CAGcast #207: Anality

[CheapyD]

15060[/IMG-L]Is Limbo overrated? Are Clash of the Titans and Castlevania HD terrible? Did CheapyD buy Starcraft II? Those questions and more will be answered along with discussion of the latest gaming and shopping news, and your CAGbag (http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=71382) and Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/cheapyd) contributions.

116
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Show Linkage/Notes (click the button below to expand):
Intro: Fast Times at Ridgemont High vs Summer in the City - Loving Spoonful

The Video Game Release List of 7/31 - 8/3 (http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/64955)

Gamestop acquiring Flash game portal Kongregate (http://www.joystiq.com/2010/07/27/gamestop-acquiring-flash-game-portal-kongregate/)

NBA (http://kotaku.com/5603068/nba-jam-confirmed-for-360-ps3-but-theres-a-catch) Jam (http://kotaku.com/5603068/nba-jam-confirmed-for-360-ps3-but-theres-a-catch) Confirmed For 360, PS3 (But There's A Nasty Catch) (http://kotaku.com/5603068/nba-jam-confirmed-for-360-ps3-but-theres-a-catch)
Three New Trademarks Filed by EA for Syndicate; Game Announcement Imminent? (http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/65006)
Schillings 38_Studios_Moving_To_Rhode_Island (http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/29612/Schillings_38_Studios_Moving_To_Rhode_Island.php)
Call of Duty map packs enlist 20 million (http://www.joystiq.com/2010/08/03/call-of-duty-map-packs-enlist-20-million/)

Limbo tops weekly Xbox Live Arcade sales charts (http://www.joystiq.com/2010/08/04/limbo-tops-weekly-xbox-live-arcade-sales-charts/)

Follow us on twitter (https://twitter.com/cheapassgamer/cagcast)

CheapyD's Youtube Videos (http://www.youtube.com/cheapyd) (Subscribe (http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=CheapyD))

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Outro: Kissy Poo (http://kissypooisland.com/)
(http://twitpic.com/1921lx)

[RichMeisterMan]

Woah Dude! Uhhh...1st!

At least I am honest and don't cover it up with that, "Oh Yippee Skippee, Listening NOW!" bull shit. I'm a tool bag and I don't deny it!

[Salmonday]

Not first! D'oh.

Say, Cheapy -- what was the strange third line of the CAG wiki you mentioned? The only thing weird I see is someone calling the site a BBS.

And I'm not listening now because iTunes hasn't updated yet. What gives? Is this the 21st century or not? Jeezus.

[gwaki]

Sweet got a nice long car ride tomorrow that I can listen to this on. Wooo

[striker199]

downloading now... looks like the wiki was fixed, it said something like cheapyd trained in the real estate business to prepare to run cag, or something like that.

[CheapyD]

Not first! D'oh.

Say, Cheapy -- what was the strange third line of the CAG wiki you mentioned? The only thing weird I see is someone calling the site a BBS.

And I'm not listening now because iTunes hasn't updated yet. What gives? Is this the 21st century or not? Jeezus.

Subscribe and hit the "Refresh" button in the bottom right corner.

Someone cleaned up the Wiki page.

[iKilledChewbacca]

SWEET new CAGcast !!!

[RichMeisterMan]

Wow, after hearing you guys ream Harmony of Despair I won't be picking that up. Sheesh!

Considering I haven't Played Order of Ecclesia yet I think I'll just look into that.

[Davestation]

Finally, something gayer than Howard Sterns "Gay Week", thanks will listen to it in the car while I'm putting my make-up on!!

[apathylad]

Man, I actually want to buy Harmony of Despair, but it really seems a thing I would need a posse for. I'll listen to this CAGcast in my morning commute.

[snakelda]

lol, it gets to 115 almost every day. When it sprinkles,it makes it more hot with the little humidity that it leaves. I'm used to it though. you can tell who's not from Az when they always whine on how hot it is.lol. Love the show. Keep up the good work.

[bebop]

Yeah! Cagcast is here to banish my boredom. At least for an hour and half :)

[muzras]

luvz mah cagzcastz. :D

[Thomas96]

Mr. T had a reality show called "I pity the fool" for some reason it doesn't come up when you look under his name, however if you search the show (on IMDB) it shows up for 2006.

[TheToiletDuck]

Mr T was also in commercials for Snickers, aired in the UK last year.


Holy crap Wombat, you just blew my mind with the Sprockets / Cogs joke. It's the arrow in the FedEx logo all over again.

[DarkZion]

Listening to Cheapy and Wombat argue over Steam vs GameStop was really annoying. Wombat was completely right.

[Loonknight]

Decent show again this week. I really enjoyed "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" a great deal more than I thought I would when I saw it.

Wombat, I'm sorry you are having so much trouble with PS3 updates, I honestly haven't had much of an issue in a long time with updating my own system, granted I do use it almost every day to either play movies, or games so that might be why. I will say that the Eye of Judgment PSP game is a great deal at $15, especially if you liked the PS3 game in any way or like a decent card/strategy game.

[ihih]

Just listen to Shipwreck saying he played Clash of the Titans for 14 hours and he wont touch Starcraft 2. I'm fucking insulted

[Fjordson]

Just listen to Shipwreck saying he played Clash of the Titans for 14 hours and he wont touch Starcraft 2. I'm fucking insulted
Seriously? I..wha...

http://halfassbackwards.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/italian-spiderman-animated.gif

[Axersia]

Hey Wombat, just wanted to say that, don't worry, you don't necessarily suck at Darksiders. The minibosses have way too much health and can indeed kill you in 3 hits early on.

I originally started the game on Apocalyptic Mode as I consider myself quite skilled at hack 'n' slash games and ended up restarting on Normal about 1:30 hours in. Having to unleash 10 full combos on an enemy to take it down when a single slip-up could get me killed just wasn't any fun with such a stiff and clunky combat system.

The first thing you'll wanna buy is the weapon power upgrade and equip it onto your sword. That'll help you out quite a bit. Afterwards, you'll probably wanna get the Demon Edge uppercut (High Time in Devil May Cry) and Flipsaw.

Once you have these moves, you'll be able finish off most enemies by launching them in the air with Demon Edge, unleashing a few combos on them, and ending with a Flipsaw.

Afterwards, just go with whatever suits your style. Many people recommend Harpoon Tackle (Stinger in Devil May Cry) to be one of your first, but it's somewhat useless IMO as it knocks enemies back meaning you can't start a combo with it.

