The Failing of PSN, XBL, and Wii Online

The year is 1990. My parents and I were living in the small rural mountain town of Coarsegold, CA. Its a friday night, and i was partaking in a rare treat. It had been a long week, and we had decided that it was a pizza night. It wasn't just any pizza night, though. While we usually had it delivered from one of the few local places in the area, tonight, we were taking the fight to the Pizza Parlor. The drive is short, but the anticipation makes it feel 10 times longer. Not anticipation for the pizza or the breadsticks or even the chance that i might run into a friend there.

This pizza parlor had arcade machines. Not just any arcade machines, they had Street Fighter 2.

The car had barely stopped before my seat belt was off, sprinting at full speed into this poor old building. The ambiance was incredible. Now you usually don't hear terms like “ambiance” thrown around to describe Pizza Parlors, but if you grew up in my generation, you can relate. The Smell of greasy frisbees made from pure cholesterol, the salad bar that kept everything at just a few degrees below room temperature, and the tables that were sticky from years of grease and soda spills.

It was heaven.

My parents had begun to order but i didn't care. My attention was focused in on the measly “arcade”. Like any sneaky mischievous 8 year old, i started to slink away, hopefully unnoticed by the benefactors of my habit. i get 3 steps away and i hear my name called. “ANDREW, Get BACK here. You can play games when you're done eating” My heart sinks. I know i’m going to love the pizza and the soda, but that's not why we're here. I was here to play.

Sure i had a Nintendo like any other kid of my generation, I even had a decent collection of games, but It was a poor substitute for this. I could play single player games until my eyes bled, but multiplayer was not the greatest on NES. The arcade had this cornered. packs of sweaty teenagers gathered around a nondescript wooden box just waiting for their chance to play; for their time to shine.

The pizza had arrived, i had scarfed it at warp speed and sat there with a longing look in my eyes. My mom looks at me, sighs and grabs her purse. Holy shit this is it! Her hand reaches in and pulls out her wallet. one by one she begins handing me quarters. I don't even see them as currency anymore, these are chances. Chances to play, Chances to Win, chances to impress. I say thanks, and begin my trek over to the machine.

It's a fairly busy friday night and one of the few pizza places in town. There are 6 or 7 kids (most of them older than me) all standing around this Street Fighter Cabinet. I look up and see the screen. Ryu is Pummeling Blanka. But that's not what i’m looking for. The object of my attention is right below them, on the bottom of the monitor. There lies the quarters. a row of quarters marking the play order of the gladiators in this arena. I sneak over to one side and place mine into the group. Now we wait.

The next few matches are exciting, with most people playing wither Ryu or Ken (pretty much the same as the tournament scene today). These kids are good. Really good. A perfect here, a hadouken or shoryuken there. I’m in way over my head. I don't care, i came to play, winning is a bonus. Finally my turn is up, i walk up to the machine, the glares of the gods on me, and assume my position. I reach up and grab my quarter. My hands are shaking. I’m sweating bullets. I slide the small metal coin into the slot and hear that beautiful sound.

Now, the real fun begins.

VVVVVV and Pushmo 3DS eShop Game Giveaway (Updated)

The Winners have been selected. Keep your eye out for Episode 68 of the podcast to find out if you've won!

You're in luck internet. We've got our hands on some Nintendo eShop game download codes! We're going to give away one copy of VVVVVV and a copy of Pushmo on the upcoming 68th episode of the Who Burned My Toast Podcast. So listen up and we'll tell you how to get entered into the drawing for your chance to win one of these fine pieces of entertainment.

Actually it's quite easy. Just follow these 3 easy steps.

1. All you need to do is log in and post us a question in the comments section below, send us an email at whoburnedmytoast@gmail.com, or post on our facebook page for the Who Burned My Toast crew to answer on the podcast. Want to know more about these games? Just ask us. Literally any question related to gaming is fair and we'll give you the goods. Heck, we'll answer any question you got. Want to know if the Moon landings we're real or faked? We'll answer it! Go crazy and have fun.

2. Get your question in to us by April 15th 12:00 P.M. PST. You only get one entry for a question. Multiple questions won't get your name entered more than once!

