The Hauppauge HD PVR 2 Gaming Edition is a little box that captures video from your PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles. It comes with software that lets you upload your videos straight to YouTube, so you can share walkthroughs, Achievement hunts, or any other gaming session with the world… or just your friends. It’s a product intended for hardcore gamers looking to share their experiences with other people, and everything about it reflects that fact.

When I first unboxed the Hauppauge, I was impressed by how small and sleek it was. After following the “Quick Installation Guide,” I was still having some trouble getting the video to work at all. The main issue is that I was connecting it to my PlayStation 3 – a fact that may have just gotten me fired from this blog. Basically, you have to unplug the HDMI cable from the PS3 and connect the television to the box directly with that cable, then connect the PS3 to the box with a separate set of component cables that come with the box. (more…)

Having achieved more than 150 backers and 263% of his Kickstarter goal, Drexel student/indie game designer/former Geek of the Week, Greg “Banov” Lobanov is releasing his title, “Phantasmaburbia” today, on Halloween.

An appropriately-timed release, as players will be following a group of teens as they investigate supernatural occurrences in the fictional suburban community of Owl Creek.

Lobanov credits 1995′s cult classic RPG, EarthBound as his main influence when creating Phantasmaburbia. In regards to EarthBound, Lobanov says, “I connect with that game quite a bit, and I’m told the things I make ‘feel’ like it, even though no attempt was made to emulate it. It’s just ingrained in my DNA now.” (more…)

It’s easy to get trades and store credit for video games and DVDs you are no longer interested in. But what about your tabletop games? Is the old Warhammer 40K setup currently collecting dust in your attic worth anything?

A local comic book store may have the answer you seek.

On Sunday, November 4, Showcase Comics at the Granite Run Mall in Media, Delaware County will be hosting a “game swap” event. Those interested in selling their wares can contact the store to have their names added to the list. On the day of the event, registration will begin at 11AM, with the swap itself scheduled from noon until 4PM.

Check out the event’s page for detailed information.

Please note that this will be happening at Showcase Comics’ Granite Run Mall store only; the Bryn Mawr location on Lancaster Avenue will not be participating.

She picks up the phone after the fourth ring, and hears only the sound of muffled breathing.

“Hello? Hello! I can hear you, you creep!”

The receiver slams into the cradle and she backs away, the pleats of her cheerleading skirt rustling quietly. She turns back to the lanky quarterback, who shrugs.

“What. Ever. Anyway, like I was saying, my parent aren’t home, so we should totally-”

A sound from upstairs cuts her off, like something being dragged across the floor of the room above them. Something heavy.

“Ugh! This is, like, totally ridiculous! This stupid old house is so lame. C’mon, let’s go see what’s going on.” She peers up into the darkness on the second floor landing, and then starts up the stairs, boyfriend in tow.

Now, if you’re a card-carrying, red-blooded horror geek, right about now is when you’d kiss the cheerleader and her too-hunky-to-be-smart boyfriend goodbye. You may not really be sure what’s up those stairs, but it’s a pretty safe bet that it hates nubile teenagers too brave (or stupid) for their own good.

You know this story all too well… but haven’t you always kinda wanted to play it for yourself? Matthew Akana’s new boardgame Evil Spares None has you covered:

A troubled night falls on Ravenwood, an otherwise picturesque neighborhood surrounded by dark trees. Teenagers whisper as recent events have proven the rumors of “dark curses” and “revenge” to be true. Run for your life and don’t look back because Evil Spares None.

Evil Spares None is a 2-4 player cooperative survival horror game that takes about 90 minutes to play. Live out a thrilling horror movie as your characters are stalked by an unstoppable masked psychopath. The goal of the game is for players to survive until dawn while the Psychopath hunts down you and your friends. While on the run, your characters can come across crime scenes and gather evidence to hand over to the authorities and add to their investigation.

Meanwhile, the Psychopath, independently controlled by a deck of cards, is busy adding to his score by killing and stealing evidence. If the player’s investigation reaches 16 points first, they have a chance to defeat and destroy the Psychopath permanently. If they fail, well then it’s a mad dash race for the exit, go ahead and throw your friends in the path of the enraged unstoppable madman.

Anyway, you guys, I’ve got some stuff to do. You take a look at the details below, and I’ll be right back…

The Project: Evil Spares None, a board game

Creators: Matthew Akana

The Sweet Spot: $25 will get you a copy of the game and a sweet thank you card, but for $60 you’ll snag that stuff, a bunch of extras, the hilarious audiotrack, a Kickstarter exclusive expansion, and the first new Psychopath pack when it’s released later this year.

Funding Deadline: October 4th, 2012

More Info: See more on the Kickstarter page, and check out the official website for tons of details.

