Low Score Episode 36 "Speaking of Matchbox 20"

C'mon catch a ride with the Low Score podcast! Bobby and J do the damn thing one last time before twenty-ought-ten.

We sample some more Japanese candy, discuss some games we've been playing including Bionic Commando and Batman: Arkham Asylum.

After that, we plunge right into a recap of the games of 2009: the good, the bad, the memorable, and the disappointing.

And of course we have one last THE LIST for the year: Top 5 Games of 2009 We Have Yet To Play.

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Opening music by virt and Background music by the Bound Together project.

Low Score Episode 35 "A Year In Review"

Candy, Special Guests, A Year in Review, and THE LIST. Need we say more?

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Low Score Episode 34 "Good Morning, Captain"

Aww hell, son. It's another Big Episode of the Low Score podcast. And we mean it, too.

We spend the first part reading viewer comments related to our Top 50 Games that Defined the Decade, then get go through the submissions for Episode 33's THE LIST. Next up, we talk going to MAGFest. Low Score will be there recording a special live episode, so you most certainly need to come out! And how about that Black Friday, aye? If you left your house, we feel kind of bad for you, because we managed to snag two really good deals from the comfort of our own homes.

Also in this episode in a segment we've been wanting to do for a long time: a live dramatic reading of the Worlds of Power novelization of Castlevania II: Simon's Quest. You don't want to miss it.

After a quick jaunt through what we've been playing, we turn our attention to this week's THE LIST: Five "Whoa" Moments. We received plenty of awesome listener submissions, so be sure to tune into the whole show.

As always, spread the word.

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THE LIST: Five "Whoa" Moments

This week's THE LIST asks you for five "whoa" moments from games.

Did a game's story take a turn for the crazy? Did you end up in some amazing world? Fight a ridiculous boss battle? Do you remember a moment while playing multiplayer that just caught you off-guard? How about the first time you popped in a game and were immediately struck by it?

We want your list of five vibrant gaming memories in which a moment from a game has really stuck with you. We'll be reading your THE LISTs on the next podcast.

Oh, and if the game came out in the last year or so, try not to spoil anything for those who haven't played. But if a game is more than two years old everything is fair game.

The 50 Games that Defined the Decade

Low Score spent the past two episodes running down our list of what we believe are the games that defined the decade. These choices were based on a number of factors. Popularity, influence, success, and quality contributed with different weight in our decisions.

Is there something we missed? Include it in the comments with an explantation of not only why you think it belongs on the list, but also which game you would get rid of to make room for it.

Think we're totally off base with a choice? Make sure to listen to the podcast to hear our explanation, then argue it in the comments. Remember, just because you love it or it's a great game doesn't mean it belongs on the list. We had to leave off numerous personal favorites like Shadow of the Colossus, Final Fantasy XII, Burnout 3, Fallout 3, and GTA: Vice City. So it goes when you make a list.

2000
Counter-Strike (official retail version)
Deus Ex
Diablo II
The Sims
Dance Dance Revolution

2001
Castlevania: Circle of the Moon
Devil May Cry
Final Fantasy X
Gran Turismo 3
Grand Theft Auto III
Halo: Combat Evolved
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
Super Mario Advance (Super Mario Bros. 2)
Super Smash Bros. Melee
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3
Bejeweled

2002
Metroid Prime
Ratchet and Clank
Battlefield 1942

2003
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker
WarioWare Inc.: Mega MicroGame$

2004
Far Cry
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Half-Life 2
Halo 2
Katamari Damacy
World of Warcraft

2005
God of War
Guitar Hero
Lumines
Nintendogs
Resident Evil 4
Mario Kart DS

2006
Gears of War
Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Wii Sports
Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day!

2007
Bioshock
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Peggle
Portal
Rock Band

2008
Mega Man 9
Braid
Little Big Planet
Wii Fit

2009
Street Fighter IV
Farmville

Low Score Episode 33 "The Second Half"

We're proud to bring you the rousing conclusion of our Top 50 Games that Defined the Decade! The full list will be going up in a blog post soon for reference and discussion.

But first we kicked off the show with some late submissions from last week's THE LIST. Immediately following, we run down this week's THE LIST "Five Characters You'd Like to Spend a Day With." Because we didn't put out a call for submissions this time, you can include them in the comments here. We'll read them next time AND we'll put out a new call for THE LIST too. So many damn lists!

We've both played Borderlands and Forza 3, though in reverse proportions. While car enthusiast Bobby was busy collecting loot in the Rust Commons, J the Diablo fan was zipping around race tracks to finish the R3 championship.

