Conference Call

GWJ Conference Call Episode 325

Catching Up on Winter Break Games, Looking Back on 2012 Bold Predictions & Our Predictions For 2013, The B Team's Games of 2012, Your Emails and more!

This week we make our bold predictions for 2013! We also have a segment from Allen Cook, Rob Zacny, JP Grant and Charlie Hall talking about their favorites from 2012.

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.

Chairman_Mao's Timestamps
00.01.40 Torchlight 2
00.03.04 The Walking Dead
00.06.28 Defender's Quest: Valley of the Forgotten
00.08.57 League of Legends
00.10.00 Madden 2013
00.10.43 Far Cry 3
00.12.05 Dark Souls
00.13.42 FTL
00.15.05 Middle Manager of Justice
00.16.06 Ghost Recon: Future Soldier
00.19.17 Space Marine
00.19.47 SR III
00.22.06 Don't Starve, Dungeon Keeper 2, Populous
00.23.24 Sponsor of the Week: Our very own Superbeard!
00.26.07 Reviewing our Bold Predictions of 2012!
00.45.42 Bold Predictions for 2013!
01.22.21 Your emails!
01.31.19 The B-Squad's favorite games of 2012!

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Show credits

Music credits: 

Die Anyway (Game Edit) - BigBot Audio Drop - SGX - http://sgxmusic.com/ - 26:27

Push Anyway - BigBot Audio Drop - SGX - http://sgxmusic.com/ - 1:24:25

Intro/Outtro Music - Ian Dorsch, Willowtree Audioworks

Comments

About one of the bold predictions for the next Sony console.

Spoiler:

With Naughty Dog doing The Last of Us I would be shocked if a new Uncharted game was a launch title for a 2013 Sony console.

Whoo! January Third! I get to celebrate the Ultimate Nerd birthday, sharing my birthday with Tolkien. I get to celebrate with the conference call and seeing the Hobbit

Is there an audio issue with this episode, or is it the file?

Gimpy_Butzke wrote:

About one of the bold predictions for the next Sony console.

Spoiler:

With Naughty Dog doing The Last of Us I would be shocked if a new Uncharted game was a launch title for a 2013 Sony console.

Spoiler:

A different studio's taken on the Uncharted license, IIRC - the one that did the Vita game.

**(WALKING DEAD SPOILERS AHEAD!)**

Yup! I've logged like 50 hours on Defenders Quest and once I got to the farm (sorry spoiler) on Walking Dead it really slogged down for me. Anyone else feel that way? I dunno why, but I enjoyed the first act but soon as I hit that farm lost all interest. I didn't like any of the characters and the plot seemed to get convoluted.

Scubasteve wrote:

**(WALKING DEAD SPOILERS AHEAD!)**

Welcome to GWJ! Just a quick FYI, we've got some nifty spoiler tags to hide anything that might be considered a spoiler.

As for The Walking Dead...

Spoiler:

if you felt that the story started getting convoluted by the time you hit the farm in Episode 1, I'd probably wager its not the right game for you. By that point, you're about 45 minutes into the game, and have only met Clem and two other families - a total of 6 characters outside the main character.

To get through the farm, all you have to do is talk to everyone, then there's a little QTE, and then you're off to the pharmacy where things get even deeper.

McIrishJihad wrote:
Scubasteve wrote:

**(WALKING DEAD SPOILERS AHEAD!)**

Welcome to GWJ! Just a quick FYI, we've got some nifty spoiler tags to hide anything that might be considered a spoiler.

As for The Walking Dead...

Spoiler:

if you felt that the story started getting convoluted by the time you hit the farm in Episode 1, I'd probably wager its not the right game for you. By that point, you're about 45 minutes into the game, and have only met Clem and two other families - a total of 6 characters outside the main character.

To get through the farm, all you have to do is talk to everyone, then there's a little QTE, and then you're off to the pharmacy where things get even deeper.

Though the spoiler tags won't work for a coffee grinder anyhow

No one on the B Team beat the boss in FTL? Even on easy? I guess that's why they're the B team. Also what is game? Interactive fiction is game. Spot on criticism of XCOM's repetitiveness though.

Just started this CC. I absolutely loved the Sands' girlfriends analogy to D3/TL2.

Thanks McIrishJihad, I wasn't aware of that. Cool feature! Actually

Spoiler:

The part I'm thinking of is where you are trading gas with those two brothers and go and meet the momma and push the tractor.

