Dave, Jon, and Erich convene for what may or may not be the actual 50th episode (either way, we’ll celebrate the milestone next week) by eagerly anticipating Dante’s Inferno, giving the Wii some hard-hitting love in the form of Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, and heaping more praise on both games in the Mass Effect series. Are you tired of hearing us talk about Batman: Arkham Asylum? Good news: Erich finally finished it. Bad news: he talks about it one last time. To finish, this week’s Symposium Ad Nauseum takes us all around the world, from London to the Bay.

Hammer out your own thoughts in the comments below, over to the DVD Verdict Jury Room forums, or by emailing us at feedback@pixelverdict.com.

You can listen to the show with the player below, download it here, or subscribe through iTunes or by adding our feed to your podcatcher of choice.

It’s a two-man show this week, as Steve and Erich pour one out for Conan O’Brien, dig into space sequel extraordinaire Mass Effect 2, go back in time with PS2 launch title Summoner, bemoan the Killer Croc stage of Batman: Arkham Asylum, wonder whether some games are just too darn long, and pay lip service to sports with this week’s Symposium Ad Nauseum “Super Bowl Special!”

Now it’s your turn. Leave your comments below, head over to the DVD Verdict Jury Room forums, or email us at feedback@pixelverdict.com.

You can listen to the show with the player below, download it here, or subscribe through iTunes or by adding our feed to your podcatcher of choice.

Dave, Tim, and Erich do their best to alienate listeners with musings on the religious implications of recent games, the tail-end of the NFL season, and NBA Jam tournament memories. The boys make up for it, though, with another 40 minutes of video game talk. Tim still loves Modern Warfare 2, Dave sings the praises of Darksiders, Erich learns a valuable lesson about his gaming tastes thanks to Batman: Arkham Asylum, and should difficulty count in review scores? The capper is this week’s Symposium Ad Nauseum: Over My Dead Body is My Daughter Marrying That Guy. Oh, and pinball.

Leave your sports talk rants in the comments below, over in the DVD Verdict Jury Room forums, or by emailing us at feedback@pixelverdict.com.

You can listen to the show with the player below, download it here, or subscribe through iTunes or by adding our feed to your podcatcher of choice.

Jon and Steve join Erich for a gamestravaganza of epic-ish proportions! There is praise-singing for Darksiders and Bayonetta, admiration for Army of Two: the 40th Day, and iPhone game recommendations by Steve (yes… Steve). In other news, Jon digs into Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, Erich can’t stop talking about Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection (though he does so long enough to give his long overdue impressions of Batman: Arkham Asylum), and Steve talks about going to the coolest high school ever. Keeping with the awkward teen theme, the crew wraps things up with this week’s Symposium Ad Nauseum: the ideal video game prom date.

You can share your high school memories in the comments below, over in the DVD Verdict Jury Room forums, or by emailing us at feedback@pixelverdict.com.

You can listen to the show with the player below, download it here, or subscribe through iTunes or by adding our feed to your podcatcher of choice.

Join the Pixel Verdict crew for a look back at their favorite games of 2009—a list that includes RPGs of the role playing and rocket propelled variety, a bad night for a bat, dragon punches, mustachioed mushroom eaters, and a true Renaissance man. Because when you aren’t forced to choose just one Game of the Year, everyone is a winner! From all of us here, our sincerest thanks for listening this year. We’ll see you bright and early in 2010—but not too early, we were up late last night.

Submit your picks for 2009′s best games in the comments below, over in the DVD Verdict Jury Room forums, or by emailing us at feedback@pixelverdict.com.

You can listen to the show with the player below, download it here, or subscribe through iTunes or by adding our feed to your podcatcher of choice.

Ah, 2009. A fun year for video games and a broke year for this reviewer, who in his shame admits freely to having not played as many games as his esteemed colleagues-in-pixilated-arms. I mean, I just got Borderlands as a Christmas gift, so there’s no making it onto my list this year (blasphemous, I know.) Always lagging behind, I am. And look—not a single PC-only game on my Top 5. I don’t even recognize myself in the mirror anymore.

Click the jump below to check out my Top 5 picks of the year, as well as two noteworthy honorable mentions.

#5. Batman: Arkham Asylum (Xbox 360/PS3)
You get to play as Batman. ‘Nuff said. Wait, I’m mixing my comic metaphors there.

