With Gencon a mere weeks away, we want to take a moment to reflect on our time spent as amatuer bloggers at last years convention.  The days were full of interviews, demos, gaming, and a couple of podcasts.  You can find a list of all our Gencon ’09 articles in our PNG Gencon ’09 Wrap Up post.  We covered as much as we could but obviously there was some stuff we didn’t get to post about or even have a chance to experience.  The size and scope of Gencon is so big that there simply isn’t enough time to do everything.  It’s has become so large that gaming events are starting to push into a day or two before the convention for the die hard attendees.  We tried our best to convery this  last year through a series of articles leading up to the convention.  The series started with the first article detailing the dealer hall.  If you click that link you can walk through all four articles that also cover gaming at the con, non-gaming events, and a the social aspect of the con.  All of these articles are an excellent resource for first time con attendees but can also serve as fuel for the fire that burns within everybody who has been to the con and can’t wait for August 5th to roll around.

This year, expect much of the same.  We’ll get a few pre con articles up and get whatever we can done during the con.  The majority of articles will start to pour out after the convention.  If you are one of the poor souls that cannot make it this year, let us know if there’s something that you wanted to try or see.  We’ll do our best to give it a go and then put up some information about it.  Keep checking the site before and during the con as PNG prepares for the best four days in gaming.

We continue to fall into the good graces of the Wizards of the Coasts PR gods and have recieved 3 spoiler cards for the upcoming Magic: The Gathering 11 set.   With Origins in full swing and Gencon just a mere 40 days away, Magic fever should be at an all time high.  What better time to give you a sneak peek of a common, uncommon, and rare you can expect to see in the next set.  As a fan of red/green decks, I couldn’t be happier with Fiery Hellhound and Obstinate Baloth.  While I have been out of the game for quite some time, it seems that the Crystal Ball artifact may find itself right at home in any blue control deck.  Our resident MtG writer, Kyle Boddy, may just have to step in here and let us know exactly how good each card is and where it may find a place in tournament play.  Hit the jump for a complete view of all three cards!

PNG Bro-Down Episode 40 – Trunk Full of Felicia Day’s Apple Pies
Cast:  Dave & James

In this episode, we bump up the bass for you gentlemen and ladies and keep adding to the PNG dance party mix.  In this episode we discuss the Savage Worlds tabletop RPG, MOAR Mario Galaxy 2, Alan Wake, Felicia Day’s delicious apple pies, Final Fantasy 13, trunks fulla amps, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Gencon media guests of honor, and the E3 keynotes of Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony, and EA.  Oh, and Felicia Day, we really do love your apple pies… but could you maybe surprise us with a blueberry or peach one next time?

Show notes:
-Show length is 2 hours and 15 minutes.
-The sound quality should be noticeably better.  We also earn our explicit tag with our intro/break song.
-The intro and break song is Trunk Fulla Amps by Self off of their Gizmodgery album.  There is quite a bit of  swearing in it so you might want to wear some headphones.
-Outro song is Do You Want To Date My Avatar by Felicia Day and the cast of The Guild

PNG Bro-Down Episode 39 – Amateur Hour
Cast:  James, Dave, and Logan

Slowly, we rebuild the PNG Bro-Down to the oppressive and unsympathetic giant of the podcasting world with an appearance by old school caster Logan Persons.  In this episode, we talk about Warmachine & Hordes, Barack O-Lego-Bama, Matthew Porretta, Splinter Cell: Conviction, Mario Galaxy 2, Alan Wake, and other interesting and sometimes game related stuff.  In the news section we read off a list of games making an appearance by publisher and discuss they may have on this volatile industry.  Oh, and there’s some comedy in there for you.

Show notes;
-I am so sorry for the echo.  It’s coming from my USB headset and I hope to fix that in the next cast.
-The mixing in the first part is also a little unbalanced.  Once again, will be fixed in the next cast.
-Finally, around the two hour mark, Dave mutes his mic for a good 20 minutes and goes on a spectacular and terrifying rant that we wish you could hear.  We plan on breaking his mute button for the next cast. 
-The song for this week is Joe Esposito’s You’re the Best.

We just got word from Wizards PR pipeline that Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers will drop on June 15th via Steam.  Not content with giving you the core game and the first expansion for the low low price of $9.99, Wizards is also giving away a free Nissa Revane foil promo card if you pre-purchase it and live in a participating country.  As you can see, Nissa is getting all dolled up for the occasion and busting out her finest Kanyeezy lyrics for the crowd.   Details on how to get your foil promo can be found at the Duels of the Planeswalkers offical site early next week.  As for you Nissa, we’ll see you soon looking stellar in foil around the PNG offices.

Above is a 7min 49sec YouTube video of what appears to be a trailer for the next Mortal Kombat movie called Mortal Kombat Rebirth.  It’s a little gory, a little crazy, and a whole lot of sexy.  There’s speculation that this may just be a way to hype a Mortal Kombat game announcement during E3 or a pilot of sorts to get funding and interest to film an actual hard “R” rated MK.  Only time will tell, but one thing is for sure… Jeri Ryan is still pretty damn hot.

