Andrew Pfister (G4TV) joins the Weekend Confirmed team this week and they start as always with Whatcha’ Been Playing. Killzone 3 is the first game on the agenda, after a brief look back at Killzone 2 which includes a big spoiler from 07:30 to 08:40. The third in the series adds jetpacks, and Garnett does a good job of describing how they work and feel. Another 3 they’ve been playing is F.E.A.R. 3 (apparently that’s the official way to write it), which adds a ghostly co-op partner. Jeff enthuses about Prince of Persia: the Forgotten Sands, which was overlooked in favour of Alan Wake and Red Dead Redemption — games which came out at the same time and got more attention in a lot of places. Speaking of Red Dead, they finish with a quick talk about that game’s multiplayer, Blur on PC, and Super Mario Galaxy 2. To save you a potentially disturbing Google search, here is the donkey girl Garnett mentioned.
They talk about cheap games next: Torchlight — the RPG that is on sale every other week on Steam, the Orange Box — which Mac owners should investigate, Zak and Wiki: Quest for Barbaros’ Treasure — a puzzle game that makes good use of the Wiimote, and Lumines — a simple puzzle game on several platforms.
There’s a new segment this week — reader comments on their discussion of mature games last episode. The readers add some new perspectives, including the idea of mature gameplay design.
In “the Warning”, they discuss companies charging money for online play, anticlimactic endings, microphone headsets in singleplayer, escort missions, and the future of PC and Mac gaming.
News finishes the show, including Rock Band 3′s new instrument, departures from Microsoft, Insomniac’s new multi-platform IP, and prices for the PlayStation Network and Natal. They offer commentary on all of these and speculate about the price of Natal — the rumored $149 seems steep.
Covered topics: Killzone 3, F.E.A.R. 3, Prince of Persia: the Forgotten Sands, Red Dead Redemption multiplayer, Blur on PC, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Rock Band 3, Microsoft departures, Insomniac going multi-platform, PSN+, Natal.
Killzone 3 had its first showing and Garnett got to play it along with this week’s guest, former 1UP Yours man on the wheels of steel Andrew Pfister from G4TV.com. Brian continues to love Red Dead Redemption while Jeff spent his week with Prince of Persia Forgotten Sands and that’s only part of what’s in Whatcha’ Been Playin? Something new has been added before the Warning in the third segment with audience comments from last week’s show. Up this time, response to the discussion of maturity in games. Brian wraps the show up on a roll with a Front Page filled with everything from the departure of two big Microsoft Entertainment division execs to rumors of a $149 price for the Xbox 360 motion sensing add-on, Natal.
Runtime – 2:16:09
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