GameCritics.com Podcast Episode 35: Super Mario Galaxy 2, Monster Hunter Tri and are modern games better than before?

evil mario is great. at least those and some of the 100 coin collecting challenges were harder.
I dislike the underwater segments more.

1up is tradition i want Nintendo games to have.
There is no need to collect any, i sometimes forgot there are lives because it was impossible to lose all. But do we really want e.g. to see Mario without his beard, shaved? So why bother that they keep the 1ups? It won't be an utterly brilliant innovation to dismiss them.

You already can run on all four walls in sidescroll style in Galaxy 1. At least once i can remember. So true that they give one thing and almost never reuse it again.

looking very much forward to play galaxy 2. I give it a 11/10 before even playing it without any doubt.

Really regretting not being able to do the live show that wasn't.

First, Super Mario RPG has a 3/4 top-down perspective, but that was hardly the same game as the Galaxies. Just had to mention SMRPG there.

Also, it was a while ago but I'd classify the Pikmin franchise as something new that Nintendo has brought to the table. Very unique and very good.

My favorite eras are the 16-bit and the current/previous(PS3/PS2, etc.) one. The 16-bit for the reasons Mike mentioned, but this one and the one right before it because of the huge expansion of online play. It used to be that getting people together to play something was a pain for consoles, and even on the PC the networking capabilities weren't as expansive as they are now. Anybody remember MPlayer.com?

Nowadays (piggy-backing on the technology talk) we have Steam and Xbox Live and other services that, combined with massive advancement in networking technology, make playing online a lot easier and much more inclusive. It's flourishing everywhere now as opposed to being PC-centric.

I'd also give points to the current generation for the thriving indie scene. We've seen a lot of stuff come out from independent developers that would not have been made in the past. As someone who has dabbled in game making in the past, getting into game development is much, much easier now than it was than in any other era, and we're seeing lots of good stuff as a result.

Oh Ben Kingsley...

Great great podcast as usual. The main reason why I love your podcasts is because of the topics you choose. On this one, I also like how you guys have different views on which era has better games, even if you all followed the evolution of video games from the start. I personally gotta agree with Brad but that's probably because I'm relatively young.

Have a few questions:

1/ Could give a 5-person panel? I thought Richard's appearance gave a nice contribution as well in the way he explains why some games are interesting (i.e. Dragon Age, Batman).

2/ You guys tend to talk more about consoles than PC (except often recurring Wing Commander). Is it intentional or are you generally just not as knowledgeable/interested in PC?

2/ This one has been haunting my nights: does Filipe really exist or is Tim just messing with us?

More often than not it's simply scheduling logistics that prevent us from inviting a fifth chair. It's always good to mix up the cast though, and GameCritics is fortunate to have a deep bench of insightful minds to call upon. We will be five-manning our E3 show this weekend...although not with a GameCritic. Tune in to find out who joins us!

The real reason: Brad gets cranky if we veer too far into PC land. :) In truth, I'm a huge PC gamer (remember my 2009 GOTY was Plants vs. Zombies) but a major chunk of that PC time is spent on World of Warcraft. We hit the topic occasionally; Mike and I talked Torchlight last year for example, and you can expect StarCraft II and Civilization V discussions when each of those release.

(And I'm going to talk WoW: Cataclysm even if I have to record the show alone.)

But I think Richard is the biggest PC guy on staff, and it's always a treat to have him on, despite is woeful and disgraceful misunderstanding of the rules of Card Sharks.

Quick PC recommendation: Mamono Sweeper, browser based minesweeper with monsters: http://www.hojamaka.com/game/mamono_sweeper/en.html. Addiction, thy name is Mamono.

It's a good thing Filipe doesn't speak English or he might be insulted by this! I assure you, he's a real as he needs to be and is instrumental to ensuring a smooth and timely podcast. I love him like a brother...well...more like a pet.

Whatever. You know Press Your Luck ate Card Sharks for breakfast, lunch, and bonus round.

I use to play many PC games and there are PC games in my top 10 all-time list. Part of the reason I don't play any PC games today is time. We're all very busy and I find the process of installing and patching games to be way too time consuming.