In our latest episode, we tackle our personal lists of some of the biggest boss fights that have managed to be permanently imprinted in our heads. There’s Megaman, there’s King of Fighters, there’s Shadow of the Colossus, there’s World of Warcraft and everything in between. It’s a journey through genres and generations with a single purpose: to kill big bad dudes. But before all that glory and exultance (and sometimes a little pathos) we tackle some news in the form of EGM relaunching, a multiplayer Castlevania and, because Sebastian won’t give it a rest, more Team Fortress 2 news.

Listen to the episode below or subscribe here:

News–

Castlevania: Harmony of Despair – http://kotaku.com/5528336/rumor-castlevania-hd-whips-up-six-player-vampire-slaying

Team Fortress 2 Engineer Update Trailer – http://www.destructoid.com/commence-speculating-tf2-engineer-update-coming-soon–172987.phtml

EGM relaunches! – http://www.joystiq.com/2010/02/07/relaunched-egm-subscriptions-now-available-magazine-details-rem/

Music–

Desperado – Cancion del Mariachi

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night – Dracula’s Castle

Team Fortress 2 – The Art of War

Team Fortress 2 – Playing with Danger

The Black Mages – Opening – Bombing Mission (FFVII)

River City Ransom – Boss Theme

Contra III – No Man’s Land

Shadow of the Colossus – The Opened Way ~Battle With the Colossus~

Chrono Trigger – Magus (Orchestrated)

Megaman 2 – Boss Theme Remix

Metal Gear Solid – Mantis’ Hymn

Metal Gear Solid 2 – Yell Dead Cell

Final Fantasy VII : Advent Children – One Winged Angel

King of Fighters ’97 Arranged – Rhythmic Hallucination

Carl Orff – O Fortuna

Black Mages – The Decisive Battle (FFVI)

Devil May Cry – Super Ultra Violet

James Brown – The Boss

Finding Bit For Byte–

http://bitforbyte.mrmarkrobson.com/

http://mrmarkrobson.com/blog

http://www.sebastianvonbuchwald.com/

Mark and Sebastian are super (thanks for asking) and continue their romance with Capcom, stop for a minute with Brawl, ponder the jump Bungie has made to Activision, and try to keep pace with Faith in Mirror’s Edge. Mirror’s Edge was really polarizing when it first hit the ground, being chastised for its unique controls, and trial and error acrobatics. Is this game really that new an idea that a new control scheme was necessary? Is trial and error too difficult for most of today’s audience? The game underperformed, but as time goes on, it seems to be held in a much stronger light.

Listen to the episode below or subscribe here:

News–

Marvel vs Capcom 3 – http://kotaku.com/5518018/marvel-vs-capcom-3s-bombastic-trailer-reveals-16-characters

Bionic Commando Rearmed 2 – http://kotaku.com/5518477/bionic-commando-rearmed-2-puts-the-jump-in-retro-fun

Balanced Brawl – http://balancedbrawl.net/

Activision vs Infinity Ward – http://gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2010/03/05/news-activision-vs-infinity-ward-round-up.aspx

Activision x Bungie – http://www.bungie.net/News/content.aspx?type=news&cid=25920

Music–

The Pillows – Runners High

The Pillows – Stalker

Super Street Fighter 4 – Guy’s Theme

Simon Viklund – Rise of the Albatross

Simon Viklund – Bionic Commando: Rearmed Theme

Michael O’Donnell – Halo Theme

Lisa Miskovsky – Still Alive (Teddybears Mix)

“” – “” (Armand Van Helden Mix)

“” – “” (Paul Van Dyk Mix)

Simon Viklund – Leap of Faith

Blur – We’ve Got a File on You

The Bravery – Fearless

Queens of the Stone Age – Go With the Flow

Nine Inch Nails – 1,000,000

The Faint – I Disappear

Ridge Racer 4 – Move Me

F-Zero – Mute City

NESkimos – Big Blue

Utada Hikaru – Traveling

Finding Bit For Byte–

http://bitforbyte.mrmarkrobson.com/

http://mrmarkrobson.com/blog

http://www.sebastianvonbuchwald.com/

Get ready for our longest conversation yet as we go deep into the world of Mass Effect 2 in our spoilerific episode six. We compare the second title of Bioware’s science fiction epic to the original and talk about mission and character highlights as well as improvements to combat and presentation among other things.

In news, we get giddy over the official Gears of War 3 announcement, bemoan Shinji Mikami’s stance on God Hand and discuss Nintendo’s practices in the online arena.

