CO-OP 0102 -- Selling Ourselves -- Resident Evil 5 & Halo Wars
matt chandronaitSo as it turns out, "Tuesdays" in Revision3 terms means midnight. Midnight Eastern Standard Time. Which means I should really have these blog posts ready before then. Oops!
It's only our second show and I already feel like this we're on the craziest ride of our lives. No numbers are in yet, but we've received a pretty incredible response overall from all the sources we been egomaniacally monitoring since the premier went live last week. We hit the front page of Digg, top slots in iTunes for every version of the podcast feed and Forbes told us that the feature on CO-OP and Revision3 was their highest rated story online for several days last week--which is unheard of in regards to their usual audience. Not a bad way to start out the season!
This week we start out with Halo Wars. Dan "Shoe" Hsu, Patrick Klepek, and Anthony Gallegos are the guests and Area 5 is represented by Jay-to-the-Fresh.
Resident Evil 5 shouldn't be a big surprise to anyone out there that's followed our work in the past. A fantastic game with a few compromises wisely instigated to address a fully co-op experience, GameSpy's Sterling McGarvey finished it single-player style while Ryan and I played through it co-op (shocking, I know!) so we could compare notes.
And any new company, of course, must sell itself in order to expand it's brand identity. This was the task set forth for Jason, Rob, and Cesar this week and boy did they...um...deliver?
Reader Comments (63)
Hahaha! Awesome episode! I couldn't contain my laughter during the crudely made co-op ad at the end.
Very entertaining episode, the last one was the funniest.
great great episode guys, the show's really kicking into high gear! the bit after the credits was probably the funniest thing in all my co-op/1upshow history. excellent work!
Damn, that was certainly keeping up the pace with the first ep. Watching Klepek dance around in the end nearly killed me. I love being able to download the episodes in the 30fps HD so I can watch them through my 360 on my huge plasma. Keep it up guys!
The download link for large WMV loads the small Quicktime instead.
I really like your show, you've done an incredible job holding it all together and then managing to produce something that totally manages to uphold the high standards of quality you have always met on the old 1Up Show. HOWEVER, the theme song is absolutely woeful. I really liked the old 1Up Show ones, especially the summer ones, they're awesome, but the new one is just awful. The lyrics just seem to be completely miss-matched with the music.
I believe it was Ryan who said in the episode that people expect high production standards. He's quite right: the segment on Halo Wars was poorly shot, badly framed and amateurish in execution.
Whoever did that camera work was terrible: We don't need to have half of the screen taken up with people's legs in the dark. We also need to have the eye line at 1/3 from the top. I won't even get to the composition as it was just awful. The person shooting the piece also needs to take care of his 'Parkinson' problem, because the camera was moving all over the place.
If the camera person can't do the job properly, at elast buy a tripod!
Oh and Ryan also correctly stated that the show is about GAMES. Front and foremost the number 1 thing is: games. I agree with him: so why not get rid of the moronic comedy act?
Either elevate the humor to a higher standard or replace it with something more interesting.
Not the best show so far. Last week was much better.
Really great show, great humor, loved the bad green screen 8-)
Damitt Matt and Ryan, I was going to wait to get RE5, but you just made it that much harder.
Oh and btw not sure if it was only me, but when I tried to see the show on my PS3 via. Ps3 media server, the audio was a tiny bit out of sync, but when I used WMP 11 the audio was fine, it's probably just some settings I have to fiddle with, but I just wanted to see if anyone else where having this problem.
Great show and great work guys, can't wait to next thuesday, although I prefer to relax with things like this on a friday 8-)
I really enjoyed the first show, don't like the title song (graphics are great though) but overall I love this new format. Finally the lanky speeds I got from 1up.com are history. Revision3 is way better in distributing content. At least they don't discriminate against the Euro-folk like me. 1UP always slooooweed right dooooownn. Hope this show keeps getting awesom-er as it does right now. Good luck.
Weee! I can finally download the show in less than multiple hours (:P gamevideos servers)!
that was absolutely fucking hilarious. i had tears during all the promos XD
your squarespace segment was fucking awesome too (it was great last episode as well); very creative, very funny
the game segments were top notch as well. i always love when Patrick is on, he is well thought and very articulate. The RE5 segment was great as well. This episode is definitely worth a re-watch.
