Podcast Episode 24 - Christmas Cheevos

Ho ho ho and happy holidays listeners!  For this holiday episode, the gang discusses Alan Wake heading to PC, the awful Spike VGAs, SOPA still trudging along, The Last of Us rumors and speculation, SW: The Old Republic, Sonic CD finally hits the digital shelves, and our own Game Of The Year choices! PLUS, win a Black Ops zombies poster! Just listen in to find out how!

The hosts this week:
Eji (Steam name: Krentist the Dentist), David (PS3: Badgerfone), Colin (XBL: kojimyuu | Steam name: scoot_stl), Adam (PS3: badcamera)

Supplemental Viewing:
The Last of Us trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLGxubfC1Ik

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Podcast Episode 23 - Fight the Future?

This week we talk about Skyrim's terrible patch update, Gamepro finally dies, SOPA and the Protect IP Act updates, and some thoughts on Star Wars: The Old Republic after the beta test weekend!


The hosts this week:
Eji (Steam name: Krentist the Dentist), David (PS3: Badgerfone), Colin (XBL: kojimyuu)

Supplemental Viewing:
http://youtu.be/Zw684xM2cUo - Half-Life: Origins fanmade trailer


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Podcast Episode 22 - Fair Represen-turkey

Happy Turkey Day, all you gamers! This week, we're chock full of stuff!  Skyrim, Assassins' Creed Revelations, Modern Warfare 3, Telltale fumbles with its Jurassic Park game, the chaos of Minecon, and a discussion about the dangerous proposed SOPA bill that could ruin the internet!

The hosts this week:
Eji (Steam name: Krentist the Dentist), David (PS3: Badgerfone), Colin (XBL: kojimyuu), Adam (PS3: badcamera)

Supplemental Reading:
http://www.gamespot.com/features/sopa-the-bill-that-wants-to-break-your-internet-6346561/
http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-57326228-281/new-flap-over-sopa-copyright-bill-anti-web-security/
http://www.1up.com/news/telltale-devs-write-jurassic-park-reviews
http://www.destructoid.com/telltale-allegedly-f-cks-up-man-s-jurassic-park-jeep-215828.phtml


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Podcast Episode 21 - Retro Chic

This week, we talk about our upcoming retro vs modern game discussion, GTA V rumors, Sonic Generations, Uncharted 3, and Nintendo on a downward spiral!

Also check out our unboxing of the Uncharted 3 Collector's Edition!
http://youtu.be/ulcqLaXWkFw

The hosts this week:
Eji (Steam name: Krentist the Dentist), David (PS3: Badgerfone), Colin (XBL: kojimyuu)

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Podcast Episode 20 - A Little Bit of This...

This week, we talk about GTA V, Interplay vs Bethesda, Blizzard-related news, gripes with conventions, the Stanley Parable, and we tease our upcoming retro vs modern game discussion episode for next week!

The hosts this week:
Eji (Steam name: Krentist the Dentist), David (PS3: Badgerfone), Colin (XBL: kojimyuu)

PLAY THE STANLEY PARABLE!
You won't regret it... seriously. It's FREE! http://www.moddb.com/mods/the-stanley-parable
And if you can't, then at least watch the playthrough / endings:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gblvOhnv2k0


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Podcast Episode 19 - Gaming with a Side of Diabetes

This week, we talk about weird food-related game tie-ins, Team Bondi goes under, Gabe Newell wants Apple to make a gaming console, Ken Levine laments his Oscar Award end-boss for Bioshock 1, plus Colin talks about the idie game the Binding of Isaac!


The hosts this week:
Eji (Steam name: Krentist the Dentist), Adam (PS3: badcamera), Colin (XBL: kojimyuu)

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Podcast Episode 18 - RAGEing

This week, Eji gets a little heated discussing RAGE, new Mass Effect 3 co-op info, and a look back on the evolution of the 3D fighting game!  Plus, stick around after the show for a Spoiler Alert on RAGE!


