CO-OP 0303 -- Halloweenies -- iPhone Rhythm Games, R&C Future: A Crack in Time, Borderlands
matt chandronaitYes, Area 5 threw a Halloween party! It was awesome! We had the best costumes ever! There’s no way your party was better than ours! Is there any way exclamation points can denote sarcasm as opposed to genuine enthusiasm? Honestly, we’re better gamers than we are party-planners. And, it would seem, better party-planners than we are costume-makers. Oh the inhumanity! More after the show:
Halloween is very special time of year—for everyone but Ryan. Still, he was convinced to dress up for this special occasion. However, he may have been better off avoiding the specialized Area 5 event altogether.
Rock Band iPhone just got released. The Tap Tap games have graced the platform since the beginning and there’s even a Guitar Hero clone: Guitar Rock 2, now in its second iteration. Jason and I are really into all of these games and this genre in general, so it we figured it would be fun to talk about them all in one go and let you all in on the finer points of each.
JayFresh is the biggest
The MMO genre has generated far more than cash-cows and spectacular flops over the past few decades. It’s good to see some of the better ideas concerning game design take root in other genres. Borderlands happens to be both fun and and interesting take on design choices that most would consider the exclusive domain of its massive cousins. Arthur Gies of Eat. Sleep. Game. and RebelFM comes by to share his thoughts with JayFresh, myself, and Cesar.
Also, big special thanks to our friend Michael James and his new venture 8-Bit Vinters. He sent us some bottles of his classic-game-labeled wine and we plopped them into this episode. Go to the site and buy a bottle or three! They’re really quite good!
Reader Comments (37)
bitchin bitchin bitchin bitchin bitchin bitchin lol awesome show!
i want some jane pinkard. i miss her from the old days and i know she makes ur songs and such so why isnt she on the show?
@gerg ... We'd love to have her on. Unfortunately she lives on the east coast now :(
damn! oh well, i still love you guys.
and rebelfm on my coop is win.
@Matt
I totally guessed this week's show and got it right! Awesome!
I can't believe that rhythm games are still cool, this trend has been going on way too long.....
Another great show Area5!
Next week: I predict DJ Hero, modern warfare 2, and an iphone game....
Come on lucky dice don't let me down now!!!
No Episodes from Liberty City/The Ballad of Gay Tony? I was hoping you guys were gonna cover it this week. Next week perhaps (along with Modern Warefare 2 as well, if you guys get early copies)?
Yeah Ballads of Gay Tony is probably next week seen as though Ryan is playing it at the moment (twitter)! And probably along side Dragon Age: Orgins mixed in with some iPhone games again! That is my prediction!
I lol'd when Caesar impersonated MJ at the beginning. And your costumes were great (even Matt's lol...)
My costume was a paper bag over my head that said "Gundam"... anyways, I can't wait to see what you guys have to say for Modern Warfare 2. I'm not very hyped for it, but perhaps your words will convince me to try it out ;)
Okay, I laughed too hard when Matt rolled out in a wheelchair. But then Rob rolled out in his wheelchair with the fucking Hawking voice and I lost my shit. Nearly spat out my drink.
@Area5 crew, Please review Eliminate from ngmoco. It is a FREE(meaning you don't have to buy a thing) iPhone FPS that has me sitting infront of my powered off hdtv, ps3 and Xbox playing an iPhone game at home.
My plus+ id is liquidmutiny ad me
Oh, I miss Rob Bowen! Glad he made a (hilarious) appearance at the end.
i have write some more thing about halloween see www.xtreamdesign.com
i hate you guys for making me want an iphone... and i want to be master chief too. did u guys see Costume Fail? (best costume of the year)
Loved the show!
Good episode guys. LOL I love the end, "I'm bald!".
So hey Matt C. I'm going to San Fran this weekend. If I gotta check out one place (restaurant, store, attraction, etc.) where should I go? I'm asking since you guys always showcase San Fran in your show. Seriously, you guys should be a dual podcast. San Fran Tourism/Video Games.
Well keep up the good work, and cant wait to see all the content coming in the next couple of weeks with the big releases. Nice job tonight though
There is something very addictive about Borderlands, it is not perfect. I have had to exit and restart from last save point, due to getting stuck behind rocks (twice), frame rate slows when there are a large number of enemies on screen and NPC’s were done better 10 years ago.
But for the last week I have played nothing else. The drop in/out coop is great. Finding new guns and equipment really does make exploration exciting. This added to the character progression tree, makes Borderlands one of the most FUN games of the year.
Regards
Al
Ok, I put this one up on N4G.com. Everyone check it out so it hits the top of the page!
Great show guys, I might buy Borderlands. I will eventually get R&C!
LOL I just posted this link on my blog. This is hilarious.
@Novato ... I'm gonna have to put a spoiler alert on your posts from now on ;)
@Adam (&@Novato) ... actually, people only got to see Modern Warfare 2 at a review event in Los Angeles. We didn't get to go. We're going to have to cover that game at retail. As for Gay Tony? Well, it's a longer game and needed time to be played. I'm gonna have to put spoiler tags on your comments, too ;)
@Sune ... I'm of course looking forward to MW2, I just have no idea how good the single-player is going to be vis a vis the multiplayer. I hear good things from my peers, however. It *will* be on the show, just not sure when.
