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Episode 42 Delay

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Today’s episode will air tomorrow to get some initial impressions of GTAIV. Not because we’re lazy (like how it is when we delay other times).

Episode 41: Flying Blind

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Warning: Kaz, Tom and Tony runs this episode unchecked. What follows is some good video game discussion gently wrapped in a lot of in-jokes.

In our trays this week: N+, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII and Gran Turismo 5: Prologue (or GTAIV as we mistakenly call it). Laborious discussion of Mortal Kombat Versus DC dominates the news this week. Online services and how they fall short is on our mind this week, and we let you know how it makes us feel. Things wrap up with the crew waxing poetic about their yearn to play The World Ends With You, apathy towards Mario Kart Wii and we brace for Grand Theft Auto IV to ruin our lives.

Episode 40: All Secrets Revealed

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Nick, Tom, Tony and Kaz pile into the Hurtin’ For a Squirtin’ Studio for an episode that is full of secrets and revelations. Tom recounts Nick’s tray and returns to the bullet hell of Ikaruga while Tony develops a “God” complex with his PS2. Meanwhile, Kaz approaches a final verdict for Apollo Justice and relates his Motorstorm frustrations to the gang. Plus, more Rock Band tales courtesy of Tom and Tony.

Questions of the week include the effectiveness of game demos and the validity of the rumored Wii-style remote for the Xbox 360. Forgive the long tangents; it’s episode 40, and that means that the Pack is getting over the hill!

And finally, Tony searches for a secret…brace for impact! Seriously, I warned you.

Don’t say I didn’t.

As the Gears turn…

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As you might have guessed from the title above, (or if you’ve been listening to the Podcast), I’ve recently invited the 360 exclusive and all around “shit-yeah”-a-thon that is Gears of War into my tray. After letting Megaman ZX Advent rock(man) my world, I was in the mood for something rich in gratification with a dash of co-op, and none of the frustration-aftertaste that is instant death. (Thank you Capcom and your incessant obsession with spike-pits.) Looks like I got just what I wanted.

Besides the stellar graphics and obscenely violent gameplay that Gears fans around the world have been raving about, to me, the most impressive feature the game has to offer is the refreshingly coherent co-op mode. Although I tend to play a large amount of predominantly single-player titles, I hail from the school of gaming that teaches that any experience that can be shared with a friend, always should be. (Which explains why, back in the day, the Capcom “vs.” series, like X-men vs. Street Fighter and Marvel vs. Capcom, were some of my favorites. I’d pick a character, a friend would pick the second one, and we’d literally tag-team our way to victory, hopping back and forth from the controls at the arcade machine as we “tagged” each other’s characters in-game.)

Episode 39: The Search for King George

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Four out of five heroes roll into some eclectic trays this week, including more N+ ninja japes and a few unlikely comparisons. Ever wonder what Shiren The Wanderer and Dead Rising have in common? Also: Tony and Tom lament about their status as grinding Pata-paupers, Kaz harnesses the sins of the sun in the palm of his hand, and Nick hunts for Mega Man in Phoenix Wright. Then, an equally random news wrap up throws Stephen King and Charlie Daniels into the mix.

In the second half of the show we attempt to nail down the slippery definition of what makes a game casual or hardcore while discussing the evolving dynamic between the game-clueless, the game-curious, and the game-hobbyists. Finally, we check in on the fool’s errand Tony agreed to last week and update the challenge with a brand new quest.

Episode 38: The Gauntlet

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No, our delay wasn’t an prank for the first of April. It was an unfortunate manifestation of the perils of mixing electronics with anything.

Nick, Tom, Tony and Kaz enter the podcast pit of doom for a showdown. Nick finishes up Megaman ZX Advent, Kaz gushes more about N+ and playing the ninja game with friends. Tony continues to ponder Shiren the Wanderer while simultaneously exploding when thinking about Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword and Tom tries to lure everyone into a drawn out XBLA high score battle.

In the second segment of the show we mix our news with our discussion and come up with a conversation about sequelitis and game company mergers and talk shortly about Still Alive in Rock Band. Then we cap off the show by discussing the absence of any good game releases this week, and Nick issues a “Challenge of the Gods” to Tony.

Bonus for waiting: The Official Rumble Pack Brawl Stage (ver. 0.1)

Instructions: Place your Wii’s SD card in your computer. Drop the bin file in the following folder: \private\wii\app\RSBE\st\  . Then put your SD card back in your Wii. Boot up and enjoy! New versions to come.

Life’s about balance.

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At least, that’s what they say.

Recently, I’m finding that every day that goes by finds another game added to my ever-growing list of “must plays.” Between catching up on my backlog of purchased-yet-untouched games, being a collection whore about games that I really care about (Smash Bros anyone?) and the onslaught of amazing releases that seems like will never come to an end (Why, when I get out of school, do summers suddenly get so sweet??), I feel incredibly overwhelmed with the amount of games being stuffed into my backlog.

Oh, and it doesn’t help that I do this podcast thing where everyone talks about all of the amazing games they’re playing. Doesn’t help one bit.

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Probably the only game that will ever truly bring me balance.

>:0 BOOOO!!!!!! (ok ok, sorry, sorry)

Episode 37: Remember

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This week’s episode of The Rumble Pack contains the daily required amount of the following nutrients: Megaman per Nick’s further review. Shiren the Wanderer courtesy of Tony’s obsessive compulsive affinity for blindness. N+ straight from Kaz and XBLA/Pinata fun that Tom baked into the episode just for you.

Justin joins the crew for the second half of the show for a lively discussion of the news which ends in a rather intense discussion of Stardock’s recent comments on piracy. Then the whole cast embarks on a journey to finally discuss nostalgia in games to it’s fullest. Things are wrapped up nicely by running down the week’s releases and drooling over our most anticipated games.

六年間。(Six years)

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They’re heeeeeeeere.

It’s been six years.

Six years of duking it out with friends, six years of arguing about cheap characters, six years of practicing to become better, and six years of playing the same damn game with that goofy smile on my face.
You know a game is magic when you can’t stop playing it…for six years.

Once a console generation, Nintendo decides to grace us with the next iteration of what can only be described as the zaniest game I’ve ever come to love in my entire life. The new Smash Brothers is here, finally.