Weekend Confirmed 114 - Diablo 3, Max Payne 3, Lost Planet 3

Diablo 3 has strengthened its hold on Jeff Cannata who really only wants to talk about his barbarian, but there's so much more to cover. Garnett returns to the driver's seat after spending last week getting a sneak peek at some of the big games ready to vie for the spotlight at E3. "Indie" Jeff and Andrea Rene complete the adventuring party that gets down to business discussing their varying degree of anticipation for E3, the demise of 38 Studios, and the plight of subscription model MMOs, whether Max Payne 3 actually improves the gunplay over previous Rockstar open world games, and a handful of other games including Lost Planet 3 and Rock Band Blitz. Put a bird on it with Finishing Moves and you've got one massive show to take along on the Memorial Day weekend.

Listen: Weekend Confirmed Episode 114 »

With Garnett absent due to being neck-deep in E3 Judges' Week, the two Jeffs and Andrew are joined by Joystiq's Xav de Matos to discuss a couple of big new releases from the past week, and more. Diablo III gets discussed--both in terms of the game itself and its launch-time server issues--as does Rockstar's moody shooter, Max Payne 3. There's also some banter about Naughty Dog's upcoming survival-themed The Last of Us and the A Game of Thrones tie-in game, and more, before the crew brings it all home with Finishing Moves.

Listen: Weekend Confirmed Episode 113 »

Tera has been stealing sleep from Jeff, and is trying to lure Garnett into its clutches as well. They discuss the new MMORPG's action combat that arguably favors a controller over keyboard with "Indie" Jeff and Christian. Like the zombies in the game, The Walking Dead comes back for another week, and not to be outdone, there are more zombie good times with Brainsss. The new Assassin's Creed 3 trailer's in-game action left everyone stoked for the prospects of being in the thick of the American Revolution. And there's time for a few more things before Finishing Moves wraps it all up.

Listen: Weekend Confirmed Episode 112 »

Blockbuster games headline this episode of Weekend Confirmed. Elder Scrolls Online, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, and God of War: Ascension alone could more than fill the show but there's more. Mike Schramm of TUAW and Joystiq helps the two Jeffs and Garnett bring the awesome needed to keep up with it all. The discussion of role-playing games also includes the recently released pirate-themed Risen 2. Sniper Elite V2 and a couple other things also make their way into the crowded mix before Finishing Moves puts the final exclamation point on the show.

Listen: Weekend Confirmed Episode 111 »

PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale got announced for the PS3 this week and Garnett, Andrew, and regular guest James Stevenson all got to play it some. They share their experience with an envious Jeff Cannata. He too has had some fun, though, notching up his kills in Tribes Ascend. A discussion of free to play ensues, with a brief look at Super Monday Night Combat as well. There's also time to get into the new Walking Dead game, have a look at the NBA Baller Beats trailer, and talk about the potential for a "pure" survival horror game from Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami. All that and yes, even more before the curtain closes on Finishing Moves.

Listen: Weekend Confirmed Episode 110 »

There's no two ways around it, the run to E3 has started. Big news leads off this episode of Weekend Confirmed with Sony announcing a new God of War game in the works for PlayStation 3. One of last year's E3 surprises, Prey 2, also finds its way into the news with word of a delay as rumors swirl around its development. Screen Tear host Carlos Rodela joins the two Jeff's and Garnett as they tackles these stories along with more love for Fez and plenty of enthusiasm for the finger-melting action of Trials Evolution. There's even some board game love worked in there before Finishing Moves brings it all home.

Listen: Weekend Confirmed Episode 109 »

Andrea, the two Jeff's, and Garnett waste no time getting right to all the new info on Resident Evil 6, Lost Planet 3, and Devil May Cry coming out of Capcom's recent press event. They also have a few quick updates from a similar event held by Namco that unveiled a PC version of Dark Souls and provided an update on the status of a western release for Ni No Kuni. We also get a first look at FEZ and Andrea shares some of what she saw at PAX East, including the awesome-sounding indie, Super T.I.M.E. Force. There's much more along the way as well before putting the Finishing Moves on this episode.

Listen: Weekend Confirmed Episode 108 »

Fresh off the reveal of the reveal of the ambitious iOS game Republique which will be the debut title for his newly formed Camoflaj studio, Ryan Payton joins Garnett and the two Jeffs this week. They discuss the mix of stealth, exploration, and some voyeurism going into the design and the aspirations for it in advance of a Kickstarter campaign that begins Monday. With the Mass Effect "Extended Cut" announced the subject of bringing big games to a conclusion also comes up. There are new games to talk about as well with Jeff sharing some impressions from four and a half hours of playing Borderlands 2, Garnett giving a quick take on Ridge Racer Unbounded (don't think you know how that goes), and, yes, Yakuza 4 talk. All that and Finishing Moves tops things off.

