THE RUNDOWN

• This week, we talk about what we’re playing, take several calls, highlight what we’re looking forward to at E3, read some e-mails and more!
• Like to play games on Steam? Check out The Final Score on Steam.

THE BIG TALK

• E3 is next week… what are we looking forward to?
  • More news on the Wii U (plus a rumor about a Blockbuster UK listing release games for Wii U)?
  • Unlikely to hear anything from Sony or Microsoft about new consoles.
  • Specific games: New Gears game by a new dev, Tomb Raider, Dishonored, Deadspace 3, Assassin’s Creed 3, etc.
• Trailer and details about Skyrim: Dawnguard
• NetherRealm Studios releases a trailer and preview for a new DC Comics-based fighting game Injustice: Gods Among Us

OLD SCHOOL

• South Park Rally – Playstation One
• “South Park Rally is a kart-style racing video game, based on the American animated comedy series South Park. Developed by Tantalus and published by Acclaim in 2000 – near the end of the third season of the show – for PlayStation, Windows (PC), Nintendo 64 and Dreamcast systems, the game includes many characters, vehicles, locations, items and other features inspired by or featured on the series. Development work on the title – based on Tantalus’ own concept – was done on three platforms simultaneously, and took seven months.

  South Park Rally was the third video game based on the series. Previously Acclaim has also published the games South Park (1998) and Chef’s Luv Shack (1999). South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone had little to do with the development of South Park Rally (as well as the two other Acclaim releases), although they did contribute a number of original lines of voice acting for it, as they do most of the voices on the show. Parker and Stone have publicly criticized Acclaim and the quality of the games. South Park Let’s Go Tower Defense Play! was released in 2009, nine years after Rally, by a different publisher. Some game critics find this game a spoof of Mario Kart 64.

  The Mayor of South Park has decided to stage a rally series that will take place through the heart and outskirts of the town. Favorite characters from the popular television series are included and are able to make use of destructive automobiles, including police cars, mini Porsches, Big Gay Al buggies, wheat bags, jeeps and dozens of other vehicles.
  Characters who appear in power-up form include Mr. Hankey, Saddam Hussein, the Underpants Gnomes, Frida, Sparky and Kitty.”

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THE RUNDOWN

• This week, we talk a lot about what we’re playing, including a lot of talk about Diablo III and Tera Online. Nicole tells us about Walking Dead, Chapter 1 and talks about her experience with Warhammer 40K: Space Marine. Plus, we take several calls and more!
• Like to play games on Steam? Check out The Final Score on Steam.

THE BIG TALK

• Despite all the rumor and freakout, 38 studios releases a fly through video of Copernicus.

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- Direct MP3 Download
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THE RUNDOWN

• This week, we talk about what we’re playing, take some calls, we read some e-mails and more!
• Like to play games on Steam? Check out The Final Score on Steam.

THE BIG TALK

• Elder Scrolls MMO announced. To be made by former Dark Age devs.
• Black Ops 2 looks kind of awesome! 2025 is the setting, and lots of flashbacks to the 80′s.
• No Tribes coming to consoles
• Pokémon Battle Royale’ Art Paintings
• EA Asks for “It” – A conversation about Origin.

OLD SCHOOL

• PaRappa the Rapper – Playstation One
• “Parappa the Rapper is a rhythm video game for the Sony PlayStation created by Masaya Matsuura (the former leader of the Japanese “Hyper Pop Unit” PSY S) and his NanaOn-Sha company.

  Considered ahead of its time in its day, PaRappa the Rapper is somewhat similar to the classic 1980s game Simon, in which the player is required to repeat a sequence of sounds and buttons. PaRappa the Rapper demands that the player not only get the sequence correct but also the timing of the sequence, in a call and response format. The game provides small portions of spoken vocals that are triggered when the appropriate buttons are pressed. Pressing the buttons in the correct order, with the correct timing, provides an intelligible imitation of the words spoken by the character; pressing the buttons in an incorrect order or with incorrect timing rewards the player with unintelligible gibberish.”

