News:

• Dead Island: Riptide special collectible is sociopath fodder.
• In related news: Square Enix kills Hitman-themed assassinate-your-friends “game” after just a few hours.
• EA’s SimCity EULA includes a threat to ban players from all EA games for not reporting bugs.  [Between recording and releasing the show, EA has backtracked and modified the EULA.]

Games:

• Jonathan has completed Mass Effect 2.  He thinks maybe people complaining about Mass Effect 3′s ending simply forgot the endings of the first two games.
• Alex has found that very little is actually better with Kinect, but he refuses to simply disconnect it.
• Alex has also found that gamifying his life is awesome.
• Sam busts out a couple of big DLCs: Dragonborn for Skyrim, and Sir Hammerlock’s Big Game Hunt for Borderlands 2.
• Jonathan tries to get Sam to talk about Journey again, but Sam plays coy.

Topic:

We’ve already discussed gamer entitlement before, but the guy who asked the White House to stop the distribution of the new Devil May Cry game isn’t entitled, he’s nuts.

The sentiment behind the petition, though, has gotten Alex thinking: when he complains about, say, Far Cry 3 diverging too much from Far Cry 2, is he a part of the problem?  What exactly do we expect from our sequels, and what makes one “right” and another “wrong?”

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Hello, peeps!  Alex is somewhere in Ohio this week, so it’s just Jonathan and Sam on the mics for this episode.  In honor of the news guy’s absence, we discuss news.

First though, Sam discusses Kingdom’s of Amalur, which he’s found to be intriguing, if a bit frustrating, and Mass Effect 3, which has succeeded in bringing out Hulk Sam.  Jonathan picked Skyrim back up for an incredibly awkward honeymoon, and has also been playing Word Stack on his phone, wherein you take words and stack them.

Headlines:

• Microsoft drops the 360′s price to $99 (with a two-year contract).
• A different way to consider ME3′s ending.
• It’s a dream team of RPG greats, for an iOS game.
• Video games are actively preventing violence in Africa.
• Star Wars: The Old Republic loses 400,000 subscribers.
• Ubisoft enlists gamers in marketing effort with a promise of more marketing.
• Raptr sets up a reward program for doing what you’d do anyway.

Next week, one of the hosts has to eat crow early!  I know I’m looking forward to it.

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Not that long ago, Jonathan promised he wouldn’t talk about another sports game, so he’s talking about EA Sports Grand Slam Tennis 2 this episode.  As a bonus, though, he enjoyed this one.  He also spends a bit of time griping about Sony, but not as much as he initially planned.

Alex talks about crushing fleeing troops in Shogun: Total War 2.  He spends an uncomfortable amount of time comparing it to R.U.S.E., but that’s Sam’s fault.  He’s also got a Story From the Game Store involving a Vita, Lumines, a missing co-worker, and a pissed off customer.

Sam finally break his vicious cycle of moving and Skyrim by finally settling down in his new place and finishing Skyrim.  Also on his list this week: Rage, an RPG-shooter that’s light in the RPG bits and loose in the shootery bits; and a whole lot of Mass Effect insanity.

In the topic this week, we chat a bit about the rumored-then-leaked-then-announced setting for Assassin’s Creed 3 before jumping into a discussion about game endings.  Apparently only ten percent of games are actually finished, so what implications might this have for the industry as a whole?

Finally, we wrap up with another round of Reverse Casting Call.  On the table this time, we’re casting the dysfunctional family from Star Wars: Luke, Leia, and Papa Vader.  As an added twist, Sam has chosen to limit our choices to animated game characters only.  Be sure to drop us a comment, letting us know a) which host picks you’d have gone with, and b) which characters you’d place in behind the mask.

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We’ve mentioned The Way of the Game’s official Twitter feed before, but where before it’s just been a conduit for announcing that a new episode has been posted, we’re going to be trying to post to it more often.  Stuff that doesn’t fit in as discussion for the podcast will find a voice on the feed.  Check it out.

Sam’s broken record continues.  Moving and Skyrim.  Moving and Skyrim.  Moving and Skyrim.  With any luck, the launch of Mass Effect 3 will break him out of his rut, but probably not until episode 110.

Alex has been playing Syndicate.  In 4-player co-op, he’s continuing to enjoy himself, but console freezes and predictable enemy routines are a bit of a drag.  He’s also taken a shot at the new SSX.  As a huge fan of the earlier entries in the series, the new one leaves him entirely ambivalent.  Alex has also picked up Quarrel for iOS and XBL, and enjoys everything except the part where it told him “GRAPES” isn’t a word.

Jonathan continues to get 2011 games from GameFly, though none have yet made him reconsider any of his picks from episode 104.  Alice: Madness Returns proves to be fairly competent, if a bit overwrought.  Two Worlds 2, meanwhile, starts off terribly, a fact everyone seems to agree on, and the the few people who claim it gets better only serve to show that Jonathan won’t have the patience to wait.  Meanwhile, the dwarves have arrived at Hero Academy, and they’re play-style is entirely different from either the humans or dark elves, and that’s a good thing.

In our topic this week, the guys decide to go out on a limb and preemptively pick their 2012 Game of the Year.  With nothing to go on but gut instinct and marketing hype, each host stakes a claim in a wildly different game.  We can pretty much guarantee that there will be crow to be eaten in January.

Next week, Reverse Casting Call returns, and the guys talk about… something.  See you then!

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First thing’s first, thanks to Jonathan’s new schedule, episodes will now be dropping on Fridays.  Now, on with the show!

