CAGcast #217: F*cking Adorable

love you guys. cheapy you're living the dream.

can i make one suggestion? a general suggestion for the show.

can you mention the name of the game more often during a discussion. or perhaps mention it at the end of the discussion to close it up. i listen on the train and sometimes miss the game name at the beginning of the discussion. i then have to rewind just to know what you were talking about.

just saying... :)
 
For anyone in the US, if you go to Xbox.com and sign in > Accounts > Upgrade/Manage Accounts > click on whatever automatic renewal is highlighted you can shut off (or set up) auto renewal after going through a few ad pages.

And personally, aside from not being able to check my inventory unless I go to a Pawn Broker, I really, really like what they did with Fable 3's menus. In fact, I like pretty much everything in the game. If anyone is having frame rate problems, turn off orbs; it worked for me, at least.
 
I know exactly how Wombat feels about his Gold subscription getting automatically renewed since mine is coming up on November 1st. I found out the hard way when they had that one dollar for a month of Gold deal awhile back, the time it took me to phone and cancel before the renewal had me rethink the value of a dollar.

So when I decided to pony up and get a Gold subscription (mainly for access to the Forza 3 auction house) I thought that since I bought the Gold membership from a retailer that I wouldn’t be held at renewal gunpoint when the time came, I was sadly mistaken. Microsoft had my credit card information and they were willing to use it against me, so I decided to do something that I feel pretty proud about. I switched my billing information from my current credit card to a pre-loadable credit card someone had given me with one dollar left on it, then I tested my theory by trying to buy points with no avail...You blood suckers will never get my credit info again, take that Microsoft!!!
 
Wombat is absolutely right about the Imaginext Batman gear. My son recently received the Batmobile, Batcycle, and Joker's Lair for his 3rd birthday and he literally went batsh!t insane with excitement. He has been playing with them for weeks non-stop. I'd be willing to bet that Cheapy's son will love it.

Re: Kirby's Epic Yarn

I bought this on release day and my 5 year old daughter LOVES it. She's played over 20 hours over the past couple weeks in hour or 2 hour increments after school. She has played through the first few levels to gain beads and decorate her in-game apartment so many times that I honestly think that this game will be HER Super Mario Bros. levels 1-1 and 1-2. Additionally, with the possible exception of the two SMG games, this is the best looking game on the Wii.
 
I am in love with Rock Band 3 as well, but I am really bummed that I have to wait another month to get a MIDI adapter to play my keyboard. I suppose this is to increase sales of their keytar, which I can't blame them for.
 
It's too bad the the force unleashed 2 isn't getting any love. As someone who bought the Sith Edition last year, I had a blast with all the dlc, the story, and concept. BTW, the Force Unleashed came out in 2008 giving them about two years to make the game, but I'm sure it ended up being less than that because they had to start from scratch with no staff (which most likely killed the spirit of the game), hardly any time to think of a good continuation of the story. and no time to have more of everything people loved about the original.
 
I think Kinect will have a good launch, as opposed to the Move - which had no game support. Sony should have waited until they at least had a workout game. Like it or not, those are good performaers. Playstation Move Heroes should have been a launch game, not waiting 6 months for it.

The problem with game development for the Kinect, however, is without an analog stick all action games will have to be on rails, which will be tiresome trend after a short while. I'm not sure an on- screen joystick like some Iphone games use would go over too well. But maybe this might close the gap a bit with PC gaming, using Kinect for point and click uses.

And Wombat, you don't need to use your basic weapons in Fable 3 to have them evlove. I never used them, but they continue to change color and shape depending on my overall actions in the game. The other weapons you get are much more powerful, and have specific goals listed on them to power them up even more.
 
Hey guys, love the show and hearing about the new releases helps me figure out whether or not they are worth picking up around launch. I hadn't really considered doing that with Rock Band 3 until you guys gave it such glowing reviews!

Keep up the good work, the three of you work great as a team!
 
