Welcome to 2010! We greet it with a podcast recorded in 2009! This week we’re down one Tyler Barber but up a Matt Chandronait and one Greg Ford, of Area5/Co-op and Bitmob respectively as we talk about Bayonetta, Borderlands and more, then move on to some letters. New Year’s Diet’ed penis!
All of this week’s music is courtesy of The Barnstormers (tracks include Misery, Let Me Do Right By You, and The Gift)
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Thanks guys! Happy New Year!
Thanks very much, the Rebel FM fan page has itching to get it’s next hit!
Dude, sweet, an episode where I recorded all of the music, how surreal and awesome is that. Thanks so much you guys.
Happy New Year! Now I get to work out to this and Giant Bomb’s 4 hour GOTY Special. Jolly me!
Hey if people from the bay area want to do a Rebel FM meet up please contact me at my twitter or my email which is jamesbfaulkner at gmail.
Anthony emailed me a while back saying that they would be interested in doing the meetup. He has not emailed me back after that so I decided to take some initiate start posting places.
Anthony or Arthur if you read this, let me know if you have dates that work for you. That is if you wish to attended that is.
James Faulkner
Sent you a mail. I’m down in general, but I travel for work rather a lot. (Depending on the project, anyway) So I may come across as flaky on scheduling things, but I’m not trying to be a jerk.
Great guests this week!
And Happy New Year! I think I’ve had a hangover for two days straight. The podcast should help take my mind off of the throbbing headache.
You get the stinger at lvl 30 (it seemed sooner to me). Either way it is amazing, I shoot down anything from UAV’s to AC130′s, even though mostly everything is easy to shoot down except for Chopper gunner. That is as blatantly OP as akimbo 1887′s. It takes two stingers to take down chopper gunner and AC130 though, which is why it is so hard to take down the chopper since it is just constant fire.
I agree MW2 did seem to snowball a lot more, which is annoying and is why I have clung to the stinger ever since I got it. I seem to be the only one that ever shoots anything down in most games I play, it stops the snowballing some though to take down an AC130 or harrier right when they come out though. So I advise using the stinger when you get it (or javelin after that, I think it one shots everything) to help stop the snowballing.
I’m not sure I agree that the stinger is OP, but it is a lot easier to shoot things down in MW2. I think this may be on purpose to balance the fact that people seem to call in air support a hell of a lot more than in COD4.
2010 is going to be gdlk!
Thanks for the most awesomeness-ess podcast out there.
Really don’t like the new intro song, please go back to the old one!
It’s not the new intro, they just used it for this one episode. It’s an excerpt from my band’s new CD, from a song called Misery.
I thought it was cool myself.
Ouch. I didn’t think it was bad!
Last year I remember hoping that somebody at ziff/hearst crapped their pants when they heard how much money people instantly donated to the ex-up peeps, for nothing (specific) in return.
Here’s hoping they have cause to do it again in 2010 when you all become even more successful internet megastars. Happy New Year!
im surprised Matt said he doesn’t listen to music, could’ve sworn he was wearing an Autechre t-shirt in one of the co-op episodes
I’ve played the Bayonetta demo on the 360, and I was underwhelmed with it overall. The one thing I don’t understand is what is so sexy about a woman who resembles a giraffe?
Deepthroat
Props to Arthur, King of God’s Hate, for exposing Bayonetta for the overrated piece of shit it is. Amazing how a DMC knockoff can generate such amazing scores. I guarantee you by the end of 2010, nobody will have Bayonetta as one of their Top 5 games, even though the game is getting almost perfect scores from everybody.
You underestimate the power of weeaboos.
Love the work you guys put into the podcast but I am getting tired of Arthur bitching about the smallest pieces of games. One of my main examples was his rant on Boarderlands and how nobody will create secondary character because the intro is too long. It really wasn’t that long and there was a quick new character set up whenever you jumped into a friends game. I know everybody wants to hear your opinion but some of the talk falls into misleading slander. Developers put so much heart and time into these games it would really be a bummer if they lose a couple of sales because of some off the cuff back handed comments.
Sometimes when you play a game a lot, those little nitpicks are what really bother you. I complain constantly about MW2 multiplayer, but I love it regardless. It’s because I play it so much that the little things here and there bother me so much.
When people find themselves nitpicking, I think that it often goes to show you how much they like the game. I’m pretty sure Arthur has made it relatively clear he likes Borderlands, so when he points out those little things, it’s not that he’s trashing the developers, but rather pointing out the things that could be changed to make a good game a great game.
