OK, we are past 100 and now well on our way. Today we are rather anime heavy and what games we do speak of are sci-fi. Hope you enjoy.
Also the contest for 3 months of Xbox Live is still active until 03/04/2012. Listen for details.
Notes are yonder.
A few weeks ago I did an article supporting publishers on having day one DLC for games. For those that missed it you can find it here. When I wrote the article the I mentioned how publishers had been doing day one DLC did not really bother me. The day one DLC was included with new purchases of games. You only had to buy it if you purchased the game used. My rational was they were supporting their customers on the rational that you are not their customer if you buy it used as they get no profits from a used game, and only become a customer if you buy the new game or the DLC. It seemed like a good argument when I wrote the initial article. Then EA / Bioware goes and f*&ks it up.
Not a screen cap from the DLC, I just liked Legion.
With the release of Mass Effect 3 they are going to have the day one DLC From Ashes. This DLC does come with the game, but only the collectors edition or digital deluxe versions of the game (which was not announced until this month). If you happen to only purchase the normal version of the game then you have to shell out the $10.00 for the DLC should you want to play it. Now it feels like they are sticking it to their existing customer base with this. The DLC is not content they started working on after launch to add to the life of the game; it is not a bonus for buying a new copy over a used one, it just seems like a money grab. Don't get me wrong, I am a sucker and will be getting the DLC. I even canceled my normal version pre-order at Gamestop and placed an order for the digital deluxe version on Origin (since now it would only be a $10.00 difference between standard and digital deluxe). But I still feel like I am getting slighted by the publisher on this one.
(Ok, this was more of a rant then normal articles are, but I wanted this off my chest).
Time to save the galaxy.
As many of you know Mass Effect 3 comes out in a few weeks. Now for a long time I have played the Mass Effect series on Xbox 360. It is where I played the first Mass Effect game (twice) and it is where I have played the second Mass Effect series (twice). But then I made a mistake. I downloaded the demo for Mass Effect 3 on both my Xbox and my computer. Doing so made me realize how much better the game looks on my 7 month old computer then my 7 year old console. Ok, so it is not the original console, but the same tech is inside it (minus the red rings, after two of those I better not get another one). This made me want to play the game on the younger and more powerful PC. But I have invested 80+ hours into Sheapard already, and I wanted to keep with him. How was I to do this? Would I have to just face facts and start from scratch? Buy the games on PC and start over to have the more subtle choices move from one game to the next? No, I would not do such a thing, and thanks to the internet, I will not have to.We made it folks. 100 Episodes of The Gameslave Podcast. So where do we go from here? Episode 200 here we come!
The notes can be found at the this convenient link.
Heroes in a half shell!
Cream of the crop.it into his own style. Like Mikey, Don has a great sense of humor. He knows how to crack that well timed joke that has the entire room busting a nut. Like Leo, Donatello can be quick on his feet assessing the current situation and lead the turtles out of danger with his quick thinking. And what makes Donatello stand out from the rest of the turtles is that he's smart. He is a freaking turtle Macgyver! Always conducting experiments; looking for ways to improve their way of life, Donatello does it all. He also takes no traits from Raphael which is always a good thing. Can you believe we are only one more episdeo to Podcast 100! I may be alone today, but that means we will have all that more content for 100 and possible prizes!
Per the norm you can find the notes here.
actually single, I am constantly reminded of my singleness. Every February 14th singles everywhere are hit hard with this reminder, that yes, we're single. Facebook is the worst. I want to vomit in my mouth when I log on and I see all these "couples" posting love sentiments to each other. Showing off that piece of jewelry their boyfriend/husband got for them or gushing over the dozen roses that were waiting at work for them. Give me a break. Valentines Day is simply a Hallmark holiday where they force all the foolish couples into buying cards, flowers, chocolate, etc to prove their love for one another. Why does there have to be one day a year where you "have" to prove to your significant other that you care about them. Why not send flowers to your girlfriend/wife on May 23rd just cause you can. Why not send your boyfriend/husband an edible arrangement on August 28th? Come on "couples", Valentines Day is a joke and you don't have to go around making your single friends feel even more, pardon the pun, 'singled' out.Geeks are an odd bunch. We fight with each other constantly about if what we like is as good as we say it is. Sony fan boys will boast that their system is better then the Xbox is. Xbox fanboys will call the Wii a child's toy. And a PC gamer will call them all simple minded. But despite all the infighting, all the forum flame wars, we are one people. As geeks we support each other in our endeavors, even if we try to prove ourselves superior while we do it.
