This week, The Rumble Pack Izuna Drops head first into Ninja Gaiden 2, camera problems be damned. Justin gives his impressions of Roogoo and a number of games you probably played last year, while Nick rescues a copy of Beyond Good & Evil from the bargain bins.After a brief round of trays, Nick sheds a tear for Tomonobu Itagaki following his recent departure from Tecmo. In-game advertisements, Nolan Bushnell casting, and redundant(?) WoW achievements are also given our attention. Finally, for our frugal listeners, we return to “Bang for Your Buck,” in which we tell you how to make your gaming dollars go the extra mile. *Hint* Disney Channel properties are probably not a wise start.
The Rumble Pack Posts
The whole cast and crew pile into the “Hurtin’ for a Squirtin'” studio for the newest installment of The Rumble Packyet! In the trays: The Orange Box from Justin’s perspective, Rainbow Six Vegas 2 from ‘Vegas’ vet Kaz and Street Fighter 3 from Nick and a short discussion of Battlefield Bad Company.
On our minds this week: Can Beyond Good and Evil 2 go beyond expectations and become a hit with the help of marketing? And is it the right time to do so? In the news we discuss matters of national security concerning the Breast Defense branch of the military and Kaz throws down the Tony Gauntlet Challenge.
Brace for impact.
Nick, Kaz, Tom and Tony are joined by a secret guest who just can’t contain his ‘secretness’. The crew talks about Every Extend Extra Extreme, Lost: Via Domus, DOA Xtreme 2 (?) and Team Fortress 2.
On our mind this week: Cut-scenes and the importance of a good Metacritic score.
In the news this week: Who’s your prince? Being Richard Gaywood and a look at Microsoft’s other bone-headed moves.
After the show, don’t forget to head over the message boards and chat with everyone about the world of gaming and beyond.
Nick, Tom, Kaz and Tony hit the books for a very serious episode of The Rumble Pack…
Gotcha!
Hilarity ensues as the group discusses the games that have been stuck in their trays this week, Games galore from SCEE’s Gamer Day and Microsoft’s Spring Showcase, and all this week’s news (Including: Sony’s interesting Australian marketing campaign, Soul Caliber’s censorship and a discussion of “What’s in Tony’s Wallet?”) All that and more!
Late post. Nick, Tom, Kaz and Tony hit up all the major news items of the past week. Good thing this went up on time, eh?
The site has been a little slow as of late. Making uploading this week’s episode impossible. The hosting service is trying to determine the problem. The episode should be up today or tomorrow.
Thank you for your patience.
– The Management.
Oh Nintendo. Every time I think I understand you a little bit more, you do something crazy that leads me to believe I don’t know you at all. Your stock is the second highest in Japan (after Toyota, which is absolutely crazy), your former executive officer, Hiroshi Yamauchi, is the richest man in Japan (trust me, there’s a lot of loaded peeps in Nihon), and your console is still flying off of shelves a full year and a half after its launch, all across the world. You’re right – you deserve to be happy, in fact, you deserve to laugh in the faces of all the nay-sayers, because you’ve ensured your place in this little industry of ours for a good few years.
In fact, if there’s one thing I’ve come to learn about you, it’s that you do things your own way. Some may call you a little slow on the uptake, ya know, because you only innovate when you have to (there’s too many examples from the N64 and GC eras here to even mention), but we stick by your side because we know your touch is often the closest thing to magic we’ve ever laid our thumbs on. I mean come on – who else can take a fat Italian plumber and make him a loveable mascot? Develop largely the same games year after year and sell millions of copies each time? Or produce a completely underpowered system, throw on a new hook, and capture an entirely new demographic of gamer? That’s right, only you.
Nick, Kaz, Tony and Tom convene a meeting of the gaming defense force. Before getting the big stuff they discuss this week’s obsession–Echochrome. And last week’s as well–The World Ends With You and that Grand Theft something or other. This week’s news that doesn’t involve GTA IV…still involves a Rockstar staff member.
The meat of this episode lies in talking not about a game, but the backlash a game can get. And we introduce a new segment: Bang for Your Buck, which makes each cast member stretch a budget thin to get as much gaming this month as you can get, hint: the answers aren’t that obvious.
All that and more in The Rumble Pack!
This is the big GTA IV special, but not until the second half. Before the midnight release Tom, Nick and Kaz gather in person and bring Tony in on speakerphone to discuss all the games that will be ignored while GTA spends some quality time in our trays.
Tony talks about his Metal Gear Online experience before having to run off to save lives. Tom and Kaz go in depth on The World Ends With You. Nick shares his MGO experience and all three talk about Mario Kart Wii.
*Interviews at break courtesy of Cleveland area GameStop*
After the break Nick, Tony and Kaz talk about the big release this week. First impressions of stepping off the boat, a glance at multiplayer and the sense of awe one gets when entering Grand Theft Auto IV’s Liberty City. All without any major spoilers!
Get it while it’s hot.