Thumbstick Athletes

With the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs in full swing, we tackle the subject of hockey videogames from their start in the late 70's to the present day iterations.

We all have at least a game or two that we haven't finished, so the Athletes and guest Todd discuss those games, and why we didn't finish them.

Featuring Fez, Legends of Grimrock, Pottermore and why we don’t finish games!

00:00;36 Nibblebits

00:02;00 Will: Rovio turns down Zynga’s offer – Halo 4’s release date – Dishonored trailer

00:04;20 Dan: Darksiders 2 moved back to August – Narrowing of the Madden 13 cover candidates

00:05;20 Eric: Nintendo will show off new Mario game  and Pikmin at E3 – James Bond’s glorious return to consoles

00:09;50 Corey: More Dark Souls for PC details

00:11;00 How was our week (Including our guest Todd’s top 5)

00:26;54 Main Segment: Why don’t we finish games?

We break down all the games we’ve played without beating by discussing the reasons behind their abandonment.

01:02;35 Feedback

We discuss whether there will be and what kind of Mass Effect 3 sequels we’d like to see. 

We’re asked who the biggest gamer is out of us.                                                

Also poo talk.

01:09;50 News

Dan discusses some demonstrations of new games by Nintendo at E3 which prompts the question: What are we looking forward to seeing at E3.

01:15;45 Eric talks sexuality in video games

01:20;30 Will brings in some pedophile chatter.

Corey and the gang postulate what kind of game Super Mario 4 might be.

01:29;14 What we Played

Todd talks Pottermore, Infamous, God of War 1, Mass Effect 2, and Dragon Age.

Corey really likes Legends of Grimrock.

Dan and Will discuss the new Mass Effect 3 DLC.

01:48;10 Eric keeps on trucking with Call of Duty.

Eric and Will try out the new XBLA game, Fez.

We tackle the controversial topic of gaming addiction, delving into the symtops causes, cures and even some games that have the stigma of being "addicting"

00:00;37 Nibblebits:

00:01;14 Will - New Multiplayer DLC for ME3 and new ending DLC – Joe Danger coming iOS – Gamestop is selling Skylanders toys now – Resurrection, Lazarus and Cerberus

00:06;55 Eric - Madden 13 cover vote finalists – Resident Evil 6 Platinum Edition – Legend of Dragoon

00:09;00 Corey – Release dates for Lost Planet 3, Resident Evil 6 and a Wii U price rumor

00:11;29 Dan - Civilization Revolution on Windows phone and Sid Meier Pirates on iPad - Skyrim 1.5 patch

00:13;00 How was our weeks (Including some NHL playoff predictions)

00:24;24 Music Break: 2nro8ot – “Crash of the First Interstellar Channel”

00:27;23 Main Segment: Video Game Addiction

We don our psychiatrist’s hats and diagnose video game addiction, the symptoms and discuss if we might be victims of the disease.

01:03;17 Music Break: 2nro8ot – “Look Back”

01:06;34  Feedback

We discuss EA’s victory(?) as worst company in America.

A listener asks us our favorite video game soundtracks.

01:20;30 News

Eric and Dan discuss the Better Business Bureau deeming Mass Effect 3’s marketing as false advertising.

01:25;50 Corey and Will discuss the new study detailing the characteristics of successful online competitors

01:33;14 Music Break: 2nro80t – “The TV Asteroid”

01:36;30 What We Played

Will - Pokemon Soul Silver

Eric - Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 and FIFA.

01:41;11 Dan - Civ 5, Civilization Revolution and Mass Effect 3 online

01:51;25 Corey - Xenoblade Chronicles and Infinity Blade

The Athletes try to make some sense of the Pokemon phenomenon as well as offer their own experiences with the franchise.

00:00;37 Nibblebits

00:01;49 Eric: Amazon releases Amazon Prime Instant Video on PS3 – Xbox 360’s new chrome controllers – Xbox 360’s Battlefield 3 update (rent your own server!) – Reports on the Wii U launch date – Reports that the Wii U is completely outdated, already – Next Xbox may need a constant internet connection.

