Cocktails and Cream Puffs is hosted by Joey Bucheker with co-hosts Matthew Crehan Higgins and Marc Sacco. Besides these three ‘the naughty nanny’ Wendy Cameron also guest co-hosts. The group has a very dynamic relationship which I think only adds to the quality of the show. It probably also helps that his is one of the few podcasts I listen to where the group records in the same room. The bulk of the episodes can be broken down into four major parts. These include celebrity news, world news, listener mail, and a look into the hosts’ lives.

The celebrity news as well as the world news are guaranteed to delight. The stories chosen are more often than not chosen because they have a ridiculous aspect to them and the commentary from the hosts are the best part. The world news will often times also have a specific Asian article, and when I first started hearing these I will admit I was not super thrilled. However, I quickly learned that this was not the worst thing and is not a big deal at all and a bit hypocritical since I enjoyed when they poked fun at other news articles.

Each host, as well as Ms. Cameron, bring something to the podcast. Mr. Bucheker is clearly the driving force behind the show. He is both executive producer and the main host. After over 100 episodes the best way I can describe Mr. Bucheker is a comparison to Roger Smith from American Dad. He is very much the centre of the show and seems to need the control. However, there are two things that make Mr. Bucheker very different from Roger Smith. If one of the other two co-hosts is upset he is there for them, like a mother eagle ready to tear the perpetrators eyes out. At the same time, during these times he gives the other person full attention. On the control point, this is actually in no way a bad thing. The show has run very smoothly from episode one and has maintained a very good schedule.

The second most outspoken of the co-hosts is Mr. Sacco. Mr. Sacco seems to be in constant competition with Mr. Bucheker as far as being heard on the podcast. Since they met during high school this may very well stem from that time. When it comes to the overly offensive comments that are sometimes used, nearly always for humour, Mr. Sacco always seems the most vocally concerned about whose feelings are hurt. Yet because of one episode, he has also been the one stuck with the stigma of being overly promiscuous. I feel, especially with the most recent episodes, this probably is not true. The episodes where he is missing also seem to be less full. This probably because of the lack of competitiveness but so no one misunderstands Mr. Bucheker and Mr. Sacco are clearly dear friends.

Mr. Higgins adds a calm to the mix that balances everyone out. His is not to say that he cannot stand for himself and take the spotlight at times. I wish at times he would talk more during the more heated discussions as he seems to maintain a coolness that might lead to unique views that might be being overlooked. While I’m not sure I can write as much about Mr. Higgins, I do think he is an integral part of the group and I am not sure what the show would be like without him.

The sound quality and art work used for the podcast is superb. There has been one segment in just one episode where the sound was off and unfortunately pretty near unbearable. I still think that is an amazing run to have one small part of one episode out of 116. The content is there, the hosts are amazing and there is a perfect balance of wackiness and seriousness. Absolutely do not pass up this podcast, if you do then I will weep and die a little on the inside. Once you give them a listen, go and follow them on Facebook and the Twitter.

Fun Fact:

As an actual married couple, we’re able to use an impending podcast as an excuse for not talking to each other for days at a time in order to keep our content “fresh.”

The Savvy Observer is a comedy podcast that seems focused on basic civility. The hosts, Andy and Kate Langsdorf, cover subjects ranging from proper attire to make a good impression, basic etiquette, current events, politics, and theater, just to name a few. While sometimes serious conversations are had they are never overly serious about it and willing to give any topic a good ribbing.

The podcast came out of Andy being encouraged by friends to maintain a witty political blog. With Kate supporting the idea that was indeed how The Savvy Observer began, but as updates slowed to a stop the two thought a podcast might yield better results. While still a bit inconsistent with a release schedule, each episode guarantees a minimum of one laugh even for the humour impaired. Andy however seems to be the bulk of the podcast. In a regular podcast the two hosts seem to be relatively balanced with amount of talking it is just that Andy tends to helm the podcast and guide most of the conversations. However, when a guest is present Andy’s guiding seems to over power the conversation placing the guest in Kate’s normal position and she seems to talk less than normal.

Segment wise this is a completely free flowing podcast. There is no set content to expect. The only guarantee is that their will be a break and they will call it a new segment. This is more of a transition to a completely new topic most of the time. Other times the same subject is covered or a slightly different part of it. This does not make it any less interesting just not how I would define a segment in a podcast.

Sound quality wise there are apparently some dark episodes where their old microphone died and they used in the computer’s built-in mic. In all honesty, these episodes don’t sound that bad and for some might not be noticeable at all. The only thing I really could notice was that they described their seating arrangement as being uncomfortable at this time which might explain why on average these episodes are shorter.

