Backloggers Anonymous

Backloggers Anonymous returns for a special Halloween episode featuring Super Castlevania IV. Join us as Casey and Catherine create a theory tying everything to wall meat, while Blake explains his beef with this game. 

Backloggers Anonymous returns for a special Halloween episode featuring Super Castlevania IV. Join us as Casey and Catherine create a theory tying everything to wall meat, while Blake explains his beef with this game. 

After almost a year long hiatus Backloggers Anonymous returns with a game to get you back into the Halloween spirit: Castlevania. Casey, Catherine, and Blake all tried to finish off Dracula before they got 25 Game Overs. Did they succeed? Did they fail? Check in to find out then try the challenge yourself! Then give Super Castlevania 4 a try for when the three of them return next time! Opening Song: Terror Time Again (Skycycle) Closing Song: Stage 1 of the Castlevania 1 OST

After almost a year long hiatus Backloggers Anonymous returns with a game to get you back into the Halloween spirit: Castlevania. Casey, Catherine, and Blake all tried to finish off Dracula before they got 25 Game Overs. Did they succeed? Did they fail? Check in to find out then try the challenge yourself! Then give Super Castlevania 4 a try for when the three of them return next time! Opening Song: Terror Time Again (Skycycle) Closing Song: Stage 1 of the Castlevania 1 OST

Casey, Jamie, and Blake are back from Tomb Raider: Legend. Join our level by level breakdown of the experience while Casey gives his thoughts on Lara's character, Jamie expresses his love of the swan dive and Blake rants on why he hates London.

Casey, Jamie, and Blake are back from Tomb Raider: Legend. Join our level by level breakdown of the experience while Casey gives his thoughts on Lara's character, Jamie expresses his love of the swan dive and Blake rants on why he hates London.

Just in time for anyone anticipating the new Rise of the Tomb Raider, here comes Backloggers Anonymous with one of Lara Croft's older adventures: Tomb Raider: Legend. Before her franchise was rebooted in 2013, it was rebooted in 2006 as Lara traveled around the world in search of artifacts. Join us as Casey laments for past days of the franchise, Blake trashes the 2013 reboot, and Jamie gets excited over grappling hooks! Tomb Raider: Legend is available on the Playstation 2, Xbox, Gamecube, PC, Xbox 360, and PSP. It is also on the Playstation 3 as a part of the Tomb Raider Trilogy. Intro Music: I've Been Everywhere (Johnny Cash, 1996) Outro Music: Figther (Christina Aguilera, 2002)

Just in time for anyone anticipating the new Rise of the Tomb Raider, here comes Backloggers Anonymous with one of Lara Croft's older adventures: Tomb Raider: Legend. Before her franchise was rebooted in 2013, it was rebooted in 2006 as Lara traveled around the world in search of artifacts. Join us as Casey laments for past days of the franchise, Blake trashes the 2013 reboot, and Jamie gets excited over grappling hooks! Tomb Raider: Legend is available on the Playstation 2, Xbox, Gamecube, PC, Xbox 360, and PSP. It is also on the Playstation 3 as a part of the Tomb Raider Trilogy. Intro Music: I've Been Everywhere (Johnny Cash, 1996) Outro Music: Figther (Christina Aguilera, 2002)

Casey, JD, and Joaquim are back after playing Prince of Persia: Warrior Within. Join us as Casey rants on the combat, JD raves on the platforming, and Joaquim makes smart ass quips for a discussion with lots and lots of sidetracking. Intro Music: One Way or Another (Blondie, 1978) Outro Music: Back in Time (Huey Lewis and The News, 1984)

Casey, JD, and Joaquim are back after playing Prince of Persia: Warrior Within. Join us as Casey rants on the combat, JD raves on the platforming, and Joaquim makes smart ass quips for a discussion with lots and lots of sidetracking. Intro Music: One Way or Another (Blondie, 1978) Outro Music: Back in Time (Huey Lewis and The News, 1984)

Backloggers Anonymous is back with the most controversial of the Prince of Persia titles. Join us as JD explains why he loves this series and game in particular while perparing himself for future backlash, where we also discuss The Sands of Time, Ubisoft abandoning the series for Assassin's Creed, and the future of the cinematic platformer genre. Intro Music: Time in a Bottle by Jim Croce Outro Music: Untitled Self Portrait by Will Arnett (from The Lego Movie)

Backloggers Anonymous is back with the most controversial of the Prince of Persia titles. Join us as JD explains why he loves this series and game in particular while perparing himself for future backlash, where we also discuss The Sands of Time, Ubisoft abandoning the series for Assassin's Creed, and the future of the cinematic platformer genre. Intro Music: Time in a Bottle by Jim Croce Outro Music: Untitled Self Portrait by Will Arnett (from The Lego Movie)

Casey, JD, and Joaquim are finally back with their thoughts on Dead Space 2. Come as they give their thoughts on the scares, standout moments, story, characters, multiplayer, series as a whole, and....well...let's just say things get kind of weird.

