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.

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Hey folks!  This week we talk about what keeps us from playing more RPGs.

Before that, Alex forgets that the show is time-delayed, and that we’re a video game podcast, and tries to talk about Osama.  We indulge him for a couple of minutes, and then move on.

Sam does a lot of self-mutilation in order to avoid hearing anything about Portal 2 on his vacation.  The beginning doesn’t hook him as hard as Portal did, and the humor’s not as effective, but he’s sticking with it.  He’s also continued to play and enjoy Forza 3, but he really wishes they’d give him some power to play with.

Alex talks about Far Cry 2, a game that he wishes he had discovered months and months ago.  He’s also getting into Metal Gear Ac¡d, and figuring out the game’s timing.  A collectible card game tied with a strategy game, it’s like heroine in the vein for Alex.

Jonathan contributes nothing to the banter.  Well, except for a story about fire and tragedy in Minecraft.

In our topic this week, we bitch about RPGs.  We’ve all got a long history with RPGs, but none of us are particularly jazzed to play them anymore.  We discuss RPG burnout, citing the grind, the disconnect of the story from the gameplay, and more.

Finally, we wrap up with the start of a kinder, gentler Name That Game season.  We’ll see how long that holds out.

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This week, we talk about game features we want to see more of.  (If Churchill can end his sentences in prepositions, so can I!)

Alex’s banter is quick this week.  He’s picked up Blur (Bizarre Creations, you will be missed), and has established a rotation.  He’s also out of wall space for all his gaming decorations.

Sam’s also quick, with a discussion of the Da Vinci’s Disappearance DLC for AssBro, and isn’t sure he’ll finish another playthrough of Dragon Age II or Mass Effect.  He’s also been playing Halo 3 co-op with a listener.

Jonathan tries to be quick, but Alex decides to pick a fight over Tiger Woods ’12.  He’s also finally hooked up his OnLive console, and approves, mostly.

Then we move into our topic of the week: Features every game should have, but doesn’t.  We talk about camera controls, loading screen distractions, skippable cutscenes, and more.  We also spontaneously decide to run a contest based on the topic.  Head over to the forums to see what’s up.

Finally, Sam brings us a kinder, gentler Name That Game.  Somehow Alex and Jonathan still only manage to score a point a piece.

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WARNING: We have commentary in this show that goes explicit.

In this episode, Alex vents about the loss of his dream job. There are man hugs.

Jonathan talks about Archon, Vegas, and Genghis Con, and invites everybody along.

Sam got a motorcycle.

There’s more Red Dead talk.

And in the topic, we discuss all manner of items related to the recent Medal of Honor scandal.  In the newest game, you’ll be able to take on the role of a Taliban fighter in the multiplayer modes.  We respond to a Fox News interview of a military mom, get some reactions from servicemembers, and generally speculate wildly.  Enjoy!

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We’ve got a very focused show for you today.  No banter, no week in review, we’re all about the topic today.  What’s the topic?  Money!

We’ve got Sam (also known as Neosect on the forums) along for the ride, and we’ve got some answers from Brad, one of our Australian listeners.

If you’d like to follow along, you can check out the questions in the forums, and be sure to post your own answers there, as well, when you’re done listening.

Next week: Sam’s Top Ten!

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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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We have a special guest this episode: The Great Mr. Chibi!  David has been a guest on a few different podcasts, most recently the Up! episode of Back Seat Producers.  He’s an art student, and we’ve brought him on to help us discuss the Games As Art issue, such as it is.

We talk about a ton of stuff, and Jonathan (who’s writing these show notes) is swamped with finals, so the show notes are going to be a bit light, even if the show is full of topics.

Here’s some of the inspiration for this episode:

• Venezuela
• Switzerland
• Australia
  • Zombie Protest
  • Atkinson steps down
• “Conclusively” proven study about game violence being bad for children
• Roger Ebert strikes again
• Supreme Court takes on video game regulation case.

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What’s up, folks!  It’s episode 10!  That’s a podcasting milestone, right?

Jonathan has been swamped, and has absolutely no time to play games whatsoever.  As such, he bought Ghostbusters, The Saboteur, FarCry 2 and Fallout 3: Game of the Year Edition.  Yeah, those’ll get played sometime soon.

Alex shares his thoughts on Assassin’s Creed 2, as he’s quite a ways through, and he wonders why the game’s so damn long.  Batman: Arkham Asylum, Darksiders, and MLB 2k10 are also on Alex’s to-be-played list.

We’ve got a topic this week inspired by a study via NewScientist: Do video games need more racial and ethnic diversity?

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