All music created and performed by Bobby Yost.
http://www.myspace.com/bobbyyost

Trailer Wars
http://www.myspace.com/trailerwars

Bob-omb by ~Flash321 on deviantART

Moogle by ~Flash321 on deviantART

Black Mage by ~Flash321 on deviantART

I know all of you have been watching our videos and to be honest, making them is hard and fun work. So we thought we’d get together and let you guys know what we’ve been playing in conjunction to filming and producing our video podcast episodes. We’ve been playing more than the screen shot we show above so listen and find out what we’re up to. Hey it’s just like old times!

Soon indeed; as in the end of this week! Check out the blog from the folks working on the project over at http://starmen.net. For those of you not familiar with the Mother series, Mother 2 appeared in the US as Earthbound for the Super Nintendo in 1995. The game gained a huge cult following due to its highly stylized contemporary design (you attack with frying pans and get cash out of ATMS), when every other RPG of the era was filled with sorcery, dragons and potions. Earthbound was a breath of fresh air and a blast to play. Nintendo has been a fool to sleep on this series, especially when fans have been begging for the GBA sequel to the game we played on the SNES, called Mother 3. You may also know Nes from his role in the mega-popular Smash Brothers series.

Fans have taken measures into their own hands and after a year of hard work, the translation patch for Mother 3 will finally be released to the public. Rejoice and kick some Pig Mask Army ass, in English!

Gamespeek attended the 2008 Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle, WA. We were able to play a few games like Left 4 Dead, Gears of War 2 and Guitar Hero: World Tour, and see the awesome Anamanaguchi live in concert. Check out the video for some show footage, a Gamespeek Guitar Hero performance and our thoughts!

The first 5 seconds freezes like that because Vimeo automatically removed the Gamespeek logo I had at the beginning of the video. So yeah, that explains that.

Also, check out this G4 preview of House of the Dead: Overkill. I don’t know how we missed it, but be sure to check it out.

One summer morning, on our way to Midgar, we stumbled upon a monster much too tough for our fighting skill. Or so we thought…

Here it is. Witness us delighting folks of all ages during the oldest Independence Day celebration in Washington State, the 74th annual Loggerodeo in Sedro-Woolley, WA. This is where Chris and I grew up.
-Aaron

The episode is also available as a higher quality .mov file here.

This week in Episode 82, we give a short overview of what you can do in Grand Theft Auto 4, review Professor Layton and the Curious Village, give news on Rock Band, Okami for the Wii, Burnout Paradise and the upcoming Spore Creature Creator.

This week’s song is “That Heart Isn’t Very Flattering” by BleepHeartBleep.

This episode is also available as a higher quality .mov file here.

In episode 81, Lauren debuts with her new weekly segment, “Lauren’s Hot Minute” where she gets to talk about whatever videogame-related topic she wants to for a minute. Chris and Aaron discuss the revitalization of Sonic the Hedgehog with two promising upcoming releases; Sonic Chronicles (DS) and Sonic Unleashed (PS2, PS3, Wii, 360). Chris goes over the new Rock Band downloads of the last two weeks and Lauren discusses a few new upcoming games on the DS and PSP, with her segment “Potent Portables.”

This week features the song “Sonic Boom” by Derecho

This episode is also available as a higher quality .mov file here.

Thanks for checking out our first video episode! We’ve been doing the podcast thing for quite awhile (this is episode 80 if you can believe it!), and we’ve finally decided to film and shorten it. In this episode, you’ll learn about the new Halo 3 maps out April 15, why Wii owners should get excited (and start saving money), which songs are the latest out for Rock Band (PS3 and 360), and why the gaming community might soon be free of Jack Thompson.

During the second half, watch our resident Smash Brothers experts (along with Special Guest Justin Dean) fight it out in a roundtable discussion. Thanks again and please subscribe on youtube and leave us comments and ratings! We’ll have new episodes every two weeks.

This week features the song “Helix Nebula” by Anamanaguchi

The episode is also available as a higher quality .mov file here.

