Archive for the 'Podcasts' Category

Episode 21: We Haz A Lifes Nao

Wednesday, March 19th, 2008

File Mirrors

This week’s podcast features the following on-air personalities:

  • Bob Somers - SteamPodcast.com
  • Ramzy Bekheet - SteamPodcast.com

Bob’s Smash Brawl friend code is 0516-6943-5368. Add him and send your friend code to him at fans@steampodcast.com.

1337 C4T of Episode 21
1337 C4T of Episode 21

This Week’s New Releases
All scores are from MetaCritic.

  • Tom Clandy’s Rainbow Six Vegas 2 - PS3, Xbox 360 - 84% (10 Reviews)
  • Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Wii - 95% (38 reviews)
  • No More Heroes - Wii - 84% (50 reviews)
  • Turning Point: Fall of Liberty - PC, PS3, Xbox 360 - 42% (7 reviews)
  • Naruto: Ninja Destiny - DS - 64% (12 reviews)
  • Army of Two - PS3, Xbox 360 - 75% (26 reviews)
  • Dynasty Warriors 6 - PS3, Xbox 360 - 60% (20 reviews)
  • FlatOut: Head On - PSP - 76% (7 reviews)
  • MX vs ATV Untamed / Unleashed - PS3, Xbox 360, DS, PSP, PS2 - 68% (29 reviews)

The following news articles were discussed on the show:

Epic Games brings Unreal Tournament series to Steam

Valve has announced that Epic Games Unreal Tournament series is now available for purchase on Steam. This includes Unreal, Unreal Tournament, Unreal II: The Awakening, Unreal Tournament 2004, and Unreal Tournament 3. With Unreal Tournament 2k4 as cheap as $14, you’ll definitely want to check out the Steam store.

9800GX2 Hands On

The guys over at [H]ardOCP have managed to snag themselves an XFX 9800GX2. The results aren’t as completely insane as you would expect from two 8800 Ultra’s with 30% more power fused into one heatsink, but… Drivers play a big part too. We’ll keep you updated as more info comes a long.

But anyway, there are a bunch of pictures, and tons of information. So check it out.

Valve wants free downloadable content for consoles, will Microsoft play nice?

With big updates coming for Team Fortress 2, the question of the price for Xbox owners has finally come around. Valve is of the opinion that they’re in the business of selling games, not content, and if adding more content helps them sell games than they’ll do it for free. Apparently, though, Microsoft wants to protect the idea of paying for downloadable content. Doug Lombardi from Valve said “The platform holder owns the final call.” C’mon Microsoft. Let Valve give it away for free.

Windows Vista Service Pack 1 released

Download Vista SP1 now, or read the overview first.

The first official service pack (appropriately named Service Pack 1) has been released for Vista today. With it come a great number of fixes… With one of the most important ones being a fix for the dreaded slow-copy bug. If you would like a download link to SP1, or a complete overview from Microsoft (in PDF format), head on over to the show notes.

Legos and Team Fortress 2? Can this get any better?

A dedicated Lego fanatic has recreated a great scene with all the characters from Team Fortress 2. Check out the show notes for the awesome pic. The pyro and sentry gun in particular are amazingly well done.

Red Alert 3 screenshots released

This is for all the Red Alert fans (including myself). Just 2 days ago, EA released a number of screenshots for its upcoming title, Red Alert 3. Seems as though the RA3 is powered by the same technology that ran Tiberium Wars 3… That being the SAGE Engine.

The game is still currently under development, however EA are confident it will arrive sometime this year for the XBOX360, PS3, and it’s original platform, the PC.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl sells 1.4 million copies in first week in US

In it’s first week of sales in the United States, Smash Brawl has sold a record breaking 1.4 million units, making it the fastest selling Nintendo game of all time. Combined with Japanese sales, the game has sold over 3 million units worldwide so far. Even though it sold 120 copies per minute for the first week, it’s still got a ways to go before it’s the top selling Nintendo game of all time.

Intel hinting at stand alone graphics cards for PC enthusiasts?

