The GWJ crew has been a little excited about Mafia II up until now, so the opening of the show is even more disappointing as a result. Everyone but Lara has been playing it and they all seem to agree that the gameplay is sorely lacking with respect to the style and cutscenes, resorting to repetitive shootouts and overly mundane tasks. Shawn steers the conversation towards the far more positive, sharing his impressions on the co-op campaign of Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light. In the game’s five hours or so, he didn’t think it dipped at all the whole way through and enjoyed playing it with his wife.
Elemental: War of Magic is yet another universally disliked game, with Shawn comparing the experience with being forced to eat a whole loaf of white bread. Sean thinks that the game is interesting in oddly sparse moments sprinkled among boring, shameful gameplay. He goes on to bring up Brad Wardell’s “Gamer’s Bill of Rights”, which this game seems to break in almost every way. Sadly enough, the guys ultimately end up comparing the release to Stardock’s previous mistake, Demigod.
This week’s topic is how expectations influence the ultimate experience with games, leading to exploration of how to avoid having expectations altogether and how suceptible we all are to targeted, well-greased marketing machines. The show wraps up with listener mail, as always.
Note: Gamers with Jobs is produced by Jonathan Downin, Founder and Head Writer of CastMedium.
This week Shawn, Elysium, Cory and Lara talk about expectations and how they impact our play experience.
Runtime – 1:19:08
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