No, seriously—you get to play as Batman. We’ve seen Batman in other video games before—many, many other games—but Batman: Arhkam Asylum is the first game that lets us be Batman in all his Dark Knight glory, sneaking through the shadows, swinging from cables, swooping onto unsuspected prey with merciless, non-lethal efficiency. The ultimate nerdy thrill, no game has been able to capture so perfectly the superhero experience as satisfying as this. Beautiful art design, faithful voice acting and a Rogue’s Gallery full of adversaries to stomp, Batman: Arkham Asylum is a delight to play.

The Contrarian Fanboy speaks: Some of the puzzle mechanics get a tad repetitious, like when you’d walk into a room and be thrust into a “swing from the gargoyles” stealth scenario again and again. Oh, how I yearned just to be able to drop to the floor and start pulverizing people proper.

Or any sequence involving the Scarecrow. Nuts to that guy.

na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na... BATMAN

#4. Scribblenauts (DS)
This one gets a nod on my list out of sheer tenacious creativity and innovation. Rarely has a game, let alone a Nintendo DS game been so discussed, analyzed, anticipated and dissected as Scribblenauts was after its memorable E3 showing. Audiences asked, “So what, you can create… anything?” And 5th Cell, the little scamps, just smiled enigmatically and showed another clip of God on a skateboard with a shotgun fighting Cthulu.

Once the game arrived, its flaws became immediately apparent—no, you can’t create anything, and the control scheme was a flaming nightmare of awkwardness, but how many truly original game franchises does one see emerge in any given year? Most simply recycle mechanics and engines from other titles, polishing here or tweaking there. Scribblenauts was something new, something genuinely innovative and creative—an open-ended puzzler with seemingly limitless potential, based entirely around your ability to think outside the box and develop emergent gameplay. Ask a guy like Peter Molyneux, and he’ll swear that this is the future direction of video gaming.

Yes, the game overpromised, and expectations were impossibly high, but Scriblenauts still deserves a place on this list. It may be imperfect, but I’ll take an ambitious-yet-flawed game over a redundant one any day of the week.

The Contrarian Fanboy speaks: Did I mention the control scheme was awful? This cannot be overstated.

Please do not ride Cthulu in a race against God on a dinosaur. Cthulu does not like this.

#3. New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii)
Nostalgia, pure and simple, will make New Super Mario Bros. Wii one of the best-selling video games of all time. This is not a deep game, or a particularly challenging game, or a terribly innovative game. In fact, it bears more than a passing similarity to the previous New Super Mario Bros. title on the Nintendo DS in design and game play. With the possible exception of Rock Band, I challenge you to find a more entertaining or satisfying gaming experience that you and three friends, be them hardcore gamers or casually curious, can sit down and just play to your heart’s content.

Young and old, man and women alike, Nintendo has a knack at cultivating games to appeal to all parties, almost to a fault. Even this reviewer’s wife, a vehement non-gamer, looked upon this title fondly in our household, remembering days of yesteryear rescuing her own Princess back on the SNES in Super Mario World. But boy, the Princess sure gets kidnapped a lot. That girl needs a LoJack system.

The Contrarian Fanboy speaks: Nintendo feels obligated to cram motion control elements into all of its games, whether the game actually benefits from them or not. Wagging your controller to fly into the air is an awkward gaming element, and will make you look stupid in front of your three friends. Thanks, Nintendo.

Too much waggling can be hazardous to your health.

#2. Street Fighter IV (Xbox 360/PS3/PC)
Again with the nostalgia titles! Apparently I’m a soft touch for things that remind me of my childhood. And nothing reminds me more of my childhood than cramming rolls upon rolls of quarters into the Street Fighter II machine at the convenience store by my house, day after day. Capcom has hit this one out of the park by resisting the temptation to make something new—like Street Fighter Alpha, or Street Fighter III and its various incarnations, or some mash-up pairing Ryu with giant robots.

No, none of that nonsense. Street Fighter IV is a return to form, a loving homage to the glory days of arcade and the pure simplicities of button-mashing, spinning piledrivers and fireballs. The 3D graphics and 2D game play blend perfectly. You don’t need an instruction manual for this one. You just sit down, turn it on, and know what to do.

Also, do not play Dave in Street Fighter IV. He will pile drive your face.

The Contrarian Fanboy speaks: Capcom may have avoided the pitfalls from its various Street Fighter incarnations over the last ten years… except for one unfortunate area—the boss fight. Seth is a douchebag. He just makes things up to win fights, like the physics engine or the laws of gravity. He feeds on your tears.

