Scheduling conflicts this week means there’s been a lot of time since we recorded 101, and very little time until we record 103.  As such, we’ve got a lot of games to talk about this episode, and we’ll have a lot of headlines to cover next episode.

Before we get into that, though, we have a correction to make.  Jonathan’s not sure how he messed this up, but Ryven Cydrelle didn’t win our contest last week.  Moreover, he didn’t even enter it.  Rather, a listener named Joe was the proper entrant and winner in the contest, and all has been corrected.  Thanks to Ryven for noticing the error and to Joe for being a good sport!

In the show proper, Alex explains why The History Channel: Great Battles – Medieval isn’t a particularly good game, a fact which should surprise no one.  He also makes a case for why Asura’s Wrath needs a change of venue to the Kinect, no matter how foolish it might make you look or sound.  Then his mic goes wonky, and he kind of talks about Hero Academy (which he’s been playing with Jonathan, Luke, and others).

Jonathan’s got a big list, explaining why he shipped Battlefield 3, unplayed, back to GameFly, and only gave Record of Agarest War Zero a quick pass.  He’s also picked up Space Marine, and didn’t much care for the new NFL Blitz, or the older Madden Arcade.

Sam has been moving and has had Internet issues, so his list consists of his primary addiction of late, EDF, and the game everybody on the show has played this week (and which we end the show talking about), Skyrim.

Sam gets a bit of a rage-on about Skyrim’s AI system.  His Lydia apparently has a fondness for geology, and flinging herself headlong into hopeless battles.  Overall, though, Skyrim seems to have overcome his major gripes about Morrowind and Oblivion.  Meanwhile, Alex barely got through the tutorial mission and turned the game off.  He claims Everquest flashbacks, and no one really wants to see him relapse.  Jonathan has spent a preposterous amount of time playing Skyrim, but he’s not really all that far into the story.  Somehow it works, though.  None of the hosts think it deserves all the hype it’s getting, but at least two hosts are enjoying it quite a lot.

Next week, fewer games, and more game-related headlines!

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Dunno what was in our water this episode, but we get fairly explicit this episode, and it would have killed Sam to bleep them all.  Fair warning.

Thanks to Juriel, Ryven Cydrelle, Zatala, and ZombieLich for entering our Indie Game Contest!  And congratulations to Ryven and Zatala for winning!  We’ll contact you soon with your prizes.

Juriel, of course, officially won our Pinball FX 2 tournament.  Congrats to him, and thanks to everyone else for participating!

Jonathan has started playing Skyrim, and it’s a not bad game.  It’s almost exactly like the D&D game he wishes he could play at the table.  He and Sam have also been playing some EDF, and all hail Purple!

In addition to EDF, Sam’s been taking breaks with Grand Theft Auto 4.  Brucie tickles his fancy, and he appreciates the slower pace compared to the insanity of EDF.

Alex has picked up a Lovecraftian-style CCG strategy game for iOS called Cabals.  Multiplayer is random-opponent-only, but that’s supposed to change soon.  He’s also really enjoying Rayman Origins, which is saying a lot since Alex doesn’t typically like platformers.

In this week’s topic, we pass preliminary judgement on just about every game we know is dropping in 2012, and some we’re not sure about.  We try to be quick about it, and there are a few surprises in there.

Finally, Sam wraps up the current round of Name That Game! with a selection of titles that have no theme at all.

CES is in full swing as this episode drops, so we’ll be discussing any headlines that come out of it next episode!

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We break into triple digits this week with a fairly laid back show.

Jonathan talks about how comparing the 2011 version of Mortal Kombat with the 1993 version of Super Street Fighter II Turbo illustrates how modern fighting games have completely left him behind.  He’s also been disappointed in the changes made to Assassin’s Creed: Revelations, and Red Faction: Armageddon proves to be just another bug shooter.

Sam’s gone old school with Grand Theft Auto 4, which has helped improve his opinion of Red Dead Redemption and L.A. Noire.

Alex, meantime, received EDF, Dead Rising 2, and Bastion for Christmas, though he hasn’t played any of them because he’s been playing with his new toys, an iPod Touch and a Kindle Fire.  He’s also broken out some Space Marine Capture the Flag, but finds himself just wanted to go back to Exterminatus.  Finally, he and Jonathan have both been playing an Xbox Indie Game called Lexiv, which is an interesting mix of Scrabble, SimCity, and tower defense.  It sounds weird, but it works great.

In our topic this week, we still aren’t ready to discuss the games that were in the year that was, but we do decide to talk about the prevailing themes of the year.  Jonathan’s already been discussing his belief that the year is full of Almost Perfects.  Sam focuses on setting aside his expectations.  And Alex decides that 2011 was the year Day-1 DLC and Multiplayer Codes became a permanent part of the industry.

Finally, Jonathan’s in charge of this round of Name That Game!, and he’s got a 100-themed round prepped for the others.

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This week, we try to start a series of topics shows, and then don’t.  Instead, the hosts talk about games, some bad, some good.

Jonathan mentions that he’s picked up Final Fantasy Tactics for his phone, though he hasn’t played it at all, so it’s kind of a moot point.  He’s also playing Sword & Sworcery on his phone, a game with an incredible soundtrack and a great sense of humor.  Finally, he’s still suffering through Eternal Sonata, and he goes on at length about why it’s suffering, not enjoyment he feels.  Spoiler: he’s not going to get much farther in it.

Sam has picked up El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron.  Much like Alex’s supermodel comparison, Sam finds it gorgeous and incomprehensible.  He’s hoping the confusion stems from a language barrier and not from the fact that the model is just brain dead.  (Perhaps I’m pushing the analogy too far?)  He’s also enjoying the hell out of Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon, though he wishes he had people to blow up bugs with.  Finally, he joins Alex in sharing some Deus Ex: Human Revolution impressions.

Alex got his hands on Human Revolution early, and gloats about it.  He’s also ridiculously excited about the Space Marine demo (FOR THE EMPEROR!), and perhaps his opinion of Dead Island is changing?  Maybe?

Finally, the show wraps up with a game of Babelfish.  Jonathan’s only run the titles through three languages this time around, but did it make the game any easier?  You be the judge.

Next week, we finally officially review L.A. Noire, then the week after we start our Seven Sins Series.

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