We’ve got a guest (or perhaps an intermittent co-host) on this week, and unfortunately we forgot to remind him to start recording until he’d given us all sorts of awesome insight into Quantum Conundrum.  Alex (the regular one) went all Cave Johnson on it, and you’re getting a pretty awesome save of the episode.

Anyway, enough praise.

Jonathan talks a bit about Pocket Planes, the new horrendously wonderful time-sink from NimbleBit.  Alex played some of the new Steel Battalion, and pretty much can’t recommend it.  Also, more pinball is more awesome and that’s all you need to know.

Then we discuss Alex’s experiences at E3.  He’s got some stompy excitement, some understandable disappoints, and some interesting insights into what E3 is all about.

Next week?  Stuff.  Promise.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

We had a plan for this episode, but then it fell apart.  In it’s place we picked up Scott of I Thought They Smelled Bad on the Outside and Back Seat Quickies fame and talked games and the fate of E3.

Jonathan discusses his trouble getting into God of War: Ghost of Sparta.  Alex geeks out about controlling his Xbox from his iPod.  Sam rages against the obtuseness of Max Payne 3.  Scott wishes he had nuke tanks in Anomaly Warzone.

Regarding E3, Jonathan wishes it would focus or die.  Alex holds that you can’t change it, so you might as well revel in it.  Sam and Scott seem to have more reasonable opinions.

Finally, we end the show with an impromptu Wingman.  Say you have five minutes to come up with a podcast topic and guest host; which video game character do you grab off the internet?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Business:  Jonathan’s going to miss Gen Con this year, because employment trumps gaming.  Sam will be attending, though, so WotG will still have a presence.

Games Jonathan Played:

• The Walking Dead – an interesting, if cel-shaded, take on zombies and point-and-click adventures.
• Dragon’s Dogma – what Alex thought about Skyrim, Jonathan thinks about Dragon’s Dogma.
• New World Colony – Catan crossed with Risk, and Jonathan’s impressed.

Games Alex Played:

• Crusader Kings 2 – well worth the sale price, maybe not so good at full price.

Games Sam Played:

• Max Payne 3 – once you accept what Max is laying down, the game gets good.
• Ghost Recon: Future Soldier – hear what happens when your pitted against you buddies.

E3 Time: We discuss the good and bad of the Big 3 press conferences, throw in some publisher smack talk for good measure, and lay bare just how bad we are at making predictions.

Next week, we’ve got two, count ‘em! TWO! people on the show who actually attended E3, one of whom is pulling a Jack Kerouac and going on the road, but for games instead of drugs.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Ads in games!

Among the Sleep!

Frivolous lawsuit dropped!

Jonathan plays SkullPogo!

Hemisphere‘s breaks Sam’s brain!

Alex enjoys Dragon’s Dogma!

Sam and Alex recon Ghosts!

Max Payne is dark!

E3 Predictions get ridiculous!

See you next week!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

It’s our annual E3 wrap-up show, but this time we’ve got a dude who was actually there! Alex “Seraph” Wawro, of PC World fame, joins us as we discuss what happened at E3 2011.

We start off with a discussion about our general disappointment with this year’s E3 before moving into a discussion of Nintendo’s offerings.  The Wii U intrigues and confuses us.  The 3DS underwhelmed.  The Wii was forgotten.

Sony made a big splash with the PlayStation Vita.  Those of us that are still interested in portable consoles are very intrigued, and very pleased with the price.  Those of us who have allowed our smart phones to dominate our lives… well, we’re good.

Move and Kinect got a lot of lip service of support, but are they really all that vital to our gaming experience.  Three hosts bash the tech.  One defends it.  Can you guess who?  Also, “Lightsaber On!” is best explained via a comic.

Microsoft pretty much just kept on keeping on, with Halo 4 being the big announcement, which didn’t excite any of the hosts like Microsoft probably hoped it would.  We pick our “Winner” of the show (the first time we’ve been unanimous about a winner, by the way), and also name our “Game of Show” (with not so unanimous results).

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Page 2: Peter Molyneux and His “Horrendous Mistake”:

Peter Molyneux desperately wants you to believe that Fable: The Journey is not an on-rails game.  He’s on a massive PR push to explain that the navigation features of the game were removed from the public demo to provide a more controlled experience, a decision that was, in Molyneux’s own words, “a horrendous mistake.”

Pete’s even gone so far as to have a bunch of journalists, those saw the navigation controls in action, sign a wall affirming that The Journey isn’t railroaded.  Now the question is, will this PR push do any good?

The trouble with Nintendo’s “soft” announcement of the Wii U is that it raises more questions than it answers, and gamers aren’t exactly known for being a patient bunch. 

The Wii was an immediate and obvious revolution. We all needed some time to wrap our heads around the implications of the technology. Touch screens, however, are not a new development in gaming, and so the desire for specifics is more immediate and visceral.  Here are just a few questions (and the half-answers Nintendo has given).

What kind of power are we really looking at here? 

Ubisoft has gushed about how the Wii U will allow them to easily develop for all three major consoles at the same time, but what does that mean exactly? 

There are specs floating around the interwebs of what’s supposed to be a development console for Wii U, but how many of those details will survive into the final product remains to be seen. 

