Twitch purchased by Amazom for $970 Million!

It is official as of August 25, 2014 Twitch the number one video game streaming service has been purchased by Amazon. Contrary to earlier reports that google were the ones who were gonna purchase Twitch fora billion dollars, Amazon instead bought them for $970 million. Why go with Amazon instead of Google's cool billion, Twitch CEO Emmett Shear states- 

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New Pokemon Game! A Fighter!?!

 How would you feel about playing arcade fighting game with Pokemon in it? Thanks too the wonderful people of Bandai Namco and Katsuhiro Harada, the director of the Tekken series a possible 3D arcade Pokemon fighting game is the in making. In the video below it shows a small taste of whats to come a fight between Lucario and Machamp. Lucario, already being a star in Smash Bros, shows some fluid quick combos; even a moment where he turns into his Mega Evolution. I have high hopes for the game due to the Tekken series being so successful and Pokemons popularity. The fighting combos for Tekken are amazing and there is a large variety of Pokemon to choose from for the roster. For me, I think Charizard would be an amazing edition to the roster but hey, that's just me.

If you want to see the official first look trailer from the Pokemon Official YouTube channel.

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Developer Interview : Robert Maher from "Rex Rocket"

I had the pleasure of interviewing the creator of Rex Rocket Mr. Robert Maher. He was the lead developer behind Indie Game Rex Rocket! Hope you enoy!

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Slowpoke Music Video?

So over in japan the latest advertisement Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire is in the form of this slow poke music video that features a Caribbean Mc by Anthony Gatlin video down below enjoy.  

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Binding of Isaac Beta footage and GIFs

Here at 8bitdrum, we LOVE the Binding of Isaac.

If you don't know, the Binding of Isaac is a Zelda dungeon inspired Rogue-like game developed by Edmund McMillen and Florian Himsl that has heavy religious and game culture references sprinkled throughout. The thing is, that game came out in 2011 and us high level Isaac players and fans have been long awaiting the release of its sequal The Binding of Isaac : Rebirth and finally, after much waiting our dreams seem to be coming to an end; being replaced by reality.

Head developer Edmund McMillen has been releasing teaser information for the new game for almost a year now, but in the past two weeks, he's been going teaser crazy! He released GIFs showing off powerful new item synergy and now has released beta footage via his YouTube Channel!

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8BitDrum Podcast test 2

New Episode of the 8 bit drum podcast! were still trouble shooting so bear with us.

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Console Review : Nintendo 2DS

Image from Kotaku

The 2DS, all I wanted it to be.

Whats keeping you from buying a current Generation Nintendo console? Irrational fear of 3D? Price point? Well good news! The 2DS shines in these two areas, and these two alone.

For 99 USD you can play your 3DS games in stunning 2D! NO WAY! Right!? I mean..who would want to buy a downgraded version of a product? *Cough Cough Watch Dogs Cough* Well, I did, 3 times because the 2DS for me was a means of playing the latest and greatest Pokemon titles and that's it. And for a means of playing Pokemon, the 2DS did a great job...but as a hardcore gaming console it failed, in fact as a "child friendly console" for me it is a failure.

The 2DS was marketed as a kid safe, Nokia like handheld that was going to withstand the test of  the modern child. Nope. Nope. Nope. Lies. I have gone through three 2DS' and two of which were broken by means that the ad displayed the console to be resistant too. The first one bit the dust after I stepped on it, and for me thats fine. I am a large 6"2 male. No handheld can support that amount of force. The second 2DS bit the dust after falling roughly 5 and a half feet from my kitchen counter to the floor. That fall seems like a pretty standard kid fall to me but maybe you need more convincing, my third (and final) 2DS fell when I spilled half a cup of lemonade on the screen. See the problem? Two of three 2DS were broken by common kid problems. This to me makes it seem that these were not at kid friendly as one might think.

*Note, All 2DS' I have owned were first hand taken right out of the box*

For the hardcore handheld gamer (oh wait, its just me? oh ok..), the D-Pad (mind you a Nintendo Invention!) is really really really really shit. Really really really shit. I was practicing speed running Mario Land on virtual console (for the convenience, lay off) and after an hour of play, I noticed a great discomfort in my thumb. That and honestly, I feel that the buttons are really unresponsive. There is an input delay, and that is strange considering Nintendo's standard of excellence.

My last complaint is the display.

The 3DS games look fantastic no problem, but the console is backwards compatible and the DS games look like poop. I wish there was more to say but no, there isn't. DS games look like poop and I don't like it.

