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Worth Reading: 10/05/12

This week's edition is coming in hot on Friday night, with plenty of stories, videos, and games to indulge with, including a passionate defense of Nights.

Everyone keeps telling me SCP Containment Breach is really good, so we'll play it eventually.
Everyone keeps telling me SCP Containment Breach is really good, so we'll play it eventually.

If you missed it, the test stream for Spookin’ With Scoops was earlier this week. The archive is still available on Twitch TV. If you choose, you can watch me spill my drink all over the couch, due to an unexpected encounter with my pal Slenderman.

No, we won’t be going back to the well again with Slender. As interesting as that game is, it’s played out by now, and I’m interested in playing things that haven’t come across my desk before. I’m happy to take suggestions on what those games might be, which is why I’ve started a thread on the forums for just that.

Think of Spookin’ With Scoops as something very much like Worth Reading. I don’t know what this feature is going to completely be just yet. Right now, it’s going to be me playing scary video games in the dark and screaming like a girl, but that’s not what it always has to be, and it can easily expand into much bigger and more ambitious things, as Worth Reading has done over the past few months.

So, patience. I’ll be listening to your comments, and evolving as it makes sense. The first episode will be next week!

Hey, You Should Play This

No Caption Provided

As a general rule, I don’t contribute to gaming Kickstarter projects, even ones where friends are involved. Especially as a reporter, it simply becomes too messy too quickly, and so I just abstain from the practice. One of the very few I contributed to was Gametrekking, in which designer Jordan Magnuson was seeking funding to travel around the world and create tiny video games based on what he saw, heard, and felt. I’ve written about one of his games from the Gametrekking project, The Killer, which proved especially divisive amongst Giant Bomb readers. His trek and project are now complete, and he’s put everything online with The Gametrekking Omnibus. It’s very impressive.

And You Should Read This

No Caption Provided

Yeah, Jeff doesn’t like Nights. He made that pretty clear during the podcast, and the ensuing Quick Look. There are plenty of people, myself included, who liked Nights just fine. No, I don’t think it’s the revelation that others hype it to be, but I’m not outright dismissive at what it does, especially in regards to being a time attack game. Christian Nutt has written a passionate defense of Nights, one driven by the critical pounding it’s taken as a result of the recent digital re-release. While Nutt is perhaps a bit aggressive, he soundly articulates the pro-Nights viewpoint.

If You Click It, It Will Play

Looking For Other Interesting Writing on Resident Evil 6?

I Don’t Know About This Kickstarter Thing, But These Projects Seem Pretty Cool

Valve Just Launched Greenlight, So Here’s Some Games That Don’t Look Terrible

  • I'm still not sure if The Real Texas is any good, but it's super weird and definitely funny.
  • More independent developers should take the critique of pixel art to heart. College Ruled Universe does.
  • I'm a sucker for games with a great sense of motion, which appears to be the aim of The Last Phoenix.

And This Other Stuff, Too

Patrick Klepek on Google+

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patrickklepek

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Edited By patrickklepek
Everyone keeps telling me SCP Containment Breach is really good, so we'll play it eventually.
Everyone keeps telling me SCP Containment Breach is really good, so we'll play it eventually.

If you missed it, the test stream for Spookin’ With Scoops was earlier this week. The archive is still available on Twitch TV. If you choose, you can watch me spill my drink all over the couch, due to an unexpected encounter with my pal Slenderman.

No, we won’t be going back to the well again with Slender. As interesting as that game is, it’s played out by now, and I’m interested in playing things that haven’t come across my desk before. I’m happy to take suggestions on what those games might be, which is why I’ve started a thread on the forums for just that.

Think of Spookin’ With Scoops as something very much like Worth Reading. I don’t know what this feature is going to completely be just yet. Right now, it’s going to be me playing scary video games in the dark and screaming like a girl, but that’s not what it always has to be, and it can easily expand into much bigger and more ambitious things, as Worth Reading has done over the past few months.

So, patience. I’ll be listening to your comments, and evolving as it makes sense. The first episode will be next week!

Hey, You Should Play This

No Caption Provided

As a general rule, I don’t contribute to gaming Kickstarter projects, even ones where friends are involved. Especially as a reporter, it simply becomes too messy too quickly, and so I just abstain from the practice. One of the very few I contributed to was Gametrekking, in which designer Jordan Magnuson was seeking funding to travel around the world and create tiny video games based on what he saw, heard, and felt. I’ve written about one of his games from the Gametrekking project, The Killer, which proved especially divisive amongst Giant Bomb readers. His trek and project are now complete, and he’s put everything online with The Gametrekking Omnibus. It’s very impressive.