3. Listen to episode 68 of the podcast. We'll randomly select the winners from the list of names received and announce the winners on the podcast. So keep your fingers crossed and don't forget to check back soon. Feel free to subscribe to the podcast by clicking the iTunes icon at the above right.

Thanks and good luck!

Musicast Ep 18: The Legend of Zelda Symphony Orchestra

Performed by The Legend of Zelda Orchestra Bastyr Chapel in Kenmore, Washington 2011
Recorded by Chad Seiter and Bruce Botnick
Composed by Koji Kondo

For all of you that can't make it to one of the live performances near you, (You can check at zelda-symphony.com) we've brought to you the special edition CD that came bundled with The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword so you can enjoy this amazing music as well. Enjoy!

If you have a video game you'd like us to do a Musicast of email us whoburnedmytoast@gmail.com.

You can also subscribe to the podcast via iTunes

Take a Journey with us March 14th 2012.

"That Game Company" has finally announced a release date for their upcoming visually stunning game Journey. A very unique downloadable game coming to the Playstation Network.

It's a game who's concept still eludes me. What I know about it is; you'll wander around a sandy dune like world as a robed character trying to get to a mountain in the distance. There is no form of communication but you will encounter other players on their own journey. I believe you can then chose to hinder or help their progress through the world, but I could be completely wrong about that.

Visually it's one of the most attractive looking games. Specifically for it's vector style graphics and smooth animations. A beautiful piece of art in my opinion, this is definitely something I'm going to buy right away.

If you are unfamiliar with the work of "That Game Company" and own a PS3 go ahead and download the "Flower" demo on the PSN. One of the first games that will come up in an discussion about gaming as Art.

Go here for more info

Musicast Ep 17: Megaman X

Dev: Capcom
Publisher: Majesco
Producer: Tokuro Fujiwara
Art: Keiji Inafune, Hyato Kaji, Ikki Tazaki, Tatsuya Yoshikawa
Writer: Keiji Inafune
Composer: Setsuo Yamamoto, Makoto Tomozawa, Yuki Iwai, Yuko Takehara, and Toshihiko Horiyama


Megaman X for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System released in 1993, is my favorite Megaman game in the whole series. Please enjoy the music.

If you have a video game you'd like us to do a musicast of email us whoburnedmytoast@gmail.com.

You can also subscribe to the podcast via iTunes

Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy. My impressions and/or review... whatever.

Update Dec 10 2011: The price for Ace Combat Assault Horizon Legacy has dropped to $29.99.

I've always been a sucker for air combat games. Ever since playing Top Gun on the NES, it's been a love affair for me. When Namco Bandai announced an Ace Combat game for the 3DS, I was on board faster than Maverick on a MIG-29. After six hours of crashing into mountains and shooting down bogeys here is my thoughts to help you decide if this is a game for you.

Assault Horizon Legacy may have a similar name to the console Assault Horizon game, but the 3DS version is a much more traditional Ace Combat game. Your going to get a large choice of fighter jets, weapons, customizable parts, replays, rocking soundtrack, and a lot of dog fighting. Assault Horizon Legacy doesn't skimp on content by any means and after a 6 hours campaign you will still have to unlock and purchase a ton stuff if you want to get everything in the game. So you're going to have to go back and replay missions for higher scores or check out the extra missions for fun. But even with all that the game still felt a little light and not quite a full experience. The games story about the USEA vs the Rebels pretty much boiled down to a us vs them argument with no real gut wrenching plot point to drive the action. When I blow up hundreds of fighter pilots, I like to feel like I'm taking out the bad guys. I won't spoil the games ending for you, but the first thought that popped in my mind was "Wow they phoned in this one". Overall the missions were pretty standard fair and the game is rather easy, so any sense of tension felt lost compared to other Ace Combat games.

Musicast Ep 16: World of Goo

Developed by: 2D Boy
Published by: 2D Boy, Nintendo 2008
Art by: Kyle Gabler
Music: Kyle Gabler

This week I’m going to playing for you the soundtrack to one of my favorite puzzle games to come out this console generation, no not Zak and Wiki. Although, those of you who listen to the podcast know my love for that game, anyways the soundtrack you need to be listening to right now is World of Goo! Enjoy this weeks Musicast and thanks for listening.

To check out the soundtrack for yourself head on down to http://kylegabler.com/WorldOfGooSoundtrack/ 
and pick it up for free!