All that stuff. I got just past that and it just died for me. Makes me a bit sad and now its been over a month since I played so that makes it even harder to get into. Feels like now to get the experience I may have to go back and start all over. I recognize its a good game but like you said it may not be for me.

Latrine wrote:

No one on the B Team beat the boss in FTL? Even on easy? I guess that's why they're the B team. Also what is game? Interactive fiction is game. Spot on criticism of XCOM's repetitiveness though.

May thats a hard boss. Even on Easy!

Latrine wrote:

No one on the B Team beat the boss in FTL? Even on easy? I guess that's why they're the B team. Also what is game? Interactive fiction is game. Spot on criticism of XCOM's repetitiveness though.

::sniff:: I've got 30 hours logged on FTL, and I still haven't beaten the boss on Easy ::sniff::

Scubasteve wrote:
Latrine wrote:

No one on the B Team beat the boss in FTL? Even on easy? I guess that's why they're the B team. Also what is game? Interactive fiction is game. Spot on criticism of XCOM's repetitiveness though.

May thats a hard boss. Even on Easy!

I think my takeaway from the conversation is that none of us really cared enough to actually get through it. In some ways, it was a bit too hard for it's own good. I really enjoyed how it exposed the meta-game for what it was, but then it was kinda jumping off a cliff difficulty-wise. I realize that's because it's a rogue-like, but it's almost like I was enjoying a pleasant stroll then asked to run a marathon. You either respond to that with "finally! a challenge!" or "eh, I'll play something else".

God I hope 2013 isn't "The Year of the Zombie"

I agree with you, as much as I love FTL it does suffer a bit by its difficulty. I've logged a ton of hours, never beat the boss and really only have unlocked the engy ship and B-type starter ship. If the unlocks weren't achieved in such a specific way I think I'd be more apt to play it.

My next favorite moment was Cory being labeled as a 'born-again Dark Souls player.' The term applies to me as well.

I enjoyed the 'B-squad' talk as well. They did a good job hitting different points on the same games that were discussed in the 2012 wrap-up calls. There was much less laughter-inducing host-bashing though.

I really enjoyed the B-Team section! Good podcast guys

Guys, we can't keep calling them the B-Team. I mean, this is the B-Team.

IMAGE(http://albumofawesomeness.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/B-Team.jpg)

Demiurge wrote:

Guys, we can't keep calling them the B-Team. I mean, this is the B-Team.

IMAGE(http://albumofawesomeness.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/B-Team.jpg)

I thought that was the a-Team.

Spoiler:

Emphasis on the lower-case 'a'

If 2013 will be the year of the gritty survivalist game, or Doomsday Prepper, my prediction is that the trend, or fad, will not last significantly into 2014. As it is, I don't think the super-punishing games have enough mass appeal to create a significant trend. It may develop more pull if the games become more accessible, but I think that would be contradictory to what these games are trying to do.

Absolutely love the spot! You guys are the best.

My bold prediction? I dunno, y'all took the good ones. How about this:

  • eSports will continue to break record numbers on online views, still won't get on North American television.
  • Being Megaman's 25th anniversary, this will be the year of Capcom continually apologizing for screwing up the most iconic franchise of my generation.
  • The Street Fighter x Tekken ver. 2013 update will redeem last year's abomination, and maybe by the end of 2013 will overtake Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition ver. 2012 in the competitive and casual scene in terms of popularity.

Great Podcast. Very nice B team segment.

Prediction: To test the physical robustness and the quality of their respective interfaces, the new consoles from Microsoft and Sony will be released in the UK and no where else. Over three months, while the rest of the world will hold it's collective, metaphorical breath, the British public will offer their carefully considered and impeccably polite feedback. At the end of that time the queen will appear on a specially dedicated, global TV channel and give a thumbs up or thumbs down for the release of both consoles to the wider world. They will be in the shops immediately after that transmission has ended.

Demiurge wrote:

Guys, we can't keep calling them the B-Team. I mean, this is the B-Team.

IMAGE(http://albumofawesomeness.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/B-Team.jpg)

L to R: Charlie, Zacny, Allen, Me

Ain't nothing wrong with a hero named Corey. Just sayin'. I think it's cool and exotic. Of course, where I live, brothers get nicknamed Ding and Dong.

