Another day passes, but I wish it was Tuesday instead of Monday. Why you ask? Because there's this little game you may have heard of called
 

Uncharted 2

I was a big fan of the first game, but it had some obvious flaws. The gunplay wasn't as smooth as it could be, enemies took way too much damage so any possibility of fun was stripped away instantly, and overall the game focused a tad too much on the combat instead of going through the jungle environments and structures.
 
Despite all that, it was a good-ole time and was the only Ps3 game I owned for around six-seven months. None of the other games for the system particularly interested me, but of course I went on to get the Sig mas, KIllzone, LittleBigPlanet, InFamous, etc. Regardless, I loved Uncharted, and from what I hear Uncharted 2 is going to end up being even more amazing than the first. I usually don't like games that build up as being the greatest game ever, or a game with "zero complaints" but I have a feeling its going to be true in this case.
 
I've been playing the Multiplayer Beta on PSN for Uncharted 2, and what's surprising is... I'm actually loving it. It retains the Uncharted feel of jumping around and exploring the pretty landscape, while still managing to be fun for competitive multiplayer. There's also a co-op campaign that I believe is separate from the real campaign, but that's another reason to spend more time with the game. I'm looking forward to the story, pacing, and general design on the game that's out in less than 24 hours. I might even call GameStop and ask if they're having a midnight sale, cause I'd totally be there if they do. But that's still a few hours away. Which in the mean time I could listen to...
 

TalkGames "You Are Dead" 10/11/09

Latest episode of TalkGames is out now! It comes out every Sunday and if you were subscribed to us on iTunes you'd know that, and already have listened/downloaded the show. The title for this show comes from Resident Evil's death screen. Most games have a passive "You died" or "Game Over" and in some cases "Character X has died." But Resident Evil was much more in your face about it. There's something about "You Are Dead" that's so much more brutal and demoralizing. Of course this episode earned that title due to the amount we talk about Resident Evil, and Survival Horror games as a whole. We still talk a good bulk about Demon's Souls, possible Death of Single Player Gaming, and more, but check out the show notes for the specifics:
 
 Slade got a new mic, it goes in an out of alright quality to great quality. Shows notes:

Left4Dead Crash Course Maps (2:10) Zombie Apocalypse (6:45) Shadow Complex briefly (9:10) Demon's Soul - Kinda long, very interesting (12:45) SAW (27:45) Bayonetta (32:20) Uncharted 2 Multiplayer Beta (37:40) Knights of the Old Republic (44:45) BREAK!

Artie Gets Schooled Part 1: Jedi Knight 2 (46:50) Part 2: Resident Evil (58:30) BREAK AGAIN!

News (1:24:00) Email: Scary Survival Horror Games (1:25:20) Email: Modern Warfare 2 - American Locales (1:42:00) Different Types of Storytelling in games (1:46:50) What's with completionists and achievement whores (1:53:00) Is single player going to die (2:03:50) Email: What controller do we prefer (2:11:00)

Email into the show for Artie Gets Schooled or any question you have at (artie --at-- talkxbox --dot-- com). I can't put the actual address because then spam bots send me emails. Remember the trivia for this week is: Why did Capcom change Biohazard's name to Resident Evil for the US and Europe release? 
 
And yes, we do have trivia for the podcast now. As of right now, its just for fun, but it could amount to some wonderful prizes? Participate, and maybe something good will turn up for you. It'd be a shame if you had to start all the way from the beginning again...
 

Demon's Souls

So I bought Demon's Souls. And I'm sensing that this game is going to follow a similar trajectory of Dead Rising. For those of you who never played Dead Rising. Here's a general chart of emotions as you get further and further into the game: 

T his is great >> Hmm these survivors aren't the smartest >> Wtf these convicts are retarded >> WHAT THE FUCK WHY DO THEY COME BACK AFTER I KILLED THEM?!?! >> Holy shit i just missed a fucking mission cause of a time limit? >> this shitty game is making me start over >> Fuck this game >> OH MY GOD THIS IS FUCKING RETARDED >> JESUS CHRIST I HATE EVERYONE AT CAPCOM >> I AM GOING TO DESTROY THIS FUCKING DISC AND SLIT THE THROATS OF THE DEVELOPERS WITH IT >> AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH >> Hey this game is pretty awesome.
 
So far I'm at about stage 3 "Wtf this is retarded" for Demon's Souls. The game started out beautifully. A lot of people complained about starting from the beginning whenever you died, but the first level isn't too bad to grind through a few times, and you get the hang of it pretty quickly. Eventually these enemies end up becoming good drinking pals cause you've seen them so frequently. And the first level ends with a cool boss fight. Its not incredible epic, difficult, or overwhelmingly entertaining, but it was just cool. I really felt like I was a hero in medieval times taking down a terrible monster.
 
The second level I completed without even dying once. The grand finale was against a gargantuan Knight who was a few stories tall (aptly named the "Tower Knight") as half a dozen archers fired at me. I had hired another "lost soul" to help me at this point, so as he took down the archers on the right I went to the left, then we took turns distracting the Knight while the other person hit his feet and ran away before he could attack. It was really tense, exciting and fun. But after that I wasn't sure where to go since that world had stopped me from progressing and I had to start somewhere else. 
 
I ended up picking the worst next world to visit, but I only found that out a few hours ago. In that world though, I was shouting a lot at things like cheap fire spears, plague, poisons, getting knocked off cliffs, and other terrible things that frustrated me. With my new knowledge I'm going to go back into the game, and I'd suggest other people check it out, but its very hardcore. Its not a very difficult game, but any mistake you can make over a 20 minute level will send you back to the beginning again. Its for a special kind of niche, but if you really like medieval RPGs where you feel like the hero, this is a perfect game for you. Also the online is very interesting (and explained in our podcast).
 
 
 
That's going to be it for MawnDae today because this is already ridiculously long. Listen to the podcast, leave a comment or send an email to contribute to the show, anyone else play Demon's Souls? Thoughts? Lemme know.