Listen to the episode below or subscribe here: 

News–

Gears of War 3 reveal – http://www.joystiq.com/2010/04/13/watch-the-gears-of-war-3-trailer-right-now/

God Hand and Shinji Mikami – http://www.destructoid.com/mikami-god-hand-failed-because-of-creative-freedom-169979.phtml

Nintendo and clouds – http://rebelfm.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=600231

Music–

David Bowie – Ziggy Stardust

Megadeth – Gears of War

God Hand – Gene’s Rock-A-Bye

Yoko Kanno – Bad Dog! No Biscuit!

OCREmix – Super Mario Blues

DJ Champion – The Plow

Juno Reactor – High Enerygy Proton (Orion Mix)

Photek – Ren 2

Contra 3 – Invasion

Juno Reactor – Mars

Mass Effect 2 – Mordin

Mass Effect 2 – Samara

Mass Effect 2 – Legion

Metroid Prime 2 – Sanctuary Fortress

The Prodigy – Speedway

Ennio Morricone – Eternity

Pendulum – The Terminal

Astrix – Massive Activity

Mass Effect 2 – Freedom’s Progress

Wind Waker – Dragon Roost Island

Vangelis – Main Titles

Rabbit in the Moon – Alphatron

Vangelis – Blade Runner (End Title)

Finding Bit For Byte–

http://bitforbyte.mrmarkrobson.com/

http://mrmarkrobson.com/blog

http://www.sebastianvonbuchwald.com/

Mark and Sebastian. Awesome? Licensed Games. Awesome. Paul Reiser. Awesome. Disney. Awesome. Capcom. Awesome. CPS2. Awesome. Teenage Mutant Ninja AWESOME Turtles. Marvel. Awesome. James Bond. Awesome. X-Men. Awesome. AWESOME. AWESOME.

We pick out our favorite licensed games and reminisce about days when they weren’t tied to movie release dates. Seeing a game attached to something we love was a dream come true, and not a transparent cash in. We lose all sense of vocabulary, as Capcom’s handling of the Marvel license reduces our adjectives to “awesome,” and we kind of nail down what really makes a licensed game sing.

Listen to the episode below or subscribe here:

News–

Scott Pilgrim and Paul Robertson and Anamanaguchi – http://www.boingboing.net/2010/03/27/gallery-first-images.html

Final Fantasy IX on PSN – http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3178630

Pixel Kombat trailer – http://www.livingwithjohnchoi.com/blog/2010/03/oh-shit-john-is-famous/

Music–

X-Men Cartoon Theme

Plumtree – Scott Pilgrim

Anamanaguchi – Blackout City

Final Fantasy IX – Vamo Alla Flamenco

Final Fantasy XIII – Blinded By Light

Tim Burton – Batman Animated Theme

Metroid Prime – Data Selection

TMNT2 – Fire, Boss, Technodrone

TMNT4 – Big Apple, Climactic Battle

Advantage – Ducktales, Moon

Monty Norman Orchestra – James Bond Theme

John Williams – TIE Fighter Attack

Alan Silvestri – Predator

Advantage – Batman2

Arm Cannon – Power Rangers

Black Sabbath – Iron Man

The Ramones – Spider Man

MVC2 – Take You For a Ride

NESkimos – TMNT

Utada Hikaru – Hikari Planet B Remix

Finding Bit For Byte–

http://bitforbyte.mrmarkrobson.com/

http://mrmarkrobson.com/blog

http://www.sebastianvonbuchwald.com/

Mass Effect, Bioware’s science fiction RPG from 2007, is what this episode if all about. Mark and Sebastian dig into Mass Effect’s combat system, atmosphere, the Bioware method and where the lines between playable, tolerable and frustrating are drawn.

In our news segment, we talk about Sony’s attempt at cashing in on the profitable motion control market with the Playstation Move.

***Spoilers abound for key Mass Effect plot details!***

Listen to the episode below or subscribe here:

News links below!

News–

PlayStation Move Info- http://kotaku.com/5490632/playstation-move-everything-you-need-to-know

PlayStation Move bundle for $100 - http://www.joystiq.com/2010/03/10/playstation-move-bundles-announced-starter-kit-under-100/

Music–

RJD2 – The Horror

Rush – YYZ

Muse – Take A Bow

Rush – Vital Signs

Depeche Mode – Personal Jesus

Aphex Twin – Iz-us

Kraftwerk – Metal On Metal

Muse – Space

David Bowie – Life on Mars

Crystal Castles – Knights

Crystal Castles – Crimewave

Nine Inch Nails – Ghosts I track 3

Prodigy – Funky Shit

Aphex Twin – Fim

Yoko Kanno and The Seatbelts – Gateway

David Bowie – Space Oddity

* YMCK – Pow Pow (during technical difficulties)

Finding Bit For Byte–

http://bitforbyte.mrmarkrobson.com/

http://mrmarkrobson.com/blog

http://www.sebastianvonbuchwald.com/

What’s Travis Touchdown angry about!? We almost lost this episode, but here it is: Mark and Sebastian spill their guts on Suda51′s latest, No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle. The original was an unexpected gem on the Nintendo Wii, and found a loyal, cult following ready to over-analyze every bit of the absurd, stylish, punk rock game. Is the sequel continuing to boundaries, or is it just going through the motions?

