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!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

It’s our last episode in double-digits territory!  Hooray!

Sam calls in from one of the Dakota’s this week, and gets his EDF on.  This game is becoming more than just a little bit of an obsession for him.

Alex tries to share more Battlefield 3 stories, but is rudely interrupted by hand gestures from the other hosts.  He’s also broken out some classic Sonic in the form of Sonic CD, and it’s apparently aged well.

Jonathan has picked up some more tables for Pinball FX 2, and has found that his complaints last week about the Sorcerer’s Lair table were premature, and that he understand nothing about how pinball is to be played.

In our topic this week, the hosts take a look at their game shelves with the intent of tallying up how many unfinished games they have, and just how long it will likely take to get through them all.  Sam’s list is small, Alex’s list is a bit hefty, and Jonathan’s list rages out of control.

Finally, Name That Game! is back, with a belated Christmas theme.  A few of the titles are repeats, but we’re keeping track now.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

We take a break from our Seven Sins of Gaming series this week to discuss whether reviewers should compare games to one another or not.

Jonathan (as usual) has been swamped with school.  He’s still playing Dead Island, though going solo is ridiculously depressing.  He’s got a bunch of games waiting for midterms to finish, including the ICO/Shadow of the Colossus HD remix, Knight’s Contract, and Another World HD.  In lieu of games to talk about, Jonathan instead talks about what happened at Archon before Archon happened.

Alex and Sam then pull out a massive amount of wankery about Space Marine and Gears of War 3.  Gears is growing on Alex, but has only succeeded in making Sam appreciate Space Marine more.  Jonathan, as usual, has nothing to contribute to the wankery.

It does lead into our topic, though, which revolves around a reviewer’s personal experience, and whether or not they should be comparing a game to others (such as Space Marine vs. Gears) or if a game should be reviewed in a vacuum.  This is wankery Jonathan can contribute to.

Finally, Sam breaks out the final round of Name That Game!, and one of the hosts does really well.

Next week, a Space Marine review!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

The boys couldn’t get their schedules to synch up this week, but rather than inflict more Catherine talk on you (yet, anyway), we decided to experiment with asynchronous podcasting.

Sam’s finished Space Marine and put more time into Dead Island.

Jonathan surprises Sam with his opinion on El Shaddai, and has also been putting time into Dead Island.

Alex succumbs to peer pressure and picks up Gears of War 3 and lets a copy of Culdcept slip through his fingers.

In our Seven Sins series, focusing on Pride, we take aim at Sony, Peter Molyneux, and achievement whores.

Finally, we even attempt an asynchronous Name That Game!  You’ll have to let us know how it works.

Next week, we take a break from the Sins Series to talk about the ethics of game reviews.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

We’ve got a special guest with a special project this week.  Tony Mast, of Back Seat Producers fame (and he of the old-school Top Ten), joins us to talk about Sausage Fest.  The Holmberg went to Sausage Fest last year, and it was a blast, plus it raised a nice chunk of change for the breast cancer fight.  There’s actual planning and intention going into this year’s Fest, so an event that couldn’t be more awesome will be more awesome.  The IndieGoGo campaign is still going for a few days more, and even though the campaign is technically funded, any money over what’s needed to run the event seeds the final donation we send to that breast cancer campaign we can’t name without specific permission, so we encourage you to donate if you can.

Tony sticks around for the rest of the episode, and drops some knowledge about Populous and Greedy Spiders.  Jonathan’s been re-exploring Saint’s Row 2, has been confused by No More Heroes: Heroes’ Paradise, and has whacked some zombies in the face in Dead Island.  Sam has finished Deus Ex: Human Revolution, and has been enjoying Space Marine and Dead Island.  Due to the short time between recordings, Alex hasn’t played anything new.

In our topic, we continue our Seven Deadly Sins Series with Gluttony.  Jonathan targets Google, Alex throws stones at EA, Sam points fingers at the Madden series, and Tony brings an RTS twist to the topic.

Finally, we have a three-way Name That Game!  Tony makes a valiant effort to dethrone the hosts, and succeeds with one of them.