Oh Cheapy, why do you not go into the PS3's XMB and have the controller shut off after a bit while its not in use? Its under "settings" and its under "power settings" or something like that....
 
On the console discussion: I agree with CheapyD on the batteries thing. I have an Eneloop charger and extra batteries and it's so nice to pop out the battery pack, replace the batteries, and keep on gaming wirelessly.

My personal rankings and why:

Xbox 360: 5

Despite being on my fifth 360 (Only paid for two, the Original and my new Slim) I love the thing to death. Plus, the hardware improvements on the Slim are very noticeable. With my original, I had to install my games to keep the noise down, which ate up HDD space like crazy. My Slim is quieter without installs compared to my original with installs and I now have 186GB free on my HDD.

There's also the whole Xbox Live thing (I pay for it because I see the value in it and, thanks to this site, I've never paid full price), all my friends are on Live, I prefer the controller, I like the game selection, and my annoyances (Buying stuff with points instead of cash) are minor.

Wii gets a 4 because it's a great party console and it has Virtual Console. I don't own a lot of disc-based non-party non-Nintendo first party titles, but I love what I have. The only real ding to it is it feels more like a compliment to the HD consoles than a counterpart.

PS3 gets a 1 because it died 18 months after I bought it. I had similar hardware issues with PS2, so I should have expected it. "It does everything" but the damn thing won't live long if you use it for everything. The primary use for the PS3 was Blu-Ray/Upscaling DVD player and it got a ton of use in those functions. I also used it for gaming, but I found myself playing multiplatform games on it over the exclusives.

If my PS3 was still alive it would be a 4 because I was really looking forward to inFamous 2 because I loved the hell out of the first one.

Overall, I thought you guys did a good show. Like Wombat, I loved the hell out of Fallout 3 but unlike Wombat I can't justify giving New Vegas a shot. I may pick it up when it hits $30 or goes GOTY (Assuming they have the thing playable by then) but there's just too much coming out and too much I need to catch up on for me to buy a broken $60 game.
 
Great hearing about Shipwreck's trip to Japan, and seeing some of the stuff he picked up is pretty neat. Anyway, another great show. Listening to each new show is always a highlight of my week (games and college is not too terribly exciting) but thanks for the show!
 
[quote name='thorbahn3']It's too bad the the force unleashed 2 isn't getting any love. As someone who bought the Sith Edition last year, I had a blast with all the dlc, the story, and concept. BTW, the Force Unleashed came out in 2008 giving them about two years to make the game, but I'm sure it ended up being less than that because they had to start from scratch with no staff (which most likely killed the spirit of the game), hardly any time to think of a good continuation of the story. and no time to have more of everything people loved about the original.[/QUOTE]

Yeah the reason I remember the original Force Unleashed came out in fall 2008 was because it narrowly beat Quantum of Solice for the Best License game award on my podcast, mainly for its story tieing it in with the original trilogy. On pure gameplay, I think Quantum was better.

I think Thor's spot on because 90% of the staff was fired right before the first one came out, then the producer of the first two games and also the longest tenured employee left at Lucasarts left this summer and 90% of the staff was fired before the second game came out. Also the company has changed presidents 2 or 3 times in the last two years.

Cheapy don't forget the Undead DLC added two new multiplayer modes. 1 is not a major addition (land grab) but the 2nd is an undead horde style mode on a timer. It's basically a combination of Gears 2 Horde and LFD on speed. You only have a few minutes on each wave and if you don't kill the undead in time, then respawns and ammo drops are turned off for you, and the zombies keep respawning until you die.

If anyone hasn't bought any Red Dead pay DLC, then I would HIGHLY suggest the $20 bundle available on XBL and PSN which is all 3 pay packs in 1 (essentially B2G1F.) The pay pack from Sept. that added multiplayer Liar's Dice, Poker, and Horse Races, along with a new multiplayer mode, a new multiplayer weapon (exploding rifle,) and a lot more multiplayer hunting grounds is worth it owning. Then you get the Aug. pay pack for free (which was just multiplayer maps, skins from the first Red Dead game, and a new weapon.)
 