All in all, its 100 USD. Is it worth it? In retrospect, no. But hey, if you feel like being a dick to your kid? Go for it!

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Hype Train!: Destiny

 I don't think it's a surprise we Here at 8BitDrum love destiny! With numerous hours clocked in across the Alpha and Beta I cant imagine my self playing anything else once September 9th rolls around, and I'm sure you know the hype behind this game is enormous. But un-like some other triple A releases I have full confidence that Destiny will come out and be the game we were actually promised not some not some half ass shell of what could have been. So if you don't plan on getting Destiny here are some reasons you might wanna change your mind. Check out the 7 minute long trailer below.

 Destiny is a multi-player game with Bungie's Comunity support behind it, and that is a big deal arguably Bungie is the best in the industry when it comes to supporting its online community. Great example is how they handled the Halo franchise a series that has carried a console, and lead to numerous machinima custom maps and a community thriving to this day based upon the foundation they built. With successful series like Red vs Blue that used halo to deliver their content shows how Bungie cares for its community, in most situations some thing like that would be shut down. Another thing to look at is the numbers behind the beta, to show so much off a game and have the hype only increase is a hard thing to accomplish. When releasing a beta or any public pre-access at that you run the risk of people deciding that they don't like it before playing the actual release, and the response has been extremely positive. Check out Beta numbers below.

Also Destiny Is a MMO with out all the tedious MMO things. Bungie has managed to streamline the experience  of questing and made it a really easy to digest for you average gamer. While your die hard MMO player would likely scoff at the idea you can still approach destiny like your classic MMO and repeat quest for better loot. Its lowering the barrier of entry to the genre with little compromise for the core fan base. Last but not least the leveling and class system is amazing with branching trees two characters of the same class could play entirely different. Check out the level 29 Titan gameplay below.

Destiny is set for release on September 9, 2014 on PS4, Xbox One, PS3 and Xbox 360. We will be playing and hope you guys will be too.

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Hype Train!: Far Cry 4

Lets go from a man to a warrior in Far cry 4.Coming November 18 2014 im so excited to see what Ubisoft has instore for everyone. I enjoyed everything about Far Cry 3 from the single player to the co op online. Most of all i enjoyed Vass one of the main protagonist in the storyline, he made being a psycho look cool and funny. But now we have new protagonist called Pagan Min who clames himself as a king and also has a very short temper which can be seen in the Far Cry4 trailer below check it out.


With new a villain we have to have a new clueless hero that walks into a world that he is not prepared and has to become something more to make it though. Ajay Ghale is native of the island of Kyrat unlike Jason Brody to Rook island and is there for a personal reason. Ubisoft has added a few new gaming features such as "Guns for hire" which is a co op free roam with co op missions and also and addition to map making called build your own post.

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Next Gen Port of sleeping dogs Announced.

For those sleeping dogs fans out there if you could not tell by the title of this article a next gen port of sleeping dogs has been announced. And square has decided to follow up on Tomb Raider's next gen port and call it Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition, it is set for a North American release of October 14th . It will come with all 24 packs of dlc an run at a native 1080p and be released on PS4, X Box One and PC. Is Square doing to much? are you gonna buy this re-release? Let us know, And check out this live action trailer below.

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First Impressions: Road Not Taken

PlayStation Plus gives out some cool games every month and for August one of them is Road Not Taken. Road Not Taken is is a cute pastel colored with a dark twist. The game focuses around saving kids from the woods in the middle of winter or they die! It is basically a rouge like puzzle game and a really cool one at that. At first the game was pretty easy but the more you play the harder it gets even after you die it does not scale back the difficulty. the difficulty is based on how many mobs/items you have unlocked and remembering how they interact with you and the other things in the environment. But over all the game is a interesting concept and I cant wait to play more. You can get Road Not Taken With PlayStation Plus For free on steam or through the Dev's website. Check out the trailer below.

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First Impressions: Rex Rocket

Look down at your goolies (Irish slang for balls). Is your name OG Mudbone? Then your balls aren't as hard as this game, and they never will be.

                                                Pictured above : Title Screen

Let's start there, the game is hard as hell. But allow me to qualify the difficulty level; 8 Bit NES generation action plat former difficulty. So yeah, to re iterate this game is hard. Super hard. Frustratingly hard in fact and I think I have identified why.

