It’s finally here, this is it, the last “The Idle Thumbs Podcast” episode. Things will never be the same without this semi-regular broadcast about video games, but not just video games, also Jeff Goldblum appreciation.
The last show starts with a bit of discussion about Bioshock Infinite and what its reveal potentially says about the meaning of the Bioshock name. Chris briefly touches on Kane & Lynch 2 before the group moves on to Lara Croft and the lack of an equally sexy Lara counterpart in the game. A few words on the lack...
First up is Civilization V and it is probably fair to say that Chris is totally into it (and of course he is– already towing the company line). He points to the overall tone of the game as achieving a grandness that is absent in almost all other games. Steve takes some time to talk about the forthcoming Bioshock 2 DLC that has been occupying his time recently, and then the conversation moves to the PSP.
StarCraft 2 talk is rampant again this week, but the focus is on the story and presentation this time around. The guys have a lot of good...
A conversation about micro-transaction based social games starts the cast, then it’s on to StarCraft 2. Chris is enjoying it, but he does feel like Blizzard isn’t really bringing too much new to the space marine archetype on the story side of things. Red Dead Redemption is back in the conversation with a bit of talk about the cool day/night cycle video done by the Digital Foundry guys.
Chris recently got into the new SimCity for iPhone, and this leads into a discussion about the whole Sim franchise. There are some good shout-outs for...
Episode 10 is here sooner than expected with Limbo talk up front. The guys have a lot of good things to say about the game with the bulk of the praise expressed for the games incredible atmosphere. The guys relate the feeling the game conveys to that of exploring when they were kids. Next up is Valve’s Alien Swarm that was recently released for free. Chris also share some anecdotes about his time with the Nasa backed, and also free, Moon Base Alpha.
After a lengthy discussion about simulation games and who plays them, the guys get into the...
This one starts with the revelation that Chris has not seen the movie, The Wizard– incredible. Starting the games talk, Chris spends 20 minutes on Assassin’s Creed 2. Not many emergent moments were spawned, but he seems to have enjoyed some of the more ridiculous mechanics at play. Portal 2 gets just a few minutes before Chris shares some love for Prince of Persia: Forgotten Sands.
Famous talks about how great Snoopy’s Flying Ace is, but never really manages to get the guys to take him seriously. Chris explains his affection for...
The Idle Thumbs Podcast lives! Chris and crew are back talking games. The absurdity of the new Guitar Hero leads into the potential coolness of Rock band 3. E3 starts tomorrow, and while Chris isn’t too interested in talking about the convention ahead of time, the guys do have to mention Project Natal and the disconcerting video that came out of Parade Magazine.
Red Dead Redemption gets some time and there are some great stories here, including ones about bandanas, horse deeds, anti-Semitic shopkeeps and more. Chris also gets into his impressions...
The guys are back for a shorter show this time around. Word of Bungie signing up with Activision has the crew reasonably perplexed at the beginning before Chris and Steve discuss their mildly successful time with Splinter Cell Conviction. While it certainly doesn’t sound like it will be a thumbs favorite, it seems there was some fun to be had. Also, any game that results in the discussion here about incidents at the Lincoln Memorial deserves to exist.
Chris is still playing StarCraft II, and he had a chance to go to Blizzard and check out...
“Famous” is back on this week to sit in for Steve. The recent cacophony of stories coming out of Activision/Infinity Ward/EA starts the cast this week. The Infinity Ward exodus spurs some speculation that the studio may just have to be shuttered at some point. Chris has been playing more StarCraft II and this leads into talk of the recent cheating scandal in South Korea.
Sean has been playing some Flotilla and has a few fun stories to share about his time with the game. Chris touches on Red Dead Redemption and this leads into a conversation...
PAX East gets a rundown from Chris and Jake at the beginning of this one. Chris saw a fair amount of stuff at the show, but Marble Madness was the real draw for the guys– yes, really. Chris has been playing some more StarCraft 2 and he is still enjoying it. A Kane & Lynch movie is one the way and the group is rightfully baffled by the casting of Jamie Foxx as Lynch– again, yes, really. Chris interviewed Jerry Bruckheimer regarding the film during Wondercon and shares a story about a chance encounter with Nic Cage.
The emails section yields quite...
Prepare yourself for a hot scoop of Thumbs, starting things off with discussion of the bizarre press rollout for the upcoming Nintendo 3DS. Chris talks about the strange press release with arbitrary bolding, font styles, and text sizes that announced the future announcement of the future handheld while Steve admits he might be interested in affordable 3D technology that doesn’t require the use of stereoscopic glasses.
The multiplayer beta for Starcraft 2 has captured the hearts of many, especially Chris and former Thumb Nick Breckon. The...
Are the guys going weekly again? We can only hope. The recent situation at Infinity Ward is the obvious big topic this week and it starts the podcast. The guys then move on to talk about the recently formed Indie Fund, an angel investment group put together by indie developers for indie developers.
As Chris was following the Activision debacle, Jake followed the Portal ARG. This all began with a mysterious update to Portal through Steam that has lead people to a BBS using Morse Code that revealed some mysterious Apature Science images and the number...
This is The Idle Thumbs Podcast Episode 2, and I’m Jonathan Downin, writing the post for this episode a little later than I should have.
Civilization V gets some attention up front here, but there is little to go on at this point so the excitement level can only be so high. StarCraft 2 is striking many as VERY similar to the first game and this lead into a discussion about the different approaches to the RTS genre between Blizzards latest and Command & Conquer 4. The conversation ends up focusing on Kane’s ever-youthful appearance...
If you’ve somehow missed the word on the virtual street, Idle Thumbs is back, reanimated in the form of the “Idle Thumbs Podcast” starring Chris Remo, Jake Rodkin, and Steve “Hot Scoops” Gaynor. With Steve’s work on Bioshock 2 dominating the last few months of his life, Jake talks very briefly about his recent playthrough of Bioshock and Chris discusses his time with System Shock 2 at length. For more of Chris’s thoughts, check out the most recent Idle Thumbs blog post.
Mass Effect 2 has been tightly in focus for the gaming...
Dragon Age starts-off this epic last episode of Idle Thumbs. All 3 of the guys have torn themselves away from Torchlight to get some time in with the game, and they are enjoying it. There are some quirks to it, but the dialog has the guys interested and they taut the PC version as the way to go.
Torchlight has Chris completely hooked in its net of loot and gear enchanting. Herein is a classic wizard story for the history books, and Chris does not come out unscathed. The recent Modern Warfare 2 issues get some time before the regular show portion...
It’s a Torchlight extravaganza. After their special “podblast” interview with Runic Games’s Max Schaefer, the Diablo successor is again the center of attention. Chris is loving the game and it shows, with a full 30+ minutes spent discussing the game. It sounds like the Runic crew have put together a worthy update of the dungeon-crawler formula, and it is a steal at $20. An MMO version is in the works as well, so there is a lot to look forward to.
Uncharted 2 receives some more discussion time. This leads into a focus on voice...