[quote name='strife18']Great show guys! You totally sold me on RockBand 3 with the Keyboard...Now to try to convince my wife that the $130 keyboard bundle is a worthy investment to "learn a musical instrument".
Oh and wombat, you got dangerously close to the new Kotaku review scheme when talking about who should care/buy it for Fallout 3: NV. We'll let it slide this time, but stick to the 3 word CAG-style in the future.[/QUOTE]

You might want to check dell.com to see if they're still selling that bundle (at least on 360) for $99.99 and free shipping (not sure on tax.) They were earlier this week.
 
Came for the Wombat stayed for Cheapy D and Shipwreck.Another great podcast guys,downright epic even.Stay classy San Diego
 
I agree with the assessment of system enjoyment.

I like the xbox, but I don't enjoy the community that much. The PS3 is nice, but they seem to be spending so much time and money to market it and not enough to flesh out their system. Half-assed home, half-assed PS+, half-done XMB. You'd think they would learn from everywhere else. And the Wii just feels like it's randomly gasping out as it dies.
 
My ratings for the consoles:

XBox 360- 4
Have to knock down a point for the hardware failures. I'm on my 5th system (only bought 2- launch unit and HDMI Arcade unit in Sept. 08) and that's just unacceptable. Only thing saving the 360 was the PAST lineup of exclusives and its online network blowing away anything else available. Also the controller is awesome for anything that doesn't need to use the D-Pad (old school arcade games/fighters.) Best lineup of games, and plenty of games available for under $30 new or under $20 used.

PS3- 4
Much more reliable system overall but older units are starting to fail. PS3 firmware updates are not an issue if you turn on the console at least once a week to check out the PSN Store (which updates around 7-8 p.m. eastern each Tuesday.) Biggest issues are SLLLLOWWWW downloads regardless of your US internet connection and almost all of the games having to install data to the HDD before you can play the game. Playing a new release can take anywhere from 1-20 minutes after insertion before you can play depending on the install size.

I think the PS3 is a 4 out of 5 now because its exclusives blow away the 360's lineup. All the 360 has left as quality retail exclusives are the Halo, Gears, Forza, and Fable series, Tales of Vesperia (in North America/Europe only), Lost Odyssey, and Mass Effect 1. 360 has no more retail exclusives left for 2011 and beyond other than Kinect games and Gears 3. The 360 does get timed exclusive DLC a lot, but it eventually comes out on PSN anyway.

The PS3 has a huge lineup of first/second party exclusive retail games (GoW series, Killzone series, Uncharted series, Sly Cooper Collection, Infamous, Ico/Shadow of the Collossus collection, Ratchet and Clank series, MLB The Show, MGS 4, Demon's Souls, 3D Dot Game Heroes, Gran Turismo, Buzz, MAG, Socom, Infamous, Time Crisis, and Heavy Rain) plus you have the Move lineup of games which I think is superior to the Kinect lineup when you factor in the games (Heavy Rain, Tiger Woods, MAG, RE 5 Gold Edition) that have patched in Move support already.

Also there are some third party games that have more content on the PS3 version (Batman: AA, Mirror's Edge [free DLC pack], Alone in the Dark, Dante's Inferno, RE 5: Gold Edition, MoH, and Dead Space 2.) Some would even argue that the Ninja Gaiden Sigma series are better than the XBox Ninja Gaiden games. If the L2/R2 triggers are an issue, I would HIGHLY recommend the $5 trigger buttons that slide onto the L2/R2 buttons. That eliminates 90% of the problems I have using the L2/R2 buttons on the Dual Shock 3.

