The GameSparked Podcast May-28-2013

The GameSparked Team

The GameSparked Podcast contains naughty words, and inappropriate content. Viewer discretion is advised.

The crew is reunited this week just in time for a brand new episode of The GameSparked Podcast! Mat rejoins the guys with a trip report of his visit to Victoria, plays matchmaker in Fire Emblem: Awakening, gives the low-down on Fuse, and gets rough and tumble with Call of Juarez: Gunslinger. Joe chimes in about revisiting Dust: An Elysian Tail with its recent PC release, as well as the Nintendo 3DS port of Donkey Kong Country Returns. Myles quickly checks in with his progress in the immersive Metro: Last Light before launching the team into an in-depth discussion on Microsoft’s #XBONE reveal. Also tune in for tiny cops, enormous bees, sausage boats, Ms. Pac-Man woes, and Peter’s cube. All this, and much more, on this week’s episode of The GameSparked Podcast!

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Original Intro/Outro by Cody DeBoer

The DubSparked Remix by Kevin Madden

[GOTY] Who Won on Day One? — Game of the Year Breakdown

The GameSparked Team
GOTY 2012

BEWARE! POTENTIAL SPOILERS!

Best New Character

Winner: Clementine (The Walking Dead)

Clementine winning this category will come as no surprise to a lot people who played The Walking Dead. A lot of us grew very attached to the adorable eight year old, and with good reason. It’s a kind of emotional connection to a character that (almost) never happens in videogames that won Clem this award, and we’re cautiously hopeful to see where she goes next.

Runner-Ups: Tiny Tina (Borderlands 2), Johnny Powell (The Darkness II)

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Biggest Surprise

Winner: Sleeping Dogs

Sleeping Dogs surprised us. For a game that had such a long, troubled development cycle, it turned out amazing. Also, for a game that was once called “True Crime,” it turned out amazing. We couldn’t be happier about the success of Sleeping Dogs, and we can’t wait for the future DLC, as well as any sequels that may come to be.

Runner-Ups: Dust: An Elysian Tail, Vessel

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Best Looking

Winner: Dust: An Elysian Tail
Dust: An Elysian Tail is a beautiful game. It doesn’t take much time to be astounded by its stunning visuals, surprisingly-good lighting, and art-style that we can really get behind. The fact that there was only one guy working on it makes the feat of creating such a beautiful-looking world seem even more impressive. There’s no doubt in our mind concerning Dust: An Elysian Tail deserving this award.

Runner-Ups: Fez, Sound Shapes

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Best Use of Dubstep

Winner: SSX

While some of the other nominees in this category might have better dubstep tracks in them, none other can truly match what SSX does with the musical genre. Landing enough dope tricks lets the player enter Tricky mode, and the game thrusts them into a world of dubstep. In this existence, the Earth itself is made of purest dubstep and shakes with the force of a thousand wobble basses with each landed trick, and we couldn’t be happier about this.

Runner-Ups: Borderlands 2, Syndicate

Day One of The GameSparked Game of the Year Debates 2012

The GameSparked Team
GOTY 2012

The GameSparked GotY Debate contains naughty words, and inappropriate content. Viewer discretion is advised.

Mat, Myles, and Joe kick off their five-day, Game-of-the-Year excursion, and argue over who should win what. Things get heated, and they even end up feeling like monsters at some point! The awards debated over today are Best New Character, Biggest Surprise, Best Looking, and Best Use of Dubstep. Listen below to find out which games win awards.

BEWARE! POTENTIAL SPOILERS!

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Original Intro/Outro by Cody DeBoer

The DubSparked Remix by Kevin Madden

[GOTY] Best Looking Game Nominees

The GameSparked Team
GOTY 2012

Videogames are a very visual medium. While gameplay should, and does come first for us here at GameSparked, aesthetic and art-style are still incredibly important when it comes to games, and we feel like we’ve gathered up the best. Whether the animation is fluid and pleasing to look at, the art design interesting and engaging, or the game is simply a graphical powerhouse, these are all the best looking games of 2012.

The Darkness 2

Dustforce

Dust: An Elysian Tail

Fez

Hitman: Absolution

Rhythm Heaven Fever

Sound Shapes

[GOTY] Biggest Surprise Nominees

The GameSparked Team
GOTY 2012


BEWARE OF POTENTIAL SPOILERS

Sometimes we have absolutely no expectations for a game, and then it ends up surprising us. There are also times when we expect a game to be nothing more than okay, and it ends up being fantastic. We want to recognize these games as the great titles they are. Here are our nominees for Biggest Surprise of 2012.

Dragon’s Dogma

Dragon’s Dogma didn’t have a lot of excitement building up to it. In fact, most of it was due to the fact that anyone who bought it would be getting early access to the first Resident Evil 6 demo. However, when we started playing Dragon’s Dogma, we (well, at least Mat) were surprised at how good the game actually was. Even if it was super weird at times.

Dust: An Elysian Tail

We didn’t expect much from Dust: An Elysian Tail, but we were completely wrong. The game’s art-style, voice acting, questing, gameplay, and Metroidvania-style platforming had us in awe. We couldn’t get enough of it. And the fact that only one guy developed this entire thing makes it even more impressive.

Sleeping Dogs

Sleeping Dogs was another game we didn’t expect much from. You usually don’t when games are in development this long, and go through as much trouble as this one did before releasing. We are really glad we’re wrong. The game brings together all of its mechanics into one awesome package that is just as exciting as any Hong Kong crime movie.

Syndicate

Syndicate is a completely different game from its 1993 debut. In a time where most first-person shooters are relatively the same, Syndicate felt surprisingly fresh. If there’s one thing that’s true, it’s that Starbreeze Studios knows how to make unique-feeling first-person shooters.

Vessel
 When you lay eyes upon Vessel for the first time, it really doesn’t say much for itself. That is until you actually play it. This steampunk puzzler is truly a gem in disguise. With its awesome in-game physics, engaging puzzles, and a mesmerizing soundtrack, we walked away from Vessel with it stuck to our hearts.

The GameSparked Podcast Aug-14-2012

The GameSparked Team

Things get a little dirty in this week’s episode of The GameSparked Podcast. We apologize. This week, Leighton is really “exciting,” Jordan speaks his final thoughts on Kingdom Hearts 3D, Mat thinks Sound Shapes and Darksiders II are both really awesome, and Damian is enamoured with Persona 4 Arena. They also get into some interesting… stuff. All that, and much more, in this week’s episode of The GameSparked Podcast! Also, where’s Myles? He’s back from Mexico, but nowhere to be found…

The GameSparked Podcast contains naughty words, and inappropriate content. Viewer discretion is advised.

Original Intro/Outro by Cody DeBoer
The DubSparked Remix by Kevin Madden

Download Link (Right Click, Save As)