G4 TV - AOTB - 420-Amsterdam

The Best Game for 420

Fri, 20 Apr 2007 11:38:00 GMT

G4tv.com loves 4/20. It's a very relaxing day that lets us get in touch with ourselves and re-connect with the wonders of life. Like, what if there's an entire universe is just one atom under our fingernails, and, get this, what if like our Universe is just one atom under the fingernail of some gigantic dude?? Woah...we just blew our own minds! Also, do we have any more Cheetos?

Anyway, we also play videogames, and thought we'd present you with a short list of some of our favorite 4/20 games, in no order. It's by no means complete, so add your favorites below.

REZ-PS2
REZ is the grand-daddy of 420 games, and not for nothing, either. The hypnotic beat-matching trance music, tripped-out wire-frame graphics, and optional vibrator attachment (yes you can use it for that) on this PlayStation 2 title make REZ the perfect game for a 420 excursion. Plus, if you don’t want to deal with those malevolent enemies and all that troublesome shooting, you can set it on “Travel” mode, put some Spiritualized on your stereo and just, like, travel through the game, dude. Totally sweet, bud!
--Steve Johnson

Dead Rising – Xbox 360
Think of the first time you got chilled and saw Day of the Dead, Dawn of the Dead or more recently, Shaun of the Dead. Combine those experiences, keep the eyes bulging and jump into the action of Dead Rising. From the opening moments of the game you are sucked in to the high-intensity action and before you know it you have cut down, mowed down, bashed down, shot down, flamed down, hacked down, shower headed, chainsaw’d, run over, brain drained, blown up, acid melted, lawnmower’d, impaled, split in half, Mega Man’d and potted (wishfully 420 style) the onslaught of zombies. What better way to spend some stoney hours than going to town on a bunch of no-brainers…..
--Josh Lawson

Saint's Row- Xbox 360
Alright, let’s just put this out there, if you like to whip out your favorite ceremonial pipe, listen to some Joan Baez and just melt away, then this is not the game for you. On the other hand, if you enjoy bumping Ice Cube or Cypress Hill when rolling up a fat Philly blunt (filled with the legal substance of your choice) then Saint’s Row is definitely your 420 game.

Check it, if your uptight parents are right, you’re going to hell anyway, so you might as well enjoy yourself while you still can and Saint’s Row has all the stuff a certified buzz chaser like you loves: guns, hos, brew and weed. That’s right, actual weed and booze that make the screen all trippy and weird when you smoke and drink them.

Not even staring at your hand for 45 minutes is as fun and novel as downing a 40oz. and smoking a blunt in the game while you’re at home, downing a 40oz. and smoking a perfectly legal cigar.

Plus, its really fun smoking weed (in the game) while pulling off sick stunts, like taking a Porsche look-a-like and driving it right off the top of multilevel parking garage or launching yourself from a toll bridge and landing on top of a passing subway car.

That’s not to mention all the fine looking ladies of the night walking around or the multiple “Go-go” clubs where young hotties parade around in thongs for your amusement.

And who could forget the simple pleasure of riding dirty. Don’t want to plug a cop? You don’t have to. Just cruise around in a fully functioning, living city while you’re lit off your ass (in the game).

No cops are going to steal your crops if you just sit back, relax and terrorize the town of Stillwater in the name of the 3rd Street Saints.
--Eugene Morton

Tony Hawk Pro Skater Series--Various Consoles
Nothing says "I love you" like a deBeers diamond. Also, nothing says "4/20" like the Tony Hawk Pro Skater franchise. T.H.U.G . versions aside, the Tony Hawk franchise has created a legacy of enthralling, bordering on hypnotizing videogames. The original game and Tony Hawk 2 are really the standouts of the series, with 3 and 4 still given their proper respect (though the later incarnations found to be a little too advanced for any 4/20 enthusiast).

Tony Hawk 2 offered you the chance to play Spider-Man as a badass "sk8r boy" as Avril would say, complete with aerial, web-slinging special moves. No other game offers you the chance to engage "Moon Physics" and offers the repetitive, yet highly addictive motions that can keep you playing for days. I mean, playing non-stop... for days. Like three of them... Pass the brownies.
--Jonathan Hunt

WWF War Zone--PS One
It’s 4/20, and who can be bothered with putting forth the effort to actually play a game? Flip on your backwards-compatible PlayStation of choice and pop in the PS One classic and let the game play itself for you. Sure you could step into the squared circle with the likes of Stone Cold or The Rock, but the real fun of this game comes from you and your friends using the remarkably-advanced-for-its-time Create-A-Wrestler mode to make virtual representations of yourselves. Put your avatars in any number of gimmick matches and set the game to “Simulate,” then sit back and enjoy the show as you and your crew beat the holy hell of each other with all manner of high impact maneuvers and foreign objects. The best part: no frantic button-mashing, just “relaxing” good times.
--Matt Bretz

Spreadsheets--PC
Last 4/20, I spent several hours playing Spreadsheets from Excel, and I must warn you: This game is totally boring.

