This is kind of similar to what I wrote my This I Believe essay on, but I wrote about including splitscreen in games instead because I've also found video games as a great way to bond. Every once in awhile, two of my closest friends and I will just hang out, play video games together, and talk about everything. It's a great way to re-connect with them, especially if we haven't seen each other in a while. Sometimes we play multiplayer games together and other times we just pass the controller. It's always a much better experience than just playing with them online.

I can relate to passing the controller to siblings and I agree that video games are a great way to connect and strengthen friendships. Very nice article.

First, I would like to apologize for not commenting. I haven't had enough time to listen to all of these podcasts you guys are putting out, so I haven't commented, even though I do visit the site regularly to check for updates. I did listen to this one and enjoy it though. It's always nice to hear you guys talk about completely random stuff.

Also, I'm not really sure what to think about the song at the end of the podcast. Rapping over the Marble Zone music is kind of strange.

I didn't mind the 311 quote/reference.... they're not too bad.

I've always loved playing RPG's; both Western and Japanese. I really enjoyed Final Fantasy X and Knights of the Old Republic, but I disliked Tales of Symphonia and Oblivion. It really depends on the game itself; not the genre.

I don't care about the car-sized blades and things like that, and as a kid I even thought they looked cool. It may be over the top, but it's allowed to because it's a video game. People don't complain about the ability to shoot fire, ice, and thunder out of your hands, but you can do that in most RPGs too.

inFamous wouldn't be nearly as good if it didn't have an open world. Being able to climb around the city and collect blast shards in between missions is awesome and the game wouldn't be as great without that.

The open world in inFamous is supposed to feel a little bit lifeless because the ray sphere just blew up and killed a majority of the people in the city, but you're right that it doesn't feel as good as a city in a GTA game.

The problem I had with the open world in inFamous was that there wasn't much to do. In GTA games, people can spend hours just playing around in the city, while that's not as much fun to do in inFamous. Once you complete all the missions and collect everything, there just isn't anything to do.

Woohoo! I didn't think I would be the first, but that's cool.

Everyone else needs to finish their essay so I'm not alone :(

An RPG where you play as Charles Barkley, who caused the apocalypse by doing a dunk? That game sounds AMAZING and I'm downloading it now.

Woo!

I agree completely. This was the first podcast where I actually thought about turning it off and not listening to it.

Sorry, but I really disliked this new format. It felt too choppy because there was no closure in each of the segments and they stopped abruptly. I also felt like you guys were less laid back and didn't go on as many tangents (maybe Chris cut them out?), so it was less enjoyable for me. I much prefer the old format to this new one.

Also, I have to agree with Calin that the soundtrack for The World Ends With You kicks ass.