18 replies to this topic

[PlayerOneCJ]

This week! The guys are down one CJ, but suck it up and carry on to talk about gritty games journalism, sex, violence, Showgirls, Fido Dido and disease-flavored breakfast cereals! Games: Gravity Rush, Lollipop Chainsaw, Pocket Planes, Air Traffic Chaos, Bang Bang Racing, NCAA Football 13, LittleBigPlanet Vita. Join us, won't you?

Check out Greg's new web series Generation 16 (Episode 4 now available) - click here. And take a trip over to Phil's YouTube Channel to see some awesome retro game vids.

Own an iPhone/iPod touch? We've got an app for that--the Player One Podcast player app is available now. Play shows new and old, read show notes, access the show Twitter, website, email, voicemail line and more! Plus, you'll be able to access bonus audio and video content (soon, once we figure out what that is). Click here to download.

Got an Android device? You can now download our app on the Android Marketplace. Find out all about it here.

Follow us on twitter at twitter.com/p1podcast.

Thanks for listening! Don't forget to visit our new web site at www.playeronepodcast.com. Don't forget to join our forums if you haven't already!

Direct download: 06_18_12-Episode295.mp3

Running time: 1:16:48

[aspro73]

Mike, you were laid off?

I too really enjoyed Air Traffic Chaos: (Here's my review saving everyone the click) :

I came across Air Traffic Chaos while looking for DS games that support the little used Rumble Pak, the GBA cartridge sized force-feedback accessory for the DS and DS Lite. Ordinarily I would not have even picked up this Majesco published game due to the comically bad front cover art which includes a westernized anime character saying, by means of a speech bubble, "I am an air traffic controller". It is a shame that many would overlook this game on the basis of its cover art, but understandable given the volume of shovelware on the system.

More the shame since the back cover, manual and game all feature wonderfully crafted anime characters, and also the fact that Air Traffic Chaos is far from the shovelware it may be confused for. It is an excellent game that has been thoughtfully and artfully constructed.

More of a puzzle game than a simulation the game has you co-ordinate up to eight planes through the take-off and landing process. This involves instructing pilots to increase and decrease their approach speeds, assigning runways and gates and directing planes on the ground where and when to taxi. At first this seems simple, even tedious, but before long you are juggling three or four landing planes, two or three departing planes and doing everything you can to avoid a game-ending in-air collision or tarmac crash.

The Rumble Pak adds to the experience by vibrating the DS with each take-off and landing. Sound design is also well done with plenty of familiar airline sounds including the muffled monotone of pilots.

Each airport has three difficulty levels to master and like all great puzzle games there is much replay to be had.

Air Traffic Chaos is a fun, challenging game that introduces tension into gameplay like few games do. Its Japanese design, handled by Sonic Powered and Lichterfeld, reminded me of the civilian flight-sim Jet de Go, a Japan-only release for the Playstation that supported the PocketStation. Both are great games, which I'd encourage you to land (har har) should you see them flying around.

Edited by aspro73, 18 June 2012 - 10:40 PM.

[gokieks]

Phil: I consider myself OCD when it comes to a lot of things (when I put a CD/DVD/BD in a case, I also insist on making it properly aligned), but even I don't take out the game disc every time I turn off the system (Pretty sure GT5 has sat in my PS3 for at least 70% of the last year). Pretty sure you're the first one I'd heard of doing that.

And yes, everyone who hasn't played Prince of Persia (2008) should buy it during the sale. Unless you also own a good gaming PC, in which case you should buy it the next time it's part of a Steam sale. It's a fantastic looking game on consoles, but even better on PC and works great with a Xbox controller (which every PC gamer should have one of). The ending DLC isn't available on PC, but that's not a bad thing!

[JoelWmusic]

I could tell you guys what the w stands for, or you could come up with a new meaning everytime you read one of my tweets

[mik]

And yes, everyone who hasn't played Prince of Persia (2008) should buy it during the sale. Unless you also own a good gaming PC, in which case you should buy it the next time it's part of a Steam sale.

If you happen to be a Gamefly subscriber, the PC version is available as a free download.

[momerath]

Good call on Cool Spot. I loved that game back when it came out.