In the end this is an excellent podcast. The humour is well balanced with insight to the topics. If you want to get an idea of what they are about you can find them on Facebook and Twitter, or you could just take my word and go download some recent episodes right now.

The story picks up with Kirby hanging out with his friends, when a spaceship crashes near them. From there Kirby decides he is going to help this stranger repair their ship and live happily ever after. Not a super deep storyline. In fact, compared to last year’s Epic Yarn, this story is weak. The good news is that with the excellent gameplay the story is completely unnecessary.

Kirby’s Return to Dream Land is a perfect 2D platformer. Kirby utilizes his copy abilities to defeat bad guys as he traverses through seven worlds. The copy abilities seem to have new layers as all of them have secondary abilities based on direction buttons and some even require fighter style combos.  None of these are overly complex and even if you can’t remember them all, the basic move for each power is perfectly usable. Seasoned gamers might be a little turned off by how easy the initial play through is, though some of the energy spheres can be hard to find. The energy spheres are hidden extras that can unlock bonuses. Collecting all the energy spheres also allows you to battle the final boss.

On top of a few new copy abilities Return to Dream Land introduces super abilities. These five abilities have a set time limited use and for the most part attack a large portion of the screen.  They are also usually used in levels to destroy parts of the level that unlock secret areas. I really wish there were more chances to use these abilities but you would be basically unstoppable and the game would be done in about 10 minutes.

Multiplayer options are available in this game similar to Epic Yarn, however this time around you can have a full four players. Player one must play as Kirby. However, each additional player can play as a different coloured Kirby or one of three other characters.  The other characters are Meta Knight, Waddle Dee, and King Dedede. Each has their own attack: King Dedede swings his trademark hammer, Meta Knight wields a sword, and Waddle Dee totes spear. The multiplayer mode is actually a lot of fun and can be started at anytime. All an additional player needs to do is push a button on their controller. The drawbacks to this are that only one player can have a super ability at a time. So even if you have four Kirbys only one of them can have a super ability. The next issue is that player one acts as an anchor on the screen, where if the other players fall to far behind they get dragged to player ones position without taking any damage. This can be beneficial at times but at other times such as bosses this can be deadly. The final problem is how lives are handled. Lives are shared so the additional players could use all of them quickly, since even their initial opting in takes a life.  The other life issue is that only if player one dies does the level end. This is why the other players could accidentally run through the lives without realising it. This is somewhat balanced out by health items being something you can share. This is done by running into another character face-to-face, at which point it looks like the two are making out. This keeps the players on more friendly terms since you don’t need to compete for health.

Graphics are simple and beautiful. The updated style is exactly how I would envision the original Kirby games being updated for the Wii. The system isn’t being pushed by this game and yet the game is stunning and reminds me why I love traditional platform games. There are too many games to mention that are supposedly graphic masterpieces that I would trade for more games like this one.

The game is a wonderful call back to what games use to be. The co-op is one of the friendliest I’ve seen for this style of game, though getting everyone to have their preferred power can be hard at times. Yes, the game will visually appeal to younger gamers but if you judge this game on that, you are missing out. If you don’t own a Wii, I can’t in good conscience say this is the game to buy a Wii for even with how delightful it is; but if you own a Wii, make sure to add this to your Christmas list or go buy it now. Seriously. Go. Buy. Now.

As a rail shooter, the game simply requires you to aim at the screen and shoot anything and everything that moves. The controls are relatively intuitive during the shooting, however using stuff like the knife and grenades can be clunky with the Wii’s simplistic control scheme. This is avoided to an extent with three different control schemes, two of which are for the Wii Remote alone and the other for use with a gun peripheral and nunchuk. The gun style is nice but at times it is easy to forget all your additional controls on the nunchuk. This was one of the games that came out to exploit the Wii Zapper but really the Nyko Perfect Shot is much better for this and really any shooter game on the Wii.

The graphics aren’t bad during gameplay. There are some resolution issues but with the enemies being zombies it isn’t too bad and might even add to some of the creepiness. The backgrounds are varied but very flat. The saving grace is that the backgrounds are very interactive allowing for lights and windows to be shot, as well as later levels allowing for chandeliers to be shot down onto hordes of zombies. The real graphics that stand out as pure horrible is cut scenes involving the playable characters. The players look oddly waxen and have really dead and soulless eyes. This harsh contrast actually makes them more terrifying than the zombies attacking you.

