EDG Podcast Ep. #156

MUSIC

Intro – Theme to Killer Instinct

Break – “Deathwish” by Blessed by a Broken Heart

Outro – “Shut Up And Rock” by Blessed By a Broken Heart

TIMESTAMPS

Weeks in Review – 4:42

Coop Part 1 – 38:44

Week in Review Revisit – 1:03:47

Coop Part 2 – 1:08:15

Twitter – 1:52:34

Mass Effect 3

WARNING: This podcast contains spoilers for the entire Mass Effect Series.

MUSIC

Intro – “Leaving Earth” by Clint Mansell

Break – “Stand Strong, Stand Together” by Christopher Lennertz

Outro – “Das Malefitz” by Faunts

All songs taken from the Mass Effect 3 Soundtrack.

EDG Podcast Ep. #155

MUSIC

Intro – “Tank” by Yoko Kanno, from Cowboy Bebop

Break – “No Plan B” by Manafest

Outro – “Avalanche” by Manafest

TIMESTAMPS

Weeks in Review – 5:58

What We’ve Been Playing -  31:51

Twitter -  1:23:16

I’m serious. We live in one of the best if not the best time to be involved in this hobby. More people are gaming than ever, more great games are available than we could ever imagine and competition both among game companies and retail is driving prices down faster than ever.

Multiplayer games are reaching al new heights. Battlefield 3 is an example, Hey Dez, C4!

So why is it so many gamers can do nothing except point out the negatives? Don’t get me wrong; I am very aware of the problems which currently exist within this pastime of mine. I just think many gamers have gotten so jaded they cannot see just how good we have it. A few weeks ago, while reading yet another comment on Twitter about how some issue was ruining gaming, I decided enough was enough. I felt it was time to remind gamers just how great a time it is to be a gamer. This series was born out of that frustration.

So sit back as over the next few weeks I explain why we live in a Prime Time for gaming.

The Misconceptions

So just where has this idea that everything is horrible for gamers get started? That’s a difficult question to answer. A couple years back, it seemed that the industry could do no wrong. The consoles were selling, games were breaking sales records all over and it seemed gaming was almost immune to the recession.

Somewhere in this time of gaming explosion, however, something happened. Studios began closing. Online passes started to creep in to the gaming community, going from being something a couple of publishers were doing to the norm for multiplayer games. Core gamers began to see the rise of casual and social gaming as a threat instead of more people being introduced to this hobby we all love. Slowly, gamers went from being excited to share their interests with others to being jaded, and they took to the Internet by force to start decrying the death of gaming as we know it.

Gunstringer proves Kinect could really provide some unique experiences.

Is gaming dead? Far from it, yet it seems that many people want to convince you of this. If you read Twitter, forum posts, comments on gaming sites and even some opinions from well known gaming writers, you would begin to think it was. Every change to what we have come to know as gaming is being viewed with cynicism if not outright criticism. Many have treated Kinect as the end of core gaming. When Double Fine turned to Kickstarter for funding, many people freaked out over how it was unfair for an established company to use that service. EA chose to release an indie bundle on Steam, and all many gamers could mention was how EA had no clue what the phrase indie meant as opposed to just being happy EA was bringing attention to some good games. While I am not trying to say there are no issues surrounding these examples, the response from the gaming community has been blown severely out of proportion. The game industry is still alive and well, and it is not going anywhere.

Why This Is Prime Time

I understand there is a big difference between realizing gaming is not dead and actually stating we are in possibly the best time to be a gamer. I don’t just expect you to agree with me without some evidence. Over the next few articles, I will be covering many of the reasons why I think we live in a Prime Time for gaming, but the following is an overview of just a few of the reasons:

• There are more people gaming than ever before.
• There are more unique gaming experiences than ever before.
• Gamers can take their gaming experience anywhere they go.
• Gamers have the ability to track down games thanks to various sources including the internet which were not available even just a few years ago.
• Steam, Amazon and other forms of digital distribution have made games both cheaper and more readily available.
• Retail competition has truly put the power in the hands of gamers.

