Some Other Castle » halo

Some Other Podcast, Episode 40: Midget Zombie Clowns

Leah — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 01:23:21 +0000

We hope everyone has had/is having a perfectly wonderful holiday season! We know we are; after all, thanks to this week’s special guests, Dan and Joe, we finally get to gorge ourselves upon the long-awaited Fudgie the Whale! What better way to celebrate the coming of the new year than with chocolate crunchies and talk about (what else?) VIDEO GAMES? Rather than our usual setup, we have a chat about the games that stood out for us in the year 2009. Do you agree? Let us know!

Link the halls with boughs of holly…. (in no particular order and probably missing a few… gimme a break, I was drinking…)

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Forza 3

Batman: Arkham Asylum

Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks

New Super Mario Bros. Wii

Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box

Pokemon Platinum

Resident Evil 5

Wii Sports Resort

Chronicles of Riddick

Mario and Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story

Shadow Complex

Star Ocean: The Last Hope

Punch-Out!

Katamari Forever

Gyromancer

Puzzle Quest: Galactrix

Guitar Hero: Van Halen

Some Other Podcast, Episode 37: The Wrong Idea

Elaine — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 01:28:54 +0000

So yeah, we just kinda had all this pent-up…. whatever from not podcasting last week, so be advised that we are, in fact, rated M for Mature. (I like to remind our listeners of this from time to time so as to avoid angry mail…) Be prepared for a truly, truly, truly outrageous show as we discuss our time at the JoCo show, pokeseizures, and boob DLC (no, really). We missed you!

Linkshow!

Assassin’s Creed

Cooking Mama 3: Shop & Chop

New Super Mario Bros. Wii

Saboteur DLC, now with boobs

GT5 Demo coming on December 17

PS3 update 3.15 allows PSP minis to be played on the PS3

Infamous goes to $39.99, Gigablades free for all December 10

No plans for matchmaking or DLC for Halo 3: ODST

Games for Windows Live adds Games on Demand December 15th

Mass Effect 2 will span 2 discs

Mass Effect 2 ditches elevators for load screens

White Knight Chronicles releases in the US on February 2

Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker comes to US PSPs on May 25

FTC commends game industry and ESRB

Child’s Play Raises over $1 million so far

Child’s Play Website

Assassin’s Creed 2 gets DLC in January 2010

Pacman CE now on iPhone for $3

Splinter Cell conviction demo in January

Remember how much we love listener mail? To jog your memory we love it like a lot. Seriously. So send us your emails at podcast@someothercastle.com!

Confessions of a Backlogged Gamer, Weeks 38-39: It’s All In The Timing

Leah — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:54:27 +0000

This may not seem like a new or surprising assertion to anyone else, but *I* think it’s interesting, and this is my column, damn it: I actually play a lot more games than my backlog numbers may seem to suggest. It’s just that so many of the ones I compile are RPGs falling somewhere within the forty- to ninety-hour range that the time I put in seems a bit paltry by comparison. When I play games of an actual “reasonable” length, however…. well, they actually get finished. Who knew?

With so many new shiny games staring me in the face right about now, you’d think that I would sit down with one of them. Instead, I decided to power through Batman: Arkham Asylum, which I’ve been ignoring for far too long. I picked it up right after it was released on the strength of the demo, but then it sort of got pushed aside until now. I know a lot of people really got into the challenges and solving all of the Riddler’s clues, but the only ones I really did were the ones that I found along the path of the main story. Arkham is a very cool setting, but I just didn’t find it compelling enough to wander around with all of the bad guys gone. Without going much out of my way, I finished the game at around 65% completion, meaning that there’s plenty more to do for anyone who finds themself wanting to continue, but at 8-10 hours, I felt like I got what I wanted out of it. I really enjoyed thrashing ridiculous numbers of enemies at once, although a few of the “armed dude” rooms were a bit frustrating (I’ll never get tired of stringing up baddies from gargoyles, though). My one real complaint with the game was the points, particularly near the end of the game, where the travel seemed to be artificially lengthening the gameplay. I understand that in some parts, it’s necessary to the storyline to have you travel through the same areas more than once, but I think the addition of some kind of (even limited) quick travel routes would have been nice. Overall, I had a really good time with this, however, and I’d recommend it without hesitation, particularly if you’re a Batman fan to begin with (or if you watched the 90’s cartoon, from which several of the voice actors are used).