If you're a casual game player or someone with kids that isn't going to be online each night, then PSN is ok because of the free cost, but you get what you pay for. XBL is a superior service, but you have to use it almost daily to get the cost-benefit vs. a free PSN account.

Also if you use your PS3 as a media hub (Play On software, Windows Media Center, etc.) then the XMB beats the layout on the 360 IMO. Also the PS3 is still one of the best Blu-Ray players out there and it's upscaling on DVD's is better than the 360 IMO. Also you can replace the HDD with any standard labtop sized drive vs. being stuck with MS proprietary stuff.

Wii- 1
My catchphrase on my podcast when talking about Nintendo is, "I didn't leave Nintendo, Nintendo left me," so I may not be the best voice on the Wii. That said, horrible online interface, only good downloadable games are pretty much only games from the last decade (Virtual Console,) tons of CRAP shovelware to sift through to find the few worthwhile games, motion controls being on everything when sometimes it doesn't need it, and the controller being uncomfortable to use when sideways (NSMB and Punch Out.)

A prediction I have for 2011 is Sega and Capcom are going to port their mature titles on the Wii (House of the Dead games, Madworld, RE: Umbrella Chronicles/Darkside Chronicles, etc.) to PS3 with the Move. We've already seen No More Heroes go exclusive on PS3 and Dead Space Extraction being included on the PS3 version of Dead Space 2.
 
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I would give the 360 a 4 because of affordability. You have to pay for online (and will soon have to pay more) and Microsoft won't let developers release very much for free. 360 also suffers the most if you compare it to PC gaming. You can get almost everything on the 360 for much cheaper off of Steam.
 
[quote name='Curufinwe']The XMB isn't half-done. It's just as easy to use as the 360's menus, plus it's not plastered with ads everywhere.[/QUOTE]

The 360 Blade sytem was just fine, when they went to the current system that was just a huge learning curve that took something very easy and simple to navigate and made it into a huge cluster fuck to navigate. Than adding the Zune store added loading to look at movies.........? they took something that worked just fine and over complictaed it and know we have to see a loading screen to browse movies. I would love to go back to the Blade system any time. The XMB is nice, but it does need a makeover of sorts, seems dated.
 
I agree with all the system ratings from the point of view of what you like playing games on. However, if you are going to start to factor in hardware differences then you also have to factor in cost and additional features. PS3 was the most expensive when it launched (I think I paid Best Buy almost $1,000 the day I got my system) but it came with features that a redesigned 360 still lacks. Most notably blu-ray, user replaceable hard drive, and wi-fi. Microsoft released a wi-fi adapter, but it was overpriced and underpowered (can't work with WPA2). For the same price you can and should get an Apple AirPort Express which is way more useful (I don't travel without one). So if you wanted to add a larger HD and wi-fi to your 360 then it was about another $250 and don't forget the extra $150 for the HD-DVD drive.

I think dollar for dollar PS3 is a better system, but prefer the 360 from a personal POV. By the way, my launch system never died but my 60gb model died in under 6-weeks.
 
I've been hearing about people learning the guitar parts of songs by playing rock band 3 (with pro guitar, of course). Hit that up!
 
I can't speak on redheads, but I would assume they would treat them the same way as blonds. No one would dare touch me. However, I bring blond children with me and old people are coming out of nowhere to stroke their hair. That's about as disturbing as I will deal with. Those kids were goddamn celebrities out there, like no one had ever seen blond hair before.
 
The original Resident Evil had horrible controls, but when you look in retrospect, the game was a major leap forward in horror games. Most past games are horrible if you look at them in today's eyes. Goldeneye, for instance had horrible controls, but back then, the game was a major leap forward in fps's on the consoles.
 
Even though I'm terrible at it Game dev story it's the most addicting game i've played on the iphone. Good call cheapy, still waiting on the cag app though. Even w/o amazon pricing you guys should just release it. After its out and it's popular who knows, maybe they will come around.
 
