The GamerSushi Show, Ep 87: You Got the Trollin’ in Me

gamersushi show ep 87

The break may have been a week longer than we intended, but a trio of GamerSushi editors took to the mic this week to bring you a new installment of your favorite podcast (or one of you favorites at any rate).

Because Eddy has a backlog of trolling he’s in fine form this episode, but despite that we still manage to yak about Titanfall and out experiences with the live version, Eddy’s dislike of InFamous: Second Son, some random bits of gaming news and the big deal of this week, Facebook buying Oculus.

I’m sure you know how it goes, but I’m going to remind you anyways: listen, rate and treat yo’self. See you next time!

0:00 – 2:03
2:04 – 20:52 Titanfall
20:53 – 27:46 InFamous: Second Son
27:47 – 29:51 Upcoming 2014 games
29:52 – 33:04 Assassin’s Creed: Unity
33:05 – 34:44 The Last of Us on PS4
34:45 – 37:44 EA giving Star Wars the “Batman Arkham” treatment/Telltale’s GoT game
37: 45 – 49:11 Facebook buys Oculus
49:11 – 52:12 Outro

Facebook Purchases Oculus

facebook oculus rift

I can guarantee that no one saw this coming. Social media giant Facebook has just purchased Oculus, the company behind the VR-device Oculus Rift, for two billion dollars. That’s billion with a “b”, folks.

The Oculus team posted an update to their Kickstarter page, outlining why they though Facebook would be a good fit with Oculus technology and their excitement to work with Mark Zuckerberg.

Of course there’s been an Internet backlash over this; Markus “Notch” Persson of Mojang has announced that he’s canceled the Oculus version of Minecraft because thinks Facebook is “creepy”. Original backers are flipping out, saying that the VR company has sold out and are requesting refunds.

What do you guys think of this news? It’s certainly out of left field, that’s for sure. Is everyone making mountains out of molehills here? Should Oculus have consulted with their backers in some form first, or is this their right as an independent company? Go!

Sources – Oculus Kickstater Notch’s Twitter

Review: Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag

assassins creed 4 black flag review

After 2012’s less-than-stellar entry, the Assassin’s Creed series seemed poised to spend the last few years of its life cycle fighting irrelevancy. While Assassin’s Creed 3 might have sold well, it turned off a lot of people, myself (an admittedly hardcore fan of the franchise) included. Half-baked mechanics, buggy presentation and a bland protagonist were all parts of the gumbo of disappointment that was AC3.

Not long after that game released, Ubisoft announced a follow-up that would take place in the Caribbean during the Golden Age of Piracy. The new protagonist would be Edward Kenway, father and grandfather to the Assassin’s Creed 3 playable characters Haytham and Connor, respectively. With a game poised to take advantage of the naval combat introduced in AC3, could Black Flag right the ship? Continue reading Review: Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag

Prepare for Titanfall Roll Call

titanfall roll call

Last night at 9pm Pacific time, Respawn’s sci-fi shooter Titanfall finally dropped after what seems like the slowest couple of weeks in my recent memory. Despite a little technical hiccup (the server connection hung on the “initializing” screen for a while) I was able to play the game for a couple of rounds on launch night, so props to Respawn for that.

Overall I found my time with Titanfall to be fairly enjoyable, although in the early hours of the game’s lifespan a few things stuck out to me. While Attrition is fun, a score limit of 250 is quite small, especially if one team is running away with the match. Having such a low victory ceiling doesn’t allow room for a comeback, especially if the other team has four or so Titans on the field. Additionally, it seems like the Smart Pistol might be a bit more bothersome than I originally thought, although that could just be me not being used to countering it.

Since there’s such a groundswell of hype around this game, I thought it would be prudent to do a roll call for Titanfall. What platform (PC, Xbox One or 360) are you playing on? If you feel like it drop your tag into the comments!

The GamerSushi Show, Ep 86: Sushian Knight

gamersushi show ep 86

It’s the same Sushi time, same Sushi channel. The crew is in your ears once again, talking all that sweet, sweet video game news. We know how you like it.