MSRP: $59.99
Grade: B+

Splinter Cell has always been one of those games that I wanted to play but could never get into.  I game both the original Splinter Cell and Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow a shot and wasn’t a fan of the way the game played.  I suppose you could chalk it up to me being young and impatient as the game required a lot of sneaking and avoiding enemies.  It was the only alternative to Metal Gear for tactical espionage action.  Steam had a super sale a week or so ago where you could purchase every Splinter Cell (with the exception of Pandora Tomorrow) for the low low price of around $45.  This included the deluxe edition of Conviction which costs around $64.99 regularly.  I figured why not give it another go… and I’m glad I did!

The game’s look, sound, and controls are all up to par with any current gen game out on the market now.  Splinter Cell has always been about stealth and how it’s handled it with realistic high tech gadgets.  In the original games the main character, Sam Fisher, had a fairly high tech stealth suit with photo cells that would determine your visibility.  In this iteration, the screen will turn black and white when you are hidden in the shadows.  You can still shoot out lights to create dark areas, however, the game relies more on action and less on stealth.  While it is easier to take your time and do stealth kills, it is entirely possible to gun down enemies and take them out by just using cover.

This would feel like any other third person shooter if it wasn’t for the mark & execution and last known position mechanics.  Mark & execution allows you to select a certain number of enemies and then execute an instant kill on all marked targets.  Think of it kind of like the Bourne movies where he takes out 2 or 3 guys in seconds.  This is especially useful when you’re being searched for by numerous enemies.  You can only mark & execute after you’ve done at least one stealth/melee kill.  After you use it, you have to do another stealth/melee kill to mark & execute again as they do not stack.

The last known position mechanic is a little more interesting.  The game focuses heavily on cover and bouncing back and bouncing between them.  When an enemy spots you, it’s possible to move to a different location when they are reloading or not looking.  This will cause your silhouette to appear in the area that they think you are.  This allows you to bounce from cover to cover and either escape when outnumbered, or sneak up for a quick melee kill to gain a mark & execute.

Beyond those mechanics, game play feels pretty standard.  The question now becomes how is the story?  The short answer is that it makes very little sense compared to other Splinter Cells.  It’s very personal for Sam Fisher as it revolves around him finding out who killed his daughter and escalates into an crazy national crisis.  It’s also narrated in the past tense by one of Fisher’s buddies that ends up helping him through the whole story.  At times it’s dope and other times they’re spitting out some of the most absurd shit I’ve seen in a game.  The only reason it seems absurd is due to my misconception that stuff that happens in Splinter Cell could possibly happen in real life.  While I think the reaction is a bit harsh, Penny Arcade sums up how absurd Splinter Cell: Conviction’s story can be.

The single player campaign weighed in at about 7 hours for me which most people would say is a bit short.  There are some multiplayer modes that can extend the life of the game.  One is a prequel co-op campaign that, due to owning it on PC, I haven’t had some pals to run through it with.  The other modes are a kind of horde mode and a mode to kill all enemies on a map.  Both can be played co-op or against each other.

In the end, I do not regret my purchase.  Splinter Cell: Conviction is a solid game that I think anybody can enjoy.  It does have it’s flaws that keep it from being stellar though.  Stuff like the monochrome view getting annoying, having unlimited pistol ammo (makes the game a bit easy), and a short and bat shit crazy single player drag it down a bit.  Fans of the previous games and hardcore stealth action aficionados might want to apply elsewhere as it seems Conviction did seem to stray from it’s roots in that regard.  At the price I paid for entry though, I don’t regret my purchase at all and it actually got me excited to play the previous entries.

PNG Bro-Down Episode 38 – It’s Like an Oil Hurricane
Cast: James & Dave

We get back on that oh so special horse we call the PNG Bro-Down and deliver some of the highest quality free entertainment you never really wanted!  Topics include but are not limited to:  Splinter Cell Conviction, Super Mario Galaxy 2, BP’s *sips coffee* unnatural disaster, Cave Story, Tiger Woods bringing sexy back, Split Second, Final Fantasy XI, Gencon, E3, and Oil Hurricanes.  So pull up a glass of that potent Cuyahoga River water and enjoy the show.

Show notes:
-We brought back DJ Pixel he plays a song very dear to our hearts… Every Time We Touch by Cascasda
-Total length is 1 hour and 53 minutes.

So apparently Wizards and Valve have struck a deal to bring Duels of the Planeswalkers to PC gamers this summer.  Per a press release by Wizards PR, it will be available for pre-order via Steam on June 1st and will cost $9.99.  The package includes the core game and the first expansion along with all the goodies you would expect from a Steamworks game.  No information on if the second expansion pack will be available for purchase.  While my first impressions of the XBLA version of the game put the game somewhere around average, it has since grown on me.  Look for a review of the PC version here shortly after it comes out!

You may be thinking “how is this possible?!!?” 

Well my friends, it’s true!  Valve is offering Portal on PC and Mac for free until May 24th and there appear to be no strings attached.  Their generosity is most likely linked to the fact that Steam is now Mac compatible.  This will be an excellent hub for those starved Mac gamers to download to their heart’s content.   Welcome to the fold our considerably more hip brethren, it’s good to have you.