Episode 607: PC and xCloud

This week’s episode is double-sized, because the previous week’s episode was… pretty bad. Who knows? Maybe we’ll air it some week when we’re unable to post a new episode.

This week’s news includes:

  • Xbox Cloud Gaming for PC beta invites sent out
  • Rumor: Battlefield 6 not coming to Xbox One or PS4
  • BioShock 4 job listings appear to confirm an open world and sidequests
  • Civilization 6’s final free game update adds three new units, two new maps, and more
  • Nintendo says it will focus on more original game series in the future

All this and listener feedback. Post your own feedback here at Facebook.

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Gaming Flashback: Double Dragon II [NES]Gaming Flashback: Double Dragon II [NES]

Double Dragon II: The Revenge, this is a sequel title to a game which arrived earlier on the NES as an arcade port, something pretty standard back in the day of arcades, and like it’s original port, has variations from the arcade.

The trick is, the variations are much less than that of the original (which might as well been it’s own version of the arcade game but sucky). I was a huge fan of the original Double Dragon title in the arcade and was met with extreme disappointment when I found out it was strictly single player on the NES console.

This game was 300% better than the disappointing Double Dragon release on the NES. Granted, the NES version was fun to play, in single-player, but I purchased it for the two-player nature of the arcade version so I could play the game with my friends. Double Dragon II, on the NES had finally restored my faith in Technos Japan and the american publisher Acclaim. They took a bad situation and made it much better in the second release, why they didn’t make the original multiplayer is beyond me.

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Episode 491: January BluesEpisode 491: January Blues

Aside from cardboard products by Nintendo, there wasn’t much to talk about this week, thanks to the January slog. However, the guys did play games and there was some news to talk about.

This week’s headlines include:

  • NIS America admits it has no idea when Ys VIII will launch on PC
  • New Fortnite: Battle Royale update available now
  • Final Fantasy 12: The Zodiac Age releases in just a few weeks on PC

All this and Listener Feedback, too.

Microsoft Avatar’s and DashboardMicrosoft Avatar’s and Dashboard

Microsoft has come out and validated some earlier rumors about Xbox 360 Avatar’s and their 3D dashboard design. Apparently, this is to build more of a community and bring a bit of the Mii-like influence from the Nintendo Wii to the 360 hardware.

It seems Microsoft is taking some of the concepts from the Nintendo Wii which were poorly implemented due to the lack of any real network community and bring them to live with a more integrated useful system. This proves Nintendo was on the right track but shows off their lack of integration and fear of bringing people together.

“Create, share, and have fun with all of your friends… but avatars are just the beginning. The new Xbox is tailored for the living room. Here we are at the community channel — instead of a list of friends, you actually see them.” (joystiq)

Nintendo’s cute little idea of Mii’s and sharing them with friends was fantastic, a great bullet list feature, but rather useless. Typing in friends codes gets old way too fast and there really isn’t anyway to vocally chat with people on your friends list anyway, so who cares?

Microsoft has proven to know a bit about the community space, has parental controls and a fairly reliable LIVE system for making it all happen. Although Nintendo should look at this with a bit of pride, given duplication is the best form of flattery, they could learn a few things about how to work a community into your console too!