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Episode 345: Conditional Decisioning

by James Jones, Kimberly Keller, Jonathan Metts, and Guillaume Veillette - August 4, 2013, 8:23 pm EDT
Total comments: 6

We look at the Wii U's fall lineup, and Kim rolls a spooky strike with Undead Bowling why would I write that

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We have another substitute this week (for Jon this time), and it happens to be the debut of Kim Keller on RFN. She was great at E3 and brings a lot of interesting thoughts to this episode as well, including one of the greatest New Business surprises in a long time. But we start with Jonny's recent exploits in the Wii U version of Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, plus the deliciously snack-sized Rogue Legacy on PC. Guillaume revisits Super Metroid on Wii U Virtual Console, an RFN favorite (for most of us) that he hasn't really discussed before now. Kim finds herself addicted to competitive Injustice: Gods Among Us, but her lasting contribution to this podcast is surely a review for Undead Bowling. It's a rated-M bowling game. IT'S A RATED-M BOWLING GAME. And, shockingly, it may also be a pretty good game outside of the fully committed aesthetic and bizarro premise. James has to follow that hammer-drop with a lamentation over Breath of Fire 6, as well as his bemused, if not disturbed, impressions of Puzzle & Dragons for iOS.

After a particularly rowdy Now Playing break, we return for a feature segment looking at our most anticipated Wii U releases for the rest of 2013. These are definitely personal picks, with each panelist choosing a couple of titles based on individual preference, so don't be surprised if we pass over your own future favorite. Still, it's nice to spend half an hour being mostly positive about Wii U games, other than that stretch where James gets real, and maybe even pessimistic, about Mario (even though he picked it).

Big ups to Kim for filling in this week! We should have the fearsome foursome back together for you next time, where we'll catch up on Listener Mail. You can make that even better by sending in your own question or comment for the show! Also, in case you hadn't heard, Pandora's Tower won the RetroActive poll... so pick up your copy soon and play along with us! The discussion has already started in that official RetroActive #28 forum thread.

This podcast was edited by James Jones.

Music for this episode of Radio Free Nintendo is used with permission from Jason Ricci & New Blood. You can purchase their newest album, Done with the Devil, directly from the record label, Amazon (CD) (MP3), or iTunes, or call your local record store and ask for it!

Additional music for this episode of Radio Free Nintendo is copyrighted to Nintendo and is included under fair use protection.

Talkback

azekeAugust 05, 2013

Did someone said "roguelike"? Well you know what this means...

It means that i'm going to whine how Desktop Dungeons doesn't get enough attention it deserves! How it had all that innovations that developers are now sitting on by not releasing full version for years and how other games are now doing the same these guys did years ago and are now cashing in on it.

Rogue Legacy and 10 000 000 both took metagame building from DD. You constantly expand, diversify the game massively by constantly adding new items, new classes or choosing new heirs with new abilities, like in RL. That way game always stays fresh with new twists introduced even if basis of gameplay stays more or less the same. Gameplay sessions in DD (and in 10 000 000, and in RL) are short so the game can get challenging but you don't care if you lose because you don't lose much both in time and in in-game resources.

Please, people, try Desktop Dungeons.

Gamasutra had an article on games exploiting F2P schemes. Oh and Puzzle&Dragons is getting 3DS version so you WILL get to discuss this game again.

And i don't know what's wrong with Wind Waker on Wii. I played it through on Wii not too long ago and it looked absolutely delightful. I have plasma tv connected to Wii with component cables though.

eggface123August 05, 2013

Great show! Skipped the Call of Duty chat though.  ;)

pokepal148Spencer Johnson, Contributing WriterAugust 05, 2013

Jons not on the podcast this week?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxlhyX-4qKI
no offense

A characteristically tough crowd.

SarailAugust 05, 2013

As I was listening, and the four of you started the Call of Duty discussion, I thought, "What?! You mean to tell me that you're going to have this discussion without Lindemann?! What is wrong with you people??"

Get 'em next week, Jon.

Fiendlord_TimmayAugust 05, 2013

Glad to hear Jonny liked Rogue Legacy. Discussion of the game piqued my interest, but I was a bit skeptical, as members of the gaming press are wont to gloss over certain glaring flaws in design and gameplay if the concept enamors them enough. I was especially worried considering it's ostensibly a roguelike, but I trust Jonny would have been the first to jump on the game if it suffered from the undesirable hallmarks of that genre.

In short, Jonny's seal of approval has made me all the more interested in the game, I'll probably pick it up at some point.

Also, I have to agree with James regarding Mario 3D World. Even though I liked 3D Land quite a bit (I 100%'d it for god's sake), I couldn't help but feel that it was a pretty big step down from the Galaxy games. It just didn't instill me with the same sense of wonderment that they did. I was willing to give it a pass considering it was a handheld game, and those typically aren't as epic and sweeping as console games. But now World comes along and it looks just as bland and abstract. It's a huge wasted opportunity, as the Galaxy style would also really benefit from the jump to HD.

Also, the addition of multiplayer gives it more of a New Super Mario Bros. vibe, which is troubling to me. Seeing 3D World at E3 was the first time I've ever been truly scared of what the future holds for Mario. Before this, I could always point to the Galaxy games for reassurance, but now the homogeneity of the NSMB series is creeping into EAD Tokyo's games as well. I'll reserve judgement for when I actually play the game, but I can't help but have reservations.

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