New Podcast Ready For Download

Last night we had some technical issues so our higher quality show was lost. With it also went all the editing and post-show work that goes into it. So here's this week show in record time...

080 - The Pieces Fit Show [Download]

Thanks,
David

Hype Check - Resistance 2

'Hype Check' is a new feature wherein we will call to question the current hype for an upcoming game release. This is not to say that we are not excited about the particular game in question, but when a big game is coming out and the hype is getting crazy, some people stop focusing on some of the smaller details. It is these details that often slip under the radar, but could effect how the final product turns out.

So I played through and enjoyed Resistance: Fall of Man on the PlayStation 3. The game is fun and I love the weapons, but I had a hard time warming up to it at first. I have talked to several people about this game, including Nick on the show, and the majority of people who started Resistance and stopped playing early on -- simply don't like the game. There is a reason for this.

The first few levels of Resistance: Fall of Man suck hard. Early levels are reminiscent of Call of Duty, and the weapons are awfully generic -- more like Medal of Honor even. Later in the game, as you obtain cooler weapons, as the levels open up, and as you use new vehicles, the game becomes immensely more enjoyable.

This is a good level from Resistance 1:


And this is an early/bad one:


See how the good level gives you open reign over a huge area? You can approach the bases how you want and navigate the terrain quickly in the vehicle. When I played this level I had to use all my weaponry (and their alternate uses) to single handily take down these bases packed full of enemies. It reminded me of the best Halo series moments. The second clip is a shitty Medal of Honoresque level. There is only one way to go and the level is very flat and boring. This is probably why so many people like Nick didn't enjoy this game early on.

So here are my worries for Resistance 2. At E3 2008 Ted Price of Insomniac said there will be no vehicles in the game. None in multiplayer, and none in single player. I saw this in the Gamespot stage demo of the game. I'd link to it, but I'm lazy. I also saw several gameplay demonstrations of the game prior to and since E3, and everything I have seen of Resistance 2 reminds me of the early(shitty) levels of the first game. The weapons seemed pretty generic again, and there are "no vehicles".

I don't care how much prettier the game is or how much bigger the enemies are. If Insomniac removes the only components that made the first game enjoyable, then consider the hype I had for Resistance 2...

...resisted.

PUNishingly honest,

Brad

We Need Viewer Questions Tonight!

So there is a hurricane coming... but that can't stop us! We will be recording our 80th podcast tonight and we are trying something a little different. This week, we will be spending our roundtable discussion answering questions from you... THATS RIGHT, YOU! If you have a video game or community related question for us, please visit our forum (Sign up if you haven't already) and leave us a question! We will spend a much larger amount of time answering viewer questions so it should be an interesting show. Visit the thread by clicking the link below:

Viewer Questions for Podcast #80

Also, if you haven't already, please vote on the poll in the side menu so we can get some input and get a better idea of how our viewers get the most from our operation. Also, if you want to "follow" our blog, scroll down and click "follow this blog" in the side menu. By doing this you can be alerted of new blog posts and such and you will also help us by giving us an idea of how many people regularly visit our blog.

Show starts at 10 PM (central)!

-Nick

Project Origin = F.E.A.R. 2

Well it finally happened. Monolith got their hands on the rights to the title "F.E.A.R" and has officially changed the name of the game from "Project Origin" to "F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin". I'm pretty happy that they managed to do this but I was finally getting used to the original name. Anyways, a new trailer was released with the new title included and the game still looks phenomenal. The more I watch videos of the game, the more I notice the influence of DOOM3 in this game (or franchise). Don't get me wrong, this is not a bad thing at all. Monolith seems to have learned a lot from what games like DOOM have done and managed to improve on the formula further in order to create a whole new experience all together. Check out the new trailer and enjoy:



-Nick

New Comic Thursday

It's Thursday and that means another comic. This one is by thecosmicfly and was posted last week, but because of all the PAX stuff I wasn't able to get it up.

Here's the link to the 5th Player Comic.
Again, remember this is totally viewer made. Mostly contributions have been from Icarus94 and thecosmicfly. But anyone can make a submission using the forums, but I'd also like for you to email them to me so I don't miss them.

Keep up the good work,
David

Thanks Everyone!

So we're not quite there yet but, we'll probably hit 2,000,000 views today on JTV. When we hit 1,000,000 it just kind of came and went and we didn't really do anything special. This time we've got something a little more thought out.

So if you're not too busy, join us tonight, the 11th around 10 PM Central time for a "Mystery" Game which we'll be playing.

Thanks again,
David

Oh yeah, uh. September 11th. Don't Forget.

Just In Case...

In case you guys didn't believe my story about the Left 4 Dead Press Room and meeting the noobtoob guys, Here's the new noobtoob episode.



I make a quick cameo appearance at 17:05.

David

Follow Our Blog

This is for anyone who regularly follows 4PP's blog. If you find yourself checking our blog daily or weekly, please scroll down and "follow our blog". There is a new widget in the side bar called "4PP Community" with a link that says "follow this blog". We are very interested to see how many people we have regularly visiting the site so please help us out. I'm not sure if you have to have a blogger account but if you don't have one, signing up is pretty quick.

