Games podcasts – Quarter to Three

Joshua DeBonis joins us to talk about Meriwether, his Lewis and Clark expedition RPG, fresh from its successful Kickstarter campaign and on its way to a hard drive near you this fall. We also talk about theme-based gaming, a 50 year old (50!) videogame that DeBonis claims is still fun, the fate of Darksiders developer Vigil, the Netrunner card game, and Path of Exile.

While Tom is away on a secret mission (THUNDER DOME), Josh Bycer from Game Wisdom and Kenneth Oum from Smug Bee Games join Jason this week. The conversation jumps from THQ to how Super Monday Night Combat kind of sucks but also kind of doesn't - and beyond! Don't tell anyone, but this show was done totally nude.

Ed Del Castillo from Liquid Entertainment joins us to talk about whether Metacritic is horrible. Should three stars for Liquid's newest game, the charming Paper Galaxy, translate to a 60% on Metacritic? What does that do to Liquid's future business? And should videogame ratings be more in line with movie ratings? Is the system broken, and if so, which parts are broken? Also this week: the future of violent games in public places, the future of unconsoles, and the future of Skylanders, plus a little Campus Life, a little Devil May Cry, and a little iOS discovery called Dungeon Defiler.

Owen Faraday from Pocket Tactics joins us to talk about the best iOS games of 2012, as well as news from CES. We also consider how XCOM is newly ripe for another playthrough, what the heck Zero Escape is, whether Sleeping Dogs will stand the test of time, and how Bridge Constructor Playground might be the most fun on the iOS since your Campus Life sorority dinged level 10.

Ascension world champion Dave Perkins joins us and then loses a very special Ascension match to Jason A. McMaster! If we don't drive you away by making light of cancer, same-sex relationships, and child murder, stick around for an illuminating discussion about collectibles in games. What makes for a good or bad collectible system? What's the difference between collectibles and treasure? Does Far Cry 3 do collectibles well? And how many of those pigeons do you have to shoot in Grand Theft Auto IV before something happens?

Chris Hornbostel joins us to close out the year by helping us answer questions such as how is it that Battle of the Bulge on the iPad has better multiplayer support than Hot Shots Golf on the Vita? How could any self-respecting fan of League of Legends and all things hobbit hate Guardians of Middle Earth? How do you pronounce the "Eador" in Eador: Genesis and why would you play it instead of a game with a much more pronouncable name like Heroes of Might & Magic? What do Spec Ops: The Line and Sonic Transformation Stars All Racing have in common? What will War Z be called when it can no longer be called War Z? And when you get back into Skyrim, should you play on the PC or the 360?

The hot topic this week is Steam in McMaster's living room. And zombies on Steam. And then not on Steam. Also, we open our Christmas gifts early in case of the end of the world.

You've read enough of Tom Chick burbling on about the games of 2012. On this week's podcast, it's time for Jason McMaster to burble on about the games of 2012!

Graham, who posts as Giaddon, joins us to talk Far Cry 3 (not pictured) and to set us straight on all things Twilight. We also discuss Assassin's Creed 3, Guardians of Middle Earth, Super Hexagon, and Unit 13. And look out, Pocket Tactics. We're coming for you!

In the wake of the Black Friday $200 Playstation Vita sales, this week's podcast is all about Sony's handheld. We invite guru Brad Grenz to teach us the ways of the Vita.

This week Jason is joined by Josh Bycer and Rob Harvey as they discuss Call of Duty, the Wii U, and Cook, Server, Delicious!

Rudy Basso is here to update us on Natural Selection 2 and the now free-to-play Star Wars Old Republic, one of which sounds pretty darn awesome. We also discuss whether you should skip Call of Duty: Black Ops II, which games you need to get when you pick up your Wii U, what the guys behind Fallen London are up to now (or should we say "down to now"?), and which downloadable Rock Band songs are going strong. Finally, no one will be seated during the thrilling finale, in which Tom Chick recants his Halo 4 review!

This week we talk about the aftermath of Hurricane Halo and the detritus left behind. We also talk about the fate of THQ and their stock, what's inside Peter Molyneux's Curiosity, whether Need for Speed: Most Wanted is better than Forza: Horizon, the part of Assassin's Creed 3 that you're missing, and just what the heck Sound Shapes is. Because, pictured.

Nick Diamon, aka Telefrog, joins us this week to discuss the scariest games we've ever played. Because, you know, it's Halloween. Then we talk some Assassin's Creed III, Halo 4, and Euro Truck Simulator 2. Yes, you read that right. There's a fourth Halo game!

It's not enough to have Rob Harvey join us this week to talk about Skylanders Giants. So we press into service a serious expert. But first, we talk Zynga, Sword of the Stars II, Dwarf Fortress, Fallen Enchantress, and "games journalism".