ShackCast Episode 13: Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Unreal Tournament 3, Portal, BioWare/Pandemic

Hands-on with Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Unreal Tournament 3, and Sierra's Xbox Live Arcade Lineup, plus more thoughts on Portal and the EA buyout of BioWare and Pandemic Studios.

10
For this week's ShackCast, Remo spent some time hands-on with Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii) and several of its new characters--Pit from Kid Icarus, Meta Knight from the Kirby series, the new Samus and her Zero Suit form, and the just-revealed Sonic the Hedgehog.

Nick was at Epic's offices checking out Unreal Tournament 3, which he feels is underrepresented by its recent demo. Carlos met with Sierra to check out several upcoming PC and Xbox Live Arcade downloadable games; some--such as Aces of the Galaxy and Commanders: Attack of the Genos--are promising, and some--Battlestar Galactica--are not.

Plus, all of us played through Portal and loved it, because it is lovely. Finally, we discuss Double Fine's new game announcement and Electronic Arts' acquisition of BioWare and Pandemic Studios.

Don't forget to send in your questions and comments about video games, the Shack, or the ShackCast to shackcast@shacknews.com!

Play or download the podcast now, or browse the episodes through iTunes, RSS, or Digg--or continue on for the full breakdown.

00:00: It's a song! And it's not Friday the 13th.
01:56: Remo checked out Super Smash Bros. Brawl as Sonic! He's in! (Story)
14:01: Nick on Unreal Tournament 3: game better than demo. (Demo, preview)
27:20: Carlos on Aces of the Galaxy for XBLA. (Preview)
33:17: ...and on Commanders: Attack of the Genos for XBLA too! (Preview)
34:35: Did you guys play Battle Bugs for PC? No? Okay.
37:15: More XBLA! Switchball!
38:03: Carlos is thoroughly unimpressed by Battlestar Galactica on XBLA.
40:18: Even more XBLA! Arcadian Warriors from the makers of Assault Heroes!
42:34: Advance Wars: Days of Ruin is coming to DS! YES.
45:29: Remo has Call of Duty 4 PC single- and multiplayer hands-on. (Preview)
47:48: Nick is underwhelmed by Heavenly Sword (PS3).
50:03: We all love Portal. A lot. (Review)
57:57: We also love Half-Life 2: Episode Two. (Review)
62:55: Double Fine is (officially) making a new game, Brutal Legend! (Story)
65:13: Electronic Arts has consumed BioWare and Pandemic Studios. (Story)
72:20: Listener mail, including in-game ads talk and the workings of the Shack!
85:44: Remo likes Rocket Race in Halo 3, so this was born.

From The Chatty
  • reply
    October 13, 2007 12:37 AM

    Ah cool, waking up, finding a new shackcast. First time my RSS reader showed it before it was on the frontpage though...

    Man, compared to that german gameing podcast I listen to, yours sounds so ... PROFESSIONAL ... Why are there so few good gaming casts out there?

    • reply
      October 14, 2007 2:28 PM

      I personally listen to... well, a lot of them, but my favorites are the 1UP podcast, the GFW one, and Gamespots. It really just has to do with the hosts. I don't care if they drift off the topic of games (which they do quite a bit, especially the GFW one) as long as they're entertaining.

Hello, Meet Lola