The commies invade! Moving on from Nightmare Creatures, the next game on our list is none other than the Westwood classic -

Red Alert 2

First some background. The Soviet empire dispatches troops to help with a Mexican civil war. Realizing the time is right (and being super pissed at the United States for kicking ass in WWII) they stage an all out assault. Nukes launch, tanks blitz and paratroopers paratroop. The US goes to launch it's own nuke, but a psychic Yuri works his voodoo to stop the US counter attack.

If that alone doesn't kick ass, then the intro movie does. First the intro features real live footage. Westwood goes all out with the oval office, military bunkers and the Soviets. This is the kind of quality you just don't find. Finally a kick ass shot of Yuri (you might recognize him from Blade)

Then we go to part 2 of the intro, which does start out slow, with eventual shots of war happening (but only the initial parts, missiles launch, but nobody gets blowed up). But then the finest moment happens, with the "Welcome to Texas" sign getting run over by a Soviet Tank. That 4 seconds is what makes the video.

Also, Red Alert 2 gets special mention by featuring live actors in wicked awesome cut scenes. While these cut scenes are not the basis of this feature, we do have to point out how awesome they are.

Next up on our countdown to number 1, there's a rumbling going on...

Number 10 - Nightmare Creatures 2

Everybody loves a good list. Top 10 love songs, top 10 hair metal bands, you know the majority of VH1's programing! (LOL look at me zing a multi million dollar tv network on a website!).

So here at Best Damn Podcast, we will talk about what we dig. And what do we dig? Games with super sweet intros.

So without talking to anyone else, I have compiled a list of what represents the greatest game intros ever. You cannot debate this list, it is final and fact. Written in stone.

So where is this list? Can I see all 10 games right now? NO! You will have to wait. Each day (or so) we will count down to the best game intro ever created by humans. Sure this is lazy and takes what should be one update and stretches it out into 10, but hey, it's free, and free is good. Also, when you have 10 Youtube embeds at once, my browser slows down.

Nightmare Creatures 2

Nightmare Creatures was an unusual breed of action and survival horror. You are a victim of Adam Crowley (based on the real and creepy Aleister Crowley) who has an axe and a lot of demonic spawn to destroy. The game was a bit shallow, and basically was an excuse for you to dismember legions of the damned.

But why is this intro deserving of the number 10 spot? Simple, it's chock full of rock metal and demons getting destroyed. This game was released in 2000, before it was cool to be goth. (Editors Note: It was never cool to be goth) With music from Rob Zombie, this was nothing but heart pounding awesome and it really made the Playstation kick ass. And that is why it gets #10.

Up next... The Soviets attack.

And remember kiddos, we are judging opening movies, not the games themselves.

Submitted by Listener MarkG

Torus Trooper is a speed based semi-3d vertical side scrolling racer-shooter developed by Kenta Cho, developer of rRootage of "Stump" (can't say Buck) fame, that is free for download on Mac OS X and that other operating system.
What did I like about this game? THE SPEED!! IT'S UNBELIEVABLE!!!
When you start the game up you're given a pretty simple menu with three buttons to choose from: Normal, Hard, and Extreme. Which to pick... hmmmm.... Select Extreme, hit Z to start, hold the up arrow, and hold on to your seat.

You play as a little white ship in a never-ending tubular maze as countless other white ships shoot their red polygons at you. The arrow keys control your movement, and if you're not at maximum speed the whole time, you're doing something wrong. The goal is to collect the most points possible before the time runs out. You lose 15 seconds for being shot down, and you gain 15 seconds for destroying the occasional boss. Once you collect a set amount of points you will advance to the next level, and if you should need to quit, you'll be able to start your game back at the last level you reached.

There are two mechanics in this game: DODGE and SHOOT. Dodge is the arrow keys and shoot is Z/X. Z will shoot a never-ending stream of white dots at your enemies, while X will charge a powerful blast that will engulf everything in front of you including the AI's fire. You may want to fly through the game screaming, "X!!! CUT!!! D!!! GO!!!" but this doesn't work too well. Whenever you hit X, you are slowed dramatically, slowing your point gain, and it takes about 3 seconds to charge a good-sized X shot.

