The GRAAAAAW Episode

[fishbang]

The scraping of claws and gnashing of teeth can be clearly heard at this link (http://ingamechat.net/audio/IGC20090505.mp3).

We’ve always been quick to nurture a preoccupation with licensed games and the terrible gulf in quality they display in comparison to the source material. Wolverine is very much at a distance from its big-screen counterpart, but has the wonderful distinction of being the superior product in almost every regard.

That a comic book movie could fail so spectacularly is no great shock, and that the game in question has done quite well by fans and critics is now a fairly old bit of news, but our surprise at this fantastic inversion is something we can’t quite repress.

We’ve finally had our Jeremy returned to us, and he’s made time after the welcome-backs to point out some terrible inaccuracies in our previous two recordings - at least the ones that pertain to him, which, given the tone of what had been said, I can’t blame him for doing.

[Vigil80]

First, have to say, loved the classic X-Men theme starting this episode. I found myself starting the playback over and over to hear it. Maybe I'm just in a nostalgic mood - been making time with a remix from Turtles in Time lately, too - but what a great track. Where was that guy when they were doing the score for the movies?
As a matter of fact, I'm gonna need to know where it came from. I am that guy that will play it in my car.

It's true, the story of the Wolverine movie was totally screwed. I have to disagree and say that Jackman makes a splendid Wolverine, however. Off-hand I can't think of who might have been better, and I can't blame him for the screwups the writers made.
It's like the James Bond movies: Pierce Brosnan (Goldeneye, The World is Not Enough) could have been a definitive Bond if he had been lucky enough to draw the kind of writers that Daniel Craig did (Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace).
The key seems to be, how serious do the people responsible for your story take the story itself? Origins feels like it was put together by people who didn't really care about the X-Men. Which is not only a shame, it's ludicrous.
They seem to be trying to change the story into something that's going to appeal to a mass of movie-goers. But who the hell do they think is turning out to see the movie? A lot of people that already love the X-Men. So you'd think they'd realize not to go too far with rewriting the events.

Moving on to Brutal Legend, I'm willing to give Jack Black the benefit of the doubt. I think he did pretty well in Kung Fu Panda, and I'm willing to withhold judgement until I see how he does.

It's funny to think about the naming gymnastics taking place when companies try to take full advantage of a franchise. What's even more funny to me is that, unlike Call of Duty or Rainbow Six, I don't believe the Ghost Recon name was ever big enough that they should go to such lengths to stretch it over a stable of games.

You guys mentioned a Call of Duty game in Vietnam, and the fact that Battlefield: Vietnam wasn't as well received as other Battlefield titles. I wonder to what extent of it is because we (the western world) view that as a glorious triumph in our history, and on some level appreciate the tribute in media. Vietnam, however, doesn't have a context that's as "fun."

I think more franchises should go the route of having settings and plots that are, at most, inspired by events but do not mirror them. At least, that's my feeling right now.
6 Days in Fallujah - Good
6 Days in War-Torn Desert Town - Better
Original Thought - Best

As for the Apple + gaming discussion... eh. I have no desire to see them buy EA, or make a serious foray into the gaming industry. They think they can do it because Microsoft managed to do it. (It's worth noting that Microsoft did it in spite of themselves, I think.) Besides, I've already got 2.5 consoles I want to spend my money on, OnLive not withstanding. I don't need Apple to stick their iGame hipmachine console on the list.

[kyrieee]

I'm going to be a jerk for a moment and point out that modern air combat really isn't "get a lock and shoot", that's just the perception of what it is. ;p

In the Gulf war, for example, F-16s did not carry any BVR (beyond visual range) weaponry. There were many different reasons for that, but still, it wasn't that long ago and certain fighter jets were still limited to the dogfighting arena. BVR engagements are troublesome, and there is a reason missiles are called missiles and not hittiles. Radars aren't a flawless tool, and the distance in time from maximum BVR engagement range to VR is surprisingly short (a handful of minutes, or less).

There's a lot more information in today's battlefield but that doesn't simplify things for the combatant. Your enemy has more info too and there are just more things to take into account making it all much more complicated (BVR tactics are very advanced). Weapon deployment isn't exactly uncomplicated either, and you know, what you said about the M16 vs caseless ammo is true for airplanes as well. They stick to the tried and true a lot of the time

I heard someone complain about BF2 not being as fun because there being tracking missiles and whatnot and that it could never be as fun because it's modern, and that's not true because that's just the way Dice chose to make the game. It's not grounded in reality, just a false perception of it.

Kinda like CoD4. I didn't get around to playing it until really recently and I though it was a whole lot less realistic (and enjoyable) than the WWII ones. It felt like a blend of 24 and every military action movie I've ever seen. I didn't like the pacing of it either, it was just too much for people with ADD or something. Too hyper... it didn't feel cohesive. Do this for 5 minutes then some other thing for 5 minutes.

