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This week is another bountiful podcast as the crew has a surprisingly long discussion about this week’s Gaming Flashback, Make Trax. The guys also discuss 1990’s kids shows like Reading Rainbow and Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? The contest winner for a copy of Magicka is also revealed, as some magical books are discussed.

In the news:

• Rumor: Wii U will cost Nintendo $180 and retail for $300
• Online petition calls for end to Tera ‘censorship’ in EU
• Videogame-only Kickstarter alternative debuting at E3 2012
• NPD: 40% of freemium players pay for in-game upgrades

Interestingly enough, the day after the podcast was recorded, the gore slider issue was resolved.

We also have some great Reader Feedback, but no contest or question this week. Sorry, folks!

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This week is packed full of gaming goodness, as the winner of the Civilization V contest is revealed. If that weren’t enough, the news items for the week invoked a lot of conversation:

• New Halo 4 multiplayer details revealed
• EA dismisses “big layoffs” claim, always “growing and morphing”
• Rumor: Microsoft finding new ways to “monetize” Xbox Live

The podcast also features some great, heartwarming Reader Feedback as well as a new contest to win a code for Magicka. The question of the week, “What books featuring magic do you like the best?”

Standard Podcast [ 1:14:10 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (3199)

This week, there’s only one news item, but that’s because Jonah Falcon returns from PAX East 2012 to discuss the games he managed to check out and even play, including Assassin’s Creed 3, XCOM: Enemy Unknown, Civilization V: Gods & Kings, Max Payne 3, Spec Ops: The Line, Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor, Borderlands 2, Penny Arcade Adventures Episode 3, Orcs Must Die! 2, Tera, Solitaire Blitz, Aliens: Colonial Marines, Mark of the Ninja and Code Hero.

The show does cover one news item:

• Zelnick regrets predicting THQ’s demise in six months

Finally, a new contest: win a free copy of Civilization V Special Edition on Steam. To win it, just state what your favorite civilization in history is and why. All that and Reader Feedback and a special surprise at the end!

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Because you asked for it, the podcast features four guys, including Jonah Falcon, Paul S. Nowak, Jordan Lund, and Dan Quick. This is the no frills edition, however, as due to travel to PAX East, there’s no Gaming Flashback, and only a few news items.

They include:

• Rumor: Xbox 720 will require constant internet connection
• Spector saw “look of fear in people’s eyes” over musicals in Epic Mickey 2
• GAME acquired by OpCapita, no store closures planned
• Sony confirms Zipper Interactive closure
• Wii U less powerful than PS3, Xbox 360, developers say

We also include Reader Feedback. We’ll have a Question of the Week next week, we promise.

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This week’s episode has a lot of … personality. That is, a lot of mockery, cursing, sniping, and general chaos – making it one of the best podcasts ever. Jordan Lund wasn’t available due to commitments at work, so Dan Quick once again filled in, and as expected, got along with Paul S. Nowak famously, as they tagteamed Jonah Falcon. In the meantime, the Gaming Flashback this week was Civilization II.

This week’s news also made Paul explode. Twice:

• Congressmen want warning labels on all games
• Exec: Console version of Diablo III will be “full Blizzard experience”
• Grand Theft Auto V details allegedly leaked
• EVE Online FanFest Panel accused of “tasteless” behavior
• Rumor: Microsoft to release ‘Xbox Lite’ before next-gen

The winners of The Darkness II contest were also announced. All this in an episode bursting full of good, old-fashioned bitchiness.

NOTE: THIS ARTICLE DISCUSSES THE ENDING AND EVENTS OF MASS EFFECT 3. DO NOT READ IF YOU DO NOT WISH THE GAME TO BE SPOILED FOR YOU.

In this day and age, one learns to take internet outrage with a heavy dollop of salt. The videogame community tends to be reactionary in the worst way, for a few reasons: they tend to be young, they tend to express their immediate feelings almost as a stream of consciousness, and let’s face it, the Greater Internet Dickwad Theory comes into play as well.

When it comes to game endings, when I hear that the community is upset about a game’s ending, I almost always take that as a good sign that the ending is daring and provocative. For example, there was an outcry over the abruptness of the ending of Halo 2, which had the nerve to conclude with a cliffhanger. The 2009 Prince of Persia reboot ended with the player undoing all of the work to free an ancient evil god they’d just imprisoned.

So when I heard that there was a growing outcry about the endings of Mass Effect 3, my interest peaked, because invariably, that meant the story was provocative and daring, instead of predictable and boring.

[Read more →]

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This week’s Gaming Podcast gets down and dirty, with plenty of AAAA goodness. The Darkness II contest is still going on this week, and winners will be announced next week.

In the meantime:

• Analyst predicts 66M iPad sales in 2012
• Diablo III gets May 15 release date
• Epic: Next gen console launch titles will probably use Unreal Engine 3
• Microsoft looking for executive producer to work on an “AAAA” Xbox title
• Wasteland 2 aiming for October 2013 release date

All that, plus Reader Feedback.

Standard Podcast [ 1:09:27 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (2905)

Dan Quick returns again to cover for Paul Nowak, and this week, the Gaming Podcast is offering free copies of The Darkness II Limited Edition, which comes with the main game and some free DLC. The guys are giving away an Xbox 360 version and a PlayStation 3 version. To win, just listen to the podcast and post what your favorite scary movie is.

The game news this week includes:

• Ex-SCEE senior VP Phil Harrison joins Microsoft’s European team
• DOOM developer John Romero has “plans” for “old school” shooter
• EA defends Mass Effect 3 From Ashes DLC data being on disc
• Notch settles with Bethesda over “Scrolls” trademark
• DICE: 2GB RAM won’t be enough for next gen consoles
• Angry Birds theme park to open in Finland
• GAME puts itself up for sale, GameStop interested
• Diablo III release date announcement “in a few days“, no PvP in launch version

And yes, they know that the announcement was just made today – May 15th release date for Diablo III.

The contest to win either the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 version of The Darkness II will run this and next week, with the winners announced in Episode 257.

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This week, the full man crew is back, and incredibly deep-voiced as they proclaim themselves the Protectors of Humanity™, as Mass Effect 3 launches today. The Gaming Flashback is a Gaming Preview of Assassin’s Creed 3.

This week’s news includes:

• Microsoft: Xbox Live Arcade will be phased out eventually
• Leaked images “nothing to do with” Doom 4, fans will “see awesome”
• SimCity 5 coming in 2013
• GAME drops 5% in shares after Mass Effect 3 no-show
• Rumor: PlayStation 4 ditches Cell processor tech

This, and the most contentious Reader Feedback ever.

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This week, Paul is still not available, which is unfortunate, since the Gaming Flashback is the classic DuckTales for the NES. There’s also a bunch of scintillating news items including:

• Pachter: Nintendo “Blew It” With Wii U, “In Disarray”
• Bethesda hiring talent for Xbox 720, PlayStation 4 game
• EA reveals Mass Effect 3 preorders well ahead of Mass Effect 2‘s
• Pachter: Next generation Sony and Microsoft consoles will have 4GB SKU
• Sony filed patent For Kinect-like motion device
• PSN Minis not working on Vita

We also reveal the winner of the Pixie Diamonds contest.