The sound is not amazing, but it's pretty good. Techno beats and nice explosions will accompany you on your epileptic journey through the tube.

Did I mention this game is fast? THE SPEED!! IT'S AMAZING!!! You'll be whizzing through the levels without a clue as to what the heck is going on, getting hit by shots you didn't see coming, and blowing the AI into hyperspace particles. The D ratio is practically 1:1. Your finger will almost always be pressing Z, with the occasional break to see more clearly in some of the more exiting volleys of polygonal death.

You can't go wrong giving this game a try. It's small, its fast, and it's absolutely FREE. Don't pass this one up.

The Return of the Ring:
High D ratio
It's free
Written in the D Programming language
Runs on Mac and you know... that other one.
Induces epilepsy
and the SPEED!!!
IT'S UNBELIEVABLE!!!

The IMG Pro Accounts:
Can seem a bit cheap at times
If you're computer lags, you die

Mac OS X Download:
http://shinh.skr.jp/osxbin/
(scroll down)

Windows Download:
http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~cs8k-cyu/windows/tt_e.html

Due to back to school scheduling woes (and William Miller being a flake), there's been a bit of a dought of new shows around TBDPE lately. So to hold us over, we'll be posting a few of our old IMG shows (back before he who must not be named took over). Here's the description of each episode:

Episode 31
It's a Freeverse Bonanza! We sit down with Steve and Bruce of Freeverse Software and talk about Wingnuts 2, Escort Wing, and their other upcoming projects. This show also marks the triumphant return of Tuncer Deniz!

Episode 32
Transgaming's Cider to rock the Mac Gaming world? We examine the issue, plus, we've got the BATTLE to END ALL BATTLES. Plus we've got a big announcement at the end of the show...

Episode 33
It's the last episode of the podcast with Blake Buck, William Miller, or Justin Fic as hosts! The shock! The horror! But Tuncer and Andy Largent will keep the show rolling, and you can check out the old crew's new podcast at BEST DAMN PODCAST EVER.COM .

You'll find these shows as optional downloads at the bottom of the feed (we've dated them back to their actual release date), so if you're using iTunes, scroll to the bottom of your BDPE feed and click "Get" to download.

So you've bought youself and shiny new Xbox 360, the envy of every sweaty nerd in your apartment complex. The back of the box even says it can play your old Xbox games! This truly is the next generation of gaming.

But not so fast, son; I know what you're saying. "But if I play my Xbox games on the 360, I'll have to start all over! I'll lose my 60 hours of progress in Bad Boys 2!"

Fear not fellow Will Smith and Martin Lawrence fans! Because today I'll be giving you the complete how-to on transferring Xbox gamesaves to Xbox 360. This method is 100% legit, and dose NOT involve any hardware modification, voiding of warranties, or even any technical skills. But be warned...

Transferring Xbox gamesaves to Xbox 360 is a lot of hassle, costs around $75 dollars, and will NOT WORK WITH A LARGE PORTION OF GAMES. First, let's talk about compatibility.

Part One: Compatibility

The Xbox game you wish to transfer must meet ALL of the following criteria to be trasnferred to the 360:

1. You have the hard drive for your Xbox 360 and a connection to Xbox Live.
2. The Xbox 1 game must be backwards compatible on the Xbox 360. A current list of compatible games can be found here.
3. Xbox 1 game save must be able to fit on an Xbox 1 Memory Card (8 Megs - 502 Blocks).
4. Xbox 1 game save must be "unlocked", that is, transferrable to an Xbox 1 Memory Card (some game saves do NOT allow you to trasnfer even if you have enough room).

* To find out if your Xbox 1 saves meets the last two requirements, boot up your 360 with a memory card in and test it out.

That's not to say it won't work with any games however. Of the games I wanted to transfer, Halo 1, Halo 2, Crimson Skies, and Sid Meier's Pirates worked fine. So if you've got a game that will transfer, it's time for the next step.

Part Two: Xbox 1 to PC

For this you'll need one of two parts: An Xbox Action Replay or an Xbox Transfer Kit. Both are made by Datel and do exactly the same thing, but the Action Replay costs $25 and comes with a memory card transfer cable (MCTC) and a memory card, while the Transfer Kit costs $15 and comes with an Xbox 1 MCTC and a 360 MCTC (but because Xbox 1 saves are locked to the hard drive, you won't be able to transfer via this cable). I could only find the Transfer Kit at my local Gamestop, so I picked up the memory card seperate for $10.

