Weekend Confirmed Episode 1

Weekend Confirmed was a great podcast. I have been really disappointed in all the podcasts lately from everyone else (Game Informer, Giant Bombcast, etc), the only one that I am listening to now is Mobcast and this one. You guys rock, keep up the good work.

Why aren't Faylor and/or Alice involved? Brian, Garnett -- you guys are cool, but you're new. I want to hear from the long-timers.

Just got F.E.A.R. 2 and man, Garnett, you are right great game! Thanks for the recommendation!

Not sure whether anyone is still watching the comments, but here's the link to the show for iTunes. If you manually entered the RSS on Friday it would help us if you could resubscribe through the store as that counts in their ranking system.

http://www.itunes.com/podcast?id=364678400

I disagree with Jeff on Just Cause 2 about everything. The dialogue is so bad its funny, the only story needed for a game like Just Cause 2 is a reason why you are in the location. Nothing else.

Crackdown did exactly this. Jeff said he loved crackdown.

Also don't understand the argument of accessibility makes a game better. Is Transformers 2 the best movie ever, cause every one can watch it and understand it? I love both God of War series and the Ninja Gaiden series, but Ninja Gaiden (original xbox version) is the better action game.

I think the problem with God of War series is the QTE's. Ninja Gaiden makes you feel like a bad ass ninja within the restrictions of animation and control. God of War uses the more visually impressive but takes away control and feels like a very cheap way of making Kratos a badass. /rant

Loved the podcast and I enjoyed listening to Brian.

Ok, for anyone on the fence about this podcast here's my itunes review and fanboy opinion :

Finally , the great Garnett Lee is back. This man can do no wrong and he's got som great backup in Jeff Cannata. I don't know much about Brian but I have a feeling this little group will go on to greatness thanks to Garnett.
The first episode started out a little shaky but you could already see that these guys are going places. I'm hoping for a fourth chair in the future and some more differing opinions which leads to the great discussions I love from Garnetts previous shows.

The leader of this podcast is a pro and he's got a pretty interesting panel so I recommend this to anyone interested in gaming news and discussion.

I'm just getting around to listening to the podcast today, so I don't know if anyone will even read this, but I had a comment about God of War 3.

I find it hard to believe that anyone could consider this game the best of this series, much less the best 3D action game of all time. Playing on normal I have had nothing but trouble with a lot of the camera movements and the sometimes unresponsive controls. I dont know how many times I died because the camera was in the wrong place and it wasnt immediately clear where I was supposed to go. Other problems with the camera during fights were causing me to die a lot as well. For example, the part of the game where the demo starts, the first fight with the centaur. I was constantly getting attacked by the centaur while he was completely off screen and had no time to react, much less input the half circle counter move. Then shortly after he would disappear off screen again after his charge move only to catch me completely off guard again and again. After dying about 6 times I just gave up.

Now, I will admit that the controls for the God of War games never have quite clicked with me, but I've never been so frustrated as I have been with 3.

Also regarding the comments about pick up and playability, I though Batman Arkham Asylum was a ton easier to just pick up and play, even on hard. Batman was no where near as challenging, but I had a lot more fun and consistantly felt like a bad ass, where as in GoW3 I feel like I'm pulling off these awesome combos but still getting the shit kicked out of me.

Great podcast. I love the format and I think Garnett is easily one of, if not THE best games podcast host in the history of it.

I've been a little bit on the fence about FFXIII but hearing your praise tipped me over the edge. The high speed turn-based football game sounds interesting. It'd be interesting to see more people try and bring turn-based gameplay to other genres.

Really like the mood of the cast..

you have to change the 4 minute limit to a reasonable timing

like that u bring Jeff Cannata with u and Jeff dude say spoiler alert >_< :D

Garnett like always you ROCK!!

BC2 SP is awful I'm curios about the things that u like in it ?

Is this the right place to post a question for four minute warning?

Question: You talked a bit in your last cast about the barrier stopping gaming from going mainstream. What factors do you guys see as contributing to this? Are developers (with the possible exception of Nintendo) unwilling to risk exploring gameplay and mechanics that appeal to people that don't normally play games? Is there a stigma that goes along with playing video games?

That's three questions, sue me.

More comments on the cast and on my question after the fold.

Very excited that Garnett is back in the hosting chair!

I've spent way too long listening to inferior podcasts waiting for this one to start up.

I want another Shogo, too :(

Quick update on the iTunes Music Store. Reading through their FAQ for podcasters it looks like the submission process has gotten a little longer than I remembered since the last time I started up a show. They don't really say anywhere how long it will take to get approved, only that it is in the queue for staff review. As soon as I get the acceptance email I'll update and include a link.

Good show!

Though that guy who liked BC2 SP has to GO. You can just pick up some console MW2 player off the street and expect him to have a worthwhile opinion on games!