“it just wasn’t a console exclusive”
And then you wonder why people think you’re a dick.
what are you referring to specifically? Where was the context for this?
That was a little jab thrown by Arthur after Matt said he liked Red Faction better than inFamous.
I think inFamous is good enough game that it deserved the praise it got when it came out, and implying being an exclusive was behind that was… kind of a dick comment.
Red Faction was overlooked, yes, and that had nothing to do with inFamous being a PS3 exclusive (how would you explain Prototype then? That got just as much or more talk than inFamous, and had better sales overall). Maybe the game’s bland brown look coupled with THQ’s poor marketing should be blamed instead? Or maybe most people don’t love it as much – and there’s nothing wrong with that. For instance, I don’t think any of my top 3 favorite games of last year won a single GOTY award.
I think it’s fine to prefer a game over another. To question everyone else’s reason for having a different opinion is a totally different thing, so that was kind of a dick comment.
Thanks for putting a podcast on during a holiday! =D
Bayonetta is difficult to evaluate critically in ways that only games are: Should I judge it for the hours of fun I had and its frequent brilliance, ignoring the commensurate hours I sat through some of the most self-indulgent pseudo-intellectual mumbling masquerading as a cutscene since Metal Gear Solid 4 (and the fact that the game drags on approximately five hours longer than it should?)? Or should I subtract the minuses from the pluses, and punish the game accordingly? It’s a situation where a number is difficult to apply. Rather, I would leave a prospective buyer with this: If character-action games are your thing, then you owe it to yourself to give Bayonetta a try, as it represents some of the best the sub-genre has ever had to offer. However, if Devil May Cry and Ninja Gaiden have never stirred your interest, Bayonetta may seem at times to be everything you’ve ever thought was wrong with this type of game.
You do NOT review something and ask yourself if you should ignore bad parts.
The tone of your review does not sound like an 8 it sounds more like a 4 or 5.
However i do understand where some of the fun could come from. Personally, i just wish they’s release this game with different sounds and graphics. For the rest this sounds like a japanese game with all the typical flaws of any japanese game. Weebu’s can jizz all they want with Bayonetta, not something to be proud of.
“You do NOT review something and ask yourself if you should ignore bad parts.” – Way to douche? Who are you to tell him how he should review something? In what way is he *ignoring* the bad parts if he is quite clearly pointing them out in his review? Are you his boss?
My main problem with the review is that he even considers to ignore the bad parts and that his review does not fit the final score.
His opinion is of course subjective, so is any. And some flaws pointed out may be a bigger problem for me than for him.
I’m not telling how he should do it, i just point out that flaw. On the other side Arthur says passive writing is a bad thing. He points out something and so do i.
It’s the internet, everyone has an opinion.
If you match the tone of the review to the “7-10″ scale you pretty much end up at 8/10.
Were Anthony and Matt or was it Greg hinting that TeamXbox uses the 7-10 scale when they mentioned(sarcastically) that Teamxbox doesn’t have a review metric?
Well, “You do NOT review something and ask yourself if you should ignore bad parts.” sounded pretty unequivocal and veerrrrry douchey
Yep, that was a bad way of saying.
First, I’ll write a review as I please, and my boss will approve it or not. Second, it’s possible to acknowledge that there are VERY BAD THINGS in a game while still acknowledging that overall, it was a good game. I won’t apologize for that. If you don’t like it, there are lots of other Bayonetta reviews for you to read.
Never asked for an apology.
And as i said:
“I’m not telling how he should do it, i just point out that flaw.”
I’m not your boss nor do i want to be the boss of anyone.
Second, the review reads like you split your problems from the good stuff and only score the good stuff. It just reads like a schizophrenic wrote it.
I bitch alot, but i do like the podcast very very much.
Its nice to hear that I’m not the only one who’s not titillated by Bayonetta’s misogynistic approach. I’ve been torn about the game because of how fantastic I hear the animation and combat is. But after reading Arthur’s review, I think I can live with renting it sometime later. I’d feel embarrassed to have that game lining my shelf.
I am shocked when I hear people call Bayonetta misogynistic. Exploitative, maybe. But that’s a whole ‘nother can of worms. Is Shaft racist? Are kung-fu movies racist?
