Tonight’s the night! Tune in to see Sean Sands from Gamers with Jobs, Phil Kollar from Game Informer, Panicbot 5000, and the DGR crew as we talk about the latest games, read your naughty letters to Santa, exchange gifts, and drink ourselves into Christmas oblivion.

We’ll also be taking your calls later in the evening, so be prepared to call in and tell us what you’ve been playing and what you’ll be up to during the holidays.

To watch the live show, head on over to our Ustream page, located here.

NOTE: We’ve been advertising the show with a 7pm start. However, due to scheduling conflicts, there’s a strong chance that we won’t be starting until 7:30 or 8pm. Feel free to pop by the Ustream page at 7pm as we’ll be in there for our pre-show chat.

See you tonight!

Ever wonder what sort of equipment we use to record the podcast? I know it seems strange that recording what is essentially a parade of dick and fart jokes requires any sort of thought, money, or know-how, but the truth is that we – (mainly Hilden) – have invested loads of cash into our equipment.

So if you’re curious about what we use, how we use it, and how it’s all set up so we can get that patented Drunken Gamers Radio so-filthy-you-can-taste-it sound, check out the new article over at CastMedium where Hilden lays it all out in great detail.

Thanks to the guys over at CastMedium for continuing to treat us as though we’re somehow relevant.

“How’re you feeling about the PSP comic store/digital comics in general? Me? I think I’m sticking with paper. I’m fuckin old school!”

-John via Twitter

I think publications on PSP are a great idea. I’d totally get into books and such again if they were actually available on devices I’m always carrying on me. Does the iPhone do ebooks? Probably some kind of rigged app or a few standalone apps, but on no universal book reader, right? I can settle for comics. One thing on comics is I like to sit there and examine the art in great detail. The PSP comic viewer let’s me do that. I can zoom out or in as I please and pan the page around to study every which way. There’s even this Autoflow thing where mashing L & R Buttons automatically zeroes in on all the relevant screen placements, making reading these things as lazy as you wish. Button config is even available.

A massive plus is the custom soundtracks function that somewhat works with this comic viewer. Too many times I’m walkin’ somewhere with my PSP music goin’, then when I go to sit down and switch to a game, I have to stop the good sounds for crappy game music from R-Type Command. Say I’m in a podcast I want to listen to but don’t want to sit there and stare at the wall, I can whip out a comic instead without holding up my audio. The music player is limited though. There’s no fast forward function for picking up where you left off in a long track and it doesn’t support PSPgo very well, so the player can only read from the system storage but not from the expandable cards (where I keep all my music). I’m not even sure it supports playlists. Thanks Japan!

Either way, the big draw for me on PSP comics is portability and hiding what I got. I work with baby boomers. They’re not very smart. I got the heavy stink eye when I sat in the public commons and had a lunch while reading Watchmen. I’d much prefer masking what I’m looking at and maintain the privacy. Sure I’m 20-something years old and it’s not a big deal for me to defend what I’m into, but I also value solo downtime above most things, so avoiding possibility of needless conflict with nosy old people idiots with high judging and poor listening skills is a selling point. Since I don’t do a lot of reading when I’m at home, I pretty much have to bring whatever I intend to read with me somewhere else. At home I’d prefer the music, gaming, or time with the pre-wife, so books are right-out. I’m not owning a man-purse ever, so that leaves me with whatever fits in my pocket. PSP works, a tube hanging out a foot above my back pocket doesn’t.

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Next week we’re recording our live Christmas show! It’s the Drunken Gamers Radio Wholesome Christmas Family Hour! We’ll be broadcasting live via uStream.tv starting at 7:00 CST on December 18th! Phil Kollar and Sean Sands will join us as we celebrate the holidays! We’ll be taking your calls and reading your Naughty Letters to Santa! Send YOUR Naughty Letter to mailbag@drunkengamersradio.com. Free XBLA or PSN points for the best letter! See you there!

Email Us: mailbag@drunkengamersradio.com
Voicemail Line: 612-424-3835
DGR Twitter Feed
Facebook Group

SHOWNOTES

00:00-Show Intro
10:37-Drunk Dials
24:35-Mailbag
33:12-Dragon’s Lair Review (iPhone)
38:15-Pixeljunk Shooter Review (PSN)
44:50-Mushihimesama Futari Review (360)
56:15-The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks Review (DS)
1:03:20-Retro Review: Alien Invaders Plus (Odyssey 2)
1:05:43-Five Things
1:14:10-The Last Shot
1:14:52-Show Close

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DGR: 12.12.2009

Wii. $50. 9 Worlds. Wiimote & Nunchuck supported. 1-4 Player (offline only). No Button Customization or Classic/GC support.

Worth the price?: NO
Worth the time?: Only in multiplayer

Recommended to: Your kids or anybody new/terrible to videogames that is genuinely interested in a non minigame experience.
Recommended to: Players with consistently available friends or family that have the interest, patience, motor skills, and want to play a game longer than 10 minutes.
Highly Recommended to: Fans of competitive multiplayer.
Not Recommended to: Anybody seeking a single player challenge.

“Super Mario Bros. Wii isn’t easy-in fact, the game is hard. We’re willing to bet that this is one of the hardest games in the series. If you’re looking for a true test of platforming skills, you’re about to get all you can handle.”

-Nintendo Power

A short breeze feels kinda nice. A short breeze is quickly ignored.

