Thankfully putting our fears of Adam’s demise last week to rest, Adam himself returned triumphantly to this week’s episode of Marooners’ Talk (the 36th of its line), titled, “In Which Rogue Steals Manfaces Instead of Mutant Powers.” Last week, we discussed the Marvel NOW! announcement and what it meant to us (very little). Between the two recordings, I got a look at the Uncanny Avengers #1 cover for Marvel NOW!, and it was fugly (see it below). Deadpool crashed High Moon Studios’ Comic-Con panel to announce his own game, Mass Effect 3 gets brought up again in a negative context (we’re on a roll), and Thom and Adam talk World of Warcraft for a while. Read the full story

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

For the most part over the last few months, we’ve managed to keep our podcasting trio intact. Occasionally, however, either Thom or Adam will totally let everyone down and fail to appear on a weekly episode. Last night, Thom and I found ourselves in just one such situation, as Adam may have died (but we’re fairly certain…pretty sure…hopeful that he’s alive). That being said, allow me to present to you Episode 035 of Marooners’ Talk, “In Which We Mourn the Loss of Adam.” Hopefully this episode title does not end up being literal, after the fact. Read the full story

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

After a busy weekend of rocking out, followed by some hardcore napping, we finally got together to record this week’s podcast episode. Episode 034 of Marooners’ Talk, “Do A Barrel Roll!”, covers various topics. We get off to a slow start, but to be fair it was Monday evening, and not every opening can be fireworks and pinatas, so LAY OFF. There are a few moments of positive discussion this week; specifically, our conversations about limited editions being released this year and our shared admiration of Harmonix titles. The rest of the episode, though, sees us revert to our natural negative natures when discussing Activision (Radical Entertainment), The Amazing Spider-Man, Mass Effect 3 Extended Cut, FOX Marvel movies (Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, X-Men), and the flaws with X-Men: First Class and its absolutely awful Blu-Ray special features. Read the full story

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

I’ve been re-watching a couple of episodes of Scrubs each morning before heading to work over the past few weeks (I’m in Season 6 now), so it should come as no surprise that the title of Marooners’ Talk Episode 033 is reminiscent of most Scrubs episode titles. “My First Import” comes after a missed episode last week, due to houseguests, and is one man short (Thom wasn’t feeling too “hit,” whatever that’s supposed to mean), but we managed to soldier on and get content out to you. We discuss the Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut DLC, Skyrim’s Dawnguard DLC, Nintendo’s post-E3 E3 press conference (along with the lack of included power adapter for Japan/Euro 3DS XL and their reactive position vs. their past proactive/innovative position), and Anarchy Reigns’ North American delay to Q1 2013 (along with its availability fully localized and region free in Japan as Max Anarchy on July 5th, hence the episode title). Read the full story

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

The original idea for this episode of the Marooners’ Talk podcast was to really get into our anticipated titles for the rest of calendar year 2012. While we eventually got around to that, I believe our first 30-45 minutes focused on Internet providers, Doctor Who, used games, and various other topics. Come to think of it, the last 15 minutes kind of got off topic, too, so you’ve got about 45-50 minutes of anticipation discussion in “Looking Forward,” Episode 023 of Marooners’ Talk. Read the full story

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

After completing Mass Effect 3 a total of four times on two platforms, countless hours of multiplayer, and numerous podcasts covering the story and controversies around it, I still don’t know if I’m ready to talk about the game. My career with Mass Effect as a series has meant completion of every game on both Xbox 360 and again on PS3, reading comic books and novels, and pulling everyone I could into the series with me. There is deep emotional attachment that I have to the characters and the world mythology, more than any other game, and more than most book series, so saying good bye to my crew, my friends, was difficult. Writing a review about the end of this journey is eerily similar to writing a eulogy. In the end, that’s really all you need to know about Mass Effect 3. It has managed to create such an emotional resonance that we are discussing the end as if we lost a loved one. There are precious few entries into any medium that can claim that type of personal involvement, and while nowhere near perfect, Bioware set out with a goal in mind, and brought it to stunning fruition that people will strive to recreate for decades. Read the full story

I know that most of you will see “IDDQD” as the title for Episode 021 of Marooners’ Talk and think, “Hey, this must be a great episode completely centered around DOOM and other games of its time and genre!” Yes, we do spend a few minutes on DOOM and the infinitely superior, yet unfortunately less successful Apogee title, Rise of the Triad. Seriously, Rise of the Triad is better than DOOM. Anyway, we discuss the Child’s Play donations from Retake Mass Effect as well as one man’s FTC filing for false advertising in the number of Mass Effect endings. More importantly, though, we discuss the hatred that most game journalists have for gamers. You know, the people they write for. Read the full story

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Marooners’ Rock has reached Episode 020, titled, “The Not Mass Effect Episode.” Despite its name, there is actually a great deal of Mass Effect discussion that takes place in this episode. That being said, there are also a great deal of spoilers for those who have not played Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2, or Mass Effect 3. No content is held back, so if you haven’t had the chance to finish yet, and you don’t want to know what happens, don’t listen. There, I think my due diligence is fulfilled.

The success of BioWare’s choice-driven project known as the Mass Effect franchise is the main topic, with all of the minutiae and details discussed.

As always, you can listen instantly below or subscribe on iTunes and listen on the go! So, you know, do that. Or not. Whatever. Jerk.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

As soon as we came up with the podcast title for this week’s episode, I had a sudden urge for a sandwich. I could have asked my wife to make one for me, but I am particularly averse to getting slapped in the back of the head. “Stop Playing Tekken and Make Me A Sandwich” marks Episode 019 of Marooners’ Talk. We’re a day late because SOMEONE had to have a birthday yesterday, resulting in our recording being bumped to accommodate his terribly busy birthday schedule. Read the full story

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

This weekend I was all ready to avoid the Mass Effect demo.  I didn’t want any spoilers at all, I wanted to walk into the opening of the game fresh so I could fully experience it as it was intended.  I was doing a good job of avoiding the demo too, until news came out that the PC version was available for download and my resolve disappeared.  Less than an hour later I was playing the PC demo and downloading the 360 version so I could check out the Kinect support as well.  Before I get into the meat of the demo let me just say that the opening sequence still has the same emotional impact on me after 3 playthroughs as it did on the first and I can’t wait to get my hands on the full game in a few weeks. Read the full story