Keep up the good work. The only thing that sucks is waiting for the next episode. I still think that Madworld is a game you should cover but time is flying by where it would be old news. Looking forward to next tuesday.
Oh man... the dancing.... Klepek.... Jesus christ.
Great work guys. Those comedic interludes were so ridiculous! Some of the greatest story material you guys have ever done. It's good to see that your creative freedom is completely unrestrained at Rev3.
The discourse over games has been very in-depth lately, especially with the RE5 segment, and I really appreciate that.
Question: Is the Quicktime HD subscription 24 or 30 fps?
Great episode, story segments were great..... fantastic squarespace ad.
Love the show, you guys are awesome. But 2 things...
A. I know the plug for the square space probably has some importance (mainly income) and I applaud you for trying to do it differently, but this one was a bit annoying. The rap was just plain awful, and the color tinkering was headache inducing. Keep up the effort at plugging things creatively. I hate watching commercials. Make them entertaining, just Ryan, please leave your quasi rapping at the door.
B. Tell whoever does the voice over for the ads to stop trying to "sound" like an announcer. Use your own voice or get somebody not on the crew. Trying to sound like your testicles dropped to the floor doesn't sound very good at all. Do something different.
Other than that, you guys are doing fantastic, keep it up.
co-op needs a steam community page.
I don't have time to watch the show tonight, but I'm looking at that videogame version of you guys, and whoever is responsible did a really nice job!
Oh wow, I'm an idiot. It's just greenscreen.
OMG!!!!!! Klepek what the hell.....what the hell??!!!!! LOL LOL!!!!!!! (I damn near pissed myself after watching that ending scene)
Well done playing Halo Wars on Normal and not bothering to check Heroic or Legendary difficulties...
Great show guys ! i still have a smile on my face some people might call it corny but im sure that was your point, have not laughed out loud like that in awhile. Will your site have a place for your fans to share stuff besides comments ? and also why does the video quality vary so much with different formats is it FPS thing ?
I love the show, not just entertaining, but yall make great points in every episode. This is really random, but in the last segment, I saw all 3 seasons of Arrested Development on the DVD shelf. You guys seriously just became like 20 times cooler.
Yes, the end video was hilarious. Please do more of that.
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Quick link for anyone interested in the Large WMV file:
http://bitcast-a.bitgravity.com/revision3/web/coop/0102/coop--0102--sell--large.wmv9.wmv
awesome episode overall, love the squarespace ad and patrick klepek dancing
That was an awesome episode. first off, the SquareSpace thing was ingenious, really really liked it (I call it a "thing" because I'm not sure if I calling it an ad for SS is a misnomer). I was surprised at the depth of your discussion with RE5, what people may find disturbing and community reaction to the game and each other. better than just a review!
the failed attempts at "Selling Ourselves" were pretty funny, but the first one when shown in long form just takes the cake. the comedic beats are really good, and I would venture a guess that editing it to get the timing right is a lot harder than it seems. Hope to see more comedic stuff from you guys in the future, there wasn't nearly as many laughs back on the 1UP days (save for Big Fun's comment on Shane's "anti-resume" (his LBP level).
Love the show. The skits were great this episode. I disliked the new intro song the first time I heard it, but I think that my negative reaction was mainly because the 1up show theme song was so amazingly good. After I heard the intro song this time I didn't mind it as much.
I just love the format of the show, great job once again. Keep it up!
Wow. I...don't know if words even exist for how I feel about this episode.
Very well done, guys. The final ad, MS Paint Halo logo and all, was priceless. Too many people try to do intentionally "bad" comedy and fail, but you pretty much nailed it there.
Also, how much blackmail footage exists of Klepek in the daisy dukes? Future outtake material for sure.
Incredible, for real.
The RE5 discussion was great! Delved a lot deeper into the game then the usual "Yeah, it's weird that the A button does that," and sure many people appreciate it.