The Vita is making gaming portable like never before.

These are only a few of reasons why I would argue we live in the best time to be calling ourselves gamers. There are many others, and over the next several articles in this series, I will look at many of them in much greater detail.

So just what is the point of this series? Why am I taking the time to write about something we as gamers should already understand? I think it is time we as gamers stopped just complaining about everything and realize just how good we have it. No, we should not turn a blind eye to some of the concerns we have in regards to what is happening to our favorite pastime, but we also should not automatically jump to the worst case scenario once something happens, even if it is a negative. If we can learn to appreciate just how good we have it, we not only will enjoy gaming a whole lot more, but we may just find creative ways to deal with the problems within the industry.

It’s a great time to be a gamer. It’s about time we took the time to realize that.

SpyParty is an espionage style game being created by Chris Hecker and is currently in early Beta testing. I’ve been invited to take part in the beta and have the opportunity to share pictures, videos, and impressions of my experience. Time to shake your martini and dive into the party.

Those martinis better be shaken!

The Game:

On the surface, SpyParty is rather simple. It is currently a 2-player game where one player controls the Spy and the other plays as the Sniper. The Spy is placed in a room full of party goers and must accomplish a set number of tasks before time runs out but must do so by drawing as little attention to themselves as possible. Naturally, as the sniper, you are trying to find and shoot the spy before they are able to do all of their missions. The one thing both players share is that there is little room for error. One wrong move can give the spy away while the sniper only gets one shot and needs to make it count.

Impressions:

First and foremost, do NOT judge this game by the graphics. The graphics may seem a bit retro but the meat of this game is the interaction you share as spy and sniper. While the concept seems very simple, the game is far from it. Both roles play very differently and focus on different things, but what is shared between the two is a crucial attention to detail. At first I thought playing the Spy would be easy, I mean how hard could it be to act like a NPC, right? Apparently very hard I came to realize after playing my first couple of matches. Little things like not making a mistake when you are walking, mistiming a certain action, or simply leaving a conversation too early can give you away. The game does a great job reminding you how human it is to err.

Plenty of the classic spy characters are present at the party and anyone of them can be the spy.

As the Spy, you always are able to see where the Sniper is pointing their gun…but this doesn’t necessarily mean that is where they are looking. This created an intense paranoia feeling for me where I felt I was under a microscope and was always being watched at all times. This in turn makes every mission as a Spy extremely tense and suspenseful. The smallest action easily becomes a tense, hold-your-breath-moment as you cross your fingers and just hope your advisory didn’t just see that statue swap.

The Sniper is equally as intense. Instead of focusing on blending, the greatest tool you must rely on is your observational skills. Hecker does such a great job of making the NPCs more human that it makes it a real challenge to determine whether something you just saw was Spy or intentional programming. NPCs will occasionally make movement mistakes, change directions suddenly, behave odd for just a short enough to make you question if they are the Spy. Often times I would spot something and monitor a character for minutes at a time believing them to be the Spy when they were really just an NPC. There are tells that are dead giveaways for the Spy and when I caught them, I felt a rush of joy and relief while thinking to myself “checkmate”. But these 100% certainties get harder and harder to catch as you begin to play with more experienced players. Just like with the Spy, there is always that suspenseful moment you have right before pulling the trigger where you’re not 100% sure you have the right target and hold your breath to see if you were right or just shot an innocent bystander.

I spy, with my little sniper eye…

SpyParty truly is a game of psychological warfare. Strategies and style had to change with each person I played. It is incredibly addictive as well. While each match only lasts around 3-5 minutes, it was very easy to get sucked into playing for 2-3 hours at a time. And despite its simple premise, it takes a lot of time and practice to “master” each class making it clear the game is very skill based. It’s hard for a beginner to go against an expert player with 100+ games under their belt but the more you play/learn, the better you become.