“[…] Pat Gelsinger, general manager of the digital enterprise group at Intel, spelled out Intel’s strategies for future graphics technology on Monday. He addressed the higher-octane technology that will be built into future “Nehalem” processors and the highly sophisticated “Larrabee” chips that will be offered as “discrete” or standalone products. […]”

“[…] Intel intends to boost integrated graphics performance in Nehalem processors and, for the first time, offer a discrete (standalone) graphics product for high-end markets. Both Nehalem and Larrabee are targeted at the 2009-2010 time frame. […]”

Full Tropic Thunder trailer released

If you haven’t seen the trailer for Ben Stiller’s new movie Tropic Thunder, go check it out now. With Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr., and more explosions than you can shake a stick at, this is sure to be a killer movie. And yes, that IS Robert Downey Jr.

Funny Videos

Wrap Up

Keep your fan mail, suggestions, and comments coming. The coolest email address on the net is still fans@steampodcast.com.

Episode 20: The Orange Box

Sunday, October 21st, 2007

File Mirrors

This week’s podcast features the following on-air personalities:

  • Bob Somers - SteamPodcast.com
  • Ramzy Bekheet - SteamPodcast.com

1337 C4T of Episode 20
1337 C4T of Episode 20

This Week’s New Releases
All scores are from MetaCritic.

  • Rockstar Games presents Table Tennis - Wii - 69% (5 Reviews)
  • Folklore - PS3 - 75% (30 Reviews)
  • Luminous Arc - DS - 69% (19 Reviews)
  • Crash of the Titans - PSP, DS, PS2, Wii, Xbox 360 - 69% (5 Reviews)
  • Fury - PC - No Reviews Available
  • Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground - PS2, Wii, PS3, DS, Xbox 360 - 74% (11 Reviews)
  • Race Driver: Create & Race - DS - 77% (9 Reviews)

The following news articles were discussed on the show:

Yahtzee from The Escapist Reviews the Orange Box

For those of you who know who Yahtzee is (and his review style), you’ll definitely enjoy his latest review of Valve’s Orange Box. He reviews the box as a whole as well as Episode 2, Team Fortress 2, and Portal individually. Check it out, it’s quite funny.

Hellgate: London Demo Released

Those of you who don’t know what Hellgate: London is will probably not care about this demo release. Hellgate: London is a FPSMMORPG developed by the makers of Diablo.

Want Your Very Own Companion Cube? Get One Here!

Alright, so it might not be an “official” Portal Companion Cube, but it’s a Companion Cube nonetheless right? On a related note, numerous people who’ve sent Gabe Newell emails about wanting a Companion Cube available in the Valve Store have been told that it’s already been in production for two months and it will be here in time for the holidays.

E For All or E for Small?

A few of the Tom’s Hardware crew at the E For All expo, discussing various aspects of the former E3 Expo.

Doesn’t look that good at all.

I Played Through Episode Two Holding a Freaking Gnome

For those of you who have played Episode 2, you might remember seeing an achievement called “Little Rocket Man” where you need to send the garden gnome into space. Well, someone did it and documented his entire journey.

Soldier of Fortune: Payback – Banned From Australia

No description for this one guys. Ramzy’s on-air rant says it all.

The Portal Gun in Half-Life 2? Sure!

Some guys over at Primo Technology have figured out how to bring the Portal gun to Half-Life 2. Just use GCFScape to extract your maps and scenes folders from your HL2 GCF, then dump them in your Portal game directory. Load up portal and play one of the maps using the “map” command via the console. Once in the game, use sv_cheats 1 and impulse 101 to give yourself all weapons, including the Portal gun. Enjoy surprising those Combine soldiers!

PC Gears of War Goes Gold

Having sold more than 4 million copies worldwide and being the recipient of numerous awards, including GameSpot’s 2006 Game of the Year, Epic Games’ Gears of War isn’t a game that needs much of an introduction. Suffice it to say, Microsoft announced today that the PC version, announced during this year’s E3 Media and Business Summit.

Those of you itching to play the game will be happy to know it goes on sale November 6th. That’s less than 20 days away.

Gordon Freeman and Alyx Vance Pick Up Their Copies of the Orange Box

These costumes are really, really well done. Check out the show notes for the pics.

AMD Still Can’t Get Its Act Together

AMD reported a net loss of $396 million, including $120 million in one-time charges, against revenues of $1.632 billion. Revenue increased sequentially by 18 percent and by 23 percent over a year ago, when AMD reported profits of $121 million.

