Due to scheduling conflicts, the boys have only had a couple of days since Episode 102 was recorded, so game talk is light this week.  That’s okay, though, because we’re bringing back the headlines!

What little gaming did we do?  Alex tried to force himself through the Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood finally, and fails to make it past Hitman: Blood Money‘s tutorial.  Jonathan picked up and started playing Space Marine, and found that the atmosphere is fantastic, but the difficult spikes are irritating.  Sam, meanwhile, busts out a Skyrim dragon story, and talks up ODST with Brad and William Pall.

In the headlines this week, we’ve got protests, lawsuits, delays, leaks, and hacks.

• ESA Drops Support for PIPA, SOPA
• EA Invokes First Amendment Protection for Video Games in Trademark Dispute with Helicopter Maker
• XCOM FPA Pushed to 2013, Firaxis Strategy Reboot Still Set for 2012
• Max Payne 3 Pushed Back to May
• Windows Live Login Suggested as Xbox Live Security Flaw
• BioShock Infinite 1999 Mode for System Shock Fans
• Resident Evil 6 Logo, Release Date Leaked

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

It’s the end of the semester.  Time is incredibly tight.  The show notes are going to be truncated until Alex or I can revisit them.

We talk about GTA, EDF, MW3, BF3, MvC, ACR, and ODST.

We also discuss chopping up AAA games’ stories.  Would you rather have a 60-hour story, or 6 ten-hour stories within 60 hours of gameplay?

Next week, either another topic or an interview with Zen Pinball.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Okay, Jonathan is obviously at his wit’s end, so I’ll pick this up.

Before we start on the main topic of the show, we talk about a post seen on Empire State Gamer about a poll that asks where the Assassin’s Creed series should go next. Ubisoft’s making no attempt at downplaying the role of the franchise, and since Ezio’s over, the series has to go SOMEWHERE. Where should it go? Should it keep the same type of gameplay? Is the same type of gameplay even possible considering the technological upgrades that come with each era? And would Assassin’s Creed in the time of the Shogun really just be Tenchu?

Our topic is episodic gaming, and it takes a little while to really get our definitions down. I came at it thinking about Sam & Max and Half Life 2, while Jonathan was approaching it from the perspective of LA Noire. So it comes down to this: should major titles with hours and hours and hours of gameplay be organized into smaller, easily digestible episodes like LA Noire, or should they keep with the do-anything-go-anywhere-epic storylines?

Finally, to plug the next episode: yes, we have an interview with Zen Studios about Pinball FX 2. And we have a tournament! Details will come soon, but in the meantime, it wouldn’t be a bad decision to pick up the Paranormal table and friend me up on Xbox Live.

That’s all for this week (unless Jonathan decides a few edits are necessary), so practice on Paranormal and keep an eye on our Google+ page and our Twitter feed for details on the contest!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

We open up the show with some talk about the in-house changes at the Way of the Game.  The brief rundown has been covered in a few different places.  I’ll just write here that if you’re subscribed via the gamelocus.net feed, you’ll want to transition over to http://thewayofthegame.net/ as the June 30 WotG will be the last episode released on the GLN feed.  We’ll drop reminders in the show and the feed as time goes on.

Next up, games this week:  Alex plays some FFXIII, Jonathan finally cracks open Heavy Rain, and David talks about his newfound love for Halo: ODST.

And that’s right, David is back with us.  Our discussion in episode 22 ran longer than intended, and we didn’t get the opportunity to grill David on his Top Ten.  Due to time constraints, we still don’t grill him on his Top Ten, but David does have some great honorable mentions we get into.  Next week we’ll have his Top Ten (for real this time), and you can also head over to our forums for a sneak peek and to contribute your own.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download