Chi hits the Vegas Strip to throw down with some of MMA's biggest stars and gets an early look at UFC Undisputed 2010. Brad takes on Alan Wake and in the process enrages the entire Internet…again. And we open up the mailbag to answer your burning questions about game manuals, Final Fantasy XIV, and Microsoft Game Room. Featuring Chi Kong Lui, Brad Gallaway, Mike Bracken, and Tim "Pitfall is So Worth Three Dollars" Spaeth.
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Topics discussed:
- UFC Undisputed 2010
- Alan Wake
- Final Fantasy XIV
Please send feedback and mailbag questions to podcast (at) gamecritics (dot) com.
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
Most Alan Wake previews/reviews have compared it in some way to Twin Peaks, but other than the location I fail to see the connection. While playing Alan Wake, I didn’t encounter any midgets in my dreams, No strange women talking to a log, No visits to One Eyed Jacks and very fortunately no David Duchovny in a dress. So guess I’m looking for some justification for the Twin Peaks references. Why has story telling been at the forefront for developers the past wee while and why has it been so hard for any of them to nail it. Personally I… Read more »
As someone who has never been all that interested in most fighting games, Chi’s description of Undisputed has sort of piqued my interest. I don’t know the first thing about UFC, but the idea of a new type of fighting system is intriguing.
Also agree with Tim about manuals. And I myself don’t care for discs much anymore 🙂
Hey GF666, Just to quickly respond to your question about Twin Peaks, there were a number of things that struck me. Primarily, like you said, the remote rural Pacific Northwest is the first thing that they have in common, and the same small-town atmosphere. I found that the lady with the lights in AW was a pretty comparable parallel to the Log Lady from TP, and also the general “nothing ever gets fully explained” mood is very similar. Beyond all that, I think that the tone of both works is very similar, although I don’t think that Twin Peaks was… Read more »
With regards to old games i share Brad’s views. I mostly look forward to what’s coming out or what has been out in recent years than retro gaming. What i am nostalgic about though are the old game manuals. Microprose was my favourite company when i was a teenager as it had the best manuals by far. I spent hours and hours reading them. They contained actual historical information apart from the gaming instructions. Awesome stuff. Civilization, F15 Strike Eagle, M1 Tank Platoon. Those were indeed legendary. I buy a lot of collectors’ editions but its very rare to find… Read more »