The Combobulater 14th November

Hey Everyone,

This week sees us change the format of the show ever so slightly as we look to fit in with our potential new hosts, The WoW Radio network!!

There are still some details to be worked out so I can't say exactly when (or if just yet) we'll be presented by the station but in the meantime this show was knocked up as our pilot episode. Join us as we kick off the show with a brief discussion on kids and gaming. It's amazing to see how quickly kids pick up our gaming habit, and at such a young age!!

We then move into what we've been playing including a look at Fallout 3, S.T.A.L.K.E.R and Burnsy's latest attempt to replay games including Assassins Creed.

To conclude the show we examine Left 4 Dead which is due to be wheeled into the morgue on November 18th as Left 4 Dead 2 goes live. We look back at the games strong points and its let downs, reminisce on those intense movie climaxes and lament the fact we can't afford L4D2!

Music on this week's show is provided by:

Koch - a work friend of ours that knocked up an awesome Mario theme remix.

Big Giant Circles - Check out this Sonic 3, Ice Zone remix at OCremix.org

Cheers for tuning in,

Emeny.

The Combobulater: October 31st 2009

Hey Everyone,

This weekend saw myself and Burnsy catch up on what we've been playing including some talk on Fallout 3, recent 'Ultimate game of the Year' winner and Burnsy's third playthrough of Mass Effect. Yes, I did say third!!

We cover a variety of other things including a quick run through the Golden Joystick awards which saw a record breaking 1.2 million votes cast.



To wrap the show up we discuss our visit to the Eurogamer Expo in Leeds, 2009. We share our opinions on what we got to gawp at, including God of War 3 (and Emeny gets his hands bloody with the exclusive demo mailed out by Sony this weekend!), Dante's Inferno, Sabateur, Split Second and a few other bits and pieces.
Enjoy the podcast and thanks for tuning in!


Emeny.

The Combobulater 11th October & 16th October

Hey Guys,

We are anything but consistent as last week saw two shows put together back to back only for us now to take our usual two week break!

The latest shows are a little off the wall, covering topics from me getting dangerously close to quitting WoW only to decide that I need to go on a WoW diet instead. I did that and come the next show I'm discussing how I completed Fear 2 and had almost wrapped up Killzone 2 as well.

Burnsy joins me on the 16th (with the 11th being a solo effort) and we discuss the cost of PC gaming in comparison to consoles. Is it worth spending so much money on various PC upgrades, what is the difference between the PC and the console experience? We intend to take this apart in more detail in a forthcoming show as I think there is good room for discussion in this area.

Things have been a little slack round here lately, I could blame the hangover from a tough few weeks at work...so I will!

Next week sees Burnsy and myself head off to the Eurogamer Expo for a day so we shall be back very soon to share our thoughts on that. I'm tempted to do a post mortem on Fear 2 and Killzone 2, so look out for that too in the near future. In the meantime studying and avoiding WoW is keeping me busy.

Cheers for tuning in,

Emeny.

Get it together Grunts!

Alright, listen up grunts!

We have a rogue agent out there tearing the place up. God knows what his motives are but our orders are simple; bring him in dead or alive. All those years of training, all the effort that has gone into forming you, the elite crack unit comes to this! Before I send you out there I want to run you through a handful of tips to keep you alive:

Make sure all of your body is in cover – There’s no point hunkering down next to the destructible box or volatile barrel if your arse is hanging out, or your elbow is poking free. Learn to keep your head down and whatever you do don’t go darting from one place to the next, if your cover is solid then hold your ground grunt!

Grenades are your friends – Use them don’t lose them! If that sucker has holed himself up and is acting all yella’ then toss a pineapple his way and prompt him along. Flush that sucker out of his hiding hole and riddle him with bullets.

Work together – You are a team guys, moulded and crafted to work together. Spread out, flank your target and wrap that net tight around your target. In no circumstance is it right for you guys to line up and march single file on your enemy.

If your partner is shot... – Take cover you dolts! If you come under sniper fire then get into cover grunt and don’t dally! It sickens me when some coward picks off folk from a distance but watching you grunts run round like headless chickens makes me choke on pure rage. Pro tip, if you see a pile of corpses at a doorway then don't go poking your nose around the corner.

Shoot to kill – This ain’t no action movie grunt, we’re dealing with live rounds here and your very being is on the line. Aim straight, shoot straight and don’t cock it up grunts!

That does it, take this advice on board and go show that yellow-bellied rebel just what it means to be a part of the videogame elite squadron.

Dismissed!

Pay what you want...

Hey Guys,

Yesterday saw Eidos launch Championship Manager 2010 on their Champmanstore, but this is no ordinary launch!!

Taking inspiration from Radiohead, who released their album 'In rainbows' in 2007 as one of the first download models to try this approach; Eidos have released this game on a limited 'pay what you want' basis. General Manager Roy Meredith says,

“This is the best Championship Manager the studio has ever made and we want as many people as possible to try the full new game,”

I'm not sure how many of you out there will be leaping to take advantage of this particular deal but I was compelled to post about this and wonder how this is going to affect the industry.

Should this initative work out for Eidos (as apparently it did for Radiohead) then how will this shape future projects? In a world where Kotick is pushing for the RRP of games to be raised it is refreshing to see a company take a wholy different approach. Especially when considering the global recession we are in.

I think this is a smart move by Eidos and I applaud their bold venture into the murky waters of something new.

To be fair the Championship Manager series has played second fiddle to the 'Football Manager' games, with veterans of the football management sim following the staff that left Champ Man to make up the Sega team behind Football Manager (confusing eh!?). Launching the game at this 'pay what you want price' (ok, I should point out there is a minimum £2.50 transaction fee) will push the Champ Manager series into people's minds and grab their attention.

It will be interesting to watch this unfold. The game will go on general release come September 10th at the typical price of £24.99 in the shops. How many people who pre-order the game for just a few pence or pounds will determine just how much money this gamble will cost Eidos. Still, if you funnel your marketing expenses into this approach then how much difference is there really, and would you grab the headlines in quite the same way?

I for one am very likely to take them up on their offer and that's at least a penny more than they would have got out of me this year ;-)

If you're able and if you're interested I encourage you to go take a look. You have until September 10th to grab this deal. Watch this space for any news and opinon on how this goes, will any other company dare to take up some innovative way to sell their games?

Emeny.

The Combobulater 8th August 2009

Greetings Combobulater fans,

The latest episode of the Combobulater has been released into the wild where we hope it will propagate and run free!

Join us this week as Burnsy explains why he sat through Watchman, twice! Emeny is fed up with LotrO but finding new life in WoW and Fat Princess may have been a sting on the wallet.

We're joined this week by Riknas, part of the Free to play Podcast on Virginworlds Riknas is setting up an ambitious project 'EndGrind' in an effort to catalogue and review the world of MMOs.

Exactly how long should you spend playing an MMO before you can apply a reasonable score, or offer a critique? Project EndGrind sets out to answer this tough question and is on the hunt for contributors. If you are a keen blogger and willing to dedicate yourself to offering your critical insight on an MMO of your choice (assuming it isn't already taken) then be sure to get in touch with Riknas.

We wrap up the show with a look at Kotick's latest comments that have incensed the Combobulater crew, and it would appear ars technica share our feelings (enjoy their art!). Are activision pushing their luck and just how much will the gaming community take before it wakes up and snaps back?

This crew hope it's sooner rather than later, especially knowing that the WoW community sit in the palm of Activision!!

Be sure to check out our forums which are coming to life, a big thanks to everyone that has posted so far.

Cheers for tuning in and be sure to share your thoughts.

Emeny.