8-4 Play

PSP2...NGP...whatever you want to call it, Sony's new handheld has the gaming world in a tizzy, and we've got just the thing to satisfy your next-generation portable cravings: two hours of hardcore, hands-on impressions fresh from Sony's PlayStation Meeting 2011 in Tokyo. Matt Leone of 1UP, Phil Kollar from Game Informer, and podcast phenom Shane "El Shaddai" Bettenhausen join the 8-4 crew for a heated rundown of the games, the hardware, predictions for the future, and much, much more.

Live in Tokyo, do you? And you attended Nintendo's recent 3DS event? ...So you know everything there is to know about the upcoming glasses-free 3D handheld? Fine then, don't listen to this podcast. The rest of us will tune in to hear the 8-4 crew's full report on Nintendo World 2011, including first-hand impressions of playable games like Kid Icarus, Pilotwings, Resident Evil, etc. and thoughts on the launch lineup, bundled software, battery life, stage shows, ceiling Miyamoto, glory holes -- even the friggin' Virtual Boy fer cryin' out loud.

After an extended holiday break filled with snow, sake, and SASUKE! (look it up), the 8-4-some is back and they got some 'splainin' to do! (:LAUGHTER:) Good thing former EGM and Turn 10 hipster Che "China Warrior" Chou joins in to talk iPhone game shame, his personal wall of give a s*** -- basically ANYTHING but his current workplace (Microsoft's 343 Industries) and their shadowy Halo project. Come for the New Year's cards, stay to hear what a former Forza guy thinks of Gran Turismo 5 (oh no he de-ent!). (:LAUGHTER:)

Let's make this perfectly clear: Like Kinect, sauerkraut, and inverted controls, this special holiday episode of 8-4 Play is not for everyone. How can you know? Take our simple quiz: 1. Do you enjoy Monster Hunter? 2. Are you curious about Monster Hunter? 3. Would you like to hear almost two hours of talk about one of Japan's biggest gaming franchises in the last decade? If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, enjoy. If not, please listen to an older episode again and let's just forget this ever happened.

In Tokyo, the holiday season brings a mix of imported Western traditions and uniquely Japanese flavors (Google "Japan KFC Christmas" if you don't know what we mean), so that's exactly what this T-day episode of 8-4 Play delivers. A rundown on the best Black Friday gaming deals one minute, a detailed explanation of table-flipping arcade title Cho-Chabudai Gaeshi the next. Hardcore Final Fantasy IV: The After Years and Tactics Ogre talk here, ultra-casual Pac-Man: Championship Edition DX and Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood chat there. As special guest CheapyD of cheapassgamer.com would say: "There you go!"

The 8-4 crew's too busy working on next year's games to have much time for this year's offerings, so they called in intern Alex "cvxfreak" Aniel to help discuss everything they wish they were playing (but mostly aren't). Tune in for baseless, uninformed talk about Donkey Kong Country Returns, Kinect, Monster Hunter Portable 3rd, Vanquish, 25th Anniversary Super Mario Bros., and (as required by law) Call of Duty: Black Ops, not to mention the usual chit-chat on the latest news out of Japan (Inafune quits! Mikami gets bought! Uniqlo makes t-shirts!). As a great fairy once said: "LISTEN!"

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the NES, 8-4 invites retro gaming legend Kevin "tsr" Gifford, founder of tsr's NES archive and keeper of the world's largest collection of obscure game knowledge, to take us back (back... back...) to the 80s to talk about the birth of the era's most popular 8-Bit system. But before that, listen to round-ups of the recent Level-5 and Grasshopper events in Japan, thoughts on Costume Quest, Vanquish, Limbo, La Mulana, and Game Dev Story, and the sad tale of Mr. Gifford's epic attempt to clear the Tower of Druaga on a single coin...

The demo for Monster Hunter Portable 3rd has hit Japan, and who better to discuss it with than Naughty Dog Community Strategist Arne Meyer? ...Well, just about anyone, actually. But Mr. Meyer does have plenty of interesting things to say about helping launch the Xbox and Xbox 360, working in the studio that brought us Uncharted 2, and more. Also: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, Kirby's Epic Yarn, and what Japanese gamers have to say about TGS and the 3DS.

Former Nintendo, Sega, EA, Zombie, Irem, Boss, and Enix superstar Jake Kazdal (now of indie newcomer Haunted Temple Studios) joins the 8-4-some to talk about his experiences working his way up the game industry ladder, from having the dream job of being a Nintendo game counselor in the 80's to...having the dream job of working on Space Channel 5 and Rez with Tetsuya Mizuguchi in Tokyo.

Fresh from Nintendo's big 3DS (re-)unveiling in Tokyo, the 8-4 crew is ready to drop all kinds of knowledge on the upcoming portable picked up at and after the show. Opinions on the price and date? You got it. Breakdown of all the new hardware features? Natch. Analysis of games and other announcements? Sure. List of questions used to point out show highlights? Done.