Backloggers Anonymous is finally back, this time with a new cast! Join Casey, JD, and Joaquim as the three of us tackle the horrors of Dead Space 2! Yet, are these actual horrors or is this a violent shoot em up disguised as a horror game? And is this a bad thing? We discuss this and more! New to the franchise? The game offers a cutscene to catch you up on the first game! Played 2 already? Try the New Game Plus then! Anyone and everyone is welcome to play along with us through this game! So pop Dead Space 2 into your PS3, 360, or PC and join us on an adventure surviving in outer space!

Backloggers Anonymous is finally back, this time with a new cast! Join Casey, JD, and Joaquim as the three of us tackle the horrors of Dead Space 2! Yet, are these actual horrors or is this a violent shoot em up disguised as a horror game? And is this a bad thing? We discuss this and more! New to the franchise? The game offers a cutscene to catch you up on the first game! Played 2 already? Try the New Game Plus then! Anyone and everyone is welcome to play along with us through this game! So pop Dead Space 2 into your PS3, 360, or PC and join us on an adventure surviving in outer space!

No... Not fans of Backloggers (although that would be nice) I decided since the FFX soundtrack is already world famous, I'd throw in some fan made versions of some of the music. If you like what you hear, they're all from YouTube. I'll post the links so you can hear the songs in their entirety. Sadly, Jamie couldn't make the recording and, although I said in the show he would contribute something in writing, he hasn't had time to do that either. That's the thing about being an adult, sometimes you just can't make all the time you'd like for your hobbies. Anyway, check out our final thoughts, and here's the links for the music used in the show in the order they appear. Enjoy! TPR - Yuna's Theme (Piano Version) Family Jules - To Zanarkand TPR - Servants of the Mountain (FFX Mt. Gagazet Theme) Frank Hamilton - Final Fantasy X Battle Theme

No... Not fans of Backloggers (although that would be nice) I decided since the FFX soundtrack is already world famous, I'd throw in some fan made versions of some of the music. If you like what you hear, they're all from YouTube. I'll post the links so you can hear the songs in their entirety. Sadly, Jamie couldn't make the recording and, although I said in the show he would contribute something in writing, he hasn't had time to do that either. That's the thing about being an adult, sometimes you just can't make all the time you'd like for your hobbies. Anyway, check out our final thoughts, and here's the links for the music used in the show in the order they appear. Enjoy! TPR - Yuna's Theme (Piano Version) Family Jules - To Zanarkand TPR - Servants of the Mountain (FFX Mt. Gagazet Theme) Frank Hamilton - Final Fantasy X Battle Theme

This time on Backloggers: Julian knows everything about this game, Jamie is fed up with Blitzball (Julian too I guess), and  Angelo can't remember any character's name! Bad voice acting is good! Chirpy young characters aren't obnoxious! FF XIII might not be as bad as I thought! (OK, wait, yes it is, anyway) CHAOS! CHAOS! Speaking of chaos, we had some serious issues recording this. I had to do a ton of editing to get the podcast to sound decent, but there's going to be some skips, choppy speech, and robot voice happening. Anyway, enjoy the show, share some more comments we can discuss on the next show, and we hope you're enjoying this as much as we are. 

This time on Backloggers: Julian knows everything about this game, Jamie is fed up with Blitzball (Julian too I guess), and  Angelo can't remember any character's name! Bad voice acting is good! Chirpy young characters aren't obnoxious! FF XIII might not be as bad as I thought! (OK, wait, yes it is, anyway) CHAOS! CHAOS! Speaking of chaos, we had some serious issues recording this. I had to do a ton of editing to get the podcast to sound decent, but there's going to be some skips, choppy speech, and robot voice happening. Anyway, enjoy the show, share some more comments we can discuss on the next show, and we hope you're enjoying this as much as we are. 

It's time for another three parter here at Backloggers Anonymous! Angelo is joined by Jaime and Julian to talk about a pretty big game that two thirds of the cast have never played: Final Fantasy X. Now, after a three hour FF episode of Nerds Without Pants you might think that Julian doesn't have much more to say about fantasies that are final, but you would be wrong. Seriously, we can't get this guy to shut up! If you haven't played Final Fantasy X before, this is the episode that will (hopefully) get you playing along with us. Julian puts some perspective on where the franchise was at the time, and how fan reaction to this particular game has changed over the years. We talk about the battle system, some eerie similarities to Final Fantasy XIII, and digress all over the place. We hope you enjoy the show, and if you're playing along, we'll be talking about the start of the game all the way up to the Macalania Cloister of Trials. Join us, won't you? And if you recently played through, please comment, but try to keep spoilers to a minimum, at least until we get to the next episode.

