MEGALIXR

Congratulations!! “Sid Byrd”!

The results are in!! Sid Byrd is the lucky winner of the St. Arnold’s Megalixr give away! So what does Sid Byrd think makes games great? He writes:

“The most awesome moment of any videogame ever? Goodness, there are so many choices. When my friends and I finally beat that axe guy and got the hammer in Zelda 2? When I first discovered meteor smashes in Smash Brothers and nobody could beat me for a week? Spending a week in Mexico playing Street Fighter 2? When I finally caught them all in Pokemon Diamond? When that stupid long block finally comes in Tetris but then it comes five times in a row? The first time I finally nailed the hard jump in SMB world 8-1? Getting the plasma beam at the end of Super Metroid and blasting everything with impunity? Checking out the King of All Cosmos’s package?

I think I’ll go with something more zen. I played the bits off of Fallout 3, but what I loved most about it was the peaceful sense of world. I’d come home from work and relax by just exploring the rocky northern wastelands. Enemies were infrequent—the primary challenge was just finding secrets, wandering around, trying to climb up to the highest, hardest places, and kicking back with some Mirelurk cakes and Scotch to peer out across the desolate vista and contemplate the meaning of it all, knowing I’d have to climb back down and splatter some more fools soon enough. That kind of experience doesn’t happen (for me, at least) anywhere but videogames.”

-Sid

Quite a description there Sid Byrd! We really appreciate your hearty opinions! We hope you enjoy your free tour of Houston’s finest brewery!

Warhawk Explodes Bigger Than Fireworks

I… am not gonna lie, I was addicted to Warhawk for the past few weeks. It’s very dangerous game…. to me…. –Zephyrscope

     Warhawk is definitely a game to play if you enjoy playing multiplayer games with people online. It has several game modes that allow you to win the game by capturing flags, zones, team or non-team death-matches. It adds a newer depth to those online shooting games by being able to fight as an infantry unit, get on a tank, or aircraft and so on. While flying an aircraft, one has the ability to attack air and ground troops, however several disadvantages present themselves as ground troops can lock on with rocket launchers that are found scattered around the various landscapes, and blast anyone right out of the unfriendly skies. Tanks are also notorious for having high defense and offense, yet they have the same weaknesses as aircraft. A couple of rockets is all it takes. While, you may be able to run a rampage on a tank easily, they are slow and run the risk of grenades and rockets blowing anyone piloting them sky high. The game is balanced in a way that neither getting into a Warhawk (the game’s name for various aircraft) or getting into a tank makes you invincible.

image credited to VGblogger.com

     You can enable Blue tooth voice devices to your PlayStation, and strategize with teammates to go for the gold. This makes communication with teammates a lot easier by being able to talk and fight at the same time. (Although the majority of people don’t seem to use this feature whatsoever, and those that may be using voice, often sound like gurgled creatures talking into a can under a pile of blankets.). While this game is balanced systematically, as you might expect, skilled players often seek to unbalance that equation. There are several public servers that are dedicated to rookie players learning and warming up to the Warhawk experience. Though these servers are not immune to highly skilled trolls who love to bully those just getting into “their” game looking to ensuring a high kill stat. So why do those newbie pounders exist in rookie servers? As long as skilled trolls do not compete on ranked servers and win medals and badges, they can blend in with the new players and continue pulverizing noobs right and left. The only thing that matters to these kill junkies is a high kill stat. That is all. Others wish to rack up as much ribbons and medals as possible. This is not surprising considering other user experiences on various other team battle games as well as MMOs. Halo veterans know this fact very well and are no stranger to kill trolls and other such players that manifest online within this genre.

image credited to VGblogger.com

     You can understand why I take personal joy in tearing down trolls like this every now and then. In a way, Warhawk public rookie servers are like elementary school grounds where bullies stick together as wolf packs and pick on newbies. Highly skilled players always are top on the list and low skilled players stay at the bottom. If players are feeling particularly exclusive, they have the choice to customize their clan’s  uniform to kill other players in style. However, particular behavior of said clans are well known around the Warhawk universe as being a bit cocky, however as previously mentioned, this is to be expected. This is what brings the fun level down and drives lots of people away. Private servers can be created to help build your own personal Warhawk experience. Various options and choices are available to customize your own type of match. You can even limit the amount of people and ranks to ensure the difficulty level of the match. However, as previously mentioned before, you may receive a self entitled maverick or two, who’s sole objective is to keep you on your toes. Depending on your perspective, this will either keep things fresh or be incredibly annoying.