[quote name='Curufinwe']The XMB isn't half-done. It's just as easy to use as the 360's menus, plus it's not plastered with ads everywhere.[/QUOTE]

I never said it wasn't easy to use, and never mentioned ads. I said it was half-done.

According to what the PS3 likes to promise people, it doesn't have all of its features. But this happens to all of their so-called projects. Thus, it is half-done, like everything else they have, until they at least do what they said they were going to do to catch up to their promises.

I'd like it to actually 'do everything.' But before then, it can continue running for president. (You know. Advertising empty promises to gain popular vote.)
 
great show...I've been hearing great things about Game Dev Story everywhere.....I wish it would come to Andriod!
 
As far as toy story goes...I have yet meet anyone claims they like woody ::snicker snicker:: a lot of buzz fans.

...and yes that was my comment for the vanquish contest.
 
[quote name='Interfeci']I never said it wasn't easy to use, and never mentioned ads. I said it was half-done.

According to what the PS3 likes to promise people, it doesn't have all of its features. But this happens to all of their so-called projects. Thus, it is half-done, like everything else they have, until they at least do what they said they were going to do to catch up to their promises.

I'd like it to actually 'do everything.' But before then, it can continue running for president. (You know. Advertising empty promises to gain popular vote.)[/QUOTE]

Hold on... what is it that you feel the XMB is missing. because imo.. it works perfectly. Anything can be made "better" but that doesn't mean that the XMB is flawed. Also, what "promises" has the PS3 not delivered on?
 
[quote name='youruglyclone']As far as toy story goes...I have yet meet anyone claims they like woody ::snicker snicker:: a lot of buzz fans.

...and yes that was my comment for the vanquish contest.[/QUOTE]

Everyone knows that REX is clearly the most badass Toy Story character. The scene from TS2 in the toy store when they spoofed Jurassic Park is the best scene in the whole trilogy IMO.

And yes this was a post to enter me into the contest as well lol.
 
[quote name='Thomas96']Hold on... what is it that you feel the XMB is missing. because imo.. it works perfectly. Anything can be made "better" but that doesn't mean that the XMB is flawed. Also, what "promises" has the PS3 not delivered on?[/QUOTE]

I feel it's missing proper customization. Why can't I turn off stuff like 'music' and 'video' if I don't want them there? If i'm into design, why don't they make a smaller dev kit for dynamic backgrounds rather than (supposedly) requiring the main dev kit? Why remove OtherOS? Was it to stop people from playing SNES roms on there? All it did was infuriate the 'hackers' more, and caused the reverse engineering process to go by much quicker. The cross-game chat would be nice. And maybe my own personal avatar rather than their 50 cent ones.

But I have no actual problem with the XMB. I don't see how you translated what I said into 'it doesn't work.' I said it's half-done. That's it. It's like a really extended beta to what they want to fully accomplish before making it 'better.' Minecraft isn't close to being finished, but it's still incredibly popular and it works really well.

I do prefer the XMB's simplicity over the 360's. But the way you guys defend it makes it feel like the whole Mac vs PC thing.
 
Loved hearing about Ship's visit to Japan. I wonder if the reverse Halloween is more of a more of a weird theme park thing or if it was a Japanese thing.
 
Great episode guys. Sounds like the Shipwrecks make for good world travelers. I hate assholes that go on trips and don't know what they want to do and have no sorts of plans and then they moan and bitch about not being able to get bacon and eggs.
 
[quote name='youruglyclone']As far as toy story goes...I have yet meet anyone claims they like woody ::snicker snicker:: a lot of buzz fans.

...and yes that was my comment for the vanquish contest.[/QUOTE]

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=408698

180679-13862-550x-0038-1280757275319.jpg


You've now been introduced to the wonderful world of Revoltech Woody. You're welcome.
 