The hosts this week:
Eji (Steam name: Krentist the Dentist), David (PS3: Badgerfone)

Supplemental Reading:

http://youtu.be/JTJUYv05hVU  - details on Mass Effect 3 co-op

http://www.joystiq.com/2011/10/12/psa-compromised-psn-info-used-in-mass-access-attempt/


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Podcast Episode 17 - Looming Over the Horizon...

This week, we talk about the Battlefield 3 beta, League of Legends Dominion, upcoming Fall games, and Square Enix damaging its Final Fantasy brand??  Plus, we still have that awesome Zelda Skyward Sword shirt you can win!  Listen to find out more!

The hosts this week:

Eji (Steam name: Krentist the Dentist), Colin (XBL: kojimyuu), Adam (PS3: badcamera)

Supplemental Reading:

SUPER SPOILER!! http://alterswtor.com/archives/2027 Major plot spoiler for the Old Republic! Go to the second video and fast forward to a little past 28:00 minutes in...

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Podcast Episode 15 - Nobody's Happy

This week, the gang talks about Dead Island disappointments, fans that ruin people's gaming fun, the impending PS Vita vs 3DS battle, and the idea of price and value for games across the years and the slippery slope of DLC.

The hosts this week:
Eji (Steam name: Krentist the Dentist), David (PS3: Badgerfone), Colin

Supplemental Reading:

http://www.joystiq.com/2011/09/12/heavy-rain-developer-estimates-13m-loss-on-second-hand-sales/

http://www.joystiq.com/2011/09/06/dead-island-day-one-patch-detailed-steam-version-to-be-replaced/

http://gmtristan.com/the-man-who-killed-lord-british/ - Richard Gariott's avatar Lord British famously killed in Ultima Online

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoLadZotBuE - Fist of the North Star in Dead Island..??


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Podcast Episode 14 - Let the Nerd Rage Flow Through You...

This week, the news of the Star Wars bluray changes have seeped into our podcast, but we also still manage to talk about Old Republic, legal problems at Take-Two, Sonic saturation with the upcoming Sonic CD re-release.

The hosts this week:
Eji (Steam name: Krentist the Dentist), David (PS3: Badgerfone)

Supplemental Reading:

http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/9888/r2newshots.jpg - R2-D2, now with more rocks!

http://www.betacake.net/2011/08/star-wars-old-republic-companions-list.html

http://www.joystiq.com/2011/08/31/former-qa-tester-files-litigation-against-take-two-seeks-class/


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Podcast Episode 13 - Today's Lesson: Don't Shop at Gamestop

This week, Eji, Colin and Adam talk about Bastion, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, and the craziness that Gamestop tried to pull this week regarding the Deus Ex's release.

Plus, listen to find out how you can win a free YEAR of World of Warcraft!

Also, you can follow us now on Twitter! Follow @IntheNameofGame


The hosts this week:
Eji (Steam name: Krentist the Dentist), Colin, Adam (PS3: badcamera)


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Podcast Episode 12 - the Versus Game

This week, Eji, Colin and David talk about EA vs Valve, 3DS vs PS Vita, Move vs Kinect, Cowboys vs Aliens... ok maybe not that last bit.

The hosts this week:
Eji (Steam name: Krentist the Dentist), Colin, David (PS3: Badgerfone)



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Podcast Episode 11 - Greedy Rehashes and Nostalgia Bombs

This week, Adam and Eji (and eventually David) talk about Capcom's latest greedy moves, Bioware developments, the Uncharted movie, a look back on some old-school nostalgia, and more!

The hosts this week:
Eji (Steam name: Krentist the Dentist), Adam (PS3: badcamera), David (PS3: Badgerfone)

Some supplemental reading:
The original Sonic commercial
Indie games for a good cause!


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Podcast Episode 10 - Bullet Sponges and Metal Porcupines

This time, David and Eji discuss thoughts about the Uncharted 3 Multiplayer Beta, looking back at Sonic then and now, comparing movie premieres and game premieres, and some of EA's recent announcments regarding Origin and PopCap Games.

(note: yes there was a little technical difficulty in the middle with echoing, but we figured it out halfway through, sorry for the mess-up!)

