Conference Call

GWJ Conference Call Episode 129

Uno Rush, DoW 2, Hasbro Family Game Night, Laser Face Jones, Let's Golf, Vampire Bloodlines, Quake Live, Underappreciated Technology, The Contest Winner, Your Emails and more!

This week Sean Sands puts on the hosting hat as the crew ruminates on old gaming technologies. Suck it, OnLive. If you want to submit a question or comment call in to our voicemail line at (612) 284-4563.

To contact us, email [email protected]! Send us your thoughts on the show, pressing issues you want to talk about or whatever else is on your mind. You can even send a 30 second audio question or comment (MP3 format please) if you're so inclined. You can also submit a question or comment call in to our voicemail line at (612) 284-4563!

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Show credits

Music credits: 

Intro/Outtro Music - Ian Dorsch, Willowtree Audioworks

"PodunkStump" (Ian Dorsch) - 0:28:56
"Los Pistoleros" (Ian Dorsch) - 1:01:32

Comments

Just finished listening- and you guys were really strong even without the guiding hand of Certis...OK the beginning not so much, but hey it ended strong so that's something, right?

iPhone and other casual games? let's call this week's show, NonGamers with Jobs!

man, i'm still waiting for more of you guys to play RE5. it's sooo much fun. i'm particularly disappointed that Rabbit's 360 died cuz i wouldn't mind playing some coop with a fellow Masshole

Elysium sounded so...hostly at the beginning. I couldn't shake the image that he had somehow escaped from the set of the video for Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun." Great episode.

EDIT:

Mystic Violet wrote:

When you guys revealed the answers to the contest, I could not believe that the first one wasn't Castlevania. I embarked on a quest to try and figure out which Castlevania song I was confusing it with. My conclusion: I believe a few of us thought ActRaiser's Filmore was Castlevania's Reincarnated Soul. ;)

Actually, I knew straight away, despite the Castlevania-esque organ fills, that the first song came from one of the SNES Quintet games because they used that slap-bass sample all over the place. It was the Metroid Prime track that completely stumped me; I knew that I had heard it and that it came from something that I played within the last gen, but I just could not place it at all.

Amoebic wrote:

I was also very sore in the pants that Saints Row 2 can't be played two-player on the same console (someone, please prove me wrong about this! I hope I just missed this because I'm a dummy).

It is very difficult in open world games b/c the world has to be rendered twice. The developers of Crackdown really wanted to put it in but gave this as a reason that made the ultimately have to axe the idea.

I think it just appears that split screen is not played as much these days because most forums consist of an older "hardcore" crowd where online is easier and faster. However, I would bet that there are a huge portion of non-vocal gamers that still use it extensively (e.g. kids, families, "casual" college crowd -dorm room Halo). Since many of these consoles are never plugged into the internet developers just aren't able to gather accurate data.

DUDES, you guys didn't even mention those Tiger Handheld games or those other LCD handhelds like Game & Watch? that was portable gaming BEFORE the Gameboy even existed! i demand you guys read my post and acknowledge their existence!

OzymandiasAV wrote:

It was the Metroid Prime track that completely stumped me; I knew that I had heard it and that it came from something that I played within the last gen, but I just could not place it at all.

That's OK, I played Metroid Prime AN HOUR BEFORE LISTENING TO THE PODCAST and still didn't guess it.

Dax wrote:
OzymandiasAV wrote:

It was the Metroid Prime track that completely stumped me; I knew that I had heard it and that it came from something that I played within the last gen, but I just could not place it at all.

That's OK, I played Metroid Prime AN HOUR BEFORE LISTENING TO THE PODCAST and still didn't guess it. :shock:

Metroid Prime was the only one that I knew. I :gasp: haven't played any of the other games.

snorlax789 wrote:

1. The Sega Channel: I remember reading about this in GamePro when I was a youth, and the prospect of exclusive content (Mega Man: The Wily Wars) streaming to my Genesis excited me more than pie, fireworks, and a perfect Spring day put together.

That was the first thing that hit me as well. Do you remember how the user needed to download the same game every other time to keep the save game in memory? I recall finishing Phantasy Star IV when it was what? $75 in stores? But, in order to keep my save, if I wanted to check out X-Men 2, I had to IMMEDIATELY download PSIV again. Annoying, but I will have to admit that it was cool as hell for the time.

adam.greenbrier wrote:
Dax wrote:
OzymandiasAV wrote:

It was the Metroid Prime track that completely stumped me; I knew that I had heard it and that it came from something that I played within the last gen, but I just could not place it at all.

That's OK, I played Metroid Prime AN HOUR BEFORE LISTENING TO THE PODCAST and still didn't guess it. :shock:

Metroid Prime was the only one that I knew. I :gasp: haven't played any of the other games.

I got Metroid Prime and Secret of Mana (this one, with out a second's hesitation) and was certain the first was a Castlevania one, but didn't bother to look it up since I wasn't entering. I can't even remember what they said the first one was, but I haven't played Deus Ex.

LiK wrote:

DUDES, you guys didn't even mention those Tiger Handheld games or those other LCD handhelds like Game & Watch? that was portable gaming BEFORE the Gameboy even existed! i demand you guys read my post and acknowledge their existence! ;)

God I hate the Game & Watch games. Maybe I was spoiled, growing up on the Atari 2600, but a few odd LCD animations does not make a game. Even as a kid, I hated those Tiger Handhelds.

Hate mail worthy? I don't know. I can see how they're important to the development of portable games, but I just don't care. Portable gaming that was fun did not exist before the Gameboy. And portable gaming as a whole just doesn't compete with the 100% awesomeness of the Power Glove.

