Category: Viral

One Man Versus the Super Mario Galaxy Soundtrack

I have made plenty of snarky remarks in the past about the nature of the Internet and how it gravitates towards certain viral videos. One of the trends that I dislike is the way everyone clamors over every single cover of the original Super Mario Bros. theme. It’s completely lost any magic it once had for me.

However, this is something different. This is one dude (Diwa de Leon) covering a medley of Super Mario Galaxy’s excellent original score. Yes, he voices/plays all the instruments himself. And yes, I’m impressed. You should be, too.

Call of Duty Looks Strange in Real Life

How’s your lead-up to the holidays going, GamerSushi-ans? I hope that you’ve bought all the presents you need because things get a little crazy out there come tomorrow. Anyways, the staff here is taking a little break as Eddy mentioned, but I thought that I would pop in and give you a little gift in the form of a new Freddie Wong video, who in the past has explored gaming conventions like how aimbot would work in real life. This time, he’s poking fun at Call of Duty, similar to his Time Crisis spoof but without the guy from Spartacus. Watch and enjoy:

Dorkly Celebrates Health Item Brawls

One gaming related thing that I miss are the side-scrolling beat-em-up arcade games of my youth, the ones based off my favorite cartoons like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The one aspect of that that I don’t miss, however, is the inevitable fight that would ensue whenever a healing item popped up on screen. Even if I was only playing with one other person, we would eventually come to blows. Etiquette is the person with the lowest health gets the item, but we all know it’s survival of the fittest. Dorkly brings back our four favorite Turtles for a trip down memory lane.

Rooster Teeth’s Immersion Episode 2 Shows the Effects of Online Gaming Distractions

Way, way back in the Before-Times (April, to be precise), we posted a video depicting the folks over at Rooster Teeth making a car with a camera rig to simulate the driving in Grant Theft Auto. As it happens, this video was the pilot episode for Immersion, a series where the RT crew explores various video game tropes in real life. The second episode of Immersion just came out, and it features some guest stars doing what online gamers do best: life-destroying trash talk. But when the target is a real solider, what’s the effect? Have a watch and be advised: this is NSFW due to the massive amounts of potty-mouth.

Pretty funny, no? I think this is a really cool idea for an ongoing series, and I’m looking forward to what they’ll have in the future. What do you guys want to see them cover?

Mythbusting Call of Duty: Black Ops

In the past, we’ve seen a series of Mythbusters videos for popular online shooters Modern Warfare 2 and even Halo 3. Thus, it was only natural that Defend The House continued their popular series of multiplayer Mythbusters with a brand-spanking-new entry for Call of Duty: Black Ops.

This edition of the informative yet hilarious videos tackles a few key questions, such as whether or not care package helicopters can be shot down, or how to shoot down Valkyrie missiles. The most important issue it tackles, though, is this: can a man dive over a rocket? Really, it’s a question that needs answering, not just in Black Ops, but every day life. Lord knows it’s kept me up at night.

Have you run into any of these issues in your own online escapades? In general, how do you guys feel about Black Ops multiplayer so far?

Husky and KurtHugo Parody “Baby” With “Banelings”

As a group of people with brain functions higher than that of your average chimpanzee, I think we can all agree that Justin Bieber is a blight upon the Earth equal to Jersey Shore or some other MTV reality show garbage. Adding insult to injury is the fact that he hails from my fair country of Canada, making yet another terrible music sensation we have to apologize for (Nickleback, Cher, Avril Levine and a few more being the others). On the other hand, such musical abortions are ripe for parody. Enter Husky of StarCraft 2 fame and KurtHugo who have cooked up a little ditty about the worst unit for the Zerg, the detestable Banelings. It features a sweet car, hot babes, and yes, plenty of StarCraft jargon. Take a look!

Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood Flying Glitch Shows the Sights

My, Ezio, what a big city you have. I knew the world of Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood was huge, but dang, this is actually pretty impressive. It seems that some folks getting ready for an AC: Brotherhood review ran across a glitch that sent their player flying high into the night sky, where he could then look down upon the game’s enormous sprawling world.

This is one of those rare occasions where a bug/glitch shows off something far more astounding, especially when you look down at all the buildings and city streets and realize that you can actually run and climb throughout all of those. Honestly, it seems like flying around in some kind of sandbox mode after the game was over would not be a bad feature at all, after seeing this.

Has anyone had a chance to play this yet? Got any thoughts on it?

Fanmade Half-Life 3 Test Footage Is a Little Neat

If you listen to me at all in the many avenues for my ranting and raving, you know that “fanmade” anything is one of the least favorite words in my dictionary. I’m a firm believer that it’s more valuable for people to spend their time making their own creations rather than piggybacking on the creations of others. However, I accept that in these modern Intertubes, there’s just a culture that doesn’t always appreciate that.

