Games podcasts – Quarter to Three

Our guest this week is Ryan "Ohmwrecker", formerly of Voodoo Extreme and currently of the Masked Gamer channel on Youtube. Naturally, we've all got a lot to say about XCOM. But that's not all that's happening this week. We've got a thing or two to say about the "more guts, more glory" Diablo III patch, the shear delight of Carmaggedon on the iPad, Sony's latest overseas misadventures, why you're not playing Mechwarrior Online right now, what makes Chivalry no mere War of the Roses, and how Dwarf Fortress is a gateway game that can lead to a nasty Towns habit.

Jon Shafer joins Jason McMaster for a trip to the Tokyo Jungle. You can bet Axl Rose never had to deal with an angry Pomeranian in a fencing mask. Jason professes his love for Dishonored and both gentlemen agree that it's a fine week to kill alien invaders in XCOM.

Resident Evil 6 has some, uh, unique approaches to multiplayer. What other games stand out for their new and different approaches to multiplayer? Also, don't miss Tom Chick's exclusive review of FIFA Soccer 13 and Jason McMaster's return to the olden days of 2.5D gaming.

Are you busy training up your "don't-call-me-Pokemon!" battle pets in World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria? We take a break from not playing the World of Warcraft expansion to consider other games within games. Then we consider our options for the Wii U launch, how to get the most out of Torchlight 2, which platform is best for Borderlands 2, and how long it's going to take for this whole Guild Wars 2 thing to blow over.

Torchlight II developer Travis Baldree explains why the game came out when I'm trying to level up my character in Borderlands 2. He also reveals why you can fumble but never miss, the unique challenges of adding multiplayer, and how the best kind of permadeath is monster permadeath. He even lets slip some inside tips for how best to enchant your pants.

It's weeks like this that make us pine for the good old days when companies would make convenient six-hour games with multiplayer on the side that no one is going to play anyway.

Nintendo announces the new controller for Bayonetta 2! We're excited! You? Plus some enthusing and naysaying about FTL, followed by more inability to not talk about Guild Wars 2.

After saying a few words about the sexual harassment suit against Stardock, we briefly try not to talk about Guild Wars 2. Tune in to see how well that worked out.

Chris "I'm Not Going in the Water" Hornbostel joins us this week to talk about what we love about Guild Wars 2, what we don't love about Guild Wars 2, and the anecdote we would tell to express what's special about the game. You can find us in the game at tomchick.6739, mcmaster.9567, and triggercut.2059.

In our final B.G. (i.e. before Guild Wars 2) era podcast, Brandon Cackowski-Schnell joins us to talk about Darksiders II. Jason McMaster nearly masters the new co-op mode in Team Fortress 2. And Tom Chick reviews Madden NFL 13 (pictured).

It's a busy week with McMaster's new Kickstarter in effect. Go here to check out Cap'n Patch! Is it any coincidence that McMaster is making a game about a spider and is also terrorizing the Bug Princess 2 leaderboards? In other news, Secret World announces an upcoming celebrity appearance sure to excite any fan of the hit movie Armageddon, Orcs Must Die 2 is going to force you to stop using that same trap combo over and over again, and you don't have to buy the new Payday: The Heist DLC to enjoy it. Plus some Sleeping Dogs, Darksiders II, Hybrid, Modern Warfare 3 chaos mode, and Jamestown.

This week we welcome Ian, a shmup expert who posts on the forum as Angrycoder. What's the deal with these crazy Japanese games? Which ones are good? What makes them good? And is the iPad really the best platform for shmups, or is Tom just more misguided than usual? Also, some Zynga vs. EA, Steam's latest move towards world domination, a little more Fallout: New Vegas, a bit of Transport Tycoon, a frank discussion of Aquaman videogames, and a two-word early review of Sleeping Dogs.

This week Rob "Chaplin" Harvey, an actual mechwarrior who was at an actual Mechwarrior Online tournament, joins us to talk about the upcoming free-to-play shooter and whether or not he won the tournament. We also take a gander at Mechwarrior Tactics, the upcoming free-to-play strategy game. Basically, it's all things Mechwarrior this week. Because there's not much else to talk about in the middle of summer. Oh, wait, there is! Summoner Wars, the Oculus, Telltale's Walking Dead games, Orcs Must Die 2, and Smite. But other than those things and the resurgence of Mechwarrioring, there's not much to talk about.

Is Summoner Wars a truly awful game, or just an awful game? Tom Chick debates Dave Perkins on the merits of this latest port of a tabletop game to the iOS. After the dust has settled, Jason McMaster joins in to talk Zynga stock, Fez patches, Blood Bowl injuries, Neuroshima Hex DLC, and jerks who are good at Age of Empires III. Plus the latest on Guild Wars 2, Secret World, and a few jabs at that Batman movie for good measure. If you listen to just one Qt3 Games Podcast this week, make it this one!

Tom Chick discovers there's no better way to be flu stricken than with a brand new iPad. And Jason McMaster discovers a game on the Steam sale that he should have played when it came out. Plus, bad news for Bioware, the Torchlight developer's triumphant smackdown, a minor smorgasbord of boardgames, and what happens in Secret World when you party with McMaster (hint: it involves watching him die a lot).