Guess what, Internet? It’s that time again. That time you look forward to every Friday… the time for PK Podcast! (…and the crowd goes wild!!! waaaooo!!) It’s me, Christina, hijacking the website again. I told you all you’d see more of me. See? I’m true to my word. We’re actually ahead of ourselves this week, and posting this much earlier in the day than usual! Go team!

This week’s topic is the Nintendo Media Summit that went on earlier this week, and the many announcements that were had. I know we talk about Nintendo quite a bit, but this is actually topical, so don’t blame us! They’ve got a lot going on in the first half of the year this year, so we’re talking about which titles we’re amped about!

Hope you enjoy it! We’ll have another Podcast up to grace your eardrums next Friday, as always. Also, don’t forget that I, too, am on Twitter now!

 

 PK Podcast! Episode 5 - 02/26/2010 [21:58m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

(Also, possibly worth noting is that I’ll be reuploading the previous Podcast episodes with consistent ID3 tags after I post this. So, if you’re an organization/consistency neat-freak like I am, and want to listen to Joe & I on the go ((because really, who wouldn’t?)) tomorrow would be a good day to go back and download the .mp3s! You can even use that handy little “Podcasts” category down at the bottom of the post to find all the previous episodes in one place!)

So, keeping with my life’s tradition of bad luck, right after I wrote about my arcade stick and I started playing Street Fighter IV more to prepare for Super Street Fighter IV, my stick died. The B button decided it would retire early, and even after I re-soldered all the connections it still stubbornly refused to work.

I was bummed, mostly because I did A LOT of work on that stick, and it was the first time I’d ever worked on a project like that. Still, shortly after I had bought my Hori EX2, I read that the Mad Catz sticks were much better for customization, and the EX2s were to be avoided. I had to follow a walkthrough to mod up my EX2, so I decided it was a good time to invest in a higher quality, more customizable stick.

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Hello internet, it’s your friendly neighborhood Christina here, stopping in to say hello. You may notice the site looks a little different. Well, that’s because I’m awesome. We’ve finally hooked up with ProjectWonderful to let you other lovely game site owners promote your stuff right here on PK Bloggin’! So listen to the Hint Man (go play Earthbound already if you don’t understand the blank boxes, seriously.) and advertise with us! Maybe we’ll advertise on your site too! Share and share alike, I always say. Or do I? Who knows.

I… guess that’s all from me, really. I promise I’ll write something that’s an actual article soon. And hey… While I’ve got your attention, don’t forget Lunar: Silver Star Harmony comes out in just 6 short days!!! The anticipation, it hurts us. *cough* Okay, thanks for your time, you may go about your business.

This past Valentine’s Day, I received the most romantic gift ever: A boxed Sega Game Gear with a copy of NBA Jam and a rechargeable battery pack. I’ve known for a while that I was marrying the right woman, and this is just another example of the choir being preached to.

The Game Gear is a handheld system, but I wouldn’t call it “portable,” even by early 90’s standards. The thing is comfortable in your hands, but it’s still bulky and there’s no WAY this thing would fit into your pocket, especially considering how tight everyone wore their pants back then (well, everyone except MC Hammer).

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Christina and I have been spending a lot of time (now that we have free time) with Mass Effect for the Xbox 360. I bought it a while ago and never really got into it, but since the sequel came out I decided to give it another shot, and I’m really glad I did. Not only am I greatly enjoying the game, it’s also actually got me thinking a lot about how video games can function as a medium for storytelling.

BioWare is famous for their branching dialogue system they’ve used in their games, beginning with Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic on the original Xbox and PC. Your character never spoke, but there were pauses in conversations when you’d choose what your character would say next. Several complete sentences were presented, you’d choose one, and the conversation would continue based on how you responded. I loved KotOR, and while I didn’t realize it at the time, I was experiencing the first step towards defining video games as a unique method of telling a story.

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Woo PK Podcast! Episode 4! The remodeling is just about done here at the PK Tower, so we’re back to normalcy. For the most part, anyway. Tonight we just talk a little bit about some upcoming games we’re stoked about. It’s not our best podcast, but we’ve been busy, whaddaya want from us?

 

 PK Podcast! Episode 4 - 02/19/2010 [16:05m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Anyway, updates will be back to normal next week. We’ll have a better podcast for you next Friday as well!

We’re almost done remodeling here at the PK Tower, but that means that the home stretch is also the most intensive. After spending the weekend doing even MORE work, we’re getting the carpet installed, which means we’ve been busy shoving our entire lives into two rooms. There’s still some painting to be done, and all kinds of other things that makes us wish we were dead. Christina is organizing things behind me and keeps hurting herself so I’m going to wrap this up. There won’t be any new posts this week, and I’m really terribly sorry about that. This is going to be the ONLY time I take time off, and honestly I wish I didn’t have to. Regardless, we WILL have PK Podcast! episode 4 up on Friday, come Hell or high water. Or carpet install man. Whatever.

If you need something to do, you can always start a conversation on the PK Bloggin’! Facebook page, or send me or Christina an email. Or, you know, go outside. That’s always an option.

It’s Valentine’s Day weekend, and we’re feelin’ sappy. This week’s podcast is all about love and romance in video games. We talk about the role of romance in a video game’s story, what genres are best suited for it, and some of gaming’s greatest couples. Snuggle up with your special guy/gal and listen! We hope you enjoy it, and look forward to episode 4 next Friday.

 

 PK Podcast! Episode 3 - 02/12/10 [22:58m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I’m a huge fan of fighting games. I’ve been Dragon Punching, Flash Kicking and Yoga Firing for the majority of my life. I’m nowhere near as good at them as I used to be, but I’m still a sucker for them, especially for 2D fighters by Capcom specifically.

I still remember the first time I ever played Street Fighter II. It was 1992, and everyone in my second grade class was talking about how cool it was. Everyone said Chun-Li was the best character. I went home with one of my friends to finally play, and of course I picked Chun-Li because hey, everyone said she was the best. I don’t remember if I won or lost that first match, but I remember wanting more.

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Since we’ve been so busy with the apartment, I haven’t had time to go get my hair cut so I have a wicked meta-mullet going on. I also haven’t shaved in four days. I said on the PK Bloggin’! Facebook page that I looked like a younger, less svelte Solid Snake, and proof was demanded. I am a man of the people, so here’s my proof.

I still have the necktie on my head.

Anyway, I have a YouTube channel now, and I’m sure I’ll make more stupid videos at some point.