In a second sitting, and with the help of my trusty comrades Elaine and Dan, plus Chris “Lefty” Brown of The Married Gamers, I finished ODST this week as well. On Heroic! I have achievements and everything! As you can tell, this is sort of a big deal for me, having only experienced my Haloz on the easiest setting thus far. I’m still not very good at shooters, but that’s why co-op gaming is so great; I get to play with my friends, and I don’t have to be very good at the game, just good enough that I don’t get everyone killed (and maybe shoot some manz myself every once in a while). With SOME PEOPLE setting OTHER PERFECTLY INNOCENT PEOPLE on fire with flamethrowers, I don’t think I was the most dangerous player on the field anyway. In a sort of related vein, I started playing Borderlands last night with another group of friends, and even though things were moving a bit fast for me due to the fact that they’d all played before, I still had a lot of fun. Honestly, I’m not so sure I’d like Borderlands if I tried it single-player, but co-op is making it ridiculously awesome.

Yet another game that I finished this week (I know, right??) is Uncharted; let me get this out of the way and say that yes, I did think that the “twist” I’ve heard so much about is pretty fucking dumb. If I wanted to be playing Resident Evil, I would be playing Resident Evil. I didn’t hate it so much that it ruined the game for me, but I really would have had a more favorable impression overall if the gameplay had stayed more consistent and not gone off to Crazytown just when I’d finally gotten the hang of things. As soon as I can pry the second installment away from one of my friends, I’ll be playing it, and if what I’ve heard is true and it really is better than the first, I really can’t wait. I know it sounds trite to say that it’s like playing a movie, but that’s really what it was; the story is fantastic, the characters are relatable, and the whole thing is beautiful to watch. I’m glad I let myself be badgered into this one.

When frustration finally drove me to put down Scribblenauts (probably for good), I picked up Professor Layton and the Sack of Oranges…. er, sorry, the Diabolical Box… instead. It’s…. well, it’s more Professor Layton. Different setting, different puzzles, same annoying little fucker of a sidekick that I sort of want to punt over the side of the train. Anyway, my addiction to the first round of Layton’s adventures is pretty well documented, and even though I’ve only put about two hours into this one so far, I can already feel the sickness seeping back in. I welcome it, actually.

Current backlog total: 100

Now playing: Borderlands (360); Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box (DS); Shin Megami Tensei: Persona (PSP)

New games added: Borderlands (360); Ratchet and Clank: A Crack In Time (PS3); Cooking Mama 3: Shop & Chop (DS); Nostalgia (DS); A Witch’s Tale (DS)

Games completed: Halo 3: ODST (360); Batman: Arkham Asylum (PS3); Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune (PS3)

Some Other Castle, Episode 32: IRPS

Leah — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 02:27:44 +0000

Welcome to our internet radio podcast show! We’ve been waiting for you. Have a cookie! Oh, and you should probably be prepared for some video game chat; this week it’s discussion on upsizing handheld systems, Netflix on the PS3, and the wrath of PC shooter aficionados.

Link? Link! LIIIIIIIIINK!

Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune

Batman: Arkham Asylum

iPhone has fastest hardware growth in consumer tech history according to Morgan Stanley analyst; beats out Wii, DS, and PSP

Uncharted 2 DLC to be released by end of year

PS3 getting Netflix

Excite Bike World Rally coming to WiiWare 11/9

Modern Warfare 2 featuring 3rd person mode for certain playlists

Brutal Legend DLC 11/3 will be free on PS3 for the first two weeks, paid on XBox Live from the beginning

DSi LL coming to Japan 11/21, US and Europe Q1 2010; features 4 inch screen and larger stylus, retailing for the equivalent of $221 US; also, is dumb as hell

Fairytale Fights has free DLC if you purchase game in first 90 days

Listener mail makes us smile! If you want to make us smile, send some to podcast@someothercastle.com.