If you have a video game you'd like us to do a musicast of email us whoburnedmytoast@gmail.com.

You can also subscribe to the podcast via iTunes

Heads up comic book and Batman Arkham fans, Derek Fridolfs episode incoming.

::EDIT:: WE AREN'T ALLOWED TO PUBLISH THESE BATMAN EPISODES, SORRY EVERYONE

 As the title of this post suggests I just want to inform you people who pay attention to the blog that our next podcast we'll have our good friend Derek Fridolfs coming on to talk about his new project. Here's a quote from his deviant art account:

"Back from another fun NY Comic Con. It was great getting a chance to see so many fans and your words of encouragement help fuel the creative battery for another year. Thanks to everyone that stopped by to say hi, buy a print, a page, or a commission. It was fantastic meeting all of you. And while DC wasn't ready to announce what Dustin and I have been working on, we're still hard at work on it and will have plenty to show for it once it comes out next year.

But I can announce one project I'm on…BATMAN: ARKHAM UNHINGED!

Today is the release of the Batman: Arkham City game everyone has been raving about in anticipation. And after the success of the Arkham City comics, both the mini-series and the online digital chapters, it was decided to make a regular series out of it. Yup…an ongoing comic that takes place in the Arkham City universe, and I've been lucky enough to be the one to write it!" - D

Click the link to go to his page and read the rest. It's all very exciting. Anyway Here are a few images he gave us to show you all :).

Interview: Bob Sabiston talks about the development of Inchworm Animation for the Nintendo DSi.

A few months ago I heard about Inchworm Animation and rushed off to download it from the Nintendo eShop onto my 3DS. Ever since the days of Mario Paint, I've always had a soft spot for animation programs and really enjoy creating scenes of cats juggling balls of yarn. I emailed Inchworm Animation support and, lo and behold, the programs creator Bob Sabiston himself answered my question directly. We got to talking and the conversation was so interesting that I asked him to do an interview with us. Bob graciously answered my questions and now I'm happy to share with you his thoughts on Inchworm Animation and its development for the Nintendo DSi. Thanks again Bob!

Musicast Ep 15: Scott Pilgrim Vs The World The Video Game

Developed by Ubisoft Montreal.
Published by Ubisoft and Universal Studios.
Art by: Paul Robertson, Stephane Boutin, Jonathan Lavigne, Justin Cyr, Jonathan Kim, and Mariel Cartwright.
Music: Anamanaguchi.

I didn't read the graphic novel, nor did I ever care to. As fun and interesting as it might be, I was more interested in the game for a couple of reasons.
Anamanaguchi I heard was going to be doing the whole soundtrack to the game. They are an 8-bit chiptune punk rock band that I had once heard. I really enjoy their music so I was very excited about this.
The other super attractive thing about this game is the main artist. His name is Robert Paulson... no I mean, his name is Paul Robertson. His work is familiar to me because of one really cool video. Here it is:

Big thanks to Edward Fonseca for the recommendation. If you have a video game you'd like us to do a musicast of email us whoburnedmytoast@gmail.com.. We hope you enjoy this weeks Musicast.

You can also subscribe to the podcast via iTunes

Community Spotlight: Resistance 3 PS3 Review

Hi people. I'm excited to give you all another review from our community spotlight series. This is basically us hosting your own reviews, previews, opinion editorials, or anything really.

Once again Mr. Eric Geer graces us with a review. This time he sent us his review of Resistance 3 for the Playstation 3 system. We think it's awesome if you want to join in on the blog and take part in the conversation. So if you have something interesting or anything your passionate about, let us know by shooting us an email at whoburnedmytoast@gmail.com.  

Thanks again Eric.

Aliens Infestation releases for Nintendo DS today. We're excited and here's why you should be too.

Aliens Infestion for the Nintendo DS lands its way onto store shelves today. Sega may have had this game flying under the radar with little promotion and it may seem like releasing a DS title at this point in time makes little to no sense. But I'm here to tell you that there are some good reasons why you should at least give the game a look, we certainly are. To be honest I haven't played the game, so I'm going with my gut instinct on this one. So come join me and let me tell you why you should be excited for this game. Here, let this trailer whet your appetite.