Podcasting cont'd

Here's a rundown of the podcasts I listen to and my opinions of them:

CAGCast (Cheap Ass Gamer): This is a decent podcast. CheapyD often does a balancing act between decent humor and just the crude stuff. It either works or it doesn't. Wombat is an archetypal sidekick character and is often reactionary to CheapyD's comments. These guys know their games, but there can be stretches of boredom due to a lot of tangential content that ultimately leads to nowhere.

EGM Live (1Up): This is a total hit or miss show. As lovely as Jennifer Tsao is and sounds, her "character" is totally boring and just kind've awkward. Crispin Boyer is great. As an EGM veteran, it's neat to hear a lot of what he has to say. I just wish Dan "Shoe" Hsu had the same level of skill with the mic. He's often a little too soft-spoken. Shane Bettenhausen (I'd confirm that spelling, but I'm a little too lazy) can be overbearing at times and humorous at others. He is knowledgeable, but I'm pretty sure he makes half that shit up as well. If there's anything that I would love, I think that the cast of EGM Live should consist of Crispin, Shane and Seanbaby. The fourth chair could be a revolving spot, but those three are golden together (as in their Broken Pixels videos).



GFWRadio (1Up): Oh boy, the brodeo is on fire! This is the epitome of treehouse gaming where some guys are just hanging out and talking about games. Shawn Elliot is fantastic and Jeff Green's straight-laced humor (or is he just old?) clash into an explosion of awesomeness. Ryan is pretty good at being the butt of many jokes, and everyone else is just sort've auxiliary in relation to the bigger personalities of Shawn and Jeff. This is a must listen-to podcast because it is more than just videogames. These are dudes hanging out. Well, 3 dudes and the uber-nerd Ryan.

Gamesages (IGN): Still a little too new. It is a little boring so far as their shows consist of a single topic, but I'll give it a fair shake.

Podcast Beyond (IGN): A Sony-centric show. This is a show just brimming with personality. These guys react and counterreact with eachother with great aplomb. They aren't as humorous as GFW, but their chemistry is pretty damn good. There segues rock, and I enjoy their closing music most of the time. This is a total ensemble cast and should be on every podcaster's subscription list.

Wii-k in Review (IGN): A Nintendo-centric show. Really bland. Rarely, you'll find a gem in this one. Recommended for Nintendo fanboys or Cassamassina fans.

Game Scoop (IGN): A XBOX 360-centric show. This is a Podcast Beyond-lite. They do some fun little discussions and cover all gaming. This is recommended if you enjoy Podcast Beyond. Scoop!

Three Red Lights (IGN): This is a more straight-laced version of Podcast Beyond. Hilary Goldstein and crew are funny and interesting guys, but they've got nothing on Podcast Beyond. I still recommend this, though.

Joystiq (Joystiq): This is my least favorite podcast on my list. These guys are just boring. Also, because they all broadcast from different areas and conditions, it all sounds disjointed. CAGcast is two guys from across the world, and they sound like they're in the same room. Their lack of professionalism with regards to cellphones is frustrating (especially the popping sound that occurs frequently from the silenced phones). Too many awkward conversations and those technical popping sounds just show a lack of editing and polish. I'm still working backwards through their backlog, but it just gets progressively worse.

1Up Yours (1Up): What can I say? I love British folk. John Davison is fantastic and Shane is still solid. I don't really care much for Garnett, but I suppose some people enjoy him as the host. Adding Shawn Elliot to the mix will just be fantastic. They really should do an all-star cast with John, Shawn, Shane and Seanbaby. You would have just about every form of humor with that group.

Retronauts (1Up): This is the most subjective podcast. If you enjoy the subject matter, by all means, enjoy the show. Nostalgia is the driving force, so make sure you keep it in tow.

And that's it for now. Upon Mr. Zuniga's recommendation, I'm going to tune into the Sports Anomaly, so look for my opinion soon.

Oh, and Todd, I didn't mean to single out your show. I also don't listen to Legendary Thread because I, well, tend to play good games.

Dear Portal

This is a letter from my attorney Ms. Treehouse Lawyer:

To Portal:

You are hereby subpoenaed to appear in court in the case of Portal v. Gamer.

My client, Mr. T. H. Gamer, claims that you have committed an act of perjury involving a cake and the contract killing of a Mr. C. Cube.

