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Episode #125 Part Two
The second hour of us peering into our crystal ball to tell the future is now available for your listening and viewing pleasure. Or, your something. Well, it's available anyway, so have a look or a listen and we hope you enjoy it.And I know, I know, you're getting sick of me asking, but if you haven't done it, seriously, c'mon, fill out the 2008 Gaming Awards! We do this for you guys, so we really need to have you submit your answers for it. This show should be a really fun one.Also, just for the record, I played my very first PS2 game last night. As you probably know, my wife bought me a PS2 on Black Friday (dun dun dunnnnn) but I had to wait until Christmas to get any games for it. My excellent co-host Drew and his wife bought me Need for Speed Underground, and so, for the first time ever, I turned on my very own PS2 and played my very own PS2 game.And it was FUN.So I've got about ten years of catching up to do, I'll see you all later. Much, much later.-Phil
Boss Got You Down?
I don't imagine that this is just me, but I figured I'd put it to our listeners to see what you guys have to say. Have you ever stopped playing a game because of a really difficult boss battle? If you look in the blog sidebar, you'll notice that it says I'm currently playing Metroid Prime 2. It's said that for months, and it doesn't lie. This game and I have an interesting history.I originally bought the game for the GameCube probably shortly after it came out. I really enjoyed the first one, so I expected to thoroughly enjoy playing its sequel. I don't remember how long I had it or how long I played it, but I know for a fact that I never finished it, not even close. I do remember that it seemed much darker than the first one, and it was just different enough to make it feel not quite right. But based on what's happening to me now, I'm guessing the reason that I quit playing it was because of a boss battle that I just couldn't get past, so I gave up.I eventually sold the game along with the rest of my GameCube gear (save for this) and went on with my life. Last year though, after Metroid Prime 3 came out, I kinda got nostalgic and wanted to give Prime 2 a second chance. I mentioned it here and there, but never went out and got it. Last Christmas came around, and my wife surprised me out of nowhere with the game. I hadn't been doing a whole lot of gaming around that time, because we were looking to buy a house, then moving, then doing home repairs, so it was only a few months ago that I started playing it.And you know what? Once you get past the different feel of it, it's actually another awesome Metroid expierience. So far. This brings me back to my original problem, and the reason I can go for weeks at a time without playing it: the boss battles. Maybe I've just gotten weak, lost my touch, but some of the boss battles that I have come across in this game are downright off-putting. I'll play it a few times, trying to find a good strategy for the boss, and ultimately make very little progress. So I'll check an online guide for some hints, have one of those "ooohhhhhh...." moments, and try again. And again, and again. Still, even after following the tips from a guide I can't manage to do a whole lot better.So ultimately I'll get annoyed with it and just turn it off after trying three or four or five times. Maybe I'll do it again the next day, but still get nowhere. I know that there are hours upon hours of enjoyable gameplay left in the title, I'm not even halfway through, but it just irks me when I get stuck at a place like this, where either I'm just missing something or the fight is just *too* difficult, and I simply can't get past it.My question to you guys then, is this: Do you ever have a similar experience? I know we did a Boss Battles episode a while back, and I think we asked a similar question on that episode, but this game has me thinking about it again. Do you guys ever get so annoyed with a boss fight that you'll actually give up on a game? What do you do if you're in a situation like I am? Shout it out in the comments, I'm very curious to see what your guys' thoughts are.Oh yeah, and *please* fill out the 2008 Gaming Awards if you haven't already.-Phil
U R Not e
Well, it may have finally happened. We've been talking about doing a video version of Inside The Console for months now, and we decided to just make the push and make it happen. Not everything's totally integrated yet, you won't be able to actually subscribe to the video, and none of the equipment is top-notch, but you do get a wonderful insight into the magic of what makes this podcast actually happen.Or something like that.Hopefully the video will be worthwhile and people will enjoy watching it. One thing we get to use it for is to actually show you guys some of the trivia prizes that we have to give away, as well as what our ugly mugs actually look like, so it seems like a win-win all around.Also, if you haven't done so, you seriously need to fill out the 2008 Gaming Awards. We need peoples' answers to this by the 28th. So, if you haven't filled it out, do it! Make stuff up, none of it is serious, and we want to hear your opinions on the random categories we came up with. John, Drew and I will be filling it out, and we're hoping to have as many fan-submitted answers as we can get, so take a few minutes to help us out.That's all I've got. I hope you guys enjoy the videos, and let us know what you think of the whole thing in the comments. If you've got suggestions, don't hesitate to throw 'em out, chances are we'll listen and probably even take action. I'm out.-Phil
2009
Take the 2008 Gaming Awards Survey!We've been so busy lately that we totally forgot to ask you guys what you're looking forward to in 2009. Our next show, slated to tape on 12/14, talks about what we're looking forward to, and possibly not looking forward to, in the coming year.E3 is supposedly coming back, and it'll (again, supposedly) be just like the glory days of what E3 used to be a few years ago. Playstation Home just went public beta, and we're supposed to be seeing it come to fruition in 2009. Will the Wii finally drop in price? Will the PS3? What about rumors of next-next-gen (sigh) consoles, especially considering the fact that the Xbox 360 is now three years old?Let us know in the comments what you're looking forward to in the coming year. I'm sure there will also be a few games coming out in the next twelve months that some of you might be excited about, but that's just a hunch.-Phil
Memories...
So, as you listeners are well aware, I had to replace my 360 again. I'll tell you this much, I can't even look at a red light anymore. Christmas lights, stop lights, power indicator LED's... All of these just give me the creeps. Even now as my PS3 controller charges the little flashing light makes me want to cry. But I digress...As part of the replacement process for my console I had to transfer ALL my licenses and re-download EVERYTHING (well not some of those stupid free themes, I just ignored those.) As part of this experience I was reintroduced to some classics I had completely forgotten about. I actually picked up and played Hexic for the first time in lord knows how long. It was a very odd experience to go back to that game for even the 30 minutes that I did. I forgot how a simple little game could be so much fun. It definitely reminded me that I need to take a look at the new Community Games on Live.Oh and the NXE... freakin' sweet.-John
Insert Here to Continue
So you run out and pick up the big blockbuster game that everyone is raving about. You get home, slide the disk into your console, and then . . . nothing. Well, not nothing, but not what you expected. In fact, your console gives a little bit of new info. It tells you that you need an additional attachment to play your game. “What!” you say, “I need more crap to play my game! How could they do this to me?!” That is the story whenever you need an additional accessory to play, or in some cases start, your game. Then there are the accessories that you don’t really need, but the game manufacturers make you think you need it. They don’t tell you otherwise, they just let you think you need it. Either way, it’s a crock! This is what we’ll be talking about on this episode of ITC; accessories. There are accessories you need, accessories you don’t, and accessories that make you go “Huh?” Send in your opinions on what accessories are avalible and what accessories you may want to see, if any.-Drew
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