Conference Call

GWJ Conference Call Episode 283

Mass Effect 3, Journey, Motorstorm RC, How Games Get Under Our Skin, Your Emails and more!

This week Shawn, Elysium, Julian and Cory talk about Mass Effect 3 in non-spoiler ways and why some games manage to get under their skin.

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.

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Tech Thing Daily
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Good Old Games

Mass Effect 3 Catch-All
Mass Effect 3 Spoiler Thread
Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer Thread
Journey
Mass Effect 2
Motorstorm RC

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Show credits

Music credits: 

Intro/Outtro Music - Ian Dorsch, Willowtree Audioworks

Galaxy Theme - Mass Effect - http://masseffect.com/ - 0:33:12

Microsoft Flight selection - http://www.microsoft.com/games/flight/ - 0:50:08

Comments

Infinity wrote:

Good points HipGamer.

Wait, what? Aren't you supposed to disagree, followed by an exchange of increasingly ramble-heavy posts before I shake my cane and tell you to darned kids to get off my lawn?

Crap, I have no idea what to do with my afternoon now. Good job.

just as I thought rabbit is getting old and will only play smaller downloadable & iOS games to completion, he pulls this one off. I consider myself a serious gamers, and I needed a week to finish it and I dont have a wife and kids. my hat is off to you sir.

I can hardly wait for the spoiler section, mention some great articles about the ending like the one on gamefront

rabbit wrote:
Jonman wrote:

The longer I listened to Rabbit wax lyrical about the reasons he loved Mass Effect, the more convinced I am that we're dopplegangers of each other.

See, and ever since you were gracious enough to host us in your kitchen where I spilled stuff all over your nice kitchen table, I often find myself thinking "what would Jonman do..."

The answer is always one (or more) of the following:
1: Have a cup of tea
2: Have a beer
3: Remove pants (your own or someone else's)

Jonman wrote:

The answer is always one (or more) of the following:
1: Have a cup of tea
2: Have a beer
3: Remove pants (your own or someone else's)

Words to live by.

Elysium wrote:

I just realized how much I prefer a world where Julian is the unabashed cheerleader on the show and how much I don't want him to back off. If Cory starts giving you a hard time, just remind him that you can still back out of formally adopting him and I bet he gets quiet fast!

Isn't the quote in your signature Cory giving Julian crap about Flower?

BUSTED!

FYI, I did a 50% run on ME1, did the comic book cheat, and am halfway through ME2 playing Renegade FemShep (I played as angelboy ManShep before).

Alien Love Gardener wrote:

I guess Bioware managed to strike a good balance with the From Ashes dlc, because having completed Mass Effect 3 without it, I didn't feel like I was missing anything.

I think they've gotten pretty good at making missing characters kind of seamless because of all the potential squad members who could be dead by the time you get to ME3.

Journey was amazing. Now I have to listen through this again so I can find the part where you all talked about it for like 30 seconds apparently.

Isn't the quote in your signature Cory giving Julian crap about Flower?

Shhh! I am trying to subtly organize the shape of things into a scenario where Julian and Cory fight ... in a pit ... made of human bones ... for my love.

Elysium wrote:
Isn't the quote in your signature Cory giving Julian crap about Flower?

Shhh! I am trying to subtly organize the shape of things into a scenario where Julian and Cory fight ... in a pit ... made of human bones ... for my love.

This is relevant to my interests!

Quintin_Stone wrote:
Elysium wrote:
Isn't the quote in your signature Cory giving Julian crap about Flower?

Shhh! I am trying to subtly organize the shape of things into a scenario where Julian and Cory fight ... in a pit ... made of human bones ... for my love.

This is relevant to my interests!

Can we Kickstart this?

EDIT: Hmmm no wonder I missed the Journey discussion, there just wasn't much of it in the show

On the topic of games getting under your skin... I'm surprised there wasn't any talk about board games in this discussion. Race for the Galaxy, Dominion and Quarriors all infected my brain after being shown them the first time. Something about the possibility space and how everything fit together in a nice loop really hit home with me.

shoptroll wrote:

On the topic of games getting under your skin... I'm surprised there wasn't any talk about board games in this discussion. Race for the Galaxy, Dominion and Quarriors all infected my brain after being shown them the first time.

Where you were surprised, I was thankful.

-Vice President of the He-Man Boardgame Haters Club

So here's a question - I'm planning on picking up ME3 later on sale, maybe much later. What happens if I try to play multiplayer but can't because no-one is playing? Am I locked out of possible single-player content if that's the case? If so, I have a problem with that. I don't necessarily mind forcing people to play multiplayer to get a certain experience or story line, but only if that multiplayer is readily available. A year from now, it might very well not be.