We also have irrefutable evidence of an attempted murder of my client via proxy by a Ms. G. Dos.

My client has filed for a lawsuit for the sum of:

1 cake

Failure to appear in court will result in further legal action.


Signed,



T.H. Lawyer

As you can see, this is a serious matter.

Dear Assassin's Creed,

Hi, Assassin's Creed,

It was nice spending some time with you. You know, you're not as bad as most people say.

Hi, Assassin's Creed,

I can only take you in short doses. Any more than that, and I think that our relationship may go downhill.

Hi, Assassin's Creed,

It was so fun just running around with you! You've shown me things that I've never seen before!

Hi, Assassin's Creed,

You're kind've shallow. All you like to do is kill people. That's not nice.

Hi, Assassin's Creed,

You know those informants with the flags? Yeah, those guys were great!

Hi, Assassin's Creed,

I don't think we can see each other any more. It's like all you want to do is kill kill kill.

Hi, Assassin's Creed,

I still love the freedom with you. Just climbing and finding flags with you is a breath of fresh air.

Hi, Assassin's Creed,

I almost don't care what you have to say anymore, and it's like when the story starts to go somewhere -

Dear Mass Effect,

Oh, Mass Effect.
You keep me up so late at night that I ignore my day-to-day jobs. You whisper sweet things to me, and you make me feel like I'm in control of my destiny.

Everyone seems to see me as some sort of rebel or renegade, but I know that you see me as a true hero. I'm the hero everyone needs whether they think they do or not. I get the job done by any means.

I know that recently some people have tried to tarnish your name, but I am unfazed. You're still the same delight to take on nightly walks in the Citadel.

And I forgive you for the Mako.

Love,
Mr. Gamer

New GFW and EGM

Just got the new issue of GFW (#16) and EGM (#226).

Good toilet reads as usual. What struck me odd is Ryan Scott's 10/10 for Puzzle Quest. Now, I'm as much a nerd as anyone and spent hours into this game, but this game does not deserve a perfect 10. It's boring dialog and unbalanced gameplay totally has to knock it down a few pegs. I mean, playing as a Warrior, I could knock out anyone and anything in the first turn!

And for those keeping score, the EGM secret is on page 27.

Podcasting

I've recently gotten into the whole podcasting thing. I've subscribed to all of the IGN podcasts, CAGcast, Joystiq and 1Up podcasts (except for Sports Anomaly - I'm Mr. Gamer, not Mr. Meathead).

GFW and Podcast Beyond are head and shoulders above the rest, but if anyone else can recommend some, I'd appreciate it.

Savage 2

Savage 2

I've never played the first Savage, but after hearing GFW's Shawn Elliot gush about this game, I couldn't help but give it a whirl.

The premise is simple: Imagine an RTS pitting a steam-age human group against a chaos/nature hybrid race. The commander calls simple waypoints and building placement. At his disposal, the commander leads builders, ranged units, stealth units, siege units, tank units and magic users.

Now imagine all of the commander's units are played by other players. These players can choose what class they want and gain experience depending on what decisions they make.

This twisted version of RTS, FPS and RPG has much in common with the Natural Selection mod for Half-Life, but it's on such a huge scale. I actually ran out and played as a builder, and I still had a blast.

The demo version allows you to play as the basic units without any of the items or levels being persistent. For $29.99, you gain access to the Hellbourne units, persistent items and levelling, and the ability to play as the commander.

It's such an awesome game, but it's just a little too rough around the edges to warrant the asking price. Give the demo a shot, though.

Virtual Crack cocaine

Peggle

Absolutely brutal. It's like crack cocaine. Only instead of white powder, it's skittles made of awesomeness.

Imagine the old Plinko game from The Price Is Right, but instead of the normal pegs, the pegs consist of different colors. Your goal is to eliminate all of the orange pegs using this basic physics principle. The level designs are so awesome that I just can't wait for more.

Download at your own risk. This will consume your life.

Gearbox secret?

Gearbox hints at something huge

Interesting announcement. I have a feeling it has something to do with their Aliens project that they've been rather mum about.

Welcome to the Treehouse!

Hey, guys and gals!

This is a new blog with high ambition, but luck has it that I really do enjoy gaming! Please leave comments and share this blog with your friends.