GFOTS Jimmy wrote in to ask about peripherals like the DJ Hero turntable and Tony Hawk's new skateboard... thing.

As always, if you enjoy the show, remember to spread the word!

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Low Score Episode 32 "The First Half"

We decided to quickly follow-up our special episode with a standard episode. But just because it's standard does not mean it too isn't special in its own right.

We begin by condensing our previous discussion of Forza 3, Borderlands, and Brutal Legend into a solid 20 minutes. If you listened to the last show, you'll hear a bunch of overlap, but much more concisely put.

Then we launch into this week's discussion: The 50 Games that Defined the Decade. To keep it on the shorter side, we're only tackling the first half of the decade this episode, with 2005-2009 to come. We kept ourselves on a timer so that we only talk about the 28 games for 2 minutes each. No babbling here! Except for some of Bobby's "uh, this game was good" nonsense...

But it wouldn't be a standard episode without THE LIST. We asked you for your Top 5 Games Based on Other Media IP, and you responded with enthusiasm! We each run through our lists and then read off the listener contributed lists. There's one game that was overwhelmingly popular that may surprise you (hint: Disney).

As always, if you enjoy the show, remember to spread the word!

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THE LIST: Top 5 Games Based on Other Media IP

We want to hear your choices for this week's THE LIST segment. This week? Your top five games based on IP from other media. Movies, comics, TV shows, toys, etc. So leave a comment with your THE LIST and we'll read them on the air!

Low Score Special "Playing Forza 3"

We tried to do something a little different this week. And we accomplished that goal. How it turns out, however, remains to be seen. So how exactly did we switch it up?

In this very special episode of Low Score we invited Good Friend of the Show Jimmy to lead us through some Forza 3. On the first half of the show you'll hear us racing each other, talking trash, and talking about the game. In the second half, we talk a bit about other games we've been playing, whether Bobby should get a PlayStation 3, and an assortment of news. Maybe. It's hard to remember with all that crashing into walls...

Disclaimer: We know that this episode is a little weird and it might be hard to follow. Please let us know if it's at all tolerable. If we can modify the next one in a way that's listenable, we'll do that. If it's beyond saving, we'll discard the idea completely. Constructive criticism always welcome.

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Low Score Episode 31 "I Love to Smelt"

We were going to begin this post with a phrase like, "you can't stop us, so why try?" But we must admit that Bobby's dog took care of that pretty well, as she decided to chew through a Rock Band mic. But not before we could hammer out big episode 31!

FOTSGFOTS Campbell joined us this week to help mix it up. What had we all been playing? Both Bobby and J had some new Beatles Rock Band experiences: one involving harmonizing and one involving spending lots of money on DLC. Bobby learned that you can't play multiplayer Wii Sports Resorts with only one Motion Plus adapter, Campbell learned you can't play Left 4 Dead with anyone on the Internet, and J learned that you can still rent videogames from brick and mortar stores. His discussion of Batman: Arkham Asylum makes the game sound as good as everyone else has said. Campbell expresses just how traumatic Trauma Center for the DS really is and we now know he prefers surgery with a shotgun.

We received an email from Friend of the Show (Good Friend of the Show) Erik, who wanted to further discuss character classes in MMOs and why the Jedi/Sith don't have to be the only good characters. We're still not sure of this, as 'lightsabers > any other weapon', but we were willing to hear him out.

This week's THE LIST tackled our top 5 XBLA games. And though there are a handful of seemingly obviosu choices, we were very surprised by the range of games that made it onto our and our listeners' lists.

As always, if you enjoy the show, remember to spread the word!

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THE LIST: Top Five XBLA Games

We're putting out a call for your submissions to the upcoming episode's THE LIST segment. This week we'll be giving you our Top Five XBLA Games, and we want you to give us yours! So leave a comment with your THE LIST (and yes, it's got a "the" in front of it always) and we'll read them on the air!

Low Score Episode 30 "Nip of Bourbon"

We're excited to present our first ever Skype'd in guest episode of the Low Score podcast! Kevin joins us this week via the magic of teleconference to spice things up.

What have we been playing? Kevin's put some time in with Icewind Dale II and Shadow Complex, while J and Bobby have been ODSTing.

As our resident fan of Street Fighter IV, J discusses the potentials of the recently leaked Super Street Fighter IV. J and Bobby admit they might consider playing Star Wars: The Old Republic, and all three guests talk Final Fantasy XIII.

