Archive for the ‘Podcast’ Category

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Episode 20 – Independence War

January 1, 2013

Happy new year Blockers!

Independence War box artWelcome to 2013 and episode 20 of the show where I discuss the 1997 Particle Systems/Infogrames space sim, Independence War.

Not much in the way of news over the holidays aside from Steam and GoG both having their holiday sales. Check them out if they are still on!

Then we read some emails including a fun one from Martin where he tells us about an attempt to release Wing Commander 2 on the SNES.

Then on to Independence War, I cover all the usual suspects and give my verdict on the series!

Buy Independence War on GoG:
http://www.gog.com/gamecard/independence_war_deluxe

Buy Independence War 2 on GoG:
http://www.gog.com/gamecard/independence_war_2

Next time, we’re going to discuss the great 1995 LucasArts adventure, Full Throttle.

Enjoy!

Stream the show live:

Direct download:
http://umbcast.com/podcast/020-UMBCast-Independence-War.mp3

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Episode 19 – X-COM: Enemy Unknown

December 13, 2012

Welcome once again Blockers!

A little early, episode 19 is here. This week we change gears a bit and talk about a new and current game, XCOM: Enemy Unknown.

XCOM Enemy Unknown box artFirst things first though, a bit of news:

The remake of the original Leisure Suit Larry has been submitted to Steam Greenlight, give it a vote so they can make it onto Steam for distribution!

The new Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition is now available for iPad both from the app store.

GoG.com’s winter sale is currently under weigh, over 450 games are on sale including many great games I’ve already covered. Some great deals to be had on both old and new games.

Then, on to our main topic, XCOM: Enemy Unknown. I don’t cover the history of the whole series, I do that back in episode 4. I try to keep to the standard format as much as possible, we talk genre, story, gameplay ad dev story.

Buy XCOM: Enemy Unknown on Steam:
http://store.steampowered.com/app/200510/

Next time I’ll be talking about the 1999 space sim, Independence War.

Enjoy!

Stream the show live:

Direct download:
http://umbcast.com/podcast/019-UMBCast-X-COM-Enemy-Unknown.mp3

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Episode 18 – Alone in the Dark

December 2, 2012

Hey there Blockers!

Time for episode 18. This time around, we’re talking about the grandaddy of 3D survival horror games, 1992’s Alone in the Dark.

Alone in the Dark box artBut first, there’s lots of news this week!

Hero-U, the new game from Quest for Glory’s Lori and Corey Cole has successfully funded! They just made it to their 400,000 dollar goal. Congrats!

I wasn’t quite correct last show when I said Chris Roberts’ Star Citizen had funded. It had a day or so left and instead of raising 5 million dollars, they raised 6.5 million! Incredible.

A new remake of 1998’s Baldur’s Gate is already out and ready for purchase.

Peter Molyneux has launched a kickstarter to bankroll a new god game in the vein of Populous. I’ll be keeping an eye on this one.

I also found a new site where you can play an online version of Dune 2. This is a really great port to the web.

Finally, if anyone is interested in health, fitness and nutrition, check out this cool new podcast, Fit for Radio! It’s awesome.

Whew! After all that news, we get to the meat of the show, Infogrames’ 1992 game, Alone in the Dark. We take a look at all the usual suspects here and cover a lot of cool info.

Buy Alone in the Dark 1, 2 and 3 on GoG:
http://www.gog.com/gamecard/alone_in_the_dark

Next time I’m doing something a little different. I’ll be doing an in-depth review of the new game X-COM: Enemy Unknown. Kind of a look at an old series in a new incarnation.

Enjoy!

Stream the show live:

Direct download:
http://umbcast.com/podcast/018-UMBCast-Alone-in-the-Dark.mp3

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Episode 17 – DOOM

November 18, 2012

Hey there Blockers!

One week late, but here’s episode 17 where I cover the iconic first person shooter series from id software, DOOM.

Doom Box ArtThere’s so much to say here that I don’t spend much in the way of time on news, I only mention that Chris Roberts’ Star Citizen project has concluded its funding campaign successfully. They are still collecting for stretch goals so check it out!