I'll be extremely disappointed if everyone on the call next week hasn't played Journey, especially Cory. I remember the Flower extravaganza and the gushing about the game was definitely a bit over the top, but I still think part of Cory's reaction was to how much the gaming press/community was gushing about it ("this game is art!!!!").

It's funny because I absolutely love Flower and show it to everyone who happens to come over. I especially like to show it to people who are non-gamers. Hell, my mom watched me play through the whole thing while she was visiting. But I think Journey is a much, much better game and experience than Flower and I've been surprised by the relative lack of discussion about the game in the gamingsphere. This game should be gushed about more than Flower, but I think the shiny came off when Flower was released and now Journey is too much of an also-ran or something.

Ahem. More people need to play Dark Souls also.

/deadhorse

Dysplastic wrote:

So here's a question - I'm planning on picking up ME3 later on sale, maybe much later. What happens if I try to play multiplayer but can't because no-one is playing? Am I locked out of possible single-player content if that's the case? If so, I have a problem with that. I don't necessarily mind forcing people to play multiplayer to get a certain experience or story line, but only if that multiplayer is readily available. A year from now, it might very well not be.

No, you're not locked out of content; you'll just need to work your butt off to achieve the "optimal" ending, it sounds like. Alternately, gather up a few Goodjers to work you through the MP content - we'll be happy to help

garion333 wrote:

I'll be extremely disappointed if everyone on the call next week hasn't played Journey, especially Cory. I remember the Flower extravaganza and the gushing about the game was definitely a bit over the top, but I still think part of Cory's reaction was to how much the gaming press/community was gushing about it ("this game is art!!!!").

I was all set to play and discuss it, but it turns out I won't be on the show this week. So you'll have to wait.

I'm sure you guys can hear me rolling my eyes at Julian's "most important gaming milestone of the last 10 years" comment, though. Mic or no.

The proof's in the pudding, and I *will* play it.

Tanglebones wrote:
Dysplastic wrote:

So here's a question - I'm planning on picking up ME3 later on sale, maybe much later. What happens if I try to play multiplayer but can't because no-one is playing? Am I locked out of possible single-player content if that's the case? If so, I have a problem with that. I don't necessarily mind forcing people to play multiplayer to get a certain experience or story line, but only if that multiplayer is readily available. A year from now, it might very well not be.

No, you're not locked out of content; you'll just need to work your butt off to achieve the "optimal" ending, it sounds like. Alternately, gather up a few Goodjers to work you through the MP content - we'll be happy to help :)

I'd be more worried about when EA shuts down the servers myself. My flaky internet crapped out on me, and I lost contact with the EA servers between launching the game and loading my save, which caused my galactic readiness to drop to 0%, which reduced my effective military strength to 0...

Bioware patched the planet scanning speed and reticule size in ME2. I wouldn't put it past them to tweak the numbers underlying the end-state conditions in ME3 once multiplayer runs its course.

shoptroll wrote:
Quintin_Stone wrote:
Elysium wrote:
Isn't the quote in your signature Cory giving Julian crap about Flower?

Shhh! I am trying to subtly organize the shape of things into a scenario where Julian and Cory fight ... in a pit ... made of human bones ... for my love.

This is relevant to my interests!

Can we Kickstart this?

Kickstarter Project
Endless Pit of Human Misery Livestream

$5 - You get to watch Cory and Julian fight for Sean's love and approval, which he will never give!

$10 - Exclusive Sean-cam where he just shakes his head, over and over.

$20 - You get to suggest a way for Sean to show his disapproval of their performance. He will ignore it.

$50 - A boxed DVD version of the event, with a special gift! The gift is sadness.

$100 - Your very own vial of Cory's tears

PyromanFO wrote:
shoptroll wrote:
Quintin_Stone wrote:
Elysium wrote:
Isn't the quote in your signature Cory giving Julian crap about Flower?

Shhh! I am trying to subtly organize the shape of things into a scenario where Julian and Cory fight ... in a pit ... made of human bones ... for my love.

This is relevant to my interests!

Can we Kickstart this?

Kickstarter Project
Endless Pit of Human Misery Livestream

$5 - You get to watch Cory and Julian fight for Sean's love and approval, which he will never give!

$10 - Exclusive Sean-cam where he just shakes his head, over and over.

$20 - You get to suggest a way for Sean to show his disapproval of their performance. He will ignore it.

$50 - A boxed DVD version of the event, with a special gift! The gift is sadness.

$100 - Your very own vial of Cory's tears

*applause*

I can't quote the whole thing in my sig, dammit!

