Is your mind on your money? Is your money on your mind? As the world teeters on the brink of an economic apocalypse we tackle an even bigger problem–the price of games! Plus, we give some failed franchises a second chance, and the games as art camp gets some new ammunition with the PS3’s Flower. With Chi Kong Lui, Brad Gallaway, Mike Bracken, and Tim Spaeth.
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Cleveland native Tim Spaeth grew up in a happy household – a household with a father whose major client happened to be an Atari games distributor. This led directly to Tim's first nickname: "The kid who got Atari games before anyone else." Indeed, he knew Pac-Man and E.T. were colossal bombs weeks before the rest of the world, and the resulting celebrity brought him great pleasure.
Through the years every aspect of Tim's life has been touched by gaming. He mastered typing thanks to Space Quest, honed his poker skills on The Sierra Network, and learned to hate after a particularly traumatic game of Tecmo Super Bowl.
Today, Tim lives in Chicago with his three kids and strives to find that perfect balance between family, career, and Warcraft. He enjoys broadcasting, martial arts, rock and roll, growing and shaving his beard, singing show tunes to the homeless, and losing at Mario Kart to his lovely, talented, and amazing girlfriend.
In late 2008, Tim became the producer and host of the GameCritics.com Podcast, and he's thrilled to be bringing GameCritics' unique editorial voice to a brand new medium.
Through the years every aspect of Tim's life has been touched by gaming. He mastered typing thanks to Space Quest, honed his poker skills on The Sierra Network, and learned to hate after a particularly traumatic game of Tecmo Super Bowl.
Today, Tim lives in Chicago with his three kids and strives to find that perfect balance between family, career, and Warcraft. He enjoys broadcasting, martial arts, rock and roll, growing and shaving his beard, singing show tunes to the homeless, and losing at Mario Kart to his lovely, talented, and amazing girlfriend.
In late 2008, Tim became the producer and host of the GameCritics.com Podcast, and he's thrilled to be bringing GameCritics' unique editorial voice to a brand new medium.
Latest posts by Tim Spaeth (see all)
- GameCritics.com Radio 2018 GOTY Celebration - January 12, 2019
- GameCritics.com Radio 2017 Holiday Awards Spectacular - January 13, 2018
- GameCritics.com Radio Episode 5: The Switch and Zelda - April 7, 2017
I hate being the walking encyclopedia here, but there was actually one G.I. Joe game that didn’t come to the NES, but was on the arcades. It played a bit like Cabal and was in 3rd person perspective. The characters pretty much walks forward all the time while blasting their enemies and avoiding being shot. A pretty fun game, and I even finished it once.
http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?game_id=7872
David – I meant that as more of a hilarious commentary on TFU, TRU, and ME being lousy experiences compared to LatD. I just forgot the hilarious part. Of course you are correct in your statement.
“The Lost and Damned is $20 for an eight-to-ten hour experience. Mirror’s Edge, Tomb Raider Underworld, and The Force Unleashed are each $60 for an eight-to-ten hour experience. Something is wrong here.” No, there’s not. The L&D was built using many existing resources, an engine that had already been tweaked and tested and a guaranteed install base that had already purchased the original disc. The other two examples you cited did not have either of those things. It’s not so cut and dry. EDIT: Not to mention it already had millions in capital from Microsoft from the get-go. It’s easy… Read more »
I generally don’t buy used games at all unless they are old/hard to find games (Ebay). Voting with my wallet is something I really feel strongly about, and I make sure to support a developer or platform if I see them doing something I like/enjoy. It’s one of the reasons i’m gonna go pick up MadWorld new, to support those type of games on the Wii.
One game I would like to see receive a second chance is the classic Ninja Golf for the Atari. I like the golf sim aspects (as much as was possible on the Atari) and the fact that you have to venture down the fairway to get your ball. All the while you have to fend of rival ninjas and other creatures who don’t want to see you under par. The greens are a little odd, facing dragons and not actually putting, but with a second chance that could be reworked. Reworked in 3D and with real golf physics, throw in… Read more »
I’m glad you posted that, Tim, because there were a few things that I wish I had remembered to mention when we were talking about the pricing issue. Looking back at other media, people who are old enough will remember that movies (way back in the VHS/BetaMax days) were generally sold for $50 – $75 or so. What was the first thing to pop up after that? Video rental stores… which, of course, ended up selling used movies at a great discount. It didn’t take the filmmakers long to realize that nobody was going to regularly pony up that much… Read more »
I hope everyone is enjoying the new episode. Here’s my post-mortem — think of it as the video game podcast version of “Oprah: After the Show.” Technical Trauma The podcast you’re listening to is actually the SECOND version of Episode 12. My laptop ate the original, nearly complete edit, wiping out hours of work and sending me into a psychotic rage on Twitter. That’s why the show features limited music, all of which is recycled from old shows. I couldn’t bear to listen to my prattling any further, so I slummed it on the second go-around. We’ll get back to… Read more »