Episode 357: Dan-tastic

Paul Nowak is on hiatus from the podcast, but former podcaster Dan Quick is stepping in to fill his shoes. This week’s Gaming Flashback is the expansion Diablo II: Lord of Destruction.

As for the news:

  • Noriega suing Activision over depiction in Call of Duty
  • The Sims 2 players get expansion-stuffed upgrade as EA ends support
  • Codemasters responds to GRID Autosport Boost Pack criticism (from Videogamer.com)
  • Ex-Call of Duty devs found brand new studio
  • Adam West playing himself in Lego Batman 3
  • Civilization Beyond Earth release date announced

All this and listener feedback.

0 thoughts on “Episode 357: Dan-tastic”

  1. Hi guys great episode, nice to hear Dan again πŸ™‚

    @Noriega sues: Yeah I thought like Jordan that generally former Dictators are dead ones. He should just be happy to have made it to 80.

    @Sims 2 Ultimate Edition: My wife and I both got our CD versions redeemed for the digital Ultimate edition and I have to say I’m pretty happy to have access to all those packs and expansions I never bought. I still find myself spoiled for some mods, and I had to tinker with special settings to get a resolution other then 800×600. It is nice to play this game digitally and not have the hassle of some 20 cd’s to go through when wanting to install the game to a new computer. I don’t know if it’s nostalgia glasses or not but I swear the game looked better than what I started up in Ultimate Edition.

    I remember you mentioning in regards to Sims 2 not liking that your Sim ages while a neighbor doesn’t and you’d have to go to their lot to age them. For me it’s the inverse in what they do in Sims 3. I like to jump from lot to lot controlling multiple families and creating Dynasty Legacy families. I didn’t like in Sims 3 if I was playing a family and went to another house, only to find the first family had moved, split up or had a baby without me. This happened to my wife who was trying to get one sim with someone else and she went to another house and when she game back he was gone, he had moved out. So for me I like the “rabbit holes” or “hamster cages”. If you couldn’t tell I like gameplay that allows me to feel like a god controlling the lives of these mere digital blips on my computer.

    @Codemasters respond: Yeah people need to realize that giving money to companies promotes them to make more of what your buying. Vote with your wallets people, this is why I backed Pillars of Eternity, to show my support for the types of games I want to play.

    @Ex-Call of Duty found new studio to make more FPS like we need that. I don’t think people are going to want to play with a big headgear thing on their head. I’m sure they will make a game with Ninja mutant Zombie Nazi Robotic terrorists for all the kiddies to play. Okay bored now next topic

    @Adam West playing himself. I’ve been entertained by his role of being “himself” like in Family Guy, I appreciate when an actor embraces a role that made them famous, as opposed to being resentful about it.

    @Civ Beyond Earth: I am looking forward to playing this game, I’ll probably be Harmony since you get Sand worms, I look forward to assimilating Dan with the Mother Brain Flower.

    @Sony Remakes: Yeah I’m not sure about remakes for PS3, now if they remake PS1 or PS2 games that might interest me. Namely Suikoden, need more Suikoden.

    @Spore: “Install spore and see if I like it again” See that’s just an incorrect statement, that game is completely unlikable.

    @QotW: I think I am looking forward to Pillars of Eternity the most since it’s a spiritual successor to Baldur’s Gate of which I want more of. I also am looking forward to Civ Beyond Earth as well for MP with my Polycast/craft friends. My family is looking forward to LittlebigPlant 3 and my wife wants Sims 4 but I’m very cautious of it, I didn’t like the “buy next expansion pack merry go round” with sims 2 and 3. I have to admit I am tempted by the Dragon Age Inquisition as well, I really enjoy the open world gameplay and not being handheld or railroaded from point A to Z. I like taking my time and savoring the game.

  2. Looks like Alphashard had a slow work day πŸ˜‰ Good job with the comments!

    @Sims2 – I never played the game as I’m not that interested in endless titles and I also hate interior design and decoration. However, I saw online somewhere that the Sims2 are being given out for free to anyone who has an Origins account and enters a special code in there. I’m not sure if it includes all the expansion packs or not. I redeemed the code and maybe one day I’ll look into that or have my wife try it out.

    @Sony Remakes: I don’t think all the remakes are such a bad idea from a money making standpoint. They have the numbers and they probably see that a lot of people how didn’t own a PS3 jumped on the PS4 and they want to accommodate them by remaking some really great games (TLoU). As a PS3 owner since 2009, I managed to play through most of the recent hits so I don’t really care that much about those remakes.