It's time for another three parter here at Backloggers Anonymous! Angelo is joined by Jaime and Julian to talk about a pretty big game that two thirds of the cast have never played: Final Fantasy X. Now, after a three hour FF episode of Nerds Without Pants you might think that Julian doesn't have much more to say about fantasies that are final, but you would be wrong. Seriously, we can't get this guy to shut up! If you haven't played Final Fantasy X before, this is the episode that will (hopefully) get you playing along with us. Julian puts some perspective on where the franchise was at the time, and how fan reaction to this particular game has changed over the years. We talk about the battle system, some eerie similarities to Final Fantasy XIII, and digress all over the place. We hope you enjoy the show, and if you're playing along, we'll be talking about the start of the game all the way up to the Macalania Cloister of Trials. Join us, won't you? And if you recently played through, please comment, but try to keep spoilers to a minimum, at least until we get to the next episode.

You know who deserves respect? Anybody who finishes this game. Seriously. While we generally came away from Alundra with really positive feedback, some of those puzzles were either frustratingly difficult to the point of seeming almost unfair, or just trite and boring. Untangling word puzzles to talk to dead saints in a particular order isn't really anybody's idea of a good time, neither are some of those pillar-pushing puzzles. But hey, if you pulled it off and wanted to hear what we thought (or even if you gave up), click on the play button and find out. For our next show, we're going to be tackling our first really huge game: Final Fantasy X. Yeah, I know I said we won't do AAA games, but considering the recent re-release and the fact that there's actually quite a few of us (myself included) that haven't played the game, I decided to make an exception. It also sounds like the game isn't exactly a flawless gem (that voice acting.... ugh....), which always makes for some great discussion. Hopefully you're all on board for that. Well, since Alundra is finished, let us know what you thought in the comments. Even if I don't always reply, I do read over every comment on this show, and we love hearing your thoughts. You can also message me using the site's system if you want. I'm always open to ideas, suggestions, and game recommendations. Enjoy!

You know who deserves respect? Anybody who finishes this game. Seriously. While we generally came away from Alundra with really positive feedback, some of those puzzles were either frustratingly difficult to the point of seeming almost unfair, or just trite and boring. Untangling word puzzles to talk to dead saints in a particular order isn't really anybody's idea of a good time, neither are some of those pillar-pushing puzzles. But hey, if you pulled it off and wanted to hear what we thought (or even if you gave up), click on the play button and find out. For our next show, we're going to be tackling our first really huge game: Final Fantasy X. Yeah, I know I said we won't do AAA games, but considering the recent re-release and the fact that there's actually quite a few of us (myself included) that haven't played the game, I decided to make an exception. It also sounds like the game isn't exactly a flawless gem (that voice acting.... ugh....), which always makes for some great discussion. Hopefully you're all on board for that. Well, since Alundra is finished, let us know what you thought in the comments. Even if I don't always reply, I do read over every comment on this show, and we love hearing your thoughts. You can also message me using the site's system if you want. I'm always open to ideas, suggestions, and game recommendations. Enjoy!

This time on Backloggers, I'm joined by two new guests, Chris and Jamie, to discuss our second retro game, the Playstation classic Alundra. On the block for discussion are some of the other games in the "Stalker" franchise (it's not what you think!) Working Designs legacy and our relative histories with their titles, and our familiarity with similar games, like the Zelda franchise. So, not gonna lie, this game doesn't always play fair like we discuss on the show, so if you've decided to play along, be prepared. We've decided this will be a two part show, so we'll see you in a few weeks. Have fun!

This time on Backloggers, I'm joined by two new guests, Chris and Jamie, to discuss our second retro game, the Playstation classic Alundra. On the block for discussion are some of the other games in the "Stalker" franchise (it's not what you think!) Working Designs legacy and our relative histories with their titles, and our familiarity with similar games, like the Zelda franchise. So, not gonna lie, this game doesn't always play fair like we discuss on the show, so if you've decided to play along, be prepared. We've decided this will be a two part show, so we'll see you in a few weeks. Have fun!

Here it is at last, folks: the conclusion of the Backlogger's journey into Asura's Wrath! Julian and Angelo are once again joined by internet gamer sensation and all around pleasant person Erika Szabo. There's lots to talk about, so let's jump right in. Things kick off with the one-two punch of the dumbest episode in the game and the most epic episode in the game. The crew talks at length on the hilarity of a hot spring scene and the insane and awesome implications of battling on the moon. Yes, the freaking moon! The episode by episode recap focuses on how super cool (and dreamy) Yasha is, Julian's new-found frustrations with the one on one battle mechanics, and the incredibly interesting Buddhist elements that infuse this over the top action game. The conversation gets deep at times, something nobody on the show was expecting. Things wrap up with a spirited debate over the "true" ending to the game. Is it ethical? Does it really ruin the accomplishment of finishing the game when there's a hidden cliffhanger that leads into DLC? And how is that DLC, exactly? Julian gives it an assessment, and both he and Erika try to convince the (very) grumpy Angelo of its merits. We hope you enjoyed this series of Backloggers! Come back next time as Angelo and some fresh faces discuss Alundra for PSX.