--Steve Johnson

Don't miss G4's whole evening of 420 programming. Attack of the Show is live in Amsterdam, X-Play is looking at the trippiest games of all time and sit back for a showing of The Big Lebowski! Toke on that!

Amsterdam's Art and Graffiti

Fri, 20 Apr 2007 11:30:00 GMT

Amsterdam is teaming with creativity.

In this video, we round up the best of street art and graffiti for your viewing enjoyment!

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Texxxt Tech

Fri, 20 Apr 2007 11:21:00 GMT

Cell phone technology in Amsterdam is a cut above what we know love (or hate) here in the US. For starters, We had our choice from several (as many as 8 that we counted) 3G networks, and all of them seemed to have really good coverage throughout Amstrerdam. Between us we had 2 Samsung Blackjacks, a Treo 680 and an unlocked grey market Motorola Razr V3x. All but the Treo were rocking 3G everywhere we went in Europe.

More impressive than racking up international charges at $2.50 a minute was the pervasive use of SMS and Bluetooth for messaging throughout Amsterdam. Almost all advertising and billboards give SMS codes and not telephone numbers or even web addresses. Literally everything seemed to have a short code attached to it, from job listings to advertising on TV. Many shops along the Rokin blasted our phones with Bluetooth advertising once we were in range. Everything from free ringtones with purchase to coupon codes and discounts for responding to Bluetooth messages. We have to admit that getting 30% off at Adidas because my phone had Bluetooth and I accepted their ad was totally cool.

We can’t tell you about cell phones and SMS in the Netherlands without mentioning the seven (yes, 7) 24 hour TV channels with SMS interactivity. The Dutch are playing trivia games, participating in all sorts of games and auctions, finding Ms. / Mr. Right or even sometimes Ms. Right Now…all with their cell phones and all in sync with their TVs.

G4tv.com ran into Kevin outside of one of AOTS shoots and got his take on cell phones in Amsterdam.

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Amsterdam's Best Entertainment!

Fri, 20 Apr 2007 11:10:00 GMT

What can I say about this video?

The language of juggling is universal! It's like MATH or something.

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420: Posession Laws

Fri, 20 Apr 2007 11:01:00 GMT

Amsterdam is a strange and mystical land. Hash is legal, but only to an extent. See, you're allowed to grow a small amount at home yourself, but that's hard to do. You're allowed to buy it, but not in large quantities. How, then, do coffeeshops get their stash?

Watch this video to find out!

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420-Amsterdam Content Everywhere

Fri, 20 Apr 2007 10:57:00 GMT

In addition to all of the fine web exclusive videos already posted to the blog from our "G4tv.com Goes to Amsterdam" Educational Series, you'll be able to get all of highlights from tonight's special 420 Attack of the Show episode and Monday's Amsterdam Special on mobile, podcast and VOD starting next week. You should feel special.

420: How Much is Too Much?

Thu, 19 Apr 2007 20:46:00 GMT

While you (yes you princess) can waltz into any one of 250 coffeeshops in Amsterdam and purchase small amounts of the devilish marajuana weed, there are some strange loopholes in Holland's liberal yet confusing pot laws. Namely, how the shops themselves get the pot. You see, you can't grow or possess large amounts, but somehow (perhaps magically) they manage to get enough to sell to you and all of your stoner friends. And everyone else in Europe.

Join our friends Frank and Lourdes at the Kadinsky Coffee Shop and get learned on how much you can grow, how much you can carry around and how the nice folks at the Coffee Shop get the weed to sell to you:

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The Cars of Amsterdam

Thu, 19 Apr 2007 20:14:00 GMT

The cars of Amsterdam were awesome. The Taxi drivers all drive BMWs and Mercedes while the residents tend to prefer tiny little cars like the Suzuki Swift or the half a dozen Fiat varieties buzzing around the city. We even saw a number of "smart" cars that run on electricity and feel like they fold up and fit in your pocket. We didn't really appreciate smart cars until we saw how narrow the streets are in Europe.

The highlight of seeking out these strange foreign drivign machines was stumbling upon a right hand drive R33 Skyline GT parked smack dab in the middle of the red light district, right outside of Goa Coffee Shop. Not only was this beauty in mint condition, but when we heard it start up from a block away and come thundering past us we thought we might soil ourselves.

Check out our short video highlighting some of the best of driving dutch.

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G4tv.com goes to Amsterdam

Thu, 19 Apr 2007 18:52:00 GMT

Now that G4tv.com has been to Amsterdam and survived, we can safely report that there is way more to do in the capital of the Netherlands than smoke pot and ogle the hookers in de Wallen (the red light district). You can drink beer there too! Not just any beer mind you...fresh, wonderful, delicious, extra strong Heineken and Amstel brewed right there within the city limits! Yum.