Thanks guys,
Nick

P.S. > Vote in the new survey I am about to put up.

New Quantum of Solace Trailer

I know this isn't exactly video game related... unless you consider the fact that a game of the same name will be released on the same day. I will be picking that game up by the way. Anyways, thank god for Daniel Craig because in my opinion, he seems to be single handedly revitalizing a dying franchise. This new trailer for "Quantum of Solace" gets me even more excited for it's November release! In fact, I haven't been this excited for a movie since the Dark Knight and we all know how that turned out. Check it out:



-Nick

Spore me up

Spore... what a trip.

I picked this game up the night before I had two tests. That of Sociology and Biology. The day has come and passed for my tests, and I have yet to open my books. I think I did alright on those tests though... like... a sixty is still passing in college right? I joke I joke. Anyways, like I said, I did nothing except play Spore the night before my tests, the night of my tests and today. This game is so very remarkable to me. Let me begin story.... its a little story I like to call Life.

I began life as a tadpole. Or whatever you call that singular cell phase. (should of studied for biology). I of course went straight at eating all the meat I could find. No little herbivore could withstand the might of my... pokey horn thing. It was easy enough to move on, this part of the game is really nothing more than Feeding Frenzy with some cool little add-ons. Really, the add on just being the evolution stage where you can decide whether or not you want your little tadpole to swim faster, spore out poison, shoot electricity, look in more than one direction, eat meat or grass.... I grew quickly into the world.

I created a four limbed being named a.... i want to say maglopigus? I am not on my computer right now and can't check. I will be posting pictures later. My official name is Zdrok on the Spore Network. Anyways, my maglopygoo. At the beginning he had pincer teeth with weak hands and arms. A slight tale. This was it, he was a wimp and I didn't respect his quest. So I forced him to murder millions of eggs from other peoples nests. While my creature was crying in despair for the lost souls of unborn babies, He was also gaining new DNA, which by the way stands for deoxyribonuceic acid, and new DNA points in which he can spend on that new DNA to achieve things such as a spike on his tail, wings or better teeth.

I Gifted him with wings, better teeth and better hands... which to grab little girls with.... Anyways, the beginning of Spore is a simple point and click adventure. There is not much challenge in growing unless you like to run head first into the wild without looking at your opponent first. Of course that method isn't too bad either. Eventually through the course of your early life stage, your "brain" starts to develop. Every time it does you are able to add an extra ally to your pack which of course makes it easier to destroy your enemies or sing to them and make em' swoon. And now we go on. The next part of the adventure was my least favorite, the tribal phase. This is where they attempt to make a little RTS out of Spore. Their attempt was... nice and there are some pretty curious options available. But they really just save the complexity of the game for space. luckily for me, This stage is short lived. I, once again, Killed everyone. I flirted with the idea of learning how to play music to wow my neighbors... but then they tried to steal my food so I DESTROYED them. The system is simple in this RTS stage. You gather food, either by stealing it, killing shit, or fishing. Either way, food becomes your currency. You can create babies with it, or build more buildings. At first you only have 3 buildings that you are capable of building, one that is military based, one that is economic based, and one that is healing and fishing. To learn how to create these other buildings you must either befriend or destroy other tribes around you. To complete this phase you must destroy or befriend everyone on your continent. I did so with ease.

Next phase is civilization phase. Another attempt at an RTS. This one was a little more enjoyable because I could actually create units. And I didn't say produce for a reason. You can create everything that you are able to produce... if that makes sense. My car looks like the batmobile and a t-model all in one. My boat? Looks like marios boat in mario 64. Plane? Well i can't remember but I'm almost certain it's awesome. Point being your imagination is the limit. Ok, you can win this stage by three ways, all of which produce the same outcome. Religiously convert everyone to you, Buy them out through trade, or fucking DESTROY them. I chose the last option. In this round of the game your minerals are "spices". All you have to do to mine them or whatever is send your car or whatever over there, capture it and your set. It's fairly easy to do. The city structure of this game is very much like Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth. Except with no heroes and less buildings. There are only a couple of buildings you can create. That of which are city hall, a house, an entertainment place, a factory and a turret for defense. House lets you create more vehicles, entertainment keeps your people happy, factory ups production but decreases happiness. pretty simple stuff. Like I said. It is all prep for going to the next level. After capturing your world by any means, you are awarded by being able to create a spaceship....

Well I will let you know how that is in my next post =)

Before I go to my next class (4 Minutes) I am going to post my impressions.

I love this game. love it. You know when you find that game, start playing it, turn it off and go to school and whatever... and you can't stop thinking about? I haven't felt that in a long time. I think since I started playing DDR about 3 years ago. This game is amazing to me and it definitely lived up to expectations in my book. Maxis once again sets the bar for simulation games. This could easily rival Civilization, Galactic Civilization, Feeding Frenzy, almost any RTS other than Blizzard made and C&C. This game had and still has so much potential. the best part, the remaining potential is up to us! I could spend hours alone just trying to tweak my creature to be the best one that had ever lived.... Awesome. Now if only i could figure out how to make a penis...

Expect a later post today on Space, should have pictures up as well.

-Travis