It’s been a couple weeks since our groundbreaking Mass Effect 3 spoiler cast, but we just wanted to give you guys some time to absorb the postmortem we gave the series and reflect on how right we all were. OK, that was a lie, but let’s just agree that that’s what happened.
It’s a three man show this week because Nick and Anthony had to sit it out but Eddy, Jeff and I kick off a series of fantastic conversations ranging from Mass Effect 3’s Extended Cut DLC to The Hunger Games to Journey. We also wrap it up with a game of Grades, which we know you love. There’s no overt technical issues this time, because everyone managed to sort out their microphone issues from last week.
So, the usual song and dance. Listen, bask in our gaming-related intellect, and give us a good rating. It’s for your health.
0:00 – 3:38 – Intro
3:38 – 24:16 – Mass Effect 3 Extended Cut DLC
25:20 – 38:05 – PlayStation Orbis and the Amazon Instant App on PSN
40:16 – 1:03:33 – Journey
1:03:35 – 1:04:04 – GAME TIME
1:04:06 – 1:12:18 – Notch’s new game 0x10c
1:12:20 – 1:24:29 – The Influx of Kickstaters
1:24:30 – 1:30:38 – Rent a Server for Battlefield 3 on Consoles
1:30:39 – 1:31:25 – Outro
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Couldn’t agree with you guys more with Journey. It’s a very well made game, and an emotional roller coaster. I don’t want to type any spoilers, but I also agree with Eddy…playing with another person really makes the experience that much more special. You form a bond of friendship almost instantaneously with another player, you don’t even know who it is, and you can only communicate in a musical blip. I normally only want to play MP games with people I know…but being able to play with a complete stranger, and share the experience in a very cooperative way, it is almost a lesson on life and how we should treat each other, and breakthrough the urge to hate, or to be a troll. If you have a PS3, or plan on getting one when the price drops in anticipation of the next generation console, this should be on the top of the list to purchase ASAP. And, the other two games, Flower is also a great experience, and Flow is pretty cool too. thatgamecompany…I don’t know how they can top this, but Journey has topped Flower, and Flower has topped Flow….can they keep it up? We can only wait and hope! Damn, my post sounds like a review…any job openings out there? 🙂
Even though I could only listen to half of it (due to Journey and Hunger Games spoilers), great cast as usual. You guys really got me wanting to get BF3 now…
Hey Drell, if you liked Marauder Shields, you’ll probably like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpeRk1YFn8s (NSFW, language and stuff)
Note: i have not completed Mass Effect 3.
Something I find interesting that I haven’t seen many people talk about, of course I haven’t looked that hard, is around the outcry of the community that lead Bioware to elaborate more on the ending. People talk about how it is wrong for people to be calling out they aren’t happy. Also, the talk in the podcast how this is setting a bad precedence, however this has happened in history in another form of media. Mind you, the example I will mention is around a lazy author, but from what I have learned is his audience lead him to change the way he ended his series. I am talking about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes.
While the first time I heard about this was on a radio show from years ago, you can find discussions of this on the internet. Link below to one of the articles.
Basically, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle killed off Sherlock Holmes because he was lazy. His audience was so unsatisfied with the ending there was public outcry, even going to the extend of him receiving threats. Can you imagine your great grandfather getting upset about the book and leading the charge in his local pub about how upset he was that Sherlock died? Well, years later Doyle brought him back. While it isn’t clear why he did it exactly, the thought is that he gave into public opinion. He had been lazy and killed off Sherlock, so he gave into his fans.
With this, is it wrong for the outcry? I know just because it happened before doesn’t make it right, but is it wrong to voice your opinion? Whether Bioware decides to change it or not doesn’t matter. If they see it as losing their fans, it is worth keeping them happy.
Just my random two cents.
http://www.shmoop.com/return-of-sherlock-holmes/
Hi Gents. Great podcast. Wish it was longer. I really enjoy the discussion you guys have.
I wanted to understand the issue you guys brought up with Orbis (as well as for Xbox 720 or whatever its called) and used games. I don’t quite understand it. Now, I don’t buy used games and don’t sell my games (so I’m a bit naive and may not see the other side of the issue very well). But to play Devil’s Advocate for the arguement for the elimination of used games, doesn’t the purchase of used games hurt the developers? Aren’t they losing sales of a product they worked hard to develop to companies like Best Buy or Gamestop? If they lost 25% of their sales to used games (that number comes straight out of my ass if your looking for a source), wouldn’t that not only impact their profits (they are a company who’s in the business of making money via game development), but possibly money to retain or add staff, invest in future games, or even stay afloat?
Furthermore, prices for video games haven’t really changed in the past 20 years (those figures come from my experience owning consoles from the first nintendo system to current systems). In fact, they’ve likely gone down when adjusted for inflation (not including DLC – which is optional to the buyer). Console owners already are not able to share XBL or PSN games. And sharing games has seemed to have died down amoung PC games. So, is the issue limited to games that come on disc?
Video games being digital media would likely eventually have the limitations that we have with other form of digital entertainment. I can’t share the movie or tv show I streamed or the music I downloaded or ebook I read. With the shift from physical copies of movies, books, records, etc. and the limitations they bring, it shouldn’t come as a suprise that as video games move away from physical copies that the same limitation that are present for other forms of media be there for video games as well, no?
Now likely I said, I’m just plaing Devil’s Advocate and I’m not taking the side of the industry here. I just don’t quite understand the issue from both side quite as well.
(sorry about long post and I’m not trying to hijack the discussion here)
[quote comment=”19042″]Hey Drell, if you liked Marauder Shields, you’ll probably like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpeRk1YFn8s (NSFW, language and stuff)[/quote]
I don’t know what I just saw, but that was absolutely hilarious.
I personally dislike the renting servers in BF3 because of the way they change the rules and the game options, some do it well, but I’m the kind of person that likes things to be the default options because they feel balanced. It’s like how I rarely play non-official Team Fortress 2 servers.
Great discussion points everyone!
Weasel, I think for me the main thing with the anti-used games measure isn’t so much about me buying used games, as I only buy new. But being able to trade games back in is what makes me able to keep up with this hobby in the first place. I feel as a consumer, once I buy something, it should be mine to do whatever I want with.
@slulplal
That’s really interesting, I’ll have to read up more about that. I don’t have a problem with people expressing outcry, etc. I just think that if people are unhappy, they should voice it and then vote with their wallets. I don’t think it is a good use of Bioware’s time to go back and try to work on a game they’ve already finished – I’m still a fan and can’t wait for their next game. The problem is, they’re now devoting months of resources to “fixing” a game that is already said and done. That’s not a great practice for game developers to set, in my opinion.