So, 4 Guys 1UP is back with Jeremy at the helm this week bookending an interview section that David Ellis recorded at GDC with David Cage and Stig Asmussen of Heavy Rain and God of War III respectively. Jeremy is obviously a little uncomfortable in the lead role here and the rhythm of the conversation is a bit stilted. They admit that they don’t know what the future holds, but for now it’s Jeremy and gang.
God of War III starts the discussion and Jeremy finds nothing to like about the game, or franchise on a whole, as Matt argues its merits. The middle interview section is great and has the two team leads hitting on a lot of different topics related to their recent releases. The Pokemon discussion mirrors the God of War talk with Matt not getting the appeal this time around. News and more PlayStation Move discussion finish the episode.
4 Guys 1UP is in a weird spot and it is obvious that 1UP doesn’t quite know what to do with it yet. Matt mentions that there are 2 more weeks worth of GDC interviews from David in the pipeline, so it is probably safe to assume that we won’t see anything truly new for at least a few more weeks.
Covered games and topics: God of War III, David Cage and Stig Asmussen interview, news, PS Move
With the departure of 4 Guys’ host, the show shifts temporarily into low-key mode. Jeremy Parish, Matt Leone, Jade Kraus, and Mike Nelson discuss the week’s news and releases, and David Cage and Stig Asmussen talk about Heavy Rain and God of War III. Also see: a video version of the Cage/Asmussen interview.
Runtime – 1:38:31
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Ugh. They needed to kill this last week. Just compile the two weeks worth of interviews into one episode, release it, and close the book on 4 Guys 1UP.
It's probably just me, but I haven't been able to stand Jeremy Parish for the last couple of months. It seems like he's on a sliding scale down into obscurity, at least to me. Like, there's probably two people alive right now who would actually care to talk about Data East games and would care to listen to a podcast about Data East games. Yes, I played the Robocop games, and I enjoyed them. But nobody gives a crap about Data East anymore. Where do you get off making a podcast about Data East when you still haven't done a proper one for Resident Evil, or for fighting games, or for racing games, or for platformers – I mean, you could just go on and on listing good and interesting topics that they haven't covered. What about individual games, you know? Beyond Good and Evil, Indigo Prophecy – there are awesome individual games out there that they could cover, but instead they talk about Lunar and A Boy and His Blob. Get collective heads out of collective asses, yo!
It just seems to me that Parish's podcasts grow more self indulgent as time goes on. I hope someone can prove me wrong and show me the light, because I desperately want to like Retronauts – the Retronauts I liked in 2006/07, the Retronauts that was actually good. But honestly, Active Time Babble is so desperately niche, so just for a tiny select group of people, it's really astonishing. Again, it's probably just me.
I actually like Parish quite a bit, and I'm a fan of Jade too so while I hope they change the name of the show I do want them to continue it. However, I do agree that they should have compiled those interviews into one show. I dislike it when a podcast is broken up by straight forward interviews. I prefer to read interviews rather than listen to them as they are often too dry and its easier to skip around while reading.
I prefer Parish then David Ellis by a long shot, that's how I felt when he was hosting. As the people of this site know I'm extremely glad he's gone but who knows if 4 guys 1 up will survive in 2 weeks. Just let Mr.Barnholt host it and if not take some time off and come back fresh.