News this episode:
- New Halo 3 map “Avalanche” unveiled for all to drool over
- Guitar Hero: On Tour for the DS revealed
- Fable 2 XBLA mini-games will get gamers prepped and pumped for Fable 2′s release
- Developers vocally supporting WiiWare
- Korg’s DS-10 game to be released worldwide
- Rock Band Thrash Pack DLC available
- Yet another weak Virtual Console offering: Spelunker and Super R-Type

Music:
- “Mountain Sickness” by My Parents Favorite Music

See you in two weeks!
- Aaron

Lionel Kiddie City? Never heard of it. But this old commercial had me LOL’in pretty hard. Thanks NeoGaf forum

Reviews galore! Super Smash Brothers Brawl, Mass Effect DLC, Odin Sphere, Orange Box and Rez HD are all dissected and analyzed for your listening pleasure. Also, Lauren and I were asked to speak in a classroom at Western Washington University about podcasting last week! It went very well and we were able to show off some Gamespeek and talk a little about our real jobs too. Thanks for listening and as always, we love feedback!

News this episode
- Bioshock 2 announced, we’re not surprised
- WiiWare details and game info for the US and Japan
- Smash Brothers Brawl not working on some Wiis
- Rockstar working on Bully patch for the 360
- Hudson working on Tetris for WiiWare
- Korg releasing synthesizer emulator in Japan on DS and I want it
- Want to play Smash Brothers with voice chat? Use the 360!
- Mass Effect 2 side quests will be more meaningful
- Wii VC imports-only week! Puyo Puyo 2 and DoReMi Fantasy: Milon’s DokiDoki Adventure
- Rock Band downloads: Paramore, Serj Tankian, The Black Tides

Music:
- “Final Fantasy II” by Atomic NES

- Aaron

We’ve decided to make the JToF (Juicy Tidbit of Fun) Round Robin a part of each episode! The round robin was especially handy for this episode since there wasn’t a lot of major news and no reviews. Don’t forget that Smash Brothers Brawl is out this weekend and Gamestop is having tournaments at 2,500 of their locations this coming Saturday. Winners get to move on to a series of district tournaments, followed by regional tournaments, and then the finals in San Jose, CA! The winner gets a bunch of sweet prizes. Check out more information here.

News this episode
- Wii TV Guide Channel debuts in Japan
- Valve hopes for free DLC for Team Fortress 2
- Robot Chicken Star Wars episode coming to XBL – watch it now here.
- Study says we like being killed in games
- Grateful Dead 6 song pack for Rock Band and Karaoke Revolution: American Idol DLC
- One Virtual Console release this week? Boo!
- More info on Final Fantasy CC for WiiWare, Okami, Bully, Sims 3, Saints Row 2

Music:
- “Out of Memory” by Press to Begin

- Aaron

I am really loving my Xbox 360! I just picked up Halo 3, Skate, Oblivion and The Orange Box. I haven’t had chance yet to even start up a few of ‘em, pretty much just Portal and Halo 3. Besides playing tons of great games, I’ve also reconnected with a friend I haven’t spoken with in like 6 months after she moved out of town. We are both Super Puzzle Fighter addicts, so she saw my myspace bulletin with my gamer tag and we met up online. So yeah, I never thought I’d be using a game console to socialize. In many aspects the 360 makes my Wii seem so archaic, but I still have plenty of reasons to pick up my trusty WiiMote again soon (Smash Bros and Mario Kart). We decided to bring back the JToF round table this episode since we had so many little news bits to throw out there, so enjoy. Oh, and I just got finished buying a Gameboy Printer (only $10 at PlayAsian.com!

News this episode
- Metal Gear Solid 4 releases June 12 worldwide, new MG34 PS3 package
- The Road Rash series may be returning (thanks to Sebastian Bach for the tip)
- Mario Kart to have text chat only, online battles will have 8 players
- Gears of War creators want your opinion with survey
- Disney to cash in on the Rock Band craze
- HD-DVD players for the 360 are now only $50
- Puzzle Quest Galactrix screens revealed here
- Commodore 64 games headed to European Wiis only, Sega Mastersystem games are showing up in Japan
- Defend Your Castle is coming to WiiWare and looks a bit different.