Overall I’m really enjoying my time with SpyParty. The concept is unique and provides a much different style of gameplay than what is currently out there. The game has a solid starting foundation and I would even go so far as to say the game, as it is right now, is well worth the $15 admittance fee despite the limited graphics and game options.  The great thing is there are a lot of different directions this game can. I can only expect it to improve between now and its release in the future.

SpyParty is currently in a closed beta, but you can sign up and get on the waiting list to be invited (Hecker is now sending out 100′s of invite each week and plans to increase the number of invites as time goes on). The game is playable on both Windows and Mac based computers. As of right now, SpyParty’s beta is in the style of MineCraft where to be in the beta, you will have to pay $15 BUT this also means you will get the game for free once it is released (along with a few other possible goodies…emphasis on the possible). You can sign up for the beta here:

SpyParty Early-Access Beta-Sign Up

I’ll be sure to keep posting more pics and hopefully some more videos of my beta experience.

End Game credits breakdown each person's actions making an interesting story after each game.

1. Journey

2. FEZ

3. Ghost Recon Future Soldier Multiplayer Beta

4. SSX

5. Botanicula

6. Windosill

7. Borderlands

8. Kingdom Rush

There you have it. Even though I said the beginning of this year seems a little slower than most years I’ve still manage to keep a full plate of games. Hopefully you will give some of them a try!

EDG Podcast Ep. #154

MUSIC

Intro – Theme from Killer Instinct

Break – “I Get Wicked” by Thousand Foot Krutch

Outro – “The End Is Where We Begin” by Thousand Foot Krutch

TIMESTAMPS

Intro and Weeks in Review – 3:40

Game Franchises in Different Hands – 51:08

Twitter – 1:37:48

Closing – 2:00:11

Subscibe to us in Google Currents here: http://www.google.com/producer/editions/CAowupl3/everyday_gamers

Push Play Ep. #4

TIMESTAMPS

“Long Dream” – 4:09

“Calling” – 7:23

“Hybrid” – 9:49

“Give Me All Your Love” – 12:04

“Someday” 15:20

“Satisfy” – 17:47

Medley of “Amnesia,” “Foreboding,” “Despair” and “It Is Fashionable” – 20:24

“Calling” (reprise) – 24:47

OTHER MUSIC

Intro – “Twiter”

Background – “It’s So Wonderful,” “Underground,” “Fighting for Freedom” and “Psychedelic”

EDG Podcast Ep. #153

MUSIC

Intro – “Mega Man” by the Video Games Live Orchestra

First Break – “We Are” by Thousand Foot Krutch

Second Break – “Courtesy Call” by Thousand Foot Krutch

Outro – “War for Change” by Thousand Foot Krutch

TIMESTAMPS

Weeks in Review – 7:30

What We’ve Been Playing – 27:50

Guest Segment – 1:45:33

Twitter – 2:16:53

Closing – 2:46:43

Links to Guest’s Videos:

http://youtu.be/h-B3BVWFj-M

http://youtu.be/f-vprAYD-cw

http://youtu.be/W1VAucuanl0

Link to get the Bulletstorm soundtrack:

http://epicgames.com/community/2011/04/fan-freebies-get-the-bulletstorm-soundtrack/

EDG Podcast Ep. #152

MUSIC

Intro – “Mega Man” by the Video Games Live Orchestra

Break – “Man Up” by 116 Clique

Outro – “Authority” by 116 Clique

TIMESTAMPS

Weeks in Review – 6:12

Reality Checks – 44:23

Twitter – 1:50:47

Email and Closing – 2:13:25

Push Play Ep. #3

TIMESTAMPS

Main Theme – 2:03:06

Encounter – 3:53:25

Mantis’ Hymn – 6:15

Duel – 9:51

Hind D – 13:32

Rex’s Lair – 16:01

Escape – 19:14

End Title/The Best Is Yet to Come – 22:08

The music playing in the background of segments includes “Discovery,” “Intruder (1-3)” and the Main Theme.