Oh, and don't bother buying the Scythe -- just open the Options menu, select Cheats, and enter the code "The Hollow Lord" which allows you to get the Harvester (same as the Scythe but allows you to siphon more souls) for free. Don't worry, it's the only cheat in the game and everybody uses it so you don't have to feel like a noob.

Anyway, hope these tips make the game a bit more enjoyable for you.

[Conboy]

Cheapy, what ever happened to the 360 Slim giveaway contest? You guys mentioned it right after E3, and now there is nothing on the website, and i don't recall you guys ever mentioning any winners.

[Brad Bishop]

I'm with Wombat on the slow PS3 updates.

I hate turning on the PS3 and either having to update the system (not so often) or update the game.

When that happens you can easily spend 20mins downloading the update. I really don't get why it's so slow.

I subscribed to PSN+ as they have automatic updates and hopefully that'll just make it happen in the evening and I won't have to deal with it again.

[Duck in a Pond]

I'll be listening to this on my trip from Ohio to Michigan! Perfect timing, thanks guys!!

[RanchLizard]

GameStop vs. Steam is an interesting business case. I tend to agree with Wombat for now; they don't seem to be as competitive as people might assume. But Cheapy has a point, too; they are both outlets that sell games. I'm personally not a huge fan of digital distribution; I likes me some physical media. But the majority might eventually go that way, a la Blockbuster vs. Netflix.

[stevew2607]

The FEUD!!!

[bubblescrape]

Castlevania HD is awesome even though its got plenty of issues. Play it with people you know and your enjoyment will increase exponentially.

[shipwreck]

Castlevania HD is awesome even though its got plenty of issues. Play it with people you know and your enjoyment will increase exponentially.

I'll politely disagree with you on that, but I did want to correct myself and say that the game does start players in different positions. It just wasn't apparent to me in the first couple levels.

[CheapyD]

Cheapy, what ever happened to the 360 Slim giveaway contest? You guys mentioned it right after E3, and now there is nothing on the website, and i don't recall you guys ever mentioning any winners.
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=264470

[LiK]

Damn Wombat, now I understand your tweet about that appt. What rude people. But it's good that the employee there was stern about the schedules. An Applecare warranty for a new MBP now is like $350. I still haven't bought one. Never had to buy extended warranties for any of my stuff cuz they never break until much later. Maybe I'll get one near the end of the year.

Btw, my new site ain't set up yet so my new domain is a secret. :)

Dohhh, only Cheapy is into Starcraft 2? Guess no CAGcast matches. :(

[zekeike]

Cheapy, don't listen to Shipwreck and Wombat. Castlevania :Harmony of Despair is really cool online.
It's just tough when you start a new character. It will take a couple of hours to get some good stuff.
All the levels are well designed (except for Chapter 3). It's like and old school Castle Crashers.



http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc146/zekeike12/CastleHOD.jpg

[Conboy]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Conboy View Post
Cheapy, what ever happened to the 360 Slim giveaway contest? You guys mentioned it right after E3, and now there is nothing on the website, and i don't recall you guys ever mentioning any winners.
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/...d.php?t=264470

Thanks Cheapy. I just didn't recall ever hearing a winner announced on the Cagcast, which is how I thought you were going to handle it. Great job as always.

[apathylad]

I'll politely disagree with you on that, but I did want to correct myself and say that the game does start players in different positions. It just wasn't apparent to me in the first couple levels.

Hey Shipwreck, it sounded to me like you were playing with strangers. Either that, or your friends are just tools. You mentioned you weren't really cooperating with any of the other players, who just ignored you as you during the lever segments. Do you think that could have been a factor to your hatred of the game?

I'm really disappointed by the game's mixed reviews, but I am still interested in gathering a group of friends and trying it someday. I'm not sure how it will work, but I've been reading that DLC is planned for the game.

[Walt Jay]

$90 for tea? fuck that.

And regarding the Alan Wake DLC, they did add in a lot more Taken per square foot. It felt like there were more Taken in tighter areas.

[ILikePopCans]

Why was there no cagcast last week just because wombat could not be on?
Not to say wombat sucks, but was does he need to be in every cagcast.
Would it be hard to find a quest or just have Cheapy D and shipwreck do one by them selfs?

[shipwreck]

Hey Shipwreck, it sounded to me like you were playing with strangers. Either that, or your friends are just tools. You mentioned you weren't really cooperating with any of the other players, who just ignored you as you during the lever segments. Do you think that could have been a factor to your hatred of the game?

I'm really disappointed by the game's mixed reviews, but I am still interested in gathering a group of friends and trying it someday. I'm not sure how it will work, but I've been reading that DLC is planned for the game.

I've played with friends and strangers.

[banodyne]

My favorite part of the show was Wombat's experience at the Apple Store. I always seem to get behind people like that at different stores. I have no problem with saying politely but firmly, "Excuse me, I made an appointment and I'm on time. Please wait your turn." Then step in front of them. 90% of those idiots back off. The other 10% I enjoy aggravating.

[Curufinwe]

Apple stores do seem to be full of the worst kind of douches in the country.

[bubblescrape]

I've played with friends and strangers.

Shipwreck, If you haven't totally given up on the game yet I suggest you and Wombat play two player co-op and slowly learn the stages together. I've played a chaotic full 6 player game and a more mellow 2 player and they are different experiences. Ignore the timer and just explore the levels. It takes a bit of grinding to get better gear.

I think character choice is important here. Some characters like Shanoa can bypass obstacles and has a powerful magic attack from the get go but lack in the weapons department while Alucard is not that great until you've found some stronger weapons for him. Soma has a chance to learn new abilities from creatures he defeats so the stronger the creature the better. Find a character that suits you.

If you are sure you've given the game a fair shake then different strokes I guess.

[Mahoney07]

Wombat you're underestimating how many people bought Mass Effect 2 on Steam instead of Xbox 360.

[Wombat]

Wombat you're underestimating how many people bought Mass Effect 2 on Steam instead of Xbox 360.

How many? I tried to google some hard data but couldn't find any. Regardless, how many of those buyers were ever planning to buy it on the 360 at any point and how many of those 360 people bought it at a gamestop. Also let's not forget the profit generated from used sales of the game. I don't think Steam takes much of a bite out of Gamestop's bottom line.

