In this episode, Graham, Andrew, Shawn, Jeff, Chris and Chris talk about gaming hardware failures, from the ill-advised NES slot design and the entirety of the Game Gear to current yellow-light PS3 and dual-layer Wii woes. They also weigh in on the latest news from Capcom, Nintendo and various Kickstarter hopefuls. Plus: Fez, more Xenoblade Chronicles, Warriors Orochi 3, more Sakura Wars, Disgaea 3: Absence of Detention, more Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes and all the tangents you could want!
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Hosts: Jeff DeSolla, Chris Ingersoll, Andrew Passafiume, Chris Rasco, Graham Russell, Shawn Vermette. Music: Podcast theme by Tom Casper.
In this episode, we share our feelings about the current state of JRPGs, discussing Xenoblade Chronicles, Tales of Graces F, Class of Heroes 2, Unchained Blades, NIS America’s new announcements and more. We talk big swords, battle gauges and dungeon-crawlers, and sigh about the localizations that could have been when someone brings up Sakura Wars.
That pains me to type. I know the stigma associated with it, and I know the horrible morass that is the “casual gaming” market. But I certainly don’t want any part of that. Keep your Angry Birds and your Facebook games over there. Much like someone craving a sweet snack doesn’t just start chugging bags of sugar, I still care that my game experiences are high-quality and worthwhile. READ MORE
We get back to business as usual in the new episode, talking Journey, Street Fighter X Tekken, MLB 2k12 and MLB 12: The Show and more! We also discuss our favorite game endings, as well as some that make us mad. Plus: you could win a million dollars! We’re not giving that away or anything, but listening to this episode doesn’t make you ineligible for that kind of thing as far as we know.
Writers Andrew Passafiume and Graham Russell tend to be on opposite sides of the debate when talking about handheld games: Andrew would usually rather be playing on a big screen, and Graham likes that lower system specs makes devs focus on gameplay. In this two-part feature, the two get together and make their picks of the games that best and least fit on a portable. Check out part one here.
Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Andrew: Okay, portable is even in the name, but this is one game that would have been much better had it been on a console. It tells an interesting story and has some great moments, they are just ruined by the terrible controls. The PSP was not made to play an action/stealth game like this and it really shows. Peace Walker managed to do more with the limited control scheme of the PSP, but the HD upgrade showed just how the series really needs two analog sticks. An update of this game for the Vita might fix the problems too, but it’s hard to say. Graham: When Sony decided to make a portable system, I get why they’d want themselves and others to move their popular franchises there. The problem? That’s not how they were designed. Konami actually did some interesting things, like the Metal Gear Ac!d series, but this particular entry was one that really could have used some extra thinking. READ MORE
Andrew: Okay, portable is even in the name, but this is one game that would have been much better had it been on a console. It tells an interesting story and has some great moments, they are just ruined by the terrible controls. The PSP was not made to play an action/stealth game like this and it really shows. Peace Walker managed to do more with the limited control scheme of the PSP, but the HD upgrade showed just how the series really needs two analog sticks. An update of this game for the Vita might fix the problems too, but it’s hard to say.
Graham: When Sony decided to make a portable system, I get why they’d want themselves and others to move their popular franchises there. The problem? That’s not how they were designed. Konami actually did some interesting things, like the Metal Gear Ac!d series, but this particular entry was one that really could have used some extra thinking. 