00:08:35 Corey: Orcs Must Die 2 – Leisure Suit Larry Kickstarter campaign – Journey is fastest selling PSN game.

00:10;45 Will: Madden NFL 13 cover voting – Sword and Sorcery coming to the PC – Mass Effect 3 cupcakes are sent to a local youth shelter.

00:12;57 Dan: PlayStation Vita firmware update is pulled – Halo is passed from Bungie to 343 Studios.

00:28;09 Music Break: Carsie Blanton – “Smoke Alarm”

00:29;39 Main Segment

All things Pokémon.

01:21;53 Music Break: Carsie Blanton – “Together Too Long”

01:23;23 Feedback

We get reprimanded for not giving the music in FF6 as much love as we should have.

A listener asks us what our favorite consoles of all time are.

01:29;30 Corey: Gender based pricing coming to video games

01:39;50 Eric: Kids, teachers and video game violence

01:42;42 Dan: Modern Warfare 3 blackout

01:50;15 Will: Internet trolling may become illegal in Arizona

01:58;03 Music Break: Carsie Blanton “Idiot Heart”

01:59;33 What We Played

Dan: Mass Effect 3 glitches,

Will: Mass Effect 3 online, Pokémon Soul Silver

Corey: Orcs Must Die, Front Mission 3, Railroad Tycoon 3 Platinum, Closure

Eric: Fifa 12, Closure, Call of Duty, Tiger Woods PGA 13

The Athletes and special guest Chris (from episode 21) relive one of their favortie games of all time, Final Fantasy 6, and Eric plays it for the first time.

00:00;35 Nibblebits

00:02;30 Eric brings in some leaked and alleged details on the PS4.

00:08;50 Dan talks Gamestop Gamecube tradeins.

Corey pimps the new Audiosurf game coming this summer.

00:13;00 Will brings up Angry Birds Space, and we talk some WiiU.

00:32;00 Music Break

00:33;08 Main Segment

We drop the air anchor and delve into quite possibly the greatest game of all time: Final Fantasy 6.

01:53;37 Feedback

News

Eric and Dan discuss why no used games consoles might be a good thing.

Will and Corey talk about Shay Pierce taking a stand against Zynga and holding on to his integrity.

What We Played

Angry Space and Mass Effect 3 dominate the conclusion to this episode.  

The title says it all, we hit on the controversial ending to Mass Effect 3.  Chock full of SPOILERS too!!

We discuss ESRB ratings, breaking down all the different ratings as well as offer a few different games as examples for each ratings.  Notes:

00:00;35 Nibblebits

We talk Dark Souls on the PC, iPad sales figures, language translations for Diablo 3.

00:20;30 Music Break

00:21;33 Main Segment: The ESRB

In light of recent government action, we delve into the gaming industry’s police force: the ESRB. How are game’s rated by the ESRB? Who rates them? Why aren’t there any Adults Only rated games in retail stores?

00:52;04 Music Break

00:53;10 Feedback

We’re asked whether we prefer dark, somber stories or lighthearted fun stories in games.

Another listener weighs in on the Mass Effect 3 controversy.

Sword and Sorcery receives a free recommendation.

Dragon Age 1 and 2 get a brief treatment.

News

Corey discusses the future of videogames featuring virtual glasses.

Dan leads a discussion based on the migration of players from WoW to SWToR.

Eric drops a heavyweight and gives his thoughts on changing the Mass Effect 3 ending.

Will enlightens us by sharing the fact that first person shooters are used to train terrorists. Duh. He also shares the gist of the proposed legislation that will slap a violence warning label on video games.

01:31;55 Music Break

01:33;05 What We Played

Dan briefly tries The Witcher, and starts his insanity playthrough in Mass Effect 3.  This evolves into a discussion of Mass Effect 3’s multiplayer.

