Month: January 2008

So I when I was thinking about what I should write this evening, I was considering doing another general update in which I’d talk about all the things I’ve gotten recently.

But then I thought, “eh…I’d kind of like to write something a little more meaningful.” So here’s what I’ve been thinking about this past week: My role.

We all have one. At our jobs, with our friends, in our families. Regardless of whether or not there’s a purpose to us being there, we all take on some kind of role within the groups and environments we encounter. It’s human nature.

Sound the trumpets! It’s the triumphant return of the full cast of The Rumble Pack…in the second half of the show…

Due to time constraints of a busy life in China, Justin doesn’t appear in the episode until the second half.

Until that point Tony, Nick Tom and Kaz bust out three in depth conversations. Concerning Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, Advanced Wars: Days of Ruin and Burnout Paradise. With some more discussion sprinkled in throughout for your listening pleasure. No Tony singing this week, we promise.

When Justin joins in the conversation turn to admonishing NiGHTS again and discussing the latest fad in gaming, microtransactions. Specifically, how microtransactions relate to Battlefield: Heroes and what it means for PC gaming in general. More news follows, discussed in detail.

Last weekend, the movie Cloverfield was released in theaters. After hearing about J. J. Abram’s involvement with the film, the Lost/monster movie fan inside me drove me to check it out with some friends. I didn’t see any threads about it on the message board, so I thought I might post a few of my thoughts here since this seems like one of those “you’ll probably end up talking about it with your friends and co-workers” kind of movies.

*Note: Although there isn’t too much to really “spoil”, I will refrain from going into detail about any plot or character details that would be considered such.

As the Good Sir Tony will agree with me, the experience was not a bad one. In case you are unfamiliar with the concept of Cloverfield, I’ve included this handy and highly scientific equation for your benefit. Excuse the large size and my poor skill with image editing…

I’d say this accurately sums up the concept. Godzilla (giant monster currrently destroying city) plus The Blair Witch Project (film presented as “real” amateur footage) minus Godzuki (I wanted to put a pile of crap as the picture here to symbolize the overall awfulness of The Blair Witch Project, but Godzuki seemed so much more poignant) equals Cloverfield.

Hey everyone! It’s Thursday, so you know what that means….blooooog time!

It’s been a really busy week or two, so I thought today I’d just share a few cool things I’ve encountered in the past little while and hope that some of you care.

First of all, I was up until about 3:00 AM last night, for the first time in a long time, playing a game that I just couldn’t put down; Half Life 2: Episode 2. That’s right ladies and gents, my time with the Orange Box has officially come to an end, but let me just say that it couldn’t have been any more spectacular. If you haven’t played Episode 2 yet, (let alone the rest of the HL series) , you need to stop what you’re doing and go pick up the Orange Box. Seriously, just leave and go play it – this entry will still be here when you get back.

I don’t blame you. Go!

This week, EA announced that they’re ready to potentially nickel-and-dime us to death with Battlefield Heroes, a new PC shooter that’s “free to play.” Oh, except players will have the option to purchase in-game items or abilities (remains up in the air at this point) to presumably dominate over their less spendthrift opponents. Now, we are planning to address this business model on our next podcast, but I wanted get my thoughts down while they’re still fresh in my mind. You’ll undoubtedly be seeing knee-jerk reactions on all of your favorite gaming forums just because up until this point, we’ve (Western gamers) have all associated “micro-transactions” with the infamous horse armor and EA’s own downloadable Godfather cheats. However, if done properly, this kind of customer abuse could be a thing of the past.

Putting items up for sale can break a game. I learned this lesson early on in the 360’s lifespan when Sega released additional guns for its online mech battler Chrome Hounds. The weapons available at the outset were pretty well balanced, but for a small sum, anyone could suddenly shower the map with mortar fire or unleash devastating cannons that easily outclassed anything available on the disc. Since then, I haven’t noticed anything that ruinous, but you can be sure that this was the first thing I thought of when Battlefield Heroes was announced. However, this time, EA is telling us beforehand that we’ll be getting a broken game. We know what to expect, and thus we won’t be screwed in the long run.

Another saddening week passes without Justin who will be supplying the main discussion topic for next week. Until then Nick, Kaz, Tom and Tony hit the deck for another intense recording session. Tony leads off the trays with NiGHTS, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune and PSP games galore…actually just more Tactics. Tom wanted to beat a game so he went after Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops.  Kaz wanted to beat a game so he finished the ghost of Mass Effect. Nick was on a portable kick as well having taken a trip to DC, which means more FF: Tactics and some Pheonix Wright love, plus horrid tales of Wiis taking a fall. Also, some minor leaks from Nintendo confirm new characters for Brawl (some not so new).

After the break we get into a level headed debate over what games we like that no one else likes and what games we hate that no one else hates. Some very bold statements are made. Then Tony and Kaz go into a tirade of the Kevin McCullough debacle and a discussion of parental controls. We only mention his name because he seems like the kind of person who googles his own name three times a day, hopefully he’ll hear us pass over him like the worthless character he is. Important revelations: Tony likes Quest 64, yeah, that’s what we said too.

 Breaks this week courtesy of the Geoff Keighley spot on FOXnews.

Hey everyone!

Just wanted to drop a quick note letting you all know that I didn’t forget about updating my blog! It’s been a pretty busy week (I spent the weekend in DC visiting Megan) but now that I’m back I’ll definitely have something to say on Thursday. I’m thinking it might be Smash related. Who knows.

Anyway, I’ll catch you all on Friday! Listen to the show!

-Nick

What was once exotic and exciting has now become mundane. That’s right folks, after five months as a Shijiazhuangian, I’m officially in a rut. I’m not miserable, but I’m definitely bored, and the dense smog isn’t exactly raising my spirits. Chinese lessons have been going splendidly to the point where I can pick up bits and pieces from eavesdropped conversations, but with public schools shutting down for the winter and my grad school applications virtually done, there’s little else to do to fight off my restlessness. Outside of a ski trip next week (hopefully Alpine Racer 2 has trained me well), there will be little for me to do besides counting the days until my Spring Festival nerd-fest in Tokyo. On a more positive note, at least I’ll be fighting off the tedium in a cushy new apartment. It doesn’t exactly feel like “home,” but it’s a far cry from the horror show that I left behind on the other side of town. See for yourself:

A sorely Justin-less episode starts on soft note. The transition to the new studio is almost complete, and there is a high definition download available at the end of the post. Nick, Tom, Kaz and Tony forge on without their China-bound cohort. Nick, Tom and Tony are completely absorbed in playing Final Fantasy Tacticsagain (or the first time for certain people). Nick and Kaz played some VF5 and Halo 3while waiting for the cable man. Tony, Nick and Kaz busted out some late night Rock Band and Tom played some PSP classics. Then Tony shares a tiny bit of his disappointment in Kane and Lynch, which boils down to a list of things more fun to do than play the game itself.

After the break we flow into a slightly new format, all the same content but much more fluid. We discuss the new Soul Calibur IV characters and try and avoid turning into sweaty fanboys. In honor of all of us playing and old Final Fantasy game of sorts we churn over 1up’s Jeremy Parish’s list of Final Fantasy games. Needless to say people have a lot of differing opinions on such a prolific series.

Edit: Near the beginning of the second half of the show we discuss our anticipation for Super Smash Bros. Brawl. We mention the old release date because we recorded 8 hours before SmashBros DOJO! announced the March delay. Our apologies for the inaccuracy.

2.1 HD Download (Right Click to Save As)