The Cane and Rinse videogame podcast

“I know this tunnel, and it knows me.” Would you Adam ‘n’ Eve it? Another nuclear apocalypse, and this one’s due in 2013! Leon, Tony, James and Karl head for the nearest tube station to discuss the coming to pass of 4A Studio‘s chilling prediction as shown in Metro 2033. As ever we also feature your forum posts, Three Word Reviews and some music from the game. http://media.blubrry.com/caneandrinse/caneandrinse.com/podcast/cane_and_rinse_issue_seventy_seven.mp3   1: Intro Theme by Alexey Omelchuk 2: Guitar song 1 by Alexey Omelchuk Cane and Rinse 77 was edited by Darren Gargette Do you have an opinion about this particular game or maybe about our podcast in general? Then why not venture into our forum and leave us your feedback. Whilst there you could also interact with our ever-growing and friendly community, in discussing past, present and future videogames (and lots of other stuff too!) and perhaps even arrange some games with like-minded individuals. Sound good? Come and say hello at The Cane and Rinse forum

“YOU DEFEATED” In the Age of Ancients, The world was unformed, shrouded by fog A land of grey crags, archtrees, and everlasting dragons But then there was Fire And with Fire came disparity. Heat and cold, life and death, and of course.. Light and Dark. Then, from the Dark, They came And found the Souls of Lords within the flame. James Carter, the first of the dead Darren Forman, and his daughters of chaos Sean O’Brien, the Lord of Sunlight, and his faithful knights And our special guest, from Ready Up, the furtive pygmy, Paul Rooney Prepare to die as we discuss From Software’s 2011 epic, Dark Souls. http://media.blubrry.com/caneandrinse/caneandrinse.com/podcast/cane_and_rinse_issue_seventy_six.mp3   Music used in this issue: 1: Opening Cutscene by Motoi Sakuraba 2: Firelink Shrine by Motoi Sakuraba 3: Taurus Demon by Motoi Sakuraba 4: Menu Music by Motoi Sakuraba 5: Ornstein and Smough by Motoi Sakuraba 6: Nameless Song by Motoi Sakuraba Cane and Rinse 76 was edited by Darren Gargette Do you have an opinion about this particular game or maybe about our podcast in general? Then why not venture into our forum and leave us your feedback. Whilst there you could also interact with our ever-growing and friendly community, in discussing past, present and future videogames (and lots of other stuff too!) and perhaps even arrange some games with like-minded individuals. Sound good? Come and say hello at The Cane and Rinse forum Brave warrior Darren shows you a decent chunk of that sometimes torturous (and tortuous) but profoundly rewarding Dark Souls gameplay (on the Prepare to Die Edition for PC): Darren is joined by James for some Dark Souls co-op, which also features an unfortunate invader in addition to some Ents, Golems and one bloody great big Hydra: Joshua takes a look at one of his favourite boss battles of all time, Artorias the Abysswalker. He’ll not only talk about how he feels that this fight succeeds mechanically, but also in terms of storytelling and characterisation: If you like these Quick Rinse videos you can find many more (plus a few other bits and bobs) over on the Official Cane and Rinse YouTube channel.

Grand Theft Auto IV was of course in fact the eleventh GTA title. Five years and three more later we’re still awaiting GTA V. Rockstar, you so crazy. Leon, Jay and Karl consider the merits of GTA IV, as well as its predecessors and successors with a lot of help from our wonderful community of contributors and Twitter Three Word Reviewers. Also: CHOONZ. Music used in this issue: Track 1: Theme from Grand Theft Auto IV by Michael Hunter Track 2: Kid Conga by Daniel Haaksman & MC Miltinho Track 3: Vagabond by Greenskeepers Cane and Rinse 75 was edited by Jay Taylor Do you have an opinion about this particular game or maybe about our podcast in general? Then why not venture into our forum and leave us your feedback. Whilst there you could also interact with our ever-growing and friendly community, in discussing past, present and future videogames (and lots of other stuff too!) and perhaps even arrange some games with like-minded individuals. Sound good? Come and say hello at The Cane and Rinse forum

