The Played crew kicks off this episode with ill-advised conspiratorial rantings about what Blizzard will announce during its Paris Worldwide Invitational this Saturday. We’re hoping and praying for Diablo III. We expect to be crushingly disappointed.
After that, it’s straight on to what we’ve been playing, with the lion’s share of discussion devoted to Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. We follow up last week’s Demiurge Studios interview with some more discussion about the PC version of Mass Effect, then talk about Space Invaders Extreme and LEGO Indiana Jones.
Oh–there’s an introduction by David Hayter too!
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The bulk of this week’s show is spent with Albert Reed, studio manager of Massachusetts-based Demiurge Studios. Demiurge just shipped its PC version of BioWare’s acclaimed Mass Effect–and polished out the game’s edges in the process. Reed discusses his studio’s formation and experience, and its plans to launch its own original titles.
We wrap up the episode with Mark discussing GRID and Age of Conan–which Elizabeth has not played, to her dismay–while Chris touches on a recent visit to Valve, which saw the venerable developer make its case for the PC platform.
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As the Played crew slowly approaches something more closely resembling a regular schedule, we discuss the announcement of Guitar Hero World Tour and three games from the ex-Clover folks at PlatinumGames. Elsewhere in the news is a raising of the Xbox Live Arcade game size cap to 350MB, LucasArts dropping out of the ESA, and Microsoft getting a little overzealous in its attempt to cleanse Live of signs of homosexuality.
Mark speaks about Boom Blox on Wii and Echochrome on PlayStation Network, while Chris and Liz have mainly (and shamefully) been playing Scrabulous. Chris, however, has also checked out some real games: Rock Rock Revolution, Alone in the Dark, and N-Gage relaunch flagship title Reset Generation.
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We’re back, and only a week late this time! This episode kicks off with discussion of Playstation 3’s impressive install base in Europe, several publishers pulling out of this year’s E3 and one out of the ESA trade organization, and the controversial DRM solution announced for Spore and the upcoming PC version of Mass Effect.
We follow up those news briefs with a lengthy discussion of what we’ve been playing, the game that we haven’t been able to stop playing for days on end: Catan.
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Played - Episode 38 [58:08m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (131) Played - Episode 38 [58:08m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (564)
For some reason, Mark kicks off this week’s month’s episode with a protracted story about his recent laser eye surgery. That strange escapade is followed by discussion of the recent Nintendo-dominated NPD sales figures for the US, the closure of long-time PC gaming mag Games for Windows (formerly Computer Gaming World), and the latest delay of PlayStation 3’s upcoming Home virtual world.
Chris reports on a recent Nintendo summit; Mark discusses God of War: Chains of Olympus (PSP), Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword (NDS), and Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds (PS3); and Elizabeth has only been playing web games.
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This week’s trimmed and lean episode of Played kicks off with discussion of Grand Theft Auto IV and its just-announced multiplayer modes, with a bit of a detour to discuss Chris’ lack of Counter-Strike prowess–Liz also chimes in to discuss her lack of gaming prowess all around. The crew is also surprised to learn that Criterion’s new Burnout: Paradise island content will be free.
Liz has been playing quite a lot of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, while Chris has continued to spend his time on Advance Wars: Days of Ruin as well as PC classic No One Lives Forever 2. Mark has finished up Lost Odyssey and Army of Two, and is currently deep into Patapon on PSP.
Finally, head over to our upgraded forums, which feature a cleaner look, better functionality, and a brand-new URL.
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In this week’s episode of Played, the crew discusses the resignation of longtime Sony executive Phil Harrison, the death of HD DVD in the intense nerd-fought battle of high-def video formats, and the potential of Nintendo’s upcoming WiiWare download service and reports of a paid online gaming service from Nintendo.
Following up on his report in the last podcast, Chris speaks a bit on Masahiro Sakura’s Super Smash Bros. Brawl address at GDC and how it relates to differences between Japanese and Western game development. Finally, Liz is looking forward to Infinite Interactive’s Puzzle Quest followup Galactrix, and Mark has been playing Lost Odyssey and Frontlines. Plus, there is jazz.
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Played - Episode 35 (M4A) [53:13m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (238) Played - Episode 35 (MP3) [53:13m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (726)
GDC has come and gone and Chris is back to chat about some of the cool stuff that he saw there. This includes Far Cry 2 tech, its dynamic systems, and the interesting steps the development team is taking to make a game with a message that’s not restricted or heavy-handed. We also talk about the LEGO Universe MMO and whether or not it could be the Wii of MMOs. Does the idea of pirates, dragons, and space all existing in the same universe sound exciting?
In “What We’re Playing,” Elizabeth sinks her teeth into No More Heroes. Chris is all about Advance Wars: Days of Ruin, and Mark begins playing the epic Lost Odyssey, gushes over The Club wondering why is no one playing this game, and lastly admits that he’s ventured back into World of Warcraft.
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Played - Episode 34 (M4A) [58:28m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (241) Played - Episode 34 (MP3) [58:28m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (684)