Music:
- “Heavenly Star” by Genki Rockets

- Aaron

The Game Developers Conference in San Francisco happened last week and lots of interesting news has surfaced. I for one am very excited for all of the new details announced regarding Mario Kart on the Wii. IGN’s exciting 4-page preview story can be found here and some screen shots can be found on the Gamespeek board. We are also pretty excited about the 360′s XNA games that are now available at Xbox Live. Oh yeah, and I am now a proud owner of a brand new 360!!!

More news this episode:
- BluRay has won the format war
- WiiWare and Wii Fit dated for May in the US
- Ninja Gaiden III and Phantasy Star II arrive on the Virtual Console. The releases are getting better and better!
- Gears of War II will release in November, Fable II in Fall ’08
- DJ Hero trademark filed by Activision. Are they protecting their brand or working on a new game?
- Gizmondo could be released late 2008. Avoid. At. All. Cost.
- PSP will have access to Playstation Store via wireless hotspot
- Finally, a reason to go to the arcade: Street Fighter IV is coming to the US
- Rock Band downloads: Weezer, Stone Temple Pilots, Garbage

Music:
- “Last Kiss” by Ashtar’s Revenge

- Aaron

Guess what? I am back and better than ever. Okay, not really, but I had an awesome time in Chicago and I played lots of games while I was there. I forgot how much fun it is to play a game like Mario Party 8 with some good company. Geometry Wars multiplayer is also quite awesome and entertaining. Anywho, be sure to check out next week’s episode (which we are recording tomorrow, sorry for our lack on timeliness this time) because we will be discussing lots of news coming from the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.

Some of the news in this episode:
- Sadly, Marvel MMO officially canceled
- Apple filed trademark for game system
- Spore creature editor will be out before the game
- Professor Layton sequel hinted, DLC available
- Harvest Moon for SNES on Virtual Console!
- Netflix hopefully heading to 360, PS3

Music:
- “It’s Like Boo” by Arcade Coma

- Aaron

We fired Aaron, but I have a strong feeling he’ll being haunting us for the coming episodes.

Some of the news in this episode:
- LOST News extravaganza from Chris
- Mass Effect DLC! “Bring Down the Sky” March 10
- Rock Band DLC B-52′s, Faith No More and KISS

Music:
- “Courage Under the Laser Fire” by Rage LTD

- Lauren

This episode is a quick one. We have a JToFs round-robin followed by first impressions of Advance Wars: Days of Ruin and Burnout Paradise. And somehow we managed to avoid to topics of Mass Effect and Fox News.

Just a few of the JToFs:
- New WiiWare game coming from ex-Naughty Dogs mid-year
- King of Kong now on DVD
- Virtual Console game demos to be included in Smash Brothers Brawl
- Sega Master System and more on its way to Virtual Console
- Guitar Hero: On Tour rumored to be coming to DS
- To Lauren’s surprise, “Faith and a .45″ now on the way to 360 too
- Disney DS tour guide software feedback very positive
- Rock Band “Prog Pack” with Smashing Pumpkins, Coheed and Cambria, and Rush

Music:
- “Trippin’ Trekkie” by DJ Khanige

Also, we may or may not have an episode next week. I’ll be in Chicago so blame Lauren and Chris if you don’t hear from us

- Aaron

Between all the news this week, we manage to rant on Gamestop, praise Guitar Hero and all the money it’s made, discuss iPod gaming and the frustrating controls in Sonic the Hedgehog, Chris bitches about Gamestop and their pre-orders, and Lauren admits to love her “Pure Moods” cassette tape back in the day.