In news, we talk about how great Valve and Steam are, and the attitude they have that earned them that reputation. We also look at the poor release of Sega’s Yakuza 3, Cave’s region free EspGaluda II, and dwell a bit on the idea of import games with their small but often dedicated overseas audiences.

Listen to the episode below or subscribe here:

News links after the jump!

News–

Getting Steamy on Macs – http://www.joystiq.com/2010/03/17/steam-on-mac-os-x-interview?icid=sphere_blogsmith_inpage_joystiq

Regional Lockout – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regional_lockout

Esp Galuda II Goes Region Free – http://kotaku.com/5471899/if-you-want-to-play-espgaluda-ii-read-this-post

No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle–

Suda51 on the Toilet – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIVQ2Wunz3k

Over-analyzing NMH2 part 1 – http://www.destructoid.com/analyzing-no-more-heroes-2-part-1-the-bosses-162748.phtml

Over-analyzing NHM2 part 2 – http://www.destructoid.com/analyzing-no-more-heroes-2-part-2-the-bosses-part-2-162303.phtml

Finding Bit For Byte–

http://bitforbyte.mrmarkrobson.com/

http://mrmarkrobson.com/blog

http://www.sebastianvonbuchwald.com/

Music–

Sex Pistols – EMI

World of Warcraft – Legends of Azeroth

Ozma – Korobeiniki

Bionic Commando: Re Armed – Rise of the Albatross

Eric’s Little Shack – Zelda 2

No More Heroes – Pleather for Breakfast

No More Heroes – Speed with Teeth

The Rentals – Friends of P

Weezer – In the Garage

New Order – Blue Monday

Mad Capsule Markets – No Food, Drink or Smoking

Prodigy – Invaders Must Die

KMFDM – Megalomaniacal

Mike Murphy – Nintendo Power Mix

Muse – Stockholm Syndrome

The Subways – Rock n Roll Queen

Queen – Don’t Stop Me Now

Cornelius – Last Night In Africa

Tomayasu Hotei – Battle Without Honor or Humanity

Santa Esmerelda – Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood

No More Heroes – NMH

No More Heroes – No More No More Heroes

Comfort food games are ones we keep returning to, when we just want something familiar. Mark and Sebastian list their 5. Okay, Sebastian cheats a bit with a worthy honorable mention. These are the games that feel like a warm blanket when coming in from the snow. We did this episode in an effort to let listeners get a perspective on our gaming history, but also how Bit For Byte came to be.

The news segment is kicked off this episode too! While we aren’t breaking any news, we still get excited or worked up for titles coming down the line. This time, we weigh in on Portal 2, Super Street Fighter IV, and express our concern for Metroid: Other M.

This is the grilled cheese and soup of episodes.

Listen to the episode below or subscribe here:

Portal 2

Valve Updates Portal Again, Now With New Ending

Portal 2 Adds Multiplayer Co-op, New & Familiar Characters

An Insider’s Guide to Portal 2

Super Street Fighter IV

Gametrailers Has Justin Wong Showing Off Street Fighter 3 Characters in SF4

Daigo Throws Down the Gauntlet for EVO 2010

NEW SUPER STREET FIGHTER 4 TRAILER

Metroid: Other M

Hands-on: Metroid: Other M

Metroid: Other M to bring you closer to Samus than ever

This week’s stories pulled from Kotaku, Shoryuken.com, Joystiq, iPlaywinner, and Destructoid.

The new bit for byte website! – http://bitforbyte.mrmarkrobson.com – good enough for now

Visit Sebastian at http://www.sebastianvonbuchwald.com/

Visit Mark at http://www.mrmarkrobson.com/blog

This is the first episode of the Bit For Byte video game discussion podcast with Mark and Sebastian, where we discuss Bayonetta at length. We focus primarily on the game’s combat, but touch on story, visuals, audio and the overall presentation in Hideki Kamiya’s latest as well as delving a little into the action game genre as whole.

You can subscribe to our podcast feed here or listen to the episode below.