2x10 - Rob Fahey's Stage Clear (with some Perrin)
Submitted by Perrin on Fri, 15/01/2010 - 00:02
This week a procrastinating Rob steps up to the plate to act as show runner for the week, while still leaving me with the editing. We talk through the history and games of the wonderful Clover Studios, later to become Platinum games. This means we get all teary eyed over everything from Viewtiful Joe up to Bayonetta.
Also we close out the episode with a special cameo that somehow upstage the rest of our entire show. Last time we do that!
If you're intersted in playing the short game Perrin made over xmas and talked about in the show you can check it out here: Seasons of Change
Also be sure to check out Terry Cavanagh's VVVVV.
Enhanced iTunes M4A version (33.5MB)
Normal MP3 Version (34.3MB)
Reader's Question "Which of the many defunct gaming studios of history to you miss the most?"
p.s. Here's the Heavy Rain cover we talked about on the show: Heavy SHITE More Like!
I'm poorly. I'm off work. I'm
I'm poorly.
I'm off work.
I'm bored.
Make another one so I have something to listen to.
Please.
Thanks.
Yeah, what Quit said. I mean
Yeah, what Quit said.
I mean you can't put the show out on time three weeks in a row and then not expect some sort of violant uprising from your loyal listeners when there is no podcast for nearly 3 cocking weeks.
WHAT ARE WE PAYING YOU FOR?
Also, I miss factor 5 because I loved Rogue leader on Gamecube and having never played Lair, I'm not privvy to why they went under.
And although I don't miss Ocean, It's just weird, because it seemed like back in the day, every other game had the Ocean logo in the corner and its more of a nostalgic thing than a company I actually liked. (See also, US Gold!)
Oh, and thanks for Linking Worlds Wildest Dudes on the site. You're cheque is in the post!
Yeah, Will, Ocean sprang to
Yeah, Will, Ocean sprang to mind as it was everywhere when I were a kid.
I looked up their back catalogue (fnar) and they seem to have made movie tie-ins for every large film in the early '80s.
Maybe it's because of them that we feel like ANY game belonging to a film is going to be rubbish?
Actually, a developer I really miss is M&C Games, a studio set up by me and my mate Craig when we were about eleven. We made one and a half games. We were bigger than EA in our heads.
You should really give miner
You should really give miner dig deep a chance, it was the first xbox indie game I bought and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Hard to really describe what's good about it but it gets pretty addictive once you get into it.
Huh... It looks like that
Huh... It looks like that Heavy Rain guy is holding his gun with his tie flopped over his hand.
I am going to wade in here
I am going to wade in here with the following companies that I miss : Infocom, Sierra, Perfect Entertainment, Studio Trophis and Lucas Arts. Yes, Lucas arts is technically still running, but I'm not interested in any Star Wars, Indiana Jones or Lego games.
I loved the whole point and click adventure games era, where storytelling was at the forefront with a good dose of puzzling thrown in. Maybe I'm just being nostalgic and disappointed with the demise of the genre.
I suppose the successor to these games are the action-adventure games where, frankly, the main difference is that you control the characters directly. Games like Beyond Good and Evil and Psychonauts. Thank god for Double Fine is all I have to say.
With regards to games company that I miss because I missed the chance to try any of their games and only found out about them far too late are Punchline and Love-de-Lic. Both of these seemed to be innovative companies, willing to push the concept of gaming. Ultimately, they paid the price for producing unconventional titles with with appeal that, at face value, was limited.
(Punchline had a game called Chulip, where you have to roam the streets kissing people, working out the best time to snog the postman so he doesn't decide to wallop you.)
Finally, I just want to mention that I don't listen to any other gaming podcasts, but I enjoyed the short snippet from that other guy.
P.S. I too play puzzle games whilst listening to Stage Clear
The Lego games are awesome
The Lego games are awesome two player gems.
There are too few mulitplayer games that are actually any good, and the Lego ones are among the best.
Maybe SC could do a feature on non-shit mulitplayer games that don't rely on the internet. Games you can actually play with your mates while they are sat next to you so you can punch them in the arm.
I'm having a hard time thinking of any. Maybe I don't know shit about games after all...
Ah, I tell a lie, there was a
Ah, I tell a lie, there was a web based Lego game that I enjoyed, it was called something like Lego Spybotics... sadly not available anymore, it was a bit like Megaman Battle Network.
With regards to the multiplayer game, I'm not sure if you mean just PC games but there were plenty of good multiplayer console games before the internet became so popular. I know my brothers enjoyed their Mario Kart, Smash Brothers, bomberman and ChuChu Rocket.
Actually, one thing I'd like to pick up on that was mentioned in the podcast are games that you're happy to just watch other people playing either because of the cinematic aesthetic or because of the gripping narrative. I can't remember the example given in the podcast, but I remember evenings during my student years when we'd have a bunch of people sat in a darkened room watching someone playing Silent Hill. Other examples that I can think of are ICO and Shadow of the Colossus.
I used to enjoy the old
I used to enjoy the old Sierra city building games, like Caesar, all the way through to Pharaoh, Zeus and finally Emperor! I still have them all, so I might bust them out later!
Nice to hear/see so many
Nice to hear/see so many people talking about VVVVVV, had a go of that recently and it's just blown up. To be honest anyone would be able to see it would be huge.
I'm actually sat with the
I'm actually sat with the maker of VVVVVV right now, he's here at the indie games jam event thingy I'm at right now. Will pass on your compliments.
Don't leave it too long
Don't leave it too long between specials, I get my best score on Bejewelled Blitz when I listen to your show as it helps me to tune out ever so slightly and just rely on my reactions.
I've always thought of myself as a pretty knowledgeable gamer, or at least one with a good sense of taste, but the only developer I could think of that I miss is Ocean. I don't think Ocean were that great, but their logo was pretty cool. Looking at their titles is like looking at a who's who of 80's pop culture preserved in aspic. Amber. Aspic. Whatever. I didn't meant pop culture anyway, I meant film licenses.
I remember my next-door-neighbor Michael had Platoon and we used to play it constantly. Not because it was good, it was fucking hard, and ugly, but because that's all we had. And I had a bit of a crush on him so I put up with it to spend more time at his house.
Yeah, I don't know if I'd say I missed Ocean that much, but if you put their logo on a T-shirt I'd probably pay up to £15 for it to recapture some of my rose-tinted youth.
The jackanory style fable at
The jackanory style fable at the end needs to become a regular feature TBH! Glad Rob agreed with me on the DLC issue, hoorah!
As for the dead developers readers question, I have to say Pandemic. I want them to come back to fix The Saboteur. NOT REALLY! I don't even care! I felt it was a shame that Ensemble were shut down after finishing Halo Wars. Age of Empires was one of the first PC games I ever played (and loved), it's hard to believe that was about 13 years ago!
We need you to talk about
We need you to talk about gamers the way you do, don't ever change. The stuff on gaming forums leaks out into the world, poisoning all it touches. It may be unstoppable, but it cannot go unchallenged. For every pixel-counting, gamerscore comparing platform boycotter, there needs to be a voice of reason.