Games podcasts – Quarter to Three

Eric Flannum joins us to talk about the upcoming Guild Wars 2 and the classic RTS Sacrifice, each of which he designed. We also talk about Rocksteady's inadvertently announced Silver Age comics game, the new Ouya console, Le Havre on the iPhone, Magic: the Gathering 2013 on the iPad, and the horrors of Spec Ops: The Line. Plus an update on Secret World and a vote on whether or not Aquaman is lame.

Chris Hornbostle joins us for what was supposed to be a short pre-holiday episode in which we talked about Secret World for about an hour. Turns out there's a lot to say about Secret World.

Returning guest Seth Berkowitz joins us this week with some surprising comments about the new DLC for Mass Effect 3. We also discuss the state of Team Fortress 2, Ubisoft's latest PC cock-up, whether serious videogamers should be playing kiddie games like Lego Batman 2, and what might be the only must-have title on the Vita.

This week we welcome Marvel vs Capcom 3 game diarist Charles Wheeler to the podcast to tell us about the most dangerous arcade in Singapore, followed by a tentative, brief, and polite discussion about whether there's any place in videogames for rape. We do not once use the phrase "white knight" and no chairs are thrown, so it's a pretty poor excuse for how to get the most out of a controversial topic. Which leaves us to talk about Quantum Conundrum, Unity of Command, Valley Without Wind, Saints Row 3 DLC, and Age of Empires III. Yes, Age of Empires III. The Qt3 Games Podcast is nothing if not untopical.

This week, Chris Hornbostel joins us to talk about the latest developments in the 38 Studios story, as well as Neal Stephenson's swordfighting game, and how some people hate that Tom Chick hates Lollipop Chainsaw. Then we get into The Witcher 2, Sins of a Solar Empire, and Dragon's Dogma. Finally, I'd like to personally apologize for how rude everyone is during the closing music. What a bunch of jerks. (Artwork by Mr. Ripper Blackstaff)

This week Bruce Geryk joins us to talk about the Tom vs. Bruce Kickstarter, as well as Conflict of Heroes, Ratchet & Clank, Max Payne 3, Dragon's Dogma, and CD Projekt's new cyberpunk game, Cyberpunk. Geryk also fails two quizzes and confesses that he hasn't seen The Avengers.

The mellifluous Jon Rowe joins us for a special 3D edition of the podcast: Day Z, Defender Chronicles 2, and, of course, Diablo III. As our official Day Z correspondent, Jon walks us through the various ethical and moral dilemmas you'll face in this recent mod for Arma II. For instance, is it okay to shoot a guy in the face to take his beans? And what should you do when you see someone's flare lying on the ground? And is it a good idea to hang around on the beach to try to make friends?

You know, Diablo III isn't the only game in the world. But you'd never know that by listening to this week's podcast.

This week, we welcome Dan Archibald, the guy responsible for the wonderfully creepy iPhone game, Pandemic 2.5. Look out, Kate Winslet! Dan talks about the game's evolution, viral spread, and prognosis. We also discuss Warlock: Master of the Arcane, Starfarer, Portal 2, and the Bioshock Infinity delay. And Tom finally supports a Kickstarter project!

A Valley Without Wind developer Chris Park joins us to talk about Prototype 2, To the Moon, Age of Empires Online, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, and the rumored Xbox 360/Kinect subscription bundle. And, of course, A Valley Without Wind, a curious game of infinite exploration.

This week we talk with Kevin Perry, the executive producer of Age of Empires Online, about the recent dramatic changes made to the game. We also discuss A Valley Without Wind, Streetfighters Cross Tech-In (close enough), Survarium (huh?), Shadowbane (yep, Shadowbane), and one of the best things to come out of the 90s (besides Xena Warrior Princess): Shadow Watch.

Join us this week for a discussion on the first 30 hours of Xenoblade Chronicles (we'll tell you when and how much to fast forward if you want to skip spoilers), the Halo 4 announcement, Trails Evolution, The Binding of Isaac, and Skull Girls. We also say goodbye to a friend. Rest in peace, Brian Rucker. You were part of the best of us.

This week's guest, Brian Kent, was a senior airman in the US Air Force. That is 100% true. He spent time in a secret underground bunker in Omaha. That is 50% true. He joins us to discuss the latest Bethesda silliness, if Dark Souls is suited for the PC, and whether we should be skeptical about Lost Planet 3. And while you might expect that Xenoblade Chronicles is at least one of our games of the week, you'll never guess what we picked for the other 302 games of the week.

This week we are joined by Rudy Basso, a member in good standing of the comedy troupe Cows Come Home and the author of Farming Vader, a series of short stories about Star Wars: Old Republic. We discuss Rock Band: Blitz, the upcoming facelift for Anarchy Online, the Leisure Suit Larry kickstarter, and then our picks for game of the week. We should warn you that Rudy does some weird jujitsu by picking a subscription based hybrid of computer game and tabletop RPG. Mass Effect 3 isn't mentioned even once.

On this week's podcast, we take film restoration technician Seth Berkowitz to task for defacing Dr. Strangelove. Then we derail into some movie talk that ranges from Citizen Kane to Chelan Simmons. In case you're not familiar, Citizen Kane is an old timey movie by Orville Welles and Chelan Simmons is one of the stars of Chupacabra Terror. And since we finally have an assembly of three people who've finished Mass Effect 3, we variously offer our two cents on the ending (but only after a spoiler warning that will tell you exactly how far to fast-forward to avoid spoilers).