The rail system is nice since you don’t need to know where you are going yourself but it also has its own problems. The main problem is there are times when the camera just wildly darts around. Yes, you can shoot the enemies but it is unlikely you have time to kill an enemy unless you can always get a critical hit. The critical hits in this game can potentially take the enemies down in one blow, such as the zombies’ heads being a good starting point. During certain parts you have plenty of time to gun down the enemies but other times that is not possible.

Multiplayer mode can definitely make the game easier since you can focus on different enemies upping your chances of survival considerably.  So to balance the power of numbers Capcom decided the players should share certain things that make it harder and not share things that would make it convenient. The most important thing you share is health. This is actually pretty reasonable since it would be hard to differentiate who got hit when the enemies are just swinging at the screen. However, ammo pickups scattered through the level are kept by the character who grabs it first and not distributed. In a regular game, this is standard but in a game that depends on both players staying alive a little sharing by default would be nice. Instead by the end of a level either one person is equipped like a one man army, while your partner is struggling with a pop gun or you are having to take turns and risk missing a weapon because the player whose ‘turn’ it is to grab the weapon can’t get to it fast enough.

The story is very much a streamlined version of the three mentioned games as well as adding background information that wasn’t in the originals.  This is done either with documents you can pick up in each level, but also with an additional story where you can play as some of the antagonists to learn their stories. The documents really shed light on how terrible the always looming Umbrella Corporation really is.

Normally, I am not a fan of the Resident Evil series due to the core mechanics. However, the streamlined non-thinking rail shooter style I do enjoy.  There are still plenty of issues that make the game hard to sit and play for any long amount of time but it is a good game if you just want to play a level on random occasions.

Fun Fact:

Mr. Hovis was at one point blasé toward podcast until  Mr. Blackmon encouraged him to give them a listen. Since then he has become an avid listener.

There are podcasts that exist that focus on having a special guest in every episode, however there are few that consistently have at least three guests per episode. Well, Jamestown is one of those podcasts. Jamestown is hosted by Jimmy Blackmon and Jamie Hovis.

Jamestown episodes consist of on the spot conversations and random games. The games are a lot of fun as they are usually based on trivia style game show but with a somewhat abstract twist. This includes games that take the description of musicals and then guessing it based on that. The abstract part comes in when keywords are then removed from the description making it increasingly difficult to figure out. Another important part of each episode is when Jimmy or Jamie leave the room. This is often times when one of the guests come into the episode. One guest is usually present in the room throughout the episode however the others almost always come in when one of the hosts is gone. This is because the hosts do voices and act as the secondary guests that are only there for short parts of the episode.

While both hosts have admitted to being inspired by some of the most popular podcasts, they have one of the more fun and creative podcasts I’ve heard. This I find to be impressive since according to the hosts there have been no lost or scrapped episodes. I am impressed that so much thought and planning goes into the show and it is very obvious that this show is important to the hosts. Even the title was thought out ahead of time though a more simple approach was taken than some of the longer ideas that the hosts discussed before the first episode.

Moving forward the guys are looking for a concrete segment ideas. While Mr. Hovis has suggested the potential of a truly unique segment, I think if they tweak an existing idea and make it their own that will also work. I just worry that with the number of podcasts out there, truly original ideas are harder and harder to come by. On top of this Mr. Blackmon expressed an interest in improving audio quality. Besides the fact that the show only has one microphone between the two and their guests, the sound is very good.

On top of the podcast, the hosts also run a Tumblr site in which they take images and insert Pee-Wee Herman. This is sporadically updated. They actually seem most active on their Facebook page although they also have a Twitter account. This show needs to be heard at least once. Doesn’t matter if podcasts aren’t your thing or even if this doesn’t sound like you would like it, I am telling you this one is well worth your time.

Fun Fact:

The title is derived from the nickname bestowed upon the house where the group records. They record there every week in the kitchen.

The Meat Locker takes a house of guys, their personal day-to-day anecdotes, and mixes in current events. The show is hosted by Bobby Marcellino, Ricky Johnson, Josh Earll, Jon Sipes, Mark Spilman, and Matt Helwig. Originally intended as a snapshot of the guys’ lives that they could look back on in the future the show has evolved and is still growing into its own.