[CaptainJoel]

How many? I tried to google some hard data but couldn't find any. Regardless, how many of those buyers were ever planning to buy it on the 360 at any point and how many of those 360 people bought it at a gamestop. Also let's not forget the profit generated from used sales of the game. I don't think Steam takes much of a bite out of Gamestop's bottom line.
I completely agree. I really don't think they compete with each other at all. Mainly for the fact that GameStop doesn't sell that many PC games anymore.

[DCJ83]

I completely agree. I really don't think they compete with each other at all. Mainly for the fact that GameStop doesn't sell that many PC games anymore.

I have to agree too. Gamestop is more about selling Console Games than PC Games. So if you're going to say Steam competes with some other place that sells strictly PC Games...I would suggest finding another PC Gaming Website that sells PC Games.

[beard_of_zeus]

I'm disappointed Castlevania didn't turn out so hot; I've been hearing not so great things from various gaming sites across the board. It sounds like they threw a bunch of different Castlevania assets together and used that as an excuse for a bare bones game.

And I don't really care for developers only focusing on one aspect of a game, and disregarding everything else. It sounds like there's not any real semblance of a single-player game; sounds like the Lost Planet 2 syndrome of single-player just being 1 person multiplayer. I shouldn't have to play a game under very specific conditions for the game to actually be fun (i.e., "Oh, you just need 3 friends, and to only play the multiplayer, and make sure it's after 7 pm on a Tuesday while you wear a hat") Okay, I may have exaggerated a little bit, but you get the point ;)

[budz]

I wasn't gonna get C:HoD anyway! From the looks of it, I don't think MNC is gonna be so hot either (GoW ripoff?) but I'd at least try the demo for that. It sounds like the C:HoD demo isn't even worth my hard drive space! :)

[dubbfoolio]

I got to say I'm a little exhausted on the Castlevania franchise. They took a good thing and beat us over the head with it repeatedly.

[misterine]

The worst part about nyc is when you have to wait for the train... on broadway laf, and west 4th.. it gets to like 100 degrees down there horrible..

Which apple store did you go to?
Because the one in soho that i go to they are really nice...
When your late for your appointment you have 15 mins until they cancel it
but 1 hour late.. what asshole -.-

[Z_meista]

Gamestop and Steam cater to different audiences (as of now). There's no way you can compare the 2. Wow, Wombat, are you starting to become a high rolla? Buying $90 tea? Wow.

I have been playing with DQ IX as well. I must say this game is pretty addictive.

Someone needs to make gifs of you fatalities!

[KingBroly]

I definitely agree with Shipwreck that Wombat would like the game, mainly since there's a ton of customization/dress-up. Also Shipwreck, the Alchemy Pot is in the Stornway Inn, along with pretty much everything else multiplayer related.

[apathylad]

I definitely agree with Shipwreck that Wombat would like the game, mainly since there's a ton of customization/dress-up. Also Shipwreck, the Alchemy Pot is in the Stornway Inn, along with pretty much everything else multiplayer related.

Also, when you learn the Zoom spell you can teleport to old towns instantly.

[drew327]

With steam somehow working their way onto the PS3, they could begin a console presence that a few years from now could really compete with Gamestops sales.

[shipwreck]

I've had the Zoom spell for awhile, so I guess I should go get the pot.

[ShinAkumA21]

i totally disagree! Castlevania HD is a Fun game especially when you're playing with 6 friends on the mic. in the beginning its hard to get into because you'll start with nothing, but once you start looting for the goods with your friends it get better.

i have a feeling the reason wombat and shipwreck didn't like it because they didn't get free review code for it, if you follow them on twitter you know what i'm talking about

[easper]

I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss the idea that Gamestop and Steam are competitors. They sell different kinds of games, but they're still competing for the same hardcore gamer dollars and time. I never considered myself a PC gamer, but I got sucked into those crazy Steam sales. Gamestop may be safe for now, but once downloadable games really take off, they'd better have a plan to take on Steam and services like OnLive.

Oh, and damn you guys for getting me so hyped for Family Feud. Fingers crossed this post will be a winner. Survey says?

[CaptainJoel]

Just finished the show and Wombat, you give realllly, realllly great relationship advice! Have you ever thought of having your own column in a newspaper or something to dole out relationship advice?

[shipwreck]

i totally disagree! Castlevania HD is a Fun game especially when you're playing with 6 friends on the mic. in the beginning its hard to get into because you'll start with nothing, but once you start looting for the goods with your friends it get better.

i have a feeling the reason wombat and shipwreck didn't like it because they didn't get free review code for it, if you follow them on twitter you know what i'm talking about

Actually, we both did get free review codes for Castlevania HD. Our feelings are strictly on our time playing the game. There's little reason for me to feel like I should get loot when I've seen everything the game has to offer in an hour.

[dohmai]

Wombat I used to live right next to Penn Station years ago. Is that awesome KMART still in there? That's where I'd hang. It's got multiple stories yo.

How many times a month do you eat at the White Castle/Church's Chicken combo store on 34th? Get a sack from WC and some honey biscuits from CC and relax inside Kmart. Nothing beats that on a hot NYC day.

[megaman1421]

Hey wombat I think you should just update your ps3 right now cause if you keep putting it off you'll never update it XD It probably won't be as bad as you think, the game update will atleast be quick.

Also Cheapy, that movie quote at 1:28:18, isn't it from robocop? The guy, I think his name is Clarence, says that.

[KingCrow02]

Top Winner.... ME!!

[The Great BM]

Great show, as usual. Though I am a bit surprised there was no mention of Comic-con. I know it was almost 2 weeks ago, but with Wombat's love of comics and some gaming news coming out of there, I expected to hear a little commentary on it. Oh well, no big deal.

As for Limbo being "scary", there could be an argument made for that. When one goes through the game for the first time, you might not know what kind of trap awaits your character. There were moments where I was unexpectedly killed and it caught me off guard. I'm not saying I soiled myself, but I was kind of startled.

[beard_of_zeus]

Actually, we both did get free review codes for Castlevania HD. Our feelings are strictly on our time playing the game. There's little reason for me to feel like I should get loot when I've seen everything the game has to offer in an hour.

Exactly. It seems like the game quickly devolves into grinding and looting just for the sake of it.

[Danimal]

I haven't touched my PS3 in quite a while for exactly the same reason as Wombat. Sometimes what I'll do if I know I have an update that will take forever to download, I'll start it, then switch inputs on my TV and play my 360 for a couple hours. If I'm lucky, when I finish up with the 360, the PS3 update is done and I'm ready for some Sony gaming. There have been times where this does not get me through the whole update, though.

