Good or Blog Audio Program 12

Rescued from the jaws of deletion and disappearance (for better or for worse) comes the fabled Good or Blog Lost Episode: Episode 12: Terribad!

Twelfth time's a charm.

Everyone is mad at everyone! Also this episode marks our first female guest. It only took us nearly a year! After begrudgingly discussing the new releases of the week (two weeks ago), we cover the whispers and rumors of the week in a suitably abrasive manner. Seriously, why everyone so mad?

We don't have time to find out since we jet into the weekly segments where I talk about some free to play MMOs and throw my hands up in exasperation over impending Black Friday madness. Finally we get to philosophy and everyone seems to have forgotten what a narrative is as our guest and audience collapse in on themselves similar to a burgeoning black hole. That's entertainment.

We finish the segment with another first, our first guest caller! Thanks for the support, Chris!

The last segment is the real main attraction here, a collage of terrible music and appropriately angry hosts. Seriously, you'd think this show were some kind of video game talk show reenactment of 28 Days Later given all the raging nerds in one tiny recording room. Thankfully this time we manage to avoid some choice swears, so this time you'll have to complain all the bad music.

As always, here's the download link:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=L820L9YB

Rune Factory 3 Review

Rune Factory 3 is a FarmPG for the Nintendo DS

The games that I enjoy the most seem to ask a certain quality from their audience. They have some laser targeted goal in mind that asks for a part of you in exchange for sharing itself. It's all give and take. Demons Souls asks dedication and knowledge of you, STALKER asks that you buy into some mythology and roleplay a bit, and Ninja Gaiden Black (I've said before, my idea of a perfect game) asks perfection and a honing of the right skills. Rune Factory 3 is something of an anomaly in that respect. It can ask quite a bit from you. If you're business minded, entrepreneurial, curious, eager to explore, or all of the above you can flex every muscle and succeed on a variety of levels. But... you can also take your time in life. You can pick the weeds and grass that naturally grow in your garden for a bit of money talk to some people and live socially, and basically survive on the smallest amount of effort possible.

Seriously. I'm not even fucking trying.

Game Dev Story Review

Game Dev Story is a video game for the iPhone and iPod Touch

I've noticed that iPhone/iPod games tend to fall into a few distinct categories. There are the quirky puzzle games like Picross (which I have reviewed before), and Angry Birds (a puzzle game when reduced to its fundamental parts). There are the first-person shooter attempts and dual "joystick" Robotron clones. Then there is the shovelware crap that the optimist in me attributes to good intentions and how they inevitably pave the road to hell (or poorly integrated touch interfaces).
Game Dev Story falls into none of these categories. In the time honored tradition of business management simulations like Lemonade Stand, Hemp Tycoon, and (grumble) Farmville, the game breaks few molds. It gives you a tiny independent video game development company that you name and control all aspects of. You control the upper most decisions of the company, hiring/firing employees, picking the genres, style, and console of the games that get made, and then rudimentary assigning of tasks during development. It's very simple without being too restrictive, and the standard speed moves at a satisfying clip that works as something to completely hold your attention just as well as something to fondle with absent-mindedness.

Yes, that woman is on fire. Yes that is good.

Good or Blog Audio Program 11

So this week a tiny little independent game came out called CODYBLOPS. It's pretty entertaining, and a huge chunk of this episode is dedicated to it. Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to:

I'm too sexy for amateur photography.

Besides going over the weekly releases (and shovelware) we also discuss Congress's latest hearings on video games, Guillermo del Toro Lovecraftian video game announcement and the top 10 reasons (more or less) you should play the latest Call of Duty game, as well as why you should kill children.

Then, we get in touch with our cheap side and dispense some free Quake clones, as well as some (relative) Steam Stealz. Afterwards, Taylor won't shut up about realism or killing children or some junk. Whatever.

Finally we wrap up with the music segment. Taylor gets uppity, and I have to put him in his place. We close on a classy note and implore you to just drop everything and kill children.

As always, here is the link: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=UJP46RCX

P.S. Does anyone else think I curse too much?
P.P.S. Kill children.

Good or Blog Audio Program 10

This week on everyone's favorite podcast we talk about well uh... how Falstad was supposed to be on the Council of Three Hammers but actually wasn't in the game at all.

Or Blizzcon for short.

Not exactly the most recent of events, but still we have a fun time talking about all this World of Warcraft and Diablo 3 business, as well as talking about how C-List celebrity Jay Mohr is one of the least funny people on the planet Earth (though he does a pretty good Christopher Walken).

Then, we talk about a free alternative to Starcraft 2 for the cash-strapped and the Linux-based, and talk about the merits of competitive gaming while Taylor feigns interest in the whole thing.

We wrap up with some pretty sweet tunes that we all picked that were actually picked by me alone. Sometimes, I scare myself with how cool I am.

So as always, here's the link: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=2K4B5NZT

Good or Blog Audio Program 9

In an extraordinary display of relevance and seasonal planning, Good or Blog gets into the Halloween spirit and throws its first Good or Scare Frightening Terrorsode!

Your results may vary.

We kick this bitch off with some decidedly un-scary new releases like Fable 3, but then dive straight into Scarytown with other new release CSI: Deadly Conspiracy, and my pick for scariest game of all time Skeleton 64. Truly, you are in a for a roller coaster of emotions and self-censoring as we discuss true terror while trying to remain FCC safe.

Then, we talk about some free scary games, some excellent steam steals, and the philosophy of being scared (protip: there isn't much).

Finally, we bring this baby home with the music segment where I basically picked every song because motherfuckers be all forgetful up in this bitch. Word. To. Your. Mother.

Here's the link:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=5ORUQQLB

Also, in the background of most segments is Symphonies of the Planets, a series of recording by the NASA voyager of actual astral bodies. WHy? Because apparently the planets are fucking horrifying.