The Upper Memory Block Podcast

Lok’tar Ogar Blockers!

For episode 50, I cover the hugely popular 1994 RTS (and eventually MMO and TCG) series, Warcraft.

In the news:

Carmack is being sued by id.

The launch trailer for Wolfenstein: The New Order is out and the game releases next week.

A kickstarter for The Way, a game in the spirit of Another World and Flashback can use your support!

We then get on to Warcraft. I get into a big focus on lore, gameplay and development story.

Sadly, there’s nowhere to buy the games digitally!

Next time, I’ll be discussing the newly released Tex Murphy kickstarter game, Tesla Effect.

Stream the show live:

Direct download:
http://umbcast.com/podcast/050-UMBCast-Warcraft.mp3

Greetings Blockers!

It’s time for episode 49 where I’ll be discussing the 1994 Adeline Software action-adventure, Little Big Adventure.

News:

I’ve been playing the crap out of Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls lately.

At PAX East, Star Citizen held an event where they previewed their new dogfighting module.

Abandoned E.T. cartridges found in New Mexico landfill!

In Star Wars news: Disney has announced what they will be doing with the Star Wars EU.

We then get to the main event, Little Big Adventure. Genre, story, gameplay, tech and dev story are all discussed as usual.

Buy Little Big Adventure on GoG:
http://www.gog.com/game/little_big_adventure?pp=1106a1dda2d680438ecfb0bb70fd479c55a1791f

Buy Little Big Adventure 2 on GoG:
http://www.gog.com/game/little_big_adventure_2?pp=1106a1dda2d680438ecfb0bb70fd479c55a1791f

Next time, I’ll be covering a big one, the quintessential Blizzard Entertainment series, Warcraft.

Thanks and enjoy!

Stream the show live:

Direct download:
http://umbcast.com/podcast/049-UMBCast-Little-Big-Adventure.mp3

Matsuba Blockers!

It’s time for episode 48 where I’ll be discussing The 1991 Delphine Software cinematic adventure, Another World.

News:

We’ve just found out Dave Cummins, writer of Beneath a Steel Sky, passed away in 2008.

GoG.com will be releasing more games with Linux support.

Julian Gollop of X-COM fame has launched a kickstarter called Chaos Reborn.

Microsoft has released the source code for MS DOS 1.1 and Word for Windows.

It’s the 25th anniversary of Space Quest 3!

We then get into the meat of the show, Another World. Story, gameplay, dev story and LOTS of emails!

Buy Another World on GoG:
http://www.gog.com/game/another_world_20th_anniversary_edition?pp=1106a1dda2d680438ecfb0bb70fd479c55a1791f

Buy Another World on Steam:
http://store.steampowered.com/app/233550/

YouTube play session:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ekfc0Pz6YA

Next time, I’ll be covering the 1994 adventure game, Little Big Adventure.

Enjoy!

Stream the show live:

Direct download:
http://umbcast.com/podcast/048-UMBCast-Another-World.mp3

Be vigilant, Blockers!

Welcome to episode 47 where we discuss the 1994 Revolution Studios adventure, Beneath A Steel Sky.

First though, the news:

Thief 4 has released to mixed reviews.

Jane Jensen’s Moebius: Empire Rising now has a release date and it’s soon!

The BBC has released a free remake of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy text adventure in celebration of its 30th anniversary. Play it for free online!

Peter Molyneux and 22 Cans have released a big update to Godus in light of some negative feedback.

We then get on to the main event, Beneath a Steel Sky. We talk about all the usual suspects and a few listener emails.

Get Beneath a Steel Sky for FREE on GoG:
http://www.gog.com/game/beneath_a_steel_sky

Get Beneath a Steel Sky from SCUMMVM:
http://scummvm.org/games/#sky

Beneath a Steel Sky Enhanced Soundtrack Project:
http://www.jameswoodcock.co.uk/2011/11/21/my-beneath-a-steel-sky-enhanced-soundtrack-version-1-0-released-for-scummvm/

Next time, I’ll be talking about the 1991 platformer, Another World.

Stream the show live:

Direct download:
http://umbcast.com/podcast/047-UMBCast-Beneath-a-Steel-Sky.mp3

Hailing frequencies open, Blockers!

For this show, something a bit different. I’m away so won’t have time to put out a proper show. Instead, I’ll be bookending a Treks in Sci Fi show I did back in September of 2012 where I talk about the great Interplay games Star Trek: 25th Anniversary and Star Trek: Judgement Rites.

Still though, there’s some news:

Tim Schafer has stated that the second part of Broken Age has funded and can now begin development.

Next, it appears that Descent 1 & 2 are now available on Steam.

We then get into the TrekSF episode. It’s slightly truncated from the original which ca be found here:

http://treksinscifi.com/podcast_notes/?p=2564

Next time, I’ll be covering the 1994 Revolution Software adventure, Beneath a Steel Sky.