News:
- Pole Position Remix out now on the iPod platform for $4.99
- 3 more Smash Brothers Brawl characters accidentally revealed
- Guitar Hero 3 (Wii) disc exchange details
- Undertow given to XBox Live gamers to make up for downtime
- Rez HD and Devil May Cry 4 demo coming to XBL (Rez next week, DMC now)
- Details emerge for the Disneyland DS program here
- Rock Band Oasis pack, Guitar Hero III Classic Rock pack, both now available
- Our local Gamestop was robbed and featured on Kotaku
- White Playstation 3 coming to the US, but when?
- Wii connectivity rumored for new Castlevania DS game. Screens here
- Virtual Console titles released Monday: Super Street Fighter 2 (SNES) and Adventures of Lolo 2 (NES)

Music:
- “Figurte” by Fish and Chip 8 Bit

‘Til Next Week!
- Aaron

Gaming news is steady once more, as you can see by the summary below… We have lots to talk about! Our friend and fellow gamer Hodges joins us this week to discuss some stuff he’s been playing lately on the 360 and help us go on even more tangents than normal. I review Picross for the DS, Lauren gives her $.02 on Super Mario Galaxy and Hodges gives his opinion on both Assassin’s Creed and Blue Dragon on the 360.

News:
- GoldenEye for XBLA nearly happened, then it died
- Macs are actually getting new games (Spore, Call of Duty 4)
- Smash Brothers Brawl delayed until March 9 in US
- Assassin’s Creed for Nintendo DS revealed
- WiiWare games possibly coming in March
- Writer’s Guild announce nominees for videogame award (and they all suck)

Music:
- Helix Nebula – Anamanaguchi

See ya next week when we should have some more guests!
- Aaron

Episode 69! To celebrate this naughty number, The Ladies Man (of SNL fame) makes an appearance and we each reveal the game character we’d mostly likely want to hit a high score with. The news has finally picked up this week

News:
- Texas Instruments show off 3D games at CES
- Chocolate Miis available for Valentines Day here
- Majesco developing original title and building simulator for Wii called Our House
- Halo 3 and the US Army start up Sniper School
- Air Guitar Belt Buckle to be released from Jada Toys
- PSP: GPS, Skype and Blu-Ray abilities to come

Music:
- Game Over – Little Mac’s Confession

Our first podcast of 2008! We ring in the new year now that Lauren is back with all the usual stuff.

News:
- Microsoft to make up for XBL outages
- Activision to replace Guitar Hero discs for the Wii. Go here.
- Kristin Kreuk cast as Chun-Li for new Street Fighter movie.
- Bubble Bobble finally on Virtual Console. Lauren is stoked!
- NY Times says full DS games soon downloadable for the Wii, Nintendo takes it back
- Check out this fanboy concept art for the next DS
- Jack Thompson signed a copy of GTA and you can buy it here

Music:
- The Videogame Cover Band – Super Mario World Title Track

Happy Holidays!! This episode is our year-end review. We reveal our favorite games, biggest surprises, biggest disappointments and more. Lauren was podcasting from Wisconsin at her family’s so the episode is in two parts. And we features the best Christmas song ever written – “Christmas Wrapping” by The Waitresses. Enjoy!

It’s nearly the holidays and we finally bring you our last regular podcast of 2007 (we still have a best-of episode on it’s way)! We review a few spacey games like Mass Effect (360), Geometry Wars: Galaxies (Wii) and Carcassonne (Xbox Live Arcade – okay, this one isn’t space themed). Just like most of the games we review (since we don’t play games that suck), we love them all. Chris also talks about his experiences thus far with the DS software, My French Coach. Tune in for all the details!

News:
- Dragon Quest Swords will finally be released February 26
- We discuss new trailers for GTA IV, Silent Hill V and more
- Parappa the Rapper creator working on a new game for Majesco for the Wii
- Gamestop has opened a tournament store in California, more to come?
- Wii Virtual Console gift giving now available
- Halo 3 maps released

Music:
- Noah Star Weaver (of United State of Electronica fame) – This Christmas Feeling

The dust has settled after the craziness that was Black Friday and the holiday rush. Things have calmed down a bit, giving gamers a chance to jump into new games. What games have you bought lately? I am heading to pick up Geometry Wars: Galaxies for the Wii tonight. And just to clarify, the band 8 Bit Weapon that we mention is not a “he” like was said, they are a trio.