Here it is at last, folks: the conclusion of the Backlogger's journey into Asura's Wrath! Julian and Angelo are once again joined by internet gamer sensation and all around pleasant person Erika Szabo. There's lots to talk about, so let's jump right in. Things kick off with the one-two punch of the dumbest episode in the game and the most epic episode in the game. The crew talks at length on the hilarity of a hot spring scene and the insane and awesome implications of battling on the moon. Yes, the freaking moon! The episode by episode recap focuses on how super cool (and dreamy) Yasha is, Julian's new-found frustrations with the one on one battle mechanics, and the incredibly interesting Buddhist elements that infuse this over the top action game. The conversation gets deep at times, something nobody on the show was expecting. Things wrap up with a spirited debate over the "true" ending to the game. Is it ethical? Does it really ruin the accomplishment of finishing the game when there's a hidden cliffhanger that leads into DLC? And how is that DLC, exactly? Julian gives it an assessment, and both he and Erika try to convince the (very) grumpy Angelo of its merits. We hope you enjoyed this series of Backloggers! Come back next time as Angelo and some fresh faces discuss Alundra for PSX.

Welcome back to Backloggers! We're waist deep in Asura's wrath in this episode. Before listening you should have played up to the end of episode 9. Come join Julian, Angelo, and special guest Erika Szabo as we talk all about Asura. We start out by getting Angelo and Erika's initial impressions on this very divisive game. Angelo is pleasantly surprised at how much he likes it, but at the same time is frustrated by its shortcomings. Erika is 100% on board with what Capcom and Cyber Connect 2 pulled off, and both agree that they can't wait to finish the game. Even Angelo's wife has been enjoying it! We close out with an episode by episode breakdown of the story. As the discussion flows, we end up finding some more depth to the character of Asura than what's explicitly depicted on screen. Like any great anime, there are plenty of talking points and elements to disect, and that's exactly what we do. Next episode, we finish the game! If you're playing along with us (or played the game in the past) , throw some comments our way and we'll try to work them in to our closing discussion. Until then, enjoy Asura's Wrath, and check out Erika's impressions of Bravely Default. Not really related, but it comes from Japan as well, so, yeah!

Welcome back to Backloggers! We're waist deep in Asura's wrath in this episode. Before listening you should have played up to the end of episode 9. Come join Julian, Angelo, and special guest Erika Szabo as we talk all about Asura. We start out by getting Angelo and Erika's initial impressions on this very divisive game. Angelo is pleasantly surprised at how much he likes it, but at the same time is frustrated by its shortcomings. Erika is 100% on board with what Capcom and Cyber Connect 2 pulled off, and both agree that they can't wait to finish the game. Even Angelo's wife has been enjoying it! We close out with an episode by episode breakdown of the story. As the discussion flows, we end up finding some more depth to the character of Asura than what's explicitly depicted on screen. Like any great anime, there are plenty of talking points and elements to disect, and that's exactly what we do. Next episode, we finish the game! If you're playing along with us (or played the game in the past) , throw some comments our way and we'll try to work them in to our closing discussion. Until then, enjoy Asura's Wrath, and check out Erika's impressions of Bravely Default. Not really related, but it comes from Japan as well, so, yeah!

Hey there, Julian here. Yeah, I'm not your usual Backloggers Anonymous host, but we're tackling a game that I have a really huge soft spot for: Asura's Wrath. We are joined by Nerds Without Pants fan favorite Erika Szabo who takes her place as our resident anime expert. This is important, because Asura's Wrath is a huge, mushy love letter to Japanese animation, which you can read all about in my review. We spend the first part of the show talking about our personal history with anime, as well as some of our all-time favorite shows. After that, we delve into the topic of the dreaded Quick Time Event (or QTE if you're funky). This is also a big deal, as Asura's Wrath is almost entirely QTE based. Opinions vary among the three of us, but I do a pretty good job of getting Angelo and Erika excited for this play through. Finally, we wrap up with some talk on DLC (this game had a "huge" controversy concerning its DLC), and some favorite anime recommendations. This game is quite a trip, and I hope you'll join us. If you do, play through the first 9 episodes. That should take you about 2-3 hours, and then get ready for part 2 of the show, where we talk about the insanity thus far!

