Come on over and let me spin you a tale. A tale of a game from the far West who took the concepts of choice championed by a King of RPG’s and showed them that success and money had clouded their once grand vision of what choice really was in RPG’s. This upstart showed that choice was more than just a character swap on a narrow quest line that ends with picking one of three colors. This is the tale of CD Projekt Red and Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition.

As long-time listeners of Checkmate Arcade know, I had always wanted to try the Witcher series to scratch that Baldur’s Gate itch and see what the fuss was about on this game but having a PC built in 2003 meant I did not have the capability to play it. I even bought Witcher 1 on clearance at GameStop on Black Friday 2010 just so I would have a copy to play someday when I did get a better PC. That better PC came in fall 2011 and with all the games out on console to play and talk about on Checkmate Arcade and the...

Beating the CAGCast by one week, it's the Checkmate Arcade spoilercast for Mass Effect 3! Featuring myself and regular Checkmate Arcade co-host darkbossman, along with CAG's The Crotch, Joe2187, and Spybreaker; we discuss our feelings for not only the series as a whole, but our experiences with ME 3 proper. With 5 people, it's a crazy time that's sure to entertain.

Checkmate Arcade is available on ITunes and the Zune Marketplace, but those needing the RSS feed for the episode can go here: http://realmworx.hipcast.com/deluge/...3c81dc5c6e.mp3

If you have feedback for this episode or any of our 150-plus episodes over the last 4 plus years, please email checkmatearcade at gmail dot com or post in the comments below. Thanks for listening!

Tonight at midnight is the deadline to enter the 4th annual Golden King Award contest to win a $20 points card for the console of your choice from the podcast. Details on the contest are on my previous blog here: http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/blog.php?b=23475

It's time once again for the 2011 Golden King Awards as discussed in episode 145 of the Checkmate Arcade. For the 4th consecutive year, you can win a $20 points card to the console of your choice (or up to $20 game on the PC download services) for guessing what Steven and I pick as the best games of the year in our categories.

To enter all you have to do is send an email to checkmatearcade AT gmail.com with your picks as to what Steven and I will say is the best game in each category, and at the end answer the tiebreaker questions if you wish. All entries must be received by midnight on Feb. 12. The format of the email should be something like this for each category:

Best RPG
X- Jason
Y- Steven

If you pick one of our choices correctly, you get 1 pt. If you pick both choices correctly, you get 3 points. There are two categories where only one of us pick (Nintendo and Sony Handheld GotY.) If you correctly guess that pick, it's worth 2 points....

Long-time viewers of CAG know I co-host the Checkmate Arcade podcast, but I also now co-host a 2nd, St. Louis based podcast, the PoWCast. We just started streaming it each Tuesday night at 9:30 p.m. central on Justin.tv. Come by and interact with the show!

http://www.twitch.tv/taipow?format=html

Checkmate Arcade is back with episode 135 where we talk about what the hosts have been playing for the last week, what's going on with game news after Comic Con, and what our top 5 most anticipated games are post E3. Also Steven has to MGS-edit a bunch of cussing from yours truly about Capcom.

But here's what you might be interested in. Follow the directions at the end of our feature segment and you can win a copy of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night on XBox Live Arcade. Note to PSN fanboys/fangirls: we do not get freebies to give away often as this was donated by a listener to the show and fellow CAG so that's why it's XBLA only. Also we gave away a PSN copy of the game last year.

Best place to get the show is ITunes or the Zune Marketplace. Our RSS feed is: http://realmworx.hipcast.com/rss/checkmate_arcade.xml The show notes/archives are also at our British host site www.newbreview.com.

We don't have the same quantity of games we played to talk about on this week's show, but almost all of them are new titles. I played games ranging from 007: Blood Stone to Marvel vs. Capcom 3 to Killzone 3 multiplayer to demos for Dragon Age 2 and Back to the Future. Steven plays some more Left 4 Dead and plays the sequel to a downloadable game he really enjoyed last year, Deathspank: Thongs of Virtue.

We also talk about the week that was in news and (quickly) breakdown the NPD numbers for January 2011.

The show is available via ITunes or the Zune Marketplace If you want to see the show notes or need to listen in your internet browser, you can find that on newbreview.com. If you have any feedback, feel free to leave it here or contacting us via Facebook (Checkmate Arcade), Twiiter (@checkmatearcade) or via email at checkmatearcade@gmail.com. Thanks for listening!

We start off year 4 of CAP with a HUGE amount of games played by yours truly. It ranges from BLOPS, to Mass Effect 2, to WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2011, to Kinect Sports; 18 games in total.

Plus, darkbossman talks about Bionic Commando Rearmed 2, the Crysis MP demo, and a few other things. We also go over the metric ton of news that's happened in the last two weeks.