Business this week: In theory, Sam will be moonlighting on another podcast, I Thought They Smelled Bad On The Outside.  That’s assuming, of course, that Scott doesn’t hear how Sam butchered his podcast’s name first and subsequently bans him from the show.

In games this week, Jonathan finished up his time in Skyrim and immediately began playing a game that feels an awful lot like Skyrim.  Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, though, has a much greater focus on gameplay and character progression than Skyrim, though, so the similarities only serve to highlight each games’ distinct qualities.

Alex doesn’t have much by way of games to talk about this week, but he has been reading a book that kind of has to do with games.  Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline, is about a the death of a billionaire, the contest to win all his money, and the video game full of the greatest hits from the 80′s that the billionaire built.  At least, that’s how Alex describes it.

Sam, meanwhile, continues to get his dance on in Dance Central 2, and is also still fully immersed in the world of Skyrim.  He’s gotten in some time lately on Space Marine, as well, and has been taking advantage of a service that probably only barely qualifies as a video game, GamesByEmail.com.  If you’d like to play copyright sterilized versions of some of Avalon Hill’s great strategy board games, just shoot us an email or hit us up on Twitter, and we’ll be happy to set something up.

We have two topics this week.  The first is inspired by Double Fine’s massive success with Kickstarter.  Is this the herald of a new age of video game development, or rare confluence of cult status fame and Internet savvy fans?

Our other topic revolves around a rumor about the 720, the NeXtBox, or whatever Microsoft ends up calling it.  Among wild tech speculation, the rumor also claims that the machine will include “some sort of anti-used game system.”  We have no idea what that means, but we sound off on what we’ll find acceptable or not, and also whether this is where the industry was destined to end up anyway.

Finally, we’ve got a bit of a twist on one of our games: Reverse Casting Call.  Instead of casting the movie of a game, we cast game characters in the roles of an awesome movie.  Sam and Alex cast the roles of Sarah Conner, Kyle Reese, and the Terminator from Terminator, and Jonathan gets some sweet revenge.

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There are a thousand complaints that could be leveled against Skyrim.  The combat, especially melee combat, feels repetitive.  The story is predictable and not very good.  There hundreds of NPCs share about four voice actors.  There’s no such thing as “choices” in the game, and what choices your asked to make are often ignored.  Follower AI borders on being infuriating.  There are bugs, tons and tons of bugs.

After 150 hours spent playing Skyrim, I have complained about all of these, but if you pass up Skyrim because of any (or even all) of these gripes, you’re missing out.  Skyrim isn’t about the combat, the story, or even your character.  Skyrim is about the world, and the incredible moments you stumble upon within it.  It’s about exploration and discovery.  It’s about climbing the highest mountain and trying to see your house (which, by the way, you can).  It’s about wandering across a dragon who’s attacking a group of bandits who just attacked a caravan.  It’s about stepping off a dwarven lift and stumbling into an enormous cavern filled with [redacted for spoilers].  The story and the combat are only there as a means to motivate these moments.

In any other game, the best bits would be scripted.  The developers would set it up so you go right where they want you to go and see right what they want you to see.  You’re along for the ride rather than inhabiting a world.  My favorite Skyrim moments have all come from setting my quests aside and just wandering the countryside.  Sure, my map is filled with a dozen arrows all telling me where to go and what to do, but I just climbed to the top of this hill and discovered a valley full of waterfalls and aqueducts and Foresworn, and after fighting my way to the top I’ve found a hundred foot drop with a pool of water at the bottom, and I wonder if I could survive the dive.

Sure.  All of that was designed and intentional, and perhaps I would have found a quest that sent me to that valley, with an arrow that read “Go ahead and jump,” but after 150 hours, I haven’t run across it yet.  As such, that moment is left feeling natural and organic, and Skyrim‘s world is rendered more vibrant and alive thanks to it.

The complaints and bugs are enough to keep Skyrim from earning a Classic grade from me.  Getting every little detail right is what makes a game Classic for me, and Skyrim gets a lot of the little details wrong, details that will probably keep me from coming back once I’ve moved on.  However, the artistry and care that went into crafting Skyrim‘s world, the jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring moments that have arisen from that world, and the sheer number of hours of entertainment you can get for your money are more than enough for me to recommend your set your reservations aside and grab a copy immediately.

Final Grade: Purchase

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

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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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Sam was stuck on a plane during the episode recording, but the podfather joins us in his stead!  It’s well known that none of the hosts have played or plan on playing Skyrim anytime soon, so we asked Joe to join us and give us the inside scoop.  Apparently, the writing is terrible but the rest of the game is awesome.

Alex, in the meantime, has spent a ton of time dying in the Back to Karkand maps.  He’s also spent some time on the Virtue & Vengeance tables for Pinball FX 2.  Thor is apparently awesome.  Moon Knight has promise, but the ball blends too much with the black and white.

Jonathan broke out some EDF: Insect Armageddon with Sam.  Turns out beer and pretzel games work great in video as well as tabletop.  He’s also spent some time with mobile version of The Sorcerer’s Lair, a table for Pinball FX 2, and wonders why he didn’t do so sooner.

In the topics, we discuss some of the interesting news coming out of the VGAs this year.  Skyrim takes game of the year!  Bioware’s developing Command & Conquer 2!  Revengeance!  Two new zombie games coming!  Maybe those last two don’t really deserve exclamation points.

Next week, we raid our game shelves to figure out just how much time it’ll take to finish them all.

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