[Falion]

I wish I could say I disagree with Wombat and Boatcrash about Castlevania HD, but from what I've played so far, it's a very frustrating experience.

I also agree with Wombat about the annoyance of the PS3 updates. A while back, I tried to start up a single game of MLB 10 with a friend, and the hour-long update tried to start. I canceled out of it, but it popped up every few minutes, and eventually caused me to accidentally exit the game in the 6th inning.

[jkanownik]

I don't agree with Cheapy's comments on Starcraft 2 because he is mixing feelings on the multiplayer with single player. If you completely remove multiplayer from the picture you are still left with a full featured single player game that is worthwhile for everyone to play. The single player campaign is extremely approachable for casual or non-RTS fans. Normal difficulty is pretty easy and does not require much micro-management at all. It can be played with just a mouse without having to learn build orders or hot keys.

I've never learned a build order in my life and hate playing multiplayer in RTS's, but I'm in love with the single player campaign in Starcraft 2. The presentation is awesome and the missions are extremely varied. A casual player will easily get 15-20 hours out of the campaign with another 5-10 hours of normal difficulty game play available if they want to go back and get all of the achievements (which are very well done).

There's additional single player game play available on top of that if you want to really get into it and play the challenges and then try moving up to hard difficulty to get the achievements there. You can also do skirmishes against AI.

[Monsta Mack]

I'm loving Castlevania HD, but I have to agree it has a LOT of issues - mainly not telling you what the hell to do, and creating lobbies where you can only play the highest level everyones completed. Other then that I am having a lot of fun, I think It's pretty obvious It's a love it or hate it game though lol.

[Microshock]

Glad that Cheapy stopped making dumb excuses like "Ooooh my wrists hurt" or "It's too complicated" or "I JUST DONT UNDERSTAND HOW TO USE THE KEYBOARD TO MOVE MY CHARACTER" in reference to PC gaming.

Oh wait, that last excuse was Wombats.
I remember Cheapy saying something about going out with Major Nelson and building himself a great gaming PC about 3 years ago in 2007.

Now you're resorting to playing on mid settings on a Mac? Shameful.
Very disappointed in Shipwreck, he wastes so much time on games that no one cares about like Clash of the Titans or Despicable Me on DS, but A PC/MAC game? NO WAY THAT IS THE DEVIL IN THE SHIPWRECK RESIDENCE.

I didn't know video game reviewers would actively NOT play the biggest games out there. And at the moment, Starcraft 2 is the biggest game out there. But no no, go back to playing Little League Baseball!

As for the Steam vs Gamestop argument, I think there is some competition. They are both places that sell games like Cheapy said. And Gamestop obviously feels compelled enough by Steam to have their own Digital store for PC games online.

Whoever is working on firmware updates on the PS3 needs to stop focusing on stuff like video editors, improved photo galleries and more PS store icons on the XMB, but to get the experience closer to the 360.

I have had only a PS3 for the past 3 years and am getting a 360 next month for Halo Reach, but even I know how frustrating it is to watch 360 users have useful features added while we're STILL waiting for basic stuff

[bjkrautk]

Sometimes what I'll do if I know I have an update that will take forever to download, I'll start it, then switch inputs on my TV and play my 360 for a couple hours. If I'm lucky, when I finish up with the 360, the PS3 update is done and I'm ready for some Sony gaming.

This is essentially what I was going to recommend to Wombat. Let your PS3 update while you're watching TV, playing on another console, or just sleeping. (If memory serves, you can set your PS3 to shut itself off after the update completes.)

[usickenme]

Listening to Cheapy and Wombat argue over Steam vs GameStop was really annoying. Wombat was completely right.

It depends on the consumer. Some people aren't so platform specific and actually play both PC and console games.

I only have so much much and time, more time than not when I want a new game (regardless of system) it is cheaper and easier to browse steam than go to gamestop. Not to mention Steam has such great deals it is hard to ignore them.

Playstation network has really halted any PSP purchases for me.

Apple stores do seem to be full of the worst kind of douches in the country.

Yes Wombat mentioned he went to one.

[Smallville123]

Show me.......family feud game code!

[BannedEpisode]

Wombat was right about the gamestop/steam argument.

If there is any competition it is minimal. I know what Cheapy was trying to say about Steam but he really argued it in a poor way.

[willc23]

Wombat nailed my experience with Limbo. So much so that I had to go back and listen to it again. Our little Wombat took it to a new level. I REALLY enjoyed the outdoor section of the game, to the point of actually chuckling at the cheekiness of a death and nodding in approval at the puzzles and overall platforming experience. However, when it moved "inside", the vibe changed for me. Not necessarily for the worse, but different.

Nevertheless, I am glad I bought the game and don't feel like I overpaid. Got my moneys worth when my 9 year old daughter said she wanted to play. I warned her that it was pretty rough, but she argued that she had seen worse in Borderlands. The first set of bear traps got her and she dropped the controller in shock and ran out of the room. She does not come in to watch when I am playing it now.

Excellent show fellas!

[evildeadjedi]

This is essentially what I was going to recommend to Wombat. Let your PS3 update while you're watching TV, playing on another console, or just sleeping. (If memory serves, you can set your PS3 to shut itself off after the update completes.)

Exactly, and yes you can set the ps3 to shut off after the update.

[Thevoiceinyourhead]

Whilst I agree with Wombat on the fact that Steam and Gamestop aren't direct competitors at this point, I think Cheapy meant that in 5-6 years when most console games are bought as digital copies Gamestop are going to lose a lot of money, so they really need to try to invest in a company like Valve. However I don't think Valve would sell for any price Gamestop could afford to offer.

[gameboykid14]

Solid episode as always.

[TooMuchCoolness]

How old is Wombat, cause he soounds like a happy go lucky kid

[Blackout]

Good show guys.

Limbo is the gaming media's new darling. Whenever this happens, they completely love whatever game it is and sweep any real problems with it or criticisms under the rug.

Wombat, just leave your PS3 on while it or a game updates and go do something else. It's ridiculous that people have to do that, but the problem's never going away. I can't stand the updates either, but that's no excuse for not using the system.

[DarkZion]

It depends on the consumer. Some people aren't so platform specific and actually play both PC and console games.

I only have so much much and time, more time than not when I want a new game (regardless of system) it is cheaper and easier to browse steam than go to gamestop. Not to mention Steam has such great deals it is hard to ignore them.

Playstation network has really halted any PSP purchases for me.

