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The HotSpot

The HotSpot 02/16/2010

by Jonathan Downin in Games821 days ago

Aliens Vs. Predator is out and it sounds like it is very faithful to Rebellion’s earlier Aliens vs. Predator games, but this is not necessarily a good thing. Perfect Dark for XBLA was announced at x10 and it garners some excitement here. Fable III is passed over rather quickly with Halo Reach, Alan Wake and Dead Rising 2 getting bigger chunks of time for discussion. NPDs and recent comments from Activision and Ubisoft have the guys pondering the state of the industry. Activision is closing and paring down some of their studios resulting...

The HotSpot

The HotSpot 02/09/2010

by Jonathan Downin in Games829 days ago

Some serious love for BioShock 2 starts that discussion this week. The opinions fall on both sides, but the phrase ‘better than the first one’ is uttered several times. Dante’s Inferno doesn’t fair nearly as well with the guys labeling it as a complete direct rip of God of War. Sonic 4 doesn’t inspire much positivity either. Xbox Live service for the original Xbox is coming to an end and the indifference it palpable. A PSP iteration of the forthcoming PS3 racer, ModNation Racers, has been announced and the crew worries...

The HotSpot

The HotSpot 02/02/2010

by Jonathan Downin in Games835 days ago

Brendan is back this week and MAG kicks off the discussion. Chris Watters gave the game an 8.0 in his review, but struggles to get too excited about it in his time here. White Knight Chronicles has finally seen a US release, but it seems to have fallen short in many ways. Star Trek Online doesn’t do much for the console-centric group, and Tatsunoko vs. Capcom incites some anime discussion. Lost Planet 2 will be released on May 18 and it was announced that Marcus and Dom from Gears of War will be playable characters– weird. A 3 year...

The HotSpot

The HotSpot 01/26/2010

by Jonathan Downin in Games842 days ago

Mass Effect 2 is easily the biggest release this week, but if you in the mood for some lighter fare and have a Wii, No More Heroes 2 may be up your alley. Just be ready for some misogyny in the mix. The guys are also talking about the official delay of the PS3 Motion Controller and they feel like it and Project Natal seem like they would be better off releasing in 2011. The HotSpot crew are the last to touch on the NPD’s top 10 best selling game of all time which we talked about on this week’s CastMedium Podcast. This leads into some...

The HotSpot

The HotSpot 01/19/2010

by Jonathan Downin in Games849 days ago

We get a truncated episode this week since the guys missed their usual recording time due to the holiday on Monday. This actually feels like the perfect length for The HotSpot though, so hopefully this a trend that will continue. Chris Watters makes his requisite cameo appearance up front here to share his thoughts on Dark Void. It has had a somewhat troubled development, and it seems shows in the final product. NPDs get a bit of time as usual, but there are no big insights here– spoiler alert, Nintendo controls the charts again. It could...

The HotSpot

The HotSpot 01/12/2010

by Jonathan Downin in Games857 days ago

Army of Two: The 40th Day starts things off this week since it is was released today. The impressions seem pretty positive with it comparing well with Gears of War in gameplay terms. It is also another Nolan North voiced game which has the crew calling for Sony to pay him not to do anything other than Uncharted. The guys are not exactly excited about the announcement of Xbox Live Game Room, and the idea of a motion sensitive DS is argued to be just as logical as the iPhone implementation. There are rumors swirling that Modern Warfare 3 may be handed-off...

The HotSpot

The HotSpot 01/05/2010

by Jonathan Downin in Games864 days ago

The HotSpot is back after the holiday break and Bayonetta starts both the year’s big releases and the podcast discussion. The reception is pretty positive all around, but the story seems to fall into the realm of the unintelligible. Darksiders also gets a few kind words and seems to be shaping up to be more than a simple God of War clone. Another entry to the Def Jam series is coming to the PSP, and Brendan Sinclair and Kevin VanOrd read from the script of the game in place of ESRB ratings theater. There are some great 1-liners here. The guys...

