With much trepidation I ventured out to Gamestop on my lunch break and looked at the game case for Star Wars: The Old Republic. It had been out for a few weeks and had been getting good reviews. I had given up on World of Warcraft for the second time in my life earlier in the year. Knowing my rabid addiction to the previous Star Wars MMORPG, Galaxies, I wondered if I could moderate myself and not fall hopelessly addicted. Maybe some of the negative things people were saying about the game would turn me off. After all, it IS a Bioware game, a developer I have disliked for a long time. Only one way to find out, play it for myself. So home I went, after sending a picture of the game to Weasel to make him jealous.

I was wrong on all fronts. I am addicted, and the game is pretty damn great.

JD, Jedi Badass

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There is a lot of rumor running around on the interwebs about the next round of consoles. While Nintendo is definitely going to showcase the WiiU this E3, unconfirmed sources to big gaming media, and flat out denials from Sony and Microsoft leave us with more questions than answers –Personally, I think we’ll be hearing something about the next Playstation and Xbox by E3, but thats just my gut talking.

This got me thinking–what do I want from the next round of systems? Do I feel that my gaming experiences on Playstation 3 and Xbox360 are lacking something that the next round of systems could provide? My wants may not be what you’ve heard elsewhere. Click the jump to check out my uninformed ramblings on the subject.

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I’m writing this not to brag but to explain.  Twitter friends asked what components I put in my new PC and I figured I would give some background.

I recently decided I wanted a new PC.  It started out with a random visit to the Apple Store when I bit into the pretty new iMac.  Man those are a work of art.  I’ve been excited for years to get into their photo editing, having iTunes that doesn’t crash and editing some videos.  I was pumped and brought it home.  It is a work of art, but I didn’t like it.  The machine is so pretty and the operating system is beautiful but I realized I didn’t like it.  Nothing wrong with it, I’m just used to Windows and didn’t see a reason to change.  So back it went.

I decided I was fine staying with my laptop.  It did what I needed.  Until JD and Weasel started playing Star Wars the Old Republic.  They played and I realized I wanted to play too.  OK back to the drawing board.  I wanted a nice laptop so I went to BestBuy and found the Asus G74SX-BBK which is a nice Republic of Gaming laptop.  Cost $1200 and she’s a beast for a laptop.  Core i7 with a terrabyte of memory, ran Star Wars beautifully but maxed around 60fps and saw instances of 37fps.  It had the Quad i7 and a GeForce Videocard but they were the mobile type so they’re just not as powerful.

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Turkey Time, Turkey Time! The Gamerhusbands get together for another epic mashup show of sorts.  Last week we recorded with Podcasting Heavyweights, The 40 Cast, and this week we bring another show full of laughs. With the help of Bob, Co-Host of the Lagfree podcast, JD and Kevin we discuss open world games and how Saints Row has changed Open World games. Someone check Maverick’s temperature, because he has positive things to say about Modern Warfare III. Sam continues his disgust with the HALO REMAKE MULTIPLAYER. Yes, Sam bought Halo one for the multiplayer??? He also received some constructive criticism from one of our AWESOME listeners! Finally, someone pointed the cross hairs at Sam instead of Maverick. We talk turkey…..Literally. How do you like your turkey? and what time is thanksgiving dinner served at your casa? We talk different cultures and arriving at the table, CPT. Good game talk, and we try to stay away from being douche……well, except JD. Enjoy!

In October I was able to get to New York Comic Con and experience it. If you’ve never been there, it’s a daunting experience. There’s just so much there including comics, Steampunk shops, LoTR, Video Games, Gamer Furniture, everything under the geek sun.

Accompanying me this year was my 8 year old and one thing that caught his eye and stayed with him was a silly little iOS game called Corpse Toss. He sat down and played it on the floor and was enthralled for 10 minutes. I eventually dragged him away with the promise that we would buy it when it came out.

The premise is simple, you are an undertaker and you like whacking corpses with shovels. The further the corpse goes, the more money you get. It’s a real simple mechanic too, reminiscient of kicking in football games. You have a moving bar dictating your height and another dictating your strength.

As you get money you can level up your character. The meters can go slower, the undertaker’s strength gets stronger, you can buy bombs and trampolines and buzz saws all of which increase the distance. There are also speciality corpses with different bonuses.

I enjoy the overall artistic theme of the program. It’s comically Halloween and fits very nice with this game.

This is a simple game but that’s where it shines. It’s easy enough to pick up for 5 minutes, good enough that my 8 year old played it for hours until everything was unlocked. It’s only a dollar and well worth the money. My boy says it’s one of the best iOS games he’s played.

If gangsters with open shirts, hairy chests draped in gold chains, and hot women in the car makes you smile, then Gangstar Rio might be a game to check out. Some of the AAA sandbox games are being released, and it’s perfect timing for one to come to our handhelds and tablet devices. Gangstar Rio grabbed my attention with the trailer. Some of the goodies include; heliocopters, planes, ATV’s, and big gune. These are essentials for a good open world. Hopefully it has an entertaining narrative too. This game is coming to Iphone, Ipad and Android devices, so most people will have a chance to play it.

I’m not even going to put into words what I just saw. The phrase, “if we think it, we can make it,”  applies to this toy box filled adventure. As many wait to payback Russia in Modern Warfare 3, or  chase down flying dragons in, The Elder Scrolls V:Skyrim, there is a choose your own adventure in Saints Row:The Third. Just watch the trailer, and i’m sure you will be wondering where to insert quarters.

It’s time once again for the New York Comic Con. Every year they have been improving this convention and I can’t wait to get there tonight! Check back here for coverage as I post my impressions.

Things I’m looking forward to right now include:
Locke and Key failed Fox pilot
Max Payne 3 and GTA3 (mobile edition) by Rockstar!
Mass Effect 3

Wish I could make it to the Podcast Beyond! live recording but it’s not going to fit into my schedule. I’m sure there’s thousands of other cool things I will report back on.

Sorry everyone. No Show this week. I was sick the latter part of the week. We don’t like to miss show, but sometimes it’s unavoidable.  We will be back this upcoming friday with a lot of content. We have been playing a lot of games, and I can’t wait to talk about them on the show this week. Thanks for hanging in there, and thank you for all of the support!

Also, The Gamerhusbands want to take a second and remember all of those who lost their lives on this day ten years ago. A thank you to the Armed forces and everyone who has sacrificed their life for this country. Your hard work and dedication will never be forgotten. Thank you

Marketing. Its amazing how industries are willing to spend oodles of money to figure out how to get into our wallets by way of our heads.

As we all know, marketing is no stranger to the gaming industry. The tactic of using a videogame to sell another product isn’t new either. We all remember those Xbox360 Burger King games right? How many of us remember Yo! Noid for NES? Well, there was one even before the Noid. It was a great big ‘ol glass pitcher of water, sugar, and powder granules of fruit flavor. The game was Kool Aid Man for the Intellivision, and it was the first time I fell for a marketing campaign hook, line and sinker. So, if you’re so inclined, allow me to set the Way-Back Machine to 1983, where a skinny, nerdy, young ShoNuff (I’m still nerdy. Skinny and young–not so much) learned an early lesson about marketing hype.

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