Here they are, the first annual Fallies!

With our winners for:
Best Action/Adventure
Best Shooter
Best RPG
Best Platformer
Best Puzzle Game
Best Download-Only Game
Best Story
Best Setting
Best Gameplay
Best Online/MP Experience
Best Soundtrack
Best Voice Acting Performance
Worst Character
Best New Character
Best Supporting Character
Best Lead Character
Best New IP
Developer of the Year
Quit of the Year
Crit of the Year

Despite the fact that we mentioned it in a podcast a while back, I still don’t think enough people have been introduced to the wonderful world of Spelunky. I have become completely addicted to the game as of late, and I think more of you out there in internetland should do the same.

Spelunky is a fantastic little indie game developed by Derek Yu, a fairly well known independent developer who’s other titles include Eternal Daughter and Aquaria. Obviously heavily influenced by classic games like Spelunker, the game revolves around exploring an expansive underground cave complex whilst collecting mass quantities of buries treasure, fighting snakes and giant spiders, and rescuing Hysterical Dames. The main selling point of Spelunky for me however, is the completely random nature of the game. Every time you start, the entire game is randomly generated so no two playthroughs will ever be the same. There are some small factors that remain constant, such as the amount of starting items you have and the ‘theme’ of the current level you are on (1-4 are simple brown caves, 5-9 are an underground jungle, etc). You also only have a single life in the game which can make the game a little difficult, although a large amount of the fun in the experience is seeing just how the game will play out the next time.

The game is completely free to download, although Derek does have an Xbox Live Arcade version planned for release in the near future. So what are you waiting for, head over to Spelunky World and download it now!

I started Fall Damage with the sole intention of talking about video games with some friends. It’s developed into a fun little podcast that keeps getting more and more fun with every episode.

I decided to launch these forums with the intent of being able to communicate more freely with our listeners, and to make a gaming community where people weren’t total jerk-asses for no reason. So be prepared: be a total jerk-ass for no reason and I will smite thee. I might even smite thee WITH a reason. I guess what I’m trying to say is that we’re not a fan of jerk-asses in general.

The members of this community are not simply “listeners” of the podcast… instead your thoughts and opinions (and heck maybe even voices) will be heard on the podcast itself. This show will be as interactive as you want it to be! If you want to tell people how overlooked a certain game was, just post a new thread about it. Make some good points, and we’ll talk about it on the show. Make some great points, maybe we’ll have you on the show to talk about it!

Additionally, from this point forward Listener of the week will be chosen from THIS community, not from the Steam Group. So if you’ve been wanting to be in the running, but don’t have Steam…. now’s your chance!

I look forward to seeing this community grow into a solid group of gamers of all colors, creeds, and consoles. So without further ado, the doors are open to the Fall Damage forums!

Note as you watch this that Shine, the kid playing Gouken, is 15 years old, and up against one of the best Akuma players on Earth. We believe Shine’s mom drove him to the tournament.

I’m going to go cry in a corner over my copy of SFIII Third Strike now.

 In case you haven’t signed into Steam today, and Fall Damage was your first stop in the journey around the internets; I’d thought you’d like to know about the massive sales going on on right now.  Games %60 – %80 off, bundle packs for less than $3?  You bet your sweet candy-ass it has all of that!  In addition to the sales that are going on until January 11th, Steam is also having special price sales every 40 hours or so.  You can pick up Mirror’s Edge for just $4.99, or S.T.A.L.K.E.R for just $1.99!  

There is bound to be something for everyone, so even if you don’t find something for yourself.. maybe you can get that last minute hard to shop for gamer gift out of the way in time for the Holidays! Go! Shop!

This week we’re rocking a full third dozen hosts! Oh wait that’s math… nevermind!

Mixmoff, Aevan, Dr. Scares, and Cruz talk about Dante’s Inferno, PixelJunk Shooter, Trash Panic, Valkyria Chronicles, and consoles of the past! We also announce the categories for the Fallies: our year of the end awards show set to air December 31st!

*There’s a slight issue with static at certain points in this episode.  It was edited out as much as possible, and should only be a minor annoyance.

So we recorded the Level 16 podcast last night, but I have been out of town today and unable to post it to the site! Look for the new episode tomorrow morning, after I get a chance to edit out all of Cruz’s racial epithets.

What he has against Laotians I’ll never know…

A game that has been mentioned on several occasions as being down right awesome, is now just 9.99!  For a scope of how amazing that deal is, The Last Remnant usually goes for a cool 39.99 on Steam.  That is a 75% discount!  Crazy!  I will personally recommend this game to everyone who visits this website and listens to our podcast, not only because of the ridiculously low price, but also because of the amazing game you’ll get for it. 

The powers of the Remnants slowly began to change the world’s balance.
A rift slowly formed between those who ruled and those who obeyed.
This was the dawning of a new era — an era of countless frays that would be brought upon the world by those enslaved by their own lust for power.

A thousand years later, the journey of one young man begins.

Featuring an enthralling story, countless characters and an intricate battle system, Square Enix brings the RPG experience known as The Last Remnant to the PC.
Discover new strategies in the improved battle system.

I will also recommend finding yourself a way to get your 360 controller to work with your PC before you tackle this beast, as it will improve your gameplay experience 10-fold.  You have no excuses now, people!  I have 9.99 in change between the floor mats of my car and the dark untold crevices beneath my couch cusions!  Go buy it, play it and allow yourselves to be Wow’d by The Last Remnant!

So a handful of days after a successful YLOD fix, my not-so-trusty PS3 has died yet again. This time I was able to disassemble, apply the fix, and reassemble by memory…. but it was to no avail. The blinking red light has been replaced by a unlit LED, and this machine has obviously pwned it’s last n00b.

In my opinion, the purported YLOD fix will work, but it’s a band-aid fix in many situations. Eventually a malfunctioning board will catch up to you, and a new machine is probably the only reliable fix.

It took me officially Way Too Damn Long, but a hole in my budget opened up long enough to let a copy of Borderlands slip through, and I’m really wondering why I didn’t get this sooner.

Right now I’m about 75%-ish through my first playthrough. I’m playing the Soldier class; since he is a planet-hopping mercenary with a hip urban attitude, I have named him Deltron. I’m currently at Level 32 with a Support Gunner class mod, closing in quickly on 33, and for the moment I’m mostly focusing skills on physical endurance, dealing good damage with all weapon types, and getting the most use out of the deployable turret. My only complaint is the lack of any ‘alternate’ character models, since while I do love my Soldier’s skillset, I still feel awkward not playing a girl, and I’ve found I’m pretty terrible with the Siren(stealth is decidedly NOT my forte). Read the rest of this entry »