Every Monday Geekadelphia features a Kickstarter created by local Philadelphians. Check em out and support our local geek scene. If you have a project that you’d like featured on site, contact [email protected]

When the original Darksiders came out, it was something of a revelation.

It was a beautiful, visceral homage to the Zelda gameplay and style that we’d all grown up with, but wrapped in the incredible art and direction of Joe Madureira, the guy behind Battle Chasers and the best Uncanny X-Men artist since Jim Lee. The story focused on War, one of the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse, and its closing moments (as well as strong sales and a positive critical reception) left no doubt about the fact that a sequel was on the horizon.

After two long years, that sequel is upon us. Darksiders 2 is set during the same time period as the original, only this time players take the role of Death as he attempts to resurrect humanity. Trust me, it makes sense. (more…)

Spec Ops: the Line is a deceptive game. Anyone that’s kept up with the long development cycle or has seen the ads has a pretty good idea of the basic premise: You’re a member of an elite commando unit, in this case Delta Force, sent in to complete a mission that no one else can.

This time, that mission is heading into Dubai six months after a massive sandstorm has decimated the thriving bourgeois oasis. An entire Army battalion, the Damned 33^rd, was sent in under the command of decorated combat vet Col. John  Konrad to evacuate survivors and keep the peace, but they haven’t been heard from since shortly after they arrived. It’s up to you and your two squad mates to get in there and see what’s what.

Sounds… generic, right? Well, it is. And that’s where the deception comes into play. Spec Ops isn’t really about that Clancy-esque NYT bestseller plot at all. In fact, as you guide Capt. Walker and the rest of Delta deeper into the city and run in to remnants of the 33^rd and local rebels things start to unravel very, very quickly. To go into too much more detail would be to spoil the real joy of playing the game but suffice to say that what starts as a generic, mechanically mediocre shooter turns into something much more. (more…)

Do your dominos make too much noise? Are your hands tired from having to physically flip your dominos over and place them on the board? Do you have a hankering to play dominos with your friend, but you’re in Center City and they are ALL THE WAY OVER in Fishtown?

Well, have we got and app for you! ‘Domino!’, produced by local Philly developers Flyclops, is a beautifully produced iOS rendition of a game that has been around for centuries.

The game covers the classic version of dominos. You play multiple rounds, and first to 150 points wins. The game also integrates with Facebook, making it easy to connect up with friends for turn-based action. Don’t have any friends? You’re in luck! You can play against strangers or play against the computer.

‘Domino!’ is available now for download from the Apple App Store.

Guest Post by Mike Fenn

A week before Wizard World begins moving in, the Pennsylvania Convention Center will host another geek event, a “double strike” if you will. On Friday, May 25, from 10AM until 9PM, a “Magic: The Gathering” tournament will be held, sponsored by West Philadelphia’s Redcap Corner. It will be the first such event since Redcap’s recent move to their current Lancaster Avenue location.

The tournament is a Pro Tour Qualifier and will thus require a $25 fee to play. Smaller tournaments will be held at Redcap’s Corner itself on both Friday and Saturday.

For more information, head to the PA Convention Center’s events page.

Guest Post by Karl Cramer

Nobody would really want to be transported to the world of The Walking Dead. It’s a horrible place full of tension and death at any moment. But fans of the comic book and TV adaptation love to play the “that’s not how I would’ve done it” game.

Telltale Games gives those zombie wise guys a chance to put their money where their mouths are. It throws you into the life and death situations, forcing you to make difficult choices that aren’t clearly good or bad. Who do you ally yourself with? Do you help people who gave you grief? Between two friends, who do choose to live and who suffers a fate literally worse than death?

The first episode in the Walking Dead game thrusts you in the role of Lee Everett, a man convicted of murder and on his way to prison. This review is spoiler free but it’s no surprise that things don’t go according to plan. The intro does an excellent job of making you forget yourself and putting you in this role. Throughout the game you’ll be preoccupied with Lee’s guilt or innocence. Bits of dialog and other clues have you flipping from one side to the other several times. (more…)

more info

It’s been a little while since we talked tabletop games here in the weekly Kickstarter spotlight, but today we’ve got a real doozy. Civil War? Check. Alternate history? Check. Modern day undead uprising? Check, check, and check. Let’s talk Southern Rising.

“Monsters are real. They have always been real. Grant understood that when he ordered Vicksburg quarantined to prevent the plague from leaving the city, Sherman understood that while laying waste to the land, consecrating the dead so they remained dead, and my great grandfather understood that when he put a bullet in the brain of that abomination.” – Jake Booth, descendant of John Wilkes Booth.

Southern Rising is a roleplaying game in which players take on the roles of average citizens (businessmen, school teachers, public servants, police officers, and/or soldiers) trying to stop the rising of the confederacy by any means necessary.

