Episode 28 is here to stay!

Check out the brandest, newest, Grand-daddiest of them all...Episode 28.

Want to check out all those crazy Websites we referenced in the Show?

The wacky ones where you need a webcam and a printer? Well, here they are! Let us know what you think.

1) The Assassin's Creed 2 Animus Teaser: http://assassinscreed.us.ubi.com/assassins-creed-2/teaser/

2) The GE Smart Grid Technology: http://ge.ecomagination.com/smartgrid/?c_id=googbrandsmartgrid#/smart_meters (Click on "Open the Door..." link to the far right.)

3) The Sony EyePet Demo Video: http://playstation.joystiq.com/2008/08/20/new-playstation-eye-game-announced-eyepet/

If you find any similar concepts , let us know. This is incredible technology, and it will be amazing to see what we can do with it. See what you think!

Check this all out and more over at www.BarcodePodcast.com!

Episode 27 is going to change your life.

This is an Episode for the Ages.

Why, you ask? Because this is the episode that will go down in history as the one that completely and utterly redefined your image of the BarcodePodcast. Episode 27 is the one you will always remember where your lovable old Barcode Boys made the leap to super-stardom, because this is the moment where

the BCP and HOLLYWOOD collide!

Finally, the Boys will live up to the longest teased bit in podcast history by finally proving themselves to all their fans and getting a world-exclusive interview with non-other than Kari Wahlgren, the Queen of All Media! She's been in countless movies, commercials, anime, and even video games, and she wants to talk to you. Listen as she discusses how to break into the industry, her work with that Star Trek kid, her favorite beers, and her fears over Mike's fixation with children, and not in a good way. You will fear Mike more than ever.

But WAIT, there's more! You will hear more coverage of GDC than you probably need, but way less than the now-infamous E3 Blow-Out. Want to finally hear the Boys spend more than three minutes discussing what they are playing? Tune in! And listen to Craig passionately defend why all media will one day even up utilizing electronic distribution, not just video games, to a clueless Mike.

And in case it's even a question anymore, they drink quite a bit, but the difference is they can't blame their drunkenness on fake sponsors anymore. Because for this episode, the Boys even have an honest-to-goodness sponsor! Listen as they drunkenly try to convey the wonders of www.limbgear.com, or just head on over to the site to get a better idea than those drunken douches could ever explain.

Check it all out and more over at www.BarcodePodcast.com!

Episode 26 is FINALLY here!

Happy St. Patrick's Day.

Yes, we are aware how late this episode is. Yes, we have our reasons. No, we're not going to tell you. Well, maybe Mike will, but you have to ask him first. It really is all his fault, and that makes it funny.

Anyway, this "holiday" episode includes everything you expect in a Barcode show: a HUGE movie gets a bad review, which leads to an even BIGGER blowout argument; the Boys discuss franchises they would love to see come back from the dead, even though they have a ton of games that have barely had the plastic wrap removed; they are joined by an incredibly drunk In-Studio guest from the past who is obviously incapable of keeping his liquor down; and they ramble on and on for what seems like forever. Oh, and Craig clearly doesn't understand that just because you HAVE a sound board doesn't mean you have to USE it. Over and over and over again. And, of course, they drink a lot of beer. It IS St. Patty's Day to them, after all!

This is definitely an episode for the ages. Enjoy it, along with all the new high-tech stuff they have in place in order to make the show seem even more well-produced than it really is. Speaking of which, go over to www.Twitter.com/BarcodePodcast right now and follow their Twits (or however you kids are saying that). You can actually interact with the show LIVE via the Twitter page. Trust us...it'll all make sense in the end.

Check all this out and more over at http://www.barcodepodcast.com/!

-Makk & Mike

Is it really that hard to "Bring the Funny?"

Apparently, when it comes to video games, it may very well be. Video game developers have been trying for years to create games that are genuinely funny, while not forgetting about that whole damn gameplay aspect. This has ended with widely varying results. On one end you have older games like the Monkey Island series, the original Space Quest games, Maniac Mansion & its sequel Day of the Tentacle, Duke Nukem series, and (more recently) Portal or the Sam & Max and Penny Arcade episodes. These games take various approaches to humor, whether it's childish jokes like Duke Nukem, ridiculous insanity such as Sam & Max, or more thought-provoking obscure humor such as Portal. And don't forget the Grand Theft Auto games brand of off-color humor, including the radio DJs and commercials. However, games often focus on spoof to generate laughs, such as the recent Bard's Tale or the Simpson's Movie game. Taking nothing away from a spoof, which can be quite good when done well, it is typically seen as the lowest common denominator (as evidenced by the recent rash of " Movie" that the Wayans have milked for years since the mildly interesting original Scary Movie all the way back in 2000...don't even bother seeing one from the last 7 years. You'll thank us.).

On the other hand, just as many games have tried and failed to use humor as a center stage. Take, for example, a game like Bad Mutha Truckers 2: Truck Me Harder (which, consequently is not funny because they decided to actually make a sequel). Two ideas this game should learn from general humor outside the video game world:

1) A play on words is, in truth, not funny 99.9% of the time. In fact, it is probably just annoying to everyone.
2) Anyone who tries really hard to be funny is usually just embarrassing and pathetic. We have all been 'that guy' at sometime in our lives, and it is nothing to be ashamed of. Unless for some reason you decide to put that horribly pathetic snapshot of your life and decide to expand it into 6-10 hours of shame and sell it for the whole world to go back to and mock incessantly at will. I would guess you get the point by now.