Eric talks Mass Effect 2 and the I Am Alive demo.

Corey talks art with Thatgamecompany’s newest title,  Journey.

Saint Patty's Day, need I say more?

We use the "what we played" segment as our main segment this week, which was really just a fancy way of talking more about Mass Effect 3.  Here's the notes:

00:00:37 Nibble Bits

Will starts us off with: Fallout New Vegas developer Obsidian layoffs – Play SWTOR Free This Weekend – EA releases a patch to prevent FIFA hacks.

00:02:37 Eric’s nibble bits are: Guild Wars 2 Collector’s Edition – Xbox Live Arcade games will offer double the Gamerscore – February games sales slide – Mass Effect 3 shipment numbers.

00:05:50 Corey mentions how to get Diablo III for free and Boondock Saints: the video game.

00:07:02 Dan’s bits include: Blizzard shelves Diablo III PvP – Valves dismisses rumors of steambox PC console.

00:10:00 Our Weeks

Including weigh ins, family parties, Mass Effect 3 all-nighters, and Mario Williams as a Buffalo Bill.

00:19:40 Music Break

00:21:12 Main Segment

In this extended edition of what we played, Corey and Eric retract their Draw Something criticisms, but with a disclaimer. Eric keeps trucking through Mass Effect 2. Dan, Will and Eric share their thoughts on Mass Effect 3’s multiplayer, including how multiplayer affects single player. Finally, Dan weighs in on the controversial Mass Effect 3 ending.

01:00:27 Music Break

01:01:57 News

Will’s article talks about most of what’s wrong with people. Also… nice.

Eric voices BioWare Director Casey Hudson’s opinion on the Mass Effect 3 ending.

Dan talks nitpicky play styles in video games, as according to legendary game maker, Sid Meier.

Corey asks why bother with physical consoles?

Mass Effect 3 is here!  We delve into the beginning of the end of the Commander Shepard saga as well as discuss gameplay and even get into some of of our issues with the game.

00:00:37 Introductions

00:01:30 Nibble Bits:

Dan gives us the BioShock Infinite release date, peppers in some EverQuest chatter, and finishes with Final fantasy tactics on the iPad!

Speaking of iPad, Will fills us in on the iPad 3 and gets into some Battlefield 3 and Bastion talk.

Corey tells us how to  get to level 80 instantly in World of Warcraft, shares the PlayStation exclusive Sorcery release date, and Peter Molyneux’s departure, concluding with IGN’s report of record PC game sales in 2011.

Eric rounds off nibble bits with the first details on Assassin’s Creed 3.

00:14:28 Our Weeks

00:28:05 Music Break

00:29:35 Main Segment: Mass Effect 3

We launch into the much anticipated (especially in our circle) sci-fi epic, Mass Effect 3.  Dan, Will, and Corey have a few hours under their belts and are eager to share their thoughts (SPOILERS INCLUDED).

01:25:00 Music Break

01:26:30 Feedback

A disappointed listener writes in to lament BioWare’s mishandling of character imports in Mass Effect 3.

Another listener requests our thoughts on Release Date DLC.

Friend of the show, multidirectional1 tells us he’s doing a YouTube play through of Dark Souls for all the characters.

1:42:50 News

Eric’s story states that 76% of couples (heterosexual) say video games help their relationship. Disclaimer: both partners are gamers.

Will reminds us of the unfortunate outsourcing of Deus Ex’s boss battles.

Corey’s article asks the question: why aren’t there more video games based on the American Revolution?

Dan pontificates on those trolls who critique games without playing them first.

02:05:21 Music Break

02:06:50 What We Played

Will plays Draw Something, which draws only criticism from Corey and Eric.

Eric plays more UFC Undisputed, is a bit indifferent about MLB The Show and continues to plow through Mass Effect 2

Dan sinks some time into Star Wars: The Old Republic on his new PC in addition to many hours spent on Mass Effect 3