And You Should Read This

No Caption Provided

Yeah, Jeff doesn’t like Nights. He made that pretty clear during the podcast, and the ensuing Quick Look. There are plenty of people, myself included, who liked Nights just fine. No, I don’t think it’s the revelation that others hype it to be, but I’m not outright dismissive at what it does, especially in regards to being a time attack game. Christian Nutt has written a passionate defense of Nights, one driven by the critical pounding it’s taken as a result of the recent digital re-release. While Nutt is perhaps a bit aggressive, he soundly articulates the pro-Nights viewpoint.

If You Click It, It Will Play

Looking For Other Interesting Writing on Resident Evil 6?

I Don’t Know About This Kickstarter Thing, But These Projects Seem Pretty Cool

Valve Just Launched Greenlight, So Here’s Some Games That Don’t Look Terrible

  • I'm still not sure if The Real Texas is any good, but it's super weird and definitely funny.
  • More independent developers should take the critique of pixel art to heart. College Ruled Universe does.
  • I'm a sucker for games with a great sense of motion, which appears to be the aim of The Last Phoenix.

And This Other Stuff, Too

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morningstar

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Edited By morningstar

Cool stuff Pat.

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rcath

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Edited By rcath

Didnt think it was coming out.

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49th

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Edited By 49th

Can anyone tell me exactly what time in the stream the drink spill occurred?

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JJBSterling

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Edited By JJBSterling

Funding for the Punch-Out kickstarter project was canceled by the creator 4 days ago.

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GERALTITUDE

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Edited By GERALTITUDE

Oh man I watched that Jake Solomon video earlier today, it was super sweet. He's a king!

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MooseyMcMan

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Edited By MooseyMcMan

That Jake Solomon video was pretty funny. I hope that game does well for them. It looks pretty cool.

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pirata

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Edited By pirata

Wait, is Noby-Noby Boy only being taken off the App Store, or is it coming off PSN as well? Because that would be a damn travesty. I love that damn game...or whatever type of software it is.

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h37s3m

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Edited By h37s3m

i love these

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Lelcar

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Edited By Lelcar

This has been a wonderful week for witnessing polarizing debates. NiGHTS and RE6.

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Icecreamjones

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Edited By Icecreamjones

The Earthworm Jim artist Doug Tennapel is kind of a shitheel. He turned his previously funny comic in to a really awful homophobic political platform and started a flamewar with his fans last year. Really distasteful, cruel man who doesn't give a fuck about his audience. Buyer beware

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Dezanx

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Edited By Dezanx

No reason to hate on Nights because its not for you :O it's not like that game has any actual design FLAWS, its pretty simple.. Time Trial.

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Camsampbell

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Edited By Camsampbell

WoW as an attack ad? Seriously America? I love you guys, but you really need to get your act together politically.

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Edited By Hailinel

@Lelcar said:

This has been a wonderful week for witnessing polarizing debates. NiGHTS and RE6.

I never played Nights. I only ever saw commercials for it and heard from others that it was pretty fun. I never really had the context to fully understand what the game was, and yet I find it incredibly surprising to hear the amount of backlash that the game is suddenly getting in time with the re-release. It's bizarre.

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Edited By SexVicar

If Doug Tenapel wasn't such a complete hateful scumbag to the point that I regret ever playing and enjoying his work, that artbook would be rather tempting. C'est la vie.

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Edited By SirOptimusPrime

Patrick swoops back with a bunch of cool shit. I love these things, especially because bookmarking stuff like that SS2 music breakdown, the Jenn Frank article/thing, and pretty much all of the 'other stuff' makes for a nice set of weekend reads.

It also reminded me that The Real Texas was a thing. That thing is a pile of nonsense, and I keep meaning to get it.

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csl316

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Edited By csl316

That Jake Solomon video is amazing, and the Kameo one is quite interesting (being a pretty big fan of the eventual release).

And the GOP's web site on the whole WoW thing is... wow. "I love poisoning and stabbing! It is fun."

As for Spookin', Clock Tower 3 was one of my favorite "scary" games, though it's more tense and disturbing than something focused on jump scares.

