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Sony E3 2013 Press Conference

In case you couldn’t watch it live… here you go.

Microsoft E3 2013 Press Conference

In case you couldn’t watch it live… here you go.

First 10: State of Decay

The Overseas Connection gives a First 10 look and impressions for State of Decay.

• Developer: Undead Labs
• Publisher: Microsoft
• Release Date: June 5, 2013
• Platform: Xbox 360
• Rating: M

State of Decay offers up a refreshing spin on the zombie apocalypse.   I think the best description we can give is GTA meets Resident Evil.  This is an open world game that while a downloadable XBLA title, it offers a depth of game play not seen in most downloadable (if not any other) game considered an “arcade” title.

Game play wise the game puts you in the roll of a unlucky survivor who stumbles into the zombie apocalypse.  You have complete freedom to roam the expansive map area on foot or via vehicles ala GTA style.  You will come across a varying degree of zombies in terms of numbers and types of zombies.   And like GTA games, you can put the beat down on any zombie you come across either with hand held weapons or different weapons.   This is where the comparison to GTA though stops and we start looking at this game as much more of a RPG.   You have skills that upgrade, you have fellow survivors you will recruit and have to care for with food and shelter, you have weapons and vehicles that can be repaired as well as outposts that can be upgraded.   There is even a morale system in place that actually matters… your choices in this game 100% will impact the world and your experience.   Saying this game is deep doesn’t give it enough justice.   You will have tons of hours of game play through the standard story as well as the ability to continue to play after the main story finishes.

Not all is perfect with State of Decay.  Graphically speaking the game is nice to look at on the surface but it does suffer from frame rate issues, tearing and pop-in.   All these things are symptomatic of this game being pushed into a 2GB file size as well as hardware that is aging to say the least.   Audio wise their is voice acting but it is far from memorable, and the story while decent isn’t going to win any awards.

So how can a game with such graphical issues be considered a good game and worth a look?  Because it just is.  State of Decay succeeds even with its short falls because of the incredible depth of game play.  This is truly the zombie experience many have been asking for and then some.   Being the game is on XBLA and has a free trial we say this is a game anyone on XBLA should be giving a serious look.

First 10 Impression:  4 out of 5      

The Gamer’s Grill – Waffle Sundaes

Greetings Gamers! Do you remember Saturday morning cartoons? I do. Few things brought as much excitement as getting up Saturday morning knowing I had a few hours of uninterrupted cartoons ahead of me.
Recently, I’ve recaptured some of this joy by getting up before my kids on Saturdays for a couple hours of gaming before the Saturday madness begins. This weekend, I woke a touch hungry and craving something sweet and savory. A quick search of my inventory revealed eggs, bacon, Bisquick (TM), and vanilla ice cream. Seems an odd combination, but waffle sundaes were in my future.
Care to indulge your sweet tooth? Here’s what you’ll need:
1-2 slices of bacon
1 scoop vanilla ice cream
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 1/2 cup bisquick
3/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons sugar
2 Teaspoon vegetable oil
2 eggs, yolks and whites separated
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
I followed this recipe for the waffles. Of course, you could always use some Eggos (TM), but what fun is that? If you happen to have a waffle baker with a light to tell you when they are done, ignore it. Remove the waffles when they stop steaming. Stack a couple waffles on a plate, add a scope of ice cream, drizzle on some maple syrup and dress it up with a slice or two of bacon. Poor the coffee out of your travel cup and into a proper mug and sit down a savor breakfast for once.