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WoW Moviewatch: Drugs, my anti-World of Warcraft
A simple premise done well. I can't say that I officially recommend drugs as an alternative to this game (or that I agree with the idea that doing drugs is better for you than raiding for epics every weekend), but I thought the joke here was done pretty well.And especially well for just some kids messing around. The sound, colors, and the music all worked, and while you can't fault those anti-drug PSAs for doing what they do, they do have a certain style to them that begs to be parodied.
Oink oink, mama: Barnyard Blast trailer
Let's be real here, kids: No matter how much we sing its praises or try to draw you into our distorted interpretation of reality, Barnyard Blast isn't really going to be on anyone's 2008 Handheld Game of the Year list. Considering Advance Wars: Days of Ruin's release a week after Barnyard Blast's, it's doubtful we'll even see it grab the Handheld Game of the Month prize. We can safely pledge, however, that, despite the rough bits in the above trailer, Barnyard Blast will be the best Castlevania parody game to ever star a cowboy pig and appear in stores on January 15th, 2008. Yes, it's a hard gamble, and we're really putting our reputation on the line here, but we're going to hold our breath and roll the dice anyway. See also: DS Fanboy interviews Barnyard Blast's Yan Marchal[Via GoNintendo]
Simpsons Game parodies those crazy Japanese and their wacky games
Hoping that the Japanese have a better sense of humor than their American counterparts, EA has released a trailer featuring the previously-discussed "Big Super Happy Fun Fun Land" section of The Simpsons Game, which parodies Japanese culture as well as (apparently) Japanese video games. Pardon the parentheticals, but the only game we see spoofed in this trailer is Katamari Damacy. Yes, we see Mr. Sparkle; We see the anime-inspired cutscene; We (unfortunately) hear the high-pitched "engrish"; But where are the games? Are we missing something obvious? Take a look for yourselves after the break, and please enlighten us.
Barnyard Blast porks your DS January, 2008
Not wanting to steal Phantom Hourglass' title as the 2007 Game of the Year, DSI Games politely pushed the release of its Barnyard Blast to early 2008, January 15th to be specific. Yes, that's unfortunate for 2008's GOTY contenders, but there's a kitty with a thirst for its mother's milk whom you can refer your complaints to.Being avid readers of our site, you'll remember that Barnyard Blast is a 2D action platformer styled after the original Castlevania games on the NES. You play as Robert Belmart, a cowboy pig and monster slayer, blasting your way through a variety of parodied horror levels, such as "the old creepy wooden jail" and "the castle of intolerable pain."Developer Sanuk Software revealed more about the game in a recent interview with us just a couple of months ago. If you haven't read it yet, now's your chance to roll around in the mud with it!
The Onion says Apple backlash set for March 21st, 2008
With all of the hype and excitement surrounding Apple products, it's clear that the company has created a climate for a massive and sustained backlash. Well, according to a new report in The Onion, Wall Street forecasters have set a date for the tide to turn: March 21st, 2008. According to Goldman Sachs analyst Steven Shore, a shift in attitude will occur which will cause users of the Cupertino juggernaut's products to, "Look down at their glossy white or black devices and feel a sense of embarrassment and gullibility." Shore went on the say, "They will realize that, despite all the sleek design, they got caught up in a wave of hype that made them shell out additional hundreds of dollars for options and features they didn't need." The report claims that Apple will respond to the news with the release of a mint-green iPod in late October, though we have our doubts that the company is considering anything lighter than emerald.
WoW Moviewatch: M A.G.E.
In the newest video from Nyhm, creator of Can't PuG KZ and Death Knight Spree, we're treated to his newest spin on things going on in WoW. This time around Nyhm actually decided to jump from his beloved Warlock and give us the skinny from another caster class -- the Mage! This one features a parody of a 50 cent song and some pretty witty observations about Mage group utility and abilities. We all know Mages are the best snack machines in game, but you have to admit that Nyhm's served this tasty Mage treat up with style.Bon Appétit!Previously, on MovieWatch...
Zune on Woot for $20 less, Woot offers rebate (and parody)
Gosh, I love Woot.com. Not only are they based in my original hometown (St. Louis, MO, also home of Fried Ravioli and the Bowling Hall of Fame), and not only do they have some great deals on their site (they sell just one item per day, usually at lower-than-normal prices), but they are insightful and funny people. Take, for example, today's item-- it's a Zune (that non-Apple mp3 player that you may have heard of). When Woot offered the Zune a little while ago, not only did they make headlines, but Apple fans really enjoyed it-- it took Microsoft's mp3 player a full 23 hours to completely sell out, even at the low price of $150.And now, as reader Jon points out, Woot is giving Apple fans another chuckle. Not only is today's Zune on sale for $130 ($20 less than before-- and it is sold out as of this writing), but their description text is a pitch-perfect parody of another mp3 seller who's had to announce falling prices on one of his products. And they've even offering a coupon back to their previous Zune customers-- as they say, "we want to convincingly pretend to do the right thing for our valued Zune customers."It's Jobsian parody worthy of Fake Steve. Very nice job, Woot.Thanks, Jon!
