Thu, 9 December 2010
We knife Assassin's Creed Brotherhood's multiplayer, try to remember Amensia: The Dark Descent, go full throttle with Need for Speed Hot Pursuit, get lost in Dungeons and Dragons' Castle Ravenloft and hide in foxholes with Combat Commander Europe. Music is 'I refuse to give up' by Rocavaco ft. MiElle
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Tue, 2 November 2010
Music is 'Outside Poolside' by Lasswell 1hr 33mins
Through the Ages review/overview (not ours) |
Sat, 9 October 2010
Humans have played boardgames for thousands of years - civilisation and gaming are indivisible. I speak to Dr.Irving Finkel, a British Museum expert in ancient Mesopotamian script, languages and cultures, about his interest in games and their development, genres and history. 1hr 29mins Music is 'Oh Dear Mr Williams - Tango? by Unreal Dm
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Wed, 15 September 2010
We discuss Frozen Synapse, a top-down, quasi-realtime tactical shooter, sidestep with the demo of Platinum Games' Vanquish and tease you about a video review of Puzzle Strike aka Puzzle Fighter the board game. 34 mins.
Staats' Frozen Synapse video. Uploaded with the game's YouTube feature. He is the green player. Notice how, just before his rocket is fired, the top-right red player steps back, waits, then goes forward, avoiding the rocket.
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Fri, 3 September 2010
Is Castlevania: Harmony of Despair a new game with a retro heart? How come someone who hates JRPGs can play Squeenix's 'The World Ends With You'? And what if George Lucas made The Lion King?
39 mins.
The World Ends With You / gameplay video
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Mon, 23 August 2010
We cover open worlds and 'emergent' gameplay Minecraft, talk about the best support character in gaming with Monday Night Combat and, sadly, end up being a bit mean about Moon Taxi - a game that's all about stories, but doesn't tell them very well.
49 mins.
Music is 'I Don't Hurt My Love (pseudo-format Mix)' by Vidian
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Tue, 6 July 2010
In this in-depth interview, we speak to David Sirlin, author and videogame / boardgame designer, about Playing to Win, balancing games and more. He was lead designer on Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD Remix and re-balanced Puzzle Fighter HD. His boardgames are partially inspired by videogame genres. Note: the iTunes entry may mistakenly say he was lead designer on Puzzle Fighter HD.
1hr 27min / 62 mb The mysterious book Trip Hawkins mentioned. Music is 'U Teru S. Birth of Souls' By Loveshadow |
Wed, 30 June 2010
We rock up with an alternative to 'traditional' game of the year awards - you came up with the categories, you chose the winners. From the weird to the wonderful, these awards are as much about you as they are games - can you guess which title won 'best stubble'?
42 mins / 50 mb
Music Recommender by Dokashiteru Parks on Fire (California Burning mix) by DJ Rkod Pulse (George Ellinas Mix) by George Ellinas Vacuuux 1 by DJ Adori Scott Waves to April's Salty Grace (Dance Mix) by J Lang Emergence Drum N Bass Remix (Rough Mix) by I Am The Stev Remember the Name (Introduction) by Jay Sinkie Christopher Willits Remix by Acumen
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Mon, 14 June 2010
Yes, we're taking on 'game of the year' awards. They're done too early, have plodding categories and don't reflect what we really feel about games. Come up with a category for an award and tell us which 2009 game wins it and why. Tell us Your name and where you're from The category you've come up with and game you've chosen to win it Your explanation of the category and game How to send them Leave a comment here. Leave a phone message: +44 (0) 20 7193 5323 By email: hatchetjobshow@gmail.com (You can send an Mp3 of your entry to that address too. Under 10mb and one minute or less please.)
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Mon, 31 May 2010
We drive by ModNation Racers, mosey on down to Red Dead Redemption (with some light-ish spoilers) and zoom through Race for the Galaxy.
1hr 2 min / 59 mb
Music is 'Revolve' by hisboyelroy.
Race for the Galaxy on PC and Mac
Understanding the symbols in RftG
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Mon, 17 May 2010
We chat about buying a PSP 3000 and rumoured PSP2; argue about Halo Reach and whether its gameplay lets it down; get an AMerican perspective on FIFA 10 (and indulge in some class warfare) and talk about killing demons and fisticuffs in Hell in Arkham Horror. 1hr 11min. / 59mb Music is 'Bored on Your Backside' by Trifonic.
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Thu, 6 May 2010
We touch on Super Street Fighter IV, crack up at Danjo's Dwarf Fortress adventures, get confused by Power Grid and feel bad about killing creatures in Monster Hunter Tri.
69 min. / 59 mb
Dwarf Fortress tutorial vids (thanks to Tiger Walts).