But thank the lords up above that he can’t reincarnate himself like Gill. Capcom can go @#$% themselves over Gill.

This is you, losing the fight.

#1. Dragon Age: Origins (PS3, XBOX360, PC)
If you make a Top 5 list of the Best Games of the Year, and one of your factors is “time you have spent playing the game”, then Dragon Age: Origins deserves its crown. The latest epic RPG from BioWare, Dragon Age is as satisfying a role playing experience as North Americans can envision without stealing ideas from Square Enix. Beautiful visual designs, an engrossing and complex plot and a large and colorful cast of characters with surprisingly well-defined identities make Dragon Age a rewarding gaming experience that will suck the marrow from your bones like a vampire.

Do not be alarmed at the seemingly spontaneous two-inch beard growth that springs from your face every time you sit down to play Dragon Age. It isn’t a side effect of the game per se—it just means you’ve been sitting in a pile of your own filth for two weeks solid. It happens when you play a game this good. Fans of BioWare’s other games (Baldur’s Gate, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Mass Effect) will feel right at home. This is the kind of world you can get lost in.

The Contrarian Fanboy speaks: Boy, I wish I bought this on PC. I don’t care how good you make a navigation or control scheme on consoles—it can’t hold a candle to a keyboard and a mouse when it comes to unleashing tactic-based combat on hordes of enemies. Forget the sissy “wheel” menu– give me an F1 key and I’ll whump any dragon that steps to me. Oh snap, I went there.

This is Morrigan and she blows things up for you. Try to avoid sleeping with her.

Honorable Mentions
If this was a Top 7 List, these would be #6 and #7. Lousy editors.

The Beatles: Rock Band (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii)
This one just barely missed the #5 spot list for me. More a love letter to four mop-heads from Liverpool than a rhythm game, The Beatles: Rock Band is the ultimate fan boy gift for Beatles fans—a living, breathing documentary of music, song and obscure collector’s memorabilia. It may masquerade as a video game, but the real beauty and joy in this game is being an obsessive fan of the band in question. This one rekindled my love for The Beatles.

On a personal level, it’s hard to express the joy this title brought me. But judged purely from a game merit standpoint, it gets edged out by the competition. It’s a cruel world, I know.

Torchlight (PC)
From the creators of Fate and Diablo comes… well, a carbon-copy clone of Fate and Diablo, without a hint of irony. Proof that games don’t need to break new grounds to deliver superb gaming experiences, Torchlight filled the empty stomachs of hungry PC gamers anxiously awaiting the dungeon-crawling feast of Diablo III (release TBD).

As meals go, sure, it’s all empty carbohydrates—and the game experience is short and repetitive—but the sugar rush is fantastic, and you’d be hard-pressed to get more gaming value out of a Jackson these days.




See you all next year!

Whew! This year was a close one.  With a wedding so pay for this coming March, and full year’s worth of can’t miss games released over the course of 2009, I didn’t think I was going to make it out alive (or at the very least, out of shark-tank debt).  I’m in agreement with Steve that trying to pick just five out of the squall of sterling digital offerings we’ve had this past year is a cruel endeavour.  After spending much of the holidays in tears, trying to trim the fat from my list, I think I’ve finally tapered it down to an unfortunately circumscribe five (plus two honourable mentions).  So before we ring out the Aughties, or Zeroes, or whatever you hipsters are calling the soon to be decade past, I’d like to regale the gamers among you with my personal favourite games of 2009.  And no…Prototype is not on the list.

Honorable Mention: Resident Evil 5 (PS3, XB360)

A full five years after Capcom reinvented (and reinvigorated) their flagging zombie franchise with ‘Resident Evil 4’; along comes the fifth mainline title.  I don’t know if I’d call it an evolution OR a revolution, but I do know that I’d call it awesome.  While there isn’t anything cerebral, or even outright frightening at play in this survival horror title, “Resident Evil 5” is a non-stop adrenaline ride akin to a Michael Bay or James Cameron movie.  If the massive action sequences and pretty much endless gun play don’t hook you (which they will), the countless firearms and robust co-op campaign surely will.  Joining returning hero Chris Redfield (along with his his 24-inch pythons), and series newcomer Sheva Alomar is a twisty, over-the-top horror/action experience that could only be plausible as a Resident Evil title.  Capcom deserve props for not attempting to reinvent the wheel again, instead just building upon what was done in 2004, and knocking it clear out of the park.  Just never play online with Kaiblaker, I hear that dirty Newf bogarts the best of the ballistic hardware.

