A special Journey

It's time for a new pairing! This time, it's a new release and also a slightly new type of pairing. I'm making it a bit different with scotch this time. I'm no expert in scotch but I'm a fan and thought it matched pretty well with this particular game. I'll be talking about the the original Journey for the Playstation 3.

Let's hop on this journey and see how a good scotch can compliment it.

You should know : Mega Man

Let's get going with the first post in a series about games that you need to know!

I present you the coolest blue robot around : Mega Man.

Mega Man (Rock Man for japanese gamers) starred in six games for the Nintendo Entertainment System. These games were wonderful action platformers build around tight controls, beautiful level design and colorful graphics. The game starts in a non-linear fashion when you choose the levels you'll play in any order. As you beat a level, you add the boss' weapon which can then be used to easily beat another boss. It's all made in a "Rock Paper Scissor" dynamic. The game might look pretty challenging at first, but when you know the best path to choose, the difficulty comes down quite a bit.

The game is wrapped in a pretty classic story : An evil scientist trying to rule the world. That story is made much more appealing thanks to the colorful characters. In the end, it's the gameplay that sets these games apart from others.

I didn't mention the music yet! This series has some of the best music on the NES. The songs will be stuck in your head for a long time after you've turned the console off. 

Personally, I'd say the games that are absolutely a must play are Mega Man 2 and Mega Man 3. Play them!

Hit the jump for a video of  Bit Brigade playing the whole Mega Man 2 game while someone plays it.

Games You Need To Know

There is plenty of top 10, top 100 or top whatever over the internet for every kinds of games. You want one about the saddest, the scariest, the worst or the best ever, you've got one. I won't do one just to add another list to the lot. Anyway, you always get some gamers angry because you missed this or that.

A couple months ago, I got the "1001 video games you must play before you die" book and, while it's not a bad book, I felt that it missed a couple things and also gave too much attention to others. (That many GTA? Really?) It still is an interesting book. Almost every time someone is over to my place, they open the book and remember some of their favorite games. Even with its flaws, it's nice trip down memory lane!

Because of this book, I decided to do something similar. I'll do short articles about games that I think should be known to any serious gamers. It's a new series of article to go along with the beer pairings. I will add new games from time to time, not in any particular order. It's games that are important, had an impact on the industry and, of course, that are fun to play!

Here's the first game that I'll talk about :

The Super NintenLamp!

A couple days ago, we had a quick discussion about turning a broken Super Nintendo into a lamp at the VideoGamesPriceCharting forum. Smsmoko did one, which gave me the urge to try one too. I decided to go with another design and do something more like a wall lamp.

I got a broken SNES, got a cheap lamp at Wal-Mart and "designed" the thing. The construction wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.I also checked with a friendly electrician to make sure it was safe.

I swear it was already dead!

Check out a few more shots

Back with a Caribbean beer

It's been a while since my last post because I was in vacation in the Caribbean for two weeks. Now I'm back and I can continue to pair beers and games. Maybe a little rum and games down the road?

Just before I left for my trip, I found a good deal for 80 NES games with about 55 new ones for my personal collection. This means more games to try and match! I've got some pretty bad ones but also great games that I was looking for like Super C, the follow-up to the hard Contra.

On my trip, I tried a couple of local beers so I figured I could try to pair them with one of my games. The brew I chose is a lager from Martinique called Lorraine. It's golden/yellow in color, like many commercial lager, with a good foamy head that's quickly reduced to a thin lace. Its corny taste with minimal malt disappear as fast as the head with a light hop bitterness in the end. Really light.

There is nothing really bad about it, it's just that nothing really stands out...

So for this beer, you either need a beach/Caribbean themed game or, more akin to the Lorraine, a really standard game that doesn't bring anything new or really interesting to the table.

A Dooming Smoke

Usually when I pair a game with a beer, I start by finding the game I want to pair and then I look through beer styles and my personal taste in beer to find something that fits. This time I did it the other way around. I tasted some beers with a friend and tried to find a game to go with it.

Let me present you today's style : the smoky rauchbier :

First of all, this old German style probably isn't for everyone. Be aware that it won't taste anything close to a regular, pale, commercial beer. Rauchbier translates as smoked beer. The malt used in these beers are dried over a fire and gives the unique flavor to the beer. These beers can taste almost like smoked meat and reminds you of a good plate full of bacon. Generally not too hoppy, full bodied with a nice dark color, the smell will immediately show you why it's called a smoked beer. Don't be scared, it's an impressive style of brew. 

Now let me present you a game to try with this, and if you didn't guess the game by the title, take a look at the cartridge after the jump!

Gaming community against SOPA/PIPA

If you're following a couple gaming sites/blog/videos, you're probably aware of SOPA and all the rage about it. In short, it could dramatically change our beloved free internet.

Today, wikipedia even blocked its English portion to protest! It's by spreading the awareness that we can stop this. I'm Canadian so I cannot vote or voice my opinion on the subject but I know that there's some American citizens reading this blog so the least I can do is share this video by Screwattack.

If this gets a pass, we might lose a lot of great websites like the AVGN, ThatGuyWithTheGlasses, RetrowareTv and a whole lot more. I'd probably get in trouble too and I wouldn't like that.

We can stop this!

Let's drink to that, cheers!

Super Mario Beer

This time we talk classic!

A timeless game paired with a classic and equally timeless beer style. Start a conversation about video games with someone who doesn't look like a gamer, ask them if they know anything about games.  Try and draw a simple NES controller. What do you think is the first thing that comes to mind for most people?

Super Mario Bros. on the NES! This game defines classic Nintendo. Lots of people also remember Duck Hunt because they came in pairs and was a nice diversion. Even if the person you're talking to doesn't  like video games, they'll start talking about the old games they played  and how much fun they had back then. Try it you'll see. I work at a bar and often wear a NES controller belt buckle and it always surprises me how much people start talking about games because of that.

Let's take a trip down memory lane and take a nice pint of beer!

Adventure Island's fruits

Happy new year everyone!

I hope you had fun playing and drinking with your friends and family. Now, it's back to work and normal life which means I'll start doing some game beering for you.

Today I have a game that contrast with the cold weather. Forget the snow and the freezing wind, we're heading on a nice island to save a kidnapped lover, again! Lets take control of Master Higgins and dive into Adventure Island!