, but with a few tweaks and, if you ask me, and even if you can't find it...I suggest you look for the PSX version, which is the most widely available at used game stores and it comes with FFV too! You can usually find that for about twenty, and now dear readers I must part from this lovely story for which I have told you, and now I must go and work on something new and grand for this wonderful site we have called Games, Gold, and Glory.

Take Care readers, and remember to Game On!

*To me it will be Three but I know some of people insist it be called six, and I leave it to each their own. 

INCOMING TRANSMISSION

......Kelvin 6, do you read?

Waiting for response...

> I'm here, Newton 13. Do you have a status update?

Oh, thank the lord. I was afraid it worked.

Waiting for response...

>What do you mean, Newton 13? The time portal?

Yes, sir. I thought it worked, I was sure of it!

Waiting for response...

>Clarify, Newton! What led you to believe this?

There are new Final Fantasy, Mega Man, Pokemon, and Command and Conquer games all coming out!

Waiting for response...

>That's not out of the ordinary, Newton. Sequels are oh-so-common these days.

That's just it, sir! They're all coming out within the timespan of week!

Waiting for response...

>God save us all. We need to recruit some talented writers to interpret if these series are worth resurrecting.

Well, I do have a friend, Icedhope 11, who can handle some of it. Then there's this mysterious disappearing person named Tom...

Waiting for response...

>What about you, Newton? Why don't you do it?

Well, sir, to do that, I would need to have a less ridiculous name.

Waiting for response...

>It's nice to see you on the team, Ribs. Let's go write some reviews.

I said less ridiculous.

The Games, Gold, and Glory Biweekly What's Update! 2/16/10

Why, hello there again! This is Ribs with the lowdown on this throwdown! We here at GGG have been amazingly busy with thousands* of emails coming in from developers all around the world! I am (finally) going to put up my Left 4 Dead review this week, after weeks of planning. Tom is busy being our supreme overlord (Editor's Note: ALL HAIL TOM), but if you have an idea for a story or would like to hook us up with review copies, hit him/us up at gamesgoldandglory@yahoo.com. Icedhope is cracking away at that Uncharted: Drake's Fortune review, but be sure to check out his interview with Vince Desi of Running With Scissors. We also have our biggest giveaway yet, that ends tommorow as opposed to today due to an unspecified retail game store chain's error. We are also in the planning stage of something bigger, better, and more badass for next month. We're still alive (most of us are, anyway)!

*Number not accurate.

Iced vs Aliens vs Predator: Giveaway.

So here it is, everyone else has been giving stuff away and I do too. Well at least I think... Yes, yes I do..alright here we go!

I will be giving away one copy of AvP and AvP classic.

Alright, this is all you guys have to do. This Tuesday will be the release of Aliens vs Predator, and since I'm a huge fan of both franchises, this is my little present to you guys; I am awesome.

So here is how you enter: on Tuesday night I will be playing a deathmatch. I won't tell you guys what I'll be playing as, 'cause then you all might laugh. I digress, so here is what you have to do; during this deathmatch, guess what species will be first. That's it. Easy as cake! And If you win, you will get one copy of Rebellion's new game, AvP! That's easy, right? Second place winner will receive a copy of AvP Classic, so you can still have some old school fun.

Now remember all you have to do is email us, and guess what species will be in first place. If you forgot the email address, you reply with your picks at Twitter.

www.twitter.com/gamesgoldglory

Gamesgoldandglory@yahoo.com

*The Copy of AvP will be purchased through Steam and Gifted to the winner.

Interview With a Vampire Vince Desi

I've decided for my next post I wanted to bring something new to GGG. What better than to have an Interview with someone who has had a positive effect on the gaming industry as we know it. May I Introduce Vince Desi, founder and CEO of Running With Scissors, and he created one of the funnest games of all time. Yes that's right.
POSTAL

Now if any of you are to young to remember Postal, I suggest you pay a visit to www.RunningWithScissors.com and pick up a copy of the original and it's sequel Postal 2. I personally have fallen in love with the series, through my own issues and it has helped me through a lot of troubles I deal with, No more on that. Here I present you with a Interview with one of the most innovative game developers around Vince Desi; Creator of Postal.

IcedHope: Before running with scissors, you were head of Ridel Soft Ware Production, the company that made one of my favorite games, Spy vs Spy, and various Sesame Street titles. When did you decide to start making more mature-themed video games?

Vince Desi: By the mid nineties we were in Tucson, AZ and exhausted from all the kid games, so we decided to make our own fantasy game, and POSTAL was born

IcedHope:When Postal made it's debut in '97, there were a lot of big wigs in Washington, especially Senator Lieberman pushing for this game to be banned because of its violent content. Did you know then that you had created one of the most popular franchises in computer gaming history?

Vince Desi: When I got a call from someone identifying themselves as a Special Agent of the Justice Dept, aka FBI, I knew we hit a nerve, but still never thought it would become the media firestorm that followed.

Icedhope: What were some of the thoughts when creating the first Postal game?

Vince Desi: Just FUN, make a game that played fast, shot everything, without regret J and I love fire since I was a kid, so in many ways a lot of the themes and content reflect the members of RWS.

Icedhope:Have any of these thoughts continued to the sequel and soon to be released Postal III?

Vince Desi: Naturally they do, mainly because our inspiration comes from our personal lives, so as we get older, evolve, so do our ideas and they find their way into POSTAL during development.

I have also noticed from early screen shots that Postal III will be in the third person, or will it be a mixture of both third and first person perspectives?

Third Person. We experimented with a lot of new techniques, and concluded that for the best gameplay its what made sense.

Icedhope: One final question. Postal III will this game be distribuited through just the PC or All gaming consoles?

Vince Desi: PC and 360 for sure. I’d love to do Wii and PS3 but we’ll have to see how that goes.

Thank you Vince for chatting.


Now remember kiddies, if you want all the information, and want to purchase the games, remember to check out wwww.RunningWithScissors.com for everything Postal.

Games, Gold, and Glory is not affiliated with Running With Scissors.