The CAGcast crew will be streaming live from the PAX show floor at the Twitch booth on Sunday 9/2 at 12PM PST. If you are at the show, please stop by to watch us live and say hello.

If you missed us live, you can catch the replay here:
http://www.twitch.tv/twitch/b/330878655

I remember seeing Retro/Grade at last year’s PAX and thinking it was a novel idea. The combination of a music rhythm game with a 2D space shooter certainly caught my eye and by the size of the crowds around their booth, I guess I wasn’t alone. Able to be played with either a guitar controller or a standard DualShock, this indie game certainly has made a good impression at various shows over the past two years. Did the playful concept and flashy graphics translate over to a finished game that hits all the right beats?

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Papo & Yo is a hard game to tackle in typical review fashion. Most games’ plots don’t delve much beyond defeating the bad guy that has either kidnapped the princess, threatened to destroy the world, or both of those things. There aren’t a whole lot of games (especially on consoles) that attempt to tackle much more serious thematic elements, let alone approach them in the metaphorical way found in Papo & Yo. I’m fairly certain I’ve never played through another title as a young boy dealing with an alcoholic, abusive father. That’s a fairly weighty subject matter for the medium, but does Papo & Yo successfully convey those emotions amidst a game that’s worth playing?

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Darksiders II, Sleeping Dogs, Papo & Yo, Dust: An Elysian Tail are played and discussed. The gang also talks Penny Arcade Kickstarter, Playstation Cross Buy, back pain, and much more!

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Download - 1 hour 34 minutes, 57MB
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As we reach the last week of the Summer of Arcade, no clear cut standout has emerged from this crop of heavily promoted titles. The line-up has been solid, but not as stellar as what we’ve come to expect from previous years. The only hope for a critical acclaim rests on the shoulders of Dust, the titular hero in An Elysian Tail. Can this swordsman, his flying feline companion, his talking sword, and his flock of furry friends come to the rescue?

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GameFly's monthy used game sale has returned with under $20 prices and free shipping on select titles. GameFly's games come complete with manual, case, and online passes. They are guaranteed and are usually in excellent condition. Out of stock items sometimes return later. Sale ends 8/20.

Sale items
Hole in the Wall: Deluxe Edition $7.99
Jane's Advanced Strike Fighters $7.99
Black Eyed Peas Experience $9.99
EA Sports: Grand Slam Tennis 2 $9.99
Hasbro Family Game Night 4 $9.99
Rise of Nightmares $9.99
Rugby World Cup 2011 $9.99
Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City $9.99
Final Fantasy XIII-2 $12.99
Kinect Disneyland Adventures $12.99
Street Fighter X Tekken $12.99
Ace Combat: Assault Horizon $12.99
Just Dance 3 $12.99
LEGO Harry Potter Years 5-7 $12.99
Need for Speed The Run $12.99
Rage $12.99
SSX $14.99
Dance Central 2 $14.99
Kinect Sports Season Two $14.99
Sonic Generations $14.99
PowerUp Heroes $17.99
Assassin's Creed Revelations $17.99


Jane's Advanced Strike Fighters $7.99
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine $7.99
Everybody Dance $9.99
Hasbro Family Game Night 4 $9.99
Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City $9.99
Sniper: Ghost Warrior $9.99
Deus Ex: Human Revolution $12.99
Just Dance 3 $12.99
Lord of the Rings: War in the North $12.99
Mass Effect 2 $12.99
Rage $12.99
SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy SEALs $12.99
Street Fighter X Tekken $12.99
Need for Speed: The Run $12.99
Twisted Metal $17.99
Infamous 2 $14.99
Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One $14.99
Resistance 3 $14.99
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception $17.99
Assassin's Creed Revelations $17.99

Puss in Boots $7.99
Country Dance 2 $9.99
Fortune Street $19.99
Alvin & the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked $5.99
Barbie: Jet, Set and Style $7.99
Black Eyed Peas Experience $7.99
Family Feud 2010 Edition $7.99
Get Up and Dance $7.99
Gunslingers $7.99
Heavy Fire: Afghanistan $7.99
NCIS $7.99
Nickelodeon Dance $7.99
The Adventures of Tintin: The Game $7.99
The Price is Right Decades $7.99
Cabela's Adventure Camp $9.99
Hasbro Family Game Night 4 $9.99
Oregon Trail $9.99
The Price is Right 2010 Edition $12.99
Power Rangers Samurai $17.99

I’m ashamed to say that I never got around to playing the first Darksiders. I have no excuses. It’s been sitting there on the shelf for years and for whatever reason I’ve never played it… even though it’s always sounded like a game I’d greatly enjoy. I even told myself I’d get to it this summer in preparation for the release of Darksiders II. It didn’t happen. I’m confessing all this so you will know that I’m coming into the series fresh. That said, is Darksiders II a good place to mount up for newcomers to the apocalypse?

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Best Buy Summer Gaming Blowout 2 (discussion thread & info) includes lots of deals, including Rayman Origins, Crysis 2, Driver: San Francisco for $9.99 and more. Get 50% bonus trade-In credit on all games.

GameStop offers an extra 30% credit on games traded toward Darksiders II.

Kmart has Spec Ops: The Line, Max Payne 3, and Mass Effect 3 for $39.99 each.

Target throws in $10 gift cards with Sleeping Dogs and Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance. SSX is $29.

Toys R Us includes the game guide free, with the purchase of Darksiders II. Buy both Sleeping Dogs for $59.99 and NCAA Football 13 for $59.99, get a $40 gift card. The Skylanders Starter Pack is $44.99 (coupon or code 954523 for online orders) and all Skylanders Adventure Packs and Character 3-packs are $19.99 each.