Hey there, Julian here. Yeah, I'm not your usual Backloggers Anonymous host, but we're tackling a game that I have a really huge soft spot for: Asura's Wrath. We are joined by Nerds Without Pants fan favorite Erika Szabo who takes her place as our resident anime expert. This is important, because Asura's Wrath is a huge, mushy love letter to Japanese animation, which you can read all about in my review. We spend the first part of the show talking about our personal history with anime, as well as some of our all-time favorite shows. After that, we delve into the topic of the dreaded Quick Time Event (or QTE if you're funky). This is also a big deal, as Asura's Wrath is almost entirely QTE based. Opinions vary among the three of us, but I do a pretty good job of getting Angelo and Erika excited for this play through. Finally, we wrap up with some talk on DLC (this game had a "huge" controversy concerning its DLC), and some favorite anime recommendations. This game is quite a trip, and I hope you'll join us. If you do, play through the first 9 episodes. That should take you about 2-3 hours, and then get ready for part 2 of the show, where we talk about the insanity thus far!

First off, I'm sorry about the audio. Technical issues caused my feed to sound a little on the distorted side. It's not horrible, but it's noticeable. I believe I've found the cause of the problem and fixed it, but unfortunately this recording is what it is. We talk about, well, a lot of stuff. The game has its highs and lows, but for me one of the lowest points was the music. We get into it for a few minutes on the show, but it's a real shame to see a franchise that lodged so may amazing tunes in gamers' heads take a departure into the bland. In a world where Dark Souls has a dark fantasy theme and had an orchestrated, ambient score that showed no fear of melody, I expected much more from this game. It's not all doom and gloom though, like most of the games we tackle, the game has its quality elements. On the whole, I enjoyed my time with Lords of Shadow. Let us know what you thought of the game in the comments below! Next time, Julian snatches the show away from me and brings frequent NWP guest Erika Szabo on to discuss Asura's Wrath. Be sure to check it out!

So, this was supposed to be a Halloween special, but clearly we're a little bit late for that. Oh well.  This time we're tackling Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, which is a game both Julian and I have meant to get around to playing, but never got around to for one reason or another. Unlike most of our podcasts, we don't really have anybody on board who has played this game before, so we spent most of the 'cast talking about our history with Castlevania titles, some Konami titles, and Tiger handheld LCD games. Yeah, I know. But it's related, trust me. In the course of the podcast, we referenced a re-release of this title that included the DLC and Mirror of Fate. That's out now and priced very well at $39.99, so if you want to play along with us, picking the game up this way isn't a bad option. As usual, we'd love to get some feedback from the community, so let us know what you think and if you'll be playing along with us. If you've got some great talking points or stir up some good discussion, we'll try and work it into the next recording as well.

So, this was supposed to be a Halloween special, but clearly we're a little bit late for that. Oh well.  This time we're tackling Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, which is a game both Julian and I have meant to get around to playing, but never got around to for one reason or another. Unlike most of our podcasts, we don't really have anybody on board who has played this game before, so we spent most of the 'cast talking about our history with Castlevania titles, some Konami titles, and Tiger handheld LCD games. Yeah, I know. But it's related, trust me. In the course of the podcast, we referenced a re-release of this title that included the DLC and Mirror of Fate. That's out now and priced very well at $39.99, so if you want to play along with us, picking the game up this way isn't a bad option. As usual, we'd love to get some feedback from the community, so let us know what you think and if you'll be playing along with us. If you've got some great talking points or stir up some good discussion, we'll try and work it into the next recording as well.

So, we wrapped up El Shaddai, and, for better and for worse, our expectations were pretty spot on. As you might imagine considering our previous podcast, stuff got deep again. We also had some theories and conjecture about a lot of the messages and artistic choices present in the game. Even if El Shaddai ended up not being for you, we hope you'll listen anyway to see what we took away from it.  Enoch As usual on our follow up podcasts, be aware that this is loaded with spoilers. We assume that, by this point, you've either played the game or given up on it, so if that's not the case, finish up first (it's only about 10 hours tops) then give it a listen.  Ishtar. Interesting resemblance right? It's also a good time to remind our listeners that Richard did some great (although also spoiler filled) write-ups on El Shaddai. You can find them in the show notes on our first podcast discussing this game, and don't forget to check out Richard Clark's work over at Christ and Pop Culture and Game Church. Thanks again for joining us Richard!

Yes, that's right, we brought in a special guest for this one: Richard Clark of, well, half the internet really. Mostly he's known for his work at Christ and Pop Culture and Game Church. For our intentions however, it's his work covering our next game, El Shaddai, that got my attention. He's written pretty extensively on the game, and we're very happy to have him on board for these next two podcasts.   I'll be honest, this is probably one of the best recordings we've done so far. What started off as pretty standard fare conversational topics ended up getting deep. Really deep. I'm not going to spoil it for you, but make sure to give this one a listen. Also, be sure to check out Richard's work on the game: Review for Killscreen.comEditorial for Paste And then a four-part series for GameRanx. WARNING! THESE CONTAIN SPOILERS!   El Shaddai as a Roadmap to a Religious Game  El Shaddai and the Importance of Choice  El Shaddai: Choice Made Flesh in Lucifel and Enoch  A Game about Faith on a Personal Scale