Why it’s off the A-List:

As much as I loved RE5, playing it always made me want to go back and explore the terrifying confines of the Ishimura in Dead Space.  As well, as awesome as those big action set pieces are, I found that whenever the heat was turned up in RE5, the exity strategy was always; “back up into a corner and pray the bullet sponges run out of lead porrousness”.

Honorable Mention: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3)

Gamers have been crying for years that the PlayStation 3 was lacking that system seller, that killer-app that they simply needed, a game that everyone would clamor over.  Here it is.  Nathan Drake’s second fantastic adventure, “Uncharted 2: Among Thieves”.  Gamers join Drake and company on a roller coater ride of a quest to discover Marco Polo’s lost fleet, and find the hidden city of Shambala.  The characters are among the most amicable available in games today, and let’s be honest folks, if archaeology included this many rocket launchers and machine guns, ever red-blooded male in North America would be taking it in university.  Though I did think that the gun fighting towards the end was a bit much, the moving train and Buddhist monastery levels alone are worth the entry fee.  And it certainly doesn’t hurt that it’s possibly the prettiest game of all time.

Why it’s off the A-List:

95% of Uncharted 2 is immeasurable badassery.  The remaining five percent is comprised of the seemingly limitless gunfire that begins once the temple of Shambala has been infiltrated.  I sweare the last 90 minutes of that game is playing hide and shoot with Lazaravich’s goons.  Oh, and let’s not forget history’s most frustrating last boss battle.  Nathan Drake combats a busted camera and a roid raging lead villain in a showdown based around a gimmick that belongs in The Legend of Zelda.  Only the timing is so precise, and the bad guy has teleporting grenades.  5o attempts later and I no longer care if i ever finish Uncharted 2.

5.  Brütal Legend (PS3, XB360)

What do you get when you take real-time strategy, epic hack and slash game play, and coat the entire thing in heavy metal?  Brütal Legend was 400 horsepower bad ass.  A soundtrack encompassing more epic heavy metal licks than most gamers have ever listened to, a great voice cast, and a hilarious (and often touching in a cliched way) story, and one of the greatest in game beheadings ever designed, Brütal Legend is the type of game I think any player with an open mind should spend some time with.  All you My Chemical Romance fans who whined that the demo miss sold the game, or the RTS segments were too difficult and the too much a departure, your emo sniveling is not true metal, this game is.

The Contrarian Fanboy Speaketh: Brütal Legend suffers at its halfway point from a serious case of schizophrenia.  After about 6-8 hours of pummeling Hair Metal sellouts and charging, axe in hand across a exultantly over-the-top Heavy Metal game world, Brütal Legend up and decides that the bitter war between Eddie Riggs, and the Black Tear transformed second act villain needs to be taken somewhat seriously.  The laughs are sadly dialed down, and one of the missions in particular really slogs as a result.  It’s like watching Delerious, only to have Eddie Murphy suddenly transform into post oscar win Jamie Foxx.

Jack Skellington shirts and your sister's jeans are not True Metal!

4. InFamous (PS3)

Sucker Punch; easily the most underrated of Sony’s in-house developers, followed up their critically acclaimed ‘Sly Cooper’ trilogy with InFamous, an open-world action game steeped in the mythology of the early to mid 90s comic boom.   This title combined breathtaking parkour style acrobatics, with surprisingly well-crafted 3rd person shooter mechanics and a genuinely interesting storyline, and blended it all within a breathtaking city full of citizens to either save or enslave villains to either overcome or enlist, and a bevy of incredible lighting based super-powers.  The best thing about it, is that you get to do it all twice.  This was probably one of the strongest PS3 exclusives to be released all year long.  If you haven’t checked this out yet, give it a spin.

The Contrarian Fanboy Speaketh: How is it, that in a game portraying an everyman’s struggle to still maintain his humanity in a world that is becoming more savage, whilst he himself is rapidly becoming a god; did Sucker Punch manage to make every primary character so unlikable?  Cole is like the love child of Batman and a T-800 terminator, only without all the warm and fuzzy.  Trish is the picture perfect ice queen, her boyfriend survices the explosion that claimed the life of her sister, so she hates him for surviving.  And Zeke?  Ugh.  Zeke is like every Rob Schneider movie role ever, only fatter and even more obnoxious.  Even the strongest willed heroes out there would be hard pressed not to throw a lightning bolt down these joker’s paths.

Unlimited POWAAAAHHHHHHH!!!