We begin this week's discussion topic by addressing an article that came up on Gamasutra about "fair trade games." Follwing this, we talk retail models and the future of digital distribution. That's right, we can see into the future.

This week's THE LIST asks for five games that "peaked too early," meaning they were fun right at the beginning and grew stale quickly. Our answers may (or may not) surprise you!

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Low Score Episode 29 "Four Dollars"

Boy oh boy has it been a week. Bobby's played a whole mess of games including Far Cry 2, Beatles Rock Band, and Wii Sports Resort. J, on the other hand has basically only played Mass Effect and Beatles Rock Band. Big surprise, right?

Following this, we address a handful of news stories, providing our oh-so-valuable opinions.

We're proud to introduce a new regular feature this week entitled "The List." Each week we'll pick a topic and a set number of games, by which we each come up with our own list. "Top 5 Most Evil Villains," per se. What's the actual topic of this weeks list? You'll have to tune in to find out!

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Low Score Episode 28 "Goofy Guitars"

You'll have to forgive Bobby for his audio flub this week—the podcast recorded using his laptop mic, not his USB mic. It didn't turn out so bad, however, and the density of good content should more than make up for his shortcomings as a producer.

So what exactly makes this week special? Well, Bobby and J have each played a variety of games including Prince of Persia, Red Faction: Guerilla, My World My Way, and Shadow Complex (to name a few).

Oh! And of course the big news of the week is The Beatles Rock Band, which J has played through three times already and has some definite opinions on. And speaking of opinions, J decided he'd like to respond to videogame academic and critic Ian Bogost's criticisms of the game. It's a good discussion, if we do say so ourselves.

We kept it short and sweet at an hour twenty minutes, and yet managed to pack in another good discussion about morality motivations in games like KOTOR and Mass Effect, which Bobby and J (respectively) were each playing this past week.

It's short, it's sweet, and despite being a Low Score, it can't be beat.

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Low Score Episode 27 "Viewers Like You"

We asked for it and you delivered. It's our listener question episode!

Of course we can't help but talk about what we've been playing and some of the news of the day (hint: Shadow Complex and price drops), but the meat of the episode is discussion based on questions YOU submitted. Yes, you. There, in the t-shirt. Yeah, we're looking at you.

So what kind of questions do we answer? Well, we got asked about the Fall release schedule, the monetary value of games, a RPG character types, old genre revival, and LAN play.

It was a grand old time and we highly encourage you delve in!

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Low Score Episode 26 "Shoot Aliens in the Head"

Jam packed. That's all we have to say about Low Score's big episode 26.

Okay, not all we have to say. We've been playing a ton of games as of late. Bobby enjoyed more Red Faction: Guerilla, purchased and learned how to play Street Fighter IV, and played some Mad World for Wii.

J, on the other hand, provides a timely review of the new Fallout 3 DLC "Mothership Zeta," talks about how the new Prince of Persia is like the old Prince of Persia, and recounts his experience playing the new XBLA release Marvel vs Capcom 2.

J has also been a part of the new Xbox 360 Dashboard beta and gives us the lowdown on new features and the improved quality.

Inspired by some recent quality multiplayer gaming, we talk about the history of multiplayer games. We did some serious research for this episode, so join us as we go through a multiplayer timeline, discuss the issues and trends of multiplayer gaming, and muse on the future of multiplayer at home, online, and in the arcade.

And don't forget about our contest!

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Taking Questions for Episode 27

Big Episode 27 is going to be entirely listener questions. To encourage this, we're holding a little contest where you can win a Rock Band hat and either a Rock Band or Guitar hero t-shirt. Everyone who submits a question will be eligible, and we'll choose the winner randomly from a hat. You may submit more than one question, but you only get one chance at winning.

You have a few weeks to think of questions, as we'll record episode 26 first. We'll post again when the deadline is approaching.

Question should be gaming related... you know, stuff we can talk about on the show.

We prefer you e-mail us so as to keep the questions a surprise: lowscorepodcast at gmail

So submit like the MMA!

Low Score Episode 25 "J's Big Announcement"

Big Episode 25! We being with a little listener feedback about episode 24, clarifying a few things and making us explain ourselves.

Rather than just talk Fallout 3, J and Bobby have played a bunch of different games including Rock Band 2, FFVII, Battlefield 1943, My World My Way, and Red Faction: Guerilla. It's then onto the news! Bioshock 2 was delayed, Harmonix unveiled the Rock Band Network for user-submitted songs, and the future of indie games on XBLA.

Our discussion topic this week is of our favorite boss battles. Bobby and J kept their choices a surprise from each other, so prepare for 11 excellent bosses!