“Hello.  Um…allow me to introduce myself…” “The name’s Resetti.  Mr. Resetti. Have we…met before?  At the…post office, perhaps?  Yeah, whatever. Anyway, let me just say thanks for buying this game, Animal Crossing. Um…on behalf of everyone at Nintendo, I…um…I… What was the next part?  Huh?  Aw, forget it!  That’s enough! Let’s get down to business, whaddaya say?  Because you may not know it, but you and I got issues to discuss. First, let me just tell you what it is I’m doin’ here.  Just so there are no misunderstandings later on. You, my friend, reset your game, didn’t you?  Huh?  Maybe on accident, maybe on purpose, but you pressed it. Or maybe you didn’t, huh?  Maybe you just went and turned the power off without saving.  Sound familiar? What?  Sorry, what was that?  I didn’t catch that last bit.  Did you just say I’m right?  You did what I said you did? Ah-HAH!!! All right, you listen and listen good, ’cause I get real angry when I gotta repeat stuff I gotta say. Resetting… It’s like pressing an emergency call button.  You press it and I gotta come read you the riot act.  See? Also, you gotta SAVE before you turn the power off.  If you don’t save, it’s the same as resetting. Well, OK… That last part?  I just added that.  Why?  Because I wanted to. Forget about other games for a minute, will ya? I’m here to suggest that you try and play THIS game, Animal Crossing, without  hitting RESET.  Got it? I know what you’re thinking: “Whether I hit RESET or not should be up to me. After all, it’s MY Nintendo GameCube!” Well, sorry.  Rules are rules, OK?  Know what I’m sayin’?  Let’s not make a big deal out of this.  End of discussion. This bein’ our first meeting, I’m gonna let you off easy.  Think of this as a friendly warning from me to you. Oh, one more thing.  This is my job.  I take it seriously.  So next time you see me, it’s no more Mr. Nice Mole. Oh, yeah, and another thing I guess I gotta say here… I really watched my… language…here today.  I’m not usually quite so… you know, so polite. If I’m bein’ truthful here, I gotta tell you… I been told I got what you call an acid tongue.  I sorta…scare people. Hey, that’s…who I am.  Nothin’ I can do about it.  What, I’m supposed to say sorry for bein’ me? Look, it’s nothin’ personal.  I ain’t tryin’ to be mean or cruel or nothin’. I ain’t a monster. For those people who get their feelin’s bruised easily, I gotta apologize in advance.  Just deal with it, OK? The deal is, I get paid to be nasty.  Crazy world, huh?  Ha ha ha ha ha!!! Well, I figure it’s about time for me to get outta here. So, uh… Yeah.  Here’s hoping I don’t have to come see you no more.  Now… SCRAM!” http://media.blubrry.com/caneandrinse/caneandrinse.com/podcast/cane_and_rinse_issue_seventy_four.mp3   Music used in this issue: 1: Title Screen by Kazumi Totaka 2: K.K.’s Intro by Kazumi Totaka (or possibly Kenta Nagata, Toru Minegishi or Shinobu Tanaka) 3: Nook’s Cranny by Kazumi Totaka (or possibly Kenta Nagata, Toru Minegishi or Shinobu Tanaka) Cane and Rinse 74 was edited by Sean O’Brien Do you have an opinion about this particular game or maybe about our podcast in general? Then why not venture into our forum and leave us your feedback. Whilst there you could also interact with our ever-growing and friendly community, in discussing past, present and future videogames (and lots of other stuff too!) and perhaps even arrange some games with like-mind...

