GameOn: Big Red Potion

Episode 29: The Ballad of Grand Theft Auto

SlamVanderhuge — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:16:31 +0000

With the release of the latest GTA episode, Sinan & Joe have lassoed the Digital Cowboys, Alex Shaw and Tony Atkins, onto the show to discuss The Ballad of Gay Tony, the maturity of the Grand Theft Auto series, and how the media continues to point at Rockstar’s epic as the cause of all of humanity’s problems.

The Regulars

Big Red Potion: http://bigredpotion.com
TheGameReviews: http://thegamereviews.com
Unified Gamers Network: http://unifiedgamersnetwork.com
Sinan’s blog, You Have Lost!: http://shoinan.com
Joe’s blog, Pixelated-Glee: http://pixelatedglee.wordpress.com

Guest Links

The Digital Cowboys: http://thedigitalcowboys.com/

Episode 28: A Real Horror Show

Sinan Kubba — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 22:51:28 +0000

As Halloween approaches, there’s a real horror show of a Big Red Potion waiting for your listening enjoyment. Joe and Sinan welcome back regular podcast monster Eddie Inzauto, and Eddie’s brought along his GamerNode pal Jason Fanelli to talk horror games. Specifically, this week’s show takes a look at a quote from Joystiq’s Ludwig Kietzmann on the visceral appeal of survival horror games, which he argues makes them stand out from the crowd. Yes, Joe finally gets to talk some Silent Hill up and up, but look out for Animal Crossing making an appearance as well. No, really.

The Regulars

Guest Links

GamerNode: http://gamernode.com
Eddie on Twitter: http://twitter.com/EddieInzauto

Episode 27: Charting Uncharted 2

SlamVanderhuge — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 12:44:04 +0000

This week’s adventurous episode is all about Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, as Joe welcomes everyday superstars Xantiriad and Jeffrey Matulef to talk about the ins and outs of Nathan Drake’s biggest journey. Unfortunately, Joe’s abandoning of Sinan in an ancient temple has left him unable to make this week’s show. Regardless, the boys were able to discuss the gameplay, characters, settings, and themes present within Naughty Dog’s latest, and also answer the eternal question: what makes Nathan Drake better than Marcus Phoenix?

The Regulars

Guest Links

Ninja Fat Pigeons: http://ninjafatpigeons.co.uk
Jumping Moustache: http://jumpingmoustache.blogspot.com/

Episode 26: Getting Our Emotions On

Sinan Kubba — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 18:28:35 +0000

Sinan and Joe welcome back returning guests Adam Standing, Senior Editor at Game People, and everyone’s favourite Paul Rooney - who has some exciting news for us during the show. But this week there’s five peeps in the pod because Sho & Joe were also lucky enough to be joined by Kellee Santiago, President and Co-founder of thatgamecompany, the developer behind PlayStation Network hits Flower and fl0w. But what’s the topic? This week harks back all the way to Episode 6 when the pod panel each nominated a game to represent gaming - but this time, Kelle, Adam and Paul each share their most emotional moment in gaming. And all three are picks you might not expect, but are all equally fascinating. So, sit back, relax and get ready to get your emotions on in this week’s Big Red Potion.

The Regulars

Guest Links

thatgamecompany: http://thatgamecompany.com
Game People: http://www.gamepeople.co.uk

Co-op Mode: Wolfenstein, Dead Space: Extraction & Shadow Complex

SlamVanderhuge — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 07:00:07 +0000

The first mid-week Co-op episode has arrived, and with it comes Nazis, zombies and a guy that looks like Nathan Drake. Join Sinan and Joe as they discuss the trials and tribulations of Wolfenstein, the genre-bending thrills of Dead Space: Extraction, and the Metroid-vania magnificence found within Shadow Complex. Also touched upon is Sinan’s Professor obsession, why Orson Scott Card is a douche, and which of the three above titles is most like a Sega CD-era Full Motion Video game.

The Regulars

Show Links

Opinion: The Complex Question, by Christian Nutt: http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=24627

Episode 25: Joe Just Broke Uncharted 2

Sinan Kubba — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 17:37:45 +0000

Twitter, MySpace, Facebook - love ‘em or hate ‘em, social networking is now an accepted part of our lives, but does that go double for the gamer? With things like Twitter embellishing the Internet-based convergence that’s occuring through things like forums, podcasts and news blogs, is the enthusiast gamer curling up into an inaccessible ball? In short, are the non-enthusiast gamer and the enthusiast gamer becoming increasingly segregated? Joe and Sinan are joined by returning guest journo extraordinaire Jared Newman and Chris O’Regan of SuperHappyFunTimeShow fame to talk this through, with conversation ranging from discussion of Uncharted 2’s Twitter updates to Charlie Brooker’s Gameswipe. All this, and two Brits talking about the weather, in this week’s Big Red Potion

The Regulars

Guest Links

Jared Newman: http://jarednewman.com
Jared on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ThePimpofSound
Chris O’Regan on Twitter: http://twitter.com/chrisoregan
SuperHappyFunTimeShow: http://www.shfts.com
SHFTS on Twitter: http://twitter.com/shfts
SHFTS on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/SHFTTheatre3000

