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Author Archives: Alex Martin

Mobcast

Mobcast 90: Dead Space 2 and other scary games

by Alex Martin in Games370 days ago

Jay Frechette (Visceral Games) and Matt Chandronait (Area 5 and Rebel FM) are the guests for this horror-themed Mobcast. They’re joined by Bitmob’s Brett Bates and Rus McLaughlin. First off, they talk about the successes and failures of horror games. Players need to be immersed in a game to be scared by it, which is why Visceral minimized the heads-up display in Dead Space, and implied that their menu screens were actually in Isaac’s world. On the other hand, Alan Wake’s collectibles were a constant reminder that the game...

tested

This is Only a Test – Episode 51 – Meet the Controversacast – 2/3/2011

by Alex Martin in Tech370 days ago

This week, Gary appears as his alter-ego, Ana, so they can pump out an information-packed podcast. They start with Google’s Honeycomb event, where Google detailed the forthcoming version of their Android operating-system, optimized for tablets. Intel recalled their Sandy Bridge motherboards, which would have caused errors in SATA drives over time. Will’s happy that they acknowledged and fixed the error quickly. Twitter followers of Google and Microsoft employees have been party to some petty squabbling this week. Norm explains exactly...

Rebel FM

Rebel FM Episode 90 – 01/28/11

by Alex Martin in Games377 days ago

Anthony starts this week’s Rebel FM talking about a video-less game. Papasangre is an iPhone horror-game that uses stereo sound to creep out sighted and sightless gamers alike. Another iPhone horror-game, Dead Space, does require vision and is surprisingly easy to control. Naturally, they continue their Dead Space 2 discussion. He’s also enjoyed Breach, a downloadable multiplayer shooter, but was disappointed by its lack of original ideas. Ryan’s discussion of Vanquish segues into an examination of what “bad shooting”...

tested

This is Only a Test – Episode 50 – SKULLTRAIL! – 1/27/2011

by Alex Martin in Games, Tech378 days ago

Jeff Gerstmann comes all the way from Giant Bomb to talk handheld-gaming systems this week. Regulars Will, Norm, and Gary join him. Sony’s recently-announced “Next Generation Portable Entertainment System” is first up for discussion. The PSP2, as they want to call it, has an extensive list of features taken from home consoles, cellphones, and traditional handhelds. They run through these features and speculate about its future. They also look at its place next to the Xperia Play (often called the “PSP Phone”) and 3DS. A...

Mobcast

Mobcast 89: You don’t know Mobcast edition

by Alex Martin in Games, Misc382 days ago

Tom “Cookie Masterson” Gottlieb introduces an atypical Mobcast. It’s a trivia-themed episode, starting with the question of why games trivia is so rare in quiz shows and, indeed, trivia games. In a pre-recorded segment, a handful of Jellyvision employees (developers of You Don’t Know Jack) get to add their insight. The hosts and developers also talk about their favorite trivia events and games, including their experiences with bar quizzes, The Guy Game, Jeopardy, and Pictionary Man. Their final topic is the difference between...

Rebel FM

Rebel FM Episode 89 – 01/21/11

by Alex Martin in Games384 days ago

Dead Space 2 is the focus of a lengthy discussion at the start of this episode. They stay away from spoilers for this and its prequels, talking instead about the usability improvements and aesthetic differences. Next, Arthur talks about Age of Empires Online and the Xbox Live Arcade version of Torchlight. He’s also played Mass Effect 2′s Shadow Broker DLC, and seen the interactive comic that accompanies the PlayStation 3 version. He’s left with some questions about Mass Effect 3. Anthony has storys to tell about Game Dev Story....

tested

This is Only a Test – Episode 49 – The REAL Problem with Dyson Spheres – 1/20/2011

by Alex Martin in Tech385 days ago

In a change to the regular format, the show starts with news. First is Steve Jobs’ temporary break from Apple. They imagine a Jobless Apple, discuss the next iPad, and wonder if Apple will continue production of the original iPad as a cheaper alternative. One alternative to Apple’s tablet will be HP’s offerings, details of which leaked this week. They also discuss Blackberry and Android alternatives. A corporate restructuring has left Google with Larry “PageRank” Page as CEO. They think Facebook might eventually need...

The Oddcast

The Oddcast – Episode 50 – 1/18/2011

by Alex Martin in Games, Misc, Movies387 days ago

Starting the episode in medias res, Alice, Chris, Sam, and Tina laugh at Jerry Rice and Nitus’ Dog Football for Wii. The latest trailer for Catherine is almost as bizarre, but for sexier reasons. Next, they move on to a Nintendo-heavy news segment. Nintendo CEO, Satoru Iwata, admitted the 3DS is probably safe for young children. Indie developer The Behemoth is holding a Castle Crashers tournament with a gold-plated Xbox 360 as the grand prize.  Nobody’s surprised at Nintendo’s plans to repackage old games for the 3DS. Finally,...