“This is not a sermon. I will offer no insight.” It took four studios to make BioShock 2: 2K Marin, 2K China, Arkane and Digital Extremes working together to attempt to match (or better) what Ken Levine’s Irrational had achieved with the original BioShock. Were the fruits of so much labour as sweet and ripe as those which came before? Leon, Tony, Darren Forman and Sean O’Brien discuss whether they found this sequel to be a hit or a miss, plus as usual we chew over some of your forum posts and Three Word Reviews. http://media.blubrry.com/caneandrinse/caneandrinse.com/podcast/cane_and_rinse_issue_seventy_three.mp3   Music used in this issue: 1: Waking Up in 1959 by Garry Schyman 2: How She Sees the World by Garry Schyman 3: Research by Garry Schyman Cane and Rinse 73 was edited by Darren Gargette Do you have an opinion about this particular game or maybe about our podcast in general? Then why not venture into our forum and leave us your feedback. Whilst there you could also interact with our ever-growing and friendly community, in discussing past, present and future videogames (and lots of other stuff too!) and perhaps even arrange some games with like-minded individuals. Sound good? Come and say hello at The Cane and Rinse forum

In Ubisoft’s I Am Alive you play as an unnamed man trying to reach his partner and child in an America left in ruins by a mysterious “Event”. The protagonist’s journey proves to be almost as tortuous and harrowing as the development of the game. Tony is joined by Joshua Garrity and guest Brad Gallaway of GameCritics.com to pick the bones out of the rubble. Music used in this issue: Track 1: Man Theme by Jeff Broadbent Track 2: Track 2 by Jeff Broadbent Cane and Rinse 72 was edited by Sean O'Brien

“Hell, it’s about time.” From 1998 South Korea would never be the same again. It was that year that Blizzard decided to put aside their swords and wands for a brief moment, strapped themselves into some power armour, and brought out C-14 rifles. From the foundations laid down by WarCraft, StarCraft was born and met with much acclaim. Fans would be left waiting for over a decade for this celebrated game’s sequel. On top of that Blizzard had decided to turn the sequel into a quasi-trilogy. With the second StarCraft II installment, Heart of the Swarm, imminent, it’s time for Josh, Darren Gargette and guest StarCraft II enthusiast Scott Eunson to look back at 2010’s Wings of Liberty. http://media.blubrry.com/caneandrinse/caneandrinse.com/podcast/cane_and_rinse_issue_seventy_one.mp3   Music used in this issue: 1: Terran 2 by Glen Stafford 2: Public Enemy by Glen Stafford 3: Zerg 3by Glen Stafford 4: Protoss 5by Glen Stafford Cane and Rinse 71 was edited by Darren Gargette Do you have an opinion about this particular game or maybe about our podcast in general? Then why not venture into our forum and leave us your feedback. Whilst there you could also interact with our ever-growing and friendly community, in discussing past, present and future videogames (and lots of other stuff too!) and perhaps even arrange some games with like-minded individuals. Sound good? Come and say hello at The Cane and Rinse forum Darren tries to put your fears at bay with a less intimidating view of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, one of the more popular real time strategy games: Darren delivers a post-game commentary of a multiplayer match between four players on Blizzard Entertainment’s celebrated real time strategy game StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty:

“Grand Upper!” In the 80’s and 90’s you could hardly move through town for badly dressed punks being flying kicked by vigilantes with terrible haircuts. Fortunately these events were documented for posterity by such games as Renegade, Double Dragon, Final Fight and SEGA’s Streets of Rage series. Leon, Darren Forman, Karl and Dan Clark of The AI Bots podcast talk at some length about the Bare Knuckle trilogy, its predecessors and successors, including the sequels that never were. We also feature a truckload of your forum feedback and Three Word Reviews. http://media.blubrry.com/caneandrinse/caneandrinse.com/podcast/cane_and_rinse_issue_seventy.mp3   Music used in this issue: 1: Under Logic by Yuzo Koshiro 2: In the Bar by Yuzo Koshiro 3: Beatnik on the Ship by Yuzo Koshiro Cane and Rinse 70 was edited by Sean O’Brien Do you have an opinion about this particular game or maybe about our podcast in general? Then why not venture into our forum and leave us your feedback. Whilst there you could also interact with our ever-growing and friendly community, in discussing past, present and future videogames (and lots of other stuff too!) and perhaps even arrange some games with like-minded individuals. Sound good? Come and say hello at The Cane and Rinse forum