[quote name='Interfeci']I feel it's missing proper customization. Why can't I turn off stuff like 'music' and 'video' if I don't want them there? If i'm into design, why don't they make a smaller dev kit for dynamic backgrounds rather than (supposedly) requiring the main dev kit? Why remove OtherOS? Was it to stop people from playing SNES roms on there? All it did was infuriate the 'hackers' more, and caused the reverse engineering process to go by much quicker. The cross-game chat would be nice. And maybe my own personal avatar rather than their 50 cent ones.

But I have no actual problem with the XMB. I don't see how you translated what I said into 'it doesn't work.' I said it's half-done. That's it. It's like a really extended beta to what they want to fully accomplish before making it 'better.' Minecraft isn't close to being finished, but it's still incredibly popular and it works really well.

I do prefer the XMB's simplicity over the 360's. But the way you guys defend it makes it feel like the whole Mac vs PC thing.[/QUOTE]

The only thing I want is to be able to play my music in ALL of my games. When I'm playing Borderlands online, I would just like the option to play some Nujabes, Gorillaz or Kasabian, that's all.
 
[quote name='shanezey']I really want to play Fable 3, but seeing as how it's ALREADY dropped $7 on Amazon, I think I'll hold off until at least Black Friday to make a purchase.[/QUOTE]
Same here, except I'm waiting for Dragon Age: Origins - Ultimate edition to drop in price. I loved KOTOR 2, and I heard the game is pretty similar in terms of how you play it. Plus, with this edition, I get EVERYTHING this game has to offer. It's such a great deal, but I don't have 60 bones to drop on it right now. I hope they have a "Buy 2, Get 1 Free" with this, Black Ops, and Batman: AA GOTY edition. That or something with Resonance of Fate.
 
[quote name='soliddragon']I completely agree about the handling in NFS: Hot Pursuit. Handling is just a bit sluggish[/QUOTE]
It does feel a bit weird, but the drifting seems just right for some reason. Either that, or I was just able to manipulate the controls so I could win the races easily. I say if the game handled like either Burnout Paradise or Most Wanted, then it would be amazing.

Speaking of Burnout Paradise, does anyone know where I can get the Ultimate Box for under $20 for the 360?
 
[quote name='Fuzi0n']I stopped playing RE4 really fast because the controls were so awful, so bad I couldn't give them a 2nd chance.[/QUOTE]

Even though they're basically the same controls, I could barely play RE5 for some reason. I beat RE4 twice, and I actually like those controls. For the time, it gave the right amount of intensity within certain situations in the game. It would have done well with a sprint button instead of just a run buttion, though.
I saw a playthrough of RE5 a few months back, and it's easy to see they should have just let you freaking move when you shoot.
In the later levels, the guys have freaking guns!
 
[quote name='Fjordson']Great to have the show back. Another quality episode.

Wombat piqued my interest in that Hashima Island. Looks absolutely creepy. Apparently they just recently re-opened part of the island to tourists and it was the final level of killer7.

And Cheapy, definitely try and make it back to Undead Nightmare. Quite literally some of the best DLC I've ever played. Rockstar's mix of horror and comedy is great throughout. The combination of B-movie horror and the Wild West makes for a super interesting atmosphere and story.

(Also, Ship is still insane for not liking Red Dead Redemption :lol:)[/QUOTE]

I wonder if there was a black guy with a large briefcase running around on the island lol. That's very interesting, though. Never thought that place was based off an actual place. This may also explain why the Heaven Smiles are invisible to begin with.
I already know that Emir had to give up his Third Eye during Smile
.

Shipwreck: if you don't like your copy of RDR, I'd be willing to take it off your hands.
 
I was on the fence about Rock Band 3, but after listening to Cheapy's glowing review of the game, I want it NOW. I will be looking for the keyboard soon, since that's the only instrument I don't currently have taking up space in my basement.

Still waiting for update #2 for Fallout: New Vegas. I'm not entirely sure how Wombat got it, since many other CAGs haven't received the prompt to download it yet. I do want to play this game, just not with so many bugs and game freezing issues.
 
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