GameCritics.com Podcast Episode 44: Amnesia, MGS Peace Walker, Alan Wake Redux, Halo: Reach

Definitely agree with you guys on the subject of Obsidian. I first encountered their work on KotOR II, but at the time was willing to let the glitches/bugs slide since it was their first/earliest stab at a big title (although looking now, seeing a fan-made patch to restore the game's intended content says it all). However, after seeing what they've done with New Vegas it really does make me question them as developers, since I see no excuse for it.

I mean, on KotOR II I can kinda understand that Lucasarts were likely hounding Obsidian for a fast release, but I doubt Bethesda had the same aggression with New Vegas since the outcome of that game would also reflect on them as a developer/company. In essence, another 3 months or so in development would have done the game the world of good.

I always highlight how Bethesda and BioWare make unacceptably bug-ridden and glitchy games, but Obsidian are something else entirely. It's not good, and they need to sort it out, especially since with New Vegas reviewers have finally started highlighting how damaging bugs can be (which in the past most of the "big" review websites tend to ignore). I doubt they can get away with it again without significantly hurting sales of the game.

Oh man..this episode was funny as hell..

Hey Richard, have you tried playing Call of Cthulu Dark Corners of the Earth and Thief 3? Both games have (major) gameplay flaws but they have similar qualities to Amnesia in terms of atmosphere and storytelling.

Was wondering how you would compare the scariness of Amnesia compared to some of the levels of those games (the Cradle in Thief3) though i'm pretty sure its nowhere near the level of Amnesia.

Good call on Call of Cthulhu. That game definitely has some scary moments and you're not always able to kill the monsters. That was one of my favorite games of that year, even with the flaws.

And I'm glad someone thinks we're funny.

Bugs are created from bad bug testing more than a game being too large. If its bugy do not release it, just wait, yes you can WAIT, unless its easily modable then release and forget and let the community fix it while you loose sales....

FO3 is buggy as sh*t the game(PC) crashed, quests were broken and quest items and people DISSAPPEARED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

New Vegas is un patched FO3 more or less, plus new bugs from the new content.

You need testers that understand game play and flow and not just play the thing normally for the lulz of it... also would help if they listen to bug testers about issues instead of putting it off to get the game breaking stuff out of the way before working on game balance and "minor" non critical game breaking stuff........

Bugs is one more reason I try before I buy and when I mean try I mean the whole thing or I buy it for under 30$ for ebay.

Also as a PC gamer I never had an issue with hardware or patches I had more trouble with consoles and sh*tty quality than planning out 4-6 year hardware or waiting for a patch or better yet waiting for the community to fix it making it better than anything the industry can ever put out.

my late father, Bobby Scott, from the album 'Slowly'

Especially good podcast, this. Good tangents, real conversation. Like.

Glad you enjoyed it. I've heard several different variations of Rainbow Connection, but that was probably one of my favorites.