Once you have the required hardware and have installed the Action Replay software (included with either kit), complete the follwing steps:

1. Copy Xbox 1 save to Memory Card
2. Transfer Saves to PC Via Cable and Included Software
3. Locate the .zip file containing the save you want to transfer and extract them to a temporary directory for use later.(The location of the .zip file depends on where you installed the Action Replay software)
4. Delete the file datelinfo.xbx from any .zip files you extract.

Part Three: PC to Xbox 360

For this you'll need yet another, even more pricey ($50) part: the XSATA. This device goes between your 360 and the 360 hard drive, and allows you to mount the hard drive to a PC (perhaps even a Mac, though I never tested this), and the included software allows you to access the data on the 360 hard drive via your PC. Once everything's hooked up and installed, follow these steps:

1. Turn on your 360 and pop in the game you want to transfer. The required updated will download to your hard drive and you should now be able to play the game (without your saves that is).
2. Turn off the 360 and mount the drive to your PC using the instructions provided with the XSATA unit.
3. Navigate to the "Compatibility" folder on Partition 3 of your 360's hard drive.
4. Right click in the right hand window and choose ‘Insert folder’.
5. When prompted, browse to the location where you extracted the Xbox 1 gamesave to (in Part 2 Step 3). Click ONCE on the game folder (don’t double click or you'll open it). The save is inside the UDATA folder and called something like '4b4e0002'.
6. Click 'OK' to ‘inject’ the gamesave into your Xbox1 gamesaves folder on your Xbox 360.

Gamestop Manager: "You know Blake, this merchandise is open. I don't have to accept this"

BLAKE BUCK: "Oh I know. But you're going to"

After a long holiday break, the BDPE crew is back for the new year. On this week's show we try to snake our way into the Halo 3 beta, a lucky kid discovers boobies on his Madden tape, and Rare still sucks.

Judgement: Wii Sports
Jank: Sega Genesis Collection [Link]
Quote: "Oh I don't like this! Go get me the Internet Crimes Against Children or Babies or whatever the **** it's called"

If you have any feedback, you can shoot us an email here, call our voicemail at 845-BATTLE-9, or leave your thoughts in our forums here.

Over the past few days I've had a couple of people send me some gaming videos from UnBoonTube. And hey, who dosen't love silly videos from the internet, right?

Our first video comes from Bruce Morrison, of Freeverse and BDPE fame. Think you've seen bad load times in a game? This footage from Sonic the Hedgehod on the 360 will rot your brain out. Sega! Thou hast forsaken me!

Next, some of you may remember the NINTENDO POWER! music we play on the show whenever someone says "nintendo power". That actually comes from a television spot Nintendo ran in the early 1990's. I'm pretty sure commercials like this is why our generation is plauged with ADD.

Our final video comes from listener Mark G (aka, Princess Peach). Entitled, "Tears of War", Peach described the video with the following: "A chubby little fellow with a squarish head finds the meaninglessness of his existence confirmed by the birthday gift of a 15 year old Warhammer 40k miniature"

Yeah, it kinda sucks, but it's Wednesday, and we're desperate for content.

Could "This Week on UnBoonTube" be a recurring feature on BDPE? Or have YouTube clip articles become as hackneyed as William Miller's wordplay? Discuss in the forums here

See this kid here? Remember his face. He is an idiot. There's a story going around, and I don't want to give it any credibility, but he's claiming that his copy of Madden contains hard core pornography.

That's why BDPE is declaring this kid the first "Idiot of the Year (2007)". Games are off to a great start. So lets take predictions, how long before Jacky Thompson is off suing EA? Any takers? Personally I say Mid Feb.

In all fairness, this is probably a DVD with a WMV burned to it, then jammed in a Madden case. The kid and his family, are just retards who rather than get the disc replaced, go reporting it to the media.

Of course it's also possible that the kid was busy playing with his John Madden Magna-doodle and his parents walked in.

Dad: What the hell is this?
Son: It was on game daddy, now pass me a tissue!