Yeah, it has been a few weeks since the last show, the Comicon show. Lots of personal things, but also a small change for how the Bluecast is done. It was fun going to the radio station and broadcast – but it was costly. And since this is done for fun, not every cast member can make it every time. So this episode, we try our hand at TinyChat. And it sucked. Delays, quality – and that pretty much did it. Not to mention the 100+ degree heat. Yes, as hot as it was in the studio, my A/C just happened to go out for the show.

All in all, I’m the douchebag. This does mark a solid return for the Bluecast though. We might go old-school and start Skyping it again.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 54:00 — 49.4MB)

E3 has come and gone, so myself, Mike, Brandon, and David dedicate a show to all the juicy details from the expo. We take a look at each of the big three’s pressers, and we then vote on who we think did the best. The show was done live at the Texas Comicon, so a lot of distractions occurred which only made everything that much crazier. And by distractions I mean cosplay.

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E3 is this week and it’s going to be sick. The only thing we could do to even compete with the excitement of E3 is offer a developer interview. Brandon and I interviewed Dominic Cassidy of the Company of Heroes Eastern Front Mod. This guy has a great story – from starting as a teenager skinning various PC games, to be a coder as a…teenager. It’s pretty amazing stuff.

Sean and I start the show off with our usual game impressions, and move on to some interesting news bits. Other than that, there’s not much to cover before E3…except for the few leaks we have.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:19:35 — 72.9MB)

The show really has nothing to do with Dr. Steve Brule, but it’s still fun to quote him. This week’s episode sees myself, Mike, Brandon, and a late David in studio. We go over Alpha Protocol and how crappy it may be, Guild Wars 2 talk, our thoughts on Red Dead Redemption since release, and a little bit of World War II trivia. That got sparked by our salivation over Company of Heroes: Eastern Front.

I also allow a smoke break in which I play some Hell March, though it leads to the often awkward ‘by myself moments’. Luckily my Mom was in the chatroom to help me out.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:55:51 — 106.1MB)

What a crazy show. None of the lazy bums show up. But luckily, Jose happened to be in town. And with the little list of E3 rumors I happen to obtain, we put on quite an epic show. There are some kick-ass Star Wars games in the making, as well as our favorite secret agent finally seeing XBLA. After gushing over the rumors, we talk about how well video games translate to movies, and vice-versa.

We were also able to honor the late Dennis Hopper by bringing up the tragedy that is the Super Mario Bros. movie. At least he had hits since then.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:59:31 — 109.4MB)

Non-gamer Pat is finally back after a long hiatus. He sure does bring a lot to the show this time, and it has nothing to do with porn – actually it does. Along with Pat, Mike is also back with us, along with Brandon. We first get into some game impressions of Red Dead Redemption and Lost Planet 2 with Sean. I personally love Lost Planet 2 while Mike doesn’t. It makes for an interesting discussion which may help you decide on a purchase. We also talk Mods, with Mike’s usual unique picks as well as a few from Brandon. A caller asks about info on Black Mesa Source which Mike was quick to fill us in on.

We also get into piracy, bad gaming reviews, and just a bunch of other really cool gaming stuff. Yeah, it’s awesome.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:59:00 — 108.9MB)

For episode 31 of the Bluecast, the common theme of not showing up appears, but in that troubled world, Jose just happens to be in town. So joining myself for the Bluecast is Jose, David, and Brandon. I get a little carried away in my anger (Brandon calls it passion) over how pussified gamers and reviewers have become. This comes from the Lost Planet 2 reviews, to a dumbed-down Silent Hunter V. I finally get to the Douche of the Week segment, calling out, by name, members of the Giant Bomb community that gave me a cold welcome.

We get into a little 3D Dot Game Heroes, Steam on Mac, and some Red Dead Revolver anticipation. Also, Christopher Walken and Arnold Schwarzenegger play some co-op Portal. It was a fun ride.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:59:22 — 109.3MB)

So for those that listened in live…we started about 30 minutes late. I was supposed to have a code that allows me to get into the studio during the weekends if the staff is out, and I didn’t have it. Now, the station has been seeing a lot of business lately, so either they just forgot to get it to me…or I forgot it. I’m not putting that passed me. After the confusion settled, we got the show going.

But because of the confusion, only Brandon was able to make it in. It made for a good, focused show, as Brandon touched on a bit more in the simulation genre with Arma II and IL-2. Sean got on the phone for a quick talk up of Red Dead Redemption. I also let off some steam regarding gamers’ complaints of Lost Planet.

As we mention at the end of the show, we will be at the Texas Comicon this year and hope to have a few prizes and tournaments going on.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:17:04 — 70.6MB)

While we weren’t quite at full capacity, the show still turned out to be quite entertaining. Pat was MIA, and Mike had some moving to do. I guess I get the moving thing now. Luckily, both Brandon and David show up. But because of the absence of my gaming counterpart, Mike, the show may not be that hardcore though it turned out to be funny as hell.

We get my take on Splinter Cell: Conviction, and Brandon goes all out on flight simulators; specifically his favorite, IL2. We also talk about Call of Duty: Black Ops and go over everything seen in the trailer to try and get an idea of what the game may entail. Brother Chad Blue calls in from Florida, which he had just arrived from South Korea. It was an overall entertaining show.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 10:56 — 10.0MB)

This weeks show is awesome. And just because Pat and Brandon weren’t able to make it (Moving and family? Some people and their priorities…) doesn’t mean it’s going to be boring. Not at all. This weeks show is full of win, as Mike and I discuss quite a bit. We discuss video games as art without beating the dead horse, get into a little of the idea of paid demos, and what we think of the ‘greener’ Ubisoft. Unfortunately DRM isn’t a hazard to our environment.

But have no fear, next week’s show will have the full cast (well, Mike says he’s moving, but his furniture will have to wait) which will represent the core of our crew each week.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:54:09 — 104.5MB)