I don't consider them to be competitors when Steam only offers PC games. I do understand that they both sell PC games, but GameStop still offers console games, which tends to be their main focus for sales.

It's like saying a grocery store is a competitor to a hardware store because they both sell 20 ounce bottles of sodas by their cash registers.

However, if Steam ever sells console games via digital download, I would definitely consider them to be direct competitors.

[hpv]

Survey says... HPV GETS A CODE!

[KingBroly]

Actually, we both did get free review codes for Castlevania HD. Our feelings are strictly on our time playing the game. There's little reason for me to feel like I should get loot when I've seen everything the game has to offer in an hour.

In screenshots leaked a few months ago, I want to say in May sometime, they had the level Chapter select screen, and it showed that the game at one point had a leveling system. Why on Earth they took it out is still beyond me :S

I should've asked DesertEagle if I could play with you guys to show off my awesome, overpowered Shanoa skills. But then it would've meant everyone being dumped from the party and having everyone be reinvited.

[Kezmer]

With regards to Darksiders, I want to say there is NO SHAME in playing games on easy. When I was in high school with a SNES/Genesis I had all the time in the world to figure out every little place to hide to beat the games on hard.

I just don't have that luxury of time anymore, there are only so many hours a week I can devote to gaming. I don't want to spend that time replaying the same boss or level. At first it is a huge ego hit to realize you just aren't as good at games anymore. I just want a good story, and would like to see the ending someday.

I thank the developers for putting that easy mode in for people that are like me so we do not have to totally abandon the hobby we grew up with.

[evildeadjedi]

There are only two areas where GS and Steam compete for sales. First, obviously with PC games since both offer digital games (Steam absolutely destroys GS in this area).

The second on a lesser scale, for games on multiple platforms like Fallout 3, Mass Effect, Dragon Age Origins, Bioshock, Elder Scrolls Oblivion, etc.

If a gamer has both a console and powerful PC, many will choose the PC version over the console one.

One thing that sways the decision is if Steam offers a sale price and/or 4 pack deal typically people choose the cheaper option which would be Steam.

For example, many CAGs took advantage of a Steam deal for a pre-order of Bioshock 2. They offered a 4 pack deal with a free copy of Bioshock 1 for each person. My total I believe was 28.46 for the two games. Currently, you still can't find a deal that cheap on any platform for those two titles.

GS and Steam are not direct competitors in all areas but, they are in others.

[Microshock]

To add to the Steam vs Gamestop thing. They're only competitors in the digital PC game selling realm. Gamestop has a store and Steam has a store for that.

Steam will probably never ever sell console games because I doubt Sony or Microsoft want to share profits with Valve. And it's not like Steam offers much benefit over PSN/Xbox Live for game downloading.

[Cao Cao]

:lol: Why, it looks like Castlevania may have your favoritest thing in the world: paid DLC that is potentially built into the original download.
http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2010/08/castlevania-leaks/

[RichMeisterMan]

To add to the Steam vs Gamestop thing. They're only competitors in the digital PC game selling realm. Gamestop has a store and Steam has a store for that.

Steam will probably never ever sell console games because I doubt Sony or Microsoft want to share profits with Valve. And it's not like Steam offers much benefit over PSN/Xbox Live for game downloading.

Steam's stance on digital distribution totally trounces that of PSN and XBLM. When you buy a game on steam it's yours and truly is yours. You can go to your friends house and just log into your steam account and then have access to all your games. The Steam model of digital distribution is the future. I think it's perfect.

Xbox and PSN will do better when they stop charging for the novelty of downloading a video game. Not to mention there isn't enough competition with the PSN and XBLM games because so many of them are exclusives. Steam is more than competitive with their pricing because they compete with every other retailer that sells PC games.

:lol: Why, it looks like Castlevania may have your favoritest thing in the world: paid DLC that is potentially built into the original download.
http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2010/08/castlevania-leaks/

You know, 4MB really isn't that small considering this is a 2D game. Small would be KB. Like in Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion when you were downloading whole quest sets and hide outs at like 72kb. Now that's bull shit.

[Microshock]

Steam's stance on digital distribution totally trounces that of PSN and XBLM. When you buy a game on steam it's yours and truly is yours. You can go to your friends house and just log into your steam account and then have access to all your games. The Steam model of digital distribution is the future. I think it's perfect.

Xbox and PSN will do better when they stop charging for the novelty of downloading a video game. Not to mention there isn't enough competition with the PSN and XBLM games because so many of them are exclusives. Steam is more than competitive with their pricing because they compete with every other retailer that sells PC games.



You know, 4MB really isn't that small considering this is a 2D game. Small would be KB. Like in Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion when you were downloading whole quest sets and hide outs at like 72kb. Now that's bull shit.

Yeah it'd be perfect if when you bought a game on Steam, you could sell the license, trade the license or just give away the license.

But you can't. So that makes it imperfect. The lack of a box, manual and disc also affects stuff.

[RichMeisterMan]

Yeah it'd be perfect if when you bought a game on Steam, you could sell the license, trade the license or just give away the license.

But you can't. So that makes it imperfect. The lack of a box, manual and disc also affects stuff.

No one is ever going to offer you a transferable license for things you buy digitally. It's just not going to happen.

A box manual or disc? Really? The value of a game is in the content. Not the box, manual or physical disc. Not to mention that's stuff that gets lost and scratched. The conveinience of steam more than makes up for the lack of a physical game/disc/case/manual. At one point I used to be all wrapped up in having that stuff. Then I got Steam, and I don't buy PC games at the store and I try not to buy them anywhere but steam because it's convenient to have all your PC games in one easy place that has a universal friends list.

Are you even a steam user? You should try it before you knock it. Because in the end it's the deals that are the biggest draw. There are constantly great deals on great games.

[Microshock]

No one is ever going to offer you a transferable license for things you buy digitally. It's just not going to happen.

A box manual or disc? Really? The value of a game is in the content. Not the box, manual or physical disc. Not to mention that's stuff that gets lost and scratched. The conveinience of steam more than makes up for the lack of a physical game/disc/case/manual. At one point I used to be all wrapped up in having that stuff. Then I got Steam, and I don't buy PC games at the store and I try not to buy them anywhere but steam because it's convenient to have all your PC games in one easy place that has a universal friends list.

Are you even a steam user? You should try it before you knock it. Because in the end it's the deals that are the biggest draw. There are constantly great deals on great games.