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ShadyPingu

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Edited By ShadyPingu

God dammit. That Jake Solomon video is fantastic.

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Edited By WMWA

Wesker & Sons

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Edited By mdnthrvst

Yes, SCP Containment Breach is a fun, Slender-esque horror game, but that SCP means something very significant. There's a story to this, and a fantastic, open project where it originated:

The SCP Foundation is a fictional archive of objects, creatures, people, and phenomena that, simply put, "disrupt normalcy." In this fiction, the titular Foundation, a clandestine agency, is tasked with containing, studying, and destroying them by any means necessary; the initials stand for "Special Containment Procedures."

SCP Containment Breach is based around SCP-173, the very first SCP artifact devised, which is completely harmless apart from its ability to instantaneously murder anyone in its presence when it isn't being looked at. Blink, and you are ripped apart before you can open your eyes. There are all-powerful Skeleton Keys, mind-warping alien comets that absorb the flesh of humans and incorporate them into a meaty, urban apartment, and plenty along those lines.

There are hundreds of these things, written by an open community, and new ones are added all the time. Not to plug a silly thing, but I love horror, and I know a lot of you do too, so take a look.

The Sculpture is the first, and the one portrayed in Containment Breach. But if you want to spend a good solid hour and come out upset, disturbed, and in awe, take a look at The Red Sea Object.Just click through everything, all the attached appendices and exploration documents, and you will thank me for it.

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impartialgecko

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Edited By impartialgecko

I will buy XCOM for Jake Solomon

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Edited By Video_Game_King

@patrickklepek said:

Yeah, Jeff doesn’t like Nights.

Fuck him.

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Phatmac

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Edited By Phatmac

Well, I guess someone has to defend Nights, right? I'm also excited to see @patrickklepek spill another drink in Spookin' with Scoops next week! :)

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retrovirus

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Edited By retrovirus

That XCOM video is hilarious.

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Edited By Deusx

@L1GHTN1N said:

Goddamn SCP. I was playing with friends around me with all the lights on and it still made us freak the hell out. Slender didn't so much as make me jump but I refuse to play this game alone.

Seriously? You got scared playing that piece of garbage?

Patrick for the love of god stop playing shitty games! SCP containment breach is just another buzzword game. It's not scary, it's dog shit.

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algertman

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Edited By algertman

I'm fine with Jeff not liking NiGHTS. I just wish he wouldn't shit up quick looks of games he doesn't like.

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Edited By ZoomyRamen

I love how the "blistering review" of RE6 gave it a 6/10. It sure doesn't read that high.

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Edited By SatelliteOfLove
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jaks

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Edited By jaks

Anyone know why they are removing Noby Noby Boy? Why not just leave it up?

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Edited By Shaanyboi

Jake, if I wasn't already excited, that video would've sold me on XCOM. And really, it has nothing to do with the game. Bravo, sir.

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Edited By generic_username

@ZoomyRamen said:

I love how the "blistering review" of RE6 gave it a 6/10. It sure doesn't read that high.

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deactivated-5e49e9175da37

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That Rock Paper Shotgun is spot on. Absolutely spot on.

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Edited By jackelbeaver

The weird thing to me is that jeff is so against it when it has so many similarities to tony hawk games when you really look at what the mechanics are.

it feels like jeff got hung up over the "art crowd" and never really gave it a chance.

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Barrock

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Edited By Barrock

Man that Doug TenNapel book is so damn tempting, but his homophobia was just pointed out and now I can't buy it.

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Edited By KaneRobot

From the Christian Nutt "defense of Nights" article:

"If you can’t play and enjoy Nights, well, I’m sorry for you. "

Oh fuck off. Save your pity for people who actually need it. The game is a relic, not a classic. Jeff was spot-on about it being the peak of Sega fans being unreasonable about praising Sega stuff. I was firmly on the Sega side of the vs. Nintendo and vs. Sony battles, but even I know that game was barely above average even at the time it was released.

On to more important stuff: THAT PUNCH-OUT!! BOOK IS FUCKING AWESOME. Sad to see it appears to be cancelled.

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Edited By TheMasterDS

Kameo Xbox Original looks almost exactly like Kameo Xbox 360 to me. Huh.

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PillClinton

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Edited By PillClinton

Great WR yet again, Patty! Thanks.