I then read a quick email and jump right into things with the main topic, id software’s DOOM series. I cover the story (such as it is), gameplay, get reasonably deep into the design of the game engine and look at the very interesting development story.

Play DOOM for free online: http://www.kongregate.com/games/mike_id/doom-1

Buy Doom 3: BFG Edition on Steam: http://store.steampowered.com/app/208200/

Next week, we cover a very interesting game series: Alone in the Dark. Hope to see you then!

Stream the show live:

Direct download:
http://umbcast.com/podcast/017-UMBCast-DOOM.mp3

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Episode 16 – Star Control

October 28, 2012

Hello again Blockers!

The time has come for episode 16 where I cover the great 1990 game series from Toys for Bob, Star Control.

Before I even get to the news, a small program note: From now on, the show will be releasing on Sundays instead of Thursday as it has been in the past.

Star Control 2 Box ArtHousekeeping aside, news time!

Hero-U, the new game project from Lori and Corey Cole, creators of Quest for Glory now has an active kickstarter! If you want to give to this project, go check out their page.

Big news over at GoG.com, they have released over 50 games with native mac support! OSX-ers rejoice! The developer of Boxer, who is working with them also posted a great article talking details of his work.

Finally, SimCity 5 now has a release date!

After an email, we get to the main topic, the great Star Control series. I cover all the usual suspects for the first two games in the set. We end off with an email and a cool look into the lego community with a set of Star Control ships competing to be made into a real licensed lego set! If you want to see these happen put in your vote.

Buy Star Control on GoG: http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/star_control_1_2/

Get the open source Ur-Quan Masters: http://sc2.sourceforge.net/

Check out Project 6014: http://code.google.com/p/project6014/

Stream the show live:

Direct download:
http://umbcast.com/podcast/016-UMBCast-Star-Control.mp3

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Episode 15 – Syndicate

October 14, 2012

Hi Blockers!

Welcome to episode 15! This week we talk about Bullfrog’s 1993 game, Syndicate.

Syndicate Box ArtBefore we get to that though, lots of news this week:

Pledge Quest, the fan game supporting the Two Guys SpaceVenture released a second part. Give it a look!

X-Com: Enemy Unknown has released to great reviews!

In SimCity 5 News, it appears the game will not allow you to restore or delete your cities.

Wing Commander’s Chris Roberts launched a crowdfunding campaign to create an ambitious new space sim called Star Citizen / Squadron 42.

Finally, Mechwarrior Online is going to open beta, giving everyone a chance to give the game a try.

After all this news and an email, we get to the main topic of the show, 1993’s Syndicate. Lots of great info here.

Get Syndicate on GoG:
http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/syndicate/?pp=1106a1dda2d680438ecfb0bb70fd479c55a1791f

Get Syndicate 2012 on Origin:
http://store.origin.com/store/ea/en_US/pd/productID.108004900

Next week, we take a look at another game from 1993, Star Control. Hope to see you then!

Stream the show live:

Direct download:
http://umbcast.com/podcast/015-UMBCast-Syndicate.mp3

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Episode 14 – Gabriel Knight

September 30, 2012

Welcome Blockers!

A little late, but here I am with episode 14! This time around we chat about the great paranormal mystery adventure game series, Gabriel Knight.

Gabriel Knight box artAs usual though, the news:

Project Eternity is a kickstarter RPG made in the vein of late 90’s PC RPG’s like Icewind Dale and Planetscape: Torment. If you like that style of game, check it out!

Sword of Fargoal 2 is an attempt (again on kickstarter) to bring back the Sword of Fargoal roguelike dungeon crawler from the Commodore 64. Again, if this type of game is your bag, give it a look!

Finally, in Steam news, the demo for the new X-COM: Enemy Unknown game is available for download. The full game is due to release on October 9th, 2012.

We then have two great listener emails where we go back and chat a bit about Command & Conquer.

Now, on to our main topic for the week, Sierra’s Gabriel Knight series. I go into great detail about the first game, Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers. We talk story, gameplay, tech focus and the rest. In dev story I go into the rest of the games in the series as well.