Funny Videos

Wrap Up

Keep your fan mail, suggestions, and comments coming. The coolest email address on the net is still fans@steampodcast.com.

Episode 19: Hello… hello… hello…

Sunday, October 7th, 2007

File Mirrors

This week’s podcast features the following on-air personalities:

  • Bob Somers - SteamPodcast.com
  • Ramzy Bekheet - SteamPodcast.com

1337 C4T of Episode 19
1337 C4T of Episode 19

This Week’s New Releases
All scores are from MetaCritic.

  • The Settlers: Rise of an Empire - PC - 64% (4 reviews)
  • Madden NFL 08 - PS3 - 81% (26 reviews)
  • NBA Live 08 - Xbox 360, PS2 - 73% (10 reviews)
  • Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 - Xbox 360, PS3, DS, PS2, PC, Wii, PSP 81% (36 reviews)
  • Brian Lara 2007 Pressure Play - PSP - 61% (4 reviews)
  • Worms: Open Warfare 2 - DS, PSP - 81% (18 reviews)
  • MX vs. ATV Unleashed - Xbox, PS2, PC, PSP - 80% (21 reviews)
  • World in Conflict - Xbox 360, PC - 91% (24 reviews)
  • Halo 3 - Xbox 360 - 94% (58 reviews)
  • Fifa Soccer 08 - PS3, PS2, Xbox 360, PC, DS, PSP, Wii - 83% (9 reviews)
  • Skate - Xbox 360, PS3 - 86% (30 reviews)
  • Enemy Territory: Quake Wars - PC - 86% (20 reviews)
  • Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts - PC - 85% (9 reviews)
  • Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - PS3, PS2, Xbox 360, Wii, DS, PC, GBA, PSP - 68% (36 reviews)
  • Stranglehold - PS3, Xbox 360, PC - 80% (48 reviews)
  • MotoGP 07 - PS3, PS2, Xbox 360 - 76% (35 reviews)
  • Stuntman Ignition - PS3, PS2, Xbox 360 - 76% (35 reviews)

The following news articles were discussed on the show:

It’s Official - The Halo Movie is Dead

It was on. Then it was off. Then it was back on again. Then it wasn’t. This is it though folks, straight from the horse’s mouth. A GamerNode writer got an interview with the director in which it was laid out crystal clear. The Halo movie project is dead.

Microsoft and Bungie Officially Disband

Bungie announced it was officially splitting away from Microsoft to become an independent, privately held developer, Bungie LLC. Microsoft will continue to retain a minority stake in Bungie and continue its long-standing publishing agreement with the company.

“While we are supporting Bungie’s desire to return to its independent roots, we will continue to invest in our Halo entertainment property with Bungie […]” said Shane Kim, corporate vice president of Microsoft Game Studios.

So, is the phrase “Halo entertainment property” another way of hinting at tons of Halo spin off’s? Time will tell.

Nintendo Offering Free Wiimote “Jackets” for Wii Owners

Perhaps an attempt to head off lawsuits before they gain any traction, Nintendo is shipping padded “jackets” with all new Wii systems and remotes. Current Wii owners can request free jackets for their Wiimotes through Nintendo’s website.

SCEE announces new 40GB PS3 to launch at €399 / $610 AUD

It’s official. Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has just announced a new 40GB PS3 which will launch in Europe for the price of €399. It will be available starting October 10th. As predicted, the new model features two USB 2.0 ports rather than four and no longer includes the multi memory card port. Strangely, the model also loses backwards compatibility support for PS2 games.

College Student Recreates Halo’s Zanzibar Map Using Legos

First of all, if you didn’t play with Legos when you were a kid, I pity you. Secondly, this is absolutely epic. The guy spent 2 years and thousands of dollars recreating every detail from the level into a massive Lego creation. Check out the video where he guides you through his work of art.

How Do You Know When You’ve Met Your Perfect Match? This is How…

This is the ultimate test guys. If your girlfriend says yes to this as your wedding cake, you know you’ve found the right one. Check out the show notes for a link to the picture.

Funny Videos

Wrap Up

Keep your fan mail, suggestions, and comments coming. The coolest email address on the net is still fans@steampodcast.com.