Oh, and hey! By the way. We really want you to spread the word about Low Score, so please tell your friends!

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Low Score Episode 24 "It's Been a Year"

One year ago today the first episode of the Low Score podcast was uploaded to the Internet for everyone to enjoy. 24 episodes later, we're still doin' the damn thing. And this week, we bring you one of our finest podcasts ever.

We play a little catch-up as Bobby lists off some recent purchases, J continues to sing the praises of Fallout 3 in the form of Point Lookout, Bobby plays some Battlefield Heroes, and we both get a little nerdy about the new Magic: The Gathering game for Xbox Live Arcade.

We also do a bit of news and commentary for the first time in a while: PS3 price drops?, World of Warcraft Themed Peggle, LucasArts games hit Steam, and a new old Final Fantasy game.

The bulk of the podcast comes from a suggestion that friend-of-the-show Kevin (sometimes co-host-of-the-show as well) gave for the After Hours podcast. It's all about our personal "Low Scores." We'll leave the categories of discussion a surprise, but will tell you that it deals with us being poor game players on numerous levels.

Please to enjoy!

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Low Score After Hours "Vaguely Alliterative"

Only moments after we finished recording Big Episode 23 of the Low Score Podcast, we recorded what we've termed "After Hours," a podcast by the Low Score hosts that is about anything but videogames. Last time we did something like this we got some useful feedback that helped us decide to split out evening recording session into two episodes.

Bobby, J, Jimmy, Kevin, Carrie, and Allison all took up spots in front of the microphones to talk beer, snacks, and music. And to argue a bunch. And to talk off microphone. And to throw zingers around and do schtick for you, our awesome listening audience. And, perhaps most imporantly, put dogs in our shirts.

We apologize that the audio quality isn't that great, but it was a lot of fun to record and we hope you find humor in our drunken shenanigans!

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Low Score Episode 23 "The Gang's All Here"

Sweet mother of pearl, it's a guest-a-rific edition of the Low Score podcast. You know: the one about videogames! Joining Bobby and J this week are previous guests-of-the-show (and good friends of the show) Jimmy and Kevin. This ensemble was made possible by a drive to Richmond, VA, where we all met up at J's house for a real live in-person podcast. Also joining us on the show are significant-others-of-the-show Carrie and Allison!

Unlike last time a number of us got together, we made sure that this episode was all about video games. We saved the outside conversation for second episode which should go up within the next week or so. But this one is built to stand alone and not annoy you!

Surprise surprise we talk Fallout 3, as Kevin just purchased it and the rest of us have been keeping up with DLC. We've also got Peggle, Magic the Gathering for PC, FFVII, and a bunch of other stuff I can't remember.

We discuss sequels and market saturation, difficulty in games, the new Nintendo skip-ahead feature, and achievements.

We were pumped to record it, so you best be excited to listen to it! Get yer download on!

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Low Score Episode 22 "That Thing in LA"

Ah, the E3 Expo. The Electronic Entertainment Expo Expo. Wait, wha? Hm. Irregardless, Bobby and J are here to provide commentary on the big three press conferences, games the developers showed off, and what is just really a fine example of second-hand journalism.

We talk Project Natal, vitality sensors, PSP Crunchwrap Supremes (because it's good to Go), and most importantly lots and lots of games. Interested in the new God of Castlevania? We got it! New Super Mario Bros high-functioning multiplayer? That's us! Class-based shooters with light RPG elements? Ding ding! Yeah, we got it all covered.

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Low Score Episode 21 "News Worth of Month"

There's no better time for E3 predictions than after the big press conferences are over. No, we didn't watch the pressers and then record... Bobby ran into some technical issues and the podcast from last week didn't make it up until just now. But now you can enjoy it with hindsight!

E3 aside, J played hell of Fallout 3 and Bobby played a little Mirror's Edge.

There's also a month's worth of news covered in this little cast that's sure to have you thinking, "oh yeah, I remember that."

Enjoy or perish.

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Low Score Episode 20 "Is Pretty Fun"

We've decided to constrain ourselves to a listenable length this week, so we've got 90 minutes of fun for you.

Having received a handful of emails and comments about last week's Best Game Ever selection, we've got a bunch of talk following up on that including how we feel about our choices, what about Zelda, more on RPGs, and the realization that we never talked about KOTOR.

Bobby explains why you need to play Battlefield: Bad Company and also reveals a startling fact! J too has been playing a few surprising games and has some opinions on Henry Hatsworth, too.

