To start this episode, The Pimp of the Internet gives us a bit of feedback on episode 87, where we debated the merits of reviewing in a vacuum.

We were going to continue our Seven Sins series this week, but then we realized that we’d played a ton of games over the week that deserved to be talked about, so we skipped the topic and just covered the games.

Before getting into the games, though, Jonathan announces some good news in the form of his grand victory in the Spooky Outhouse Frozen Synapse Tournament.  He took down long-time listener, Smerbev, in an epic series of games to take the title.

This also provides a good point to mention the attempts made to start a Way of the Game tournament.  Calvin the Canadian has graciously offered up a 1600 point Xbox Live card to the winner of the first tournament, but we need to figure out if there’s interest in such a tournament, and we could also use some input on how to run the tournament.  Hit up the forums or leave a comment if you have any thoughts on either subject.

Jonathan:

• Batman: Arkham City (finished)
• Bit.Trip Complete
• Child of Eden
• Driver San Francisco
• Saints Row 2 (finished)

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Beware of Canadians bearing gifts. Longtime listener Calvin the Canadian finally joins us for a show and brings a present from the Great White North: a code for Frozen Synapse. Listen for details on how to win it, or just go here.

For once, we don’t talk right off the bat about how long its been since we’ve last podcasted. Instead, it’s motorcycle talk! Sam’s got a new ride, and he and Alex talk for a bit about the hobby, the machines and the necessity (or lack thereof) of loud pipes.

Sam’s got nothing as far as gaming goes, so Alex starts dishing out the Catherine love. It’s chock full of block manipulation, metaphors and ethical choices. Not only that, it gives Alex an excuse to use one of his favorite words, “phantasmagorical.”

Calvin reveals some Dynasty Warriors Gundam love, and that gets Sam hot under the collar. Cthulu Saves The World also comes up, as does Frozen Synapse.

Jonathan points out with pride that he finished LA Noire. Alex counters by saying anyone could finish LA Noire. This may be foreshadowing on their upcoming LA Noire review show. Aside from that, Jonathan’s been dabbling in a little Bastion and Islands of Wakfu. Sam just loves that title.

Then it’s off to the races with Calvin’s top ten list. There are a few surprises here, and the ignorance of the usual hosts when it comes to mega popular games is exposed once again. Still, there are a few oldies but goodies in his list. Finally, Jonathan wraps it up with a translation game. If you’re betting on the winner, here’s a hint: don’t bet on Alex winning. Or even scoring.

NOTE: THIS EPISODE IS EXPLICIT.

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Update 8/9/11: This contest is closed.  Thanks for your entries!  Be sure to tune in to Episode 82 to learn who won.

Zatala has kindly offered up his second activation code for Frozen Synapse as a contest prize.  As you’ll hear in Episode 80, we’ve devised a contest involving picking what game I need to play to completion in between getting home from Gen Con (August 8th) and going back to school (August 22nd).

Zatala picked four titles from a list I gave him and added a fifth (cruel) pick.  Leave a comment with your vote, and you’ll get an entry in the contest.  When we record episode 82 on Monday, August 8th, we’ll randomly pick someone from the entrants to win the copy of Frozen Synapse.

We’ll also tabulate the votes, and that will be the game I must play to completion by the time school starts on August 22nd.  If there’s a tie among games, Zatala will get to be the tiebreaker.  This will be posted on the forum, as well, and I’ll allow one response here and one response there to count as votes and entries in the contest.

The games selected are:

• Final Fantasy 13
• Demon’s Souls
• Metal Gear Solid 4
• Eternal Sonata
• Final Fantasy Tactics (PSP version)

Good luck, and please be kind!

This week, we talk about the past six months, covering the games we’ve loved, the games we’ve hated, and the games we don’t really care about either way.

Up first, Jonathan talks about how smart that Cracked.com writer was to call for a free-to-play model in the competitive gaming market, as Team Fortress 2, Tribes, and WoW all go the way of the microtransaction.  He also does a terrible job of describing Solar 2, although in fairness, it’s not an easy game to describe.  Jonathan’s also surprised to find that Yakuza 4 is more RPG than Beat-Em-Up, though perhaps he shouldn’t be.

Alex talks about Trenched, the latest release from Double Fine.  Given that Trenched is a variation on the tower defense genre, and Alex has little love for the tower defense genre, his verdict may surprise you (or not).  He’s also picked up the Captain America table for Pinball FX2, which he’s been very pleased with.  Finally, Alex went sales bin diving and came up with a copy of Daisenryaku VII Exceed, a modern military tactical strategy game for the PS2.

Sam played some games, but left no notes to remind me what they were when writing the show notes, so those’ll have to be a surprise.

Interesting tidbits from the topic:

• Sam gets it wrong about Portal 2 and L.A. Noire.
• Jonathan puts a bunch of weird indie games on his “Great” list.
• Sam praises a couple of sequels.
• Alex thinks Child of Eden is pretty, but not much more.
• Everybody’s less than impressed with Duke Nukem Forever.

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We’re back!

Sam’s been moonlighting. He’s also been chewing bubble gum, because Duke’s been taking care of all the ass kicking.  He’s also checked out Wolverine: Origins, a super-violent take on the everyone’s favorite/most-hated mutant.

Jonathan’s picked up Frozen Synapse, and has been shooting Alex in the face.  He’s also been playing Ticket to Ride and Carcassone, classic board games, on his iPad.  Also, he’s going to PAX!  Woo!

Alex talks up Dirt 3 (sweet, sweet, rally car action), talks down Dungeon Siege 3 (standard procedure Diablo clone), and gives Section 8: Prejudice some love, despite Sam’s reservations.

In our topic section, we discuss an article from Cracked.com, which argues that the games industry is at a crossroads, where gaming needs to adapt and diversify or die.  We delve into what’s wrong with the industry, and what we should call games, if calling them “games” is part of the problem.

I can also promise you that there will be a Name That Game! next week, for those of you missing it, because we’ve already recorded that episode.  ’Til then!

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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.

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And we’re back!  We had a plan, and then chucked it in favor of talking about a bunch of games.  We also introduce a new game this week, though it has no name as of yet.

Sam talks about how L.A. Noire has grown on him, once he realized it’s a puzzle game, not an action game.  He wants to get the crap scared out of him, but unfortunately F.E.A.R. 3 hasn’t released yet.  He also wishes he’s just looking over the “Motorcycle” menu in Forza 3, but we’re pretty sure he’s not.

Alex talks up Frozen Synapse, a game that takes the planning stages from the early Rainbow Sixes and turns it into a simultaneous turn-based tactical action game.  Alex also talks about L.A. Noire, and the World of the Living Dead beta.

Jonathan’s not had much opportunity to play more L.A. Noire, though he’s still very pleased with it.  In addition, he’s been playing the toddler-soothing music game, Chime, and enjoying it quite a bit.  Less enjoyable was Mindjack, a game with an awesome concept that falls flatter than a planker.

Other games that get mentioned include F.E.A.R. 1&2, Amnesia: The Dark Descent, FortressCraft, and Terraria.

We wrap up the show with a new game, one involving terrible translations and full coffee.  If you’ve got an idea for a name for it, let us know!

Next week, an eye doctor and E3 predictions!

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