I forget exactly what was said on the podcast, but someone said something to the effect of “worse than the way DOA treats women.” Are you for real? DOA has a bunch of bubbleheaded bitches who are nothing but vehicles for enormous tits. At least Bayonetta, features a confident, in control character who never resorts to “teehee! Let’s rub lotion on each other and give presents! We’re such good friends!” in her volleyball-centric spin-off game.
Frankly, I think many of Arthur’s nits are overblown. The storyline is total garbage. I got bored with it too, but you can skip cutscenes without even going into the menu, so you never have to deal with the majority of Arthur’s complaints of “JAPAN THE GAME GUYS THIS GAME IS SO JAPANESE HURRR.” Didn’t like the dance sequence at the end? Don’t have to watch it. Enemy attacks that don’t allow you to activate slo-mo? Every action game with a block button has unblockable attacks. What’s the difference?
Great episode. Good to hear Greg.
But I basically agree with everything that was said about Bayonetta and I was anticipating the game since the start.
Planetside did Tribes and it did it much bigger and better. Problem with the game is it was run by SOE and they ruined it 3 months after launch and the game never recovered.
I suddenly realized that the site has had that killzone background for time eternal. Any plans to update to a less game specific background.
…I agree, but then again it matches the theme on this site…but change is good
I think the low res stuff in Mass Effect on PC is fixable. Go to C:\Users\*username*\Documents\BioWare\Mass Effect\Config and find BIOEngine. Under [SystemSettings], change Trilinear to TRUE and MaxAnistrophy to 16. Of course, performance will take a hit.
Rebel FM should have done a prediction episode I loved the 4 Guys 1UP one so much. Anyway awesome episode.
Having Matt on instead of Tyler was great and Greg Ford was an awesome bonus. Was cool to hear a somewhat less enthusiastic look on Bayonetta. I mean I don’t agree with any of the negative things you guys said about it but it was nice to hear it from a different perspective. Anyway I’m looking forward to picking it up along with Darksiders in the next couple days once my preorders are in. (the EB Games that is nearby has a tendency to recieve stock a couple days late)
Why is Anthony such a negative Nancy about everything? he seems to enjoy some games but then goes on and on about the negative sides of them. Be more positive man.
What was the band Anthony recommended? I rewound the podcast like five times, but can’t figure out how to spell it right. Or is it just not on itunes?
barnstormers. and we are on itunes. you can also look for “graveyard town”, that’s the name of the new album.
I was actually talking about what Anthony recommended closer to the end of the show, when they were talking about albums and books they liked this year. I did buy graveyard town just now though, good stuff.
ahh, my bad… but thanks for the purchase, that means a lot to me. I spent, like, a year working on that album, and it makes me happy to see other people are hearing it and enjoying it.
Hey Anthony, I noticed near the end of the podcast you said you liked one of Bat for Lashes’s song. I really like their song Daniel. You probably wouldn’t listen to this song because she talk about a dude she thinks about (if the lyrics are meaningful and I can feel the emotion the artist is passing through, its a good song to me regardless of the gender it is played for) but figured you might like the way this person remixed it. Don’t get me wrong, I like the original too =D. Heres the link –>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGp4D4uQp54&feature=related
Thought I’d share it with you. Good stuff guys
Thanks for the heads up about TribesNext.com I can’t wait to play my favorite game of all time again!
NERRRRRRRRRRRRDS!
Oh my. Was I, as a girl, supposed to be offended by the super-mysoginistic Bayonetta? I must’ve missed that opportunity to hop on some whinetrain then because I think Bayonetta is one of the most hilarious and awesome female characters I’ve had the chance of playing as in a game IN A LONG TIME.
Just like with Dante, but even more so, she is absolutely ridicilously over-the-top. All the way from her character design(that looks like a mash-up of the cheesiest sexfetishes. I mean, dominatrixesque outfit, the sexy mole, the librarian glasses, the beehive hair?) to her super-sassy attitude and mannerrisms. I love it!
I had no idea I was supposed to be offended by this. I think I have to take her seriously first to actually be offended, but I just can’t seem to do that and 7½ hours in to the game I’m not sure she takes herself that seriously either. All I know is that I’m really looking forward to that ending striptease scene and unlocking some sweet alternate costumes.
I understand that Arthur clearly needs to acknowledge the fact that some overly sensitive women(or men?) might find Bayonetta to be offensive, but it also annoys me the way he talks about it. It reminds me of those guys in high school who pretended to be superfeminists just to get on the good side with some girl they liked. I’m not saying Arthur is like this, but thats the vibe I get from this whole “bayonetta is the most mysoginstic shit ever omg”-ordeal.
