Hey Got Gamers!

To anyone who celebrates this holiday, Merry Christmas! However, we know that many of you don’t, so we’re hoping that anyone who doesn’t celebrate this holiday is having a great couple of days off.

However, regardless of your beliefs we’re just happy that everyone is gaming, so to celebrate gaming during this time of year we got you a gift… The Holiday Season Edition of Got Game. As always it’s in the audio file below this sentence.

[audio:http://pmd.fan590.com/podcasts/got_game/December-24th-Edition-of-Got-Game.mp3]

On this edition of Got Game we discuss:

• The idea that Nintendo is losing its grip on the casual market
• Nintendo making consoles from conflict minerals mined in troubled 3rd world countries
• EA being sued by gamers over the cost of Madden
• EA being sued by Activison over the Infinity Ward drama from earlier in the year
• What could happen if Kinect motions controls come to the PC
• The idea of a movie based on the Madden cover curse
• Viacom selling Harmonix

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Plus in our review section we look at Part 1 of Telltale’s Back to the Future Adventure Game.

Hey Got Gamers,

With the multiple discussions of movie-gaming crossovers that we had this week, you could almost call our latest show Got Movie. Heck, we even stepped out of our comfort zone to do a quick review of Disney’s Tron: Legacy.

However, make no mistake… we haven’t strayed from our chosen path. We still GOT GAME! And want to share it with you in this week’s Got Game Podcast.

[audio:http://goo.gl/fb/WIRDJ]

This week on Got Game we discuss:

• Joe Mauer repeating his role as cover athlete for MLB 11: The Show
• More reasons for someone to get Mass Effect 2 on the PS3
• The Spike’s VGAs with Mike “Birdman” Dodd who was at the event
• Episode one of Telltale’s upcoming Back to the Future: The Game (available December 22nd)

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Plus with the help of Justin Amerkhadi, we review World of Warcraft: Cataclysm

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And before I end this blog post, here is what Zack wanted to share with you guys. His custom pixel art piece by Scott Pilgram cover artist, Miguel Sternberg -more of his genius can be found here

So we’ve talked about it… and now it’s finally here.

Created right in our own backyard (Toronto, WHAT!?) by the talented folk over at Industrial Brothers, comes the sequel to the immensely successful iPhone game: “Beast Farmer.”

It’s appropriately titled “Beast Farmer II: Beasts Unleashed”

We had a full-out preview about a month ago here on Got Game, so if you’re unsure as to whether it’s worth your $0.99, check here… or just check the gameplay trailer below.

Like what you see? Got an iPhone? Pick it up and let us know what you think!

Hey Got Gamers!

During our latest show Zack promised that we’d put up 3 screen shots from next year’s Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception. However, I am going to break that promise because I have something better! Instead of a few images, we have over 2 minutes of the Uncharted 3 announcement trailer for your enjoyment.

However, 1 promise that I’ll never break is to put the podcast of each show in these show blogs, so as usual you can find the podcasted version of our latest show in the audio file below this sentence.

[audio:http://goo.gl/fb/PunsD]

This week on Got Game we discuss:

• The possibility of Nintendo making a Wii 2
• The latest rumors regarding a possible PSP 2
• Everything we know about Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
  
• PSN PLUS users getting early access to the DC Universe Beta
• The November 2010 NPD sales numbers

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Plus we review Tron Evolution The Game

and Dead Nation

Hey Got Gamers,

The other day I was invited by Konami to check out a few titles that they’ll be releasing in 2011, and because it would be rude of me not to share, here is a preview of the game that caught my attention the most: Rush ‘N Attack Ex-Patriot.

Now, unlike many who will read this, I never played Konami’s original Rush ‘N Attack. Luckily for me, that didn’t seem to be a requirement, because Konami’s Rush ‘N Attack: Ex-Patriot (which I am just going to call Ex-Patriot for the rest of this blog post) seems to be rather indifferent towards me as a gamer. It didn’t care that I had no idea what had happened in 1985. As long as I was willing to hit the “stab” button, it seemed happy enough to have me along for the ride.

