Some Other Castle » infamous

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 16: Sass Squared

Leah — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 14:56:30 +0000

A tearful (well, maybe not…) reunion is in the works this episode as the ladies are reunited and the estrogen level drifts back up to normal. We’re trying out our new segment on terrible video game movies this week, so let us know what you think; this week, we discuss Super Mario Bros! There’s plenty of other chat around, though, so even if the thought of Dennis Hopper’s King Koopa portrayal makes you cringe, stay tuned for discussion on the rightful place of the GTA series, the rightful rating of the Mortal Kombat series, and the thoroughly messed-up nature of the Lego series.

The links, the links, the links are on fire!

Gaming accessories coming to the iPhone

Kotick questions Activision’s support of Sony platforms

Ubisoft says Splinter Cell Conviction is a “true 360 exclusive”

Bioware not concerned about MMO competition, believes Jedi will somehow defeat Orcs

Next Mortal Kombat game will be rated M, according to Ed Boon’s Twitter

Fat Princess delayed until summer

Tekken 6 preorder at Gamestop will get you a Cardboard Tube Samurai skin for Yoshimitsu

GTA Chinatown Wars being released on the PSP this fall

Tony Hawk Ride board peripheral will be used for “many games,” all of which will probably feature Tony Hawk

Break music this week is “beatnes3″ by The Eternal from the album called ELECTROPLANKTON. Like the album title implies it was made using only the DS game Electrplankton.

We still love listener mail! Send us messages at podcast@someothercastle.com and we’ll read and discuss them on the show! (Do it for Leah she lives for listener mail)

Confessions of a Backlogged Gamer, Week 20: Legos Don’t Bleed

Leah — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 01:01:20 +0000

I’ve delved into the Lego series of games before, with both installments of Lego Star Wars, so I guess it should have come as no surprise that Lego Batman, which I began upon completing inFamous, is actually a little screwed up. Robin’s head gets cut off! And it lands in Batman’s hands! If they weren’t Legos, the ESRB would be on a damn crusade right about now! But they are, so… you know, it’s cool. I actually get a kick out of watching everything explode into its component bits, so beating the crap out of stuff is doubly entertaining.

Aside from being subtly disturbing, Lego Batman is everything the name suggests; it’s definitely Lego, and it’s definitely Batman. This is more the Adam West Batman than, say, the Christian Bale Batman, but it’s Batman nonetheless. You have fun toys and cool gadgets that generally materialize in the form of special suits, and you run around each stage thwacking baddies until you hit the boss at the end of the level. Simple. I understand that once you complete the Hero missions, there’s a set of Villain missions as well, but I haven’t gotten to that point yet; I’m moving along at a pretty good clip, though, so I should have some impressions on that side of things by next week.

I actually started playing Lego Batman because I just wanted something different from inFamous, which I finished directly beforehand. Don’t get me wrong, I quite enjoyed inFamous, but some of the later missions were incredibly frustrating to me, probably because the game isn’t really something I’d normally expect me to be playing, and I just wanted something mindless and easy by the time I was done. Many of the latter levels broke free of the repetitiveness from which some of the ones in the beginning and middle tended to suffer, offering things such as surprisingly intricate platforming and quirky destructo-missions that often required increasing levels of patience and accuracy (so needless to say, I’m sure the neighbors got quite an earful when I played with the windows open). The ending, however, was pretty much fuckawesome, or at least I thought so. That’s aside from the last boss fight being pretty nasty; the internet as a whole may judge me for this, but I confess to having to bump the difficulty level from medium to easy for that one. If you need me, I’ll be hiding my head in shame there in the corner.

I’ve actually spent a fair amount of time this week not at home; my sister’s graduation meant that there was lots of family time involved, and during some of this, I did end up toting my DS along for the downtime. And what was in my DS? I’ll give you a hint: starts with “P,” ends with addiction. Can they hide crack in video games? I’m pretty sure that’s the only way that Peggle could suck me in this much. I’d just start with one map, and then two hours later, I totally forgot about my laundry and the movie I put on as background noise is over. What the fuck happened? DAMN YOU, UNICORN! At this rate, I’ll be out of levels soon, but I suppose there is always the Peggle Nights content after I finish up with the main set. I think I blame Elaine for this.