Yes, that's right, we brought in a special guest for this one: Richard Clark of, well, half the internet really. Mostly he's known for his work at Christ and Pop Culture and Game Church. For our intentions however, it's his work covering our next game, El Shaddai, that got my attention. He's written pretty extensively on the game, and we're very happy to have him on board for these next two podcasts.   I'll be honest, this is probably one of the best recordings we've done so far. What started off as pretty standard fare conversational topics ended up getting deep. Really deep. I'm not going to spoil it for you, but make sure to give this one a listen. Also, be sure to check out Richard's work on the game: Review for Killscreen.comEditorial for Paste And then a four-part series for GameRanx. WARNING! THESE CONTAIN SPOILERS!   El Shaddai as a Roadmap to a Religious Game  El Shaddai and the Importance of Choice  El Shaddai: Choice Made Flesh in Lucifel and Enoch  A Game about Faith on a Personal Scale

Well, we finished Mirror's Edge, and like most titles we play on Backloggers, it has its flaws to be sure, but it's a fantastic game. Make sure to listen to this 'cast once you've finished playing through since we spoil the ending about 5 seconds into the show, and thanks again for picking this game for us to play and for the feedback if you left us comments. I hope to do another community pick again sometime soon, so be on the lookout for another Backloggers poll.  Our next selection is El Shaddai, and we've got a special guest joining us for this one: Richard Clark of Christ and Pop Culture. Aside from the obvious familiarity with the source material, he's also a huge fan of the game and has written several pieces on it (which I won't link at this time due to spoilers.) So be looking forward to that one, and maybe hunt down a copy of El Shaddai if you're interested in playing along with us (it's not that expensive!) Thanks for listening!

Well, we finished Mirror's Edge, and like most titles we play on Backloggers, it has its flaws to be sure, but it's a fantastic game. Make sure to listen to this 'cast once you've finished playing through since we spoil the ending about 5 seconds into the show, and thanks again for picking this game for us to play and for the feedback if you left us comments. I hope to do another community pick again sometime soon, so be on the lookout for another Backloggers poll.  Our next selection is El Shaddai, and we've got a special guest joining us for this one: Richard Clark of Christ and Pop Culture. Aside from the obvious familiarity with the source material, he's also a huge fan of the game and has written several pieces on it (which I won't link at this time due to spoilers.) So be looking forward to that one, and maybe hunt down a copy of El Shaddai if you're interested in playing along with us (it's not that expensive!) Thanks for listening!

Yeah, that's right, we went there. It's hard not to, really, what with the current drama unfolding around Dragon's Crown, the Tropes Vs. Women videos, and what's in Lightning's bra. We handled it as well as 3 dudes on a video game podcast could, I think, but it would be fantastic if we could get some civil discussion going in the comments. We could have a great follow up when we get to our conclusion episode. Also, thanks to the PixlBit community for picking this one. It's certainly going to be a fun game to discuss, and with the recent announcement of a reboot / sequel, it's a very relevant subject too. Like I said in the show, we really want to hear your feedback, and since you've selected it, I'm expecting a lot of comments - so have at it! Chris won't be looking at them so feel free to spoil stuff, just put an appropriate warning up for others who haven't played the game yet. And for those who are curious, the blog Chris references can be found here.

Yeah, that's right, we went there. It's hard not to, really, what with the current drama unfolding around Dragon's Crown, the Tropes Vs. Women videos, and what's in Lightning's bra. We handled it as well as 3 dudes on a video game podcast could, I think, but it would be fantastic if we could get some civil discussion going in the comments. We could have a great follow up when we get to our conclusion episode. Also, thanks to the PixlBit community for picking this one. It's certainly going to be a fun game to discuss, and with the recent announcement of a reboot / sequel, it's a very relevant subject too. Like I said in the show, we really want to hear your feedback, and since you've selected it, I'm expecting a lot of comments - so have at it! Chris won't be looking at them so feel free to spoil stuff, just put an appropriate warning up for others who haven't played the game yet. And for those who are curious, the blog Chris references can be found here.

So you may be wondering why it's been two months since you last heard from us, and I'd be happy to tell you, but first, go ahead and play this YouTube video. Trust me. So, remember on the last episode when I discussed the shock curse? Well, over the course of playing this game we all had a ton of technical and scheduling difficulties which we discuss briefly in the show. Unfortunatly, one became apparent only after I recorded this episode; My headset broke while we were recording. What this means for you guys, and I'm horribly sorry about this, is that I've had to edit this episode rather heavily. There's gonna be some popping and cutting in and out from my microphone, and sometimes a conversation may sound kind of awkward due to having to edit out a portion of it, but hopefully you guys still enjoy it, and hopefully I won't have to do another Shock game for a while. Oh, something else I forgot, my first Xbox 360 went red ring on me while playing Bioshock for the first time, so yeah, I'm probably going to avoid these games in the future. They're starting to cost me a small fortune. At least it gave me an excuse to listen to this Stevie Wonder song again though. That's some seriously sweet bass. So our next show will be our listener's choice episode covering Mirrors Edge! Be looking for that in a couple of weeks or so, and as always, feel free to post some questions or suggestions in the comments below.