Oh! And how could we forget BioShock 2? More info has been revealed about that game since we last talked, so we run through a bit of it. What more could you ask for?

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Low Score Episode 19 "128 Contenders"

Oh man, oh man! What a big show we have for you this week. We decided to run through the GameFAQs Best Game Ever 2009 bracket. That's right. We start with 128 games and pair them down to only two! Not gonna lie, it's a long show. You might want to listen to it in two parts. But, that being said, it's 100% game talk and the most comprehensive podcast yet. We didn't plan it before hand, so you get to hear us riffing on games, arguing, and will be surprised at what we came up with (because we definitely were surprised with ourselves). You seriously don't want to miss it.

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Low Score Episode 18 "Back in the Game"

Now that Bobby's free from the clutches of his thesis, he's finally able to play games again! Bobby talks about Henry Hatsworth, GTA Chinatown Wars, and Chrono Cross, while J explains his XBLA plays and purchases.

There's an insightful two minutes of commentary about the PlayStation 2 price drop, Nintendo's game announcements at GDC, and the new OnLive service.

J poses the question "what do we want to see in an RPG in this modern day?" and we ruminate on what makes our favorite RPGs enjoyable.

It's a "meaty" show that you won't want to miss!

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Low Score Episode 17 "Reining It Back In"

Bobby and J return with a game-centric podcast!

We discuss Street Fighter IV, the Lost and Damned, and new Bioshock 2 material. Following that, we take a question about getting people who don't play games into games, followed by an extended discussion of Bobby's thesis on video games and the city.

Best enjoyed chilled.

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Low Score Episode 16 "Reproduction is at the Heart of Farm Life"

Holy Crap! Bobby and J, with special guest Jimmy, recorded a three hour monster of a podcast. 

What can three guys talk about for three hours? Everything. Everything on the planet. We discuss what we've all been playing recently like The Lost and Damned and Street Fighter IV, racing games, Points, pizza, Star Trek, the Simpsons, the potential for game designers to create worlds for other people to make games in, and damn if we can remember what else.

There might have been alcohol involved.

Might.

But we actually think it's a real winner! Split it up into two sessions if you need to. We'll understand. Remember, if you want to see more of these type episodes keep not sending in those questions. If you think we sound like morons, then send some Qs our way!

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Low Score Episode 15 "You Picked Wrong!"

It was a bit of a slow news week, so Bobby and J decided they'd prefer to just focus in on their favorite topic: themselves.

After a bit of standard "what have you been playing?" Bobby and J chronicle a history of video games in their lives. You'll get to hear stories of growing up playing games, the magic of getting a new system and early memories of launch-window games, why Bobby never had a GameBoy, gaming with friends, Bobby and J in college, PC gaming, and many a random aside.

If you love the hosts as much as they love themselves, you'll particularly enjoy this edition of the Low Score podcast.

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Low Score Episode 14 "Diamond Technology"

We're at it again! This time we get into a real serious political discussion before talking about the lighter topics like airplane crashes! 

The White House is getting a Wii! What do you want to play with the Obama family? 

Also in this episode you'll find discussions of Rock Band Beatles, the Final Fantasy Legend II DS remake, a sequel to Amplitude, and sequel innovation.

Plus we wax intellectual about Nintendo's new patent for an in-game walkthrough system and come to the conclusion that chimpanzees are way funnier than orangutans.

All this in one podcast? "You're crazy!" you might say. No, we're Low Score, bitches.

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Low Score Episode 13 "How Do We Do This?"

Bobby and J are back! It's been far too long, hasn't it?

First on the agenda is a recap of what the hell we've been up to. Having both played a bunch of games in the last two months, there's plenty to discuss.

2008 was a pretty eventful year in the world of games. Crazy Wii sales, Xbox 360's dashboard update, the release of a bunch of big-series titles as well as some pleasant surprises. Bobby and J also name their favorite games of the year!

But what would a look back be without a look forward? Join us as we discuss some predictions for 2009. (Sneak Peek: video games will be popular this year)

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MAGFest 7 Podcast

Holy crap it has been a long time! Things got crazy at the end of the year as Thanksgiving hit, Bobby's semester came to a close and J's job demanded his valuable time, and holiday vacation got in the way of podcasting. It's inexcusable, but it's what happened. This is not our true end of the year podcast, however. It's a very special MAGFest 7 edition!

Bobby and Kevin talk Music and Games Festival, the events they participated in, and what they were looking forward to for the rest of the awesome weekend. There's even some discussion of what they've been playing over the holidays. You don't want to miss it.

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