ShackCast 19: Mass Effect, Time Crisis 4, Rock Band, Uncharted, Call of Duty 4, Crysis

The comments about Mass Effect's combat are ridiculous. I'm thinking that you guys must have just sucked at it. It is the best combat system even implemented in an rpg and one of the best ever, combining skill-based action shooting (if you reduce the assist) and strategy and team management. Where you got the idea that it's trying to be like gears of war i have no clue, the only similarity is cover which isnt even that useful for the players character, i barely even used it and I just beat the game on hardcore. Did you people even play any class but soldier or even try to control the other squad mates?

I'm seriously going to stop listening to these podcasts, all you did was bitch about the best part of the game while ignoring the problems. Nick talks about how KOTOR is better and i agree, but Mass Effects combat is on a different level. If we could have that system in KOTOR it would be the best rpg of all time. Whats wrong with Mass Effect is the mako, the uncharted planets, and most of all the lack of core planets and cities with tons of story content that KOTOR had in abundance. Each planet in KOTOR was just as big if not bigger than the Citadel, while you can finish the story planets in Mass Effect in a couple of hours if you dont suck. If you just play the story planets in Mass Effect, which you will probably do anyway after you see how boring the uncharted generic planets are, you can finish the game in under 10 hours while KOTOR would have been at least 20-30 and none of it boring or generic.

This is probably the last podcast I listen to, you dont have a damn clue.

Just listened to it, best one yet! One minor gripe - it's very quiet compared to other podcasts, you gotta PUMP UP DA VOLUME

totally agree with Nick. enough goofy aliens, mutants, and scifi and fantasy crap! we need more realistic and relevent settings and characters, not only to broaden the gaming market, but also cuz a lot of us hardcore gamers are just sick of the same old themes being done over and over.

Hah. Loved the quake poll stuff.

Kinda disappointing how you guys have skipped over Assassin's Creed completely. :(

Interesting the comments regarding Crysis, there's one camp of people that are hailing Crysis for bringing back the PC gaming concept of power games which push systems beyond current tech (which we haven't seen in a while), but they seem to be in the minority?

Im trying real hard to get into mass effect. For some reason, it doesn't grab me. :(

Interesting to hear about the adverts.
And i'm happy to say that (as far as i could tell anyway) you seem to have a good philosophy about it.
Also, i don't really remember having been annoyed with ads here - and yet they still seem to grab my attention from time to time.

Whenever i visit another gaming site (and i'll go so far as saying that this will happen 90% of the time @ other gaming sites), adverts are a major annoyance - so thumbs up for that \o/

Haven't listened to one of these in a while and it's really come a long way. Definately much better than the first few shows. You guys sound a lot more relaxed and natural. I enjoyed the show.

Uncharted's combat is still better than you give it credit for though. It's almost like some reviewers went into the combat with low expectations, and because the game doesn't teach it's intricacies people just kinda assumed they weren't there and never let it get past their expectations. But then again, I think the few other game I've played through three times (starting my third play tonight probably, on crushing) was Gears, so I guess I'm just a sucker for stop and pop. I didn't even like Gear's cover system at first.

Soooooo aiming in TC4. Remo's comments on how "you are more likely not to hit your target when you do what your suggesting" couldn't you compensate by always aiming a bit high or low?

I get that it isn't aiming at the actual pixels, and that this game is trying to be "realistic" with its aiming, at least in the rails part by not having a cross hair, and I think that is dumb to not at least have the option to turn it on, BUT

It sounds like one could simply compensate?

"Maybe they'll make it actually different for once. I feel like the Splinter Cell stuff is getting jujst a tad tired...." -- Steve Gibson.

RE: Steve's comment early on in the Podcast about the Splinter Cell series (3:57 mins in), what would it be about certain genres that people can play forever and never get tired of them (see: the yearly sports games rehash)... but take a game like Splinter Cell (4 games into this franchise now) and people get tired of it quickly?

Jeez, I'm like four episodes behind now. You gotta start making these things shorter.

That or you guys need to take the holidays off so I can catch up

Both quake 3 links point to the same place.