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CheapyD is misunderstood (again), Shipwreck plays Darksiders II and Sound Shapes, and Wombat explains what makes him an unorthodox Jew.

Get your questions or topics answered on future shows via CAGbag or Twitter.


Download - 1 hour 16 minutes, 46MB
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CAGs who have been members for 1 year+ can now grab a beta code for the War of Roses, a team-based medieval multiplayer action game. Follow the instructions on the giveaway page to redeem your code. If still available, newer CAGs will be able to get codes 2 days from now. Thanks to Tony from Amazon PC Downloads for the hookup!

The beta is scheduled to start on 8/8.

War of the Roses beta codes

Best Buy offers a 50% bonus trade in credit on all games.

GameStop gives up an extra $25 in credit when you trade in a PS3, 360, 3DS, or Vita

Target throws in a $15 gift card with the purchase of any game $39.99 and up AND a $1 reservation on Disney Epic Mickey 2, Just Dance 4, Call of Duty BlackOps II, Borderlands 2, Madden NFL 13, or Assassins Creed III.

Toys R Us includes a $10 gift card and a select game (Super Mario 3D Land, Kid Icarus: Uprising, Mario Kart 7) with the purchase of a 3DS system.

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CheapyD is out-of-touch with popular chicken restaurants, Shipwreck doesn't love Deadlight, and Wombat recalls his favorite summer job.

Get your questions or topics answered on future shows via CAGbag or Twitter.


Download - 1 hour 30 minutes, 54MB
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The Summer of Arcade shuffles into week three with the zombie-infested streets of Seattle in Deadlight. Perhaps the most critically acclaimed games that have ever come out of this annual promotion are 2D platforming puzzlers from independent developers. Is Deadlight the next great game in a lineage that has given us the likes of Braid, Shadow Complex, and Limbo?

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Best Buy is holding a buy 2, get 1 free sale on used games and is offering 50% bonus trade in credit on all games. Buy a Nintendo 3DS handheld and Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance for $179.99. Rabbids Alive and Kicking is $4.99.

GameStop is throwing in a free select game and 4GB memory card with a PS Vita handheld purchase.

Kmart includes a $25 gaming coupon with a Wii console purchase.

Target offers a $10 gift card with the purchase of Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, 20% off select Vita games and accessories, buy 2 get 1 free on all Skylander’s figures, and 15% off iTunes cards.

Toys R Us promotes a $40 gift card with the purchase of a 3DS handheld and Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance. Buy Lego Batman 2 for any system, get any $19.99 or under video game OR Lego construction set free. Buy 1 Skylanders figures or accessory, get 1 40% off.

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Xbox Live’s second week of Summer of Arcade brings the launch of the casual Kinect-enabled catapult game Wreckateer. Microsoft seems to have a good deal of confidence in this title as not only was it selected for one of their largest promotions, but it also had a prime spot in their E3 media briefing this year. Does all that faith in this title translate into something that’ll have you springing off your couch to play?

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Are you ready for some Foosball? Cheapy talks Foosball 2012, Shipwreck attends Best Buy's Exclusive Shopping Event, and Wombat is excited for the 3DS XL.

Get your questions or topics answered on future shows via CAGbag or Twitter.


Download - 1 hour 22 minutes, 49MB
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I don’t think it’s much of a stretch to say I majored in Tony Hawk in college and in my spare time took some mechanical engineering classes. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 and 2 still find spots in my top five favorite games of all time. Heck, the series is the reason I bought a PlayStation 2 just weeks before the Xbox I had on reserve (to play THPS 2X) launched. My future wife didn’t even blink an eye when I told her I’d have to wait almost half a year to play THPS 3 if I hadn’t impulse purchased a PS2 that very day. (That’s probably when I knew I should definitely marry her… it’s hard to find that special someone that understands your addiction to videogame skateboarding.) And as the years passed I continued to eagerly anticipate each game in the series. I was on board even when they added so many unnecessary and convoluted mechanics like the Matrix-inspired “Nailing the Trick”. I could look past these misguided additions to the games because the core mechanics I got so much satisfaction from were still tightly packed underneath. Then Activision decided I literally had to be on board with Tony Hawk: Ride AND, inconceivably, a sequel … and, well, that was not what I wanted from a Tony Hawk game. But like the hawk of lore rising from the ashes (that would be a better analogy if this was a Rivers Phoenix game), a remake of the first two games has emerged in the form of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD. Does it take me back to my fraternity house days, can it still hold up after all this time, and, good God, did the studio behind Tony Hawk: Ride actually make this?

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Best Buy is holding a Summer Gaming Blowout, featuring great deals including Assassin's Creed Revelations $9.99, Gears of War 3 $14.99, inFamous 2 $9.99 and much more.

Kmart discounts Batman: Arkham City GOTY (360) to $29.99 and LEGO Batman 2 (Wii) to $29.99.

Target is throwing a Buy One, Get One 50% off sale on 100+ titles.

Toys R Us offers a free Abba: You Can Dance, Just Dance Kids 2, or The Black Eyed Peas Experience with the purchase of Just Dance Greatest Hits or Just Dance 3 (Wii).

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The gang talks Tony Hawk HD, Xbox Live advertising, Fez patching, political correctness in games, pimpmobiles, and much more!

Get your questions or topics answered on future shows via CAGbag or Twitter.


Download - 1 hour 22 minutes, 49MB
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There are a whole bunch of heavily discounted games with free shipping at the Microsoft Store, including Syndicate $9.99, Neverdead $5.99, Grand Slam Tennis 2 $9.99, and Final Fantasy XIII-2 $14.99.

All Xbox 360 Games on Sale