Brett "player66"
Editorial, Article Saturday, October 24th 2009

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This week we’re going to start out with a quick explanation of our review scores. Similar to our Xbox Indie Games Recap, we’ve adopted a three tiered scale for our podcast reviews:

Unsubscribed! – We didn’t find much to like about this show. Maybe it was a particularly bad episode, but most likely this show is something we would avoid.

Salvageable – There are good parts of this show, but they are getting bogged down by a number of annoyances. Your mileage may vary, but we’re still on the fence.

Still Subscribed! – Wow! This is a great show. The show has great energy, a well rounded cast and is full of wit. We highly recommend this show with little to no hesitation.

As you can see we’ve added shiny new buttons above each score for those of you that are into that sort of thing. Please keep sending us suggestions in the comments section. We love to hear new shows and your requests will be heard and reviewed.

This week was pretty positive overall, so without further adieu here’s this week’s reviews:

EpicBattleCry – EBC Skirmish 049: Now You’re Killing It

If you are allergic to, “BIG RADIO VOICES!!!” EBC may immediately turn you off. Getting past the cheese factor this three-man show does a lot to entertain with high energy and strong opinions on the latest pseudo-controversial gaming news. Some of the faux arguing goes overboard and distracts from the flow of the discussion.  They commit one of my podcast pet peeves when referring to the length of the podcast a couple of times towards the end.

The production values on this show are nice and high. There’s a ‘metal’ music and sound effect theme that is supported by the vibrant cast. Call me crazy, but a 30 minute gaming podcast is very refreshing. NG user James_El requested this review because he “felt dirty” after listening and wanted a “professional” second opinion; ahem. Maybe the cause of James’ angst is the raging male ego that dominates EBC. Daniel Kayser from Game Trailers (GT TV and GT.com) shows a wilder side on the podcast than he does on his MTV/Spike gig. There’s a hint of “morning radio” to the show with the on-queue sound effects and intense talking heads banter. I’m interested to see if their antics get on my nerves after a couple of weeks and spoil a good thing.

Drunk Tank – #32

We’re all adults here, I hope. This show can get pretty blue. The episode starts off clean but by the 30 minute mark there are references to male genitailia, US postage stamps and Jay Leno. You may notice none of those things are video game related. If so, you were right. Drunk Tank is basically four 30-something guys hanging out and talking about whatever comes to mind. There’s no formal structure or much gaming-related conversation. Oh, and the part where they discuss viral internet videos for 10 minutes will leave you in the dust unless you have seen ‘em all. At the very end, the show becomes a pitch for their DVDs, which is kinda lame.

Your appreciation for Rooster Teeth as an institution will color your interest in this show. Personally, I’ve watched three full seasons of Red vs Blue, so hearing the “voices” from that show is enough of a novelty to pique my initial interest. Looking past all of that baggage, Drunk Tank is a fun show. It is closest in feel to the Bomb Cast (games + movies + American pop culture + blender = tasty gaming smoothie). If your interests expand past video game news, reviews, discussion, etc. Drunk Tank makes for a good listen.

L33T Rainbow ROFLCOPTER – Episode 13 The Thriller Episode

This show is something of an enigma. On the surface there are so many individual factors that should combine to produce a show with a unique voice (the show is broadcast on JOY 94.9,  a community-supported gay and lesbian station in Australia). Instead, what I heard was a pretty generic, albeit intelligent and metered, discussion of the day’s gaming news. The pacing of the show was a little slow and plodding for my tastes. Other than the eye-opening question, “Would you sell your body for a flying car?” (I for one would; traffic sucks) this is all pretty standard stuff.

This episode was released back on July 4th. The website’s latest post on the 13th of this month apologizes for the lack of published podcasts, citing Skype, recording studio and personal issues as the cause. Episode 13 was only available on their site and not the RSS feed (for iTunes junkies like myself, this is a deal breaker). I hope these blokes get things ironed out and put another shrimp on the barbie, which is Australian for release more episodes online. Also, they’re currently participating in the Project Wonderful ads on NG, so check them out so we’ll be able to add another layer of Benjamins to our NG money hats.