3. Batman: Arkham Asylum (PS3, XB360)

Wow!  Smash hit of the third quarter of 2009; Batman: Arkham Asylum is not only one of the finest superhero titles that has ever been crafted; it’s simply one of the greatest games of this current generation.  Rocksteady were an underdog going into this title, having only the lackluster ‘Urban Chaos’ for the PS2 and original Xbox.  They delivered in spades however, giving gamers a chance to really feel like the Dark Knight, pitting him against an assortment of foes on what was advertised as the longest night of batman’s life.  Moody and atmospheric in places, darkly humourous in others, and pretty much balls to the wall intense the entire time; Batman: Arkham Asylum looks like it will only be one-upped by its own sequel.  I’ve heard certain jaded old gamers say that it suffered from ‘Bioshock’ syndrome, only doing as well as it did in the absence of more competition, but I honestly believe that even released in November, Batman: Arkham Asylum would’ve cleaned house.  It’s the first time in nearly 20 years that a Batman title has been a must-play.  Besides, that inverted take-down never EVER gets old.

The Contrarian Fannboy Speaketh: I guess if I was forced to complain, the recycled army of thugs that Batman pummels his way through for the entirity of the game could have used a little more variety.  As well, more than a couple of the big boss fights fell a little flat for me.  Something a little more epic or well though out for Bats’ big baddies could’ve served as a nice break from all that stalking and puzzle solving.

You can't tell me that Danny Elfman's theme isn't playing in your head right now.

2. New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii…duh)

Don’t even read this section, just go buy the game, buy a Wii, and be transported back to a more innocent era of gaming.  New Super Mario Bros. Wii is a triumph, a complete improvement on its predecessor for the DS, and a celebration of the most creative and fun titles in the Mario franchise.   Amazing levels, fun power ups, and a multiplayer campaign that borders on Lovecraftian madness.  Honestly, just grab a copy…if you can find one.

The Contrarion Fanboy Speaketh: Certain…volatile couples may experience certain marital issues if they attempt the more than a little loose multiplayer aspect of New Super Mario Bros. Wii.  I know Mrs. Aspersclager still has those papers stashed in her desk for the next time Erich knocks her into a pit to grab that Propellor Suit.

Though it's cold and lonely in the deep dark night, I can see paradise by the dashboard lights.

1. Street Fighter IV (Ps3, XB360)

Lighting a fire under the glutamus maximus of not only the Street Fighter franchise, but the entire genre in general, Street Fighter IV was hands down my game of the year for 2009.  There have been a bevy of Triple-A titles released in its wake, but none have even compared in the amount of time I’ve spent Cannon Spiking the competition online with SFIV.  Colourful visuals, explosive music and absolutely flawless game play spelled an easy KO for the returning king of fighting games.  And what’s even better is the upcoming release of Super Street Fighter IV, an updated version with a rumored 10 extra fighters, four extra backgrounds, and new special and super moves; all of which look to make not only a potent online fighting cocktail, but also a front-runner for my game of the year in 2010.

The Contrarian Fanboy Speaketh: Shut it Shakespeare!  I’m trying to play Street Fighter IV!

Pictured: Things about to be restored to their natural order.

Well, there you have it.  My picks for the top five titles of 2009.  And believe me; I tortured myself over whether any of the other countless great titles released over the course of the year also deserved a spot.  It’s been a great 2009 for gaming, and its looking like 2010 is going to hit even harder right out of the gate.  I’m hoping for more greatness from the franchises we all know and love, praying for success for new IPs like DarkSiders, and wishing that Microsoft will finally deliver me a good reason to fire up my 360 again.  That’s it for me for the rest of the year.  Everyone have a great New Year, and whatever you do, don’t drink and drive.  You can’t play me online in Street Fighter IV if you’re in the hospital or on a slab.

]]> http://pixelverdict.com/2009/12/29/best-games-of-the-year-2009-jon%e2%80%99s-list/feed/ 0 http://pixelverdict.com/2009/09/02/review-batman-arkham-asylum/ http://pixelverdict.com/2009/09/02/review-batman-arkham-asylum/#comments Wed, 02 Sep 2009 19:59:16 +0000 Dave http://pixelverdict.com/?p=2646

The Charge

I’m Batman!

Opening Statement

No, for real, I finally am.  That Batman: Arkham Asylum is the best comic book game ever made is a no-brainer.  That it’s definitely in the conversation for game of the year?  Believe it.