EDIT:

Julian's wrong about Japanese Dating Sims allowing you to customize your mate. By and large, they do not allow you to do this. You can choose from a stable of characters, so you have a choice, but choosing one won't make the others exit the story and in some cases, causes conflicts between characters. Think Mass Effect, which is essentially a Japanese Dating Sim married to a shooter.

kincher wrote:
Demiurge wrote:

Guys, we can't keep calling them the B-Team. I mean, this is the B-Team.

IMAGE(http://albumofawesomeness.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/B-Team.jpg)

L to R: Charlie, Zacny, Allen, Me

OMG I see it now.

Demiurge wrote:
kincher wrote:
Demiurge wrote:

Guys, we can't keep calling them the B-Team. I mean, this is the B-Team.

IMAGE(http://albumofawesomeness.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/B-Team.jpg)

L to R: Charlie, Zacny, Allen, Me

OMG I see it now.

PAX East cosplay is now mandatory.

Ghost Recon: Future Soldier is a fun game definitely worth the 15$ price tag. The security issues and bugs at launch kept it from taking off.

I'm sure it'll be well received by the critics, but I really hope GTAV is a turd. Just a steaming, smelly turd that reveals all the awfulness that's always been there in Rockstar games but is masked by the impressive big open worlds.

That's petty of me but I can't help it.

I always point out that both Red Dead and LA Noir are not Rockstar North games; Red Dead was made by the former Angel Studios and LA Noir by Team Bondi. Both games developments were fraught with accusations of poor working conditions and lousy pay. Many developers names were left off of the credits on LA Noir and Team Bondi got pretty royally screwed in general. Nothing about Rockstar's behavior over the past few years makes me look forward to GTAV, and everything that they have said about it so far makes me think they are out of their blinky minds.

MojoBox wrote:

I'm sure it'll be well received by the critics, but I really hope GTAV is a turd. Just a steaming, smelly turd that reveals all the awfulness that's always been there in Rockstar games but is masked by the impressive big open worlds.

On the contrary, I'd love to see GTA V turn out to be the best game in the whole series.

For whatever reason, I thought that GTA 3: Vice City was the best in the series. GTA 3 was great at the time - doing something that hadn't really been done well as of 2001, San Andreas was breath taking with how big the world was, but GTA 4 almost felt "too big".

Hearing that 5 is going to have "the biggest playground" and "3 intertwined story lines with separate protagonists" already has the hairs on the back of my neck starting to stand up.

I loved RDR, while some see it as "GTA with Horses", I really wish that was the direction that GTA V goes in. A tightly written and compelling story, mixed with well-oiled mechanics, and enough open-world exploration rewards to get me spending an extra 10 hours running around finding stuff.

I guess what I'm getting at is that I don't look forward to a GTA game where my own personal "speed run" clocks in over 50 hours.

Who else wants a weekly B-Team podcast?

carrotpanic wrote:

Who else wants a weekly B-Team podcast?

*raises hand*

Also, I just saw this from the magnificent Superbeard (ladies):

Superbeard wrote:
  • The Street Fighter x Tekken ver. 2013 update will redeem last year's abomination, and maybe by the end of 2013 will overtake Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition ver. 2012 in the competitive and casual scene in terms of popularity.
  • ... and dude, you are high.

    There's basically no way to save SFxT at this point. I couldn't put my finger on it when I first played it, but I get now that the game is actually built on systems that are way too complicated. Unless the 2013 update removes core systems (all of the gems, for instance, and I promise you Capcom will not do that), the game will continue to be ill-received.

    And for good reason: it's honestly a bulky game. Too much emphasis on turtle-ing, hiding behind the blocking protection that's baked into a match. Too much focus on figuring out your builds, with little leeway as far as customization.

    What I'd rather see is Capcom move on from SFxT and focus on a Street Fighter 5, or something along those lines. The casual market is probably ready for a new game (especially if it's in early 2014), and the competitive scene is doing a great job sustaining the older games anyway. Tons of people are still into SF3, SF2HD Remix and SSF4:AE. It seemed to me like the hardcore hated SFxT anyway and I don't think anyone would be pissed about learning a new game.

    I still love your beard, though.

    ranalin wrote:

    Ghost Recon: Future Soldier is a fun game definitely worth the 15$ price tag. The security issues and bugs at launch kept it from taking off.

    It's the closest thing we'll ever get to a good Ghost in the Shell shooter.