Support NeoGAF

[Curufinwe]

no more whoppers got robbed.

Damn, I forgot to vote for it. Still the only podcast I've ever donated money to.

 

[mattiewheels]

He is the best story teller, though.

Oh of course. I like Famous a lot, I just was more of a fan of the chemistry of Nick with the other guys. Man, fuck Nick.

 

[rockman zx]

Not enough love for RSG, but I respect the results.

 

[Codeblue]

I have the same top 2, just in a different order

Same here.

 

[Jintor]

8-4 appearing above Idle Thumbs is a travesty.

Nah, Idle Thumbs is yet to regain its legendary status, great as it is.

That said, I would have thought the interminable hours of Dragon Quest talk would drag 8-4 down somewhat

 

[thepotatoman]

Because of this topic i decided to check out Idle Thumbs, since its the only one in the top 5 i don't subscribe to. Just finished listening to 10 minutes of hate on Far Cry 3 because there was no narrative explanation for the crafting system. And this is the amazing video game podcast that I've been missing out on?

I can't imagine that ruining anybodies overall experience of the game, and is necessary for the hunting mechanic and instant reward system that is the only reason the game is getting any attention in the first place.

Saying they wished it fit in better narratively is fine, but with how much they focused on it, it all feels like they are just reaching for reasons to continue their "all indie games are better than AAA games" agenda that they've been spouting for the whole podcast. This first experience has been really off putting.

 

[Dantis]

Because of this topic i decided to check out Idle Thumbs, since its the only one in the top 5 i don't subscribe to. Just finished listening to 10 minutes of hate on Far Cry 3 because there was no narrative explanation for the crafting system. And this is the amazing video game podcast that I've been missing out on?

I can't imagine that ruining anybodies overall experience of the game, and is necessary for the hunting mechanic and instant reward system that is the only reason the game is getting any attention in the first place.

Saying they wished it fit in better narratively is fine, but with how much they focused on it, it all feels like they are just reaching for reasons to continue their "all indie games are better than AAA games" agenda that they've been spouting for the whole podcast. This first experience has been really off putting.

This is what the whole podcast is like, and kind of what makes it interesting. They approach games from a very different direction from the rest of the world.

I stopped listening to it recently though because of exactly that. It makes you think, but I'd rather just listen to GamesRadar UK make dick jokes for two hours.

 

[reptilescorpio]

Saying they wished it fit in better narratively is fine, but with how much they focused on it, it all feels like they are just reaching for reasons to continue their "all Far Cry 2 games are better than any games" agenda that they've been spouting for the whole podcast. This first experience has been really off putting.

Fixed for Remo

 

[Ledsen]

Because of this topic i decided to check out Idle Thumbs, since its the only one in the top 5 i don't subscribe to. Just finished listening to 10 minutes of hate on Far Cry 3 because there was no narrative explanation for the crafting system. And this is the amazing video game podcast that I've been missing out on?

I can't imagine that ruining anybodies overall experience of the game, and is necessary for the hunting mechanic and instant reward system that is the only reason the game is getting any attention in the first place.

Saying they wished it fit in better narratively is fine, but with how much they focused on it, it all feels like they are just reaching for reasons to continue their "all indie games are better than AAA games" agenda that they've been spouting for the whole podcast. This first experience has been really off putting.

Yeah that's not even close to what Thumbs is about. They would never make such reductionist, generalizing statements, and there is no "agenda" there, simply a difference in tastes and focus from most "hardcore gamers". I strongly advice you to at least give them a few episodes. You should start from episode 1 and listen to all of them in order (they don't "get old" because they usually discuss topics that are always relevant). You will come to understand where they're coming from and what sort of experiences they value. Also what you got from that discussion is not what they (at least Chris) meant to convey with it. You kind of need to understand the context behind the discussion. There is a meme that Thumbs have to mention Far Cry 2 at least once every episode (although they really don't), because they find it to be such an interesting and worthwhile game which explores many concepts that are quite uncommon in gaming. They constantly use it as an example in various contexts. Chris wasn't really even very interested in trying Far Cry 3 because he knew that Clint Hocking wasn't behind it, and it simply being called "Far Cry 3" didn't mean that it would be anything like Far Cry 2 (which it really isn't, at least not in the most important ways for a FC2 fan). He did anyway, and not surprisingly, he disliked almost everything about it that came about as a consequence of the vastly different design philosophy compared to the second game. Read Chris's answer to a similar complaint in the thumbs thread:

Either you didn't understand my criticisms, or I didn't explain them well enough.

I (thought I) specifically criticized the OVER-abundance of player facing mechanics and feedback systems, which to me not only added nothing to the game, they actively detracted from my ability to enjoy pretty much any of the theoretically enjoyable parts of Far Cry 3 for me. The thing about the wallet isn't "story stuff", it's a fundamentally nonsensical system that doesn't enhance the game for me. The seemingly infinite barrage of UI elements being thrown in my face at all times (every single one accompanied by an obnoxious sound effect) isn't "story stuff", it's over designed garbage that adds nothing to the experience. The constant presence of a reminder of what the next critical path mission is, regardless of whether it's what I intend to do next, and the mission boundary system that explicitly works against the nature of an open-world game, isn't "story stuff" (at least not in the way I think you mean), it's a significant impediment to the potential massive strengths of the environment and underlying systems present in the game.

I don't want to have to assemble my own version of this game by ignoring 75% of what is being thrown in my face all the time. I'm happy to do that kind of thing with a game that will meet me halfway by exercising some restraint, but it increasingly feels to me like most AAA developers have absolutely no interest in doing so.

 

[Data West]

I like me some bombcast and pop

 

[MikeE21286]

Just wanted to say thanks to the good word of mouth for Insert Credit I decided to try it...


Wow, what a great podcast.

 

[aeolist]

Got the top 3 on Doggcatcher, even though 8-4 bores the shit out of me when they start talking about Monster Hunter

I'm a recent Idle Thumbs convert and it's quickly become my number 2 after the Bombcast

 

[p0rk1ns]

Woot! PixelJunk Radio made the list. Didn't think anyone was listening

 

[Corto]

Woot! PixelJunk Radio made the list. Didn't think anyone was listening

I am!