Hope you enjoy the show!

Stream the show live:

Direct download:
http://umbcast.com/podcast/046-UMBCast-Trek-Games.mp3

Hello Blockers!

Time for episode 45, the second part of our Dune coverage!

A bit of news:

A runthrough of the Steam game streaming beta.

The new mobile version of Dungeon Keeper is somewhat disappointing.

Then we get to the second half of our Dune coverage, covering the Westwood group of Dune games, starting with Dune 2.

Enjoy!

Play Dune 2 free online at: http://play-dune.com/

Play Dune 2000 and more with OpenRA: http://openra.res0l.net/

Stream the show live:

Direct download:
http://umbcast.com/podcast/045-UMBCast-Dune-Part-2.mp3

Blockers, the spice must flow!

Welcome to episode 44 where we’re talking about the 1992 Virgin Interactive series, Dune. In this first part we’ll discuss the first game by Cryo Interactive.

First though, the news:

It appears a remake of the 1989 open-world RPG, Midwinter is in the works.

SimCity is getting an online mode, despite assurances it wasn’t possible.

Some changes to the design to the Steam controller are coming.

Next, some email links:

Sierra Gamers: www.sierragamers.com
SierraHelp: www.sierrahelp.com
Quest Studios: www.queststudios.com
Sierra Music Central: www.sierramusiccentral.com

Game Center CX: http://www.sa-gccx.com

We then get to the main event, Dune by Cryo Interactive.

Next time, we’ll be discussing Dune II and its descendants.

Enjoy!

Stream the show live:

Direct download:
http://umbcast.com/podcast/044-UMBCast-Dune-Part-1.mp3

Happy new year, blockers!

Time for episode 43 where I’ll be talking about a group of WWII flight sims from Lucasarts, Battlehawks 1942, Their Finest Hour: Battle of Britain and Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe.

As always though, the news:

7th Guest 3: The Collector has restarted a new crowd funding campaign with a more reasonable goal.

Fallout, Fallout 2 and Fallout Tactics have been removed from both GoG and Steam due to rights transfer.

Wired.co.uk did a great interview with the managing director of GoG.com.

Stardock has announced they are actively working on a new Star Control game.

We then get to the main topic, the Lucasarts flight sims. We have a great discussion of the history of these three games plus one more I hadn’t heard of.

Next time, I’ll be talking RTS with Dune.

Enjoy!

Stream the show live:

Direct download:
http://umbcast.com/podcast/043-UMBCast-Lucasarts-Flight-Sims.mp3

What’s your 20, Blockers?

It’s time for episode 42, all about Sierra’s 1987 adventure series, Police Quest.

As always, though, some news:

Wasteland 2 is available for purchase via Steam Early Access.

The gog.com winter sale is ending and the Steam winter sale will soon begin.

A new trailer has released for the new Tex Murphy game, Tesla Effect.

A new Star Wars game, Attack Squadron has been teased. We don’t have a ton of info, but we do have a trailer.

We then get on to the main topic, Police Quest. We discuss the first four games of the series.

Buy Police Quest 1-4 on GoG:
http://www.gog.com/game/police_quest_1_2_3_4?pp=1106a1dda2d680438ecfb0bb70fd479c55a1791f

YouTube playlist:
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2whCuUnKwYDHG4T5Yn6AdAunPkM6q9-P

Next time, we’ll be covering the series of LucasArts WWII flight sims, Battlehawks 1942, Their Finest Hour and Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe. I’m excited to get back into some combat flight sims.

Stream the show live:

Direct download:
http://umbcast.com/podcast/042-UMBCast-Police-Quest.mp3

Welcome to my house, Blockers!

For episode 41, we’re talking about the 1993 Trilobyte interactive movie game, The 7th Guest.

In the news:

John Carmack officially leaves Id Software.

thesurvivor2299.com launches, may be a Fallout 4 teaser site. We’ll know soon enough!

Steam is introducing user reviews.

Steam’s Autumn (or Spring, depending where you live) sale is on!

Star Citizen has hit 33 million in funding and unlocked more stretch goals.

We then get into the 7th Guest and the 11th Hour. We get into all the usual topics.

Buy the 7th Guest on GoG:
http://www.gog.com/game/the_7th_guest?pp=1106a1dda2d680438ecfb0bb70fd479c55a1791f

Buy the 11th Hour on GoG:
http://www.gog.com/game/the_11th_hour?pp=1106a1dda2d680438ecfb0bb70fd479c55a1791f

Buy the 7th Guest and the 11th Hour on Steam:
http://store.steampowered.com/sub/32847/

Next time, we’re covering the Sierra procedural adventure series, Police Quest.

Stream the show live:

Direct download:
http://umbcast.com/podcast/041-UMBCast-The-7th-Guest.mp3