The other guy actually sounds like he has a clue though so that nearly makes up for it

garnett lee im glad that you are part of my top 3 podcasts.. and yes you are #1 )2- giant bomb
and 3 n4g

Why isn't it called "ShackCast"? Weekend Confirmed is a fairly lame name.. :/

Great job Garnett and Jeff.

Brian? I'm sick of your hardcore gamer shtick already. Be less arrogant and dismissive or I'm unsubscribing.

There's going to need to be some changes to the front page for more persistent articles and news, I know where to find this but a newbie won't know where to look.

Show was pretty good I thought, start was a bit slow but the flow kicked in and overall good times.

Very Nice show. Would have loved more SC2 talk from Brian though, hopefully that can be something that happens regularly through the beta. Also hopefully the podcast is more PC centric than console gayming..

I found an interesting question in the middle of Four Minute Warning at 1:05:15

Are hardcore gamers becoming way too jaded about games with inflated and misplaced expectations? Does EVERY game HAVE to be something new?

Quotes and thoughts in reply

This is the first pod cast I have ever listened too, never really had a way to before.
I was able to stream the whole show on my Palm Pre over 3g while I was working today, technology is awesome!
Good show, good pacing and a very enjoyable experience. After I listen to a few more episodes I will chime in with more constructive criticism, but keep up the good work!

Nice job! I like the "what ya been playin" segment the best.

I like it so far. I never realized this podcast would be 2 hours long, but I do approve.

Big feedback in reply. TLDR Version: Good Show.

Y'all forgot Food Fight. Bubble Bobble is full of candy, cakes, and ice cream. The Bear eats honey in Crystal Castles. RAMPAGE!!! Why would someone open their window so that Kong can grab and eat them?!

Copying this to MY ZUNE so that I can listen on the commute home. Being able to sync with multiple PCs is pretty rad.

nothing for months and now IdleThumbs and Shackcast are back, awesome!

GARNETT (I think it was you talking)

How could you have skipped DMC 3 and played the rest? It's the best game out of the entire series and reigns as my all time favorite game >:o.

Hey Garnett and Co. Great show! I've been dying to hear this for god knows how long. Okay maybe that's a bit over the top, but I 'm glad it's finally out. At any rate, great show and I'm looking forward to hearing it on a regular basis.

I enjoyed the whole podcast but was most interested in what you all had to say about Just Cause 2 and Bad Company 2. I was actually playing the Just Cause 2 demo while you all were discussing the game and while I enjoyed it on a very base level I was left with the feeling that it isn't a game that I desperately need to pick up right this second. It looks to me like the typical big dumb fun game that we've seen before in other sandbox games and while I enjoyed it doesn't appear to be adding anything all that new. It seemed like it the game could be summed up by saying, "he did you see that crazy shit I just did? What's that great?" That's not a necessary a bad thing, but I've been playing games like that ever sense the GTA series was born. Basically Just Cause 2 looks like the video game equivalent of getting together with your buddies for a couple of beers (or more) and laughing at the same dumb stories you've told each other for years.

I get it. I like it, but it's by no means the type of game that I need to pick up on right this second. It's much more the type of game that I'll pick up at some point when I realize that I don't have anything to do on a particular weekend and I haven't bought a new game in a while.

Bad Company 2 on the other hand is a game that I've been enjoying the hell out of. It could use a couple more maps but hey I'm digging what we've got so far. This game really is the perfect antidote to my frustrations with Modern Warfare 2. I appreciate that teamwork takes precedents over the ever popular lone wolf approach that most games love to reward. That said I can't say that I was over the moon about the campaign. It had it's moments, but man alive was that thing ever a shooting gallery. That said it was all worth it if only to hear the Sarge talk about what his rap name would be and to hear Haggard admit his concerns about stepping into the afterlife and ah...washing his brain. Funny, funny stuff.

Great show!

I'm glad you liked my question (and it took to you to the Four Minute Warning :)). I think you guys are pretty much on my wavelength on the issue: there tends to be too much cynicism when it comes to new games and the Quixotic quest for (seemingly) every game to be something "new" is counterproductive.

Wooo! Jeff Cannata! I miss Project Lore :(

Talking about the length of "learning" in Final Fantasy XIII, I must attest that I spent nine hours on Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (XBOX) figuring out the gameplay system on the first planet, and that turned out to be one of the best RPGs of that era, and it was butt ugly.

I respectfully request that this podcast be unofficially called Garnett Lee's Goddamn Show.

I just paused 'Idle Thumbs' to check this new podcast out
no pressure

We like it, we allow you to continue.

Just finished the episode and I thought it was great! I can't wait to hear from you guys every week.

Garnett any GoW3 or Heavy Rain spoilers? I'm looking forward to this - gotta spring clean this weekend.

yay podcast

The Football discussion made me think of: http://5secondfilms.com/watch/fantasy_football

I'm diggin it so far. It's more news than wacky drink tasting or WIIIZAAAAAAARDS.