The stories are very reminiscent of what would be over heard from any group of college aged boys. This stories range in topic but almost are always humorous in one way or another. Yet even with the amusing and entertaining stories, the real interesting moments are during the current event topics. The reason is that not all of them always share the same opinion. This alone gives the conversation an impressive depth that is not always there on other shows where all the hosts have, at least, similar opinions. However, at times when the arguments can get too heated at least one of them will step in with a quick joke that will lighten the mood slightly. These jokes do lighten the mood and fortunately the topic is not then ignored and jump to another conversation. Now what does happen is that the conversations often evolve from a specific topic to a broader topic of equal or sometimes greater importance.

The format is mainly broken up by musical interludes which seem to last long enough to not be illegal. During these times they say they are taking breaks which I have to assume is the case, either getting something to drink or what have you. The main portion of the podcast is the stories and topics, however, there are also other segments. The first one being the death/birthday segment in which they list off Facebook friends and famous people that have birthdays during the week. The other part of the segment is famous people that have died during the week. Recent episodes have also included a segment at the end that highlights one of the hosts, which is a good introduction due to the sheer number of them.

Going forward the guys have mentioned interest in guest hosts, interviews, and on-location segments. I am very excited at the idea of them bringing in guest hosts and interviews. The on-location segments worry me however, but that’s more my dislike for excess background noise. During live podcasts I also feel like I am missing half the show because I am not there at the time of the recording. I feel like this causes a distance between the casual listener as the hosts are obviously playing for the audience that is present. This hasn’t been implemented but it is not a bad idea publicity wise.

According to the hosts some episodes have been lost or at least not used yet. This is attributed to the use of real names that might be embarrassing or defamatory. I’ve been told that these stories may appear in later episodes as clips or potentially if the audio can be edited enough to protect the persons mentioned which is nice to hear that they will protect people. The other main episode not posted was their “pilot”, which was used more to get them comfortable talking to the microphones as well as getting the equipment setup and tested.

Sound wise the show is impressive for three microphones being shared among six people give or take at times. Now this is not to say there are never problems. Because the microphones are being shared there are distinct volume differences at times. Even so these aren’t super noticeable and definitely not to the point where any one person sounds muffled or too quiet.

The Meat Locker is also planning to expand for more content on their own website as well as on their Twitter and Facebook accounts. The show is fun and on the explicit side, but really what good podcast doesn’t randomly cross that line. If you are debating whether to give the show a chance at least take a look at their YouTube video. Otherwise, take my word and give this show a listen.

The game choices seem interesting to me because two of the biggest, Bioshock Infinite and Resistance 3, have no Move support.  In fairness this is still up in the air for Resistance 3 but Bioshock 3 will absolutely not support Move.  This seems weird because they make the claim that their motion control is somehow more mature than others.  At the same time maybe Sony is right not to push this since porting to the Wii for third-party games would become much easier. The big game that will feature support for Move will be NBA 2K12, which from what I understand is a basketball game.

The more targeted innovation for games was a push for 3D TVs. Once again this will be great for Sony, since their current push seems to be their 3D TVs. A lot of games showed up on the floor with this, but once again Bioshock Infinite opted out on this feature. This is probably because it is also on the PC and Xbox 360, which aren’t slated to pick up 3D games till much later in the year.

Now for new hardware, the big thing was the Playstation Vita. This is Sony’s answer to the 3DS. The big news for this is the price point of $299 US. This is only $50 more than Nintendo’s 3DS. Functionality wise the system is on par with the 3DS but with better graphics minus the 3D.  The system itself is also sleeker by comparison and most likely, based on Nintendo’s past, probably supports the online play in a much cleaner way. Although as I say that I am reminded of the current network issues, but still no online is as bad as Nintendo’s friend codes.

While the Playstation Vita was the big hardware announcement, Sony also had a Playstation branded 24” television on display. The screen is 1080p which is pretty pointless since the human eye cannot perceive the 1080p at this size.  This was geared toward college students and came with two pairs of glasses. Let me cover what this TV isn’t. First it doesn’t have the PS3 built into it, it is just designed with the system in mind in close quarters like dorm rooms. The glasses do not have to be worn but the glasses aren’t just for the upcoming 3D games.  Instead the glasses are utilized for two player games, at least two player games that support 3D in one-player mode.  The glasses are specific to the player and rather than splitting the screen between players, the glasses filter out a portion of the displayed image giving the players individual screens on one TV. If you’re not wearing the glasses the screen looks like two images on top of each other and potentially just a huge blur.  This still strikes me as a fantastic idea and one the other systems can hopefully embrace in some way. The only thing that I haven’t been able to figure out is the angles required from the players.  The setup for this TV was a mock dorm so players were seated close to the screen making it hard to tell what angle is required.

