We start off the show with non-game stuff.  Curiosity not only landed on Mars successfully, but was gently lowered to the ground, and Jonathan’s mind can’t entirely cope with that.  Also, Sam got a new new toy, which has made his old toy jealous.

In games, Sam almost talks about the game that started this podcast, but he actually meant to talk about Arkham City.  Alex, prior to the start of his gaming sabbatical, has finished a game of Warlock: Masters of the Arcane, and he also picked up Final Fantasy XIII-2 for a song.  Jonathan found nothing interesting to say about Akai Katana, gives a brief preview of Splice, and then rips to shreds the ending of Outland.

In the topic, we discuss the proliferation of stat tracking options both in-game and out.  How much is too much?  Do you even care?

Then we bust out another game of Identity Thief, and it starts off strong, and finishes in shame.

Next week: gaming music!

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Jonathan’s in transition, so forgive the sound quality for the next couple of weeks.

News!

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This week, Sam is off somewhere, and Jonathan’s brother-in-law, Michael, is in the house and on the mic.

In our short news segment, we discuss the an ever-growing list of delays: Bioshock Infinite, Tomb Raider, the South Park RPG, potentially more.  Also, GameStop has entered the fake money exchange business as they’ve begun carrying Steam Wallet cards.  Finally, we also chat about Diablo 3 and the trouble it’s having, despite none of us playing it.

Michael talks about playing classic NES games on a site called Nintendo8.  I have no idea how long that site will last, but it’s interesting while it’s there.  He’s also got some thoughts on Skyrim and the recently announced Elder Scrolls Online, as well.

Jonathan’s played Asura’s Wrath, and wishes it were anything other than a video game, claiming it out El Shaddai’s El Shaddai.  He’s also got a couple hours into Xenoblades Chronicles.  That’s not enough time to decide if it’s the JRPG that’ll save all JRPGs, but it’s definitely the most interesting JRPG he’s played in a while.

Alex, as we all know, was out of town last week, and in his journeys, he discovered that his inner child is nine years old.  He’s also incredibly high on NBA 2K12, finding it to be significantly better than 2K11, and a compelling take on the basketball genre.  He’s also playing Warlock: Master of the Arcane, a turn-based strategy game on Steam, which is great except it’s missing multiplayer.

That’s about it for this episode.  Next week, Sam’s going to get a face full of shame!  You won’t want to miss it.

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