I end off with a live performance of some soundtrack music from the first game.

You can get all three GK games on GoG.com:

Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers

The Beast Within: A Gabriel Knight Mystery

Gabriel Knight 3: Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned

Next time, we check out an interesting 1993 tactical strategy series, Syndicate. Hope to see you then!

Stream the show live:

Direct download:
http://umbcast.com/podcast/014-UMBCast-Gabriel_Knight.mp3

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Episode 13 – Mechwarrior

September 13, 2012

Hey there Blockers!

Time for episode 13! This week we delve into the world of Mechwarrior and Battletech.

Mechwarrior 2 box artSince I’m such a big fan of this series, I’ve got too much to say, so I forego the news except for one small item: Over the weekend I guest hosted Treks in Sci Fi episode 401. There I talk about two 90s Star Trek adventure games by Interplay. Check it out if you’d like!

Then we quickly get into things. I talk about both Mechwarrior and Mechwarrior 2. I cover quite a bit of Battletech backstory, how the games differ, gameplay, tech focus on each and a great development story.

In current Mechwarrior news, I discuss the upcoming game, Mechwarrior Online.

I discuss how to get these games running using the community-made source port, MechVM.

Finally, we listen to a great voicemail, I give my verdict as to whether or not Mechwarrior holds up today and close out the show.

Next week: The really cool Sierra adventure game series, Gabriel Knight.

Enjoy episode 13!

Stream the show live:

Direct download:
http://umbcast.com/podcast/013-UMBCast-Mechwarrior.mp3

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Episode 12 – Railroad Tycoon

August 30, 2012

Hey Blockers!

The time has come for episode 12! This time around, we look into our first game from the king of simulation, Sid Meier’s Railroad Tycoon.

Before we dive into the business simulation pool, some news:

Railroad Tycoon Box ArtCommand & Conquer: Generals 2 will apparently not be a traditional retail boxed game. Initially, it will be released as a free to play multiplayer online game with a single player campaign to follow.

In Kickstarter news, the creator of the Broken Sword series has started a campaign with the goal of funding a new game in the Broken Sword series. There’s still quite a bit of time left so check it out!

Finally, Chris Pope of the Guys from Andromeda podcast recently interviewed Lori and Corey Cole, creators of the original Quest for Glory series. In the great audio interview they discuss memories of working at Sierra and also discuss their new project, The School for Heroes.

We then get on to the main topic, the very deep, detailed and challenging 1990 business simulation game, Railroad Tycoon. As usual we talk genre, gameplay, dev story and the rest.

Download Railroad Tycoon Deluxe for free

Get Railroad Tycoon 2 and 3 on Steam.

Next time, we join the clans with Mechwarrior! Hope to see you then!

Stream the show live:

Direct download:
http://umbcast.com/podcast/012-UMBCast-Railroad-Tycoon.mp3

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Episode 11 – Loom

August 16, 2012

Hello to all the Blockers!

Welcome to episode 11. This time around, we’re heading back to the adventure genre with a great LucasArts game from 1990, Loom.

First though, some news:

Shortly after the last show, strange rumours started popping up about a new Rise of the Triad game by Apogee software. Turns out they are true!

Loom box artSome more info about the new X-COM: Enemy Unknown game has come out. We’re talking competitive multiplayer and a release date! You can also pre-order at their site.

Finally, some sad news: 3D modelling pioneer Paul Steed, who worked on games like Strike Commander and Quake, passed away suddenly this week.

After the news we read a few listener emails covering a few topics.

Business aside, I then start to delve into the fantastic and wonderful world of Loom. As usual we cover all the aspects of story, gameplay, development and more relating to this truly unique adventure game from Lucasfilm Games.

If you want to give Loom a go, it can be purchased on Steam.

Next week, we put on our conductor’s hat when we look at yet another game from 1990, Sid Meier’s Railroad Tycoon.

Stream the show live:

Direct download:
http://umbcast.com/podcast/011-UMBCast-Loom.mp3