Conference Call

GWJ Conference Call Episode 27

Super Paper Mario, Shawn Vs. Sean, Gears of War: Annex, Talisman, Building a PC With Gameguru, Computer RPGs and more!

What a jam packed show we have for you today! The always excellent Gameguru is back to school us on building a gaming PC for $1500 or less. We also kick off a new segment, which involves hair pulling AND name calling. Finally, Computer RPGs, Super Paper Mario and a special treat on behalf of Mr. Jeff Green. Tune in and don't forget the contest!

Want to support the show? Hit the Digg link just above (it's fast and easy to register) or review us on iTunes! Read on for show notes.

To send in your contest entry, email [email protected]! Deadline is April 21st.

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.

Sponsor
Liongames.com

The Links
Super Paper Mario
Guitar Hero 2
Gametap
Talisman

Thread of the Week : XBLA When's Days: Gyruss & Golf living together, mass hysteria - MaxShrek

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Show credits

Music credits: 

Intro/Outro Music - Ian Dorsch, Willowtree Audioworks

"One Big Holiday" My Morning Jacket The Wired CD - 0:15:22
"The Neverwhere" - Apoplexia (Benoit Casey) - 0:27:28
"Small Comfort" - Apoplexia (Benoit Casey) - 0:52:59
"Impeller" Ian Dorsch - 1:06:04 36.4 megs

Comments

First comment highjack! Here is Gameguru's PC parts list. - Certis

w00t!

I want a bucket full of Nerd Points! Where can I get some?

You get some by playing Wasteland and telling us if it holds up.
A particularly good show I thought. Go Gameguru with the public service!

Holy crap, the GFW podcast commercial alone justifies the download.

Wait..wait..

Did I hear Certis say

"its alot like what I HEARD Ultima 7 was like"

so.. you never played Ultima 7??

I was 12 years old when that game came out, I don't think I had a decent PC until I was 14 or something. OLD MAN.

You see what I have to put up with!

...Can we fire Cerits? All I'm saying is that talk about "what I hear Ultima & was like" on these boards should rank up there with "what I hear having a job is like." I won't say you are unqualified for coffee grinder status, but you are certainly qualified for a heckling!

Certis, please know that I only kid because I care.

Semicolons: I'd get excited about this "if you know what a semicolon does, you can edit" business, but for the whole lack of recompense thing.
(Semicolonic hint: They're not just for lame anime-type smilies.)

TurboTax: Yeah, I got the bad ending too. That's what I get for choosing "independent contractor from Illinois" for my starting profession. Next time I'm going to be the banker from Boston or something. I'm still going to try and ford the river, though.

Getting past Woman on hard: If "Story of My Life" were downloadable content, I would spend $3 on it easily.

Crackdown + twinking + dodgeball: We are all aware of the manlove derivation of "twinking," right?

Collecting pure hearts: Wait, I was never approached for the rights to "Wordsmythe Goes to College." Is this supposed to be "fair use"? Where's my lawyer?

Annex: I think there are topics there that merit their own thread, so I'll go take care of that.

Downloadable song tracks: I don't care which title they get released with, but I'd really like it if indy labels could get songs published via DLC.

I didn't touch the PS2 version of Guitar Hero (I or II).

Diablo killed computer RPGs: Yeah, probably because we let people call it an RPG. As for Icewind Dale, Ultima, etc.: What's wrong with not innovating in technical ways? I think we have gone as far as we need to with things like Oblivion. Let's get back to focusing on the more intellectual aspects. You know, writing and silly things like that. The love for Baulder's Gate fits here as well; the focus has been moved to the wrong things. I could easily paste my Star Wars "why the new episodes are crap" rant in here, but it all falls under the penumbra of "they just don't make 'em like they used to" and "back in my day..." stuff.

And you don't need action to be entertaining. That's going to be a flat assertion, but I'll point to the existence of movie genres other than action to back myself up. But then I've always been the weirdo who didn't care to become a god.

A thought on writing and the previous conference call discussion on European games: To what extent would American game companies be at an advantage if writing for an American audience became the main focus?

MMORPGs: Yeah, you let me know when there is real role playing in there and I'll try not to respond, "I disbelieve the illusion."

Divine Divinity: I'm going to have to pick this up.

Rabbit: Your voice is perfect for "If there are any chicks...."

I appreciated the rest of the podcast, but I didn't really have much more to say after that. I am glad that Talisman is coming, because the lite RPGs of late and their emphasis on coop have upset me. I'm mostly thinking about MMOs when I write that, though.

Edit: Has anyone heard about the endgame for TurboTax last night? More like open beta stress test!

Thank you. Tip your waitstaff.

I was 12 years old when that game came out, I don't think I had a decent PC until I was 14 or something. OLD MAN.

Whippersnapper!

I love stream of consciousness comments, thanks wordsmythe.