Demiurge wrote:
LiK wrote:

DUDES, you guys didn't even mention those Tiger Handheld games or those other LCD handhelds like Game & Watch? that was portable gaming BEFORE the Gameboy even existed! i demand you guys read my post and acknowledge their existence! ;)

God I hate the Game & Watch games. Maybe I was spoiled, growing up on the Atari 2600, but a few odd LCD animations does not make a game. Even as a kid, I hated those Tiger Handhelds.

Hate mail worthy? I don't know. I can see how they're important to the development of portable games, but I just don't care. Portable gaming that was fun did not exist before the Gameboy. And portable gaming as a whole just doesn't compete with the 100% awesomeness of the Power Glove.

love it or hate it, they preceded the Gameboy and should be acknowledged. they were true portable video games whether you liked them or not. i played a lot of them with my friends when i was a kid and there were some really fun ones out there. i liked that Nintendo rereleased the Game & Watch games for the GBA and DS and even showcased those characters in the Super Smash Bros and WarioWare games. i don't think they should be forgotten.

anyways, to each their own.

I have to agree with LiK. As I said upthread, the Game & Watch was downright revolutionary. Not only is it almost impossible to imagine gaming without d-pads--gaming solely directed by WASD and joysticks makes my hands ache just thinking about it--the Game & Watch revealed that video games didn't have to be tied to one place. Games weren't just limited to the arcade or the living room; they were a technology that could be taken wherever you wanted. And in an era that predated cell phones, laptops, Blackberries, mp3 players, pagers, digital cameras, and of course Gameboys, that's about as innovative an idea as you can get.

FlamingPeasant wrote:

I don't think you guys mentioned Sound Cards as a huge innovation. The first time I heard an X-Wing laser blast or a TIE Fighter scream by I think I passed out from joy.

I remember going over to a friend's house and watching him play King's Quest VI on his new computer. His character was standing on a beach and I could hear actual ocean sounds instead of random beeps. It was one of the most amazing game-related experiences I've had.

LiK wrote:
Demiurge wrote:
LiK wrote:

DUDES, you guys didn't even mention those Tiger Handheld games or those other LCD handhelds like Game & Watch? that was portable gaming BEFORE the Gameboy even existed! i demand you guys read my post and acknowledge their existence! ;)

God I hate the Game & Watch games. Maybe I was spoiled, growing up on the Atari 2600, but a few odd LCD animations does not make a game. Even as a kid, I hated those Tiger Handhelds.

Hate mail worthy? I don't know. I can see how they're important to the development of portable games, but I just don't care. Portable gaming that was fun did not exist before the Gameboy. And portable gaming as a whole just doesn't compete with the 100% awesomeness of the Power Glove.

love it or hate it, they preceded the Gameboy and should be acknowledged. they were true portable video games whether you liked them or not. i played a lot of them with my friends when i was a kid and there were some really fun ones out there

I will consent that the Tiger handhelds sucked (IMO anyway), but I completely agree with LiK about the G&W handhelds. Maybe I liked them because of how early they were around and that I was still young enough to enjoy them. Donkey Kong Jr. was my favorite.

I remember the handheld LCD's. Heck, I had a Game & Watch title or two as a kid. I remember really wanting to love them, but they were just so.... old. Remember the Pac-Man handhelds that were shaped like the acrade cabinets? The game sucked, but it was shaped really cool. Yeah, I wasn't impressed either.

docbadwrench wrote:

I remember the handheld LCD's. Heck, I had a Game & Watch title or two as a kid. I remember really wanting to love them, but they were just so.... old. Remember the Pac-Man handhelds that were shaped like the acrade cabinets? The game sucked, but it was shaped really cool. Yeah, I wasn't impressed either. :)

this will completely out me as a total geek but i remember having a wrist watch that was the size of a calculator watch that had one of those old tiger electronic type games but there was zelda and super mario (like pow block in the middle mario)2nd grade was an awesome year thanks to those. consequently that's the same year i had to get glasses. i blame the watches.

I think the question about "staggered" split screen is better illustrated using Resident Evil 5 with local co-op, where instead of simply dividing the screen into halves along the horizontal or vertical axes, it retains the original aspect ratio for both players by creating two smaller 16x9 widescreens on the same display. No more griping about not seeing enough vertically or the not having the same horizontal viewing angle.

Kurrelgyre wrote:

I think the question about "staggered" split screen is better illustrated using Resident Evil 5 with local co-op, where instead of simply dividing the screen into halves along the horizontal or vertical axes, it retains the original aspect ratio for both players by creating two smaller 16x9 widescreens on the same display. No more griping about not seeing enough vertically or the not having the same horizontal viewing angle.

Now people can just complain about both at once. It's pretty efficient.

For those who are interested and want to see them in context:

Actraiser:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLUlb...

Deus Ex Hong Kong: (with crazy trick)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VO3wW...

Secret of Mana
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1Max...

Metroid Prime Tallon overworld:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opzUr...

The Deus Ex one was the only one I got out of the four; might have something to do with the fact that it's the only one of the four I've ever played.

Just a quick note regarding Go apps for the iPhone. SmartGo Touch has been around for a while if you're just interested in working problems and reviewing pro games (they plan to add a "play against AI" feature in a future release), and Tetsuki is available for internet play. If the AI in the Go app Rabbit mentions really is challenging then I'll be psyched. Even the well-regarded Go AI that I've played tends to be rather weak unless you crank up settings to the point where the PC has to "think" for like 60 seconds between moves--that seems like it would kill battery life on an iPhone.