This game lacks difficulty curve. The process of difficulty curve is this:

1. Easy obstacle
2. Many easy obstacles
3. Medium obstacle
4. Many Medium obstacle
5. Hard obstacles
6. Many Hard obstacles
7. Final Boss

The following is the difficulty curve of Rex Rocket

1. No obstacles/enemies
2. Hard Enemies
3. Final Boss grade first boss
4. Boss so hard that it makes you physically hurt second boss
5. Holy shit I haven't played passed this second boss cause I needed to sleep after beating the aforementioned boss and haven't had the drive to get back on.

You see the problem? This is not authentic to (most of) the NES era action plats, but that's OK.

Pictured above : Hard Boss #1

The difficulty is something I actually enjoy because of the sense of accomplishment you get when downing the bosses. Think of it like Dragon Quest. You grind and grind until your character is just strong enough to beat the boss and the feeling is electric. I feel very accomplished when beating the bosses or passing a difficult platforming section. The game feels amazing to progress in and I think this is one of its strongest suits. (Oh yeah, did I mention limited lives!!!)

                               

                       Pictured above : Platforming from lower decks area (note I died within 3                                                                seconds of this picture)

Withholding all temptations of spoiling plot, I only have one more area to cover...Music and Graphics. If you've been looking at the stills at all, I think they speak for themselves. This game has beautiful pixel art. And gorgeous 8 bit-style music.

My first impressions off this game are good, the game is aesthetically pleasing, the sounds are good and the game controls well. Again, my one complaint is the difficulty but its a minor complaint if a complaint at all and it tends to not be a complaint once I finish a section or a boss.
If you'd like to see me playing this game on my YouTube channel, click here

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Comic Reviews: Rocket Raccoon Issue #2

This comic. Just wow.

Recently, I have finally came into having enough means to do things that I've always wanted to do. Things, like purchasing comic books. The first western comic book I ever purchased was Rocket Raccoon Issue #1

But as fantastic as that was, we are here to talk about its successor A Chasing Tale Part 2.

A quick synopsis for those of us who don't know. This special 4 part special comic follows "Guardians of the Galaxy" character Rocket Raccoon. He's the last of his race, saviour of princesses and one feisty motherf*cker. He's a total badass but he's in trouble (what would the story be if he wasn't). Rocket Is the last of his race as he mentions many a time and now there is another! Another raccoon, this wouldn't be a problem except for the fact that this new raccoon is murdering people.

This is a pretty classic tail where the proud, super ego, loner badass finds himself in trouble do to a condition that he found pride in and I love it.

The story continues this issue with a pseudo-serious interrogation, a prison break and a whole lot of "I AM GROOT"

On a side note the issue also features a sneak peak of "Moon Knight". Never heard of it? Me either, but it has my money.

Stills captured from my personal copy

Check me out on YouTube here

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Hype Train!: Mortal Kombat X

Are you ready for Blood, Brutality, and Fatalitys'? Well if so your in luck, Netherrealm studios has announced Mortal Kombat X for 2015. Words can not explain how excited I am for this new entry to the Mortal Kombat franchise. For every new Mortal Kombat game that comes out Netherrealm takes the game to the next level, adding something unique that the last game didn't have. 

So if you enjoy ripping your friends apart as much as I do then your going to enjoy the new Mortal Kombat X. Check out the trailer below.

Netherrealm has already showed four new characters Cassie Cage (Sonya and Jonny cages daughter), Kotal Kahn, D'Vorah and Ferra/Torr. With a new game comes a new system of fighting to even up For example Scorpion has 3 fighting styles Ninjutsu, hellfire and inferno. Ninjustsu is more hand to hand, hellfire is more focused on fire moves and inferno allows you to send a demon minion out sorta like Noobs shadow. Not to much is known at the moment about the hole roster but Netherrealm has stated that the core characters will be in the game. I enjoyed the last Mortal Kombat and what Netherrealm did with injustice. Overall I'm excited for this game, can't wait to see all the new fatalitys' and  X-rays.

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Destiny: Breaking Out Of The Map

So we here at 8BitDrum Can wait for Destiny just like the rest of the world. We have played the Alpha and Beta to death. Any second of free time we had we were playing destiny so its no surprise we found a way out of the map, actually we found a few ways out of the map. But the one I recorded is by far the best. Check out the video below on how to break out of the tower in destiny.

The reason why your seeing this now and not earlier when the Beta was up and running is because we don't want to encourage people to do this. That aside re you excited for destiny? Did you get into the Beta?  Whats your favorite game from Bungie studios?

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Check out The new 8 Bit Drum Podcast!

This is a test for our new podcast please give feedback on how we can improve.

Please check out new episodes when they come out!

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