Welcome to the first episode of the unofficial podcast companion to Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD TV series. This episode we will discuss “Pilot” the first episode of the series, originally airing on September 24, 2013.

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Before Halo, Call of Duty, Doom, and even Wolfenstein 3-D, there was Catacomb 3-D, a prototype of the first person shooter. Catacomb 3-D is the third of a series, although it is the first using a 3-D engine. Playing as a nameless wizard, you descend into a catacomb to battle orcs, goblins, and other creatures with a variety of spells that you find throughout each level. The game was later followed up the Catacomb Fantasy Trilogy, which wasn’t developed by ID, although they use a similar engine and gameplay. These three games introduce new levels, and the third part even introduces sci-fi elements. You can get the entire series for only $6 at GOG.com. You’ll want to check it out and witness the birth of one of gaming’s most popular genres.

Ever since Double Fine Adventure (a.k.a. Broken Age), Kickstarter has been the go-to place to fund games in genres long-thought dead (e.g. Adventure Games), by creators long thought dead (e.g. Al Lowe — kidding! We love ya puddin’), or franchises long thought dead (e.g. the Mega Man-esque Migthy No. 9 by Keiji Inafune). Is this a good thing? And can it possibly last? Vinnk and Sean discuss their one-night-only Madison Underground live show, including the story of being accosted by a supposedly off-duty Marine while filming some footage for the show. It’s a long story, and we totally tell it! We also talk about which Kickstarter games are the most interesting, which ones we’ve funnded and played, and whether or not having a Wii U stretch goal is an absolute necessity (well, Sean thinks so). We also tried out some “delicious” Pepsi-flavored Cheetos — complete with video!

Leave your own voicemail at 608-492-1923, or just share your thoughts in the show notes at FamicomDojo.TV:
http://famicomdojo.tv/podcast/80

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Normally I don’t feature free-to-play games in this column, but with this game I’m making an exception since you don’t need to spend any real world money to experience everything it has to offer. Pixel People is an 8-bit version of what the 2005 film The Island would look like if instead of being murdered and having their organs harvested, the clones actually were being sent to an island, and this island was in space. You are in control of a colony of clones on an island in space. After they come to an arrival center, you assign them jobs by splicing two genes which represent professions. There are over 200 to unlock, and there are small animals and other items to find and unlock as well. Your island is constantly expanding, so you’ll need to purchase more land for buildings and houses. There are two main resources: gold and utopium. Gold is harvested on a regular basis, while utopium is a bit more scarce. You can buy utopium at a premium price, but if you’re patient, you can wait until you save up for whatever you need. A recent update added the ability to add facebook friends so you can trade commodities with them, leave gifts, and visit their towns. If you got an iPad, and a few minutes a day to kill, grab this from the app shop. It’s free-to-play, but thankfully it’s not pay-to-win.

Vinnk was in the US for a few weeks, and came back to Japan with a new Wii U and a bunch of games! Then just last week Nintendo announced the $50 price drop and the Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD bundle. Sean bought a 3DS XL right before the seemingly-ridiculous 2DS announcement, but he ain’t even mad, bro. Sean and Vinnk discuss their new systems, similarities (good and bad), and how they feel about purchasing them just before major shakeups in the market. We also learn that Sean doesn’t think Super Mario Galaxy was that great of a game! :O

Leave your own voicemail at 608-492-1923, or just share your thoughts in the show notes at FamicomDojo.TV:
http://famicomdojo.tv/podcast/79

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As I noted in my review of Datura a few weeks back, indie games often use vagueness and minimalism as a means of attracting players. However, there is a difference between using minimalism to benefit the game and being vague for the sake of being vague. Sadly, Vigil (or Victi as it’s known in Europe) does the latter. While it drags players in with its Sin-City-style graphics and interesting storyline, it’s vagueness and frustrating gameplay will turn off players with the quickness.
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Marvel.com just announced that the major villain for the highly anticipated sequel to last year’s Avengers film has been cast. The actor filling the shoe’s of extremely dangerous artificial intelligence is James Spader. The Boston native is known most recently for his work on The Office and Boston Legal, along with a role in the feature film, Lincoln. Sci-fans will remember his as Dr. Daniel Jackson from the 1994 film, Stargate.

Marvel’s release was as follows:

James Spader will face off against Earth’s Mightiest Heroes as the villain in Marvel’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” the sequel to 2012’s record-breaking “Marvel’s The Avengers.” The Emmy Award-winning actor will play Ultron in the Avengers’ much anticipated return to the big screen from writer/director Joss Whedon. The film comes to theaters on May 1, 2015.
Spader earned three Emmy Awards for his role as Alan Shore on “Boston Legal” and “The Practice,” and will return to television this fall in NBC’s highly anticipated series “The Blacklist.” Most recently Spader was seen in the critically-acclaimed film “Lincoln” directed by Steven Spielberg and has previously worked with a long list of accomplished film directors including David Cronenberg, Curtis Hansen, Sidney Lumet, Mike Nichols, Tim Robbins, Robert Rodriguez, Steven Soderbergh, and Oliver Stone. David Mamet also directed Spader in the Broadway play Race.
“Avengers: Age of Ultron” will bring the Marvel Universe’s biggest heroes together again to face one of their biggest villains, with “Marvel’s The Avengers” director Joss Whedon returning to write and direct the sequel. “Marvel’s The Avengers” was released in 2012 and went on to earn $1.5 billion worldwide, making it the third-largest grossing movie of all time.
Spader is represented by ICM Partners and his lawyer Melanie Cook at Ziffren Brittenham.

Do you agree with the casting decision? Let us know in the comments!

In what initially seemed like an April Fools’ announcement in the middle of August, Nintendo has announced a new handheld; The Nintendo 2DS. The 2DS will compete on value with a lower price point. To drop the price, the 3D functionality has been removed along with the hinge, one of the speakers. It will be close in size to a regular 3DS laid flat. The device still has two cameras, a speaker, headphone jack, sd card, wi-fi, street passes, access to the Nintendo eShop and the ability to play all DS and 3DS games. The 2DS will retail for about $129 and is scheduled to drop on October 12th. Both red and blue versions will be available while the front panel will be either white or black.

[Source: Engadget]