Marsh, Tom F, Tom S and returning guest Rich Stanton gather to discuss gaming crates good and bad. Tom F’s been throwing them around in Divinity: Original Sin, Rich has been opening them in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and we’ve all been pushing, pulling and poking them in virtual worlds everywhere as gaming’s love affair with boxes comes to an enthusiastic middle.
Also discussed: what is the cheese? In Dota 2, specifically, as Tom F and Tom S spectate the International as total noobs. Meanwhile, Marsh learns he may have unknowingly done a bad thing to Charlie Brooker’s ballbags in Sniper Elite 3, Rich does an impression of the Mickey Rourke rap from Rogue Warrior, and Tom S talks about roleplaying as a race of ghost knights in Endless Legend.
There are more questions from questions, of course, and a pause to reveal the pod’s current cocktail, Tom F’s moreish Crowbarb and Custard. Also, we get to use the bleep machine for the first time in ages. Oh my!
- The Dota 2 International is afoot. Chris wrote a detailed guide to the competition over on Gamer.
- Rich has been buying crates in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.
- Mike Rose’s Gamasutra piece on the ethics of microtransactions in free-to-play games, and the phenomenon of ‘whales’—the minority of big spenders that make the model viable. Rich has also looked at microtransactions in games for kids at the New Statesman.
- Divinity: Original Sin has good crates, inter-party arguments and smart systemic combat.
- Rebellion’s Sniper Elite 3 lets you shoot lots of people including presenter/writer Charlie Brooker.
- Here’s the original Mickey Rourke rap from Rebellion’s Rogue Warrior, which might be the worst game ever.
- Rebellion’s Shellshock 2, also the worst game ever.
- Rebellion’s legal action against Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion devs, Ironclad games, from Ironclad’s perspective.
- Endless Legend, from the creators of Endless Space.
- The Crowbarb and Custard, or the Crate and Crowbarb, if you prefer: Mix Morgan’s Spiced Rum with rhubarb & apple juice for an easygoing, smooth, creamy thing that doesn’t take especially alcoholic even though it definitely is. We checked.
- Games with systems that sucked us in: Costume Quest, and Fire Emblem: Awakening.
- The addition of some of Fire Emblem’s relationship mechanics could make XCOM even better, no?
- Very pretty games: Love, Okami, Killer 7, Mirror’s Edge.
- On the topic of Mirror’s Edge, here are Tom F’s thoughts on why the combat fucking sucks and how to fix it.
- Haywire is a film with tiered failure states and good fights.
As always, you’ll find episode discussion on our forums, you can also email us at questions@crateandcrowbar.com (pun intros are entirely optional), and tweet us at @crateandcrowbar. If you’d like to tweet us individually, here’s Marsh, Tom F, Tom S and Rich.
Our intro music is by The Mandibles from their track Clambake. Many of the band members now tour as Count Bobo And The Bullion.
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