Conference Call

GWJ Conference Call Episode 320

Wii U Updates, PS Vita PS+, Hitman: Absolution, Planetside 2, Mass Effect 3, Rabbit's Cocktail Cabinet, Your Emails and more!

Today Rob Zacny, Julian and Shawn enjoy a leisurely post-Thanksgiving email/twitter show!

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.

Jonathan Downin About.Me
Tweaked Audio (Use discount code GWJ)

Chairman_Mao's Timestamps
00.01.38 Mass Effect 3
00.08.52 Rabbit's Thanksgiving project: Cocktail Arcade Cabinet
00.12.40 Walking Dead
00.13.38 Planetside 2
00.24.19 Hitman Absolution
00.32.43 Various Wii U games (Nintendoland, Super Mario, Pikmin3)
00.35.23 PlayStation Vita
00.39.44 Nostalgia lightning round! Zelda: Link to the Past
00.40.13 McElroy and Zacny's undying love for Gunnar Shades
00.45.53 Twitter questions and your emails!

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Show credits

Music credits: 

Waking Up Instrumental - Dexter Britain - http://freemusicarchive.org/music/De... - 45:25

Intro/Outtro Music - Ian Dorsch, Willowtree Audioworks

Comments

Keep going with Mass Effect 3 Rob. It's all worth it for the ending :neutral:.

My wife and I aren't done with The Walking Dead--I'm driving and she's the back-seat driver. We are only early in chapter 4....

I hate coming across spoilers of any kind, even just the "the ending was great / disappointing" variety.

Do I need to not listen to this whole episode until we have completed through the end of chapter 5? Will I be safe if I skip from the beginning of the Walking Dead segment to the next? Or do they have some off-hand remarks anywhere else I don't want to hear?

Keithustus wrote:

My wife and I aren't done with The Walking Dead--I'm driving and she's the back-seat driver. We are only early in chapter 4....

I hate coming across spoilers of any kind, even just the "the ending was great / disappointing" variety.

Do I need to not listen to this whole episode until we have completed through the end of chapter 5? Will I be safe if I skip from the beginning of the Walking Dead segment to the next? Or do they have some off-hand remarks anywhere else I don't want to hear?

If you're that sensitive, I guess I'd wait. Maybe build in a one month lag time on podcast listening in general

Completely agree with everything said about the Vita.

I keep thinking about the Wii U. I'm not a zombie game fan, so there's no real current titles that I want for it. The increased graphics power is something I would want if they did something with it that I actually wanted to play. The problem is, Nintendo has been fighting against bringing over the kinds of titles I enjoy playing, and only grudgingly brought over Xenosaga, while leaving Last Story to another localizer. They blocked Pandora's Tower entirely. Pikmin is the only currently announced thing I want, and it's not out yet.

Also, the lack of gamecube BC means that it can't completely replace my Wii... I still have 4 games to finish on that system. (Skies of Arcadia, Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, Majora's Mask.)

I was more than a little disappointed that the Rabbit's Cocktail Cabinet segment was about cabinets and not cocktails

can i get a link to the gunner shades, I'm always doing work on a computer for hours, could be a good investment

edit: nvm, listened for another 2 minutes

Two quotes from Certis in the opening segment discussing Rabbit's cocktail cabinet had me laughing on the street while walking our dog this morning:

"I wonder if you realize how close you are to becoming Willie Wonka, like a gamer's Charlie and the Chocolate factory."

I want to go to there.

I started doing a mental inventory of cabinet-worthy gear in the basement until this one popped up:

"I almost died about four times installing a dishwasher today."

Reminds me why we established this rule early in our home-ownership adventure: If it can't be fixed with the tools in my toolbox we pay someone to do it.

Belated Happy Birthday, Shawn. Isn't it funny how we reach a point where we have to do the math to determine our age while early in our life the "half years" were a critical piece?

Great podcast guys. Good to get a low-down on Gunnar shades from someone who wears glasses/contacts.

and Happy Birthday Shawn!!!

thinkklinck wrote:

can i get a link to the gunner shades, I'm always doing work on a computer for hours, could be a good investment

edit: nvm, listened for another 2 minutes

FYI they are frequently on sale at tech-woot. I believe Woot pulls a TJMaxx and buys a lot of the relatively unwanted models for cheap. I'm glad to hear a positive review for them, I'll probably pick up a pair next time there's a bargain.

It's amazing how replaying a game ten thousand times changes my perception of whether it is difficult or not. I cannot remember if there ever was a time I found A Link to the Past or Mega Man X hard. I've played them so much that the real sense of challenge is gone, but I still love them both.

Except maybe the boss at the top of the tower whose name I forget. He's still an asshole.

ccesarano wrote:

Mega Man X hard

Seriously? The final fight with Sigma?

I chuckled when Certis was talking about the Vita and said something along the lines of "If you pay $50 bucks a year, you get these games for free". I know what he meant and it still sounds like a great deal. I just don't know how much I would play a handheld these days.

I know I posted this question before, but for the life of me; I can't remember in which thread:

"Where can I get find good podcast /sites about the business side of gaming?"

I loved rabbit's take on Sony's downgrade to "junk" status, and I would love a GWJ-like podcast about the gaming industry. If that's too much, a non gjw-like podcast, but a podcast non-the less would keep me interested for a long, long time.

Suggestions welcomed.
Note2Self: add CC#320 thread to favorites.

shoptroll wrote:
ccesarano wrote:

Mega Man X hard

Seriously? The final fight with Sigma?