Overall, Playstation came to the show strong and probably prepared to come under criticism about the network hiccup.  If anyone was still focused on that after the show, they might be blind to the fact that Sony is also moving into new technologies.

Nintendo does seem to be giving the DS a pretty good send off.  Two of the final games for the system are Professor Layton and a new Kirby. Professor Layton and the Last Specter is as fantastic as all the other installments but not much is actually new to the gameplay.  Although, really, I can’t begin to imagine how they could change it without ruining the game. Kirby on the other hand seems to be a new take on the series.  This installment takes the platform to a new level by mixing in what they have deemed realtime strategy.  What it looks like to me is more using the new powers at the right time. The new power is the ability for Kirby to split into multiple Kirbys.  Basically the idea is very similar to The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventure but on a larger level.

The Wii titles this year were also pretty scarce.  I don’t think this is a sign of the Wii coming to an early end but it does make me think the transition is going to be very abrupt when the time comes. The big game was still The new Legend of Zelda title, but three other games caught my eye just as much. The first is Kirby and maybe it isn’t well known but Kirby is a powerhouse in my book.  This installment seems to revert back to the older style of inhaling enemies and stealing their powers. The addition of extra powers is also very exciting. The more exciting news is the multiplayer to the extent of having four players at once.  The only thing is the non-Kirby players most likely function in a different way. I wish that there had been more shown in this regard. The other two exciting games are Mario Party 9 and Fortune Street. Both games are board game style games. The announcement of Mario Party 9  surprised me as Wii Party seemed to be the new direction.  I’m actually happy this isn’t the case.  The other game Fortune Street is Square Enix’s take on the board game using Dragon Quest and Mario characters. This one has potential for the Monopoly fan and plenty of opportunities to annoy others.  The game seems to focus on real-estate and stock style strategy.

Overall, the main game news seems to have been saved for the 3DS.  At the same time the news on the DS and Wii are nothing to laugh at or ignore. Though at the same time it is probably safe to assume that next year’s E3 will have few, if any games for the Wii and almost no chance for DS games.

The most surprising and interesting of these was the virtual space. Because the controller seems to be a game centric iPad, this allows developers to place things off screen that can be viewed with out changing the main camera angle. I especially like this for the golf demo they showed, even though this use seemed entirely for novelty use.

The only true game shown using the controller was Super Mario Bros. Mii. This alone seemed to be a good selling point, since you can leave the TV and still play the game directly on the controller. I am totally sure parents will love this functionality especially.

However, this leads me to the main problem I see coming up with the Wii U. In the Mario demo the kid playing switches from the Wii Remote to the Wii U’s tablet controller. The other demos were either an individual using the tablet or one person on the tablet while anyone else playing was always on the Wii remote. This harkens back to what was said earlier in the presentation, that the system won’t be cheap. In fairness, since it is superior graphics to all current consoles I was expecting this. However, with the only one person using the controller at any given time makes me think the controller alone costs a small fortune. In the case of the Wii, the controllers were expensive enough if you wanted remotes and nunchuks but this may be even more expensive then those two combined.

The graphics that the system showed seemed promising but the price point may be what drives people away. The saving grace to this potential cost issue is that all the Wii’s peripherals will carry over to the new system, so maybe we can save money there. Overall, we won’t know until the price has been announced and even then more games showing the tablet’s real value need to be shown.

The Work Boy was a keyboard and stand that could be attached to the Game Boy.  Some of the basic functions included were a clock, calendar, calculator, and a map that would give you basic info for major areas. Then the more pointless ones are the conversion calculators for things like temperature or currency.  There is also an app to keep track of your bank account, because that is what handheld game systems are for.

The most ridiculous application however is the ability to make phone calls.  Well not to the extent that the system itself makes them.  Instead you dial the phone number on the system then hold the speaker to a phone and it will autodial a number based on the sounds that a telephone actually picks up and translates.  I’m not entirely sure how this option is any better than just dialing but I guess if you couldn’t remember the number it would be good to put the number somewhere for preparation.

The only thing that seems like it would be useful, and use the full keyboard, is the day planner.  The day planner works pretty much as a text editor. Yet, even with an actual usable application this peripheral didn’t sell well.  This is probably due to the target audience of the Game Boy being the exact opposite of the Work Boy.  Now versus the other pocket organizers available in 1992 it really isn’t much worse or better.  In fact looking back a pen and some paper were probably the best thing to carry around.

It is interesting to look back on these peripherals and realize that there have always been stupid ones and companies will make more and more of these. Maybe Nintendo can release their Vitality Sensor to add to the list.