Facts of the Case

It’s a dark, malevolent night as Batman blasts forward in his Batmobile.  Riding shotgun is none other than The Joker himself.  Their destination: Arkham Asylum, the infamous island-based maximum security prison that houses Gotham City’s worst super-villains.

It’s not long after Batman drops off his prisoner that things get nuts real quick.  Joker escapes and disappears into the bowels of Arkham, his intentions unknown.  What is known: Batman will have to beat the Holy Hell out of a lot of bad guys and shoot them in the neck with his grappling hook.

The Evidence

At last!  The Batman game we’ve been waiting for.  Excuse the hyperbole, but, really, if you have even a slight urge to run around as the Caped Crusader, maiming goons, swinging around on a grappling hook, tossing a remote control Batarang, blowing holes in the wall with explosive gel, hunting and knocking out thugs like the mother-@#$%#%&$@# Predator, then you need to go immediately and spend your grocery money on this kick-ass game.

Well, maybe not your grocery money, but sell some of your old DVDs or something.  Arkham is that good and I’m absolutely not kidding that it needs to be included in Best of the Year discussions.

This is a game that does a lot of stuff and it does it all exceedingly well.  Many games try this varied approach with decidedly mixed results; maybe Game 1 will do the combat fine, but the stealth and puzzles suffer, another might nail the story, but the gameplay is a chore, and so on.

Not with Arkham.  It all works.  The story progression is interesting, the exploration satisfying, the puzzle-solving challenging, the stealth hugely rewarding and the combat…oh, the combat.

"This is my angry face."

As a committed action fan I take virtual fisticuffs very seriously and developer Rocksteady has developed a brutal, realistic combat system that flows seamlessly and is an absolute joy to play and watch.   Batman doesn’t kill these guys, but judging by the visceral way his attacks feel, they’re most certainly pooping into bags by the time the game is over.

As far as gameplay joys, just behind the fights is the stealth mechanic.  I typically don’t have the patience to crawl around quietly and take guys out, but it felt perfect to do it in this game.  Whether it’s the inverted takedown from a gargoyle head or baiting a dude into an explosive trap and tossing a Batarang and someone’s stupid head, the methods are varied and totally up to you and, most importantly, super-fun.

Look, get the game okay?  Just get it.

Closing Statement

Oops, almost forgot about the technical merits: Arkham is a beautiful game, dark and detailed, with character designs especially standing out.  Batman’s suit takes damage as he progresses and is almost enough to take away attention from the fact he’s running around in his briefs the whole time.  The animation is also superb, especially in the combat sequences, which lends these encounters even more realism and power.

Sounds effects are thick and satisfying and the score is suitably sweeping and orchestral, really rocking it when Batman is on the hunt.

The Verdict

Platform: Xbox 360/Playstation 3
Developer: Rocksteady
Publisher: Eidos
Release Date: August 25 2009
Rated: T for Teen

Erich, Steve, and Jon exact their own brand of vigilante podcast justice with a lengthy discussion about Batman: Arkham Asylum. In other news, Erich gets Rock Band 2, and the Newfoundlanders react to the PS3 price drop with rants about fickle internet fanboys and Microsoft’s possible future. This week’s Symposium Ad Nauseum is “Most Ridiculously Proportioned Female Characters.” How bad does it get? Tune in to find out.

Let us know what you think in the comments below, over in the DVD Verdict Jury Room forums, or by emailing us at feedback@pixelverdict.com.

You can listen to the show with the player below, download it here, or subscribe through iTunes or by adding our feed to your podcatcher of choice.

Erich spends a good hour trying to separate feuding Canadians Steve and Adam, all while talking games like the Mothership Zeta expansion to Fallout 3, the Batman: Arkham Asylum demo, Left 4 Dead, Wii Sports Resort, Rhythm Heaven, and a massive MMORPG discussion ranging from World of Warcraft to the new documentary Second Skin. In news, Star Wars hits the Virtual Console, Steve loves the Brutal Legend soundtrack, Bioshock 2 has an S.O.S. for the world, Madden 10 has swimsuit issues, and Guitar Hero 5 takes its guns to town. This week’s Symposium Ad Nauseum is surprisingly tricky, but not as tricky as getting Steve to kick off a brand new segment.

Give us your idea for game/magazines tie-ins in the comments below, over in the DVD Verdict Jury Room forums, or by emailing feedback@pixelverdict.com.

You can listen to the show with the player below, download it here, or subscribe through iTunes or by adding our feed to your podcatcher of choice.