The Upper Memory Block Podcast

Hi Blockers!

This week, we’re talking about the incredible space sim series, X-Wing.

Before we talk about that, the news:

The team that brought us the original Planetscape: Torment are kicksarting a new game, Torment: Tides of Numenera.

Lord British told us what he meant to. Check out his new game on kickstarter, Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues.

Finally, the developers working on the new Shadowrun Returns game, which raised 18 million dollars last year, released 20 minute of alpha gameplay footage. Looks like they’re on track.

Next, a quick email talking about Humungous games and where you can get them today.

Finaly we get to X-Wing. We talk about the story, gameplay and tech focus. In dev story, we go through the history of the series and a bit about each of the sequels. Then we hear a few listener memories of the games.

Buy X-Wing on eBay

Buy X-Wing on Amazon

Next time, not only is it the podcast’s 1 year anniversary, but we will also be discussing the awesome Fallout series!

Enjoy!

Stream the show live:

Direct download:
http://umbcast.com/podcast/025-UMBCast-X-Wing.mp3

Howdy Blockers!

This time around, we’re talking about Dynamix’s 1992 puzzle game, The Incredible Machine.

This week in the news:

Death Inc Kickstarter

Mage’s Initiaition Kickstarter

Back in February, the Guys from Andromeda podcast interviewed Jim Walls, creator of Police Quest and he announced his intention to kickstart a new Police Quest style game.

Finally, Lord British has something to say at http://www.lordbritishpresents.com/

A few links from listener emails:

BJ Used to read this interesting eductionial software magazine:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Club_Kidsoft

King’s Quest fan remakes from Father Beast:
1, 2 and 3 from AGD Interactive:
http://www.agdinteractive.com/games/games.html
Episode based remake:
http://www.tsl-game.com/episodes.php
IA King’s Quest 3 remake:
http://www.infamous-adventures.com/kq3/

Finally, on the The Incredible Machine. We discuss all the usual suspects and cover the whole series of games.

Buy The Incredible Machine on GoG:
http://www.gog.com/gamecard/the_incredible_machine_mega_pack

Next time we’re going to cover the awesome LucasArts space sim: X-Wing. I’m super excited for this one!

Enjoy!

Stream the show live:

Direct download:
http://umbcast.com/podcast/024-UMBCast-The-Incredible-Machine.mp3

Hello Blockers!

Welcome to episode 23. This time around we’re talking about the huge Sierra adventure series that started back in 1984, King’s Quest.

Before we get into this huge topic, we have a few small items of news to cover:

Ken Allen put out a very interesting podcast where he discusses how he came up with the music for Space Quest 4. Also, it turns out that he will be able to rearrange his own creations despite the fact the rights are owned by Activision through mechanical licensing.

Secondly, big news on the GoG.com front. System Shock 2 is now available for purchase for 9.99 USD. I definitely need to give this one a whirl since I didn’t get a chance to play it when it originally came out.

So that’s that for the news, now we get on to our main topic, Roberta Williams’ King’s Quest series. I talk about the history of the series and cover some interesting points of each of the eight games in the series.

Buy King’s Quest 1, 2 and 3 on GoG:
http://www.gog.com/gamecard/kings_quest_1_2_3

Buy King’s Quest 4, 5 and 6 on GoG:
http://www.gog.com/gamecard/kings_quest_4_5_6

Buy King’s Quest 7 and 8 on GoG:
http://www.gog.com/gamecard/kings_quest_7_8

Next time around, I’ll be covering my first puzzle type game, Dynamix’s The Incredible Machine.

Enjoy the show!

Stream the show live:

Direct download:
http://umbcast.com/podcast/023-UMBCast-Kings-Quest.mp3

Howdy Blockers!

Welcome to episode 22 where we talk about the 1999 Microprose game, Rollercoaster Tycoon.

Before that though, there’s quite a bit of news this week:

Leisure Suit Larry Reloaded’s Greenlight campaign was a success. It was approved along with other games in the fourth round of Greenlight inductees.

In addition, Leisure Suit Larry’s Greatest Hits and Misses is now available on GoG. This compilation includes Larry 1 – 6 and is a mere 10 dollars.

Back to Greenlight, a cool game called Pinball Arcade is trying to get approved. Looks like a very cool reproduction of some classic pinball tables. Check it out!

In SpaceVenture news, former Sierra star composer Ken Allen is now confirmed to be on board to do the music for the game. This is awesome news.

n addition, Ken Allen himself has launched a Kickstarter. Under the Half Dome will be a modernized compilation of some of Ken’s best game music work.

Finally, in beta news:

The Elder Scrolls online beta signup is open.

SimCity 5 closed beta has begun.

After all that news, we get into our main topic, Microprose’s 1999 game, Rollercoaster Tycoon. We talk about the game, dev story, listen to a voicemail and all the rest!

Buy Rollercoaster Tycoon on GOG:
http://www.gog.com/gamecard/rollercoaster_tycoon_deluxe

Buy Rollercoaster Tycoon 2 on GoG:
http://www.gog.com/gamecard/rollercoaster_tycoon_2

Buy Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 on GoG:
http://www.gog.com/gamecard/rollercoaster_tycoon_3

Next time, I’ll be covering a big series, Sierra’s King’s Quest adventures. This series is a cornerstone of gaming history. I’m looking forward to covering it!

Stream the show live:

Direct download:
http://umbcast.com/podcast/022-UMBCast-Rollercoaster-Tycoon.mp3

Hi Blockers!

Time for episode 21! This time around, I’m covering the great 1995 Lucasarts adventure game, Full Throttle.

But first, a bit of news:

It’s the new year which means it’s time for CES. I talk a little bit about some things announced there and my hopes for the upcoming Steam Box.

A kickstarter campaign who’s aim is to remake the original space trading game, Elite successfully funded. Check it out!

Finally, it seems the remake of Leisure Suit Larry is on schedule for a Q1 2013 release.

A quick voicemail from Rick Moyer all about the creation of the show’s intro song.

Then on to the main topic, Full Throttle. I cover all the usual topics and play a lot of clips from the game.

Next time, I’ll be talking about the 1999 business sim, Rollercoaster Tycoon.

Stream the show live:

Direct download:
http://umbcast.com/podcast/021-UMBCast-Full-Throttle.mp3

Happy new year Blockers!

Welcome 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

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.

First 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

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.

But 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

Hey there Blockers!

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

There’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

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.

Housekeeping 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