Set in 2011 the game allows modern player characters to take on undead soldiers of the Confederacy, making this a mash-up of genres. It is a skill-based table-top RPG which begs the question, “What if the South did rise again – as UNDEAD!

But wait there’s more – Southern Rising is not the typical skill-based role playing game. it has a unique twist. It is three games in one!

To top it all off, previous Geek of the Week and composer extraordinaire Matt Campana is involved, and will be contributing an original soundtrack if a certain over-funding threshold is reached. C’mon… we all know you’re gonna go see Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter next month. This is just the next logical step.

The Project: Southern Rising RPG

Creator: Ronald Corn

The Sweet Spot: You can get on on the ground floor with a physical copy of the Southern Rising RPG and an additional PDF rulebook for $30. Really digging this idea and have a few open spots in your weekly game? For $200 you’ll get a couple signed copies of the game and the creators will even play a full game with your group via Skype! Authentic Civil War era attire optional, but strongly encouraged (by Geekadelphia).

Funding Deadline: June 19th, 2012

More Info: Check out the Kickstarter page, friend game designer (and history teacher!) Ronald Corn on Facebook, and read more about composer Matt Campana on his site.

Every Monday Geekadelphia features a Kickstarter created by locals. Check ‘em out and support our local geek scene. If you have a project that you’d like featured on site, contact [email protected]

It seems like video game conferences are sprouting up in every city these days. From E3 in LA to PAX East in Boston, there are tons of expos highlighting the newest, biggest, and shiniest games that dev teams have taken painstaking years to perfect.

But this year Philadelphia has tossed it’s hat into the game conference arena with something a little bit different. Instead of featuring the latest and greatest games of the upcoming year, the Grassroots Games Conference will be all about celebrating the little guys who think games can be art and can be used for so much more.

Put together by Philly Game Lab, the Grassroots Game Conference will be held all over the city from April 23rd to the 29th. Tickets to the events range from Free to $20 depending on the event.

All of the events held on April 23rd, 28th, and 29th will be completely free, but you will have a chance to make a donation to the fantastic charity Child’s Play. They bring video games into hospitals so that they can enrich the lives of the many children being treated there.

If you have any interest in video games or are just looking for a good time, you should definitely have a look below and check out some of the fantastic events lined up for the week. (more…)

We all love playing games, but sometimes you just don’t have time for a four hour raid or 10 minutes to spare for a deathmatch. That’s why all these asynchronous mobile games work so well.

But before we had Words With Friends, Draw Something, and Hero Academy (Username: RPerdue. Come at me, bro), there were bite-sized micro game collections. Warioware, Raving Rabbids, etc. Isn’t it about time we had another great collection that you can drop a few minutes (or seconds) in to at a moment’s notice?

Sean Allison and his team at Spiffy Games certainly think so.

Spiffy Games is a team of 3: Abhishek Chaudhry, Goran Popovic and Sean Allison. We are currently developing Super Fun Time, a crazy indie game for the iOS and Android platforms. We’re at a point where we can show some of the game so make sure you check out the video above.

Since it will be you guys playing our game, we want you to participate in shaping it. This means that if we reach our goal, we’ll be showcasing the game pre-release to the backers, as well as providing betas and other exclusives. We’re always looking for feedback.

The premise of SFT is that five evil baddies have taken the fun out of the world, and it’s your job to bring it back. If you had to sum it up in just one sentence, Super Fun Time is a frantic, fast-paced, microgame collection.

To be frank, we’re perfectly aware of the fact that this type of has often been relegated to the bargain bin over the last few years. Super Fun Time is an homage to the classics of the genre, and we’re looking to advance it. You’ll have to stay on your toes because you’ll be tasked with a new game every handful of seconds.

The game will feature an enormous variety of microgames and tonnes of collectibles. With specific challenges and difficulties designed for all skill levels, we want to make sure that everyone can enjoy themselves. This means that Super Fun Time will feature a variety of difficulties that cater to everyone from the casual player to those seeking the most brutal of challenges.

We’re looking at least 100+ games, five boss characters with unique battles and everything will be playable on every possible difficulty. Here is a basic breakdown of the features.

 

Philly game developers are getting some great national attention these days. Let’s keep up the support and continue to put our fair city on the map as a hub for talented game creators.

The Project: Super Fun Time

Creator: Sean Allison

The Sweet Spot: You can get in on the ground floor of this thing for only $5, which will net you a sweet poster and the full game when it’s released. $20 will get you all that and some other great swag, including the full original soundtrack. All backers will be listed in the game credits, regardless of fund level!

Funding Deadline: June 2nd, 2012

More Info: Check out Sean’s website and find him on Facebook. Of course, you can always hit the main Kickstarter page.

Every Monday Geekadelphia features a Kickstarter created by locals. Check ‘em out and support our local geek scene. If you have a project that you’d like featured on site, contact [email protected]