Please don't try to sell me on Steam. I've been a member for a while and have over 40 games on it.
It doesn't mean it's a perfect program. If you buy a license, IT SHOULD BE transferable. I mean it is your license. Also, if you buy duplicates of a game, they don't even give you an extra copy of it most of the time. Such cases happens when you buy bundles on sale. It's ridiculous.

Yeah go down to a store or a person and try to sell your "content" without a disc, box or a manual. There's value in physical media and people shopping exclusively digital are too shortsighted to see what will happen if all of it disappears. Certainly not in CheapyD's best interest either.

So until digital content has just as much value as physical media does, Steam is not perfect. It's nice and all. It's my only choice for playing CS:S and TF2. But I stopped buying from there after I bought Killing Floor and it was total garbage and I can't do ANYTHING with it.

[cgarb84]

So until digital content has just as much value as physical media does, Steam is not perfect. It's nice and all. It's my only choice for playing CS:S and TF2. But I stopped buying from there after I bought Killing Floor and it was total garbage and I can't do ANYTHING with it.

Wait how is digital content ever going to have the same value as physical media? What could a virtual product possibly do extra to have the same value as a game, box, and manual you can physically hold and touch? They aren't the same things and never will be. There are people out there who really like to have physical media and don't like digital downloads as much and thats fine. But with the expansion of broadband Internet across the world digital looks to be the future. I don't seem to hear as many people who watch movies digitally complain about this stuff as much as gamers do. If you don't like digital media now I don't think you ever will, what could be done to change your mind? I think it's the idea that gets most people, paying and owning something that isn't a physical thing you can see and touch turns some people off. There is no way digital downloads can rectify that problem, at least not that I can see.

[RichMeisterMan]

Please don't try to sell me on Steam. I've been a member for a while and have over 40 games on it.
It doesn't mean it's a perfect program. If you buy a license, IT SHOULD BE transferable. I mean it is your license. Also, if you buy duplicates of a game, they don't even give you an extra copy of it most of the time. Such cases happens when you buy bundles on sale. It's ridiculous.

Yeah go down to a store or a person and try to sell your "content" without a disc, box or a manual. There's value in physical media and people shopping exclusively digital are too shortsighted to see what will happen if all of it disappears. Certainly not in CheapyD's best interest either.

So until digital content has just as much value as physical media does, Steam is not perfect. It's nice and all. It's my only choice for playing CS:S and TF2. But I stopped buying from there after I bought Killing Floor and it was total garbage and I can't do ANYTHING with it.

If you get a game that you already own via a pack or something you can gift the game. Or you can even sell/trade it here on CAG. So you do get an extra copy.

Is there some underground market for used PC games that I don't know about? Gamestop doesn't even take in PC games and DRM prevents resell from being a legitimate option over buying new. Even before the days of oppressive DRM you couldn't even return a PC game to most retailers for anything other than another copy of the same game due to pirating.

Of course it would be awesome if I could sell copies of games on STEAM that I don't play or want anymore, but it would also be awesome if I could walk onto a car lot get into any car I wanted and drive off the lot with it. Let's be realistic though. It's not like some other digital game service offers you the right to sell your games, and seeing as how we live in a world of greed no company is ever going to offer you that opportunity. And if it did ever happen it wouldn't be up to Steam it would be up to individual publishers.

I'm not talking about buying digital media on platforms with no competition; like XBLM and PSN. Buying their full xbox and playstation games digitally is a stupid move on virtually all fronts because you can usually buy those game new at the store for cheaper or with bonus content for just a tad more than what you will buy it for on their respective networks. Or you can pick it up used for oodles less than their digital price point.

In the case of the console buying digitally is absolutely a mistake. Considering that there's not much of a market for used PC games and Steam's competitive pricing though there are obvious advantaged to buying digitally and especially on Steam. Which while not meeting everyone's standard of "perfection" I think it's safe to say that it's one of the best digital distribution models there is right now and a damned good one at that.

[Davestation]

Actually, we both did get free review codes for Castlevania HD. Our feelings are strictly on our time playing the game. There's little reason for me to feel like I should get loot when I've seen everything the game has to offer in an hour.


That is how Castlevania games plays, you level up your character to go beat the shit out of the boss. You get random luck drops and want to evolve and upgrade. So are you saying that you are not a fan of the series? I recall Wombat saying that, but if you play through the first level and eventually upgrade it makes the game easier. The only thing I do not like about it is the time limit, I would rather they give you a grade for how long it takes you to beat a level. The game is a blast with friends. Well, I am not going to say you are crazy for not liking the game but each their own. Also, the first boss is not cheap, if you took the other path you would not have to worry about being attacked by all the enemies when you fall beacuase you will defeat them on your way up there. I did that co-op with a friend and he took one way and I took the other and we where trying to get all the chests and stuff. It is by far my favorite LIVE game I have purchased, though I have yet to play Shadow Complex...

[Fjordson]

Great episode, guys. Cheapy's thought about Steam selling console games in the future got me pretty excited. A hub-like retailer with the support and selection of Steam for console games would be great.

And I agree with Ship and Wombat about Castlevania. Extremely dull.

[shipwreck]

That is how Castlevania games plays, you level up your character to go beat the shit out of the boss. You get random luck drops and want to evolve and upgrade. So are you saying that you are not a fan of the series? I recall Wombat saying that, but if you play through the first level and eventually upgrade it makes the game easier. The only thing I do not like about it is the time limit, I would rather they give you a grade for how long it takes you to beat a level. The game is a blast with friends. Well, I am not going to say you are crazy for not liking the game but each their own. Also, the first boss is not cheap, if you took the other path you would not have to worry about being attacked by all the enemies when you fall beacuase you will defeat them on your way up there. I did that co-op with a friend and he took one way and I took the other and we where trying to get all the chests and stuff. It is by far my favorite LIVE game I have purchased, though I have yet to play Shadow Complex...

As per usual, I think you are insane. To clarify though, I think I've played and beaten every Castlevania game that has released in North America. Even the crappy 3D games. Harmony of Despair is crappier than the crappy 3D games. In closing, purchase more Live Arcade games. (And looking at the ones you have played, you are saying this is better than Symphony of the Night, Ikaruga, and Pac-Man C.E.)

[Khalid]

He said favorite not better. You can have a favorite game without being the best.

[DarkNessBear]

Good show!

[Davestation]

As per usual, I think you are insane. To clarify though, I think I've played and beaten every Castlevania game that has released in North America. Even the crappy 3D games. Harmony of Despair is crappier than the crappy 3D games. In closing, purchase more Live Arcade games. (And looking at the ones you have played, you are saying this is better than Symphony of the Night, Ikaruga, and Pac-Man C.E.)