Some Other Podcast, Episode 31: Word To Your Moms

Leah — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 02:29:04 +0000

It’s back to that time of year where things are actually interesting in the news and in releases, so we have an extra-long episode for you this week. Tune in for everything from Microsoft bowing down at the altar of Sony to skirt physics in the new Wii Mario game to the untimely passing of a legend. All this plus… what are we playing? VIDEO GAMES!!!

Linkz!

Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

FFXIII will not have a forced installation on the PS3

Microsoft CEO confirms a blu-ray addon for the 360

Gearbox admits to Borderlands shortages

Bruce Willis signed to star in Kane & Lynch movie

PS3 outsells Wii in September

Queen Lego figures to be in Lego Rock Band

PS3 launches a LocoRoco space

Zelda: Spirit Tracks getting limited edition with metal case and figurines in Europe (hopefully US also!)

Michael Pachter says he expects a price hike for XBox Live

Nintendo says that downloadable services help retail

LocoRoco Midnight Carnival on PSN 10/29

Lou Albano, Mario from Super Mario Bros. cartoon, dies 10/14 at age 76

Nintendo says Peach’s dress is the reason she won’t be playable in New SMB Wii

Psylocke to be downloadable for MUA 2

Do you see how happy listener mail makes us? Of course you do! So send more! podcast@someothercastle.com

Confessions of a Backlogged Gamer, Week 37: Chloroform and Liquid Nitrogen

Leah — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:39:50 +0000

I’ve gone through a rather complicated cycle with regards to Scribblenauts. When I first heard about it, I thought it sounded like a cool idea, but I didn’t think it was really going to be for me. Games with too many choices, ironically, often make me feel trapped. This is why I usually prefer JRPGs to western; if I can’t do everything, I sometimes find it hard to do anything. Personal neuroses aside, however, the idea of Scribblenauts eventually intrigued me enough that (with the not-so-gentle prodding of coworkers and friends behind me), I of course ended up procuring a copy. Upon playing it for a while, though, I’m back to being not so sure. As I’ve heard said many ways by various people, this game is perhaps the greatest example of an awesome idea with sub-par execution in recent memory.

As I’m sure probably 99% of its purchasers did, I spent a good hour when I first began playing Scribblenauts simply sitting on the title screen summoning up various critters and making them fight each other to the death. One thing that this game has in its favor is that the included vocabulary is truly impressive, even if things don’t always work quite the way you thought they would. Once I got into the actual levels, however, things weren’t quite as fun. They’re split into two sections: puzzle levels, wherein you must call up objects to fulfill certain conditions, and action levels, which require you to make your way through a level to obtain the star at the end. I’ve found that I really enjoy the former, while the latter tend to be frustrating and clumsy. I’m still trying to get through all of them, because the currency (”ollars”) that you earn is how you pay to unlock further levels, and I do want to get all of those opened up. Once that’s done, I may defect to exclusively playing puzzle levels. We’ll see. Oh, and protip: when in a jam, most things can be solved by a jetpack and Cthulhu. And although using chloroform is perfectly okay, the engine will not recognize any alcoholic beverage. I tried to summon up a glass of wine and was soundly rebuked.

It’s been rather difficult to go to work or have a conversation with any PS3 owner in the past week or so without hearing a lengthy diatribe on how great Uncharted 2 is. On one hand, I think this is fantastic, because the PS3 really needs the boost for their software now that they have that whole console thing sorted out properly, but on the other hand, it’s a little annoying to me personally because I haven’t played the first Uncharted and therefore am not particularly likely to start messing with the second. That’s why I decided to play Uncharted (1): Drake’s Fortune. So far, I’m enjoying the game quite a bit; the aiming can get a little clumsy, but I’m proving to be surprisingly adept at headshots (who knew?), and the fact that your health comes back as long as you can hide long enough for it to do so means that I don’t tend to get too frustrated. The platforming bits only occasionally splatter me all over the rocks, but the checkpoints are frequent enough that it doesn’t really become an issue, and the hint system is well-timed so that they are offered generally just as I’m deciding that I’m lost. The visuals are gorgeous, and the story is engaging; it’s nice to have a female non-lead who is fully capable of taking care of herself, as well. I hear that it only gets better from here, so I’m looking forward to both the rest of this game and the entirety of the second once I’m done. Fuck grenades, though. I only tried that once. Damn you, Sixaxis. Damn you straight to hell.

