Podcast 11-4: Spacejunk

Photo of Robert Allen Robert AllenSeptember 2, 2012
85 4,188 1 minute read

The Tech-Gaming Podcast 11-4Beyond offering diverging schemes for galactic domination, this week we also offer impressions of Damage Inc. Pacific Squadron WWII, Chopper I, The Next Space, New Super Mario Bros. 2, Papo & Yo, Counterstrike: Global Offensive, Rock Band Blitz and Retro/Grade. Meanwhile, returning cohost Samurage shares her Lucasian tales of martial arts mayhem and deliberate solitude before leading the crew into this week’s obligatory dose of videogame trivia and thoughtful responses to reader mail.

Don’t forget to send your questions for our next mailbag, and subscribe to the Tech-Gaming Podcast on iTunes. Leaving a review would be an awesome thing to do and keep us from begging for feedback every show.

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Intro: ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Ice Cap Zone Rescue’ OC Remix
Outro: ‘Nier Ancient Dreams’ ft. Sabrina Valenzuela OC Remix

Photo of Robert Allen Robert AllenSeptember 2, 2012
85 4,188 1 minute read
Photo of Robert Allen

Robert Allen

Since being a toddler, Robert Allen has been immersed in video games, anime, and tokusatsu. Currently, his days are spent teaching at two southern California colleges. But his evenings and weekends are filled with STGs, RPGs, and action titles and well at writing for Tech-Gaming since 2007.

85 Comments

  2. Whoahoho epic intro. The rest of the show better live up to that!

    Not the usual intro, what’s with the choice NOLA?

    1. I see SeanNOLA put in a special link to Sabrina Valenzuela’s twitter. I think it’s a fan-crush.

      1. Are you guys sure NOLA did the show this time? He’s not on it and there’s no mention of him so far….

  4. Another show that’s over 2 hours? Thanks guys. From what I listen to, it sound like a winner.

  5. Pretty sure it was Deagle who choose the music. He tweeted the remix earlier in the week and Sabrina V. does covers of JRPG songs. Guilty as charged.

    Oh, and great music this week. Much better than the usual chiptunes most show use.

  6. I want to hear/see Jeremy’s reasons for NOT having demos. Like Blue said, you can limit the number of trys or the time of the demo.

    1. It’s not that I would have NO demo, but no demo on launch, probably. The way Q-Games (Pixeljunk) people do it.

      Like I said, why not let the word of mouth spread, and people who have decided to buy can buy, and people who won’t, won’t. Then, later on, if you have a good demo that can win some people over… why not do it that way?

      Regarding a limited demo, I think that would probably piss people off more than having no demo, personally.

      1. I actually prefer a limited time or usage demo over no demo at all. When a company doesn’t make a demo, it’s like movies not screening early to critics, to me. Seems like they are hiding the turds.

      2. In an interview Q Games, I remember Dylan Cuthbert mentioning aggressive prices (drops after the game came out) as really helping sales.

  7. Listening right now. I’m a little disappointed in how you guys are bashing New Super Mario Bros. 2 even though only one person has played it. Try to save you opinions until you’re at least put a few hours in.

      2. I’d like to have more discussion on it, maybe after Blue, Sean, or Jeremy play it.

        Personally, I really like it. Nothing revolutionary but a solid platformer. Critics for Joystiq, D-toid, and other blogs seem have given it a 7/10 without really saying anything more that “yeah, it’s Mario.”

        Of course, these are the same sites giving Madden 8’s and 9’s but saying “it’s more Madden”

        1. I don’t know why I even read D-toid when they write crap like this:

          “New Super Mario Bros. 2 is good. It was always going to be good, because Nintendo makes good games.”

          Not GOOD writing.

  8. Thanks for the mid show shout out, all.

    Sorry no time for stalking, I just started my second year of college this week and classes are a bit harder already. The podcast will be my only break from 300 pages of reading my Tuesday.

    I might have to read 300 more no that Sage can’t fall in love. hahahaha.

    2. I’ll second MadJack, Sektor. I’m not sure how the joking got to this point, but thanks for being a good sport about it. And I can still fall in love, it just has to be tempered by focus. Or secret. Secret, secret love. Just like Anakin……heh. 🙂
      That’s a lot of reading, bytheway. What’s it for?

      1. Don’t stop the jokes. I get a kick every time I hear my name. And I know you’ll love me one day even though I’m a lowly English Lit major.

  10. I still don’t know why Lawman liked Papo & Yo so much. It’s platforming isn’t that interesting, it’s puzzle are tedious, and he even admits the games a glitchfest. Seems like they really rushed it and reviews gave it the score it deserved.

    1. I suppose, in a way, I liked it because of what people say about Valve games… how the story is told THROUGH the gameplay.

      Except, unlike Valve games where “Hey, that dead body has graffiti next to it!” is the story, this game explores the metaphor of a pretty deep, and broken, interpersonal relationship in the ways you interact with it.

      But, I can understand why some people might not dig it.

      I didn’t experience many bugs.

      1. I think one difference is that the shooting in Half Life was good enough to keep people from getting bored.

        1. But then again, the shooting in Half-Life is not the story. In Papo & Yo, in a manner of speaking, the interaction that the player has with the puzzles is analogous to Quico trying to come to grips with his situation.

          Half-Life has shooty-shooty, definitely. Papo & Yo is something else.

  11. Where is Sean this week? Where’s your love for Nintendo classics Jeremy? And where’s your interest in standing up for gamers (the no demo stance)

    1. I do love me some Nintendo! Which classics in particular?

      Tell me what you mean by standing up for gamers, and I can tell you where my interest is!

      1. Mainly, Mario. Personally, I think the games are good enough to stand the test of time. Millions probably agree with me (we’ll have to wait for NPD results to see exactly how many). You just seem a little down on SMB.