Okay, I just was not aware of your status on the series. I just like that Konami found a way to integrate co-op in the Castlevania series. I have enjoyed all the 3D PS2 games, the N64 games where garbage. We just have different tastes and there is nothing wrong with that and I am not the type of asshole is going to say you are retarded for not liking a game.

You played it by yourself, you played it with friends and you did not like it. I was just trying to understand the exact history of you and the series. I am trying to figure out what kind of gamer you are. Do you like Mega Man? I am getting the assumption that you are not a fan of "Hard" games (i.e. Demon Souls) and you also made a point to say that Castlevania HoD was "Cheap". So if you are the type of guy that does not like "Cheap" or hard games I would understand why you do not like certain games better. I hate "Cheap" games but do not mind hard games. Demon Souls is awesome in my opinion, but many of my friends find it too hard or some say its "cheap". I just say that the game is hard, not cheap. Mario Kart is a cheap game in my opinion...

Also, Ikaruga, and Castlevania Symphony of the Night are ports and not Live originals (I was referring to original games). I have a few games that I have purchased but forgot I owned and have not gotten around to playing them. The only one that I am interested in is Castle Crashers, but I only have paid $15 for one Live game and that was for Castlevania HoD. I do not like Micro$oft$ 1200 point pricing for Digital Downloads. I went to Target today and I got Alone in the Dark for $4.98, You are in the movies (with shit camera) for $4.98, and Tekken 6 for $9.98. So for $5.00 more I got three games. So why would I want to go out and buy "Digital Copies" from Microsoft when they have the worst "Sales" in Digital Marketplace (I do not go and buy stuff on the Wii often, but I think they never have sales so I guess Microsoft has the second worse sales in digital downloads?). As a consumer I would rather spend money on itunes or PSN.

EDIT - Wombat is right, Steam is not a major competitor to Gamestop. Thats just like comparing one Pimp pimping females while another pimp pimps trans-sexuals, sure both pimps are offering sex but it is to different markets and different clientele.

[Microshock]

If you get a game that you already own via a pack or something you can gift the game. Or you can even sell/trade it here on CAG. So you do get an extra copy.

Is there some underground market for used PC games that I don't know about? Gamestop doesn't even take in PC games and DRM prevents resell from being a legitimate option over buying new. Even before the days of oppressive DRM you couldn't even return a PC game to most retailers for anything other than another copy of the same game due to pirating.

Of course it would be awesome if I could sell copies of games on STEAM that I don't play or want anymore, but it would also be awesome if I could walk onto a car lot get into any car I wanted and drive off the lot with it. Let's be realistic though. It's not like some other digital game service offers you the right to sell your games, and seeing as how we live in a world of greed no company is ever going to offer you that opportunity. And if it did ever happen it wouldn't be up to Steam it would be up to individual publishers.

I'm not talking about buying digital media on platforms with no competition; like XBLM and PSN. Buying their full xbox and playstation games digitally is a stupid move on virtually all fronts because you can usually buy those game new at the store for cheaper or with bonus content for just a tad more than what you will buy it for on their respective networks. Or you can pick it up used for oodles less than their digital price point.

In the case of the console buying digitally is absolutely a mistake. Considering that there's not much of a market for used PC games and Steam's competitive pricing though there are obvious advantaged to buying digitally and especially on Steam. Which while not meeting everyone's standard of "perfection" I think it's safe to say that it's one of the best digital distribution models there is right now and a damned good one at that.

www.greenmangaming.com
They let you trade in your digitally bought games.
Your problem is that you're so blinded by Steam's conveniences, is that you don't see their downsides. You said its PERFECT when its NOT.

If Steam sells you digital licenses, then I should be able to do what I want with that license including sell it, trade it or give it away. Until that happens, it's never perfect.

By the way, trading PC games is quite popular on Goozex and other sites.

Also, once again, people who only buy digitally are blinded by the huge downsides that will happen if everything goes digital. No one will own anything.

[jkanownik]

www.greenmangaming.com (http://www.greenmangaming.com)
They let you trade in your digitally bought games.

How is buying Trine for $7.30 and then trading it in for $1.46 better than paying $4 or $5 for Trine on Steam?

[shipwreck]

Hard games do not bother me. Repetition with no progress or little reward is what I can't stand in games. I find poor overall game structure simply unacceptable in regards to save systems, inventory management, and checkpoints. If I feel like the game is actively trying to screw me over, I detest it. So it's not the difficulty in gameplay that gets to me, it's the constraints that hinder a lot of games and make them unfriendly to play.

[RichMeisterMan]

www.greenmangaming.com (http://www.greenmangaming.com)
They let you trade in your digitally bought games.
Your problem is that you're so blinded by Steam's conveniences, is that you don't see their downsides. You said its PERFECT when its NOT.

If Steam sells you digital licenses, then I should be able to do what I want with that license including sell it, trade it or give it away. Until that happens, it's never perfect.

By the way, trading PC games is quite popular on Goozex and other sites.

Also, once again, people who only buy digitally are blinded by the huge downsides that will happen if everything goes digital. No one will own anything.

I don't think comparing green man gaming which has roughly 243 games available for sale to Steam, which has 1100+ games for sale, is a very good comparison. The site you linked me too doesn't really seem to get popular titles either; No Mass Effect, Battle Field, Elder Scrolls, etc.

Not to mention it appears you get a one time download ticket when you buy games from them (I gathered this from the terms of service). So if your computer crashes I guess tough shit or at the very least jumping through a bunch of hoops by talking to their tech support? Steam though I can just install steam, log into my account, and BOOM there are all my games I just have to reinstall them and deal with lost saved files.

Goozex well take PC games, but not all of them. Like Battlefield Bad Company 2, Starcraft II, and Assassin's Creed 2 for instance; due to DRM I assume. DRM is only getting worse so as the years go by I imagine more and more games will become unable to be traded through goozex.

Don't get so wrapped up in my onetime nonchalant use of the word, "perfect". You are obviously opposed to digital distribution on the whole. I think if you ask people that are fans of digital distribution though, or people that are indifferent about it, if Steam has a good digital distribution model a lot of them would say it does indeed have a good system. Fine, it's not perfect, you got me, but shit...what in this world is perfect?