Elaine and Dan took pity on me this week and decided to shepherd me through the ODST campaign; I’m actually pretty proud of myself for holding my own on Heroic, but I am definitely glad that I have help, because I’d get splattered if I tried this on my own (not to mention horribly, horribly lost). Bungie tried something a little off-the-wall with the storytelling in this one, and for a story in a shooter, it isn’t bad; in fact, I think it’s pretty neat. I think we’ll have it done in one more sitting, though, so hopefully my escorts can put up with a) me squealing every time I do something good and b) hearing “guys? …I think I lost you again….” long enough for that to happen. I’m not *that* bad, right? (<3 you guys….)

Current backlog total: 101

Now playing: Scribblenauts (DS); Halo 3: ODST (360); Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune (PS3); Shin Megami Tensei: Persona (PSP)

New games added: Half-Minute Hero (PSP)

Games completed: none

Some Other Podcast, Episode 30: High Five!

Leah — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 02:01:15 +0000

It’s our thirtieth episode, and you know what that means: cake! We’re completely on a sugar high from all the frosting we inhaled beforehand, so you’re going to have to excuse the tangents. You know, like you usually do. In between tangents, we do find time to talk about demos (for good and evil), the scariness of hard games, and just what the proper use of those Modern Warfare 2 goggles might be…

LINKFACE!

Mario and Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story

Katamari Forever

Wet

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona PSP

Demon’s Souls

Uncharted 2

Sony confirms 250 gig PS3 for $350 to drop November 3

Bayonetta demo available on Japanese PSN

God of War 3 demo coming out in Japan for purchasers of inFamous

Left 4 Dead 2 demo 10/27 for preorder customers, 11/3 for everyone else

Facebook and Twitter coming to XBL in November

WoW film to be written by Saving Private Ryan guy

Daily Star says MW2 goggles will be used for pervy stuff

Black Wii remote and nunchuck coming 11/16

GameStop director drops 2.3 million shares of stock

Magic the Gathering getting expansion 10/21 on XBLA, will cost 400 MS points

Avatar Halloween costumes coming to XBL

Band Hero demo on XBLA

We still love the listener mail! Send it to podcast@someothercastle.com

Some Other Podcast, Episode 29: Drinking For Two

Leah — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 02:21:28 +0000

We know how much you missed us, so to make it all better, we’ve included large doses of extra awesome this week. After a very special announcement, we continue on to chat about assorted TGS news, Elaine’s need for yet more plastic peripherals, and more Japanese games than you can shake a wang at…

Linktastic!

Mario and Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story

Katamari Forever

Dissidia Final Fantasy

Halo 3: ODST

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona

Rock Band: Beatles

Nier Replicant/Gestalt look frickin’ sweet

Super Street Fighter IV announced, coming spring 2010

Naughty Dog pulls Twitter integration from Uncharted 2 because it’s annoying as hell

Set list confirmed for DJ Hero

Alpha Protocol pushed to next year; Sega pretends like they know nothing

Firmware 6.10 tethers PSP Go to cell phones

DSiWare locked to hardware… really, Nintendo?

PS3 outsells Wii in Japan for September

Trine finally coming to PSN 10/22

EA trademarks “The Ripper”

2.2 million DSi sold; Reggie says Walmart is their biggest customer

U2 wants their own music game, fails to notice they are not the Beatles

Dragon Age getting Day 1 DLC

LISTENER MAIL! It goes here: podcast@someothercastle.com

Confessions of a Backlogged Gamer, Week 33(ish): Milestones

Leah — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 22:39:22 +0000

I sort of abandoned this column for a while, and for that, I apologize. Rather than bore you with lame excuses, though, I’ll start off with what spurred me to come back to it: after 120+ hours and plenty of both enjoyment and frustration, I have finally completed Persona 3, including the FES content! I’d stalled out for a while, mostly due to the fact that, as I’ve noted before, the FES stuff just wasn’t as engaging to me as the main P3 storyline was, but I recently went back to it and began making progress again; with Persona PSP looming ever-so-close, I made it my goal to complete this particular odyssey before it came out, and I have succeeded.