To the game’s credit, it also didn’t care that I was playing Ex-Patriot in a way that would probably make the game’s developers cringe. You see, Konami is dubbing Ex-Patriot as a stealth combat action game. Basically imagine a 2.5D side scrolling version of Splinter Cell. However, despite Konami’s description, Ex-Patriot seemed perfectly happy to let me run around the game space using all the restraint of a bull in a china shop. The game did give me various dark doorways to launch stealth attacks from; but in the end Ex-Patriot was just as happy to let me run wildly in the direction of anything that moved.

I should also state, for those not familiar with any game that has the Rush ‘N Attack name on it, your primary weapon for most of this game is a Crocodile Dundee sized knife. You’ll have the option to pick up various projectile weapons along the way (like rifles or flame-throwers), but most of the combat will come in the form of melee attacks with your giant knife.

However, combat only makes up half of the ingredients for this Rush ‘N Attack game. The other half is platforming; and to be honest, some of my favorite moments from my preview time involved the combat and the platforming mixing. Taking out a guard while hang off a platform’s edge was as satisfying the 50th time as it was the 1st.  The rest of my favorite moments usually involved the game’s dynamic platforms that come in a number of shapes. Static steel walkways are the most common platforms, but the game also uses things like big floating crates and giant pumping pistons to mix things up a bit. Ironically, these also lead to some of the most frustrating moments during my preview time, as the game’s dynamic platforms can drown you (you can’t swim), crush you, etc.

I’d also like to say that the game has 3 levels that look like different sections of a vast military base, but calling them levels may be the wrong choice of words. A better term would probably be environments, because these levels (or environments if you would like) are pretty big.  Each of the 3 environment-levels are also divided into many smaller sections that are broken up by different transitional elements like staircases or doors.

The size of these levels is 1 reason why the map that this game provides will be so handy to anyone who plays it. Expect to either spend a lot of time studying it, or a lot of time getting lost in these non-linear levels. Although, it looks like it may be a good idea to check the map often regardless. I was able to find some hidden items because I studied the map before going after various objectives.

Finally, and to be as blunt as possible, this game just looks pretty. It has a visual style that could be compared to Shadow Complex, so anyone who’s played that game will have an idea of what to expect visually from Rush ‘N Attack: Ex-Patriot. However, it’s very important to note that while these 2 games have a similar visual look, they’re meant to have different game play styles.

Hey Got Gamers!

I just wanted to mention our World of Warcraft: Cataclysm contest one last time, because you still have a few hours to enter it (provided that you’re reading this on December 5th 2010). That’s because the deadline to enter our contest is 11:59 pm on Sunday, December 5th, 2010; so HURRY!!!

How do you enter? Well, Zack announced a bonus code during the latest episode of Got Game (which you can find in the audio file below this sentence).

[audio:http://goo.gl/fb/HVuPb]

Find that code in our show and enter it in THE FAN Club by 11:59 pm on Sunday, December 5th, 2010 for your chance to win a World of Warcraft: Cataclysm prize pack courtesy of Future Shop!

The prize pack (worth roughly $550) includes a SteelSeries Merc Stealth Keyboard, SteelSeriers Warcraft Mouse, SteelSeries headset, SteelSeries mouse pad, 22” monitor and World of Warcraft: Cataclysm!

This week we also:

1. Went through our annual holiday buyer’s guide, but this year we did it with the help of many video game legends like @stevetilley @GameFocusdotca @megashaun @BirdmanDodd @Keadin @rob_keyes and @Victor Lucas

2. Reviewed Gran Turismo 5

3. Reviewed Disney’s Epic Mickey

Hey Got Gamers!

The holiday buyer’s guide is going to take up a big chunk of our air time this week; so as a result, we had to move this week’s interview segment to the blog .

I hope that you will forgive that, and join both Bryan Calhoun and Darren Hedges (Game Director for Tron Evolution at Vancouver’s Propaganda Studios), as they spend a good 12 or so minutes discussing next week’s Tron Evolution: The Video Game.

[audio:http://pmd.fan590.com/audio_on_demand/tron-gg-20101203.mp3]

If you’ve liked what you’ve heard, TRON Evolution will be avaliable for purchase and rental on Tuesday, December 7th 2010; and because a picture can speak a thousand words, here’s one of the latest Tron Evolution Trailers.