This week we talk about the Batman: Arkham Knight reveal along with the news that Amy Hennig left Naughty Dog. There’s also some conversation about what we’re playing and then we break down the Titanfall info leak that came out.

Speaking of Titanfall we won’t be on hand next week since we’ll be too busy blowing up huge robots, but we have something planned. Listen, rate and SWEAR TO ME. You know, because Batman.

0:00 – 3:29 Intro
3:30 – 12:06 Batman: Arkham Knight reveal
12:07 – 14:29 Gods Will be Watching trailer
14:30 – 21:20 Amy Hennig leaves Naughty Dog
21:21 – 31:41 What we’re playing
31:42 – 41:36 Titanfall info leak
41:37 – 46:07 The PlayStation 4 sells a lot
46:08 – 52:35 Outro

Watch Dogs: New Release Date and the Reason for the Delay

watch dogs release date

When Watch Dogs was delayed last fall shortly before its release date, we were all sad pandas. Back then we didn’t know that Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag would be a rollicking good time, so Ubisoft’s modern-day tale about oppressive surveillance seemed like a sure-fire way to kick off the next gen.

Now here we are in the early months of 2014 and we’ve not only got Watch Dogs’ new release date of May 27, but also an explanation from the team behind it as to why they decided to delay the game. Continue reading Watch Dogs: New Release Date and the Reason for the Delay

Uncharted Series Writer and Creative Director Amy Hennig Leaves Naughty Dog

Sony officially confirmed today that Amy Hennig, long-time Naughty Dog employee and the creative director and writer of the Uncharted series, has left that studio. Internet scuttlebutt reports that she was “forced out”, which Sony doesn’t comment on.

Check Out The Official Trailer for Batman: Arkham Knight

This morning Batman: Arkham Knight got rumored and confirmed in a whirlwind of profession games journalism (hats off to you, boys) and now we have the first official trailer “Father to Son”. Rocksteady is once again taking up the cowl but this doesn’t look anything like a Silver Age Batman, which was rumored to be their next project. Batman: Arkham Knight drops this fall for the Xbox One, PS4 and PC. Check out the trailer below!

The GamerSushi Show, Ep 85: An Irrational Decision

the gamersushi show ep 85

We’re back from a one-week break with another GamerSushi Show. Nick skips out on this cast, but I’d like to think that the rest of us more than make of for the lack of his bearded tones.

For topics, we talk the Titanfall Beta, the Xbox One’s recent price cut in the UK and the closure of Irrational Games. We then cap it off with what we’re playing.

Alright, listen, rate and we’ll see you next time!

0:00 – 12:41 Intro
12:42 – 32:25 Titanfall Beta
32:36 – 37:59 Xbox One price cuts in UK
37:60 – 46:35 Ken Levine closes Irrational Games
46:36 – 1:05:22 What we’re playing
1:05:23 – 1:07:55 Outro

GamerSushi Asks: What Are You Playing?

bravely default

It’s been quiet on the Western Front for the past few days, but we can blame that on the intense two-day snowstorm I experience up here in Canada-land. Seriously, I got at least six inches of snow. That’s pretty crazy for where I live.

To bring the subject back around to video games, it’s been awhile since we’ve asked you, the GamerSushi reader, what you’re playing as there’s been a ton of new games in the last few months. Personally, I’m playing the new 3DS JRPG Bravely Default and I’m enjoying the heck out of it. I haven’t reached the dreaded second half where the game apparently becomes a grindy slog-fest, but for now I’m enjoying a classic genre with some modern conveniences thrown in (seriously, a random encounter slider is a huge boon). It’s also gorgeous and has an awesome soundtrack to boot.

Other than that I’ve been playing Splinter Cell: Blacklist, having picked it up for super cheap last month. So far I’ve only tried the co-op, but Blacklist allows you to play in one of three styles: Panther (in the vein of Conviction), Ghost (for us Chaos Theory fans) or Assault if you just want to play a third-person shooter. While I prefer my Splinter Cells stealthy, having the option to play loud and lethal and balancing it for some very different play-styles makes for a tricky act but Ubisoft pulled it off this time around.

So, what are you guys playing? Something old, something new? Are you waiting on bated breath for Titanfall, Dark Souls 2, or one of the other million games hitting in March?

