This week in Speak-Up on Kotaku, Erwin, Culebra, Ursus-Veritas, and The Drunken Moogle talk that kiddie Yoshi's Story game, how cool Beetle Adventure Racing was, parents who think the worst, and delicious Mudkips.
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so i herd u liek drinking mudkipz
Oh Drunken Moogle, where would be be without your fantastical creations? Sober, I'd guess.
Mukip shots!
1/2 ounce Peach Schnapps (Peachtree)
1 ounce Blue Curacao (Dekuyper)
3/8 ounce Caramel Liquor (Southern Comfort)
Parents Just Don't Understand
Ursus-Veritas is having trouble explaining to his mother that he is very fortunate, and not a hardened criminal/
Ursus-Veritas' Tip of the Day
If you have parents who know very little about games, for the love of god, don't try to explain the concept of a beta to them.
This is a pretty much word for word conversation I just had with my mom about Halo: Reach:
Me: 'Mom, if I don't come downstairs when you come home from work tomorrow, it's not because I hate you or anything, it's because I'll be playing the Halo: Reach beta.'
Mom: '*Sighs*, where the fuck did you get that from!? I don't know where you're finding the money to get these games, are you stealing it?'
Me: 'What!? No! A beta is like demo of a game. A free preview of the game. In fact, it's not meant to start till monday, I won a contest to get an early access code.'
Mom: 'You don't win anything! You're lying, I know it. I've never heard you talk about these demo things before. If I find anything on my credit card you can email the guy who you 'won' the code from and send the game back.'
Me: 'IT'S NOT A GAME, ITS A DEMO! ITS FREE! IT COSTS NOTHING TO PLAY!'
Mom: 'Don't raise your voice at me! I dunno, stealing games, what the hell has gotten into you!?'
*I storm off*
So yeah. NEVER.
Beetle Adventure Racing Was Robbed!
Culebra takes us through his top four arcade racing games, somehow accidentally labling Beetle Adventure Racing as four instead of one.
With Split Second and Blur just around the corner, it's time to celebrate the wonderful art of arcade style racing games!
Gather 'round and bask in the warm glow of a list of my select favorites in the genre.
My top 4!
4: Beetle Adventure Racing (N64)
This game was just pure fun, and a nice showcase for the system at the time. Didn't take itself too seriously, and reminded me a little bit of the Rush series for whatever reason.
Which brings me to..
3: Rush 2 (N64)
As much as I loved San Francisco Rush, the sequel improved so much. Better handling, different cities, and most importantly, a stunt track. Oh the hours I spent on that track, devising fiendish vehicular acrobatics...
2: Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 (PS2)
Yum. This game was all about the slick style and satisfying handling. I'd put the music on mute, blast the sound effects, put some music of my own on my stereo, and just battle the cops endlessly. The Xbox and Gamecube versions were supposedly inferior, though I don't know how, I've never played them.
1: Burnout Revenge (360)
Let me not be misunderstood, I liked Burnout Paradise. A lot. And as time went on, the game got better and better with successive dlc. However, Revenge just had a certain visceral feeling that's just unmatched. Knocking traffic around as a weapon was fun as hell, and made for some great rivalries online. Revenge just had balls, big hairy aggressive balls.
I promise this is a good thing. If you've played Paradise but never Revenge, please, you owe it to yourself to track a copy down. Brave the long loading times between races and you'll be rewarded.
And there ya have it, my little list. I've purposefully stuck to console versions and left kart racers off of the list, but that doesn't mean you have to!
Feel free to post your top favorite arcade racers!
Yoshi's Defender
Erwin will not tolerate anyone talking bad about Yoshi's Story.
Perhaps it's because people see it as "kiddie." Really? That's what you attack? Maybe you could move on to bashing cel-shading and catch up with 2004. Of course, I saw the same crap with Little Big Planet so I guess it will never end. Unfortunately, this hate has struck close to home. My father all but disowns me whenever it comes to mind, and my otherwise wonderful girlfriend became... highly insulting when I listened to the credits song. Bear in mind, she's even a Katamari fan.