Today's just-like-me video: Cat's in the Cradle parody
A new Super Deluxe music video shows a loose parody of "Cat's in the Cradle," covering the life of a gamer dad and his newborn son. The sometimes nonsensical (and mildly NSFW) lyrics amused us as much as the made-up videogames the dad plays. It's longer than our typical video-of-the-moment picks, but entertains through the full five-and-a-half-minute runtime.Oh, and it features Dana Snyder, who voices Master Shake, if you're into that sort of thing. See the video after the break.[Image Credit via BoingBoing]
Halo 3 Hype Hoedown satire song
It was bound to happen and be absolutely well deserved. Sarcastic Gamer, the guys who've already created a Wii song, Xbox song, and PS3 song, are now focusing on the hype machine behind Halo 3 and how it'll change the world. Sadly, we believe that many people actually think many of the things in the song will happen once Halo 3 is released -- OMG, what if they're right?
Because we're Fresh Prince fans, too
Seriously, we are! We remember watching Will Smith and the Banks family was such a treat growing up, as we looked up to Will for coming from our hometown and making it big with his own hit TV show. And, with the show now appearing on Nick at Nite, we get to watch all of our favorite episodes over and over again. Considering our undying love for a certain attorney, the combination of the two was something we couldn't pass up the opportunity to post about. Like taking a boot to the head, this Phoenix Wright parody video is one funny piece of footage.[Via Go Nintendo; the actual episode clip can be found here. Thanks, hvnlysoldr!]
The zunePhone
Mark sent us this silly mockup of a zunePhone that his coworker made, complete with the signature commercial music for the iPhone (which is actually called "Perfect Timing (This Morning)" by Orba Squara, available on an iTS near you). What's up with that hand? Did he actually animate it using stills from the real commercials? If so, A for effort, even if it does end up looking a little strange.The flashing 12:00 makes me laugh (as does what happens to the Polaroid after it's done developing), but otherwise, this phone is pretty much what you'd expect from Microsoft-- a blatant copy, only done messier, tackier, and much, much later. Good times.
iPod easter egg in Starcraft II
AJ noticed something funny at BlizzCon, Blizzard Entertainment's big gaming convention out in Anaheim, CA the other week-- hidden inside Starcraft II, Blizzard's upcoming RTS game, is this little nod to the iPod. Hidden on a little billboard in the game's futuristic setting is an ad for the iPistol: "advanced targeting... get into the groove."Of course, it's one of many, many Apple parodies, but this one's extra special, because not only will Blizzard's game be huge when it finally releases (and all Blizzard fans like myself know that'll be a few months after "when it's ready"), but the same disc will install both on Windows and our beautiful OS X. At a time when other companies are getting props for joining forces with Apple, it should probably be noted that Blizzard's been with us all along-- from Diablo to World of Warcraft, Blizzard's games have always been Mac friendly. So while there will be many easter eggs in Starcraft II, I'll wager, we like this one the most.Thanks, AJ!
Found Footage: Calamari retro
So, say you're watching Pirates of the Caribbean. Mmmm... Did somebody say, "Calamari?"Before there was the iPhone, there was iHome. And strangely enough, it worked pretty much the same-- just a little slower, and you could only do it from home, and you had to decide who was going to get the phone book out and look it up. My only question is what exactly he's doing at the beginning. Is he pretending to drive the ship?Thanks, Stephen!
LFG releases teaser, promises feature length film
Here's some really interesting news from the guys who make the popular Looking For Group comic: a feature film is in the works. Sohmer, who runs Blind Ferret Entertainment (which is also working on projects for PvP and Ctrl-Alt-Delete), says that the company is going to make a "75-80 minute feature film" (animated, of course) starring the LFG gang.And the piece above is a "teaser" for the movie, tentatively titled "LFG: The Origin of Dick." (The character in the video above, if you haven't read the comic, is named Richard). No word on whether the whole movie will consist of songs, or song parodies, but the short is pretty well done, and so if that's any indication, the full-length movie will be a good time. Not to mention quite an achievement-- are there any other online comics that have gone on to support a feature film? I can't think of any.Of course, that's assuming the comic can actually support it. We'll find out when it releases-- Blind Ferret says they're targeting it for late 2008.
