Topic: Radio Free Nintendo: Episode 161

[gojira]

I thought House of the Dead: Overkill was great because it was a target range.  I play with the Nyko Perfect shot and turn the cursor off to replicate the old arcade style that actually required a bit of aim.  I don't think these types of games are much fun if you're just moving a cursor around with the Wii pointer.  Which is why despite my love for the Resident Evil franchise, I only rented Umbrella Chronicles and have only a bit of passing interest in Dead Space: Extraction. 

Overkill is so much better than any of the previous HotD games, but is it worth $50 for the game and $15 for the accessory?  Maybe not, but if you can get the game for cheap I wouldn't pass it up.

And on the motion sickness topic.  I never had any problems until recently.  de Blob was the first that I had problems with.  Since I bought the game without renting it first I tried to play through the pain.  But I am to obsessive not to paint everything in the levels.  So they would last for a very long time.  Deadly Creatures also gave me some issues. 

[ShyGuy]

See I've listened to the Giant bombcast, but I can only take so much. Brad Shoemaker is enjoyable to listen to but Jeff Gerstmann seems like an annoying man-child most of the time.

GiantBombcast journalism seems to be driven by a gaming journalism philosophy that I don't always agree with. That philosophy seems to be "I want the game industry to emulate the movie industry" Not just any version of the movie industry but some sort of Harry Knowles vision of the movie industry. Bigger budgets? Yes. More Cut Scenes? Yes Yes. Mature things like boobs and blood? YES. Games that only fulfill my adolescent male power fantasy? YES YES YES. Games being popular enough with the cool people that my enthusiast press job is no longer looked down upon? OH YES GIVE IT TO ME.

[NWR_DrewMG]

If you've got a 360 or PS3, I can't recommend the Joystiq Podcast highly enough.  Those guys never fail to crack my **** up.  They're not too kind to the Wii though.

Also, the Player One Podcast is pretty great most of the time. 

[adadad]

Not gaming related, but Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo's Film Reviews is a great podcast with a crap title. Ok it's actually just a BBC radio show edited down to a podcast but that does mean it's absolutely consistently released weekly (albeit sometimes there're different people), it's thoroughly entertaining, and sorry to say it but Filmspotting is a complete snorefest in comparison.

[Jonnyboy117]

I often disagree with the guys on Bombcast, but they are consistently funny and entertaining.

Filmspotting is definitely an NPR-style show, fairly low key and occasionally ponderous. But I can overlook the presentation when the discussions are so fascinating and well informed.

[adadad]

I often disagree with the guys on Bombcast, but they are consistently funny and entertaining.

Filmspotting is definitely an NPR-style show, fairly low key and occasionally ponderous. But I can overlook the presentation when the discussions are so fascinating and well informed.

Agree on all fronts here. Filmspotting was a bit too slow for me, not bad by any means though. Lot less current than other podcasts too, such as the very one I recommended! Often a good thing.

Bombcast is good, sometimes they are a bit annoying to listen to though at times, I found the PAX episode particularly grating with so much laughter. And yes I agree with them very rarely! I think it's telling that Jeff Gerstmann gave Mario Kart 64 a review score of 6 point something. I guess our viewpoints don't gel very well in that sense. Still someone can still be extremely entertaining even when you disagree with everything they say.

[NWR_Karl]

If any of you need a gaming podcast to subscribe to, check out A Life Well Wasted (http://alifewellwasted.com/). Robert Ashley (Ex-1Up.com, GFW Magazine) puts it together, and does a fabulous job. If any of you listen to This American Life, it's essentially that, but tangentially connected to video games. I'd personally consider it the Gold Standard when it comes to podcast editing (yes, it even eclipses TAL when it comes to sound).

[kraken613]

If you like general tech Cnet's Buzz Out Loud is great. One of my favorites and it comes out every week day.

[AV]

So what should I listen to next week in place of RFN?

I highly recommend Filmspotting. For gaming? Try the Giant Bombcast. I think it's the one closest to RFN in style, although there are lots of differences too.

what about the NWR News podcast ? We haven't had one of those in a while.

[Sundoulos]

Well, this is completely off the topic of video games podcats go, but as long as we're plugging good podcasts, I'll join in.  My favorite by far is Dan Carlin's Hardcore History.  I hate the name, but whatever...It's very well-produced, theater-of-the- mind type look into various periods in world history.  He has a way of describing historical events that really bring them to life, and I like that he often touches on many aspects of history that you probably wouldn't hear in a traditional history class.   

The only problem with it is that the down time between episodes is 2 - 3 months on average. 