Finally, we ask Tony to pick our next sin.  Pride goeth before a fall, and cometh in next week’s episode.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Yes, we talk about Catherine again.  No, we don’t spend a whole episode on it again.

Sam and Jonathan have both completed Catherine, one on each end of the spectrum.  Jonathan has started Eternal Sonata, though he’s not very far through it.  Sam has also been playing Bastion, and his love for the Narrator is complete.  Alex got his grubby mitts on El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron, and he compares it to a super model.

Then we get into headlines.

• GOP presidential candidate quoted Pokemon: The Movie 2000. Four times.
• MGS HD collection includes MGS3 ‘Subsistence’ worldwide, MGS1 code in Japan
• Class Action Lawsuit Filed for Xbox Live Subscription Double Billing
• XBLIG Title FortressCraft Sees $1.2 Million in Sales
• Fable: The Journey won’t have swords or guns due to lack of feedback

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Two of the hosts spend this episode drinking.  One host is still hungover from Gen Con.  Fun!

Jonathan talks about the experience of a video game podcast host at a role-playing game convention.  He explored the e-games room, and came in third (with six other dudes) in the Ultimate! Gamer! Tournament! (Emphasis added.)

Alex talks briefly about UFC Ultimate Trainer, a fitness game designed for people who are already fit.

Sam’s gotten a long ways into Catherine, and Alex has already fought with his wife over Catherine, and Jonathan hasn’t played Catherine since episode 81, so what better to talk about than more Catherine?  The conversation goes all over the place.  Is this a story about a realistic relationship?  Is the titillation necessary?  Is this going to be a good game for gaming?  Will we ever stop talking about this game?

We wrap up with the next round of Name That Game!  Jonathan brings a list based on the highest rated games of all time from Metacritic, and it’s… distressingly easy.

Next week, considerably less Catherine, considerably more headlines, considerably harder games in NTG!  Be sure to tune in!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

We dare to let Sam host this week.  Will lightning strike twice?

Sam has picked up Dragon Age 2 DLC, but nobody cares about that because he’s also picked up Catherine, a game which Alex has already slobbered on about, and which all three hosts will slobber about for some time to come.  Sam also shares two disturbing, real-life stories related to Catherine.

Jonathan has also played some Catherine, but he’s able to break away from it long enough to talk about the (sort of) successful July AssBrodeo, and Microsoft’s Summer of Arcade promotion.  Bastion looks really cool; From Dust has promise, but the demo leaves him lacking; and Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet looks to push all the right buttons.  What’s a man with limited funds to do?!

Alex jumps in all over the place with the Catherine love, and also talks about NFL Head Coach 09.  Jonathan has had bad experiences with the Head Coach line, but the game scratches Alex’s football itch without the unnecessary football playing.

Finally, Alex starts off the next round of Name That Game!  There is much debate about consoles and timing, but Jonathan and Sam battle their way through.

Next week: more Catherine, and an NTG! that’s almost distressingly easy.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

This week, we try to cover a topic, and fail.  We have some good conversations about games, though.

First off, Alex and Jonathan talk about the wildly different whether in their wildly different states.

Alex discusses Shadows of the Damned, a grindhouse-type game with an angry Mexican and a lot of penis jokes.  Despite Jonathan’s reservations, Alex also has nothing but good things to say about Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon.  We’re also looking to start up a regular, monthly AssBrodeo.  Check the forums for more info.

Jonathan pimps the Steam Summer Sale, which has ended already, and reminds everyone just how much fun Team Fortress 2 is.  He also talks about HOARD, a game about dragons, and Terraria, a game with Minecraft‘s addictiveness AND a purpose.  Bonus!

Sam wishes F.E.A.R. 3 was scarier, wishes Far Cry 2 was less realistic, and wishes Crysis 2 was eligible for marriage.  Jonathan and Alex are suitably disturbed.

Alex brings a themed version of Name That Game! to bear this week: Lousy Games!  He scraped the bottom of Metacritic’s barrel, and brought a number of truly terrible games to the table.

Next week, we really do get to our topic.  See you then!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download