Joystiq Podcast 078 - Holiday Spectacular edition

I'm so excited! I hope there is a great song like there was for the real episode #50. I'm listening right after my lunch

Thanks to Brian Weis of the JPAG for the photoshop.

I can finally listen at work! It's been a long couple of weeks!

Fabulous intro!

Any song that lets me sing about 'Mounting Mama' is gold.

The best part is that Ludwig really carries around a blanket like that. He doesn't wash it either because the smell keeps the lions away.

Bioshock's story is all about learning about what has happened so you can deal with those effects in the culmination of those events.

It is a great story.

You can't say Farcry 2 has a great story can you? That would be like saying all World of Warcraft has a great story (the stories conveyed to you when you accept/complete quests). This is not how you use the medium to its fullest. Its really just making excuses for why your playing the mechanics of the game. Your really not guiding the player to an intended outcome, therefore your not really telling a story your making excuses for gameplay.

Bioshock's story and story telling methods are superior to that of Farcry2. It actually has character development. I'm not talking about stats or weapons either, I'm talking about an evolution of the character you play in a meaning full way, not just the fulfillment of the player characters desires.

I should also mention that perhaps I haven't played far enough into Farcry 2 if it does indeed offer more of a guided narrative and character evolution further in the game I will revisit this topic when I complete it.

Whats is zis? Many people on PSN do not use headsets?
Old news hence why the PS3 was given away. Blu ray? Movies? Netflix? Between work, MMO of choice and console games. I do not even watch TV.

If any raging fan would like to slug it out with my sibling, his PSn is RayfulEd. Go and send mssgs back and forth about how im going to miss out on the future of gaming as the Ps3 gets better. Since its release i've been waiting and 1 monkey(MGS4) doesn't make a show.

i got farcry 2 when it was $40 a couple of weeks ago, but haven't played it yet because of my my pending grad school application deadlines. every time i hear ludwig talking about it, i get the desire to blow off my work and go burn down part of africa. 2 weeks...

Opinions on Far Cry 2 are only valid after you have finished 50% of the game.

Good Grief...

Man Eggnog is so good.

not enough comments run through here on the podcast posts. i wish the posts ran up to 100 + comments but eh whatever. the important people are on the facebook group anyways. great podcast. everyone should have a listen.
this is Lee from the JPAG.

I can't seem to find the podcast on iTunes... anyone else having this problem???

Chris, I really do think you should give LBP another shot. It's not GOTY, but I think it deserves consideration in some top 5 lists. Forget online, get some people over and play it locally, especially if you know some cool kids. I've had a blast playing it with adults, but when my friend's 6- and 10-year-olds have been over, it becomes a laugh riot.

LUDWIG KITZMAN

this crap about LBP levels being mostly trophy whoring levels NEEDS TO STOP. it is completely untrue to the point of being slander. if you don't like the game, great, let us know about it between talking about laser combs and cereal which is all you guys do on your podcast(see what i did there?). I am saying this not as a ps3 fanboy with nerdrage, but a member of the community which you are treating like a $20 prostitute at a bachelor party.

to contrast, if i was a ps3 fanboy with nerdrage, i'd be pointing out to Chris Grant that the same draconian restrictions XBL impliments for things like ingame invites and voice chat across all their games is exactly what keeps a game like LBP from even existing on 360.

Itunes link is broken.

Admittedly fellas, I'm listening for the first time. I know how to pronounce McElroy now, so that's a positive :P

Happy holidays, Joystiq rules!

we wish you a merry joystiq, we wish you a merry joystiq and a chris didn't like gears...

Just subscribed to podcast. Lol =)

This is the first Joystiq podcast I have ever listened to. Whats up with all the microphone noise? Yawning, heavy breathing and kind of poor sound quality at times... is this the norm?

Great content so I'll keep listening, but the technical quality was on the low side.

Now I'm really curious as to what story got tossed out for flamebait. I'm guessing the PS3 "sinking ship" stuff?

I just reali-zed that after getting shafted last episode KillJoy didn't sent anything in for this podcast.

Ridiculous lols from that intro. Fantastic Job Brendan.

best intro ever

You know Chris, I picked out my own gaming chair to get for Christmas and I thought about getting you one too. Unfortunately I just created my facebook profile once the secret santa thing ended, and frankly even besides that I have no idea what to do on facebook.

Great photochop.

I'm glad to hear the return of "Whatcha Eatin'," in its however hyphenated form.

Love the intro. That is all.

Love the intro. That's all.

I'm going to have to disagree once more on Far Cry 2. When I first started, I too thought that perhaps it was a completely open-ended, flowing game in which the story is literally generated as you go along.

This is not true. After the first few missions you realise just how rigidly the game sticks to a structure. Every mission in the game has the exact same set of events. Choose to go directly for the objective or do a side objective for a buddy. Then do the main objective, buddy-style. Then go save the buddy who is under attack.

It never changes. For the whole game, the same thing happens over and over again. Only the locations and poorly written and voice acted plot change each time. Did you notice that to unlock all the weapons in the game, you have to do the EXACT SAME mission, 10 times? I could perhaps tolerate that on a low-budget movie-tie in game from the 90's, but this is an overhyped AAA game in 2008!

Also, you don't choose whether to play the sides against each other. You work for both sides whether you like it or not, because the game doesn't progress unless you do. It's just like GTA, except less compelling. The story is made up for you - the only part which shifts is whether you choose to do pointless objective A or pointless objective B, and which one of your zero-personality sidekicks helps you do it.

Congrats to Clint Hocking on designing a game with excellent combat mechanics (except the constant, unending jeep patrols) and the well-optimised beautiful graphics. But if he thinks making Far Cry 2 has qualified him to analyse innovative narration and storytelling in gaming then he's about as qualified to perform open heart surgery as a kid who's just played a game of Trauma Center.

Thanks to the guys that commented on my intro by 'W'. I wanted to do something unique for the Holiday edition (didn't think I'd get the coveted top of the show spot)! I thought about doing another fake newsreel type deal like the intro I did for the News segment, but this seemed better.

Good lord, i'm listening to theshow and Justin is making so much noise during Chris' Far Cry 2 discussion, hehe.

On the subject of Clint Hawking. His rant at GDC'08 is still one of the most inspiring speeches I have ever seen. I am glad that people like this are making my video games.

http://blip.tv/play/AaqueYbQdQ

It is going to be a long up hill road to earn a respectable name for ourselves in the entertainment world. I think people like Clint are helping us get there. Maybe one day we can have an award show about games and not about objectifying women.

I think the North Pole setting misled me to believe the opening theme was edited to say "FREEEEEEEEZIIIIING"