Current backlog total: 103

Now playing: Lego Batman (360); Peggle: Dual Shot (DS); Crimson Gem Saga (PSP)

New games added: none

Games completed: inFamous (PS3)

Some Other Podcast, Episode 15: Dirty in a Hurry

Elaine — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 16:00:48 +0000

Due to scheduling madness and people graduating from things Elaine is left all alone this week. In an effort to keep from crying by herself in a corner she recruits the help of Dan and Evan from this very site to help wade through news about video games! Join Elaine and the boys as they discuss inFAMOUS, the terribleness of America’s Army, and how Peggle and Plants vs. Zombies ruin lives. After the break the trio dives into NDP numbers, Microsoft not knowing if a new Xbox is coming out in 2010, Sega of America’s president leaving for Ngmoco and why having a demo as a preorder bonus is a terrible idea.

Links!

TMNT Reshelled: Xbox 360 Timed Exclusive

Original Left 4 Dead Will Still Be Supported

New Xbox 360 in Fall 2010?

No, No New 360 in Fall 2010

Ballmer Thinks Yes, New 360 in 2010

No Seriously Guys, No New 360 in 2010

New Super Mario Bros. Wii Has Auto Pilot

Magic the Gathering and Sam and Max on XBLA

Popcap’s $1 Peggle Sale FTW

Simon Jeffrey Headed to Ngmoco

Xbox 360 Ghostbusters NOT Region Locked! Yay for Europe!

Preorder a Game You Are Already Interested in and Get its Demo

Addicted to Games? MTV Wants You!

5 People + 6 Months = Scribblenauts Words

MSXBOX-World Some Other Castle Thread

Break Music is “Entry of the Gladiators” because getting that stuck in people’s heads is hilarious.

As always we love listener mail and it will return next week! Send questions to podcast@someothercastle.com so Leah doesn’t cry when she returns.

Confessions of a Backlogged Gamer, Weeks 18 & 19: I Shock The Manz And They Fall Down

Leah — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 13:38:11 +0000

Well, I’ve Gardened about as much as I can Garden, and in the time since my last update, I have both started and finished Docomodake BOING!, a game for which mere descriptions can never quite suffice (but I’ll try in a moment). That means that I’m currently focusing most of my gaming energy on inFamous. This was a game that wasn’t even really on my radar until it actually came out, but I have to say, the pure primal joy of putting a bunch of volts of red lightning through some poor hapless bystander is…. well, it’s pretty sweet, actually.

inFamous sets you playing as Cole McGrath, a fellow with his own degree of haplessness who rapidly becomes a raging badass when he gets bamphed (uh huh, it’s a word) magical electro-powers. That’s all you really need to know. You can choose to be a nice guy and help people, or you can choose to be a total asshole and shock them to death at every available opportunity. The really interesting thing is that, contrary to the normal way “morality”-tracked games tend to run (that is, sure, you can be the bad guy… I mean, if you really want to…. but you’ll probably regret it…. I mean, WHAT? YES, FREE CHOICE! HERE, KILL THIS PUPPY!), this one actually *does* give you a choice, and rewards you either way. In fact, it seems that, given the title of the game and the fact that you’re SHOOTING FUCKING LIGHTNING OUT OF YOUR HANDS, the evil path gives you a bit of an edge. I’m not messing around with very many of the side missions right now, as inFamous’s biggest downfall that I’ve noticed thus far is that it does tend to get a bit repetitive, but I believe I’m somewhere around a quarter of the way through the main storyline; this means that I still have plenty of time to get slapped around by the karmic retribution gods, but I really don’t think that’s going to happen. Until it does, I’m having a grand old time shocking the manz. They fall down, you know.

I briefly alluded to the fact that I did, in fact, finish Gardening Mama, at least as much as it can ever really be finished (I brought all of my plants to maturity and pimped out my garden to the max, which is enough for me), but the far more interesting of the two DS games I’ve played in the past two weeks is a little gem called Docomodake BOING!, which features a giant sentient mushroom off to find his giant mushroom family in time for the giant mushroom festival. From what I understand, the characters are actually the mascots of a Japanese cell phone company, but the game itself plays pretty much like any other well-done platformer. Actually, I was reminded most of the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series, because you have to split off mini versions of yourself and use them as bricks, ladders, projectiles, and so forth to reach your goal in each stage. It’s creative and fun, and although it only took me a short time to finish, I don’t think that’s a particular detriment in the case of games like these. If you find a copy and are a fan of the platformer genre, I’d recommend picking it up; it’s bargain-priced, and well worth the time.