Show Links

Why We Love To Hate Activision - And Might Be Wrong: http://kotaku.com/5371156/why-we-love-to-hate-activision–and-might-be-wrong
Gameswipe: Partly Aimed At The Non-Gamer, Held Aloft By The Gamer: http://shoinan.com/2009/10/01/gameswipe-partly-aimed-at-the-non-gamer-held-aloft-by-the-gamer/

Co-op Mode: Scribblenauts, Spyborgs, Wet & Unreal Tournament

Sinan Kubba — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 13:42:04 +0000

The end of an era, and the start of an era. Or something less melodramatic. Maybe. You’ll have to listen to the cast to find out. And if you do, you’ll get to hear Joe considering if Scribblenauts has failed to realize its potential, and if in turn Spyborgs wasn’t given the platform to realize its own potential. Then Sinan doesn’t make a tactless pun about action shooter Wet, before questioning whether or not modern shooters have something to learn from Unreal Tournament. All this, and less, in this week’s, er, fortnight’s Big Red Potion Co-op Mode.

The Regulars

Show Links

Digital Cowboys: Episode 123: http://thedigitalcowboys.com/2009/09/digital-cowboys-episode-123/

BRP Special 4: Mega VIP 64

Sinan Kubba — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 17:51:38 +0000

Alternative title: Best Console EVAR! It’s the return of our seriously not-so-serious battle royale, the UGN VIP show, and this time it’s to decide which of all the gaming consoles is the greatest of all time. That’s discounting the Virtual Boy, because otherwise there would be no contest. Joining Joe and Sinan to rumble in the pod are Ninja Fat Pigeon’s Xantiriad, GamerDork’s Leon ‘Ratso’ Cox, The Gamer Scene’s Fly, and special guest Jennifer Allen, UK Reviews Editor for GamesAreEvil and The Portable Gamer. Sit back and enjoy an hour of six adults bickering about which box was the best box of all, and remember, while we might say it’s just a bit of fun, the truth is that this is the most discussion in the history of podcasting. EVAR! NB: Apologies for the poor quality of Sinan’s audio feed in this week’s show, his mic packed in mere minutes before recording, and then attempts to record on a Macbook failed too (damn Macbooks), so he ended up using a landline - hence the muffling. Normal service resumed next week, promise.

The Regulars

Guest Links

GamesAreEvil: http://gamesareevil.com/
Ninja Fat Pigeons: http://ninjafatpigeons.co.uk
TheGamerScene: http://thegamerscene.com
GamerDork: http://gamerdork.net

Episode 24: Sinan’s Crazy Ideas

Sinan Kubba — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 09:28:21 +0000

Alternative, more accurate title: Exploring Exploration. Making his way from the fertile land known only as GamerNode, Eddie Inzauto fills in the guest seat for this week’s fiery episode. In it, Eddie, Sinan and Joe discuss exploration within video games, and the pod gets a bit heated when Sinan vents about conventional game design, while a bemused Eddie and Joe wonder what all the fuss is about. All this, and no senseless Braid-bashing, on this week’s Big Red Potion.

The Regulars

Guest Links

GamerNode: http://gamernode.com
Eddie on Twitter: http://twitter.com/EddieInzauto

Show Links

All The Sands Of Paradise: A Completist’s Burnout: http://shoinan.com/2009/09/11/all-the-sands-of-paradise-a-completists-burnout/
VS Node #1: Playing in the Sandbox: http://gamernode.com/columns/77-vs-node/7745-vs-node-1-playing-in-the-sandbox/index.html

Episode 23: A Journey of Character

Sinan Kubba — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 22:44:08 +0000

First Wall Rebate’s Shawn Rider is the solo guest this week, but that doesn’t stop our relentless trio from making the absolute most of a show topic, wandering off into tangents sans care. The history books will say this episode was about gaming protagonists, but the truth is that everything from cross-media writing to franchise mascots comes up in another epic of a cast. NB: Apologies for some odd audio hijinks with edits and quality this week, forgive us for we know not what we do…

The Regulars

Guest Links

First Wall Rebate: http://firstwallrebate.com
shawn rider dot com: http://shawnrider.com

Show Links

When silence is golden: http://www.brainygamer.com/the_brainy_gamer/2007/09/when-silence-is.html
Everyone’s Favourite Mute: http://shoinan.com/2008/01/21/everyones-favourite-mute/
BioShock - Second Opinion: http://www.gamecritics.com/bioshock-second-opinion
MTV News’ Stephen Totilo Vs. Level Up’s N’Gai Croal Vs. Their Readers on Grand Theft Auto IV. Final Round–Fight!: http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/levelup/archive/2008/06/23/vs-mode-on-grand-theft-auto-iv-final-round-fight.aspx
The Complete Vs. Mode Featuring MTV News’ Stephen Totilo Vs. Level Up’s N’Gai Croal on Portal: http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/levelup/archive/2008/02/11/the-complete-vs-mode-on-portal.aspx
Opinion: Shut Up And Save The World: The Silent Protagonist: http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=17652
Life On The Edge: http://www.gjob.co.uk/blog/?p=133
Surviving Impressions: http://shoinan.com/2009/01/06/surviving-impressions/