Reggie Fils-Aime keeps throwing around the phrase 1080p, but the 360 and PS3 both run 720p at best, relying on upconversion for 1080p output. Is Reggie claiming true 1080p graphics or just more of the HD same?

Problematically, the gameplay flashed in the Wii U introductory video of Darksiders, Assassin’s Creed, and more wasn’t captured on a Wii U, but was running on the PS3 and 360.

I don’t think it’s a bait-and-switch, but it does smack a bit of desperation. “Graphics don’t matter” has been Nintendo’s mantra, but that’s not the impression I get from their marketing.

How is online going to work?

I never figured out Friend’s Codes. It was too much of a hassle. I’m not a huge fan of online multiplayer, but since you can sell the Wii to everybody in a family, gamer or not, it would have been nice to get online and play tennis with my mom, or race with my cousins. Too bad Friend Codes turned a simple, easy to use console into a nightmare of random character strings and annoying sub-menus. 

Nintendo has to know they need a comprehensive, built-in, easy-to-use online network. My grandmother needs to not only be able to pick up the Wii U and play immediately, but she also needs to be able to connect to her family effortlessly.

An Ubisoft rep has made some claims about the online capabilities of the Wii U, with comments indicating a network akin to Xbox Live or PSN, but Nintendo is keeping tight-lipped about their plans.

 

Finally, Reggie has verified that Wii U only supports Wii games and peripherals, not GameCube. Is this a cost-saving measure or a hardware limitation?

I realize the Cube will be two generations removed from the Wii U, and that this move mirrors Nintendo’s portable strategy, but it’s a bit frustrating. Some of my current favorite party games are GameCube games (PacMan Vs. for instance). losing those is a bit of a blow I’d like explained.

What would you like explained? What burning questions have risen for you about the new hardware, or about E3 announcements in general?

I certainly didn’t think I’d be writing this, but I’m calling the 2011 Big Three E3 Grudge Match in favor of Sony this year.  Microsoft presented us with Kinect-ability that seems superfluous, and games that are more of the same.  Nintendo gave us a few 3DS titles, and a bunch of promises for 2012.

Sony’s laid out a strong lineup for this year.  The name’s silly (although it sounds good compared to the Wii U), but the Vita looks to be an impressive setup with a strong lineup.  It should be out by the end of the year, setting up some strong competition for the 3DS, which has been… meh. 

I liked what I saw of the Wii U.  A touch-screen controller that allows seamless switching between the TV and the controller?  Yes, please.  HD Nintendo games?  Oh yeah.  Third-party support that doesn’t require massive reprogramming?  It’s about time.  Too bad we’re not likely to get any of that until Holiday 2012. 

For 2011, the Wii gets… a Zelda game.  Nintendo announced Skyward Sword for Wii in 2011, and that’s it.  I’m all for more Link, but Zelda can’t carry the entire year.  I think it’s safe to assume that’s not really the extent of Wii support, but that’s all we got from the press conference.

Microsoft’s press conference was pretty middle of the road, but again, at least they’re talking about developments for 2011.  Mass Effect 3, Ghost Recon, and more get Kinect support, but I didn’t see anything that couldn’t have been handled better via a headset mic and controller.  YouTube, broadcast TV, and other entertainment options are sweet, but peripheral.  Halo 4?  Not developed by Bungie?  I can’t say I care. 

For me, the biggest announcement from the Big 3 was the Wii U.  I think it has huge potential, but not for this year.  As such, I give first place to Sony, second to Microsoft, and third to Nintendo.

Jonathan wasn’t available to record for episode 72, so we invited the esteemed Luke from the Podgecast to join us. The conversation immediately turns to the Gears of War 3 beta, since none of the WotG crew got around to actually booting it up. Then the talk turns to Frozen Synapse, and Alex reveals that he’s getting creepily obsessed with it. When the subjects of waypoints, field of fire and server problems are exhausted, Sam reveals his latest thoughts on L.A. Noire, Duke Nukem and Batman: Arkham Asylum. Are we still talking about Batman? Hell yes, we are.

Then the boys get down to the nitty-gritty: E3 predictions. The talk includes speculation on new consoles for all the major players, the need for a hardcore shooter for the Kinect and what form that may take, giant robots, tiny hats, sandwiches and honey badgers.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

I’m least excited about Microsoft’s showing at E3.  It’s not because I have inside knowledge, and not because I think they’ll have a poor showing, it’s just that I’m not sure how Microsoft is going to bring anything really new to the table.  Nintendo will be announcing a new home console.  Sony will lock down the details on their new portable.  What will Microsoft bring?

I expect a slow-and-steady approach.  It’s not exactly exciting, but Microsoft’s in a good position.  The Kinect’s been well-received.  The 360 is firmly cementing its place in households (especially following… well, you know).  Microsoft doesn’t need to announce a new console, doesn’t seem to want to mess with portables, and has no debacles to recover from.

We’ll get software.  We might get some new content partnerships.  Microsoft could come out and shock us all, but I doubt it.  Those of us looking for the whiz-bang may be underwhelmed, but I bet Microsoft’s investors will be pleased.