@nart ... haha! Yeah, they iPhone is turning out to be a must-have platform just like all the others. Sorry about that ;) -- and no, I haven't seen costume fail yet.
@Robert H. ... thanks! We love you for watching!
@Al ... yeah, Borderlands has some issues, but I totally agree about how fun it is in spite of its flaws. The sales for that game were very strong. There will be a sequel. Hooray for the success of new IP!
@Protopet ... thank you thank you! Any new eyeballs are welcome eyeballs :)
Paranoid in Guitar Rock 2 was a cover as well:P
Easily the funniest ending of an episode thus far! I was quite literally crying from laughing at Rob's insanely spot on Stephen Hawking impression, and the ensuing shame I felt for laughing at Hawking's misfortune was quickly washed away by Matt's bold proclamation of baldness. Very impressive how the show just seems to get better and better each week, kudos!
Gotta say I love you Matt for bringing up the problem with Rock Band's pads when performing dual taps, the rock power activation, and holding of the iPhone to play it. Felt kind of weird being one of the only people making a deal of it.
Though, I will say that my double tap issue is a tad different from yours. I don't have problems with overshooting, but if I need to double tap tabs that are right next to each other (like yellow and red) the iPhone's touch surface gets confused and instead presumes that my double tap (with both thumbs) was in fact a single tap for which ever was tapped first. Really frustrates me when playing drums.
Also, the way I hold the iPhone when playing is with my hands in a "W" formation, with my thumbs making the "/" and "\". It's weird at first but I've found it to be the most stable when activating the rock power.
Anyways, loved the show and am even more pumped for Borderlands.. just wish I had the cash now :p !
As always a great show, however, I have to say the Stephen Hawking thing... kind of ridiculous. And I don't mean in the hilarious way.
I am not usually the kind of person who says, "Hey that joke went to far" but I feel like that one kind of did... I dunno, I just don't think it is so appropriate to make fun of someone like that. Anyway, just my two cents.
Keep up the good work guys.
Any chance of a DS focussed episode before christmas? Gotta buy the right gifts to make sure the nephews & nieces grow up to be the best gamers they can be.
@GDW ... yeah, that was my biggest issue with that one. I think 3 pads is pretty much the sweet spot for these kinds games on the iPhone unless you're working in landscape mode.
@Shawun ... I'm sorry you felt that way, but we weren't making fun of Stephen Hawking--we all think he's pretty damned badass--we were making fun of bad costumes. That make sense?
@Simon ... We don't really do platformed-themed episodes intentionally. It's mostly based off whatever games we can get people to play for a given week and what we have on hand. We always love suggestions though, so if you have any please pass them along! And yes, I understand that you're asking for *our* suggestions ;)
@Novato
I don't think modern warfare 2 will be in the show because they might receive the game late.
any chance of doing a review of gameloft's earthworm jim for the iphone?
http://fingergaming.com/2009/10/21/gamelofts-remake-of-earthworm-jim-premieres-in-app-store/
The Stephen Hawking bit had me laughing, but it was mostly because of your reaction Matt. haha
just wanted to let you guys know I just sat down to watch all the shows I missed this week (the office, 30 rock, community, south park, co-op) and when I had them all ready to go via hulu and itunes, I chose co-op to watch first. not only have you reached the same level as those great shows in my mind, but I legitimately chose to watch co-op over all the others. thought that might brighten your day :)
@john shab ... given that we LOVE all of those shows and we all watch them every week for our water-cooler chats, I can't begin to tell you how flattering that is :)
@himanshu ... There's always a chance ;) -- I'll give it a looksee and see if it's something we want to cover. Thanks for the heads up! I heard it was coming out but hadn't realized it had hit.
@Mattmythbuster ... *ding ding ding* you get the prize! This was one of those things where they have a review "event" where instead of sending people copies of the game they bring reviewers to a location and lock them away in a room to play the game for a day or two. I don't really like 'em. Particularly for multiplayer games wherein the only way to get the authentic multiplayer experience is to play online with the rest of the world after the game has been released. We're gonna do that and make it part of a "multiplayer gaming" episode.
YOU GUYS JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND MY BEAUTY!
Greatest line in the episode. Loved it guys.
I can't put my finger on it - but the party scene and "animated" last week had a Napoleon Dynamite tinge to them. Whoever's doing the writing has kicked it up a notch. Once again becoming my Can't Miss show for the weekend.
Great episode guys! I don't know what it was about this episode, but it made me laugh more than any other skits you've done. I find that your personalities match up very well for what you guys do, especially Matt I loved your expression! I'm glad I donated!
Narrative this week was awesome, kind of reminded me of the earlier narratives from the early episodes. I was glad to see some Rob B at the end too, the Steven Hawkings costume was kickass.
I like the wide variety of games they cover and the depth given to each review, but they devote large segments of the show on iPhone games which I'm not into. Otherwise, CoOp is the best video game SHOW period... not just podcast/webcast/internet... I mean best video game SHOW created to date, including commercial TV.
I can't believe that dude mixed 1/2 beer with 1/2 merlot.... TOTALLY GROSS!!!! Who does that??? Is this some hokey CA thing b/c in the mid-west, you drink your beer with your beer.
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I have to comment because I've been critical of your story elements in the show. I still think it's unnecessary and cringe-worthy at times, but I really have to say this one was worth it. haha Great job.