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THE RUNDOWN

• This week, we talk a lot about what we’re playing, take lots of calls, Brian gets the DotA2 beta, we read some e-mail and more!

THE BIG TALK

• Nicole tells us about The Art of Video Games exhibit at the Smithsonian, and we get a call from a listener who went as well. Want to see some of the exhibit for yourself? Check out Nicole’s Flickr gallery of the exhibit.
• Playstation All-Stars: :Battle Royale is coming.
• Wii U and 3DS to offer first-party games via the Nintendo eShop.
• Torchlight II now available for pre-order with bonuses! Coming Summer 2012
• Tribes: Ascend has more than 800K registered accounts!

OLD SCHOOL

• Skull & Crossbones – Arcade
• “The game’s player characters are One-Eye (player one) and Red Dog (player two), pirates on a venture to find a wizard stole their treasure. Skull & Crossbones has seven game levels. In some ports of the game, the first six levels may be played in any sequence: One-Eye’s Ship, Pirate’s Ship #1, Castle Keep, Pirate’s Ship #2, Far-Eastern Castle, Pirate’s Ship #3, and Medusa’s Lair. Once the first six are complete, the game advances to the seventh and final level, the Wizard’s Lair.

  In the Arcade version the players are also given four opportunities to change the difficulty of the game, when they defeat the captain of each of the three pirate ships and have a chance to get a opportunity item in the Castle, Ninja Lair, and Beach Cave. However the levels are forcibly played in the written sequence above. In two player, there are a few specific changes to how the game plays. Players must duel at the end of the level to see which gets the invulnerability item in the levels that have them (The non Pirate Ship levels)”

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THE RUNDOWN

• Nicole, wouldn’t Mateo look adorable in his very own Captain’s Chair, just like James T Kirk? Now he can with the inflatable Star Trek captain’s chair one of the many awesome goodies available from our friends at ThinkGeek . Or if you prefer Star Wars to Star Trek, they don’t take sides in the franchise wars over there and offer things like their new Lightsaber Umbrella too. You can find the geekiness that is right for you at ThinkGeek by going to tiny.cc/tfsthink
• Too many awesome games available to buy them all? Want to try the latest blockbuster before you plunk down the $60 to buy it? Gamefly offers an easy and affordable rental service that is pretty darn good. Use our link and you can get a free 10 day trial plus they just started a new deal this weekend where your first month is only $5.95! Already a Gamefly member? You can also use our link when you check out the great prices on used games that they offer. And Gamefly also sells PC games now and has an Unlimited Play service for older games that is free for subscribers to the rental service. Check them out at tiny.cc/tfsgamefly
• Plus, we talk about what we’re playing, take your calls about DoTA 2, read an e-mail and more!

THE BIG TALK

• Kickstarter getting overrun with game projects. Nearing bubble status?
• Gamestop randomly drops price of PS3 160GB Slim (yes new..not used) to $199.99
  • Playstation 3 for $199.99
  • Console Purchase with Free Game
• Great Weekend For Betas:
  • Diablo III
  • Tera
  • Ghost Recon: Future Soldier
• Did you see the new Dishonored trailer from Bethesda?
• Halo 4 out in the fall!
• Kinect update is free for Skyrim.

OLD SCHOOL

• Punch-Out!! – Arcade
• “Punch-Out!! is a 1983–84 boxing arcade game by Nintendo. It was the first in a series of successful Punch-Out!! games that produced an arcade sequel known as Super Punch-Out!!, a spin-off of the series titled Arm Wrestling, a highly popular version for the NES originally known as Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!, and Super Punch-Out!! for the SNES. The arcade game introduced recurring video games characters such as Glass Joe, Piston Hurricane, Bald Bull, and Mr. Sandman.

  In the game, the player assumes the role of a green-haired boxer, known by three initials the player chooses when the game begins. During matches, the player’s boxer is viewed from behind as a wireframe so the opponents can be seen. The player must time his punches, dodges and blocks in order to defeat the opposing boxer. Hints are given as to the opponents next move by subtle eye changes (the white of the eyes turn from white to yellow), but the player must ultimately predict what moves the opponent will make and react appropriately.”

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