The hosts this week:
Eji (Steam name: Krentist the Dentist), David (PS3: Badgerfone)

Some supplemental reading:
http://kotaku.com/5820553/electronic-arts-buys-maker-of-bejeweled-and-plants-vs-zombies
http://www.joystiq.com/2011/06/03/ea-takes-on-steam-with-origin-the-only-place-to-download-the-ol/


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Podcast Episode 9 - Work Harder, Not Smarter

This time, Adam and Eji discuss the Team Bondi fiasco and the treatment of employees in the game industry, Call of Duty XP, and how G4 sucks (big surprise, right?)!

The hosts this week:
Eji (Steam name: Krentist the Dentist), Adam

Some supplemental reading:
http://www.joystiq.com/2011/07/05/report-emails-show-team-bondi-rockstar-schism-long-hours-for-l/
"Galactic Warfare" - the Star Wars themed Modern Warfare 1 mod
http://www.joystiq.com/2011/06/30/call-of-duty-xp-2011/


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Podcast Episode 8 - Gamers Fought the Law and... Gamers Won!

This week we discuss the victory that was the shutdown of Assembly Bill 117 , the failure that is Resident Evil Mercenaries for the 3DS, the rise of Free to Play games, and we have our first giveaway!  Be sure to listen to the podcast to find out how you could win!

The hosts this week:
Eji (Steam name: Krentist the Dentist), Colin, and David (PS3 handle: Badgerfone)

Some supplemental reading:
http://www.joystiq.com/2011/06/27/supreme-court-strikes-down-violent-game-banning-california-law/
http://www.joystiq.com/2011/06/29/heres-the-first-very-blurry-image-of-respawn-entertainments/
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/extra-credits


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Nada this week... :(

No podcast episode this week (who'dve thought everyone would be busy?) but don't worry, we will be back next week! To whet your gaming appetites, we will be giving away some leftover E3 swag at the next podcast, so be sure to listen in to find out how to land a prize! We have a couple keychains and shirts, so we may end up doing this for a couple episodes, so be sure to subscribe and/or follow us!

Also, for easier viewing, we now have a better url! www.inthenameofgame.com ! Tell your friends! :D


'Til next time, enjoy a little quality time with Zeke and Cole:


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Podcast Episode 7 - The Gang's All Here

It's a full house this week as all 4 of our regulars (Eji, Colin, David and Adam) check in to talk about games!

This week's topics:
inFamous 2
in-depth discussion on good and evil choices in games
WiiU thoughts
...and more!

Crazy evil ending to Harvester:
http://youtu.be/t6Mzaimi0bY

LulzSec being anything but lulzy:
http://www.joystiq.com/2011/06/14/lulzsec-attacks-escapist-magazine-eve-online-and-minecraft/

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Podcast Episode 6 - Super-sized E3 edition!

We're back from our summer vacation! Sorry for the absence ;)

Adam's swallowed up by the E3 monster and David's out this week, so Eji and Colin do a once-over of all the cool stuff at E3, and then serve you up a Spoiler Alert discussion of LA Noire (don't worry, it's after the credits for those of you that haven't finished it yet!).

This week's topics:
E3!!!  - Assassin's Creed, Uncharted, Aliens, oh my!
LA Noire spoilers after the show!
...and more!

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Podcast Episode 5 - Inside Baseball... but not actually baseball

This time around, Colin, Eji and David talk about Rockstar's latest and greatest, and a lot more!

This week's topics:
LA Noire and its tech
"Welcome Back" says PSN (thanks to Greg for the info)
Videogames finally recognized as art!
Boxing games discussion

Mentioned in this show:
The incredible Ghibli Minecraft world!

EDIT: We will NOT be doing a show next week, even though we mentioned it in the episode... we will be back on June 2nd with more podcast goodness!


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Podcast Episode 4 - Bite-Size Edition

This week Colin and David are incapacitated, so Eji and Adam have a short podcast chat.

This week's topics:
Soul Calibur V announced
PSN still down... til the end of the month D:
Infamous 2 pre-order grumblings
Brink thoughts and review
...and more random stuff!

