01/08/07 - Episode 11

The Dead Pool

This is an episode you may want to keep around to reference later. Why? Because it's our first-annual 2007 Dead Pool episode, where we go 'round the circle and choose three games each we think (using absolutely no scientific means other than a "feeling") will either be canceled outright or delayed into 2008. Who will be right, who will be wrong? We'll just have to see what 2007 brings us. But rest assured there are a few interesting predictions here. We probably should've put some money on the table.

But before we get to that, we talk about a lot of other things. Kicking it off, our completely and totally original What'cha Been Playing segment: CJ gets a PS3 (shock!), Resistance (PS3), Castlevania Portrait of Ruin (DS), Viva Pinata (360), Phantasy Star Universe (360), Wii Sports, Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii), Karaoke Revolution: American Idol (PS2). What we will be playing next week: Lost Planet...and only one of us won't have access to the cool extra-awesome multiplayer map that comes with the $70 collector's edition.

Next we talk about the Halo 3 beta and the new ways the general public can get into it -- which now includes buying a copy of Microsoft's next 360 release, Crackdown. Now the question becomes: is it worth buying a $60 game you might not be interested in to be guaranteed a spot in the Halo 3 beta? Is it fair to Crackdown's developers to hitch its star to such an established and hotly anticipated franchise as Halo?

Then we take a moment to talk about the newly announced E For All event, the new consumer-friendly face of the now-dead E3. But will gamers pay $100 to get a glimpse of new product, will the major publishers attend, and will this event be canceled even before it starts?

Finally, we discuss the leap from gaming journalism to game development in honor of GameSpot editor in chief Greg Kasavin's recent announcement. Two of our hosts have previously made this jump, and they relate their experiences and we talk about others that've done the same.

And that's it for this week! Remember to visit our MySpace page, Digg us, review us on iTunes, leave a comment on the blog page, send us an e-mail at [e-mail]. Thanks for listening!