The HotSpot 12/01/2009

by Jonathan Downin in Games899 days ago

The game talk kicks-off with Avatar this week. Kevin has been playing through it for review, and while he doesn’t want to tip has hand too much, he does say that it “is not great.” Mass Effect 2 comes off with much more positive impressions from Shaun. In light of poor sales of last years Prince of Persia reboot, and the forthcoming Disney movie, Ubisoft is heading back to the Sands of Time series for its next Prince of Persia game. EA wasn’t lying when they said that the Pandemic name will live on. They have announced the...

The HotSpot 11/24/2009

by Jonathan Downin in Games905 days ago

Okay, mentally prepare yourself for this news– Tony Hawk Ride is terrible. That’s right, Kevin has been playing the game and he pulls no punches here, or in his review. Sophia is full of energy this week and shares her love for Modern Warfare and talks about shooters in general. It was a busy week of news with EA leading the headlines with their announcement of substantial layoffs. The Saboteur developer was hit the hardest with an almost complete shuttering of the studio, but the EA will not be retiring the Pandemic name. Sony is making...

The HotSpot 11/17/2009

by Jonathan Downin in Games913 days ago

Relative to other big releases over the past weeks, Assassin’s Creed II has been flying under the radar to some extent. A level of trepidation after the critical reception of the first game is understandable, but the latest entry has wowed Kevin, and he is not the only one. Left 4 Dead 2 has garnered an equally positive reception and Shaun shares his opinion after weeks of playtime. Tony Hawk Ride is still MIA due to Activisions decision not to send out review copies– not a good sign. Moving onto the news, EA is cutting 1500 jobs and...

The HotSpot 11/10/2009

by Jonathan Downin in Games920 days ago

If you are looking for Modern Warfare 2 discussion, you will have to wait. Since there is a lot to cover on MW2, the GameSpot guys are going to be releasing a special, spoiler-filled podcast completely dedicated to the game on Thursday. Since Lark got his hands on an import copy, Bayonetta is up first this week. He doesn’t provide too much insight outside of what is already known, but there are a few minor details. Some of the guys have seen the Prince of Persia trailer and this leads into a discussion about Jake Gyllenhaal and other game/comic-related...

The HotSpot 11/03/2009

by Jonathan Downin in Games927 days ago

Kevin starts this one out with the 1st of 4 games that get glowing impressions this week, Dragon Age Origins, which he scored a 9.5/10. He says that the narrative is great, and that if you give it 30 minutes, you will be hooked. Atypically, the Xbox 360 version loses out technically to the PS3 and PC versions. Justin says that The Ballad of Gay Tony is a great closer to GTAIV before Dead Space Extraction and Ratchet and Clank close out the love-fest. Things turn for the negative with Tekken 6 and the announcement of the DSi XL. As is the case with...

The HotSpot 10/20/2009

by Jonathan Downin in Games941 days ago

Borderlands is proving to be received in a much more positive light than many previously thought. We touched on it in this week’s CastMedium Podcast and may have been a little hasty in our dismissal of the game. Demon’s Souls continues to capture imagination with Brian talking about his strange attraction to the game. Justin got his hands on the PSP version of GTA: Chinatown Wars and it sounds like Rockstar has polished it up nicely. The tentatively forthcoming Sam Raimi directed Warcraft movie is still in the news. Justin voices his...

The HotSpot 10/13/2009

by Jonathan Downin in Games948 days ago

Uncharted 2 is up first this week and is still being praise, but Brutal Legend gets the most time at the beginning of this week’s HotSpot. This is a Tim Schafer game so the writing and story are entertaining the guys to a large extent as expected. The multiplayer also gets the thumbs up here though so it sounds like the game isn’t completely reliant on its narrative. It’s available today so do yourself a favor and pick it up. Guitar Hero Van Halen has started shipping out to those that pre-orded Guitar Hero 5 and it sounds like...

The HotSpot 10/06/2009

by Jonathan Downin in Games955 days ago

GameSpot hardware guy Sarju Shah is on this week to talk about the PSPgo and you can surmise what he has to say about it. His biggest complaint is the price of both the hardware and minis and has been the trend in opinion lately. Kevin is sharing his thoughts on Motorstorm Arctic Edge and Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 and both come away with positive remarks overall. He also talks about Demon’s Soul, and while it seems to have some innovative features that bring the player community together by incorporating player ghosts within the single-player game,...

  • CastMedium Podcast

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

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