The show is available via ITunes or the Zune Marketplace If you want to see the show notes or need to listen in your internet browser, you can find that on newbreview.com. If you have any feedback, feel free to leave it here or contacting us via Facebook (Checkmate Arcade), Twiiter (@checkmatearcade) or via email at checkmatearcade@gmail.com. Thanks for listening!

From the editor:
"This is the last we talk about Mass Effect 2 until the new DLC comes out, so we gush a little more. Thankfully we do have some other games to talk about as well.

They include the...

Checkmate Arcade celebrates its 3 year annivesary with the 2010 Golden King Awards with the hosts giving their choices for the best in games in 2010 and also announcing the winner of the Golden King contest!

The show is available via ITunes or the Zune Marketplace If you want to see the show notes or need to listen in your internet browser, you can find that on newbreview.com.

If you have any feedback, feel free to leave it here or contacting us via Facebook (Checkmate Arcade), Twiiter (@checkmatearcade) or via email at checkmatearcade@gmail.com. Thanks for listening!

From the editor:
"For our 3-year anniversary, we talk about the PS2 lanuch lineup, debate the merits of a Zhu Zhu Pets game, name the 2010 Golden King Award winners, and tell you the games coming out in February."

From Jason:
I need to get back in the habit of making a blog post on each episode, but it's hard to keep motivated without FEEDBACK.

Soon we will record episode 120 and reveal our picks for the games of the year in 2010 aka our Golden King Awards.

The show is available via ITunes or the Zune Marketplace If you want to see the show notes or need to listen in your internet browser, you can find that on newbreview.com.

If you have any feedback, feel free to leave it here or contacting us via Facebook (Checkmate Arcade), Twiiter (@checkmatearcade) or via email at checkmatearcade@gmail.com. Thanks for listening!

From the editor:
We return to some of our old favorites this week as we both play Mass Effect 2. Jason plays 2 different Battlefield games and some more Ys Seven. Steven is Enslaved and is forced to play 2 games he doesn't like. Tune in to find out what they were, the news of the week, and the December NPD...

As announced on episode 115, it is time once again for the 3rd annual Golden King Awards where the Checkmate Arcade hosts pick what they think was the best in gaming in 2010. If you know us well enough, you can snatch a $20 points card for the console of your choice.

To enter the contest, simply send an email to checkmatearcade@gmail.com with the subject line contest, and in the following categories, pick what you think Jason and Steven will select as the winner in each category. Entries must be received before the end of 2010, i.e. 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on 12-31-10. Any email after that time will be ineligible. Also picks MUST be sent to our email address. Employees of newbreview.com are ineligible for prizes, but are encouraged to guess our picks also.

An example of how to make your picks:
Best RPG- Jason X, Steven Y

It is VERY important to distinguish your guess for both Jason and Steven, as you get 1 pt. if you guess one of the...

Now before I get started I have to say I have nothing against CAG Cheska, who is clearly in Tier 1 of season 2 of the Tester and I will be SHOCKED if she doesn't make it to the final episode as it's clear she and Scooter have been the two best contestants this season. That being said, I think Sony is clearly in my opinion artifically creating tension by keeping the worst contestant on the show to increase downloads.

On season 1 the most famous of the contestants pre-show was Star, who had previously been on the 1st season of WCG Ultimate Gamer and was also a world-record holder in Guitar Hero. It was crystal clear that in each challenge she performed the worst, but she survived elimination time after time and made it to the next-to-last episode. Now I think Sony is purposefully keeping Big Fazeek on the show to generate interest, at the expense of better people losing.

Now granted this isn't $1M that the contestants are playing for, but it's more important because...

From the editor:

"Duration: 02:58:22
This week we cover the big news from Comic Con San Diego and talk a lot about Gears of War. Some of the games we rap to you about include Gears of War 2, the Medal of Honor beta, Dragon Age: Origins, DeathSpank, and Crackdown 2."

From Jason: "Sorry for the long show this week. Lots of news from before, during, and after Comic Con. Plus we talked quite a bit about Gears 2, MoH beta, and I gabbed a bunch about Dragon Age Origins.

Chase from the Ragtag CAG's joined us for about 2/3 of the show. Also if you stay to the end of the news segment, you will hear something you've never heard in 103 plus episodes of the show. Steven is interested in a simulation sports title!

Look for a MUCH shorter show next week as news has died down so we should be able to squeeze in two features, June NPD's and the retail Games of August in place of the news [ if I have my say ]
...

Skype got all weird at the end of the show, I can't see any reason why. So, Agent, we have a new episode for you this week including good friend of the show Chase of the Ragtag CAG's.