Another example of failed humor is BMX XXX. First off, see rule one above. Secondly, who actually thought the idea of naked porn stars, pixellated boobies, and BMX riding would be funny?? Am I missing something?

Or remember Topheavy Studios' "The Guy Game?" Where they took the fantastic You Don't Know Jack trivia game, added naked chicks, and removed all the humor? Yeah, you're way better off if you don't. (Another note to self: clearly adding nudity to a genre that doesn't normally work with it doesn't make it wacky and hilarious, just strange and uncomfortable.)

Which brings me to the reason for this post in the first place. You may have heard of a game that just came out for both the 360 and PS3 names "Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard." It chronicles the triumphant return of video game action icon from the 80's and early 90's and blatant Duke Nukem homage, Matt Hazard. Go look up his history at www.doyouremembermatthazard.com if you don't remember or missed him the first few times around...we'll wait.

Back? Okay, well so far so good. Vicious Cycle Software basically created the character from top to bottom as a spoof of various action video game and movie characters, with kicker being that he knows he's a video game character. They then proceed to mock, not merely spoof, everything you know about video games as a whole. For example, there is a scene right at the start of a level where his mission tasks are being transmitted to him via the top corner of the screen. Instead of one or two tasks, it starts scrolling down the entire screen with ridiculously specific goals, until he finally says, "Ummm...can we just get to the specifics?" The words disappear, and is replaced with a text stating "Kill Everything That Moves," to which he replies, "That's more like it." Or the battle against Altos Tratus, the huge JRPG-style boss that requires Matt to read all his text before clicking a button to advance to the next box, and even going so far as to his frustration with time wasted due to a response via an ellipsis.

I won't pretend that every joke hits. Even if more than half make you chuckle, the game is significantly better than most attempts at humor available. But if you remember back to the second sentence of this blog, you'd know that there was an enttire other half to the comedy game: in fact, it is the gameplay itself. And this is where Matt Hazard falls apart. The humor is evident, but it almost seems as though the designers put all their effort into that at the expense of gameplay. It feels very unpolished, and even broken in some areas, such as overly complicated controls and killboxes to a degree you have never seen before towards the end of the game. You could argue that a funny game with broken gameplay is better than a well-played unfunny attempt at a humorous game, but why should gamers have to settle for both?

Now we come to the end of the blog, where I offer a solution to the problem. Or I would, rather, if I had one. And if I did, wouldn't we be making games instead of doing a halfway funny podcast about them? In the end, "Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard" is a relatively funny mocking of video games that has some poor gameplay attached to it. I recommend you rent or borrow it if you can, if only to see how many of the inside jokes you get and/or laugh at. But you'll have to wait a little longer for that elusive games that somehow finds the right mix of both integral parts of the comedy game.

Makk
www.BarcodePodcast.com
www.facebook.com/BarcodePodcast

Episode 25 was chock-full of lists you need!

And Here....We...Go.

The Top Ten List of Alcohol-Involved Games

10. Duke Nukem 3D

9. Leisure Suit Larry (Series)

8. BioShock

7. Postal 2

6. Oblivion

5. Conker's Bad Fur Day

4. Tapper (The Original)

3. Fallout 3 (and Series)

2. Grand Theft Auto 4

1. Condemned 2

Beer-Tasting Challenge List of Options

From Left to Right...

1. Rochefort Trappist #6
2. Starboard Oat Malt Stout
3. Weyerbacher FireSide Ale
4. Oskar Blues Gordon Ale
5. Flying Dog Gonzo Porter
6. Oskar Blues Dale's Pale Ale
7. BluePoint Toasted Lager
8. Founder's Double Trouble
9. Oskar Blues Ten-Fidy Stout
10. Flying Dog Horn Dog Barley Wine Ale
11. Samichlaus Malt Bier
12. Sinebrychoff Porter

Check it all out and more at www.BarcodePodcast.com!

-Makk & Mike

The BarcodePocast isn't just about tech, right?

There is also that little part about the liquor. Beer, to be exact. Well, the Boys decided to give you all a very special Episode this week:

The Beer Episode!

This is the very first time you have ever seen (or heard) an episode this incredible, this ambitious, this awe-inspiring, so strap in, kids! The Boys were able to pull together a bunch of alcohol-themed Listener Live questions (some better than other...and some just plain terrible), beer-related News items, a beer version of ListMania (which you can find under Updates Galore as well as in this blog), and their most ambition bit yet: a first-ever, LIVE on the podcast, Beer-Tasting Competition! You will just have to listen to find out who will be crowned the King of All Beers. Plus, as a Bonus, the Boys replay their Award-Winning "Build the Best Bar" bit that you all raved over.

As scary as it may be, you will most likely even learn something from this episode, so grab a beer or twelve, try not to get too hammered, and enjoy the First Ever (but certainly not the Last) BarcodePodcast Beer Episode!

Check all this out and more over at www.BarcodePodcast.com!

-Makk & Mike