The inspiration behind This Weeks Geek is the amazing speed that Double Fine Adventures got funded. Tim Schaffer and his company, Double Fine, decided they wanted to make a classic point and click adventure game. There was one big issues with this though, Tim Scaffer wanted to make sure he can make the game his way. He does not want to be held down by what an investor thinks should be in the game. He did not want to have to work on their schedule to make sure they get a return on their investment. This left him with one real option, crowd scouring the money. Tim setup a Kickstarter for the game with a goal of (I think at least) $440,000. Eight hours later he was funded. As of now he has made $1,700,000 for his game. We also have Notch who may be funding Psychonaughts 2. Geeks support geeks.
But support within is not all we care about. We as a people have heart. This is seen in both Childs Play and Extra Life. Between these two charities geeks have donated millions of dollars to help kids. Child's Play is a direct charity to Children's Hospitals world wide and in 2011 earned $3,512,340. Extra Life on the other hand is a 24 hour gaming marathon. You get pledges for each hour you play a game. These pledges are then donated to the Children's Miracle Network. Both of these charities show we care about the world that we are in, and that we want these kids to have a chance to play future games.
So how do you support your fellow gamers? All the examples I have given are monetary based, but that is not the only way. Do you read forums to provide authentic help to people in need? Do you write actual reviews to let people know which games to buy / avoid? Sound off on how you help your fellow gamer.
You may have noticed that we did not have a podcast this week. Due to schedule conflicts we were unable to record one. I did feel bad about it though, so I am giving you all a bonus This Weeks Geek. Our focus for this article is prepping for game sequels, mainly Mass Effect 3.
Now in the event that you live under a rock, or just plain forgot, Mass Effect 3 comes out on March 6, 2012 with a demo coming out February 14. The Reapers have arrived to harvest the galaxy, and only one man/woman can stop them, Commander Shepard. It had been about two years since I last played Mass Effect 2, and when I did not all of my team lived. Mordin, one of my favorites, failed to survive the mission after a shot to the head. I contemplated going to a save file just before the suicide mission to make things right, but I have also purchased a fair amount of DLC since my last visit to the Normandy. With this in mind I made the decision to start a new game. This would allow me to survive the suicide mission and experience new content. While this was my reason for playing again, I had forgotten how much fun this game is. I realized how much I missed the gameplay, the voice acting, and the story they are telling. By starting again with such a large gap between plays it feels like a whole new game. I am also getting reminders of some of the more subtle plot points. This makes me really pine for Mass Effect 3.
There is a downside to playing a game that was so great so close to its sequel though. I am already hyping up Mass Effect 3 to be game of the year material, but now I will have a fresh image in my mind of how good the series is. Many people wanted Uncharted 3 to be better then Uncharted 2, but they were so close to the same that some were not as enamored with the third game as they hoped to be. I slightly worry that I may disappoint myself by not having the game as fresh as possible in my mind. I worry that it will be too much of the same. I may also find that in playing the second game, I will have burnt myself out on the gameplay. This could cause me to put Mass Effect 3 on hiatus for a bit mid way through the game.
For good or bad though, I have started my preperations. How do you prep for a sequal? Do you play the series through? Do you read wikipedia pages to refresh yourself with the story? Or do you just look at the media hype and await the day of the release? Share you rituals, or lack thereof, in the comments. I look forward to reading them.
