John and Garnett: First for Gamers Podcast

Our special E3 2014 episode is a crossover with the awesome 8-4 Play podcast. This epic 2.5 hour show is the same show on both feeds. This is also the first time on this particular show that we've been able to record while being in the same room at the same time. Enjoy!

With one week to go before the hugest of huge videogame extravaganzas in LA (E3 starts on June 9 with the big press conferences) we talk about what we'd like to see, rather than making predictions, and then we settle into some calm and collected criticism of all the millions of annoying things that Watch Dogs does that drives us both crazy. Also: why are games so grim?

Lots to talk about Watch Dogs...like the fact that Garnett hasn't played it yet - so John conveys it's hundreds of tiny problems, while still trying to retain some enthusiasm for what lies beneath a large number of issues.Also this week; more leaks to ruin any semblance of surprise from the announcements at E3 the week after next. New Batttlefield (with cops,) and a new game from Bethesda.

Some unintentioal aliteration in the epsidoe title there; Wii, Wolfenestein and Watch Dogs. This week, we talk about the enjoyment of games, and how "timeliness" of conversations shouldn't be a factor (prompted by Garnett playing a two year old Wii game) PLUS: John enthuses more than expected about Wolfenstein: The New Order. Also this week; we speculate on the way the phone hacking mecahnic came about in Watch Dogs, we make excuses for not having played Transistor yet, and make plans for E3 in a few weeks. All this packed into a longer-than-usual episode.Download First for Gamers for iOS and Android: http://frst.it

This week, Microsoft dropped its pre-E3 bombshell of releasing a Kinect-less Xbox One SKU (coming June 9) - so, of course we talk about that, and other Xboxiness. Naturally, this segues into E3 predicitions, and we pick-apart the totally fakey "leaks" that seem to be popping up online every other day. It's not they're not credible lists of games - they're just not "real" lists.Also this week: we're joined by the handsome Simon Cox who introduces everyone to the notion of a "Marmite game." What's a Marmite game? Well, it's something you either love or hate; so something like Mirror's Edge, for example.Subscribe to us on YouTube at http://youtube.com/firstforgamersDownload First for Gamers on iOS and Android: http://frst.it

This week, John and Garnett discuss the revival of arena based shooters, and why rebooting Unreal Tournament is such a good idea, whiz through the allegedly leaked Sony lineup for their E3 press conference next month, and talk about how Nintendo can get rid of the stench of failure that surrounds the Wii U. Our solution? Spend some of that warchest on some cool stuff. Maybe start with Square-Enix. Plus: Destiny, Driveclub, Japanese RPGs, Hearthstone, and Diablo 3. Also; if you want to know where to get a good curry in LA or the Bay Area, we have suggestions for you.Download First for Gamers on iOS and Android: http://frst.it

Much to talk about this week: It's May, so we're edging closer to E3 and the delicious next-gen games we will be shown there, so we talk a fair bit about that. We also think back to the previous generation and try and come up with the games that proved themselves as "next gen" last time around. It's actually a tougher exercise than you'd think if you're not prepared. Also: Destiny, Watch Dogs, Nintendo's behavior this year, the delights of great headphones, and much more.Download First for Gamers on iOS and Android: http://frst.it

Provoked by Namco's joke Soul Calibur Unbreakable Soul trailer, this week John and Garnett try and solve the whole free to play business (and fail to do so,) before moving on to a rare chat about sports games, and then settling into general Blizzard enthusiasm and Hearthstone love. Also, John managed to blag his way into the Heroes of the Storm alpha. So he talks about that quite a lot.Download First for Gamers on iOS and Android - http://frst.it

John and Garnett talk about what makes a great racing game (with much love for Burnout Paradise, Blur, and Split Second,) Geoff Keighley's excellent "Final Hours of Titanfall" ebook, the Ars Technica story about Steam download numbers and player behavior, plus lots of chat about how great Trials is. Also: we dig into the need for Microsoft to start taking Kinect a bit more seriously, and how they really need to kick off a big indie game jam or something. Plus: Hearthstone on iPad.Download First for Gamers on iOS and Android - http://frst.it

John and Garnett talk about pre-sequels (that void that exists between a prequel and a sequel, now given form thanks to Borderlands) and the growing number of next-gen "remasters" that are coming - sparked by the announcement of The Last of Us for PlayStation 4. Then they get distracted and talk about old Rockstar games, and there's a lengthy story about how Grand Theft Auto III ended up on the cover of the Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine back in 2001. Also; more Diablo 3 enthusiasm, and John is starting to really warm to the charms of The Elder Scrolls Online. He's still had no luck getting Garnett to play Titanfall though. Bonus! We stumbled upon a fitting sign off for each episode.Download First for Gamers: the live chat app for gamers - http://frst.it

John and Garnett talk about how significant the Amazon Fire TV device could be for games, the ongoing power of Metacritic, the genius of Blizzard's game design, plus Garnett's Diablo 3 addicition. Also: John (a long-term Elder Scrolls wonk) gives his first impressions of The Elder Scrolls Online, and then tries to convince Garnett that he should be playing more Titanfall.Download First for Gamers: the live chat app for gamers - http://frst.it

Let's call this first test episode an "alpha" or something. We call it "episode one" purely as it's the first thing that we're sharing with the world, but really it should be "episode zero" or just flagged as a test for a new format. The episode was recorded live as a Google Hangout, and then the audio posted as a podcast to download.In this episode we talk about virtual reality, eye-tracking cleverness, Titanfall, Infamous Second Son, Forza, Gran Turismo 6, and other goodies that we saw at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.Download First for Gamers: the live chat app for gamers - http://frst.it