I always liked the 2D platforming formula. It is one of those cornerstones of gaming that makes almost every entry into it a must buy. Everybody loves a good obstacle course. It’s American. It’s Japan. It’s Australian probably because they aren’t banned yet. I dunno if it’s European, but I’m pretty sure they don’t pan obstacle courses. Anyway, a 2D Mario is something my pre-wife takes notice of. She asked me about this new Mario thing back in the spring. I said it’s multiplayer at the same time, it’s something to do other than Farkle and Ratscrew. I thought that conversation was the end of it and guessed it would be a terrible idea to go after the game myself hearing about all the Demo Play Super Guide brouhaha. Yesterday, I come home to find the pre-wife hookin’ the Wii up, saying she bought this here Mario game. We wrapped ourselves up in a blanket and decided to play together. I’m pretty sure after a half hour we broke off our engagement and I’m supposed to move out, but I digress.

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The Holiday Season is well under way, and those of with kids might feel overwhelmed with countless adventures in Toys R’ Us and Wal-Mart.  It wasn’t too long ago that I remember fighting massive crowds of crabby, frustrated parents looking for that last Tickle Me Elmo.  So this year, why not do your kid a favor and prepare them for the Zombie Apocalypse in a fun and education way by purchasing Plume and Robinson’s book “There’s a Zombie in my Treehouse.”  I first heard about this book on “Night of the Living Podcast,” and all I can say is…it’s BAD ASS! 

The story is pretty simple, our hero, Johnny, has an amazing tree house where he spends many happy days pretending to be a knight in shining armor, a cowboy, or other heroic figure.  But then one day we seem Johnny sulking on the curb.  When asked why he isn’t playing in the treehouse he explains, “Because there is a zombie in my treehouse.”  Several people try to console the young boy, explaining that the zombie is all in his imagination.  So one by one they ascend into the treehouse (and this is the BEST part) never to be seen again.  There are no gory scenes, no explanation, they just simply disappear.    

The story is cute, easy to read, and has some great artwork from Len Peralta.  Perhaps I am a horrible Father, but I wish I could have read this book to Tiny when he was younger instead of “Goodnight Moon” for the 100^th time.  So if you want a unique gift for a zombie loving parent, visit http://www.zombieinmytreehouse.com and pick up a copy of this book!

Here we are again…

Twenty-nine years ago today, some piece of shit shot a man who was on his way home. As is usually the case, the piece of shit was insignificant and the the victim was beloved by millions. Fortunately, John Lennon’s work is still with us to enjoy. So take a moment to sit back, listen to “I’m So Tired”, “In My Life”, “Working Class Hero”, or one of the other many classics given to us by one of the greatest songwriters of all time.

And as cliché as this may be, maybe take a moment to let these words sink in.

Imagine there’s no Heaven
It’s easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today

You may say that I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will live as one

Email Us: mailbag@drunkengamersradio.com
Voicemail Line: 612-424-3835
DGR Twitter Feed
Facebook Group

SHOWNOTES

Mailbag Episode:
00:00-Show Intro
07:47-Interview: John Lee-Bardo Entertainment.com
20:02-Five Things
33:44-Mailbag/Drunk Dials
1:49:04-Show Close

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DGR: 12.05.2009

So, last night I found myself with a bit of a puzzle. I had finished the first of my term papers, but not the second. With a full week to go (instead of my usual twelve hours of frantic typing and incomprehensible, constant obscenities that ends with a finished paper and a little piece of my soul gone), I decided to reward myself with some videogame time. The question was, what to play?

Borderlands, while utterly delightful, has been finished twice and is about as finished as it can be, unless I want to make 3 new characters and acquire the last 45 points possible there. Yeah, not today.

Deadspace and Batman are both awesome, but not a game for a stray hour.

Dragon Age remains sealed away until the semester ends, at which point I may lose about 80 hours.

Splosion Man…no, I’ll save my rage-induced cursing for the term paper.

What’s this? A demo? I had heard something about Bayonetta. I don’t remember what it was, but what the hell. It’s worth a shot.

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In case you may have forgotten, Electronic Arts has and always will be pure evil. Sure, they may want you to think they turned over a new leaf by releasing and taking chances on new franchises like Mirrors Edge and Dead Space. Hell, I was even a huge fan or Army of Two and am greatly anticipating the sequel. While all the buzz was going on with these three new IPs EA launched in 2008 and giving EA props for taking bold new risks, in the background EA failed at one of their other bold risks by trying to make a hostile takeover of Take Two Interactive just a couple of months before their biggest game, GTAIV was set to release and more recently closing down Pandemic Studios only two years after purchasing them with Bioware.

Fast forward to the end of 2009, now EA is the number two third party publisher behind Activision. Now Activision is taking its hard earned criticism lately for over saturating retail stores with an abundance of big box peripheral games, and milking the Guitar Hero license for every penny it is worth. Even with Activision taking all this attention, EA is still going out there and proving why they were the original antagonist of videogame enthusiasts everywhere.

What is EA’s latest dastardly deed? I have a bone to pick with EA’s big cash cow game, Madden NFL 10. Why several months after its release? Blame EA’s advertising department. In game ads, love ‘em or hate ‘em, they are here to stay. Sometimes they add to the authenticity and seem perfectly justified to a game like in most sports games for example, other times the “dynamic advertising” may be forced upon the gamer and wind up intrusive on gameplay, as was the case with patched in ads in Wipeout HD on PS3 earlier this year.

On a recent episode of giantbomb.com’s podcast this year, they made reference to a certain type of online advertising, the self explanatory “Eye Blasters.” Apparently EA Sports saw Eye Blasters as an ad revenue opportunity and was not content with the buckets of money they were raking in already with in-game sponsorships from Snickers, Weather Channel and the countless other advertisers that rear their face on every menu and overlay throughout a game of Madden.
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