DS Fanboy interviews Barnyard Blast's Yan Marchal
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Barnyard_Blast_Swine_of_the_Night_interview_details_comedy_gold'; Barnyard Blast, despite its title, continues to be one of the few games for the DS that we're genuinely anticipating. We were immediately taken with its concept long before Sanuk Software even found a publisher, surprised that the Bangkok-based studio had created something as original and madcap as a cowboy pig caught up in a classically-styled Castlevania adventure. We sat down with Sanuk Software founder Yan Marchal to find out more about the 2D action platformer and its porky protagonist, Robert Belmart. Will Barnyard Blast use any of the DS's unique features? What sort of creative bosses can we look forward to?Most importantly, how did a pistol-packing pig find himself shooting his way through spooky graveyards and foreboding castles? Yan answers all those questions and even reveals a new screenshot for us to fawn over past the post break!
TUAW File: Apple's iPhone Demo Contacts - perfect for your ad spoofs
Now that you have a usable snippet of the music from the iPhone commercials with which to start making your spoofs, how about a default set of contacts so you don't post anyone's private information for the whole world to see? Thanks to a clever reader by the name of Stephen Kenny, TUAW is now hosting this copy of the 60 phony contacts set up in the demo iPhones in Apple Stores. In case you're wondering, yes: this means you too can have John Appleseed in your iPhone! The primary idea here is that you can simply sync these contacts perhaps as a group (or the only group) to your iPhone and only use those when demoing making fun of any of its features. Adding them all to a specific group in Address Book will help you keep things organized (both on and off screen), and you can easily delete them once you get all those spoofs uploaded to YouTube. Plus, your friends and coworkers will thank you for not putting their phone number or home address in too public of a place. Without further adieu, here is the 5.2MB zip file containing 60 contacts that won't mind being spotlighted in your iPhone spoof ads. This zip file contains a vCard file, ripe for importing into Address Book (and possibly Entourage/Outlook as well) and synching with your iPhone. TUAW File:Apple's iPhone Demo Contacts (5.2 MB zip file)
Music from iPhone ads now available - get working on those YouTube parodies
In addition to that wonderful iFuntastic app that allows you to add ringtones and rearrange your iPhone's apps (even after this week's 1.0.1 software update), iPhone Alley has also made available what is sure to become a staple of iPhone culture and parodies the world over: the 'official' music from the iPhone TV ads. After doing some digging, iPhone Alley's Michael Johnston found the song used in the ad - Perfect Timing by Orba Squara (iTS link) - so he chopped out what sounds like the exact portion and made it available for download. Head over to the iPhone Alley post for more info and to download a copy - then get to work on those YouTube parodies!
The Onion: Sousaphone Hero not catching on
Sad news today for fans of Sousaphone Hero, that shining hope for lovers of video games and the great marches of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. According to satire site The Onion, the game has sold only 52 copies in its first week of release. Boy, are our faces red, especially considering we've been touting the game's promise, despite its striking resemblance to Japanese favorite SousaphoneFreaks.The publication does make some good points though, especially the one about the game costing $345, a price that was intimidating even with the pack-in spats that could sense the player's marching steps. We also understand the complaints about the 100-pound controller. Perhaps the saddest news in all of this though is that the low numbers have lead to the cancellation of Cymbal Hero, Glockenspiel Hero and Steam Calliope Hero. For lovers of oom-pah music, it would seem, the forecast is sis-boom-bad.
WoW Moviewatch: Previously on Lost
This World of Warcraft-based parody really sums up the entire Lost experience for me. (All it's missing is a polar bear.) Anyone who hasn't seen the television show Lost may be mystified by the random collection of scenes and images, but it's really just an average week for the Lost crew stuck on their desert island. Some language makes this video NSFW.Previously on Moviewatch...
Wii song gives console satire comeuppance
The Wii has been relatively unscathed by satire, which given its success is quite surprising. Maybe there is ultimate fear of the Nintendo Defense Force and anyone who speaks out is afraid of waking up with a lombax head in their bed. Jeromy Adams has now completed the circle of mockery starting with the PS3 on how to kill your brand, then the Xbox 360 and its red rings of fire.Adams, who made the song with Dave Cothran, says the song is inspired by the "scores of gamers" who discover the Wii works better as a "bookend" than as a gaming platform. Hopefully the release of Metroid will signal a change in the Wii and it won't be considered the parched console of gimmicky waggle anymore. We hope.