I also played about five minutes of Crimson Gem Saga (watched the opening cinematic while I was waiting for food to finish cooking), and…. well, I guess I should mention this. I FUCKING FINISHED PERSONA 3!!!!!11! I’m not putting it into my statistics yet, because I do still have the FES content to go (but I need a break…), but at 82 hours, I finally put an end to the storyline. I don’t know how much I can really say about the ending without spoilerizing everything, but I will say these things:

1. The final ten or so hours are packed with Drama. Capital D. If you’re at all invested in the characters by this point, you will be very engaged.

2. Elaine was right; I should have been working the ladies’ social links more diligently the whole time. They’re MUCH more entertaining when they’re maxed.

3. The final boss fight was over an hour and a half long, and I nearly lost in the last five minutes. I think I would have cried.

I’ll definitely have more to report when I go back and do the FES content, which is reputed to take somewhere in the neighborhood of thirty hours, but I really needed to step away from the Persona for just a little while. Soon, though.

Current backlog total: 104

Now playing: inFamous (PS3); Crimson Gem Saga (PSP)

New games added: inFamous (PS3); Crimson Gem Saga (PSP); Class of Heroes (PSP); Steal Princess (DS)

Games completed: Gardening Mama (DS); Docomodake BOING! (DS)

Some Other Podcast, Episode 14: Dangly Bits

Leah — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 13:32:03 +0000

After the madness that was last week, we’re back to our usual brilliant selves. This week, we wrap up the E3 leftovers, of course, as well as our usual scintillating commentary, but we also take a big chunk of the ‘cast to answer a veritable plethora of listener mail. Tune in to hear us talk about Sim cruelty, the joys of being an evil overlord, and divorce! (Yes, with an exclamation point. However, no actual marriages were harmed in the recording of this episode…. at least not yet….)

Linkz, yo:

Persona 3

Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness

Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine

Guitar Hero Metallica

Microsoft confirms that Natal does work in the dark

Kudo on Fallon, complete with sunglasses

DJ Hero will have day 1 DLC

Mass Effect DLC is coming soon!

Magic: The Gathering coming to XBLA 6/17

Install bug on the PS3 makes some Prototype players sad pandas

1.4 million copies of Sims 3 sold since launch

Sony promises that all first-party titles will be available for download by the time PSP Go launches- October 1

Break Music is: ”My Girl, the Princess” by Rugar. Check them out over at http://www.8bitpeoples.com

Listener mail is fantastic, and we want more! Send it to podcast@someothercastle.com if you feel the itch. Or get some cream. Depends on the itch.

Also, visit our friends over at msxbox world, and in particular, our thread on their forums. We want to say hi!

Some Other Podcast, Episode 12: Roleplaying

Leah — Fri, 29 May 2009 12:50:08 +0000

Yeah, the week before E3 can be a little boring, but we’re doing our best to make sure everyone stays entertained and happy! To that end, we actually have a special segment with J. Goldberg, community manager at Volition, who was awesome enough to give us an interview about the upcoming Red Faction: Guerilla. Check out their site at community.redfaction.com, and make sure to check out the Red Faction: Guerilla marathon play taking place at 10AM central/11AM eastern time at justin.tv/volition, where some of the devs and QA folk will be giving an advance look at the game by playing through it themselves! When we’re not chatting away with him, we’re talking about our ongoing Persona obsessions, punching/stabbing manz, and the viability of plastic ear peripherals. We also make some insightful (and maybe not so insightful) E3 predictions, so start marking your scorecards! (We’re usually right about pretty much everything.)

Linkage incoming!

Persona 3

Persona 4

Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Bioshock 2 dated for 11/3

Zune HD

GTA IV- The Ballad of Gay Tony

All three Metroid Prime games on one disc for $50

OnLive not coming to E3

Star Ocean collectors edition makes Leah cry big anime tears

Break music #1 is “Demon Academy Prospective Student” from the Disgaea Custom Soundtrack.

This episode’s a bit long because of our special interview segment, so you get treated to a second set of break music! This one’s “ROM Schtick” by Shale Riley, from the Bound Together OC Remix.

We looooooove listener mail! Send it to podcast@someothercastle.com and we will smile big happy smiles!