Seriously though, the city is chock full o' history, architecture, art, food, shopping, and culture. It may also be the most laid back city G4tv.com has ever been to. We spent our days wandering all over the city by foot, bike, train and taxi soaking in all the sights, sounds, smells and tastes Amsterdam had to offer. Check out our walking tour of Amsterdam to get a feel for some of what we saw and did when we were there.

Watch the large version of this video

And just to prove that we didn't spend the whole time smoking pot, drinking beer and trying to scrounge up 50 euros to donate to the de Wallen college fund...we want to point out some of the other fantastic things about Amsterdam (after the jump):

Rembrandt and Van Gogh both lived and worked in the city, producing some of their best work while in Amsterdam. Both museums were incredible.

Anne Frank's house is a must and will remind you why you should be glad WWII ended the way it did.

Dam Square seemed like it was following us around and eventually became "that Dam Square" but only because we walked through it several times daily. The street performers there will keep you entertained...at least until the effects of the coffee shops wear off.

The Jordaan is one of the most beautiful and creative areas in Amsterdam, and home to most of the city's Artists and creative types. Van Gogh lived there back when, and Nick Palomino from the Electric Ladyland museum lives there now.

You can rent a bike for 12 euros or take a canal tour for another 15.

Chocolate covered waffles became a daily routine for us, as well as "toasti" sandwiches, redbull in a glass bottle, and of course cold Heineken at every possible appropriate moment.

Taxi drivers all drive Mercedes and BMWs and drive like a Formula 1 driver late for a soccer game. The 50 euro, 160+ kph taxi ride from Shiphol Airport to Centraal Station near Dam Square was better than most roller coasters.

Architecture and design in the city are amazing, and we promise everything there is at least 200 years older than everything here in the US of A. People park their little cars in garages that are older than your entire country. Think about that for a sec.

Holland grows more tulips than any other country in the world. Kansas grows more pot.

Everyone in europe goes to Amsterdam to party, including G4tv.com There are thousands of bars, 250 coffee shops (some of them actually serve coffee too), a huge club scene and a happening night life that begs you to kick back and have fun.

Seriously, G4tv.com had a lot of fun in Amsterdam...maybe too much. We're sure there is more, but we can't remember the rest ;)

Amsterdam XXX

Thu, 19 Apr 2007 12:09:00 GMT

Literally everywhere you go in Amsterdam you’ll see “XXX”… in addition to being the Dutch flag, its on just about every signpost, lightpole, manhole cover and on the front of countlesss old buildings. And like many other ugly Americans, you’d probably giggle and assume that it had something to do with the Red Light District and Holland’s liberal position on soft drugs… but you’d be wrong.

The origin is a bit unclear – though XXX has been Amsterdam’s symbol for most of the past millennium. Most theories point to the X’s referencing the cross upon which Andrew (an apostle) was crucified. Andrew was also the patron saint of fisherman and fishmongers. Other theories point out that the triple X refers to the three pest plagues that ravaged the country over the years. G4tv.com secretly wants it to be an homage to Jane's Addiction's seminal live album.

In 1947 Queen Wilhelmina officially decreed that the official meaning was that they represented three moral virtues: Compassion, Resolution and Heroism.

You are officially smarter now. You're welcome.

Some pre-420 Awesomeness

Wed, 18 Apr 2007 16:39:00 GMT

April 20th is just two short days away (yes, we know you're excited... but please put your pants back on)... and to help ease this (over)excitement we're launching some of our 420 and Amsterdam content early!

Again, we know you're excited. We are too. So sit back, relax and enjoy some exclusive photo galleries, with tons of web exclusive video to come. G4tv.com went to Amsterdam, and you're along for the ride, Dude. Click an image below to launch the galleries. w00t.

It's 420 and We're the Munchies

Wed, 18 Apr 2007 14:49:00 GMT

Hey, wanna party?

We've got your party right here! This Friday is 420 and it's a celebration of all things...420. We've go an unbelievable slate of 420 excitment coming right at you! But, not too fast, we don't want to freak you out, man!

First up at 7 PM, Attack of the Show travels all the way across the pond to the land of freedom, Amsterdam, to bring you all the mythology behind the holiday. Then X-Play brings you the most wacked out games with their "One Hour Trip" at 8 PM. To top it all off, the cherry on the most delicious Sundae you've ever had, is a screening of the Big Lebowski at 9 PM.

Wow, now that i've listed it out dude, it's almost too much. AND THERE'S MORE!

In addition to what's on the air, this blog and our 420 page is going to be jam packed with exclusive, web-only content from Amsterdam including awesome videos, unique photo galleries and behind-the-scenes coverage from Attack of the Show!

Is your mind blown yet? Tune in to catch all the action starting at 7 PM on 4/20 and check out g4tv.com/420 and Attack of the Blog for all the extra web only coverage!

Dude, this Snickers bar is like, totally saving my life right now.