mikemariano

TODD HOWARD: (at 5:08) "First you have to dodge the monks..." Wow, sounds like the Todd Howard VGA game could be even better than the Tim Schafer GDC game!

The comments Kolzig pulled are not Twitter comments, but YouTube comments. They are indeed from Tom Wilson's YouTube account.

Mass Effect is a silly soap opera. You're not missing much if you don't play it, but it's a fun guilty pleasure. Its conversation system is quite good and I'm glad to see that other games have copied it. Gameplay-wise other than that I don't think it offers much that's new. I don't care if the invasion comes at the beginning of the game or not. I don't like millions dying just to "raise the stakes". In Mass Effect 2, a few hundred colonists were killed by the Collectors. That's horrible and it justifiably shook up a lot of your crew members. But for most people, life went on. The destruction of London and the slaughter of millions means that no one on Earth (or any Human off it) can live the same way again. It's truly apocalyptic and it changes the definition of what Shepard can "save." It's totally valid to make a game like this, but it makes the soap opera antics of endorsing shops and punching reporters seem all too trivial. If only I hadn't wasted time in Mass Effect 1 by shoving a gun in the face of my biggest fan! Then the Earth would be safe!

I can't believe it took me three paragraphs before I realized you weren't talking about .I thought, "Wait, the Avatar rides a motorcycle in Ultima Underworld? I really should have played more of that game...."

It kind of cheapens everything I did in the first two games if the Reapers just invade anyway. MASS EFFECT 1 + 2 Shepard: "I'm going to save the galaxy from evil aliens intent on destroying everything!" MASS EFFECT 3 Evil Aliens: "We destroyed most of the Earth! But maybe you can save some of it...?"

I would agree with Vimes and give my vote to Limbo, but edging out that game for me is VVVVVV. VVVVVV has gorgeous play control, pitch-perfect music, and makes excellent use of its flip mechanics. I think I hit every spike in that game and I still love it. Honorable Mention: Oh yeah; Mass Effect 2 came out in 2010. That certainly was a game I played a lot. Is anybody going to choose Just Cause 2?

WARNING: It is impossible to play some World of Goo levels on a MacBook Trackpad. I also bought the game during the Steam sale (in a five-game bundle with only two Mac games—and I already bought VVVVVV previously!) and have been playing it in bed. I guess I'd better bring a mousing device into bed with me, too. And a flat surface.

Is it too early to open up a Mass Effect 3 thread? VG247 doesn't think so! Yeah, I guess that's Mass Effect. The only problem with that plot is that makes it more difficult to do "Let's fly around the galaxy and waste time building our team and shopping and doing sidequests." Because, um, this sounds more urgent.

I knew audio compression was noticeable and unfortunate on the Wii, but I didn't know it factored into the PC versions as well. People may have hated the Soda Poppers less if they were in 5.1 surround sound! Maybe that is Telltale's evil scheme---to release special editions of the DVD seasons in stunning audio and in 1080p 3D!

Right on. Invisible War's greatest sin was being too "console-ified". But now every game does that! Did you play as a male or female Alex? I couldn't imagine playing as male simply because the default version of him is so N-SYNC looking.

Don't worry Tanukitsune, we still love you! You get excited about games that leave me puzzled, but that's to be expected because you play a lot of games and you manage to wring enjoyment out of even the most dubious-looking projects. I don't think that's a fault at all. Meanwhile, I don't even play games anymore. I just watch "One Chance Tool-Assisted Speedrun" videos on YouTube.

That's a good interview. I don't think Blow needs to be so anxious about achievements polluting his textless game. I played through Limbo without feeling like they intruded. Plus IGN told me how to get those sweet, sweet, cheevos. I can't wait until Jessica Chobot shows me how to pwn The Witness!

OMG ......later today so I'll have to watch that video instead.

Irrational Interviews Episode 5: Zack Snyder Yeah, I'm not the target audience for this one, but I hear Snyder is passionate about his beefy Spartans and CGI owls, so...maybe this will be good?

I'm interested in "Tong's Rescue", which I guess means that coveted "original character cameo" is Tracer Tong himself. I remember playing Deus Ex: Invisible War and wondering why characters were making such a big deal about Tracer Tong. I had completely forgotten that he is one of the original game's endings, essentially. Even so, he was hardly at the top of my list of original Deus Ex characters I wanted to see again. Bring back Jaime Reyes!

And the sequels... W2rface: Redemption Warfac3: Reckoning W4rf4ce: Second Sequence

Uh oh, sounds to me like people will exploit that. I hope you're using Valve anti-cheat, otherwise angry TF2 players will accuse you of making it easy to "farm" unlockables or somesuch. I don't really know what I'm talking about.

"It contains crazy science, awkward hoverboard chases, time travel, and bizarre incestuous implications." -- IGN.com

! This is the second time in two weeks @nickbreckon got a song stuck in my head. #fucknick

I think it would be charming to see this game released on the Wii. They have an official Commodore 64 emulator for their Virtual Console, complete with keyboard input when necessary. Has anyone played any of the versions of Newcomer? The screenshots look like Wizardry, but I'm unclear on how it plays.

Instead they should make a Glottis Kart Racer! If we're going off topic for L.A. Noire, we might as well go way off topic.

Remember: Gay Tony first appeared as a terrible queer stereotype in The Lost and the Damned. When the next installment brought him to the foreground, they remembered to make him a "real" person first. I'm sure any female main character will be well-written. Hopefully they'll give her a better reason to be a mass murderer than our other lovable thugs.

But you're right. Telltale totally has the talent to make a musical. Make an all-singing, all-dancing, Sam and Max episode! I want every "I can't reach it," to be operatic.

The last time I got excited about game sound was Thief II, which had terrific optimization for one of the Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy cards. It was their "EAX" audio that made a huge difference. Sound is what makes such a tremendous difference between indoor and outdoor environments. It sounded so good to hear guards walking over tile, moss, and other surfaces. Man, somebody should really do a "Let's Play" for the Audigy EAX Gold Mine tech demo. I thought it was fun!

I know y'all hate how Ken Levine spends most of these podcasts talking about himself, but with Bleszinski I think it really works because they're both terrific conversationalists. They were genuinely able to build on each other's experiences. This was a great listen. I like how Bleszinski was able to acknowledge all the goofy, aggravating things about Heavy Rain and yet still make a case for it as a good game. His enthusiasm for video games is infectious! I'd love to see what kind of train wreck this might turn into if Levine and Remo interview someone less extroverted.