News:
- Free game from EA for Rock Band guitar replacement delays
- Black Sabbath pack released for Rock Band
- Activision and Vivendi merging to form Activision Blizzard
- Smash Brothers Brawl friend code system announced and more…

Music:
- 8 Bit Weapon covering Freezepop – Shark Attack

-Aaron

In this episode we give our final thoughts on Rock Band, Chris rants on classic game remakes after Lauren brings up the upcoming Space Invaders Extreme, and Lauren talks about why she hates online gaming.

News:
- Everybody’s Nintendo channel launches in Japan
- Upcoming DS release dates revealed; Myst and Professor Layton
- David Bowie song pack now available for Rock Band
- XBox 360 Fall Update details
- Greenpeace rates consoles with faulty methods, Nintendo given 0/10
- Space Invaders Extreme coming for PSP, in addition to the DS
- PS3 hard drives are easy to replace! Learn how at Kotaku.

Music:
- Chang Wang 2003 – What More Can I Say

-Aaron

Look at that, we made it into The New York Times after all! We checked the site and print edition a few times after coming back from E For All because we knew we were photographed, but who thought they’d run the photo on a story about the Rock Band / Guitar Hero rivalry? We’re all pretty excited about it. Now if only the caption had mentioned Gamespeek.com….

Happy (belated) Thanksgiving! We are all very thankful for a ton of good games lately to keep us entertained during the holidays. In addition to our in-depth first impression of Rock Band on the 360, we discuss our top albums that we would love to have playable on the game.

News:
- Happy first birthday Wii!
- Besides being the top rated game, Mario Galaxy sells 500,000 copies the first week
- Three new Halo 3 maps coming December 18 for 800 Microsoft points; free in Spring ’08
- Ghostbusters coming to every console ever Halloween ’08
- PSone games to PSP without the PS3
- Free remixed Halo 3 theme downloadable for Guitar Hero 3

Music:
- Silence. We were too busy playing Rock Band to find a song, oops!

Mario Galaxy and Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn first impressions are given by Lauren and I this episode (both are very positive). And in addition to the usual news, we discuss the idea that’s been thrown about lately regarding a one-console future and what that would mean to gamers and the industry.

News:
- Check Mii Out Channel released
- Wii Guitar Hero 3 has mono sound
- Rock Band user-generate content a possibility, weekly downloads
- Rock Band DLC pricing can be found here
- Geometry Wars Galaxies still on target for Nov. 20 and 27
- Halo 3 updates

Music:
ComputeHer – Coco Kitty (also check out this video for live footage at the E For All Expo)

‘Til next week!
-Aaron

Our friend Adam Rudnick joins us for this week’s episode, which is kicked off by The Minibosses with their Ninja Gaiden cover. Besides this week’s news, (Manhunt 2 not being sold at Target, PS3′s latest firmware update, Ubisoft striving for Nintendo-like quality on the Wii and more) we dive into some games we’ve been playing lately, including Call of Duty 4, Phase (the new iPod game) and the God of War demo on PSP. We also rant about casual gaming and those who are ashamed of it . Next week we’ll have our Mario Galaxy first impressions!

- Aaron

This week’s episode brings some news (Spore coming to Wii, Ys 1 and 2 remakes coming for the DS, Metal Gear Solid 4 now delayed until Q2 2008, Okami won’t be a cheap and quick and cheap port according to Capcom and more) but the real highlight is our three new reviews. Lauren rates Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles (PSP), Chris rates Guitar Hero III (360) and I rate Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS). All of us loved the games we discuss, so tune in and hear what we think! This weeks music is from Low Bat with their song “My Little Droid Needs a Hand.”

‘Til next week!
-Aaron

P.S. In the podcast I said that Spore was coming for the PS3 and 360. According to 1up.com, Spore is only coming for PC, Wii and DS.

Click the image!