Listen: Weekend Confirmed Episode 107 »

Jeff Cannata takes a well-earned week off but his Double Jump partner in crime Christian Spicer takes up the slack. He joins "Indie" Jeff and Ariel Angelotti to fill out the table around Garnett for this week's show. Our strong response to Journey sparked many discussions in the show thread last week, which reignites the conversation. From there the topic turns to good look at Xenoblade Chronicles, the game Operation Rainfall helped ensure got a North American release. After that Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City and Silent Hill Downpour square off in a debate over which revered survival horror franchise has suffered the hardest fall. And there's some chewing on the latest PlayStation 4 rumors and other news bits before wrapping it all up in finishing moves.

Listen: Weekend Confirmed Episode 106 »

After a long look at Mass Effect 3 last week, Jeff, Jeff, Andrea, and Garnett turn their attentions to Journey, the upcoming Mists of Pandaria expansion for World of Warcraft, and other games. However, they cannot ignore the interesting turn the controversy over the ending of Mass Effect 3 took with BioWare co-founder Dr. Ray Muzyka directly addressing fans to promise them "clarity" and "closure" through new content the team will create. We also catch up on the announcement of an Epic Mickey sequel along the way to wrapping up with Finishing Moves.

Listen: Weekend Confirmed Episode 105 »

Mass Effect 3 tops everyone's list. There's no way the Weekend Confirmed crew couldn't talk about it, but there are no spoilers... hell, Cannata's not even finished with it yet and we wouldn't want to do that to him. It's no secret, though, that the game's ending has rubbed a lot of fans the wrong way. What we want from game endings and the difficulties faced in putting a conclusion on a story we've invested so many hours offers a lot to consider. We also take a first look at some of our impressions from the game being careful to not give anything story-related away. Other things are happening as well. There's the Diablo 3 release date announcement, finally, and we've got a bunch of stuff left over from GDC last week as well. It's a non-stop ride to Finishing Moves.

Listen: Weekend Confirmed Episode 104 »

Weekend Confirmed goes on the road to the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco and finds some long-time friends of the show to make it a doubly excellent episode. John Davison of CBSi joins Jeff and Garnett for the show, with 8-4 Play's Mark MacDonald and videogame editorial ninja Billy Berghammer tag-teaming the fourth chair. Along with some of the topics of the day from the conference, the group catches up on a long list of games. Halo 4 and the newly announced Wreckateer highlight take top honors from Microsoft's recent Spring Showcase Event, the first look at Medal of Honor Warfighter also gets its due, SSX springs back to the forefront of the discussion again this week, and there's much more. Special thanks to CBSi and GameSpot for graciously opening the door and allowing Weekend Confirmed the space to record the show again this year.

Listen: Weekend Confirmed Episode 103 »

GDC looms on the horizon next week but there's no quiet before the storm. Christian Spicer and James Stevenson join Jeff and Garnett for a show stacked with great games. SSX, Binary Domain, and Syndicate co-op lead the pack, and there's still plenty more to talk about with the PlayStation Vita. The conversations also cover some of your games that drive you right to the brink but keep you coming back for more and hoped-for inclusions in the rumored to be announced SimCity 5. And that's just some of the talk that races by along the way before Finishing Moves caps it all off.

Listen: Weekend Confirmed Episode 101 »

The second century of Weekend Confirmed begins with a corker. Coin-op TV's Rob "Pennyman" Welkner joins Jeff, Ariel, and Garnett for episode 101. They've been playing games like Alan Wake's American Nightmare, Syndicate, and the Darkeness 2. With countless hours invested in Skylanders, Rob helps shed some light on how this unlikely game became a breakout hit for kids of all ages. Discussions also take a look at why we play games that make us curse at the screen, whether Mass Effect 3's day-one DLC is a must-have for the "complete" experience, and Sony's explanation and apology for not offering the PSP UMD "Passport" transfer service to Vita owners outside Japan. All that and more before Finishing Moves puts the exclamation point on the show.

Listen: Weekend Confirmed Episode 101 »

Weekend Confirmed serves up its epic 100th episode with Jeff and Garnett joined by Jeff Mattas, Ariel Angelotti, and Andrea Rene. The celebration includes your listener greetings, a look back at some of the origins and good times from the first century of Weekend Confirmed, and, of course cake and beer. There's a whole lot more to get to as well. The PlayStation Vita started arriving outside Japan and we take a good look at the retail hardware, the user experience, and a couple of the launch games like Uncharted: Golden Abyss and Lumines Electronic Symphony. Jeff and Garnett both talk about the fun they're having in Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, but square off when it comes down to how good the game is. There's even a philosophical discussion on the convergence of physical and virtual economies as relates to intellectual property. All that and more before it all wraps up in Finishing Moves.

Listen: Weekend Confirmed Episode 100 »