“I am Andrew Ryan, and I’m here to ask you a question.” “Is a man not entitled to the sweat of his brow? ‘No!’ says the man in Washington, ‘It belongs to the poor.’ ‘No!’ says the man in the Vatican, ‘It belongs to God.’ ‘No!’ says the man in Moscow, ‘It belongs to everyone.’ I rejected those answers; instead, I chose something different. I chose the impossible. I chose… Rapture! A city where the artist would not fear the censor, where the scientist would not be bound by petty morality, Where the great would not be constrained by the small! And with the sweat of your brow, Rapture can become your city as well.” For this issue Leon Cox, Tony Atkins, James Carter and Karl Moon discuss Irrational Games’ seminal 2007 first person shooter, Bioshock. http://media.blubrry.com/caneandrinse/caneandrinse.com/podcast/cane_and_rinse_issue_sixty_nine.mp3   Music used in this issue: 1: Andrew Ryan’s Monologue 2: Step Into My Gardens by Garry Schyman 3: Empty Houses by Garry Schyman 4: Cohen’s Masterpiece by Garry Schyman Cane and Rinse 69 was edited by Darren Gargette Do you have an opinion about this particular game or maybe about our podcast in general? Then why not venture into our forum and leave us your feedback. Whilst there you could also interact with our ever-growing and friendly community, in discussing past, present and future videogames (and lots of other stuff too!) and perhaps even arrange some games with like-minded individuals. Sound good? Come and say hello at The Cane and Rinse forum

“If you want guarantees, buy a toaster.” Formed by the three Yerli brothers, Frankfurt’s Crytek burst onto the PC gaming scene with the technically impressive FarCry in 2004. Three years later they followed up with Crysis, a near-future sci-fi FPS that remains one of the most graphically demanding games available. Is the beauty of Crysis and its 2011 multi-format sequel Crysis 2 only skin-deep though? Leon, Tony, Josh and Karl put their heads together along with members of the Cane and Rinse community. http://media.blubrry.com/caneandrinse/caneandrinse.com/podcast/cane_and_rinse_issue_sixty_eight.mp3   Music used in this issue: 1: Pyrrhic Victory by Inon Zur 2: Crysis 2 Theme by Hans Zimmer and Lorne Balfe Cane and Rinse 68 was edited by Sean O’Brien Do you have an opinion about this particular game or maybe about our podcast in general? Then why not venture into our forum and leave us your feedback. Whilst there you could also interact with our ever-growing and friendly community, in discussing past, present and future videogames (and lots of other stuff too!) and perhaps even arrange some games with like-minded individuals. Sound good? Come and say hello at The Cane and Rinse forum In this Crysis 2 Quick Rinse, Darren Gargette plays the opening of the game: In this Quick Rinse, Darren samples Crysis 3’s multiplayer component:

“It takes a strong man to deny what’s right in front of him.” Released in June 2012 for 360, PS3 and PC, Yager Development’s Spec Ops: The Line is a third-person military shooter set in a troubled Middle East where you play as a highly skilled US Delta Squad operative sent to yadda yadda yadda… But is there more to it than that? Leon, Tony, Josh and David Turner of Joypod presented by Spong.com attempt to find out. There’s also plenty of correspondence on the subject from the forum as well as your Twitter Three Word Reviews. http://media.blubrry.com/caneandrinse/caneandrinse.com/podcast/cane_and_rinse_issue_sixty_seven.mp3   Music used in this issue: 1: The Star-Spangled Bannerby Jimi Hendrix 2: Nowhere to Runby Martha and the Vandellas Cane and Rinse 67 was edited by Darren Gargette Do you have an opinion about this particular game or maybe about our podcast in general? Then why not venture into our forum and leave us your feedback. Whilst there you could also interact with our ever-growing and friendly community, in discussing past, present and future videogames (and lots of other stuff too!) and perhaps even arrange some games with like-minded individuals. Sound good? Come and say hello at The Cane and Rinse forum