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Sun, 18 April 2010
We review Apple's iPad and some games, discuss Splinter Cell: Conviction, talk about Kingdom Hearts on the DS and more. As an experiment, this show is unedited. Please let us know what you think.
1hr 20min / 67 MB
Music is 'Inspire Me Forever (Secret Anomaly Jonez Mix)'.>
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Mon, 5 April 2010
We chat about boardgames Pandemic, Dominion, Cash 'N' Guns, Bang and Puerto Rico. We also talk about FPS tactics and leadership and laugh about Just Cause 2 on the 360 and PS3. 1hr 12 min. / 58 MB Music is 'Brad and Chuck' by MC Jack in the Box. HatchetJob.com YouTube channel.
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Sat, 6 March 2010
We discuss the idea that games should be bundled with books and movies that deepen the player's understanding of the game and the world at large. Music is 'How Do I Make You See v1' by Ivan Chew. 55 min. / 45 MB Music is 'How Do I Make You See v1' by Ivan Chew
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Wed, 24 February 2010
Games should be bundled with books and movies that deepen the player's understanding of the game and the world at large, benefiting consumer and retailer at the same time. Gamers are complex people. We're consumers of all sorts of different products, for different reasons and at different times. We mix and match what eat, read, wear, listen to and watch; each feeding into the other, all enriching what we feel and know. Let me give you an example. In the film Lord of War, Nicholas Cage plays an arms dealer selling to African warlords and getting paid in diamonds. In the game FarCry 2, one plays a mercenary in Africa, undertaking work for competing warlords, working with arms dealers and getting paid in diamonds. At some point in FarCry 2, I can't remember exactly when, the game's world made sense to me (and took on some aspect of reality) because I'd seen Lord of War. I realised the futility of what I was doing, the inevitability of the arms dealers, the real cost of the (blood) diamonds and so on. The film enriched my experience of the game and vice versa. Thus, it seems to me that game bundles shouldn't comprise other games, accessories or doodads, but books and DVDs; indeed anything that deepens your experience of the game and, ideally, vice versa. WWII FPSs could come with the Band of Brothers series or even a documentary on post-traumatic stress disorder. Uncharted 2 could come with a book on Nepal. (The latter is an example of how a big title could drive sales of lesser known products.) For retailer-created bundles (as opposed to games publishers) companies such as Amazon will have a competitive advantage, since they are likely to have the most products to choose the bundle contents from and be able to ship all items to the customer at once. However, the bundle could be anything as long as there is some way for the retailer to fulfil the order and the customer to make use of it. For example, if an independent games shop was near an Italian restaurant, they could have a coupon, bundled with Assassin's Creed II, which gave the customer access to a special 15th Century menu and discount at the restaurant. If you wanted a more outlandish, though entirely plausible suggestion, Afrika, the PS3 game, could come with an offer for safari park tickets. Endless Ocean 2, for Wii, with ones for an aquarium. Don't breakfast cereals have this sort of offer all the time? (One thing to note -- I've not mentioned digital delivery precisely so you can think of your own examples; I'm sure you thought of quite a few others already.) As I said at the beginning, gamers are complex people whose diverse interests feed into each other, constantly making us update our beliefs, reappraise what we know and deepening our knowledge of the world at large and the subject at hand. Why should game bundles be any different?
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Category:Games
-- posted at: 5:57pm UTC
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Mon, 22 February 2010
We chat about BioShock 2, specifically whether it works as a sequel and the things they could have done instead. We also touch on its multiplayer. We then talk about MAG, a PS3-exclusive FPS. 60 mins / 57mb Music is Brad Sucks - Never Get Out (Kirill Skovpen remix).
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Sun, 7 February 2010
We discuss Mass Effect 2 and RPG Cliches, touch on Bayonetta and its health mechanics and talk about the Battlefield Bad Company 2 demo. 46 min. / 40 MB Music is 'These Are The Moments' by Omni Vista.
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Sat, 23 January 2010
We discuss Dragon Age: Origins, Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes, The Saboteur, iPhone games, Star Trek Online and its lifetime subscription and read out your emails.
54min / 51mb Music is Souls of Da Insects by M3roadworx |
Fri, 15 January 2010
In this, laid back, two-man show, we chat about why Super Mario Galaxy is a technical game, games to play with pissed off wives, blindness and UI design and more.
35min. / 33mb Music is Impromptu in A by DoKashiteru. Bob Fosse & Billie Jean |
Mon, 4 January 2010
We brainstorm about how viral mechanics could be used to improve games and chat about a few other things as well (and veer off into a conspiracy-theory sounding segment).
38 mins. / 35mb African-Americans and medical experiments African fear of Western medicine Parasitic mind control Music is 'sometimes' by airtone. |