In this episode we start off with excuses for why we haven’t been producing any episodes lately. Followed closely by plugs for our other side projects (TallyHoh.com and ProjectPudding.com) and then we actually talk about game stuff.

We explain our goals for the podcast/website and how YOU, the user, can contribute.

We go over all the stuff we got for Christmas. Michael explained how much he hates his favorite game of all time. Bucky mocks him, and Daniel finally got Dragonball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 3 and an XBox 360.

We confirm what the rest of the internet has said about the repetitiveness of Assassin’s Creed. Bucky gets a brand new used PS2…that’s right: PS2. He is so 2000. Oh and Surprise, Surprise, he offends another group of people!

Publishers are going the way of banks and merging into the One Publisher! The console makers respond by removing the need for a publisher via Microsoft XNA and WiiWare.

Editors Note: Sorry I had some mic issues (with placement) that I wasn’t able to fix in editing… I am a little out of practice.

links

• Microsoft GDC ‘08 Keynote http://www.gamespot.com/video/943273/6186465/microsoft-gdc-2008-keynote-address
• XNA http://www.xna.com/
• Fairuza Balk http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000103/
• No More Heroes Cover Art http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/46/No_More_Heroes.jpg/256px-No_More_Heroes.jpg
• Show notes Image Mistake http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2260/2276473379_2eb8ef3368.jpg?v=0
• Monster Party http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monster_Party
• Soulja Boy Yahhh http://youtube.com/watch?v=UfCmYyG-yg4

 

 Stop and Pop [62:42m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

In case the title doesn’t give it away, I got the new Dragonball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 3 for the Wii.  The game is fun, but I feel like I am starting from scratch because the controls are quite different than 2.  The other game goodies I got included, Mario Galaxy, an XBox 360, and Halo 3.  My XBox came with Ultimate Alliance and Forza 2, but if you listen to the podcast you will know, I am not really all that excited about either.I am happy with my loot, although I don’t have an HD television, so I will have to enjoy my XBox on standard definition television.   Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas/Chanukah/Kwanzaa/Some other holiday I probably missed.

Episode 4 is, as they say, in the can. I think we figured out most of our audio issues this time, I personally think the sound is an order of magnitude better than previous episodes, and hopefully it will continue to improve.

We have our first sponsor, thanks to Pudding by Ataraxis Software. Go check out the promotional site, and sign up for a free trial.

In this episode we talk about Bungie going out on it’s own, but not straying far from home. Michael asks to mooch a game that Daniel hasn’t even acquired yet. Bucky tells us we can get over our Wii Slippage by ordering the free remote sleeves from Nintendo, especially since the Wii has the most abundant game Christmas lineup.

We all are getting discouraged with the numerous SKUs per console and can’t wait for the 6-axis Dual Shock controller from Sony. Michael rants about another Mech game, which destroys a perfect transition about missing release dates. We talk about Team Fortress 2 some more, and unfortunately at the time of recording we didn’t yet play Portal, although we are extremely excited about it. Finally we want better niche reviews, so we are asking you the listener to send us your suggestions, and if it is an audio file we will tag it and include it in the feed, for the world to hear.

links

• Pudding: http://projectpudding.com
• Free Wii Remote Glove: http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/jacket/jacketrequest.jsp
• Team Ninja Interview: http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=15699

Amazingly enough we managed to retain all the audio tracks this time. Which is good because we were using close range microphones, so we wouldn’t have been able to publish the episode without them!

 

 Bungies the Chick [59:29m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

California still can’t figure out what to do with Violent video games. Bucky once again makes fun of someone’s name. BioShock is amazing…only because they took the time to make a game. Metroid Prime 3 is everything it needed to be and more. Daniel makes another DBZ Budokai Tenkaichi 3 plug. The Wii is not a Fad, and Sony is trying to figure out their place in the world. Finally advertisements in games have started showing up in old classics being released for free.

links

• Metroid Prime Graphics Comparison : http://www.gamespot.com/features/6178117/index.html?tag=topslot;title;1
• DBZ Trailer Contest http://www.atari.com/dragonballz/trailermaker/
• Sony Rolly http://www.sony.jp/products/Consumer/rolly/index2.html
• Kotaku Free Game Download Links to FilePlanet : http://kotaku.com/gaming/free-games/ubisoft-titles-go-free-on-fileplanet-295680.php

Once again we apologize, as we lost Bucky’s recording so he still sounds like he is in a box. I attempted to do a little more editing on the audio so hopefully it sounds a little better than the first episode. Please let me know if the above show notes are what you, the listeners, were looking for and if not what I can do to make it better.

 

 Need more Bucky [58:50m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download