Episode 481: Portal’s Huge Success

This week’s Gaming Flashback has no cake — instead it’s the history of Portal. The guys try to keep the podcast meme-free as they discuss Valve’s first person puzzle platformer.

There’s also non-Portal related news items, too:

  • Chris Avellone may be teasing a new Fallout game
  • Street Fighter 5 will finally get an arcade mode in 2018
  • The SNES Classic has been hacked
  • Telltale patch removes assassinated ambassador from Batman: The Enemy Within

Let us know what you think in the Comments section.

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Episode 229: Jonah Versus PaulEpisode 229: Jonah Versus Paul

It’s another brief episode as frictions rise between New Yorkers Jonah Falcon and Paul S. Nowak, while Washington State native Jordan Lund looks on. This week’s gaming flashback in the Nintendo 64’s The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, as well as the following news items:

  • GameStop pulls PC copies of Deus Ex: Human Revolution off the shelves
  • Penny Arcade Adventures returns
  • Epic Mickey 2 leaked
  • Electronic Arts rewords controversial Origin EULA

This week’s Question of the Week: Are you interested in Epic Mickey 2?

Play Zone: Wii + Drunk = Party!!Play Zone: Wii + Drunk = Party!!

When you’ve had a bit too much to drink, there are two choices: move on to tequila shots or… Mario Party for the Wii! Mario Party is amazingly fun when you’ve had a few too many drinks while sober it’s mearly “meh.”

Now, Ubisoft is trying to capture the drinking demographic, or more appropriately, the party crowd. The goal is to create a mini-game set created for partying and having fun with your Nintendo console. Enter, Play Zone, a new mini-game collection for the Wii.

Do we need yet more mini-game collections for the Wii?

“With our new Play Zone party titles, the Wii gamers who like to spend time with friends and family will have fun with the Wii through innovative and involving mini-games,” said John Parkes, Ubisoft’s EMEA marketing director. (next-gen)

Again, more “innovative mini-games” in our future? Ubisoft knows how to make a quick buck on casual games, no doubt, with their Petz franchise doing a killing for very simplistic games (which my daughter finds extremely fun).

The idea of more mini-games is slightly cringing but we do so enjoy a drunk game of Mario Party… maybe this is a good move.

The Calm Before The Storm, Why No News?The Calm Before The Storm, Why No News?

Journalists and bloggers around the Net are doing whatever they can to scrape up news on the gaming industry. What’s the deal, it’s a Monday and nobody in the gaming industry has anything really big to announce, talk about or “leak” onto this here Interwebs?

Sure, we can read about a 7 year old’s request for game design tips for Little Big Planet, more than enough DSi news beating down the same door over and over or pour through pages upon pages of Warhammer Online reviews. But, where is the news?

Here is some news for you: nobody wants to make waves in the game industry right now. Consumers around the globe are looking for what is hot and what is not for the holiday rush. Parents are watching their children and looking to see what they’re talking about to build an internal memory of this years wish list of items. Maybe a Wii Game or a DS game or a 360 console or perhaps the PS3.

Moms and Dads are looking at the entertainment industry to find the best bargains and deals so we can stow away our tech toys in closets, basements and attics for holiday mornings. You don’t have to celebrate Christmas to be looking for great game deals this holiday season.

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