    Obviously, I would prefer to have new titles to play, especially new IPs, but I’m so far behind with my backlog, I don’t mind the ‘drought’ so much. I just finished Bioshock Infinite so that says something. On the other hand, I understand I might be the minority and there are thousands of gamers hungry for new and exciting experiences. Well, 2015 is the year to look forward to.

    @QotW
    Looking at the list of fall releases I don’t think there’s anything I’m particularly excited about. Maybe the Infamous DLC. I enjoyed the game and I liked the Fetch character so this could be cool. There’s also NHL15 – the first PS4/XBone title in the series. I might give it a go. Far Cry 4 had an interesting demo at E3 and people seem to be excited about it. I haven’t played any of the Far Cry games but I’m not sure I want another open world game from Ubisoft just yet.

    By the way, Alphashard’s LittleBigPlant could be amazing πŸ˜‰ What kind of plant are we talking about? Nuclear?

  3. Hey Pawel the Ultimate edition give away does include all expansions and stuff packs.

    I obviously did a typo and meant LittleBigPlanet 3.

  4. Hey Alpha.
    Sure I knew it was a typo but LittleBigPlant sounds so much cooler πŸ™‚ Even though I really like platformers, I never got into LBP that much. I beat the Vita version but I didn’t spend endless hours playing user-generated levels.

    Thanks about the Sims tip.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Post

Rumor: EA Buying Popcap?Rumor: EA Buying Popcap?

Tech Cruch is reporting that Electronic Arts is about to acquire casual games giant Popcap Games for a cool $1 billion, which would exceed EA’s market cap by over 13%. If true, this would be EA’s definitive entry into the casual games market, a field they broke into 7 years ago.

Despite consuming a significant chunk of EA’s reserves. buying Popcap would bring them IPs such as Bejeweled, Plants Vs. Zombies, Peggle, Zuma and Bookworm.

We’ll keep an eye on this deal as it happens.

AC/DC Signs For Rock Band Track PackAC/DC Signs For Rock Band Track Pack

This November console gamers will be able to purchase a new Track Pack for Rock Band and Rock Band 2. While Activision’s Guitar Hero: Aerosmith sells over 1-million copies, MTV and Harmonix look to prove they too can push big numbers on exclusive artist packs.

Unlike Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, Rock Band and Rock Band 2 are the core game engine and the track packs extend out the game with a bunch of new songs, in this case, AC/DC. Gamers who opt not to purchase the latest Rock Band 2 game still have access to AC/DC’s new tracks if they go to the store and buy them.

The trick? This is a Wal-Mart (and Sams Club) exclusive deal; you won’t find this track pack at another retailer.

“If you want to be a physical band, you better make an alliance with a strong physical retailer,” Columbia Records chairman Steve Barnett told the Times. “It’s a great way to sell the new album, the catalog, the game, merchandise and DVDs.”(gamespot)

This Track Pack contains 99 minutes of songs, the tracks include:

  • “Thunderstruck” “Shoot to Thrill”
  • “Back in Black “Hell Ain’t a Band Place to Be.”
  • “Heatseeker”
  • “Fire Your Guns”
  • “Jailbreak”
  • “The Jack” “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap”
  • “Moneytalks”
  • “Hell’s Bells”
  • “Whole Lotta Rosie”
  • “You Shook Me All Night Long”
  • “T.N.T.”
  • “Let There Be Rock”
  • “Highway to Hell”
  • “For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)”

Will AC/DC do as well as Aerosmith? I’ve never been a big AC/DC fan, but then again, I didn’t buy into the Aerosmith product either, however, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith doesn’t include drumming…

(Thanks, GameSpot)

TD Gaming Podcast 102: Happy HolidaysTD Gaming Podcast 102: Happy Holidays

This week we’re cooking up some final holiday treats in the form of gaming history, news, retro flashbacks and general commentary. We’re looking back at the Need for Speed franchise, a little gaming history on Black Box Studios and covering some news stories:

This weeks soap box covers a little holiday cheer, what games did you love as a child, which game got you the most excited, what’s your best memory and most prized achievements in gaming. What game was a total turn off?

Wish wish everyone a happy holiday no matter what you celebrate, when you celebrate and how you celebrate. Party hard. Drive Safe. Enjoy.

Podcast Crew.