I kind of wish I’d just stopped playing Persona 3 when I finished the main storyline. No, scratch that. I *really* wish I’d stopped. The FES content really didn’t add much, and the fact that it didn’t have any of the social linking that was such an integral part of the main game meant that it came off as little more than a glorified dungeon hack. It’s touted as being of a higher difficulty level, which it certainly is, but the things that make it so–lack of a Persona Compendium, for instance, or fewer save and warp points within the dungeons–appear to be there simply for the sake of making it harder (and we all know how I feel about that). Coming up with strategies for victory just isn’t as important as grinding, and that, to me, loses the general appeal of the game. Regardless, I plugged on through to the end, conquering the final boss on my third attempt. I’d say that I’ll be taking a break from Persona for a while, but you know… the PSP version comes out on Tuesday….

Since I last wrote, I’ve also been playing a great deal of Dissidia: Final Fantasy. I was braced for this game to be terrible, and to smile and play through it anyway, because my fangirl status was dependent upon it. Imagine my surprise and delight, then, when I found that the game is actually good. Quite good, in fact. Now, I definitely am coming at this from a skewed perspective, and I haven’t really had the opportunity to talk with anyone who’s played it without being a raging FF fan, but the fights are accessible enough that I haven’t gotten frustrated while being skill-based enough that I haven’t gotten bored. The storylines are, as one might expect from a fighting game, and a fighting game featuring JRPG characters at that, not exactly original. HERE ARE GOOD GUYS! THERE ARE BAD GUYS! WE FIGHT NOW! …and so forth. Whatever. It’s fun, and there’s a ton of content, and that’s what matters. If you are a Final Fantasy fan, I’d definitely recommend it, and if you aren’t, you still might enjoy it; I’d say download the demo and give it a shot.

I’ve also played a fair amount of Pokemon Platinum, and though I have not (to Elaine’s dismay) caught them all, I think I’ve got a pretty sweet party going on, including a kickass Monferno. Yeah, that’s right. I tote a flaming monkey, bitches. It’s a nice little game to get into when I just have a few minutes, or when I’m on a conference call at work…. I mean, I would never do that. Never.

Oh! And not only did I finish Halo 2 since last time, I also started AND finished Halo 3. Yes, I know, welcome to 2007. At least I’m caught up now, and ready for ODST to come out. I failed to get any actual achievement points in Halo 3, because I took the easy way out and played on… well, on easy. Don’t you judge me! I’m not very good at shooters. I feel at least a little accomplished now, though, because I’ve at least gone through this whole series without putting a controller through any glass surfaces. Baby steps, you know.

Current backlog total: 106 (stuff came out since last time!)

Now playing: Pokemon Platinum (DS); Dissidia Final Fantasy (PSP); Batman: Arkham Asylum (PS3)

New games added: Dissidia Final Fantasy (PSP); Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box (DS); Muramasa: The Demon Blade (Wii); Mana Khemia 2: Fall of Alchemy (PS2); Batman: Arkham Asylum (PS3); Sly Cooper and the Thievous Racconus (PS2); Mario and Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story (DS); Scribblenauts (DS); Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 (360)

Games completed: Halo 2 (XBox); Halo 3 (360); Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES (PS2)

Some Other Podcast, Episode 27: Stranger Danger

Leah — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 11:59:36 +0000

Be prepared for an epically inappropriate podcast this week as the ladies reunite post-PAX (and post-Hamthrax as well). Then again, if you aren’t usually prepared for such things, we’d be pretty surprised. You HAVE listened to us, right? This week we chat about Scribblenauts’ problems with genitalia, what we would do with EA’s $200 check, and zombies. Aren’t there always zombies? We also want your suggestions on a few things, so listen in to find out what they are.

Return of the links!

Rock Band: Beatles

Muramasa: The Demon Blade

Scribblenauts

Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box

Persona 3

Dissidia Final Fantasy

Halo 3

Batman: Arkham Asylum sells 2 million units, is getting 2 free DLC packs on 9/17 and 9/24

Toys R’ Us will be taking ALL video game trade-ins; get your Atari 2600 games ready

Music games down 46% in sales from last year

US PS3 sales up 300% now that it’s actually at a non-absurd price