The Missing Link

Layton movie?

Layton movie.

From nineteenpointzerofour.

Sometimes you’ve gotta stop solving, and start shooting.

Sorry this is late, folks!  I meant to post the episode before I left town, and then immediately forgot.

Since the episode is so late, and since I don’t actually remember everything that we talked about, the show notes will be brief.

Sam was out of town, and so Joe, Alex’s brother, joined us for the episode.  Rather than running through a Top Ten for this brief appearance, we just invited Joe to talk with us about the games we’ve all been playing recently.  Alex finally got his hands on R.U.S.E., Jonathan finally got his hands on Metroid: Other M, and Joe has been playing through Mass Effect 2.  Alex talks about Knights in the Nightmare for DS, and Jonathan and Joe get their iPhone geek on for a bit.  I don’t remember what each of our third games were, so that’ll be a lovely surprise, I’m sure!  :-)

Next week, an episode on time!

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We’re talking games this week.

We’re still looking for your thoughts on Episode 33.  We want your contributions, in any form you choose.

Games discussed:

• Ancient Trader
• Red Dead Redemption
• Singularity
• Ghostbusters
• inFamous
• My Japanese Coach
• Picross 3D
• Just Cause 2
• Civilization IV Complete
• Frogger

See ya next week!

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(Reposting due to broken link to podcast)

We’ve got a headline show this week!  But first, banter.

We put off talking about games ’til next week, because we’ve got a ton of stuff, and the Steam Sale was still going on, so who knows what all may have been purchased between recording and releasing.  We do talk, though, about preparations for a topic show in Episode 33, which we want your participation in.  Also, OnLive appears to have a plan to make money.  (Shocking!)

Headlines!

• id Software’s Rage Leads Game Critics’ E3 Noms
• Junction Point taking the (mean) Mickey out of Epic Mickey
• Reggie confirms 2011 launch for 3DS on Fallon
• Alleged Kinect hardware specs claim two active player limit
• Retailer says Kinect pre-orders are “very low,” blames guessed-at price point
• Market Research Firm: Kinect (and Move) will have “negligible impact” on market
• Microsoft: Kinect Not For Core Gamers
• Introducing Hulu Plus: More wherever. More whenever. Than ever.
• Redbox Dabbles in Game Rentals

Bonus feature after the credits: Alex has an interview with American Idol winner, Jordin Sparks. The interview has nothing to do with gaming, it was just a “something interesting happened this week” event.

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So, Roger Ebert has reconsidered his position on video games as art.  His conclusion: he never should have brought the subject up in the first place.  I’ve got nothing to add and no rebuttals to make.  He simply refuses to play any games, and so he admits that his opinion cannot hold water.  He’s going to continue to cling to that opinion, and he’s welcome to do so, but at least he recognizes that it’s no more valid than my opinion on Death Metal or Jackson Pollack.

Nothing he’s written in his reflection refutes or changes my initial position regarding his opinion, and so I’ll just point you there and leave it at that.  Since Ebert continues to think we as gamers can learn nothing about other humans by playing a game, though, I’ll see if I can dig up and post my analysis of Shadow of the Colossus.  I (and several of my professors) believe it qualifies.

We’re back on our regular schedule with our E3 wrap up show.  Hopefully you enjoyed our early coverage and experimental commentary.  Next year, if we’re not physically at E3, we’ll have to actually make plans for doing more direct coverage.

Alex, on vacation from the world, basically, spent the week playing with a ton of XBLA games his brother “gave” him: Castle Crashers, Snoopy Flying Ace, Toy Soldiers, and Beat Hazard.  Also distracting him from his E3 watching duties has been Splinter Cell: Conviction.  Apparently, it’s quite good.

Jonathan has been focused on the E3 coverage, and so hasn’t played much.  The rest of the ‘cast is devoted to the announcements from E3, and who won what.  Our choices might surprise you.

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It’s our first pre-E3 episode, which is why you’re getting hold of it early.  Before we jump into E3 speculation (and music game debates), there’s some game talk.  Jonathan has parted company with Demon’s Souls, but he’ll be back for more later.  Alex’s elves were destroyed by goblins in Blood Bowl, and he’s thrilled with Bad Company 2.

We want you to contribute to our Best of ’09 show in a couple of week.  Deets are here.

Our E3 preview covers the Nintendo 3DS, next-gen motion controllers, the new keytar, and which company has the most to prove (Hint: their name starts with an “S” and ends with an “ony”).

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Happy half-year anniversary, folks!  We’ll just ignore the technicalities of time and space, and just use this as an excuse to celebrate!

We talk about games this week, because that’s what we’re all about!

Our early discussions are prompted by listeners.  Jonathan has been tasked with talking more about the PS3, but he’s having a hard time saying anything nice about the user experience.  Consoles are all about the games, and the games are worthwhile, but that’s about it.  Meanwhile, Alex gripes a bit about the genre change Front Mission: Evolved is going through, tying it to Shadowrun.

In other news, Jonathan picked up GameFly and doesn’t reference Alex in the process, costing him twenty bucks.  Jonathan’s also getting in on OnLive with an offer he couldn’t refuse.  Here’s hoping it’s not crap.

Games Discussed:

• Demon’s Souls
• Red Dead Redemption
• Star Wars: Empire at War
• Solium Infernum (of course)
• Borderlands

Finally, Alex is excited about the upcoming launch of Crazy Taxi, Sonic Adventure, and (possibly) Hulu on Xbox Live.

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We are back!  As much fun as it was to record with David, it’s refreshing to return to our usual format.  We’ve got some game talk, a little revisit of the changes, and a topic for you this week.

Jonathan is accused of poop-socking Red Dead Redemption.  He denies it, but it’s kinda true.  Alex has been playing Aliens vs. Predators, and wishes there were others to play with him.  Solium Infernum comes up (shock shock), as does a brief mention of the upcoming third season of Table Saw Blood Bowl.

In the topic section, we discuss EA’s new multiplayer strategy, and explore whether it’s a good idea or not.  We also compare it to the decisions other companies are making with regards to DRM (we’re looking at you, Ubisoft), and even discuss the fashion industry for a moment.  (This is a pretty fascinating TED Talk.)

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