Anyway, I’m about to be a bit of a hypocrite, because I think this fanmade Half-Life 3 test footage is kind of neat. It features Gordon Freeman doing some animations we haven’t seen him do before, and seems to take a bit of inspiration from the big scripted events of some more recent FPS games like Call of Duty. Obviously, nothing quite compares to the day that we finally see something out of Valve regarding Half-Life 3 or (Episode 3 or whatever they end up calling it), but a boy can dream, yes?

What do you guys think? Not Half-Life enough?

Sonic Fan Remix is Just What the Fanboys Ordered

While I have not played the newly released Sonic the Hedgehog 4, I have heard that some sniping exists between two differing viewpoints on the game. Some complain that the game is too similar to the old school Sonic games from the Genesis days, while others complain that it doesn’t feel similar enough. In my mind, that probably means that Sega probably nailed it on the head, but that’s a topic for another time.

On the discussion board for today is an impressive demo of Sonic Fan Remix, a lovingly crafted HD remake of a few Sonic the Hedgehog levels. It might be hard to tell from the gameplay video, but this bad boy was conjured up by a development team of just two people. If you want, you can download that sweet thing and play it on your PC. Apparently it’s a bit CPU intensive, but you’ll have to judge that for yourselves. Or just watch.

Although some are a bit premature in claiming that it might be better than Sonic the Hedgehog 4, I’m going to say that it is certainly stunning for a fan made project, and begs the question, yet again – why didn’t these guys just make their own game? Have we not learned from Notch that there’s a killing to be made for small indie teams with great games?

So what do you guys think? How many of you have played Sonic the Hedgehog 4?

Source – Sonic Fan Remix

Minecraft Interstate Time Lapse Video Goes to Ludicrous Speed

Trying to describe what makes Minecraft so addicting is actually a fairly difficult task. It’s like trying to describe a color, or a raptor in a time machine. Actually no, that second one is pretty easy and would lead to total doom. Anyway, Minecraft is a game that looks crappy that you dig and build stuff in. It doesn’t sound so great, but that’s why people have to see it for themselves. Either by playing it, or watching awesome videos like this one.

YouTube user brt5470 has created a gorgeous Minecraft time lapse video, showcasing an interstate railway of sorts he built that spans his entire world. In addition to that, he’s running some high resolution textures, creating a stunning and trippy picture when it’s all said and done. Seriously, seeing the moon in the sky and the sun set while speeding along the landscape is worth the price of admission here, which is actually free. Lucky you. Watch!

Starcraft II Project Vector Mod Goes from RTS to Dead Space

Wow. This is one of those videos that’s so impressive there’s not really a whole lot to say about it. Project Vector is a Starcraft II Mod that was created with the goal of achieving a playable third person survival-horror game out of the popular RTS. And it looks like they’re actually making some progress, if the new Project Vector demo is of any indication. It’s pretty much Dead Space in Starcraft II’s engine, which is something I never saw happening.

According to its creators over on the SC2Mapster forums, the game is currently playable, but they are still working on some additional revisions. Since they know the entire project will take some time to finish, they’re considering releasing it in small chunks so the community can get their hands on it.

This is all kinds of awesome. And I’ll go out on a limb here: until consoles can start to do this kind of thing with this level of quality, no one can call PC gaming definitively dead. Boom.

Source – SC2Mapster

Catching Up with the Castlevania Retrospective

When it comes to original video content, I think that GameTrailers has some of the best retrospective features around. They’re usually informative, entertaining and ridiculously well researched. And to top it off, they’re about some of the biggest franchises in all of gaming.

This week, in honor of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow’s release, they return with part 1 of their Castlevania Retrospective, which is all about the origin of Dracula and his sordid history with the Belmont clan. Having never played a Castlevania game (don’t tar and feather me, Anthony), this whole thing is pretty fascinating to me, and I’d be a crazy person to hear that music and see that gameplay and not start itching to pick those titles up. Going to have to add Symphony of the Night to the list, and soon. I seriously can’t get enough of these things.

Can we get a roll call from the Castlevania fans out there?

Dance Fortress 2 Busts a Move

This is sort of a week for excellent dance-themed machinima, it seems. First we get the sublime krogan dance off in the form of Mass Effect 2’s Dance Dance Redemption, and now we have Dance Fortress 2. This little beauty of a video was made by a talented man who goes by the name of James Benson. This project started two months ago, and the culmination of his efforts can be seen below. This was apparently made as a resume to Valve, so best of luck to you, Mr. Benson.