Edit: Ha! Looks like Valve took some pretty overt *cough ripped off* inspiration from Guerrilla for their newfangled Big Picture text input... Wow. I feel like those Dutch boys deserve a lot more credit now for trying to push something old into the future.

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deactivated-5d9e9473c7960

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Uncharted 2 article:

Guns are violent but swords are not. That is stupid logic and bad parenting.

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dozeworthy

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Edited By dozeworthy

@Mr_Misery said:

Uncharted 2 article:

Guns are violent but swords are not. That is stupid logic and bad parenting.

Last I checked society wasn't plagued by sword violence.

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Edited By golguin

I just saw both parts of Spookin with Scoops test and I thought it was fantastic.

It is vital that you know nothing about how Slender works because once you know the tricks (there are a good number of them) it becomes infinitely less scary. I know you said you wont be going back to Slender, but I really feel that you should personally experience how the sense of dread ramps up as you get more pages. It's always fun to see people react to these types of things.

I was surprised that despite the simple look of Where Am I it still got a nice scare out of me. The constant ticking of the sound and increasing distortion doesn't let you focus on where the scare is going to come from. It's an interesting way of building tension since you don't think it'll keep going as long as it does.

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JackOhara

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Edited By JackOhara

I enjoy your articles, but you should put more effort into not 'writing like you talk', it feels like I'm reading something from IGN.

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kidman

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Edited By kidman

Fun fact: that Kameo for original Xbox is now floating around the internet. It's a bit buggy from what I've heard, but appears to be almost complete (just buggy).

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Edited By Dezztroy

@Dozeworthy said:

@Mr_Misery said:

Uncharted 2 article:

Guns are violent but swords are not. That is stupid logic and bad parenting.

Last I checked society wasn't plagued by sword violence.

No, but it's definitely plagued by knife/other bladed object violence. And knives(or well, daggers) are a major part of sword-fighting.

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Edited By vipersona

@JackOhara said:

I enjoy your articles, but you should put more effort into not 'writing like you talk', it feels like I'm reading something from IGN.

I didn't understand the "The Gametrekking Omnibus" section. I don't think it's a great idea to point out what an ethics violation might look like then proceed to commit and ethics violation. I think staying away from Kickstarter projects is a good idea for reporters. I do salute you for full disclosure.

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MudMan

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Edited By MudMan

I just want to call out again the animation in Nights. Whatever you think of the gameplay (it's great, by the way, basically Trials with Sonic's ring collecting mechanics, how it's not been ported to iPads yet is a mystery), the fact that Nights flies around automatically spinning and swinging, being driven from his/her chest and adapting his/her limbs to the direction of motion, eventually realigning with the direction you're going was such a feat on the limited hardware of the Saturn.

People discuss the merits of the game, but I haven't seen anybody call this out yet, which is a damn shame.

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deactivated-5abeb9715d7a2

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@algertman said:

I'm fine with Jeff not liking NiGHTS. I just wish he wouldn't shit up quick looks of games he doesn't like.

Thank you! Jeff sometimes seems like the crotchety old man of the group, what with the negativity and pickiness. It's good to offer another perspective, but I find that the others are more willing to give a game a chance, and look beyond a few "flaws". That fits my style more, so I take that into account when watching or reading articles here. However, there have to be people who appreciate Jeff's way of looking at things, and I'm sure he's been helpful to them.

I've never played NiGHTS, and going by what I've seen in videos, I'm not sure that it's my thing, but I'll definitely have to give it a try now. (If only to help keep Sega going.)

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neurotic

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Edited By neurotic

That defence of Nights is something you'd see from a blog post here or on another forum. It's knee-jerk and belittles people who don't like the game or are indifferent to it, assuming they are so because they're stupid and can't understand it. The phrase 'That's a bunch of horseshit' in reference to people's opinions on the game told me all I needed to know about the rest of the article. The fact that he didn't read a review because it used a mild turn of phrase such as 'the game doesn't hold up well' also speaks volumes.

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crunchbitejr

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Edited By crunchbitejr

One of my highlights on GB, loving Worth Reading Patrick!

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HexyVexy

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Edited By HexyVexy

Man, ever since I heard about the Game Trekking thing, I've wanted to do something similar. If I'd been a better programmer when I was trekking in Mongolia, I could have made some amazing things from what I saw there. Yet another wasted opportunity.