So you may be wondering why it's been two months since you last heard from us, and I'd be happy to tell you, but first, go ahead and play this YouTube video. Trust me. So, remember on the last episode when I discussed the shock curse? Well, over the course of playing this game we all had a ton of technical and scheduling difficulties which we discuss briefly in the show. Unfortunatly, one became apparent only after I recorded this episode; My headset broke while we were recording. What this means for you guys, and I'm horribly sorry about this, is that I've had to edit this episode rather heavily. There's gonna be some popping and cutting in and out from my microphone, and sometimes a conversation may sound kind of awkward due to having to edit out a portion of it, but hopefully you guys still enjoy it, and hopefully I won't have to do another Shock game for a while. Oh, something else I forgot, my first Xbox 360 went red ring on me while playing Bioshock for the first time, so yeah, I'm probably going to avoid these games in the future. They're starting to cost me a small fortune. At least it gave me an excuse to listen to this Stevie Wonder song again though. That's some seriously sweet bass. So our next show will be our listener's choice episode covering Mirrors Edge! Be looking for that in a couple of weeks or so, and as always, feel free to post some questions or suggestions in the comments below.

So, funny story, I think Backloggers Anonymous is cursed when it comes to handling games designed by Irrational. The reason? Well, this is actually our second first recording for System Shock 2. The first one somehow disappeared from my computer after we recorded it, and the backup is gone too. I half expected SHODAN to email me something like I'VE DELETED YOUR PODCAST, INSECT, but that didn't happen, so I'm gonna chalk it up to the curse. What curse you may ask? Well here's a little trivia for you. Originally, I wasn't the guy in charge of Backloggers. This was actually JD's idea, and he had the helm for our first series of podcasts. The topic? BioShock. Guess what, those are gone too. Weird stuff. Anyway, curse or no curse, we're soldiering on. This time I'm joined by Julian and our site director, Nick. We talk about the game's historical relevance, how it's aged, and why you should never trust someone with a face like this guy.  Seriously, what is it with future people? If you create a super powerful AI, give it a name like Xerxes, and a face like that, you're just asking for trouble. Anyway, we'll do our best to defy the curse and bring you another podcast in a few weeks where we'll discuss everything there is to discuss about this game. If you're playing along with us, or just have some questions you'd like us to address, sound off below unless it's got spoilers. If it does, send me an email at Angelo@pixlbit.com. See you next time.

So, funny story, I think Backloggers Anonymous is cursed when it comes to handling games designed by Irrational. The reason? Well, this is actually our second first recording for System Shock 2. The first one somehow disappeared from my computer after we recorded it, and the backup is gone too. I half expected SHODAN to email me something like I'VE DELETED YOUR PODCAST, INSECT, but that didn't happen, so I'm gonna chalk it up to the curse. What curse you may ask? Well here's a little trivia for you. Originally, I wasn't the guy in charge of Backloggers. This was actually JD's idea, and he had the helm for our first series of podcasts. The topic? BioShock. Guess what, those are gone too. Weird stuff. Anyway, curse or no curse, we're soldiering on. This time I'm joined by Julian and our site director, Nick. We talk about the game's historical relevance, how it's aged, and why you should never trust someone with a face like this guy.  Seriously, what is it with future people? If you create a super powerful AI, give it a name like Xerxes, and a face like that, you're just asking for trouble. Anyway, we'll do our best to defy the curse and bring you another podcast in a few weeks where we'll discuss everything there is to discuss about this game. If you're playing along with us, or just have some questions you'd like us to address, sound off below unless it's got spoilers. If it does, send me an email at Angelo@pixlbit.com. See you next time.

Final thoughts: Pigsy is a pig, Monkey is kinda like a monkey, and Trip is... kinda hot. What, you want to know more? Well listen to the 'cast! The play button is over there -----> What I did want to do is let you know about an upcoming poll we'll be hosting here where you, the listeners will be determining what games we play next. I've posted a blog about it, and quite a few of you have already sounded off on what games you'd like us to play. We have plenty to choose from, but the nominations aren't closed yet! If there's a game you'd like us to play, be it current gen or retro, let me know either there or in the comments below and, if it's possible for us to play it, I'll put it in the upcoming poll. Contributers for this cast: Angelo @pixlaj, JD @AMythKnownAsJD, and Julian @Julian_Titus