        1. I’m not “down” on it per se… My reason for bringing up the entire Mario franchise in the NSMB2 discussion wasn’t about whether the games were BAD (I think there are very few “bad” Mario games. I even like Mario Party a lot!) but instead whether those experiences are sticking with us anymore. If there’s anything really special.

          Super Mario 3D Land was something really special. New Super Mario Bros DS? Mmnnehh. New Super Mario Bros 2? I don’t know.

      2. Speaking of, I liked the Game n’ Watch reference in the show. As well as Jeremy’s telling everyone to get their Arnold impressions “out of their system”.

  12. Why did you let the girls go on and on about star wars for like half an hour. I want to heard about video games.

  13. Nice show so far. I might have to check out The Next Space, I am a huge Blazing Lasers/TG-16 nut and never heard of this one.

  14. Both the intro and outro music this week are godly. The stuff in the middle wasn’t too bad either.

    2. I think I may bring this up with one of my IP professors. If you spend the money to own something, you should own it. Also, Apple doesn’t make it clear that you DON’T own it, and it is a normal assumption to make that if you pay for something, then it’s yours. Especially given how many sites DON’T make you pay, and make it clear that you’re only borrowing the music to be able to listen to it.
      I think this is a good example of one of the great things actors and other celebrities can do in our society. Because they are so much in the public eye, they can make a stand about things like this and be heard. I hope Bruce continues to support these rights and that it has an affect. Also, another example of why not everything is better in digital 🙂

      1. Let me play devil’s advocate for a sec. how can a company ever make a profit if digital goods are forever? Music that was once recorded on plastic would eventually break down. Not so with the cloud. To compensate, you’d have to pay much more for generations to own music.

    1. I sent my 3DS to PAX with some friends for StreetPasses! I’m home with my wife who is recovering from surgery.

      I’m not sure I’d have gone anyway, personally. It seems really crowded and hard to really get anything done. Internet coverage!

      1. Geez, how can you not love Jeremy. Caring after the wife and loaning out his 3DS. The guy’s a gaming saint!

        Oh, and Jer- tell them to clear the buffer every so often, otherwise you’ll only get 10 street passes.

  18. I would have liked a deeper discussion of Counterstrike: GO besides just Move controls. Retro/Grade did seem gimmicky to me, but probably worth $10 if you want to play something original.

    1. I ran out of time, but I agree it would be worth talking a bit more about. Counterstrike goes back a long way, and I’m not sure a lot of younger people played it.

      That said, I’m not sure it’s the best FPS experience available, either. It’s pretty niche. It’s definitely the best at its particular style of quick tactical deathmatch, though.

        1. Definitely fast, but you have to be careful, because when you die you sit out the rest of the round. It becomes, like any game with an entrenched user base, extremely chess-like. There’s almost a meta-game to it. Feints within feints within feints.

          Oh, and it’s full of jerk kids being obnoxious on their mics.

          The only other thing that ever came close to it was America’s Army. It’s too bad that game still isn’t around.

          1. I used to play that pretty religiously. I even bought the 360 version (which was awful). I agree they’re close in feel.

  19. Blue wins best joke of show with “Where does Space Junk come from”?

    Congrats on beating Persona 3. And big congrats on the black belt, Master Sage.

  20. Thanks guys my backlog is up to the cosmos, but I realized I have to play Papo & Yo, NSMB2, Nier and Sonic 3 again. The last two just hear the original version of the music.

      1. Nier needs to jump to the top. I remember you guys where one of the few sites to give a favorable review.

  21. I also feel that conceptually, Papo & Yo metaphor was a great. But in the end, the game wasn’t all that fun to play. Not all of the fault was the bugs, some was puzzle design.

    1. Yeah, I don’t disagree. But all movies aren’t “fun” all the time either. Sometimes they’re just engaging.

      And I felt that Papo & Yo was engaging, and continues to engage me after I’ve finished it. Not many games do that for me.

  22. I like the way trivia went from worst ever to best ever to maybe back again. I’m guessing Jeremy’s not a Madden fan.

  24. I am from China. I listen to hear about videogame in the USA and to help me learn english. Like hear about Xbox and PS3 but many people here can not afford systems. May be your show could talk about MMOs and more online games.

    Your friendly gamer,

    Clint

    1. Yep, It just stole 2 hours of my life away. Adult Swim should put a warning sticker on it.

  26. Last show Jeremy asked what critics and players expected from Tony Hawk HD. His point was that it was faithful to the old games while adding graphical polish. This week he knocks NSMB2 for basically doing the same thing.

      1. To me, you seemed a bit more excited about it that Deagle.

        Still you should give NSMB2 a try. As long as you don’t expect Mushroom Kingdom nirvana, it’s a pretty fun little title.

  27. What is the GamerCrud you guys speak of? Just kidding. Like Deagle, I’m getting spam attacked like crazy. Not the way to lure me in.

    1. Good point now that you mention it.

      Great show this week, although I expect Sage to commit to gaming a bit more now.

  28. This almost makes up for the lack of the Cagcast for 3 weeks. You even threw in some “watch this bitches”

    1. Maybe. I think Minecraft definitely has the “Create” down. The “Play” is sort of what you make of it, for now. I understand they’re adding quests and stuff on the PC version. “Sharing” in Minecraft is more about playing together than sharing levels, so that’s pretty loose too.

      It’s definitely a user-generated-content game, but I’m not sure it’s quite the same thing as Sony’s Play, Create, Share initiative.

  30. Des, I loved hearing you rip Damage Inc. a new one. A a vet and a history lover the game sounds like it needed it.

    BTW. Did you pick up (electronically or otherwise) “No Easy Day” today?

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