Also, you guy always elicit some great laughs on my end with the skits. Can't help but smile. Dunno if it's corny or goofy, but it just hits the right notes. Hilarious. :)
I loved how the 360 controller wasn't even on in that last segment. Brilliant!
Another great video guys glad to see that you are back
Patrick was hilarious during the last pitch.
At first it was just awkward and made me look away going oh man.
Then when Patrick was revealed I couldn't stop laughing.
I think I've watched the last pseudo-ad no less than 5 times. Its mesmerizing in ways I'm uncomfortable talking about. Looks like you guys have decided to "grab us by the balls" with your new show. Great stuff!
Amazing as always. So when will we see the full extended versions of the CO-OP Army and Dance Party ads?
AWESOME episode! The ad's are so funny! And Robs acting is priceless every time!
Wow! I don't know whether to SHAME you guys or HERALD you for spending the time and resources to make something so authetically BAD LOOKING at the end of this weeks episode. Thanks?!?!?!
Fan-frigging-tastic! This truly rivals the 1UP Show.
Jason, I gotta say this. You are weird :D
Good show as always, though not the best one ever really. The comedy was sort of funny & yet not in some way :( BUT as usual, it's always interesting listening to you guys. Even when, or maybe especially, the games aren't interesting to me (like Halo Wars for example).
The race angle is getting a bit tiresome. I don't want to start this debate again but personally, it hasn't bothered me while playing. It did prior to its release but not since. Having read the zombie survival guide recently, I know the zombie virus isn't discriminatory to skin color. They are all the same. Zombies. And they need to be put down. Also, I bought the evil medical corp thing with the villagers. And it sort of payed a cute tribute to itchy scratchy from RE1 at the same time (the journal that is).
I think the spoiler vampire sucks though :)
Let me describe that episode in one word...AWESOME!!!
Wooo, you guys go every where... wait, its green screen? Ahh, that explains it!
Keep up the awesome show!
Great episode guys! Looking forward to the next.Hate to see so many people complaining about a FREE podcast but meh.keep em comin :)
The RE5 discussion about the race is completely nonsensical. One of your partners is black. Do you not think there are not any tribes in Africa that dress like that? A black American that has never been to Africa does not have any more experience than a Japanese team who actually went to Africa.
Just subscribed on iTunes---glad to have the show back on my mp3 player! You guys are great, keep up the awesome work & I can't wait to watch future episodes. :)
Hey guys. I love the show and I'm glad you all persevered. It would have been a shame not to have CO-OP. I love the intro animation by Soto, but I have to agree with some of the other folks about the song. It does sound a little off. The same can be said for the ADs - a regular voice would suffice. I'm not all negative though - I think the skits are a nice way to break up the show. Keep those coming.
Oh, in regards to the games, you guys actually make me want to play Resident Evil 5. It's weird Matt played it though, I thought he hates violence:) Anyway, Good job with the review.
I don't know how people can complain.
You guys are doing great work! Keep it up and thanks!
People complain because nothing can be perfect and there is always room to improve. I prefer to think of them as critiques, even when worded belligerently. Even in the harshest feedback can be found grains of truth, so we really do read all the comments. Personally, if something is worded as an attack or is particularly douche-baggish I try to re-word it in my head as something thoughtful. If I can't do that, then I ignore it and move on. Seems to have worked well so far ;)
I can get people not digging the song as much. I think it will grow on our audience with time, though. Still, we're actually looking at changing up the theme seasonally a la Weeds or The Wire. We'll see if that pans out.
I'm actually kind of ho-hum on the announcer voice myself. The idea there was to create someone who definitely isn't any of us so that the voiceover "guy" can interact with any member of team so we don't have to do the same, dry read of copy every week and can insert a little improv. We'll iron it out more :)
Love the show. Maybe Matt's dry announcer could voice over could have a Christian Bale-esque break down during the dry reads? Or perhaps an actor seeking his "motivation" for his character? I'm sure y'all will come up with something unique and hilarious. I think the squaresoft poeple have gotten their money's worth and more from co-op's ad interpretations. They're both informative and entertaining - like Girls Gone Wild videos without the moral turpitude. ^.<