Tanglebones wrote:
Dysplastic wrote:

So here's a question - I'm planning on picking up ME3 later on sale, maybe much later. What happens if I try to play multiplayer but can't because no-one is playing? Am I locked out of possible single-player content if that's the case? If so, I have a problem with that. I don't necessarily mind forcing people to play multiplayer to get a certain experience or story line, but only if that multiplayer is readily available. A year from now, it might very well not be.

No, you're not locked out of content; you'll just need to work your butt off to achieve the "optimal" ending, it sounds like. Alternately, gather up a few Goodjers to work you through the MP content - we'll be happy to help :)

You can jack your readiness pretty quickly using the free iPhone datapad app too.

Alien Love Gardener wrote:

I'd be more worried about when EA shuts down the servers myself. My flaky internet crapped out on me, and I lost contact with the EA servers between launching the game and loading my save, which caused my galactic readiness to drop to 0%, which reduced my effective military strength to 0...

Does it fix itself when your connection comes back or are you just screwed at that point?

rabbit wrote:
Tanglebones wrote:
Dysplastic wrote:

So here's a question - I'm planning on picking up ME3 later on sale, maybe much later. What happens if I try to play multiplayer but can't because no-one is playing? Am I locked out of possible single-player content if that's the case? If so, I have a problem with that. I don't necessarily mind forcing people to play multiplayer to get a certain experience or story line, but only if that multiplayer is readily available. A year from now, it might very well not be.

No, you're not locked out of content; you'll just need to work your butt off to achieve the "optimal" ending, it sounds like. Alternately, gather up a few Goodjers to work you through the MP content - we'll be happy to help :)

You can jack your readiness pretty quickly using the free iPhone datapad app too.

Lets say I want to play ME3, but also want to do a full runthrough from ME1.

Can I pick up ME3, play the MP a lot, and then have it import into the eventual SP runthrough?

mudbunny wrote:

Can I pick up ME3, play the MP a lot, and then have it import into the eventual SP runthrough?

I don't think so. The readiness bonus you get from MP degrades over time.

Dyni wrote:
mudbunny wrote:

Can I pick up ME3, play the MP a lot, and then have it import into the eventual SP runthrough?

I don't think so. The readiness bonus you get from MP degrades over time.

Boooo-urns.

Given that I am only s couple of hours into Skyrim, and really enjoying it, I am doubtful I will ever get a chance to fully experience both single- and multi-player ME3. Unless I grind through ME 1 and 2 and put aside Skyrim for the time being.

I was going to play Journey, but then it turns out that I need to remember my password in order to add more money to my online wallet.

Curses!

then it turns out that I need to remember my password in order to add more money to my online wallet.

Translation: took a sharp streamlined projectile to your patellar tendon?

On another subject...

After Tales from Space, MotorStorm RC is the second game that makes me feel right about buying a Vita.

There seems to be no sponsorship deal for Europe, so I had to pay 5,99 for it. Which just blows my mind. It looks great, and since I wraped my head around the RC car controlls, it plays great too. Nice use of the Havok Engine, and the lighting makes most of the tracks look pretty spectacular. Why they left the first thing you see, ie the Playground, so dull is beyond me though. Anyhow, It gives all the retail-priced racing games a run for their money.

More of this would be very welcome.

juv3nal wrote:
Alien Love Gardener wrote:

I'd be more worried about when EA shuts down the servers myself. My flaky internet crapped out on me, and I lost contact with the EA servers between launching the game and loading my save, which caused my galactic readiness to drop to 0%, which reduced my effective military strength to 0...

Does it fix itself when your connection comes back or are you just screwed at that point?

It fixes itself.

What really grabs me in games is whimsy.

I'm not talking about PoneeZ or any of those other cynical attempts to market games to girls. I mean games that are willing to be silly. Games where the developers wanted you to say "WHEE!" while playing them.

The Saints Row series is a prime example. I got totally sucked into Saints Row 2 (my favorite random crime was to run up and down the beach, throwing coolers into the ocean while yelling "I'M LITTERING!")

Then Saints Row the Third came out, and I almost never like sequels as much as the original, and I totally got sucked into that one too.

On my top ten list of all time favorites, most of them are funny in some way. Chili Con Carnage lets you shoot bad guys out from under their hats and catch them on your own head before they land, and gives you a score bonus for doing it. God Hand features dangerous, poison chihuahuas, and has a level called "Adult Playground" which is not at all what I was expecting (It featured, among other things, an oversized merry-go-round that wasn't "Adult" in the least.).

If a game is willing to step back and say "My, but yes this is quite ridiculous isn't it?" then it stands a much better chance of capturing my heart.