Are you saying "you didn't find that hard" or "you actually found that hard"?

At one point it was a Female Doggo, but I know the trick now that I'm almost sure I can manage a flawless victory.

ccesarano wrote:
shoptroll wrote:
ccesarano wrote:

Mega Man X hard

Seriously? The final fight with Sigma?

Are you saying "you didn't find that hard" or "you actually found that hard"?

At one point it was a Female Doggo, but I know the trick now that I'm almost sure I can manage a flawless victory.

I couldn't beat Sigma without the Hadouken.

Another game that incorporated a failure state in the fiction was Prince of Persia (2008). If you missed a jump, or were about to be killed, Elika saved you. Some gamers grumbled, but I thought it was a good solution.

S0LIDARITY wrote:
ccesarano wrote:
shoptroll wrote:
ccesarano wrote:

Mega Man X hard

Seriously? The final fight with Sigma?

Are you saying "you didn't find that hard" or "you actually found that hard"?

At one point it was a Female Doggo, but I know the trick now that I'm almost sure I can manage a flawless victory.

I couldn't beat Sigma without the Hadouken.

Step 1 - Equip rolling shield. Don't charge it, just equip it. Sigma is weak to it.

Step 2 - Lightly jump. Every time Mega Man jumps Sigma sends a claw down. Hop onto the lowered claw.

Step 3 - Immediately jump off once around Sigma's head height while firing a rolling shield, otherwise you get blasted with electricity.

Step 4 - Repeat steps 2 and 3 until Sigma is dead.

ccesarano wrote:

"you actually found that hard"?

This.

At one point it was a Female Doggo, but I know the trick now that I'm almost sure I can manage a flawless victory.

It's not bad once you know the trick (the old "final boss is weak against the most useless weapon you have" meme for the series) but it was still a really tense fight for me when I played through it earlier this year.

shoptroll wrote:

(the old "final boss is weak against the most useless weapon you have" meme for the series)

See also jumping trick noted above. When I noticed that pattern in high school it blew my mind.

At this point, though, I've played through Mega Man X so often I cannot remember any moment that gave me trouble originally. I think that one spider boss in Sigma's tower killed me a time or two, but I cannot remember. I am pretty sure I can complete the game without having to rely on a single E tank (despite collecting all four).

Damn. I might have to do a Let's Play of Mega Man X or something.

The Sequelitis for Mega Man X is quite good.

Yes it is, though I don't necessarily agree with everything he claims was intentional, or at least the way he means it. But there's a lot of good stuff in there.

Also, never knew you could chop off Flame Mammoth's trunk with Boomer Kuwanger's weapon. That I played the game dozens of times and still didn't know something about it just makes it all the more magical.

ccesarano wrote:

See also jumping trick noted above. When I noticed that pattern in high school it blew my mind.

Huh, didn't know that one. Noticing stuff like that is always fun in a game, like finding out what triggers certain boss attacks in a JRPG.

I think that one spider boss in Sigma's tower killed me a time or two, but I cannot remember.

Another royal pain in the ass boss in that game.

ccesarano wrote:

Also, never knew you could chop off Flame Mammoth's trunk with Boomer Kuwanger's weapon. That I played the game dozens of times and still didn't know something about it just makes it all the more magical.

Nice! Make sense since you can do the same with the Octopus boss.

That was the really nifty thing about the first X game. There were all these interactions between the weapons, levels, and bosses. I'm not sure if that was made possible by the increased storage in SNES vs. NES cartridges (or increased processor specs). But, my goodness that was such an awesome "my mind is blown" experience where it felt like that was a design only made possible due to the new hardware. Or like the first time in Mario World where you hit a triangle ramp and Mario is suddenly running up the side of a pipe.

Are there any pics of Rabbit's Cocktail cabinet construction? Would love to see the end result.

Calgon, take me away!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVLzkTuVmrw

I can't tell you how many times I saw this when I was a little girl in the '70's. Iconic in the same way that the Charlie ads were:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1WX9znN7CE

with the "Velvet Fog" himself!

As well as the Enjoli ads:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0_uhUhqrbk

I remembered Calgon as bubble bath/bath salts, but yep, it's labelled a water softener.

I'll post some pics on my cocktail build when the glass arrives.

Come play with us in Planetside! We meet up in Ventrilo whenever we happen to be on.

Hobbes2099 wrote:

I know I posted this question before, but for the life of me; I can't remember in which thread:

"Where can I get find good podcast /sites about the business side of gaming?"

I loved rabbit's take on Sony's downgrade to "junk" status, and I would love a GWJ-like podcast about the gaming industry. If that's too much, a non gjw-like podcast, but a podcast non-the less would keep me interested for a long, long time.

Suggestions welcomed.
Note2Self: add CC#320 thread to favorites.

I think Mateo has looked into straight-up finance stuff, like reading SEC statements and such. Leigh Alexander covers the biz. side too (earnings calls, etc.).

@Rabbit: if you wouldn't mind posting suggestions on where to go to learn to make a MAME cabinet like that, I'd appreciate it. Been meaning to build one for a long time, and hearing you talk about that cocktail table makes me want it SO BAD!

I'm planning on writing something up shortly, but forum.arcadecontrols.com is where I pretty much learned everything I know about it.

Also, here's my Gamespy series on it from two years ago:

http://www.gamespy.com/articles/110/...