He's currently wrapping up a series on the German-Russian front in WWII called "Ghosts of the Ostfront."  Excellent, excellent stuff, but the brutality described in the podcast is hard to take.  It opened my eyes to how difficult it was for the average Russian soldier and all the people who were caught between two horrible, monolithic, despotic regimes.  He also points out the crisis of conscience that some (only some) of the German soldiers and commanders were having during that time.

If you're an amatuer (very amatuer) history buff like I am, there's a lot to appreciate there. 

[GoldenPhoenix]

Relisten to the podcasts with the current crew when they first started  That is my solution.

[NWR_DrewMG]

I've been listening to a lot of classic RFN myself, both current and classic casts.  I've been slowly listening to episode 100 over the course of the week.  That was a solid episode (and I had a letter read!); all 3 hours.

[vudu]

I have an aside to Mario is French's letter concerning motion sickness.  Perhaps it's just me, but when he said "I traded [Metroid Prime 3] in for another game that also made me feel physically sick:  Metal Gear Solid 4" I took that as a dig against MGS4.  I didn't interpret the comment that it, too, made him experience motion sickness.

So what should I listen to next week in place of RFN?

Isn't the obvious answer Radio Trivia?

[NWR_insanolord]

For once my being really busy pays off, because I still haven't gotten around to listening to the episode with the old cast from a few weeks ago so I can just listen to that. It won't be quite as good as one with the current cast, but still probably better than any other podcast.

[adadad]

Also on the alternate podcast front is this one-off Games For Windows magazine/Brodeo reunion from PAX, just been listening and it's very entertaining 40 mins in at least. Great cast, Robert Ashley (who, as Karl pointed out, shows his editing mettle in A Life Well Wasted), Shawn Elliot, Ryan Scott, and the inimitable Jeff Green. This two parter can be got via an offshoot podcast's feed, Geekbox. Can be found on the Apple Store. Unfortunately my recommendation cannot stretch to Geekbox which seems interminably dull.

Cheers to everyone for the podcast recommendations, definitely going to give the Hardcore History Archive a go. Any more suggestions to idle away the RFN holiday?

[noname2200]

I was surprised to hear so much dislike for Overkill. I suppose I shouldn't be, since all the complaints listed ARE legitimate, but I found myself enjoying it a lot nonetheless. It's also really popular when one or two people swing by. But then, I'm a mild fan of the genre (warts and all), so to each his own.

Bit bummed to hear about the vacation. Not that you guys don't deserve it, but y'all tend to make my Mondays a bit cheerier for two hours. Ah well, I guess there's always the ton of episodes I missed the first time around.

[GoldenPhoenix]

I was surprised to hear so much dislike for Overkill. I suppose I shouldn't be, since all the complaints listed ARE legitimate, but I found myself enjoying it a lot nonetheless. It's also really popular when one or two people swing by. But then, I'm a mild fan of the genre (warts and all), so to each his own.

Bit bummed to hear about the vacation. Not that you guys don't deserve it, but y'all tend to make my Mondays a bit cheerier for two hours. Ah well, I guess there's always the ton of episodes I missed the first time around.

Think of it this way. Greg wont' go insane nearly as quickly with a week break.

[noname2200]

Think of it this way. Greg wont' go insane nearly as quickly with a week break.

Now I'm double-bummed. :-(

And the rate shouldn't change much if Nintendo doesn't release Excitebots over there soon!

[broodwars]

Relisten to the podcasts with the current crew when they first started  That is my solution.

That was mine as well, though I do listen to other podcasts like Destructoid's, Podcast Beyond, and whatnot.  A while back I just started listening to old episodes around 99 or so and it's suited me just fine.

[kraken613]

^
Podcast Beyond is awesome.

I tried listening to Bombcast and didn't like it at all....

[adadad]

By any chance does anyone know if Greg is at the London Wiiware/DSiware summit thing today? It'd be cool to get a report on the show like last time.

[Yoshidious]

Unfortunately, I could not secure the time off from work to get to the WiiWare/DSiWare media summit yesterday, so I won't be able to talk about it on the show. However, as you may already have seen we do have in-depth coverage of the event on the site courtesy of Mark Kelly, so be sure to check out all the stories coming from that.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/newsArt.cfm?artid=19980

[Plugabugz]

I could not secure the time off from work

Now that's a killer question. Greg has to stay upto some ungodly hour to record this, then spend an unknown amount of time (the mathematical answer is LOTS) editing and preparing, week in and out. Im assuming friday mornings must be very draining?