But anyway, just because I'm an aviation nerd I got annoyed at how 'action movie' everything about it was. I mean, it can be that if it wants to, but I was expecting something grounded in reality. It felt like a departure for the series

oh btw, if you understand quantum mechanics you don't really understand it ;P
it's weird and the more you know the weirder it gets

like, for example, lets say you have an electron moving towards a potential barrier and it doesn't have enough energy to pass it. It's sort of like not being able to pass walls if you're not high enough into the air. The electron's probability function still continues inside the barrier though, and if its finite it continues on the other side as well, meaning there's a certain probability that it will pass through something it doesn't have the energy to pass through. What if you detect in inside the barrier where it can't be? Well then you know its position meaning you don't know its energy meaning you can't say it can't be there! That's pretty much what happens when atoms decay. Alpha particles, for example, that don't have enough energy to leave the nucleus (not by a mile, which is why the atom is 'stable') do so anyway, probabilistically. Technically it works the same way for humans and brick walls but the probabilities are so small. You could find yourself on mars too, since your wave functions extend to infinity

[Chris_D]

Nice, and thanks for the shout out. Too bad about the weather warnings but you guys coped admirably.

Btw, twitter seems a good way to do a "live" show, far less obtrusive than call ins (I have never really enjoyed call in podcasts).

[Gerbs]

Every episode should have loud siren like warnings going off, if only for comedic effect. Good episode this week.

[drobvice]

Regarding wanting to get an iPhone, would you (James) ever consider getting an iPod Touch? That's what I ended up doing as I am on Verizon and believe me I would love one. It helps in that I have access to the App Store but not the always on internet connection. Having easy access to all those little games like you have been describing, with plenty of "Lite" versions, is pretty sweet and there are some great titles. Download the demos for Rolando and geoDefense and you'll see what I mean. I look at my DSi with just a little sadness after the weekend I had on a downloading spree...and I only spent $2...and those aren't even the apps I actually use.

[Iron Past]

oh btw, if you understand quantum mechanics you don't really understand it ;P

That's a line from somewhere and it's driving me nuts that I can't rememeber where.

Good show, though I haven't quite listened to all yet. Just commenting to say I enjoyed it, and good to have Jeremy back (I didn't realize how much I missed having him on the show till he was back).

[Dave]

It's not often that I find myself talking to my computer while listening to a podcast, but you guys were killing me with not knowing any of the Wolverine dates on this week's episode; so, on the off-chance that you're even remotely interested, here are a few dates. (Am I the only one who collected those Marvel cards, with all of this information on them, during the early nineties?)

And if any of this is wrong, someone feel free to correct me.

First appearance of the X-Men: X-Men #1 (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3b/Magnetodebut.png) (1963)
First appearances of Wolverine: The Incredible Hulk #180 (cameo); The Incredible Hulk #181 (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a9/Inchulk181.jpg) (1974)
Wolverine joins the X-Men: Giant-Size X-Men #1 (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/42/Giantsize1.jpg) (1975)
Wolverine "Weapon X" origin story: Marvel Comics Presents #72-84 (http://www.gottawiz.com/images/Comics/Marvel/Presents/mcp_072.jpg) (1991)
Wolverine "Origin" story: Origin #1-6 (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4a/Wolverine_origin1.jpg) (2001-2002)

I don't even follow Wolverine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolverine_(comics)) any more, but that was bugging me. The game sounds pretty fun, though. Scott, if you've still got that when I get home I'd like to check that out. The video review at IGN looked pretty cool. Him jumping out and pouncing on things looks freakin' great, and the fact that it's rated M when the film is rated PG-13 is pretty funny too.

I don't know a lot about the creators of Brütal Legend, so I really don't have any expectations (other than it's going to be metal-themed, and that's always fun), but the game looks pretty cool from the video footage that I've seen of it online.

Shame on the lot of you for not being up on your Metalocalypse. Jeremy, you need to get on these guys to watch it. I myself am behind on season two, but I plan on catching up (via DVD) either before I get in on Friday or while I'm home on leave. To the rest of you, you're really missing out on a funny show.

Here's one of my favorite clips, from the pilot episode ("The Curse of Dethklok"):

RBH0Bd9Z1VA

You guys really have to check the show out when you get a chance. It's a good laugh.

P.S. The shit given to Jeremy over the picture of him with Harley Quinn (taken at PAX), and his response to it was great... and those local weather alerts going off in the middle of the show were hilarious too.

I don't know that anyone who isn't from the local area can appreciate those, but being up here in Greenland and hearing you guys freak out about those during the live taping of the show had me laughing pretty hard. Thank you!

[kyrieee]

Well there have been many quotes to that effect
Niels Bohr said "If quantum mechanics hasn't profoundly shocked you, you haven't understood it yet." and Richard Feynman said "I think I can safely say that nobody understands Quantum Mechanics"

[Iron Past]

Well there have been many quotes to that effect
Niels Bohr said "If quantum mechanics hasn't profoundly shocked you, you haven't understood it yet." and Richard Feynman said "I think I can safely say that nobody understands Quantum Mechanics"

Now that I've had time to think, I think I remember both of those from a chapter start in Timeline (the book, not the movie).