Our final E For All Expo podcast, we summarize the show, discuss what we did on Sunday, the final day of the show and talk about some of the news that was announced while we were gone. On the last day we played a few more new games like Drawn to Life, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games and Contra 4. Regardless of the small show, IDG is happy with the turn out and apparently some of the press loved it too. Other news includes the announcement of Street Fighter 4, a new Castlevania game coming for the DS, Okami ported to the Wii and the fact that Rock Band’s World Tour will be offline only.Video coverage of E For All is on its way very soon!

-Aaron

Our second day at E For All was even better than the first! We played Smash Brothers Brawl, Link’s Crossbow Training, Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles, The Simpsons Game and more. Chris was even invited to play Rock Band on the mainstage with the bassist from Incubus, Ben Kenney! Ben even interviewed Chris afterward for his radio show (that we have yet to find online, more info later) about the Rock Band experience. We were also photographed by a New York Times reporter while playing the game, so hopefully we’ll make the paper soon. We have one more day at the expo on Sunday, so stay tuned for one more E For All Episode. Meanwhile, we’ll be at Six Flags Magic Mountain tomorrow hitting up the coasters!

-Aaron

Our first day of the E For All Expo in Los Angeles has come and gone and we’re here tonight with all the juicy details. Althought it isn’t the scope of E3 of years past, we still got the chance to play a lot of unreleased games and we were also fortunate enough to meet up and have some personal time with Namco Networks and TN Games (check out their 3rd Space Gaming Vest). Some highlights of the expo so far have been Rock Band, Super Mario Galaxy, Guitar Hero 3 and Castlevania the Dracula X Chronicles. Tomorrow and Sunday we are going to be hitting up Smash Brothers Brawl, Metal Gear Solid 4, Link’s Crossbow Training, the Simpsons Game and much, much more so stay tuned!

-Aaron

Halo 3 fanatic (and a co-worker of Lauren and I) Lacy joins us this episode for some new perspective on Halo 3. It opens with a Bubble Bobble theme song remix and we cover some news from the Nintendo Fall Conference; including the addition of Sonic to the roster of Smash Brothers Brawl, the use of Miis in the upcoming Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, the WiiWare games that are finally on the way and more. In other news, Japan’s huge franchise Monster Hunter 3 will not be appearing on the PS3 to Sony’s dismay, but on the Wii instead. Lauren goes on a huge angry rant about the PS3 packages that is definitely worth listening to. Also, next week keep your ears open because we’ll be at E For All in Los Angeles podcasting after the show!

-Aaron

Halo 3 and tons of news this episode. Bleep Heart Bleep is back for another opening with our new structure. You might notice that we have split up the console and handheld news between the three of us, so you should hear less “uhhhhhs” between topics and more flow. And speaking of flow, Chris has a cold this episode so he sounds pretty snotty. We talk about some newly announced games for DS and Wii (Blue Dragon, Samba De Amigo, new Kingdom Hearts), Final Fantasy XIII to be released exclusively for the PS3, cheaper PS3s on the way, games going on sale at Xbox Live Arcade, and more. After the news is done, we talk Halo 3. A lot of Halo 3. Listen for more Halo 3 talk next episode.

-Aaron

We know it’s been way too long since last episode, so we are going to release the next few episodes quick. Heck, this episode was recorded before Halo 3 was out, so you know it’s old. This episode does however does contain information about a Contra contest (probably too late to enter), a Gamestop manager who created his own set of rules for the kids, Star Wars (and lightsabers!) finally coming to the Wii, controversy surrounding the new Wii Zapper, a rumbling SixAxis controller, and some more about our favorite guy, Jack Thompson… Who I hate to even mention. The intro this week is another from the awesome Animal Style. Episode 55 will be online tomorrow so we can get caught up! Enjoy!

-Aaron

The FFIV demo is on display at TGS and word is it looks fantastic! Supposedly the 3D graphics have been taken up a notch from FFIII. And even the battle system has been tweaked a bit adding different job opportunities where there were none before. There is even voice acting! Being a DS game of such magnitude, thats just impressive. I hope its as addictive a FFIII was

Square Enix Official Final Fantasy IV DS Website