This week on Loaded Dice Cast, we go deep inside Dubs. Sometimes us members of the PC Master Race have to figure out how the other half lives. Walk a mile in the shoes of the dirty console underclass, so that when we spit on them from on high, we understand the sweet justice of it all. Indeed we step inside the mind of this scruffy, console loving Japanophile with dangerous and subversive opinions about game design and quality and we learn some very interesting things. He even graces us with a twofer review of his favorite games of late: The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds and Bravely Default. In the end, we emerge from the sweat lodge having learned something about learning styles and gaming preferences, which is not exactly what we were expecting. And finally, because it is Dubs, we draft megaman bosses. To the Dubsmobile!
But the good news is, we are back. And we have some questions for you. Some things that don’t really add up. We talk about Battlestar Galactica the board game, and Battlestar Galactica the TV show. Evan asks questions about “The Goddamn Batman” and Vince wants to know what is it, exactly, that Gandalf and the Hobbits are packing their pipes with.
So the exciting world of CES has come and gone making most of us have to walk away holding our iPads and tablets over our general genital area to conceal our technological boners. Though one thing left my hard drive floppy and that was the Steam Box, or should I say Steam Boxes since they had 13 of them. I'm sorry I'm using the wrong name, Steam Machines, which is pretty fitting since most of them were not terribly arousing, and felt more like milking machine desperately pumping for cash.
I'm sure I sound brash, and dickish, but that's because I am. I was in fact one of the people hoping for the second coming to come free me from the tyrannical rule of Microsoft, and Sony, but to put it simply that isn't happening. I'm not trying to say that none of the machines are impressive, because some extremely impressive, and so are their price tags. I'm talking two or three times what you would spend on a XBone or PS4, the priciest being the Tiki by Falcon Northwest at $6,000. The rest are nice enough except for the fact that they still cost as much of the standard console, and if you already own a decent gaming PC there is nothing absolutely pulling you to buy one.
In which our intrepid heroes Dubs, Kevin, Vince and Derek engage in a semi-live podcast (Derek was still in Seattle) with one live audience member, Andrew. We discover that when you only have audience member heckling you, they're not so much a heckler as a member of the podcast, and so, Welcome Andrew!
We tried out a new format this time to get to the topic a little quicker. Let us know what you think. And what is the topic you might ask? Well, Kevin has a bee in his bonnet about Ewoks. They simply don't get the respect they deserve and it is all Jar Jar's fault. Kevin takes us on a Caravan of Courage into the world of the Ewoks and we discuss whether or not they have an important and awesome role to play in Star Wars, or if they are just better edited out. Within the podcast we begin to illuminate not only these important ideas, but also the brave defiance of the odds that Kevin has mounted in order to ensure that he is (presumably) not a virgin.
Our review this week was a double dose of moviegoing, with Ender's Game and Thor 2 discussed and arbitrarily rated.
With Thanksgiving looming like a deadline from the Emperor, we discuss what we are thankful for, Nerd edition, 2013.
We're coming to get your brains! We have none of our own! Kevin, Evan, return guest Ryan, and blast from the past Matty G rises from his grave! Together, we discuss the ever present Zombie genre. It looks like the Walking Dead is really hitting its stride this season, and with Halloween just passed, we take a moment to survey the post-apocalyptic landscape. We discuss, both in the draft and outside of the draft, what do Zombies really mean? Is the genre dead, or undead? Fast or slow? And the best tropes that exist. Laughs are had by all, and we drink our fair share of winter beers.
Additionally, Evan provides a fantastic review of the Fate Core RPG system that he, Kevin and wife-unit have been using to run a modern-zombie campaign.
Special bonus game this episode: Drink every time Kevin says "like" or "narrative".
This one is just a quick hitter because I just watched the new Captain America: The Winter Soldier trailer and I am pumped. Check it out below:
Wow. There's so much to love here in such a small package. (Yes, you may insert joke here).
First and foremost, it looks like Marvel will be cribbing liberally from Ed Brubaker's amazing run on Captain America (November 2004 to October 2012), which for my money is one of the best runs in a comic, ever. If you want to read the books before seeing the movie, that's the place to start. The Winter Soldier is the title of one of the best Brubaker's arcs, and it looks like the plot beats that characterize the arc are central to the film.
The high points all appear to be represented. On the surface, we have the mystery of who is The Winter Soldier. (We won't spoil it here). However, even within the trailer we see the layers of subtlety of theme being peeled back. The genius of Brubaker's run on Captain America is that he didn't utilize Captain America as just another super hero, or even as a sort of jingoistic American power fantasy. Instead, Brubaker's run was a meditation on what it means to be American in the 21st century, and the tension between the legacy of the idealized American past, particularly "The Greatest Generation" and the realities of an ever-changing, frightening and menacing world. The use of Captain America was a lens in which we could envision how "Old America" would view "New America" and thereby reconcile the two rapidly diverging ideas, and the nexus at which our American ideals converge upon our American realities. In this case, the tensions between pre-emptive warfare and our idealized sense of justice, and even more subtle meditations, as manifested in Cap's suit which appears to have eschewed the more idealistic, symbolic Red White and Blue for a an approach that can be simultaneously be described as practical and stealth, or perhaps sneaky, covert and, even Anti-American. I'm sure the symbolism that the only sign of America left on Caps' costume, the star, is also featured within the trailer on the Winter Soldier's metallic arm, will not go unremarked upon.
On top of this substantive work, we see some of the other special sauce that's going to make this All-American burger so tasty. The character list is impressive. Natasha Romanov, "The Winter Soldier", Nick Fury, and Robert Redford as Alexander Pierce, who appears to be directing S.H.I.E.L.D. (even I don't understand this mystery, but it looks awesome), as well as The Falcon, who not only is a fantastic and underrated companion character to Captain America, but looks to be given a phenomenal character design for the movies.
I also want to commend the first 30 seconds of this trailer in particular. I felt it was a bold move to lead your action movie trailer with a relatively quiet character moment between Romanov and Rodgers. The gamble paid off in a big way, though. The acting and interplay between Evans and Johansson is extremely engaging and playful, and yet the end beat of the scene is the sort of heroic moment that immerses you in that Captain America feeling. I have to confess that after that 30 second clip, I had to readjust my expectations. I was ready for a movie to start, and, sadly, only had a trailer. Ultimately, that scene served to give me the intangible feeling of quality which really shaped my impression of the rest of the trailer. Something whispered to me "Don't worry Captain America fanboy, we'll take good care of you, we understand."
Despite their excellent track record, I've never been this excited for a Marvel movie. Sure, it's just a trailer, but this one may end up ranked with the first Iron Man film in terms of quality, if this trailer is any indication. Obviously, too soon to tell, but boy do they have me excited!
Coming at you with the booziness, Loaded Dice Cast is back! Prompted by the new game Beyond 2 Souls, marketed as a movie more than a video game, The Loaded Dice crew attempts (drunkenly) to examine the convergence of traditional forms of visual narrative with video games. Vince drinks the brown, Dubs uses bud heavies as cough syrup, Evan, predictably, gets fancy, and Kevin forgets to eat dinner but remembers to pound 7 beers. A certain liquidity overtakes the conversation, but we get some cool stuff out of it.
In the beginning of the episode, Kevin talks about his experience at NY Comicon 2013.
The draft this week covers a theoretical Loaded Dice Kickstarter, where you, dear listener, fund our hookers and booze habit, and receive dubious prizes in return.