Final thoughts: Pigsy is a pig, Monkey is kinda like a monkey, and Trip is... kinda hot. What, you want to know more? Well listen to the 'cast! The play button is over there -----> What I did want to do is let you know about an upcoming poll we'll be hosting here where you, the listeners will be determining what games we play next. I've posted a blog about it, and quite a few of you have already sounded off on what games you'd like us to play. We have plenty to choose from, but the nominations aren't closed yet! If there's a game you'd like us to play, be it current gen or retro, let me know either there or in the comments below and, if it's possible for us to play it, I'll put it in the upcoming poll. Contributers for this cast: Angelo @pixlaj, JD @AMythKnownAsJD, and Julian @Julian_Titus

We're digging into another game from our backlog:  Ninja Theory's Enslaved. We start by getting Julian's take on backlogged games from 2012, then we talk about what kind of a game Enslaved is. Rather than bog you down with what we discuss in the podcast (which you're gonna listen to anyway right? right?) I figured I'd show you some of the stuff we talked about on the podcast. So here's a video of Super Monkey Daibouken: Here are the bonus bosses from Mega Man: The Wily Wars along with the characters they parallel in the Chinese epic: Buster Rod. G (Sun Wukong, the monkey king) Mega Water. S (Sha Wujing, the water buffalo) Hyper Storm. H (Zhu Bajie, the pig guy) While I'm at it, here's Infernape, the pokemon JD brought up in the 'cast: Also, there's this, just for fun: Feel free to hit us up on Twitter or just reply in the comments below. We really want your feedback on stuff like this, and we're always looking for input about what games you want us to cover on Backloggers. I'm Angelo Grant (@pixlaj), and I'm joined this time by Julian Titus (@Julian_Titus), and JD (@AMythKnownAsJD).

We're digging into another game from our backlog:  Ninja Theory's Enslaved. We start by getting Julian's take on backlogged games from 2012, then we talk about what kind of a game Enslaved is. Rather than bog you down with what we discuss in the podcast (which you're gonna listen to anyway right? right?) I figured I'd show you some of the stuff we talked about on the podcast. So here's a video of Super Monkey Daibouken: Here are the bonus bosses from Mega Man: The Wily Wars along with the characters they parallel in the Chinese epic: Buster Rod. G (Sun Wukong, the monkey king) Mega Water. S (Sha Wujing, the water buffalo) Hyper Storm. H (Zhu Bajie, the pig guy) While I'm at it, here's Infernape, the pokemon JD brought up in the 'cast: Also, there's this, just for fun: Feel free to hit us up on Twitter or just reply in the comments below. We really want your feedback on stuff like this, and we're always looking for input about what games you want us to cover on Backloggers. I'm Angelo Grant (@pixlaj), and I'm joined this time by Julian Titus (@Julian_Titus), and JD (@AMythKnownAsJD).

I'm gonna keep this brief because frankly, I'm not feeling so great. We finished Darksiders. We had more fun talking about it than we did with the back half of the game. We get into some pretty weird things to talk about like sound effects and... horse physics. Maybe my fever started earlier than I thought. Oh, I did manage to find a monkey that pulled off the tough guy thing better than War, so there's that... Anyway, as we've already discussed, this is an out and out spolier 'cast, so make sure you've finished the game or given up on it before you listen to it. We pick up at the Ash Lands (the desert section) and play all the way through to the end. You have been warned! One thing I fogot to mention and I feel horrible about, there's a zombie Mr. Peanut hidden in the game. I found him in two places, but apparently he has a few more appearances. He's actually pretty fun to fight as well, so hunt him down if you want to, and feel free to discuss him in the comments! Also, suggestions! We do have the next two podcasts already planned out and will be playing Enslaved next, but we want to know what you want us to play. If you have any ideas, let us know, and if we think it's a good fit, will add it to our ever growing list of considerations for this podcast.

I'm gonna keep this brief because frankly, I'm not feeling so great. We finished Darksiders. We had more fun talking about it than we did with the back half of the game. We get into some pretty weird things to talk about like sound effects and... horse physics. Maybe my fever started earlier than I thought. Oh, I did manage to find a monkey that pulled off the tough guy thing better than War, so there's that... Anyway, as we've already discussed, this is an out and out spolier 'cast, so make sure you've finished the game or given up on it before you listen to it. We pick up at the Ash Lands (the desert section) and play all the way through to the end. You have been warned! One thing I fogot to mention and I feel horrible about, there's a zombie Mr. Peanut hidden in the game. I found him in two places, but apparently he has a few more appearances. He's actually pretty fun to fight as well, so hunt him down if you want to, and feel free to discuss him in the comments! Also, suggestions! We do have the next two podcasts already planned out and will be playing Enslaved next, but we want to know what you want us to play. If you have any ideas, let us know, and if we think it's a good fit, will add it to our ever growing list of considerations for this podcast.