Blog posts from A.J. and Mike.
GTA is in the house! And that’s not all, there are other games that we actually cared about before Tuesday. Join us as we discuss some other open world games, Chrono Trigger and Phoenix Wright, and a test of your own hardcoreness.
The Exploding Barrel Podcast Show #35
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 59:31 — 34.1MB)
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NPD numbers delight yet again, and it isn’t the same firing order this month. Why do you love gaming? The Minotti brothers tell all in this intimate look back at how these two miscreants became so enraptured in the past time that eventually lead to their podcast stardom. Mike has fallen in love with Persona 3, and Ajguy cannot get enough Audiosurf. Never heard about it? Come and learn, my friends.
The Exploding Barrel Podcast Show #25
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 45:07 — 26.2MB)
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Now that Mike has finally completed the Orange Box, it’s a Half Life bonanza. Spoilers to follow. Ajguy also really enjoys Poker Smash. If only he had an Xbox to play it on. Go make a sandwich and grab a drink! You’ll need the energy while you listen to this podcast. We wouldn’t want you to get dizzy.
The Exploding Barrel Podcast Show #24
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 49:04 — 28.4MB)
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I know, an actual blog post. Crazy, huh? I’m trying to make good on some New Year’s resolutions and this is one of them.
As the title above hints, EGM (and 1UP at large) have apparently lost some publisher cooperation from Ubisoft, the Mortal Kombat team, and Sony Sports due to less than favorable review scores (such as EGM’s 4.5 review of Assassin’s Creed. You can find out more about the whole mess here.
I find it unbelievable that these companies would pull something like this so shortly after the whole Gerstmann thing. Eidos got so much bad publicity for that, and Ubisoft, a company that saw almost all of its big games for the next few months delayed, does not need any of that.
People bought Assassin’s Creed after seeing all the hype for it on websites and in magazines like EGM. By the time the issue with the review came out, I’m sure a lot of people had already decided whether or not they would be buying the game. Without this preview coverage to cement that idea in people’s minds, they far more likely to wait for the review (which will still come eventually) and decide from that opinion.
Imagine if you never saw anything about Assassin’s Creed before its release other than a 4.5 in EGM. Would you have bought it? Of course not. But we all saw the gorgeous screens and read the previews that promised fluid controls and a dynamic world. And while we did get some of that, a lot of it was only taken halfway. And while we all enjoyed the first time we pick pocketed someone or saved a citizen (as I’m sure EGM and other previewers did), we soon realized the repetition within the game (something previewers may not have because of their limited and controlled time with the game).
I’d say the loss of the Mortal Kombat guys and Sony Sports is no big deal, but Ubisoft is still a major player (though I feel their role is becoming diminished as they continue to become a franchise whore house in the vein of the EA of recent years). All three companies have just decided to cut the free advertising and delay the inevitable review.
– Ajguy
This week it’s a Christmas spectacular! As we head into the jolly holidays, we discuss more of the games we’ve played, further bickering between Harmonix and Red Octane, Mike’s start on Final Fantasy X, and reveal our number 2 picks for the Best Ever This Year! Non sequiturs abound as we march towards the end of 2007, at which time we’ll go over a fantastic year of gaming, make 2008 predictions, and find out if Mike was able to meet his goal of every Final Fantasy by year’s end. Please note that we do not actually talk about Batman in this episode.
The Exploding Barrel Podcast Show #18
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 53:28 — 36.8MB)
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I’m a bit confused.
Super Mario World
was on an island?
Remember Geno,
From Mario RPG?
I miss him. He’s cool.
Jeez, captured again?
Peach should be locked in a cage.
A nice, cozy cage.
A bumble bee suit.
What could possibly be next?
Do bees live in space?
Leave Sunshine alone.
It’s not as bad as you say.
You all are stupid.
After Mario
The Wii will be still, silent.
Three months until Smash.
I just realized;
Where’s my collectible coin?
An injustice served.
I went to Gamestop.
There I met my great sadness.
The kiosk was dark.
The stars abundant.
Get a hundred and twenty
Play as Luigi.
A plant of fire.
White and red look oh so good.
Retro in style.
– Mike
Galaxies await.
Good thing I preordered it.
Five dollars well spent.
– Mike
The Exploding Barrel podcast has just become a more official member of the 411mania network, more specificaly the gaming zone. This is pretty good news, since I’m sure it will mean more exposure for us. It’s also good for you listeners, since we’ll hopefully be getting some other 411 writers to join the podcast from time to time. Variety is the spice of life, right? Anyways, this is a good step forward for our still young podcast.
– Mike
Obviously, I will go into more details about both of these games in the next podcast. I just wanted to let you guys know that I picked up Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions the other day. So far, I’m enjoying it immensely. The job system is very similar to Final Fantasy V’s, which is a very good thing.Now, for clarification’s sake, Tactics has nothing to do with my Final Fantasy quest to beat every game in the series. That quest only entails the main entries (minus XI, because I have a life. Not a very busy one, but still). So I’m not making any promises that I’m going to beat this one. Still, if I keep enjoying it as much as I currently am, I think I just may.
Final Fantasy VIII has yet to really click with me. Part of the problem may be that I haven’t had a chance to really sit down and play a good 3+ hour session with it. There are definitely some impressive things going on, but the pace thus far has been pretty slow. But I’m confident it will pick up soon.
Anyways, we should be recording the podcast later today, and then it should go up on Saturday. I know you’re all waiting anxiously.
-Mike