The GamerSushi Show, Ep 84: A Nose for Bros

gamersushi show 84

Prepare for podcast fall. We’re coming at you with a new episode of The GamerSushi Show.

This week, the prodigal Canadian returns as Mitch, Eddy, Jeff and Nick talk about Titanfall, the Flappy Bird saga and the Evolve information that dropped last week. Additionally, Eddy shares what goes on in his dreams. It’s very…interesting.

So, you know how this goes. Listen, rate and prosper.

0:00 – 11:29 Intro
11:30 – 30:53 Titanfall (mostly)
30:54 – 49:12 Flappy Bird
49:13 – 58:04 Evolve
58:05 – 59:40 Outro

Fifteen Minutes of 4K Titanfall PC Gameplay

Want to watch fifteen minutes of glorious Titanfall footage in 4K? Well, you’re in luck as YouTuber JackFrags just posted some Titanfall PC Beta gameplay. Let that soak into your peepers.

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze 3DS Easter Egg

In the upcoming Wii U platformer Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, DK will play with a 3DS if you leave him alone long enough. YouTube Channel GameXplain shows you a clip of this as well as analyzing the sounds the 3DS makes to figure out exactly what games the platforming ape is playing!

Watch Six Minutes of Evolve Gameplay Because Why Not

Evolve, the up-coming asymmetrical multiplayer shooter from Turtle RockStudios, of Left 4 Dead fame, made a big splash during its Game Informer cover reveal last month. Recently a passel of gaming journalists, such as Kotaku’s Kirk Hamilton, got to check out the game, which is due to launch on the PS4, Xbox One and the PC later this year. Mr. Hamilton compiled six minutes of Evolve footage, so give it a watch.

Evolve looks like a lot of fun, and this video (I prefer text explanations to narration, at least in this case) shed a lot of light on some mechanics of Evolve that I was previously fuzzy on. The only thing I don’t dig about Evolve are the human characters, but that’s a small gripe. So, how is Evolve shaping up for you?

The GamerSushi Show, Ep 83: The Year of Birdo

the gamersushi show ep 83

The GamerSushi Show is back for another week, but this time the intrepid boys from the States are hosting a different Canadian: Patrick, friend of the show, joined us this week to try and defend Nintendo against our usual merciless onslaught.

Since Patrick is a long-time friend of Eddy, Jeff and Nick, he fits right in. In fact, you might not even notice that a certain other Canadian is missing. *sniff*

So, if you enjoyed the cast, why not let Patrick know by rating it? Thanks for listening, and see you next time!

0:00 – 9:51 Intro
9:52 – 23:23 Titanfall and EA
23:24 – 29:21 Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes
29:22 – 32:40 Square Enix
32:41 – 40:03 Bravely Default
40:04 – 59:50 Nintendo
59:51 – 1:16:25 GTA 5 and games as cultural events
1:16:26 – 1:18:30 Outro

Action-Strategy Mech Game Matador Hits Steam Greenlight

One thing I always miss from the good old days of gaming are really bad-ass mech games. Those kind of waned for a long time, but Titanfall seems to be bringing it back. But, if a first-person-shooter is too goddamn casual for you, there’s also Matador, an action-strategy roguelike mech game from developer Stellar Jockeys. You can check out the trailer below and man, does it look gorgeous.

Matador is up on Steam Greenlight for voting and the developer hopes to have it out by March. What do you guys say? Is Matardor right up your alley?

The GamerSushi Show, Ep 82: Meteorology Cast

gamersushi show ep 82

Hello podcast faithful, it is time for another GamerSushi Show.

I don’t really have that much to say about this cast, because, as you’re about to find out, it was pretty random. After a lengthy intro about the weather, Nick, Jeff and Eddy go off on whatever tangent pleases them at the time. Eddy spends most of the cast trolling Jeff, and the results are fairly hilarious.

So, listen, rate and see you next time!

0:00 – 12:09 Intro
12:10 – 15:55 Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes
15:56 – 22:49 Xbox One
22:50 – 41:24 Titanfall, RPGs, EVE Online, Fucking Dark Souls
41:25 – 43:46 Outro