Long Road Ahead Is anyone out there? Tony, Josh, Sean and James are still in the Cane and Rinse bunker as they try desperately to send the message far and wide to the remnants of civilization: Telltale Games’ The Walking Dead is here and it will not stop. If you are listening then use this account of Episodes Three to Five to forewarn you of the danger we all now face. The decisions you make now will shape the days to come. http://media.blubrry.com/caneandrinse/caneandrinse.com/podcast/cane_and_rinse_issue_sixty_six_part2.mp3   1: Main Theme by Jared Emerson-Johnson 2: Alive Inside by Jared Emerson-Johnson Cane and Rinse 66 Part 2 was edited by Sean O’Brien Do you have an opinion about this particular game or maybe about our podcast in general? Then why not venture into our forum and leave us your feedback. Whilst there you could also interact with our ever-growing and friendly community, in discussing past, present and future videogames (and lots of other stuff too!) and perhaps even arrange some games with like-minded individuals. Sound good? Come and say hello at The Cane and Rinse forum

“Clementine will remember that.” From a secure location, Cane and Rinse continue to podcast to any and all survivors. Be warned, point-and-click adventures have risen again and are walking the Earth. This is the first of two announcements to help you resolve what has happened and what Telltale Games’ The Walking Dead: Season One means for the future of videogames. Herein lie the classified details of Episodes One and Two as told by Tony, Josh, Sean and James. http://media.blubrry.com/caneandrinse/caneandrinse.com/podcast/cane_and_rinse_issue_sixty_six_part1.mp3   1: Main Theme by Jared Emerson-Johnson 2: Alive Inside by Jared Emerson-Johnson Cane and Rinse 66 part 1 was edited by Sean O’Brien Do you have an opinion about this particular game or maybe about our podcast in general? Then why not venture into our forum and leave us your feedback. Whilst there you could also interact with our ever-growing and friendly community, in discussing past, present and future videogames (and lots of other stuff too!) and perhaps even arrange some games with like-minded individuals. Sound good? Come and say hello at The Cane and Rinse forum

“Remember that pain! Next time it will be worse!” On the day that the snow turned into rain we recorded the second and final of our Shenmue podcasts. Yu Suzuki’s Shenmue II sees Ryo cross the East China Sea in his continuing pursuit of Lan Di, the man who murdered his father. Leon, Darren Forman, James and guest Dan Clark of The AIBots recall their experiences with what may well be the premature conclusion of Ryo Hazuki’s saga. As well as hearing from our beloved Cane and Rinse forumites, we also take your Three Word Previews of Shenmue III from Twitter. http://media.blubrry.com/caneandrinse/caneandrinse.com/podcast/cane_and_rinse_issue_sixty_five.mp3   Music used in this issue: 1: Guilin Forest by Yuzo Koshiro 2: Duck Race by Takenobu Mitsuyoshi Cane and Rinse 65 was edited by Darren Gargette Do you have an opinion about this particular game or maybe about our podcast in general? Then why not venture into our forum and leave us your feedback. Whilst there you could also interact with our ever-growing and friendly community, in discussing past, present and future videogames (and lots of other stuff too!) and perhaps even arrange some games with like-minded individuals. Sound good? Come and say hello at The Cane and Rinse forum

In the first of an occasional series of bonus podcast industry interviews, Leon speaks with Jim Crawford of San Francisco’s Twinbeard Studios*. Creator of the ambitious, surprising and hilarious browser based Flash game, Frog Fractions, Jim talks to us about Frog Fractions – his biggest hit yet – it’s influences and philosophy, as well as looking at Jim’s previous works including Futilitris and Molyjam production Huggy Bear. *As is often the case with these kinds of interviews this was recorded using a combined audio feed via Skype, which accounts for the slight loss of quality to the audio. Track 1: Rimushotto Bungie Jump! by Twinbeard Track 2: Get Your Ass To Mars by Twinbeard Frog Fractions soundtrack available via Bandcamp An interview with Jim Crawford was edited by Jay Taylor http://media.blubrry.com/caneandrinse/caneandrinse.com/podcast/cane_and_rinse_interview_with_jim_crawford.mp3   Do you have an opinion about this particular game or maybe about our podcast in general? Then why not venture into our forum and leave us your feedback. Whilst there you can also interact with our ever-growing and friendly community, discuss the past, present and future of videogames (and other stuff too!) and perhaps arrange some games with like-minded individuals. Sound good? Then come and say hello at The Official Cane and Rinse Forum.