THE BIG TALK

• We talk Mass Effect 3… our thoughts and community rumblings.
• Diablo III gets a release date: 05/15/2012
• Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition arrives this summer.
• PONG® INDIE DEVELOPER CHALLENGE!
• The Art of Video Games Exhibit is now open at the Smithsonian and Nicole is going!

OLD SCHOOL

• Toe Jam and Earl – Sega Genesis
• “ToeJam & Earl is an action video game developed by Johnson Voorsanger Productions and published by Sega for the Mega Drive video game console. Released in 1991, it centers on the titular ToeJam and Earl—alien rappers who have crash-landed on Earth. As they attempt to escape the planet, players assume the role of either character and collect pieces of their wrecked spacecraft. ToeJam & Earl’s design was heavily influenced by the role-playing video game Rogue, and took from it such features as the random generation of levels and items. It references and parodies 1990s urban culture and is set to a funk soundtrack.

  The game was positively received by critics, who praised its originality, soundtrack, humor and two-player cooperative mode. It attained sleeper hit status despite low initial sales, and its protagonists were used as mascots by Sega. ToeJam & Earl was followed by two sequels: ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron and ToeJam & Earl III: Mission to Earth, released for the Mega Drive and Xbox, respectively. The sequels’ commercial and critical success was mixed. The game again received positive reviews in 2006 when re-released for the Wii’s Virtual Console.”

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THE RUNDOWN

• Mass Effect 3 deal from Origin (any platform) includes an exclusive AT12 Raider Shotgun –Large pellet spread ensures maximum coverage for close-range targets. Designed for superior rapid fire, optimizing the recovery time between shots.
• Planning to buy a PS Vita? Best Buy has games, accessories and bundles. Check out all their PS Vita items at tiny.cc/tfsvita.
• Plus, we talk about what we’re playing, take your calls, have a chatroom beta code giveaway, read an e-mail and talk a lot of PS Vita!

THE BIG TALK

• This week, we talk a lot about Nicole’s new PS Vita… How the games look, how much they cost, a few non-game apps available and more! We also talk with a listener from Sweden who purchased a PS Vita for another perspective.
• We gave away a Tribes beta key to the chatroom… were you listening live?
• We even get a call from none other than Eric Van Skyhawk himself at the end of the show to talk about his experience with his new XBox 360!

OLD SCHOOL

• Alex Kidd in Miracle World – Sega Master System
• “Alex Kidd in Miracle World is a platform game for the 8-bit Sega Master System video game console. It was first released in Japan on Saturday, November 1, 1986, and then was distributed to Europe, Australia and the United States in 1987. It was arguably the most recognised game in the Alex Kidd series, partly due to it being built into most Master System II consoles.
  It is the first game in the Alex Kidd series created for this character, and the most popular of all Alex Kidd games.
  Alex Kidd in Miracle World is primarily a platform game, which also incorporates strategy and roleplaying. The player must finish levels and overcome obstacles and scenarios in a 2D atmosphere. Throughout the eleven stages of Alex Kidd in Miracle World, Alex Kidd faces many monsters, plus the three henchmen of Janken the Great, before facing Janken himself.”

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