Mass Effect 2 Machinima: Dance Dance Retribution

Oh man, it’s not very often that a machinima piece makes me laugh these days, but then again, most pieces aren’t named Dance Dance Retribution. Nor do they feature two Krogans from Mass Effect 2 dancing. This is a piece created by Blue Suns for the 48 hour machinima contest that was featured in Fantastic Fest this past weekend in Austin, Texas. I kept hearing good things about it, so I just had to post on it.

Really, there’s not much else to say other than that it follows the tale of a Krogan seeking extreme justice through extreme dance moves. And it’s hilarious. Give it a watch.

Best of all? It was co-created by a SmoothFewFilms fan that goes by the handle of Gassy Mexican. Great job, man!

Crazy Dude Building USS Enterprise in Minecraft

I don’t even really know what to say about this, because it’s just one of those crazy things that makes you rethink your life and all the ways you’ve used or wasted it over the years. I won’t lie, when it comes to video games, I have wasted many hours. I’ve thrown marbles down hills in Oblivion. I’ve looked at a girl Spartan’s butt in Halo: Reach. These are things I’ve spent time doing. But I’ve never done anything like this guy.

Apparently, Minecraft nut “halnicholas” has been working hard to construct a 1:1 scale replica of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D from Star Trek: The Next Generation in said crafting game. He’s got the framework done, and is looking for skillful trekkies and builders alike to come and help him finish the fight. Wait, I’m mixing sci-fis here.

Anyway, this is certifiably insane and awesome all at once.

Also, is it wrong that this makes me want to play Minecraft even more?

Little Big Planet 2 Beta Produces Vietnam FPS, Zone of the Enders and Street Fighter II

Wow. The more I see about Little Big Planet 2 and its incredible sandbox, the more I can’t wait to play it. The beta for the game is currently underway, which means that players are creating all kinds of madness that has been previously unknown to us. However, the NDA for the beta has finally lifted, which means that we are now getting to see just what people have been up to in secret. Some of the results include an FPS, Zone of the Enders and Street Fighter II. And frankly, the clips are incredible.

First, we have the Vietnam-themed first person shooter. While it’s fairly basic, I’m actually quite impressed with the graphics here, and the possibilities are enough to whet the creative appetite for more.

See the next two videos after the jump!
Continue reading Little Big Planet 2 Beta Produces Vietnam FPS, Zone of the Enders and Street Fighter II

Why You Should Go to PAX: Big Daddy Dances to Poker Face

There are very few occasions in which cosplay and win could be used in tandem with one another, but I think we’ve found it. Why is that, you ask? Because there is a video from PAX of a Big Daddy playing Dance Central, the dance game for XBox Kinect.

Also, he’s dancing to Poker Face, which ups the scale of humor to dangerously toxic. And the reasons for me to be jealous for attendees continues to grow…

Why Can’t This Sonic and Knuckles 3D Level Be Real?

Oh Sonic. Your franchise, along with Sega, have become quite the punching bags in the gaming industry of late. You used to be so spinny, so fast, so fresh (and bright + vivid), but now you’re just a retro-gen has been. As much as it pains me to say it, it’s true. It’s so true in fact, that every time we get a glimpse of how good you could be, we get a little weepy, and mourn for the Sonic that we knew and loved.

Take this video mock-up of Sonic and Knuckles 3D. It’s a re-creation of the Mushroom Hill Zone level from that game, done in widescreen and updated graphics. Sadly, it’s not playable, but gives a great sense of that old school Sonic flavor. Sega, I have to ask you an honest question: why have you been unable to pull this off? This game should have come out years ago.

Who else wishes they could play this?

Time Crisis Starring Spartacus

Freddie Wong is kind of my personal hero right now. Over the past few weeks, he’s made some awesome shorts dedicated to all-out gunfights; most of them poking fun at video games, such as his “Aimbot” piece. His new weekly offering takes us back to the arcade days of our youth, where Time Crisis gobbled up quarters faster than a broken vending machine. It also doesn’t hurt that Andy Whitfield, Spartacus himself, has taken up the second gun. Take a look:

Kind of awesome in my opinion. Also, Spartacus is kind of a recent obsession for my friends and I, so seeing Mr. Whitfield was pretty cool. What did you guys think of the video?

Today’s WTF: Meet You at the Corner of North and North

We often joke around here that Nolan North is in too many video games, but we’ve never actually experienced the phenomenon of “Mr. Uncharted” talking to himself…until now. Mafia 2, which is due to be released on August 24 in North America, plays host to this slight against humanity. Watch the following video to witness Nolan North talking to Nolan North.

Obviously, this is randomly generated dialogue and the chances of this happening in your game are slim to none (hopefully), but someone should really be fired for this. And Nolan, we get that you’re a great voice actor, but you might have wanted to change your delivery a little if you’re acting as a fat gangster. Just saying.