[Microshock]

I don't think comparing green man gaming which has roughly 243 games available for sale to Steam, which has 1100+ games for sale, is a very good comparison. The site you linked me too doesn't really seem to get popular titles either; No Mass Effect, Battle Field, Elder Scrolls, etc.

Not to mention it appears you get a one time download ticket when you buy games from them (I gathered this from the terms of service). So if your computer crashes I guess tough shit or at the very least jumping through a bunch of hoops by talking to their tech support? Steam though I can just install steam, log into my account, and BOOM there are all my games I just have to reinstall them and deal with lost saved files.

Goozex well take PC games, but not all of them. Like Battlefield Bad Company 2, Starcraft II, and Assassin's Creed 2 for instance; due to DRM I assume. DRM is only getting worse so as the years go by I imagine more and more games will become unable to be traded through goozex.

Don't get so wrapped up in my onetime nonchalant use of the word, "perfect". You are obviously opposed to digital distribution on the whole. I think if you ask people that are fans of digital distribution though, or people that are indifferent about it, if Steam has a good digital distribution model a lot of them would say it does indeed have a good system. Fine, it's not perfect, you got me, but shit...what in this world is perfect?

I'm not opposed to it. Don't stuff your garbage in my mouth. I just don't want it taking over anything. Hard copies of games will always rule regardless if everyone in the world gets broadband because people want to own something.
Doesn't help that a huge majority of the cable providers in the US have caps.

Also, you asked if there was any digital distro that let you sell or trade games and I gave you one. It's not better than Steam but it does something Steam doesn't.
PC Gaming is very imperfect in general now.

[RichMeisterMan]

I'm not opposed to it. Don't stuff your garbage in my mouth. I just don't want it taking over anything. Hard copies of games will always rule regardless if everyone in the world gets broadband because people want to own something.
Doesn't help that a huge majority of the cable providers in the US have caps.

Also, you asked if there was any digital distro that let you sell or trade games and I gave you one. It's not better than Steam but it does something Steam doesn't.
PC Gaming is very imperfect in general now.

Oh so you aren't opposed to it but you completely trash it? If it quacks like a duck and walks like a duck...

Green Man Gaming's only option is to trade back the game to them; I hardly count that as free rein over the content and yeah, it does something steam doesn't but without the games it's a totally moot point. Goozex, as I said, doesn't take all games and the list of games it doesn't take will only grow larger.

I guess there will always be a market for hard copies, but I don't feel the need to own my games in the same sense that you do. My life is no more or less fulfilled by the fact that my copy of Starcraft II only exists digitally.

[Davestation]

So when will you have your review up for Castlevnia Shipwreck? I am eager to read in detail what you did not like. I assume you are waiting to beat the game before you give it a full review. I wonder if you will change your perspective as you play it and beat it. Looking forward to the review!

[shipwreck]

Castlevania review will be up in the next day or so. I'm not sure I'm going to beat it. I've gotten to the last boss and died twice and I'm not sure what actually defeating him would add to the review.

[KingBroly]

Castlevania review will be up in the next day or so. I'm not sure I'm going to beat it. I've gotten to the last boss and died twice and I'm not sure what actually defeating him would add to the review.

The names of the developers you could possibly hunt down? Dracula is pretty pedestrian I think (I can beat about 50% on the time on Hard by myself now).

[VaultDweller13]

Thanks for the Rhode Island love Wombat! Coffee milk is in fact our state drink. Other cool Rhode Island facts are we call water fountains bubblers, submarine sandwiches grinders, our state bird is the Rhode Island Red, a chicken, and the Big Blue Bug (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Blue_Bug) is our movie-famous (Dumb and Dumber) best landmark.

[FriskyTanuki]

I tried out the Castlevania HD demo and wasn't all that impressed at all for a $15 game. It was slow due to starting out with a blank slate that can't do much damage, so I eventually died before finishing off the boss and gave up. I'd think about it for $10 and will just wait for a sale before considering it again.

The updated rosters for Madden NFL Arcade sucked because of the favoritism they showed to rookies, so they generally made recently drafted players starters in the game even if they're going to be third or second string in real life. I decided to not update the game when I saw that Tim Tebow was the QB for Denver when he's not anywhere close to being the backup.

I'm guessing that people would be okay with the NBA Jam/NBA Elite 11 bundle if this was being done next year and not right around the same time as NBA Jam coming to the Wii like Dead Space Extraction with Dead Space 2 on the PS3.

Sony fixed the system updates so that they just patch the OS now instead of have you redownload the OS, so it took me just five minutes to update versus 20 minutes or so like previous PSN and XBL updates. If you don't just ignore your system for months at a time, then you won't have any update issues. It does suck to want to play a game with a friend or online and see that you missed an update, which happened for me with Bad Company 2 on the Xbox 360 recently. DICE released a huge mandatory update to play online that took at least an hour to download before I could play, so I ended up playing some single-player before just leveling up my assault class and quitting.

I searched on Metacritic for a Limbo review that mentioned horror and Cheapy was apparently talking about the Gamesradar review, which I saw on their front page that three of their five featured articles are stupid lists about haikus, sex, and fast games that told me not to take anything they say seriously.

I'm still trying to figure out how to put my DS in tag modein DQIX, though I'm 99% sure I wouldn't get anything from it anyway. It sucks to have interesting ideas like that be basically worthless in the west, so Square Enix should've taken a feature from MGS Portable Ops and based the map generation on Wifi hotspots that are around you and not other people with DQIX in tag mode in their DS.

Good show.

[Oburi]

Great show this week.

[mclazyj]

Forgive me if this is a bit of a repeat, but I have not had the time to read through the entire thread yet. When I heard the disagreement between Cheapy D and Wombat regarding Gamestop, I had to agree with Cheapy.

See, Gamestop actually started a Digital Download service for games a few years ago, to compete directly with Steam. It works similarly to Direct2Drive. Gamersgate, etc. Now, is this a huge threat to Steam? Probably not, but it was something they set up to compete more directly with Steam.

Now if you are talking the brick and mortar Gamestop shelves vs Steam, Wombat is correct. PC Gaming sections in Gamestop have become like the porn section in a video store. You have to go to the back in a corner of the store, and everyone looks at you like you are a pervert. And then when you finally get to the generic, unmarked section of PC Games, the boxes look like complete shit, and they end up leaving half the contents in the package, INCLUDING SERIAL NUMBERS. Score one for Gamestop on that one. I pointed this out to their corporate stores in an article I wrote awhile back and basically told me it was not happening, even though I had pictures from 15 different stores. GRRRR!