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Podcast Episode 3 - In Which Eji Embarrasses Herself

Happy Cinco de Mayo! Episode 3's here and ready for your listening ears.

This week's hosts:
Eji - Your host!  Videogame animator and vocal game debater
Colin - Co-host yet again!
Adam - Co-host and peanut gallery :D.

This week's topics:
Call of the Dead
Bioware delays
Wii2 speculations
FPS game discussion
...and more random stuff!

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Podcast Episode 2 - So You Want to Be a Podcast?

Hey everyone!  Episode 2 hot and fresh for your enjoyment!  The gang gets a little goofier this time around and contemplates games and the universe...

This week's hosts:
Eji - Your host!  Videogame animator and vocal game debater
David - Co-host! Retro game enthusiast and overall game ponderer
Adam - Co-host and peanut gallery :D.

This week's topics:

PSN outages
Telltale games and adventure games of old
Mrs. Doubtfire... the adventure game?

that weird Back to the Future Youtube Poop that David references

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Our First Podcast Episode!!!

Hey everyone!  Today marks the start of our weekly podcast for In the Name of Game.

Obviously we'll be finding our way over the course of the episodes, but we hope you'll join us for the ride!  We'll be discussing games, their companies, the industry, and also getting a little retro here and there for some retrospective conversations.

This week's hosts:
Eji - Your host!  Videogame animator and vocal game debater
David - Co-host! Retro game enthusiast and overall game ponderer
Colin - ...Well Colin's just an angry gamer.  :D   And a co-host. 

This week's topics:
Valve and Portal 2
Bioware and Dragon Age 2 thoughts
Sonic Generation and Sonic over the years
Wii2 ruminations

We're a new podcast, so if you have any suggestions, questions or comments, please post them to this announcement!   I'll be making a podcast email soon for our in-podcast email segment later on.
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A look at Dragon Age 2: Nobody's Happy

.

Let me start off with a disclaimer:  I have not played Dragon Age 1.  That said, I do think a good game should be able to stand solidly on its own two legs, at least for the most part; it's just unfortunate that Dragon Age 2 stumbles around the entire time. 

The Good

Dialogue, as in most Bioware games, shines like a brilliant jewel through the muck.   Excellent voice work, and well-thought out conversations are a pleasure to listen to.  The banter between party members while you traverse an area are particularly insightful and amusing.  Often, if I hear someone start up something with another party member, I will stop running or avoid reaching my checkpoint just so I can hear what their chat will be.  Isabela, Anders, and Varric are particularly fun to have in a party for this reason. 

It's also yet another advancement that even more people than usual in a Bioware game can be romanced, and that many of them can swing either way to suit your interests and character gender/orientation.  Depending on your Friendship/Rivalry with them, that also colors their relationship with you, which is an interesting twist, even though it isn't fleshed out as much as it would sound. 

The animation is yet another step in the right direction for Bioware.  Facial animation looks much less cut-and-paste than previous games and looks like it's based on what they're actually saying.  In general, there's a much wider variety of body animations for conversations as well, which is a welcome change, particularly after finishing a new playthrough of the Mass Effect games and viewing only a handful there.   

Hawke, while not as satisfyingly intimidating as Commander Shepard, has been given a little more leeway in how she/he handles situations.  I do enjoy the ability to be more of a wiseass when I want, or be threatening without out and out killing the person.  The demanding money choice is the only part that seems a little less desirable to bother with, but the fact that it's there as an additional option is welcome.     

Combat (minus some quirks, like sometimes being difficult to target enemies and the janky camera when pushed up against a corner) feels fast and furious, even when pausing to constantly enter in specific tactics.  The character ability customization/specialization is a nice touch, reminiscent to me of the Sphere grid from FFX.  It allows you some pretty good control over what you want your party members to excel at.

Ah decisions, decisions...

