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Been out of action for a while, so I'm catching up on some old news. I did the pre-order deal for Left 4 Dead 2 with three friends, which nets us a discount and the Scout's bat from Team Fortress 2 as a melee weapon. I'm genuinely impressed with what I've seen so far, so hopefully my purchase is justified. In effort to quell some the unrest over the release of the sequel so soon after the original, Valve recently flew two of the most prominent boycotters out to their headquarters for some hands-on time with the game. Now if I'm understanding this correctly, if I complain loudly enough about one of their games Valve will fly me out to their secret bunker and let me play it before anyone else. And so, I'd like to announce my boycott of Half Life 2: Episode 3....

With Demon's Souls nearing release, it's all things Atlus! We welcome Atlus USA's Manager of PR Aram Jabbari to the show. Localization strategies, digital distribution, aggregate sites, and much more are covered, and we take our best shot at getting you some Persona scoop! The back half of the show brings some of the most in-depth Demon's Souls discussion around. Featuring Chi Kong Lui, Brad Gallaway, Mike Bracken, and Tim "Tim Spaeth" Spaeth.

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Topic and Game References:

• Atlus
• Shin Megami Tensei series
• Trauma Center series
• King's Field series
• Cubivore
• Demon's Souls Review

Please send feedback and mailbag questions to podcast (at) gamecritics (dot) com.

Do games need to be easier to attract a wider audience? Or are games too easy as it is? Where did all the hard games go? What role does culture play? Will "Autoplay" features reduce frustration or just make gamers lazier than ever? With your help, we attack these questions from all directions. Also: quick hits on Scribblenauts and Muramasa: The Demon Blade. With Chi Kong Lui, Brad Gallaway, and Tim "If You Lose at Candy Land You're Banished to the Woods" Spaeth.

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Topic and Game References:

• Gamasutra: Are Games Too Much Like Work? by Lew Pulsipher
• Scribblenauts
• Muramasa: The Demon Blade
• Sorcerian
  

Please send feedback and mailbag questions to podcast (at) gamecritics (dot) com.

What the PlayStation 3 has lacked until now in its losing battle with the Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii is a compelling price point.

That looks like it will finally change this September—or maybe before that. Sony has announced it will drop the price of the PlayStation 3 (80GB model) priced at $399 to $299 immediately. That means you can run out right now and get the current PlayStation 3 for $299. What interesting though is that in a couple of weeks (September 1st), you can go to you local electronics chain and get a sexy new, slim version of the PlayStation 3 for $299 as well. On top of that the slimmer version comes with a 120GB hard drive.

Production Weekly is reporting that the newest Resident Evil film, titled Resident Evil: Afterlife is set to begin shooting this September 28th in Toronto. No real details have emerged yet (although the film is currently slated for a September 17th, 2010 release date). We do know this much—the newest outing will take place in Tokyo. I figure it's safe to assume that Milla Jovovich will return, but that's not official at this point.

Have we been too hard on Nintendo? According to your feedback, we have. We take a thoughtful look at the company, it's past, present, and future and offer our definitive stance on The House of Mario. Don't worry, it's not 60 straight minutes of unbridled hate. 56 minutes, maybe. Featuring Chi Kong Lui, Brad Gallaway, Mike Bracken, and Tim Spaeth.

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Topic and Game References:

• Nintendo Wii
• Super Mario Galaxy
• Wii Sports
• EA Sports Active
• Mario Kart
• Metroid
• The Legend of Zelda
• Animal Crossing
• Assassin's Creed
• The Conduit
• E3 2009

Please send feedback and mailbag questions to podcast (at) gamecritics (dot) com.

The Times today is reporting that Activision CEO Bobby Kotick has suggested that his company, the largest independent gaming company in the world, might cut support for Sony if the PS3 doesn't become more profitable.

Not even the Wii Vitality Sensor could measure the explosive force of our E3 episode. Press conferences! Motion control! Overpriced handhelds! And of course, games, games, games. It's the Internet's only source for E3 analysis, so of course you won't want to miss it. Featuring "Big Daddy" Brad Gallaway, "Horror Geek" Mike Bracken, "Canucklehead" David Stone, and "Nicknameless" Tim Spaeth.

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Please send feedback and mailbag questions to podcast (at) gamecritics (dot) com.