Mobcast

Mobcast 88: Cheering at press events, lesser-known 2011 titles, video-game word association, and more

by Alex Martin in Games388 days ago

GamePro’s AJ Glasser returns to the Mobcast, along with regulars Shoe, Brett, and Aaron. First off, Brett asks which unsung games of 2011 the crew are looking forward to. They talk about downloadable games such as Stacking, Ilomilo, and Raskulls; The Sims: Medeval; PilotWings for the 3DS; Child of Eden, which could make interesting use of motion-control and music; the design tools in Little Big Planet 2; and obscure Japanese role-playing game Trinity: Souls of Zill O’ll. Shoe, perhaps prompted by a recent profile on Bitmob as much as...

tested

Episode 48 – Parole Set for 2/10 – 1/12/2011

by Alex Martin in Movies, Tech393 days ago

With CES content still being published on Tested, Will, Norm, and Gary start this podcast with a summary of some of the show’s standout products. These include the Motorola Atrix PC/Android-phone hybrid, Lady Gaga’s camera glasses, Sony’s 3D headset, and Toshiba’s glassesless 3D TVs. They also look at why no one trend emerged as a highlight of the show. Before moving on to the news, Gary’s research (for a science fiction project) into Lagrangian points prompts an interesting, if inexpert, physics discussion. The biggest...

Mobcast

Mobcast 87: 3DS, 2010 trends, 2011 predictions, embarrassing moments, and more

by Alex Martin in Games396 days ago

Peter Galvin (who writes about games for a local San Francisco paper)  joins Shoe, Demian, and Brett this week for a mixed bag of topics. The 3DS is back in the news, and Shoe asks if they’re looking forward to it. The technology is really something you have to see to understand, and it looks like a lot of remakes and sequels are coming for it, so it’s hard to get excited about. Demian wonders if it might be the last dedicated console for handheld games; Sony look to be readying a PlayStation phone, and smartphone games are hugely popular. Peter...

Rebel FM

Rebel FM: Episode 88 — 01/04/11

by Alex Martin in Games397 days ago

IGN Editor Jim Reilly joins for this 2010-retrospective podcast with Anthony, Arthur, and Ryan. First, though, they look back at the games they’ve played this week. Anthony starts with the PlayStation Move components of Auditorium and Heavy Rain. Jim jumps in the middle of that to talk Oblivion, which he has just started in the midst of Elder Scrolls V news. Arthur is puzzled at Bejeweled 3′s weird faux-epic aesthetic. He’s also got impressions on Mass Effect 2′s downloadable missions (not including Lair of the Shadow Broker). Ryan’s...

tested

Episode 44 – Welcome to the CESpool – 1/6/201

by Alex Martin in Games, Tech399 days ago

Very tired, and live from a Las Vegas hotel room, Will, Norm, and Matt (with others in the background) report from the first day of CES. Except it’s a Whiskey Media  live stream, so it’s long and unfocussed, and the stream cuts out in the middle of one of Norm’s stories. They start with LG’s smart microwaves and washing machines. LG also showed a powerful Optimus 2X “superphone” and some 3DTVs. Intel have satisfied Warner Bros. with DRM on their Sandy Bridge chips, so we should see official HD movie downloads...

Mobcast

Mobcast 86: EGM memories, New Year’s gaming resolutions, and more

by Alex Martin in Games402 days ago

It’s an EGM reunion on this week’s Mobcast. Michael Donahoe (now at developer Bigpoint) and Greg Ford (who’s currently at business school) join Bitmob’s Shoe and Demian. This is the first Mobcast of 2011, so Demian asks for their resolutions. Most involve playing through their backlog of uncompleted games, but Demian’s is to play World of Warcraft instead of Lord of Ultima, which he calls one of the worst games of all time. Next, they share what they missed about EGM. None of them have access to such a large library...

CastMedium Podcast Awards 2010: Alex’s picks

by Alex Martin in Features406 days ago

3) Short podcasts This is a bit of a cheat, but since I bought a fancy phone that automatically trawls RSS feeds for new podcasts, I’ve found myself breaking up marathons like the Bombcast with quick, minutes-long shows. CBC Radio 3: New Music Canada Track of the Day. Simply a short preamble from CBC’s Lana Gay, or a guest host, and one track of independent music from Canada. web | iTunes | rss The Onion Radio News is the quickest here. At a minute long, it’s the most compact way to enjoy the Onion, whose jokes are mainly in their headlines...

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    Episode 092 - PTW ahoy!
    Games, tech, and the usual, for the last time. Hello Podcast Thing Weekly.

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