The Bad

As nice as it is that there is a Friendship/Rivalry system (reminds me of Light/Dark side alignments, but without the altered point of view), it's pretty frustrating that the points aren't given out consistently.  Sometimes no points are awarded at all when in a situation or making a decision that I felt the character should have responded one way other the other to.  It also makes forming a party with your favorites rather difficult because they will most likely be opposed to each other, like Anders and Fenris, who I enjoy in a party but dread engaging in cutscenes with.  The nasty side effect to this is purposely going to a spot to change your party members and then entering a cutscene, which requires a lot of constant saving and reloading.

Ugh, get a room already you two...

This Friendship/Rivalry element leads into another disappointment.  The party members you come across are amazingly stubborn in their views and beliefs.  Despite becoming more trusted by them as you advance in the game, they stick a little too strongly to their extreme-sided beliefs.  In Mass Effect for example, I appreciated the fact that you could persuade Kaiden that either aliens weren't all that bad, or that he was justified in being a total xenophobe.  Likewise here, it would've been very satisfying to be able to convince some of the characters that they didn't have to be completely gung-ho in siding with either mages or templars.  Instead, everyone holds too tight to whatever polarized view they have when you first meet them, and never develop their character in that regard.  It just doesn't make much sense that people with such drastically different opinions would so easily party with each other and protect one another. 

(As a side note, your brother character is a gigantic arrogant annoying ass half the time... I'm assuming the sister character is the same.)

The extreme sides brings me to another element of the game I dislike, namely how both the templars and the mages both SUCK.  I find it incredibly annoying that I am forced to side with one of these groups when I don't feel particularly sympathetic to either.  Every time I think that one of them isn't so bad, I end up doing a quest where a templar or a mage goes psycho and people are casualties.  It's very hard for me to care about anyone when everyone is so hypocritical and extremist.  It makes my Hawke look very wishy-washy when I have to purposely step around issues and support mages in one quest and then turn around and support templars in another.  Like the party members in this game, everyone and everything in DA2 is always stuck on the sidelines; very few characters bother traipsing around the middle.

 That's good Anders, just use your "it was the Justice spirit, not me!" excuse a little more...

Quests are also handled strangely.  Often when I go on one quest, I invariably pick up some random item that ends up completing a quest in town that I didn't even realize existed.  It's also not always obvious which quests are going to end up remotely linked to the main plot or just be side ones that go nowhere.  The story overall is nowhere near as epic as the previous one, and tries to make it look like they did that because it's trying to be more of an intimate experience, but it's so small that I'm not really sure if the majority (minus a couple obvious parts) of it would have any impact on the Dragon Age world at all.

Kirkwall feels very disjointed as a map structure, and the fact that you can teleport to particular sections ruins any feeling of being part of a large connected world to me.  Add to that the fact that each section isn't particularly large, especially compared to map sizes in Knights of the Old Republic and the Mass Effect titles, and you get a definite sense that they skimped on the content.  Even worse is something I'll mention in The Ugly... 

 

Just points on a rather sparse map...

The Ugly

It's been a very long time since I've seen a game with maps this badly recycled.  It's so egregious that many places use THE SAME MAP for their quests, but simply close off access to areas that aren't used in that quest.  One stone door will open for one quest, and then never open in a separate quest with the same map.  It's so bad that I'm not even sure they have more than 10 re-used maps at the most in the whole game. 

Also, someone at Bioware thought it would be clever to constantly spawn more enemies behind you during a battle FROM THIN AIR.  Nothing is more annoying than fighting an established group of enemies in one area, only to find that 3 more had magically popped in behind you and started wailing on your mages.  Not to mention it looks pretty shoddy visually to just respawn more on top of existing ones.  Have them at least look like they came from somewhere, not just dropped in by some cheap AI.

***

If this wasn't a Bioware game, I don't know if I'd be quite so harsh (most likely I still would be), but they've established themselves as a solid story-based RPG studio, and Dragon Age 2 just feels like they dropped the ball.  Meh story, aggravating polarized characters, lazy dungeon/map creation; it's entirely possible that its development cycle was significantly shorter than their other games, but that can't really be an excuse; if your game needs work, then WORK on it and don't release it yet.  Easy to say, I know, but at a certain point studios need to man up and stop letting publishers push them around and force things out before they're ready.  We all remember what happened with Knights of the Old Republic 2...