...Can we fire Cerits? All I'm saying is that talk about "what I hear Ultima & was like" on these boards should rank up there with "what I hear having a job is like." I won't say you are unqualified for coffee grinder status, but you are certainly qualified for a heckling!

I plan to take care of that once Gamtap gets it on there! I've already been looking at Exult.

Certis wrote:

I love stream of consciousness comments, thanks wordsmythe.

...Can we fire Cerits? All I'm saying is that talk about "what I hear Ultima & was like" on these boards should rank up there with "what I hear having a job is like." I won't say you are unqualified for coffee grinder status, but you are certainly qualified for a heckling!

I plan to take care of that once Gamtap gets it on there! I've already been looking at Exult.

I had to re-listen to the part I heard on my way to work this morning, because I was starting to forget what snarky comments I had started with.

As for Exult,

Hemingway wrote:

Isn't it pretty to think so?

I don't believe that every video game will be first and for most on visuals, atleast not games made outside of the US. I don't want to bring up Stalker because you guys didn't like it too much, and it came out pretty buggy, it mostly focused on the gameplay and not its graphics. Its engine was great, but the game and story wasn't built to show off its engine.

I misspoke there slightly but I believe I corrected myself and stated that triple A titles will be. Independent developers who don't have the millions the big companies have will still build games more focused on game play and story rather than graphics. That doesn't mean all triple A titles will lack those entirely, there will be some that have it all or close to it but great graphics will be the biggest priority. I would certainly like to not see that happen, but it certainly seems to be the trend. Only one mans opinion though.

I would certainly like to not see that happen, but it certainly seems to be the trend.

This just in, AAA big-budget games rely on graphical prowess to drive sales! Welcome to 1997, when the first 3dfx took the world by storm

Well than it should be no big surprise.

Smythe, check this out. From the GFW podcast... The 360 Guitar will plug into and be recognized by a PC. The free game you want is called Frets on Fire. You can "map the 360 version to frets on fire" and new, original, and indie songs. Time is 3:40 on the 4/10 podcast.

Who the hell is Cerits?

A charming and tasty 1 calorie mint.

with Retsyn.

Planescape and Fallout get mentioned time and time again as examples of great RPGs. I'd like to know the opinion of someone who has played either of them recently for the first time. Do they hold up?

The Talisman discussion, a game I never had a chance to play but remember seeing on a shelf, loosely reminds me of TSR's Dungeon boardgame in concept.
I'd enjoy an updated or videogame version of Dungeon, though I know its just wishful thinking.

I'd like to know the opinion of someone who has played either of them recently for the first time. Do they hold up?

I played both Fallout games for the first time within the last year, and once you get that the initial "Damn, these graphics are old" phase they hook you right in. Same goes for Torment.

GG, I would watch it. You are now on Microsoft's hit list with those "No Vista on almost all laptops" comments.

Crouton wrote:

with Retsyn.

Planescape and Fallout get mentioned time and time again as examples of great RPGs. I'd like to know the opinion of someone who has played either of them recently for the first time. Do they hold up?

Planescapes holds up. Fallout not so much.

Fallout not so much.

Pistols at dawn!

I got my gaming rig through Velocity Micro. If you know enough about PCs to pick out your own parts, but don't have the time or energy to put it together yourself, this is my preferred retailer for custom built PCs. I got one of their 'business' class machines and put a real video card in it and have had 0 problems with the machine in 10 months, or so.

My first cRPG was Temple of Apshai on the Atari 800 or 1200XL. You had to read the room descriptions out of the manual, but it was still awesome.

I played a lot of Talisman 2nd Ed. at my old hobby store in high school. It's a fun game, but a little too random for me. For most turns your only decision is whether to move left or right after rolling your movement and whether to fight or flee if you pull a monster. Now, on the other hand, where is the XBL version of Titan!?! A great strategy game that's perfectly suited to computerized play, and has several software versions already.

Wordsmythe wrote:

Semicolons: I'd get excited about this "if you know what a semicolon does, you can edit" business, but for the whole lack of recompense thing.
(Semicolonic hint: They're not just for lame anime-type smilies.)

Aw, man. I was like 'Sweet! I could totally be an editor!'. You've shattered my dreams.

Turbotax: I got the good ending, but I put 5 points into the 'deployment' stat for my USAF career path. Total Hax, people. That much will cut your Income stat in [i]half[/i]

Talisman: Nostalgia made me miss that once, a few years ago. Then I played the original again, and was shocked back to reality. New Talisman? Sign me up, because I am an unabashed GW fanboy for the new hotness.

Certis wrote:

I played both Fallout games for the first time within the last year, and once you get that the initial "Damn, these graphics are old" phase they hook you right in. Same goes for Torment.

Danjo Olivaw wrote:

Planescapes holds up. Fallout not so much.

Thanks. I may have to get Gametap now.

I did listen, but my life hit the fan so no notes this week.

Besides, my brain whited out in crazy joy with the Talisman announcement. It was the first official game tournament I ever won back in 1987, and I had the 1st edition prize copy until the divorce.