     While Warhawk may not be a completely original concept, it is certainly a very good choice in guilty pleasure. Who can resist seeing awesome explosions in your right in your face followed by terrible death voice overs. Rag-doll dynamics (which are pretty standard these days) ensure hilariously precarious death poses nearly every time. Playing along side friends can be particularly fun and quickly become a party. If playing with others in the room is not your thing, we find nailing a couple of guys in the face with a grenade is a pretty good stress reliever.

      Game play is definitely fun but no real story line exists. The closest Warhark gets to any narrative are small descriptions for maps you can choose. Which, of course, no one reads. This is only a multi-player battle game. For those of you who want storyline and character input, this game is definitely not for you. Producers of Warhawk are coming with the second installment currently called “Starhawk”. This game is said to have an active storyline and run along the same lines with some slight changes in scenery and weapons. However little is confirmed.

     As mentioned before, Warhawk is in no way groundbreaking. But if you’re looking for a simply hack and slash, shoot’em up type of game, this might be a worthy download. At the end of the day, we find ourselves always coming back for more. We can’t explain it, its just good. You’re brain will not be intellectually tickled, but you’ll certainly blow off some steam launching rockets into some guy’s face.

video credited to vgspectrum from Youtube

7 Creepy Video Game Easter Eggs You’ll Wish Were Never Found

Just when you thought games couldn’t get any more content heavy, you have this! And who says game designers arn’t getting creative. Just make sure you clean out your head after reading this. I take no responsibility for nightmares or loss of sleep.

img: evris28: Miami New Times Blogs

via: Cracked

Recieved “Phoenix Down”!

     While one lucky winner might be boozing it up in Houston at the St. Arnolds Brewery, there is nothing stopping you from concocting your own Elixir of Life in your own kitchen or bar. This drink may KO you faster than it will actually revive you, but its certainly a welcome guest at any party. Try your hand at it’s directions and let us know if it helps you defeat any bosses you might encounter!

Phoenix Down (Final Fantasy Cocktail)

Ingredients:
1/2 shot Absinthe
1/2 shot Zwack (Jagermeister will work too)
2 tsp. Simple Syrup
1 Splash Grenadine
Fill rest of the glass with Club Soda

Directions: Mix the absinthe, syrup, and soda water in a smaller glass (a perigord absinthe glass is used in the picture) until the drink becomes opalescent.  Add ice if you prefer the drink really cold. Before serving, add the Zwack and grenadine.  Both will settle nicely, leaving a nice orange on the top and a deep crimson below.

via: The Drunken Moogle

St. Arnold’s Elixirs!

Did any of you guess the answer to our riddle? If not, that’s okay. We’re here to announce the answer as well as the rules of our first giveaway.

-This effervescent potion has been blessed by a very holy man.
That man happens to be St. Arnold.
-It’s effects cannot be endured by those who are not worthy.
You have to be 21 years of age or older to drink in the US (where the beer is made).
-Some have said especially rare bottles of this concoction are “Divine” in their own right.

This is refereeing to St. Arnold’s Divine IPA. A rare and limited beer that is only brewed every so often and hard to get a hold of. As a matter of fact, we hear St. Arnold’s Brewery is releasing it’s 12th collection of Divines this year!

     So are we giving away free beer?! Not quite. We’re giving away something better. Like, 4 passes to attend a free beer tasting tour of Houston’s own St. Arnold’s Brewery! Here you’ll be able to sample nearly all of St. Arnold’s formulas and varieties such as the very popular “Lawnmower”, “Elissa”, and “Oktoberfest”. We favor the “Christmas Ale”.
St. Arnold’s beer is appreciated through out most of North America. Though we understand that this giveaway may be regional in nature, we had so much fun in Houston, we decided to share the love. So if you’re a Houston native, on your way there for one reason or another, or just stopping in, and want to experience many quality beers, here’s what you’ve got to do.

1) Post this message to your twitter (if you don’t have a twitter, sign up.)

Help @Megalixr_ collect funds and grow! Win a #free #tour of Saint Arnolds Brewery in #Houston, TX! #Beer #Giveaway http://tinyurl.com/6c7h79f

2) After you’ve done so, send us an e-mail at megalixr@gmail.com The subject must be your twitter name. In the body, tell us what your favorite video game moment EVER of ANY game was. Be creative guys! Send us anything you think we should know about your favorite game! Click send. You’re done! You’ve entered the drawing successfully.

The winner will be contacted via e-mail, and published on Megalixr.tumblr.com!
The deadline will be Aug 1st 2011. (8/1/11) 12:30pm Central Time. The winner will be announced the same day.

Good luck to everyone, & may your HP/MP be restored!