As a sidenote, I read the platinum games blog a lot. And hold your easily-offended hats tight now; the lead character designer on Bayonetta is actually a *gasp* woman. The beautiful and talented Miss Shimazaki.
Yeah, sometimes (a lot of the time) Arthur needs to get off his high horse and see things for what they are. Why would you take a character like Bayonetta seriously? Dude, her clothes are made out of hair! People who reviewed that game ignored that aspect of the character because it’s not important at all and if anything, it’s funny.
I brought it up because her tits were in my proverbial face for half the game, and her ass was in it for the rest of it.
I will admit that I would feel uneasy playing a game like that in front of some people, but I think games like Gears of War, that are filled with machismo, should have their opposites ala Bayonetta. I think that aspect of the game does appeal to some people, and not necessarily in a titillating fashion.
There is nothing “opposite” about Gears and Bayonetta. They’re targeted at the exact same people, one’s just decided to add vagina to the mix. The opposite of Gears of War would be some low budget indie strategy RPG.
I stated “opposite” regarding the gender exploited, nothing else.
This attitude is typical of people who get butthurt whenever someone doesn’t like what they do. It’s a half step away from “well you just can’t take a joke!” You can’t cry for legitimacy in a medium and then run screaming away yelling “It’s just a game, it’s just a game, it’s just a game WHAAAAA!” at the first moment someone reacts in a way that treats the medium as legitimate.
If the reaction were, “oh, whatever, it’s just a game”, that’s when they’re being dismissive.
This brings up an interesting point; sometimes you need to ask yourself “is this offensive because it offends me and/or my values, or is it offensive because I think it’s going to offend someone else?” I personally don’t find the Bayonetta character offensive, but I can see how others may feel differently.
I don’t think Arthur meant to infer that Bayonetta is offensive to all woman and that all woman will agree with him, but I think it’s clear he doesn’t like they way she’s portrayed and really that’s all that matters.
Imply, not infer.
Just because you’re not offended doesn’t mean I can’t be, or that others aren’t. Several female friends saw me playing the game and had some pretty severe reactions (that always involved disbelieving laughter). I also felt like it was insultingly pandering. Which, you know, is my opinion. It doesn’t make me or others who would agree overly sensitive.
It is nice to see the Bayonetta defense force out on the march though.
Snarky comments like that aren’t going to get you any points. Just because someone has an opinion on something contrary to your own doesn’t make them wrong. That seems to be the jist of your argument. By that token: saying “OH HO. BAYONETTA DEFENSE FORCE KTHXBYE” outright dismisses everything said above.
Well, with that last comment you’re asserting that people can’t internalize such feelings, which is incorrect. At any rate, it’s just an appeal to authority. She’s Japanese, they have a(n inherited) history of some pretty blatant misogyny throughout the culture, to assume that somehow a woman would be immune to taking that in is naive, and that’s completely ignoring the idea that she’s simply seeking to exploit the audience.
From what I’ve heard/read, there’s a bit of a divide age-wise. Younger women trend more towards viewing it as empowerment, while older women trend more towards viewing it as exploitation. Which is not to say that it’s 100% certain in either case, blah blah, etc etc.
I think it’s kind of dumb. If I want sexualized whatever, I’ll just look at porn, where I can see people fucking. CG crotch shots of some Sarah Palin-esque ninja woman are just not that interesting, and they come off as pandering.
It’s not even that the images themselves are offensive, they’re tame. It’s the implication that this is what I’m looking for, that that’s what the audience is that’s irritating. It’s the same problem with DoA. It’s like some embarrassing jackass that’s hanging out with you and telling everyone how much you like pussy and need to knock some boots with some hos, and you just want them to fuck off and go away, since you didn’t ask them to show up, anyway.
What is the song at the end of the podcast? Email me at romanbaev@live.ca
Never mind, stupid question
THANK YOU for your discussion on the new Borderlands DLC. I prefer to play solo, so all the info you gave us was very helpful in helping me with my decision to buy or not. I think I’ll pass for now, unless some of my friends pick up the game.
Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts is now on Xbox Live Games on Demand for $20.
If you don’t like this game, you are a thought criminal.
http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/games/media/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d8024d5307ed/?of=7
Hey guys, I know it’s kinda lame and doesn’t add much, but keep up the great work. I cut out ALL of the video game podcasts when I started up school again after finishing my co-op, but I kept you guys. Simply the best out there.