Some of the games we talk about his week include Crackdown 2, Blacklight: Tango Down, Super Street Fighter 4, Magic: The Gathering, and UFC 2010 Undisputed. Tune in for some orb hunting fun, Agent.

The show is available via ITunes or the Zune Marketplace If you want to see the show notes or need to listen in your internet browser, you can find that on newbreview.com.

If you have any feedback, feel free to leave it here or contacting us via Facebook (Checkmate Arcade), Twiiter (@checkmatearcade) or via email at checkmatearcade@gmail.com. Thanks for listening!

- Show Notes [H:MM:SS]
Opening Song (Track 3 - Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia OST)
[0:00:39] - Introductions
[0:02:41] - Chase's Now Playing
[0:34:20] - Jason's...

The Checkmate Arcade video game podcast just reached its milestone 100th episode! A combination of real-life events and trying to schedule episodes around E3 led to an impromptu 3-week break for the hosts.

We originally wanted to have 1 episode, but we spent so much time on what we had been playing the last 3 weeks, we had to split the episode into 2 meaty parts.

Part 1 is talking about games of the last 3 weeks and our special guest for that episode is ragtaggaming.com guru and Ragtag CAG Chase (@chaseorbechased on Twitter) Part 2 is a complete, thorough breakdown of E3 with Ragtag CAG Joe2187 as our special guest.

The show is available via ITunes or the Zune Marketplace If you want to see the show notes or need to listen in your internet browser, you can find that on newbreview.com.

Part 1
Part 2

If you have any feedback, feel free to leave it here or contacting us via Facebook (Checkmate Arcade), Twiiter...

With Take Two losing an estimated $40 million being tied to an exclusive baseball game agreement, is having a full lounge in Major League stadiums a wise investment trying to grow a franchise that is losing out to a competitor that is only on 1/2 of the platforms 2K's game is on, or is another example of a game company throwing money down the drain?



As detailed by a December article by Owen Good (http://kotaku.com/5424851/not-the-bo...g-for-mlb-2k10) analysts are saying 2K is losing between $30-$40 million with its third-party exclusivity deal with MLB as its games are just not selling as well as its only competitor, SCEA's MLB The Show, which is only on 3 platforms (PS3, PS2, PSP) while 2K's game is on 7 (360, PS3, Wii, PS2, PSP, DS, PC.) Heck Gamestop sold the PC version for $5 on Opening Day. When was the last time you saw a current sports title...

Those of you who are sports fans or collected sports trading cards anytime from 1989-now are very knowledgeable of the name Upper Deck. Like them or not, their policies in regards to trading cards changed the entire industry, some would say for the better, others for the worse.

As some of you may be aware, Upper Deck is about in the same shape as Blockbuster Video and is on the verge of bankruptcy. (http://thebiglead.com/index.php/2010...aseball-cards/) Now while some things in sports and Upper Deck's practices may have led to their demise (too much product, super expensive cards, inflated stats from players in the steroid era in baseball devaluing cards, etc.), it's really "The Heart of the Cards" that sealed Upper Deck's fate.

Yes how Upper Deck handled Yugioh with Konami, and their other gaming properties within Upper Deck Entertainment starting in 2002 is what put the final nail in their coffin.

In...

Details are here: http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/...d.php?t=247604

You have until midnight eastern to enter the contest via email to checkmatearcade@gmail.com. Winner, announced on next week's show, will get a $20 card for the console of their choice.

Thanks for listening via ITunes, Zune, or at frigidblast.com.

This is your last chance to enter the contest by the Checkmate Arcade video game podcast for a $20 value card for either the XBox, PSN, or Wii (winner's choice) tied into our GotY show, which will take place in January.

You have until the digital clock strikes midnight on the East Coast on Dec. 31 to send your entries to checkmatearcade@gmail.com Here is the link to my previous blog post that explains the contest. http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/blog.php?b=11837

Thanks for listening and you can find us on ITunes, Zune Marketplace, or at frigidblast.com.

The Checkmate Arcade video game podcast is holding a contest for it's second annual Golden King Awards show highlighting the two hosts picks for the best in videogames in 2009, and it's your chance to win a free console points card!

The contest is the same as last year where participants will try to guess what myself and co-host darkbossman will pick in will pick as the winner of each of 17 categories (with 4 exceptions where only one of us pick a category.).

The 2nd Annual Golden King Awards episode will come out the first full week of January. The winner of the contest will receive a $20 points card courtesy of the show for the console of their choice (Microsoft Points, PSN, or Nintendo Points.)

In each category we both pick (13 of them) you will get 1 pt. for correctly guessing one of our picks, or 3 pts. if you correctly guess both picks. In the 4 categories in which only one of us picks, you get 2 pts. for a correct answer.

There...