I'm surprised noone mentioned Yo! Noid. Especially Phil, given his vast knowledge of NES games.

[PlayerOneStewy]

I totally mentioned Yo! Noid. If Phil and Mike would ever shut up you would have heard it.

[momerath]

You're right, I stand corrected! Went back and heard you mention it.

Also on the subject of food games and breakfast cereals, I remember enjoying giving this one a spin back when I found it in my box of cereal:

[PlayerOnePhil]

I totally mentioned Yo! Noid. If Phil and Mike would ever shut up you would have heard it.

I heard you say it. That's why I didn't mention it.

[Kirbutashi]

Lollipop Chainsaw plays more like a classic beat-em-up than No More Heroes, I'd say. Lollipop reminds me kind of Dreamcast-era arcade games like Crazy Taxi. Other than the cutscenes, which I find to be pretty fun.

I've got one more stage to go through in Lollipop. I loathe the minigames in that game. They're either incredibly broken or incredibly boring (sometimes both). When I get a fourth instant game over because my busted auto-aim on the chainsaw gun combined with slow sensitivity meant I couldn't save Nick while he's getting reamed by zombies, I actually quit the game in disgust. But normal combat is still pretty fun, especially with all my new combos. That and the boss fights, which Suda has always done a great job with since No More Heroes.

And thanks to this game, I hear Mickey playing constantly in my head.

[JoelWmusic]

Oh mickey, you so fine....Hey mickey! There ya go Kirbu

[momerath]

I don't think I even realized that Lollipop Chainsaw was a Suda51 game. I probably should have guessed.

[Jave]

I thought the first No More Heroes was arguably Suda's finest work, even if it had some really strange design decisions, like having an open world for literally no reason whatsoever. NMH2, by contrast, kinda rubbed me the wrong way, even though it's probably a better game.

[JoelWmusic]

I totally mentioned Yo! Noid. If Phil and Mike would ever shut up you would have heard it.

I've had time at work so I'm listening through old episodes of P1P and heard episode 16 today when someone brought up Yo! Noid.

I thought that was weird.

[momerath]

I thought the first No More Heroes was arguably Suda's finest work, even if it had some really strange design decisions, like having an open world for literally no reason whatsoever. NMH2, by contrast, kinda rubbed me the wrong way, even though it's probably a better game.

NMH2 was better in some ways, and worse in others. I appreciated the streamlining that removing the open world allowed for, but there were a whole bunch of new annoyances that weren't in the original. Plus I hated the training mini-game in the gym.

I guess if I had to pick, I'd go with the original game since the formula was newer / fresher at the time.

Suda51 isn't the best game designer I've seen-- not by a long shot-- but a handful of his games have been interesting experiences, if nothing else.

[Kirbutashi]

His style works well paired with someone that knows how to make a good videogame. Shadows of the Damned came really close.

[SaitoH]

Lollipop Chainsaw plays more like a classic beat-em-up than No More Heroes, I'd say. Lollipop reminds me kind of Dreamcast-era arcade games like Crazy Taxi. Other than the cutscenes, which I find to be pretty fun.

I've got one more stage to go through in Lollipop. I loathe the minigames in that game. They're either incredibly broken or incredibly boring (sometimes both). When I get a fourth instant game over because my busted auto-aim on the chainsaw gun combined with slow sensitivity meant I couldn't save Nick while he's getting reamed by zombies, I actually quit the game in disgust. But normal combat is still pretty fun, especially with all my new combos. That and the boss fights, which Suda has always done a great job with since No More Heroes.

And thanks to this game, I hear Mickey playing constantly in my head.

Did you turn off auto aim? That made the Baseball sequence easy for me.

[momerath]

His style works well paired with someone that knows how to make a good videogame. Shadows of the Damned came really close.

I agree, that seemed to be the closest to fully hitting the mark for him.

[Kirbutashi]

Did you turn off auto aim? That made the Baseball sequence easy for me.

Didn't even think to turn it off until after the fact. At that point, auto aim was actually useful in real stages since moving on your own is way too sluggish. I hope I didn't miss a sensitivity slider somewhere.